1 . Sixty-six years ago, there was one human-built object in Earth’s orbit. It was Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, launched in October 1957. Try to guess how many human-made objects are circling the planet now. Ready?
Your answer is wrong, unless you guessed 100 trillion. That’s a jaw-dropping number. It was provided by an international team of researchers writing in the journal Science. For years, this junk has formed an ever-growing mass near Earth. It’s a danger to spacecraft. The researchers are calling for a global treaty to limit the number of satellites and the amount of rubbish in space.
There are 9,000 active satellites in orbit, the scientists report. That could grow to more than 60,000 by 2030. The rest of that 100 trillion figure includes everything from used-up booster rockets and stray bolts to metal flecks and paint chips. Don’t think a paint chip is harmless. Travelling at 17,500 miles per hour, it can strike a spacecraft hard. The International Space Station is dotted with dents and holes. Astronauts often take shelter in an attached spacecraft to wait out a passing swarm of space debris (残骸). That way, if the station is severely damaged, they can escape in a hurry.
The mess we’ve made in space is like the mess we’ve made in the oceans. Think of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s a mass of floating junk twice the size of Texas. We’ve had centuries to make the ocean dirty. But it has taken just decades for us to do the same in space. That’s why the Science authors include experts in satellite technology and in ocean plastic pollution. “As a marine biologist, I never imagined writing a paper on space,” writes Heather Koldewey, who works at the Zoological Society of London. Cleaning up space, she says, has a lot in common “with the challenges of tackling environmental issues in the ocean.”
Coauthor Moriba Jah is an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Marine debris and space debris,” he writes, “are both a human-made damage that is unavoidable.”
1. Why is Sputnik mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To provide background information. |
| B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To make a comparison. |
| D．To tell a story. |
| A．What caused space debris. |
| B．The number of space debris. |
| C．The seriousness of space pollution. |
| D．What astronauts often do in space. |
| A．Ocean pollution is very serious. |
| B．Ocean is the same as space. |
| C．Space pollution is getting worse. |
| D．She is going to write a paper on space. |
| A．There is the same amount of marine debris and space debris. |
| B．Humans are to blame for the space pollution. |
| C．Marine and space pollution are unavoidable. |
| D．Humans can do nothing to prevent space pollution. |
2 . Green architecture is designed in an environmentally-friendly way. Many people think interest in green architecture has only begun in recent years.
To make it, much of green architecture focuses on building intelligently. For example, plumbing systems (管道系统) may be designed to use less water while still functioning normally.
Many architects build environmentally to show people that it’s possible. And they want to show the fact that being environmentally-friendly does not have to make a building bad-looking.
The green design can be kept in mind when we build various future buildings, ranging from a private home to a tall office building. Green designs can also be applied to remodeling (改造) and repairing existing buildings.
| A．The goal is to make a building prettier. |
| B．Not many buildings have great green designs. |
| C．A green building’s design need solve many problems. |
| D．In fact, humans have tried green architecture for thousands of years. |
| E．After all, pulling down a building can quite damage the environment. |
| F．Actually, many of the green designs can make a building more beautiful. |
| G．And smart lighting would turn off when people are not around to save energy. |
3 . Conservation scientist Kim Williams-Guillen was trying her best to come up with a way to save endangered sea turtles (海龟) from egg thieves when she had an “aha” moment: If she placed a fake (假的) egg containing a GPS tracker in the reptiles’ nests, she might be able to track the thieves.
Williams-Guillen found a flexible plastic material to mimic (仿造) the shell of real eggs. She and colleagues then used a 3D printer to produce the fakes of the same size, weight, and texture and put the smallest GPS tracking devices inside each. The researchers then went to four Costa Rican beaches, where green sea turtle come ashore to make their nests. As mothers laid their eggs under cover of night, the researchers slipped a fake egg into each nest. Once the fakes are covered in sand and mix with the real eggs, it’s very difficult to tell the difference between the two.
Of the 101 fake eggs, 25 were taken by thieves. The farthest moving egg traveled 137 kilometers inland. The fake egg sent its final signal the next day from a residential property, suggesting that the research team had tracked the eggs through “all of the players in the entire chain.”
By understanding that chain, Williams-Guillen says researchers can identify trading hot spots. She emphasizes that the tracker is not a way to catch local thieves, many of them living in poverty, but a tool to better understand their routes, which could help them and eventually law enforcement (执法部门) identify larger players in the chain.
In the meantime, Williams-Guillen and her colleagues are working to get their fake eggs to other sea turtle conservation organizations. Ultimately, though, scientists and nonprofits are going to engage communities with local outreach and education programs to save sea turtles. She says, “The real meat and potatoes of conservation isn’t going to come from deploying (布署) eggs.”
1. What can be learnt from paragraph 2?| A．Fake eggs are made and employed. | B．Sea turtles have become endangered. |
| C．Sea turtles lay eggs during the daytime. | D．The idea of fake eggs came into being. |
| A．To confirm whether the fake eggs really work. |
| B．To provide data for doing research on turtle eggs. |
| C．To arrest the locals stealing the turtle eggs from the beach. |
| D．To identify the trading routes and get the big players punished. |
| A．Deploying eggs needs advocating further. |
| B．Turtle conservation mainly relies on joint efforts. |
| C．She feels disappointed with the local communities. |
| D．Deploying eggs makes no difference in preserving turtles. |
| A．Saving endangered sea turtles is urgent |
| B．Endangered turtles can be traced with GPS |
| C．GPS eggs helps to save endangered sea turtles |
| D．A conservation scientist is devoted to protecting sea turtles |
要求：80单词左右，不要出现个人的真实姓名和学校信息。
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5 . The United Nations said 26 percent of the world’s population does not have enough safe drinking water in a report released Tuesday. Richard Connor is the main editor of the UN World Water Development Report 2023. He told reporters at the release that the estimated cost of meeting the UN’s goals for water is between $600 billion and $1 trillion.
The report warned that water use around the world is growing one percent a year “and is expected to grow at a similar rate to 2050...”Connor said, the increase in demand is happening in developing countries. That is because urban areas and industries are using more and more water. Worse still, agriculture alone, Connor said, uses 70 percent of the world’s water supply and has to be better planned.
The report also said that seasonal lack of water will increase in Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America. That is in addition to areas that already have water shortage such as the Middle East and the Sahara area of Africa. The report said this is the result of temperature increases in the Earth’s atmosphere. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is responsible for the latest water report. It said, “10 percent of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress. And 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month out of the year.”
The report also commented on weather events. It said floods in tropical areas near the Equator(赤道)have increased by 2.5 times. But Connor said weather conditions involving lack of rain, or drought, were more difficult to settle.
Connor added that the biggest producer of pollution is untreated wastewater. In his opinion, 80 percent of wastewater around the world is untreated, which contributes to water stress too, and in developing countries, it is “pretty much 99 percent.”
1. According to the report, how many people are in safe drinking water shortage?| A．About half of the world’s population. |
| B．About a quarter of the world’s population. |
| C．About two thirds of the world’s population. |
| D．About three fifths of the world’s population. |
| A．It is urgent to better plan agriculture. |
| B．Water use is decreasing at a slow pace in the world. |
| C．The increase in demand for water is happening in developed countries. |
| D．Urban areas and industries are responsible for using the most water supply. |
a. Water use. b. Weather events. c. Earth’s atmosphere.
d. Seasonal lack of water. e. Untreated wastewater.
| A．abde | B．aede | C．bede | D．abce |
| A．Richard Connor’s great achievement. |
| B．Floods in tropical areas near the Equator. |
| C．UN’s concern for economic development. |
| D．The reasons for the lack of safe drinking water. |
A talented British writer
7 . China is showing the world its great resolve in the global climate campaign with concrete and self-motivated efforts as well as serious commitment.
At the opening ceremony of the Paris climate summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated China’s plan made in June to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60—65 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 per cent.
With a large population, China is facing increasing resource limits, severe environmental pollution and a worsening ecosystem, and its citizens are also becoming increasingly aware of environmental problems. Suffering environmental problems and considering the efforts important in order to transform its economic growth pattern, the country will have much at risk if climate change is left unattended.
Actually, climate change efforts have already been included in China’s medium-and long-term program of economic and social development, and ecological efforts are the clear characteristics in China’s 13th Five-Year Plan(2016—2020).
Although it is and will be a developing country for a long time, China has been actively involved in the global campaign against climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation and the use of new and renewable energy.
However, China’s development rights need to be respected. It is unfair to overstress China’s status as one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and regard it as the major part of responsibilities in the global fight against climate change.
It is worthy of notice that China’s emissions of greenhouse gases per person are far lower than those of developed countries, especially the United States, although rapid economic expansion and its population base have made it one of the biggest producers of the greenhouse gas.
To show its great resolve, China also announced the establishment of an independent South-South cooperation in September, investing RMB 20 billion to help developing countries affected by global warming.
While China is eagerly accomplishing its policy commitment, developed countries should stop questioning China’s commitment to fighting climate change and pointing fingers, and start shouldering their due responsibilities instead.
1. China is self-motivated to fight against climate change in order to .| A．top the world |
| B．transform its economic growth pattern |
| C．solve its population problem |
| D．respond to pressure from developed countries |
| A．China | B．the United States |
| C．economic expansion | D．the population base |
| A．China will completely use non-fossil fuels by 2030 |
| B．China will carry out its plan by stopping its development |
| C．Chinese emit more greenhouse gases than Americans on average |
| D．some developed countries are not taking on their responsibilities |
| A．Expanding its economy. |
| B．Using non-renewable energy. |
| C．Making the fight against climate change part of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. |
| D．Donating money to developing countries. |
Melati and Isabel deeply love their home on the island, surrounded by tropical rain forests, green fields, and a vast ocean. Enjoying a swim at their local beach was once a daily pleasure for them. But when Melati was fifteen, and Isabel just ten, the sisters started to lose their enthusiasm for swimming in the waters near their borne. More often than not, plastic bags would be around them as they swam and some were scattered on the beach. They got really upset about that.
Melati didn’t think much about it until one day her teacher gave a lesson on some world heroes. Each of those people had sparked movements of positive changes in the world. They believed in the impact they could have and they did inspire more people to do something meaningful. After school, Melati walked home slowly in silence, concerned about the vast amount of plastic rubbish on the beach. The heroes crossed her mind. If they could do it, we could do it too, she thought. The idea lit her up. She couldn’t wait to share what she thought with Isabel and quickened her pace.
“So many plastic bags around! The beach is dirty and messy! It’s so terrible! We have lost the clean and beautiful beach. Can’t we do something to get it back?” Melati said heartily. Isabel felt a bit puzzled at what to do, but she also had a strong desire to do something. Picturing a beach as fascinating as before in mind, the pair jumped with joy.
They talked a lot, anxious to know how Dad and Mom would respond to their ideas. That night when the family sat by the dinner table, the sisters eagerly got their ideas across. While Mom and Dad listened to the girls carefully, their eyes shone. “How amazing that would be! We are so proud of you!” Dad exclaimed. Mom came up, gave them a thumb up and hugged the sisters.
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。
Melati and Isabel decided to make a positive impact straight away.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One month later, Melati received a call from the local newspaper.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.
Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.
“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).
Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.
Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.
1. What do solar developers often ignore?| A．The decline in the demand for solar energy. |
| B．The negative impact of installing solar panels. |
| C．The rising labor cost of building solar farms. |
| D．The most recent advances in solar technology. |
| A．Improve the productivity of local farms. |
| B．Invent new methods for controlling weeds. |
| C．Make solar projects environmentally friendly. |
| D．Promote the use of solar energy in rural areas. |
| A．To conserve pollinators. | B．To restrict solar development. |
| C．To diversify the economy. | D．To ensure the supply of energy. |
| A．Pollinators: To Leave or to Stay | B．Solar Energy: Hope for the Future |
| C．InSPIRE: A Leader in Agriculture | D．Solar Farms: A New Development |
Each year, we take more than 100 billion tons of natural materials from the earth
Since the 1860s, we
A circular economy
