1 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.

Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.

“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).

Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.

Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.

1. What do solar developers often ignore?

A．The decline in the demand for solar energy.

B．The negative impact of installing solar panels.

C．The rising labor cost of building solar farms.

D．The most recent advances in solar technology.

2. What does InSPIRE aim to do?

A．Improve the productivity of local farms.

B．Invent new methods for controlling weeds.

C．Make solar projects environmentally friendly.

D．Promote the use of solar energy in rural areas.

3. What is the purpose of the laws mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To conserve pollinators.	B．To restrict solar development.
C．To diversify the economy.	D．To ensure the supply of energy.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Pollinators: To Leave or to Stay	B．Solar Energy: Hope for the Future
C．InSPIRE: A Leader in Agriculture	D．Solar Farms: A New Development

3 . When we think of Antarctica, the first thing that comes to our mind is a picture of penguins and large areas covered with snow. Large amounts of white snow spreading over thousands of kilometers is a pretty good description of Antarctica.     1    

Research and observations conducted over the past few years have led to the conclusion that the Antarctic Peninsula's snow is turning green.     2     These algae (藻), even though they are individually incapable of being seen by eyes, are visible from space. These algae produce colonies called algal blooms, which spread over large areas.

    3     As a result, Antarctica is visible as many patches of green algae are on white snow from space. Algae are green because of the presence of the pigment chlorophyll, which helps in photosynthesis (光合作用). Not just green though, red algae have also been found on Antarctica's snow, leaving the snow painted red. These green and red algae are not just present on the surface of the snow.     4     When the upper layer of snow melts, the algal bloom remains visible in the layers below.

Scientists fear that such profound growth of algae can set off more global warming, causing even more snow to melt. To better understand that, we must consider that white snow reflects most of the sunlight that falls on it. However, as the surface of the snow darkens, it absorbs more and reflects less of the sunlight.     5     This will cause warming of the surrounding area at a faster rate, melting more snow day by day.

A．This is due to algal growth.

B．But, that legendary snow is not completely white anymore.

C．Sometimes, they can be present below the surface of the snow.

D．The algae grow so quickly that they occupy great areas of the snow.

E．The Antarctic is the area of the continent with the most vegetation.

F．More sunlight implies more heat trapped on the surface of the Earth.

G．Scientists are estimating the area covered by these green snow algae.

4 . Don’t call Madison Stewart an environmentalist. She sees herself simply as an individual taking action in defense of something she loves that’s in need of protection.

Despite her youth, the 24-year-old is an undersea veteran (老手). She grew up sailing around the Great Barrier Reef on her parents’ boat and spent her early life free diving while patiently waiting for the day when she could get her scuba diving (水肺潜水) certification, aged 12. Already impressed by sharks, Madison was now pleased to be able to observe them in their own world. “I got to know the sharks...I could recognize them by sight,” Madison says. “Other people had dogs around them growing up. I had sharks.”

But within a couple of years, she saw a great reduction in shark numbers on the reef. “One day I went in the water and couldn’t find my sharks anywhere, sharks I’d spent my childhood with,” she says. “They’d been caught and killed.” It was a great moment for Madison.

She left school at 14 to be homeschooled so she could spend more time in the ocean. She taught herself to shoot underwater video to document sharks in their own world and share her sense of wonder with others. She launched a YouTube channel and built a huge following for her documentaries where she focuses on issues like inadequate protection for some shark species and the global shark fin (鳍) industry.

In 2014 Madison was the subject of the encouraging documentary Shark Girl, which introduced her to a global audience. In 2017 she appeared as an “Ocean Guardian” in the documentary Blue that explored a lot of threats to the world’s marine environments, including the damaging effect of the global shark fishery. The film encourages viewers to get involved and includes practical steps to guide them to do so. It shows Madison’s philosophy that the power of the individual to make a difference by their own direct action should never be underestimated.

1. What did Madison do before getting her scuba diving certification?

A．She went sailing often.	B．She went boating alone.
C．She practised free diving.	D．She protected the Great Barrier Reef.

2. Why did Madison shoot underwater video to document sharks?

A．To record sharks’ world of wonder.	B．To popularize her photography works.
C．To raise awareness of shark conservation.	D．To spare more time to accompany sharks.

3. Which of the following may agree with Madison’s philosophy?

A．Many hands make light work.	B．Action speaks louder than words.
C．Together we can make a difference.	D．Personal influence can’t be ignored.

4. What’s the purpose of writing this passage?

A．To introduce an influential conservationist.

B．To advertise some encouraging documentaries.

C．To inspire people to protect whatever they love.

D．To inform people how to preserve marine wildlife.

6 . When most kids go to the beach, they’re too focused on making sandcastles and splashing around to notice litter, but several years ago, for 7-year-old Cash Daniels, noticing a plastic straw sparked a lifelong passion for saving the planet.

Cash, who is now known as the “conservation kid”, has always loved nature. He grew up fishing along the Chattanooga River, after all! But once he learned that 80 percent of all trash from land and rivers ends up in the ocean, he couldn’t sit back.

He started with cleanups along the river, something that quickly went from a family affair to a community effort with volunteers and neighbors. In 2019, Cash, together with a Canadian conservationist, Ella Galaski-Rossen, started a nonprofit called the Cleanup Kids. Despite living in different countries, they managed to create educational videos on their YouTube channel. “We hope to be a really big nonprofit that eliminates plastic in the U. S. and Canada,” Cash said. “We want to inform kids and adults in the landlocked states on how their actions are connected to the water and the ocean,” Cash said.

Cash was selected as one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. He also earned the title of National Honoree, where he received a$5,000 grant to go to a nonprofit of his choice, and he became the first person to win the Youth Conservationist Award two years in a row from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

“I want to travel the world, teach others, and help them feel connected to the ocean. Because if you are connected to the ocean-if you love it and what lives in it—you’ll want to protect it,” he said. “This is my fun, and it becomes more fun with every new discovery.”

1. Which can replace the underlined words “sit back” in paragraph 2?

A．Fall asleep.	B．Lose heart.
C．Turn a blind eye.	D．Lend a hand.

2. What is the purpose of starting the Cleanup Kids?

A．To recycle waste plastics.

B．To make instructive videos.

C．To spread marine knowledge.

D．To appeal for ocean protection.

3. Which of the following best describes Cash Daniels?

A．Sympathetic and devoted.	B．Initiative and talented.
C．Ambitious and humorous.	D．Determined and modest.

4. What does Cash Daniels story imply?

A．Passion fuels dreams.

B．Great minds think alike.

C．Helping others is of great fun.

D．Actions speak louder than words.

9 . 阅读下面材料｡在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式｡

One of the biggest projects to deal with plastic pollution in the UK was launched on May 25. In the first Million Mile Beach Clean, around 50, 000 volunteers cleaned beaches across the UK.

The Million Miles Beach Clean     1     （continue） throughout the year. The aim is     2     （walk） 10 miles for 100, 000 volunteers each, cleaning places they love along the way. The campaign is intended to address the problem of plastic waste in the sea. It is thought that at least eight million pieces of plastic     3     （wash） into the world’s sea each day. These pollutants can take several     4     （decade） to break down.

Surfers Against Sewage, an     5     （environment） organization based in Cornwall in England, organized the project. Hugo Tagholm, head of the organization, told The Week Junior, “We’re hoping the campaign will give people the chance to reconnect     6     nature, promoting them to keep a healthy lifestyle, as well as     7     （have） a positive impact on our sea and wildlife.”

    8     Tagholm explained, the clean-up is not only focused on beaches, but on streets, in parks and along local waterways.

George,     9     11-year-old volunteer from Bristol, told The Week Junior that he’s been helping to clean up his local river. “It makes me despair to see garbage polluting the river, which is     10     I’m looking forward to getting involved in the clean, “ he said.