Coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean. They exist on vast scales and are equally important havens of biodiversity. Reefs occupy 0.1% of the oceans.
Corals are useful to people. Without the protection which reefs afford from crashing waves, low-lying islands such as the Maldives would have flooded long ago, and a billion people would lose food or income. However, reefs are under threat from rising sea temperatures. Heat causes the algae (海藻) with which corals are living together to generate toxins (毒素) that force those coral to leave.
Research groups around the world are coming up with plans of action to see if that will help, such as identifying naturally heat-resistant corals and cross-breeding such corals to create a new type.
Doubters doubt humanity will get its act together in time to make much difference.
| A．This can cause a coral’s death. |
| B．But there are grounds for optimism. |
| C．And they host a quarter of marine species. |
| D．Coral’s global ecosystem services are worth up to $10trn a year. |
| E．This mix of natural activity and human intervention is important. |
| F．This research can also be brought to bear on trying to save entire ecosystems. |
| G．However, the assisted evolution of corals does not meet with universal enthusiasm. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Going vegan or vegetarian is one way to decrease your diet’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions (排放) — but it isn’t the only way. A recent Purdue University study suggests that smaller changes can make a difference too, while improving your health.
After analyzing the 2010 grocery purchases of more than 57,000 U.S. families, Purdue researchers found 71 percent could reduce their food carbon footprint by making some changes. One is to skip the unhealthy snacks. Avoiding foods with high calorie is important and low nutritional value can reduce the total carbon footprint of U.S. family food consumption by nearly 10 percent. Items like candy, soda, and packaged snacks take more ingredients and more processing, which translates to higher environmental impacts.
Another effective way to reduce your carbon emissions is to avoid bulk buys. Households of one or two people may end up with food waste when they try to save money with bulk buys. Before you buy supersize, consider whether a three-pound jar of peanut butter will go bad before it’s used up.
The researchers of the study also suggest consuming fewer ready-made foods. One average microwave meal may not have a very large carbon footprint. But buying them regularly can add up to high emissions because ready-made foods are sold in large quantities, which makes their carbon footprint significant, the study found.
By making the above changes, the U.S. could cut more than a quarter of emissions from household food consumption, the researchers say. That’s about 36 million metric tons — about what 6.6 million households generate in a year of electricity use. “Collective action can make a huge impact,” says study co-author Hua Cai.
1. Why does the author mention being a vegetarian in Paragraph 1?| A．To encourage us to become vegetarians. |
| B．To introduce the findings of a recent study. |
| C．To illustrate the impact of greenhouse gas emission. |
| D．To tell readers it’s not a good way to help the environment. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. |
| C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．Buying things in quantity. |
| B．Buying things of low quality. |
| C．Buying things out of date. |
| D．Buying things of low price. |
| A．We should collect some materials to make a difference. |
| B．We should take measures quickly to make a difference. |
| C．We should make efforts together to make a difference. |
| D．We should avoid all unhealthy food to make a difference. |
【推荐2】Recycling
Recyclable items are waste materials that can be processed to make new products. The recycled materials go through an intense process of separating the materials and converting into reusable products. At Waste Control, we offer a suite of on-site and off-site recycling services to meet the needs of our residential and business customers.
ON-SITE RECYCLING SERVICES
At the Waste Control facility, we have Drop-off Recycling and Buy-back Recycling Centers. The drop-off recycling center is a free service and is located next to the Transfer Station Building entrance. The Buy-Back Recycling Center is located on the north end of the facility and is for customers wishing to be reimbursed(报销，偿还) for their recyclable materials at current market rates.
OFF-SITE RECYCLING SERVICES
We also offer many off-site recycling services to meet your needs. We maintain free drop-off recycling sites throughout the community for common recyclable materials and residential waste oil and antifreeze. We also offer off-site residential roadside recycling and business recycling services.
HOURS & DIRECTIONS
Waste Transfer Station, Drop-off Recycling Center, & Buy-back Recycling Center:
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – 7 days a week
Business Office:
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Monday through Friday
Holiday Hours:
The Business Office is closed on all major holidays (New Year’s Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).
The Transfer Station is open for self-hauled waste, drop-off recycling, and buy-back recycling for limited hours during holidays. The facility is closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and July 4th–if it falls on a weekend. The facility closes at 12 noon on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and July 4th–if it falls on a weekday. The facility is open on all other holidays.
Waste collection and roadside recycling services are uninterrupted during holidays, except for Christmas Day and New Years Day. If Christmas Day or New Year’s Day fall on a weekday, there will be no pickup on the holiday and all garbage and recycling services will be moved one day forward from your regularly scheduled pickup for the remainder of the week. For example, if Christmas falls on a Wednesday, customers with regularly scheduled Wednesday service will be picked up on Thursday. Customers with regularly scheduled Thursday service will be picked up on Friday. Customers with regularly scheduled Friday service will be picked up on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday fall prior to the holiday and will be picked up as regularly scheduled.
1. If you wish to be paid back for the recyclable items, you should ________.| A．check the current market rates first |
| B．take them to the Waste Control facility |
| C．put them into the roadside recycling sites |
| D．separate them from waste oil and antifreeze |
| A．Tuesday | B．Wednesday | C．Thursday | D．Friday |
| A．Off-site services are not offered to collect business recyclable materials. |
| B．Waste Transfer Station is open on July 4th morning if it falls on a weekend. |
| C．The drop-off recycling center is far away from the buy-back recycling center. |
| D．There is no need for residents to pay for dropping off recyclable materials. |
【推荐3】Environmentally Friendly Denmark
What Are They Doing and
How Is It Helping?
 THEY PREFER TO CYCLEOn average, Danes living in Copenhagen cycle almost 2 miles a day. Danes are far more likely to own a bike than they are a car, in fact 40% of Danes own a car and 90% a bike. Source: Cycling Embassy of Denmark |
 THEY DON’T WASTE FOODDanes are very good at avoiding wasting food. Supermarkets offer 80% reductions at the end of the day to try to minimize waste. An app called “TooGoodToGo” also allows restaurants to give away unwanted food at closing time. |
| THEY ARE AWARE Danes are mindful about knowing where their food has come from. It is not uncommon for children to be taken to witness killing and dissections of animals at zoos so they understand where the food on their plate began its life. Source: New Yorker |
 THEY EAT ORGANICDanes eat more organic food than any other country in the world. This is because organic food is not significantly more expensive than other options, making it a good choice for everyone. Source : The Local |
| THEY USE CLEAN ENERGY By 2050, Denmark wishes to become independent of fossil fuels. This is far from unreachable as earlier this year the country ran entirely on wind energy for a whole day.
|
Source: The Danish Ecological Council1. The article is written to _______.
| A．show the readers how Denmark stays environmentally-friendly |
| B．persuade the readers to adopt Danes’ environmental-protection methods |
| C．entertain the readers with creative environmental-protection methods taken by Danes |
| D．identify organizations providing information about the environmentally-friendly Denmark |
| A．Demark is able to function properly for long without the use of fossil fuels. |
| B．Danish supermarkets are trying to reduce its amount of food to cut waste. |
| C．Many Danes take their children to zoos to show them where food comes from. |
| D．Unlike other countries, organic food in Denmark is cheaper than non-organic food. |
