1 . Rainbow -coloured rubbish is the colourful waste created by a Swedish city with a unique recycling system. Like many cities in Sweden, Eskilstuna has an impressive recycling record. It met the EU’ s 2020 target of recycling 50％ of waste many years ago. But almost everyone who lives here follows a strict recycling policy at home. People are expected to sort their household waste into seven separate categories, including food, textiles, cartons and metal. But what really makes the system stand out is the bright colour code.
The reason for this becomes clear at the city’ s recycling plant. The bags arrive all jumbled up because they’ re collected altogether, once a fortnight from outside people’ s houses. But thanks to those bright colours, scanners can select the bags and separate them efficiently. The food waste in green bags is processed on site into slurry(浆) to make biogas, which powers the city’ s buses. One of the benefits of this method of recycling is that there is less cross-pollution,so more of the recycled waste can actually be used to make new things.
Like the rest of Sweden, Eskilstuna is committed to sending zero waste from its citizens to landfill(垃圾堆) . Waste that cannot be recycled is incinerated at a local plant to generate electricity. This reduces reliance on fossil fuels, but does create greenhouse gases. As countries a-round the world try to improve their recycling rates, some may look to Eskilstuna as an example to follow— as long as they think they can persuade their citizens to get busy sorting at home.
1. How do people deal with their household waste in Eskilstuna？| A．Sorting and putting it in colourful bags. |
| B．Dyeing it with different colours. |
| C．Processing and recycling it at home. |
| D．Sorting and taking it out every week. |
| A．It avoids cross － pollution entirely. |
| B．The waste can be stored in a fixed site. |
| C．It’ s easier to classify the bags of rubbish. |
| D．The city takes on a colorful look. |
| A．Burnt | B．Broken |
| C．Reused | D．Washed |
| A．Tips on Sorting of Household Waste. |
| B．A Swedish City’ s Recycling Efforts. |
| C．A Unique Waste Recycling Plan. |
| D．A New Policy for Conservation. |
2 . This may look like an ordinary plastic straw (吸管), but it is not made of plastic. Cameron Ross started the Celise Bio-products company, to produce single-use plastic alternatives from plant materials like these. They are made of poly lactic acid (聚乳酸) known as PLA from com starches (淀粉).
Cameron Ross said, "We work with food service providers, mainly larger brands, to help them get quality sustainable and cost-effective solutions, made from plants to start getting rid of single-use plastics." Single-use plastics such as bottles or straws are major cause of pollution. When we throw these away, they end up in a landfill or in the water like rivers. According to researchers, it could take up to more than 500 years for them to properly break down.
Ross says he wasn't always so environmentally conscious himself. But ever since the hiking trip in West Virginia, when he spent more time picking up trash than enjoying nature, his priorities changed. That meant making biodegradable products that can break down in only a few years.
While many cafes and restaurants are choosing paper products to be more eco-conscious, it isn’t cheap. Paper straws can cost about eight times more than plastic straws. But bio-plastic straws cost less a penny a straw, not even double the price of plastic ones.
Another problem with paper straws is that they get soft and wet. You don't want to be sipping (啜饮) something that alters your drink, or starts to melt while you're drinking and then you have to get which creates more wastes than needed. Ross hopes his Washington DC-based company will provide an eco-friendly solution for food service providers.
1. Which aspect is NOT the focus of the Celise Bio-products?| A．Material. | B．Appearance. |
| C．Quality. | D．Cost. |
| A．High profits. | B．Requests from food service providers. |
| C．Lower cost. | D．His changed environmental awareness. |
| A．They are widely used in cafes and restaurants. |
| B．They cost less than paper ones. |
| C．They may soften or even melt while carrying water. |
| D．They produce more waste. |
| A．To persuade more food service providers to work with Ross. |
| B．To explain the development of straws. |
| C．To introduce a new eco-friendly straw. |
| D．To compare different straws. |
3 . The planting or woodlands in upland areas could play a key role in preventing the flooding which has increasingly affected communities across the world in recent years.
A new study by the University of Plymouth has shown that within just 15 years of being planted, native broadleaf trees can have a great effect on soil's response during extreme weather events. It means that the huge amount of rainwater can be more readily absorbed, rather than simply running over the surface and into rivers where it probably causes severe flooding.
Scientists say their findings show planting more native woodlands in upland areas could be an effective and natural flood management tool. There have been a number of extreme rainfall and flooding events in recent years, and they are predicted to increase in both frequency and seriousness in the future as a result of human-caused climate change.
They show that in areas where new woodlands have been planted, the ability of soil to absorb water is almost double that of areas with no trees, associated with increases in soil macro-pores-（大孔隙）and reductions in soil compaction（压实）. This means the speed at which rainwater enters rivers during rainfall events is obviously reduced, which helps lower peak flow.
However, the nature of the soil and location of the woodlands are also critical to their success, with steep hillside on the edge of upland areas providing the most effective location for tree plantations to serve as an effective flood prevention tool.
Dr Paul Lunt, Associate Professor in Environmental Science added, "There are a lot of weak upland catchment（集水）areas across the UK. However, by working with farmers and the government's farm woodland measures, this study has shown that damaged soil can recover rapidly. This is particularly obvious on hillsides which are traditionally not so good for farming. So there is an opportunity for a joined-up approach which could benefit the uplands themselves, but also those people living on and around them."
1. What advantage does planting native woodlands in upland areas have?| A．Preventing rainwater into the sky. | B．Taking in plenty of rainwater. |
| C．Stopping the extreme weather. | D．Helping rainwater run over the surface. |
| A．Trees can help reduce soil macro-pores. |
| B．New woodlands are related to extreme weather. |
| C．Planting new woodlands may prevent serious flooding. |
| D．Scientists affect the ability of soil to absorb water. |
| A．The way of reducing flooding risks. |
| B．The measures of helping native farmers. |
| C．The cooperation between farmers and the government. |
| D．The benefits of planting native woodlands. |
| A．New Woodlands Can Help Reduce Flooding Risks |
| B．Rainwater Will Ruin Mountainous Areas |
| C．Scientists Has Found Ways to Control Extreme Weather |
| D．Farmers Have Planted Many Trees to Collect Rainwater |
4 . Fourteen years ago, wildlife documentary（纪录片）the Planet Earth took us on an amazing journey from deep caves to the rainforests and then to the bottom of the ocean. Now a new documentary Our Planet will show different animals and the influence of humans on the natural world.
US entertainment company Netflix made the eight-episode（集）journey meet its audience（观众）on April 5. The crew（工作人员）of the documentary covers 50 countries and areas to choose the best filming places, and takes more than four years to produce it. It is the hard work of more than 600 crew members.
With the latest 4K video technology, the documentary allows audiences to have a sharp new look at nature. “People are given a chance to better get themselves into the lives of the animals.” said Fothergill, one of the documentary’s producers.
Apart from showing Earth’s beauty in new detail, the documentary also shows the planet’s poor climate conditions. “Our Planet is here to say, ‘The planet is dying, and we’re killing it.’” Fothergill said. In one sad scene, hundreds of walruses（海象）, half-blind when out of the water, fall down a rock to suffer a painful death on the beach below. It shows how man-made global warming has destroyed their natural habitat（栖息地）and explains why they’ve been forced to find a safe place on the rocks.
However, it’s not all about sadness. The documentary also talks about success stories, including Siberian tigers, blue whales（鲸鱼）and humpback whales. These species are protected thanks to international agreements on environmental protection. It reminds us that we can change the present bad condition of our planet through our joint（共同的）effort.
Calling on more people to take action to protect our planet is the final goal of the new documentary. What we do in the next 20 years will decide the future of all life on Earth.
1. What is the new documentary Our Planet about?| A．An amazing journey of rainforests. |
| B．The beauty and customs of 50 countries and areas. |
| C．Different animals and the influence of humans on the natural world. |
| D．The hard work of more than 600 crew members. |
| A．It took a lot of time and efforts to make the documentary. |
| B．People like to take a close look at animals. |
| C．The documentary is very popular in many countries and areas. |
| D．We human can’t change the present condition of our planet. |
| A．To explain what our goal in the future. |
| B．To call on more people to protect our planet. |
| C．To tell us the documentary is worth watching. |
| D．To tell us how the climate conditions influence animals. |
| A．A novel. | B．A travel journal. | C．A story book. | D．A newspaper. |
If the world wants to control global warming, water shortage and pollution, we all need to welcome “flexitarian” diets. This means
The authors say that present food industry has a number of environmental effects including being a great driver of climate change, using up freshwater
“We can eat a range of
If the world moved
6 . Going green seems to be fad (时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2011,we decided to be green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic (有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planets.
1. What might be the best title for the passage?| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
7 . The increasing environmental problems and need for eco-friendly products and services are creating a new job section of green-collar jobs.
| A．People who read newspapers can also find different kinds of green-collar jobs. |
| B．People who take green careers will be well paid. |
| C．Where can you find green-collar jobs? |
| D．Green-collar jobs have become a bright career chance for all. |
| E．Many countries have realized the importance and need for energy-saving products and services. |
| F．Therefore, possibilities are being explored to find alternatives to meet demands in a better way. |
| G．Forget the blue–collar and white–collar categories. |
8 . British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor launched his latest work---The Underwater Museum of Cannes.
“The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help,” Taylor told Dezeen. “Ocean ecologies have been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.”
The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages. They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9-year-old student. Towering over 6-feet-tall and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask. The mask indicates that the world’s oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile to careless human activities.
Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago. Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area’s seagrass. Just one square meter of the seagrass can generate up to 10 liters of oxygen daily. The seagrass also helps prevent coastal erosion and provides habitats for many ocean creatures.
“The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people underwater and develop a sense of care and protection,” Taylor told Dezeen. “If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry. But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.”
1. why does Jason Taylor create underwater museums ?| A．To protect the artworks underwater |
| B．To draw attention to endangered sea animals. |
| C．To show his sculpture talent. |
| D．To raise awareness of protecting the ocean. |
| A．To popularize the features of the locals. |
| B．To remind people to protect themselves. |
| C．To reflect people’s protection of the ocean. |
| D．To stress the fragility of the ecosystem. |
| A．How the project was started. |
| B．How the seagrass was restored. |
| C．What recovery effort the project made. |
| D．Why the surroundings were improved. |
| A．The situation of the ocean is easily ignored. |
| B．The destruction caused to the ocean is noticeable. |
| C．Forests play a more important role in ecosystems. |
| D．People have zero tolerance to damage done to nature. |
9 . Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh has pushed his body to the limit to raise awareness of threats to our oceans and now he is doing it again — preparing to swim the length of the English Channel.
“The English Channel is the Everest of swimming. It always has been the Everest of swimming and it always will be, because it’s such a tough swim. It’s long and cold and full of jellyfish,” Pugh said in London on Tuesday, as he officially launched The Long Swim, which marks the start of a global action to urge governments to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030.
Pugh will set off from Land’s End in Cornwall this week and will swim 560 km to Dover in Kent over 50 consecutive days. He is aiming to swim five hours, averaging around 10 — 20 km each day.
Pugh has seen horrific changes in the world’s oceans over the past three decades. “Our oceans are neither clean, nor are they healthy. Every single year, I’m seeing more and more plastic pollution. I’m seeing it on the surface and at the bottom of the oceans. I’m seeing the fish eating the plastic and the birds eating the plastic and they are dying. If we eat the fish, we are also eating the plastic,” he said.
Pugh, born in Plymouth, wanted to bring this urgent message home with his latest challenge. His aim is also to put pressure on the British government to establish more secure Marine Protected Areas around the United Kingdom and its overseas territories.
1. Why did Lewis Pugh try to swim the English Channel?| A．To break the world record. | B．To develop swimming skills. |
| C．To call for conservation of ocean. | D．To challenge the limit of his body. |
| A．No one has ever swum the Channel. | B．The Everest cannot match the Channel. |
| C．Swimming the Channel is a tough job. | D．The major risk of the swim is jellyfish. |
| A．The fish. | B．The plastic. | C．The birds. | D．The water. |
| A．The Polluted English Channel | B．A Tough Swimming Journey |
| C．Swim to Protect the Seas | D．An Endurance Swimmer |
10 . Reducing plastic waste isn't easy because the cheap material is found in almost every household item. Now, a delicious and nutritious solution has come up to help reduce our dependence on this environmental hazard.
David Christian, the co-founder of Evoware, says the idea of creating the biodegradable (生物降解的) products came from concern at the country’s high pollution rate. Indonesia is home to four of the world's worst polluted rivers. Since single-use packaging is a large contributor to the problem, Evoware decided to deal with that first.
After investigating various materials, the company settled on seaweed. Unlike corn, commonly used for biodegradable containers, seaweed does not require resources like water or large amounts of space. Since Indonesian farmers already harvest more seaweed than they can sell, it's easy for the company to find the material.
Though they will not reveal their production process, Evoware says the seaweed packaging contains no chemicals and is safe to consume. The company has also invented single-use cups, which can break down 30 days after they're thrown away.
While replacing plastic with the seaweed products may seem appealing to most of us, it is a hard-sell in Indonesia. According to Christian, ''The awareness to reduce single-use plastic is still very low. This makes our bioplastic unnecessary.” Also a factor is the cost, which is higher than using plastic. Hopefully, Evoware will succeed in convincing Indonesians and people worldwide that switching to their products will be helpful to protecting our beautiful planet.
1. What problem did Evoware decide to deal with first?| A．Ways to clean the four worst polluted rivers. |
| B．What nutritious materials for people to use. |
| C．How to deal with single-use packaging. |
| D．Means to contribute to the country's economy. |
| A．It didn't require much space and was easy to get. |
| B．It could be found everywhere in his country. |
| C．It was most commonly used for packaging. |
| D．It grew thickly in most of the polluted rivers. |
| A．Their seaweed products have won government support. |
| B．Sometimes it's hard to get people to reduce the use of plastics. |
| C．Their new products have received worldwide popularity. |
| D．The cost of making seaweed products will be lowered soon. |
| A．Something lasting long. | B．Something hard to accept. |
| C．Something easy to get. | D．Something commonly seen. |
