By 2025, water shortage will be a big problem for about 1.8 billion people. In a world where water resource is increasingly short, nations cannot afford to waste it.
Waste water is rich in carbon and nutrients.
Imagine that outside one of these small cities lies a lovely piece of land: on the surface it is aesthetically (美学地) built and provides habitats for local wildlife. Beneath the surface is wetland that treats waste water and produces energy.
The energy produced saved families from having to use firewood collected in the wild. This is not a dream project.
| A．This can provide ready access to clean water. |
| B．But that is exactly what we do. |
| C．A constructed wetland environment is already in practice on a small scale. |
| D．There is no longer any good reason to waste any type of water. |
| E．If collected and treated properly, it could provide “new water”, fertilizer, and energy. |
| F．This would reduce the need for fresh water for irrigation and energy for pumping. |
| G．Although waste water systems in large cities are effective, the whole procedure usually costs much. |
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【推荐1】The dust settled earlier this week after attendees at the annual Burning Man festival were finally given the green light to leave after heavy rains turned the event grounds into a muddy pool that prevented tens of thousands of people from driving out. Festival goers were told to save food and water until the ground dried sufficiently for cars, trucks, and RVs to drive on.
For some, the uncooperative weather may remain only an unfortunate footnote in the storied history of this increasingly popular arts and music festival, which has been happening since the1980s. But for others, it is a wake-up call that such huge events cannot escape from the cruel realities of global warming.
One of Burning Man’s most well-known principles is to “leave no trace (痕迹)”, where partygoers are encouraged to pick up every bit of pieces and “matter that is out of place” in order to leave the site in a good state. However, despite attendees’ efforts to leave no trace on the site itself, local residents in the nearest town, have spoken out about how their town has become a junkyard after the event.
Then, there are the scientists who say that the site’s delicate (脆弱的) ecosystem is put under great pressure each year. Though the pale sands of the desert may seem like they don’t support much life, it’s actually an ancient, dried lakebed that reawakens under rain.
In fact, during the festival’s opening, a climate organization blocked traffic temporarily from entering the festival grounds, whose aim was to draw attention to the fact that the event produces about 100,000 tons of CO₂ a year—90% of that coming from travel as people drive and fly to reach the festival.
Though Burning Man has taken measures to make the festival greener, some protesters (抗议者) are pointing out that it’s simply not enough. Burning Man as a phenomenon has clearly reached a crossroads. Given the real environmental impacts that it has year after year, it might be time for organizers and community members to rethink how the festival continues going forward.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 probably refer to?| A．The storied history. | B．The bad weather. |
| C．The huge event. | D．The global warming. |
| A．The partygoers are not responsible at all. |
| B．Burning Man has set up the most famous principle. |
| C．Local residents often have an argument with attendees. |
| D．There is a gap between the organizers’ wishes and reality. |
| A．To reduce the risks of car accidents. |
| B．To limit the number of attendees. |
| C．To attract people’s attention to the festival. |
| D．To raise people’s awareness of the carbon footprint. |
| A．It Is Time to Rethink Burning Man | B．Burning Man Is Losing Its Appeal |
| C．Global Warming Is Ruining Our Life | D．Burning Man Met Heavy Rain |
【推荐2】“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” could eventually become less of a baby lullaby and more of an elegy (挽歌).
Seeing stars keeps getting more difficult because artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10% brighter each year, according to a study that analyzed reports from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers. That’s a much faster rate of change than scientists previously estimated looking at satellite data.
To illustrate the change, researchers gave this example: A child is born where 250 stars are visible on a clear night. By the time that child turns 18, only 100 stars are still visible. “We are losing, year by year, the possibility to see the stars, which has been a universal human experience,” said Fabio Falchi, a physicist at Chile’s University of Santiago de Compostela. “If you can still see the dimmest stars, you are in a very dark place. But if you see only the brightest ones, you are in a very light-polluted place.”
“Prior studies of artificial lighting, which used satellite images of the Earth at night, had estimated the annual increase in sky brightness to be about 2% a year,” said Christopher Kyba, a physicist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam.
But the satellites used weren’t able to detect light with wavelengths toward the blue end of the spectrum (光谱) — including the light from energy-efficient LED bulbs. More than half of the new outdoor lights installed in the United States in the past decade have been LED lights, according to the researchers. The satellites are also better at detecting light that scatters (散射) upward, like a spotlight, than light that scatters horizontally (水平地).
Georgetown University biologist Emily Williams, who was not part of the study, said, “Skyglow disturbs circadian rhythms in humans and other forms of life. Migratory songbirds normally use starlight to find out where they are in the sky at night. And when sea turtle babies hatch, they use light to orient toward the ocean — light pollution is a huge deal for them.”
1. What did the researchers, example indicate in paragraph 3?| A．The rapid decrease in star visibility. | B．The severity of outdoor air pollution. |
| C．Children’s fondness for a clear night sky. | D．People’s regret for lost childhood activities. |
| A．It couldn’t discover the blue color. | B．It failed to detect the whole spectrum. |
| C．It was sensitive to light from LED bulbs. | D．It couldn’t find horizontal light resources. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Concerned. | C．Unclear. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Stars Are Disappearing from the Night Sky |
| B．The Meaning Behind a Traditional Baby Song |
| C．Light Pollution Harms Wildlife and Ecosystems |
| D．Satellites Used in Measuring Night Sky Brightness |
【推荐3】Do you know that about 71 percent of our planet is covered by the ocean (海洋) ?
Without oceans, life couldn’t exist. Scientists don’t know the exact number, but they think that oceans are home to 50 percent to 80 percent of all species on Earth, from large whales to tiny plankton. Oceans absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen (氧气).
Humans use the ocean in many different ways. Lots of our food comes from oceans.
For World Oceans Day, you can use social media platforms to share posts, photos or videos showing how important oceans are and why we need to protect them.
| A．There are five oceans on Earth |
| B．You can also watch ocean-related films |
| C．That’s why we call Earth the “Blue Planet” |
| D．Our oceans play an important part in our lives |
| E．Oceans also provide us with much of our energy |
| F．World Oceans Day is a time to know about the fish in the ocean |
| G．Half the oxygen we breathe comes from the plants in the ocean |
