Growing up in a coastal town in San Francisco, Christian had a special love for the ocean and its creatures. He had always found joy in the rhythmic tides and the ocean waves against the shore. The salty wind and the cries of the seagulls (海鸥) had been like a comforting song to him during his childhood.
However, all these changed over the years. Every time he wandered along the familiar stretch of sand, his heart sank. The once charming beach was now littered with plastic bags, bottles and other wastes, a distinctive contrast to the natural beauty that had always absorbed him.
The sight was a painful reminder of the harm the locals were bringing to the very land where he was growing up. Christian felt a deep sense of loss and responsibility. Previously, he had seen the news reports about the severe effects of plastic pollution on the oceans, and the images of sea creatures stuck in plastic wastes haunted (萦绕于脑际) him.
Determined to make a change, Christian decided to take action. He knew he couldn’t solve this problem alone, but he could start something that might grow into a powerful movement. With the passion and belief of a young man who loved his ocean and his land deeply, he founded an organization called Waves of Change. The early days presented challenges in calling on volunteers.
He began by reaching out to the students in his school. He shared the shocking reality of the polluted beaches and the urgent need to reduce plastic litter. To his delight, gradually more and more schoolmates started showing interest in the organization and many were eager to join in the cause. They were all too familiar with the beauty of the ocean and were equally saddened by the damage they had witnessed. As high school students, Christian and other members properly allocates (分配) time to balance the cause and their academic work.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Together, Christian and other members did a lot of things in their free time.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Their efforts finally paid off.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . To produce the classic clothing, blue jeans, producers rely on indigo dye (靛蓝染料), the only molecule known to provide jeans’ unique, beloved color. While indigo itself naturally comes from a plant, growing demand for blue jeans throughout the 20th century gave rise to synthetic (合成的) indigo, which is now more commonly used.
Indigo is the dye that makes jeans blue, but it doesn’t mix with water. To dye clothes, usually, chemicals are needed to make the color stick to the cloth. But in Denmark, scientists have created a new way to dye clothes using an enzyme (酶), which is a kind of protein that can cause chemical reactions, instead of harmful chemicals. This new method is better for the environment and doesn’t use poisonous stuff.
The chemical process for dyeing blue jeans has persisted for the last century. Workers are exposed to the poisonous chemicals, which also pollute the environment near factories. Waste water from those factories often ends up in waterways, decimating local ecosystems and even dyeing rivers blue.
Ditte Hededam Welner, the study’s lead researcher, says their new enzyme works really well and is strong enough for making lots of jeans without breaking down. This enzyme makes dyeing with indican, which is like indigo, much less harmful to the planet — about 92% better than the old way.
However, the new method doesn’t fix all the environmental problems of making jeans. Making a single pair of jeans uses a lot of water — enough to fill many bathtubs — from growing the cotton to putting the final touches on the jeans.
Even though the new dyeing process is better for the environment, it’s not always easy or cheap to change to it. Welner’s team isn’t sure if jeans companies will find it easy or affordable to switch to this method. It costs a little bit more — just seven cents extra per pair of jeans — to use the enzyme for dyeing. But Welner believes it’s worth it because it’s much better for the environment.
1. Why was synthetic indigo created in the 20th century?| A．It made jeans’ color unique. | B．It was easy to dye cloth with it. |
| C．People liked jeans made from it. | D．People were in greater need of jeans. |
| A．Troubling. | B．Entering. | C．Destroying. | D．Defeating. |
| A．The colour is more beautiful than the synthetic indigo. |
| B．The market can keep stable goods supplies. |
| C．Enzyme facilitates the advance of science. |
| D．The dye is more environmentally friendly. |
| A．Production costs. | B．Environmental benefits. |
| C．Water consumption. | D．Laborer shortage. |
3 . XZERO, “World’s Most Walkable City” Will Be Built in Kuwait
Do you fancy giving up your car for good, but are worried you won’t be able to get around? Plans have been released for the “world’s most walkable city”.
Dubbed XZERO, the planned sustainable community in Kuwait would provide a net zero carbon lifestyle for 100, 000 residents, in balance with nature. All facilities and homes will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy and will recycle all their water with smart water system.
UAE-based designers URB say the city will provide food and energy security while promoting a green circular economy. The estimated cost of the project is £13 billion, and URB are aiming to start construction in 2024, to complete by 2034.
The central area is surrounded by a series of “hubs” (枢纽) , each dedicated to education, entertainment and medical facilities. The hubs will reduce the walking distances required of residents, while the homes are densely spaced to promote a connected community. The green-tech hub will promote a collaborative innovative environment in food, energy, water and water tech. The medical hub will feature an autism (自闭症) village, wellness center and clinics. The educational hub will feature a nursery, school and an institute, while the commercial hub will include indoor mall and flexible office space. The green landscape is designed with engineered natural areas to provide a variation of habitats for wildlife as well as rain water harvesting, mitigating (和缓的) flooding, better air quality and cleaner water. The 1, 600 hectare development will provide 30, 000 residential units, as well as 30, 000 green jobs. These jobs will be created in the various hubs.
“The creation of sustainable cities that follow the highest standards of living with lowest impact on the environment is no longer a choice, it has become a necessity,” Baharsh Bagherian, the CEO of URB, said, “The heart of XZERO is the unique resilient (弹性的) landscape, which is multifunctional and designed to promote health, wellbeing and biodiversity.”
XZERO will promote sustainable tourism through its various eco-friendly hospitality assets, including a 5-star eco resort and eco lodges. “Edutainment” (寓教于乐型) facilities such as the utility park and nature conservation center are expected to transform the city into a unique visitor attraction.
1. What is XZERO intended to do?| A．Better residents’ life. | B．Save the limited energy. |
| C．Explore a challenging lifestyle. | D．Strengthen the power of Kuwait. |
| A．Wild animals can’t be found. | B．The hubs are closely connected. |
| C．Only indoor mall is available. | D．Residents have trouble finding a job. |
| A．People have the right to say no to XZERO. |
| B．Many other countries are expected to follow suit. |
| C．XZERO will promote the development of tourism. |
| D．XZERO can benefit both humans and environment. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Short-lived. | C．Far-reaching. | D．Unidentifiable. |
4 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.
If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.
Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.
Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.
1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?| A．To explain a concept. | B．To introduce a topic. |
| C．To provide a solution. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．The severity of natural disasters. | B．The worst air quality in New York City. |
| C．The extreme damage by flash flooding. | D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada. |
| A．He advocated a twofold strategy. |
| B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions. |
| C．He required people to use more electric cars. |
| D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes. |
| A．The Hottest Month in History | B．Natural Disasters in the World |
| C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse | D．Green Technology Would be Needed |
5 . A brown and dry lawn is not something many gardeners would boast about. But that is exactly the kind of yard competition organizers in Sweden were looking for when they launched the prize for the “World’s Ugliest Lawn”. People from around the world were invited to post pictures of their dehydrated(脱水的)grass to social media in a bid to win the uncertain honor.
The intention, according to those behind the project, was to raise awareness of “saving water on a global scale by changing the norm for green lawns”. Lawns, which can require large amounts of water to maintain, are coming under increasing examination as climate change makes periods of drought more frequent and intense.
The global initiative was launched on the official website for Gotland in Sweden. “Huge amounts of water are used to water lawns for aesthetics(美学). As the world gets warmer, lack of water in urban areas is projected to affect up to 2.4 billion people by 2050. By not watering lawns for aesthetic reasons, we can protect the availability of groundwater,” the competition organizers said.
The unlikely title has been awarded to Kathleen Murray who lives in Sandford in Tasmania, Australia. According to the organizers, Murray’s lawn “boasts deep and dry divots created by three wild bandicoots(袋狸)and not one dust-covered decimeter is wasted on watering”. Murray said in the press release about her triumph, “I am terribly proud! I knew I would have my 5 minutes of fame, even if it was for having the ugliest lawn on the planet! I am now free of ever taking care of my lawn again.”
A press release by the Gotland, office added, “For the planet and its declining stockpiles of life-giving liquid, thank you, Kathleen, as well as those naughty bandicoots damaging your lawn for the greater good.” Organizers added, “Gotland aims to show to Sweden and the world that sustainable behavior doesn’t have to be dull.”
1. What can we say about the yard competition organized in Sweden?| A．People had even doubted its authenticity. |
| B．People worldwide were unwilling to join. |
| C．Its participants must be professional gardeners. |
| D．Its entries must agree with the existing aesthetics. |
| A．To call on people to protect lawns. | B．To encourage people to be creative. |
| C．To challenge the norm of aesthetics. | D．To remind people of water shortage. |
| A．Ambition. | B．Success. | C．Sorrow. | D．Barrier. |
| A．People’s Whelming Reaction To A Yard Contest In Sweden |
| B．Lawns And Rare Bandicoots Calling For Urgent Protection |
| C．A Lawn Named The Ugliest Globally All For A Good Cause |
| D．The World’s Ugliest Lawn Unaccepted By The Whole World |
6 . On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic flew a large passenger jet from London to New York using 100% “Sustainable Aviation（航空） Fuel（SAF）”. The flight was meant to show that it’s possible to fly using cleaner fuels.
The fuel used on the flight was mainly made from used cooking oils and animal fats. A small part of the fuel was made from corn waste. Virgin Atlantic says that using SAF cuts the flight’s pollution by 70%. SAF still pollutes when it’s burned, just like regular jet fuel. However, the difference is in how the fuels are made.
SAF is made from plants （and related animal products） that once absorbed carbon dioxide （CO2） from the air. When SAF burns, it just releases this same CO2 again. That’s different from jet fuel, which is made from oil exploited from underground, releasing CO2 that was deeply buried.
SAF may sound great, but it still has many problems. For one thing, SAF costs five times as much as regular jet fuel. That helps explain why only one-tenth of 1% of the fuel airlines currently use is SAF. Virgin Atlantic is hoping that its flight will encourage more companies to produce SAF and that this will bring the price down.
But even if the price of SAF drops, critics say there are still big problems with it. They say it’s easy to make small amounts of SAF out of plant waste. But to make as much SAF as the airlines really need would require farmers to grow plants for fuel instead of for eating. This could also lead to more forests being cut down for farmland.
Airlines like SAF because it can be used now in existing planes with no changes. They hope it will help quickly reduce airplane pollution until non-polluting fuels are developed.
Governments seem to agree that SAF is a step in the right direction. Both the United States and the European Union have set targets that will sharply increase the use of SAF in coming years.
1. What makes SAF superior to regular jet fuels?| A．Its production method. | B．Being pollution-free. |
| C．Its storage technology. | D．Being easy to burn. |
| A．Destroyed. | B．Replaced. | C．Drawn. | D．Checked. |
| A．SAF is heavy. | B．SAF is expensive. |
| C．SAF needs new equipment. | D．SAF may cause safety issues. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Negative. | C．Doubtful. | D．Approving. |
7 . Nanako Hama gets a lot of mail, mostly from strangers who live in her home city of Tokyo. In light envelopes, they send locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.
People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
But hair possesses useful qualities that it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子)out of it for removing oil leaks.
Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mats, which are then used to clean up the floating oil.
Hair is particularly well-suited for this, says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier. “That’s because its rough sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks. including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.
In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair—significantly more than polypropylene (聚丙烯), a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil.
Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen (氮), a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.
“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes—for oil and soil,” Hama says.
1. How does the author introduce the topic in paragraph 1?| A．By detailing the background. | B．By presenting a scene. |
| C．By describing the feedback. | D．By supporting evidences. |
| A．Fertilize the soil. | B．Prevent oil leaks. |
| C．Clear the sea of oil. | D．Take in harmful gas. |
| A．Its color and strength. |
| B．Its length and amount. |
| C．Its weight and flexibility. |
| D．Its structure and component. |
| A．Debatable. | B．Applicable. |
| C．Irreplaceable. | D．Uncontrollable. |
8 . Most people, if you quizzed them, probably wouldn’t know how much of all global trade is done by sea. It’s one of several reasons that the pollution and carbon emissions from shipping gain much less attention than those from road transport and other industries. It’s over the horizon, out of sight and out of mind.
Today, the international shipping industry is the main mode of transport for around 90 per cent of world trade. It’s powered almost entirely by fossil fuels. Studies show that alternative technologies and zero-emission fuels — including electrofuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and methanol — have the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and thus require urgent implementation (实施). There’s just one catch: they don’t exist yet.
Even if the technology were available, the infrastructure (基础设施) for that technology or fuel is going to take time to develop. And an even bigger challenge is going to be whether that methanol or ammonia fuel is green, which touches on other industries such as renewable electricity. Do we even have enough renewable electricity in the world to be able to generate these fuels? It’s a complex supply chain that requires cooperation across the industry. It’s not something that one company can solve by itself.
According to Piotr Konopka, senior manager for energy and decarbonisation (碳减排) programs at DP World, there are some simple behavioral changes that can help cut down on fuel used in the meantime, from the regular maintenance and reduced idling of port equipment to the implementation of weather routing that helps ships avoid rougher, more fuel-intensive stretches of water. “Of course, efficiency is unlikely to ever reduce emissions by more than five or ten per cent, but it’s definitely a low-hanging fruit,” he says.
“This is the last moment for the IMO to act decisively to eliminate shipping emissions” says Delaine McCullough, shipping emissions policy manager at environmental NGO Ocean Conservancy. “We need countries to demand that the IMO set strong emission-reduction goals and take action at home if the IMO fails to do the right thing.”
1. What makes people neglect shipping emissions?| A．Prejudice. |
| B．Nearsightedness. |
| C．Low intelligence. |
| D．Lack of knowledge. |
| A．Device. | B．Harvest. | C．Problem. | D．Prey. |
| A．Alternative fuels. | B．Efficient use of fuel. |
| C．Renewable electricity. | D．Advanced technologies. |
| A．①/②③/④⑤ | B．①②/③④/⑤ |
| C．①②③/④/⑤ | D．①/②③④/⑤ |
9 . Plastic is everywhere, from the Arctic ice to vital organs in the human body. In fact, previous estimates suggest that the average person swallows a credit card-worth of microscopic plastic particles(颗粒) every week. But new research shows that this could actually be an understatement.
Microplastics are plastics smaller than 5 millimeters, found in industrial waste, beauty products, and formed during the degradation of larger plastic pieces. Over time, they break down into even smaller nanoplastics. These tiny particles can pass through our intestines and lungs into our bloodstreams, reaching vital organs like the heart and brain.
While the idea of eating plastic is unsettling in itself, the major concern here is that these plastic particles contain chemicals that can interrupt our body’s natural release of hormones, potentially increasing our risk of reproductive disorders and certain cancers. They can also carry toxins(毒素) on their surface like heavy metals.
In the past, researchers have shown bottled water can contain tens of thousands of identifiable plastic fragments in a single container. However, until recently, only the larger microplastics were detectable with available measuring tools, leaving the area of nanoplastics largely a mystery.
Using Raman microscopy (显微镜学), capable of detecting particles down to the size of a flu virus, the team measured an average of 240, 000 particles of plastic per liter of bottled water, 90 percent of which were nanoplastics, a revelation 10 to 100 times larger than previous estimates.
These plastics likely originate from the bottle material, filters used to “purify” the water, and the source water itself. “It is not totally unexpected to find so much of this stuff, ” the study’s lead author, Columbia graduate student Naixin Qian, said in a statement. His team hopes to expand their research into tap water and other water sources to better inform our exposure to these potentially dangerous particles. “The idea is that the smaller things get, the more of them I reveal, ” he added.
1. What is the primary focus of the new research?| A．The presence of plastic particles. | B．The use of plastic in everyday products. |
| C．The detection methods for microplastics. | D．The potential risks of nanoplastics to human. |
| A．Finding the source of plastic particles. | B．Helping to cure the deadly flu virus. |
| C．Detecting the smaller plastic particles. | D．Improving the quality of bottled water. |
| A．To focus on areas with higher plastic pollution. |
| B．To be aware of the dangerous particles in daily life. |
| C．To further measure the types of particles in tap water. |
| D．To detect the smaller plastic particles in industrial areas. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. | C．Conservative. | D．Positive. |
10 . Kenya has started its biggest rhino (犀牛) relocation project and began the work of tracking and moving 21 of the critically endangered animals, which can each weigh over a ton, to a new home.
A previous attempt at moving rhinos in the East African nation was a disaster in 2018 as all 11 of the animals died. Ten of them died from stress, dehydration and starvation intensified by salt poisoning as they struggled to adjust to saltier water in their new home, investigations found. The other rhino was attacked by a lion. The latest project experienced early troubles. A rhino targeted for moving was successfully hit with a tranquilizer (镇定剂) shot from a helicopter but ended up in a small river. Veterinarians (兽医) and rangers held the rhino’s head above water with a rope to save it while a tranquilizer reversal drug took effect, and the rhino was released.
The black rhinos are a mix of males and females and are being moved from three conservation parks to the private Loisaba Conservancy in central Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service said. Rhinos are generally solitary animals, which enjoy being alone, and are at their happiest in large areas. They are being moved because there are too many in the three parks and they need more space to walk and, hopefully, to give birth to babies.
Kenya has had relative success in reviving its black rhino population, which fell below 300 in the mid-1980s because of illegal hunting, raising fears that the animals might be wiped out in a country famous for its wildlife. Kenya now has nearly 1,000 black rhinos, according to the wildlife service. That’s the third biggest black rhino population in the world behind South Africa and Namibia.
Kenyan authorities say they have relocated more than 150 rhinos in the last decade and the country is aiming to grow its black rhino population to about 2,000, which they believe would be the ideal number considering the space available for them in national and private parks.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．Kenya was once stricken by a disaster. |
| B．Rhinos often like to drink saltier water. |
| C．The rhino relocation project was challenging. |
| D．The attempt to move rhinos in 2018 went smooth. |
| A．They all weigh less than a ton. | B．They prefer to spend time alone. |
| C．They adapt to new environments easily. | D．They have gone extinct by the mid-1980s. |
| A．Feeding. | B．Losing. | C．Restoring. | D．Recording. |
| A．Fun Facts About Rhinos | B．Ways of Protecting Rhinos |
| C．The Culture and History of Kenya | D．The Biggest Rhino Relocation Project in Kenya |
