1 . Laungi Bhuiyan, a pensioner from the Indian state of Bihar, has become known as “Canal Man” after it was discovered that he spent 30 years of his life digging a 3-kilometer-long water canal, all by himself, using hand tools.
The remote village of Kothilawa had always suffered water shortages, with most of the rainwater falling in the nearby hills flowing into the river, instead of towards the village. This was one of the reasons why some villagers moved away, but Laungi Bhuiyan made up his mind to take matters into his own hands, so he stayed behind. No one offered to help, so for three long decades he dug the 4-feet wide and 3-feet deep canal himself, using only whatever hand tools he had.
Kothilawa is surrounded by forests and mountains. During the rainy season, the water falling from the mountains used to flow straight into a river flowing through the area, but ever since Laungi Bhuiyan completed his 3-km-long canal, it’ s been collected in a pond near the village, allowing locals to raise animals and even irrigate crops, without worrying about water shortages.
Ever since word of his impressive achievements started spreading on social media, Bhuiyan has been nicknamed “Canal Man”. A Twitter user shared his unbelievable story and called Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra, asking him if he would support the Kothilawa hero by making a tractor available to him. “I think his canal is as impressive a monument as the Taj or the Pyramids. I’ d consider it an honor to have him use my tractor,” the billionaire replied.
While many have taken to social media to praise Laungi Bhuiyan for his perseverance (毅力), some said that had the Government done the job it was supposed to, the Kothilawa man needn’t have worked hard for decades, and locals would have benefited from the water canal much sooner. Others went as far as to suggest his work be recognized, and that he be provided with compensation.
1. Why didn’t Laungi Bhuiyan move away from Kothilawa with other villagers?| A．He didn’t want to have his way of life changed. |
| B．He decided to fix the problem of water shortages himself. |
| C．He had great difficulty making a living elsewhere. |
| D．He wouldn’t separate from the village he’ d lived in for decades. |
| A．Irrigating crops and raising animals. |
| B．Storing rainwater during the rainy season. |
| C．Transporting water from a nearby river. |
| D．Channeling rainwater into the pond. |
| A．His tractor would greatly ease Laungi Bhuiyan’ s labour. |
| B．Laungi Bhuiyan’ s canal is a place of interest. |
| C．He would complete the canal with Laungi Bhuiyan. |
| D．He thought highly of Laungi Bhuiyan. |
| A．All people were not satisfied with Indian authorities’ performance. |
| B．There were different voices on Laungi Bhuiyan’ s decades-long work. |
| C．Laungi Bhuiyan’ s work was highly recognized by Indian authorities. |
| D．Laungi Bhuiyan would be compensated with the help of social media. |
Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected (感染).
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.
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1.受灾情况；
2.捐助方式。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增添细节使行文连贯。
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4 . Drive through any suburb in the US today, and it’s hard to miss the bins that have become companions to America’s trash cans. Recycling has become commonplace, as people recognize the need to care for the environment. Yet most people’s recycling consciousness extends only as far as paper, bottles, and cans. People seldom find themselves facing the growing problem of e-waste.
E-waste rapidly increases as the techno-fashionable frequently upgrade to the most advanced device and the majority of them end up in landfills(垃圾填埋地). Some people who track such waste say that users throw away nearly 2 million tons of TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones, and other electronics every day. Unless we can find a safe replacement, this e-waste may get into the ground and poison the water with dangerous toxins(毒素), such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Burning the waste also dangerously contaminates the air.
However, e-waste often contains reusable silver, gold, and other electrical materials. Recycling these materials reduces environmental problems by reducing both landfill waste and the need to look for such metals, which can destroy ecosystems.
A growing number of states have adopted laws to ban dumping(倾倒)e-waste. Still, less than a quarter of this waste will reach lawful recycling programs. Some companies advertising safe disposal(处置)in fact merely ship the waste to some developing countries, where it still ends up in landfills. These organizations prevent progress by unsafely disposing of waste in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind location.
However, the small but growing number of cities and corporations that do handle e-waste responsibly represents progress toward making the world a cleaner, better place for us all.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Most of America’s trash cans are made of recycled material. |
| B．E-waste cannot be put into trash cans in the US. |
| C．Most Americans have realized the dangers of e-waste. |
| D．Many Americans now have access to recycling bins. |
| A．reduce. | B．heat. | C．absorb. | D．pollute. |
| A．Progress is being made in handling e-waste. |
| B．A growing number of states ship the e-waste to developing countries. |
| C．A large number of cities have begun to handle e-waste responsibly. |
| D．The world will become cleaner by disposing of waste in an out-of-sight location. |
| A．To tell us how to recycle e-waste. |
| B．To talk about the future of e-waste. |
| C．To encourage us to deal with e-waste properly, |
| D．To discuss if it’s necessary to recycle e-waste. |
Caves are important in many areas of science. Earth scientists study how rock forms and changes in caves. Biologists visit caves, too, to learn about the unusual species that live in them.
However, caves are important for another reason. On the walls of some caves are paintings. They were made by people who lived thousands of years ago. Some of the earliest paintings, like the ones in EL Castillo Cave in Spain, are forty thousand years old. Some are outlines of hands or simple designs. Others show animals or people hunting. They were painted using natural red, orange, white and black minerals. These works of art connect us with people who lived long ago.
Interestingly, most of these cave paints were not found by scientists. They were found by people exploring caves for fun. For example, the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, were found in 1940 by a group of boys. They had no idea that the pictures they found on the walls of the cave were over seventeen thousand years old. Over the years, people have found these types of amazing paintings in sites all over the world.
You can explore these caves, too. Some have become very popular tourist sites. They are easy to visit and have underground tours for the public. However, exploring other caves can be more difficult. You must be careful, and you need to be prepared for cold, darkness and danger. And you might have to walk through mud or water. Dress warmly and bring special equipment, such as helmet with a light. But these underground worlds are so fascinating that it is worth the trouble.
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6 . The Earth is facing a climate crisis, but it’s also getting greener. According to a new research, the rise is largely because of China and India. A study by NASA, based on extensive satellite imagery, has revealed that the two countries with the world’s biggest populations are also responsible for the largest increase in green plants.
A third of the leaf increase is attributable to China and India, due to the implementation of major tree planting projects as well as a vast increase in agriculture. “China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9% of the planet’s land area covered in vegetation—a surprising finding, considering the large populations in the countries need much land, ” Chi Chen, the study’s lead author said in a statement.
Between 2000 and 2017, a NASA sensor gathered data of the Earth’s surface from aboard two satellites, the Terra and the Aqua. Using the data, researchers discovered that China is the source of a quarter of the increase in green leaf area, despite possessing only 6. 6% of the world’s vegetated area. Forests account for 42% of that increase, while croplands make up a further 32%. China’s increase in forest area is the result of forest conservation and expansion programs, established to combat the impacts of climate change and air pollution.
Rama Nemani, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, said in a statement, “When the greening of the Earth was first observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate from the added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to more leaf growth in northern forests, for instance. Now, with the data, we see that humans are also contributing, ” Nemani said. “This will help scientists make better predictions about the behavior of different Earth systems, which will help countries make better decisions about how and when to take action. ”
1. What can we get from the new research by NASA?| A．China and India make a contribution to the Earth’s increasing greening. |
| B．China and India should be responsible for the world’s climate crisis. |
| C．China and India have the biggest populations and the most green plants. |
| D．The Earth no longer faces a climate crisis because of China and India’ efforts. |
| A．China and India contribute one-third of the world’s greening growth. |
| B．China and India account for only 9% of the planet’s land area with vegetation. |
| C．A quarter of the increase in the world’s vegetated area is due to China’s efforts. |
| D．China’s forests and croplands make up 74% of the Earth’s increase in green leaf area. |
| A．The protection of the forests. | B．The increased croplands. |
| C．The greening of the Earth. | D．The impacts of climate. |
| A．China and India are making the Earth greener. |
| B．The Earth we live on is facing a climate crisis. |
| C．China and India are joining together to deal with climate change. |
| D．NASA released a report on air pollution in China and India. |
7 . Some scientists have found that the long-term use of chemical pesticides (杀虫剂)and fertilizers(化肥)can harm both the land and people’s health.
Pesticides can damage the land by killing not only harmful insects, but also helpful ones. In addition, these chemicals can stay in the soil and underground water sources for a long time. This affects the crops grown on the land and, in turn, the animals and humans who eat them. As for fertilizers, crops grown with them usually grow too fast to be rich in nutrition(营养). They may look beautiful on the outside, but inside there is usually more water than necessary minerals, which makes them less tasty.
Therefore, some farmers have turned to organic farming, and many customers have turned to organic food when they shop at the local grocery. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. Organic farmers focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease through natural means. For example, many organic farmers use natural waste from animals as fertilize. This makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals. It also keeps the air, soil, water, and crops free of chemicals.
Organic farmers also use many other methods to produce rich soil. They often change the kind of crop grown in each field every year. For instance, they may grow corn or wheat in a field one year, and then grow beans there the next. It can help to put important minerals back into the ground, making it ready for the next crops. Organic farmers also plant different crops that use different depths of soil to help keep it rich. For example, peanuts grow on the ground’s surface, but many other vegetables put down deep roots.
Nevertheless, organic farming is far from meeting the high demand for food around the world. It still has a long way to go to provide enough food while keeping people and the environment as healthy as possible.
1. From paragraph 2, we learn that fertilizers can________.| A．help kill insects | B．affect crops’ taste |
| C．stay in soil for long | D．make crops nutritious |
| A．needs less care | B．saves more water |
| C．uses less chemicals | D．adopts natural methods |
| A．listing numbers | B．providing reasons |
| C．giving examples | D．making comparisons |
| A．It will replace chemical farming. | B．It will increase production of crops. |
| C．It can meet people’s needs for food. | D．It needs more efforts to be developed. |
Nature has its own way to forecast the weather. Unusual animal behavior, for example, can indicate whether it's cold weather on the way or a hot period. If fish are jumping
9 . Germany is the leader of the world’s waste-recycling race. The country has quite a detailed way of sorting their waste – down to the color of glass waste, the type of paper, the separate bin for metals, etc.
Here below are what you should know about Germany’s waste sorting system:
● You are expected to gather your waste in your apartment/housing area’s local public garbage bins.
● There are commonly several types of public garbage bins available in the German’s apartment/housing area:
● Blue bin –– for paper and cardboard
● Green and white bin –– for glass, different bins for differently colored glass, not available for holiday decorations and lights
● Yellow/orange bin –– for plastic and metals
● Brown bin –– for goods that can be changed naturally by bacteria into substances that don’t harm the environment, like leftovers, fruit and vegetables
● Gray/black bin –– for everything else that can’t be recycled such as used cat litter and animal waste
● Some items don’t belong in these public garbage bins. Items like used batteries, electronics, unused paints, and lights must be returned to the special agents/locations so they can be properly recycled. Other items such as clothes, shoes, and oversized rubbish and furniture are advised to be donated or sold.
● There’s this thing called Pfand in Germany, a certain part of the price for a bottled drink that you get back if you send back the bottle to certified shops. German law requires shops over a certain size selling bottled drinks have a Pfandruckgabestelle, or place for bottles with deposits. These bottles usually made of glass or plastic will be refilled. Of course, there’re strict health regulations.
1. Which bin should the abandoned pet food be classified into?| A．The blue bin. | B．The grey/black bin. |
| C．The brown bin. | D．The green and white bin. |
| A．By giving it away to those in need. | B．By placing it in a specific location. |
| C．By returning it to special agents. | D．By donating it to a Pfandruckgabestelle. |
| A．Ensuring the cleanliness of refilled bottles. | B．Encouraging consumers to return bottles. |
| C．Reducing the use of non-recyclable bottles. | D．Having shops reuse plastic or glass bottles. |
10 . What's the hottest topic in your country? Whaling (捕鲸) is one topic that's been dividing nations for many years now.
By the 1940s, more than 30,000 whales were being caught worldwide every year. Oil from whales lit the lights of major cities in the US and Europe, and whale oil was used to make soaps, paint and even the glaze on photographs.
In order to manage the development of the global whaling industry, the International Whaling Commission (TWC) was formed in 1946. However, in 1986, the IWC decided to ban whaling. The biggest concern was the huge decrease in whale populations across the planet. Indeed many people say that it came too late and that commercial (商业的) whaling has already resulted in many animals dying out. According to Greenpeace, sei whales and fin whales are listed as "endangered animals".
But there are many other good reasons to fight against whaling. Whales are very intelligent animals. They have social networks very similar to those of humans. On top of that, whaling is also a cruel industry.
Still, some countries continue to hunt whales. hunts more than 1,000 whales a year — all of them are caught as part of a supposed "scientific research" programme run by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research. Many people argue that this "research" is nothing more than a front for commercial whaling. The situation was not helped in 2001, when Masayuki Komatsu from the Japanese Fisheries Agency described minke whales as the "cockroaches (蟑螂) of the sea" in an interview.
Many groups have tried to stop the hunts. The Ady Gil (a ship belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society) was hit by a whaling ship. The Ady Gil later sank. At present, the world is fairly divided on the topic with Iceland, Japan and Norway on the pro-whaling side, and the US, Australia, and the EU on the anti-whaling side. Asked recently to give a number between one and ten to show how difficult his job was, Dr Simon Brockington, the chairman of the IWC, said "about a twelve"!
1. What fact is presented in the second paragraph?| A．Whale oil was of no use. |
| B．Whaling was once a big industry. |
| C．Few whales were killed by humans. |
| D．The US was the biggest whaling country. |
| A．A concern. | B．A suggestion. |
| C．The global ban on whaling. | D．The endangered animals list. |
| A．It was effective. | B．It was not realistic. |
| C．It was a dangerous attempt. | D．It was difficult to carry out. |
