1 . It is late autumn—millions of gardeners across the northern hemisphere, pulled on their thickest sweaters, spent hours clearing large piles of leaves and packed them into plastic bags at the end of driveways.
In the US alone, nearly 10 million tonnes of garden waste go to landfill every year. That is a large amount of effort, not just from an environmental viewpoint but from that of our aching backs, too. So where does this advice come from? Well, it largely comes from the belief that thick fallen leaves can make plants under them unable to breathe, especially shorter grass. They shut down important photosynthesis (光合作用) and get in the way of the growth of the shorter grass. However, this received wisdom has recently been questioned by researchers at Wisconsin University.
The key finding of their new research was that although clearing fallen leaves is one of the most common gardening practices, it makes very little sense. In natural ecosystems, fallen leaves help return nutrients necessary for healthy plant growth to the soil, which greatly improves soil condition. Removing leaves year after year breaks this ecological (生态的) balance. Letting some leaves stick around to cover your garden is a great way to help your grass and the local ecosystem.
They further explained that if up to 50percent of your grass lawn (草坪) is covered by fallen leaves, you might as well go back indoors and put your feet up. The advantages of this light leaf coverage far outweigh the disadvantages—the leaves will quickly break down and help next year’s lawn grow far better than if you had cleared them. Only at over 50 percent coverage do the Wisconsin researchers recommend clearing.
So why not consider leaving the leaves? Save time, carbon and effort, and in exchange get a healthier lawn from this garden waste—that seems like a pretty good deal. And how many plastic bags could be saved by simply not binning fallen leaves every year? In the US alone, about 700 million.
1. What does the author describe in paragraph 1?A.An amazing autumn game. | B.A common sight in gardens. |
C.A hot attraction in the north. | D.An extreme weather event. |
A.Fallen leaves need not be cleared. |
B.Fallen leaves protect shorter grass. |
C.Fallen leaves block photosynthesis. |
D.Fallen leaves are hard to break down. |
A.it ruins city image | B.it breaks gardening rules |
C.it affects local economy | D.it causes ecological damage |
A.Doubtful. | B.Positive. | C.Unclear. | D.Worried. |
2 . A couple has recently placed their garbage can out for collection for the first time in 14 months, all thanks to their recycling skills. Richard and Louise Arnold have established such an effective routine that they only need to put their garbage can on the side of the street once a year.
Louise explained that making small monthly changes in her life has resulted in her family producing very little waste. She said, “It’s not as difficult as you might think if you start with small steps. We began with soap, switching from bath cream to natural soap without packaging. These bars are large enough that we cut them in half, using one for the sink and the other half for the shower. It’s both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”
“So it’s actually quite easy. Just go around your house and think of little things you can do gradually, and you’ll start noticing the difference,” Louise added. Currently, the couple takes recyclable waste to the tip, donates clothes to charity shops, and brings soft plastics and batteries to a shop that accepts them.
In 2017, the couple established No Waste Living, which initially started as a weekend stall at the local market and has since developed into a website. Louise regularly writes a newsletter for her hundreds of subscribers. They also started selling eco-friendly products, ranging from non-chemical household cleaning and washing solutions for a “less toxic home” to bamboo washing-up brushes. Louise mentioned, “I started No Waste Living because I wanted to show our achievement s and lead by example.”
Although the family occasionally faces criticism, Louise remains determined. She said, “The main point of contention(争论) for people regarding new waste rules is having to drive their waste to a recycling center, which adds to their already busy lives. However, in the long run, you will create more space in your home, save money, and spend less time dealing with garbage cans.”
1. How did the couple start their waste reduction journey?A.By replacing small soaps with large ones. | B.By using a small amount of bath cream. |
C.By using unpackaged soap bars. | D.By recycling soft plastics and batteries. |
A.To bring eco-products to market. | B.To inspire others to follow in their footsteps. |
C.To treat recyclable waste from the neighborhood. | D.To answer the call of their subscribers. |
A.They mean more work to deal with garbage. |
B.They increase the cost of garbage collection. |
C.They establish a set time for waste management. |
D.They limit the daily amount of garbage for collection. |
A.A business - minded couple. | B.The “less poisonous home” concept. |
C.The global trend in recycling. | D.A planet- friendly lifestyle. |
3 . A recent global study, which surveyed 10,000 young people from 10 countries, showed that nearly 60 percent of them were extremely worried about the future state of the planet. The report also showed that nearly half of the respondents (受访者) said that such distress affected them daily, and three-quarters agreed with the statement that “the future is frightening.” This, and many other studies, show clearly that climate change is not just a threat to the environment. It also poses a very real threat to our mental health.
Psychologists have classified these feelings of sadness, distress, and worry about the current climate emergency as eco-anxiety. According to the Climate Psychology Alliance, eco-anxiety is defined as the “intense physical and mental discomfort in response to dangerous changes in the climate system.”
Eco-anxiety doesn’t just affect young people. It also affects researchers who work in climate and ecological science, burdened by the reality discovered in their findings, and it affects the poor people across the globe, who hopelessly bear the harmful impacts of climate breakdown.
In recent years, we’ve seen wildfires tear through Canada and Greece, and summer floods destroy regions in Pakistan that are home to nearly 33 million people. Studies have shown that those impacted by air pollution and rising temperatures are more likely to experience mental distress.
The cause of this mental distress is absolutely external. According to Caroline Hickman, a researcher on eco-anxiety from the University of Bath, anyone experiencing these emotions is displaying entirely natural and rational reactions to the climate crisis. Her suggestion? Take eco-anxiety as a tool for good—as an emotion that can urge people to act in protection of our planet.
This is why, in 2024, we will also see more people around the world join the fight for climate justice and apply for jobs that seek sustainable development. Eco-anxiety is not something we will defeat with therapy—we will solve it by taking action.
1. What does the underlined word “distress” in paragraph1 mean?A.Shock. | B.Anxiety. | C.Fear. | D.Anger. |
A.It is a strong reaction to the natural disasters. |
B.It is a kind of mental disease for the young people. |
C.It is a physical and mental discomfort when we meet difficulties. |
D.It is a strong physical and mental discomfort for the dangerous climate changes. |
A.The process of eco-anxiety. | B.The impact of eco-anxiety. |
C.The causes of eco-anxiety. | D.The benefits of eco-anxiety. |
A.Defeat it with a therapy. |
B.Just wait for a good solution. |
C.Join the fight for climate justice. |
D.Use it to urge people to protect our earth. |
4 . If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.
●Use food containers smartly
Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.
●Choose real cutlery (餐具)
Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.
You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?
●Think about the drinks
Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.
●Put cloth bags to good use
Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.
A.Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket. |
B.There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy. |
C.To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea. |
D.If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates. |
E.Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground. |
F.These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided. |
G.In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything. |
5 . Working at an investment bank in New York City in the mid-2010s. Anna Sacks was living the life—just not the life she wanted. Sure, she was happy. But she wanted to do something that felt important and was fulfilling on a deeper level.
Sacks packed up her life and moved to Connecticut for three months to participate in Adamah, a Jewish farming program that focuses on sustainable living and growing sustainable food. The Adamah program opened Sacks’s eyes to the damage consumer culture is doing on a local, national, and global level, and the need to find solutions. From then on, she began what she calls “trash (垃圾) walking.”
While walking around her neighborhood, Sacks, 31, picked through rubbish to look for reusable items. Soon, her trash walks expanded to include company rubbish along with residential trash. Surprisingly, she discovered a wide range of really great stuff—like clothing, dinnerware, and food—all of which she documents on Instagram and TikTok.
Under the name The Trash Walker, Sacks quickly gained popularity for her educational, funny, and surprising videos that highlight the problems with consumerism and share information about how to live a more sustainable life. “The root issue is overproduction, which leads to overconsumption, which leads to a large amount of waste,” she says. Sacks’s videos have gone viral many times, causing shockwaves through the industries she calls out.
Trash walking has given Sacks a nearly endless supply and she shares much of her “treasure” with others. She tries giving them informally to family, friends, or individuals she knows may need a specific item. Then she takes the remaining items to free stores so other New Yorkers can benefit from her treasure-hunting.
Sacks’s main focus is simply getting people to pay attention to how many unnecessary things they buy and then throw away. “Once you become aware of the way you consume, you can see ways you improve,” she says.
1. What inspired Sacks to begin her “trash walking”?A.Her desire to live a richer life. | B.The great need for household stuff. |
C.Her involvement in a project. | D.The wish to be an Internet star. |
A.Funny stories. | B.Views on consumption. |
C.Educational courses. | D.Solutions to problems. |
A.She donates all to the charity. | B.She keeps most for her family. |
C.She gives away much to others. | D.She sells some to individuals. |
A.Trash Walker: Find Treasure in Trash. |
B.Trash Walking: A Tough Journey. |
C.Trash Walker: Live in the Moment. |
D.Trash Walking: A New Career. |
6 . How did Cape Town, South Africa, get into a Day Zero situation—when the city’s taps would go dry because its reservoirs (水库)would become dangerously low on water? The city gets its water from six reservoirs in Western Cape province, which usually
Cape Town is not
In the U.S., the situation is somewhat better, but many urban centers still
A.take over | B.fill up | C.make off | D.set out |
A.decreased | B.rose | C.remained | D.drowned |
A.likelihood | B.proportion | C.demand | D.efficiency |
A.architecture | B.agriculture | C.economy | D.conservation |
A.policy | B.growth | C.crisis | D.change |
A.enough | B.possible | C.difficult | D.alone |
A.making up for | B.resulting from | C.taking advantage of | D.looking into |
A.In a word | B.By comparison | C.What’s worse | D.For example |
A.avoid | B.solve | C.discuss | D.face |
A.passive | B.purposeful | C.adaptable | D.reliable |
A.Similarly | B.Fortunately | C.Initially | D.Alternatively |
A.questionable | B.memorable | C.effective | D.confusing |
A.daily | B.legal | C.maximum | D.normal |
A.neglect | B.lack | C.provide | D.find |
A.drink | B.pour | C.place | D.record |
At the Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve in Hubei Province, about 2,000 creatures wander freely. Their numbers include 460 deer born this year, showing that the species,
Often
In the
8 . Many people think of sharks as dangerous monsters. But human beings cause a far greater danger to them than they do to us. Although shark attacks do occur, they are quite rare. According to one estimate, however, humans kill 100 million sharks every year.
Why should we save the sharks?
Sharks take up the top position on the food chain in the ocean. As sharks die off, the population of the animals that sharks consume will increase. This, in turn, means that the number of the creatures those animals eat will drop.
Don’t use shark products
First, vitamin energy drinks and leather goods can be made from shark parts.
A.It is time for children to learn about sharks. |
B.Shark oil is also used in many popular beauty products. |
C.Then the shark dies slowly, sometimes over several days. |
D.Actually, the killing of sharks will affect the whole planet. |
E.People in some countries are especially keen on shark products. |
F.Among them are some sea fish that humans consume every day. |
G.This number is a warning that many kinds of sharks may die out. |
9 . Scientists from the National University of Singapore studied how much time twins spent in natural spaces compared with each other and found that they shared a similar level of desire to be in nature.
“The reason we decided to study this in twins is that we could estimate heritability(遗传性)based on the genetic similarities in identical twins(100%)versus genetic similarities in non-identical twins(50%),” said Chia-chen Chang, who led the study. “If a trait(特性), such as the desire to be in nature, is clearly more similar between identical twins than non-identical twins, this will then suggest a trait is heritable.”
Using the TwinsUK registry, researchers surveyed 1,153 pairs of twins—identical and non-identical—about how they experienced nature. They were required to answer questions involving how frequently they visit natural spaces such as public parks and private gardens and rate their familiarity with nature. After comparing and analyzing the collected data, researchers found that identical twins were more similar to each other in their attitudes towards nature.
While previous studies have found that spending time in natural spaces improves mental well-being, this varies from person to person. For the first time, the researchers say, this study has indicated why that is by suggesting there is likely to be a genetic component in our preference for nature and our likelihood to visit natural spaces.
However, heritability declined with age, perhaps showing that environmental factors such as access to nature and green spaces bring about a love of the outdoors as one grows older. That is to say, a person's desire to be in nature and how often they experience it are influenced by both genes and personal experiences. Those who live in urban environments without access to nature could end up having a lesser appreciation of it. Hence, it's necessary that diverse urban planning is needed to provide access to natural spaces-and the benefits they offer—for all.
1. Why were twins chosen as subjects of the study?A.To acquire more accurate results. | B.To confirm the previous studies. |
C.To measure their gene similarity. | D.To identify their specific hobbies. |
A.By analyzing previous data. | B.By referring to online resources. |
C.By asking and answering questions. | D.By doing an experiment in the lab |
A.It takes genes into consideration. | B.It takes advantage of the Internet. |
C.It provides a new insight into the role of nature. | D.It reveals the link between nature and mental health. |
A.One's love for nature is invariable. | B.City planning leaves much to be desired. |
C.It may be a better choice to live in rural areas. | D.Genes are the only factor in shaping one's traits. |
10 . Not only does the use of plastic water bottles hurt your wallet, it also increases pollution and wastes energy and water. Only 23% of all plastic in America ends up in a recycling bin, meaning over $ 1 billion worth of plastic is treated as rubbish a year. Recently, Skipping Rocks Lab has invented a kind of water bottle called Ooho.
It is a convenient, clear water bottle that can either be drunken or eaten. To drink it, you can either peel off the membrane (薄膜) or tear a hole in the membrane with your teeth to pour the water into your mouth. To eat it, you simply put the whole bottle in your mouth. One problem the scientists have run into is how to ship large amounts of Ooho bubbles(水泡) without arriving with a very wet truck. However, they have attempted to package units of individual bubbles together inside a larger and thicker membrane. It is targeting large outdoor events, such as marathons, music festivals, and sporting events, where tons of plastic bottles are used, and frequently left behind as litter. And too much plastic is sure to do harm to the environment, which could account for their purpose of such a new invention.
The team has been working for the past two years to develop the technology and materials needed to produce Ooho; they have recently applied a patent for their new advancements. The price for an individual bubble or a unit of bubbles has not been set yet, but they cost about two cents to create a unit, which is cheaper than plastic bottles. It has appeared at events in London, San Francisco, Boston, at conferences, festivals, and so on.
Ooho is catching many people’s attention and has raised over $ 1 million and gained 1,000 investors in only three days. It is mostly being sold at events at the moment to keep the consumer’s interest while the production machine is getting up and running. It is quickly making a rise,so keep an eye out this year for these bottles of the future.
1. How is most plastic dealt with in America?A.It’s sold. | B.It’s recycled. |
C.It’s buried. | D.It’s wasted. |
A.To make a profit for a company. | B.To protect the environtnent. |
C.To make people eat as they drink. | D.To reduce the cost of plastic bottle. |
A.It is easy and safe to ship it in large amounts. |
B.It has become popular since it began to be sold. |
C.It might be sold at a lower price than plastic bottles. |
D.It cost the team a lot of money to develop the technology. |
A.Ooho is to be a success in the future. |
B.Ooho is being supported by smart people. |
C.Ooho is taking the place of plastic bottles now. |
D.Ooho is being produced to attract more investors. |