A carbon capturing device, called Orca, began operating in Iceland in September. The machine was invented and made by a Swiss company called Climeworks. The name comes from the Icelandic word orka which means energy.
Orca can pull carbon dioxide out of the air and send it deep into the ground, where it is turned into stone. The device is made up of four sections which look like giant air conditioners stacked together. Each section contains 12 large fans that suck air from outside into steel compartments.
Inside, the air passes through a filter (过滤器) which gathers the carbon dioxide. It is then heated to a high temperature so the carbon dioxide can be collected from the filter. Then, the carbon dioxide is mixed with water and put deep in the ground into a type of rock called basalt. Basalt causes the carbon dioxide mixture to turn into stone after two or three years.
Orca is an experimental device. It was built to demonstrate that it is possible to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It can remove 4, 000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year. That’s about the same amount as the emissions produced by 850 cars in a year. In order to remove enough carbon dioxide to make a big difference to global warming, much larger devices like Orca would have to be built in many countries around the world.
Some environmental activists say governments should spend more time and money on reducing the amount of greenhouse gas we produce each year, instead of investing in carbon capture methods. But others say that, in order for countries to meet their goal of net zero emissions by 2050, they will need to do both: reduce new emissions and remove the carbon dioxide already in the air.
1. What’s the purpose of designing Orca?| A．To conserve energy. | B．To achieve zero emissions. |
| C．To protect natural resources. | D．To remove carbon dioxide in the air. |
| A．Orca. | B．The basalt. | C．The air. | D．Carbon dioxide. |
a. Sucking the air. b. Collecting the carbon dioxide.
c. Mixing with water. d. Filtering and heating.
e. Putting into the ground.
| A．a, d, b, c, e | B．a, c, d, b, e | C．a, d, c, b, e | D．a, b, c, d, e |
| A．Reducing emissions is more important. |
| B．It might result in new pollution. |
| C．The technology is not mature. |
| D．It doesn’t work efficiently. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Listen carefully to the footsteps, and you can work out who is walking. The features commonly used to identify people are faces and fingerprints. But the way they walk is also a giveaway.
Researchers have used video cameras and computers to analyze people’s gaits. But translating such knowledge into a practical identification system can be tricky. Cameras are often visible? require good lighting and may have their view blocked by other people. A team led by Dr. Ozanyan and Dr. Scully have been looking for a better way to recognize gaits. Their answer: pressure-sensitive mats.
Such mats are nothing new. They have been part of security systems. But Ozanyan and Scully use a complicated version that can record the amount of pressure applied in different places as someone walks across it. The researchers turn to an artificial intelligence system to recognize such patterns. In a study in 2018, they tested the system on a database of footsteps of 127 people. They found its error rate in identifying who was a mere 0.7%. And Scully says even without a database of footsteps, the system can determine someone’s sex and a subject’s age.
One application of the mat-based gait-recognition system might be in health care, particularly for the elderly. A mat placed in a nursing home or an old person’s own residence could monitor changes in an individual’s gait that indicate certain illnesses. That would provide early warning of someone being at greater risk of falling over. Gait analysis might also be used as a security measure in the workplace, monitoring access to restricted areas, such as parts of military bases, server farms or laboratories dealing with dangerous materials. Perhaps the most interesting use of the mats, though, would be in public places, such as airports.
1. What does the underlined word “giveaway” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．A present for free. | B．A research of pressure. |
| C．An unintentional leak. | D．An unidentified object. |
| A．Collecting data. | B．Ensuring safety. |
| C．Determining age. | D．Decreasing pressure. |
| A．Monitoring security work progress. | B．Detecting potential health problems. |
| C．Keeping track of travelling frequency. | D．Warning passengers of possible dangers. |
| A．To compare different ways to identify people. |
| B．To show people the importance of technology. |
| C．To persuade people to buy the mat. |
| D．To inform people of something about pressure-sensitive mats. |
【推荐2】Like many other five-year-olds, Jeanie Low of Houston, Texas, would use a stool (凳子) to help her reach the bathroom sink. However, the plastic step-stool she had at home was unstable and messed up the small bathroom shared by her whole family. After learning of an invention contest held by her school that year, Jeanie resolved to enter the contest by creating a stool that would be a permanent fixture in the bathroom, and yet could be kept out of the way when not in use.
Jeanie decided to make a stool attached to the bathroom cabinet door under the sink. She cut a board of wood into two pieces, each about two feet wide and one foot long. Using metal hinges (铰链), Jeanie attached one piece of the wood to the front of the cabinet door, and the second piece to the first. The first piece was set just high enough so that when it swung out horizontally from the cabinet door, the second piece would swing down from the first, just touching the ground, and so serving as a support for the first piece of the wood. This created a convenient, strong platform for any person too short to reach the sink. When not in use, the hinges allowed the two pieces of wood to fold back up tightly against the cabinet, where they were held in place by magnets (磁铁). Jeanie called her invention “the Kiddie Stool”.
Jeanie’s Kiddie Stool won first place in her school’s contest. Two years later, it was awarded first prize again at Houston’s first annual Invention Fair. As a result, Jeanie was invited to make a number of public appearances with her Kiddie Stool, and was featured on local TV as well as in newspapers. Many people found the story of the Kiddie Stool inspiring because it showed that with a pair of observant eyes, anyone can be an inventor.
1. What are the characteristics of Jeanie’s Kiddie Stool?| A．Permanent and foldable. | B．Fragile and disposable. |
| C．Conventional and portable. | D．Convenient and recyclable. |
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Necessity is the mother of invention. |
| C．Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. |
| D．Invention requires both disciplines and wild imagination. |
【推荐3】By using positive reinforcement (强化), an approach familiar to anyone who’s used treats to change a dog’s behavior, a team dramatically improved a robot’s skills and did it quickly enough to make training robots for real-world work a more workable enterprise. The findings are newly published in a paper called, “Good Robot!”
Unlike humans and animals that are born with highly intuitive (有直觉力的) brains, robots are blank slates (写字板) and must learn everything from scratch. But true learning is often accomplished by trial and error, and roboticists are still figuring out how robots can learn efficiently from their mistakes.
With an effort the team accomplished that by designing a reward system that works for a robot in the way treats work for a dog. Where a dog might get a cookie for a job well done, the robot got an incentive too.
Andrew Hundt, lead author of the study, recalled how he once taught his puppy named Leah the command “Leave it”, so she could ignore squirrels on walks. He used two types of treats, ordinary trainer treats and something even better, like cheese. When Leah was excited and sniffing around the treats, she got nothing. But when she calmed down and looked away, she got the good stuff. “That’s when I gave her the cheese and said, ‘Leave it! Good Leah!’” He later decided to try that method on robots.
Similarly, to stack (码放整齐) blocks, Spot, the robot, needed to learn how to focus on constructive actions. As the robot explored the blocks, it quickly learned that correct behaviors for stacking earned high points, but incorrect ones earned nothing. Reach out but don’t grasp a block? No points. Knock over a stack? Definitely no points. Spot earned the most by placing the last block on top of a four-block stack.
“The robot wants the higher score,“ Hundt said. ”It quickly learns the right behavior to get the best reward. In fact, it used to take a month of practice for the robot to achieve 100% accuracy. We were able to do it in two days.”
1. What did the team want to achieve by creating the new approach?| A．To reduce the error rate of robots performing tasks. |
| B．To develop a robot able to learn by itself. |
| C．To figure out robots’ way of learning. |
| D．To help improve robots’ learning efficiency. |
| A．Won an award. | B．Had a special talent. |
| C．Raised an interest. | D．Experienced some mistakes. |
| A．To help us better understand their findings. |
| B．To make the text more attractive to animal lovers. |
| C．To show dogs are actually very clever. |
| D．To explain how he got inspiration for the study. |
| A．The process of training Spot to stack blocks. |
| B．The possibility of a robot’s earning high points. |
| C．The superiority of Spot as a newly developed robot. |
| D．The significance of having robots work with blocks. |
【推荐1】Plastic bottles by the side of a road are a common sight, an unseemly reminder of how often consumer products are thrown away carelessly. Now some of those bottles may become part of the road. A California company has put recycled plastic into road repaving (重铺)，which could revolutionize the industry with environmental benefits.
Sean Weaver, president of TechniSoil Industrial in the northern California city of Redding, said, “With this new technique, the repaved roads are stronger, flatter, safer and last longer than those made with regular asphalt (沥青).”
More appealing to environmentalists, the repaved roads incorporate 100% of the old asphalt - sparing the air from dozens of trips by trucks pulling away and bringing in building materials - and provide a new market for plastic products that could otherwise wind up in a landfill.
“Everybody that's looked at it said this will be one of the most transformative road construction technologies ever,” Weaver said. “We're recycling what's there, and we're delivering a road that's better than the original, at no higher cost than it would cost you to repave that road the traditional way.”
The process involves four large construction vehicles linked together in what's called a recycling train which scoops up the top 3 inches of asphalt on a lane, grinds (磨碎)them on a mill and mixes them with TechniSoil's G5 binder (粘合剂),containing from 2% to 20% of liquefied plastic. The mixed product is deposited back on the road, paved and rolled over. There’s no heat involved in the operation, which essentially replaces the traditional binder - bitumen, a leftover from refining oil - with a stronger plastic composite. The other elements of asphalt, such as crushed rock, gravel, sand and filler, remain in place.
1. What’s the new move of the California company?| A．To put asphalt into road construction. |
| B．To revolutionize the recycling industry. |
| C．To use recycled plastic in road repaving. |
| D．To add plastic bottles to house-building. |
| A．The technique they use is cost-saving. |
| B．His company enjoys a high reputation. |
| C．The road-construction process is complex. |
| D．Environmentalists think highly of the new roads. |
| A．How roads are repaved in the new way. |
| B．Where the new building materials are mixed. |
| C．Why there is no heat in the road construction. |
| D．What materials are used in the road repaving. |
【推荐2】The Amazon
The Amazon River, the basin of which covers 2.3 million square miles, is incredibly biodiverse with over 30,000 species of plants and 1,800 species of birds. It plays an important role in adjusting the climate in North and South America. The River and its forests are threatened by human activity, primary pollution and rapid resource depletion (损耗). The Office of the American States Department of Sustainable Development is working to manage the threats.
The Mississippi
The Mississippi rises in western Minnesota and flows south for 2,530 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of people in over 50 cities use water from the Mississippi, and the river is also used for shipping and agriculture. Hundreds of animal species, including 60% of North America’s birds, call the area around the Mississippi River home, but river pollution and shoreline habitat destruction threaten to displace them. Fortunately, many projects and organizations are devoted to its conservation.
The Danube
The Danube River begins in western Germany, flowing over 1,775 miles into the Black Sea. It spans 19 countries. The Danube features a richly diverse ecosystem, hosting 55 different species of fish. Cities across Europe use the Danube for power generation and agriculture, and there are more than 700 dams in total. Unfortunately, this river is overfished and heavily polluted. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River was established in 1998 to manage its conservation.
The Mekong
The Mekong River is a necessary part of Southeast Asia’s landscape, culture, and economy. Also called the Lancang River, it starts in China, stretching over 2,850 miles through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin provides more than 65 million people with food, drinking water, power, and transportation. Dams and power plants are harming Mekong’s ecosystems. Organizations such as Conservation International are working to protect the river by advocating for its sustainable development.
1. Birds are affected most around________.| A．The Amazon | B．The Mississippi | C．The Danube | D．The Mekong |
| A．70. | B．65. | C．55. | D．50. |
| A．They contribute to power production. |
| B．They How through multiple countries. |
| C．They are troubled by dam constructions. |
| D．They are under protection of organizations. |
【推荐3】You may have visited antique stores and found cutting-edge goods in second-hand furniture stores, but have you ever stooping? On the streets of big cities at night, some young people are “looking for something”. Obsessed with the spiritual core of the old thing recycling, they fell in love with it. But what exactly is stooping?
In fact, this English word originally meant “bending over”, and now refers to a way of life of picking up discarded items and renovating and recycling old things, which originally emerged in New York and other foreign big cities.
Since the beginning of last year, the trend of “stooping” has spread to many big cities in China and many young people look for second-hand items such as discarded furniture on the streets, take home and repurpose them with a new look. In order to make the flow of information better, some “stoopers” have also built communities where group members can share “treasures” on the street with each other.
Mikiko, 27, is reportedly one of the first people in China to get involved in practicing stooping. At first, she posted online things that people no longer use, want to throw away, or exchange at home, and slowly hundreds of messages flooded in and since then, stooping has become more and more popular among young people. Mikiko admitted that she was surprised that the concept has become a hit on social media, as older generations often stigmatize picking up things from the street or using second-hand goods. “People like my mom consider stooping as’rubbish-picking’, and people will be looked down upon by doing this.” She even created an app called “Grecycle” where people can give away or take unwanted items for free, hoping people may realize that stooping can also be about doing good and helping others.
This generation of young people has given “new life” to old things, practiced social responsibility in their own environmentally friendly ways in life, and also contributed to the circular economy and sustainable society.
1. What do we know about “stooping” in this text?| A．It was developed in England. | B．It equals to rubbish-picking. |
| C．It is an expression to show respect. | D．It is a way to turn trash to treasure. |
| A．To show off their good use of items. |
| B．To argue about the misuse of good treasure. |
| C．To share the information of the discarded items. |
| D．To make some comments on the abandoned items. |
| A．Be skilled at. | B．Be ashamed of. |
| C．Be fed up with. | D．Be accustomed to. |
| A．Second-hand stores are worth visiting. |
| B．Big cities offer more job opportunities. |
| C．Young people spend less than older people. |
| D．The young have a stronger eco-awareness. |
Beach volleyball can be played with as few as two people in each team, making a total of four people. However, if you are less skilled and experienced in the game, it will be easier to play with a larger team. The more players you have, the less ground each person will be responsible for covering and the more time they will have to recover between shots. If you only have a few players, each of you will get a lot of running for the ball after each volley (截球). If you are looking for a relaxing, fun, low-key experience, choose larger teams.
Beach volleyball is similar to regular volleyball in its rules. However, even experienced volleyball players do not realize how much more difficult it is to run and jump on sand. Since it is harder to move quickly on sand than a hard surface, play will be much slower than regular volleyball on a court. When an athlete trains for beach volleyball, he will focus on building lower body strength (力量) as well as upper body strength. Strengthening his legs is extremely important. This improves the player’s ability to move quickly and accurately on sand despite the resistance. The ability to jump high and land without injury is necessary for beach volleyball players.
Whether you are in it for the competition, or just to have a great time with your friends, beach volleyball can be extremely exciting and fun. You may start out with friends and may soon fall in love with the sport.
1. When playing beach volleyball, in which of the following situation will you feel most relaxed?| A．Playing in a 2-person team. |
| B．Playing in a 4-person team. |
| C．Playing in a 6-person team. |
| D．Playing in an 11-person team. |
| A．experienced volleyball players know clearly it is hard to run and jump on sand |
| B．lower body strength is more important than upper body strength |
| C．a person must have strong legs if he wants to run and jump quickly on sand |
| D．the rules of beach volleyball are the same as those of regular volleyball |
| A．Because it is not easy to move on sand. |
| B．Because beach volleyball has a larger court. |
| C．Because the teams of beach volleyball are larger. |
| D．Because beach volleyball players are not experienced. |
| A．It’s a difficult sport. |
| B．It’s an exciting and interesting sport. |
| C．It’s a sport which only a few people love. |
| D．It’s a sport which needs few skills. |
| A．the game of beach volleyball |
| B．how to become a good beach volleyball player |
| C．why beach volleyball is one of the exciting sports |
| D．what should be paid attention to when playing beach volleyball |
【推荐2】In your family you may find it difficult to form new eating and exercising habits for yourself without changing their habits at the same time.
Your family may prefer high-sugar and high-fat foods. But they don’t realise the fact that those foods have negative influence on the heart and blood pressure. So you should first let the whole family know the importance of changing bad eating habits. It is evident that low-sugar and low-fat foods contribute to good health.
In order to get the entire family’s support for changing eating habits, you should try to put your new lifestyle into your family’s routines. Perhaps your parents or other family members don’t want to abandon their favourite dishes. But you can advise your family to adjust their favourite recipes by gradually reducing fat and sugar. It may be an effective start to change their eating habits.
Your family may prefer watching TV in spare time. To deal with it, you should persuade everyone to move away from the television little by little. For example, you can begin by taking a walk with them, then move on to more activities like jogging or swimming.
1. Changing bad eating habits is important for the entire family because_______.| A．their preferences for foods should be the same |
| B．low-sugar and low-fat foods are good for their health |
| C．high-sugar and high-fat foods are not delicious |
| D．it contributes to achieving your long-term goals |
| A．To change. | B．To challenge. | C．To invent. | D．To make. |
| A．watching TV with your family is a good habit |
| B．your family members’ living habits may have a negative effect on you |
| C．if you want to change exercising habits, you should live away from other family members |
| D．you are advised to get all your family members involved in physical exercise |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Neutral.(中立的) | D．Indifferent.(漠不关心的) |
【推荐3】How did the sea horse get its name? It’s not hard to guess. The top half of this fish looks like a small horse. But looking at the sea horse’s tail, you might think “sea monkey” is a better name. Then there’s the sea horse’s pouch (口袋). “Sea kangaroo” might also be a good name for this fish.
Sea horse live in warm ocean waters all over the world. They keep safe from other fish by hiding in plants and grasses that grow under the sea. They can also change colors to match their surroundings (环境). A sea horse in one place for hours at a time by winding its tail around a plant. It feeds on live food, such as small shrimp (虾). For a fish that doesn’t move around much, the sea horse eats a lot—in just one day, a sea horse can eat 3,000 shrimp!
A sea horse keeps the same mate for its whole life, and it’s the male (雄性的) sea horse that gives birth to baby sea horses. How does this happen? Baby sea horse start out as eggs, which come from the female’s (雌性的) body. The male carries the eggs in its pouch for about three weeks until they hatch (孵化). Soon after the babies are born, the female gives her mate a new set of eggs.
Sadly, the number of sea horses is becoming smaller. Why is this happening? Some places where sea horses once lived have been filled in to make new land. Also, many sea horses are caught and sold as aquarium (水族馆) fish. This really is not a good idea because most sea horses don’t live long in aquarium. The best place for a sea horse is the ocean.
1. The sea horse got its name because of its_______.| A．pouch | B．head |
| C．skin | D．tail |
| A．It rolls up. | B．It runs away quickly. |
| C．It remains still. | D．It hides in plants and grasses. |
| A．like to move around | B．feed on small sea animals |
| C．live in cold ocean waters | D．change color with the temperature |
| A．She carries them around. | B．She hides them in sea grasses. |
| C．She puts them in the male’s pouch. | D．She hatches them. |
| A．They grow at a very low speed. |
| B．Their food is becoming less and less. |
| C．They are killed by people for food. |
| D．Their homes are being destroyed. |
