New discoveries and technological breakthroughs are made every year. Yet, as the information industry moves forward, many people in society are looking back to their roots in terms of the way they eat. A “locavore” movement has emerged in the United States. The movement supports eating foods grown locally and sustainably, rather than prepackaged foods shipped from other parts of the world.
Experts hold that eating local has many merits, and is expected to become a trend featuring sustainability. Erin Barnett is the director of Local Harvest, a company that aims to help connect people to farms in their area. By eating local, she argues, people have a better and more personal understanding of the impact their food consumption has on the rest of the world. “There is a way of connecting the point, where eating locally is an act that raises our awareness of sustainable living,” Barnett says.
The United States’ agricultural output is one of the highest in the world, says Timothy Beach, a professor of geography and geoscience at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. “There’s just no other place on Earth where the amount of input is so productive,” Beach says of American agriculture. “Nobody can cut off the food we need.”
However, the US food system is not sustainable because of its dependency on fossil (化石) fuels, says Beach. Equipment used on “extremely productive” farms is quickly consuming Earth’s natural resources, particularly oil. Additionally, the production of agricultural supplements (补充剂)，such as fertilizer, uses large amounts of energy.
The world has used close to half of the global oil supply, Beach says, and the second half will be consumed at an even faster rate because of the growing population and economic development. Although many businesses are experimenting with wind, solar, and biofuel, Beach says there’s nothing that we see on the horizon that can replace it. “There is no way on Earth we are using fossil fuels sustainably. Then we have to reconsider the impact of eating local,” he says.
1. What is the special focus of the “locavore” movement?| A．The development of information society. | B．The emergence of new discoveries. |
| C．The localization and sustainability of food. | D．The globalization of eating styles. |
| A．Agricultural companies have the responsibility to help farmers. |
| B．Raising the awareness of sustainability is an urgent issue currently. |
| C．Eating locally can quickly increase the growth of the local economy. |
| D．The diversity of things can greatly enrich the lives of local people. |
| A．The agricultural weaknesses of the US. | B．The benefits of fossil fuels. |
| C．The most productive equipment on farms. | D．The consumption of local food. |
| A．The population is growing too fast. | B．Global economy develops rapidly. |
| C．Eating locally can’t be accepted. | D．No suitable energy can replace oil. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Sea life near Turkey is being threatened by a layer of brown foam on the ocean s surface.
The actual name for the foam is mucilage (黏液). Scientists first noticed and described mucilage in 2007, when it was found near Turkey. Then, it was also found in other parts of the Aegean Sea, near Greece.
This year’s outbreak of mucilage is the worst ever recorded. It’s been developing for seven months and is now covering large parts of the Sea of Marmara. The Sea of Marmara is an “inland sea”, surrounded by land belonging to Turkey, and connected to the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea.
There are many different kinds of algae (海藻), and it’s natural and normal for algae to grow in the ocean or in other bodies of water. But when there is lots of food for the algae, and other conditions are just right, there can be “an algae bloom” which results in algae growing quickly and in huge numbers And in very bad situations, mucilage is the result.
There are two main causes for the present outbreak of mucilage. One is the heavy pollution sewage, fertilizers, and other chemicals- flowing into the Sea of Marmara. The second cause is higher water temperatures because of climate change.
The mucilage causes problems in lots of different ways. For one thing, by covering the ocean’s surface, it stops sunlight from reaching all the sea life below. “This mucilage is now covering the sea surface like a tent canvas,” says Muharrem Balci, who teaches biology at Istanbul University. Because there is so much algae, it takes up lots of oxygen from the seawater. That means that there’s very little oxygen left for the other sea creatures that depend on it. The BBC reports that divers in the area are seeing large numbers of dying fish. After a while, the mucilage falls to the bottom of the ocean, where it covers the sea floor threatening to poison creatures that live there, like crabs and mussels. This year, the mucilage has been found as deep as 30 meters below the surface.
1. What do we know about mucilage?| A．It generally doesn’t last long. |
| B．It had never existed before 2007. |
| C．It is mainly formed in inland seas. |
| D．It was first noticed near Turkey. |
| A．A good harvest of algae. | B．The increasing use of algae. |
| C．The explosive growth of algae. | D．A continuing popularity of algae. |
| A．It can greatly threaten sea life. |
| B．It has drawn attention worldwide. |
| C．It will lead to food shortages for humans. |
| D．It benefits some sea creatures but harms others. |
| A．New kinds of algae are found in Turkey |
| B．Turkey’s coastal waters are covered with mucilage |
| C．Marmara has seen an increase in water temperatures |
| D．Endangered sea creatures in Marmara have been protected |
【推荐2】Reducing plastic waste isn't easy because the cheap material is found in almost every household item. Now, a delicious and nutritious solution has come up to help reduce our dependence on this environmental hazard.
David Christian, the co-founder of Evoware, says the idea of creating the biodegradable (生物降解的) products came from concern at the country’s high pollution rate. Indonesia is home to four of the world's worst polluted rivers. Since single-use packaging is a large contributor to the problem, Evoware decided to deal with that first.
After investigating various materials, the company settled on seaweed. Unlike corn, commonly used for biodegradable containers, seaweed does not require resources like water or large amounts of space. Since Indonesian farmers already harvest more seaweed than they can sell, it's easy for the company to find the material.
Though they will not reveal their production process, Evoware says the seaweed packaging contains no chemicals and is safe to consume. The company has also invented single-use cups, which can break down 30 days after they're thrown away.
While replacing plastic with the seaweed products may seem appealing to most of us, it is a hard-sell in Indonesia. According to Christian, ''The awareness to reduce single-use plastic is still very low. This makes our bioplastic unnecessary.” Also a factor is the cost, which is higher than using plastic. Hopefully, Evoware will succeed in convincing Indonesians and people worldwide that switching to their products will be helpful to protecting our beautiful planet.
1. What problem did Evoware decide to deal with first?| A．Ways to clean the four worst polluted rivers. |
| B．What nutritious materials for people to use. |
| C．How to deal with single-use packaging. |
| D．Means to contribute to the country's economy. |
| A．It didn't require much space and was easy to get. |
| B．It could be found everywhere in his country. |
| C．It was most commonly used for packaging. |
| D．It grew thickly in most of the polluted rivers. |
| A．Their seaweed products have won government support. |
| B．Sometimes it's hard to get people to reduce the use of plastics. |
| C．Their new products have received worldwide popularity. |
| D．The cost of making seaweed products will be lowered soon. |
| A．Something lasting long. | B．Something hard to accept. |
| C．Something easy to get. | D．Something commonly seen. |
【推荐3】A new railway design is allowing the latest high-speed rail line to pass through national natural reserves while causing only minor effect to local wildlife.
The Xi’an-Chengdu high-speed rail is the first bullet train to cut through the Qinling Mountains, in Shaanxi province, which are home to many rare wild animals including the giant panda, golden monkey, crested ibis and golden takin.
It is one of three major habitats for the wild giant panda, with about 345 of China’s 1,864 wild giant pandas living there, according to the fourth National Survey on Giant Pandas released in 2015. The railway will also pass through a major Tianhuashan Mountain reserve, a giant panda habitat.
＂When researching the railway route, we avoided laying tracks more than 1,500 meters above sea level, where the majority of wildlife gathers,＂ said Lai Wenhong, an engineer from the China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group, who is in charge of the railway’s environmental design.
More than 90 percent of the railway through the Qinling Mountains is tunnels and bridges, said Liu Shuangjin, general chief designer of the line’s Shaanxi section from the China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group.
＂The advantage of tunnels is to reduce vibration(震动) when a train passes by,＂ Lai said.
The average depth of the tunnels is 400 meters, and the deepest is 1,000 meters. Bridges are constructed to link tunnels. Protective things have been placed at the mouths of tunnels in the Qinling Mountains to keep wild animals from falling. During operation, trains are forbidden from using horns in wildlife habitats.
The line also passes through the Yangxian county reserve, home to crested ibis, a rare bird. The 4-meter-high mesh(网状物) on the sides of bridges higher than 10 meters will prevent the birds from flying into the path of trains, which is safer for the birds and the trains.
1. The Xi’an-Chengdu high-speed rail passes through the following reserves except __________.| A．the Qinling Mountain reserve | B．the Yangxian county reserve |
| C．the Taihang Mountain reserve | D．the Tianhuashan Mountain reserve |
| A．The golden monkey. | B．The giant panda. |
| C．The crested ibis. | D．The elephant. |
| A．To protect endangered wildlife. | B．To lower the cost of construction. |
| C．To reduce the distance of the line. | D．To connect different bridges. |
| A．Rail design keeps wildlife safe |
| B．More national reserves are set up |
| C．The railway’s environmental design is important |
| D．The Xi’an-Chengdu rail is under construction |
【推荐1】In the world today, all of the people need recreation. We cannot work all the time if we are going to keep healthy and enjoy life.
Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular form is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as basketball and football. There are also individual sports, such as swimming and running. Skating and mountain climbing are the most popular recreation for people who like to be outdoor. Not everyone who enjoys sports likes to take part in them. Many people like watching them on TV or listening to them on the radio. So many people like some forms of recreation, such as watching TV, singing and dancing. It doesn’t matter whether we like indoor recreation or take part in outdoor sports. It is important for everyone to relax from time to time and enjoy some forms of recreation.
1. People want to take part in sports in order to ____.| A．keep healthy and enjoy life | B．make friends |
| C．find a good job | D．make more money |
| A．watching TV | B．singing and dancing |
| C．listening to the radio | D．skating and mountain climbing |
| A．basketball is a kind of team sport |
| B．everyone who enjoys sports should take part in them |
| C．different people have different ways of relaxing |
| D．indoor recreation is not as important as outdoor sports |
【推荐2】“Long time no see.” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s e-mail, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.
Obviously, it is a word-by-word translation of the Chinese greeting with wrong English grammar and structure! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too surprised to believe her. Her words were unbelievable at all. So I did research on Google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see.”. Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Interestingly, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood movie-makers successfully created a worldwide famous Chinese detective(侦探) named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan liked to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. “Long time no see.” was his symbol. Soon after Charlie Chan, “Long time no see.” became a popular expression in America thanks to the popularity of these movies.
Some experts compare America to a huge melting pot. All kinds of cultures are mixed in the pot together, and they change the colour and taste of each other. Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed pot.
You can have some examples from other countries, such as pizza from Italian, sushi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Since Americans think highly of Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way, the American’s melting pot keeps adding richness and flavour.
1. What did the writer feel surprised at according to paragraph 2?| A．The Chinglish expression “Long time no see.”. |
| B．Americans using the expression with wrong grammar. |
| C．Other translations of such expressions used in America. |
| D．“Long time no see.” being used as standard American greeting. |
| A．A mixture of culture. |
| B．A mixed dish in the pot. |
| C．A mixture of color and taste. |
| D．A mixed expression in the movie. |
| A．The mixed pot greatly affects all the languages. |
| B．Hollywood made “Long time no see.” popular. |
| C．Cultures cannot be changed in the mixed pot. |
| D．Detective Chan taught Chinglish in America. |
| A．Some American expressions can be used in China. |
| B．Some Chinese expressions are introduced into English. |
| C．American English keeps being enriched by different cultures. |
| D．The phrase “Long time no see.” is widely accepted in America. |
【推荐3】Astronomers have examined the stars that a new space telescope might target, to prepare for one of the most advanced searches for life on other planets. They found out which star systems might be more suitable to hunt for potential life.
In the 2040s, NASA plans to launch the Habitable Worlds Observatory(HWO). Its big goal is to image about 25 Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of sun-like stars-where water and even life could exist. Before building the HWO, scientists are working on significant challenges it will face.
One of those is choosing stars within around 100 light years from Earth that the telescope might target. Caleb Harada at the University of California, Berkeley, and his team analyzed 164 potential stars to determine their characteristics. These stars could become some of the most studied stars ever.
Harada and his team discovered that 102 of the stars are binaries(双子星), which could make the search for life more complex. The HWO telescope will use a tool to block out the stars’ light to attempt to image planets in orbit and study the gases in their atmospheres. “If binaries are too close together, the light from the unblocked star will be so bright that it’ll cover up the planets and make them hard to see,” explains Bruce Macintosh from the University of California Observatories.
Out of all the stars, 33 have dust rings that could make it hard to see planets clearly. “This makes exploring harder,” says Harada. “Some stars also sometimes burst into bright flames, like our sun’s flares, which aren’t always deadly. But we need to check closely that they’re not too strong, because these can affect life and living conditions,” explains Harada.
1. Why is HWO to be built?| A．To take pictures of planets. | B．To find out habitable planets. |
| C．To identify Earth-like planets. | D．To prepare for the search for life. |
| A．The application of the telescope. | B．The characteristics of studied stars. |
| C．The analysis of potential sun-like stars. | D．The challenge of finding the right stars. |
| A．The HWO telescope. | B．Tightly spaced binary stars. |
| C．The brightness of unblocked stars. | D．The gases in planets’ atmospheres. |
| A．Space exploration. | B．Stars’ intense bursts. |
| C．Frequent solar flares. | D．Dust rings on planets. |
