【生态环保、自然灾害类】话题阅读练习（四）
（阅读理解 9 篇+语法填空 3 篇）
Passage 1
In general, the riches of the natural world aren't spread evenly across the globe. Places like the
Tropical. Andes in South America are simply packed with unique species, many of which can't be found
in any other places. Until recently, the main explanation for the biological riches concentrated in places
like the Amazon Basin was that such places must be engines of biodiversity, with new species evolving
at a faster rate than other parts of the world. But now, new research on bird evolution may turn that
assumption on its head, instead supporting the idea that areas with fewer species actually tend to produce
new species faster.
The researchers say these biodiversity "cold spots" are generally found in environments featuring
freezing, dry and unstable conditions. Though the researchers found these locations with few bird species
tend to produce new ones at high rates, they fail to accumulate many species because the unstable
conditions frequently make the new life forms die out.
The more well-known " hot spots", by contrast, have accumulated their large numbers of species by
being warm, hospitable and relatively stable. Indeed, the researchers found that the countless bird species
that call the Amazon home tend to be older in evolutionary terms. "New species do form in places like
the Amazon, just not as frequently as in the dry grasslands in the Andes ," says Elizabeth, an
evolutionary biologist.
The researchers managed to collect 1,940 samples representing 1,287 of the 1,306 bird species from
South America. Their analysis showed that the best predictor of whether an area would produce new
species at a high rate was how many species lived there, rather than climate or geographic features like
mountains. Species-rich areas tended to produce new species more slowly.
" Maybe bad environments generate new species more frequently because there's less competition and
more available opportunities for new species," says Gustavo Bravo, a lead researcher.
The study's findings add new urgency to protect ecosystems that may look barren, but may actually be
nature's hothouses for the evolution of new species.
1. Why is South America mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. To make a comparison.B. To introduce the topic.
C. To explain a fact.
D. To draw a conclusion.
2. What determines the rising rate of new species in place?
A. The number of its then species.
B. The environment they lived in.
C. The survival skills of species.
D. The different biological factors.
3. Which of the following can best explain the underlined word " barren" in the last paragraph?
A. Dry and bare.
B. Lively and active.
C. Nice and green.
D. Complex and unpredictable.
passage 2
A kind man, Keith Walker, who was 53 years old, kept his own pitbull called Bravo at the W-
Underdogs (an animal shelter) overnight and was on his way to pick him up when he saw the flames on
December 18.
He didn't just rescue his own pet, but he made sure that all the animals were safe. He said, "I was
nervous at first and really scared to go there with all that smoke. I am not going to lie." However, Keith
suddenly remembered that his father once said humans had a duty Til protect animals. So he said, " My
dog is my best friend, and I wouldn't be here without him, so I knew I had to save all those other dogs.
"
The founder of the shelter Grace Hamlin said that the shelter was left uninhabitable by the fire, which
was electrical. But luckily, they were about to move into a new place, so there was still somewhere for
the animals to live.
She said, "Keith is my guardian. Even the firefighters didn't know how to handle the animals. They
called Animal Control, but Keith was already in the building pulling out the cats and dogs until they
were all safe. "
Keith, who has been homeless since he was 13, has now been regarded as a hero after saving the sixdogs and
ten cats. Well-wishers have raised almost $ 40,000 for him on GoFundMe, a fundraising platform.
In a separate fundraiser for the shelter itself to rebuild after the fire, Grace said, "Keith worked
tirelessly to bring our animals to safety. Although he refused all offers of help, we are determined to
contact him again. He is a vital part of our community and he should be appropriately rewarded for his
selfless efforts. "
1. What did Keith do at the first sight of the fire?
A. He waited for help.
B. He turned to his father.
C. He protected his own pets.
D. He hesitated for a moment.
2. What damage did the fire bring about?
A. Some firefighters were badly injured.
B. The animals lost their shelter.
C. Some cats disappeared.
D. Keith lost his pitbull.
3. Why is Grace going to contact Keith again?
A. To reward him for what he did.
B. To raise money for him.
C. To offer him a good job.
D. To rebuild a home for him.
4. Which of the following can best describe Keith?
A. Ambitious and helpful.
B. Determined and modest.
C. Honest and brave.
D. Generous and calm.
passage 3As a popular subject of study among evolutionary ecologists, the three-spined stickleback（三刺鱼）is
known for their different shapes, sizes, and behaviours -they can even live in both sea water and fresh
water, and under a wide range of temperatures. But what makes that?
The researchers tracked six populations of the fish before and after seasonal changes to their
environment, using genome sequencing（基因组测序）．Seasonal changes result in great changes in
habitat structure and balance of salt and fresh water, and only those fish able to tolerate these rapid
changes survive into the next season.
"These changes probably resemble the habitat shifts experienced by stickleback populations during the
past 10,000 years," says Professor Barrett. " We hope to gain insight into the genetic changes that may
have resulted from natural selection long in the past. "
Remarkably, the researchers discovered the evidence of genetic changes driven by the seasonal shifts in
habitats, which mirrored the differences found between long-established freshwater and saltwater
populations. "These genetic changes occurred in independent populations over a single season, highlighting
just how quickly the effects of natural selection can be detected," says Professor Barrett, " the findings
suggest that we may be able to use the genetic differences to predict how populations may adapt to the
environment. "
The research emphasizes the importance of studying species in dynamic environments to gain a better
understanding of how natural selection operates. In the further research, they plan to investigate how
repeatable the observed genetic changes are, by testing whether they show up year after year. Doing so
would demonstrate their ability to reliably forecast the evolutionary future of these populations.
1. What does the underlined word " that" refer to Paragraph 1?
A. The three-spined stickleback is under a wide range of temperatures.
B. The three-spined stickleback is popular evolutionary ecologists.
C. The three-spined stickleback can adapt different living conditions.
D. The three-spined stickleback has different shapes, sizes, and behaviours.
2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. The difficulties of the research.
B. The purpose of the research.
C. The background of the research.
D. The methods of the research.
3. What is the main reason for the three-spined stickleback's survival?A. Habitat shifts.
B. Genetic changes.
C. Seasonal changes.
D. Independent populations.
4. Why will scientists study the repetition of the genetic changes?
A. To know what natural selection is.
B. To study species in dynamic environments.
C. To test the reliability of the present discoveries.
D. To forecast the evolutionary future of certain species.
passage 4
The fertile land of the Nile delta is being eroded（侵蚀）along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt at
an astonishing rate, in some parts estimated at 100 metres per year. In the past, land washed away from
the coastline by the currents of the Mediterranean Sea used to be replaced by sediment (The h) brought
down to the delta by the Nile River, but this is no longer happening.
Up to now, people have blamed this loss of delta land on the Aswan Dam in the south of Egypt,
which holds back almost all of the sediment that used to flow down the river. Before the dam was built,
the Nile flowed freely carrying huge quantities of sediment. But when the Aswan Dam was constructed to
provide electricity and the irrigation, and to protect the huge 4 population center of Cairo from annual
flooding and drought, most of the sediment with its natural fertilizer accumulated above the dam in the
southern upstream half of Lake Nasser, instead of passing down to the delta.
Now, however, there turns out to be more to the story. It appears that the sediment-free water picks
up sand as it erodes the river bed and banks on the 800-kilometre trip to Cairo. Jean-Daniel Stanley of
the Smithsonian Institute noticed that water samples taken in Cairo indicated that the river sometimes
carries more than 850 grams of sediment per cubic metre of water almost half of what it carried before
the dam was built.
International environmental organizations are beginning to pay closer attention to the region, partly
because of the problems of erosion and pollution of the Nile Delta, but mainly because they fear the
impact this situation could have on the whole Mediterranean coastal ecosystem.
But there are no easy solutions. In the immediate future, Stanley believes that one solution would be
to make artificial floods to flush out the delta waterways, in the same way that natural floods did beforethe construction of the dam. He says, however, that in the long term an alternative process such as
desalination (脱盐) may have to be used to increase the amount of water available.
1 What stopped the sediment coming down to the delta?
A. The Mediterranean Sea.
B. The Nile River.
C. The Aswan Dam.
D. Lake Nasser.
2. Why was the Aswan Dam built?
A. To flush out the river bed.
B. To offer electricity and protection.
C. To make the water in the Nile River clean.
D. To keep the soil in the region nearby nutrient-rich.
3. What can we infer from the third paragraph?
A. There is no need to worry about the delta.
B. The methods of measurement need improving.
C. Whether the situation is good or not remains to be seen.
D. The dam's consequences are beyond people's expectation.
4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A. Difficulties to be settled.
B. Rewards for the challenge.
C. Severe influence of the situation.
D. Possible solutions to the problem.
passage 5
Recycling plastic has always been a stop-start effort. The wide variety of plastic we produce, the
pollution from waste and other limitations make recycling become an economic（经济的）problem. Ii's
estimated that only 9% of plastic ever created has been recycled. But with the help of a chemical
process, Canadian Miranda Wang and her company BioCellection want to change that.
Stability is one of plastic's greatest qualities and shortcomings. There's limited evidence that someplastics can biodegrade （生物降解）but photo-plastics largely degrade in the sun. It's a long process, and
the truth is that we can only estimate how long it takes.Wang is looking to break the inaction and
BioCellection's task is to make most plastic waste recyclable.
She outlines two current methods. One is to take plastic like water bottles, wash them, cut them, melt
and reconstitute them. "That's a very limited process," she says, due to the requirement that plastic be
"clean". The other, which can handle dirtier plastic and a level of pollution, is called hydrolysis (水
解).Intense heat is applied to break down plastic so they can be reused as oil for energy, but " it's not
economical," she says.
BioCellection's solution builds on research from over ten years ago, Wang explains, when a US study
discovered pure polyetbylene powder （聚乙烯粉末）could be broken down by a catalyst （催化剂）.
Wang and her co-founder Jean hit upon a bacterium being able to eat plastic. In the years since, they
engineered a comparable catalyst capable of doing the same job, only faster, which even works on plastic
no one else can recycle at present. "We have now found a catalyst that is much cheaper than the one
that was used before," Wang says. Currently focusing on plastic films like shopping bags, the three-hour
process breaks down plastic into chemicals that can act as the building blocks for more complex plastic
products.
" Right now we're able to achieve about 70% transformation from plastic waste material to these
chemicals," she adds, saying they're working to increase that figure.
1. Why has so little plastic been recycled?
A. Plastic is chemically stable.
B. Recycling plastic led to pollution.
C. We produced various plastics.
D. Most photo-plastics degrade in the sun.
2. What does Wang think of the two current methods!
A. Highly effective and dynamic.
B. Expensive and pollution-causing.
C. Limited and energy-consuming.
D. Widely used and recognized.
3. What did BioCellection find effective to recycle plastic?
A. Polyethylene powder.
B. Chemical products.C. Plastic films.
D. A catalyst.
4. What is the text mainly about?
A. Miranda Wang and her company.
B. A new plastic recycling method.
C. The greatest downside of plastic.
D. Transformation of plastic waste.
passage 6
The commonly held view is that people arrived in North America from Asia via a land bridge once
connecting the two continents. But recent discoveries have suggested humans might have been there
earlier. Researchers studying fossilized human footprints in New Mexico say that humans were there at
least 23,000 years ago.
Matthew Bennett, a specialist in ancient footprints and author of a study on the new findings
published in the journal Science, and his colleagues studied 61 footprints by radiocarbon dating layers of
aquatic (水生的) plant seeds preserved above and below the footprints and accurately deduced that they
were made 21,000 to 23,000 years ago. The people who made the footprints were living in New Mexico
at the height of the last Ice Age. Between 19, 000 and 26, 000 years ago, two massive ice sheets
covered the northern third of the continent. The ice and cold temperatures would have made a journey
between Asia and Alaska impossible, indicating humans must have been there much earlier than
previously thought.
According to their analysis of the footprints, they were likely made in soft ground at the edge of a
wetland By children who were sent to do the work like fetching and catching by adults. Wind probably
blew dust over the surface, accumulating in the prints, thus, leaving footprints that were previously
recorded.
Their findings also make it possible to explore the older and more controversial sites in a different
light. One such site is Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico, where stone tools dating back to 30,000 years
ago have been found.
David Rachal, an uninvolved but experienced geoarchaeologist （地质考古学家）thought the footprint
dates provided by Bennett and his team looked "solid", with seeds providing very reliable and precise
ages through radiocarbon dating. " You could not ask for a better setup," said Rachal. However, he was
puzzled that no artifacts, such as stone tools, had been found in the area. He thought it was just a themethat was gaining some serious traction (认可) in the literature.
1. What is the most essential evidence dating the time of footprints in the passage?
A. The aquatic plant seeds.
B. The fossilized human footprints.
C. The unearthed tools.
D. 'The massive ice sheets.
2. Why does the author mention Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico?
A. To introduce a historical site.
B. To show the significance of the footprints.
C. 'To compare gearchaeological discoveries.
D. To explain the course of making a discovery.
3. What's David Rachal's attitude towards the new discovery?
A. Optimistic and trustful.
B. Conservative and cautious.
C. Negative but curious.
D. Favorable but confused.
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The discovery of human footprints.
B. Scientific methods of dating footprints.
C. The earlier arrival of people in North America.
D. A discussion on human history among researchers.
passage 7
The cooling effect of trees reduces the surface temperature of European cities in the summer by up to
129° in some regions. In contrast, green spaces without trees have an insignificant effect, according to a
study that strengthens the case for tree planting to help cities adapt to global warming. Jonas Schwaab at
ETH Zurich in Switzerland and his colleagues used land surface temperature data collected by satellite to
compare the temperature differences between areas covered by trees, treeless urban green spaces, such as
parks and urban constructions such as roads and buildings. They analysed 293 cities from across Europe.The land surface temperature measured by satellite isn't the same as the air temperature, which is
more closely linked to what humans would feel, says Schwaab. " Usually, the air temperature differences
between tree-covered areas and built-up areas would be much smaller than the land surface temperature
differences," he says.
The team found that tree-covered areas in cities have a much lower land surface temperature compared
with surrounding areas. The differences were between 8°C and 12°C in central Europe and between 0°C
and 4°C in southern Europe.
The cooling effect of trees comes largely from shading and transpiration（蒸騰作用）．This process
takes heat energy from the surrounding environment for evaporation（蒸发），lowering the surrounding
temperature. In the warmer climate of southern Europe, the soil is typically drier, so the cooling effect of
transpiration is lower than that in regions further north, says Schwaab.
The team also found that the cooling provided by treeless green spaces is insignificant, and in some
instances green areas without trees can even be warmer than the surrounding urban areas.
Extreme heat is a growing problem for cities in Europe and elsewhere as the planet gets hotter. The
findings show that trees can have a big influence on cities across Europe, but since the size of their
effects varies, heat reduction strategies should be tailored to suit each region, says Schwaab.
1. What's the purpose of the study?
A. To measure land and air temperatures.
B. To suggest planting more trees in cities.
C. To make people aware of global warming.
D. To stress the importance of green spaces.
2. Why is the cooling effect of transpiration lower in southern Europe?
A. The soil is drier.
B. The climate is colder.
C. There are more green spaces.
D. There are more roads and buildings.
3. What might Schwaab suggest in the last paragraph?
A. Wetlands should be enlarged.
B. Dry soil should be reduced.
C. More roads should be built.D. Solutions should be different.
4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
A. Trees Cool the Land Surface Temperature of Cities
B. Researchers Raise Solutions to Extreme Weather
C. High Tech Lowers Land Surface Temperature
D. Extreme Heat Does Harm to the Environment
passage 8
A major emergency can create hundreds of thousands of refugees (难民) overnight. The most
immediate way in which organizations like UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) can help these refugees is by setting up refugee camps. Refugee camps are designed to be
temporary, but they often remain in place for decades. In some parts of the world, children have grown
up and had children of their own without ever leaving their camp.
Critics argue that they force refugees to be entirely dependent on donations. One journalist who visited
the Nyadeou camp in the south of the Republic of Guinea A (Africa) in 2001, described how normally
peaceful people were reduced to fighting with each other when the food truck arrived.
Refugees camps can easily become dirty, overcrowded and are overrun with disease or crime. In many
camps, drug dealers hide themselves among the majority of innocent refugees.
One alternative for refugees is to settle in a town or village, making them become part of the local
population. This is known as the " self-settlement" Several aid agencies argue that the self-settlement is a
better option in many cases than refugee camps. They say that self-settled refugees can start to rebuild
their lives straight away, and are freer and safer than refugees in camps. Oxfam, the ICRC and many
other international aid agencies support programs in which refugees are helped to self-settle.
Representatives of UNHCR argue that refugee camps are the best way of saving the greatest possible
numbers of lives. They point out that it is much easier to help people if they are all gathered in one
place. This is certainly true of emergency relief, for example the distribution of food, water, shelters and
medical supplies. It is also true that long-term aid programs, such as family tracing, orphan support and,
perhaps most importantly, education, can all be carried out much more easily when refugees are all living
together in one place.
1. Who are responsible for the refugees' dependence on donations?A. Critics.
B. Children.
C. Refugee camps.
D. UNHCR and the ICRC.
2. What advantage can self-settled refugees enjoy?
A. More personal aid.
B. More living space.
C. Better training programs.
D. A better sense of security.
3. What benefit can gathering refugees in one place bring?
A. It can help save much land.
B. It's easier for them to get schooling.
C. It can reduce the number of orphans.
D. It allows families to better help each other.
4. Which of the following is not discussed in the text?
A. The advantages of refugee camps.
B. The disadvantages of refugee camps.
C. The advantages of the self-settlement.
D. The disadvantages of the self-settlement.
passage 9
Starch（淀粉）is the main component of flour, rice and corn among others, while carbon dioxide
makes up the vast majority of greenhouse gases. One day, humans may be able to " eat" carbon dioxide,
and global warming could be " eaten away" by carbon lovers. Although it sounds wild, the day is
coming.
Chinese scientists have created starch using carbon dioxide, hydrogen and electricity, according to a
study published in Science in September, 2021. " Plants create starch through photosynthesis（光合作用），
which is a complex and inefficient （效率低的）process, " Ma Yanhe, director of the Tianjin Institute of
Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Daily. He added that it would take aplant about 60 steps to turn carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into starch.
" Our breakthrough shows that making starch is achievable in a lab. This method makes it possible to
produce food in factories and there are many industries that can benefit from this technology," Ma told
China Daily.
The team has been working on the process for 6 years. "The first step of the method is to convert
carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methanol 甲醇( ), which is a molecule (分子) that contains a single
carbon atom," Cai Tao, one of the first authors of the study, told China Daily.
Scientists then piece these single-carbon molecules into bigger and more complex molecules. With the
help of supercomputing, Chinese scientists have simplified the natural starch-making process from about 60
steps to 11.
"The new process has made it possible to turn starch production from traditional agricultural production to
industrial production. And it may be possible to satisfy our needs without farming in the future. This will
not only help save water, fertilizer and land but also help recycle carbon dioxide to deal with climate
change," a research fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told the Global Times.
The study can also benefit space exploration in the future. The starch may provide a secure food
source for astronauts as they travel long distances in space by simply turning the carbon dioxide they
breathe out into food.
1. What does Ma Yanhe think of the new method of creating starch?
A. It's extremely complex and inefficient.
B. It's achievable through photosynthesis.
C. It's a way of dealing with global warming.
D. It's more efficient than the natural method.
2. The underlined word "convert" in Paragraph 5 probably means "
A. push
B. change
C. divide
D. mix
3. What can be learned about the breakthrough?
A. It can help improve people's health.
B. It can change the way of starch production.C. It can provide astronauts with nutritious food.
D. It can save farmers from traditional agriculture.
4. What can be the best title for this passage?
A. Smart with starch
B. Hungry for starch
C. Secure about food supply
D. Beneficial to food diversity
passage 10
According to a new report by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the deadly heat
waves, floods 61 . droughts are disturbing the 62 . (life ) of thousands of people from
all over the world. And they will be likely only to get 63 . (bad) as global temperatures
continue to rise. "So far, all regions of the world 64 . (affect ) by some extremes," says Sonia
Isabelle Seneviratne, an environmental 65 (science). "We can link extreme weather to climate
change in 66 . same way we can link cancer to smoking," says Friederike Elly Luise Otto, one
of the report’s authors. "And, like smoking, the damage is
hard 67 . (disappear)."The most important things, " experts say, "is to make sure these events
don't grow even more common and more intense 6 8. they are now." "I feel 69 .
(strong) that the public needs to know that dangerous climate change is here and now," says Michael
Wehner, an extreme weather researcher. To limit global warming to just 2°C, Wehner says, "It's my
feeling that we would have to do something rather extreme. " " Something extreme," he adds, " means
completely 70 . (get) rid of consumption of coal, oil and natural gas.
passage 11
Covering 7 million square kilometers of jungle and the river over eight countries, the Amazon
rainforest is home to millions of sorts of plants and animals, some of 61 are still being
discovered today. It's also the world's 62 . (large) supplier of oxygen and is a treasure chest of
medical 63 . ( researcher) who are experimenting with different plants in the hope of finding cures
for certain diseases. 64 . , the world is at the risk of losing this rich rainforest because of
deforestation（滥伐森林） 65 (cause ) by the actions of farmers, loggers and settlers.
The Amazon Basin 66 ( lose ) 20% of its rainforest since 1970. Cattle farmers have 67(continuous) cleared the land for cows 68 . (eat) on and crop farmers have begun slash and burn
（刀耕火种), a farming method that involves cutting down forests and burning the land to make 69
suitable for agricultural purposes. Loggers have been cutting down the trees for timber (木材), further
decreasing its size.
With the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, global warming becomes more of a threat. It is up to
each individual to fight against the 70 . (disappear) of the Amazon rainforest by making the
world know something about this environmental disaster.
passage 12
For 30 years we have been told how temperatures have been soaring to unheard-of levels. This is
causing the polar ice to melt (融化) , sea level 61 (rise) and has brought about a dangerous
increase in extreme weather 62 (event) , such as hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts and floods.
These climate changes would likely present challenges to our society and environment. It is now a global
concern 63 the climate changes occurring today have been severer because of man's activities.
64 (trouble) by the serious situation, world leaders came together for talks, which were seen
65 a make-or-break situation for the United Nations climate talks.
The climate talks 66 (lead) to about 200 hundred countries reaching an agreement that
would, for 67 . first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet- warming greenhouse gas
emissions（排放) to address global climate changes. That was 68 . certain an encouraging step
forward for our Earth and mankind.
As the world leaders continue to commit 69 (they) to monitoring our " sick" planet, we need
to continue to take small steps to "heal (治愈）” the world. We are left with not much of a 70
(choose). If only we could just pack our bags and move to Mars!
