1 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.
If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.
Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.
Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.
1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?A.To explain a concept. | B.To introduce a topic. |
C.To provide a solution. | D.To make a prediction. |
A.The severity of natural disasters. | B.The worst air quality in New York City. |
C.The extreme damage by flash flooding. | D.The cause of the forests fires in Canada. |
A.He advocated a twofold strategy. |
B.He suggested forbidding carbon emissions. |
C.He required people to use more electric cars. |
D.He emphasized the awareness of climate changes. |
A.The Hottest Month in History | B.Natural Disasters in the World |
C.Extreme Weather Could Get Worse | D.Green Technology Would be Needed |
1.你提出的口号;
2.口号的含义及优点。
注意:1.写作词数应为80个左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Alan,
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Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
3 . For the past 13 years, Martin Burrows has been working as a long-distance truck driver. Spending up to five nights a week on the road can be a lonely business, leaving him with plenty of time to notice his surroundings. “I kept seeing more rubbish everywhere and it was getting on my nerves. I decided I had to do something about it,” he says. One day, he stopped his vehicle, took out a trash bag and started picking up the garbage. The satisfaction after clearing a small area was remarkable.
Before his time on the road, Burrows spent over two decades in the military as a vehicle driver. His service saw him stationed throughout Europe and also on tours in Afghanistan. After returning to civilian life, he was diagnosed with PTSD (创伤后应激障碍) and had a mental health crisis in 2017. His involvement in fundraising for Help for Heroes led him to meet a man who used model-building as a distraction from PTSD. Burrows realized that his act of roadside cleanup had a similar calming effect on his mental well-being.
By 2019, Burrows had begun using his free time on the road to regularly clean up garbage. A passerby encouraged him to set up a Facebook group, which he called Truckers Cleaning Up Britain. “I was worried I’d be the laughing stock of my town for putting videos and photos up of me cleaning but people started to join,” he says. “I was amazed. The local council stepped in and gave me litter-picking supplies and we’re up to almost 3,000 members now.”
Since truckers are so often on the move, the Facebook page acts as a means of raising awareness rather than a platform for organizing cleanups. Burrows expressed his intention to continue the cleanup efforts as long as his physical condition allowed, as he still found joy in the process.
1. What initially caused Burrows to pick up roadside garbage?A.He wanted to kill time by picking up litter. |
B.He aimed to raise fund for soldiers with PTSD. |
C.He felt annoyed to see the increasing rubbish. |
D.He received the assignment from his employer. |
A.It resulted in his embarrassment. | B.It increased his sense of isolation. |
C.It worsened his stress and anxiety. | D.It brought him comfort and relief. |
A.He feared being teased for his action. |
B.He was lacking in advanced cleanup tools. |
C.He was unsure about the group’s development. |
D.He worried about the local council’s disapproval. |
A.A Joyful Volunteer Experience | B.A Trucker’s Cleanup Initiative |
C.A Fighting Hero against PTSD | D.A Platform for Environmentalists |
It was a lovely spring morning. The sky was blue, the sun was out, and the air was warm. As I drove along the curvy roads, I saw thousands of wild flowers in bloom and some volunteers picking up trash along the side of the road. I smiled as I saw them doing some “Spring Cleaning” for our Mother Earth and my mind was cast back to the spring day long long ago.
When my children were younger, we used to walk a small trail around the lake near our home. One spring day, my daughter and I noticed much trash was lying along the trail. The next day we brought a big trash bag with us and started to pick up the trash along the way slowly. There were pop cans, plastic water bottles, wrappers for candy bars, empty chip bags, pieces of broken fishing line, and even an old deserted shoe. We picked up each one and even fished a few pieces of garbage out of the water. By the time we had circled the lake,the bag was nearly full.
Tired but happy, we finally put the bag in an empty trash can. Before we headed home, we took one last look at the lake. It looked more beautiful than ever and I felt like the angels were smiling at us at that moment.
I realized that though environmental pollution is still serious, the truth is that every time we stop to pick up a single piece of trash, it will make a difference. So from then on I planned to take further action to keep the environment clean.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式作答。
When we were back home, my family discussed how to clear the rubbish regularly.
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The following weekend,we put our plan into practice.
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5 . A United Nations report found the ozone layer (臭氧层) is slowly recovering, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing ozone-consuming chemicals. The ozone layer, a blanket of gas that exists between 10km and 50km above Earth’s surface, protects the planet from the sun’s powerful radiation.
“We see things getting better,” said Paul Newman, co-chair of the UN team that examines the health of the ozone layer every four years. The global average amount of ozone 30km high in the atmosphere won’t be back to 1980 levels until about 2040, the report said. And it won’t be back to normal in the Arctic until 2045.In Antarctica, where the ozone layer is so thin that there’s a big hole, it won’t be fully fixed until 2066, the report said.
The global effort to recover the ozone hole came out of a 1987 agreement called the Montreal Protocol. Professor Petteri Taalas said the recovering of the ozone layer showed what could be achieved when the world worked together. “Ozone action sets an example for climate action,” Professor Taalas said.
There were signs of recovering in the last report on the ozone layer four years ago but the improvements were only slight. “Those numbers of recovery have solidified a lot,” Mr. Newman said. Mr. Newman added the two main chemicals that damage the ozone layer—chlorine (氯) and bromine (溴)—were now in lower levels in the atmosphere. Chlorine levels were down 11.5 per cent since peaking in 1993 and bromine, which is more damaging to the ozone layer but is at lower levels in the air, dropped 14.5 per cent since its 1999 peak.
UN environment program director Inger Andersen has previously said the recovering of the ozone hole was “saving two million people every year from skin cancer”.
1. What do we know about the ozone layer from paragraph 1?A.It made the whole world work together. |
B.It can protect the sun from powerful radiation. |
C.It is recovering at a speed more than expected. |
D.It can produce some chemicals for consumption. |
A.The average amount of ozone. | B.The present situation of ozone. |
C.The places where ozone appears. | D.The times when ozone fully recovers. |
A.Surprised. | B.Uncertain. | C.Optimistic. | D.Doubtful. |
A.There were some false data in the last report. |
B.Chlorine and bromine levels in the air have come down. |
C.Skin cancer is caused to a larger extent by the ozone layer. |
D.Chlorine causes more damage to the ozone layer than bromine. |
6 . Levon Biss was looking at insects from his garden through a microscope he bought for his son. For fun, they unintentionally placed an insect under the lens (镜片). “It is amazingly beautiful!” they both screamed.
The father had been making a career taking photographs for advertisements. But that experience gave him a new direction. Around the world, insect populations are in decline because of habitat loss and climate change. Biss thought that if people could see what he saw through his son’s microscope, they would care more about protecting insects.
So Biss turned to macrophotography: taking close-up pictures of small things, like flowers or bugs. His work has attracted attention not just for its unusual beauty. It also raises awareness about the need for conservation.
In 2016, Biss showed his first insect project, Microsculpture. The term refers to the features of an insect’s exoskeleton, or outer shell, which develops over time as the bug adapts to its environment.
Biss’s pictures capture the insects in all their microscopic details. Then he blows up the images until the insects become larger than life, some of them eight feet tall. But each image takes weeks to make. He uses a digital camera with a microscope lens. The camera is fixed on a computerized track, which allows Biss to take a shot, then move the camera by seven microns (微米) — a distance equals to about 1/10 the thickness of a human hair — for the next shot. In the end, Biss might take 10,000 shots of a bug. A computer combines these small pictures into a single image.
Biss’s latest exhibition is Extinct and Endangered at the American Museum of Natural History. He selected bugs that were extinct or endangered, hoping his photographs would serve as a better purpose. “I communicate visually,” he says, “The way I work is through pictures. But I think it’s my duty to shake things up and get people to pay attention.”
1. What made Levon Biss turn to macrophotography?A.Beautiful insects. | B.Attractive environment. |
C.An expensive microscope. | D.An accidental observation. |
A.By taking a shot at them twice. |
B.By adjusting the camera on a track. |
C.By taking close-up pictures countless times. |
D.By putting them in order on a computer. |
A.Get rid of the prejudice. |
B.Take action to save wildlife. |
C.Spare no efforts to face difficulties. |
D.Make people think about nature differently. |
A.Patient and responsible. | B.Wealthy and ambitious. |
C.Polite and strong-willed. | D.Curious and easy-going. |
7 . Two environmental groups want a major soft drink giant to be pulled out of the world’s largest climate conference over plastics concerns, arguing the material has become “the new coal”.
Just Zero and Beyond Plastics, two US-based groups, called on the United Nations Climate Change Conference to cancel Coca-Cola’ s status as a sponsor of this year’s COP 27 on Wednesday. They believed that the soft drink manufacturer’s role in the event is undermining the global fight against climate change and conflicts with the efforts to bring down emissions.
“COP 27 is supposed to focus on solutions to the serious climate crisis.” said Judith Enck, who heads Beyond Plastics, “Instead, we’re allowing it to be a stage for company greenwashing.”
She was joined in her remarks by Just Zero State Policy Director Peter Blair, who said the company’s sponsorship of COP 27 “makes it hard to see this meeting as anything more than a performative act.”
Coca-Cola has repeatedly emphasized its recycling commitments and investments, which include plans to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury. But an annual audit of corporate brands by Break Free From Plastic, an international coalition, has notably named Coca-Cola “the world’s top plastic polluter” for four years running.
Critics charge that its pollution footprint speaks for itself. Coca-Cola has said that it is responsible for around 3 million metric tons of plastic packaging, an inevitable (不可避免的) waste product. Such numbers, advocates argue, should disqualify the company from COP 27 sponsorship.
“By pouring millions of dollars into sponsoring COP 27, Coca-Cola is making a shameful play to give the appearance of environmental responsibility.” said Blair. “But behind the scenes, Coca Cola launched campaigns to block improvements in real recycling and resist calls to transition away from single-use plastic bottles to reusable and refillable glass containers.
1. What does the underlined word “undermining” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?A.Making...less popular. | B.Making...less powerful. |
C.Making...more reliable. | D.Making...more interesting. |
A.Their doubt and surprise. | B.Their confusion and curiosity. |
C.Their support and expectation. | D.Their anger and disappointment. |
A.Do as you would be done by. | B.What’s done cannot be undone. |
C.He who plays with fire gets burned. | D.Speak in one way and behave in another. |
A.Coca-Cola—The World’s Top Plastic Polluter |
B.Coca-Cola—One of the Sponsors of COP 27 |
C.Green Groups Try to Kick Coca-Cola Out of COP 27 |
D.Green Groups Demand That Coca-Cola Stop Pollution |
Fei Benhua, director of the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, said bamboo-straw manufacturing technology could be realized and used to replace plastic straws on
The world makes nearly 400 million metric tons of plastic every year for use in packaging, construction, catering and other
9 . Ngoc Anh knows the value of trees. Years ago, he worked as a logger. He cut trees down illegally and sold them for money.
But very heavy rainfall and floods increasingly damaged his community in the central province of Quang Binh. The 36-year-old Ngoc started learning about the climate and natural crises. He changed his job and became involved in tourism and environmental conservation.
Now, Ngoc Anh is one of 250 former loggers to receive training from a tourism company. He works as a travel guide. He usually leads foreign tourists through forests and into some of the world’s largest caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
“Whenever I saw a large tree, my head used to calculate how tall the tree was and how to cut it into logs of different sizes,” Ngoc Anh said. “But now when I see such a tree, I will tell the tour group how valuable it is because there aren’t many left.”
Global Forest Watch estimated that the country had lost about 3 million hectares of forest from 2001 to 2020. That was a 20 percent diminution in 20 years. The losses were mostly driven by logging.
In 2007, the government started taking more measures to prevent illegal logging, which has helped slow the rate of deforestation.
Together with a park official, Ngoc Anh and other tour guides help guard the trails to keep poachers (偷猎者) away. They remove animal traps and clean up any waste.
Nowadays, Ngoc works for less than half the money he earned before as a logger. But he hopes to earn more as the tourism recovers.
1. Why did Ngoc cut trees years ago?A.To make a living. | B.To make the most of trees. |
C.To take advantage of the law. | D.To improve the housing conditions. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Protective. | C.Cautious. | D.Uncaring. |
A.Growth. | B.Addition. | C.Decrease. | D.Production. |
A.They prevent illegal hunting. |
B.They rescue animals in danger. |
C.They urge tourists to protect animals. |
D.They create a clean environment for animals. |
10 . About half a billion people depend on the ecosystems created and sustained by corals. And with climate change threatening coral’s survival, marine scientist Enric Sala had a goal that might have seemed impossible.
“We wanted to get into a time machine, go back hundreds of years and actually see a coral reef like they used to be everywhere, before we started exploiting them and polluting them and killing them all over the world, ” Sala said.
The goal was made possible during an expedition Sala led in 2009. The team traveled to a corner of the South Pacific Ocean, to see if the vibrant reefs there held any clues that could help them understand how to bring damaged reefs in other parts of the ocean back to health.
“The bottom was covered by thriving (茂盛的) coral. Vivid colors surrounded me - purples, reds, oranges, yellows and greens. It was so beautiful, ” Sala said.
His team presented their findings to officials in the island country of Kiribati. The government took steps to protect the waters from fishing and other human activity. But between 2015 and 2016, record levels of ocean warming damaged half the coral reefs the team had been studying.
After hearing that news, they lost hope for the health of coral reefs. Last year, they went in for another dive. Despite the reported conditions, the reef had somehow restored itself, filled with life and color once more. Sala and his team were overjoyed. This is something that Sala says can be owed to two key factors.
The first is, thankfully, half of the corals didn’t die. Despite the rise in temperatures, there were enough surviving corals left behind to help reproduce the reefs. The second was the Kiribati government’s decision to fully protect those waters.
“It has an abundance of fish. So they were eating all the algae (藻类) that would smother (窒息) the dead coral skeletons and make it impossible for the corals to come back. Luckily, other places like the Caribbean also witness the good change, ” Sala explained.
1. What unlikely goal does Sala have?A.Schooling people to protect corals. |
B.Preventing people from damaging corals. |
C.Appealing to people to deal with climate change. |
D.Going back to the past when corals were thriving. |
A.Half of the damaged coral reefs restored themselves. |
B.A flood of fish ate all the algae covering the dead corals. |
C.The government protected waters and survival corals multiplied. |
D.The government took measures to stop fishing and human activity. |
A.It hardly offers enough nutrition to fish. |
B.It has also suffered large losses of corals. |
C.It is impossible for the corals to come back. |
D.It has an abundance of algae. |
A.How Did the Coral Reefs Restore? |
B.Where Are the Damaged Coral Reefs? |
C.What Does Biodiversity Show in the Ocean? |
D.What Are the Disadvantages of Climate Change? |