A United Nations report found the ozone layer (臭氧层) is slowly recovering, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing ozone-consuming chemicals. The ozone layer, a blanket of gas that exists between 10km and 50km above Earth’s surface, protects the planet from the sun’s powerful radiation.
“We see things getting better,” said Paul Newman, co-chair of the UN team that examines the health of the ozone layer every four years. The global average amount of ozone 30km high in the atmosphere won’t be back to 1980 levels until about 2040, the report said. And it won’t be back to normal in the Arctic until 2045.In Antarctica, where the ozone layer is so thin that there’s a big hole, it won’t be fully fixed until 2066, the report said.
The global effort to recover the ozone hole came out of a 1987 agreement called the Montreal Protocol. Professor Petteri Taalas said the recovering of the ozone layer showed what could be achieved when the world worked together. “Ozone action sets an example for climate action,” Professor Taalas said.
There were signs of recovering in the last report on the ozone layer four years ago but the improvements were only slight. “Those numbers of recovery have solidified a lot,” Mr. Newman said. Mr. Newman added the two main chemicals that damage the ozone layer—chlorine (氯) and bromine (溴)—were now in lower levels in the atmosphere. Chlorine levels were down 11.5 per cent since peaking in 1993 and bromine, which is more damaging to the ozone layer but is at lower levels in the air, dropped 14.5 per cent since its 1999 peak.
UN environment program director Inger Andersen has previously said the recovering of the ozone hole was “saving two million people every year from skin cancer”.
1. What do we know about the ozone layer from paragraph 1?| A．It made the whole world work together. |
| B．It can protect the sun from powerful radiation. |
| C．It is recovering at a speed more than expected. |
| D．It can produce some chemicals for consumption. |
| A．The average amount of ozone. | B．The present situation of ozone. |
| C．The places where ozone appears. | D．The times when ozone fully recovers. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Uncertain. | C．Optimistic. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．There were some false data in the last report. |
| B．Chlorine and bromine levels in the air have come down. |
| C．Skin cancer is caused to a larger extent by the ozone layer. |
| D．Chlorine causes more damage to the ozone layer than bromine. |
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【推荐1】One of Australia’s most famous natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest coral reef. The reef contains a large variety of life and over 3000 reef systems and hundreds of islands with some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Because of its natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the world’s most sought after tourist attractions.
However, for the past few years, the news about corals has been discouraging. Currently, the reef is threatened by climate change, tourism, water pollution, and overfishing. Agricultural fertilizer(肥料) runoff from Australian farms also has caused the widespread growth of sea-plants, which absorb most of the nutrients(养分) and leave little remaining for the living coral reef and the animals that live in it. “What has changed is the increasing importance of climate change as a greater threat than the others,” says David Wachenfeld, a scientist of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Coral reefs are extremely sensitive(敏感的) to warming ocean temperatures.
In a report on April 28, the Australian government said it set aside $500 million to help protect corals. The money will be spent on reducing water pollution from agriculture, fighting coral-killing starfish, reef monitoring, and research on climate influence.
Though the Australian investment is welcome, it will at best only delay coral deaths. It’s too little, too late, as a leading coral-scientist Terry Hughes of James Cook University put it. The only way to save corals over the long term is to slow down climate change. That process will require all countries to work together to find the most effective way of cutting emissions (排放) of greenhouse gases.
The most recent emissions figures, however, show that the world is failing at that task. The year 2018 has seen an increase in global emissions. This week in Bonn, Germany, countries are meeting to discuss how to keep their word in the Paris climate agreement. Let’s hope they hear about the silent death of the world’s corals.
1. Why does the author write the text?| A．To introduce the Great Barrier Reef. |
| B．To show the result of climate change. |
| C．To offer ways of protecting the Great Barrier Reef. |
| D．To tell us the serious situation of the Great Barrier Reef. |
| A．Sea-plants help to protect the coral reefs. |
| B．Water temperature has little to do with the coral reefs. |
| C．Climate change is the main reason for coral reefs’ death. |
| D．Agricultural fertilizer provides nutrients for coral reefs. |
| A．timely | B．unsatisfying |
| C．effective | D．useless |
| A．By reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. |
| B．By cutting down the number of tourists. |
| C．By setting more strict rules on overfishing. |
| D．By investing more in climate research. |
【推荐2】New York-based Ecovative has been creating environmentally friendly packaging made from mushrooms and agricultural waste since 2009. Now, the company wants to bring their amazing material into homes and offices with a new line of compostable (可堆肥的) furnishings that are grown using just three materials: mycelium (the vegetative part of mushrooms), hemp (麻类植物), and salt.
While creating hard material from mushrooms might sound magical, the company’s CEO Eben Bayer says it is a relatively low-tech process and compares it to “making bread”. The company begins by adding a few mycelium cells to damp hemp or other agricultural waste.
The mycelium that grows like little hairs is allowed to twist with the waste until everything is ”glued“ together. The combination is then mixed again and placed into the desired mold (模具) where it continues to grow and harden. The resulting material is then baked in the oven. In addition to making it as strong as wood, the heat also kills the mycelium, thus giving the compostable material a similar shelf life to wood.
Also, though the table tops of the stylish Tafl and King’s tables released at the recently held Biofabricate 2016 conference in New York City resemble marble, they are far from it. The perfectly carved blocks are made of a material grown by a North Carolina-based company named bioMASON using grains of sands and bacteria.
As you have probably guessed, this waste-free furniture does not come cheap. Customers can expect to pay anywhere from $249 USD for the Tafl to $699 USD for the King’s table, both of which are only available in limited quantities. Those that cannot afford those prices can choose cheaper GIY (grow it yourself) ones made of various products ranging from Christmas tree decorations to lamp shades.
1. Why did Eben compare making hard materials to making bread?| A．Their raw materials are the same. | B．Their product appearances are alike. |
| C．Their production processes are simple. | D．Their production costs are relatively low. |
| A．The method of making mushrooms hard. | B．How to make mushroom furniture materials. |
| C．What are needed to make mushroom furniture. | D．The difficulties of making mushroom furniture. |
| A．They are in limited supply. | B．They are offered in GIY forms. |
| C．They consist mainly of marble. | D．They are designed by bioMASON. |
| A．The Invention of New Kinds of Furniture |
| B．The First Sale of Furniture Made of Mushrooms |
| C．Scientists Found New Material to Make Furniture |
| D．Future Furniture May Be Grown from Mushrooms |
【推荐3】Feelings often run high where insects are concerned, with many people even sick when seeing them, let alone touch or swallow them. And yet insects present a huge nutritional opportunity as an increasing global population seeks more sources of food and feed.
Insects have generally high levels of animal protein and key micro nutrients with lower environmental foot prints than traditional alternatives, and they can be raised on leftovers. But cultural, social and economic problems remain, reports an article published today in Nutrition Bulletin.
“Insects present a nutritional opportunity, but it is unclear how their nutritional quality is influenced by what they are fed,” says Darja Dobermann, a researcher at the University of Nottingham. “In ideal conditions, insects have a smaller environmental impact than most traditional western forms of animal protein; less known is how to raise insect production while maintaining these environmental benefits.”
“Studies overall show that insects could make valuable economic and nutritional contributions to the food or feed systems, but there are no clear regulations in place to bring insects into such supply systems without them turning into a more expensive version of poultry (家禽) for food,” says Dobermann.
The article highlights how insects have been a source of food for hundreds of years in more than 100countries with over 2,000 species that can be eaten; in central Africa, up to 50% of dietary protein has come from insects, with their market value higher than many alternative sources of animal protein.
Insects need to be large enough to make the effort of catching them worthwhile and easy to locate, preferably in predictably large quantities. They are consumed at various life stages, as raw, fried, boiled, roasted or ground food.
1. Which of the following is the advantage of raising insects for food?| A．It will offer people work opportunities. |
| B．It is environmentally friendly. |
| C．It will replace traditional food. |
| D．It will result in less leftovers |
| A．Raising insects for food has become popular. |
| B．Raising insects can’t solve food problems. |
| C．More should be done to raise insects for food. |
| D．More money can be made by raising insects. |
| A．Insects. | B．Regulations. |
| C．Feed systems. | D．Supply systems. |
| A．How to Raise Insects | B．Raising Insects for Money |
| C．Insects Seem No Longer Ugly | D．A New Source of Food |
【推荐1】Today we know Antarctica as an extreme environment containing ice and snow. But new research provides evidence that the area was very different in the past.
The evidence was found inside a piece of earth sediment(沉积物) collected by researchers from a depth of about 30 meters below the ocean floor off the coast of Antarctica. In the sediment, they found forest soil estimated to be about 90 million years old. This would have been in the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs were the main land animals.
Johann Klages is a geologist, working in the Institute's Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. He said an examination showed that the material formed on land, not in the ocean.
The researchers estimate that the area – about 900 kilometers from the South Pole – had average yearly temperatures of about 12 to 13 degrees Celsius. During the warmest summer months, average temperatures likely reached between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. The average yearly temperature in that area is about 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
The examination results showed “a dense network of roots that spread through the entire soil layer,” the Helmholtz Center said in a statement.
The dark brownish-gray soil included fine dirt particles and hard clay, as well as substances linked to at least 65 different kinds of plants, the study found. Klages put that the plants included trees, ferns and flowering plants and while no animal remains were found, there were likely dinosaurs, flying reptiles and many insects in the environment.
The researchers said that the rainforest environment in Antarctica was especially surprising because each year, the area experiences a four-month polar night when there is no sunlight to fuel plant life.
1. According to the passage, we can learn that ________.| A．dinosaurs were from Antarctica |
| B．Antarctica was always extremely cold |
| C．the ocean floor is made up of sediment |
| D．the area has been experiencing climate changes |
| A．No animals left. |
| B．No fertilizer to fuel plants. |
| C．Roots spreading through the soil. |
| D．The rainforest experiencing polar night. |
| A．Science. | B．Entertainment. | C．Society. | D．Fiction. |
| A．Antarctica, Once a Warm Rainforest |
| B．Earth Sediment Found in Antarctica |
| C．Antarctica - an Extreme Environment |
| D．New Antarctica Found by Researchers |
The Scribble is a magical pen that can scan colors and instantly reproduce the colors. Hold the Scribble’s scanner up to any color, and within a second that color is stored in its memory. Once stored, that color can be used to draw on paper or on a digital screen.
Who can use the Scribble ?
Children will love the Scribble because it can create different colors, replacing even their biggest box of crayons (蜡笔). Besides, anyone working with color in their professional lives, such as artists, will be able to scan and reproduce colors instantly.
The Scribble is the best color—Green
One of the most important characteristics of the Scribble is that, since it can reproduce any color, it replaces marking pens, greatly reducing the huge amount of plastic waste.
What’ s inside the Scribble ?
There will be two different versions of the Scribble, the Scribble INK and the Scribble STYLUS. The INK will be able to reproduce exact colors on paper. It includes a color sensor, 1 GB of internal memory that will store over 100,000 colors, a rechargeable battery, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a processor and 5 ink cartridges (盒). The STYLUS is exactly the same as the INK, minus the ink cartridge as it is intended for use on screen.
How did we create the Scribble?
We’ve been in the design process for two years and the Scribble has gone through various design changes to get it to where we are now. Because of its small size we have created some ideas never seen before in the color reproduction industry. We created the Scribble for YOU and want you to be a part of the process!
Thank you for your support
Thank you so much for your concern about the Scribble. Thank you also for your support! Make sure to bookmark our website and check back often to see the progress as well as the updated times for production and delivery of your Scribble.
1. According to the passage, the Scribble ______.
| A．has replaced the common pens |
| B．brings environmental problems |
| C．is the product of high technology |
| D．is designed for a certain group of people |
| A．It can copy colors. |
| B．It is smaller in size. |
| C．It has different versions. |
| D．It can only be used on screen. |
| A．seek advice about the Scribble |
| B．introduce the Scribble to readers |
| C．compare the Scribble with other pens |
| D．provide methods of using the Scribble |
【推荐3】It was a February afternoon in a Brooklyn classroom. Sixteen-year-old Taylor Engler came face to face with a cow. But it was all in her head. She was transported by a virtual reality (VR) headphone. It took the Berkeley Carroll School junior and eight other classmates to a northern New York farm. The farm was 250 miles away. For students, the technology means field trips are no longer kept within the length of a bus ride.
It's unknown how many classrooms have or will use the technology, but experts say few classrooms do or will do. Headphones that require a user's phone can cost as little as $20 or $30, but systems and software for classes run into thousands of dollars. The problem of not having good software is disappearing as more companies enter the market. But the rules for use haven't kept abreast of the development of the technology. In New York, for example, virtual reality lab experiments are not included in the state's hands-on lab time requirements.
Experts say science classes are where virtual reality holds promise for classrooms. “The biggest problem, I think, is going to be how closely it mimics the real world." That's according to David Evans, the director of the National Science Teachers Union. However, he said, “The ability to do dangerous things and to run many, many more cases in a virtual space as opposed to the real physical space stands for a huge learning chance.”
Lamb taught chemistry and he agreed. “Too often in schools, when you do experiments in labs, you mix these together, you mix those together and you get this result. And if you don't get that result, you have done something wrong. But we don't have enough resources for you to redo it, “he said. “In virtual reality, all I do is hit reset on the computer. I don't have to actually use chemicals.”
1. What was Taylor Engler doing?| A．Riding a bus. | B．Giving a lesson. | C．Designing a farm. | D．Experiencing VR. |
| A．Led to. | B．Focused on. | C．Caught up with. | D．Broken away from. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Troublesome. | C．Interesting. | D．Challenging. |
| A．To point out the importance of practice. | B．To introduce the use of VR in teaching. |
| C．To give information about modern schools. | D．To show the appearance of VR technology. |
