1 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Pillar coral (柱状珊瑚),     1     (find) throughout the Caribbean, is critically endangered now. Its population

    2     (decline) by more than 80 percent since 1990.     3    (rise) ocean temperatures and pollution make corals more easily get certain deadly diseases. And the pillar coral is really just the tip of the iceberg     4     it comes to the difficulty of corals.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Health Concerns Grow in East Palestine, Ohio, after Train Derailment

Health and environmental concerns are mounting in East Palestine, Ohio, after several derailed train cars released toxic fumes last week. On Feb. 3, about 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train went off track in Ohio, causing a days-long fire in the area. Ten of the 50 derailed cars contained     1     (danger) chemicals like butyl acrylate (丙烯酸丁酯) and vinyl chloride (氯乙烯) that could     2     (possible) cause a severe explosion.

Later residents of East Palestine     3     (ask) to leave their community due to the potential threat. On Monday, Feb. 6, Ohio crews conducted what officials called a “controlled release” of the toxic chemicals,     4     caused heavy black smoke. The order was broadcast on Wednesday and since then, there have been     5     growing number of reports about people     6     (experience) a burning sensation in their eyes, animals falling ill and a strong odor lingering in the town.

So far, some business owners and East Palestine residents     7     (file) lawsuits against Norfolk Southern, saying the company was careless and demanding the fund medical screenings for many serious     8     (ill) that may be caused by exposure to those chemicals.     9    , local officials have insisted that the air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink in East Palestine. The Environmental Protection Agency said that no toxic chemicals have been detected in the 291 homes. There are 181 homes     10     (leave) to be evaluated in the voluntary indoor air screening program.

5 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

(A)

Concerns about microplastics are not new. They’ve been growing for more than a decade. Over the past two years, however, many creative solutions     1     (emerge)to address the problem on a local level, ranging from hoovering beaches to shooting bubbles up from river bottoms. Still, experts say there’s a need for a huge, coordinated effort     2     we want to curb the global issue: The world produces 400 million tons of plastic annually, and much of that material breaks down into tiny pieces that now pollute our planet.

The term microplastics was coined in 2004 by marine ecologist Richard Thompson after he discovered tiny bits of plastic littering British beaches. Since then, scientists have found microplastics—fragments less than 5 millimeters wide-nearly everywhere: in the deep sea, in Arctic ice, in the air. Even inside us.

A 2019 study in Environmental Science Technology estimated humans take in up to 100, 000 bits of plastic each day. It’s not just the physical presence of plastic inside the body     3     poses a potential problem; plastic’s chemical additives might affect different species’ tissues and organs, according to a 2021 study in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. However, there is disagreement in the literature as to how much microplastics     4     (harm)species, including humans. Some say larger pieces may pass right through our bodies while the     5     (tiny)pieces could enter our cells. More research is needed.

For a global view of this vast issue, some scientists in 2020 created a public database to track plastic removal innovations. For example, Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers presented     6     unique idea in April at the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference: a bacteria biofilm that could attract and trap microplastics at a wastewater treatment plant,     7     they flow into rivers and oceans.

6 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The babies of women living in high air pollution neighborhoods may have lower IQs. A study followed low-income pregnant women in the South Bronx and upper Manhattan. The women     1     (wear) monitors during the last months of pregnancy. They lived in areas     2     had high pollution from cars, buses and trucks.

Before     3     (start) school, the children took IQ tests. The children most exposed     4     air pollution scored lower than children with lower exposure did. The four or five points may affect schoolwork.

Experts say the     5     (different) do not mean that children will not learn to read and write. It shows that air pollution may harm children as much as lead (铅) does. The research may explain     6     these children do not do well in school.

    7     (early) research than this showed that air pollution could increase the risk of cancer, lower birth     8     (weigh) and asthma (哮喘). Researchers plan     9     (continue) monitoring and testing the children. They want to know if school performance     10     (affect) over a long time. Experts said this research was important. They said there should be more studies.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Researchers say they have found microplastics (微塑料) -tiny pieces of plastic that come as a result of the disposal of industrial waste-deep in the lungs of living     1     (human) for the first time.

The research, which     2     (publish) in the journal Science of the Total Environment last week, is the first study     3     (identify) the plastics in the lungs of living people. The plastics have     4     (previous) been found in human blood, waste and in the depths of the ocean.

In the study, researchers     5     (collect) lung tissue from surgical procedures on patients as part of their routine medical care. Researchers identified 12 types of microplastics,     6     are commonly found in bottles, packaging, and clothing, along with other manufacturing processes.

The study notes     7     “increasing concern” with the harm that could come with swallowing and breathing in microplastics.

The world produces about 300 million metric tons of plastic a year and about 80% ends     8     in landfills and other parts of the environment. Microplastics can range from 10 nano-meters-    9     (small) than the human eye can see-to 5 millimeters in diameter, about the size of the eraser on the end of a pencil. Researchers have found them     10     (float) in the air, in tap or bottled water, and in the sea or soil.

8 . Chen Xi did a survey for his project among students who are concerned about the use of cars. Complete the students’ comments (A-D) with the correct form of the words in brackets.
A: There are too many people     1    (drive)on the road. Most people use cars without thinking about the necessity of using them, and many cars are used by only a driver without any passengers. It’s frustrating to see fuel     2    (waste).
B: The increasing use of cars makes air pollution a very serious problem. It is harmful for humans, animals and plants to live with     3    (pollute) air.
C: Cars also cause noise pollution. According to research, cars are the main source of noise pollution in urban environments. I live near a main road and I find some drivers make a noise by beeping their car hooters loudly, even at night. That’s really     4    (annoy).
D: We need to reduce the use of cars and make public transport cheap and efficient. When     5    (stop) in a traffic jam, I always feel annoyed. Yesterday morning, it took my dad an hour to drive me to school in his car and therefore he was late for work. Do you know that cars produce more air pollution while stopped in a traffic jam than when they are moving?