Leo and Matt, both aged 16, are best friends who shared a passion for environmental sustainability. They were both students at a bustling high school in the heart of the city, a school that was infamous for its morning and afternoon traffic jams. The narrow streets leading to the school were always clogged (堵塞) with cars, buses, and bicycles, causing a great deal of inconvenience and pollution.
“Look what we are suffering every day!” complained Leo. “Isn’t there a solution to the problem?” Matt sighed.
They decided to take matters into their own hands and find a solution to the sticky problem. Initially, they made some speeches, distributed leaflets and volunteered to relieve the traffic congestion (拥堵), trying to persuade some parents to park their cars a little farther away the school and not to use cars too often. But two weeks passed, there was nothing better. Then they realized it was no easy work to deal with the trouble. They needed more hands for help and a well-thought-out plan for it.
They first gathered ten schoolmates who shared the same ambition. Then they started to conduct a thorough survey to understand the root causes of the traffic congestion. They interviewed students, teachers, and parents, as well as observed the traffic patterns during different times of the day. They learned that the majority of the congestion was caused by parents dropping off and picking up their children, as well as the lack of sufficient parking spaces.
Armed with this information, the team designed a detailed plan. They proposed the creation of a carpool system for students, encouraging them to share rides to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. They also suggested dedicated drop-off and pick-up zones, clearly marked with signage, to help streamline the process.
To further reduce congestion, they advocated for the construction of bike racks (架子) and encourage students to cycle to school. They even proposed a rewards system for those who chose sustainable modes of transportation.
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。
With their plan in hand, Leo and Matt presented it to the school authorities.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A few months passing by, the school traffic congestion had significantly improved.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From pocket parks to forest parks, China is bringing nature closer to urban life. From 2021 to 2022, Shanghai has transformed 62 woodlands into leisure spaces,
Parks can do good for the environment too. Take Beijing’s Central Green Forest Park as an example. The park
As cities in China become
3 . More than 30 years ago, Jadav Payeng started planting trees on a barren sandbar (贫瘠的沙洲) near his birthplace in India’s Assam region. That day, the then-16-year-old noticed many snakes washed up on the sandbar after a flood. They were dying due to heat exposure at a rapid rate. “How can I help them?” Then he had an idea: Trees can provide shade for them!
Jadav lives on an island, Majuli, which is in the middle of the Brahmaputra River. It begins at the base of the Himalayas, at the meeting of a fan of rivers that drain (流走) snowmelt. At one time, villages upstream had redirected the river, creating more forceful currents around the island and carrying away the soil, thus damaging the natural habitats of its wildlife. As a consequence, much of the island became barren sand, and an entire community was at risk of being displaced.
Jadav also noticed that nobody was doing anything about it besides watching their part of the world disappear. So, he started to put his idea into action — every day, one or two or three at a time. He took notes of how they grew, harvested their seeds, grew saplings (树苗) in his hut and planted before going off to work.
Now that once-barren sandbar is a 1,360-acre forest, home to many animals: deer, Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros and even a group of 100 elephants that visit every year. There are now native grasses that have taken root in the shade and varieties of native trees grown from seeds that have washed ashore. But most importantly, the island that is also home to a few hundred people is holding its own against the bad weather. Standing beside one of the first trees he planted 30 years ago, Jadav tells us: “It’s a little thing, something anyone can do.”
1. What was Jadav’s original aim to plant trees?| A．To save the snakes from heat exposure. | B．To protect the snakes from extinction. |
| C．To produce materials to stop flooding. | D．To use the leaves to create more shades. |
| A．Villagers’ ignorance of ecology. | B．Villagers’ redirecting the river. |
| C．The extreme weather conditions. | D．Loss of wildlife’s natural habitats. |
| A．Frank and learned. | B．Subjective yet reliable. |
| C．Determined and careful. | D．Smart but hot-tempered. |
| A．What the forest means to the wildlife. | B．How ecology benefits the human kind. |
| C．How Jadav feels about his simple deeds. | D．What difference Jadav’s efforts have made. |
4 . Every year the start of the Atlantic hurricane season is another reminder for Margarite August that she still doesn’t have a roof.
The 70-year-old retired teacher’s home on the small Caribbean island nation of Dominica was mostly wiped out by hurricane Maria six years ago.
Six years after hurricane Maria, Dominicans like Margarite August still haven’t been able to rehabilitate their homes.
August is not alone. Since Maria, the government of Dominica has built 7,000 new homes—about a quarter of its housing stock-with materials to fight another Category 5 hurricane. They’ve also relocated two communities. But an untold number of the island’s 70,000 or so residents are like August, rebuilding their homes in any way they can afford.
Hurricane Maria is often referred to as a once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Scientists put much of the blame on warming ocean temperatures that could make frequent (频繁的) storms like it.
Maria damaged a terrible 95% of Dominica’s housing stock and 226% of the nation’s GDP. Before the storm, the country’s economy had long struggled since its independence from Great Britain in 1978. Unlike its more famous touristy neighbors along the chain of eastern Caribbean islands it lies on, Dominica is more known for its rugged mountains and jungles (丛林) than white sandy beaches.
The jungle mountains that crash down to the coast are beautiful but disasters visit easily. “I don’t think anybody ever got over Maria,” says Christine John of the Dominica Red Cross. “There are a lot of persons today—if it just starts to rain outside, they get anxious.”
1. What does the underlined word “rehabilitate” in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Rebuild. | B．Leave. | C．Decorate. | D．Buy. |
| A．Over-farming. | B．Loss of the land. |
| C．The disappearance of the forests. | D．Climate change. |
| A．Its good economy. | B．Its architecture. |
| C．Its mountains and jungles. | D．Its sandy beaches. |
| A．They have to stay bored at home. | B．Their houses are easy to take in water. |
| C．They don’t know how to make umbrellas. | D．They are afraid of another disaster like Maria. |
5 . A worldwide shift from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric vehicles could significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that humans emit to the atmosphere. But current strategies for vehicle electrification (电气化) can also shift some pollution to communities already suffering under higher economic, health and environmental burdens, researchers warn.
California, which leads the United States by a mile when it comes to EV adoption, offers a window into this evolving problem. The state is aggressively seeking to reduce its carbon footprint and has made substantial increases in wind and solar power generation as well as in the promotion of electric vehicle purchases. One tool the state has used is the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, or CVRP, which kicked off in 2010 and offers consumers money back for the purchase of new EVs.
Now, an analysis of the CVRP’s impact on the state’s air quality from 2010 to 2021 reveals both good and bad news, researchers report May 3 in PLOS Climate.
The good news is that the CVRP is responsible for making a dent in the state’s overall CO2 emissions, reducing them by about 280,000 metric tons per year on average. The bad news is that the most disadvantaged communities in the state didn’t see the same overall improvement in air quality. Those communities in fact saw an increase in one type of air pollution, tiny particulates known as PM2.5. That increase may be indirectly related to putting more EVs on the road. Although electric vehicles themselves don’t produce PM2.5 from their tailpipes, increased electricity generation, if it’s not fossil fuel-free, can. Renewable resources, including rooftop solar cells, supplied about half of California’s electricity in 2022. But natural gas-fired power plants still provide a large part of the state’s power.
“Electric vehicles are often incorrectly referred to as ‘zero-emission vehicles’, but they’re only as clean as the underlying electric grid (电网) from which the energy is sourced,” Mejía-Duwan says. The most disadvantaged 25 percent of the state’s communities also contain 50 percent of the power plants, the team found.
1. What do we know from paragraph 2?| A．California takes the lead in environmental protection. |
| B．Wind and solar power generation has dominated California. |
| C．California’s carbon footprint has been reduced as planned. |
| D．The launch of CVRP is intended to promote electric vehicle purchases. |
| A．adjustment. | B．shift. | C．reduction. | D．increase |
| A．Putting more EVs on the road. | B．Increased electricity generation. |
| C．Warming climate. | D．Increased rooftop solar cells. |
| A．Zero emission for EVs can’t be ensured nowadays. |
| B．‘Zero emission’ isn’t good enough to describe EVs. |
| C．EVs, with no zero emission, shouldn’t be advocated. |
| D．EVs have a promising future as zero emission vehicles. |
6 . Most paper receipts (收据) are not recyclable, This is because they’re printed on thermal paper (热敏纸), which contains a chemical called BPA or BPS that cannot be easily removed from the paper during the recycling process. To avoid polluting other paper products in the recycling stream, the safest method is to throw receipts in the trash.
There are two kinds of paper receipts. One is the old-fashioned paper that’s printed with pale ink. The other is the shiny, soft thermal paper that comes out of newer cash registers. Scratch (划) the paper, and you’ll see a dark line appear if it contains BPA or BPS. Ordinary paper receipts are rarely seen these days, but they can be recycled if you happen to get some. Thermal paper is now ubiquitous and found in most retail locations, but it cannot be recycled because of the chemicals that are used to create it.
Thermal paper uses heat from a printer head to make letters and numbers appear; no ink is used. This process requires the addition of BPA or BPS in their “free form”, which means that the chemicals are not bound to the paper. According to Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, “The chemicals can easily transfer (转移) to anything a receipt touches-your hand, or the groceries in your shopping bag.
BPA or BPS can affect brain development, and heart and lung health. They can be transferred from fingers to the mouth via food, or absorbed directly through the skin when held. If thermal paper were to be recycled, it would pollute other products in the recycling stream with BPA or BPS. Burning and composting (使成堆肥) are not a choice either, as they would release BPA or BPS into the atmosphere or soil.
The only safe place to throw thermal paper receipts is in the trash, followed by immediate hand washing. It’s not ideal, but it is the most effective way to separate BPA or BPS from the environment. The best solution is to ask for receipts to be emailed, rather than printed. Always refuse before you reduce, reuse and recycle.
1. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Unwanted. | B．Informal. | C．Effective. | D．Common. |
| A．How BPA or BPS is removed. |
| B．How a printer works without ink |
| C．How thermal paper receipts form. |
| D．How BPA and BPS coexist with thermal paper. |
| A．By exposing them to the sun. |
| B．By burning them in the open air. |
| C．By putting them in the shopping bag. |
| D．By throwing them into the dustbin in time. |
| A．The development of receipts. |
| B．Is it possible to get rid of paper receipts? |
| C．The right way to handle paper receipts. |
| D．Do all paper receipts contain BPA or BPS? |
7 . Armed with bowls and spoons, the youngsters at Berridale Public School headed into the school’s kitchen to bake biscuits. These treats were for endangered mountain pygmy possums (山袋貂). This small-sized animal lives only in the Australian regions of Victoria and New South Wales, and being active at night, is rarely seen in the wild. Up until the 1960s, when a small population of the possum was found in Victoria, the species was thought to be extinct.
Pygmy possums live on a diet of bogong moths (布冈夜蛾) and seeds. Yet in recent years, the once vast number of bogong moths that migrate each spring to the Snowy Mountains has severely fallen. Dr Linda Broome heads a team that has been tracking the region’s community of mountain pygmy possums for more than 30 years. “An estimated 330 adults were counted in the Cabramurra region in 2016, with 200 counted in 2018-19,” says Broome. The animals are also affected by extreme weather.
That’s when Broome started baking “bogong” biscuits, using a specially developed recipe that replicates (仿制) the nutritional value of the moths. But with vast quantities of the nutritional biscuits needed weekly to feed all the hungry mouths, she needed help.
The children at Berridale Public School wanted to know how they could help the region recover. The school, under the leadership of current principal Tracey Southam, contacted Broome. The kids were more than happy to put down their pencils and pick up spoons instead. It wasn’t long before all the primary school students across the Snowy Mountains region were busy baking the treats. Each bake-off took around 4.5 hours to produce sixty 200-gram bags of biscuits. Altogether, this resulted in an impressive 660 bags of bogong biscuits.
“While it is difficult to estimate the number of babies that have survived with the help of the biscuits, a field count in March resulted in 32 babies, which is a number similar to good seasons,” Broome says. Although the figures are still small, the results are pleasing and everyone is hopeful that their numbers can recover.
1. What is a feature of mountain pygmy possums?| A．They are globally distributed. |
| B．They like to hang out after dark. |
| C．They prefer biscuits to bogong moths. |
| D．They are frequent visitors to Australian kitchens. |
| A．The disastrous effect of climate change. |
| B．The worrying condition of pygmy possums. |
| C．The disappointing recovery of bogong moths. |
| D．The changing habitat requirement of pygmy possums. |
| A．They were environmentally aware. |
| B．They led the feeding programme. |
| C．They dragged their feet over baking biscuits. |
| D．They created the unique recipe for pygmy possums. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Tolerant. | C．Optimistic. | D．Confused. |
8 . Picking up litter is a fun, simple, and free activity that can have instant results for your child and your community.
What you’ll needPlastic bag to collect trash (垃圾)
Gloves—especially important as we practice COVID-19 safety measures
Optional: pick-up stick, a separate bag for recyclables
Instructions1. Assign gloves and a trash bag to each family member.
2. Clear out litter from an area of a park, beach or your own neighborhood. Take all necessary precautions (防范措施), including wearing sturdy (结实的) gloves, being careful on river banks or near roads, having adults handle dangerous items, and supervising children closely.
3. Properly dispose of all litter.
ReflectionsWhy is it important to pick up litter?
How can you inspire others to help keep the neighborhood clean?
ResourcesColonel Trash Truck by Kathleen Crawley
The colonel is on a mission to protect the beauty of the earth by cleaning up litter-and convincing others to do the same.
Here Comes the Garbage Barge ! by Jonah Winter
This story is sure to inspire your whole family to be mindful of your environmental impact.
Take it furtherTake a few digital photos of what you’ve picked up. Then send an essay about your experience along with your favorite photos, your name and address to mail@ wildernessproject.org. Your essay will be published on the Nicodemus Wilderness Project website, and you’ll get an official certificate. For tips on conducting the clean-up and writing the story, as well as essays and photos from other people, visit the website.
1. What are a must for the event?| A．Pick-up sticks and cameras |
| B．Books about cleaning up. |
| C．Plastic bags and gloves. |
| D．Bags for recyclables. |
| A．Keep an eye on children. |
| B．Leave dangerous items alone. |
| C．Keep away from the riverside |
| D．Stay in your own neighborhood. |
| A．By inviting others to clean up their neighborhood. |
| B．By sharing a list of environmental books on the website. |
| C．By writing a review of other participants’ stories online. |
| D．By emailing an essay with photos about their clean up experiences. |
9 . A report from Greenpeace USA shows only a small amount of the plastic we think we’re recycling is actually getting recycled. The rest of it is transported to landfills(废弃物填埋场).
“It was surprising, even to us,” says John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA’s Oceans Campaign Director. “There are billions of us going through trillions and trillions of throwaway plastic items a year. Almost none of that is recycled.”
According to the report, only 8.4% of the total post-consumer plastic waste created in the USA is recycled. That’s out of nearly 35 million tons of materials.
Ian Monahan from I Love a Clean San Diego says they’ve been working for years to educate people around the county about what should and should not be put in the blue recycling bins(回收箱).
The county has a website, waste freesd.org, which includes a full database of recyclable items and also runs a customer service hotline for people to ask questions. Monahan says people in San Diego can feel confident in putting #1 PET (common water and soda bottles) and #2 HDPE (plastic jugs and household bottles) plastics in their bins, as well as most other kinds of rigid(具刚性的) plastic.
But the long-term future of recycling is up in the air. In 2018, China, which had been the largest importer of recyclable materials, stopped buying recyclable plastic from the USA. What’s more, the cost of making new plastic is now cheaper than recycling old items. Therefore, Monahan says people need to focus more on “reduce” and “reuse”, and less on “recycle”.
Monahan suggests people who want to do better should pick one plastic item to eliminate(消除) a month, like straws(吸管). As they get used to that, they can eliminate another, and eventually, he says, they can reduce the need for plastic altogether.
To help, Greenpeace USA is putting pressure on companies to stop using plastic packaging, and also fighting for tougher standards to make sure items marked as recyclable can actually be recycled.
1. What can we learn about San Diego?| A．It has put much effort into recycling. |
| B．Its people want more recycling bins. |
| C．It has no market for recycled products. |
| D．Its people are able to recycle all kinds of plastic. |
| A．Recycled plastic has little value. |
| B．Recycling is very hard to achieve. |
| C．There will be less recyclable plastic. |
| D．The USA hasn’t made strict recycling rules. |
| A．Refuse to use throwaway plastic. |
| B．Throw one plastic item at a time. |
| C．Use less and less plastic gradually. |
| D．Force companies to produce less plastic. |
| A．Recyclable plastic just a small part of the problem |
| B．Recycled plastic cheaper than foreign plastic |
| C．Recycled plastic not always exported |
| D．Recyclable plastic not always recycled |
1. How did the speaker know about the project?
| A．From his cousins. | B．From his neighbors. | C．From his friends. |
| A．American. | B．Chinese. | C．Australian. |
| A．The importance of protecting the environment. |
| B．The importance of having good family relationship. |
| C．The importance of making more international friends. |
| A．By the rivers. | B．At the seaside. | C．In the woods. |
