During the last twenty years there has been increasing concern with the quality of the environment. Along with air and water pollutants, noise pollution has been recognized as a serious pollutant. As noise levels have risen, the effects of noise have become more obvious.
Noise is described as unwanted sound. Causes of noise pollution include traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, television, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms and boats. Studies show that over forty percent of Americans are disturbed at home or lose sleep because of noise pollution.
Noise has bad effects on people. Noise interferes (干扰) with human activities at home and work, and is in various ways dangerous to people’s health and well-being.
When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, we need quiet. Even low levels of noise can be annoying or frustrating. Sudden increases in volume can make sounds annoying. The quieter the background is, the more unpleasant a noise can be.
Noise can also make instructions or warning unclear, resulting in accidents.
Long exposure to noise levels above eighty-five decibels (分贝) can damage inner ear cells and lead to hearing loss. Noise can result in the uncontrolled fear response and can cause adrenaline (肾上腺素) to be pumped into the bloodstream, the heart rate to quicken, muscles to tense, breathing to increase, and the digestive system to slow down.
Local government has the responsibility to fight noise pollution. For example, it can regulate the speed of trains through their community. On the other hand, ad responsible citizen will never make noise pollution wherever he is.
| Title | ||
| Definition (定义) | ||
| Traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, television, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms and boats. | ||
| Bad | ●Disturbing | ·When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, even low levels of noise can be ·Accidents may |
| ●Being dangerous to people’s health and well-being | ·Long exposure to loud noise can lead to ·Noise can result in the uncontrolled fear response. | |
| ● ●Citizens: never make noise pollution. | ||
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Around the world, people are realizing the significant problems caused by plastic waste. In the last 65 years, we have become increasingly dependent on plastic. It’s easy to understand why: it’s cheap to produce, light—therefore easy and cheap to transport—and incredibly strong and durable.
One popular solution to the problem is to ban single-use plastic. In the UK, shoppers are encouraged to make more environmentally-friendly choices in packing and transporting their food. A tax has already been placed on plastic carrier bags, which has cut their use by 90%.
Such plans are well-intentioned, but may not be helpful in getting rid of the use of single-use plastic altogether.
Another issue is that alternative(可供替代的) materials are often more environmentally harmful than plastic. Take paper bags, for example.
Clearly there is a need to reduce plastic waste and its impact on the environment.
| A．But it’s these advantages that also make it so harmful. |
| B．They are easily broken and rarely reusable, unlike plastic. |
| C．It improves the local economy and saves costs in managing litter and waste. |
| D．One of the fields where single-use plastic has an important role is medicine. |
| E．However, simply banning the use of single- use plastic may not be the best option. |
| F．Bans on single-use plastic items like drinking straws are also coming into play. |
| G．Research shows four times more energy is required to produce a paper bag than a plastic bag. |
【推荐2】Sea plants like marine algae (海洋藻类), seagrass and mangroves (红树林) provide habitats for many marine creatures including shrimp, fish and other small creatures. In some way, these plants keep the steady of the environment on the bottom of the sea that might otherwise be damaged by sea waves, sunlight and other climate change.
In mankind’s view, mangroves offer a safeguard against storms such as hurricanes, protecting the inland areas where people live, especially in places like the coastlines of Florida and Louisiana.
Marine algae, seagrass and mangroves play another vital role for many marine creatures-that of a baby room. Many marine animals lay eggs in these areas because their young have a better chance of avoiding hunters while hidden in the plants.
Many animals rely on these plants as a main food source as well. Sea urchins (海胆) are just one example of some marine creatures that eat marine algae, keeping the algae from over-growth for its health. Without these vital plants, lots of marine animals would have little protection from the hunters and human activities.
Pollution and fertilizer run-off, damage from boat grounding and human-caused stresses on natural water systems are just a few types of threats that impact these weak ecosystems. The effects of the oil run-off in combination with these pre-existent conditions are difficult to predict. However, it is certain that the results will not be good for the already stressed environments that many species of marine life call home.
When exposed to the oil and the chemicals used to clean up the run-off, the sea plants themselves are directly affected. But in addition, the marine animals that depend on these plants as food and shelter are also impacted, and the rest of the food web will feel the effect.
1. What do the mangroves mean to the people in Florida?| A．Their security blankets. | B．Their food sources. |
| C．Their hiding places. | D．Their homes. |
| A．To handle climate change. | B．To search for food. |
| C．To look for room. | D．To seek shelter. |
| A．Interdependent. | B．Unfriendly. | C．Cooperative. | D．Competitive. |
| A．The food web will be rebuilt. | B．The sea plants will grow widely. |
| C．People’s health will be under threat. | D．People will use chemicals to clean it up. |
THE GROWING PROBLEM OF E-WASTE
The term e-waste is short for “electronic waste”. It refers to electrical or electronic products that are thrown away when they are no longer needed. These include computers, televisions, ovens, and basically anything else that runs on batteries or has an electrical cord.
E-waste has been a problem since the 1970s because of how difficult it is to separate things like metal and plastic from various products. Also, many electronics contain toxic materials that can pollute the environment if left in landfills. Over the past few decades, the problem of e-waste has only increased along with advancements in technology.
E-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream around the world. The total amount of e-waste created every year is expected to reach 74 million tons by the year 2030. Currently, it’s estimated that only about 17 percent of global e-waste is properly recycled. However, the United Nations hopes to bring that number up to 30 percent by the end of 2023.
With more people using smartphones and computers every year, the problem of e-waste cannot be ignored. To increase the recycling rate of e-waste items, cities should consider adding special collection boxes at grocery stores or government offices. There should also be delivery or pick-up services for e-waste items. That way, these items can be sent directly to people who are able to properly take them apart and recover their useful components.
Despite current difficulties, e-waste has great recycling potential. In addition to the items thrown away, lots of people keep old devices that aren’t used anymore. As a whole, they add up to a lot of metals and minerals that can, and should, be recycled. If these components are recycled to make new products, there would be less of a need to dig for more around the world.
So, if you must replace your phone or computer, try returning the device to the manufacturer or dropping it off at an e-waste processing facility if there is one nearby.
1. What does “electronic waste” refer to?2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
3. Decide which part of the following statement is wrong. Underline it and explain why.
▶In order to reduce e-waste, people had better keep old devices that aren’t used anymore or drop them off in special collection boxes.
4. Apart from the ways mentioned in the passage, please share your way(s) to reduce e-waste. (About 40 words)
