It's quite hard to think of a city that doesn't have a big river running through it. If you think about the major cities in the world, Shanghai, New York, Mumbai, London, they're nearly all built on rivers.
When these cities were established hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the rivers were a big part of people's lives. In 16th century London, the quickest way to get from one part of the city to another was by river. But people also used the river for fishing, as the water then was relatively clean, and they would also go on boat trips up and down the river just for pleasure, as a relaxing escape from the noise and bustle of the city streets.
But as industries developed and populations increased city rivers suffered The rising number of people meant there was a huge increase in the amount of sewage discharged into the rivers. Rivers had always been used for this purpose, but when the number of inhabitants was so small, that wasn't such a problem. However, as cities grew to over a million inhabitants, the impact on the rivers became more serious. In addition, other types of pollution increased, as factories【Q31】 were built beside the river and discharged their waste materials into the water. This got worse over time. As recently as 1957, scientists at London's Natural History Museum declared that the River Thames was 'dead'【Q32】 in biological terms, as the water was too filthy to support any kind of life.
But in recent years, as rivers lost their industrial function, cities have begun to recognise their true value and to take steps to clean them up. For example, the River Thames is now cleaner than it's been for 150 years. These days you can see seals swimming in the water, and recently people had to try to rescue a whale【Q33】, which had got lost and swam up the river from the sea by mistake. Unfortunately, they didn't succeed, but the problem was disorientation rather than the quality of the water.
Then, all around the world, riverside areas are now seen as prime sites for development. Warehouses that were once used for storing goods are now being converted into expensive restaurants and also into apartments【Q34】 with river views, which are in great demand and sell for astronomical prices.
In Los Angeles, on the west coast of the USA, an architect has plans to revitalise the banks of the river and to make a park【Q35】 there which can provide facilities for sports as well as a natural environment for relaxing in It also hoped that the riverside can be used for other purposes. It's been proposed that facilities could be provided for displaying projects related to various kinds of art【Q36】 that have been produced by local people, for example.
In the city of Paris, During the summer months of July and August, all the traffic is banned from the roads by the sides of the river, and the banks are transformed into beaches【Q37】, where people can relax in deck chairs under potted palm trees, sunbathe or buy a drink or a snack while enjoying the view.
But to make the most of our rivers in our increasingly crowded cities, we need to allow them to regain their original purpose and be used as a means of transport, reclaiming our streets from cars and lorries. To do this, we'll have to shift more traffic back to the river, but this time cleanly and silently, making the most of modern technology. Already, more than two billion passengers use the ferry【Q38】 to travel in cities around the world, like Istanbul, San Francisco and New York, and these numbers are set to rise further. Admittedly, it's not a fast way of travelling, but neither is a car when it's stuck in traffic.
Of course, passenger traffic on roads might decrease as more people start working from home, but another recent development, the huge rise in online shopping, has meant that another form of urban traffic just keeps on growing, and that's deliveries. Trucks and vans in the city pollute and double-park while dropping off parcels. Imagine using the immense capacity of shipping to take these trucks off the road. One freight barge can replace 44 large trucks, uses far less energy and causes less pollution When the barge docks at the riverside the parcels could be taken the last few kilometres to their final destination on cargo bikes【Q39】, electric ones of course. This is already happening in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, and in future the final stage could even be carried out by drone【Q40】, although at present this isn't allowed. Wouldn't it be great to unblock our city centres in this way?
Looking further ahead…
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
听前预测：定位词为 pollution，提示词为 from、river bank，此处应填名词。
题目解析：开篇背景介绍较长，考生只要紧跟题干已知信息，定位就不难。原文上层题干已知信息 city、fishing、industries、populations、sewage 等先后出现，接着听到 in addition 这一逻辑承接关系词，提示答案句即将出现，准备抓取。随后原文提到 other types of pollution increased as factories were built beside the river and discharged their waste materials into the water，意为“随着工厂在河畔兴建并将废料排入水中，其他类型的污染也随之加剧”，根据该题题干 pollution from 这一要求，判断 factories 符合搭配，可先记录，该句中 beside the river 替换题干信息 river bank，最终确认 factories 为该题答案。
听前预测：定位词为 1957、the River Thames、London，提示词为 was declared biologically，此处应填形容词。
题目解析：该题定位难度不大，可听到特殊定位词 1957、London、the River Thames 皆先后原词出现。根据该句答案词要求抓取，听出 dead 这一形容词难度不大。该题主要难度在于部分考生在审题预判时没有准确判断出该题答案词的词性，因而在原文中听到 biological terms 这一结构时，直接填写了 terms 一词，这类考生需要关注语法搭配，如副词（biologically）应该修饰形容词或动词，而非名词。
听前预测：定位词为 seals、the River Thames，提示词为 and、a，此处应填单数名词，且跟 seals 存在并列关系，表示一种海洋动物。
题目解析：该题定位不难，听到 the River Thames 和 seals 先后原词出现，接着原文通过并列逻辑引出答案句 and recently people had to try to rescue a whale which had got lost and swum up the river from the sea by mistake，意为“最近，人们不得不设法营救一头迷路的鲸鱼——它不慎从海里游进了这条河里”，判断 whale 符合题干要求，故记录。该题难度不大，无干扰信息，注意拼写即可。
听前预测：定位词为 warehouses、restaurants，提示词为 and，此处应填写一个跟 restaurants存在并列关系的场所类名词。
题目解析：该题难度不大，题干定位信息 warehouses、restaurants 先后原词出现，准备抓取。原文提到“Warehouses that were once used for storing goods are now being converted into expensive restaurants and also into apartments with river views, which are in great demand and sell for astronomical prices.”，意为“曾经用于储存货物的仓库，如今正被改建成高档餐厅，还有能看到河景的公寓；这些公寓需求旺盛， 售价高得惊人”。根据题干要求，判断 apartments 跟 restaurants 并列出现，且为场所类词汇，符合搭配要求，因此为该题正确答案，故记录。
听前预测：定位词为 Los Angeles，提示词为 build、riverside，此处应填名词，表示河边的某种设施或场所。
题目解析：该题定位难度不大，题干上一行信息 Los Angeles 原词出现，准备抓取。听到原文提到 an architect has plans to revitalise the banks of the river and to make a park there which can provide facilities for sports as well as a natural environment for relaxing in，意为“一位建筑师已制定计划，旨在振兴河岸区域，并在那里建造一座公园—— 该公园既会配备体育活动设施，也会提供可供休憩的自然环境”。根据题干要求， 该题需要填写河边的某种设施或场所，判断 park 符合搭配要求，故填写。
听前预测：提示词为 display、projects，此处应填名词或形容词。
题目解析：上一题结束后，听到逻辑承接信号 It's also hoped that the riverside can be used for other purposes，提示定位到该题，准备抓取。接着原文提到 it's been proposed that facilities could be provided for displaying projects related to various kinds of art that have been produced by local people，意为“有人提议，可增设一些设施，用于展示当地人创作的各类艺术作品”。根据题干要求，答案词需要搭配 projects，判断 art 符合要求，故填写。
听前预测：定位词为 Paris，提示词为 are created、every summer，此处应填名词，表示设施或场所。
题目解析：题干信息 Paris 原词出现，提示定位到该题，准备抓取。原文提到“In the city of Paris, during the summer months of July and August, all the traffic is banned from the roads by the sides of the river and the banks are transformed into beaches”，意为“在巴黎，每到夏季的七八月，河流沿岸道路禁止所有车辆通行，河岸则被改造成沙滩”。根据题干要求，该题需要填写一个夏季在河边设置的设施或场所，判断该句中 beaches 符合搭配要求，故填写，其中该句中的 summer、banks 等也对应了题干信息。
听前预测：定位词为 2 billion passengers，提示词为 travel by，此处应填名词，表示交通工具类。
题目解析：听到题干信息 two billion passengers 原词出现，提示定位到该题，准备抓取。根据题干要求，该题需要填写一个交通工具类的名词，判断随后出现的 ferry 符合题干搭配要求，故填写。本题定位和抓词难度都不大，注意单词拼写即可。
听前预测：定位词为 freight barges，提示词为 and、electric，此处应填名词，表示交通工具类。
题目解析：听到题干信息 freight barge 出现，提示定位到该题，准备抓取。随后原文提到“the parcels could be taken the last few kilometres to their final destination on cargo bikes—electric ones, of course”，意为“包裹的最后几公里运输，可由货运自行车送至最终目的地——当然，得是电动货运自行车”。根据题干要求，该题需要填写一个交通工具类的名词，判断该句中 bikes 符合题干搭配要求，故填写。该题难点在于部分考生会被 bikes 前的 cargo 一词影响，cargo 在这里是作为 bikes 的修饰词，由于本空只填一词，所以答案应落在中心词 bikes。
听前预测：定位词为 in future，提示词为 in future、by，此处应填名词，表示交通工具类。
题目解析：上一题结束后，题干信息 in future 原词出现，提示定位到该题，准备抓取。接着原文听到 the final stage could even be carried out by drone，意为“最后一段运输甚至可以由无人机完成”。根据题干要求，该题需要填写一个交通工具类的名 词，判断该句中 drone 符合搭配要求，故填写，考生需要注意单词拼写。
