Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution to two of her country’s problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip waters drop off their empty bags from Doritos. Lays. and other favorites at two locations in Detroit:a print shop and a clothing store. where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding (衬垫) and liners (衬里) from old coats to line the insides.
It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof lightweight and easy to carry around”. Oleita told the Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life —and her fellow volunteers. “We are devoted to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,”she says.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of rescuing bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental problem and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit.com, “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”
1. What did Oleita ask the snack lovers to do with their empty chip bags?| A．To turn them into sleeping bags. |
| B．To donate them to the homeless directly. |
| C．To throw them into the trash. |
| D．To give them away to her. |
| A．It is convenient. | B．It is only made of old coats. |
| C．It has the function of heating. | D．Its size is adjustable. |
| A．The aim of the project is more than social issues. |
| B．Poverty results from environmental problems. |
| C．Oleita’s project made 110 sleeping bags per month. |
| D．Oleita started the project mainly to raise money. |
| A．Hardworking and loyal. | B．Talented and brave. |
| C．Selfless and modest. | D．Generous and creative. |
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【推荐1】From the loss of wildlife to rising sea levels, we’re all well aware of the problems that climate change could cause. But while it may seem like such issues won’t affect most of us directly, it looks like future generations could grow up without something that many of us now take for granted: chocolate.
According to an essay published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes of the climate in the areas that produce cacao—the plant from which chocolate is produced—may mean that it will soon become extinct.
Most of the world’s cacao grows in countries close to the equator (赤道), with over half of it growing in the African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast. It’s predicted that by 2050, climate change will have sped up the rate at which temperatures in these countries rise, making it extremely difficult for cacao to grow there. The problem doesn’t lie in increasing heat, but in lower humidity (湿度), as it’s believed that rainfall will stay at the same level if the temperature rises.
“In other words, as higher temperatures squeeze more water out of soil and plants, it’s unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture loss,” wrote Michon Scott, the essay’s author.
To help fight this problem, researchers from Berkeley University in the US are working on changing the DNA of cacao plants to allow them to survive in dryer conditons by using gene (基因) editing technology, according to US News. In the meantime, Mars, one of the world’s biggest companies of chocolate products, announced that it would spend 1 billion dollars helping reduce the effects of climate change.
“This is a world issue, and it requires everyone to work together,” Mars spokesperson Barry Parkin told Business Insider.
The message here is that if we all do our part, we may be able to prevent some of the worst influences of climate change. Or if we’re unlucky, chocolate will become a thing of the past.
1. What will make it hard for cacao to survive around the equator in the future?| A．The increasing heat. | B．The higher humidity. |
| C．The moisture loss in the soil. | D．The decrease of rainfall. |
| A．Make up. | B．Add up. | C．Dry up. | D．Use up. |
| A．It will work hard to plant cacao in greenhouses. |
| B．It will use the gene editing technology to plant cacao. |
| C．It will develop cacao that can survive in dryer conditions. |
| D．It will give financial support to help fight climate change. |
| A．Some new research and findings about growing cacao. |
| B．The influence that cacao plants have on climate change. |
| C．Problems cacao plants could face and the possible solutions. |
| D．The significance of working together to fight climate change. |
【推荐2】The study ended in 2003, but they were unwilling to return home.
“It broke my heart to see that someone could do this to such a beautiful place,” says Christoph. “If you care for nature and for the conservation of our environment, you cannot tolerate such scenes.”
Barbara and Christoph networked tirelessly, tapping into all of their conservation friends and contacts. “We found that more and more people were becoming committed to the idea of forest conservation, says Christoph. It's a struggle to change the perceptions of people to their environment. They have had car tyres slashed, and once had their lives threatened by a man who illegally grazed his cattle on land that was off limits.
| A．Both of them felt helpless. |
| B．Few birds were singing for lack of trees to nest in. |
| C．They described the destruction taking place around them. |
| D．They loved Romania so much that they wanted to stay on. |
| E．That was why they decided on a mission to save this mountain wilderness. |
| F．Although they have had some pretty scary moments, they've never looked back. |
| G．But this peacefulness changed for lacking management of the surrounding countryside in 2007. |
【推荐3】Global warming, the increases of the earth’s average surface temperature, results from greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide, which traps heat that would otherwise escape from the earth. After the trees are cut down and more greenhouse gases are released, the “blanket” around the earth, called the ozone layer(臭氧层), will get thicker. This catches more heat and makes the earth hotter. Luckily, there are many things that every citizen of the earth can do to help reduce the effects of global warming, and it’s never too late or too early for children to take action.
Children should learn what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases people make as they lead the daily life and go about the normal activities. In other words, the carbon footprint is a measure of the environmental impact the life has. To live an environmentally friendly life that hardly contributes to global warming, people should make the fewest carbon footprints possible.
Almost everything people do contributes to global warming and is related to fossil fuel consumption. These things people do can be direct use of fossil fuels, like riding in a gasoline-powered car, or indirect contributions to greenhouse gases, such as eating fruit and vegetables that have to be shipped from faraway places to reach their tables.
If a child wants to make a contribution to reducing global warming, he should ride a bicycle to the near park, the school, his friend’s house, or anywhere else not so far instead of taking a car. Or he may try to walk or jog, which is also helpful. In addition, although trains and buses often run on fossil fuels, on average, each person uses less energy and produces less pollution to take a train or a bus. Next time if children with their parents have to go around town or go to someplace too far to walk to or bike to, take a bus or other public transportation instead of riding a car.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．A brief description of the carbon footprint. | B．The serious water pollution. |
| C．The protection of the ozone layer. | D．The causes of global warming. |
| A．Useless. | B．Expensive. | C．Helpful. | D．Attractive. |
| A．Go to the near park by bus. | B．Walk or cycle as much as possible. |
| C．Keep staying at home. | D．Go around town with parents by car. |
| A．What can people do to use less energy? |
| B．How can kids help reduce global warming? |
| C．How do carbon footprints measure pollution? |
| D．Why global warming affects humans’ life? |
【推荐1】Shiri Magar grew up in a small village in the center of Israel and found that she has a love for singing and performing. She also has a love for volunteering and helping others. She has managed to combine both of these in her Good Deeds Diva vlog(视频博客).
Shiri followed a music track that led her to the Boston Conservatory and then back to Israel where she was accepted to the Meitar Opera Studio at the Israeli Opera, and sang main roles at the Israeli Opera as well as abroad. She achieved her dream to be a professional opera singer but realized that in this competitive field she didn't have time to continue to help others by volunteering and doing good, which brought her anxiety.
Fortunately, Shiri came up with a win-win solution—she started doing good deeds in the opera world. She began by giving hamsas (a Middle Eastern good luck symbol) to a competition she was participating in, which took place in Moscow, Russia, and giving them to all the other participants and wishing them all good luck. The reaction was very positive and it was contagious! The next day a woman gave everyone roses. Shiri said that instead of being singer against singer, they became colleagues and friends. That's when she launched Good Deeds Diva.
At first, her vlog was concentrated in just the opera community but then she expanded it because she wanted to make even bigger waves. Shiri's first goal is to promote self- kindness something that is much needed in these - times and the second is to promote good deeds in the creative community by spotlighting other performers, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has shut down live performances. The last goal is to increase awareness of environmental issues like pollution, global warming, and being kinder to the earth.
Now grounded in Tel Aviv, Shiri uses her Good Deeds Diva vlog to increase goodness, happiness, and ways to spread inner joy to people all over the world.
1. Why did Shiri feel anxious in the opera world?| A．She had to face many competitors. | B．She hardly had time to help others. |
| C．She suffered pressure as main roles. | D．She found volunteering time consuming. |
| A．She helped participants stand out. | B．She asked others to exchange gifts. |
| C．She taught others to make hamsas. | D．She sent wishes to her competitors. |
| A．Receiving positive reactions. | B．Transporting diseases around. |
| C．Being competitive. | D．Spreading among people. |
| A．Her ways to promote operas. | B．Her goals of cutting pollution. |
| C．Her aims of running her vlog. | D．Her dreams about her singing. |
Living in New York State. Students cannot graduate from high school unless they pass at least five exams: one in English, one in science, two in history and one in math. For most students, who work hard, attend class, and do their homework like my son, it isn't that hard. But for Tom, who is dyslexic (朗读困难), it is such a real challenge that some teachers have feared he would never be able to even attempt, never mind achieve.
We were honest with him about his trouble, letting him know that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Some people learn differently. If he was willing to work, we would help him find a way to do as much as he could in his academic career. All that was standing in his way was this math test. He had taken it three times and did better each time, but he continued to fail. He was starting to get a bit tired of me saying this was a marathon not a sprint (冲刺). My heart broke each time we would get the failing results.
“Mom,thanks. I love you. Thanks for believing I could do this.”
For one of the few times in my life, I really had nothing left to say. For that one brief moment I knew, really, really, knew that everything we did to help our son achieve what he wanted was worth it.
1. What does the underlined word “pound” in Paragraph l probably mean?
| A．Sink suddenly. | B．Beat wildly. |
| C．Ache violently. | D．Break totally. |
| A．English | B．science | C．history | D．math |
| A．She felt proud and satisfied. |
| B．She felt surprised and bitter. |
| C．She felt grateful and relaxed. |
| D．She felt worried and anxious. |
| A．A Mother's Love That Made the Grade |
| B．A Student Who Struggled for a Diploma |
| C．Failure Is the Mother of Success |
| D．Life Is Not a Sprint but a Marathon |
【推荐3】It was in April and a bit of a storm was around the corner. I had been out visiting friends in the Hutt Valley and at about 9:30 pm I was driving my car home when the strong wind and the pouring rain came. Apart from one other car in front of me there was no traffic on the road.
At Point Howard I saw the red flashing light bounce off the seaward hillock (小丘) before I saw the police car. I pulled up behind the other car and the policeman said the road was badly flooded and asked if I could stay somewhere in the Hutt Valley.
The other driver was eager to give it a go, so we were allowed through but were told to keep an eye on each other. I soon lost sight of the vehicle (车辆) in front. In Sorrento Bay a huge wave hit the car and pushed it to the side of the road, which scared the pants off me.
I drove through the sea water and rain and managed to get around the bluff (陡岸) into Lowry Bay, where I had to feel the way around fallen trees, hitting one that was hidden by the driving spray (水花). I eventually made it home and rang the police to report how bad it had been. I was told the road had been closed immediately after we had passed through so we were the last vehicles to get to Eastbourne that night.
After the ship Wahine sank, I volunteered with some of my friends to assist around the Pencarrow Coast the next morning. However, the police refused to let local people through to help. Later in the day, with the waters of the harbour having calmed, I saved two people along the beach and reported them to the police. It was a comfort to help two people after the huge storm.
1. What happened when the author arrived at Point Howard?| A．He got wet in the flood. |
| B．He almost ran into another car. |
| C．He lost sight of the car in front of him. |
| D．He was advised to go back to the Hutt Valley. |
| A．He changed his pants. |
| B．He crashed into a fallen tree. |
| C．He gave the other driver a lift. |
| D．He took the lead in going through the flood. |
| A．To ask them for help. |
| B．To inform them he was home. |
| C．To advise them to close the road. |
| D．To brief them on the road situation. |
| A．When the police left the beach. |
| B．When the harbour was safe again. |
| C．When he saw the ship Wahine sink. |
| D．When he came across some volunteers. |
【推荐1】When I was five or six years old, I remember watching TV and seeing other children suffer in other parts of the world. I would say to myself, “When I grow up, when I can get rich, I will save kids all over the world.”
At 17, I started my career here in America, and at the age of 18, I started my first charity organization. I went on to team up with other organizations in the following years, and met, helped, and even lost some of the most beautiful souls, from six-year-old Jasmina Anema who passed away in 2010 from leukemia(白血病), and whose story inspired thousands to volunteer as donors, to my grandmother who lost her battle against cancer in 2012. And her death is the very reason and the driving force behind the Clara Lionel Foundation(CLF). We’re all humans. And we all just want a chance: a chance of life, a chance of education, a chance of a future, really. And at the CLF, our mission is to impact as many lives as possible, but it starts with just one.
People make it seem too hard to do charity work. The truth is that you don’t have to be rich to help others. You don’t need to be famous. You don’t even have to be college-educated. But it can start with your neighbor, the person right next to you, the person sitting next to you in class, and the kid down the block in your neighborhood. You just do whatever you can to help in any way that you can. And today, I want to challenge each of you to make a decision to help one person, one organization, one situation that touches your heart. My grandmother used to say, “If you’ve got a dollar, there’s plenty to share.”
1. What did the author want to do at a young age?| A．Watch TV. | B．Help other children. |
| C．Become wealthy. | D．Grow up quickly. |
| A．A six-year-old kid’s request. | B．Many volunteers inspiration. |
| C．Her grandmother’s death of cancer. | D．Other organizations’ encouragement. |
| A．A chance. | B．A life. |
| C．A task. | D．An organization. |
| A．Challenge their friends to offer help. |
| B．Work hard to get a college education. |
| C．Do little things to help those around them. |
| D．Share everything they have. |
【推荐2】When she was just 8, Sammie Vance thought about a question. What breaks your heart? “For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” the seventh grader from Indiana, US. told People magazine. “I’ve been lonely myself, I don’t want others to feel that way.”
Soon after a summer camp. Vance learned about buddy benches(伙伴长椅). These benches are seats at a school playground. A lonely child can sit on it, which shows that he or she is in need of a friend.
She loved this idea. “This would be really cool.” Vance said. Then she got into action at once. She collected 725 kgs of bottle caps and found a factory to turn the caps into benches for her school. According to Vance, these benches cost much less than common park benches and are good for the environment.
Vance collected more for benches at other schools, too. She also made a website page for others to follow her journey and make bottle cap donations(捐赠). She was surprised that her small project had had an influence on people around the world. She even received bottle caps from Germany and Australia. But she has no plans of stopping. She said in an interview that even adults(成年人)can use a buddy bench because people at any age can feel lonely.
“I just look forward to making a difference.” she said, “and inspiring(激励)other people to make a difference.”
1. What makes Sammie Vance sad?| A．Seeing homeless people. | B．Seeing hungry people. |
| C．Seeing lonely people. | D．Seeing lying animals. |
| A．Bottle caps. | B．Glass bottles. | C．Old clothes. | D．Old chairs. |
| A．Make more friends to live a happy life. | B．Try to help others and make a difference. |
| C．Work hard to make our dream come true. | D．Live a green life and protect the environment. |
【推荐3】When a stranger gave Danille and her husband Nathan a box of onions which they later found they didn’t need, she decided to pass the kindness on.
Mindful of many families struggling to feed their loved ones, Danielle placed the onions outside her home with a sign encouraging locals to “take what you need, share what you can”. Now, one year on, their stand, called the “Waverley Co-op”, provides thousands of locals with 500kg of fruit, vegetables, and bread each week. “Residents and charities donate some produce, and we top this up with $100 of fresh fruit and other foods,” says Danielle, who explains that others began adding to the stand with their own donations.
“A common story we hear is that the items people take from the stand enable them to save a few extra dollars so they can afford to buy meat that week.” For a new mum Stacey, it’d been the lifeline she needed to keep food on the table for her family.
Last year, the 33-year-old’s one-year-old son Kaidan ran into a hot fire screen, badly burning his hands and forehead. Then, her husband lost his job. With Kaidan needing urgent medical care in Hobart 200km away, the mother spent four weeks at her son’s bedside before returning home, which led to piles of overdue bills at home. “Without the help of the Waverley Co-op, we wouldn’t have had food or nappies,” says Stacey, who discovered the volunteer-led stand by word of mouth.
“It has been a blessing to hear the stories and meet the people in our community,” says Danielle, who couldn’t be happier that a box of onions brought so many people together. “The invisible atmosphere of trust, support, and connection — that’s been the biggest success!”
1. How did Danielle deal with the onions?| A．She let others take them away. | B．She donated them to a stand. |
| C．She fed her family on them. | D．She exchanged them for fresh fruit. |
| A．She could merely pay the bills. | B．She stayed for a year in Hobart. |
| C．She was jobless after her son’s accident. | D．She heard about the stand from others. |
| A．Abundant food sources. | B．Strengthened bonds among people. |
| C．Moving stories of strangers. | D．Increased communication with locals. |
| A．A New Mother Saved Her Son | B．Danielle Brought Happiness to People |
| C．A Small Stand Made All the Difference | D．The Waverley Co-op Gave People Wealth |
