1 . If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go in darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal (夜间活动) species on this planet. Instead, we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun’s light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it’s the only way to explain what we’ve done to the night: We’ve engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.

The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky. Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels — and light rhythms — to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life is affected.

In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars, leaving behind a vacant haze (霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark. We’ve grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit night — dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth — is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost.

We’ve lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further from the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.

Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint, including their nighttime breeding choruses. Humans are no less trapped by light pollution than the frogs. Like most other creatures, we do need darkness. Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.

Living in a glare of our own making, we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage — the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night. In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.

1. According to the passage, human beings         .

A．prefer to live in the darkness

B．are used to living in the day light

C．were curious about the midnight world

D．had to stay at home with the light of the moon

2. What does the underlined word “it” (Paragraph 1) most probably refer to?

A．The night.

B．The moon.

C．The sky.

D．The planet.

3. The writer mentions birds and frogs to         .

A．provide examples of animal protection.

B．show how light pollution affects animals.

C．compare the living habits of both species.

D．explain why the number of certain species has declined.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．The Magic Light.	B．The Orange Haze.
C．The Disappearing Night.	D．The Rhythms of Nature.

4 . Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Men have been polluting the earth. Many years ago, the pollution was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, men moved to another place.

Air pollution is now the most serious. Air makes people sick. And lots of people now are trying to use something to clear the air. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight air pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.

Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is true that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

Although most of the pollution is caused by us, we are the ones who can change the situation. The earth is our home. We must take care of it. And we must pay more attention to the information in pollution at the same time.

1. Why was the pollution in the past less serious?

A．Because life in the past was easier.	B．Because there were not so many people.
C．Because men stayed in one place.	D．Because people used less coal to make fire.

2. According to the passage, which kind of pollution is the most serious?

A．Air pollution.	B．Noise pollution.
C．Light pollution.	D．Water pollution.

3. What do many countries do to fight air pollution?

A．Try to use something to clear the air.	B．Ask people to use public transport more.
C．Stop putting dirty smoke into the air.	D．Encourage people to move to another place.

4. What is probably the purpose of this passage?

A．To prove life is much easier today.	B．To call on us to take care of our earth.
C．To show the danger of pollution.	D．To introduce how to fight air pollution.

5 . Ocean Noise Pollution

Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of 195 would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of 120 decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed (流血) and become infected (感染).

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A．The sound of a car.

B．The sound of voices.

C．Man­made noise pollution.

D．The sound of steps.

2. According to the passage, natural sounds include all of the following EXCEPT         ．

A．sounds made by animals themselves

B．ocean drilling

C．underwater earthquakes

D．the breaking of ice fields

3. Which of the following is true of whales?

A．They won’t be confused by noises.

B．They are deaf to noises.

C．Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high­ level noises.

D．Their hearing will be damaged by high ­level noises.

4. According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?

A．They will work hard to reduce ocean noise pollution.

B．They will protect animals from harmful noises.

C．They will try to set a limit of 120 decibels.

D．They will study the effect of ocean noise pollution.

6 . Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling,and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A．The man-made noises.	B．The noises made by themselves.
C．The sound of earthquakes.	D．The sound of the ice-breaking.

2. Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A．Different places with different types of noises.

B．The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises.

C．The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean.

D．The ocean animals’ reaction to noises.

7 . Japan said Tuesday that it would start pouring treated radioactive water (放射性废水) from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean within two years. Officials in Tokyo said the water would be filtered and diluted (稀释) to safe levels first, but most locals remain firmly opposed to the plan. Protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s residence in downtown Tokyo to criticize the government’s decision.

More than a million tons of radioactive water is currently being stored at the Fukushima power plant in a massive tank farm big enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The wastewater comes from water pumped in to cool the plant’s damaged reactors (反应堆). The government says it has simply run out of room to store all the water. The plan to dump the water into the ocean first came to light in the autumn of last year, when Japanese news reported anonymous (匿名的) officials said the decision had been taken.

On Tuesday, Suga said that after years of study, his scientific advisors had concluded that ocean discharge was the most possible way to cope with the wastewater. But the decision to pour Fukushima wastewater into the ocean has drawn fire from neighboring Asian countries and local fishermen along Japan’s coast.

China called the decision “extremely irresponsible,” and South Korea summoned (召唤) the Japanese ambassador in Seoul over the matter. “They told us that they wouldn’t release the water into the sea without the support of fishermen,” Kanji Tachiya, who leads a local cooperative of fisheries in Fukushima, told national broadcaster NHK ahead of the announcement on Tuesday. “We can’t support this move to break that promise and release the water into the sea unilaterally (单方面地).”

The actual release of water from the Fukushima plant will take decades to complete. Critics have called on Japan’s government to at least ensure that independent monitoring is in place to check the level of radiation in the poured water is safe for the environment.

1. How do most of the local people react to the plan?

A．Indifferent.

B．Uncertain.

C．Supportive.

D．Disapproving.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The wastewater is being stored in 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

B．It was last year that the plan was exposed to the public.

C．Ocean discharge is the only way to deal with the wastewater.

D．The plan has aroused anger in all the Asian countries.

3. What does Kanji Tachiya probably agree with?

A．The plan is to pull the whole world into the disaster.

B．It’s imperative that the plan should be carried out immediately.

C．It’s safe and easy to pour the wastewater into the ocean.

D．It’s unacceptable to pour the water into the ocean without fishermen’s permission.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The Japanese government has checked the level of radiation in the poured water.

B．Neigboring Asian countries agreed the decision to pour Fukushima wastewater into the ocean..

C．It will actually take the Fukushima plant long to release treated radioactive water.

D．Independent monitoring of the water from the Fukushima plant aren’t necessary.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where are the speakers?

A．In a street.

B．On a beach.

C．In a backyard.

2. What does the waste mainly consist of according to the man?

A．Wood.

B．Paper.

C．Plastic.

10 . Most of us are used to the sound we hear in daily life, such as music, the middle of the night.     1    . However, when these sounds of television, people talking on their phones and even pet dogs barking in the night keep you from sleeping all night or the traffic starts to give you a headache, they turn into noise pollution. For many of us, the concept of pollution is limited to nature an resources. However, noises that tend to damage the natural rhythm of life make environmental pollutants.

    2    . Man-made noises such as horns, airplanes and even cars can be too loud for our hearing range. Constant exposure to loud noise can easily result in the damage to our eardrums (耳膜) and lead to our loss of hearing.

Too much noise pollution in working areas such as offices, construction sites, bars and even in our homes can influence psychological health. Studies show that the occurrence of aggressive behavior, sleep disturbance, and constant stress can be linked to excessive (过度的) noise levels.     3    .

Loud noises can certainly influence our sleeping pattern.     4    , if we don’t have a good sleep at night. For example, our performance may go down i the office as well as at home. It is therefore recommended to take a sound sleep to give our body proper rest.

As of now, there do not exist many solutions to such pollution.     5    , when it comes to what an individual can do. Only when our understanding of noise pollution is complete can we take steps to get rid of it completely.

A．You’ll feel it hard to deal with others

B．They may lead to problems related to tiredness

C．But everybody can help to reduce the noise in their homes

D．These, in turn, can cause more severe health problems later in life

E．Many firm measures should be taken to remove loud noises in our life

F．Our ears can take in a certain range of sounds without getting damaged

G．All of these have become a part of the urban culture and rarely disturb us