In a world with limited land, water and other natural resources (资源), the harm from the traditional business model is on the rise. Actually, the past decades has seen more and more forests disappearing and globe becoming increasingly warm. People now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable (可持续的) ways. That means growth with low carbon or development of sustainable products. In other words, we should keep the earth healthy while using its supply of natural resources.
Today, sustainable development is a proper trend in many countries. According to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become three times bigger over the next decades. China, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy revolution. It is now trying hard to make full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and high-speed trains. In addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil (棕榈油), which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest. In recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown by more than 50%.
The major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of growing population within the limits of this single planet. That is no small task, but it offers abundant new chances for sustainable product industries.
1. The traditional business model is harmful because of all the following EXCEPT that _____________.| A．it consumes natural resources. |
| B．it makes the world warmer. |
| C．it brings severe damage to forests. |
| D．it makes growth hard to continue. |
| A．China lacks wind and solar energy. |
| B．China is the leader of the low-carbon market. |
| C．High-speed trains are a low-carbon development. |
| D．Palm oil is made at the cost of valuable forests. |
| A．make full use of natural resources. |
| B．explore new natural resources. |
| C．develop sustainable products. |
| D．deal with the major challenge. |
| A．To advocate sustainable development. |
| B．To compare two business models. |
| C．To predict a change of the global market. |
| D．To introduce a new business model. |
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【推荐1】What he believes was Philadelphia’s first 5K Earth Day Trash Walk came to Terrill Haigler in a moment of morning inspiration.
One day, Haigler, better known as “Ya Fav Trashman” on social media, thought about how he could combine trash pickup, helping the homeless, and a bit of fitness. Coinciding with Earth Day weekend, the event hopefully would bring volunteers from across the city to walk through Kensington, a Philly neighborhood suffering from drug and homelessness issues, and clean up while bathed in the sun.
The idea turned into reality on Saturday morning, when 200 volunteers picked up 8 tons of trash, collected 503 bags of litter, and distributed 200 hot meals to those experiencing homelessness in Kensington, all while laughing and smiling along the 3.2-mile route.
Volunteers, wearing running sneakers and carrying trash pickers and bags, walked, jogged, and skipped through the streets while cleaning up. As part of the event, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society had pledged (承诺) to plant a tree in a black or brown community over the next five years for every bag of trash collected. Haigler was “ecstatic (狂喜的)” to be able to tell the society that more than 500 trees would be planted.
Saturday’s walk is the latest in Haigler’s constant push to raise awareness of what sanitation workers (环卫工人) do to try to keep Philly streets clean and to help his city in creative ways.
Haigler first came to fame during the pandemic, when garbage began to pile up as sanitation workers called out sick due to COVID-19. On his account, he posted videos and host live sessions to teach residents about his job and all its difficulties.
Soon, Haigler turned from spreading awareness to community activism, holding a food drive for frontline workers during the pandemic and raising $32,000 to purchase protective equipment for his team. In 2021, Haigler stepped down from his job and now runs a nonprofit to bridge the gap between the community and the city’s sanitation team.
1. What inspired Terrill Haigler to organize the Philadelphia 5K Earth Day Trash Walk?| A．A wish to celebrate the Earth Day. |
| B．A plan to provide hot meals to the homeless. |
| C．A desire to encourage more people to go jogging. |
| D．A need to clean the city while helping the homeless. |
| A．They distribute hot meals to the homeless. |
| B．They provided volunteers with running sneakers. |
| C．They promised to help green the local communities. |
| D．They offered trash pickers and bags to the volunteers. |
| A．To teach people about environmental issues. |
| B．To promote physical exercise in the community. |
| C．To tackle the issues of drug addiction and homelessness. |
| D．To promote understanding between citizens and sanitation workers. |
| A．A team player. | B．A Mr. Initiative. | C．An early bird. | D．A green hand. |
Every year more of us try and reduce our impact on the planet. A refill shop, or zero waste shop, gives you a choice to go green.
Refill shops tend to be small, independent stores that sell non-packaged goods. Most of the time they will be dry ones like rice and nuts produced directly in the local sites, which means less carbon footprint from farm to plate. They can also be many other sustainable (可持续的) products, like refill cleaning products and soaps. Shoppers only need to bring containers they already own and refill them from larger containers in the store.
Refill and zero-waste shops are usually located in communities. Buying from within walking distance, clearly, is more sustainable and kinder to the planet, and your community. If you’re walking down the street to your local refill shop, then you’re doing great but if you’re driving hours away to find your closest shop, then the transport may cancel out any benefits of what you buy. Remember, it’s the whole process not just the end product.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of shopping at local refill shops is that they encourage us to think about our consumer (消费) habits. They make us pause and think about how we can make positive changes for the environment.
If you can shop local and from independent refill shops, then you should. It doesn’t have to be all the time but minimizing waste and choosing refills where you can will make a positive difference.
1. What are refill shops? (不超过12词)2. What is the most important value of refill shopping? (不超过20词)
3. Why are refill shops built in communities within walking distance? (不超过7个单词)
4. What is the passage mainly about? (不超过3个单词)
As a work tool, a leisure activity resource, and a personal assistant, computers seem to be everywhere. Yet the environmental performance for today's computers leaves a lot to be improved: they rapidly become out of date, and typically contain poisonous materials and individual parts that are difficult to recycle. Moreover, they consume plenty of power whose production, in return, causes the release of CO2into the atmosphere.
Employees at the MicroPro Company in Ireland, teaming with colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin, have engineered a wooden—frame computer with reduced environment impact. As the first computer for its class, the“iameco”(pronounced I-am-eco) was awarded the “EU Ecolabel”, the European Union’s environmental label. “This touch-screen PC has very low energy consumption over the entire lifecycle” explains Alexander Schlosser, scientist at IZM.
Over the full product life cycle, it releases 70 percent less CO2 than a typical desktop PC with monitor. In addition, it can be easily recycled. Of the materials used, 98 percent can be recycled. Indeed, 20 percent of the computer can be reused immediately—in other words, many parts can be reused for repairing other computers—such as parts of the wooden frame.
1. Paragraph 2 mainly talks about______________.
| A．the popularity of computers |
| B．the latest development of computers |
| C．the improvement of computers |
| D．the environmental pollution of computers |
| A．products made of wood |
| B．products saving energy |
| C．products releasing much CO2 |
| D．products made by the EU |
| A．it has better appearance |
| B．it can reduce weight |
| C．it doesn’t break easily |
| D．it can be recycled directly |
| A．record valuable data |
| B．give detailed description |
| C．provide concrete evidence |
| D．introduce a research method |
| A．The fun of surfing the Internet. |
| B．Disadvantages of the desktop PC. |
| C．The recycling of computers. |
| D．Benefits of the new ecological PC. |
