Southern California’s Catalina Island is a popular destination for nature lovers. It is reachable by boat from Los Angeles and San Diego. Most of the small island is a government-protected wild area. But, a report last October in the Los Angeles Times newspaper raised public concern about the water surrounding Catalina. The newspaper discovered that industrial companies for years had been dumping (倾倒) the insect poison DDT into the ocean near Catalina. The practice began in the 1940s and ended in the 1970s.
The newspaper report led to a search and study of the area by scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego (UCSD). The research team discovered about 25,000 large containers, below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The scientists suspected the containers held DDT, and other chemicals used to make the poison.
Eric Terrill, who led the Scripps program that worked on the project, said the finding was a surprise as the containers were spread over a very large area. The Scripps examination also showed the companies responsible for the chemical dump disobeyed rules about where to place the containers.
The researchers mapped about 15,000 hectares of ocean floor where past studies had shown evidence of poisonous chemicals. The area lies between coastal Los Angeles and Catalina. “The long-term effect on ocean life and humans is still unknown, and needs extensive study,” said Lihini Aluwihare, a member of the Scripps program. But, in 2015,she co-wrote another study that found high amounts of DDT and other chemicals in the fat of bottle nose dolphins. Aluwihare said some studies among small groups showed that DDT-linked health problems have been passed from parents to children.
1. What can we know about Catalina Island?A.It’s the smallest island off Los Angeles. | B.Various chemical plants are still there. |
C.No man has ever set foot on the island. | D.It’s a good option to explore nature. |
A.It’s an illegal activity. | B.It lasted half a century. |
C.It’s caused by an accident. | D.It poses no effect on wildlife. |
A.Many dolphins were poisoned to death. | B.Further research should be conducted. |
C.Her previous study was a great success. | D.Parents tended to get recovered soon. |
A.How to Respond to Water Pollution | B.What to Be Done to Save Ocean Life |
C.Shocking DDT Dump Around Catalina | D.Breathtaking Views in Southern California |
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【推荐1】The good news is that more people bought electric cars in 2020. The bad news is that SUVs continued to grow in popularity, too. The fall in oil consumption due to the first trend was completely cancelled out by the second, say Laura Cozzi and Apostolos Petropoulos at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in France.
The growing popularity of SUVs is making it even harder to cut carbon dioxide emissions(排放)and meet climate goals. “Policy-makers need to find ways to persuade consumers to choose smaller and more efficient cars,” says Petropoulos.
Oil consumption by conventional cars – not including SUVs – is estimated to have fallen 10 percent in 2020, or by more than 1.8 million barrels(桶)a day, Cozzi and Petropoulos say in a commentary published by the IEA on 15 January. Most of this fall was due to reduced travel and is likely to be temporary.
But a small part of the drop, around 40,000 barrels a day, was as a result of the increased share of electric vehicles (EVs). “We have seen a skyrocketing of global electric car sales in 2020,” says Petropoulos. Unfortunately, the number of SUVs increased as well. While overall car sales fell in 2020, 42 percent of buyers chose SUVs, up around three percentage points from 2019.
Globally, there are now more than 280 million SUVs being driven, up from fewer than 50 million in 2010. On average, SUVs consume 20 percent more energy per kilometre than a medium-sized car.
The increase in SUVs in 2020 led to a rise in oil consumption that cancelled out the effect of electric cars, says Petropoulos. Much the same is true over the past decade. Between 2010 and 2020, global CO2 emissions from conventional cars fell by nearly 350 megatonnes, due to factors such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the switch to electric cars. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 500 megatonnes.
“While the growth in EVs is encouraging, the increase in SUVs is heart-breaking,” says Glen Peters at the CICERO climate research centre in Norway.
There are many reasons for the growing popularity of SUVs, says Petropoulos. Rising prosperity(繁荣)in many countries means more people are able to afford them, for instance. Some people see them as a symbol of social position. SUVs are also heavily advertised by car-makers, he says, whose profits are higher on these vehicles.
There are now some electric SUVs available. “Hopefully, in time, you will see electric vehicles entering the SUV market,” says Peters.
Even if it happens, switching to electric SUVs isn’t an ideal solution. Due to their size and bigger batteries, it takes more resources to build electric SUVs, and they consume around 15 percent more electricity. Higher electricity demand makes it harder to green the electricity supply.
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?A.The SUVs driven in 2019 reached up to 280 million. |
B.Electric cars appeared a sharp decline in sales in 2020. |
C.Buyers of SUVs in 2020 increased 42 percent than those in 2019. |
D.Global SUVs being driven now are over five times as many as those in 2010. |
A.it could have harmful consequences for the air quality |
B.the oil consumption will increase and the price will fall |
C.people all over the world are getting wealthier than before |
D.the car-makers think it’s unnecessary to advertise any more |
A.The purchases of SUVs should be reduced. |
B.The SUVs should be discontinued immediately. |
C.The awareness of using electric cars needs to be improved. |
D.Increasing electric cars can solve the problem of oil consumption. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Disapproving. |
C.Supportive. | D.Uncertain. |
【推荐2】Environmental issues are among the most pressing concerns of seaside cities around the world that hope to find a solution through technological innovation for the growing problem.
In an interview, Annika Olsen, former prime minister of the Faroe Islands and current mayor of its capital Torshavn, expressed severe concerns about global warming. “The weather is getting warmer and the temperature of the sea is increasing, which poses a huge challenge to us as a fishery nation,” Olsen said. Faroe Islands fishery export accounts for 98 percent of the total exports, said Olsen, adding that warming of the sea is a challenge to the economy as to the environment. “We are very vulnerable to changes in the climate,” Olsen said, pointing out that “We have more rain and more extreme weather, and the snow is actually gone during wintertime.”
Olsen was one of over 300 mayors from about 70 countries around the world who participated in international conference MUNI EXPO this year, which was held in Tel Aviv. The city of Tel Aviv is noted as an innovative global center, which could be beneficial for cities devoting themselves to reducing global warming effects. Besides the mayors, about 8,000 participants took part in the annual international innovation convention, sponsored by the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel (FLAI).
“Each town or city is unique, but many of the challenges we face are shared,” Haim Bibas, chairman of FLAI and mayor of Modiin, said. “Coastal cities must deal with the burden of beach tourism, pollution from the sea, the destruction of reefs and rising sea levels and flooding, securing ports and coastal borders.” All cities must protect infrastructure (基础设施), ensure the high quality of air in urban areas, provide smart solutions for global warming, and invest in green energy, he added.
About 170 companies showed their unique technology at the exhibition part of the conference. Mindaugas, president of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania, said that there were more technologies focusing on the environment, and that could make the cities more sustainable.
1. What is the Faroe Islands’ main income?A.Fishery. | B.Agriculture. | C.Industry. | D.Tourism. |
A.To protect the fishery of island countries. | B.To reduce the threat of global climate change. |
C.To introduce international technological innovation. | D.To improve the economy of island countries. |
A.Not all towns or cities are unique. |
B.Different cities have different challenges. |
C.Coastal cities face similar problems. |
D.Pollution is the most serious problem to coastal cities. |
A.Coastal cities hope to invest in green energy. |
B.Coastal cities hope to be more sustainable. |
C.The latest technology about improving environment. |
D.a convention about protecting infrastructure in coastal cities. |
【推荐3】Carbon dioxide emissions from transportation are now thought as the top source of green-house gases. One of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to reconsider how much, and how often, you travel.
Going car free for a year could save about 2. 6 tons of carbon dioxide, according to a study from the University of British Columbia. How can you stop using a car? Try taking a train, bus or better yet, riding a bike.
But let’s be realistic. You will likely need to use a car this year. So, when you do, here are some tips to make your trip more climate-friendly. Driving efficiently can help to reduce emissions. Go easy on the gas and brakes and drive like you have an egg under your foot. Regularly service your car to keep it more efficient. Keeping your tires pumped correctly can re-duce emissions. Low tire pressure will hurt your fuel economy. Air conditioning and frequent city driving can make emissions go up. So cut down on these as often as possible. Use cruise control (定速巡航) on long drives-in most cases, this can help to save gas. Don’t weigh your car down with extra things that you don’t need on your trip.
Fly often? Taking one fewer long round-trip flight could reduce your personal carbon footprint significantly. If you use public transportation often and fly less, your carbon foot-print might still be relatively sustainable, but if you drive and fly a lot, your emissions will be sigher. If you can’t avoid flying, you can offset them by donating money to sustainable proacts, such as supplying efficient stoves to rural homes, or projects which help farmers deal with crop waste environmentally.
1. What does the author think of going car free?A.Efficient. | B.Costly. | C.Impractical. | D.Reliable. |
A.Maintaining your car properly. | B.Using cruise control in the city. |
C.Stepping hard on the gas and brakes. | D.Geiting rid of all the necessary loads. |
A.Make up for. | B.Team up with. | C.Set foot in. | D.Put up with. |
A.How to save fuel when driving cars | B.How to reduce your carbon footprint |
C.Reduce carbon footprint by all means | D.Lower carbon footprint in transportation |
【推荐1】If you wear contact lenses (隐形眼镜), you might not know the best way to deal with old ones. Washing them down the sink or flushing them down the toilet is not the way to go. Yet one in five people who wear contact lenses do just that. However, the plastic in their lenses can linger (存留), polluting both water and land.
Rolf Halden, an engineer at Arizona State University in Tempe, and his team created an online survey. More than 400 contact lens wearers took part. The questions asked how many got rid of their lenses inappropriately. About 20 percent — one in five — sent their used contact lenses down sink drain or toilet. Assuming all contact lens wearers in the U. S. do that at the same rate, the researchers then calculated how much plastic would be flushed away each year. Their estimate: 6 to 10 metric tons! That's about the weight of two to three adult African forest elephants. Contact lenses are a tiny part of the world's plastic pollution. But the unique plastic used in contact lenses could make them a big concern.
To figure it out, researchers exposed contact lenses to the microbes (微生物) used to clean wastewater in water-treatment plants. These microbes made the plastics begin to fall apart, but they weren't fully broken down. Instead, they created a lot of tiny pieces called microplastics.
Halden worries that these small plastic bits will cause trouble in the food chain. In water, the plastics from contact lenses sink. Animals could view these tiny bits as food. But because the plastic won't provide them with nutrition, this could threaten the health of animals who dined on it.
And that's already happening. Many studies have shown that corals, larval fish and shellfish are mistaking microplastics for food. Over time, they risk accumulating even higher levels of plastic in their bodies. Also the pollution has already shown up in bottled water, sea salt and fish sold for human consumption.
1. Rolf Halden's survey shows that ________.A.contact lenses have won popularity with Americans |
B.contact lenses have caused a huge part of plastic pollution |
C.some contact lens wearers throw away their old lenses improperly |
D.many contact lens wearers don't wear their lenses in the proper way |
A.They could be broken down completely. |
B.They could be processed properly there. |
C.They couldn't be affected by microbes. |
D.Some of them became microplastics. |
A.Tiny pieces are entering oceans. |
B.Sea creatures are eating microplastics. |
C.Animals are causing plastic pollution. |
D.Contact lenses are damaging the environment |
A.People's eyesight is getting worse and worse. |
B.Contact lenses must be banned immediately. |
C.Animals in the sea are lacking in nutrition. |
D.The impacts microplastic pollution has on human health. |
【推荐2】Information from this year’s IQAir World Air Quality Report showed only seven countries met the World Health Organization’s pollution recommendations in 2023, which were Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand. Of the 134 countries and regions measured, 124 had higher levels than called for in the WHO pollution guidelines.
The report said the five countries with what it called the lowest air quality had particle (颗粒物) levels at least nine times higher than what the WHO recommends. Three South Asian countries — Bangladesh, Pakistan and India — had the world’s lowest air quality. In 2022, India was eighth and Bangladesh was fifth.
The information came from the Swiss company IQAir. The report used measurements from over 30,000 stations across 134 countries. IQAir used the WHO standard of PM 2.5 to measure the size of breathable pollutant particles in the air. The PM2.5 measurement means the particles are 2.5 microns (微米) or less in diameter (直径). The diameter of human hair, for example, is about 30 times larger than a particle of 2.5 microns.
In Bangladesh, the concentration of PM2.5 particles reached 79.9 micrograms per cubic meter in 2023. In Pakistan, the number was 73.7. India’s level was 54.4, Tajikistan in Central Asia was 49 and Burkina Faso in West Africa was the fifth-most polluted nation at 46.6.
Firoz Khan, an air pollution expert at North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said 20 percent of the early deaths in the country were caused by air pollution. He added spending on pollution-related healthcare was equal to four to five percent of the nation’s economy.
Christi Chester Schroeder oversees air quality science for IQair. She said South Asia’s geography and climate conditions influence its air quality. “The pollution has nowhere to go,” she added. “Because of agricultural practices, industry and population density, it really does look like it is going to get worse before it gets better.”
1. What can be inferred from the text?A.Bangladesh’s air quality may have decreased in 2023. |
B.India’s air quality was greatly improved in 2022. |
C.Mauritius had the fifth-worst air quality in the world in 2022. |
D.Pakistan’s air quality was the third-worst in the world in 2023. |
A.To demonstrate how to use hair products. |
B.To offer suggestions to people with hair problems. |
C.To emphasize the difficulty of measuring pollutant particles. |
D.To explain the size of breathable pollutant particles in the air. |
A.Developing agriculture will help improve air quality. |
B.Geographical conditions have little influence on air quality. |
C.The future of air quality in South Asia does not look bright. |
D.South Asian countries should try to increase their populations. |
A.A report on global air pollution. | B.Plans to fight against air pollution. |
C.The harm of air pollution to humans. | D.Advice on cutting air pollution. |
【推荐3】Breathing dirty air can cost someone’s lifespan (寿命) months—even years, a new study finds. Worldwide, air pollution lowers average lifespans by a year. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Air pollution (污染) has been linked to many health problems. Most earlier studies have looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. But now an environmental scientist, Joshua Apte, is going even further. He works at the University of Texas, Austin. He together with his team is looking at life expectancy, hoping to make the threat easier to understand.
PM 2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM2.5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average lifespan. This analysis shows pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting PM 2.5 to 10 micrograms (微克) per cubic (立方) meter of air. Apte’s group used data to try to find how this low level would help people. But meeting the WHO standard won’t get rid of health damage from dirty air. That’s because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter pollution still causes huge risks.
Reducing air pollution could increase life expectancy. The scientists also compared how other threats shorten life spans across the globe. These risk factors included smoking and cancer.
These results show that in poor countries, cleaning up dirty air could greatly increase lifespans. It could have as big an effect as cleaning up drinking water, or curing lung cancer. However, in wealthier countries air pollution shortens life expectancy by less than half a year. All forms of cancer, in fact, shorten the average life expectancy by more than 3.5 years. “Knowing this can really help people. or policymakers, decide where to spend their money.” says Kirk Smith.
1. Why is Joshua Apte’s team carrying out the study?A.Know how small air pollutants are. |
B.Study many different healthy problems. |
C.Let people understand air pollution better. |
D.Study the life expectancy of different people. |
A.Its air is very clean. |
B.It still has pollution risks. |
C.It will get a prize from WHO. |
D.Its people will live a healthy life. |
A.It’s very hard to clean up dirty air in a short time. |
B.Lung cancer is the leading killer in all kinds of cancers. |
C.Reducing air pollution can increase all people’s lifespans much. |
D.The study will help different countries or people take different policies. |
A.Air Pollution is Shortening Lives Worldwide |
B.Many Factors are Affecting People’s Health |
C.Governments are Trying to Make Lifespan Long |
D.The Effect of Cancer is Worse than Dirty Air |
【推荐1】For many people around the world, the recent pandemic has meant having to work from home. Their work in offices has been stopped for a period. This means different working practices, which have advantages and disadvantages for employees. But the big question is, will they ever see their offices again?
Home working has made people realize what tasks they can perform at home, rather than standing the rush hour to the office to do the same thing. It has given them more time with the family; they’ve been sleeping better and have saved money by not travelling or buying lunches. And recent research suggests the majority of people working from home are just as productive.
For some people,this could be a permanent arrangement. In the UK, fifty of the biggest employers questioned by the BBC have said they have no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future. One main reason is that firms can’t provide enough space for large numbers of staff while social distancing rules are still in place. But the BBC also heard from some smaller businesses who are deciding to give up their offices altogether.
Other bigger companies are also looking at shutting offices to save money as many jobs can be performed at home. Peter Cheese, head of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, told the BBC: “We’re at a moment of real change in the world of work, driven by big existential problems.”
But this isn’t great news for everyone. Some employees can feel lonely at home, and there’s less opportunity to network or learn from other people, especially if they’re new staff. Also, city centers may suffer most from a change in working habits. Shops and cafes rely on the footfall of office workers. and without them, they face closure. So it may be too early to say where our desks will be permanently located.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?A.The discomfort of home working. |
B.The costs of home working. |
C.The benefits of home working. |
D.The bad influence of home working. |
A.Fifty percent of them will work part-time. |
B.Workers of smaller businesses will be unemployed. |
C.They will work in larger offices in the future. |
D.Some of them will continue to work at home. |
A.New employees. | B.Old employees. |
C.Employees of big companies. | D.Employees of small companies. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Uncertain. | C.Optimistic. | D.Negative. |
On Nov.19,a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.
The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record setting.28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia,CNN reported. It took the students seven years to build.
The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat,which is named after their school.It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms,according to Orbital Sciences,a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project.It can be controlled with a smartphone.
Like most satellites,TJ3Sat can send and receive datA. The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器),which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves,said Orbital officials.In this case,anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text.The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite,changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.
“I can say ‘Go Colonials’on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world,in India,someone can hear‘Go Colonials’over the radio,”the team explains on the website.
The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.
School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time.Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.
At a time when American students are busy with SATs,the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities,Glazer said.
“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro,program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA,said in a statement.“I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft.The idea here is that they really can do that.”
1. The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
A.influenced |
B.amazed |
C.delighted |
D.inspired |
A.It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite. |
B.Besides TJ3Sat,28 other small satellites were built by the students. |
C.TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space,which can be changed to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth. |
D.TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year,sending out messages together with information about its position in space. |
A.is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology |
B.proves that hard working teenagers can achieve a lot |
C.shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school |
D.has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel |
【推荐3】Canada Is Our Neighbour
Canada and the United States are neighbours.They are on the same land.They share the same long boundary(国界).These two nations are similar in many ways.Canada buys many goods from the United States.Cars and clothes are two examples.The United States also buys goods from Canada.Much of the paper used in the United States comes from Canada.Some of the oil we use comes from Canada,too.
Americans travel to Canada on holiday.And Canadians often visit the United States.It is easy for the people of one country to go to the other country.
Canadians read about the United States in newspapers and magazines.Many Americans watch Canadian baseball and hockey (曲棍球)matches on Sundays.
However,there are important differences between the United States and Canada.The United States has more people.
Because the population is smaller,there are more open places in Canada.There is much unused land.This is another important difference.
1. Canada buys from the United States.A.oil and paper | B.nothing | C.many things | D.everything |
A.Canadians | B.Americans | C.Chinese | D.students |
A.baseball | B.basketball |
C.newspapers | D.oil |
A.Canada has less people than the USA. |
B.Canada has not used all the land. |
C.Canada is connected with America. |
D.Canadians don’t like hockey. |