1 . 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? |
A. categorise B. creation C. good D. innovative E. maximum F. packed G. pedestrianise H. processing I. shape J. short-lived K. transformation |
All Change in Curitiba!
Like many other major world cities, Curitiba in southern Brazil has had to deal with issues such as pollution, poverty, and limited public funding. However, the architect and three-times mayor of the city, Jaime Lerner, has introduced some
As part of his ‘Master Plan’, Lerner hoped to make the city more environmentally friendly. He initiated a recycling scheme. In return for delivering recyclable rubbish to specified
Lerner did not win over all the city’s residents immediately, however. When his plans to
Lerner’s determination helped
So, is it all just one big success story? In some respects, Curitiba may have been too successful for its own
In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends.
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be: Their family ties are not as close as
4 . The Man Who Ate his Boots is a fascinating account of expeditions that went wrong. The book examines the 19th century search for a route to Asia by way of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean. Author Anthony Brandt describes the many attempts by both land and sea that ended in failure and tragedy, including the 1845 expedition led by Sir John Franklin. Brandt shows how these brave, yet sometimes foolish, explorers could have avoided starvation, frostbite, and even death if they had copied the survival techniques of the local Inuit people. Some of the more surprising details the book reveals include:
IGLOOS The explorers, despite repeatedly watching the Inuit build igloos, insisted on using canvas tents. Tents freeze in sub-zero temperatures and give little protection to anyone inside them. If they had learned to build igloos, the explorers would have been warm even in the worst Arctic weather.
SEALSKIN If the explorers had worn sealskin and furs like the Inuit, they wouldn’t have suffered from the frostbite that was common among them, but rare among the Inuit.
DOG TEAMS Why didn’t the British use dog teams to pull their sleds? Pulling sleds themselves was a tradition among many explorers right into the early 20th century. It cost Scott and his men their lives on their return from the South Pole in 1912.
The British did get something right, however, when Captain Edward Parry grew salad vegetables in boxes on board his ship. It was known that fresh vegetables and fresh meat prevented scurvy (坏血病),although at that time the reason for this (vitamin C) had not been discovered. Parry’s men wouldn’t have been as healthy if they hadn’t eaten the salads.
1. In The Man Who Ate his Boots’ the author mainly ________.A.introduces some foolish explorers |
B.focuses on some unsuccessful expeditions |
C.analyzes the Inuit people’s survival techniques |
D.explores the advances in equipment used for expeditions |
A.They should have learned more about how seals survived in cold water. |
B.They should have set up more canvas tents to keep themselves warm. |
C.They should have helped the Inuit people build igloos. |
D.They should have used dogs to pull the sleds for them. |
A.Edward Parry found a way to prevent scurvy by accident |
B.Edward Parry’s successful voyage was a rare case at that time |
C.Edward Parry was the first captain that grew salad vegetables on board |
D.Edward Parry’s men could have been more healthy if they took vitamin C |
A. adaptable B. classic C. determined D. effectively E. fundamentally F. immediately G. sideways H. stretched I. survival J. underside K. upright |
Why Are Trees Tree-shaped?
While running through a leafy park days ago, I passed dozens of tree species of different sizes and ages, and I was suddenly struck by how Maximising the sunlight hitting the tree’s leaves is obviously critical for the tree’s Imagine an oak tree, with branches reaching But there is another way of solving that problem. Some trees grow their reinforcing reaction wood on the | oak pine fir |
6 . In Mumbai, there’s the ceaseless clamor of car homes as drivers edge through traffic. There’s pounding and buzzing from the construction of office towers and apartment blocks. Drumbeats and trumpet melodies spill out from weddings and countless festivals. And it’s all topped off by bellowing (大声吼叫的) street vendors and garbage trucks blasting Bollywood songs. Living in Mumbai requires a huge
When Sumaira Abdulali began campaigning against noise pollution in India’s financial capital two decades ago, friends, acquaintances and even her lawyers insisted it was
But in 2003, Abdulali won a lawsuit seeking to
The World Health Organization warns that noise is a top threat to human
In recent years, the battle against noise has become increasingly
Traffic is a tougher problem. Noise on the road can reach 110 decibels (分贝) — a level that can lead to permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Luckily,
Far more important is the longer-term impact of the day-to-day noise, so that’s where Vijay believes activists should focus their energy. “In India we celebrate festivals with lots of noise,” he says. “But our
A.talent | B.potential | C.demand | D.tolerance |
A.encouraging | B.reasonable | C.ridiculous | D.depressing |
A.take advantage of | B.put an end to | C.lay emphasis on | D.throw light on |
A.Therefore | B.Similarly | C.Subsequently | D.However |
A.well-being | B.intelligence | C.interaction | D.behavior |
A.largest | B.busiest | C.loudest | D.richest |
A.difficult | B.successful | C.diverse | D.easy |
A.availability | B.capitalization | C.urbanization | D.convenience |
A.in pace with | B.in contact with | C.in league with | D.in conflict with |
A.recommend | B.justify | C.resist | D.advocate |
A.government | B.technology | C.finance | D.psychology |
A.quiet | B.brave | C.safe | D.alert |
A.trigger | B.satisfy | C.reduce | D.maintain |
A.steps in | B.takes over | C.cuts in | D.takes off |
A.traffic | B.construction | C.ceremony | D.background |
Scientists have discovered that dogs produce more facial movements when a human is paying attention to them than when they are being ignored or presented with a tasty small piece of food.
The research argues
Their expressions are responsive to humans — not just to other dogs. That shows us how domestication
“Facial expression is often seen as something that is very emotionally driven and is very fixed, and so it isn’t something that animals can change
Researchers
The results reveal that the dogs produced far more facial expressions when the human was facing the dog, than when they turned away — in particular, the animals were
But the presence of food had no impact on the animals’ expressions. That suggested canine facial expressions were not just down to excitement, and cast doubt over
“We wanted to see if dogs would produce the most facial expressions when they saw the face and the food, because that might then tell us they are trying to intentionally manipulate the human in order to get the food — and we didn’t see that,” said Waller.
The study suggested doggy expressions were not simply the result of internal emotions, but
The First Space Cat
In a few weeks, space scientists will celebrate a remarkable event — the 60th anniversary of the launch of the first cat into space, an astronautical success that has never been repeated.
In the early 60s, dogs and monkeys were the animals usually used by scientists to find out exactly
A total of 14 street cats
Then,
“In the 60s,
9 . The Grey’s Anatomy doctors are navigating the patients that have kept them on our screens for some 400 episodes of the show. But in this episode, for the first time, the
But can seeing the realities of climate change affecting characters on the screen help us relate
Non-profit storytelling consultancy Good Energy believes it can. It is among a small but growing number of organizations
The Good Energy Playbook’s suggestions are appropriately wide-ranging: characters with climate anxiety and those fighting against injustice; utopian (乌托邦的) narratives that explore climate solutions; storylines that quietly
The playbook was created by Good Energy founder Anna Jane Joyner, “It started as a personal
Many research studies looked at the impact introducing climate stories had on viewers, and found it prompted greater concern about climate change. It also
Climate stories, then, seem like a pretty good idea. But these sorts of narratives have been few and far between. Julie Doyle, professor of media at the University of Brighton in the UK, says climate change has
It’s time to break the climate silence, says Doyle. “Mainstream media has tended to follow rather than lead, and it would be great if mainstream media could lead this.” Day-to-day mentions of climate change in media are especially important because, while blockbuster climate films can have a positive impact on awareness and action, the effect is sadly
A.resistance | B.background | C.response | D.application |
A.fictional | B.scientific | C.educational | D.theoretical |
A.logical | B.moral | C.occasional | D.spiritual |
A.differently | B.effortlessly | C.reluctantly | D.systematically |
A.depending on | B.referring to | C.identifying with | D.calling for |
A.restore | B.feature | C.demonstrate | D.sponsor |
A.reflect | B.maintain | C.eliminate | D.strengthen |
A.integrate | B.reverse | C.initiate | D.publish |
A.transition | B.campaign | C.achievement | D.association |
A.transferred | B.promoted | C.shifted | D.underestimated |
A.For example | B.As a result | C.On the contrary | D.In addition |
A.narrative | B.character | C.plot | D.memory |
A.explored | B.competed | C.struggled | D.appealed |
A.narrow-minded | B.ever-changing | C.short-lived | D.far-sighted |
A.resumes | B.fades | C.deepens | D.increases |
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.