| A. express B. concerns C. accompaniment D. rise E. approaching F. specific G. portions H. remain I. growing J. obviously K. particularly |
Exploring the growth of plant-based dairy
Plant-based milk is the largest plant-based group in North America. It grew five per cent last year, with sales of plant-based dairy products
There are many reasons for the popularity of plant-based milks. As well as a(n)
The range of plant-based milks also allows for consumers to
While dairy milk has long been seen as a drink or a meal
Globally soy milk products
2 . As plastic waste increases rapidly around the world, an essential question remains unanswered: What harm, if any, does it cause to human health?
A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the organs of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike fish, we eat the entire animal — stomach, microplastics and all. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood lovers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles (粒子) a year by eating mussels (贻贝), a favorite dish in that country.
By then, however, scientists already understood that plastics continuously fragment small pieces in the environment, tearing over time into fibers even smaller than a strand of human hair — particles are so small that they easily fly in the air. A team at the U.K.’s University of Plymouth decided to compare the threat from eating polluted wild mussels in Scotland to that of breathing air in a typical home. Their conclusion: People will take in more plastic by breathing in or taking tiny, invisible plastic fibers floating in the air around them—fibers from their own clothes, carpets, and soft covering on furniture — than they will by eating the mussels.
So, it wasn’t much of a surprise when, in 2022, scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K, announced they had found tiny plastic particles in living humans, in two places where they hadn’t been seen before: deep inside the lungs of surgical patients, and in the blood of unknown donors. Neither of the two studies answered the question of possible harm. But together they signaled a shift in the focus of concern about plastics toward the cloud of dust particles in the air, some of them are so small that they can get into deep inside the body and even inside cells, in ways that larger microplastics can’t.
Dick Vethaak, a professor of ecotoxicology (生态毒理学), doesn’t consider the results alarming, exactly—“but, yes, we should be concerned. Plastics should not be in your blood.” “We live in a multi-particle world,” he adds, referring to the dust, pollen (花粉), and smog that humans also breathe in every day. “The trick is to figure out how much plastics contribute to that particle burden and what does that mean.”
1. What does the word “fragment” in para. 3 probably mean?| A．break into | B．take in | C．pick out | D．make up |
| A．microplastics from things in our daily life ant more poisonous |
| B．people eating polluted mussels are more likely to get diseases |
| C．invisible plastic fibers are more harmful to the environment |
| D．the influence of microplastics in mussels is less than thought |
| A．microplastics in polluted wild mussels can cause serious diseases |
| B．there’s no need to worry about the plastics found in human blood |
| C．we can avoid breathing particles by figuring out particle burden |
| D．more attention should be paid to the dust particles than plastics |
| A．Are Microplastics Harmful to Us? |
| B．Should Microplastics be in Our Blood? |
| C．Can Microplastics Get into Our Bodies? |
| D．Do We Know Anything about Microplastics? |
3 . Out-of-control SpaceX Rocket
A SpaceX rocket is now headed directly for the moon after spending almost seven years flying through space, experts say. The rocket was originally launched to send a space weather satellite to the Lagrange point— a gravity-neutral position four times farther than the moon and in direct line with the sun.
At this phase, it did not have enough fuel to return to Earth’s atmosphere. But meanwhile it lacked the energy to escape the gravity of the Earth-Moon system.
As for whether the collision (相撞) could be viewed from Earth, Gray says it will probably go unobserved.” Even if it hit on the near side of the moon, the impact occurs a couple of days after New Moon, which was hardly observable, he added, “to me, the impact was not a big deal.”
| A．So the rocket has been following a somewhat chaotic orbit since. |
| B．Nevertheless, space enthusiasts believe the impact could provide valuable data. |
| C．It was part of SpaceX’s space exploration programme. |
| D．But after completing a long burn of its engines, the rocket’s second phase became a problem. |
| E．The exact spot that the rocket will hit remains unclear. |
| F．The lunar phase reveals the passage of time in the night sky. |
Lovely Team Members
I fell in love with rhinos when I worked in a zoo in the 80s, and spent much of the next 20 years as the keeper of the largest captive (圈养的) group of rare black rhinos.
Being aggressive and stupid is
In the past few years, the number of rhinos has dropped dramatically, during
A couple of weeks before their planned release, the sky was filled with smoke and the flames were blowing over it.
That we and the rhinos had escaped unscathed (未受伤的) was a miracle. The relationship we had built with those lovely animals proved crucial.
5 . The direct ray of the sun touches the equator and strikes northward toward the Tropic of Cancer (北回归线). In the Southern hemisphere winter has begun, and it is summer north of the equator. The sea and air grow warmer; the polar air of winter begins its gradual retreat. The northward shift of the sun also brings the season of tropical cyclones to the northern hemisphere, a season that is ending for the Pacific and India Oceans south of the equator. Along our coasts and those of Asia, it is time to look seaward, to guard against the season’s storms. Over the Pacific, the tropical cyclone season is never quite over, but varies in intensity. Every year, conditions east of the Philippines send a score of violent storms howling toward Asia, but it is worst from June through October. Southwest of Mexico, a few Pacific hurricanes will grow during spring and summer, but most will die at sea or perish over the desert or the lower California coast as violent storms.
Along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the hurricane season is from June to November. In an average year, there are fewer than ten tropical cyclones and six of them will develop into hurricanes. These will kill 50 to 100 persons between Texas and Maine and cause property damage of more than $100 million. If the year is worse than average, we will suffer several hundred deaths, and property damage will run to billions of dollars. Tornadoes, floods, and severe storms are in season elsewhere on the continent. Now, to these destructive forces must be added the hazard of the hurricane. From the National Hurricane Center in Miami, a radar fence reaches westward to Texas and northward to New England. It provides a 200-mile look into offshore disturbances. In Maryland, the giant computers of the National Meteorological Center digest the myriad bits of data—atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, surface winds, and winds aloft—received from weather stations and ships monitoring the atmospheric setting each hour, every day. Cloud photographs from spacecraft orbiting the earth are received in Maryland and are studied for the telltale spiral(旋涡) on the warming sea. The crew of United States aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic watch the sky and wait for the storm that will bear a person’s name. The machinery of early warning vibrates with new urgency as the season of great storms begins.
1. The cyclone season of the Southern hemisphere .| A．is brought by the polar air of winter |
| B．ends when winter comes to the Southern hemisphere |
| C．virtually lasts throughout the year |
| D．begins when the sun rays strike the Tropic of Cancer |
| A．They originate over the Pacific. |
| B．They influence Southeast Asia most violently. |
| C．They mainly grow during spring and summer. |
| D．They usually perish off coast. |
| A．It mainly provides protection against hurricanes to Texas and New England. |
| B．It warns the whole country against tornadoes, severe storms and hurricanes. |
| C．It consists of radars along the coast of the west and the north of U.S. |
| D．It supervises the coastal areas stretching from Texas to New England. |
| A．the factors that cause hurricanes |
| B．the most risky areas that suffer hurricanes |
| C．the early warning system against hurricanes |
| D．the remedies for property damage by hurricanes |
When scientists accidentally killed
The ocean quahog, a type of deep-sea clam, was dredged (捕捞) alive from the bottom of the North Atlantic near Iceland in 2006 by researchers. They then put it in a fridge-freezer,
The discovery made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. However, by this time, it was too late for Ming the Mollusc(软体动物),
The researchers opened the ancient clam up to judge its age by counting growth rings inside. But the rings were so close together
Dr Paul Butler, from the University’s School of Ocean Sciences, said: “We got it wrong the first time and maybe we were a bit hasty publishing our findings back then. But we are absolutely certain that we’ve got the right age now.” The mollusc was born in 1499 – just seven years after Columbus discovered America and before Henry VIII had even married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon in 1509.
7 . Otters, are cute, this no one can deny. They have big eyes, short and flat noses and claws (爪子) like tiny hands. They look even cuter when they wear hats and throw food balls into their mouths as if they were bar snacks, like Takechiyo, a pet otter in Japan. Documenting Takechiyo’s funny behavior has earned his owner nearly 230,000 followers on Instagram, a photo-sharing app.
Takechiyo’s fame reflects a craze across east and South-East Asia for keeping the cute creatures as pets. Enthusiasts in Japan visit cafés where they pay to hug them; Indonesian owners parade their pets around on leads or go swimming with them, then share their pictures online. But these enjoyable photos mask a trade that is doing a lot of damage. Even before they became fashionable companions for humans, Asia’s wild otters faced plenty of threats. Their habitats are disappearing. They have long been hunted for their coats, or killed by farmers who wish to prevent them consuming fishes. The pet trade, which began picking up in the early 2000s but appeared to speed up a few years ago, has made things worse. The numbers of wild Asian small-clawed otters and smooth-coated otters, two species that are in highest demand, have declined by at least 30% in the three decades to 2019.
The international agreement that governs trade in wildlife, known as CITES, now prohibits cross-border trade in these species. But laws banning ownership are often poorly implemented, as in Thailand, or full of holes, as in Indonesia. And the otter-keeping craze has been dramatically improved by the internet, says Vincent Nijman of Oxford Brookes University. In 2017 TRAFFIC, a British charity that monitors the wildlife trade, spent nearly five months looking at Facebook and other social-media sites in five South-East Asian countries. During that time, it found around 1,000 otters advertised for sale online.
In any case, otters do not even make particularly good pets. Every year the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, a charity in Indonesia’s capital, receives some ten otters from people who have struggled to look after them. Faizul Duha, the founder of an Indonesian otter-owners’ group, admits that his two animals emit a “very specific” (read: fishy) smell. They bite humans and chew on furniture. Their scream can be heard blocks away. And their cages need cleaning every two-to-three hours. That is how often they empty their bowels (肠道).
1. The function of the first paragraph is to ________.| A．present the main idea | B．introduce the main topic |
| C．set readers thinking | D．illustrate the writer’s point |
| A．The demand for pet otters. | B．The disappearance of otters’ habitats. |
| C．The popularity of otter coats. | D．The decrease of fishes. |
| A．the laws that prohibit cross-border trade are strict in Asia |
| B．social media plays a significant role in the online otter trade |
| C．people usually give up otters because they are endangered |
| D．otters are suitable pets because they are friendly to humans |
| A．advertise for a photo-sharing app |
| B．introduce the popularity of pet otters |
| C．discourage the illegal otter pet trade |
| D．describe the characteristics of otters |
| A. pace B. registered C. assess D. baseline E. reverse F. shifting G. production H. fundamental I. pointing J. invisible K. acknowledged |
Chemical Pollution Has Passed Safe Global Limit
Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that support all life. For example, pesticides (杀虫剂) wipe out many non-target insects, which are
“There has been an increase 50 times in the
Determining whether chemical pollution has crossed a planetary border is complex because there is no pre-human
So the research used a combination of measurements to
The well-known negative effects of some chemicals were also part of the assessment. The scientists
Patricia said that
9 . In just a few decades the United States could eliminate fossil fuels（矿物燃料）and rely 100 percent on clean, renewable energy. That's the vision of, a Stanford engineering professor who has produced a state-by-state road map of how the country could rid itself of coal oil, natural gas, and nuclear power.
By 2050, Jacobson expects the nation's transportation network - cars, ships, airplanes - to run on batteries or hydrogen produced from electricity. He sees the winds blowing across the Great Plains powering vast stretches of the country's middle while the burning sun helps electrify the Southwest. "There's no state that can't do this," Jacobson says.
Today only 13% of U. S. electricity comes from renewables（再生性能源）. Jacobson's goal would be one of the nation's most ambitious undertakings. This transformation would cost roughly $15 trillion, or $47,000 for each American, for building and installing systems that produce and store renewable energy.
What would it take? Seventy-eight million rooftop solar systems, nearly 49,000 commercial solar plants, 156,000 offshore wind turbines（风力涡轮机）, plus wave-energy systems. Land-based wind farms would need 328,000 turbines, each with blades longer than a football field,. These farms would occupy as much land as North Carolina.
For now, he says, prospects are encouraging. Thanks in part to government funding and large-scale production, costs are falling. The amount of power generated nationwide by wind and solar increased 15-fold each between 2003 and 2013. This summer Barack Obama moved to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, and Hawaii committed to having all its electricity provided by renewables by 2045.
Still, many experts aren't convinced. “It has zero chance,”Stephen Brick, an energy fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, says of Jacobson's plan. Political, regulatory, and social barriers are huge, especially in a nation where the energy systems - and much of its political influence - is rooted in the oil, gas, and coal industries. Some critics are concerned about whether the resulting grid（输电网）would be reliable. And neighborhood battles would likely occur over wind farms and solar plants. Even outspoken scientist James Hansen, who warned the government a quarter century ago about climate change, insists that nuclear power is essential to rid the country of fossil fuels.
Yet Jacobson’s work at least offers a starting point. Scientists and policymakers may keep arguing about solutions, but as Obama points out, the nation must continue its march toward a clean-energy future even if it's not yet clear how that will look in 35 years. “If we don't do it,” he said this summer, “nobody will.”
1. Which of the following does Professor Mark Jacobson engage in?| A．Organizing projects to build and install solar energy systems state by state. |
| B．Persuading the U. S. President to realize his renewable energy goal. |
| C．Outlining a plan detailing how energy in the U. S. could be carbon free by 2050. |
| D．Arguing about opportunities and obstacles of his plan. |
| A．The huge investment in solar and wind projects. |
| B．The unshakeable foundation of traditional energy systems. |
| C．The job losses in oil and coal industries. |
| D．The inevitable land-use battles between states. |
| A．one state of the U. S. will be first to become carbon free before 2050 |
| B．developing clean-energy industry will drive the world's market |
| C．fossil fuels will soon be eliminated in the U. S. |
| D．there will be no vacant land for wind farms |
| A．has no scientific grounds | B．unreasonably excludes nuclear power |
| C．will be eventually lacking in funds | D．is not feasible in some aspects |
| A．The Coexistence of Fossil Fuels and Renewables |
| B．A Blueprint for a Carbon Free America |
| C．One Man's Dream: Determination and Innovation in Energy Future |
| D．Professor and his Solar and Wind Technology |
