1 . 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.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. balance            B. communicate            C. contaminated            D. deprive                  E. disruptive F. dramatically       G. interrupt                 H. mate                       I. occupational            J. respectively K. vibrations

Noisy Earth

When we think of pollution, we usually think of harmful toxins in the environment. For example, air pollution is    1    air that can be dangerous to breathe. But there is another kind of pollution which can be just as harmful to living things as other types of pollution.

Noise pollution consists of loud sounds in the environment that are    2    . Just like other types of pollution, noise pollution is caused by humans and is mainly a problem in urbans. Car alarm sirens, construction work and the roar of engines are just a few examples of noise pollution.

Why should we be concerned about noise pollution? According to a World Health Organization report, noise can cause serious health problems. It may    3    people of sleep and causes heart disease and hearing loss. These problems are    4    hazards for people who work in noisy places. Musicians, mechanics, police officers, and airport workers all have to put up with noise pollution.

Physical health problems are just some of the effects of noise. Noise also affects learning ability and memory. Noise poses a threat to animals in nature as well, which can cause them to die from lack of food. For example, some types of birds cannot find food in areas that have bad noise pollution. Whales, for example, produce sounds in order to     5    with each other. Noises in the ocean from ships and other human activities can    6    whale communication. The noises can also affect the ability of whales to find a    7    , which could reduce whale populations. In addition, researchers discovered that noise pollution can cause physical harm to those marine animals. They found several dead giant squids off the coast of Spain. In this respect,     8    from the guns of naval ships in the area tore holes in the squids’ statocysts. Statocysts are organs behind the squids’ eyes that help them maintain    9    . Damage to the statocysts made it impossible for the squids to swim, eat, or reproduce, and they died.

Countries around the world recognize that noise pollution is a real problem. Many government agencies already control noise from trucks and buses. Noise barriers covered with plants along the highway    10    reduced noise for nearby apartment dwellers. With these health and safety regulations and increased awareness, we may be able to live in a quieter world.

4 . Direction: 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. recorded            B. roughly            C. especially            D. narrow            E. advocate F. transformation       G. challenge       H. emitting               I. changing          J. address          K. strive

“Climate change is moving faster than we are,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said back in 2018 in his     1     to the UN General Assembly — a statement that in hindsight now rings     2     true.

The essential goal of the Paris agreement of 2015 has been to limit the rise in average global temperatures to no more than 2℃ above pre-industrial levels — a time period centered     3     on the mid-19th century. The aspirational or wished — for objective of the agreement is to     4     for a rise in temperatures that doesn’t exceed 1.5℃.

But with carbon dioxide levels in the global atmosphere topping 420 parts per million — the highest level in     5     history — the 1.5℃ target appears to many experts to be out of reach. A United Nations report in 2018 concluded as much, saying back then that average global temperatures will likely reach 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels sometime between 2030 and 2052 if emissions continue rising as they have been.

With a 1.5℃ rise, about 4% of Earth’s terrestrial land area is projected to undergo a     6     of ecosystems from one type to another. With a 2℃ global temperature rise, about 13% is projected to undergo a shift. Across the American West, ecosystems stressed by diminished snow-melt, drought, insect infestations, and wildfire are     7     forests from the Rockies to the Sierra Nevada. Ten percent of iconic Giant Sequoia trees died in wildfires in the Sierra Nevada in 2020.

According to the UN’s 1.5℃ report, the world’s countries     8     the largest amounts of carbon dioxide have to turn things around soon: to limit warming to 1.5℃, global net greenhouse gas emissions from human activity must decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and reach net zero by 2050. To limit warming to 2℃, emissions must decline by about 25% by 2030 and reach net zero by about 2070.

Despite the great     9     ahead, IEA chief Fatih Birol remarked recently that clean energy investments can still “shift the world on to a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050”.

The path “is     10     but still achievable”, he said, “if we act now.”

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. effective          B. matter                 C. sustains          D. rest                  E. ecosystems             F. destroying G. miles               H. optimistically        I. crucial             J. significantly       K. generates

Our planet is our home, the place that    1    us; but are we living in harmony with nature? It seems like we humans have embraced a path of self-destruction,     2    the very home that shelters us. From rising carbon emissions, to deforestation and land degradation, anthropogenic activities are having detrimental effects on our    3    and environmental biodiversity. Not many are aware that the United Nations General Assembly had declared the period of 2011-2020, as the “Decade for Biodiversity”. We have just gone through the final period of this    4    decade, and despite several strategic plans and initiatives to mobilize people at different levels, we are    5    behind in achieving the stipulated targets. The negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystems conservation, indicate that we need to do a lot more.

As teenagers, sometimes we feel helpless and powerless, unable to take action, or do things that really    6    to us, since governments and large corporations are the ones taking vital decisions. While major changes are only possible if countries and corporations alter their policies and actions, we as individuals also have the potential to make a difference, whether through small actions, or larger initiatives. Let’s not forget that consumers dictate markets, and they can    7    impact the way goods are produced and traded if they decide to change their consumption habits.

Recycling is a simple, yet    8    way of conserving resources and reducing your individual carbon footprint. Rather than throwing everything in the trash, separate your plastic, paper, and metal waste, and deposit it in a recycling bin. Recycling helps reduce landfill pollution, raw materials and fossil fuel consumption, and    9    a circular economy.

Lastly, think about your purchasing habits. As natural resources are limited, our excessive consumption can be counter-productive, and undermine our planet’s biodiversity.

The hopes of the world    10    on young people.

7 . 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. gain     B. dramatic     C. capture     D. species   E. concretely   F. critical G. left     H. advance     I. smuggled   J. largely   K. conservation

Orang-utan live deep in the jungle of South-East Asia. For years, they were a complete mystery to humans. Hunters sometimes saw these shy animals from a distance, but rarely got a good look at them. No one was certain whether they were a race of humans or a kind of monkey. Indeed, the name ”orang-utan“ means ”man of the forest“. Finally, about 150 years ago, scientists confirmed that orang-utans were a(n)     1    of ape. Since then, people have been able to come into increased contact with orang-utans. Consequently, we have learnt much about them.

While the     2    of civilization has brought us more knowledge about orang-utan, it has caused the orang-utan many problems, and now these wonderful creatures are threatened with extinction. In 1900, there were several hundred thousand orang-utans living in the wild. Now there are fewer than 24,000     3    in the world. Some experts even believe that orang-utans will become extinct by the year 2023.

Humans are     4    to blame for this decline. Altogether, 80% of the orang-utan’s natural habitats has been destroyed by companies cutting down trees for financial     5    . Another problem is the trade in orang-utan babies. Every year, thousands of these babies are     6    to other countries, where they serve as zoo animals or as pets. Unfortunately, to     7    an orang-utan baby, its mother must be killed as well.

In order to save the orang-utan, many     8    centres have been set up to preserve their natural habitats. Governments and volunteers are also working to rescue pet orang-utans and return them to the wild. However, this may be too little, too late. The existence of orang-utans is at a     9    stage. People must take     10    action if orang-utans are to survive in the future.

8 . 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. overheated               B. considerably               C. plates               D. releasing          E. confident F. heading                  G. frequently                    H. extinction            I. damaging            J. attempt K. delivered

Last week’s United Nations report on the health of the planet and the services it provides made for very uncomfortable reading. It shows that humans are making a complete mess of things, destroying biodiversity and     1    ecosystems. The pressure we are placing on the planet through overexploitation of resources on land, sea and air is driving the Earth and its human cargo towards a catastrophic(灾难性的)end, one that will trigger a global mass     2    which may make the planet uninhabitable.

The sad thing is we can see this crisis     3    our way but don’t seem to be able to do anything to save ourselves. This isn’t just about climate change, although those who deny the human impact on climate may use similar arguments in a(n)     4    to undermine(暗中破坏)the UN report.

It may be portrayed(描述)as exaggeration or bad science, or an issue of dispute among the international team of scientists who compiled the report. Fake news. There is no dispute about the facts     5    , that at least a million species are now in serious decline or facing extinction. These species could disappear and if things continue as they are, another million more could follow.

We are shortening our odds     6    if you look at the UN report. We are damaging the web of life and the way that species interconnect and interact, but we don’t know to what end or how the damage we are causing will impact on ourselves. Are we     7    that humans would survive a runaway greenhouse effect for example? Would we be able to use technology to help us survive? But what of the social unrest(动荡)and migration that would follow a failure of crops in dry,     8    climates?

One direction we cannot turn to for help is planet Earth itself. It too evolves over geological[地质(学)的]time as the     9    that make up its surface ride across the planet. It makes mountains and creates inland seas. It kicks off environment-changing volcanoes and lets geology alter its surface. It doesn’t care if a species pollutes its oceans with plastic or tears down oxygen-     10    forests. It is life, in whatever form, that instead must adjust to accommodate changes in the planet that arise through natural causes or careless intervention.