The European Parliament has approved a law banning a wide-range of single-use plastic items, such as straws and cotton buds by 2021. “Europe is setting new standards, paving the way(铺路) for the rest of the world,” the European Commission's vice-president Frans Timmermans, who is responsible for sustainable development, said in a statement.
The new plans come after the EC found that plastics make up more than 80% of marine litter, which has disastrous effects on wildlife and habitats. The EU parliament notes that because of its slow rate of breaking down, plastic residue(残余) has been found in marine species as well as fish and shellfish - and therefore also makes its way into the human food chain.
Under the new European law, tobacco companies will be required to cover the costs for the collection of cigarette butts. Manufacturers of fishing tools will also have to pay for the retrieval(找回) of any plastic nets that have been left at sea. There's also a new focus on further raising public awareness, where producers of items such as tobacco filters(滤嘴), plastic cups, and wet wipes will be required to clearly explain to users how to appropriately dispose of them.
The European Commission first suggested the ban in May, which was approved by member states in October. China last year banned the import of 24 varieties of solid waste, including types of plastic and unsorted paper, putting pressure on Europe to deal with its own waste.
The World Economic Forum estimates that there are about 150 million tons of plastic in the world's seas. A study published in Science in 2015 suggested that between 5 and 13 million tons more are flowing into them every year. Research shows there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the world's oceans by 2050, which has encouraged policymakers, individuals and companies into action.
1. What is the best title for the passage?| A．Plastic drives fish out of seas. | B．EU paves the way for the world. |
| C．EU bans single-use plastic items. | D．Plastic threatens marine life and human. |
| A．Plastic pollution has reached a disastrous degree. |
| B．EU bears the responsibility for sustainable development. |
| C．Plastic residue has been found in human bodies. |
| D．Manufactures are prepared to collect used products. |
| A．Production will be reduced. | B．Products will be more expensive. |
| C．The staff will be larger. | D．Factories will be moved out of EU. |
| A．China once urged EU to control plastic pollution. |
| B．China’s ban on solid waste inspired EU. |
| C．EU and China has signed relevant agreements. |
| D．EU once exported plastic waste to China. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】New animal species
We share the Earth with millions of animal species.
In a South American rainforest, 60 new species of animals were found in 2012. Scientists say the reason so many new kinds of animals were found there is that this rainforest was almost untouched by humans. Six new species of frogs were discovered at this time.
In Turkey, scientists have found a new species of wood scorpion(木蝎).
When so many animal species are becoming endangered, finding new ones is exciting.
| A．Some are huge, like elephants. |
| B．There are steps that people can take to protect animals. |
| C．New kinds of animals are also being found in the oceans. |
| D．Some scientists offer classes on studying new animal species. |
| E．However, scientists are continuing to try to save endangered animals. |
| F．Scorpions are poisonous animals that usually live in dry environments. |
| G．This is particularly important because frogs around the world are dying out. |
【推荐2】Chinese researchers have found that the knife fish in the Yangtze River, once endangered by overfishing, is recovering thanks to a fishing ban（禁令）.
Monitoring data from different sections of the Yangtze shows that knife fish resources have been continuously recovering since 2019 when measures were taken to protect the fish, said Yang Jian, researcher with the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences.
The knife fish was known as “the first delicacy in the Yangtze,” and its population saw a sharp decrease due to overfishing and damage of its natural habitat（栖息地）. China banned the productive fishing of this species in 2019 and a 10-year fishing ban took effect in the Yangtze in 2021.
Since 2014, Yang Jian and his team have been monitoring a part of the Yangtze-connected Poyang Lake, an area for the knife fish to lay eggs. Yang said that from 2019 to 2021, the average number of knife fish caught by every observation unit in the area is 67 times that recorded during the period from 2014 to 2018.
The average length and weight of knife fish collected in 2021 was 27.2 cm and 91.4 grams respectively, an average increase of 41 percent and 37.55 percent compared to those collected from 2019 to 2020.
Yang Jian added that areas inhabited by knife fish have been increasing along the Yangtze, and the species was recently found in places such as Dongting Lake and the Ganjiang River where there had been no trace of the fish for more than ten years.
1. What can we learn from the discovery of the researchers?| A．The number of the knife fish is increasing. |
| B．China did very little to protect the knife fish. |
| C．China passed a ban forbidding feeding the knife fish. |
| D．Researchers only monitor the same section of the Yangtze River. |
| A．The globe is getting much warmer. | B．The knife fish lay less eggs than before. |
| C．There is less water in the Yangtze River. | D．Overfishing and destruction of its habitat. |
| A．About 34 grams. | B．About 57 grams. | C．About 66 grams. | D．About 125 grams. |
| A．A medical report. | B．A newspaper. | C．A biology textbook. | D．A fashion magazine. |
【推荐3】When Jane Goodall was young, reading and exploring nature were her ideas of fun. Her mother encouraged her to learn and ask questions. Goodall dreamed of seeing the habitats of her favorite animals on her own.
In 1957, Goodall visited a farm in Kenya, Africa. There, she met a famous paleoanthropologist (古人类学家), Louis Leakey. He was looking for someone to study chimpanzees, which could tell us about early human history. Once he got to know Goodall, he knew she was the perfect person for the job.
Goodall arrived in Tanzania, East Africa, in 1960, and journeyed to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve. She learned early on that studying chimpanzees wouldn’t be easy. To observe them up close, she had to take months to gain their trust. To her, the chimpanzees were complex creatures with lives surprisingly similar to humans’. She rejected the practice of identifying chimpanzees by numbers and gave each of them a human name. Goodall was observing chimpanzees she’d named David Greybeard and Goliath. She watched as they made tools out the roots of grass to pick termites (白蚁) out of a nest. Until then, people thought humans were the only species that used tools. Because of Goodall’s discovery, chimpanzees are now accepted as intelligent and social animals.
Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to provide conservation and environmental education. In the late 1980s, her focus changed to something much larger. Deforestation (滥伐森林) and climate change were affecting the world’s natural habitats. The plants that the chimpanzees depended on for food were in danger. The fight she began against habitat loss continues today, through animal preserves and research sites.
Throughout her life, Goodall’s work has protected the lives of people and animals around the world. And she encourages young people to join this struggle for a better world. Goodall says that the world will be a better place if people do some help.
1. Why did Louis Leakey pick Jane Goodall to study chimpanzees?| A．Jane Goodall’s mother inspired him to do that. | B．Louis Leakey wanted to know animals’ history. |
| C．Jane Goodall had fun in exploring the unknown. | D．Jane Goodall was just the right one for the work. |
| A．Chimpanzees could use simple tools. |
| B．Chimpanzees could follow humans’ commands. |
| C．Chimpanzees had the ability to swim and fish for food. |
| D．Chimpanzees lived in large societies similar to humans. |
| A．The reasons for chimpanzees’ using tools. | B．The Jane Goodall Institute’s establishment. |
| C．Fewer habitats and unfriendly climate change. | D．The change of her main interest. |
| A．Jane Goodall’s early career. | B．Jane Goodall’s research techniques. |
| C．Jane Goodall’s focus on chimpanzees’ using tools. | D．Jane Goodall’s discoveries and conservation work. |
