It might be strange to wear clothes made out of plastic bottles. But in fact some clothing companies are already making such clothes.
Fashion brand JUMA recently showed its newest collection at a workshop in Shanghai. Eighteen clothing items from the collection, including jump-suits, jackets, shirts and dresses, were made from recycled plastic bottles. “We realized that billions of water bottles were being thrown into landfills and oceans every year and that these bottles take hundreds of years to decompose (分解). We thought we should use them to create our clothes and help the environment,” said Alia Juma, the company’s design director.
Many other fashion companies are finding similar ways to save our planet these days. The process is rather simple. First, the plastic bottles are washed and cut into small pieces. Then they are melted and shaped into small balls. The balls are melted again to form thread. People can then use the thread to make different kinds of clothes.
According to Juma, it takes 67,000 bottles to create 1 ton of thread. This reduces carbon emissions by 4.2 tons and water use by 6.2 tons compared with the normal way of making thread. “4 bottles can make a pillowcase. 5 can make a shirt, 10 a dress and 20 a short coat,” Juma said.
Some people might have doubts about wearing something made out of plastic bottles. But according to Causeartist, a website that focuses on innovation, clothes made from plastic could be even better than nylon and polyester. Plastic thread can be made into different textures, such as cotton, silk or even wool. “The more we learn about recycled fabrics, the more we realize that they work just like other fabrics. You can get a heavier cotton feeling or a silky feeling by weaving the yarns into different textures and using different washing methods. There is actually a lot you can do with this fabric,” Juma said.
The price for the clothes in the new collection ranges from 500 to 3,000 yuan. However, Juma is optimistic that prices will fall when more companies follow the sustainability path taken by her business.
1. Why is fashion brand JUMA now making clothes from plastic bottles?| A．Because too many bottles are being thrown away. |
| B．Because the company has advanced technology. |
| C．Because people are fond of wearing such clothes. |
| D．Because recycling the bottles is good for the Earth. |
| A．Creating 1 ton of thread in the normal way brings about 4.2 tons of carbon emissions. |
| B．Making clothes from plastic bottles reduces carbon footprint and is worth the effort. |
| C．A fashion company can make as many as 300 short coats using only 1 ton of thread. |
| D．The new way of making thread from plastic bottles is not harmful to the environment. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Critical. | C．Supportive. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To advertise fashion brand JUMA. | B．To introduce a new type of clothes. |
| C．To praise fashion companies’ creativity. | D．To express concern about the Earth. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Earthquake rescue robots experienced their final tests in Beijing. Their designers said with these robots, rescuers would be able to buy more time to save lives during an earthquake.
This kind of robot looking like a helicopter is a flying robot. It’s about 3 meters long, and it took about 4 years to develop the model. Its main functions (功能) are to collect information from the air, and send goods of up to 30 kilos to people trapped by an earthquake. It has a high-definition 360-degree panoramic (全景的) camera. It can work day and night and is also able to send the latest pictures from the quake area.
Dr Qi Juntong, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, “The most important feature of this flying robot is that it doesn’t need a distant control. We just set the destination information on it, and then it takes off, and lands by itself. It flies as high as 3, 000 meters, and as fast as 100 kilometers per hour.
This robot has a different function—it can change as the environment changes. Its main job is to search for any signs of life in places where human rescuers are unable to go. As well as a detector (探测器) that finds victims and detects poisonous gases, a camera is placed in the 3-metre-long robot, which can work in the dark. Another use for the rescuers is the supply bot. With its 10-metre-long pipe, people who are trapped in the ruins will be able to get supplies including oxygen and liquids.
Experts have said that the robots would enter production and serve as part of the national earthquake rescue team as soon as possible.
1. What does Dr Qi Juntong think makes this robot mainly different from the others?| A．It has more functions. | B．It has a unique shape. |
| C．It has more advanced cameras. | D．It can work by itself once given the information. |
| A．A camera. | B．A detector. | C．A rescuer. | D．A supply. |
| A．It is carried by the helicopter. | B．It weighs about 30 kilos. |
| C．It is a machine with a length of 10 meters. | D．It hasn’t been put into production so far. |
| A．What the robot looks like. | B．An introduction to a robot. |
| C．How the robot is made. | D．Information about earthquakes. |
Year 7 students across the UK have been given a BBC micro: bit—a small, wearable piece of tech. Much like a tiny, pocket-sized computer, the BBC micro: bit encourages kids to learn basic coding and programming skills to prepare them for today’s world.
It can be programmed to do a number of different things; it can be a digital watch, or fitness tracker. The device features 25 LED lights and two programmable buttons, which can be used in game-play or to skip through tracks in a playlist. It also features an on-board compass to track the direction of the wearer. Each micro: bit comes with a USB, cable and battery holder. To programme a micro : bit, kids simply need to connect it to their computer and add some simple lines of code to create the device they want. The hope is that all those computer science skills might inspire a new generation of enthusiastic game developers, super software programmers and wild website builders.
What can we do with my BBC micro: bit? The following are just some examples.
Fashion—make a digital watch, or accessories that can display the time, your own design or message.
Fitness—count your steps with a DIY version of something like the ‘Fitbit’, or create an obstacle course and use the micro: bit in a balancing game.
Music—connect the micro : bit to your phone and control your music player, compose a piece of music, or even use a banana as a music keyboard.
Home & garden—place a sensor in the soil under a plant and connect it to the micro: bit, and it can tell you when the plant is happy with a simple smile or is in need of a drink with a frown.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about concerning the micro : bit?| A．Its features. | B．Its programs. | C．Its convenience. | D．Its popularity. |
| A．Sensor. | B．Soil. | C．The micro: bit. | D．A plant. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By stating arguments. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By making comments |
| A．Health. | B．Science. | C．Travel. | D．Sports. |
【推荐3】Scientists have designed a new machine—a robot which looks exactly like the famous scientist Albert Einstein. It can recognize and respond to human emotions (情感). The robot is made of special material that allows it to change facial expressions. The material that makes up the robot’s face is so detailed that it looks like real human skin.
The robot’s designers chose Einstein, the Nobel Prize winner, because he was one of the greatest scientists of all time. They also chose Einstein because his face is very well known and he appear ‘loveable’.
Dr. Hanson, who designed the robot, explained that it was important to develop machines that know what human beings are feeling.
The robot uses computer software that helps it to understand hundreds of human expressions such as sadness, anger, fear and happiness. It can also recognize a person’s age, and whether they are male or female. Mr. Movellan, who designed the software, said that in the future the robot could be in museums to help people from different cultures to understand one another.
1. What do we know about the robot?| A．It can recognize and respond to human emotions. |
| B．It can develop new machines for children. |
| C．Its color can be changed easily. |
| D．Its material is very common. |
| A．Albert Einstein. | B．Dr. Hanson. | C．Mr. Nobel. | D．A tour manager. |
| A．Robot copy of Albert Einstein | B．New type of museum |
| C．How to design a museum | D．How to express feelings |
【推荐1】A research team led by the University of Göttingen has shed new light on the importance of plant roots for belowground life, particularly in the tropics (热带).
Millions of small creatures working hard in a single hectare of soil including earthworms, springtails, mites, insects, and other arthropods (节肢动物) are crucial for decomposition and soil health. For a long time, it was believed that leaf litter is the primary resource for these animals. However, this recent study is the first to provide proof that resources from plant roots drive soil animal communities in the tropics.
The researchers divided plots (地块) within natural ecosystems and separated the plots from accessing plant roots with a plastic barrier. Their study included rainforest, as well as both rubber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia. They removed all dead leaves, the main resource of decomposer animals, from other experimental plots to compare them.
They found that without living roots, animal abundance in the rainforest plots decreases by 42 percent and in plantations by 30 percent. By contrast, removing the dead leaves has almost no effect on the animals in the underlying soil, but decreased the total animal abundance (in the soil and dead leaves) by 60 percent in rainforest and rubber plantations due to physical litter removal.
The study also revealed that living roots are especially important for the smaller soil animals, such as mites and springtails. Interestingly, after adding artificial plastic leaves in oil palm plantations, abundance of some animal groups-such as prostigmata-increased, highlighting that improving habitat structure can promote soil food networks and the services they provide.
“The study provides new perspectives for the management of the resources provided by plant litter in tropical plantations, contributing to soil animal biodiversity. This is important to develop sustainable agricultural landscapes in the tropics,” says Professor Stefan Scheu, head of the Animal Ecology Working Group at the University of Göttingen.
1. What role do arthropods play in the tropics?| A．Making soil healthy. | B．Slowing global warming. |
| C．Feeding other animals. | D．Providing nutrition for plants. |
| A．To make room for crops. | B．To keep the plots clean. |
| C．To improve the soil condition. | D．To make comparisons. |
| A．Variety of plants. | B．Roots of plants. | C．Height of plants. | D．Quantities of plants. |
| A．Biodiversity of soil animals. | B．Habitat structure of living things. |
| C．Resources provided by animal waste. | D．New perspectives of management |
【推荐2】Take a good look at the American burying beetle(甲虫)once found in 35 states;the insect is assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered. Like the tiger,the American burying beetle has orange and black stripes(条纹);like the tiger,the beetle is declining in number. The tiger is an instantly recognizable symbol of species preservation, but most people aren’t familiar with the beetle.
This difference is an example of the domination of the so-called celebrity species - the fascinating creatures that nonprofits and government agencies use to raise public interest in conservation. Most nonprofit funds for animal protection go to species such as apes, elephants, big cats, rhinoceroses, and giant pandas. Tigers are often rated the most popular animal - and India,home to the majority of these big cats, spent more than 49 million on tiger conservation alone in 2019.Meanwhile, many lesser known species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and birds weaken in namelessness. Worldwide, more than 35,500 plant and animal species are on the edge of disappearing forever.
This leaves us with a tough situation. Conservation is underfunded, so how do we decide which species to save?
One potential solution,the debatable idea of conservation triage(检伤分类),holds that experts need to quickly decide which species can be saved while realizing that others can’t be saved.Conservationists have developed analytical tools to approach the question in a less emotional, more practical way.Fish and Wildlife Service now uses this knapsack(背包)method - inspired by a hiker’s need to fit the most valuable items into a small space - to get the “most bang for their buck”in saving species. The method calculates the most efficient conservation strategies using factors such as costs to recover a species and its likelihood of going extinct.
1. What does the first paragraph serve to the whole text?| A．To propose a definition. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To reach a conclusion. | D．To present an argument. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Unclear. | C．Optimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．In a travel guide. | B．In a blog post. |
| C．In a science magazine. | D．In a travel brochure. |
| A．Causes of some animals’ endangerment. |
| B．An appeal to save the American burying beetle. |
| C．The authorities’ role in reasonable use of funds. |
| D．Other methods of deciding which species to save. |
【推荐3】Lake Victoria is best known to the general public following the introduction of the 2004 documentary Darwin’s Nightmare, which focuses on the environmental and social effects of the Nile perch (河鲈) fishing industry. The Nile perch is the largest freshwater fish, which can grow up to two metres long and weigh 200kg. Its introduction into Lake Victoria in the 1950s and its rapid population growth in the 1960s gradually wiped out the native fish species living in the lake, causing a major ecological disaster. Today, the Nile perch population can be found everywhere but has reduced slightly due to overfishing, allowing some species to partially recover.
What is less well known, and perhaps interacting with the presence of the Nile perch, but equally damaging to the ecosystem, is the general water quality of the lake. “This declined sharply between the 1960s and the 1990s due to eutrophication (富营养化), which is caused by increased inputs of nutrients (营养物) into the water bodies as a result of increased human activities in the catchment area.” explains Alberto Borges, FNRS Research Director at the Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography from the University of Liege.
From 2018 to 2019, a research team led by Alberto Borges, studied the biomass (生物量) and composition of phytoplankton (浮游植物) as well as the nutrient status of the lake during three scientific missions. This study shows that the phytoplankton camass has decreased by about seven times compared to the 1990s.” says the researchers. “and that the species composition has also changed in a subtle way.” What seems to be good news for the environment of Lake Victoria may only be on the surface.
“This means that the current improvement in water quality in Lake Victoria may only be temporary and that conditions could become worse again in the future due to continued climate warming.” says Alberto Borges.
1. Why was the documentary Darwin’s Nightmare made in 2004?| A．To honor Darwin’s great contributions. |
| B．To make Lake Victoria known to the world. |
| C．To record the serious pollution in Lake Victoria. |
| D．To show how the Nile perch fishing industry affected Lake Victoria. |
| A．It was disastrous to Lake Victoria. |
| B．It helped control other species in Lake Victoria. |
| C．It benefited the fishermen a lot in Lake Victoria area. |
| D．It greatly improved the water quality in Lake Victoria. |
| A．The fishing industry. | B．The decreased number of fish. |
| C．The decrease of phytoplankton. | D．More and more inputs of nutrients. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Deeply concerned. |
| C．Indifferent | D．Cautiously optimistic |
【推荐1】People say that because of globalization (全球化)，American culture has taken over everywhere，but let's not forget that globalization works both ways.Some aspects of Asian culture have also made their way around the world, especially in the areas of spoils, film and food.
In the 1970s, the films of Bruce Lee helped Lo create a worldwide interest in the martial arts (武术).Before Bruce Lee became popular in the West, not many people were familiar with the various types of martial arts.Now it's quite normal for children in many Western countries to take courses in martial arts after school.Many adults also learn these Asian fighting styles for fun or to improve their fitness.
Bruce Lee's films also motivated a lot of interest in Asian films，especially action films, Jackie Chan and Jet Li followed in Bruce Lee's footsteps and are known all over the world.John Woo, famous for his Hong Kong action films, went on to work in Hollywood and many Western directors have copied his style.Western audiences also became interested in films by directors like Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee and like Chen Kaige.
Food from Asia is also popular worldwide.You can get Chinese food in any major city in the world - although it might not taste like the Chinese food in China.People enjoy sushi and other Japanese foods.Sichuan, Thai，and Korean foods are popular with people who like it spicy and Vietnamese food is also well known.So, I guess we can't say that only “McDonald's” has made a trip around.
1. Who was the first to make people interested in martial arts in the world?| A．Jackie Chan. | B．Jet Li. |
| C．Ang Lee. | D．Bruce Lee. |
| A．He is a Western director. | B．He is a Western actor. |
| C．He made films in America. | D．He admired Zhang Yimou's films. |
| A．Asian films and food are popular around the world. |
| B．Asian food is sold in any city around the world. |
| C．Only “McDonald's” has made a trip around the world. |
| D．American culture will take over the world. |
| A．Asian and American Culture. | B．Influence of Asia on America. |
| C．Effect of American Culture. | D．Asian films and food. |
【推荐2】Ever wonder how Mark Ruffalo becomes The Hulk? Or how directors make Rocket and Groot look so lifelike in Avengers: Endgame? These movie characters come to life through a process called motion capture（动作捕捉系统）. Here's what you need to know about motion capture in movies
Motion capture, or mo-cap is a process in which an actor's performance is captured and then used to create a CGI character. The actions of people are recorded and this information is used to create a 3D digital model. The movements are scanned many times per second and are broadcast to the digital environment. As a result, the character reproduces the human's movements in real time.
In the early days of the process, motion capture filming was done in special studios equipped with cameras placed throughout the room. When an actor moved, the cameras tracked the sensors on the suit and relayed（转播）the movements to a computer. Animators（动画制作者）then created the digital character from those movements and inserted the final version into the film.
Directors quickly began to adopt the technology for high profile（影响力）projects like Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace, The Lord of the Rings, and Avatar. Now many productions use the technique, including blockbuster companies like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars saga, and the Planet of the Apes films
Now performance capture, an updated technology of mo-cap, can even capture an actor's facial movements and expressions. For performance capture, an actor's face is filmed from a camera fitted onto their suit's headpiece（头盔）, dots are also placed around their face to digitally track their facial movements.
As the variety of high quality motion capture systems available in the film industry increases, and their cost and complexity to use decreases, the technology is becoming more accessible in the near future.
1. Why does the author mention the film characters in the first paragraph?| A．To recommend some interesting films. |
| B．To arouse readers' interest in the characters. |
| C．To introduce the topic of motion capture |
| D．To compare the differences of the movies. |
| A．The advantages of animation. |
| B．The operation of special effect studios. |
| C．The development of motion capture |
| D．The creation of digital characters. |
| A．Motion capture has been often used in movie industry. |
| B．Motion capture makes for the speed of movie relays |
| C．All the films using motion capture are of high quality. |
| D．Sensors on the suit are key technology of motion capture. |
| A．complex | B．promising |
| C．uncertain | D．worrying |
【推荐3】A new study by the University of Liverpool provides the first evidence that wandering albatrosses (信天翁), one of the widest-ranging seabirds, may use infrasound (次声) to help them navigate long and featureless trips covering thousands of miles when they look for food.
Infrasound is a form of low-frequency sound that is inaudible to humans but is common in the marine environment. Microbaroms are a type of infrasound associated with colliding ocean waves. Such way areas are also associated with strong winds, which albatrosses depend on to help them fly efficiently.
The researchers from the University’s School of Environmental Sciences used GPS trackers to determine the flight paths of 89 wandering albatrosses breeding in the Crozet Islands, over the course of their foraging (搜寻食物) trips to sea, which can last up to a month. They then compared these flight paths to modeled acoustic maps that the team had developed to represent the distribution of microbarom infrasound.
This revealed that wandering albatrosses orientate toward areas of “loud” microbarom infrasound when departing on bout s of directed flight, suggesting that they may perceive and respond to microbarom infrasound propagated (传播) over long distances.
Dr. Natasha Gillies, a seabird ecologist with the University’s School of Environmental Sciences who jointly led the study said, “How animals navigate and search for resources over large spatial scales exceeding 100s—1,000s km is a fundamental question in ecology. For marine animals, such as seabirds, this question is especially intriguing (有趣的) due to the limited availability of visual information, meaning that other cues must be involved in movement.”
The study forms part of a Human Frontier Science Program grant, which brings together a team of international collaborators (Stellenbosch University, South Africa; University of Florida, U. S. A.; Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, the Netherlands).
Dr. Samantha Patrick, who led the grant, said, “It is only through interdisciplinary science like this, which brings together scientists across diverse fields, that we can achieve such new and exciting insights.”
1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?| A．All animals can hear infrasound. | B．Infrasound helps albatrosses fly efficiently. |
| C．Microbaroms may be caused by strong winds. | D．Microbaroms are common in our surroundings. |
| A．The process of the study. | B．The purpose of the study. |
| C．The discovery of the study. | D．The tools used in the study. |
| A．Their flights often cover large spatial scales. | B．Some information of them is hard to obtain. |
| C．Their movements are unfamiliar to ecologists. | D．They have unique ways to search for resources. |
| A．Approving. | B．Unclear. | C．Dismissive. | D．Doubtful. |
