1 . China is a country with a large population and a large amount of resources. However, this also means something else-a huge amount of waste. How we deal with waste has long been a problem, and garbage classification (垃圾分类) is something that both common people and the government should pay closer attention to.
Garbage classification refers to a series of activities, including storing and sorting garbage according to certain standards. It makes sure that waste is reused again as many times as possible.
Last month, my school did a survey about garbage classification. About 99 percent of the interviewees said that waste sorting was very important and should be focused on more, while only 1 percent doubted the importance of garbage sorting. Meanwhile, 80 percent of the interviewees said they took part in daily garbage sorting. When I asked, “Which is more important for society; environment or economy?”, half of the participants stated that they were equally important.
In my view, waste sorting is necessary. Almost all the participants said that each individual should sort the garbage they produced. Therefore, I believe it’s a good idea for the government to pass a rule to encourage people to recycle their waste.
As the saying goes, “Constant dripping (滴) of water wears away a stone”. Nothing is to stop us from starting to sort our garbage by ourselves. The world will quickly become better if we all combine our efforts.
1. According to the passage, what has long been a problem?| A．A large amount of resources. | B．Garbage collection. |
| C．The way we deal with garbage. | D．The polluted environment. |
| A．Almost all the interviewees thought waste sorting was important. |
| B．Nobody doubted the importance of garbage sorting. |
| C．8 percent of the people interviewed took part in daily garbage sorting. |
| D．Half people considered environment more important than economy. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Supportive |
| C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Only the government should be responsible for garbage classification. |
| B．Garbage classification includes many activities. |
| C．China is a large country with a large population. |
| D．We can create a better world combining our efforts in sorting garbage. |
2 . The study ended in 2003, but they were unwilling to return home.
“It broke my heart to see that someone could do this to such a beautiful place,” says Christoph. “If you care for nature and for the conservation of our environment, you cannot tolerate such scenes.”
Barbara and Christoph networked tirelessly, tapping into all of their conservation friends and contacts. “We found that more and more people were becoming committed to the idea of forest conservation, says Christoph. It's a struggle to change the perceptions of people to their environment. They have had car tyres slashed, and once had their lives threatened by a man who illegally grazed his cattle on land that was off limits.
| A．Both of them felt helpless. |
| B．Few birds were singing for lack of trees to nest in. |
| C．They described the destruction taking place around them. |
| D．They loved Romania so much that they wanted to stay on. |
| E．That was why they decided on a mission to save this mountain wilderness. |
| F．Although they have had some pretty scary moments, they've never looked back. |
| G．But this peacefulness changed for lacking management of the surrounding countryside in 2007. |
3 . Lego is considering a brick rental scheme in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste. The Danish toymaker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable （可持续的） sources by 2030 and is ploughing significant resources into finding alternatives.
Tim Brooks, vice-president responsible for sustainability, said the company was "totally open" to the idea of a product rental scheme but acknowledged that lost pieces could cause a significant problem. He said the rental scheme was "possible" but admitted there were some "technical barriers", one of which is the complexity of some Lego kits （配套元件），many of which contain thousands of pieces.
" What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?” Mr Brooks added. "There is a lot of technical thinking that needs to be done.
We are right at beginning of that.” Mr Brooks said Lego was exploring several ideas with a view to producing the highest value from products while consuming the least amount of resources. He said many would "probably never see the light of day” and there was no current plan to try a rental scheme.
Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint amid growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. It manufactures 19 billion pieces per year—36,000 a minute——that are made only of plastic while much of the internal packaging is also plastic.
So far, the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. The green trees, plants and flowers were first included in Lego sets late last year but account for only one-two percent of the total amount of plastic elements produced. Henrik Ostergaard Nielson, a production supervisor in Lego's factory in Billund, told the New York Times last year： "We need to learn again how to do this”
1. How will Lego cut down on plastic waste?| A．By considering a brick rental scheme. |
| B．By producing a new kind of toys instead of bricks. |
| C．By replacing common plastic with a renewable material. |
| D．By investing large amounts of money into market. |
| A．It'll cause certain serious problems. |
| B．It'll be of great complexity. |
| C．It'll require more mature technical skills. |
| D．It'll involve much more kits of bricks. |
| A．Ideas. | B．Values. |
| C．Products. | D．Resources. |
| A．Lego has to explore a new product to earn a profit. |
| B．A brick rental scheme has been put into mass production. |
| C．plant-abased plastic is environmentally friendly. |
| D．Lego is optimistic about the brick rental scheme. |
4 . This new packaging material looks like conventional plastic, but it's actually made from fish waste and algae(海藻)--and unlike plastic, if it escapes into the ocean, a fish could likely eat it safely. The material, called MarinaTex, is the winner of this year's James Dyson Award.
"It began with my desire to work with waste," says Lucy Hughes, a recent graduate from University of Sussex, who once visited a fish processing factory to see the massive quantity of waste generated by the industry and find new ways to use it. She focused on fish skins and scales (鳞片). "When I had it in my hands, I realized this has got potential, she says. "It's super strong and flexible." Hughes spent months experimenting with fish waste in her kitchen, running more than 100 experiments to find a binder and a process that could hold together the proteins in the fish skins and scales. "I had a lot of failed attempts—a lot of things either were too easily broken or too soft or easily went bad," she says. She finally landed on a type of algae that can be locally got.
The material can be used to replace oil-based plastic in packaging such as bags or the half transparent windows used to show products in boxes. As her research continues, Hughes says that she'll be studying how MarinaTex works and how long it could be used to store food.
Unlike some "compostable" plastics, which need to be processed in an industrial composting facility to break down, the new material can break down in four to six weeks in a backyard compost bin. ''All the ingredients are food-grade safe," Hughes says." So, this breaks down much like a piece of food would break down."
1. Why did Hughes develop MarinaTex?| A．She wanted to look for a new plastic. |
| B．She would like fish to eat it safely. |
| C．She wanted to win James Dyson Award. |
| D．She wanted to make use of fish skins and scales. |
| A．The fish processing factory. | B．The fish waste. |
| C．Fish scales. | D．Fish skins. |
| A．It is stronger and more flexible. |
| B．It can be used as plastic bags. |
| C．It has the nutritional value for fish. |
| D．It can break down very easily and fast. |
| A．Working with Waste | B．Developing New Ideas |
| C．Making Bags from Fish Waste | D．Getting Rid of Plastic Pollution |
5 . Do you know how much India struggles to gather the waste plastic water bottles? According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report from 2012, India produces 15,000 tonnes of plastics a day, of which the gathered ones only achieve 60% . The trashed-but-not-gathered plastic waste leads to land and water pollution, bringing serious threat to the environment.
After seeing such large-scale plastic pollution, Ankur Chawla, a drink expert, undertook research to find a solution. When he realized the biggest problem the country faced was handling plastic waste, he wanted to come up with a solution where they do not add to the problem of waste. Fortunately, Ankur was not alone. He met Bhrigu Seth, who was into green farming. Both of them found that they shared a common goal and it didn’t take long for them to make a plan of action. It is estimated that over 90 percent of aluminium (铝) drink cans in India are recycled and 70 percent of the cans are made through recycled waste. After going through challenges at hand, the pair made up their minds.
Before taking the next step, both co-founders visited five-star hotels and took samples of water in aluminium cans, asking them whether they would give it a shot if something like that comes in the market. The pair received a widely positive response. They then determined to launch Responsible Whatr, a natural spring water drink packed in an aluminium can to solve the problem of plastic bottles waste.
As one of India’s first natural spring water drinks, Responsible Whatr offered an environmentally-friendly and endlessly recyclable aluminium can. It’s a non-alcoholic drink that was launched with an expectation for an eco-friendly future and an aim to reduce single-use plastic pollution.
Going forward, Ankur and Bhrigu aim to cooperate with airports and ecommerce gates which would help them in directly reaching the homes of high income individuals. They also plan to tie up with corporate firms and cinema halls and join hands with NGOs that are fighting for the conservation of beaches and oceans.
1. What inspired Ankur to conduct his research?| A．Plastics waste caused severe pollution. | B．Plastics remained the major bottle material. |
| C．Plastics accounted for most of the daily waste. | D．The amount of plastic waste was beyond control. |
| A．Launching a rubbish sorting program. | B．Increasing the recycling of plastic cans. |
| C．Creating a new popular packaging design. | D．Finding an acceptable alternative to plastics. |
| A．To advertise a non-alcoholic drink. | B．To receive widely positive responses. |
| C．To reduce single-use plastic pollution. | D．To promote recyclable aluminium cans. |
| A．By introducing new products. | B．By establishing various channels. |
| C．By cooperating with high income individuals. | D．By fighting for the conservation of beaches and oceans. |
1. Why does the woman plan to wear a mask tomorrow?
| A．Because of the smog. |
| B．Because of her illness. |
| C．Because of the cold weather. |
| A．The heavy traffic. | B．The air pollution. | C．The large population. |
| A．Change their ways to go to work. |
| B．Ask the government to do something. |
| C．Call on people to protect the environment. |
| A．He always uses the public transport. |
| B．He seldom listens to the weather report. |
| C．He is waiting for the weather to improve soon. |
