1 . The city of Venice, Italy, has finally made a long-awaited decision. Starting on August 1, 2021, cruise ships (游轮) will no longer be allowed to enter the city’s waters.
Contrary to popular opinion, these cruise ship visitors contribute relatively little to the local tourism economy. The New York Times reported cruise ship passengers add up to 73% of visitors, but contribute a mere 18% of tourism dollars. The percentage is inverted for people who spend at least one night at a hotel; they represent 14% of visitors, but 48% of the business.
Many people are overjoyed by the news, especially environmental activists. Firstly, the cruise ships would disturb the waterways and erode (侵蚀) the foundations of already weak buildings. A 2019 study published in Nature found the waves created by large ships could “redistribute industrial pollutants already present in the waters.” Others have said these same waves made huge holes in the underwater bottoms of buildings, making them unstable. Furthermore, when canals are deepened in order to allow larger boats, it destroys coastal habitats and makes floods worse. This is part of the reason why, in recent years, Venice has experienced terrible flooding that completely flooded St. Mark’s Square and other landmarks.
The announcement came as a surprise as many did not expect the regional government to act so quickly. In April a similar ban was issued, but it depended on finding an alternative port for the ships—a requirement that local people complained could take years to achieve. The announcement made last week, however, did away with that condition, allowing the city to move forward quickly with the ban.
1. What does the underlined word “inverted” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Increased slightly. | B．Looked down upon. | C．Adjusted accordingly. | D．Turned upside down. |
| A．Reasons for Venice’s terrible floods. | B．Dangers cruise ships brought about. |
| C．Reaction to the long-awaited decision. | D．Damage waves did to buildings. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Hopeful. | C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
| A．Venice Says “No” to Cruise Ships. | B．The Long-awaited Decision to be Made. |
| C．Cruise Ships Erodes Ancient Venice. | D．Venice Tries to Protect Its Waterway. |
2 . Lithium (锂) is called “white gold” for good reason. The metal’s value has been growing rapidly over the last several years, mainly because it is an essential material of lithium-ion batteries, which play an important part in several key sustainable technologies, e. g. electric cars.
As ocean waves, wind and solar power have grown into major players in the energy industry, lithium has also become key to building a future free of petrol. But getting lithium comes at a huge cost. As with most metals, its mining is damaging. It often works like this: Briny water, containing lithium and other metals, is pumped to the surface from underground. Then it sits in pools to allow the water to evaporate, leaving the rest behind as poisonous matter. Workers use chemical reactions to remove the lithium from that, making it into powder which is then packaged and shipped to the buyers around the world. Any accident that releases mine matter into surrounding communities or the groundwater supply could have damaging long-term impacts.
Indigenous (原住民) communities often bear the result of the damage, and political leaders have paid little attention to their concerns. In Arizona, for example, an expanding lithium mine is threatening the Hualapai Tribe’s historical sites. And for politicians who have promised to work with native peoples to deal with it, mining lithium and other precious metals is putting them into a dilemma: How do you ensure the availability of materials which are essential to the future while protecting indigenous people’ rights?
Mining of the metal is expected to increase greatly in coming years. Over time, that will make electric cars inexpensive and, therefore, more popular.
As environmentally conscious consumers buy electric cars in ever-greater numbers, it’s important to be aware of the dirty process that powers those clean air vehicles.
1. What do we know about Lithium in paragraph 1 and paragraph 2?| A．It’s a kind of battery. | B．It will be widely used in the future. |
| C．Only Lithium can replace fossil fuels. | D．It is the same with wind and solar power. |
| A．It’s easily done. | B．It does harm to the environment. |
| C．It costs much money. | D．The workers benefit a lot from it. |
| A．The shortage of Lithium. |
| B．The prices of electric cars. |
| C．Their people will no longer support them. |
| D．The balance between it and environment protection. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Indifferent. | C．Worried. | D．Optimistic. |
3 . Natalie and Callie, both 13 years old, started raising monarch butterflies for fun in 2020.
But after realizing the monarchs were an endangered species, their
They learned that the population of monarch butterflies had
So the girls teamed up with a national nonprofit group to plant a native garden
The team has won the Silver Award for their
| A．dream | B．hobby | C．career | D．decision |
| A．doubled | B．aged | C．declined | D．exploded |
| A．management | B．assessment | C．selection | D．destruction |
| A．relied on | B．kept off | C．broke down | D．gave away |
| A．partly | B．secretly | C．rarely | D．specially |
| A．attracted | B．protected | C．monitored | D．trapped |
| A．employ | B．educate | C．force | D．limit |
| A．meant | B．cost | C．changed | D．hurt |
| A．dry | B．medical | C．healthy | D．wild |
| A．pleasing | B．light | C．long | D．disappointing |
| A．project | B．concept | C．schedule | D．assignment |
| A．concerned | B．connected | C．finished | D．occupied |
| A．chemicals | B．time | C．funds | D．energy |
| A．quoted | B．continued | C．replied | D．commented |
| A．donations | B．support | C．patience | D．efforts |
Sustainable tourism, which is becoming increasingly popular nowadays, is not just about seeing the sights — it is also about connecting with people and their cultures,
It is important to travel in
In summary, being a sustainable tourist comes down to respect — for nature, culture and people.
5 . With greater climate catastrophe (气候突变) on Earth, it is natural for us to make every effort to stop the potential floods, snowstorms, and alarming reports from scientists. For many of us (myself included), part of that means running out to buy reusable straws, organic cleaners, and packaging-free products.
However, before you are delighted at “green” purchases, take a second to consider the results of a new study from Arizona University. By comparing the shopping habits, mental health and environmental impact of young people, the researchers reconfirmed a principle: Buying less beats buying “green” stuff without effort. And that is true whether you are looking at the impact that your purchases have on the Earth or on your own happiness.
It should not come as a shock that simply consuming less is better for the planet. After all, every new item a factory yields requires some resources to produce. Take plastic bag bans for instance. If your city is getting rid of single-use shopping bags, it can be attractive to pay for a fashionable organic cotton bag hanging in the check-out line of your local supermarket. However, experts insist that growing cotton is actually no better for the Earth than producing the conventional plastic bags. Then what is your best bet for carrying your groceries if you care about sustainability? Any bag you already own.
It is not just the Earth that will be happier if you buy less. You will feel more contented too, according to the new study. “People believe that they might well be self-satisfied about becoming environmentally conscious through ‘green’ buying patterns, but it doesn’t seem to be that way”, said the lead researcher Sabrina Helm. “Reduced consumption has effects on increased well-being, but we don’t see that with ‘green’ consumption.”
“Owning every new ‘green’ product on the market might make you feel contented, but if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better,” said Helm.
1. Why does the writer mention “green” shopping habits?| A．To call on a green lifestyle. | B．To praise people’s green efforts. |
| C．To introduce a social trend. | D．To present a half true “green” truth. |
| A．The plastic bag bans are of no effect. | B．Using any bag you have is the best bet. |
| C．Reduced consumption is better for the Earth. | D．Growing cotton is far worse for the Earth. |
| A．The sense of achievement. | B．The sense of happiness. |
| C．The sense of relief. | D．The sense of security. |
| A．Less is More | B．The Greener, The Happier |
| C．Happiness Guarantee | D．What Are Green Products? |
6 . Plastic garbage is one of the world’s biggest environmental headaches. Some plastic items like water bottles and shopping bags can last for hundreds of years after being thrown away, with all this plastic rubbish disrupting ecosystems and disturbing the habitats of wildlife.
There have been several projects to help control plastic production, but researchers may have found a natural way to get rid of the products.
Waxworms, which are confusingly classed as caterpillars(毛毛虫), are the honey bee’s worst nightmares, as they lay their eggs inside their hives(蜂巢). Amateur beekeeper Federica Bertocchini decided to use plastic bags to protect the hives, however she was dumbfounded when she discover the insects were able to eat holes into the sides of the bags.
The beekeeper’s surprising findings sparked a study. Bertocchini, from the Spanish National Research Council, teamed up with scientists from Cambridge University to perform some tests.
When the team put about one hundred waxworms into a standard UK plastic shopping bag, they began feasting. After about 12 hours they’d eaten roughly 92 milligrams of the bag.
In all, this isn’t huge amount, but it’s a lot faster than other natural ways. Last year, researchers found a specific type of bacteria( 细 菌 )could eat plastic, but at a rate of 0. 13 milligrams a day, making this is a massive jump in the search for a natural way to dispose(处理) plastic.
The team is still not 100 percent sure how the worms do what they do, but they’re heralding this as an important first step to get rid of pollution.
Luckily, while that team works out the answer, plastic manufacturers have found a way to make their products much more environmentally friendly. There are three types of environmentally friendly plastics: bioplastics(which are made from corn starch), biodegradable plastics(which break down quicker) and recycled plastic.
Hopefully with these new products, we will get closer to a society that is less harmful to the environment.
1. Why is plastic garbage a huge environmental headache?| A．Because some plastic bottles can stay on the street for many years. |
| B．Because this kind of rubbish will do great damage to the environment for years. |
| C．Because more and more plastic bags will make the environment look dull and ugly. |
| D．Because the plastic rubbish will make the wild life get worse than before. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Frightened. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Uncomfortable. |
| A．They make the plastic into honey. |
| B．They help scientist develop new plastic. |
| C．They eat the plastic in an environmentally friendly way. |
| D．They work with some plastic factories to deal with plastic faster. |
| A．The author is optimistic about the environment. |
| B．There will be more plastic products. |
| C．The waxworms will play a major role in the future. |
| D．No one is 100 percent sure what the future will be like. |
7 . A new study shows that rising levels of planet-warming gases may reduce important nutrients in food crops.
Researchers studied the effects of one such gas—carbon dioxide—on rice. The researchers grew rice plants in a controlled environment. They set carbon dioxide levels to what scientists are predicting for our planet by the end of the century. They found that the resulting rice crops had lower than normal levels of vitamins, minerals and protein. The researchers said the effects of planet-warming gases would be most severe for the poorest citizens in some of the least developed countries. These people generally eat the most rice and have the least complex diets, they noted.
In the experiment, scientists grew 18 kinds of rice in fields in China and Japan. They pumped carbon dioxide gas over the plants in an effort to create the atmosphere of the future. Rice grown under high carbon dioxide conditions had, on average, 13 to 30 percent lower levels of four B vitamins and 10 percent less protein. The crops also had 8 percent less iron and 5 percent less zinc（锌）an rice grown under normal conditions. However, vitamin E levels increased by about 13 percent on average.
The results are bad news, “especially for the nutrition of the poorer population in less-developed countries,” said the University of Tokyo’s Kazuhiko Kobayashi, who helped to write the report. That includes about 600 million people in Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Laos and other nations, mainly in Southeast Asia, the report said.
One of the scientists is Sam Myers of Harvard University in the American state of Massachusetts. He said that findings like this are an example of the surprises climate change create. “My concern is there are many more surprises to come,” he said.
Myers noted that pollution, loss of some species, destruction of forests, and other human activities are likely to produce unexpected problems. He said that you cannot completely change all the natural systems that living organisms have grown to depend on over millions of years without having effects come back to affect our own health.
The new study suggests a way to lower the nutritional harm of climate change. One way, Kobayashi said, is grow different forms of rice that have shown to be more resistant to higher carbon dioxide levels.
1. Which county would be influenced most by planet-warming gases according to the text?| A．China | B．Britain | C．America | D．Myanmar |
| A．By comparison. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By describing a process. |
| A．Climate change will be difficult to predict. |
| B．Climate change will lead to more good effects. |
| C．Climate change will be harmful to environment. |
| D．Climate change will cause more unexpected problems. |
| A．Myers said we could change all the natural systems for the sake of our health. |
| B．The poorest people in all the least developed countries would be influenced most. |
| C．The researchers grew 18 kinds of rice in China and Japan in a controlled environment. |
| D．Protein in rice grown under high carbon dioxide conditions is increased by 10 percent. |
8 . Food production does great harm to our environment. There are many procedures involved in the manufacture of food that result in greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Some procedures require the consumption of large amounts of fossil fuels, such as the transportation and storage of food products. Other factors that cause great damage to our environment include the overuse of fresh water.
The production of beef is more damaging to the environment than that of any other food we consume. Raising large numbers of cattle requires the production of large amounts of food for the animals. it's estimated that producing one pound of beef requires seven pounds of feed.
Land use is also a problem. If the cattle are free-range cattle, large areas of land are required for them to live on. This has led to disastrous forest cutting and the loss of rare plants and animal species, particularly in tropical rain forests in Central and South America.
Another problem specific to beef production is methane emissions (甲烷排放). Although many people are aware of the damaging effects of carbon dioxide, they don't realize methane's global warming potential is 25 times worse, making it a more dire problem.
Unfortunately, beef consumption is growing rapidly. This is the result of simple supply and demand factors. Specifically, there are two main causes of demand that are encouraging the production of more supply. First, the increase in the world population means there are more people to consume meat. The second factor is socioeconomic advancement. As citizens in developing nations become financially stable, they can afford to buy more meat.
Therefore, one way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions is for people around the world to significantly cut down on the amount of beef they eat.
1. Which of the following is TRUE?| A．Raising free-range cattle is eco-friendly. |
| B．People cut down trees for animal habitats. |
| C．Producing beef can damage the environment. |
| D．Carbon dioxide causes far more harm than methane. |
| A．common |
| B．urgent |
| C．beneficial |
| D．avoidable |
| A．more people are in demand of beef |
| B．developing countries raise more cattle |
| C．more land is available to raise cattle |
| D．the cost of raising cattle is relatively low |
| A．describe the booming of the beef production |
| B．emphasize the advantages of beef production |
| C．criticize the cutting of the rain forest |
| D．argue for a decrease in beef consumption |
9 . Google’s data centres and the offices for its 60,000 staff will be powered entirely by renewable energy from next year,in what the company has called a “landmark moment”.The internet giant is already the world’s biggest corporate buyer of renewable electricity,last year buying 44% of its power from wind and solar farms.Now it will be 100%,and an executive said it would no longer refuse to invest in nuclear power in the future.
Oman said it had taken Google five years to reach the 100% target,set in 2012,because of the complexity involved with negotiating power purchase agreements.The company’s biggest demand for energy is its data centres and it admits their overall thirst for power is growing.
Google was now looking to sign 10-year agreements for low-carbon power that was constant,such as hydro,biomass and nuclear.“We want to do contracts on renewable power,it could be biomass if the fuel source is steady and enough,it could be nuclear.We’re looking at all forms of low-carbon generation.”
But he said new nuclear power was “controversial”,the possible safety consequences were much more “dramatic” than with renewable sources,and the price was “much more difficult to guarantee” than when funding solar panels and wind turbines.“We don’t want to refuse to sign a nuclear agreement if it meets our goals of low price,safety,and other factors.We don’t want to rule that out,but today we can’t positively say there are nuclear projects out there that meet this standard,”he said.
The company’s 100% renewable energy does not mean Google is getting all its energy directly from wind and solar power,but that on an annual basis the amount it purchases from renewable sources matches the electricity its operations consume.
1. A “landmark moment” for Google refers to .| A．its efforts in saving energy |
| B．its growing demand for employees |
| C．its progress in using renewable energy |
| D．its becoming the world’s biggest company |
| A．Negotiations of agreements. | B．High consumption of energy. |
| C．Shortage of energy. | D．Tight budgets. |
| A．Nuclear power is an ideal choice. |
| B．Solar and wind power is not safe enough. |
| C．It’s unwise to invest solar and wind power. |
| D．Google is unlikely to use nuclear energy soon. |
| A．To show Google’s profit goal in global market. |
| B．To talk about Google’s new move to use energy. |
| C．To recommend a new kind of renewable energy. |
| D．To urge the public to use renewable energy. |
