【推荐1】This year, the hole in the ozone layer (臭氧层）over Antarctica has expanded to one of its largest sizes and deepest levels in years.

So how big is the ozone hole? On Sept 20, the hole over Antarctica peaked (达到高峰) at 24.8 million square kilometers, which is three times the size of the United States. It has increased by 8.4 million square kilometers since 2019.

That puts it in about the same ballpark (范围) as ozone holes in 2015 and 2018, which respectively recorded peaks of 25.6 and 22.9 million square kilometers.

"The 2020 ozone loss shows that we have to remain vigilant (警觉的) and maintain continuous observations (观察)," said World Meteorological organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

The ozone layer is important because it acts like a sunscreen, blocking harmful ultraviolet light (紫外线) from reaching our planet's surface. Without it, humans and animals will be more likely to experience skin cancers, immune suppression (抑制), cataracts (白内障) and premature (提前的) aging.

Of course, humans play a large role in the depletion (消耗) of the ozone layer. The loss of ozone in the Antarctic, as well as the Arctic, is due to the large amounts of ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity. Once released into the atmosphere, these gases can remain for decades. In extremely cold weather conditions, they trigger (激发) chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer.

"The Arctic stratosphere (平流居) continues to be vulnerable (脆弱的) to ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities," said Taalas.

Marcus Rex, a scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, told Nature that the ozone hole doesn't threaten human health but that over next month, there is a possibility that it might move to more populated areas. In that case, he recommends more sunscreen.

Although it seems bad, scientists are hopeful that Earth can heal (治愈) itself. Researchers believe the ozone hole will eventually heal and around 2050, Earth's ozone layer will return to normal.

1. What does the underlined word "That" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．The ozone layer.	B．The growing of ozone hole.
C．The ultraviolet light.	D．The size of ozone hole.

2. Why does the ozone layer matter to people's lives?

A．It contains resources on which mankind rely for living.

B．It can prevent human from experiencing skin cancers, immune suppression, cataracts and premature aging.

C．It can protect ultraviolet light from harming people.

D．It can help deplete ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity.

3. Why does the author mention Taalas's words in Paragraph 7?

A．To show that Arctic stratosphere is too vulnerable to protect the Earth.

B．To introduce several ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities.

C．To prove that human activities have a great effect on the depletion of the ozone layer.

D．To discuss why Arctic stratosphere is vulnerable.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Human activities' great effect on nature

B．Researches on the ozone layer

C．The harm of the depletion of the ozone layer

D．Rapidly growing ozone hole

【推荐2】The curb cut (路缘坡) is a convenience that most of us rarely, if ever, notice. Yet, without it, daily life might be a lot harder in more ways than one, such as carrying baggage, pushing a bicycle or a wheelchair or riding a skateboard etc. —all these tasks are easier because of the curb cut.

But it was created with a different purpose in mind. It’s hard to imagine today, but back in the 1970s, most sidewalks in the United States ended with a sharp drop-off. That was a big deal for people in wheelchairs because there were no ramps (斜坡) to help them move along city blocks without assistance. According to one disability rights leader, a six-inch curb “might as well have been Mount Everest”. So, activists from Berkeley, California, who also needed wheelchairs, organized a campaign to create tiny ramps at intersections to help disadvantaged people dependent on wheels move up and down curbs independently.

I think about the “curb cut effect” a lot when working on issues around health equity. The first time I even heard about the curb cut was in a 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review piece by Policy Link CEO Angela Blackwell. Blackwell rightly noted that many people see equity “as a zero-sum game.” Basically, there is a deeply rooted social belief among them that intentionally supporting one group hurts another. What the cur b cut effect reveals though, Blackwell said, is that “when society creates the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully, almost everyone wins.”

One such example is closed captioning (字幕), originally intended to help deaf people understand movies and TV shows without needing to hear dialogue or sounds. But it’s easy to think of other applications for closed captioning: it’s convenient for customers watching TV in a noisy bar or gym. second-language learners who want to read as well as listen, or students who use it as a study aid.

So, next time you cross the street, or roll your suitcase through a crosswalk or ride your bike directly onto a sidewalk —think about how much the curb cut, that change in design that broke down walls of exclusion for one group of people at a disadvantage, has helped not just that group, but almost all of us.

1. What is the purpose of the examples listed in the first paragraph?

A．To call on us to care about the disadvantaged groups.

B．To offer some background information about the curb cut.

C．To tell us that people ignore the existence of the curb cut.

D．To make us know the convenience of the curb cut to our daily life.

2. What does the underlined quote imply concerning a six-inch curb?

A．It is an impassable barrier.	B．It is an important sign.
C．It is an unforgettable symbol.	D．It is an impressive landmark.

3. Which of the following examples best shows the “curb cut effect”?

A．Classic literature got translated into many languages.

B．The four great inventions of China spread to the West.

C．Reading machines for blind people also benefit others.

D．Helping the disabled contributes to more people doing it.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．The curb cut is only beneficial to the disabled.

B．Everyone in a society should be treated equally.

C．The disadvantaged people fight for rights and equality.

D．Caring for disadvantaged groups may benefit more people.

【推荐1】Some years ago, Michel-Andre found himself staring at the body of a dead whale on a beach in the Canary Islands. It was obvious that the animal had been struck violently by a ship——but why? Only later, after surveying the whales which lived in the area and measuring the increase of sound pollution from ships did it become clear that there was a link.

The whales had become desensitised to the noise of approaching boats and were being struck by them, often seriously. “We never thought that this could be something that could kill,” recalls (回忆) Andre, who is the director of the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics at the Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona.

Andre has spent 20 years developing an advanced system to better understand why incidents like this happen. His underwater microphones have exposed a world of deafening sound and animal communication never observed with such clarity(清晰) before.

It was not an easy task. Sound waves don't travel through water in the uniform, predictable way they do through the air. Instead, the temperature, salinity (盐度) and, flow of water have great effects on their path.

What can be done? One solution is to change shipping routes to courses where ships are statistically less likely to meet animals. It’s also possible to slow ships down to 18km/h or less, which is less likely to seriously injure a whale.

As for dealing with the root cause of the problem, the UN’s International Maritime Organisation has already published guidelines on how to quieten ships, but it will be a while before the effects of such changes might be observed.

“The ocean is not our world,” comments Andre. But it is ours to look after. And thanks to his work, we can better understand the effects of subsea sound pollution.

1. What does the underlined word “desensitised” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Stubborn.

B．Flexible.

C．Dull.

D．Friendly.

2. What’s one way to solve the problem according to the text?

A．To lower the speed of ships.

B．To reduce the number of ships.

C．To set up preserves under the sea.

D．To give the injured animals timely treatment.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards what Michel Andre has done?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproving.

C．Positive.

D．Uncaring.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A great expert.	B．Noise in the sea.
C．Animals in the sea.	D．Sea exploration technology.

【推荐2】A small group of Cuban dive instructors (潜水教练) have started a project to grow coral (珊瑚) and replant it. The divers hope to restore part of Cuba’s barrier reef (堡礁). And they are working with limited financial support and using materials recovered from the coast.

Luis is one of the project’s leaders. The 44-year-old fisherman grew up on Cuba’s north coast. He said, “It’s unbelievable to see the loss of coral in the past 30 years.” He added, “Our dream is to make the parts of the barrier reef that have lost their coral grow again.”

To make that happen, Luis worked with other div e instructors and neighborhood schoolchildren with the support from Cuba’s environmental organizations—Cubas National Aquarium and the Cuban environmental program Ecovalor. They began assembling pieces of coral spread across the ocean floor after large storms three years ago. The pieces were then hung on branches of underwater “trees” made from old plastic pipes and supported by fishing lines recovered from the coast. They were then “replanted” on the coral reef, fixed by nails driven into the rock. In a year, most survive and grow enough to repopulate the part of the barrier reef between 60 to 80 meters in length.

“It’s a project that takes time,” said co-worker Michel Soto. He said the project has done better than expectations even with little financial support and limited equipment in Cuba.

Like many coral reefs around the world, the ones in Cuba are threatened by changing water temperatures, destructive plants and animals, pollution and over-fishing. It is reported that the world has already lost 30 to 50 percent of its coral reefs.

Karine is a French div er who just visited Cuba for the first time. She said the reef looked better than others she had seen on dives elsewhere in the world, including in Africa. “The coral needs to be protected,” she said after two dives on a recent trip to nearby Varadero. She said, “It’s good to see that in Cuba they take care of what they have, and that it is still not too affected by too much tourism.”

1. What do you think of Luis’s group?

A．They are experienced idealists.	B．They are goal-oriented dreamers.
C．They are self-confident specialists.	D．They are determined problem-solvers.

2. What does the underlined word assembling in paragraph 3 mean?

A．collecting

B．fixing

C．planting

D．removing

3. What’s the purpose of paragraph 5?

A．To predict the result of the project.	B．To prove the necessity of the project.
C．To call on more people to join the project.	D．To state the economic benefit of the project.

4. Which of the following is right about the project?

A．It is offered enough material support.	B．It is a governmental rescue operation.
C．It is tough but rewarding in the long term.	D．It is expected to protect the whole barrier reef.

【推荐3】Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession(经济衰退).
       “Energy independence” and its rhetorical (修辞的) companion “energy security” are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely though through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
       Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere.
       The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle（涓涓细流）of biofuel（生物燃料）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
       Second, Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
       Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don’t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
        There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices, At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.
1. What does the author say about energy independence for America?

A．It sounds very attractive.                     C.   It will bring oil prices down.

B．It ensures national security.               D. It has long been everyone’s dream.

2. What does the author think of biofuels?

A．They keep America’s economy running healthily.

B．They prove to be a good alternative to petroleum.

C．They do not provide a sustainable energy supply.

D．They cause serious damage to the environment.

3. Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?

A．It wants to expand its storage of crude oil.

B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.

C．It wants to keep its own environment undamaged.

D．Its own oil production falls short of demand.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To justify America’s dependence on oil imports.

B．To arouse Americans’ awareness of the energy crisis.

C．To stress the importance of energy conservation.

D．To explain the increase of international oil trade.