2 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. replacing     B. tolerate       C. extremes        D. experiencing          E. average F. estimates       G. impact       H. reserved   I. assess       J. cover       K. continued

Urban Trees Are Threatened by Climate Change

By 2050, about three-quarters of the species will be at risk as a result of climate change, a study has found. Cities around the world may need to start planting different types of trees and shrubs that can     1     warmer and drier conditions.

“By ‘at risk’, we mean these species might be     2     stressful climatic conditions,” says Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez at Western Sydney University in Australia. “Those trees are likely to die.”

City trees have many benefits, from making urban spaces look beautiful and providing a refuge for wildlife to keeping places up to 12°C cooler than they would otherwise be in summer. Losing tree     3     would lead to cities becoming even hotter as the planet heats up.

To     4     the threat, Esperon Rodriguez and his colleagues used database called the Global Urban Tree Inventory to work out the conditions required by 3100 tree and shrub species currently grown in 164 cities worldwide. The researchers then looked at how these conditions would be affected by climate change under medium-emissions scenario known as RCP 6.0.

By 2050, 76 per cent of these species will be at risk from rising     5     temperatures and 70 percent from decreasing rainfall, the team concludes.

The study doesn’t take account of       6     urban growth, which could warm cities even faster. Nor does it take account of greater weather     7     caused by climate change, or the effects of pests and diseases. Warmer conditions are allowing more pests, such as bark beetles, to survive winters as well as to reproduce faster in summer, greatly increasing their     8    .

“Our     9     have scientific basis,” says Esperon-Rodriguez. There are some things that can be done to help trees survive. The best strategy is to choose tough species when     10     trees or planting new ones, the team concludes.

3 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A.applauding     B. entry-level     C. struck       D. fascination       E. back-seal          F. stuck G. stand          H. promoter        I. hook          J. dominant            K. empowered

The nature is part of us. Therefore, it holds a mysterious     1     for me. In my memory, the valley was quiet and calm, only to see the wheat all over the mountains waving together in rhythm when the wind blew through, like a ballet troupe. The sun rose every morning as usual, sweeping across the valley and ultimately falling behind the peaks. The snow that falls in winter always melts in spring, bringing new hope to this nature where everything was pleasant and beautiful.

Led by fate, I have became an environmentalist and had the honor of being invited to address students about my green lifestyle for a long time. The students were surprised at my lifestyle and maybe they thought my lifestyle was no longer suitable for modern life. Fortunately, they were still listened to whole lecture, saluting or     2     me——to some extent the applause implied their encouragement to me. As I began to interact with them under the stage, I was     3     by kids’ lack of knowledge of nature so that they had little knowledge of protecting environment.

After the address, I put up a stand in the     4     offering green food, hoping them interested in it to get the     5     experiencing a first-hand feeling of the green lifestyle no one shows any interest in. So I decided to team up with the concert     6     to run a campaign: “anyone who can answer a(n)     7     environmental question is qualified to attend the concert. Soon the music can     8     them coming here”.

Since then , I have been considering why kids today do not have the same deep appreciation for nature that I do. One of the significant factors may be that the former rural civilization has been replaced by the urban civilization. In the past, the poor played the     9     role in the nature, so they cleared the wasteland, planted crops and reproduced civilization. With the massive invasion of industrialization and urbanization, people were forced to move away from nature. The struggle between tradition and modernity, the confrontation between humans and nature has led people to believe that they are the masters of the universe. Is this really the case? It is time to think about who     10     us to destroy nature.

4 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A awareness       B. clear       C. encourage       D. ignore E. immediate       F. limiting       G. redesigning       H. significantly I. team       J. theme       K. unlikely

Go Recycling

No one looking at the state of Earth in 2023 can be in any doubt that we are facing three serious environmental problems: climate problem, loss of biodiversity (生物多样性) and pollution of air, soil and water. To solve the problems, we increase the use of electric cars,     1     greener eating and reduce plastic use. However, sometimes these solutions can be opposite to the expected goals. For instance, creating space for biofuel crops to give off fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases can, in fact,     2     increase the cutting down of trees. That means in most cases solutions aiming at one problem each time are     3     to be effective. And, what is perhaps lacking is a(n)     4     of how interlinked these problems are.

We should realize that a key     5     linking all the three problems is waste. The root cause of global warming is CO₂, a waste gas. The seas are polluted by plastic and other waste products. We     6     forests, among other things, to grow more food — much of which goes to waste.

A shocking figure lies at the heart of our special report on our world — of the more than 100 billion tons of things that humans use each year, hardly 10% is recycled. That makes it obvious a full-range war on waste should be paid     7     attention. The situation requires our speedy moving away from the way of thinking — “take, make, throw” — towards a more recyclable one, which means we should begin     8     the products and when they reach the end of their useful lives, they can be recycled.

Solving the three problems calls for a huge transition with joint efforts. Governments must take the lead by introducing laws with the purpose of rewarding green practices, such as the     9     of waste. Industries can reduce, re-use and recycle wherever possible, and     10     themselves with suppliers and the like-minded to realize recyclable business models.

5 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. express       B. concerns        C. accompaniment        D. rise        E. approaching        F. specific G. portions       H. remain       I. growing       J. obviously        K. particularly

Exploring the growth of plant-based dairy

Plant-based milk is the largest plant-based group in North America. It grew five per cent last year, with sales of plant-based dairy products     1    $2billion.

There are many reasons for the popularity of plant-based milks. As well as a(n)    2    in the number of vegans (素食主义者) and plant-based diets due to health and moral grounds, environmental     3    are also driving uptake with supporters claiming that plant milk has a lower greenhouse gas footprint than dairy production-although the overall picture is highly complex and the figures are questioned by the dairy industry. An apparent increase in the level of lactose intolerance (乳糖不耐受) in developed countries is also helping to increase demand.

The range of plant-based milks also allows for consumers to     4    their tastes and identities as cafés and restaurants open up after lockdown. As one industry analyst said earlier this year, “To choose your     5    type of plant-based milk in Starbucks seems to be a way of identifying yourself.”

While dairy milk has long been seen as a drink or a meal     6    -for example, being used as the material to make food or with cereal (谷物)-here are increasing signs thatplant-based drinks     7    those with a thicker, more yogurt-like texture (质地) or those sold in individual     8    -are being seen as a healthy snack. Research by the Brisan Group suggests that up to a third of these products are viewed as a snack, and 61 per cent are viewed as “a treat.”

Globally soy milk products     9    the most popular and they accounted for 29.5 per cent of income globally in 2019. Coconut-based drinks are one of the fastest     10    parts, predicted to increase 8.6 per cent between 2020 and 2027. Across all types of plant milk, plain flavours have the highest sales, accounting for 71.1 per cent of the total value.

6 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. prevented              B. stubbornly              C. banning              D. attention              E ignore F. fortunately              G. overlooked              H. track              I. extend              J. solution              K. bowing

Climate protests drew millions around the world in September. Many of the Democratic presidential candidates have rolled out ambitious plans to cut carbon while making the economy greener. And yet a leading cause of climate change remains persistently     1    : clothing.

The clothing and footwear industry is responsible for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without intervention (干预), the industry’s impact on the climate is on     2     to increase by almost half by 2030.

Clothes are easy to     3     because they are made far away and have throughout history been made by low-paid laborers. But clothing affects every other environmental problem we care about. A cotton T-shirt requires thousands of gallons of water to make. And when the polyester or nylon clothes get washed, they junk up our oceans with microplastic pollution.

But     4    , some clothing companies are waking up to the climate crisis. A growing number of brands are     5     to grass-roots pressure and consumer surveys that show that sustainability and ethics are top concerns for young shoppers.

But fashion can’t go green by itself. It won’t even make a dent (凹痕) in the problem without international cooperation and mainstream     6    .

The clothing industry, like most industries, is also     7     reliant on fossil fuels. They’re used to fire up boilers in textile mills, to make the pesticides dumped onto cotton fields and to produce the gobs of chemicals that dye and finish fabrics. Getting clothing off oil will not be easy.

Consumers have an important part to play in making fashion sustainable. We can work to     8     the life of all clothes by switching more of our purchases to secondhand and online resale, renting for special occasions, and repairing clothes instead of throwing them away.

We need activists, journalists, scientists and academics who focus on sustainability to include clothing in their work. And we need government action and innovative policy that addresses the global impact of the stuff we buy. For example, France has passed a bill     9     the destruction of unsold clothing.

But first we need all people who care about climate change to understand that they’re part of the problem and the     10    , just by wearing clothes.

7 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. categorise B. creation C. good D. innovative E. maximum F. packed G. pedestrianise H. processing I. shape J. short-lived K. transformation

All Change in Curitiba!

Like many other major world cities, Curitiba in southern Brazil has had to deal with issues such as pollution, poverty, and limited public funding. However, the architect and three-times mayor of the city, Jaime Lerner, has introduced some     1     solutions.

As part of his ‘Master Plan’, Lerner hoped to make the city more environmentally friendly. He initiated a recycling scheme. In return for delivering recyclable rubbish to specified     2     points, residents receive a bag of vegetables or bus tickets. As a result, Curitiba now has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. Lerner also ordered the     3     of 26 urban parks. As well as preventing pollution, these control flooding.

Lerner did not win over all the city’s residents immediately, however. When his plans to     4     part of the centre were passed, local businesses were up in arms, fearing a reduction in profits. Realising he needed to act quickly, Lerner had the     5     of six blocks completed within three days. When a group of motorists attempted to drive through the new pedestrian area, Lerner arranged for local primary schools to hold a painting workshop on the streets. The drivers were forced to turn back. Luckily for Lerner, this rebellion was     6    . The increase in profit rapidly persuaded shop owners to change their minds.

Lerner’s determination helped     7     the Curitiba of today. The average income per capita has risen from a level that was below the Brazilian average in the 1970s to 66% above the average, and surveys indicate high levels of resident satisfaction.

So, is it all just one big success story? In some respects, Curitiba may have been too successful for its own    8    . People and businesses have come to the city, which now has more than 1.8 million residents. This has put the city under enormous stress. Forty years ago, buses transported 54,000 passengers a day. Now the number is 2.3 million. According to some experts, the transport system has reached its     9     efficiency capacity. Following a rise in complaints about the noisy and     10     buses, the service is in decline.

10 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. paid             B. recognized             C. required            D. disappeared          E. remarkable            F. turned G. built            H. home                         I. preserving            J. taken                 K. make

Care Needed for Great Wall’s Preservation

Although the Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall in Huairou, Beijing, was     1    as a key heritage site under state protection as early as March 2013, for years, local villagers have     2    it to a cash cow to collect “entrance fees” and “guide fees” from sightseers without the permission of the cultural relics and tourism authorities.

As long as the fee is     3    , tourists are allowed to climb the mountains along whose ridges the Great Wall meanders. The damages inflicted by the villagers’ “business” upon the Great Wall, which was     4    in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty (1368 —1644), are self-evident. It is not rare for tourists to bring     5    bricks from the already run — down wall as a souvenir or to carve their names on the wall.

How can the local watchdogs of the tourism industry and the cultural relics protection departments sit back with folded arms ignoring the practice for such a long time is a question that still awaits an answer.

Reportedly, some of the money the villagers     6    finds its way into the pockets of those who are legally bound to protect the Great Wall. That’s why the villagers have become so assured and bold that they claim as natives to the area at the foot of the Great Wall, they are naturally entitled to profit from it, as if the Great Wall is their private property.

Unlike the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Yanqing, Beijing, which is     7    good care of as a showpiece of the nation’s historical heritage, most parts of the Great Wall have been weather — worn over the years without repair since the Manchurians from the north put an end to the rule of the Ming Dynasty, making the once important national defense project nothing but a wall running through the middle of the large Qing Empire.

Nearly one-third of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty has     8    because of weathering and human causes over the past 300 years. Not to mention the parts that had been built before that.

With the Beidou satellite global navigation system in place and the advancement of technologies in other fields related to the protection of cultural heritage, the country is now better able to protect the Great Wall. But unless the malpractice of the grassroots authorities is addressed, no technology will be of practical assistance in     9    this historical legacy for future generations.

The Great Wall’s     10    length and magnificence are not reasons for its being left untended, but exactly why it should be well preserved.