We’re now used to wearing masks in public during the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s reported that people use about 300 million masks and then throw away every day in China. Where do these used masks go? You might think that they just go in a garbage bin (垃圾桶). But that’s just the first stop on the masks’ journey.

After people throw the masks into bins, garbage trucks empty the bins and take them to landfills (垃圾场). Next, workers will dump (倾倒) the masks into garbage incinerators (焚化炉) and burn them. Burning masks might not seem to be very good for the environment. Won’t it cause pollution?

The answer is “no”, according to People’s Daily. That’s because most masks are made of non-woven fabrics (无纺布). It’s an environmentally-friendly material. It can break down easily. After burning, it turns into water and carbon dioxide (二氧化碳). As long as landfills are properly disinfected (消毒良好的) and deal with their emissions (排放) correctly, burning the masks won’t cause pollution.

In fact, burning the masks can bring some benefits. The process of burning garbage can produce electricity. Burning one ton of garbage can generate more than 400 kilowatt hours (度) of electricity. Some people predict that there will be 162,000 tons of used masks in China this year. Burning all of them can generate 64 million kilowatt hours of electricity. This is enough to allow an electric car to drive 370 million kilometers, which is 9,250 times around the Earth’s equator (赤道).

What’s more, the slag (残渣) from burning masks can be used to make something else.

11. Where will our used masks end up?

A．People will bury them underground.	B．People will turn them into fuel (燃料).
C．People will burn them in incinerators.	D．People will throw them into the ocean.

12. Burning masks won’t cause pollution because ________ .

A．most masks are made of water and carbon dioxide

B．most mask materials are environmentally-friendly

C．the process of burning garbage is very clean

D．burning masks won’t cause any emissions

13. What are the benefits of burning masks?
a. It can make electricity.
b. It can help us save water.
c. The slag can be used to make something else.
d. It can reduce the pollution of the environment.

A．ab

B．ac

C．be

D．bd

14. The underlined word “generate” in the 4th paragraph is closest in meaning to ________ .

A．produce

B．burn

C．turn

D．use

15. The story is mainly about ________ .

A．how masks are produced	B．common ways to deal with trash
C．how we should throw away used masks	D．where our used masks end up

根据短文内容，用括号中所给词的适当形式填空。
Dear Miss Yang,

I’d like to thank you for     21     (raise) money for Animal Helpers, a group that was set up     22     (help) disabled people. You helped to make it possible for me to have “Happy”. “Happy” makes a big difference to my life. Let me     23     (tell) you my story.

“Happy” is a special     24     (train) monkey for the disabled. It is a good name for him. I     25     (feel) very happy to have him. Being unable to use my hands easily is the main     26     (difficult) I face. “Happy” helps me to do many things, like opening and shutting the doors,     27     (carry) things and even answering the telephone. He     28     (cheer) me up a lot.

I’ll send you a photo of him, and I could     29     (show) you how he helps me these days. I thank you again for supporting “Animal Helpers” and for     30     (change) my life.

Yours,

Leah White