Nobody knows yet what the best way of removing all that carbon will be, but scientists around the world are developing a new method. The Swiss company Climeworks is building big extractor (抽油烟机) fans to remove carbon.
But other scientists are looking to nature’s carbon cycle for inspiration. They’re looking for ways to improve it, speed it up and help it take more carbon out of the air permanently.
One of those scientists is Professor Luke Mackinder, a plant biologist at the University of York. His research into carbon removal is inspired by ocean algac (海藻). “About half of carbon absorption takes place in the ocean,” he says. “Algae are extremely efficient at absorbin g it.”
In order to do this, his team has studied the genetic code (基因密码) of algae to work out which genes play a vital role in carbon absorption. He believes they have now figured this out. “Now we have a list and we can start thinking about how to bring them together in different living things,” he says. “We place the genes into those of other plants. It’s genetic modification.”
Mackinder anticipates adding them to a range of crops and trees. The resulting increased production could be good for food security. Alternatively, they could help to enhance the influence of climate change. It all depends on what we do with the carbon once it’s trapped in those plants. Eating them would quickly return it to the atmosphere. But if instead we find ways to store it, we could keep it out of the atmosphere for good.
Dave Hillyard, chief administrator of the Carbon Technology Research Foundation that is funding Mackinder’s research, says that it is important to fund work on a wide range of carbon removal methods, because “some will not get the results they’re looking for and some will succeed. There are a lot of opportunities here but very little funding and research going into it.”
1. What is discussed in the first paragraph?| A．An approach to carbon removal. | B．A way to improve big extractor fans. |
| C．A means of joining a company. | D．A method of doing scientific research. |
| A．It is secure. | B．It is effective. | C．It is sufficient. | D．It is accessible. |
| A．They bring about great side effects. | B．They are useless for carbon absorption. |
| C．They help increase food production. | D．They have been put into other plants. |
| A．The government’s permission. | B．More scientists’participation. |
| C．Increasing experimental chances. | D．The input into the research. |
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【推荐1】With fast fashion being more popular than ever, cloth mending isn’t nearly as necessary as it once was. Got a tear in one of your socks? Just throw it and get a new pair. The same goes for any other clothes, so cloth mending is slowly gone. But what about something truly special and dear to your hearts? You can’t just go out and change something of feeling value, but you can’t wear it with a hole in it either. That’s where the magical art of kaketsugi comes in. It’s really an unbelievable technique(技术).
Kaketsugi is a hard process that begins with cutting a small piece of cloth from inside the clothing, where its absence will not be noticed. This piece is then brushed with acetone, which makes cutting single threads(线) a bit easier.
Cutting the piece of cloth down to single threads is probably the hardest part of kaketsugi, but people who are good at this skill say that using the same cloth as the one that the clothing is made of is key to making the mending truly unseen in the end. The newly-gotten threads are then carefully sewn(缝) over the hole or broken area of the clothing, from different directions, and from both sides of the cloth. Once the sewing process is complete, the leftover threads are used to mask the breakdown even more. Finally, the area repaired with kaketsugi is ironed out(熨平). That helps smooth everything out and at this point, it’s almost impossible to see where the hole was in the first place. The clothing looks fire-new.
Interestingly, unseen mending works just as well on small holes of just a few millimeters, as it does on large ones of over 3 centimeters. It’s just that a large broken area will take more time to fix, so the larger the hole is, the more expensive the repairs are.
Kaketsugi may seem expensive, but keep in mind that it is usually kept for special clothing with feeling or historical value. Also, the work and time that goes into it is certainly worth it.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic of the text. | B．To improve a useless technique. |
| C．To change people’s values. | D．To show a new fashion. |
| A．Using the same cloth. | B．Picking special threads. |
| C．Sewing from both sides. | D．Ironing the mended area. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Confused. | C．Uncaring. | D．Supportive. |
| A．The Magic of Special Clothing | B．A Missing Cloth Mending Technique |
| C．An Excellent Cloth Mending Technique | D．The Fast Fashion Being More Popular |
【推荐2】Like many inventions, language translators were imagined by writers long before they became real. In Hugo Gernsback’s 1911 novel A Romance of the Year 2660, characters use a video telephone that can translate from one language to another. A language translator also appears in Murray Leinster’s 1945 First Contact. In that story, humans and creatures from another planet made a translation device together after asking for contact with one another. The idea of the language translator didn’t become truly popular, however, until the “universal translator” appeared in the 1970 Star Trek series, which delighted television viewers at that time. That device was universal in the sense that it could translate any language that it came across.
The first real language translator was demonstrated（展示）by engineers from IBM company and Georgetown University in 1954. Their machine could only translate Russian sentences into English.
Language translators have come a long way since then. Today, online translations can be accessed easily at no cost to users. With translation apps, users sometimes don’t even have to look things up. All they need to do is point their cellphone’s camera at some writing, and a translation immediately appears. If users want to translate something being said aloud, they just turn on their phone’s microphone. All of these features save time and effort.
Translation apps on phones make foreign travel much easier than before. They are invaluable and convenient when it comes to communicating with taxi drivers or hotel waiters who don’t speak a traveler’s native language. But these apps are far from perfect. Sometimes a translation makes no sense, forcing the user to guess what the translation means. At other times, the user might not know that the translation has failed until he or she shows it to a native speaker.
1. When was the idea of the language translator widely known?| A．In 1911. | B．In 1945. | C．In 1970. | D．In 1954. |
| A．writers are usually cleverer than inventors. |
| B．the idea of a language translator came from science stories. |
| C．engineers made language translators to delight TV viewers. |
| D．it took little effort for people to develop language translators. |
| A．Translation apps. | B．Users. |
| C．Translations. | D．Phones. |
| A．By telling that online translation will change our life. |
| B．By explaining that online translation has its weakness. |
| C．By introducing how to use translation apps in travelling. |
| D．By discussing why people should give up translation apps. |
| A．How do science stories become true? |
| B．Can languages be translated into each other? |
| C．How does a language translator develop? |
| D．Why do we depend on language translators? |
【推荐3】Drugs come in different forms. However，can you imagine that drugs come in chicken eggs？A team of scientists from England prove that it can come true. They have developed special chickens that lay eggs with drugs inside. These special drugs can help treat some kinds of diseases. Until now，they have made two kinds of drugs. One drug can treat skin cancer and the other can treat a nerve disease （神经性疾病）.
Certain drugs are produced by the special chickens inside their egg whites. These drugs are made of proteins（蛋白质） which can be found in animals' skin，hair，milk and meat. The scientists also use DNA technology to make sure that the drugs are only inside the egg whites. In this way，the chickens can stay healthy.
Besides egg whites，drugs made of proteins come in milk of cows and sheep. Compared with cows and sheep，the special chickens have ascendancy over them. First，they are cheaper to raise. Second，they need less room and grow faster.
These special chicken can pass on their drug﹣producing ability to their children. So far，five generations （代） of the special chickens have appeared. But scientists may need more time to make the drugs perfect. It's said that scientists will realize their dream in five to ten years.
1. The underlined word "ascendancy" in the passage means" "in Chinese.| A．情况 | B．优势 | C．劣势 |
| A．pills that can treat all cancers | B．just the scientists' imagination | C．made of proteins |
| A．need less room and grow faster |
| B．were developed by scientists from France |
| C．produce certain drugs outside the eggs |
| A．The scientists never use DNA technology to keep the special chickens healthy. |
| B．It may take scientists more time to make the drugs perfect. |
| C．Until now，scientists have made three kinds of drugs. |
| A．It's mainly about a serious disease. |
| B．It's mainly about a natural ability of the special chickens. |
| C．It's mainly about the special drugs. |
【推荐1】The United Nations’ International Year of Soils is hardly a media favorite. Maybe it’s because many people are like me, who recall Mom’s words: “Take off your shoes! Don’t bring dirt into the house! “With all the challenges in the world today, why would we recognize soils?
Simply put, soils are literally the base that humans stand on. Ignoring the importance of this meter-thick skin covering our planet is like ignoring the importance of the air we breathe.
Without healthy soils, we would not be here.
Soil provides the structure and nutrients needed to grow our food. It stores water that satisfies the thirst of the environment, agriculture and humans. It houses the largest amount of carbon (碳)on land, keeping the climate from warming even faster. It provides the necessary support for the habitat of all life on land-including diversity in the soil itself (in some regions, just a handful of soil contains microorganisms that are more than the people on Earth). In short, soil plays an essential role not only in feeding humans but in supporting the living things that produce the oxygen we breathe and purifying the water we drink. In other words, soil keeps our planet habitable.
We, therefore, must stop considering ”soil“ a dirty word and remember that the food we eat and water we drink can be traced back to it. Businesses should adopt guidelines that ensure the long term health and productivity of soil. And local and national governments should provide policies that encourage soil protection.
Soil is one of the most important resources on our planet, and we have ignored it too long-at our own risk. The most important thing that can happen is a change in mind-set that recognizes soil is not dirt. It’s life beneath our feet.
1. Why does the author mention Mom’s words?| A．To criticize media. |
| B．To find fault with parents |
| C．To show a common attitude. |
| D．To promote International Year of Soils. |
| A．roles | B．types | C．health | D．structure |
| A．Soil Being in Danger |
| B．Making the Most of Soil |
| C．Unearthing the Importance of Soil |
| D．Healthy Soil Growing More Food |
【推荐2】You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships. Tackle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.
It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that. Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If, for example, (s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn’t get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise. Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best of friendships can be tinged by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won’t.
1. According to the author, the jealousy emotion is _________.| A．normal | B．productive | C．destructive | D．extreme |
| A．Walking up to him / her and asking him / her why he / she is jealous of you. |
| B．Walking up to him / her and asking him / her what the problem is. |
| C．Spending some time with him / her and letting him / her know how you feel. |
| D．Spending some time with him / her and letting him / her know you think there’s something between you. |
| A．friendship | B．relationship | C．admiration | D．jealousy |
【推荐3】Many people who want to lose weight often choose to go on a diet. But is this really the best way? With celebrities (名人) speaking about new diets that have helped them become slim (苗条的) in advertisements (广告), more and more people are turning to dieting. Some shops begin to sell diet products such as diet milkshakes, snack bars and even diet pills. However, such popular products and diets are often found to be extremely unhealthy.
Most of these popular diets work by cutting down on a certain nutrient (营养素) from your food intake (摄入量). For example, some diets work by cutting down on carbohydrates (碳水化合物). This means the body must use its fat reserves for energy. This might help you lose weight. However, by cutting a particular food group out of your diet, you are starving your body of a nutrient that it needs, which could leave you feeling weak, tired or even bad-tempered. Besides, these diets are often unsuccessful in the long run.
Generally, one of the most effective ways of losing weight is to cut down on calories. The recommended (推荐的) calorie intake for an adult male is 2,500. If a man consumes more than 2, 500 calories each day, then he is likely to gain weight. However, if he consumes less, then he is likely to lose weight.
In fact, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals all play an important role in staying healthy, which is why they all should be included in your meals. Of course, some foods can be eaten in moderation (节制) as an occasional snack. For example, a bar of chocolate every once in a while won’t cause you any problems.
So, instead of spending money on popular diet pills or special weight loss foods, try to eat healthy balanced meals containing foods from all food groups. So, next time your friends tell you that they are going on a diet, tell them that eating a healthy balanced diet is a much better choice.
1. What can we know about the popular diets mentioned in the para. 1?| A．They are effective to lose weight. | B．They are extremely unhealthy. |
| C．They help get people slim. | D．They can replace people’s everyday meals. |
| A．By reducing calorie intake. | B．By forming a strict diet. |
| C．By taking regular exercise. | D．By having diet products. |
| A．Diet products should be moderately taken. |
| B．Keeping a balanced diet is the best policy. |
| C．It’s necessary to reduce carbohydrates intake. |
| D．Going on a diet should be stopped immediately. |
| A．Foods and health. | B．Human and nature. |
| C．Economy and technology. | D．Sports and exercise. |
