1 . Protect the night sky
As a nature photographer, stars have always been one of my favourite elements in the photos. They offer an connection to a universe that is mysterious and grand, connecting our earthly lives to the heavens. Since the earliest recorded history, the night sky has sparked our imaginations and become deeply rooted in our cultures, traditions, artwork, and in later years, has inspired the development of technology with the hope of reaching beyond our blue planet.
With the development of the industrial (工业的) world, though, we have begun to lose the clarity (清晰) that thousands of generations of people and wildlife before us have enjoyed. Because of excesssive (过度) use of lighting, stars have become fainter (模糊的). For photographers hoping to capture the magic of the night sky, they must seek new places. Dark places are far from the reach of a city, and those place are becoming harder and harder to find.
Thanks to conservation groups, led by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), we have an opportunity to improve our night skies and recapture ancient magic. By holding the International Dark-Sky week, a yearly celebration of the night sky, the IDA is helping cities, communities and families do their part in helping make skies darker. Dark skies benefit more than just nature photographers; they are important to many wildlife species that also depend on them.
Here are some simple steps we all can do that are easy and inexpensive:
* Change your light bulbs to a dark-sky-friendly color, the closer the light is similar to “firelight” and the further it is away from a blue or white color, the better it is for the environment.
* Use a light fixture that channels the light down and instead of wide and open.
* Turn your lights off before bed!
1. Why does the author prefer photographing stars so much?| A．They inspire the author to learn cultures and art. |
| B．They are often paid little attention to by most people. |
| C．They are hardly seen due to the industrial development. |
| D．They build a close relation between universe and humans. |
| A．By looking for places without light. |
| B．By turning to government for help |
| C．By avoiding using any light bulbs. |
| D．By promoting industrial development |
| A．Blue and white are the dark-sky-friendly colors. |
| B．Many species of wildlife depend on dark skies. |
| C．Little efforts are needed to protect the night sky. |
| D．Joint efforts are needed to regain the darker sky. |
| A．To highlight the value of protecting the night sky. |
| B．To inform people of the current situation of night sky. |
| C．To call on people to take action to protect the night sky |
| D．To show author's great concern for the use of lighting |
2 . 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. |
3 . Are you sure you know how to protect the environment? Many of us believe that we lead lives that respect nature but our consumption habits give us away.
Eating too much meat and fruit
These foods are essential for our diet, although they are not very healthy for the natural environment. In a 2018 report, Greenpeace warned that 14.5% of all greenhouse gas (GHG ) emissions come from industrial stock farming. The meat industry, for example, negatively affects land use as between 75 and 80% of the world’s agricultural land is used for stock breeding. But if the same land was used for growing vegetables, there could be food for 4 billion people more.
Using paper bags
We think that because they are made of paper they are not as harmful as the plastic bags that we use around the world, according to the UN.
Drinking bottled water
Plastic bottles are a clear example of environmental pollution.
| A．Many little practices that seem to be sustainable are in fact polluting |
| B．According to Greenpeace, they take about 500 years to break down |
| C．What’s more, you can be a responsible fruit consumer by choosing seasonal varieties |
| D．A good replacement for them are long-lasting, washable and reusable cotton ones |
| E．There is only one Earth and everything that we do for it counts, and you can eat less by controlling yourself |
| F．But the reality is very different: they are rarely reused and tend to end up in the organic waste bin |
| G．By reducing bottled water consumption we save more than 600 million euros every year |
Thailand’s long-lasting image of a nation
In order to preserve Thailand’s natural wonders, the nation is considering a plan to cut the waste
5 . Coral reefs (礁) are filled with a diverse range of marine lives. Some fish are more beautiful to humans than others, and their outward appearance could be influencing how we decide which species to protect. The fish humans find the ugliest are the most ecologically and evolutionarily (进化上) distinct. But perhaps more importantly, the uglier species are also more likely to be threatened, according to a new paper published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Researchers showed 481 photographs of ray-finned reef fishes to 13,000 members of the public. With that data, they then trained a computer model to generate subsequent (紧随其后的) predictions for an additional 4,400 photographs of 2,417 of the most common reef fish species. They next compared the aesthetic (审美的) rating of each species with other characteristics, including evolutionary history, distinctiveness from other fish, conservation position and importance to fisheries.
After analyzing the numbers, researchers found that the fish humans rated as the most beautiful tended to be less ecologically and evolutionarily distinct. Prettier fish were also more likely to be listed as species of “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
On the contrary, the fish that humans found to be the least attractive were the most ecologically and evolutionarily distinct, and they were more likely to be listed as “threatened” on the IUCN Red List. Unattractive species also tended to be more important to money-focused fisheries, which puts them at higher risk of overfishing.
When conservation funding and energy is limited, uglier fish are likely to be overshadowed by more beautiful fish. It’s not surprising that humans are easily attracted by beautiful wildlife, but the findings point to important mismatches between potential public support for conservation and the species most in need of this support.
“To minimize the impact of aesthetic biases (偏见), scientists, conservation groups and policymakers may need to change how they communicate about wildlife,” the researchers write in the paper. “Making people more aware of the roles uglier fish play in reef ecosystems could help them gain more support. In other words, never judge a fish by its look.”
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The focus of the study. | B．The process of the study. |
| C．The purpose of the study. | D．The background of the study |
| A．They are much easier to hunt. | B．They are financially valuable. |
| C．They are ecologically distinct. | D．They are rare and look special. |
| A．Building natural reserves worldwide for uglier fish. |
| B．Attempting to raise people’s environmental awareness. |
| C．Enriching the understanding of uglier fish’s appearance. |
| D．Educating people on uglier fish’s ecological importance. |
| A．Ugly fish need love, too | B．Ugly fish matter, actually |
| C．Reef ecosystems need care | D．Coral reefs rely on various fish |
6 . There is increasing alarm about the extent of micro plastic pollution, which has been found everywhere from Everest to the Arctic. However, it turns out there’s an even smaller and more poisonous form of plastic pollution entering remote reaches of the globe. A new study published in Environmental Research found significant quantities of nanoplastics in ice samples from both the North and South Poles.
“Now we know that nanoplastics are transported to these comers of the Earth in these quantities. This indicates that nanoplastics are really a bigger pollution problem than we thought,” study lead author Dusan Materic said in a press release.
Nanoplastics are plastics that are smaller than a micrometer in size. Their small size means they are more difficult to study than microplastics, or plastics between five millimeters and a micrometer. But they maybe even more dangerous.
“Nanoplastics are very toxicologically active compared to, for instance, microplastics, and that’s why this is very important” Materic said.
Materic and his team used new methods to measure nanoplastic pollution in ice samples from Greenland and Antarctica. They sampled a 14-meter-deep ice core (核) from the Greenland icecap and sea ice from Antarcia’s McMurdo Sound. They found that there were an average of 13.2 nanograms per milliliter of nanoplastics in the Greenland ice and an average of 52.3 nanograms per milliliter in the Antarctic ice.
But what was even more surprising than the amount of nanoplastics in the remote ice was just how long they had sat there. “In the Greenland core, we see nanoplastic pollution happening all the way from the 1960s. So organisms, despite the lack of the solid evidence, likely all over the world, have been exposed to it for quite some time now,” Materic said.
The study also looked at the types of plastic present in the samples. Half of the Greenland nanoplastics were polyethylene (PE), the kind of plastic used for plastic bags and packaging. A quarter came from tires and a fifth were polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is, used for clothing and bottles.
1. Why should researchers focus more on nanoplastics?| A．They are more important to science. | B．They are smaller but more dangerous. |
| C．They are easily polluted by ocean water | D．They are more active in cold surroundings. |
| A．The Greenland core. | B．The Antarctic ice. |
| C．The amount of nanoplastics. | D．Nanoplastics pollution. |
| A．The North and South poles are the birthplace of nanoplastics. |
| B．Nanoplastics have less influence on the pa net than microplastics. |
| C．Nanoplastics found in the samples are widely used in the daily life. |
| D．Nanoplastics have been existing since the 1960s throughout the world. |
| A．Microplastics—proving more dangerous. |
| B．Nanoplastics—making its way to the poles. |
| C．Nanoplastics—posing a threat to people’s life. |
| D．Microplastics—setting the alarm bells ringing. |
7 . Sam, the four-legged superhero, works to keep a park in Santiago clean. The dog’s superpower? Collect garbage as a
Sam, who takes regular
It
Park officials were impressed and decided to use Sam’s
The
“Sam and Gonzalo have
| A．resident | B．instructor | C．role | D．model |
| A．vacations | B．walks | C．breaks | D．hikes |
| A．celebrity | B．helper | C．hit | D．actor |
| A．started | B．failed | C．happened | D．continued |
| A．set aside | B．pay for | C．put away | D．pick up |
| A．grass | B．people | C．garbage | D．equipment |
| A．reliable | B．flexible | C．severe | D．obvious |
| A．clean | B．explore | C．think | D．behave |
| A．identity | B．ability | C．image | D．popularity |
| A．helping | B．telling | C．permitting | D．threatening |
| A．recycling | B．parking | C．washing | D．observing |
| A．interesting | B．educational | C．beneficial | D．widespread |
| A．park | B．school | C．government | D．market |
| A．turning | B．dividing | C．sorting | D．breaking |
| A．reminded | B．inspired | C．required | D．persuaded |
8 . Pioneers like Harvard social ecologist Stephen Kellert were among the first to champion modern biophilic design. Kellert believed that weaving nature into living and workspaces is critical for good physical and mental health.
Humans have evolved to gravitate towards nature, Kellert noted. His principles include access to natural light, air, water, and plants. Using materials such as wood and stone, biophilic designs such as leaf or shell patterns help humans to feel closer to nature.
Biophilic designs can be seen all over the world. Examples include the Changi Airport in Singapore, with its four-storey forest garden and world’s largest indoor waterfall fed by rainwater, and the Swedish Mirror Cube Tree House Hotel, mainly made of used plywood and a lightweight aluminum frame wrapped around a tree. Incredible biophilic homes include One Central Park in Sydney, apartment blocks featuring hanging gardens on the outside. The buildings recycle their own water and a suspended (悬浮的) motorized mirror system reflects sunlight down onto gardens below. Milan’s Bosco Vertical block is perhaps even more eye-catching with its vertical forest.
Putting biophilic design to work for society could prevent millions in healthcare costs, with one study estimating annual savings of $93 million in the US alone. Hospital design in particular has historically been influenced by access to sunlight and views of nature. Modern buildings like the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore, with its position next to the waterfall of the Yishun Pond, are closely linked with their surroundings. The hospital channels outdoor air to cool the inside, and uses reflective sunshades to direct light into the wards to brighten them and save energy.
The aim of these designs is to emphasize the human connection to nature by integrating buildings with the local environment. But how do we bring biophilia into our homes? Start with house plants. New smart home apps can also provide sensory nature experiences such as birdsong and a projected forest canopy, helping people to carve out a restful space indoors.
But perhaps the best way to transform society with biophilic designs is to start with schools. Children learn better and feel more relaxed in biophilic settings. So the Children and Nature Network is working with schools across the US to create green schoolyards for better physical and mental health and to increase opportunities for outdoor learning.
Biophilic designers are bringing nature into classrooms through natural patterns, shapes and colors, nature photography, artwork and materials like timber and stone. Fresh air flow, green walls, and aquariums all become part of a recipe for improving health and academic success.
1. According to the passage, what does Stephen Kellert probably believe?| A．Humans’ inborn love for nature won’t be lessened. |
| B．Nature can improve people’s sense of responsibility. |
| C．Humans need to appreciate and make good use of nature. |
| D．Natural materials have taken priority in modern building designs. |
| A．They apply smart home technology. |
| B．They promote sustainable development. |
| C．They include waterfalls and gardens inside. |
| D．They use local resources to cut the cost of buildings. |
| A．Biophilic designs have greatly transformed schools. |
| B．Biophilic designs help improve students’ performance. |
| C．Biophilic designs focus mainly on students’ mental health. |
| D．Biophilic designs have moved most of the classrooms outside. |
| A．Let’s Invite Nature Inside |
| B．Live Naturally and Simply |
| C．The Best Natural Building Designer |
| D．Ups and Downs of Natural Buildings |
9 . Green tourism, a form of ecotourism, is low-impact tourism with an eye toward protecting the environment and culture of an area. As the number of tourists traveling the world has been increasing, green tourism is getting more and more popular.
In some areas, green tourism is not only preferable but a necessity. It might seem wiser to some people to protect natural habitats and fragile (脆弱的)environments by banning visitors completely to these areas.
Green tourism doesn’t necessarily mean a vacation spent with little or no comfort.
A very green holiday can be spent studying the plants, animals and cultural heritage of the area, as well as learning ways to protect and preserve it. Tourists can experience all that an arca has to offer,
| A．It can be well worth doing |
| B．It can be a wonderful adventure |
| C．Green tourism could easily become the standard |
| D．eating where locally grown cuisine is served |
| E．making little or no impact on the environment |
| F．Many areas, however, depend on the income from tourism to support the local economy |
| G．There are also trips available in which vacationers improve the local area actively |
10 . For Beth Terry, when she read an article about how seabirds are being killed by discarded plastics, she realized that it was time to give up plastics.
First, she focused on her kitchen and got rid of the shopping bags and other plastic products. Then she turned to her bathroom. Toothpaste without plastic packaging was extremely hard to find, so she started making her own with baking soda.
Sometimes her personal war on plastics created awkward moments. During a vacation to Disneyland in California to run a half-marathon, Ms Terry and her husband left their reusable cloth bags in the hotel, soon discovering that the local supermarket only had plastic bags. How should they carry her fruits like apples, oranges, pears and melons?
“We just rolled them up in our T-shirts and carried them that way,” said Ms Terry, 54, recalling how she crab-walked back to the hotel to stay true to her principles. “ If I let myself off the hook this time, it would be easier for me to take plastics next time,” she said.
Treating plastics like a drug habit that needs to be kicked is a lifestyle promise being shared by more and more consumers, horrified by tens of millions of tons of plastics created worldwide each year, much of it in the form of single-use items like straws that end up in landfills(垃圾填埋场）or,worse, the oceans.
If you gathered up all your plastic waste each week, as Mr. Terry once did, you would have a small hill on the floor. How should we begin? “The one thing I want to make people know is to go step by step. Don’t try to do everything at once,” said Ms. Terry, who is the author of Plastic-Free:How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.
1. What made Beth Terry give up plastics in her life?| A．Seeing some horrible scenes. |
| B．Reading about some terrible news. |
| C．Finding piles of plastic waste in her room. |
| D．Knowing about the annual creation of plastics. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Absurd. | C．Relaxing. | D．Terrible. |
| A．Allow myself to ask a favor. |
| B．Remind myself to keep on trying. |
| C．Remind myself to make a change. |
| D．Allow myself to get out of trouble. |
| A．To remember your original aims. |
| B．To stay true to your principles. |
| C．To make gradual progress. |
| D．To keep your word. |
