1 . Clothing rental is a hot new industry and retailers (零售商) are demanding to get on board in hopes of attracting green shopper.
But is renting fashion actually more environmentally-friendly than buying it, and if so, how much more? Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline investigated (调查) this question and concluded that it's not as sustainable as it seems.
Take shipping, for example, which has to go two ways if an item is rented — receiving and returning. Cline writes that consumer transportation has the second largest carbon footprint of our collective fashion habit after manufacturing.
She writes, ''An item ordered online and then returned can send out 20 kilograms of carbon each way, and increases up to 50 kilograms for rush shipping. By comparison, the carbon impact of a pair of jeans purchased from a physical store and washed and worn at home is 33.4 kilograms, according to a 2015 study by Levi's.''
Then there's the burden of washing, which has to happen for every item when it's returned, regardless of whether or not it was worn. For most rental services, this usually means dry cleaning, a high impact and polluting process. All the rental services that Cline looked into have replaced perchloroethylene (氯乙烯), a carcinogenic (致癌的) air pollutant, still used by 70 percent of US dry cleaners, with alternatives, although these aren't great either.
Lastly, Cline fears that rental services will increase our appetite for fast fashion, simply because it's so easily accessible. There's something called ''share washing'' that makes people waste more precisely because a product or service is shared and thus is regarded as more eco-friendly. Uber is one example of this, advertised as ''a way to share rides and limit ear ownership.'' and yet ''it has been proven to discourage walking,bicycling, and public transportation use.''
Renting clothes is still preferable to buying them cheap and throwing them in the dustbin after a few wears, but we shouldn't let the availability of these services make us too satisfied. There's an even better step — that's wearing what is already in the closet.
1. What is Elizabeth Cline's attitude toward clothing rental?| A．Approving. | B．Unfavorable. |
| C．Objective. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．rental services are on the rise |
| B．clothing rental will be as successful as Uber |
| C．renting clothes might waste more than expected |
| D．renting clothes might make people lose interest in fast fashion |
| A．give up renting any clothing |
| B．purchase inexpensive clothes |
| C．rent clothes rather than buy them |
| D．make full use of clothes we've possessed |
| A．Clothing rental is a new fashion. |
| B．Clothing rental is retailers' preference. |
| C．Renting clothes is not that eco-friendly. |
| D．Renting-clothes business is in a dilemma. |
2 . A survey in the Philippines has shown the country uses a “shocking” amount of single-use plastic, including nearly 60 billion sachets (小袋) a year, a new report said Friday. The report, produced by the non-governmental organization GAIA, is part of an effort to collect data on plastic consumption as environmentalists push for government action to reduce plastic waste.
It contains shocking figures: every day, almost 48 million shopping bags are used throughout the Philippines, adding up to more than 17 billion a year. And that figure does not include the smaller, thinner and often transparent plastic bags known as “labo” bags—around 16.5 billion of those are used per year across the country, the report says. The figures are based on 21 waste assessments conducted in 13 cities across the Philippines, with the national figures produced by extrapolating(推断) from local results.
More than half of non-recyclable plastic analyzed in the survey came from sachets—small plastic packets often lined with aluminium or containing other materials that make them non-recyclable. Small portions of products ranging from coffee to shampoo are often sold in sachets in the Philippines, and are seen as an affordable solution for consumers.
But Grate said the popularity appeared to be more a result of what is available, with wealthier consumers simply buying multiple sachets. “If you go to the supermarkets, it’ s rare for you to be able to buy coffee in bigger containers; it’s all in sachets,” he said.
The survey is the first time an organization has tried to quantify(确定数量) sachet use, and the NGO hopes to pressure both the government and industry to take action on controlling single-use plastic. The report found that where local-level plastic bag bans have been put in place and strictly enforced, usage has dropped dramatically.
It urged the government to “institute a comprehensive national plastic bag ban that promotes reusable bags”. And it wants regulations on other single-use plastic products and rules requiring companies to redesign products and packaging to minimize plastic waste.
1. What’ s the purpose of GAIA in carrying out the survey?| A．To show how shocking the amount of plastic waste can be. |
| B．To get people and the government know better about its final goal. |
| C．To collect accurate numbers of plastic bags used in the whole country. |
| D．To help make the government take measures to reduce plastic waste. |
| A．They are not made of only plastic. |
| B．They won’ t last long after being buried. |
| C．They cost less to be made than recycled. |
| D．They can naturally change to a simpler chemical form. |
| A．They can’ t be easily afforded. | B．Big containers are rarely available. |
| C．Shopping bags are often transparent. | D．They are more environmentally friendly. |
| A．By producing fewer products. |
| B．By inventing new recycling machines. |
| C．By donating money to recycling companies. |
| D．By using as little plastic as possible on their products. |
1. Who has become the Union Party leader?
| A．Robert Tennen. | B．Harry Johnson. | C．Jim Hardy. |
| A．It will be closed. | B．It will be cleaned. | C．It will be rebuilt. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Snowy. | C．Rainy. |
4 . It is a question that has long puzzled scientists—exactly why are tigers orange? One might think it makes them more obvious-particularly against a leafy green forest background. William Blake summed it up in his famous poem known by generations of schoolchildren: “Tyger, tyger, burning bright / In the forest of the night.” But now the answer is at hand.
While obvious to us, computer simulations (模拟) of what the big cats look to the main animals they hunt for, deer, show a different picture. Humans with normal colour vision, can see red, blue and green colours. But deer can only pick up blue and green light, they are effectively colourblind to the colour red, like some humans. It means the tigers’ orange colouration looks green to them, allowing them to mix perfectly into the background, new research claims.
Dr John Fennell at the University of Bristol and colleagues said that they used computers to estimate how noticeable a given animal was. They did this by using images of the environment in which the animal lives, and then creating images to see whether the camouflage helps the animal to mix in.
Dr Fennell writes that by simulating what the world looks like to animals who are “two-colour vision”—someone who cannot discover the difference between red and green—“we also identify the most suitable colours for hiding and visibility”.
Dr Fennell writes in the Royal Society Journal Inter face: “Considering the coat of a tiger, it has fur that appears orange to a three-colour vision observer rather than some shade of green, though the latter should be more appropriate color for an attack hunter in forests. However, when viewed as a two-colour vision observer, the tiger’s colour is very effective.”
The question then arises as to why tigers don’t grow green coats. Dr Fennell and colleagues write that mammals (哺乳动物) are not able to produce green fur. To do so would “require a significant change to mammalian biochemistry”. There is only one mammal known to have green fur but this is achieved through what might be considered as, well, cheating, not exactly real.
1. Why does the author mention the poem in paragraph 1?| A．To arouse reader s interest in poems. |
| B．To show the authors respect to the poet. |
| C．To answer the question of the color of the tiger |
| D．To stress the noticeable color of the tiger to us. |
| A．Black. | B．Red. |
| C．Blue. | D．Green. |
| A．The cover of something. |
| B．The images of something. |
| C．The way of hiding something. |
| D．The way of hunting for something. |
| A．The colour of tigers sometimes cheats people. |
| B．Getting green may prevent tigers from being extinct. |
| C．There are no mammals with real green fur in the world. |
| D．The tigers’ fur will probably evolve into green in the future. |
5 . Have you ever been into a cave? If not, please follow us and explore some of the most beautiful caves from around the world!
Marble Caves
Located in the center of Lake General Carrera, the Marble Caves in Chico, Chile, are only accessible by boat. The surrounding crystal clear waters allow visitors to see the rock formations beneath them while the rock ceilings above change color(depending on the writer levels and the season). The best time to visit: during sunrise and sunset, when the sun’s rays light up the cave walls, making it an experience to remember.
Reed Flute Cave
Reed F1ute Cave known as “the Palace of Natural Arts” is located in the northwest of Guilin in southern China.The limestone cave offers a grand fairyland of stalactites(钟乳石), stone pillars, stone curtains, birds, plants and animals in fantastic shapes and colors.
Fingal’s Cave
This incredible sea cave is located on the uninhabited island of Staffa in Scotland. The cave’s size, shape, and naturally—arched(拱形的) roof combine with the waves to create strange sounds that enhance its cathedral—like atmosphere.
The Blue Grotto
The Blue Grotto is the symbol of Capri. It is a sea cave found on the coast of the island and is a well-known spot to all who visit the area. This cave is unique for its brilliant blue light which comes from two sources: the entrance to the cave and a bigger hole beneath the entrance. When viewed from inside the cave, the entrance appears as a brilliant white light just above the waterline, while the underwater hole, which is the larger source of light, provides a blue light.
1. Why is sunset the best time to visit Marble Caves?| A．Because it has enough light in it. |
| B．Because it has the most beautiful scenery. |
| C．Because it is surrounded by clear waters. |
| D．Because boats are only available at sunset. |
| A．Reed F1ute Cave. | B．Marble Caves. |
| C．The Blue Grotto. | D．Fingal’s Cave. |
| A．C1ear waters. | B．Various birds and animals. |
| C．Bright blue light. | D．Strange shapes. |
6 . You can’t see your sleeping pets brain waves, but its behavior can tell you when your cat might be dreaming. If you watch closely, you’ll see that as she falls asleep, her breathing becomes slow and regular with her body still. She has entered the first stage of sleep, called slow-wave sleep. After about 15 minutes you’ll notice a change in her breathing. Her eyes move under her closed lids, her paws twitch (抽动) and she flicks (尤指用手指或手快速地轻抚) an ear. She has entered dreaming. Although she twitches and makes little grunting (嘟嘟) noises, messages from her brain to the large muscles in her legs are blocked, so she can’t run about. She is in a state of “sleep paralysis (麻痹)”.
Michel Jouvet, a French scientist, interrupted their sleep paralysis. Even though they were completely asleep, the dreaming cats began to run for balls that Jouvet couldn’t see and arched (弓起) their backs at unseen enemies. He figures he was watching them act out their dreams! Obviously, the dreaming cats seemed to be practising important cat skills: following, pouncing (猛扑), and fighting.
In another study, Matt Wilson recorded rats brain waves while they learned mazes (迷宫). One day, he left the brain-wave-recording machine on while the rats fell asleep. The pattern of brain waves in the sleeping rats matched the pattern from the maze so closely that Wilson could figure out exactly which part of the maze each rat was dreaming about!
Many researchers now think that in both people and animals, one purpose of dreams is to practise important skills and figure out recent learning. This may explain why so many people dream about fighting and escaping, skills that were probably important to our ancestors, and why dreaming affects our ability to learn.
Do all animals dream? From looking at the brain waves of sleeping animals. How often animals dream seems to be tied to body size. Cats dream about every 15 minutes, mice every 9 minutes, and elephants every 2 hours. And though cows and horses usually sleep standing up, they only dream when lying down.
1. What does Michel Jouvet find in his study?| A．The dreaming cats are in a state of body paralysis. |
| B．The dreaming cats often practise their important skills. |
| C．The eyes of dreaming cats moved while bodies are still. |
| D．The muscles of the dreaming cats are blocked to move. |
| A．Dreaming a lot can help humans learn more. |
| B．Learning mazes is the basic skill for cats to learn. |
| C．Rats often dreams to make certain their recent learning |
| D．Fighting and escaping are not important skills for ancestors. |
| A．Rats. | B．Dogs. |
| C．Cows. | D．Elephants |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By using figures |
| C．By telling stories | D．By showing facts |
Lake Hillier is a saltwater lake on the edge of Middle Island, a large island off the south coast of Western Australia. It is pink in color, due
8 . Glacier Bay is one of the most famous parks in America, located in the state of Alaska. This park in the southeastern part of the state covers more than 1 million hectares of Alaskan wilderness. It includes mountains, glaciers (冰川), bays, and even rainforests. Glacier Bay supports hundreds of kinds of animals, including many species of birds, fish, bears, whales and sea lions.
As its name suggests, much of Glacier Bay National Park is covered by glaciers. A glacier is a large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope (斜坡) or valley, or over a wide area of land. Glaciers cover more than 5,000 square kilometers of the park.
Glacial ice has shaped the land over the last seven million years. The glaciers found in the park today are what remains from an ice advance known as the Little Ice Age. That period began about 4,000 years ago.
During the Little Ice Age, the cold weather caused the ice to grow and advance. That situation continued until about 1,700s, when the climate began to warm. The higher temperatures caused the ice to start melting. That melting led the huge glacier to separate into more than 1,000 different glaciers.
The extremely tall and jagged (参差不齐的) mountains seen in Glacier Bay National Park were formed by the ice advancing and then melting over time. The melting of the ice also created water that filled in and created the many fjords (峡湾) within the park. Fjords are narrow parts of the ocean that sit between cliffs or mountains.
The huge amount of water from the melted ice killed off many kinds of plants. Vegetation returned to the area over the next 200 years. The regrowth in plants also brought back many animals to the land. This return of life to Glacier Bay is why it is sometimes called “a land reborn” by people.
1. What is mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．The function of Glacier Bay. |
| B．The climate of Glacier Bay. |
| C．The area of Alaskan wilderness. |
| D．The number of animals in Glacier Bay. |
| A．Many slopes or valleys came into being. |
| B．The glaciers grew and advanced. |
| C．Different glaciers became a whole one. |
| D．The fjords became narrow. |
| A．How the water killed off the plants. |
| B．When vegetation returned to Glacier Bay. |
| C．What the relationship between plants and animals is. |
| D．Why Glacier Bay is sometimes called “a land reborn”. |
9 . Since Abbi Hickman was just a little girl, she has been surrounded by animals. Chickens, cats, dogs, rabbits, and sometimes goats are just some of the animals she cares for. At the age of 9, Abbi went to the Tracy Animal Shelter，in her hometown of Tracy，California，to adopt Sheldon，her favorite cat. There，she saw the poor conditions that the animals were kept in. Abbi knew that it was her duty to take action.
Pins for Pets is Abbi’s solution. For the last three years, she has organized a bowling tournament to raise funds for the Tracy Animal Shelter. She has raised more than $30,000, resulting in a better home for the animals. “Now the shelter is nicer and cleaner and animals have more space. It is far better, a hundred percent better,” Abbi says.
To praise Abbi for her outstanding efforts, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) named her the 2015 ASPCA Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year. This award is given to kids who make a substantial (大量的) effort to help animals. Abbi responded to the news of her win with shock. “I was pretty excited. I’ m really honored to receive it,” she says.
Sacrificing time and effort to assist animals can sometimes be difficult, but Abbi hopes to do more. “I want to spread my free services to more shelters. I really just hope people are kinder to animals and respect them more,” says Abbi, sharing her goals for her organization.
At the age of 12, Abbi has already accomplished so much. The advice she has for kids like her, who want to accomplish their goals, is, “Nothing is impossible. You can do anything you put your mind to. Even if it is something small, it can make a huge difference.” Abbi’s work has improved the lives of animals, and she plans to keep coming up with new ways to help them.
1. When she was very little, Abbi went to the Tracy Animal Shelter and .| A．adopted a dog called Sheldon she liked best |
| B．raised kids’ awareness of protecting animals |
| C．found the poor conditions the animals lived in |
| D．learned some knowledge about some animals |
| A．By begging from door to door. |
| B．By organizing a bowling match. |
| C．By helping others look after some animals. |
| D．By turning to the Tracy Animal Shelter for help. |
| A．Cautious and loyal. |
| B．Determined and imaginative. |
| C．Changeable but optimistic. |
| D．Responsible and Caring. |
| A．Abbi’s organization is non-profit. |
| B．Abbi thinks she has done enough. |
| C．Helping animals is a piece of cake. |
| D．People are friendly enough to animals. |
假定你是李华，David 是你的美国笔友。他对中国鼓励使用环保购物袋很感兴趣，来信向你询问此事。请你给他写封回信。主要内容如下：
1.感谢他的关注；
2.简要介绍相关情况；
3.谈谈你的感想。
注意：
1.词数100左右，信的格式已为你写好；
2.可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：环保购物袋 environment-friendly shopping bag 关注 concern.
Dear David,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
