What comes to mind when you think of the materials used for constructing a home? Concrete, steel, aluminum, rocks? Yes, most modern buildings stand upright due to these materials. But at what cost?
Concrete, one of the most popular construction materials worldwide, is “the most destructive material on Earth”, according to the Guardian. The burden of destruction isn't just limited to concrete but all the other popularly used building materials.
So, how can this be addressed? Putting an end to construction simply isn't realistic Nigeria is doing its part to address this environmental problem by constructing with plastic bottles. Plastic is being used to protect our environment from becoming worse. Nigerians are using bottle brick technology instead of regular construction materials to build house.
Bottle brick technology uses plastic bottles filled with material plastic wrappers and landfill rubbish to other inorganic waste to create a Bottle bricks are an eco-friendly alternative to traditional bricks. They are durable (耐用的) and used to construct many types of buildings.
According to the BBC, the first plastic house in Nigeria was constructed in the village of Yelwa, where a different variant of bottle brick technology was used. The bottles were filled with sand instead of rubbish and inorganic waste.
This bottle brick technology in Nigeria didn't just par one house in Yelwa. Today, Nigeria is dealing with its plastic crisis by using abandoned bottles to build affordable housing for its citizens.
The bottle brick houses are environmentally-friendly, cheap, and, most importantly, durable They’re a great answer to the country's housing problems. Besides, Nigeria produces about 32 million tons of solid waste per year, of which 2. 5 million is plastic. So, there’s no doubt that currently the country has plenty of raw product supply.
In addition to addressing the housing crisis of the country, the bottle brick technology also tackles the youth unemployment crisis. The project is providing jobs to the unemployed youths of Nigeria and training them in green construction.
1. What's the purpose of mentioning the four materials in paragraph 1?| A．To list their advantages. | B．To compare their costs. |
| C．To lead in a further topic. | D．To give some examples. |
| A．They are filled with rubbish. | B．There is sand in them. |
| C．They are a mixture of materials. | D．There are wrappers in them. |
| A．Increases. | B．Surveys. |
| C．Assesses. | D．Settles. |
| A．How solid waste is recycled in Nigeria. |
| B．How unemployment is dealt with in Nigeria. |
| C．What roles bottle bricks play in Nigeria. |
| D．What contributions Nigeria makes to the world. |
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【推荐1】European researchers say they have created a process that can produce oxygen from moon dust. The process could provide a major source of oxygen for humans taking part in moon exploration activities in the future. Researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA) carried out the experiments at a laboratory in the Netherlands.
The team says ESA’s experimental “plant” was able to successfully produce oxygen from simulated moon dust. The dust is part of a material known as regolith (风化层), a top layer of dirt and rock fragments that sit on the surface of the moon. Samples of regolith returned from the moon have confirmed that the material contains about 45 percent oxygen by weight. However, the oxygen is chemically locked in the form of minerals or glass, so it is not easily available for use. Having real samples of regolith from the moon made it possible for the researchers to create the simulated moon dust material used during testing.
ESA’s long-term goal is to design an oxygen-producing “pilot plant” to operate full-time on the moon. The first technology demonstration of the system is expected to take place in the middle 2020s. Beth Lomax of the University of Glasgow was a lead researcher on the project. “Being able to acquire oxygen from resources found on the moon would obviously be hugely useful for future lunar settlers, both for breathing and in the local production of rocket fuel,” she said in a statement.
The researchers reported that “as a bonus”, the process also results in the production of usable metallic materials. ESA researcher Alexander Merissa said the finding that a number of metals are left behind was an important discovery.
ESA and the US space agency NASA are both working on plans to return human beings to the moon. NASA has set a goal for 2024, with the aim to keep humans on the moon for long periods. ESA officials say the latest experiments were part of expanded engineering development aimed at finding new ways for lunar materials to be used to support future human activities.
1. How will the process benefit humans according to the study?| A．By creating warm air for researchers on the moon. |
| B．By providing rocks for the production of minerals. |
| C．By testing the weight of the oxygen contained in moon dust. |
| D．By offering oxygen for people conducting studies on the moon. |
| A．Its poor quality. | B．Its small quantity. |
| C．Its complex structure. | D．Its form of existence. |
| A．To show the history of ESA’s pilot plant. | B．To explain the theory of the ESA’s research. |
| C．To stress the importance of the ESA’s study. | D．To present the process of the ESA’s experiment. |
| A．ESA has discovered new materials on the moon. |
| B．NASA will send more astronauts to the moon in 2024. |
| C．ESA and NASA plan to land man on the moon again. |
| D．NASA and ESA will cooperate to do research on the moon. |
【推荐2】Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an important role in the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 and Asian Para Games. AI usually refers to the advanced technologies, such as the naked﹣eye 3D, AR and so on. These terms might sound familiar, but how smart are they when applied to the 56 Asian Games venues (场地)?
Their smartness can be found in running the venues with less human labor forces and with more connections between man and machines. At the Huanglong Sports Center, a system called Smart Stadium Brain is built. The Brain, a 25 square meter high definition screen in the venue’s information center, the lighting, the energy consumption guarantee a friendly environment for the athletes and audiences. For the benefit of audiences, a small screen on each seat is designed to be at the audience’s service. By finger touching, the audience can control it from three parts—angle, and size to watch and keep contact with the event. What’s more, supported by the 5 G technology.
AI also means further protection on environment. At the Fuyang sports Center, although it has been raining for days, the roof of the venue still remains dry. And the secret lies in its attractive sky garden. The garden, is not only eye﹣catching but also useful. It allows the greening rate of the entire stadium to reach as high as 45%, being energy﹣saving. Under the cobblestones (鹅卵石) , a recovery system is filtering (过滤) and collecting rainwater for the venue’s water system, and irrigation water.
Smart devices are employed both inside and outside the venues. For example, the Tonglu sports Center starts a WeChat mini﹣program for any follower to learn about the venue through VR games and videos before the Hangzhou Asian Games. During the Games, the program will allow the athletes and audiences to place orders online.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “guarantee” in Para2?| A．Make sure of. |
| B．Take advantage of. |
| C．Get used to. |
| D．Keep up with. |
| A．The audience can’t see the whole venue on the large screen. |
| B．The stadium is environmentally friendly and advanced but costly. |
| C．The audience can control small screens on their seats as they wish. |
| D．Small screens make the game watching enjoyable and convenient. |
| A．By saving energy. |
| B．By using the cobblestone of the sky garden. |
| C．By recycling the rainwater. |
| D．By improving the greening rate. |
| A．Asian Games with Artificial Intelligence. |
| B．A Sports Center with Smart Stadium Brain. |
| C．More Connections with Smart Devices. |
| D．Smart Asian Games with High﹣tech Venues. |
【推荐3】It's a sunny March afternoon at Winchester Village Elementary School in Indianapolis, and teacher Natasha Cummings surprises her second graders when she declares the day's activity: They'll be demonstrating a total solar eclipse (日食) using the real sun, a globe and a moon made out of a plastic ball fixed on a stick.
In a grassy area outside the school, Cummings' eclipse experiment begins: Students take turns holding the globes and casting a shadow with their plastic balls. Cummings directs them to aim the shadow over the spot on the globe where Indianapolis would be. It's a little disorganized at first, but the students quickly figure out how to properly position the moon's shadow over their hometown.
On April 8, 2024, part of America will experience a total solar eclipse, in which the moon entirely covers the sun, darkening the sky so that only an amazing white ring of the sun will be visible. Indianapolis is one of several cities in the path of totality.
"For most of my students, this event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since the next one won't happen until 2153," Cummings says. "I hope learning about and witnessing the eclipse will get them excited about science. Above all, I want to show that science is not done by old, gray-haired people in lab coats, necessarily. Instead, it's all around us."
Thomas Hockey, a professor of astronomy at the University of Northern Iowa, says the fact that elementary school teachers like Cummings are now teaching about the eclipse is an indication that science education has improved since he was a child.
"I didn't learn about solar eclipses when I was in grade school, but I still remember my first eclipse experience outside my home in Angola, Indiana. It was on March 7, 1970, nearly a year after the Apollo program had put the first person on the moon, "Hockey recalls. "My interest in space was already developing. But the partial eclipse was one of the reasons I chose to study astronomy."
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 3?| A．Summarize the previous paragraphs. | B．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C．Add some background information. | D．Introduce another topic for discussion. |
| A．To protect her students. | B．To try a new teaching method. |
| C．To learn about the eclipse. | D．To show that science is not mysterious. |
| A．He loved science when he was a child. | B．The Apollo program is more important. |
| C．He regrets never meeting a good teacher. | D．The eclipse experience is very inspiring. |
| A．A lesson plan. | B．A news report. |
| C．A guidebook. | D．An interview. |
【推荐1】Yellow fever began to spread in Brazil in 2016, severely threatening the golden lion tamarin, a little monkey living in the rainforest of southeastern Brazil, whose population was small even before the outbreak. So, scientists created a vaccine (疫苗) to protect the monkeys. But, it is a new idea to vaccinate animals. Historically, conservationists have believed that humans should not interfere directly with wildlife. A traditional saying in the world of conservation work is “Leave it as is.”
However, Tony Goldberg, a scientist and animal doctor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes in vaccinating wild animals when possible. “Some people say we shouldn’t touch nature. But really, there are no unspoiled natural habitats left.” he said . “This epidemic moved very quickly from north to south, across the country — no wildlife does that. It’s people. They cross vast distances in buses, trains, planes. They bring the disease with them. We realized that in five years, we could lose the entire population if we did nothing.”
The vaccine led to antibodies in the tested monkeys and caused no harm, the scientists found. So far, about 300 have been vaccinated and are reported to be doing well. Tests show that more than 90 percent of the monkeys have immunity or resistance to the virus since vaccination.
The outbreak of yellow fever is no longer a big problem for the monkeys, and their population is starting to come back. But even with the success of the vaccine program, scientists are still not sure about creating vaccines for other animals. Jacob Negrey, a biologist who studies monkeys, wondered about unpredictable effects of such wildlife treatment. He explained that you might create a treatment that helps one kind of animal but hurts another.
1. What caused monkeys to get infected with yellow fever?| A．Human activities. |
| B．Loss of their habitat. |
| C．Convenient transportation. |
| D．The development of Science and technology. |
| A．They are resistant to all viruses. |
| B．They are no longer endangered animals. |
| C．There is an increase in their population. |
| D．Some of them are harmed by the vaccine. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Optimistic. | C．Doubtful. | D．Neutral. |
| A．Vaccinating animals: a heated debate | B．Yellow fever: a threat to monkeys |
| C．Protecting monkeys: a top priority | D．Vaccine: a blessing for monkeys |
【推荐2】Many people love gum(口香糖). Delicious as it is, the dirty waste can be a problem for humans. The main material for gum cannot break down naturally. Lots of gum waste ends up being thrown away into the rivers and grounds each year.
Now thanks to the company, Gumdrop Ltd., there may be a way to deal with this problem. The UK-based company has come up with a clever idea that enables easy disposal of gum waste using pink boxes they’ve produced. Passers-by can simply throw any unwanted gum into the pink boxes set up across London. Once full, they are mailed to the factory where the gum is used to create more pink boxes. The company said that gum waste could be changed into other useful things like shoes as well.
Bullus, who founded the company, said she decided to create the clever boxes after observing the mess caused by gum waste on the streets of London. She had spent many months studying how to use gum waste as a material for the clever boxes. After hundreds of failures, she finally succeeded.
To know whether people would like to throw gum waste into the pink boxes, she did two tests. She set up two boxes inside a men’s restroom at Southampton Airport. Bullus said they had to pick up the full boxes just 5 times a year, an effort that cost the company $300. But airport officials would have spent $4,600 over the same period cleaning up the mess left behind by carelessly thrown gum waste. A similar test at London’s famous Villiers Street resulted in a 40% decrease(减少)in gum waste.
Their success has led to the rapid setting-up of the pink boxes across London. Bullus now hopes the pink boxes can help not only London, but also many other places. There are many countries and cities where gum is a problem. The company has also introduced the pink boxes that can be easily carried by people.
1. The introduction to gum in the first paragraph is mainly to show ______.| A．it’s a kind of unhealthy food |
| B．it’s environmentally unfriendly |
| C．it needs improvement in quality |
| D．it becomes popular all over the world |
| A．They can break down gum waste |
| B．They can change people’s views on gum |
| C．They are used for recycling gum waste. |
| D．They are made from the same materials as shoes |
| A．Creative and hardworking. | B．Funny and smart |
| C．Kind and courageous. | D．Careful and trustful |
| A．lead to a decrease in gum sales |
| B．can be too costly for some airports |
| C．are less helpful in busy places |
| D．reduce the pressure to deal with gum waste |
| A．Applying the pink boxes in more places. |
| B．Encouraging people to avoid buying gum. |
| C．Making it more convenient to carry the pink boxes. |
| D．Improving London’s relationship with other cities. |
【推荐3】Clutter is the disease of American writing. Our national tendency is to inflate and thereby sound important. But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that’s already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what—these weaken the strength of a sentence.
Simplify, simplify. How can we achieve such freedom from clutter? The answer is to clear our heads of clutter. Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other. It’s impossible for a muddy thinker to write good English. He may get away with it for a paragraph or two, but soon the reader will be lost.
Writers must therefore constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly often they don’t know. Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it? Is it clear to someone coming across the subject for the first time? If it’s not, some fuzz has worked its way into the writing. The clear writer is someone clear-headed enough to see this stuff for what it is: fuzz.
I don’t mean that some people are born clear-headed and are therefore natural writers, while others are naturally fuzzy and will never write well. Thinking clearly is a conscious act that writers must force on themselves, as if they were working on any other project that requires logic.
Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.
1. Which of the following contributes to good writing?| A．Avoiding using passive structures. |
| B．Leaving out words without a meaning. |
| C．Using short words instead of long ones whenever possible. |
| D．Choosing adverbs carrying the same meaning of the verbs. |
| A．Clear thinking equals clear writing. |
| B．Clear thinking reflects clear writing. |
| C．Clear writing may not rely on clear thinking. |
| D．Only clear thinking brings about clear writing. |
| A．Something cloudy. | B．Something difficult. |
| C．Something uninteresting. | D．Something complicated. |
| A．Bad writing and clutter | B．Out of clutter find freedom |
| C．Simplify to achieve good writing | D．Nobody is born to be a good writer |
