The ocean covers more than 70% of our plane. It is so immense(巨大的) that explorers once thought there was no way to cross it. When our ships were advanced enough to do so, naturalists then thought it impossible for humans to ever exhaust fisheries or drive marine species to extinction. They were wrong.
Commercial fishing now covers an area of four times that of agriculture, and much of that expanse has been rendered completely unsustainable. We have reduced 90% of formerly important coastal species. Fish have been harvested so heavily that they are nearly wiped out in many places.
Some may hope that there are immense areas still untouched, given that humans do not live on the ocean, and we need specialized ships to go far beyond the coast. But that is incorrect. Just13% of the ocean remains as wilderness, and in coastal regions where human activities are most intense, there is almost no wilderness left at all. Of the roughly 21 million square miles of marine wilderness remaining almost all is found in the Arctic and Antarctic or around remote Pacific island nations with no populations.
What concerns us now is that most wilderness remains unprotected. This means it could be lost at any time as advances in technology allow us to fish deeper and ship further than ever before. Thanks to a warming climate, even places that were once safeguarded because of year-round ice cover are now open to fishing and shipping.
This lack of protection seems in large part from international environmental policies failing to recognize the unique values of wilderness, instead, focusing on saving at-risk ecosystems and avoiding extinctions. This is similar to a government using its entire health budget on emergency cardiac(心脏的) surgery without preventive politics, encouraging exercise to decrease the risk of heart attacks occurring in the first place.
If Earth's marine biodiversity is to be preserved forever, it is time for conservation to focus not only on the ER but also on preventive health measures.
1．What can be inferred from the first three paragraphs?| A．The ocean covers no more than seventy percent of the earth. |
| B．Naturalists still think there will be no way to cross the ocean. |
| C．There is almost no wilderness left at all in remote Pacific island. |
| D．It is incorrect that there were immense areas remaining as wilderness. |
| A．Unprotected. | B．Isolated. | C．Protected. | D．Lost. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Negative. | C．Conservative. | D．Objective. |
| A．Ignore the unique values of wilderness. |
| B．Encourage exercise to decrease the risk. |
| C．Focus on avoiding partial extinction. |
| D．Focus also on preventive measures. |
Best wishes!
Yours,
Li Hua
Thirty years ago, I was a sixteen-year-old boy, tall and thin. It was the end of summer and the cool winds of fall were in the air. In front of a house, there was a truckload of wood, which my father, my brother and I had unloaded the day before.
My father and my brother were out to do farm work, so I needed to move these pieces of wood around the house again and again to where we were piling the chooped wood. And then I would cover it with oilcloth to keep it from getting wet. In those days, we used to use these wood fires to cook. We tried our best to collect firewood because we still needed some to get through the whole winter.
I worked fast at first, but soon I realized that I needed to go slower if I didn’t want to make myself too tired. Then I spent much time piling the wood and tying it together with a rope in case of falling down. To start with, I thought the work was boring. But then it became a game for me. Seeing that I could pile the wood so neatly, I smiled during the hard work.
After a while, the wood was all piled up, and my skinny arms felt a little sore. However, I didn’t stop working. I still needed to fetch some water with containers from the spring near our home. Our well water was so full of iron that it tasted terrible, so all cooking and drinking water had to come from the spring. The five-gallon containers felt like they weighed a ton, but I picked one at a time and carried them all up the hill to my house.
As I carried the last container back home, I saw my mother smiling at me at the door with a glass of tea in her hand. She said to me, “Here you are, baby. Just take a break.” We sat down with our dogs at our feet, watching the leaves blowing in the wind. Relaxing in the moment of peace and harmony, I figured out a good way to get water easier.
I decided to make a pipe to convey water.
My neighbors came to my house to get water at dusk.
Yours,
Li Hua
High school graduations are one of the most important moments in a teenager’s life. However, heading into the
David was about to
“I was hoping that she would let it go, but she
Although firstly
It’s said that a truly
| A．festival | B．conference | C．ceremony | D．exhibition |
| A．eager | B．upset | C．thrilled | D．frightened |
| A．violation | B．favor | C．honor | D．place |
| A．envied | B．guaranteed | C．allowed | D．refused |
| A．destroy | B．miss | C．seize | D．abandon |
| A．strange | B．happy | C．friendly | D．serious |
| A．accompanied | B．invited | C．pushed | D．directed |
| A．read | B．draw | C．relax | D．change |
| A．agreed on | B．complained about | C．insisted on | D．argued about |
| A．reason | B．talk | C．quarrel | D．bargain |
| A．decisive | B．unbelievable | C．important | D．appropriate |
| A．shirt | B．gifts | C．role | D．shoes |
| A．event | B．doors . | C．school | D．curtains |
| A．saved | B．prevented | C．benefited | D．excused |
| A．annoyed | B．entertained | C．confused | D．worried |
| A．sensitive | B．urgent | C．ridiculous | D．ugly |
| A．surprised | B．excited | C．disappointed | D．annoyed |
| A．considerate | B．grateful | C．loving | D．proud |
| A．inspired | B．optimistic | C．generous | D．wealthy |
| A．contributes | B．refers | C．turns | D．applies |
136 types of seeds, including crops, forest vegetation, flowers, and microorganisms will be carried on board the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft to start their space breeding journey. These seeds will contribute to the advancement of China’s agricultural science and technology and enhance food security, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced on Wednesday in a statement.
The seeds were selected through a four-month application and review process and have been chosen from 53 institutions across the country. The project, conducted by manned spaceflight, is of a public welfare nature and does not charge any carrying fees. It has been 36 years since China’s first space seed breeding effort in 1987, the country has sent the seeds of hundreds of plant species into space on dozens of retrievable satellites (返回式卫星) and Shenzhou spaceships. Nearly 1,000 new species have been created, of which 200 have displayed outstanding performances, according to media reports.
Space seed breeding uses cosmic radiation (宇宙辐射) to mutate the genes of seeds sent into space, in order to create new species for greater variety. “Space peppers and watermelons” commonly found in supermarkets in China are successful varieties of space breeding. China ranks first in the world in the number of cultivated varieties and the range of popularization and application of space breeding. The area under cultivation for grains, vegetables, fruits and other plants developed by space seed breeding has surpassed 4 million hectares, and generated economic benefits of over 200 billion yuan ($30.51 billion), media earlier reported.
The seeds need further improvement, especially in disease resistance, through conventional breeding methods and space breeding, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Space breeding involves exposing seeds and strains to cosmic radiation and microgravity during a spaceflight mission to mutate their genes.
China’s space seed breeding level also reflects the nation’s advancing aerospace technology, Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. And he added, “There are only a few countries in the world with mature aerospace technology, and China’s level of space seed breeding technology is world-class.”
1．What does the underlined word “mutate” in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．Change. | B．Destroy. | C．Infect. | D．Enhance. |
| A．Increase the number of seeds sent into space. |
| B．Cultivate new species through genetic mutation. |
| C．Combine space breeding with traditional breeding methods. |
| D．Use more advanced aerospace technology to breed seeds in space. |
| A．The seeds are now capable of resisting diseases. |
| B．It has successfully cultivated over 1,000 new species. |
| C．The project has mutated thousands of plant genes in space. |
| D．China’s space seed breeding technology is the world’s best. |
| A．Space Breeding: China’s Leading Role in Agricultural Science |
| B．Space Breeding: A breakthrough in China’s genetic technology |
| C．Space Breeding: Benefits and Risks for China’s Future Agriculture |
| D．Space Breeding: A contribution to China’s agricultural technology and food security |
Critical reading is active reading. It involves more than just understanding what an author is saying. Critical reading involves questioning and evaluating what the author is saying and forming your own opinions.
● Consider the context of what is written.
You may be reading something that was written by an author from a different cultural context than yours. Or, you may be reading something written some time ago in a different time context than yours. In either case, you must recognize and take into account any differences between your values and attitudes and those represented by the author.
●
Don’t accept what is written at face value. Before accepting what is written, be certain that the author provides sufficient support for any statements made. Look for facts, examples, and statistics that provide support. Also, look to see if the author has integrated the work of authorities.
● Analyze assumptions made by the author.
Assumptions are whatever the author must believe is true in order to make statements.
●
In doing this, be certain that the sources are reliable. For example, Einstein is a reliable source if the author is writing about landmark achievements in physics.
| A．Evaluate the sources the author uses. |
| B．Question statements made by the author. |
| C．Also be certain that the sources are relevant. |
| D．Identify any possible prejudice the author has. |
| E．Here are the things you should do to be a critical reader. |
| F．The reasons why you should be a critical reader are as follows. |
| G．In many cases, the author’s assumptions are not directly stated. |
| A．A police officer. |
| B．An immigration official. |
| C．An air hostess. |
| A．The line on the man’s right. |
| B．The line on the woman’s left. |
| C．The line on the woman’s right. |
| A．For a few months. | B．For a year. | C．For two years. |
| A．His father has paid for that in advance. |
| B．He has won a scholarship. |
| C．He will take a part-time job to pay for that. |
| A．New staff. | B．Tour guides. | C．Tourists. |
| A．Every month. | B．Every two weeks. | C．Every week. |
| A．Jackets. | B．Loose belts. | C．Sports shoes. |
| A．To come up with new ideas. |
| B．To introduce rules in the lab. |
| C．To invite some suggestions. |
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