In the United Kingdom, coffee consumption is on the rise. But beyond just fueling Londoners as they make their ways to work, coffee is also fueling their buses while fighting climate change.
It is reported that London’s buses will soon be powered in part by a newly developed biofuel, one that mixes diesel (柴油) with oils removed from spent coffee grounds, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (排放) from its bus transport system. Recycling technology firm Bio-Bean collects used coffee grounds from major coffee producers across the UK, and removes the oils from them. Then it’s mixed into B20 biodiesel, with 20% biofuel and 80% conventional diesel.
With B20, the buses don’t require any adaptions to run on it. Bio-Bean founder said that, if the UK could use all of the 500,000 tons of coffee waste it produced each year, it could power the city of Manchester for a year. London uses other biofuels to support its effort to cut emissions from its bus system. Coffee is just the latest source, joining used cooking oil and animal fat from meat processing plants, but those old coffee grounds have to go somewhere, and fueling the city’s labor force is preferable to sending them to a waste yard. Bio-Bean’s B20 is an easy way to save businesses money on waste removal, and using the biodiesel in buses cut carbon emissions by 80%.
Coffee waste is becoming an almost unlimited resource, considering London’s citizens alone create 200,000 tons of coffee grounds every year. As more and more Britons switch from tea to coffee, that number will only elevate. The use of coffee grounds as a biofuel source has the added benefit of improving air quality in the city but sadly, it does not give off the pleasant coffee smell one might expect.
1. Why do London’s buses use the biofuel?| A．To improve the atmosphere quality. | B．To reduce transport fares in London. |
| C．To promote the recycling technology. | D．To support the local coffee industry. |
| A．It can avoid emissions from buses. | B．It requires adaptions to run on it. |
| C．It’s a mixture of biofuel and diesel. | D．It can power the nation for a year. |
| A．Decline. | B．Increase. | C．Appear. | D．Remain. |
| A．The benefits of drinking coffee. | B．An alternative biofuel resource. |
| C．The future for London’s buses, | D．A change in coffee consumption. |
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【推荐1】Meat cultivated (培植) from cells—with no need to raise and kill animals—is now a reality. The process of cultivating meat uses the basic elements needed to build muscle and fat and enables the same biological process that happens inside an animal. Cultivated meat is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level. But can it be made cheaply enough to replace animal agriculture?
More than 150 startups are pursuing an ambitious goal: meat that doesn’t require raising and killing animals and that is affordable and tastes and feels like the meat we eat now. They are part of a young industry aiming to use cell biology to reduce the environmental impact of the world’s ever-increasing demand for meat and change global protein production the way electric cars are shaking up the auto industry.
“We are addicted to meat as a species. It’s part of our culture,” said Believer founder Yaakov Nahmias. But “we thought about quantity rather than the environment, rather than sustainability.”
Although there are dozens of companies making this meat, none have yet reached commercial-level production in terms of scale or cost. From cell line development to bio-processor design, there are a number of scientific challenges to meet before cultivated meat is widely available at the market. Government policy is another challenge. Only Singapore and the U. S. allow sales of cultivated meat.
And while many people who have tried it say they like it, others find the idea distasteful. A recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that half of U. S. adults would be unlikely to try it. When they were asked why, about half said they didn’t think it would be safe. Even Nahmias’10-year-old son Oren said he would only eat traditional meat. “I feel bad” for the animals, he said, “but they are yummy!”
“Until this meat costs and tastes the same as traditional meat, it will remain a specialized product,” said Bruce Friedrich, president of the Good Food Institute.
1. Why does the writer ask a question in the first paragraph?| A．To indicate an opinion. | B．To present a worry. |
| C．To make an assumption. | D．To start a discussion. |
| A．Study cell biology. | B．Provide sustainable protein. |
| C．End world hunger. | D．Help the traditional food industry. |
| A．It is unripe for mass production. | B．It is as popular as traditional meat. |
| C．It is safer than traditional meat. | D．It is competitive in price and quantity. |
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Dismissive. | C．Unclear. | D．Reserved. |
【推荐2】It is often difficult for farmers to recognize diseases quickly enough to protect their crops. Now, some farmers are using a simple device (装置) directly in the field to find viruses (病毒) before they spread.
In Tanzania, farmers struggle to recognize diseases in an urgent effort to avoid great crop damage. This process is often not easy when farmers are acting on their own. If they do not know what is attacking their crops, they cannot decide the best way to fight the disease.
A device from British technology company Oxford Nanopore is changing that. The device takes out DNA from plants and helps farmers recognize what is harming their crops so that they can change to the improved crops.
Laura Boykin worked with the University of Western Australia and brought the device to a Tanzanian farm-owned by Asha Mohamed. The testing recognized a number of viruses in the cassava fields near Mohamed’s farm. “So what would have normally taken six months has just happend in a couple of hours. And that’s possible because of amazing technology, which can give farmers results real-time.” Once the viruses were recognized, Asha Mohamed was given two kinds of seeds that are resistant to the diseases.
In another case, DNA was collected from a pawpaw tree farm in Kenya. With that test, the technology was able to recognize the diseases affecting Naomi Mumo’s crops. Laura Boykin says she returned to Mohamed’s farm nine months later. “After nine months of her growing the improved crops, we harvested her plants and she saw large rise in the total amount of crops.
The speed at which farmers recognize diseases can mean the difference between the successor failure on large areas of crop land. Now, the use of such simple and easily transportable DNA sequencing (测序) devices is making that possible.
1. According to Paragraph 1, what problem are some farmers faced with?| A．They always suffer a poor harvest. |
| B．They fail to find helpful doctors. |
| C．They know little about modern faring technology. |
| D．They have difficulty in recognizing crop diseases quickly. |
| A．It was developed by scientists from Australia. |
| B．It helps prevent the spread of crop diseases. |
| C．It recognizes crop diseases by testing DNA. |
| D．It should be used with the help of researchers. |
| A．harmful | B．recognizable |
| C．unaffected | D．Appointed |
| A．DNA technology wins great popularity among farmers. |
| B．DNA technology helps farmers recognize crop diseases. |
| C．The economic development in Tanzania. |
| D．The benefits of modern farming. |
【推荐3】Many people are familiar with the horrible image of wildlife — including sea turtles, dolphins and seals — trapped in abandoned fishing nets. The main issue behind Nylon-6, the plastic inside these nets, carpet and clothing, is that it is too strong and durable to break down on its own. So, once it’s in the environment, it exists for thousands of years, littering waterways, breaking corals and killing birds and sea life.
Now, Northwestern University chemists have developed a new catalyst (催化剂) that quickly, cleanly and completely breaks down Nylon-6 in a matter of minutes — without generating harmful byproducts. More importantly, the process does not require poisonous solvents (溶剂), expensive materials or extreme conditions, making it practical for everyday applications.
Current methods to dispose of Nylon-6 are limited to simply burying it in landfills. When Nylon-6 is burned, it produces poisonous pollutants such as nitrogen oxides. Although other labs have explored catalysts to degrade Nylon-6, these catalysts require extreme conditions (such as temperatures as high as 350 degrees Celsius), high pressure steam (which is energetically expensive and inefficient) and / or toxic solvents that only contribute to more pollution.
To bypass these issues, the researchers looked to a novel catalyst already developed in the lab of Tobin Marks, the leader of the research. The catalyst takes advantage of yttrium — an inexpensive Earth-abundant metal. When the team heated Nylon-6 samples to melting temperatures and applied the catalyst without a solvent, the plastic fell apart — returning to its original building blocks without leaving byproducts behind. In experiments, Marks and his team were able to recover 99% of plastics’ original building blocks.
“Our research represents a significant step forward in the field of polymer recycling and sustainable material management.” said Marks. After filing a patent for new process, Marks and his team have already received interest from many potential industrial partners. They hope others can use their catalysts on a larger scale to help solve the global plastic problem.
1. What is Nylon-6 according to the text?| A．A chemical that causes wildlife extinction. |
| B．The strongest plastic invented in history. |
| C．A material that is hard to degrade. |
| D．The nest used to trap sea creatures. |
| A．Eco-friendly. | B．Zero-waste. | C．Carbon-free. | D．Time-consuming. |
| A．The use of yttrium. | B．The anticipated result. |
| C．The research objectives. | D．The experiment process. |
| A．Tapped Sea Creatures Deserve Due Attention. |
| B．New Catalyst Found to Degrade Plastics. |
| C．A New Method to Address Pollution. |
| D．Ocean Pollution Settled for Good. |
【推荐1】British chip maker Walkers is being flooded with mail deliveries of its own packaging. An online petition (请愿) with more than 312,000 signatures so far encourages those who signed to mail their empty chip plastic bags to Walkers as an act of protest against the bags’ non-recyclable design.
As petition organizer Geraint Ashcroft explained, the majority of chip packets, made from plastic coated with metal, are not recyclable and have been found fully undamaged up to 33 years after consumption. The UK alone consumes 6 billion bags of chips a year, and Walkers turns out 11 million bags daily. Ashcroft wrote, “At today’s consumption rate in 33 years’ time, there will be 200 billion packets either sent to landfill or polluting our oceans. Many will be eaten by fish or birds, leading to a slow death.”
Mailing the bags to Walkers is a way to hold the company accountable for its packaging and to pressure it to come up with a better design. But it is controversial. Because the Royal Mail postal service isn’t happy about the sudden in flow of packages, asking people calm down to help with ease of delivery. Critics on Twitter also question the logic of buying a product in order to protest against its producer and suggest that giving up chips altogether would improve one’s health as well as the environment.
Walkers issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it will make its packaging plastic-free by 2025. “We have received some returned packets and recognized the efforts being made to bring the issue of packaging waste to our attention. The returned packets will be used in our research as we work towards our commitment of improving the recyclability of our packaging.”
1. Why do people mail their empty chip bags to Walkers?| A．To oppose Walkers’ plastic packaging. |
| B．To exchange them for some new chips. |
| C．To make Walkers use them once more. |
| D．To appeal to people for not using the bags. |
| A．The production of plastic bags. |
| B．The cause of animals’ death. |
| C．The potential harm of chip bags. |
| D．The opinion of Geraint Ashcroft. |
| A．Explainable. | B．Responsible. | C．Significant. | D．Anxious. |
| A．Doubtfully. | B．Indifferently. | C．Positively. | D．Cautiously. |
When Simon Cane was in the second grade, he began learning about all the ways humans have an impact on the environment and really took those classroom lessons to heart in a way that set him apart from his schoolmates at his elementary school, P. S. 81, in the Bronx. “He told me we drove too much and made too much pollution,” his dad, Jonathan Cane, told Runner’s World. So Simon convinced his parents to start hanging their clothes to dry, taking the stairs instead of elevators, and other “green” measures.
“For much of kindergarten and the first grade I rode my bike to Simon’s school with him on the back,” Jonathan said. “We had a lot of fun being outdoors. We’d stop to give our dog treats and generally enjoyed it.” As Simon got bigger, though, it wasn’t practical for him to ride on his father’s back, but it also didn’t make sense to ride together — both because of safety concerns and because there was no place to put away Simon’s bike. So, most of the time they drove the 1.5 miles to school.
But in 2019, when Simon was going into the third grade, the 8-year-old came up with a new way to help the planet: running the 1.5 miles to P. S. 81. And Jonathan promised his son he’d join him for as long as he wanted.
“We did a test run one day in August, and decided to give it a go. To be honest, I thought he’d blink after it got really cold or rainy, but he never did,” Jonathan said. He recalled one day when the weather was particularly bad. “It’s really raining out there today,” he told Simon. “And Simon said, ‘Well then we’re going to get wet!’ He took pride in toughing it out, and it became a really fun family routine.”
Since the start, Simon has run with his dad and their black dog, Lola, and has even inspired his mom, Nicole Sin Quee, to join in. They soon became known as “the family that runs to school”.
1. What made Simon different from his classmates? (no more than 10 words)2. Why did Simon usually go to school by car in the second grade? (no more than 15 words)
3. How do you understand the underlined part in the fourth paragraph? (no more than 15words)
4. How did Simon inspire his mom? (no more than 10 words)
5. What are your “green” measures? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
【推荐3】Since the earliest times, trees have always been very useful and important to men who made use of them in a number of ways for their daily life. Even today trees continue to serve men in so many useful ways.
They supply men with food, fuel (燃料) for burning and building materials in the form of wood. Without trees it would be impossible to build houses, boats and even bridges. Furniture such as tables and chairs is also made of wood.
In the tropics (热带) where it is very warm throughout the year, trees protect men from the terrible heat of the sun. They are also useful in preventing good and fertile (肥沃的) top soil from being washed away during heavy rains which are so common in the tropics. If there were no trees or vegetables of some types to hold back the soil with their roots, heavy rains would wash away the rich surface soil so important for agriculture. The result is that the land becomes useless and unproductive.
There are many desert areas in the world. A long, long time ago these areas must have been rich, fertile areas too, but people in ancient times cut down trees without any plan. They never took the trouble to plant new trees. Strong winds bit by bit blew away the rich surface soil and in the end the land was turned into useless desert where nothing could grow.
1. According to the passage, trees are useful and important because ________.| A．they supply men not only with food, but fuel and building materials |
| B．they protect men from the terrible heat of the sun in the tropics |
| C．they protect the rich surface soil from being washed away |
| D．All the above |
| A．In the tropics, heavy rains are very common. |
| B．Men in the earliest times never made use of trees. |
| C．Trees continue to serve men in many useful ways. |
| D．In the old days, it was impossible to build houses, boats and bridges without trees. |
| A．used to be rich fertile areas | B．are good for plants to grow on |
| C．are formed by cutting down trees with plans | D．are formed by wind blowing |
| A．the rich surface soil is important for agriculture | B．human beings should take care of trees |
| C．human beings have made good use of trees | D．there are many desert areas in the world |
【推荐1】Lord Ashcroft, one of the Conservatives’ biggest donors, has issued an attack on Norway for its cruel practice of commercial whaling.
“Norway often kills more whales than Japan and Iceland combined. And it’s no less cruel than in the past,” the peer wrote before the opening of the Norwegian whaling season this week.
Norway increased its fixed maximum from 999 in 2018 and has authorized the killing of 1,278 whales this year. Killing the animals, often with gun powder, was similar to inhumane traditions such as human slavery or boy chimney sweeps. “Now is the time for Norway to recognize that commercial whaling is cruel, outdated and unnecessary—and must be stopped.”
Last year Japan authorized whaling after years of carrying it out in the name of scientific research. Norway, like Iceland, refused to recognize the 1986 international act and restarted whaling in 1993. It says there are 100,000 whales in its waters.
Greenpeace Norway has appealed to its government to pay attention to the opposition “as well as the lack of a local market for the products”. It said, “Whaling is only maintained for narrow political reasons and should be phased out.”
A Norwegian government spokesman said, “The whales are harvested in a sustainable manner based on the best available scientific advice. The availability of whale products in Norway is wholly consumer-driven and international trade in whale products is regulated by and according to relevant international framework.”
It is used for pet food and to feed animals in fur farms or is exported to Japan and Iceland. Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, said that she ate smoked whale in Norway, comparing it to smoked salmon. Peta, the animal rights group, condemned her for being “invisible to the debate about Norway’s mass murder.”
Lord Ashcroft sent researchers to Norway to investigate and said four ships were seen preparing for “the killing activity.” “The biggest concentration of ships is in the Lofoten Islands, which are popular with tourists,” he wrote.
1. Why has Lord Ashcroft issued an attack on Norway?| A．It bombs whales for profits. |
| B．It allows the existence of human slavery. |
| C．It keeps the tradition of boy chimney sweeps. |
| D．It has harvested most of the whales in the ocean. |
| A．It bans the sale of the whale. | B．It has been whaling for years. |
| C．It whales with a scientific method. | D．It sets an amount limit of whaling. |
| A．Whaling is carried out in a sustainable way. |
| B．Whale products are promoted by our government. |
| C．Whaling should be maintained for political reasons. |
| D．Whale products sell well in the international market. |
| A．Intolerant. | B．Favorable. | C．Doubtful. | D．Rigid. |
【推荐2】More than a year into the pandemic of Covid-19, many people have grown used to a new lock-down lifestyle:keeping indoors,exercising less and eating more. “All of these contribute to worsening gut(消化道）function,"says Christopher Andrews,the lead physician at the Calgary Gut Motility Center, adding that heartburn is on the rise.
Heartburn is the painful effect of the stomach's acid creeping into the esophagus(食管). Diet is the greatest contributor: acidic foods such as grapefruits, hot sauce or coffee increase the amount of acid in your stomach, while chocolate, alcohol and high-fat foods result in loosened sphincter muscle. If that muscle weakens or is unable to close completely, stomach acid might arise,causing the heartburn. Spicy food can also increase uncomfortable feelings in the gut.
Heartburn occurs in bodies of all sizes, ages and genders, but researchers have found that overweight (超重的)people are two to three times more likely to experience frequent heartburn than those with a healthy weight. This may be because of the increased pressure on the gut,which can push stomach acid up. Changes in diet, such as the recent tendency for people to turn to comfort food in lock-down, can also lead to the problem.
Occasional heartburn isn't a problem, but experiences of frequent indigestion should push you to live a healthier life. According to a recent study of 9,000 heartburn patients, following a five-step health plan-maintaining a proper body weight, eating well, exercising, not smoking and limiting coffee or tea-can decrease symptoms (症状)by 40 per cent. Andrews also tells his patients to avoid eating close to bedtime, “If you lie down when your stomach is full, it's much easier for things to come up."
Though heartburn is currently on the rise, Andrews believes the increase is short-term. “Once life comes back to normal, I'm sure things will get better,” he says.
1. Which of the following is the main cause of heartburn?| A．Staying home. |
| B．The pandemic. |
| C．Unsuitable diet. |
| D．Less exercise. |
| A．Overweight people are at greater risk. |
| B．Stomach upsets will lead to heartburn. |
| C．Comfort food can help improve the situation. |
| D．Stomach acid will put more pressure on the gut. |
| A．Getting enough sleep. |
| B．Saying no to tea. |
| C．Consuming less coffee. |
| D．Having a medical checkup. |
| A．To inform us of a health problem. |
| B．To warn us of a worsening situation. |
| C．To recommend a way of losing weight. |
| D．To introduce a new lock-down lifestyle. |
【推荐3】Dandelion (蒲公英)seeds are some of the best flyers in nature, catching the wind and spreading as far as 100 kilometers. Each dandelion seed is tied by a thin tube to around 100hairs, which form the parachute-like (类似降落伞的) structure, When seeds break free from the flower head, these hairs catch the wind and carry their seeds. This hairy parachute closes when the air is humid (潮湿的), which often means the wind is weak. In drier, windier conditions. dandelions widen their parachutes to better catch the wind so the seeds can fly freely.
However, in the past, nobody knew how they sense and respond to their environment so effectively.
Now researchers have uncovered the secret “thinking” behind dandelions’ spreading seeds. Their work. published in Nature Communications, found the seed-carrying parachutes open and close using something like actuators-devices that change signals into movement-without using active input of energy. The center of the parachutes senses the humidity of their immediate environment by absorbing water molecules (分子)from the air. Responding to these humidity signals. they either open their parachutes and fly away, or close their parachutes and stay put.
Study author Dr. Naomi Nakayama of the Department of Bioengineering who led the work said that their “findings reveal how the dandelion ensures the survival of its species by making perhaps the most important decision in a plant’s life—to stay or go seek a better habitat”.
“Understanding how dandelions work is fascinating because the dandelion is the foundation of ecosystems. It feeds insects and birds.” Nakayama says “So, the environmental sensitivity of their flight is an important topic for us to understand how nature will change in future climates.”
1. What can be learned from paragraph 1?| A．Dandelion seeds have a tube-like design. |
| B．A dandelion flower consists of 100 hairs. |
| C．Dandelion seeds begin to grow in dry weather. |
| D．The dandelion parachute closes on wet mornings. |
| A．Its hairs catch the wind easily. |
| B．Its actuator needs extra energy to function. |
| C．The middle of its parachute measures humidity. |
| D．Its actuator’s shape was changed by the wind. |
| A．To feed more insects and birds. | B．To better learn about climate change. |
| C．To explain their role in ecosystems. | D．To change dandelions’living environment. |
| A．Why dandelion seeds “prefer” the wind |
| B．How dandelions “tell” us their destinations |
| C．How dandelions “decide” to spread their seeds |
| D．Why dandelion seeds “create” parachute-like structure |
