Cotton bags have become a means for brands, retailers, and supermarkets to promote a planet-friendly concept — or, at least, to show that the companies are aware of the overuse of plastic in packaging. “There’s a trend in New York right now where people are carrying cotton bags from local bakeries, hardware stores, or their favorite steakhouses,” said designer Rachel Comey.
So far, so earth-friendly? Not exactly. It turns out the wholehearted embrace of cotton bags may actually have created a new problem.
An organic cotton bag needs to be used 20,000 times to offset (抵消) its overall impact of production, according to a 2021 study by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark. That is equal to daily use for 54 years — for just one bag. Even when a bag does make it, most coloring matters used to print logos and decorations onto them are PVC-based and thus not recyclable in waste treatment factories.
That’s not to say cotton is worse than plastic, or that the two should even be compared. While cotton can use pesticides and has dried up rivers from water consumption, lightweight plastic bags use greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, never break down, and block up the waterways.
Some brands are turning to other fabric solutions. British designer Ally Capellino recently swapped cotton for straw, while designer Anya Hindmarch introduced a new version of her original bag, this time made from recycled water bottles. In the end, the simplest solution may be the most obvious. “Not every product needs a bag,” Comey said.
1. Why on earth do companies offer cotton bags?A.To provide convenience to their customers. |
B.To cut down on the use of plastic packaging. |
C.To advertise themselves as eco-friendly ones. |
D.To promote the concept of protecting the earth. |
A.They can be used for over five decades. |
B.They do much harm to the environment. |
C.They have logos printed with natural materials. |
D.They can be recycled in waste treatment factories. |
A.It consumes too much water. | B.It saves the use of fossil fuels. |
C.It pollutes the earth’s atmosphere. | D.It increases the use of pesticides. |
A.Plastic Bags Beat Cotton Bags | B.A Revolution for Bag Designers |
C.How to Choose Bags for Yourself | D.Less Packaging, Better Environment |
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【推荐1】For as long as I can remember, I’ve been coming up with ambitious little business ideas. The Eco Denim Movement is the fourth business I’ve founded. Last year, I built this business on three strong passions of mine: business, op-shopping and saving our world. Recently, I did a project on the cotton industry and found out some true facts in the production phases of cotton. I couldn't believe that a single pair of jeans took around 10,000 litres of water to produce.
My project promotes slow fashion and encourages people to purchase my used and repurposed denim (斜纹粗棉布). The denim industry is one of the biggest water consumers in our world — there are 2.7 billion people in our world currently facing water scarcity (缺乏). Every year, the denim industry uses over 12 trillion litres of water. This is enough to supply each of those 2.7 billion people with 4 years' worth of water. Reselling denim, which has already made it through the water-draining production stages, means that with every purchase of secondhand jeans over brand new ones we are saving 10,000 litres of valuable water.
I've sourced denim from my family, friends and op-shops all over Adelaide — the capital city of the state of South Australia. But the most difficult part about starting my business as a girl was that there were a lot of expenses involved in starting up: buying all the pieces of denim, getting all the equipment required for my business, and purchasing my website domain (域名). However, that didn’t stop me. No one is ever too young to start a business. So many people feel like they are not skilled enough or don’t have the brains to start a business, but that’s not true! All you need to start a successful business is ambition and a whole lot of passion.
1. How did the fact mentioned in paragraph 1 make the author feel?A.Ashamed. | B.Confused. |
C.Shocked. | D.Relieved. |
A.The popularity of slow fashion. |
B.Different methods of saving water. |
C.Huge profits from selling used jeans. |
D.The significance of reselling denim. |
A.The tight budget. | B.The source of denim. |
C.Her lack of practical experience. | D.Bitter opposition from her family. |
A.She is a girl of determination. |
B.She is too young to do business. |
C.She shows no interest in shopping. |
D.She is a kind-hearted and generous girl. |
【推荐2】The American robin (知更鸟) is the state bird for Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin because it is a very common, easily seen and handsome bird with a beautiful song. But it is now facing extinction due to the hidden dangers involved in the use of insecticides, a chemical used for killing insects.
Insecticides is usually sprayed on lawns to kill the grass disease. The chemicals used in the US break down into non-poisonous molecules (分子) far faster than DDT did, but most are still highly poisonous to robins for the time that they work on insects. Adult robins hopping on a freshly-sprayed lawn get their feathers coated, and then if they hatch their eggs or babies, the poison can be taken in, to kill the babies.
Elm trees in the United States, like those in Europe, are being attacked by Dutch elm disease. This disease is spread by the elm bark beetle. American scientists have attacked the disease by attacking the carrier. They have treated the trees with a chemical which kills the beetles. But the substance they use sticks to the leaves of the trees. These leaves are a basic food of a certain type of earthworm (蚯蚓) which is itself not attacked by the insecticide. The worms can store up huge quantities of this poison in their bodies. The robin eats these worms and is thus being poisoned by its normal food. The bird is already in danger of dying out in some areas.
It is sometimes difficult to foresee side effects like these, which is why many people object to the use of chemical sprays. They fear that man may be poisoning himself the same way as he has poisoned the American robin and other higher organisms at the top of the food chains.
1. What is the carrier that spreads Dutch elm disease?A.The American robin. | B.The earthworm. |
C.The elm leaf. | D.The elm bark beetle. |
A.Killing the beetles. | B.Poisoning the earthworms. |
C.Protecting the robins. | D.Attacking the elm trees. |
A.touch the insecticide | B.touch the elm leaves |
C.eat the earthworms | D.eat the beetles |
A.The side effects of insecticide is endangering the robin. |
B.American scientists have attacked Dutch elm disease. |
C.The robin is dying out in some parts of the world. |
D.Many people object to the use of chemical sprays. |
【推荐3】Shocking declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. Loss of natural habitats is cited as the key threat to bird biodiversity. Climate change is identified as a possible driver of bird population declines.
“We are now witnessing the first signs of a new wave of extinctions of continentally distributed bird species,” says lead author Alexander Lees, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. “Bird diversity peaks globally in the tropics and it is there that we also find the highest number of threatened species.”
The study says about 48% of existing bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be undergoing population declines. Populations are stable for 39% of species. Only 6% are showing increasing population trends, and the status of 7% is still unknown. The study authors reviewed changes in bird biodiversity using data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” to reveal population changes among the world’s 11,000 bird species, The findings mirror the results of a 2019 study which determined that nearly 3 billion breeding birds have been lost during the past 50 years across the United States and Canada.
Despite their findings, study authors say there is hope for bird conservation efforts, but transformative change is needed. “The fate of bird populations is strongly dependent on stopping the loss of habitats,” says Lees. “That is often driven by demand for resources. We need to better consider how commodity (货物) flows can contribute to biodiversity loss and try to reduce the human footprint on the natural world.”
“Fortunately, the global network of bird conservation organizations taking part in this study have the tools to prevent further loss of bird species and abundance,” adds Rosenberg. “From land protection to policies supporting sustainable resource-use, it all depends on the will of governments to live side by side with nature on our shared planet.”
1. What’s the main cause of bird extinction?A.Significant climate change. | B.Destruction of their habitats |
C.Human’s overuse of wetland. | D.A new wave of bird immigration. |
A.By listing concrete data. | B.By providing examples. |
C.By interviewing-people. | D.By explaining concepts. |
A.Relevant education. | B.Government policies. |
C.Environmental activities. | D.Conservation organizations. |
A.Roles of conservation organizations. |
B.Diversity of global bird species. |
C.Hope for environmental protection |
D.Decline of global bird population. |
【推荐1】When Ludwig von Beethoven died in 1827, he was three years removed from the completion of his Ninth Symphony(交响乐). He had started work on his Tenth Symphony but, due to declining health, wasn’t able to make much headway: All he left behind were some musical sketches.
Ever since then, Beethoven fans and musicologists have puzzled over what could have been. Now, thanks to the work of a team of scientists, Beethoven’s vision will come to life.
The scientists were divided into two parts-the human side and the machine side. The human side deciphered (破译)and transcribed the sketches from the Tenth Symphony, trying to understand Beethoven’s intentions. Meanwhile, the A. I. side faced more challenges.
First, and most fundamentally, they needed to figure out how to take a short phrase and use it to develop a longer, more complicated musical structure, just as Beethoven would have done. Next, because the continuation of a phrase also needs to follow a certain musical form, the A. I. needed to learn Beethoven’s process for developing these forms. The A. I. also needed to learn how to take a melodic line and harmonize it and how to bridge two sections of music together. Finally, once they had a full composition, the A. I. was going to have to figure out how to orchestrate it, which involves assigning different instruments for different parts. And it had to pull off these tasks in the way Beethoven might do so.
The success of the attempt proves they were on the right track. But these were just a couple of minutes of music. There was still much more work to do. At one point, one of the music experts on the team said that the A. I. reminded him of an eager music student who practices every day, learns, and becomes better and better. Now that student, having taken the baton from Beethoven, is ready to present the Tenth Symphony to the world.
1. What can we know about Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony?A.Beethoven lost his health in an attempt to finish it. | B.It was highly thought of by fans and musicologists. |
C.It aroused great interests among Beethoven fans. | D.Beethoven didn't start to create it until 1824. |
A.the difficulties the AI side solved | B.the contributions of the human side |
C.Beethoven’s music composition process | D.how a symphony was usually created |
A.It’s a great challenge for the AI technology. |
B.The human side should imitate Beethoven’s music creating process. |
C.It is a combined effort of human and AI technology. |
D.It's more demanding for the machine side than human side. |
A.skeptical |
B.positive |
C.negative |
D.indifferent |
【推荐2】Bangladesh has a large population. The nation depends on rice as its main food. Growing rice requires a lot of water and energy, especially during the dry season from January to June when farmers mostly rely on groundwater. This results in serious reduction of groundwater as well as greenhouse gas emissions(排放).
Researchers from the University of Washington and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture have developed a system called Integrated Rice Advisory System (IRAS), which uses satellite data from NASA and its partners to give farmers important information.
IRAS works by combining satellite data on water use, rainfall, and weather forecasts with crop water demand(需求)characteristics to produce location-specific suggestions for farmers. The suggestions tell farmers how much water they have, how much they are using, and how much they need for their crops. They also warn farmers if they have over-or under-watered their fields.
The IRAS team states that the system will help reduce agricultural water waste by about 30 percent, cut fuel use by 45 percent, save S115 million yearly, and lower carbon emissions by 300,000 tons per year.
IRAS is an example of how global cooperation and the sharing of important data among nations can help improve food security, water management, and environmental protection around the world. “In addition to being affordable and convenient for farmers, the method can help the world become more water-efficient and energy-efficient in growing food,” said Faisal Hossain, leader of IRAS.
The IRAS team completed its first nationwide effort in June 2023, after working with staff from Bangladesh’s Department of Agricultural Extension and Agro-Meteorological Information Service to set up the system. Faisal Hossain and his colleagues hope to broaden the reach of IRAS in the future, and apply it to other crops that demand large amounts of water, like sugar cane. “We believe that this affordable tool will be applied to any area where we know what crop is being grown and what their crop water demand characteristics are,” he said.
1. How does IRAS mainly serve farmers?A.By collecting data about weather. | B.By monitoring the growth of crops. |
C.By guiding them on water management. | D.By helping them look for new groundwater. |
A.By listing related data. | B.By giving an example. |
C.By making a comparison. | D.By referring to a research report. |
A.The specific technology used in the system. |
B.Future challenges of applying the system. |
C.Farmers’ opinions on the system. |
D.The importance of the system. |
A.It will be well-received in the future. |
B.It encourages international cooperation. |
C.It can only be used on crops in dry places. |
D.It requires better education on water protection. |
【推荐3】The auto industry, aviation giants and lots of new companies are increasingly entering the race toward producing flying cars and air taxis, many of which are said to be fully electric. On the surface, there are so many innovations happening that it's easy to forget that the world hasn't even seen a fully autonomous car (自动驾驶汽车) yet, let alone an electric flying vehicle you can park in your driveway.
In fact, there are several hurdles before people are riding through the air. "They are short on technology, and they are short on regulation." said Jennings-Bates, vice president of a car company.
Uber and Boeing, both world famous companies, have announced ambitious plans for air taxis. However, the types of vehicles they have in mind would require magical electric batteries that don't exist yet.
Whether the United States actually needs flying cars remains relatively unclear. Aviation experts say that air vehicles help solve congestion problems in big cities. "Today, we have a lot of traffic congestion on the roadways," said Laurie Garrow, associate director for the Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility at Georgia Tech. "Air taxis would provide a solution for that." Others argue that putting traffic in the skies doesn't solve very much. "We aren't going to change the world in terms of traffic with flying cars," said Jennings-Bates. "At best, it may take the place of traffic in the area, which is arguably less pleasant."
Some experts say it's not a question of whether flying cars will take off. Instead, it's a question of how soon the concepts would be safe enough for humans to occupy. "Everyone is very excited and they're coming up with very different designs,"Garrow said. "But you have a lengthy certification process that will need to go through to make sure the craft and flights are safe." She estimates that it'll be about 20 years before the U.S. sees more than test flights.
1. What can we learn about flying cars from Paragraph 1?A.They are unavailable yet. | B.They are fully electric. |
C.They need special driveway. | D.They equal autonomous cars. |
A.Technology. | B.Safety. | C.Design. | D.Regulation. |
A.Why we need flying cars. |
B.How fierce the race of making flying cars is. |
C.How close we are to seeing flying cars. |
D.What people's opinions are about flying cars. |