1 . New Zealand’s government recently announced it will help pay for poorer families to replace their old cars with cleaner hybrid(混合动力的)or electric vehicles. The government said it plans to spend $357 million on the test program.
The move is part of a wider plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are believed to cause warming temperatures in the Earth’s atmosphere. New Zealand plans to provide aid for businesses to reduce emissions and have buses that run on environmentally safe fuel by 2035. The government also plans to provide food-waste collection for most homes by 2030.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem said in a statement, “We’ve all seen the recent reports on sea level rise and its influence right here in New Zealand. We cannot leave the issue of climate change until it’s too late to fix.” The plan is a step toward New Zealand’s stated goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Reaching net-zero emissions means not creating more carbon in the atmosphere than oceans and forests can remove. Ardern said that reducing dependence on traditional fuels would help protect families from extreme price increases. The plan also sets a goal of reducing total car travel by 20 percent over the next 13 years. The programs will be paid for from a $2.8 billion climate emergency response fund.
Officials said that over time, money collected from polluters would pay for the programs rather than taxes from families. Some critics of the plan say it continued to be less restrictive on New Zealand’s huge agriculture industry. Agriculture creates more than half of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry is also important to the economy as the nation’s biggest export earner.
David Seymour is the leader of New Zealand’s ACT political party. He said that some of the announced programs are proven to be ineffective and have been tried and failed overseas. Seymour added that people should be able to choose how they reduce emissions through the market-basedd emissions trading plan.
1. Which of the following is NOT New Zealand planning to do?| A．Buy cars for poor families. | B．Offer assistance to business. |
| C．Use environmentally safe fuels. | D．Spend money on the test program. |
| A．Setting aside the problem. | B．Realizing the stated goal. |
| C．Addressing the issue early. | D．Decreasing dependence on traditional fuels. |
| A．New Zealand aims to control carbon emissions. |
| B．The move has a goal of reducing the use of buses. |
| C．Achieving net-zero emissions means creating no carbon. |
| D．Agriculture makes less importance in the nation’s economy. |
| A．Negative. | B．Objective. | C．Favorable | D．Unconcerned. |
2 . Research has found that using wood for construction instead of concrete and steel can reduce emissions. But Tim Searchinger at Princeton University says many of these studies are based on the false foundation that harvesting wood is carbon neutral (碳中和). “Only a small percentage of the wood gets into a timber (木料) product, and a part of that gets into a timber product that can replace concrete and steel in a building,” he says. Efficiencies vary in different countries, but large amounts of a harvested tree are left to be divided into parts, used in short-lived products like paper or burned for energy, all of which generate emissions.
In a report for the World Resources Institute, Searchinger and his colleagues have modelled how using more wood for construction would affect emissions between 2010 and 2050, accounting for the emissions from harvesting the wood. They considered various types of forests and parts of wood going towards construction. They also factored in the emissions savings from replacing concrete and steel.
Under some circumstances, the researchers found significant emissions reductions. But each case required what they considered an unrealistically high portion of the wood going towards construction, as well as rapid growth only seen in warmer places, like Brazil. In general, they found a large increase in global demand for wood would probably lead to rising emissions for decades. Accounting for emissions in this way, the researchers reported in a related paper that increasing forest harvests between 2010 and 2050 would add emissions equal to roughly 10 percent of total annual emissions.
Ali Amiri at Aalto University in Finland says the report’s conclusions about emissions from rising demand are probably correct, but the story is different for wood we already harvest. “Boosting the efficiency of current harvests and using more wood for longer-lived purposes than paper would cut emissions,” he says. “We cannot just say we should stop using wood.”
1. What is wrong with previous researches according to Searchinger?| A．They got wrong statistics. | B．They used an incorrect concept. |
| C．They included too many factors. | D．They were applied in limited countries. |
| A．The process of the new research. | B．The background of the new study. |
| C．The challenge of the new research. | D．The achievements of the new study. |
| A．When wood grows slowly. |
| B．When wood is largely used to make paper. |
| C．When wood is largely used in construction in countries like Brazil. |
| D．When wood is largely harvested in countries like Brazil. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in
The good news is
The development of electric vehicles is particularly
Ecological civilization has become the cornerstone (基石) of China’s long-term development strategy, much like climate action is
4 . Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person.
Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption.
For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without resulting in any environmental damage is impossible.
| A．It’s certain that economic growth contributes a lot to our society. |
| B．The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. |
| C．However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded significantly. |
| D．There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. |
| E．Weather conditions, on the contrary, remains the same. |
| F．Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected. |
| G．What’s more, to produce economically practical energy, people unavoidably have to transform natural site. |
5 . In 2022, campaign group Fashion Revolution Chelsea dye a garden for its Chelsea Flower Show presentation. An ancient craft, natural dyeing is a practice whose time has come again, with hand tie-dyed fashion also making a comeback in recent years.
The revival has been encouraged by Covid lockdowns, “which allowed people to explore the craft at home, says natural-dyeing enthusiast and teacher Susan Dye. It’s unlikely, though, that the practice would have caught on in quite the same way if not for a continually growing discomfort about fashion’s heavy footprint. From carbon emissions to animal cruelty, fashion is under considerable inspection. “Put it this way, 97% of dyes used in the industry are petrochemically (石油化学产品) based,” says sustainable fashion consultant Jackie Andrews, who helped advise the UN Ethical Fashion Initiative. We’ve got net zero targets which mean we’re going to have to remove all those petrochemicals from the manufacturing cycle.
Fashion is a huge polluter. According to the UN Environment Program, the industry is responsible for up to one-fifth of all industrial water pollution—due to the fact that most clothes today are produced in poorer countries where regulation is weak and enforcement weaker. Waste water is dumped directly into rivers and streams, poisoning the land as well as the water sources of people and animals who rely on them.
It’s easy to see why someone who cares about people, planet and animals, as well as clothes, might turn to natural plant dyeing. From the beauty of the raw materials—often wild plants-to the property of only bonding with natural fiber like cotton and linen (亚麻布) from the minor footprint of recycling old clothing that has grayed or faded over time to the vibrant and long-lasting dyeing results, plant dyeing feels like a quiet act of rebellion. This is why, while beginners start with simply changing their clothes’ color, new worlds open. Many of today’s natural dyers grow their own dye plants, run local community workshops, and advocate for change in industrialized fashion systems and beyond.
1. What is the main reason for the growing discomfort mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．The adoption of petrochemical-based dyes |
| B．The disturbing consequences of the fashion industry. |
| C．The fashion industry’s focus on luxurious designs. |
| D．The challenging net zero targets to be achieved. |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By listing numbers |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By introducing a new topic |
| A．A protest against turning to natural fiber. |
| B．An objection to recycling old clothing |
| C．A resistance to vibrant colors in natural dyeing |
| D．A struggle for a sustainable fashion industry |
| A．The Environmental Impact of Natural Dyeing |
| B．The Return of Natural Dyeing with Ethical Appeal |
| C．Fashion Revolution’s Dye Garden Presentation |
| D．The Petrochemical Dye Industry and Its Challenges |
6 . Are you a tea drinker? If so, you’re not alone. Every day around the world millions of cups of this popular brew are drunk, and it’s been that way for thousands of years. The oldest discovered tea is from the Han Dynasty, dating from 206BC to 220AD. But it’s thought that the tea trend really took off during the Tang Dynasty in the 8th Century, when it became China’s national drink. Now, Turkey, the Republic of Ireland and the UK are believed to be the biggest tea—drinking nations, per capita.
Tea is consumed in many ways-slurped, sipped or glugged. It can be poured from pots, infused or brewed in the cup using tea bags—and it’s this latter process that is causing concern. Research last year found some premium tea bags might be leaving billions of microscopic plastic particles in the cup. Scientists from McGill University in Montreal found that some ‘plastic’ tea bags shed high levels of micro plastics into water. However, The World Health Organization says such particles in drinking water do not appear to pose a risk.
Most tea bags are made from paper, with a small amount of plastic used to seal them shut— made from oil. This has led to debate about whether they can be recycled, but many are still composted. However, gardener Mike Armitage has told the BBC that the plastic contained in the soil could be washed into streams and rivers and ultimately out to sea.
Unilever, the owners of the tea brand PG Tips, said their tea bags are made with a small amount of plastic—used to seal them—and that they are suitable for composting. And the brand Yorkshire Tea said their bags do contain 25% polypropylene, but they were “actively developing plant—based and biodegradable alternatives”.
While tea bag manufacturers might be doing their bit to reduce plastic pollution, it could be a good time to switch your favourite beverage to coffee, or if that isn’t your cup of tea then try using loose-leaf tea, which can have a better flavour.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．Tea can be consumed in many ways. |
| B．The use of tea bags doesn’t appear to pose a risk |
| C．The use of tea bags is causing concern. |
| D．Some tea bags might be leaving microscopic plastic particles in the cup. |
| A．reduce the amount of plastic used to seal tea bags |
| B．wash the plastic in the soil into streams, rivers and sea |
| C．develop plant-based and biodegradable alternatives |
| D．switch to coffee or try to use loose-leaf tea |
| A．Supportive | B．Indifferent | C．Opposed | D．Neutral |
| A．Potential Plastic Pollution |
| B．Chinese tea culture |
| C．What is your favorite drink? |
| D．The Humble tea bag |
7 . Two thirds of the ice in the glaciers (冰川) of the Alps is doomed! These glaciers will melt by the end of the century as global temperatures rise, according to a recent study.
Scientists claim that half the ice held in some 4,000 Alpine glaciers will disappear by 2050 due to global warming through the effect of past emissions. After that, even if carbon emissions drop to zero, two-thirds of the ice will still have melted by 2100. If emissions continue to rise at the current rate, the ice tongues will have all but disappeared from Alpine valleys by the end of the century. The most pessimistic prediction tells us that the Alps will be mostly ice-free by 2100. Only isolated ice patches would remain at high altitudes, representing five per cent, at most, of the ice volume seen today.
The researchers warn that the loss of these glaciers will mean much less water is available for farming and hydroelectricity, especially during droughts. It would also affect nature and tourism.
In February, a study found that a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering mountain chains were also under threat for the same reasons. This will lead to serious consequences for almost two billion people who live downstream. Glaciers along the Hindu Kush and Himalayan range are at higher, colder altitudes. If global carbon emissions are not cut, however, two-thirds of their ice could be gone by 2100.
The latest research combined computer models with real-world data to forecast the fate of the glaciers. It used 2017 as its starting point. Unlike previous work, these models included how the glaciers move down the mountains. Applying this approach to other glaciated mountain chains could improve ice loss forecasts there.
Cutting the emissions from fossil-fuel burning, deforestation and other polluting activities is the biggest factor in minimizing the melting of the ice. The future of these glaciers is indeed at risk, but there is still a possibility of limiting their disappearance.
1. What does the underlined word “doomed” mean in paragraph 1?| A．Polluted. | B．Discovered. | C．Endangered. | D．Abandoned. |
| A．Emissions have much to do with the ice melting. |
| B．The Alps is expected to lose all its ice by 2100. |
| C．Ice loss will be avoided with emissions prevented. |
| D．Large ice pieces will just exist at the mountain top. |
| A．To explain how glacier melting came about. |
| B．To imply pollution is a worldwide problem. |
| C．To show what consequences ice melting will cause. |
| D．To indicate the Alps is not alone to face ice melting. |
| A．Objective. | B．Optimistic. | C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
8 . Sprite has been recognized for decades by its green cans and bottles, but it is retiring its green plastic bottles after more than 60 years.
Starting Aug. 1, the Coca-Cola Co., which produces Sprite, will package the lemon-lime drink in clear plastic bottles in North America, the company announced Wednesday. Sprite’s current plastic contains green polyethylene terephthalate(PET)(聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯), an additive(添加剂) that can’t be recycled into new bottles, a key choice for the company as it looks to reduce plastic waste.
“When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic.” Julian Ochoa, CEO of R3CYCLE, a plastic group helping Coca-Cola improve its recycling, said in a statement.
Customers will also notice a revised logo and packaging design on the Sprite bottles that aims to provide a more “consistent look around the world,” the company said. The well-known green color will still be used on Sprite labels. Other beverages that use green bottles in Coke’s portfolio(系列产品), including Fresca. Seagram’s and Mello Yello, will also be replaced with clear containers in the coming months.
Coca-Cola reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings Tuesday, citing strong demand, and lifted its revenue forecast for the full year.
The beverage giant has often been criticized for contributing to environmentally damaging plastic waste. In 2020, the company was named as the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter by the environmental firm Break Free From Plastic. Its logos and branding were found on 13, 834 pieces of discarded plastic in 51 countries, often in public spaces such as parks and beaches.
1. Why will the Coca-Cola Co. stop using green Sprite bottles?| A．They think the old design is out of date. |
| B．They want to cut down the production cost. |
| C．Customers prefer clear bottles to green bottles. |
| D．They want to help drive a circular economy for plastic. |
| A．They have not any plastic. | B．They have a consistent look. |
| C．They have not green color at all. | D．They have quite a different design. |
| A．Not the design, but the logo of the Sprite. |
| B．Not the material, but the design of the bottles. |
| C．Not the color, but the material: single-use plastic. |
| D．Not the recycling, but using as much plastic as possible. |
| A．The Coca-Cola attaches importance to profits. |
| B．The Coca-Cola lays the needs of customers first. |
| C．The Coca-Cola values environmental protection most. |
| D．The Coca-Cola likes the fame of the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter. |
9 . Earth Hour is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It's a big event usually at the end of March every year. On this evening, people “go dark”.
It's true that turning off lights for just one hour saves only a small amount of power.
But on another level, a large number of people’s acting together sends a powerful message to governments and companies.
The logo(标识) of Earth Hour is “60+” .The number 60 is for the 60 minutes of Earth Hour.
| A．But this is only the beginning. |
| B．Earth Hour represents every hour of every day. |
| C．After all, everyone has to answer for what they have done. |
| D．Besides turning off the lights, people get involved in other events. |
| E．It pushes them to take urgent measures by making changes to policies. |
| F．That is, they switch off all unnecessary lights at the same time for one hour. |
| G．The plus invites people to continue their action even after Earth Hour is finished. |
10 . The last time Jack Hanson took an airplane, he was a junior at the University of Vermont. To return from a term abroad in Copenhagen, he flew from Denmark,
But the next term, one of his professors asked students to
He was
So Mr. Hanson decided to stop
And he has never found travel more
Go more
| A．pulled | B．stopped | C．stayed | D．played |
| A．judge | B．consider | C．calculate | D．reduce |
| A．performance | B．research | C．experiment | D．math |
| A．accounted for | B．called for | C．figured out | D．turned out |
| A．listed | B．combined | C．separated | D．bought |
| A．shocked | B．embarrassed | C．entertained | D．bored |
| A．explain | B．make | C．refuse | D．manage |
| A．pleasure | B．waste | C．money | D．pollution |
| A．driving | B．heating | C．flying | D．lighting |
| A．incidents | B．stories | C．disasters | D．conditions |
| A．joyful | B．dangerous | C．upset | D．expensive |
| A．tell | B．believe | C．prove | D．describe |
| A．delightful | B．inflexible | C．effective | D．unreasonable |
| A．carefully | B．wildly | C．slowly | D．actively |
| A．cooking | B．resting | C．relaxing | D．traveling |
