1 . A couple has recently placed their garbage can out for collection for the first time in 14 months, all thanks to their recycling skills. Richard and Louise Arnold have established such an effective routine that they only need to put their garbage can on the side of the street once a year.
Louise explained that making small monthly changes in her life has resulted in her family producing very little waste. She said, “It’s not as difficult as you might think if you start with small steps. We began with soap, switching from bath cream to natural soap without packaging. These bars are large enough that we cut them in half, using one for the sink and the other half for the shower. It’s both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”
“So it’s actually quite easy. Just go around your house and think of little things you can do gradually, and you’ll start noticing the difference,” Louise added. Currently, the couple takes recyclable waste to the tip, donates clothes to charity shops, and brings soft plastics and batteries to a shop that accepts them.
In 2017, the couple established No Waste Living, which initially started as a weekend stall at the local market and has since developed into a website. Louise regularly writes a newsletter for her hundreds of subscribers. They also started selling eco-friendly products, ranging from non-chemical household cleaning and washing solutions for a “less toxic home” to bamboo washing-up brushes. Louise mentioned, “I started No Waste Living because I wanted to show our achievement s and lead by example.”
Although the family occasionally faces criticism, Louise remains determined. She said, “The main point of contention(争论) for people regarding new waste rules is having to drive their waste to a recycling center, which adds to their already busy lives. However, in the long run, you will create more space in your home, save money, and spend less time dealing with garbage cans.”
1. How did the couple start their waste reduction journey?| A．By replacing small soaps with large ones. | B．By using a small amount of bath cream. |
| C．By using unpackaged soap bars. | D．By recycling soft plastics and batteries. |
| A．To bring eco-products to market. | B．To inspire others to follow in their footsteps. |
| C．To treat recyclable waste from the neighborhood. | D．To answer the call of their subscribers. |
| A．They mean more work to deal with garbage. |
| B．They increase the cost of garbage collection. |
| C．They establish a set time for waste management. |
| D．They limit the daily amount of garbage for collection. |
| A．A business - minded couple. | B．The “less poisonous home” concept. |
| C．The global trend in recycling. | D．A planet- friendly lifestyle. |
2 . Finding a California condor in the wild would be the most unusual treat. perhaps even more unusual than finding a wolf in Yellowstone National Park. In fact, the wolf was what opened my eyes to the fact that humans could bring an animal back to the place where it had disappeared.
In 1987, there were only 27 California condors left, none of which were in the wild, only in captive breeding programs, It was those breeding programs that contributed to their population rise, enough that by 1991 some of them could be freed into the wild.
Still, the hope of seeing a California condor, which remains an endangered species, is very low, let alone getting a photo of one. California condor population dropped mostly due to human factors, such as poaching and living areas destruction-these are challenges California condors still face today.
Although this is just a bird’s-eye view of the challenges California condors face and there are many others, it is part of why the opportunity to work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service team and their partners helping their recovery is so special to me as a photographer. I am not only able to photograph the birds in their wild living areas, but also understand and record how difficult the work is of those people on the front lines of the protection.
I am grateful for the work of the team, and my hope is that California condor population will continue to rise allowing future generations an opportunity I never had when I first got here-to look to the sky and see one flying around.
1. What helped the increase of the California condor population in 1987?| A．Rules for hunters. | B．Captive breeding programs. |
| C．The improved natural environment. | D．The enlargement of wild living areas. |
| A．It is difficult. | B．It is easy. | C．It is boring. | D．It is dangerous. |
| A．He guided ways for them. | B．He made records by photos. |
| C．He helped the birds to recover. | D．He rebuilt the birds’ living areas. |
| A．New Way, New Hope | B．Wolves and California Condors |
| C．A Photo of a California Condor | D．The California Condor’s Coming Back |
3 . Working at an investment bank in New York City in the mid-2010s. Anna Sacks was living the life—just not the life she wanted. Sure, she was happy. But she wanted to do something that felt important and was fulfilling on a deeper level.
Sacks packed up her life and moved to Connecticut for three months to participate in Adamah, a Jewish farming program that focuses on sustainable living and growing sustainable food. The Adamah program opened Sacks’s eyes to the damage consumer culture is doing on a local, national, and global level, and the need to find solutions. From then on, she began what she calls “trash (垃圾) walking.”
While walking around her neighborhood, Sacks, 31, picked through rubbish to look for reusable items. Soon, her trash walks expanded to include company rubbish along with residential trash. Surprisingly, she discovered a wide range of really great stuff—like clothing, dinnerware, and food—all of which she documents on Instagram and TikTok.
Under the name The Trash Walker, Sacks quickly gained popularity for her educational, funny, and surprising videos that highlight the problems with consumerism and share information about how to live a more sustainable life. “The root issue is overproduction, which leads to overconsumption, which leads to a large amount of waste,” she says. Sacks’s videos have gone viral many times, causing shockwaves through the industries she calls out.
Trash walking has given Sacks a nearly endless supply and she shares much of her “treasure” with others. She tries giving them informally to family, friends, or individuals she knows may need a specific item. Then she takes the remaining items to free stores so other New Yorkers can benefit from her treasure-hunting.
Sacks’s main focus is simply getting people to pay attention to how many unnecessary things they buy and then throw away. “Once you become aware of the way you consume, you can see ways you improve,” she says.
1. What inspired Sacks to begin her “trash walking”?| A．Her desire to live a richer life. | B．The great need for household stuff. |
| C．Her involvement in a project. | D．The wish to be an Internet star. |
| A．Funny stories. | B．Views on consumption. |
| C．Educational courses. | D．Solutions to problems. |
| A．She donates all to the charity. | B．She keeps most for her family. |
| C．She gives away much to others. | D．She sells some to individuals. |
| A．Trash Walker: Find Treasure in Trash. |
| B．Trash Walking: A Tough Journey. |
| C．Trash Walker: Live in the Moment. |
| D．Trash Walking: A New Career. |
Last Friday a storm hit two villages,
A farmer said the storm began early in the morning and
They managed to climb out, but then he saw that one of his children was
A woman said that her husband had just left for work when she noticed that her house was shaking. She rushed outside right away with her children.
5 . In the forest of New Mexico, scientists are carrying two ten-day-old Mexican wolf pups (幼崽) riding in a backpack, searching for a Mexican wolf pair that has just given birth to six pups.
Mexican wolves were extinct in the USA by the 1970s, but there was a plan to bring them back. The first step was to trap five wild Mexican wolves and breed them with two caged ones. In 1998, the first caged-born adult Mexican wolves were released into forests.
The idea is that the caged pups will grow up and breed with wild wolves.
| A．The scientists were content with it. |
| B．So the experts came up with a new plan. |
| C．The wolf parents only care for their own pups. |
| D．In this way their healthy genes will be passed down. |
| E．The population slowly grew, but scientists were still worried. |
| F．After that, the wolf parents won’t mind taking care of the new pups. |
| G．The wolf mum and dad don’t know it, but they’re about to adopt two more! |
6 . When you think of a new place for growing food, you might think of Mars. But one Italian family believes one possible place is right here on the Earth: the ocean.
Nemo’s Garden is the world’s first underwater system of land plants. Located off the coast of Noli, Italy, it consists of several greenhouses called biospheres, each of which is attached to the seafloor. “The aim of it is to change agriculture, and add a possibility for growing produce in the ocean,” says co-founder Luca Gamberini.
His father Sergio Gamberini came up with the idea by combining his two passions — diving and gardening. In 2012, the project began with planting basil (罗勒) underwater. Now Nemo’s Garden is growing strong.
“Our limited number of resources can not promise sustainable (可持续的) development,” Luca says, “and we believe that underwater gives us some advantages over traditional agriculture.”
Floating six to ten meters underwater, plants in Nemo’s Garden are separated from any outside pathogens (病原体). Also, the temperature of the ocean water is an ideal environment for plant life. Besides, Nemo’s Garden uses a technique that uses water-based nutrients (养分) instead of soil. “Also, there is little interaction with the underwater environment and related ecosystems, which means no harm is caused to sea creatures,” adds Luca.
Everything is monitored on land through cameras and sensors, and settings can be adjusted. When it’s time to harvest, a diver will cut the vegetation, place it in bags and float them to the surface.
The team at Nemo’s Garden has plans for even bigger biospheres in the future, as well as other locations. Luca believes the future of Nemo’s Garden will be mostly along the coastlines where communities could benefit from the added space it offers.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The greenhouse. | B．The seafloor. | C．Underwater system. | D．Nemo’s Garden. |
| A．To combine his two hobbies. | B．To feed the growing population. |
| C．To seek sustainable farming. | D．To develop healthy ways of life. |
| A．The advantages of Nemo’s Garden. | B．The construction of Nemo’s Garden. |
| C．The structure of Nemo’s Garden. | D．The techniques used in Nemo’s Garden. |
| A．A research paper. | B．A science magazine. | C．A journal entry. | D．A science fiction. |
7 . Driving and flying are huge contributors to carbon emissions (排放) and climate change. So Google is helping users make more wise decisions about how they travel. In addition to showing drivers the fastest way to get to their destination, Google Maps will now show the route that’s the most fuel-efficient.
To provide the new feature, Google used data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which estimates that eco-friendly routing has the potential to prevent more than one million tons of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere per year. That’s equal to removing 200,000 cars from the road, Google claims.
On the Google Maps app, the most fuel-efficient route will be displayed with a small green leaf next to it. The route option will include information about how long the trip will take and how much fuel the driver could save.
It’s no secret that biking is a more eco-friendly travel option than driving, and the use of biking directions on Maps has increased by as much as 98% over the past year, according to Google. The tech company is focusing on attracting bike riders with a new feature called “lite navigation (导航)”. This feature is being introduced after Google heard from cyclists who were sick of following turn-by-turn directions on their phones. Cyclists don’t look at their phones for most of the ride, after all. With lite navigation, bike riders will be able to see details about their route without needing to keep their screen on or follow turn-by-turn navigation. Cyclists will also be able to track their trip progress and see their ETA (estimated time of arrival) updated in real time.
Moreover, Google Flights users will be able to see carbon emission estimates for nearly every flight in the search results. The estimates are “flight-specific” and “seat-specific”, Google said. “Newer aircraft are generally less polluting than older aircraft. Compared with economy-class seats, emissions increase for first-class seats because they take up more space and account for a larger share of total emissions,” Google added.
1. What do the data in paragraph 2 show?| A．The seriousness of climate change. | B．The potential of using renewable energy. |
| C．The significance of Google’s new feature. | D．The necessity of removing cars from the road. |
| A．The most eco-friendly route. | B．The most beautiful route. |
| C．The most chosen route. | D．The shortest route. |
| A．It informs bikers of their speed in real time. |
| B．It can work with the phone’s screen off. |
| C．It receives favorable reviews from 98% of bikers. |
| D．It encourages bikers to follow turn-by-turn directions. |
| A．Economy-class passengers on new planes. | B．Economy-class passengers on old planes. |
| C．First-class passengers on new planes. | D．First-class passengers on old planes. |
8 . The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released the first global blueprint to save the world’s forests. The WWF is a global conservation charity. Its Forest Pathways Report details the state of the world’s forests and what governments can do to better protect them. The report focuses on the commitments that were made at COP26 ——a conference on the climate emergency held in the UK in 2021. At COP26, more than 140 countries, covering around 90% of the world’s forest, promised to end deforestation by 2030. However, the WWF says that this target is in danger of being missed.
In 2022, 66,000 square kilometres of forest around the world was lost. About two-thirds of this was from tropical forests. This is having an effect on wildlife, with the WWF’s blueprint noting a decline in the populations of species that depend on forests, such as gorillas, hornbills, orangutans and black-headed squirrel monkeys.
However, the report also highlights some conservation success stories. For instance, the Khata Conservation Area in Nepal has grown by a size amount to 3,000 football pitches, providing a home for tigers and other species. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Wild Ingleborough project, a partnership between the WWF and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, is restoring 15square kilometres of land in the Yorkshire Dales back to its natural wild state, complete with woodlands. Mary Gagen, author of the Forest Pathways Report, says, “There are pockets of success where countries are approaching deforestation, and we know what needs to be done to grow those.”
The report includes a list of recommendations for world governments, providing a blueprint to save forests. This includes toughening up rules against deforestation as well as recognizing the rights of indigenous (当地的) peoples who live in the forests. They are the descendants (后代) of those who lived somewhere before another culture arrived and took over.There are also some specific suggestions for the UK Government, such as bringing in environmental standards for food that is bought and sold in the UK, so that none of it contributes to deforestation.
1. What do we know about WWF?| A．It may fail to meet its goal. | B．It focuses on protecting our earth. |
| C．It offers proposals to governments. | D．It approves of COP26’s commitments. |
| A．By listing some statistics. | B．By clarifying a concept. |
| C．By citing some examples. | D．By pointing out similarities. |
| A．The blueprint lays down food criteria for countries. |
| B．Concrete tips will help the UK government save forests. |
| C．The blueprint doesn’t acknowledge the rights of natives. |
| D．The native people are succeeding generations of another culture. |
| A．The Keynote of Forest Pathways Report. | B．A Conference on the Climate Emergency. |
| C．The Worldwide Effort for Deforestation. | D．Successful Stories of Tackling Deforestation. |
9 . For outdoor enthusiasts, it is crucial to be prepared for any sort of natural disaster in the open air.
While you’re planning, the essential thing to consider is the things you should pack for your trip. Any disaster that may separate you from civilization for a period of time will require you to provide your own food, water, and shelter for at least a few days.
Once you complete your survival plan, it’s better to review it periodically. When a natural disaster strikes, you probably won’t have time to go over a document or go online to seek advice.
If a natural disaster strikes while you are in the wilderness, you should put your survival plan into effect immediately.
| A．But this is not always the case. |
| B．It’s also a good idea to bring light sources. |
| C．That means having a disaster response plan. |
| D．It’s also great to consult with the specialists in person. |
| E．Consequently, revising it frequently is strongly recommended. |
| F．Different kinds of disasters are likely to occur in different areas. |
| G．Stay calm, act decisively, and begin working to keep yourself alive. |
10 . On paper, Joyxee Island sounds like an attractive vacation accommodation. Located in Isla Mujeres Bay, a short distance from the Mexican Caribbean hot spot of Cancun, this private island features swimming ponds, Internet access, a fully functioning bathroom, a rainwater collection system, private beach space, solar power, a three-story home and a total area of 750 square meters.
The island, owned by British artist Richart Sowa, isn’t an island at all, at least not in the typical sense. Joyxee is floating (漂浮) on a man-made base of about 150,000 air-filled bottles held inside large nets. This floating bottom layer is covered with sand and soil. The roots from the island’s mangrove (红树林植物) forest have grown through these nets, providing natural structural strength. Creating this island has been a long process. Joyxee began as a small raft, but has grown into a space that’s large enough to allow Sowa to live a mostly self-sufficient lifestyle.
Joyxee is not Sowa’s first try at a plastic-bottle island. Sowa built Spiral Island on Mexico’s Caribbean coast in the late 1990s. Spiral did not survive Hurricane Emily, though, which struck the Caribbean in 2005. Fortunately, some of the bottle-filled nets were preserved. Sowa used these re-recycled bottles to start Joyxee with the help of local environmentalists who wanted to support his eco-island idea. He decided to place it inside a lagoon (濒海湖) in Isla Mujeres Bay to protect Joyxee from suffering the same misfortune as Spiral Island.
While the media have covered the island as a novelty, Sowa’s statements on his website show that he thinks that his island constructions could be the start of something bigger. “Environmentally, the island is an example of a wind-, solar- and wave-powered living space. Furthermore, the mangroves can clean the air by absorbing CO2. And because such islands are floating, they would not be affected by rising sea levels, flooding or other disasters.” Sowa welcomes guests to Joyxee and also offers tours. For tours, including a return trip to the shore, he requests a “donation of S5 or more.”
1. What do we know about Joyxee?| A．It offers good living facilities. | B．It was designed by volunteers. |
| C．It was built within a short period. | D．It borders the Mexican city of Cancun. |
| A．Adjust the temperatures of the island. |
| B．Serve as the islanders’ food sources. |
| C．Provide structural support for the island. |
| D．Act as the island’s rainwater collection system. |
| A．Being destroyed by a hurricane. | B．Being short of bottle-filled nets. |
| C．Being criticized by environmentalists. | D．Being separated from land by a lagoon. |
| A．To attract more artists. | B．To show off his island. |
| C．To promote the eco-island idea. | D．To draw the media’s attention. |
