When he was nine years old, American boy Milo Cress had a question: How many plastic（塑料）straws（吸管）do Americans use every day?
He quickly learned there wasn’t a simple answer. The boy tried to work it out himself. Through lots of research, Cress found out that Americans use about 500 million straws every day. In hopes of reducing（减少；缩减）plastic waste, he founded（创建）the Be Straw Free project in 2011.
Cress started the project in his hometown—Burlington, Vermont. He asked a local restaurant to stop offering straws with every drink order. It was a simple change. However, it would save money. And by doing that the restaurant would cut down on its straw use by 50 percent.
For the years that followed, Cress tried to spread his project across the United States. More and more restaurants agreed to join. They stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one. Last April, Seattle became the American city to completely ban（禁止）.
Plastic pollution has been one of the most serious problems today. According to scientists, more than eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. Plastic straws are especially terrible. They make it easy for people to get comfortable with single-use plastics.
After his project became popular, Cress took his findings on the road. He has since spoken to tens of thousands of students around the world. He wants to encourage more people to say no to plastic straws.
“Focusing（聚焦）on straws is one simple step we all could take, ” Cress says. “And it makes me feel that I, could make a difference, too.”
根据短文内容，判断正（A）误（B）。
1. Milo Cress started to care about the problem of straws in the year 2011.
2. Cress started the Be Straw Free project in order to encourage people to reduce plastic waste.
3. Cress asked a restaurant in Burlington to prevent people from using straws to drink.
4. Plastic straws are especially terrible because scientists pay little attention to their influence.
5. Over the years, Cress has spread his project across the United States and spoken to teens around the world about plastic waste.
相似题推荐
【推荐1】If you have no special plans for your summer holidays, why not spend your time helping others?
Don’t listen to people who say the young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.
⚫ Alice Hamilton, 17
I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths（路）in the mountains. It’s going to be terrific—I’ll spend the whole summer living in the tent and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the stars. It’ll be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time.
⚫ Jason Moore, 18
This summer, I’m going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They’ll teach me what to do.
⚫ Trish Anderson, 16
I’m going to teach kids who have trouble reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day, I’m going to help kids choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.
1. Young people in the USA volunteer to spend _________ helping others.| A．school holidays | B．weekdays | C．every morning | D．every afternoon |
| A．To breathe the clean mountain air. | B．To spend the whole summer living in the tent. |
| C．To sleep under the stars. | D．To help build new hiking paths in the mountain. |
| A．children in poor families | B．workers who build houses |
| C．poor families can’t afford houses | D．build hiking paths |
| A．Alice Hamilton | B．Jason Moore | C．Trish Anderson | D．none of them |
| A．Reading for life | B．A Special House Program |
| C．The Forest Center | D．Young American Volunteers |
【推荐2】Teacher Helped Her Student Study as He Fought with Cancer (癌症)
Barb Heim is in her 35th year teaching first grade at Conneaut Valley Elementary School in Pennsylvania. It was near the end of 2019 when Heim noticed there was something wrong with one of her students. Instead of being active as usual at break time, Harrison Conner would turn pale and have to sit down while the other kids were playing.
Heim and the school nurse told Harrison’s mother about it before the Christmas break. During the holiday break, Harrison was rushed to a Pittsburgh hospital. They told him he had cancer of the blood.
During his cancer treatment, Heim volunteered to drive out to his home after school to make sure he wouldn’t fall behind. Every day she brought lessons, fruit and hope.
“It goes far beyond Heim’s just coming here for school,” said Harrison’s mother. “Ever since the minute he left school, she has been completely amazing. She has kept Harrison a part of the kids’ lives in school, making sure that he feels remembered.”
“She’s not like a teacher who is coming from school to teach, but like an aunt who is coming over to hang out, bringing goodies (好吃好玩的), and always wearing a smile. My kids will meet her at the front door with all the latest news and it’s really special.”
“Harrison is getting better now, but he has another year of treatment at home. Thanks to Mrs. Heim, he’s now excellent in second grade.”
“It was a joy, because I knew he wanted to learn,” Heim said, “He couldn’t wait. He was so excited. And he’d have his days off if medicine was causing him to not feel up to it. But even if it wasn’t the best day for him, we made it through and he always did his best.”
1. While the other kids were playing, Harrison Conner would ________.| A．sit down | B．turn pale | C．leave school | D．get active |
| A．homework | B．medicine | C．grades | D．lessons |
| A．He was disappointed. | B．He was behind others. |
| C．He was excellent. | D．He was back to school. |
【推荐3】Many Chinese people were moved by an eight-year-old girl, Zhang Xiaoxiao. She said she would give shrimps (虾) from her school lunch to her mother who was in poor health and unable to do heavy work. “She said she couldn’t eat them all, but I know she is worried about me,” her mother said.
The headmaster of the school played an important part in educating such a loving girl. The headmaster said, “In our school, there are more than 180 students, and most of them are left-behind children. Some of them can meet their parents only once a year.” Some children live in the school. Because some of them were too young to live alone, he and his wife lived with boys and girls separately. The headmaster tried his best to help the students. Though born in 1982, his hair had turned white and his students called him “headmaster papa” or “headmaster grandpa”.
Besides the government subsidies (补贴), the headmaster also spent his own money buying food, such as shrimps and beef. The school lunch had become the best meal for the children. He wanted the left-behind children to have good education even in villages. He worked as an English teacher, Chinese teacher, purchaser (采购员), electrician (电工) and even a cook. With his effort, there were more students in the school than before. But what worried him most was that students didn’t have special sports, music and art lessons. He expected to have art and sports teachers in his school.
When Zhang Xiaoxiao’s story was reported, many people paid attention to the school and volunteers came. Now, the school has a full-time English teacher and three volunteer teachers giving children music and physical classes.
1. According to the first paragraph, why were people moved by Zhang Xiaoxiao?| A．Because she was a girl full of love. |
| B．Because she never wasted food at school. |
| C．Because she bought shrimps for her mother. |
| D．Because she looked after her mother every day. |
| A．volunteers | B．the teachers | C．students’ parents | D．left-behind children |
| A．the headmaster is too old and has white hair |
| B．Zhang Xiaoxiao didn’t like eating shrimps at all |
| C．some of the students were too old to live in the school |
| D．the headmaster doesn’t have to teach English now |
| A．a girl who gave her lunch to her mother |
| B．a volunteer who could do many kinds of jobs |
| C．a school which had a lot of left-behind students |
| D．a headmaster who tried his best to help the students |
【推荐1】Scientists in Norway (挪威) have created an underwater robot that can tell different kinds of pollution at the bottom of the sea. The robot will help clean-up teams find the rubbish and give them a chance to remove the things that can cause the most harm to the environment.
The robot, which weighs nearly 100 pounds and uses special cameras to take 3D pictures, was created by a team at Skarv Technologies.
The researchers put their work to the test at a lake in the city of Bergen, on Norway’s southwest coast. First, the robot swam up and down in rows at about six feet above the lake bed, collecting information with the special camera. Then a computer turned the information into a map, which showed different kinds of rubbish in different colors.
A total of 3,894 objects were found in the lake and divided into different kinds. “There’s too much rubbish,” a member of the Skarv Technologies team told New Scientist. “There’s somewhere around 165 to 300 tons of rubbish in the lake.”
It is not always possible for clean-up teams to remove all the rubbish they find underwater, because there is something more important to clean. The robot will be used to help the teams find the most harmful things, and spend their time, efforts and money in removing them first. “Glass isn’ really polluting,” said Fossum. “So if you know there’s an area with a lot of glass, you probably can ignore that. Instead, you should pay attention to the things that are putting heavy metals into the environment.”
Besides helping to check the pollution, the robot can also tell the positions of animals in the sea. It can avoid hurting the animals while the clean-up teams remove the rubbish.
1. What can the underwater robot do?| A．It can remove all the rubbish. | B．It can tell the positions of lakes. |
| C．It can turn the information into maps. | D．It can tell different kinds of pollution. |
| A．By drawing a map of the lake. |
| B．By turning the maps into different texts. |
| C．By using special cameras to take pictures. |
| D．By listening to the sounds of objects on the lake bed. |
| A．To work out how much rubbish is in the lake. |
| B．To show that the underwater robot is helpful. |
| C．To tell us how to clean up the rubbish in the lake. |
| D．To encourage teams to find the most harmful things. |
| A．Take in. | B．Deal with. | C．Find out. | D．Leave out. |
| A．When the robot will be used around the world. |
| B．What pollution animals cause in the sea. |
| C．How the robot tells the positions of animals. |
| D．Why animals are important to the environment. |
【推荐2】When it comes to building a better world, young people can make a difference. 13-year-old Genshu Price from Hawaii, USA is a good example. He recycles bottles and cans to help students in Hawaii reach their college dreams.
In the beginning, Genshu recycled bottles and cans to save money for his college tuition (学费). But then he came up with a bigger idea: Why not recycle more bottles and cans to help other students? So he started Bottles4College three years ago. Its goal is to collect and recycle 2 to 4 million bottles and cans each year to help up to 2 students pay for their college tuition.
Genshu said Botles4College was based on four pillars: education, environment, community and lifestyle. “We’re helping the environment by recycling,” he said. “We’re helping education by providing tuition for Hawaiian kids and inspiring them to get a good education. And then we’re bringing communities together. At the same time, the three pillars above become a part of our life so we’re living a great lifestyle.”
Genshu also makes videos and posts them online to teach people how to sort bottles and cans and encourage people to recycle. “We still have a little bit to go to get to the place where we want to be, but no doubt it’s exciting,” Genshu said. “Every can count.”
1. Why does Genshu recycle so many bottles and cans?| A．To save money for his college tuition. |
| B．To teach people how to sort bottles and cans. |
| C．To help students in Hawaii reach their college dreams. |
| A．3 years ago. | B．When he was 13 years old. | C．When he went to his college. |
| A．目标 | B．核心 | C．步骤 |
| A．Genshu is helpful but mean. |
| B．Genshu only wants to save money to go to college. |
| C．Genshu makes videos to encourage people to recycle. |
| A．A boy who wants to go to college. |
| B．A boy who recycles to build a better world. |
| C．A boy who makes videos to encourage people to recycle. |
【推荐3】Anna from the United Kingdom: I think all kids in this world can play an important role（作用） in helping nature by not littering（扔垃圾） and by walking or cycling instead of driving.
Kolya from Belarus: I think children should feed the animals and birds and plant trees. We mustn’t pollute（污染） the water.
Catherine from the United States: If there aren’t enough dustbins in the world then I would be happy to make some, not for the money, but for the environment! I can start a “clean up around the community” event and hope other people, not just me. I can come to realize（意识到） the importance of protecting the environment. I can go to local schools to show and teach them about the environment. Not just kids, adults（成人） too.
Victoria from Russia: I don’t think I can do much, but if I do simple, small things such as planting trees, feeding birds, or I make birdhouses for them, take care of nature, clean some places of rubbish, all of these will help keep our environment clean, beautiful and, in future, the world will be a better place.
1. Anna thinks __________________.| A．kids can help adults realize the importance of the environment |
| B．kids should travel by car |
| C．kids can help parents to feed animals and birds |
| D．kids can do something to help nature |
| A．there are too many animals |
| B．people pollute the water |
| C．there aren’t enough dustbins in the world |
| D．there aren’t enough trees around us |
| A．Victoria | B．Catherine | C．Kolya | D．Anna |
| A．make some dustbins for the money |
| B．only do simple things |
| C．do what you can to protect nature |
| D．not care about whether adults protect nature or not |
【推荐1】One morning, as Mary was skipping(蹦跳)slowly along the long path, she heard the sound of music. She was very curious and went to find out.
A boy was sitting under a tree. He was playing music. He had blue eyes and red cheeks(脸颊). A squirrel and two rabbits were watching him and listening to the music. When he saw Mary, he said, “I’m Dickon. I know who you are. You are Miss Mary.”
He took out a package.
“Here are the garden tools. I bought some packets of seeds, too.”
“If you like,” Dickon said, “I can plant them for you. Where’s your garden?”
“Can you keep a secret?” she said.
“I keep secrets all the time,” Dickon laughed.
“I stole a garden,” Mary said quickly. “Nobody wants it. Perhaps everything is dead in it already. I don’t know.”
She began to cry.
“Where is it?” asked Dickon.
“Come with me.” she said.
She took him along the path to the wall with the ivy (常春藤)on it. Then she unlocked the door and they went in together.
“Here it is,” she said. “It’s a secret garden.”
Dickon’s blue eyes opened wide in surprise as he looked at the garden.
“It's very pretty,” he whispered. “It’s like being in a dream. In the spring there are going to be lots of birds’ nests(鸟巢)here.”
“Are the roses alive or dead? " Mary asked him.
He went up to an old tree and pointed at the branch(树枝). It was dry and grey but there was a small green bit growing on it.
“This bit’s alive,” he explained. “But there’s a lot of old wood that is dead. We must cut it off. There are going to be lots of roses here this summer.”
They went from bush to bush and from tree to tree. He was very strong and clever with his knife. He knew how to cut off the dry and dead wood.
“There's a lot of work to do here,” he said.
“Can you come again and help me?” Mary asked him. “Please, Dickon!”
“Yes, every day if you like,” he answered.
“Please, please don’t tell anyone about the secret garden, Dickon,” she said.
“Of course not,” answered Dickon. “It's our secret.”
(Adapted from The Secret Garden)
1. What did Mary mean by saying “I stole a garden”?| A．She did something against the law. |
| B．She believed nobody else had known her finding. |
| C．She was too careless to share the secret with Dickon. |
| D．She thought that Dickon was the owner of the garden. |
| A．Because she thought of her parents. |
| B．Because she forgot where the garden was. |
| C．Because she felt worried that everything in it might be dead. |
| D．Because she was afraid Dickon would tell others the secret. |
| A．cut off dry and dead wood | B．planted many roses in the garden |
| C．built lots of birds’ nests in the trees | D．sat under a tree to enjoy the music |
| A．Mary would go to the garden again with Dickon. |
| B．Dickon would tell others the secret about the garden. |
| C．It was the second time for Dickon to enter the garden. |
| D．Mary planned to invite more friends to visit the garden |
【推荐2】I still remember it was a warm Sunday afternoon. My mother took my younger brother and me to the cinema. She walked up to the person at the ticket window and said, “How much does it cost to get in?”
The young lady answered, “Ten dollars for you and the same price for any kid who is older than six. We let them in for nothing if they are six or younger. How old are they?” My mother replied, “The younger one is three and the elder one is seven.” The lady at the ticket window said surprisingly, “Hey, did you just win the lottery ticket (彩票) or something? You could have saved yourself ten dollars. You could have told me that the elder one was six; I wouldn’t have known the difference.” My mother replied, “Yes, that may be true, but the kids would know the difference.”
She was right. I did learn the difference. My mother paid the full price for my ticket as well as taught me an important lesson. In times when ethics (道德) are more important, make sure you set a good example (树立榜样) for everyone around you.
1. How much did the mother finally pay on that day?| A．6 dollars. | B．20 dollars. | C．10 dollars. | D．15 dollars. |
| A．Children don’t need to pay to get in. | B．The ticket is ten dollars for both adults (成年人) and children. |
| C．The ticket is free for any kid who is under six. | D．The mother doesn’t have enough money to pay the ticket. |
| A．To buy a lottery ticket or something else. | B．To pay another ten dollars. |
| C．To tell a lie about the kid’s age. | D．To do something nice to save ten dollars. |
| A．Tell the difference between one and another. | B．Try to save as much money as you can. |
| C．Tell the truth and set a good example. | D．Just follow the advice of everyone around. |
| A．She is a rich woman who doesn’t care about money at all. | B．She is too shy to speak out the truth. |
| C．She is a careless woman who loves her sons. | D．She is woman who is honest (诚实的) and upstanding (正直的). |
【推荐3】Felicia from Sweden doesn’t let anything get in her way, even a life-changing accident (事故).
After a serious car accident, Felicia had to get used to getting around in a wheelchair (轮椅). But that didn’t stop her from following her dream of becoming a top horse rider.
In early June 2016, 17-year-old Felicia got hit by a car. When she woke up in the hospital, she found both of her legs were missing. However, Felicia didn’t stop trying to achieve her dream. She wanted to get back on the horse. She had ridden as a little girl and decided in the hospital to try again. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to. But after ten weeks’ training, she could ride once again!
“The horses have meant a lot to me,” Felicia said. “When I sit on a horse, I don’t feel like the disabled Felicia; I feel like the confident (自信的) Felicia.”
She has taken part in competitions around the world since then, showing she doesn’t need legs to win.
“What I have learned from all this is that you should dare to challenge (挑战) yourself, and remember that you are the only person that sets your own limits (限制),” Felicia said.
1. What did Felicia lose in the car accident?| A．Her arms. | B．Her legs. | C．Her ears. | D．Her eyes. |
| A．One year. | B．Nine years. | C．Seventeen weeks. | D．Ten weeks. |
| A．Becoming a top horse rider is her dream |
| B．She is filled with confidence when riding a horse |
| C．She can get around on a horse instead of in a wheelchair |
| D．She doesn’t feel disabled anymore when sitting on a horse |
| A．Quiet, smart and strict. | B．Strong-minded, confident and brave. |
| C．Smart, humorous and confident. | D．Hard-working, creative and understanding. |
| A．Never say never. | B．Better late than never. |
| C．Never think of yourself. | D．It’s never too late to learn. |
【推荐1】Jogging is good for us and helps us live longer and healthier lives. It’s easy to do and free. You do not have to spend money jogging. You can do it in a park or even in your home. But many people find it boring after jogging for a while. Then how can we keep jogging fun? Here are some ideas to make your jogging more interesting.
First, you should choose to wear your favourite sports clothes and shoes when you jog. They make you more comfortable（舒适的）and more likely to run.
Always jog outdoors（户外）. By changing your route and choose another street, you will always have something interesting to enjoy while you jog.
Take along your MP3 player and listen to your favourite songs when you jog. The music can make you exciting and run farther without feeling bored.
It’s always more enjoyable with a friend. Make friends while jogging. Join a running club, find a new running partner, or invite an old friend to go jogging. It’s better to find a friend who runs a little faster than you. Then you can try to catch up him or her.
1. Which is NOT the advantage of jogging according to the passage?| A．It makes us healthier. | B．It doesn’t need much money. |
| C．It is fun and interesting to do. | D．Most of us can do it because it is easy. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．By making us only think about jogging. | B．By making us exciting and run farther. | C．It can make us running faster. |
| D．It can be helpful to our body. | ||
| A．The Advantages of Jogging | B．How to Jog with Others |
| C．Ways to Make Jogging Fun | D．Help Your Friends Jog |
【推荐2】With the development of the smart phones, Wechat is becoming more and more popular. In fact, it has become one of the most useful tools.
In the first place, Wechat has the function of both of computers and phones. People can send messages, photos and sound, even show their videos on it. Secondly, Wechat helps the users save money. Users needn’t pay any money for sending the messages. People can also talk through Wechat for free. Thirdly, we can share our feelings or opinions with our friends easily and even download the articles we are interested in. At last, we can add friends from the phone book or by searching for the Wechat number online.
But every coin has two sides. If we spend too much time on it, it surely will have a bad effect on both our health and our school work. So as middle school students, we should learn to control ourselves and use it properly.
1. How is Wechat becoming in our life today?| A．popular | B．outdate | C．useless | D．wonderful |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
| A．computers | B．phones. | C．TV | D．A and B |
| A．send messages | B．send photos and sound |
| C．show their videos | D．study English |
| A．People can talk through Wechat for free. |
| B．People can download the articles they are interested in. |
| C．People can add friends from the phone book. |
| D．People can find Wechat has only a good side. |
In the USA, more than 90 million people use mobile phones. Many of those people are children. For children, mobile phones are more than phone calls. They are fashionable.
Most mobile phone users don’t think about the health problems caused by mobile phones. Some scientists say that mobile phones
Scientists say that people can protect themselves from mobile phone radiation. One way is to use a earphone, or people can make shorter calls.
1. Many children like mobile phones because they think mobile phones are _________.
| A．cool | B．colourful |
| C．cheap | D．their toys |
| A．women | B．men |
| C．scientists | D．children |
| A．All scientists think mobile phones are bad for users. |
| B．Some scientists think mobile phones are bad for users. |
| C．Mobile phones can make people die. |
| D．Mobile phones are only bad for children. |
| A．发出 | B．放弃 |
| C．远离 | D．传播 |
| A．make longer calls | B．use a earphone |
| C．make shorter calls | D．both B and C |
