The future in energy production is here. And some of the materials used to supply the energy may surprise you! Companies have developed a way to turn plant wastes and other garbage into fuel. It has been called one of the most promising technologies in energy. And the process is expected to become more common this year.
The American-based company Fiberight is taking the lead in this new form of energy production. Truck loads of garbage are sent to Fiberight’s test plant in southern Virginia. Old vegetables, cardboard boxes and other wastes become something much more valuable through the work done at the factory. 50% of this material is going to be processed for the change of biofuel such as ethanol（乙醇）.
Ethanol makes up about 10 percent of America’s fuel supply. Nearly all of it comes from corn, the food known as maize in some countries. Critics say this creates competition between food and fuel, and raises food prices. Environmentalists say farmers are using more land to plant corn crops. They also say farmers are using more fertilizers and products for killing insects. They say this creates more pollution.
This year, several other fuel production plants are expected to start making ethanol from the cellulose（纤维素） in corn stalks, wheat straw and other plant materials. However, making cellulosic ethanol turned out to be harder than expected. We know how to do that in a lab. The main problem is doing that in a continuous way, cost-effectively on a large scale. Besides, our cars may limit how much the industry can grow. Even if we can begin to produce this cost-effectively, we need to be able to consume it as well. Only a few models of automobiles can operate on high-ethanol fuel. Without more of them, there is only so much gas from garbage that will sell.
1. What is the advantage of this energy production?| A．Using advanced technology. |
| B．Producing energy in large quantities. |
| C．Making energy from some waste. |
| D．Making energy easily and cheaply |
| A．oil | B．electricity | C．gas | D．biofuel |
| A．The need of growing corn for ethanol. |
| B．The amount of ethanol needed in America. |
| C．The disadvantages of ethanol made from corn |
| D．Pollution caused by making ethanol from corn. |
| A．It is impossible to make this energy on a large scale. |
| B．It is difficult to produce this energy out of laboratory. |
| C．Few fuel production plants are interested in making it. |
| D．There is a long way to go before it is widely produced. |
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【推荐1】At the age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola, Peru, came up with the creative idea of an eco-bank which allows kids of all ages to become economically independent and financially wise while helping the environment.
Established in 2012, The Bartselana Student Bank is the world’s first cooperative bank for kids. Whoever wants to join has to bring in at least 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of solid waste (paper or plastic) and establish a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit at least one additional kilogram (2* 2 pounds) of recydables on a monthly basis and obey other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops. The waste accumulated is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to some clever negotiation by Jose, pay a higher-than-market rate for everything brought in by Bartselana Student Bank members. The funds received are placed in the individual’s account where they collect until his/her savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw his/her money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target.
“At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not undertake this type of project,” Jose recalls. “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily, I had the support of the school principal and an assistant in my classroom.”
The youngster’s persistence paid off. Today, the eco-bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, has ten educational centers and begins accepting applications from kids all across Peru. On November 20, 2018, the young boy was awarded the famous Children’s Climate Prize (CCP). “Jose’s eco-bank is a brilliant way of linking economy and climate impact, both in thought and practice. The potential impact is amazing”, a judge said.
Hopefully, Jose’s success will inspire more kids and adults to come up with new ideas that create value while helping the environment. As the boy says, “Together we can change the world. we just need an opportunity.”
1. For what purpose was the eco-bank created?| A．To educate children how to spend their allowances. |
| B．To help children break away from their parents. |
| C．To raise children’s awareness of money and environment |
| D．To encourage children to buy whatever they want. |
| A．The history of the eco-bank |
| B．The requirements of membership, |
| C．The wisest way to deal with waste |
| D．The process of how the eco-bank works. |
| A．Lack of enough support. | B．Lack of experience. |
| C．Lack of investment. | D．Lack of workers. |
| A．The boy’s efforts were made in vain. |
| B．The eco-bank was highly appreciated. |
| C．The judge thought poorly of the eco-bank. |
| D．The boy’s success had no practical values. |
| A．Persistence Paid Off |
| B．Recycling does Count |
| C．An Opportunity to Change the World. |
| D．An Eco-bank, Economical and Ecological |
【推荐2】With the electronics industry developing, electronic products have become ubiquitous （无处不在的）in today’s life. Meanwhile, there are more and more abandoned electronic products, commonly called e-waste. It’s estimated that the number will grow to more than 60 million tons by 2021.
What contributes to the sharp rise in e-waste? Technology is developing rapidly, covering almost every aspect of our lives. Meanwhile, the lifespan of devices is getting shorter—many products will be thrown away once their batteries die. Companies intentionally plan the obsolescence （淘汰）of their goods by updating the design or software and discontinuing support for older models, so that it is usually cheaper and easier to buy a new product than to repair an old one.
What can we do about the growing e-waste problem? Recycling is very important and essential. As more people buy electronic equipment, producers are facing shortages of the raw materials, needed to make their products, so recycling and reusing e-waste makes economic and environmental sense.
Recycling e-waste is practiced both formally and informally. Formal e-waste recycling usually involves taking apart the electronics, sorting the materials and cleaning them. Companies must obey health and safety rules to reduce the health and environmental harm of handling e-waste by using: pollution-control technologies. All this makes formal recycling expensive. Informal recycling is typically, unlicensed and uncontrolled. At informal recycling workshops, people recover valuable materials burning devices to melt away non-valuable materials. Usually they do not wear protective equipment and lack any awareness that they are handling dangerous materials.
With the flood of e-waste growing around the world, recycling alone will not be enough to solve the problem. In order to reduce e-waste, producers need to design electronics that are safer, and more long-lasting, repairable and recyclable. The best thing we can do is to resist buying a new device until we really need it. Try to get our old product repaired if possible and, if it can't be fixed, resell or recycle it responsibly and correctly.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．The causes of devices' price dropping. |
| B．The results of updating devices. |
| C．The methods of recycling e-waste. |
| D．The reasons for more and more e-waste. |
| A．To improve the poor quality of e-devices. |
| B．To lower the costs of technology innovation. |
| C．To relieve producers’ lack of materials. |
| D．To increase the variety of electronic products. |
| A．There are many rules and steps to follow. |
| B．They aim to get valuable materials by burning devices. |
| C．It is convenient for them to recycle e-waste. |
| D．They are unaware of the danger while handling e-waste. |
| A．E-waste is easy to deal with by ourselves. |
| B．Producers should be mainly responsible for reducing e-waste. |
| C．Everyone should shoulder responsibility to help reduce e-waste. |
| D．Fixing a device could cause more pollution than buying a new one. |
【推荐3】Encouraging life to bloom(兴旺) in the middle of a desert is no easy task. But one company in the United Arab Emirates has come up with a plan to provide drinking water for the state’s citizens. The company intends to drag icebergs from Antarctica to the gulf coast in order to harvest its freshwater.
The company plans to source the massive blocks of ice from Heard Island, around 600 miles off the coast of mainland Antarctica. It will then transport them around 5,500 miles to Fujarirah, one part of the UAE. One iceberg could provide enough water for one million people over five years, according to the company.
The company’s director says they have already travelled the transportation route and checked the possibility of the scheme, according to reports in Gulf News. Speaking to the site about what he is calling the UAE Iceberg Project, Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi said, “We have made the technical and financial plan. We will start the project at the beginning of 2018. We want it mainly for the water. It could also be good for tourism and the weather.”
The UAE is one of the driest countries in the world, due to its extremely arid climate, which receives less than four inches of rainfall per year. Despite that, it consumes more water than double the global national average, putting the country at severe risk of droughts over the next 25 years.
An average iceberg contains more than 20 billion gallons of water, according to the company. The iceberg takes a long time to melt as 80 percent of it is underwater, while the white ice above reflects sunlight and deflects(使转向) its heat. Blocks of ice will be placed in giant tanks, before being processed. “This is the purest water in the world.” Mr. Al Shehi added.
1. What can we learn about the UAE project?| A．It will help the UAE harvest freshwater. |
| B．It will encourage life to boom in Antarctica. |
| C．It will put the UAE at severe risk of droughts. |
| D．It will completely change the climate in the UAE. |
| A．The Atlantic Ocean. | B．Fujariah. |
| C．The Gulf. | D．Heard Island. |
| A．The local people. | B．Antarctica. |
| C．The weather. | D．Tourism. |
| A．the process of the project | B．the possibility of the plan |
| C．the purpose of the company | D．the comments on the scheme |
【推荐1】If you feel deeply touched by Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, a painting about depressed people having dinner in an urban restaurant, but unmoved passing by a real-world diner late at night, it may be because of what’s happening inside your body. New research suggests that bodily sensations (感觉) aren’t just a by-product of art’s emotional impact but a key pathway for experiencing something as “art” in the first place.
In a study involving 1,186 participants and 336 visual art pieces, researchers found that the strength of emotional experience caused by an artwork was connected with the strength of bodily sensations reported while viewing it. Emotions were measured using subjective reports, and viewers separately marked on a virtual human figure where and how they felt physical sensations. Eye tracking and participant surveys, meanwhile, evaluated viewers’ interest in the paintings and whether they considered them to be art. Bodily feelings’ scale was connected with both the strength of emotional experience and the evaluation of a piece as art. Sensations were most noticeable when participants said they felt empathy (the most commonly reported positive emotion) and when they cited “touching” and “moving” emotional experiences.
Negative emotions were uncommon, but reports of “sadness” were also linked to “touching” and “moving” experiences — and to a participant categorizing a work as art. Even the excitement from a haunted house (鬼屋) are ultimately experienced as positive, as we experience our hearts racing while we know we are safe,” says study lead author Lauri Nummenmaa, a researcher at the University of Turku in Finland. “Art likely employed similar mechanisms for making us feel good. It activates our autonomic nervous system, and in the peace and quiet of an art gallery this increased bodily activity feels good to us.”
Although the study used only subjective reports and didn’t measure objective physiological changes in the body, the data suggest that art perception (感知) involves awareness of the body’s internal state. Art may get under our skin to shift perception. Art may be in the whole body — not just the eye of the viewer.
1. How do the researchers measure participants’ strength of bodily feelings?| A．By tracking their eye movements. |
| B．By analyzing their personal reports. |
| C．By touching their different body parts. |
| D．By comparing their sensations with previous surveys. |
| A．To introduce categories of artworks. |
| B．To show how art makes us feel good. |
| C．To stress the importance of bodily emotion. |
| D．To explain how negative emotions are produced. |
| A．It is controlled by people’s expressions. |
| B．It changes the view point of participants. |
| C．It refers to the visual impact of the paintings. |
| D．It is related to what’s happening inside the body. |
| A．Technology. | B．Health. | C．Space & Physics. | D．Mind & Brain. |
【推荐2】If you’re a pasta (面食) lover, then you know there’re fat noodles, round noodles, shells, and many, many more. Some of these pastas, like ordinary spaghetti, pack easily into small box or package. But others require much larger boxes or bags because of their hard 3D shapes.
Now a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Zhejiang University has figured out a way that pasta can be packed flat, like sticks of gum in a package, and still form fancy 3D shapes once cooked.
Lining Yao who leads the “Morphing Matter Lab” says the team admires flat-pack furniture sold by IKEA that comes tightly packed in a box, but then can be built into a large piece of furniture which takes up a much greater amount of space.
To bring the flat-pack idea to the pasta world, the researchers used computers to help them plan their groove (凹槽) patterns and stamped grooves in the pasta. “The groove side expands less than the smooth side, leading the pasta to change into shape,” explains Teng Zhang, one of the researchers. But knowing where to make them is the trick. By doing that, the researchers are able to fix the shape of the pasta in the end.
Professor Yao has also worked to make noodles fold before, by adding something special that could be eaten to the surface of the pasta. This time, though, the pasta is made with just the right amount of flour and water, and the only things affecting the shape are the grooves.
The new pasta tastes just like ordinary pasta once it is cooked. Meanwhile, this method does not affect the pasta production speed and preservation time. The team hopes their new method will help us in two ways. Like flat-pack furniture, it should take up less space when it’s being transported, which is much easier on the environment. The pasta should also require much less packaging, meaning far less plastic waste.
1. What do we know about pastas from Paragraph 1?| A．They come in different shapes. | B．They are not easy to transport. |
| C．They need to be packed strictly. | D．They are only kept in large boxes. |
| A．The ways of cooking the pasta. | B．The style of gum in a package. |
| C．The furniture design from IKEA. | D．The 3D shapes after it’s cooked. |
| A．By applying the computer apps. | B．By making grooves in right spots. |
| C．By adding the right amount of four. | D．By coating it with something special. |
| A．To produce it more easily. | B．To get it more tasty. |
| C．To keep it longer. | D．To make it greener. |
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes. The group that tolerated (忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny programme. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?
| A．Laughter is good for health. |
| B．Laughter can make you become old quickly. |
| C．Laughter helps to reduce pain. |
| D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body. |
| A．delays | B．prevents | C．increases | D．reduces |
| A．Because they want to earn more money. |
| B．Because they think they will help the patients recover from illnesses. |
| C．Because they want to improve their patients’ health. |
| D．Because they want their patients to laugh more. |
| A．laugh as much as possible |
| B．watch more funny films |
| C．smile all the time |
| D．spend time in the laughter clinics |
| A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health. |
| B．Laughter clinics can help patients improve their condition. |
| C．Laughter can reduce the effect of pain. |
| D．Laughter is the best medicine. |
