1 . In 2019, the world generated 54.6 million tons of e-waste. However, just 17.4 percent of it was formally collected and recycled. Since 2014, the amount of e-waste recycled has grown by 1.8 million tons—a relatively small amount, considering that the amount of e-waste generated increased by 9.2 million tons in the same period.
Global reserves of some elements, such as platinum, are supposed to be fully used up within 15 years if the proportion of recycled stocks entering production doesn’t increase. E-waste and EV batteries are currently recycled through processes called pyrometallurgy (火法冶金术) and hydrometallurgy (湿法冶金术). However, they involve burning temperatures with a high energy demand and deep carbon footprint, and poisonous chemicals which are harmful to the environment. Alternatives are therefore being sought.
A team of scientists from the University of Coventry are extending one such alternative. They have been using non-poisonous bacteria to oxidize and recover the precious metals—a process known as “bioleaching”. They have shown that copper is widely recoverable from e-waste, and that all metals present in EV batteries can be recovered by using microbes (微生物). If extended, bioleaching facilities would mean that manufacturers of EV batteries and other electronic goods would be able to recover metals locally, relying less on costly exports to recycling centers abroad.
“At present, a key limitation for e-waste recycling is the lack of certification detailing the types and amounts of metals contained in electronic goods. But with an efficient recycling process appearing, manufacturers have the motivation to use more recycled material in their products, which will change the very design of electronics goods. It’s about closing the loop of a product’s life cycle,” said the leader of the Bioleaching Research Group, Sebastien Farnaud.
Ultimately, bioleaching technology is born out of the idea of creating a truly circular process for the things that we consume. We need to shift from a mindset and economy where we see waste as an end product, to one where there isn’t even a start or an end at all.
1. What do the statistics in Paragraph 1 indicate？| A．People pay no attention to e-waste recycling. |
| B．The recycling rate of e-waste is comparatively low. |
| C．E-waste has caused serious environmental problems. |
| D．The amount of e-waste is sharply increasing every year. |
| A．They are not environmentally friendly. |
| B．They only apply to certain e-waste. |
| C．They generate metals with a complex process. |
| D．They cause a sharp rise in local temperatures. |
| A．It has been applied abroad. | B．It releases no poisonous gas. |
| C．It recovers metals by microbes. | D．It promotes the local export trade. |
| A．a travel guide | B．a fiction novel |
| C．a health magazine | D．a scientific journal |
2 . Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless device(设备) may be turning friends away from your home. The elephant in your living room is your Internet-connected camera, a device people are increasingly using for peace of mind in their homes. But few stop to think about the effect these devices may have on house guests. Should you tell your friends, for instance, that they’re being recorded while you all watch the big game together?
"It’s certainly new territory, especially as home security cameras become easier to fix," says Lizzie Post, president of the Emily Post Institute, America’s distinguished manners advisors. " I think it will be very interesting to see what manners appear in terms of whether you tell people you have a camera or not, and whether guests have a right to ask that it be turned off, if it’s not a security issue. "Post wants to make clear that she’s not talking about legal rights, but rather personal preference.
When it comes to security cameras, Post says it’s a host’s responsibility to make sure guests feel comfortable within their home. If the host casually acknowledges that there is a camera in the room by telling a story about it, that may be enough to provide an opening for a guest to say if they are uncomfortable.
However, if a contractor(合约工)is working in your home, you don’t need to tell them that there are cameras watching. Then again, the camera can also work in contractors’ favor. "If anything does go wrong while they’re in the house, they don’t want to be blamed for it," she says. "In fact, the camera could be the thing that proves that they didn’t steal the $20, or knock the vase off the table.
1. The visitors are concerned that the security camera may .| A．threaten their health | B．spoil their peace of mind |
| C．disturb their privacy | D．affect their preference |
| A．Indicating its position. | B．Making their guests feel at ease |
| C．Turning it oil in time. | D．Having a casual talk with guests. |
| A．It can prevent the accidents happening. | B．It can prove their innocence. |
| C．It can record their working progress. | D．It can make their work more enjoyable. |
| A．Negative. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
3 . Street dances are dance styles that evolved (演变)outside of dance studios in any available open space.They are often improvisational (即兴的）and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with audiences and the other dancers.These dances generally evolve out of urban and suburban spaces and are a part of the native culture of that geographical area.Some examples of street dances include b-boying, or breakdancing, which originated in New York City.
Street dances are dances that evolve between people in a social environment, although it cannot be always determined as to how they actually do evolve between people.In theory, as one person comes up with a move that looks good to another person, the other person tries to copy that move.Similar to the game of Chinese whispers, the effect is that the other person cannot absolutely perform that move the same way as the other person, thus leading to the dancers creating their own style or entirely new moves.
There is a small difference between entirely freestyle dance and an absolute street dance.While freestyle dance is random and a personal dance invented by a single person (even if it’s based on someone else’s dance style) , a full street dance is a collection of the various similar dance moves and styles collected into one practice and regarded as the same dance.For example, when b-boying evolved out of the early hip-hop culture, people came up with their own moves，and other people improved them.Street dances constantly evolve for as long as they are now and then practiced and regarded as the same dance.All the moves danced to breaks in hip-hop culture were regarded as b-boying.
Sometimes it is possible to trace back street dance styles that were mostly pioneered by specific (具体的）people.One example is locking, which is often regarded as being started by Don Campbell, who was a 1970s pioneer of American street dance.Most of the time it is impossible to owe street dances to specific people, since the dances evolve outside of professional dance environments, and there is no social or legal record.Street dance pioneers also rarely have professional degrees in dance, thus distinguishing street dances from other modern dance forms.
1. Paragraph 1 is intended to tell us the _________of street dances.| A．varieties | B．changes |
| C．characteristics | D．distributions |
| A．Dancers perform them in dance studios. |
| B．They are developed by professional dancers. |
| C．They are collected from different moves and styles. |
| D．Dancers create moves based on other people’s moves. |
| A．stress a street dancer's own style |
| B．show the effect of Chinese Whispers |
| C．introduce a popular Chinese game |
| D．explain the characteristics of street dances |
| A．a travel journal |
| B．a history textbook |
| C．a popular magazine |
| D．a museum brochure |
