Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution for two of the country’s longstanding problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Doritos, Lay’s, and other favorites at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around,” Oleita told the Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags.
Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life — and her fellow volunteers. “ We are committed to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally, ” she says.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of recycling bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit.com: “ I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues. ”
1. Which sentence is true in terms of the Chip Bag Project?| A．It’s aimed at recycling sleeping bags for the homeless. |
| B．It was set up by Eradajere Oleita in 2020. |
| C．It has made 150 sleeping bags since its start. |
| D．It can completely solve the country’s poverty problems. |
| A．It’s cheap. | B．It’s light. |
| C．It’s easy to take along. | D．It can keep out water. |
| A．To improve their life. | B．To find a better job. |
| C．To receive high-quality education. | D．To pursue a great dream. |
| A．Cautious and ambitious. | B．Warm-hearted and brave. |
| C．Selfless and creative. | D．Determined and adventurous. |
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【推荐1】The State of the World’s Birds — report from conservation group Bird Life is the latest critical survey that highlight the scale of the current biodiversity crisis. It says, more than half the world’s bird species are in decline, as human activities including agriculture and expansion into habitats continue to wreak havoc on bird populations.
“We have already lost over 160 bird species in the last 500 years, and the rate of extinction is accelerating,” said Lucy Haskell, who is lead author of the report. “Historically, most extinctions were on islands, but worryingly there is a growing wave of continental extinctions, driven by landscape-scale habitat loss.”
The report reviewed data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Analysis showed that 5,412 of bird species worldwide, or 49 percent, have declining populations, while 38 percent are stable, 6 percent are increasing, and 6 percent have unknown trends. One in eight species is threatened with extinction, and also highlighted the massive scale of population loss in several well-surveyed areas.
The expansion and intensification (集约化) in agriculture is the leading threat to birds, the report said, impacting at least 73 percent of threatened species. Unsustainable logging and management of forests is another significant threat, impacting nearly half of threatened bird species.
Birds play an essential role in the health of ecosystems around the world. They are predators, pollinators, seed dispensers, and scavengers, and help to move and cycle nutrients across wide ranges. “Birds tell us about the health of our natural environment — we ignore their messages at our peril,” Lucy said.
Authors of the report said that governments must prioritize more sustainable agriculture practices and the protection of natural habitats in order to slow population decline in bird species. There are numerous examples of populations bouncing back with the help of well-coordinated conservation programs. “If we give nature a chance, it can recover,” said But chart, who is chief scientist for Bird Life. “There is no denying that the situation is terrible, but we know how to reverse these declines.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “wreak havoc on” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Gradually change. | B．Sharply increase. | C．Slightly disturb. | D．Seriously damage. |
| A．By listing causes. | B．By making comparisons. | C．By analyzing data. | D．By answering questions. |
| A．Illegal hunting for birds. | B．The development of agriculture. |
| C．Poor management of forests. | D．The loss of landscape-scale habitats. |
| A．Birds play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity. |
| B．Governments have protected natural habitats greatly. |
| C．Conservation programs need to be updated more frequently. |
| D．Scientists are confident about slowing population decline of birds. |
【推荐2】A different kind of food service app is allowing loyal customers to buy restaurant food at a low price before it goes into the waste bin.
Too Good To Go provides buyers with a bag of nearly wasted, but perfectly good food for takeaways as a way to cut back on food waste and help support the restaurant industry. Unlike other apps of a similar type that can allow customers to pick and choose which items they want to save, Too Good To Go offers only bags of whatever food the restaurants have. People will think it has a true enterprise spirit. The app is one of the several winners of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Award, which reports that 40% of the food in America is wasted.
It’s impossible to know how much food really will end up in landfills, but it’s possible to know how many meals Too Good To Go has prevented from going there. Originally sold only in a few selected American cities, 200,000 meals have been sold, and these meals can be thrown into the garbage in a few hours. And over 1,500 restaurants have signed up in cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. At present,150,000 orders are going out of the door per day in 15 countries, across a user base of around 37 million people, saving incredible food waste.
It is also easier for the restaurants to deal with the leftovers since it’s not likely to guess and predict what will be available at the end of any night. Decomposing food in landfills is a major source of methane, which can cause climate-related damage before completely decomposing after a decade.
“We think we can save more than 2 million meals from the trash in the U. S. in 2021, avoiding thousands of tons of emissions,” said Lucie Basch, co-founder of Too Good To Go.
1. What makes Too Good To Go different from other food service apps?| A．Its honour awarded by Fast Company. |
| B．Its enterprise spirit of pursuing perfection. |
| C．Its restrictions on consumers’ food choices. |
| D．Its service for takeaways with eco-friendly bags. |
| A．Too Good To Go’s potential in future. |
| B．Too Good To Go’s advantages over other apps. |
| C．Too Good To Go’s effect on the restaurant industry. |
| D．Too Good To Go’s achievement in saving food waste. |
| A．Breaking up. | B．Breaking down. | C．Breaking in. | D．Breaking out. |
| A．To introduce a distinctive food service app. |
| B．To promote Too Good To Go to the world. |
| C．To compare Too Good To Go to other apps. |
| D．To call on people to cut down on food waste. |
【推荐3】Vast stretches of America are dominated by corn, nearly 100m acres of it, stretching from Ohio to the Dakotas. What once was forest or open prairie (大草原) today produces the corn that feeds people, cattle and, when made into ethanol (乙醇), cars.
Now, the nation’s airlines want to power their planes with corn, too. Their ambitious goal would likely require nearly doubling ethanol production, which airlines say would slash their greenhouse gas emissions. If they succeed, it could transform America’s Corn Belt yet again, boosting farmers and ethanol producers alike, but also potentially further damaging one of the nation’s most important resources: groundwater.
Corn is a water-intensive crop and it can take hundreds of gallons to produce a single gallon of ethanol. But as airlines embrace the idea of ethanol, prompting lobbyists (游说者) for ethanol makers and corn growers alike to push for clean-energy tax credits in Washington, vital aquifers (地下水层) face serious risks. “We’re on track to massively increase water usage without any real sense of how sensitive our aquifers are, “ said Jeffrey Broberg, who is concerned about groundwater in Minnesota. a major corn state, where he is a water-use consultant and founder of the Minnesota Well Owners Organization.
United Airlines this veal signed a deal with a Nebraska ethanol company to buy enough sustainable aviation fuel as the biofuel is known, to power 50, 000 flights a year. In August, Delta announced a plan to create a sustainable fuel hub(中心) in Minnesota. The Biden administration could decide on its tax incentives (激励) for the industry as soon as December. “Mark my words, the next 20 years, farmers are going to provide 95% of all the sustainable airline fuel, ’’President Biden said in July.
This year a New York Times data investigation found that groundwater is being dangerously exhausted nationwide, largely by agricultural overuse. As climate change makes rainfall less reliable and intensifies droughts, rising demand for ethanol could put even more pressure on America’s fragile aquifers to be used for irrigation.
1. What does the underlined word “slash” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Increase. | B．Decrease. | C．Maintain. | D．Transform. |
| A．Decreased water usage. |
| B．Increased reliance on aquifers. |
| C．A boost in clean-energy tax credits. |
| D．Expansion of. corn production. |
| A．Farmers will double their ethanol production. |
| B．The sustainable aviation fuel will not gain popularity in the future. |
| C．Farmers will play a major part in the sustainable aviation fuel industry. |
| D．The Biden administration opposes the new aviation fuel to protect the aquifers. |
| A．The Biden administration’s attitude to the corn and ethanol industry. |
| B．Using corn-based ethanol can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. |
| C．Groundwater resources are being dangerously exhausted due to agricultural overuse. |
| D．Using corn-based ethanol in aviation may lead to increased groundwater exhaustion. |
【推荐1】Nothing energizes office workers more than complaining about meetings. And it seems some of the world's greatest tech successes agree. Here's some of their advice.
Mark Zuckerberg: A decision or a discussion?
The Facebook CEO reportedly improved the effectiveness of meetings by asking managers to explain the point of a meeting: to make a decision or to have a discussion.
"If there's no point, then there are no decisions," Microsoft founder Bill Gates might agree. He is supposed to have said, "You have a meeting to make a decision, not to decide on the question."
Elon Musk: It is not rude to leave.
Elon Musk once sent out an email to staff in which he made some "recommendations".
"Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren't adding value," he went on. "It is not rude to leave; it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time."
Jeff Bezos: The "two--pizza rule".
The Amazon founder meets investors for just six hours a year, and tries to avoid early morning meetings.
Business Insider reports that Mr. Bezos also has a strict policy: Never have a meeting in which you couldn't feed the whole group with two pizzas. The businessman believes small groups are far more efficient than large ones, and the "two-pizza rule" helps him prevent large meetings.
Steve Jobs: No need for PowerPoint.
Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs shows the creative genius behind the iPhone making an attack on slideshow users. "People who know what they are talking about don't need PowerPoint," he said.
"Generally PowerPoint presentations are a great distraction(使人分心的事物), unless it's data or a graph," said Professor Andre Spicer. "Long slides mean no information being conveyed."
1. What did Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates both stress?| A．How to have a meeting. | B．When to have a meeting. |
| C．The purpose of having a meeting. | D．The importance of having a meeting. |
| A．To offer better services for a meeting. | B．To reduce the cost of a meeting. |
| C．To encourage short meetings. | D．To limit the size of a meeting. |
| A．less is more | B．the more the merrier |
| C．something is better than nothing | D．a picture is worth a thousand words |
【推荐2】In the busy and crowded Mexico City, an excellent woman has managed to build a shelter (庇护所) for one of nature’s most beautiful creatures—the hummingbird (蜂鸟) . Meet 73-year-old Catia Lattouf, an eager bird lover who has turned her apartment into a home for these tiny, lively birds.
In a city where green spaces are not enough, and city wildlife is often pushed to the edges, Lattouf’s love for hummingbirds began in 2011, just a year after recovering from a deadly illness, when she began caring for a hummingbird that had an eye injured by another bird. She named the bird Gucci after the brand (品牌) of the eyeglasses case where she kept it and soon they became the best of friends. The tiny hummingbird rested on Lattouf’s computer screen while she worked.
“It was a good medicine for my spirit,” Lattouf said of Gucei, adding, “It gave me a new life.” Gucci was the first, but many hummingbirds came to be cared for by Lattouf.
For years Lattouf’s home had been a bird shelter, but she was concerned about whether she would be able to meet the requirements of hummingbirds. However, since then, Lattouf has worked to make the public realize the importance of hummingbirds and has saved and freed hundreds of them.
Hummingbirds are an important part of the American food web. They help control the population of insects. Although they’re small in size, their diet includes the mosquitoes, spiders and fruit flies. Hummingbirds also pollinate (授粉) a wide variety of flowering plants from Alaska to the southernmost point of South America, which is especially important for native plant species. In fact, some plants depend almost completely on hummingbirds for pollination.
Through her effort, Lattouf has shown that even in the heart of a big city, it is possible to coexist (共存) with and protect the natural world. In a city that can sometimes feel disconnected from nature, Lattouf’s apartment is a wonder that can be found when we make space for the wild in our everyday lives.
1. Where did the bird’s name come from?| A．The shape of the eyeglasses case. | B．The place where Lattouf put it. |
| C．The park where Lattouf found it. | D．The picture on Lattouf’s computer screen. |
| A．It was hard to care for. | B．It nearly died of its serious injury. |
| C．It brought some trouble to the author’s work. | D．It benefited Lattouf’s health greatly. |
| A．Making good use of hummingbirds. | B．Protecting hummingbirds from injury. |
| C．Calling on people to protect hummingbirds. | D．Improving the living environment of hummingbirds. |
| A．The value of hummingbirds to humans. | B．The possibility of man living with nature. |
| C．The growing conditions of flowering plants. | D．The plants that are pollinated by hummingbirds. |
【推荐3】I'm now living in the south of France with my husband Keith and three small children, and I feel like a fish out of water everywhere but one place-the Saturday street market.It's been operating in our small town of Sommieres since the 13th century,but we've only lived here for three months.
From Monday to Friday,life is all about the kids.I'm busy helping my children deal with life in a French school.It's not easy,and their stress is the whole family's stress,as Keith and I are occupied with the daily school runs,piles of homework and school notes in French.
But on Saturday,the market is for me.I feel so peaceful as I walk along the quiet street toward the busy town square.The knife-sharpening man is there, operating a machine that looks like it dates from the Industrial Revolution.There' re street musicians with guitars and microphones,and the sound of beautiful songs fills the air.And the food,of course,is delicious.The cheese man doesn't speak-he just points and cuts,offering a piece from his knife.Lines come out of the door for fresh bread at the bakery.Organic vegetables,herbs and desserts are a feast for the eyes,before being put into the bag to be enjoyed later for lunch.The noises and smells of the market are unfamiliar and thrilling,but their procedures are clear to me.This is part of why I love the place so much:Unlike during the week,when I'm constantly faced with my own difficulties,I know how this place works.My terrible French isn't the barrier to communication that it is in other circumstances.
At school and in the village,I can't joke or join a conversation,and although the other parents at the school are kind,I'm an outsider.But at the market,I'm just another customer with a basket.Surrounded by day trippers,I feel like a local- greeting people I know and petting dogs.
My Saturday experiences allow me to hope that in the near future I'll feel equally confident in my everyday life.Until then,Saturdays prepare me for the coming week of school runs.
1. What does the author mean by saying “I feel like a fish out of water”?| A．She feels uncomfortable in new surroundings. |
| B．She feels free out of her daily housework. |
| C．She feels lonely without her children. |
| D．She feels unable to make a living in another country. |
| A．She learns French together with her children. |
| B．She devotes herself to her children in a French school. |
| C．She runs to school every day to help her children. |
| D．She tries to balance her job and the housework. |
| A．She wants to get away from her family's stress. |
| B．She can talk with other customers freely there. |
| C．She feels relaxed and comfortable there. |
| D．She tries to gain confidence in the busy atmosphere. |
【推荐1】When Ariel Cordova-Rojas rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York, last November, she planned to go hiking and bird-watching. A mile into her walk, she found a female mute swan (疣鼻天鹅) near the water’s edge. Cordova-Rojas, 30, who had worked at the Wild Bird Fund rehabilitation centre in Manhattan, knew that mute swans can be angry and ready to attack. But as she approached this one, it didn’t move.
She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Cordova-Rojas put her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought struck her: What do I do now?
Her best hope was the rehab (康复) centre, but that was across the East River and clear on the other side of town. How was she going to transport a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? Luckily, some strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a lift to a nearby subway station.
On the subway, no one seemed particularly frightened by the feathered passenger. One guy, says Cordova-Rojas, was “sitting right in front of me on his phone. I don’t know if he noticed there was a swan in front of him.”
Cordova-Rojas called the rehab centre on the road, and Tristan Higgin-botham, an animal-care manager, picked her up at the subway station and drove the bird, the bike, and the rescuer to the centre. There, staff members determined that the swan might have lead poisoning (中毒), caused by taking weights used on fishing lines.
The staff got the swan back up on her feet. Sadly, even with all that care, the swan got a serious infection (感染). Two months after Cordova-Rojas came to her rescue, she passed away.
It’s a disappointing ending, but the real story is just how far some people are willing to go to save a swan in the big city-literally. In all, Cordova-Rojas travelled two hours by foot, car, and subway while honking (按喇叭) her bike. Says Higgin-botham, “That’s the perfect summary of who she is,”
1. Why did Cordova-Rojas put her jacket over the bird’s head?
| A．To catch the swan. | B．To calm the swan down. |
| C．To keep the swan warm. | D．To block the swan’s sight. |
| A．She rode her bike. | B．She got there on foot. |
| C．She took a bus. | D．She was offered a lift. |
| A．She had lead poisoning. | B．She was injured on her feet. |
| C．She was trapped by a fishing net. | D．She nearly died from hunger. |
| A．How to Protect Birds | B．Strangers Kind Action |
| C．Honk If You Love Birds | D．The Last Song of the Swan |
【推荐2】When Aaron Friedland was entering a master’s program in economics at the University of British Columbia, he decided to research whether the distance to school is a major factor leading to higher school dropout rates. So he spent two months living in a rural community in Uganda, regularly trekking (长途跋涉) with a group of kids who walked five miles each day round trip for their education. He deeply felt the hardships of this journey to school.
The experience resulted in more than that planned research paper. He founded a nonprofit The Walking School Bus, dedicated to improving access to education, and he started a crowdfunding campaign to publish this children’s book he wrote with the same title.
Set in South Africa, his story follows siblings Shaka and Nandi. Their father works far away and their mother’s work keeps her in their village. So the kids have no one to walk them to school. The trip is long and dangerous for just two kids. They find inspiration from a toy school bus in the sand. They finally succeed when they realize they can find safety in numbers with other kids and form a walking school bus.
Over the past few years, the nonprofit took off. The book, however, never made it into print until this year. That original text was an unwieldy 128 pages when Friedland brought it to the publisher Greystone Books. “They said, ‘It’s a great idea, but no,’” explains Friedland, who needed to figure out how to rewrite it in a more accessible format. A solution emerged when he connected with Ndileka Mandela. The story resonated with her, and they joined forces on a new version.
I wondered what kids who have an easy commute to school would think of this book. I asked my 8-year-old American daughter — who only needs to walk 10 minutes to her elementary school — to read it. Her reaction: “Kids can be very imaginative and creative, and sometimes you just need more people to be able to get where you want to go. Those kids were really willing to go out of their way to get some education.”
1. What did Friedland want to figure out initially?| A．How the distance to school impacted attendance rates. |
| B．How the students in rural community attended school. |
| C．How the school responded to increasing dropout rate. |
| D．How the program helped to improve access to education. |
| A．Suspicious and honest. | B．Curious and devoted. |
| C．Brave and sympathetic. | D．Caring and determined. |
| A．Boost confidence. | B．Arouse sympathy. | C．Break new ground. | D．Earn reputation. |
| A．To raise the awareness of education. | B．To introduce a children’s book. |
| C．To encourage kids to walk together. | D．To share an unforgettable experience. |
【推荐3】On her blog, Debra Ferrell received the typical birthday greetings when she turned 53, but some of the messages were different. One of them told her about the Smith family who had just lost their four-year-old son to cancer. His older brother was grieving deeply. Could Ferrell offer some support?
That message and the 30 or so others like it were exactly what Ferrell was looking for. To celebrate her 53rd, the long-time social service professional had put out a call on her blog. She wanted to commit 53 random acts of kindness by the end of her birth month, and she needed information on people who could use one. When she got the note about the Smith family, she sent a wind chime (风铃) with the message “Listen to the wind and know that I am near” written on it. It now hangs in the four-year old’s bedroom, where his older brother can go to listen to it whenever he wants.
This is not the first time that Ferrell has decided to give gifts for her birthday. For her 47th, in 2016, she founded Love in Action, an organization committed to doing something good near her home and beyond Its aim is simple: Do Your Best, Show Your Love!
Over the years, the organization has reached out and touched well over 100 strangers, some found via Ferrell’s blog, others with help from her grandkids. The organization also shares inexpensive and creative gift ideas for others to help people in need.
Ferrell pays for everything herself: gift cards, pay-it-forward purchases at drive-throughs, and care packages. Her family often gives her some extra birthday cash with a serious warning against spending it on anyone else, which she naturally ignores. “I got a couple of gift cards form birthday this year and was like YESSS!” It’s Ferrell’s party, and she’ll give if she wants to.
1. What were the unusual messages Ferrell got on her 53rd birthday?| A．Help requests. | B．Donation offers. |
| C．Gift ideas. | D．Birthday wishes. |
| A．She is caring and brave. |
| B．She is loving and helpful. |
| C．She is patient and romantic. |
| D．She is creative and determined. |
| A．It involves people in acts of kindness. |
| B．It holds the belief that kindness pays off. |
| C．It offers aid within Ferrell’s neighborhood. |
| D．It mainly aims to educate kids to help out. |
| A．She thinks little of her family’s concern. |
| B．She treats strangers better than her family. |
| C．She is financially dependent on her family. |
| D．She is too ready to give away her birthday gifts. |
