"It can't be done." Boyan Slat heard this over and over when he first proposed a way to clean up millions of tons of plastic polluting our oceans. Almost anyone else would have given up in frustration and despair. But 20﹣year﹣old Slat hasn't: been discouraged but committed to his dream. "Human history is basically a list of things that couldn't be done, and then were done," he says.Today, slat and his team at The Ocean Cleanup are well on their way to proving the critics wrong. Good news for the planet.
(1)_______
Slat, who grew up in the city of Delft in the Netherlands, was on a diving trip in Greece three years ago when he was deeply impressed by plastic, "There were more plastic bags than fish," he says. "That moment I realized it was a huge issue and that environmental issues are really the biggest problems my generation will face."
That fall, Slat, then 17, decided to study plastic pollution as part of a high school project. Soon, Slat learned that no one had yet come up with practical way to clean up this massive garbage patches. Most proposed solutions involved "fishing" up the plastic using ships equipped with nets﹣which, as Slat discovered, would likely take more than 1,000 years, cost too much, let off too much sea life along with the trash.
Slat proposed an alternative that mostly avoided these problems﹣a solar﹣powered system using a floating plastic tube which will go around the garbage and trap it is 600 meters long, A big screen hangs down from it, about three metres into the water. Wind, waves and ocean currents will push the trash toward the tube. (Fish can swim under the screen) A ship will pick up the trash and take it back to the shore to sort and recycle it into oil and other products. Best of all, Slat predicted his system could clean up the North Pacific Garbage Patch between California and Hawaii where a lot of floating garbage exists, within five to 10 years.
(2)________
The following, Slat entered the aerospace engineering program at the Delft University of Technology and officially announced his ocean cleanup concept at TEDx Delft. But nothing much moved forward,
Slat found himself continually absent﹣minded in classes, looking for ways. to improve his concept. "It wouldn't let go. I finally decided to put both university and my social life on hold to focus all my time on developing this idea. I wasn't sure if it would succeed, but considering the scale of problem I thought it was important to at least try." He says.
With this family's blessing, Slat began in earnest organizing a team of volunteers and employees for The Ocean Cleanup, which now numbers about 100.
(3)_______
In answer to opposition, Slat and his team raised $100,000 from a crowdfunding campaign and began testing a 40﹣meter collecting barrier near the Azores Islands last March. In June, they released a 500+ page possibility study.
Over the next three to four years, Slat will push toward a fully operational large﹣scale project by testing a series of longer and longer barriers. He's currently seeking to crowd fund $2 million to finance it. Incidentally, The Ocean Cleanup is also working on a plan to stop plastic from washing into the oceans in the first place. "It's just the other problem that is equally important." Slat says. "It's something everyone is able to help with, and we also have some technologies in the pipeline."
As for school, Slat doesn't miss it ﹣ except maybe for the social﹣part, which he hopes to (恢复) a bit once his team takes on more of the workload. " I don't have time for things like that right now, but I really can't complain. I can imagine doing something more fun than being able to have an idea and then actually making it into a reality." he says.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?A.An introduction to the main topic. |
B.An overview of the whole article |
C.The background information of the story |
D.Raising a problem for later solution |
a. But is it possible?
b. Drowning in plastic
c. An idea wouldn't die
A.a﹣b﹣c |
B.c﹣b﹣a |
C.b﹣a﹣c |
D.b﹣c﹣a |
A.One of his high school projects. |
B.Others' opposition to his proposal. |
C.Humans' failure in cleaning up the ocean. |
D.The shockingly heavy plastic pollution in ocean. |
A.It is powerful but only used in California and Hawaii |
B.It is huge but causes great damage to sea lives |
C.It makes full use of natural forces and is friendly to nature. |
D.It was welcomed by all the public and worked very well. |
A."Human history is basically a list of things that couldn't be done, and then were done." |
B."That was the moment I realized it was a huge issue and that environmental issues are really the biggest problems my generation will face." |
C."I finally decided to put both university and my social life on hold to focus all my time on developing this idea." |
D."It's something everyone is able to help with, and we also have some technologies in the pipeline." |
A.Explain a creative idea |
B.Introduce a fascinating person. |
C.Describe a social phenomenon |
D.Praise a point of view |
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【推荐1】Hardware in general, and smartphones in particular, have become a huge environmental and health problem in the Global South’s landfill sites(垃圾填埋场).
Electronic waste (e-waste) currently takes up 5 percent of all global waste, and it is set to increase rapidly as more of us own more than one smartphone, laptop and power bank. They end up in places like Agbogbloshie on the outskirts of Ghana’s capital, Accra. It is the biggest e-waste dump in the world, where 10,000 informal workers walk through tons of abandoned goods as part of an informal recycling process. They risk their health searching for the precious metals that are found in abandoned smartphones.
But Agbogbloshie legally should not exist. The Basel Convention, a 1989 treaty, aims to prevent developed nations from unauthorized dumping of e-waste in less developed countries. The e-waste industry, however, circumvents regulation by exporting e-waste labelled as “secondhand goods” to poor countries like Ghana, knowing full well that it is heading for a landfill site.
A recent report found Agbogbloshie contained some of the most dangerous chemicals. This is not surprising: smart phones contain chemicals like mercury(水银), lead and even arsenic(砷). Reportedly, one egg from a free-range chicken in Agbogbloshie contained a certain chemical which can cause cancer and damage the immune system at a level that’s about 220 times greater than a limit set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Most worryingly, these poisonous chemicals are free to pollute the broader soil and water system. This should concern us all, since some of Ghana’s top exports are cocoa and nuts.
Some governments have started to take responsibility for their consumers’ waste. For example, Germany has started a project that includes a sustainable recycling system at Agbogbloshie, along with a health clinic for workers. However, governments cannot solve the problem alone, as there is an almost limitless consumer demand for hardware, especially when governments’ green policies are focused on issues like climate change.
Only the manufacturers can fix this. A more economically sustainable and politically possible solution is through encouraging hardware manufacturers to make the repair, reuse and recycling of hardware profitable, or at least cost-neutral.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?A.Electronic waste requires more landfill sites. |
B.Electronic waste is too complex to get fully recycled. |
C.Electronic products need to be improved immediately. |
D.Electronic pollution is a burning question in Agbogbloshie. |
A.Relaxes. | B.Abolishes. | C.Avoids. | D.Tightens. |
A.The violation of EFSA’s standards. | B.The threat of polluted food worldwide. |
C.The lack of diversity in Ghana’s exports. | D.The damage to chicken’s immune system. |
A.Letting governments take on the main responsibility. |
B.Reducing customers’ demands for electronic products. |
C.Governments adjusting their green policies about e-waste. |
D.Manufacturers’ developing a sustainable hardware economy. |
【推荐2】Pollution
Pollution happens when the environment is dirtied, by waste, chemicals, and other harmful substances(物质).Pollution is a problem all over the world. But it is especially bad in large cities with a lot of industries and cars.
Wildfires, volcanoes, and industrial chemicals cause some air pollution. But most air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels (矿物燃料)These include coal, oil and natural gas. The burning of fossil fuels may release harmful gases. Air pollution may cause such diseases cancer and asthma. It also leads to polluted rain that can harm living things
Causes of water pollution are easy to see. People dump(倾倒) garbage and dirty water into river, lakes and oceans. Factories or cities sometimes release poisonous chemicals, and other wastes into water. These chemicals may make the groundwater unfit to drink.
Littering, or throwing garbage on the ground, is a form of land pollution. Litter can destroy the habitats of plants and animals. The buildup of dangerous chemicals in the ground is another form of land pollution. The chemicals may come from farms or factories.
Many governments, environmental groups, and ordinary people are working to control pollution. Governments have passed laws to keep people from releasing dangerous chemicals into the environment
A.Farmers use chemical to help crops grow. |
B.This type of pollution may be seen in big cities. |
C.They also can harm fish and other forms of life. |
D.These chemicals can spread to plants and animals. |
E.In addition, air pollution may be a cause of global warming. |
F.There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land. |
G.Some companies and people are trying to use fewer fossil fuels. |
【推荐1】I don’t want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated (controlled) by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space, time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics (天体物理学), it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement — jobs, research papers, awards — was viewed through the lens (镜片) of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations (挑衅): I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.
1. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?A.She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination (歧视). |
B.She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields. |
C.She is not good at telling stories of the kind. |
D.She finds space research more important. |
A.the burden she bears in a male-dominated society |
B.her involvement in gender politics |
C.her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist |
D.the very fact that she is a woman |
A.Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science. |
B.Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle. |
C.People’s fixed attitude toward female scientists. |
D.Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured. |
A.Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation. |
B.Women can balance a career in science and having a family. |
C.Women have more barriers on their way to academic success. |
D.Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career. |
【推荐2】I was given a voice. That’s what people said about me I trained my voice, because it would be a shame to waste such a gift. I pictured this voice as a greenhouse plant and made sure it was provided with the right temperature, the right amount of water. I relieved its fears. I told it not to tremble. I nursed it, I trained it, and I watched it climb up inside my neck
My voice bloomed. People said I had grown into my voice. Invitations to perform flooded over us. All the best places wanted us. I was sought after, or rather my voice was. We went everywhere together and gave performances. Bouquets (花束)were thrown to it. Money was presented to it. Men fell on their knees before it. Applause flew around it.
Then my voice began to shrivel. People said my voice would bloom only for a certain term: finally it would drop off and gone with it would be all the fame and wealth. I have noticed it so far. Fear has entered me since my voice has used up most of my life. I’ve given it all my love. But my voice is still as greedy as ever. It wants more: more and more, more of everything it has had so far.
Now it’s evening: the bright lights come on, and excitement quickens in the streets. We sit in this hotel room. Soon it will be time for us to go out. We have to attend a grand occasion. The two of us chained together as always. I have to put on its favourite dress, its favourite necklace and wind a fur around it. Then I have to go out: shining like ice: my voice attached to my throat like an invisible vampire (吸血鬼).
1. Why did the author compare her voice to a greenhouse plant?A.To introduce her way to grow a plant. |
B.To stress her hard efforts to train her voice. |
C.To express her determination to show her gift. |
D.To indicate her strong desire to improve her skill. |
A.go up | B.die away |
C.grow more pleasant | D.become less attractive |
A.The author totally ruined her fame. |
B.The author gradually lost her freedom. |
C.The author eventually accepted her voice. |
D.The author greatly enjoyed her performances. |
1. Which of the following happens first?
A.Enfield tells Utterson the story of the door. |
B.Sir Danvers Carew is murdered. |
C.Utterson and Enfield see Jekyll at his window. |
D.Utterson finds Hyde dead in Jekyll's lab. |
A.a servant | B.a lawyer |
C.a Member of Parliament | D.a doctor |
A.He is responsible for it. | B.He is regretful about it. |
C.He is happy about it. | D.He is strongly against it. |
A.evil | B.violent | C.mysterious | D.respectable |
A.kindness | B.generosity | C.contradiction | D.cruelty |