Remember boiling tap water for drinking? Who has the time now? Instead, bottled water is everywhere, in offices, airplanes, stores, homes and restaurants. But what’s in that bottle? Beautiful names and labels depicting romantic scenes have convinced us that the liquid is the purest drink around. But given the lack of labeling requirements for bottled water, how much do consumers really know about what’s in the bottle? “The public should not assume that water purchased in a bottle, is better regulated purer, or safer than most tap water. Water utilities are required to tell the public more about the tap water than bottled water companies are,” says Mae Wu, a bottled water (expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit organization in the US devoted to protecting health and the environment. Sure, some bottled water comes from sparkling springs and other, sources. But in the US, alone, more than 25 percent of it comes from a municipal (市政的) supply. The water is treated, purified and sold to us, often at a thousand fold increase in price. Most people are surprised to learn that they are drinking glorified tap water, but bottlers aren’t required to list the source on the label.
According to the Asian Bottled Water Association, water from municipal supply does not have to state on its label that it is from a community water system. However, there are some brands like Nestle Pure Life that indicate whether the water comes from public, private or deep well sources. Advertising can be misleading at best and deceptive at worst. In a recent case, a food and drink manufacturer boasted in a TV commercial that its mineral water came from a “high-quality water source” but it turned out that, that was no more than plain tap water.
The potential health risks are important to understand, but bottled water also affects the health of the planet. While we struggle to, cut down on our consumption of fossil fuels, bottled water increases it. Virgin petroleum (石油) is used to make PET, and the more bottles we use, the more virgin petroleum will be needed to create new bottles. Fossil fuels are burned to fill the bottles and distribute them. Some brands of water come from islands and countries thousands of kilometers away, and shipping bottles can cause carbon pollution to spill into the water and spew into the air.
1. Compared to the tap water, bottled water .| A．is much better, than the tap water |
| B．is better regulated, purer and safer |
| C．spends more money on advertisement |
| D．is required to list the source on the label |
| A．We can never trust the TV commercials. |
| B．Advertisements on bottled water always cheat the audiences. |
| C．Some companies choose to state where the water comes from. |
| D．The government asks the company not to state the source of water. |
| A．Through listing, figures. |
| B．Through making comparisons. |
| C．Through adding background information. |
| D．Through cause and effect argumentation. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Negative. | C．Favorable. | D．Ambiguous. |
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【推荐1】Threequarters of a million tourists flock to the white beaches every year, but this booming industry has come at a price. Poisonous smoke rising from open fires, rubbish made up of plastic bottles, packets..., it’s a far cry from the white sands, clear waters and palm trees that we associate with the Maldives (马尔代夫), the paradise island holiday destination set in the Indian Ocean.
Of its 200 inhabited islands, which are spread across an area of 35, 000 square miles, 99 are good resorts (旅游胜地)．So many tourists come every year, more than double the local population. Of these, over 100, 000 travel from the UK. The capital, Male, is four times more densely populated than London. Given these facts, it’s hardly surprising that the Maldives has a waste disposal problem.
Years ago, when the tourists left, the government had to deal with a stream of rubbish. Their solution was to turn one of the islands into a dumping ground. Four miles west of Male is the country’s dumping ground, Thilafushi.What you are seeing here is a view of the Maldives on which no honeymooners would like to clap eyes.Each visitor produces 3.5 kg of waste per day.The country dumps more than 330 tons of rubbish on the island every day.
Now, since many waste boats, tired of waiting seven hours or more, directly offload their goods into the sea, the government of the Maldives has banned the dumping of waste on the island. So, the waste boats ship the rubbish to India instead.
1. The underlined part in Paragraph 1 can probably be understood as“________”．| A．It’s quite similar to |
| B．It’s a long distance from |
| C．It’s a loud shout from |
| D．It’s totally different from |
| A．The large local population. |
| B．Too many waste boats. |
| C．The large number of tourists. |
| D．Dumping rubbish into the sea. |
| A．It is much more crowded in Male than in London. |
| B．Another island will be used as a dumping ground. |
| C．No honeymooners are willing to visit the Maldives. |
| D．Waste on islands will be offloaded directly into the sea. |
【推荐2】Human activities are damaging our marine environment, and ocean pollution threatens human health, a new research has uncovered. The research was conducted by an international research team that published their results in the journal Annals of Global Health. They wrote about the widespread damage to the oceans by the actions of humans, which in turn also cause damage to human health. The researchers also made several recommendations regarding solutions to lessen these damages.
The study detailed the latest scientific findings of the critical role that the oceans play in our health and the health of our planet. It also examined the key factors damaging ocean health. With the increase in temperatures worldwide, the melting of sea ice also increases. It causes an increase in harmful bacteria and algae （藻类）into waters that were unpolluted in the past.
Coastal populations are threatened by the rise in sea level and the increasing frequency and violence of coastal storms. The increase of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increases ocean acidity （酸度），which destroys sensitive food chains in the ocean. Climate change also worsens ocean pollution
According to the study's author Philip Landrigan, who is also a professor and Boston College Global Observatory on Pollution & Health director, the pollution in the ocean is a major problem. It is getting worse and is directly affecting human health. Landrigan also adds that the ocean's plastic pollution is not the entirety of the problem.
According to Landrigan, the toxic pollutants that are dumped into our oceans are finding their way into people's bodies. The pathway is mainly through the consumption of polluted seafood. The most severely affected sectors include those fishing communities and small island countries. Their lives are dependent on the health of the ocean.
The research team suggests several measures to turn the situation around and save our oceans and our health, hoping that human activities change for the better so that ocean pollution is stopped and human health is improved.
1. What did the researchers find in their new study?| A．Oceans are becoming more and more polluted. |
| B．Oceans get back on humans for their activities. |
| C．Oceans are faced with the increasing temperature. |
| D．Oceans are being threatened by bacteria and algae. |
| A．Coastal storms will occur regularly and violently. |
| B．The harmful bacteria and algae will grow faster. |
| C．The ocean food chains will be poorly damaged. |
| D．Climate change over the oceans will be worse. |
| A．The plastic pollution is a tough problem. |
| B．Toxic pollutants will be deadly to the fish. |
| C．The ocean pollution puts people at risk. |
| D．Plastics most seriously pollute the oceans. |
| A．How ocean pollution damages human health. |
| B．What has caused the oceans' severe pollution. |
| C．How humans can find practical solutions. |
| D．What situation the oceans are exposed to. |
【推荐3】Around 40 million tonnes of electronic waste, known as e-waste, is produced every year. This includes electrical or electronic equipment that has been discarded. But where does it all go? In the US alone, 100 million mobile phones, 41 million computers and over 20 million televisions are thrown into landfills in a year. Even for standard waste this is a big headache, because any materials that are buried in the ground can’t be easily recovered and recycled. Recycling electronics can save energy and means that less of Earth’s natural resources need to be mined.
Failing to recycle e-waste is extremely damaging the environment due to the nature of the materials used in modern devices. While heavy metals and chemicals improve a device’s safety and user experience, these components become poisonous if they’re not dealt with properly. Your old phones, Gameboys, kettles, microwaves and more can end up in landfills, leaking their harmful contents into the soil, water and air. Not only does this kill wildlife and destroy ecosystems, but the accumulation of poison can impact human health too. As heavy metals and chemicals flow into lakes and rivers, drinking water becomes polluted. These poisons spread through the soil, impacting the health of crops and animals that people also rely on.
In some western countries, e-waste isn’t hidden out of sight in landfills but is burnt in giant, open junkyards. They even ship waste electronics to other countries to deal with, and this often ends up in dumps across Africa and Asia. Workers in these places are exposed to polluted lands and chemical gas.
It is urgent that we should reduce the damaging and unsustainable side of e-waste production. Rare earth metals, some plastics and chemicals can be fed into the next generation of electronics. The steps to proper recycling of e-waste are extensive and need large investment, but more and more countries around the world are turning to e-waste recycling.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Repaired. | B．Protected. | C．Used. | D．Abandoned. |
| A．E-waste has a permanent effect on the environment. |
| B．E-waste may do harm to both ecosystems and humans. |
| C．Heavy metals and chemicals are poisonous to the users. |
| D．Burying e-waste into landfills is an effective way to recycle. |
| A．supportive | B．objective | C．concerned | D．uncertain |
| A．Solutions to destroying e-waste. | B．Ways to recycle e-waste properly. |
| C．Applications of recycled materials. | D．Investments in restoring ecosystems. |
【推荐1】In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability.
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend!
1. Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?| A．Honesty. | B．Understanding. | C．Reliability. | D．A sense of humor. |
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help. |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble. |
| C．you can be sure that you get real friends. |
| D．you will become rich. |
| A．very outgoing | B．quite knowledgeable. | C．can be trusted. | D．willing to listen. |
| A．the qualities of a friend. | B．where to choose friends. |
| C．how to get along with friends. | D．the importance of having a friend. |
【推荐2】With one’s eyes closed, Beijing’s main roads sound like any Chinese city. All around is the roar of traffic, featuring recorded safety warnings from buses and the occasional bell of a rental-bicycle. But in the capital’s last hutongs, as its ancient grey-walled alleys are known, fragments of an older soundscape can be heard.
The song of caged crickets is one. Hung in the doorways of courtyard homes, the insects bring a rural note into the city. A quarter-century ago their song was common.
Another relic is the musical sound produced by steel plates, announcing a knife sharpener’s arrival. Several such specialists still work Beijing’s streets. Their sounding-plates attract customers from hutong homes and high-rise flats. But numbers are falling.
An almost-vanished Beijing sound is one of the strangest. Like the noise of flying saucers in an old science-fiction film, it is made by pigeon whistles. Tiny flutes made from bamboo, these are sewn into the tail feathers of pigeons kept in rooftop cage. The birds are released twice a day to circle in the sky. Even 20 years ago, it was possible to hear this melodic noise in the hutongs.
Modern Beijing is a city in a hurry. Many hutongs have been torn down to make way for wide avenues and shiny skyscrapers, leaving no room for pigeon lofts(鸽舍). Zhang Baotong is one of Beijinig’s last master pigeon-whistle makers. He is advising a museum of sound in Songzhuang, a suburb of Beijing that is popular with artists. A rooftop cage is planned, with more than 100 pigeons that will take to the skies for visitors.
The co-founder of the museum, Colin Siyuan Chinnery, is a British-Chinese artist and collector of Beijing’s sounds. He lists the rattles(拨浪鼓) and rhythmic cries used by fortune tellers and medicine sellers, doctors, barbers and knife sharpeners. Many of these will be showcased in an exhibition about old Beijing narrated by an animation of Mr. Zhang. Other places had traders’ cries, but true Beijingers dismiss sellers elsewhere as mere loud shouters; Beijingers’ pride is one tradition that never fades, Mr. Chinnery says.
1. Why does the author mention the song of caged crickets in paragraph 2?| A．To promote insect conservation. |
| B．To highlight urban development. |
| C．To explain the decline of hutongs. |
| D．To illustrate a typical hutong sound. |
| A．Warnings from buses. |
| B．Song of caged crickets. |
| C．Noise of flying saucers. |
| D．Cries of knife sharpeners. |
| A．The changing taste of artists. |
| B．The decreasing number of hutongs. |
| C．The rapid expansion of pigeon lofts. |
| D．The new method of road construction. |
| A．To attract artists and craftsmen. |
| B．To rebuild rooftop cages for pigeons. |
| C．To preserve the sounds of old Beijing. |
| D．To display sounds from all walks of life. |
【推荐3】Recycling is a great way of doing your bit for the environment and helping to protect the earth’s precious resources. However, a new study has revealed that our desire to be sustainable maybe doing more harm than good. According to waste company Biffa, this is because of “wish-cycling” — assuming that items such as disposable coffee cup sand pizza boxes will be recycled if put in the recycling bin. In fact, pollution from those items or other non-recyclables can result in recyclable items that have been put in the correct bin going to landfill. David Heaton, a business director at Biffa, said: “Pollution happens when items are disposed of in the wrong bins or haven’t been cleaned before being recycled.”
Experts at Biffa analyzed the amounts of non-target and non-recyclable materials that entered UK material recycling facilities between 2016 and 2020. It was found that, in 2016, the average pollution rate of recycling waste was 13.4 percent, rising over four years to 17 percent by the end of 2020. This shows that, even as people are becoming more eco-conscious, wish-cycling is increasing both in households and businesses.
The Biffa experts say that one of the best ways to prevent pollution of recycling is to clean recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. They suggest cutting off the top of old pizza boxes and only recycling that part to avoid pollution from the grease (油脂). Check the on-packaging recycling label to check it can actually be recycled When it comes to plastics, Biffa recommends checking the resin code, the number in the plastic triangle, to know whether it should go in the recycling bin. In general, resin codes 1, 2, 4 and 5 are recyclable, while 3, 6 and 7 are not. Larger items, like electronics, furniture and batteries, can also be recycled but often can not go in household recycling bins as they need specialist separating. These will need to be taken to recycling centers or sustainable waste management companies.
“It’s vital as a nation that we get better at effective ‘pre-cycling’— sorting waste correctly before collection to reduce pollution rates,” added Mr. Heaton.
1. What’s the truth of “wish-cycling” according to the first paragraph?| A．The desire to lead a sustainable life. |
| B．The good intention to help recycling. |
| C．The habit of throwing items that end up in landfills. |
| D．The practice of recycling items that can not be recycled. |
| A．People are becoming more eco-conscious. |
| B．Wish-cycling is on the rise in recent years. |
| C．Pollution happens less frequently in recycling facilities. |
| D．People are used to cleaning recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. |
| A．Dispose of electronics together with household waste. |
| B．Skip the step of checking the on-packaging recycling label. |
| C．Check the resin code of plastics to see whether it is recyclable or not. |
| D．Cutoff the top of old pizza box and throw the rest to the recycling bin. |
| A．Recycling: a Big Project | B．Wish-cycling: a New Trend |
| C．Wish-cycling: a Growing Concern | D．Pre-cycling: an Effective Method |
