In their spare time, most young people like to enjoy
In college, Li actively took part in field research. After graduation, he joined a gibbon protection organization where what he mainly needs to do is
Like Li, Chu Wenwen, 27, has also worked to protect animals. As her father is engaged
According to Fan Pengfei,
2 . Earth Day is April 22. Every year, people around the world observe the day by helping to care for the environment. They carry out all kinds of activities in an effort to better the planet’s heath.
One way to support this goal is to grow plants native to your area. This helps wildlife like birds and insects that evolved alongside native plants. For many of these animals, plant pollen (花粉) is their food. Native pollinators often cannot recognize non-native plants as food. This means they do not collect the pollen or spread plants’ seeds. Planting non-native species creates so-called “food deserts” for pollinators including bees, birds, bats, butterflies and more.
Doug Taamy is a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware. Entomology is the study of insects. He found that non-native plant species can harm the natural food chain, which can lead to a collapse of the environment. “Plant choice matters,” he said. “The plants we choose to landscape our properties should be determined by how much life can live there.”
Humans depend strongly on insects. Without them, we would have no flowering plants, which would harm the food web that supports important animals. Birds, for example, depend on plants for food and spread their seeds while keeping the populations of harmful insects down.
Insects support plants that provide oxygen, clean our water, capture carbon and add nutrients to the soil. That builds topsoil and prevents flooding. Without insects, the biosphere — the living parts of the Earth — would rot because of the loss of insect decomposers. Humans simply could not survive that, Tallamy said.
In addition to providing food and habitat for insects and other wildlife, native plants are able to grow easily and do not require much care. That means less watering and less fertilizing. The situation is a win-win for gardeners and pollinators.
1. Which section of a website is the text probably taken from?A.Around the globe. | B.Technology report. |
C.The secret of nature. | D.Healthy Lifestyle. |
A.They attract more insects. | B.They do harm to native plants. |
C.They turn soil into desert. | D.They break the balance of nature. |
A.They produce more oxygen. | B.They prevent flooding more effectively. |
C.They need less care. | D.They add more nutrients to the soil. |
A.Take effective measures to protect insects. |
B.Raise environmental awareness on Earth Day. |
C.Make great effort to better the planet's health. |
D.Plant native plants to support local environment. |
3 . Environmental pollution and other human activities are leading to thousands of deaths among seabirds, a new study has warned.
Ecological experts tracked the behavior of British and Irish seabirds. They used satellites to track hundreds of the creatures to find out where they went to catch fish at sea. The study can help assess potential impact from human activities and where protected areas of the seas should be.
Lightweight GPS tags were fitted to more than 1,300 adult birds from 29 different colonies around the UK and Ireland, including kittiwakes, shags, razorbills and guillemots. Results from the five-year study show the large areas of sea the four seabird species use. They found it was at least 600,000 square miles, an area three times the size of Spain. It shows how far they travel from their nests in search of food for their chicks. And it shows the use of the seas by all four species concentrated in the coastal waters of Scotland, highlighting the importance of conservation measures there.
The four species studied require conservation help, with kittiwake numbers declining 71 percent in the past 25 years and shag populations down 61 percent. This means both seabirds are "red listed" and need urgent protection. Razorbills and guillemots are "amber listed", which means they are considered to need conservation action.
Dr. Ewan, lead author of the research, said, “Many seabirds are at the top of the marine food web. They feed on some small fish but that prey is declining because of human pressures, including climate change. The result is that thousands of sea baby birds are dying each year because their parents can't feed them. For the first time, this study provides us with a full map for the feeding areas for some of our most important seabird species.”
The analysis provides critical data to inform marine management, the experts said.
1. Which is one of the purpose of the study?A.To find out where to catch more fish. |
B.To judge which sea should be protected. |
C.To know the seabirds’ impacts on human beings. |
D.To study the behaviour of British and Irish seabirds. |
A.With the help of satellites. | B.With help of the fishermen. |
C.By observing human activities. | D.By tying GPS tags on the ship. |
A.France. | B.Ireland. | C.Spain. | D.Scotland. |
A.Puzzled. | B.Doubtful. | C.Positive. | D.Disappointed. |
Strange things happened before Tangshan earthquake happened.The well walls had deep cracks. Some
1.活动时间及地点;
2.活动内容:环保宣传、垃圾分类等;
3.活动意义。
注意:1.词数80左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3.开头结尾已经给出,不计入总词数。
4.参考词汇:社区 community 社会实践 social practice垃圾分类 garbage classification
Dear Alex,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . Understanding the link between a clean environment and human life is not a new concept. In fact, it was noticed as early as ancient Rome. Today we see how green living has infiluenced our everyday lives. There is a growing community of people who embrace a zero waste lifestyle and make changes to the way they live to reduce their carbon footprint.
Living a zero waste lifestyle means doing one’s best to achieve the aim of not sending anything to a landfill. People who adopt this lifestyle ultimately cut down on their waste by reducing what they need and want. They reuse what they own, sending few things to be recycled.
Many people who adopt the zero waste lifestyle claim to be frustrated by the many harmful chemical substances found in beauty and cleaning products. They also find the uses of disposable items and excessive packaging. For example, how many times have we had to peel away layers of plastic wrap and cardboard before finally taking out the item which we had bought? Instead of buying pre-packed food and goods, those who identify with the zero waste philosophy tend to shop in stores that allow them to make purchases and bring their own cloth bags and glass jars to store their purchases.
Many people may have the misconception that it is easier to live a zero waste lifestyle in the West. Nevertheless, Malaysian environmental journalist, Ms. Aurora Tin, has proven that a zero waste lifestyle is possible even in the Asian context. Instead of going to the supermarket to buy pre-packaged foods, Ms. Tin now visits the wet market and brings her own bags for vegetables. She has even stopped using store-bought toothpaste and makes her own toothpaste from coconut oil and baking soda. This lifestyle may be too big a change for the average person, but we could follow her suit to make gradual changes to our own lives.
1. Which of the following is a zero waste lifestyle?A.Bringing a resuable container to take away food. | B.Choosing appliances that cost less money. |
C.Turning off a device to stop using power. | D.Classifying the garbage before throwing it away. |
A.Recycable carboard. | B.Excessive packaging. |
C.Glass jars to store purchases. | D.Natural substances in cleaning products. |
A.How do people live a zero waste lifestyle. |
B.Why Ms. Tin chooses to live a zero waste lifestyle.. |
C.We can also practice a zero waste lifestyle in Asia. |
D.It is easy to live a zero waste lifestyle in the West. |
A.Living a zero waste lifestyle. | B.Going green is more than a fashion. |
C.A zero waste lifetyle is easy to achieve. | D.Making environmentally-conscious decisions. |
7 . Masks that helped save lives are proving a deadly danger for wildlife, with birds and sea creatures trapped in the shocking number of thrown-away facial coverings. Single-use masks have been found around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide. Worn once, the thin protective materials can take hundreds of years to decompose. “Face masks aren't going away any time soon—but when we throw them away, these items can harm the environment and the animals,” Ashley Fruno of animal rights group PETA said.
In Britain, a gull was rescued by the RSPCA after its legs became tangled in the straps of a mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.
The biggest impact may be in the water. More than 1.5 billion masks made their way into the world's oceans last year, accounting for around 6,200 extra tonnes of ocean plastic pollution, according to environmental group Oceans Asia.
Conservationists in Brazil found one mask inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami. French campaigners found a dead crab trapped in a mask near the Mediterranean. Masks and gloves are “particularly problematic” for sea creatures, says George Leonard, chief scientist from NGO Ocean Conservancy. “When those plastics break down in the environment, they then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems.” he added.
There has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on, but many are still using the lighter single-use varieties. Campaigners have urged people to bin them properly and cut the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.
1. What's Paragraph 1 mainly about?A.The problem of littering masks. | B.The long time to break down masks. |
C.The threat of masks to wildlife. | D.The protective use of masks to people. |
A.They gave first aid to the bird. | B.They released the bird at once. |
C.They kept the bird for about a week. | D.They sent the bird to hospital. |
A.By providing examples. | B.By giving explanations. |
C.By making comparisons. | D.By analyzing causes. |
A.Forbidding the use of single-use masks. | B.Wearing reusable cloth masks. |
C.Cutting the masks up before throwing. | D.Increasing fines for binning masks. |
8 . A student-led push to get solar panels installed at a middle school in Tacoma is receiving national recognition from a clean energy nonprofit organization called Generation 180. The girls involved are advocating and fundraising for the project.
Sammy Firkins, Gwen Newport and Annie Son will talk about their idea to generate solar electricity at Jason Lee Middle School in a panel discussion organized by Generation 180. In 2019, the three of them teamed up with their science teacher, Kathy Hall, to push for solar panels to be installed. Hall, who uses solar power at her own house, said it’s long been a dream of hers. The school would be the first in the Tacoma district to use solar energy.
The girls presented their idea to Gov. Jay Inslee’s STEM Education Innovation Alliance meeting in early 2019 and received enthusiastic support. They then spoke to the Tacoma school board and obtained buy-in from the district, though they were told the district did not have the roughly $ 200,000 for the 277 solar panels and that they would have to fundraise. They’ve since raised more than half that amount through grants and individual donations.
Gwen Newport said she’s always cared a lot about environmental issues and that she’s troubled that climate change does not get the attention it deserves. “At this point, I feel like it’s kind of been given to my generation almost as our responsibility now and so being able to be a part of this project and take action is really important to me,” she said.
The solar panels have not been installed at the school yet. But Hall said she estimates that the project will reduce the school’s power costs by about $ 14,000 a year, and that it also will serve an educational purpose. “We will have live data always streaming available so that people can see how the panels are working and how they relate to the amount of electricity we’re using, and it will be an incredible learning tool,” she said.
1. What is Generation 180?A.It is the name of the girls’ team. |
B.It is a project to use solar power. |
C.It is a nonprofit environmental group. |
D.It is a student-led push to install solar panels. |
A.The girls raised enough money for the project. |
B.The Tacoma school board rejected the project. |
C.The girls made great efforts to fulfill the project. |
D.The district covered the expenses of solar panels. |
A.Confident. | B.Concerned. | C.Relieved. | D.Content. |
A.To advocate for donations. |
B.To serve as a learning tool. |
C.To protect the environment. |
D.To cut down the school’s expenses. |
Pollution takes away all the beauty of the beaches of Hawaii. I hate to go to the beaches on
One thing that really annoys me is that I see
The dogs or the fish are not to blame
10 . ''It can't be done. '' Boyan Slat heard this over and over when he first proposed a way to clean up millions of tons of plastic polluting our oceans.
Slat, who grew up in the city of Delft in the Netherlands, was on a diving trip in Greece three years ago when he was deeply impressed by plastic. ''There were more plastic bags than fish, '' he says. ''That moment I realized it was a huge issue and that environmental issues are really the biggest problems my generation will face. ''
That fall, Slat, then 17, decided to study plastic pollution as part of a high school project. Soon, Slat learned that no one had yet come up with practical way to clean up this massive garbage patches. Most proposed solutions involved ''fishing'' up the plastic using ships equipped with nets—which, as Slat discovered, would likely take more than 1,000 years, cost too much, let off too much sea life along with the trash.
Slat proposed an alternative that mostly avoided these problems: a solar-powered system using a floating plastic tube which will go around the garbage and trap it is 600 meters long. Wind, waves and ocean currents will push the trash toward the tube. A ship will pick up the trash and take it back to the shore. Best of all, Slat predicted his system could clean up the North Pacific Garbage Patch within five to 10 years.
The following, Slat entered the aerospace engineering program at the Delft University of Technology and officially announced his ocean cleanup concept at TEDxDelft. But nothing much moved forward.
Slat organized a team of volunteers and employees for The Ocean Cleanup, which now numbers about 100. In answer to opposition, Slat and his team raised $100,000 from a crowd funding campaign and began testing a 40-meter collecting barrier near the Azores Islands last March.
Over the next three to four years, Slat will push toward a fully operational large-scale project by testing a series of longer and longer barriers.
1. What inspired the boy to study plastic pollution?A.One of his high school projects. |
B.Others' opposition to his proposal. |
C.Humans’ failure in cleaning up the ocean. |
D.The shockingly heavy plastic pollution in ocean. |
A.It is powerful but only used in California and Hawaii. |
B.It is huge but causes great damage to sea lives. |
C.It makes full use of natural forces and is friendly to nature. |
D.It was welcomed by all the public and worked very well. |
A.Presenting his idea at TEDxDelft. |
B.Raising funds with his team. |
C.Doing test. |
D.Stopping plastic from washing into the ocean. |
A.Explain a strange idea. | B.Introduce a fascinating person. |
C.Describe a social phenomenon. | D.Praise a point of view. |