Around 126, 000 gallons of oil have spilled into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Orange County. The oil spill covers about 34 square kilometers of ocean.
To find the leak (裂缝、泄漏), many divers explored underwater. They found a break in a 28-kilometer pipeline (输油管道) that delivers oil off the California coast. Amplify Energy Corp. (AEC) is the oil company that owns the pipeline. It shut down the pipeline on Saturday, but experts say the company should have noticed a change in the pipeline’s pressure much sooner. The leaking pipeline is over 40 years old, even though such pipelines are normally only used for about 25 years.
Locals have said that even though the spill began on Friday night, little action was taken to contain it until Saturday afternoon. Some visitors to nearby beaches report that there is oil everywhere. Martyn Willsher, who leads Amplify, believes the leak has been stopped. “There is no active leak that we’re aware of,” he said.
Now beaches in the area have been closed, and fishing has been banned in a wide area along the coast. People are being asked to stay away from the beaches, since the oil can be poisonous.
Extra efforts are being made to keep the oil away from protected marshy (沼泽的) areas, along the coast, which are home to special wildlife. At least one of these areas, Talbert Marsh, has already been affected. Workers are trying to help animals that may have been hurt in the spill. It’s still not known exactly how many animals have been affected. But there are reports of dead fish and birds washing up on shore, and of dolphins swimming through the oily waters in the areas.
The US Coast Guard is leading efforts to place floating barriers called “booms” on the water to try to keep the spill from spreading.
1. What is the experts’ opinion on the oil spill?| A．It’s been a normal phenomenon. | B．It should have been avoided. |
| C．It has followed an earthquake. | D．It’s happened in a sailing ship. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Wonderful. | C．Risky. | D．Sincere. |
| A．No sea foods are allowed to sell in the market. | B．Visitors come over to help the damaged wildlife. |
| C．Measures have been taken to reduce the effect. | D．The polluted area is being enlarged at present. |
| A．A story. | B．An announcement. | C．An essay. | D．A news report. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Particulate Matter
There are things floating around in the air. Most of them, you can not even see. They are a kind of air pollution called particles or particulate matter. In fact, particulate matter may be the air pollutant that most commonly affects people’s health.
Have a Look.
Particles can come in almost any shape or size, and can be solid particles or liquid droplets.
BIG.
The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times thinner than a human hair). These particles are called PM 10 (we say ―PM ten, which stands for Particulate Matter up to 10 micrometers in size).
SMALL.
The small particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (100 times thinner than a human hair).
Particulate Matter and Your Health.
When you breathe, you take in the air along with any particles in the air, like heavy metal sand cancer causing organic compounds. Both PM 10 and PM 2.5 particles can cause health problems, specifically respiratory (呼吸的) health.
| A．These particles are called PM 2.5. |
| B．We divide particles into two major groups. |
| C．These particles cause less severe health effects. |
| D．PM 10 particles can travel as much as 30 miles. |
| E．Air pollution is a growing problem in the whole world. |
| F．PM 2.5 can have worse health effects than the bigger PM 10. |
| G．Air pollutants have great effects on our environment and our health. |
【推荐2】You may think that light pollution isn’t something extraordinarily important. You may believe that every other type of pollution has a larger impact on the environment than light pollution does. But light pollution is serious.
Light pollution, or “sky glow”, is the glow you can see at night above cities and towns. Light pollution is a problem that has been accompanying man ever since he started his first fire some 15,000 years ago. Light pollution is the light that comes from streetlights, buildings, parking lots and any other source of light that is reflected or directed into the atmosphere.
Urban light pollution means that one-fifth of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye(肉眼). Many city kids, even if they did look through the orange smog above their heads, would probably see only a handful of stars. We have lost our view of the stars, and we have mucked up our night-time environment as well. Astronomers are calling for the dark places on Earth to be preserved as national parks.
Lots of people find the ever-brightening night annoying, and animals that are programmed to prefer the dark may avoid a brightened habitat. Sea turtles can get lost searching for a beach to lay eggs, and their hatchlings(孵化的幼仔)may confuse over-lit beachfront resorts for the ocean horizon, wasting precious energy needed to find the sea and escape predators(食肉动物). Because their necks aren’t yet long enough to see things far away, baby turtles rely on the mirror image of the moon to guide them to the sea, to begin their new life. A car may even hit a particular turtle, which was thinking the light from a nearby city was moonlight reflecting off the ocean waves. Birds that live in and around cities can die because of sky glow, too. The bright lights can blind them, leading to countless collisions with buildings and other tall structures.
On an individual level, people can help reduce much sky glow by using lighting only when necessary. The stars above us are priceless heritage— for not only for astronomers but for all humans. More of our children should be able to look up at night and see the Milk Way.
1. According to Para.2, light pollution_________.| A．has existed for nearly a century |
| B．is mainly caused by the light at night |
| C．doesn’t include the light coming from buildings |
| D．refers to the light only shining directly into the atmosphere |
| A．protected | B．blamed |
| C．praised | D．spoiled |
| A．the moon | B．the ocean waves |
| C．the sky glow | D．the mirrors |
| A．light pollution isn’t something important |
| B．the Milk Way can’t be seen with naked eye |
| C．we should take action to reduce light pollution |
| D．most kids are looking forward to seeing the Milk Way |
【推荐3】Lacking a nose, insects such as butterflies and bees use their antennae (触须) to detect smells. Those smells help them find food and more. What happens, though, when air pollution beats the smells on which these creatures depend? Those insects become less likely to visit a flower. That’s the finding of a new study.
People depend on insects to help the plants to make many of the fruits, nuts and vegetables we eat. Past studies showed urban air pollution might hide the smells insects use to find flowers. For instance, ozone(臭氧), an ingredient in smog, can break down the smells from flowers. Computer models predicted this would cause problems for insects seeking flowers for a meal. But scientists weren’t sure that would happen in real life.
James Ryalls and his team decided to find out if it would. Ryalls is a biologist at the University of Reading in England. Working in a field of black mustard plants, his group created a system made up of rings eight meters in diameter. Each area was open, so nearby insects could fly into it. The researchers pumped pollutant gases into these rings: Two rings received diesel fumes(柴油废气). Two more got ozone. Another two got both gases. A final pair of rings was a control and received no added gases.
The tests took place over two summers. During each field season, the scientists counted how many times insects visited the flowers in each ring. “The results were much more severe than we thought,” Ryalls says. Adding both the diesel fumes and ozone pollution “caused up to 90 percent less insects to be able to find the flowers that they need for food,” he says. This was in comparison to the pollutant-free rings. This surprised the scientists and made them worried about the food resources of humans.
1. What is the finding of the new study?| A．Insects have noses. | B．Insects can feel smells. |
| C．Smells are helpful for insects to get food. | D．Polluted air makes insects hard to find food. |
| A．Part. | B．Shape. | C．Flower. | D．Colour. |
| A．Seven rings had gasses. | B．They lasted two summers. |
| C．They were led by a biologist. | D．They were done on the playground. |
| A．Save Flowers. | B．Poor Insects. |
| C．Tests by Researchers. | D．Environment and Food. |
【推荐1】If you’ve made a routine of a daily walk, congratulations! You’re getting many benefits of a walk. But there’s one simple mistake that could be putting your life at risk. Almost 129,000 pedestrians were injured, and 5,376 were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2015, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Luckily, there are some steps you can take to stay safe on foot. Sure, you drive on the right side of the road in the US, but that’s not where you should be as a pedestrian.
Seems like it couldn’t make much difference.
On the other hand, when you’re walking against traffic, you can see the cars heading toward you. Facing those vehicles lets you see danger coming and get out of the way if necessary, and you aren’t putting your life in the hands of every driver who passes.
| A．If there’s a sidewalk available, you should always use it |
| B．Where it is convenient and clear, make sure to take the route |
| C．Next time you go for a walk or run, face the traffic and keep watchful |
| D．You may be taken aback by such a big difference between the choices |
| E．Look backwards and forwards all the time when you walk along the traffic |
| F．This means one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours |
| G．But a study of car accidents between 2006 and 2010 would argue otherwise |
【推荐2】Coming of age is that time in each of our lives when we begin to see the possibilities. The world opens up in ways that mature our vision and give us a sense of responsibility and gratefulness. Connor had just started college and loved being at that stage in his life where he could eat all the pizza he wanted, yet engage in adult conversations with his parents about the responsibility to make life better for others. Connor’s optimism was infectious. There was so much he could do, and so much he could become.
But it all ended one night when Connor was distracted while driving on a Colorado highway. A young man, who gave off so much light, suddenly went dark.
Connor’s father, David, took it particularly hard.A father sees more than his own traits(性格) in his son; he sees greater possibilities than he achieved. Taking that hope away left David feeling at a loss. But Connor ‘s optimism was one of those traits passed on to him by his father. So, David got to work.
First, he established the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund to reward students who served in the community, Next, he went to work creating a research-based curriculum that educates University of Colorado Boulder students and their families about the dangers of texting while driving. It includes a very simple three part promise: Do not text or use social media while driving, speak out if riding with a driver who is distracted and encourage friends and family to drive phone-free.
David now works with lecturers at various colleges’ and high schools, ensuring young minds understand how statistically at risk they are when they text while driving. He’s become a passionate advocate for preparing young people to drive safely and not reach for their phones while they’re at the wheel. “I just don’t want other parents to go through what I did when I lost Connor,” says David. “It’s just so preventable.”
1. What’s the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To give the background of a funny story. |
| B．To explain why David chose to volunteer. |
| C．To set off David’s great pain of losing his son. |
| D．To sing high praise for Connor’s healthy growth. |
| A．The headlight of his car went wrong. |
| B．He drove carelessly and died in an accident. |
| C．He suffered an accident for his father’s fault. |
| D．He died from another driver’s careless driving. |
| A．His coach. | B．His grandfather. | C．His teacher. | D．His father. |
| A．He wanted to take a job in a college. |
| B．He took the classes that Connor hadn’t finished. |
| C．He wanted to prevent similar sad stories repeating. |
| D．He honored Connor for what he had done in the community. |
【推荐3】A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty-six days in a life-raft(救生艇) in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales(鲸鱼). “They started to hit the side of the boat,” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water.” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water — two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw(生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks(鲨鱼) came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn’t stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.
1. Bill and Simone were traveling ________ when they met some whales.| A．in a life-raft | B．in Miami | C．in Simony | D．in Panama |
| A．they brought in a lot of water |
| B．they broke the side of the boat |
| C．they pulled the boat |
| D．they went under the water |
| A．tins of food and bottles of water | B．a fishing-line and a machine |
| C．whales and sharks | D．Twenty passing ships |
| A．they were too excited to stand up |
| B．they couldn’t wait to climb onto the boat |
| C．their life-raft was beginning to break up |
| D．they knew their two months at sea would be over |
【推荐1】Microsoft won’t renew the contracts (合同) for dozens of news production staff working at its MSN website and plans to use AI to replace them. The roughly 50 employees were informed that their services would no longer be needed beyond June 30.
The Microsoft spokesman said in a statement, “Like all companies, we analyze and make judgments on our activities and services on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, rearrangement in others. These decisions are not the result of the pandemic.”
MSN will use AI to replace the production work its journalists had been doing. That work includes using an automated system (自动化系统) to identify trending news stories from dozens of publishing partners and to help improve the content by rewriting headlines or adding better accompanying photographs or slide shows.
“I spend all my time reading about how automation and AI are going to take all our jobs — now it’s taken mine” one of the terminated contractors said. “But with fewer human beings to monitor the technology, AI may not be fully familiar with strict editorial guidelines and could end up letting through inappropriate stories.”
MSN has experienced a number of changes since its launch as Microsoft Network in 1995. Once it offered original content and links to news, weather and sports. In 2013, it rolled back original news content and began cutting employees. By 2014, it launched are designed version that partnered with other news sites, paying them to redistribute their content. Today, the news service relies entirely on those partnerships with no original news content of its own. Selecting and editing stories rather than actually generating them made it easier for MSN to increasingly rely on an automated editing system.
1. On what basis did Microsoft make the decision to cut employees?| A．Pressure from competitors in the industry. | B．The proposal that AI engineers put forward. |
| C．Difficulties the pandemic has brought about. | D．Analysis and assessment made by the company. |
| A．Developing an automated working system. | B．Bettering the content by revising headlines. |
| C．Shooting photos to go with the news story. | D．Finding out the inappropriate news stories. |
| A．fired | B．trained | C．chosen | D．promoted |
| A．A well developed distribution strategy. | B．Money saved from cutting on employees. |
| C．Are designed version with no original news. | D．The technical cooperation with other websites. |
【推荐2】A team of conservationists (环境保护主义者) captured 14 Loa water frogs earlier this month in northern Chile, a wildlife group reported.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Loa water frog as “critically endangered”. The not-for-profit Global Wildlife Conservation group said the 14 frogs were in poor condition when they were discovered in late June. The animals were small and struggling because of a lack of food and water.
The Loa water frogs are known to live only in a single body of water near Calama, in Chile. The city sits in the middle of the Atacama Desert, where water is in great demand.
There was little water in the area where the frogs were found, the conservation group reported. The frogs’ environment had mostly dried up because water is being taken away and used for human activities, the group said. The activities include mining (矿业), agriculture and land development. “All of the frogs had been pushed into a tiny pool of muddy water,” the organization said. “The team collected the last 14 individuals and brought them to the National Zoo of Chile to start a conservation breeding (繁殖) program.”
Zoo specialists are closely watching the small creatures and trying to give them everything they need to survive and be healthy. Conservation groups have called on Chile’s government to take steps to halt any illegal water usage that threatens the frogs’ natural environment. They would also like to see creation of a government-supported shelter to protect the animals.
Jon Paul Rodriguez heads the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. He suggested that an emergency plan be developed to prepare the Calama area for the frogs’ return.
“We need to work very hard to restore their environment because it’s pointless to breed them if they don’t have a home to go back to in the wild,” Rodriguez said.
1. What do we know about the frogs when they were rescued?| A．They were looking for food. | B．They were in good condition. |
| C．They were approaching death. | D．They were moving for new water source. |
| A．Lack of water. | B．Air pollution. |
| C．Human hunting. | D．Extreme climate. |
| A．Improve. | B．Add. | C．Change. | D．Stop. |
| A．Keep them healthy. | B．Recover their home. |
| C．Raise them in the shelter. | D．Prevent them living in the wild. |
【推荐3】The 9th edition of the Joy Dancing Beijing Culture and Art Exchange Week of International Youth opened in Beijing on Tuesday.
The opening ceremony saw the participation of children and teenagers, from both home and abroad, deliver performances featuring dance, songs, rap, djembe (a West African drum) and poetry recitals, showcasing regional cultural elements and expressing the themes of harmony and peace.
“All the performances in the opening gala were meticulously selected to showcase international perspectives, the characteristics of Beijing and the grandeur of China,” chief director of the ceremony Chen Xini says.
“Many contemporary subjects, such as the Global Civilization Initiative, the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, biodiversity conservation, global intangible cultural heritage, rural vitalization and traditional Chinese culture, were showcased through artistic expression.”
This year’s event consisted of three major sections — the opening gala, an art carnival and an art education program, with the aim of providing young people, from both home and abroad, the opportunity to foster friendship, deepen their understanding of other cultures, as well as immerse themselves in the cultural atmosphere of Beijing.
Sixteen youth delegations, from countries including Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, as well as more than 3,000 young people from around China, participated in performances and cultural exchange activities.
A few delegations also attended events hosted at the embassies of Mali, Ghana, Chile, Armenia and Uzbekistan, among others.
The exchange week, which concluded Thursday, was overseen by the China Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Center for Young People and the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and was co-hosted by Beijing Trade Association for Performances and the Charming Schools event committee.
“Under the theme of ‘colorful Silk Road’, we aim to foster mutual learning among civilizations through art exchanges, promote connections through dialogue, and create a new chapter in Belt and Road cooperation featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits,” says Wang Yanxia, vice-president of the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
1. What performance can be selected in the opening gala?| A．related to art |
| B．concerning the right subjects |
| C．given by teenagers |
| D．aiming at peace promotion |
| A．a week | B．five days | C．three days | D．two days |
| A．popular | B．formal | C．profitable | D．influential |
