It seems there’s nowhere left to run from the microplastic (微塑料的)pollution. A small pilot study recently took microplastics from one of Europe’s most distant places, the French Pyrenees mountains, and found as many microplastics in the soil as you might expect from a big city like Paris.
The reason? The wind. Researchers now fear that our planet’s winds can pick up microplastics from about anywhere and transport them around the world, sometimes in large quantities. “We’d kind of expected it in a city getting blown around,” said Steve Allen from the University of Strathclyde in the UK, one member of the team. “But way up there? We expected to find some, ” he said. “We didn’t expect to find so many.”
Microplastics are pieces smaller than a fifth of an inch that have broken down from larger pieces of plastic. The forces of nature don’t distinguish (区分)between materials like stones and rocks, and plastics. Wind and waves hit plastics and break them down just the same, making them into dust that can then get swept up by the gentle wind and into the atmosphere. It’s a continuing environmental concern, as more and more microplastics find their way into our food and air.
The fact that microplastics can be found in large numbers even in distant places is a sign that is has become a global pollution problem. Steve Allen and his team set up collectors 4,500 feet up in the mountains for five months to trap plastic particles (粒子) as they fell to the Earth. The team found that an average of 365 plastic particles fell on their square meter collector daily. This included bits form plastic bags, plastic film and packaging material, among other plastic sources. Many of these materials were small enough to be breathed in without even realizing it. They’re in the air, and they’re everywhere.
1. How did Steve Allen think of the finding?| A．It was interesting. | B．It was surprising. |
| C．It was conflicting. | D．It was disappointing. |
| A．How the wind spreads the microplastics. |
| B．How the microplastics come into being. |
| C．How the microplastic pollution appears. |
| D．How the wind makes the pollution serious. |
| A．It is difficult to collect them. | B．They all come from big cities. |
| C．They are part of the air we breathe. | D．It is impossible to know their source. |
| A．Plastics have been found in the distant areas. |
| B．Plastics are proved to do great harm to the soil. |
| C．The microplastic pollution is worse in big cities. |
| D．Wind is carrying microplastics around the world. |
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【推荐1】White sand beaches of the Cocos Islands, which are known as a gorgeous tourist destination surrounded by greenish blue water, have now been filled with plastic wastes like abandoned plastic water bottles, toothbrushes, and cigarette lighters.
Jennifer Lavers, a marine scientist, went to these tropical islands with her research team. Knowing that lots of beaches were polluted by plastic wastes, the team conducted a careful scientific examination on the coast, only to find the problem caused by pieces of trash humans left was worse than expected.
Not all plastics are to blame. They are necessary in places like hospitals and airplanes, and make our vehicles lighter and more efficient. However, other plastics, especially disposable plastics, account for the growing mess on the beaches. Islands all over the world are jammed with plastics. And the Cocos Islands are no exception.
It requires the greatest effort of all time to control plastic pollution in modern society. No matter how tall the hurdles(栏架) are, something has to be done.
Apparently, demand for disposable plastics must be reduced greatly. “Why don’t we carry around bags that we can use over and over again?” asked Richard Gross, a chemist who researches innovative ways to make more sustainable plastics. “Let’s carry around reusable lunch boxes. We should understand how serious the situation is.”
Although it is important for individuals to make an effort to avoid using disposable plastics, it is also generally believed that only with international rules can such a deep-rooted, common, and worldwide scourge(灾害) be tackled.
However, the U.N., which engages in dealing with accelerating climate change and public health crises, obviously isn’t paying enough attention to calling for international action on plastic pollution. As a result, billions of plastic products will still be produced every year, many of which will end up in the ocean.
Nowadays, fish are eating plenty of plastics, and people eat those fish. It remains unrevealed how it will affect human health, but clearly the amount of plastics used has increased many times in the last several decades, and if this tendency goes on, by 2050 an enormous amount of carbon will be released into the already carbon-saturated(碳饱和的) skies.
1. Why does the author write about the Cocos Islands at the beginning of the text?| A．To tell the story of the islands. |
| B．To appreciate the islands. |
| C．To introduce the problem of plastic pollution. |
| D．To introduce a scientific study. |
| A．People don’t care about the problem. |
| B．The problem is too serious to deal with. |
| C．Action must be taken however difficult the problem is. |
| D．The problem is as difficult as jumping over tall hurdles. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Enthusiastic. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．The beautiful Cocos Islands |
| B．The problems caused by disposable plastics |
| C．Scientific research on plastics |
| D．Plastic pollution on Cocos Islands |
【推荐2】Scientists believe that one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us is the sense of sound. We are warned of danger by sounds. Sounds serve to please us in music. Sound has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better.
In order to know how noise affects people and animals, scientists have been studying for several years. They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution is a threat that should be looked at carefully.
Sounds is measured in units called decibels (分贝). At a level of 140 decibels people feel pain in their ears.
Trucks , buses , motorcycles, airplanes, boats, factories---all these things make noise. They trouble not only our ears, but minds and bodies as well.
There is a saying that it is so noisy that you can’t hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don’t, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems.
Noise adds more tension (紧张) to a society that has already faced enough stress.
1. The sense of sound _________.| A．makes us feel excited |
| B．helps us hear more clearly |
| C．is something harmful to us |
| D．helps to know what is happening around us |
| A．people grow worse and worse |
| B．it makes us forget all the past |
| C．people don’t know what to do with everyday life |
| D．it will be a kind of pollution to people |
| A．Because the world is making more and more noise. |
| B．Because wars and battles happen here and there in the world. |
| C．Because all the sounds are becoming over 140 decibels. |
| D．Because some machines can make noise. |
| A．if we don’t like to hear noise |
| B．if we have no aches or pains in our bodies |
| C．if there isn’t too much noise |
| D．if we can’t be careful of noise |
【推荐3】Breathing dirty air can cost someone's life span(寿命) months—even years, a new study finds.Worldwide, air pollution lowers average life spans by a year. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Air pollution has been linked to many health problems.Most earlier studies has looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. But now an environmental scientist, Joshua Apte, is going even further. He works at the University of Texas, Austin. He together with his team is looking at life expectancy, hoping to make the threat easier to understand.
PM 2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM 2. 5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average life span. This analysis show show pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.
The World Health Organization(WHO) recommends limiting PM 2.5 to 10 micrograms(微克) per cubic (立方)meter of air. Apte's group used data to try to find how this low level would help people. But meeting the WHO standard won't get rid of health damage from dirty air.That's because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter pollution still causes huge risks.
Reducing air pollution could increase life expectancy. The scientists also compared how other threats shorten life spans across the globe. These risk factors included smoking and cancer.
These results show that in poor countries, cleaning up dirty air could greatly increase life spans. It could have as big an effect as cleaning up drinking water, or curing lung cancer. However, in wealthier countries air pollution shortens life expectancy by less than half a year. All forms of cancer, in fact, shorten the average life expectancy by more than 3.5 years.“Knowing this can really help people, or policymakers, decide where to spend their money,” says Kirk Smith.
1. What is Joshua Apte's team trying to do?| A．Let people understand air pollution better. | B．Know how small air pollutants are. |
| C．Study the life expectancy of different people. | D．Study many different healthy problems. |
| A．Its people will live a healthy life. | B．Its air is very clean. |
| C．It will get a prize from WHO. | D．It still has pollution risks. |
| A．Cancer is the leading killer in all kinds of diseases. |
| B．It's very hard to clean up dirty air in a short time. |
| C．The study will help different countries take different policies. |
| D．Reducing air pollution can increase all people's lifespans much. |
| A．The Effect of Cancer Is Worse than Dirty Air |
| B．Air Pollution Is Shortening Lives Worldwide |
| C．Many Factors Are Affecting People's Health |
| D．Governments Are Trying to Make Life Span Long |
【推荐1】Eggs are a common ingredient. They’re at the center of the age-old question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” and the classic idiom, “Egg someone on.” And, most fascinatingly, they’re the subjects of art, film and fashion.
From Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s painting “Broken Eggs” and Claude Monet’s painting “Still Life with Eggs” to Giovanni Battista Recco’s “Still Life with Chickens and Eggs”, there’s no shortage of egg illustrations. Within the field of art, eggs are a complex theme due to their significance in Christian cultures and mythology.
Simply put, an egg is more than just food—it is “a symbol and a shape-shifter.. . an industry and an inspiration, a cross-cultural expression of rebirth and potential,” according to a book called “The Gourmand’s Egg. A Collection of Stories and Recipes”.
Written by David Lane and Marina Tweed of the contemporary food and culture journal “The Gourmand”, the latest publication explores this phenomenon through a collection of images, stories and recipes focused on eggs. There’s also a section devoted to egg accessories, further illustrating how the egg became so remarkable in culture.
Perhaps the earliest mythological subject of eggs is the world egg, which thinks that the universe came into existence via a hatched (孵化) egg. Eggs then became a symbol of celebration. This eventually became the basis of classic Easter traditions.
Eggs were first showcased in art during the Renaissance. Take for example Piero della Francesca’s Breru Madonna, in which the hanging egg is a symbol of both creation and purity. There’s also Hieronymous Bosch’s oil painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, which shows yet another floating unhatched egg that is “a symbol of unrealized hope, or hidden power.”
As “The Gourmand’s Egg” wrote, “The egg is a cinematic chameleon(变色龙). It has been a symbol of brotherly love, a Freudian red flag, a symbol of life. ”
Additionally, “as in so many pictures, the egg often features not only as an everyday foodstuff but as a container of countless meanings.”
1. Why does the author list some paintings in paragraph 2?| A．To appeal to the readers’ attention. |
| B．To give examples of best painted eggs. |
| C．To prove there are many paintings about eggs. |
| D．To show the egg subject makes many famous paintings. |
| A．The culture of eggs. |
| B．Skills of egg hatching. |
| C．The kinds of eggs. |
| D．Types of egg containers. |
| A．Life. | B．Potential. | C．Love. | D．Purity. |
| A．To sell a newly-published book. |
| B．To discuss famous paintings about eggs. |
| C．To introduce different egg cooking techniques. |
| D．To show the complex meaning of eggs in works of art. |
【推荐2】While going to the aquarium（水族馆）is a great way to learn about sea animals, some have raised concerns about the animals' quality of life. But Edge Innovations, a company in New Zealand, has a very special way to solve the problem.
Edge Innovations is working with American creators of some of Hollywood's most famous animals to develop robot dolphins that look like almost exactly the same as real-life animals.
The ocean park industry has had falling interests for over ten years because of ethical（道德的）concerns and the cost of live animals, yet people's hunger for learning about and experiencing these animals is still as strong as ever. Developers believe that it's time to make a change in this industry and that this method shows humans' mercy and brings more interests at the same time.
One robot dolphin could cost an aquarium at least $ 26.3 million. But the robot would be controlled by humans and be able to play with humans as a regular dolphin would. The price at the moment is very high, but Edge Innovations notes that since the robots last longer than a real animal, the returns will be worth the price.
The robot dolphin weighs just about 600 pounds but is amazingly life-like. According to The Guardian, a test audience was actually not able to tell it apart from a real dolphin. As for aquarium visitors, the developers forecast that they won't mind not seeing a "real" dolphin. "For people in New Zealand, for me, I prefer natural animals," said Li Wang, the business developer for Edge Innovations. "But when we think about the new generation who spend far more time than us playing electronic games online, we think the robot dolphins will be accepted.”
The development of robot animals may be the future of zoos and aquariums, making it easier for animal lovers to enjoy nature in a kind way.
1. What is Edge Innovations doing?| A．Designing robot dolphins. |
| B．Stopping animal shows. |
| C．Improving dolphins' living conditions. |
| D．Making Hollywood films about dolphins. |
| A．Why the ocean park industry closes down. |
| B．How the ocean park industry can develop. |
| C．How robot dolphins can succeed. |
| D．Why robot dolphins are created. |
| A．Their price is too high to be accepted. |
| B．They look smaller in size than real ones. |
| C．They save aquariums' cost in the long run. |
| D．They can serve longer than creators thought. |
| A．Robot Dolphins Are Coming |
| B．The Rise and Fall of Robot Dolphins |
| C．The Aquariums Are Facing the Ethical Problem |
| D．Robot Dolphins Will Bring an End to Ocean Park Industry |
【推荐3】The World Health Organization says the widespread use of sugar in food products and drinks is a major concern in many areas. So WHO officials are calling on governments to require taxes on sugary drinks in an effort to limit their usage and popularity. The officials believe the taxes also would reduce the risk of health problems resulting from obesity.
Obesity is a condition in which the body stores large, unhealthy amounts of fat. Obese individuals are considered overweight. A new report says that in 2014 more than one-third of the adults in the world were overweight, and 500 million were considered obese. The United Nations agency estimates that in 2015, 42 million children under age 5 were either overweight or obese. It says that number represents an increase of about 11 million during the past 15 years. Almost half of these boys and girls live in Asia and one-fourth in Africa.
The U. N. agency blames unhealthy diets for a rise in diabetes cases. There are 422 million cases of the disease worldwide. WHO says 1.5 million people die from it every year. It says the use of sugar in food products, like sugary drinks, is a major reason for the increase in rales of obesity and diabetes.
Temo Waqanivalu is with the agency’s Department for the Prevention on Non-Communicable Diseases: He told VOA that taxing sugary drinks would reduce consumption and save lives. Waqanivalu noted that Mexico enacted a law of a 10 percent tax on sugary drinks in 2014. He said by the end of the year, there was a 6 percent drop in the consumption of such drinks. Among poor people, the number of people who consumed sugary drinks dropped by 17 percent.
The WHO says people should limit the amount of sugar they consume. It says they should keep their sugar intake to below 10 percent of their total energy needs, and reduce it to less than 5 percent for improved health.
1. Why are taxes on sugary drinks required?| A．To warn people to change their life style. | B．To readjust the economic structure. |
| C．To limit their use and popularity. | D．To ensure the market’s diverse development. |
| A．Obesity is a severe worldwide problem. |
| B．Adult obesity is ignored at present. |
| C．Obesity can block economic development. |
| D．Obesity is most serious in developed countries. |
| A．Abolished. | B．Passed. | C．Promised. | D．Reduced. |
| A．Tax policies are unfair to the poor. | B．Taxing sugary drinks makes a difference. |
| C．The poor consume more sugary drinks. | D．Sugary drinks are a threat to health. |
