1 . Recently, Whitewater Middle School students in the US looked at 200 pounds (90.7kg) of food. Their classmates threw it away after a meal in the cafeteria.
They found the remains of pizzas. They saw untouched green salads and pieces of bread bitten only once.
It was, they said, both disgusting and educational.
“You don’t realize how much food waste you’re making till you see it,” said student Cody Gist.
To deal with this problem, Whitewater added environmental science as a school-wide program this year. Teachers are guiding their students through research on the ways food is linked to environment, poverty, and people’s health.
The school changed to compostable (可用作堆肥的) paper trays (托盘) as well. Working with Every Tray Counts, a US nonprofit group, the school hopes for a change from disposable (一次性的) trays to compostable paper trays.
This isn’t just an exercise at school. Whitewater is joining a network of schools, business and neighborhoods. They try to make composting as mainstream as recycling.
“The larger issue is protection of landfill space,” said Laurette Hall, an environmental management official. The area has enough space to last for maybe 25 more years, she said “That isn’t as much as it sounds in such a rapidly growing area.”
Principal Beth Thompson said students advise each other on new ways to deal with trash.
“Students understand why it matters so not one student refused to do extra work when throwing away their waste,” Thompson said.
Whitewater teachers make sure students know how their own eating habits are part of bigger problems. In environmental literature class, students read books such as Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.
Mollie Lyman works with several language arts classrooms. Their classes discuss such issues as how poor neighborhoods often have less access to healthy food.
Lyman says she wants students to ask some basic questions: “What do we eat? What do we waste?”
1. Why did Whitewater Middle School students look at the food?| A．To see how food was connected with other problems. |
| B．To find out the calories of different kinds of food. |
| C．To check what foods were most popular among students. |
| D．To prepare students for the environmental science course. |
① Introducing a new course about the environment.
② Using compostable paper trays in the cafeteria.
③ Setting up a group called Every Tray Counts.
④ Joining others to make composting common.
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①②④ | D．①③④ |
| A．People don’t want to protect landfill space. |
| B．There won’t be enough landfill space in the future. |
| C．Students don’t know how to recycle trash. |
| D．Students don’t understand the waste problem. |
| A．To tell readers how important it is to save food. |
| B．To call on students to care about poor people. |
| C．To encourage schools to have environmental protection classes. |
| D．To share how a US school is making an effort for the environment. |
2 . “Birds” and “airports” are two words that, paired together，don’t normally paint the most harmonious picture. So it really raises some eyebrows when China announces plans to build an airport that is for birds.
Described as the world’s first-ever bird airport, the proposed Lingang Bird Sanctuary(保护区）in the northern coastal city of Tianjin is, of course,not an actual airport. Rather，it's a wetland preserve specifically designed to accommodate hundreds-even thousands-of daily takeoffs and landings by birds traveling along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. Over 50 species of migratory (迁徙的）water birds，some endangered, will stop and feed at the protected sanctuary before continuing their long journey along the flyway.
Located on a former landfill site，the 150-acre airport is also open to human travelers.(Half a million visitors are expected annually.) However，instead of duty-free shopping，the main attraction for non-egg-laying creatures at Tianjin’s newest airport will be a green-roofed education and research center, a series of raised “observation platforms” and a network of scenic walking and cycling paths totaling over 4 miles.
“The proposed Bird Airport will be a globally significant sanctuary for endangered migratory bird species, while providing new green lungs for the city of Tianjin.” Adrian McGregor of an Australian landscape architecture firm explained of the design. Frequently blanketed in smog so thick that it has shut down real airports, Tianjin is a city---China’s fourth most populous----that would certainly benefit from a new pair of healthy green lungs•
1. The underlined phrase “non-egg-laying creatures” in Paragraph 3 refers to?| A．Visitors. | B．Designers. |
| C．Endangered water birds. | D．Planes. |
| A．People cannot watch birds up close here. |
| B．It is located on a 150-acre landfill site. |
| C．It functions as an actual airport and a wetland preserve. |
| D．It provides migratory birds with food and shelter. |
| A．The airport will become a permanent home for birds. |
| B．Tianjin will win worldwide fame in the future. |
| C．Tianjin’s air quality will improve thanks to the airport. |
| D．Tianjin will be able to accommodate more people. |
| A．Airports shut down and open up. |
| B．China is to open the first Bird Airport. |
| C．Airports turn into green lungs. |
| D．Birds are no longer enemies to airports. |
3 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit
While there are
4 . Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers, desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.
Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.
This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.
Harry Morrison, chief executive (主管) of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes: “I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking — we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”
Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions (排放). Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.
The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted (授予) the standard, they can use a logo (标识) in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers. |
| B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions. |
| C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home. |
| D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers, environmental awareness. |
| A．affect | B．change |
| C．disturb | D．reject |
| A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions |
| B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers |
| C．are required to make up for their carbon emissions |
| D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere |
| A．have a strong desire to reduce costs |
| B．use the same logo in their marketing |
| C．gain advantages by taking early action |
| D．attract more shoppers by storing goods |
