Global warming, the increases of the earth’s average surface temperature, results from greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide, which traps heat that would otherwise escape from the earth. After the trees are cut down and more greenhouse gases are released, the “blanket” around the earth, called the ozone layer(臭氧层), will get thicker. This catches more heat and makes the earth hotter. Luckily, there are many things that every citizen of the earth can do to help reduce the effects of global warming, and it’s never too late or too early for children to take action.
Children should learn what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases people make as they lead the daily life and go about the normal activities. In other words, the carbon footprint is a measure of the environmental impact the life has. To live an environmentally friendly life that hardly contributes to global warming, people should make the fewest carbon footprints possible.
Almost everything people do contributes to global warming and is related to fossil fuel consumption. These things people do can be direct use of fossil fuels, like riding in a gasoline-powered car, or indirect contributions to greenhouse gases, such as eating fruit and vegetables that have to be shipped from faraway places to reach their tables.
If a child wants to make a contribution to reducing global warming, he should ride a bicycle to the near park, the school, his friend’s house, or anywhere else not so far instead of taking a car. Or he may try to walk or jog, which is also helpful. In addition, although trains and buses often run on fossil fuels, on average, each person uses less energy and produces less pollution to take a train or a bus. Next time if children with their parents have to go around town or go to someplace too far to walk to or bike to, take a bus or other public transportation instead of riding a car.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．A brief description of the carbon footprint. | B．The serious water pollution. |
| C．The protection of the ozone layer. | D．The causes of global warming. |
| A．Useless. | B．Expensive. | C．Helpful. | D．Attractive. |
| A．Go to the near park by bus. | B．Walk or cycle as much as possible. |
| C．Keep staying at home. | D．Go around town with parents by car. |
| A．What can people do to use less energy? |
| B．How can kids help reduce global warming? |
| C．How do carbon footprints measure pollution? |
| D．Why global warming affects humans’ life? |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】What to do about climate change?
With scientists warning that 2024 could be the warmest ever, and destructive wildfires tearing through communities, the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat.
Use energy wisely.
Using energy with wisdom is one way to cut your carbon footprint. It’s not just about how much energy you use, but when You use it.
Aviation (航空) brings a significant challenge in achieving net-zero emissions. Despite accounting for just three percent of global emissions, it is a rapidly growing source and difficult to decarbonize (碳减排). Reducing air travel is recommended until battery and hydrogen planes become practical.
Grow your own.
Whether you have a windowsill or a smallholding, growing your own herbs, flowers or vegetables can be beneficial. Not just to pollinators (传粉昆虫), which can feed off the plants, but to your mental health. Sure, cultivating a garden isn’t going to absorb much carbon.
| A．Heat water less. |
| B．No-fly travel companies are making overland travel more attractive. |
| C．Avoid the skies. |
| D．cultivating a garden to absorb carbon. |
| E．setting timers for appliances to run through the night. |
| F．But it will help you reconnect with nature. |
| G．Listed below are 3 things You can do to reduce your carbon footprint and save yourself from climate despair. |
【推荐2】Howe Dell primary school, the most eco-friendly building in the country, is almost an experiment in how green and sustainable a building can be. The toilets flush using rainwater; roofs are covered with plants; the building is heated using the playground and the desks are made from drainpipes. The carpets are made up of tiles (小方地毯). When it wears out, they can replace one or two rather than the whole carpet.
IHT, which stands for Inter—seasonal Heat Transfer, takes heat from the sunshine that falls on the tarmac (碎石柏油路) playground, then stores it and releases it in winter to heat the school. A network of water pipes were laid under the playground. As the tarmac heats up when the sun shines on it, the heat in the water is pumped away and stored in computer-controlled banks in the ground under the school. The stored heat is then released into the school when it is needed—sometimes months later.
It took eight years to plan and build the school. For the pupils and teachers, the school is more than just a new building—it’s an educational resource. The school has an eight-pupil-strong “Eco-Squad”, all wearing smart green “Eco-Squad” badges, whose job is to promote ideas of sustainability. Environmental concerns are second nature to the pupils, who are developing fingerprint technology to replace the old library card system to save paper.
The school’s curriculum also incorporates sustainable education principles and the green section of the curriculum aims to teach pupils the interdependence of peoples and countries, the need to promote sustainable development and an awareness of their personal responsibility for the environment.
The school’s sustainability features don’t stop at the underground pipes. Solar heating panels warm up water for kitchens and washing. The architects also designed the school with skylights that flood the classrooms and corridors with daylight and specified super-thick exterior walls and thick window glass to reduce heat loss. “At the moment,” says Hewitt, an architect, “It is expensive to build something like this. As a society, we need the nerves and the will to invest in buildings such as these.”
1. The buildings of Howe Dell primary school________.| A．get heat from the sunshine in winter |
| B．are cooled by the water pipes in summer |
| C．are warmed in winter by stored heat from computer-controlled banks |
| D．are covered with plants all year round |
| A．anxiety | B．courage | C．action | D．ability |
| A．have sustainability features |
| B．understand the sustainable education principles |
| C．use fingerprint technology instead of the library card system |
| D．be aware of their personal responsibility for the environment |
| A．Solar heating panels are also one of the sustainability features of the school |
| B．Howe Dell primary school is eco-friendly but too expensive to build at present |
| C．the underground pipes are the only sustainability feature of the school |
| D．the school is designed with skylight to reduce heat loss |
【推荐3】New methods have allowed researchers and scientists to find a way to reduce heat from buildings by about 30%. This new “green” solution is quite literally green as it involves fitting a living wall, according to a new research.
To see what effects renewing a living wall on an existing building using fabric and pockets to stick soil and plants onto the walls would have on the environment, the scientists decided to test it out on a building at a university in the UK, which was originally built in the 1970’s. As a control, part of the building was not fitted with the living wall. Both of the parts of the building were west-facing and the test was conducted over 5 weeks. What was found was that the part with the living wall lost 31.4% less heat as compared to the side without it. It also had a more stable temperature as the day progressed, so it took less energy to heat.
In the UK, approximately 57% buildings were built before 1964. They have caused 17% of greenhouse emission (排放), about 60% of which comes from space heating. If people could reduce heat loss from older buildings by 30%, a huge part of that could be removed, while regulations have changed more recently to improve the thermal performance of new constructions, it is the existing buildings that require the most energy to heat and are a significant contributor to carbon emissions. It is, therefore, essential that people begin to improve the thermal performance of these existing buildings if the UK is to reach its target of net zero carbon emission by 2050, and help to reduce the possibility of fuel poverty (贫困) from rising energy prices.
The new research suggests living walls can also provide significant energy savings to help reduce the carbon footprint of existing buildings. Perfecting these living wall systems, however, is now needed to help increase the environmental benefits and reduce some of the sustainability costs.
1. What did the researchers find about the living wall in the test?| A．It protected the building well. | B．It reduced the waste of some fuels. |
| C．It reduced the heat loss of the building. | D．It made the building more comfortable. |
| A．Pulling down the older buildings. | B．Controlling the rising prices of fuels. |
| C．Adding more living walls on new buildings. | D．Reducing the fuel consumed by the older buildings. |
| A．The disadvantages of old buildings. |
| B．The contributors to greenhouse emission. |
| C．The methods of reducing energy consumption. |
| D．The importance of reducing heat loss from buildings. |
| A．They remain to be improved to fimction perfectly. |
| B．They are aimed to reduce the energy price in the UK. |
| C．They become the most effective way to save energy. |
| D．They reduce 17% of greenhouse emissions in the UK. |
Yold
The year 2020 marks the beginning of the decade of the yold, or the “young old”, as the Japanese call people aged between 65 and 75. By continuing to work and staying socially engaged, the boomers, in their new appearance as the young old, will change the world.
The yold are more numerous, healthier and wealthier than previous generations of seniors.
The yold are challenging the traditional expectations of the retired in many aspects. They won’t wear indoor shoes and look after the grandchildren.
Today, some big things will have to change, under pressure from the yold themselves. The most important is public attitudes towards older people and in particular the expectation that 60-somethings ought to quietly retire into the background.
| A．Healthy yold people will require great changes in health spending. |
| B．They become one of the fastest growing groups for airline businesses. |
| C．The rise of the yold will definitely be a blessing to both culture and economy. |
| D．Health worsens with age, but the yold are resisting the decline better than most. |
| E．Many companies treat older workers unfairly by offering training only to younger ones. |
| F．Bosses may think productivity falls with age, but studies in Germany suggest things different. |
【推荐2】The needs of plus-size consumers have long been the elephant in the room of the fashion industry until body positivity and fat acceptance movements promoted the slogan that large-bodied people are not those who are left behind. This size-inclusive trend has become so popular that it is influencing mainstream culture. As a result, fashion brands have finally decided to extend their size ranges. In 2022, the plus-size market grew twice as fast as the standard size market in both North America and the UK.
Yet, many consumers say fashion brands broadening their ranges are not truly inclusive. “Inclusive sizing means that all bodies are included in fashion, not just the ones who fit in standard sizes,” says Marie Southard Ospina, a UK-based journalist who covers body-image issues. “However, what many designers do right now is pick a number that they think is big enough to include plus sizes and stop. This is even more disrespectful.”
Researchers also criticize that some brands are just taking advantage of the trend. “Brands that used to promote so-called perfect bodies in their advertisements are now trying to get in on the trend by adding a few sizes. It doesn’t feel like they really care about plus-size people,” says Tom Burgess, analyst in fashion industry. “If brands cared about large-bodied consumers, then it wouldn’t have taken until now to acknowledge that they exist,” he says. “It gives the impression that companies are just trying to gain a share of the market without a real commitment to the community.”
The fashion industry must go beyond merely producing clothing in a particular range of sizes if they hope to succeed with a body-diverse world. The whole industry has to connect on a personal level with consumers. That involves showing shoppers that they are seen, understood and important to brands. “Consumers care about values, and so they want to buy from brands that reflect the values they believe in. Everyone should enjoy the same range of fashion options,” says Ludovica Cesareo, professor of marketing at the College of Business in the US.
1. What do the underlined words “the elephant in the room” mean in the first paragraph?| A．The hot issue that is valued. | B．The obvious truth that is ignored. |
| C．The important principle that is recognized. | D．The common phenomenon that is criticized. |
| A．they pick sizes randomly | B．they offer limited plus sizes |
| C．they treat designers disrespectfully | D．they haven’t broadened standard sizes |
| A．Their designs. | B．Their quality. |
| C．Their motivations. | D．Their advertisements. |
| A．Buyers deserve fashion that respects their values. |
| B．Consumers prefer brands with personalized styles. |
| C．Brands should catch up with the size-inclusive trend. |
| D．A good brand image is critical in the fashion industry. |
Instead, they receive their elementary(初等)and high school education by working at home on computers.The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools.”and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgement of cyberschools,they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer,a printer,books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.
1. What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool?
| A．They have to take long bus rides to school. |
| B．They study at home rather than in classrooms. |
| C．They receive money from traditional public schools. |
| D．They do well in traditional school programs. |
| A．Their equipment costs a lot of money. |
| B．They get little support from the state government. |
| C．It is hard to know students' progress in learning. |
| D．The students find it hard to make friends. |
| A．they are less expensive for students |
| B．their students can work at their own speed |
| C．their graduates are more successful in society |
| D．they serve students in a wider age range |
| A．unprejudiced in his description of cyberschools |
| B．excited about the future of cyberschools |
| C．doubtful about the quality of cyberschoois |
| D．disappointed at the development of cyberschools |
【推荐1】“Many rules of bee society—from collective and individual interactions to raising healthy young bees—are adjusted by temperature, so we take advantage of that for this study,” explains Rafael Barmak, first author of a paper published recently.
“Previous studies on the thermal (heat-related) behavior of honeybees in winter have relied on observing the bees or controlling the outside temperature,” adds Martin Stefanec of the University of Graz. Now, scientists have developed a robotic system that can be built into a honeybee hive (蜂箱), which enables scientists to change the temperature from within the colony (蜂群), copy the thermal behavior of bees there, and study how the winter colony actively adjusts its temperature.
It’s challenging to study bees in winter since they are sensitive to cold, and opening their hives risks harming them. But thanks to the robotic system, scientists were able to study three experimental hives located at the Artificial Life Lab in Austria, while controlling them from a public research university in Switzerland. Inside the device, a central processor organized the sensors, which created a quick picture of the bees’ collective behavior, sent commands to the actuators (制动器) and passed on data to the scientists. That demonstrated the system could be used to study bees without entering the hives or without even cameras.
By gathering data on the bees’ position and creating warmer areas in the hive, scientists could encourage bees to move around in ways they would never normally do in nature during winter when bees tend to gather together to conserve energy. For example, scientists could direct bees colony toward a food source or discourage it from dividing into too small groups, which could threaten its survival.
The scientists were able to prolong the existence of a colony following the death of its queen by distributing heat energy via the actuators. Bees are one of the most important pollinators (传粉者), and their survivability has become a growing environmental and food security concern as pollinators’ global populations have declined.
1. What is the underlying logic behind the robotic system?| A．Bees’ sensitive response to heat. |
| B．Bees’ preference to live in groups. |
| C．Temperature adjustment of bee society. |
| D．Different work assignments of the bee colony. |
| A．It can provide inner heating remotely. |
| B．It can open the hives automatically. |
| C．It can absorb outside heat constantly. |
| D．It can send real-time data through its camera. |
| A．To design better hives. | B．To increase bee biodiversity. |
| C．To enhance bee survivability. | D．To learn how to distribute energy. |
| A．A Robotic Group—a Bee Individual Colony |
| B．A Robotic System—a Hidden Window to Bees |
| C．The Thermal Sensor—a Barrier to Cold Climate |
| D．The Bee Society—the World’s Most Important Insects |
【推荐2】In the UK, electric and other low-emission（低排放）cars, vans, and buses could be given special green plates to encourage more people to buy such cars, and promote awareness for “clean” cars.
Strange as it may seem, there is some reason to believe that something as small as this could make a big difference. Already, similar ideas have been put into effect in Norway, Canada, Latvia, and China, and the results have been encouraging.
Elisabeth Costa, director of the Behavioural Insights Team, explains, “Simple changes based on behavioral science can have a big impact. Green plates would be more noticeable to road users, and this increased attraction can help normalise the idea of clean vehicles, highlighting（使突出）the changing social norms（规范）around vehicle ownership.”
Actually, hybrids and electric cars accounted for 5.5% of the cars sold in the UK in the first half of the year, compared to 4.2% for the same period in 2017.
However, colored plates can only go so far. At the end of the day, you need strong, concrete（具体的）measures if you want to support a market like electric cars. The UK already has generous allowances for electric cars, but a study for the RAC Foundation found that the lack of reliable, easy-to-use charging stations is the main roadblock to people purchasing more electric cars. This was repeated by separate research from AA, the UK’s largest motorist association, which found that although 1 in 2 young drivers want electric cars, 8 out of 10 drivers feel that the lack of adequate electrical chargers is the main reason not to buy an electric car.
Yet this all shows that more and more people are nearing a tipping point where they are willing to buy electric cars. And a small PR stunt（噱头）, the “coolness factor” of the colored plates could end up making a difference. Similarly, having red plates for the more polluting cars might also play a role.
A spokesman for the Environmental Transport Association said, “While green number plates will be positive PR for low-emission car makers and early adopters of the technology alike, to be truly effective any such measures will need to at the same time shame the drivers of the most polluting vehicles.”
1. Why does the UK give green license plates to cars?| A．To promote car sales. |
| B．To beautify the environment in the UK. |
| C．To separate “clean” cars from polluting cars. |
| D．To inspire people to buy low-emission vehicles. |
| A．The results of giving colored plates are discouraging. |
| B．The measures of giving colored plates will be at an end. |
| C．Giving colored plates has a limited impact on promoting “clean” cars. |
| D．Giving colored plates will be replaced by strong, concrete measures. |
| A．Allowances for electric cars are not attractive. |
| B．They aren’t fond of the green color. |
| C．Charging stations are not readily available. |
| D．Electric cars are unaffordable to them. |
| A．Banning people from buying polluting cars. |
| B．Continuing the use of green number plates. |
| C．Replacing green plates with red ones. |
| D．Shaming the drivers of polluting cars into buying “clean” cars. |
【推荐3】Scientists have found the world’s biggest seagrass ecosystem in the Bahamas. Seagrass refers to dozens of different species of flowering plants that live entirely underwater, producing energy through photosynthesis (光合作用) by absorbing sunlight. Like their land-based relatives, seagrasses have roots and leaves and also produce seeds. Seagrasses grow in salty coastal waters around the world, usually in shallow waters where sunlight is more plentiful. Since seagrasses carry out the process of photosynthesis, they are known to be very effective at storing carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas. This is because photosynthesis involves plants using sunlight to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen.
These underwater plants play an important role in carbon sequestration, in which carbon is stored in the environment rather than being allowed to float freely in the atmosphere where it can contribute to global warming. According to Gallagher, one of the new study’s authors, carbon enters the ocean as part of the carbon cycle, and the seagrass takes in this carbon through photosynthesis via their leaves. This is part one. The second part is when the seagrass transports this carbon through itself, burying and storing it in its root system. Seagrass stores this carbon permanently.
The purpose of the study by Gallagher and his colleagues was to map seagrass in the Bahamas, using data from 15 tiger sharks equipped with tracking instruments that could also take images of the sea floor. That information was then combined with reports from 2,500 surveys by human divers.
Mark Huxham, professor of teaching and research in environmental biology, said “This brilliant study uses imaginative and exciting new technology, in partnership with tiger sharks. We know seagrass is important for the health of our seas and our planet, but there are major gaps in our understanding about it.”
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The cause of photosynthesis. |
| B．Living conditions for seagrass. |
| C．Environmental effect of seagrass. |
| D．The introduction of photosynthesis. |
| A．Absorbing carbon from the air. |
| B．Reducing carbon in the roots. |
| C．Releasing carbon into the air. |
| D．Keeping carbon in sea plants. |
| A．Scientists have fully studied seagrass. |
| B．The study contributes to a new technology. |
| C．There is still a lot of work to study seagrass. |
| D．Tiger sharks will be the focus of future studies. |
| A．To inform. | B．To criticize. | C．To advertise. | D．To persuade. |
