In a partnership with the 5 Gyres Institute, Trash Free Maryland took to the Chesapeake Bay in November to study the presence of micropiastics in the water. Setting out from Deale, Md., the research team collected seven samples by dragging a trawl (拖网) for an hour at a time. The trawl was fitted with a cone-shaped (锥形的) net, whose holes measure 330 microns (微米) wide, about the width of two to three strands of human hair. Water flows through the main opening and the fine mesh (网眼) of net ensures anything suspended in the water is trapped behind.
In seven samples, the net picked up algae (海藻) trash, foam and plastic. According to the 5 Gyres Institute representative, the first sample collected contained almost 10 times the amount of plastic than would be collected in a typical ocean sample. The plastic found in the Chesapeake Bay samples included bits of bags, sheeting, fishing line and microbeads, which are small plastic scrubbers found in face wash, toothpaste and cleaning products. Microbeads in particular are a major source of microplastics pollution worldwide. They are small enough to bypass water treatment systems’ filters (过滤器) and end up in waterways. Scientists warn that chemicals and toxins (毒素) absorbed by microbeads and other microplastics could be passed on to organisms who mistake them for food and eat them, and could then be passed up higher and higher on the food chain, eventually reaching humans.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?A.The description of the trawl. |
B.The basic data of the water samples. |
C.The process of collecting water samples. |
D.The introduction of Trash Free Maryland. |
A.Bits of bags. | B.Chemicals. |
C.Microbeads. | D.Micropiastics. |
A.By analyzing the data. | B.By making comparisons. |
C.By giving some examples. | D.By referring to scientists views. |
A.To explain some new scientific terms to people. |
B.To let people learn more about plastics pollution. |
C.To urge governments to make environmental laws. |
D.To tell people some new findings in scientific research. |
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【推荐1】Venom (毒液) from a local scorpion (蝎子) in Cuba is being used by Cuban scientists as an effective weapon to fight cancer. The venom, with stopping pain, anti-inflammatory (炎症) and anti-cancer properties, is the active ingredient in the medicine “Vidatox 30 CH which can be used to treat liver, brain, lung and other cancers. The treatment has been successfully used for more than four years in humans after being first tested in biological models. Labiofam, a Cuban laboratory, has breeding (繁殖) centers for both the Red Scorpion and Blue Scorpion. Each month, some 30,000 scorpions in Las Minas town, 270 km east of Havana are made to give the venom. After two years, the scorpions are released back into their natural habitat.
Denyer Sanchez, a biologist from Labiofam, explained that the conditions are adjusted for reproduction, proved by the high number of breeding female scorpions. He said when the offspring (后代) becomes able to live in the environment, we release them because they do not have the necessary size yet to remove their venom, said Sanchez. Sanchez also said that there is still much to research on the exploitation process of scorpions, such as female death rate or the ability to survive of the released scorpions.
Cuban research on the scorpion’s venom began at the end of 1980s in Guantanamo province, the island’s eastern tip, where a group of biologists and doctors became interested in the stories told by the peasants about the venom's benefits. However,the first discovery was made by Cuban biologist Misael Bordier. In 2001, Bordier visited Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) and presented the research progress in a professional journal. Bordier died in 2005, one year before Cuba’s Industrial Property Office gave Labiofam the rights to exploit the patent related to the venom.
1. How are the scorpions dealt with after their venom has been taken for two years?A.Their bodies are used to make medicines. |
B.They are bred in the laboratory for research. |
C.They are raised to give birth to the offspring. |
D.They are set free into their natural habitat. |
A.The UN provided fund for the research team. |
B.There is still much to study in detail. |
C.The achievements will benefit animals. |
D.Many scientists doubt about the result of the research. |
A.He was given the rights to exploit the patent. |
B.He began his research at the beginning of the twenty-first century. |
C.He put forward the research progress in a professional journal. |
D.He was a peasant who told the stories about the venom’s benefits. |
A.The various uses of scorpions in Cuba. |
B.Cuban biologists’ research on strange diseases. |
C.Suitable conditions for Cuban scorpions to breed. |
D.Cuban scorpion venom’s effect on fighting cancer. |
【推荐2】“A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots (靴子) on.” said Mark Twain. In today’s Internet world of “fake (假的) news,” lies spread even faster and the truth is having trouble finding its boots.
To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors (谣言), half-truths and complete lies. This has led to young people becoming confused. In the latest PISA, which tested 15-year-olds worldwide on academic subjects, fewer than one in ten of the examinees were reported to be able to recognize fact from opinion. A Stanford University study showed that students at all levels of education could not tell teal news from fake news. In one instance, 80 percent thought that a paid advertisement was a real news story.
Fake news is spread by people who have a prejudice (偏见). They want to influence public opinion either for or against something or someone. It is important, then, for young people to recognize when they are being used and to be doubtful about online information.
Traditional media, such as newspapers and television, are still the more credible sources of information. Reporters are professional trained to look for facts, and editors have the job of making sure those facts are correct. However, if you are getting most of your information online, you have to be your own editor. In that case, the first thing to do is to look at the writer of a post. Is this person known to be objective? Does the site where you read the post have a prejudice? Next, look for other sources from mainstream media to make sure the information. In other words, by putting on your truth boots you won’t be fooled into chasing lies.
1. What does the writer say about young people with news around?A.They make fake news and spread it. | B.They are easily fooled by fake news. |
C.They get worried about their education. | D.They can recognize facts from opinions. |
A.Primary. | B.Realistic. |
C.Believable. | D.Important. |
A.Only look for news through media. |
B.Become a professional and trained reporter. |
C.Compare the news from different sources. |
D.focus on the new instead of the writer. |
A.What Should a Reporter Do? |
B.Who Makes and Spreads Fake New? |
C.How Can We Become a Newspaper Editor? |
D.How Can We Stay Objective in Reading News? |
【推荐3】Mountains of smoke and fire
Deep under the Earth’s surface, it’s so hot that even rock melts. Sometimes this molten rock, called “magma”, is pushed up to the surface.
A volcano may explode violently, throwing out rocks for miles around.
Most volcanoes have been around for a very long time. Many haven’t erupted for years and have cooled off. Volcanoes that are not going to erupt again are called “dead volcanoes”. Some volcanoes still give off smoke. These “sleeping volcanoes” may “wake up” one day and erupt again.
But not all volcanoes are destructive. When a volcano throws out vast amounts of lava and debris (岩屑), it piles up into a mountain.
Other volcanoes help provide heat and energy. Many Icelandic homes get their hot water from springs heated by volcanic steam.
A.At this point it is referred to as “lava”. |
B.The molten rock is formed inside the Earth. |
C.This steam can also be used to produce electricity. |
D.Mount Vesuvius in Italy slept for a thousand years. |
E.Or it may push lava out so that it flows away, cools and hardens. |
F.Japan has many active volcanoes within its narrow national territory. |
G.The Hawaiian Islands and the island of Iceland were created in this way. |
【推荐1】Researcher Ruijia Hu said wildlife habitat in crowded places like south went Ohio is becoming increasingly fragmented (分散) as forests give way to new construction. Eventually, this could make trouble to an animal with specific habitat needs like Ohio’s pileated (红冠) woodpecker.
Pileated woodpeckers have the nickname carpenter birds for their never-ending natural woodworking. They peck out holes in trees for their nests every year, creating lots of valuable homes for animals like fox squirrels and owls. “They make new nests every year. They won’t reuse old ones,” Hu said. “Other animals depend on them.”
Pileated woodpeckers are private birds that are more often heard than seen. Studying them can be especially difficult. So Hu turned to citizen science for help. To identify where woodpeckers have been seen, she used eight years of sightings collected by birders and logged into the website eBird, a free online tool and app that anyone can use to record their observations and locations. She overlaid these sightings with remote sensing data and found that corridors along rivers and creeks with abundant mature trees and deadwood helped the birds adjust to their increasingly fragmented urban landscape.
“With fragmented forests, many habitats that were once suitable for wildlife are broken up,” Hu sa id. “Wildlife is unable to find habitat big enough to meet their survival needs. And even if there are suitable habitats, the distance between them can be too great. Wildlife corridors link up these habitat patches. Since wildlife can travel and migrate from one patch to another, the probability of finding food and shelter is higher.”
“There are so many species in urban areas that we don’t pay attention to, especially when they’re not considered vulnerable,” Hu said. “With development chipping away at more forest in this crowded county, the tipping point (临界点) could come quickly and unexpectedly. You can’t fix it overnight. It’s not just about planting more trees. The birds need mature forest, so it could take 30 to 50 years to replace their habitat. At least we can protect these riverside forest corridors and see that existing trees reach maturity.”
1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?A.The magpie’s nest is occupied by the dove. |
B.Birds abandon the old for the new easily. |
C.Friendship really exists among animals. |
D.One’s trash is another treasure. |
A.The effect of Hu’s study on birds. |
B.The process of Hu’s research. |
C.The difficulty Hu had in his study. |
D.The application of technology. |
A.Helping them survive in the fragmented landscape. |
B.Making them adjust to deadwood quickly. |
C.Providing them with enough food for survival. |
D.Ensuring them a stable and safe habitat. |
A.One tree doesn’t make a forest. |
B.Be wise after the event. |
C.Prepare for a rainy day. |
D.Take things as they come. |
【推荐2】As the effects of climate change become more disastrous, well-known research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea: artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
That strategy, called solar climate intervention (干预) or solar geoengineering, involves reflecting more of the sun’s energy back into space — abruptly reducing global temperatures in a way that imitates the effects of ash clouds flowing out from the volcanic eruptions. The idea has been considered as a dangerous and fancied solution, one that would encourage people to keep burning fossil fuels while exposing the planet to unexpected and potentially threatening side effects, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters.
But. as global warming continues, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters, some researchers and policy experts say that concerns about geoengineering should be outweighed by the imperative to better understand it, in case the consequence of climate change become so terrible that the world can’t wait for better solutions.
One way to cool the earth is by injecting aerosols (气溶胶) into the upper layer of the atmosphere. where those particles reflect sunlight away from the earth. That process works, according to Douglas MacMartin, a researcher at Cornell University.
“We know with 100% certainty that we can cool the planet,” he said in an interview. What’s still unclear, he added, is what happens next. Temperature, MacMartin said, is an indicator for a lot of climate effects. “What does it do to the strength of hurricanes?” he asked, “What does it do to agriculture production? What does it do to the risk of forest fires?”
Another institution funded by the National Science Foundation will analyze hundreds of simulations of aerosol injection, testing the effects on weather extremes around the world. One goal of the research is to look for a sweet spot: the amount of artificial cooling that can reduce extreme weather events without causing broader changes in regional rainfall patterns or similar impacts.
1. Why do researchers and government agencies work on cooling the earth?A.To prevent natural disasters. | B.To win more time to reduce gas emissions. |
C.To imitate volcanic eruptions. | D.To encourage more people to bur fossil fuels. |
A.More volcanoes will throw out. |
B.More solar energy will go into space. |
C.More disasters will endanger the future of the world. |
D.People will keep burning fossil fuels to keep warm. |
A.He thinks more research remains to be done. |
B.He is optimistic about the effect of cooling the earth. |
C.He is concerned about the reduction in agriculture production. |
D.He disapproves of the practice of solar climate intervention. |
A.The rainfall pattern of a region. |
B.The modest drop in temperature. |
C.The number of extreme weather events. |
D.The injection amount of aerosol. |
【推荐3】Every spring, as the weather warms, trees up and down the East Coast explode in a display of bright green life as leaves fill their branches, and every fall, the same leaves provide one of nature’s great color displays of vivid yellow, orange and red.
Thanks to climate change, the timing of these events has shifted over the last two decades, Harvard scientists say.
Andrew Richardson, an associate professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, and research associate Trevor Keenan worked with colleagues from seven different institutions on a study which found that forests throughout the eastern United States are showing signs of spring growth dramatically earlier, and that the growing season in some areas extends further into the fall.
Richardson said, “Climate change isn’t just about warmer temperatures. It’s also about changes in precipitation (降水) patterns... so in the future, an earlier spring might not help forests take up more carbon dioxide if they end up running out of water in mid-summer.”
The research combined information from three sources. Using satellite data, Keenan tracked when forests across the region began to turn green in the spring, and when leaves began to turn yellow in the fall. Ground observations made every three to seven days at the Harvard Forest in Petersham and a long-term research site in New Hampshire provided information about the state of buds, leaves and branches. When combined with records from instrument towers, the data sets allowed the researchers to paint a richly detailed picture that shows spring starting earlier, and the growing season lasting longer than at any point in the past two decades.
Another important result, Richardson said, was the discovery of a significant source of error in existing computer models on how forest ecosystems work.
“This shows an opportunity to improve the models and how they simulate how forests will work under future climate scenarios forecast.” he said.
The real power of the findings, however, may be in helping to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public, the researchers said.
1. What is the reason of the earlier spring according to the Harvard scientists?A.The human activities. | B.The climate change. |
C.The tree growth. | D.The reduction in water. |
A.An earlier spring can only bring benefits. |
B.The influence of climate change is complex. |
C.The water in mid-summer will increase. |
D.The role of forests becomes less important. |
A.Change | B.Explain | C.Imitate | D.Create |
A.It helps scientists to figure out how forest ecosystems work. |
B.It reflects how the growing season is extending faster. |
C.It provides an opportunity to improve the computer models. |
D.It helps to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public. |
A.To tell us people should be more aware of the climate change. |
B.To tell us the climate change has some effects on the world. |
C.To tell us the early spring in eastern USA is a good time to travel. |
D.To tell us high technology is useful to detect the climate change. |