More cycling, better public transport and car bans… Places all over the world are taking a range of measures to lower traffic pollution.
Paris
Paris bans cars in many historic central districts on weekends, places odd-even(单双日制的) bans on vehicles, makes public transport free during major pollution events and encourages car-sharing programs. A long section of the right bank of the river. Seine is now car-free and a monthly ban on cars has come into force along the Champs-Elysees.
The Netherlands
Politicians want to ban the sale of all petrol cars from 2025, allowing only electric of hydrogen vehicles. The new law will allow anyone who already owns a petrol car to continue using it. Most cities encourage bicycle use.
Freiburg
Freiburg in Germany has 500km of bike routes and a cheap and efficient public transport system. One town, Vauban, forbids people to park near homes and makes car-owners pay 18,000 for a space on the edge of town. In return for living without a car, people are offered cheaper housing, free public transport, and plentiful bicycle spaces.
Curitiba
The southern Brazilian city of two million people has one of the biggest and lowest-cost bus systems in the world. Nearly 70% of its people go to work by public transport and the result is pollution-free air and traffic-free streets.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen prioritizes(优先考虑) bikes over cars and now has more cycles than people. The city calculates that one mile on a bike is worth $0.42 to society, while one mile in a car is a $0.2 loss. Large parts of the Danish capital have been closed to vehicles for decades.
1. What will happen in Paris during major pollution events?| A．Historic central districts won’t allow cars in. |
| B．People can take public transport free of charge. |
| C．Car-sharing programs will raise money publicly. |
| D．People must obey the old-even traffic restrictions. |
| A．put 500km of bike routes into full use |
| B．completely forbid the use of petrol cars |
| C．only allow the sale of electric or hydrogen vehicles |
| D．own the biggest and lowest-cost bus system in the world |
| A．Park their cars around their homes. |
| B．Sell or buy parking spaces. |
| C．Occupy bicycle spaces. |
| D．Go to work by car. |
| A．Park and Curitiba. |
| B．Paris and Freiburg. |
| C．Curitiba and Copenhagen. |
| D．Freiburg and Copenhagen. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Instead of a human deliveryman, Beijing resident Xiao Wei received his online order for daily necessities in less than 30 minutes from an unmanned delivery vehicle.
The four-wheeled vehicle named “magic bag” is 1.56 meters high, 2.77 meters long, and 1.19 meters wide. Weighing 500 kg, it can carry about 100 kg of goods at a time and run a distance of 100 km on a single charge with a maximum traveling speed of 20 kph.
After customers place orders on the Meituan app, an intelligent distribution system will assign orders to those autonomous vehicles, which will pick up and deliver goods to pick-up stations at the final destinations. Customers can collect the delivery from the stations without any human contact during the whole process, said Meituan Dianping, China’s major online food delivery platform.
“I can check the real-time route of the driverless vehicle. It is fast, convenient and safe as well,” said Xiao. “This is also the first time that Meituan has used unmanned vehicles to complete delivery orders on open roads.” Meanwhile, according to Meituan, daily sales on its retail grocery service app have increased by 200 to 300 percent in Beijing compared to figures from before the epidemic.
The catering (餐饮) chain brand Xiaoheng Dumplings has cooperated with an unmanned vehicle enterprise to pilot unmanned vehicle delivery services in Beijing. Li Heng, the founder of Xiaoheng Dumplings, believes unmanned delivery is the future of the industry as it is cleaner, safer and more efficient. “An unmanned vehicle can deliver 300 to 400 meals a day, while a deliveryman can only deliver dozens of meals,” Li said. Xiaoheng’s unmanned vehicles have a heat preservation function. A new type of vehicle with a freezing function will be introduced in the future to deliver frozen food.
Meituan and Xiaoheng will continue the unmanned delivery service in the future. More varieties of goods, including food, medicine, and daily necessities, will be added to such delivery services.
1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?| A．The origin of driverless delivery vehicles. |
| B．The introduction of driverless delivery vehicles. |
| C．The reason for using driverless delivery vehicles. |
| D．The background of creating driverless delivery vehicles. |
| A．Contact the food delivery platform. |
| B．Collect groceries at the pick-up station. |
| C．Download a Meituan app. |
| D．Track the real-time route of the vehicle. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Suspicious. | C．Cautious. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Driverless vehicles have been in operation in many cities. |
| B．More types of goods will be delivered by driverless vehicles. |
| C．Driverless vehicles can hand goods to the customers directly. |
| D．Meituan is experiencing a huge labor shortage of delivering. |
【推荐2】There have been some suggestions lately calling for the end of traffic in some cities by the year 2034. In order to reduce all this traffic, governments are planning to take away one of its biggest contributors(促成物)-cars. But is this a good idea? Our first reaction may be NO-NO-NO. They're taking away our cars and how can we travel in the city daily? But when you consider the problem a little longer, you may find the plans quite sound and realistic. Here's why:
The one thing that annoys most big cities is the non-stop heavy traffic. You have to see how terrible it is to drive into a very busy city centre-London, Miami, Tokyo? I'd say it's very bad. City layouts(规划) simply aren't built to manage that many moving parts. If we allow only buses, taxis and bikes to use the road, traffic problems in large cities will be immediately solved.
If you ever go to a large city centre, you often realize the difficulty some people have with sidewalk-to-sidewalk travel. If you live in New York City, there are so many people crossing in such a small area, that it's often difficult to know what exactly is even going on. But if cities begin to do away with cars, we'd see an increase in out-of-town travelers more willing to walk about city centres in safety.
The one thing that troubles any driver is being stuck in a traffic jam in the centre of town. You move forward at a very low speed, feeling annoyed, mad, and helpless. But why go through this hassle? If we do away with cars throughout major cities, it will give drivers the chance to actually enjoy their journeys on more open roads. It's a strange thought, yes, but many drivers will tell you driving in city centres is like driving in hell(地狱).
1. What is the author's attitude to the government plans in Paragraph 1?| A．Doubtful. | B．Uninterested. |
| C．Unfavorable. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Many large cities are widening their roads. |
| B．Cars are the main cause of traffic problems. |
| C．There is something wrong with city layouts. |
| D．The author is an experienced driver in a big city |
| A．It is heavily polluted. | B．Its streets are too busy. |
| C．It has fewer cars than before. | D．Its tourist numbers are increasing |
| A．A sudden change. | B．A serious accident. |
| C．An annoying situation. | D．A dangerous experience. |
【推荐3】You may ride on your bicycle in a rush to get to school every morning.
No matter where you are, all big cities around the world have traffic jams these days. But although they all have their problems, many cities also have a type of transport (交通) that has become a cultural icon (圣像).
In London, to avoid the traffic above ground, people use the "underground",also called the"tube".
Since 1873 when the first cable car started public service, the slow and noisy vehicle has been a symbol of San Francisco. Although once damaged by a serious earthquake and challenged by cars, it is never caught in traffic jams and provides better views than the subway.
But there are no such symbols in Los Angeles. If you visit you' d better rent a car.
| A．No wonder it’s always the first choice for commuters and tourists there. |
| B．You may fight to get a bit of space on a bus or on the subway. |
| C．The city has the oldest and most complicated underground railway system in the world. |
| D．The city' s public transportation is terrible. |
| E．At this time every day, bike rides will be the most reliable means of transportation. |
| F．New York is famous for its yellow cabs. |
| G．There will always be one for you to every corner, fast and no worry. |
【推荐1】A couple has recently placed their garbage can out for collection for the first time in 14 months, all thanks to their recycling skills. Richard and Louise Arnold have established such an effective routine that they only need to put their garbage can on the side of the street once a year.
Louise explained that making small monthly changes in her life has resulted in her family producing very little waste. She said, “It’s not as difficult as you might think if you start with small steps. We began with soap, switching from bath cream to natural soap without packaging. These bars are large enough that we cut them in half, using one for the sink and the other half for the shower. It’s both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”
“So it’s actually quite easy. Just go around your house and think of little things you can do gradually, and you’ll start noticing the difference,” Louise added. Currently, the couple takes recyclable waste to the tip, donates clothes to charity shops, and brings soft plastics and batteries to a shop that accepts them.
In 2017, the couple established No Waste Living, which initially started as a weekend stall at the local market and has since developed into a website. Louise regularly writes a newsletter for her hundreds of subscribers. They also started selling eco-friendly products, ranging from non-chemical household cleaning and washing solutions for a “less toxic home” to bamboo washing-up brushes. Louise mentioned, “I started No Waste Living because I wanted to show our achievement s and lead by example.”
Although the family occasionally faces criticism, Louise remains determined. She said, “The main point of contention(争论) for people regarding new waste rules is having to drive their waste to a recycling center, which adds to their already busy lives. However, in the long run, you will create more space in your home, save money, and spend less time dealing with garbage cans.”
1. How did the couple start their waste reduction journey?| A．By replacing small soaps with large ones. | B．By using a small amount of bath cream. |
| C．By using unpackaged soap bars. | D．By recycling soft plastics and batteries. |
| A．To bring eco-products to market. | B．To inspire others to follow in their footsteps. |
| C．To treat recyclable waste from the neighborhood. | D．To answer the call of their subscribers. |
| A．They mean more work to deal with garbage. |
| B．They increase the cost of garbage collection. |
| C．They establish a set time for waste management. |
| D．They limit the daily amount of garbage for collection. |
| A．A business - minded couple. | B．The “less poisonous home” concept. |
| C．The global trend in recycling. | D．A planet- friendly lifestyle. |
【推荐2】Howe Dell primary school, the most eco-friendly building in the country, is almost an experiment in how green and sustainable a building can be. The toilets flush using rainwater; roofs are covered with plants; the building is heated using the playground and the desks are made from drainpipes. The carpets are made up of tiles (小方地毯). When it wears out, they can replace one or two rather than the whole carpet.
IHT, which stands for Inter—seasonal Heat Transfer, takes heat from the sunshine that falls on the tarmac (碎石柏油路) playground, then stores it and releases it in winter to heat the school. A network of water pipes were laid under the playground. As the tarmac heats up when the sun shines on it, the heat in the water is pumped away and stored in computer-controlled banks in the ground under the school. The stored heat is then released into the school when it is needed—sometimes months later.
It took eight years to plan and build the school. For the pupils and teachers, the school is more than just a new building—it’s an educational resource. The school has an eight-pupil-strong “Eco-Squad”, all wearing smart green “Eco-Squad” badges, whose job is to promote ideas of sustainability. Environmental concerns are second nature to the pupils, who are developing fingerprint technology to replace the old library card system to save paper.
The school’s curriculum also incorporates sustainable education principles and the green section of the curriculum aims to teach pupils the interdependence of peoples and countries, the need to promote sustainable development and an awareness of their personal responsibility for the environment.
The school’s sustainability features don’t stop at the underground pipes. Solar heating panels warm up water for kitchens and washing. The architects also designed the school with skylights that flood the classrooms and corridors with daylight and specified super-thick exterior walls and thick window glass to reduce heat loss. “At the moment,” says Hewitt, an architect, “It is expensive to build something like this. As a society, we need the nerves and the will to invest in buildings such as these.”
1. The buildings of Howe Dell primary school________.| A．get heat from the sunshine in winter |
| B．are cooled by the water pipes in summer |
| C．are warmed in winter by stored heat from computer-controlled banks |
| D．are covered with plants all year round |
| A．anxiety | B．courage | C．action | D．ability |
| A．have sustainability features |
| B．understand the sustainable education principles |
| C．use fingerprint technology instead of the library card system |
| D．be aware of their personal responsibility for the environment |
| A．Solar heating panels are also one of the sustainability features of the school |
| B．Howe Dell primary school is eco-friendly but too expensive to build at present |
| C．the underground pipes are the only sustainability feature of the school |
| D．the school is designed with skylight to reduce heat loss |
【推荐3】Food packaging is filling up landfills and polluting our oceans, where materials like plastic can take centuries to break down. But one company might have a tasty solution to cut down our use of plastic dishware.
Georgina de Kock, an artist and entrepreneur, launched Munch Bowls that has created a biodegradable bowl made from wheat, which you can eat as part of your meal. The bowls can hold hot soup for up to five hours. They get rid of the waste generated from disposable containers, or the products and time needed to clean reusable ones.
A large bowl wholesales for around 33 cents. Although this is more expensive than traditional plastic packaging, de Kock argues the bowls have nutritional value and can be integrated into a healthy diet. They are made with all natural ingredients, including rooibos extract, a plant that is high in antioxidants (抗氧化物). Customers can purchase plain flavor bowls for main meals and sweet flavor bowls for desserts.
De Kock says that she has recently taken on a business partner to help her branch out. By the end of next year, the startup hopes to establish six production lines and to make other products such as spoons, coffee cups and containers for meals on flights. “The edible bowl is an alternative to plastic and paper products that end up in landfills. It prevents the harm of plastic products, paving the way for its commercial success,” Siegfried Fink, an ecologist says.
1. What can we know about the biodegradable bowl produced by Munch Bowls?| A．It has different tastes. | B．It takes five hours to degrade. |
| C．It is cheaper than traditional bowls. | D．It provides daily value for antioxidants. |
| A．To provide meals on flights. | B．To improve products’ quality. |
| C．To find more business partners. | D．To diversify into new products. |
| A．Unprofitable. | B．Promising. | C．Indecisive. | D．Challenging. |
| A．Eat your bowl | B．Protect our oceans |
| C．Enjoy your cuisine | D．Get rid of the dishware |
