1 . Even minor changes in behavior can have a positive environmental impact. Therefore, it is suggested to remove or reduce single-use plastic bags from your shopping trips, because the bags break down slowly, causing them to linger in landfills. But how long does a plastic bag really stick around?
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that it takes a bag roughly 1000 years to break down. The term “break down” is a little misleading, though. Plastic ends up photodegrading (光降解) from ultraviolet (紫外线) radiation because the majority of microorganisms cannot eat it. And even after the bags degrade, the micro-plastics they leave behind may still harm the environment.
While 1000 years seems long, it is only an estimate. Since the invention of plastic bags in the 1950s or so, humankind has never actually seen the substance break down in real time. Instead, scientists have adopted respirometry tests (呼吸运动测量法), which helps estimate the breakdown rate of an organic substance by measuring the CO2 that the microorganisms produce when breaking down the material. When an organic substance, such as food waste, is present, CO2 levels rise, which allows scientists to estimate the rate of breakdown. However, because plastic bags don’t produce any CO2,—microorganisms aren’t eating them, the bags are just sitting there. If buried in a landfill and sheltered from ultraviolet light, plastic bags will last a very long time.
Bags have an impact on the environment beyond just their removal. It takes fossil fuels to make bags; one estimate puts this amount at 12 million barrels (桶) of oil annually. And after a bag has served its purpose in a consumer’s hands, it may then enter the food chain for wildlife. Plastic that builds up along the food chain is consumed by creatures like birds and fish.
While reducing the use of plastic bags is a good idea, choosing a cloth bag might not be the habit that will help the environment the most. The carbon footprint left by the cloth bags must be countered by thousands of uses.
1. What does the underlined word “linger” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Reproduce. | B.Integrate. | C.Emerge. | D.Last. |
A.Its duration of 1000 years is an overestimate. |
B.Exposure to ultraviolet light is essential to it. |
C.Respirometry tests effectively estimate its rate. |
D.The level of CO2 released during it usually rises. |
A.The multiple environmental costs of plastic bags. |
B.The consumption of fuels for plastic bag production. |
C.The harm of plastic bags to the food chain for wildlife. |
D.The challenge of removing plastic bags from the ecosystem. |
A.Declining plastic shopping bag offers. | B.Reducing the production of plastic bags. |
C.Reusing the same cloth bag repeatedly. | D.Switching from plastic bags to cloth ones. |
2 . Though you may not know it, about half a billion people worldwide depend on the ecosystems created and supported by corals. And with climate change threatening their survival, marine scientist Enric Sala had an idea that might have seemed impossible.
“We wanted to get into a time machine, go back hundreds of years and actually see a coral reef like they used to be everywhere, before we started exploiting (开发) them, polluting them and killing them all over the world,” Sala said.
The idea was, in essence, made possible during an expedition that Sala led in 2009. The team traveled to a corner of the South Pacific Ocean, and found some untouched reefs.
His team presented their findings to officials in the island country of Kiribati. Then the Kiribati government took steps to protect the waters from fishing and other human activities, but between 2015 and 2016, record levels of ocean warming killed half the coral reefs the team had found.
After hearing that news, they lost hope for the health of coral reefs. But the study continued, and last year, they went in for another dive. Despite the reported conditions, Sala and his team found that the reefs had somehow restored themselves, filled with life and color once more. This resurrection (复兴) is something that Sala says can be traced to two key factors.
The first is, thankfully, half of the corals had not died, as was previously thought. Despite the rise in temperatures, there were enough surviving corals left behind to help reproduce the reefs.
The second factor is the Kiribati government’s decision to fully protect those waters. “There are abundant fish species. They eat all the algae that would smother (窒息) the corals, making it possible for the corals to come back,” Sala explained.
“So if some countries want a future for the fisheries, they need to manage their fisheries in a more responsible way around areas that are set aside to help regenerate the rest of the ocean,” Sala said.
For him and his team, the rebirth of the coral reefs in Kiribati is a beacon of hope among so much pessimism (悲观主义) surrounding the future of reefs.
1. What did Enric Sala want to do according to his words in paragraph 2?A.Study some untouched coral reefs. | B.Develop technology for time travel. |
C.Raise awareness about sea protection. | D.Restore coral reefs to their original state. |
A.Habitat destruction. | B.Climate change. |
C.Water pollution. | D.Biodiversity loss. |
A.Fall of ocean temperature. | B.Introduction of new fish species. |
C.Official funding for restoration efforts. | D.Sufficient surviving corals for reproduction. |
A.Killing all the algae in the ocean. | B.Reducing dependence on fisheries. |
C.Protecting the ocean from overfishing. | D.Strengthening cooperation with scientists. |
3 . Brazilian scientists think they might have found a way to undo the damage caused by the cutting down of trees and turn farmland back into forest. The secret lies in ancient local knowledge of soil.
Amazonian Dark Earth (ADE) is a thick, black soil found deep in the Amazon rainforest, and it could help restore forests around the world. ADE is a kind of compost (soil made from dead plants and animals). Various kinds of compost are sold in gardening centers around the world, but ADE is unique. It was created by indigenous people from the Amazon between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. The Amazonian people, today known as Amerindians, created ADE using charcoal from fires, animal bones, food waste and poo. It contains microbes (微生物) that help to turn chemicals in the soil into useful nutrients that feed plants and trees.
Vast areas of the Amazon have been cut down, mostly to make way for grassland for raising cattle. Scientists are looking for a way to turn grassland back into rainforest and revive forest ecosystems. These support thousands of animal and plant species, many of which are unique to the area. Forests also absorb lots of carbon dioxide.
To see if the Amazon’s special soil could help, the scientists grew grasses and trees in ADE, regular earth and a mixture of both. Trees grown in ADE were up to six times taller than those in regular soil. ADE takes hundreds of years to create, so the scientists can’t simply make more. Team member, Dr Siu Mui Tsai, said that instead they want to try and “copy its characteristics”, especially its helpful microbes, and see if it could help to restore natural habitats.
1. What makes ADE valuable?A.Its history of thousands of years. | B.Its potential to enhance reforestation. |
C.Its medical properties for plants and animals. | D.Its being discovered by the Amazonian people. |
A.The necessity of restoring forests. |
B.The serious situation of endangered animals. |
C.The positive effects of ADE on forest ecosystems. |
D.The adaptation of grasslands to the changing climate. |
A.An alternative is bound to replace ADE. |
B.Soil with similar features is in development. |
C.ADE works better when mixed with regular soil. |
D.ADE has been proved effective in growing trees. |
A.A biology textbook. | B.An archeology journal. |
C.A science magazine. | D.A literary collection. |
A composting (堆肥) program at The Wesley School in Los Angeles is helping students get hands-on experience and ways
The school’s composting program
The school will use the compost on plants around campus. Some will
It takes two hours for the container to be emptied and prepared to receive
内容包括:
1.地球的重要性;
2.保护地球的倡议。
注意:
1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.标题已为你写出,不计入总词数。
The World Earth Day
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.当前现状;
2.提出倡议;
3.其他。
注意:
1.词数80左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
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China drives world renewables capacity addition in 2023
China was the major driving force behind the world’s rapid
China’s installed capacity of renewable energy exceeded 1.45 billion kilowatts in 2023,
China has several advantages that others do not possess, including the ability
8 . Using CRISPR genome (基因组) editing on a few common crops, a team of plant and soil scientists seeks to greatly increase and speed up carbon storage to help fight climate change.
To prevent dangerous levels of global warming, scientists say it won’t be enough to just stop burning fossil fuels that release carbon into the air. Because it’s nearly impossible for humanity to do that as fast as is now required, we will also need to pull carbon out of the air and secure it.
Plants are among the best tools we have to do this, since these living solar collectors already capture billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year from the atmosphere through photosynthesis (光合作用). About half of that carbon winds up in roots and eventually the soil, where it can stay for hundreds to thousands of years.
But what if we could create plants and soils that are better at capturing carbon? With CRISPR genome editing—a new molecular (分子的) biology tool that allows scientists to make edits to the DNA code that underpins all life—that might be possible.
Last month, the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), a research team founded by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, began to explore the idea. With an $11-million donation from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a team of researchers made a three-year effort using CRISPR to create new crop varieties that photosynthesi ze more efficiently and transport more carbon into the soil. Eventually, the researchers hope to create gene-edited rice and sorghum seeds that could—if planted around the globe--pull more than a billion extra tons of carbon out of the air annually.
It’s an ambitious goal, and the team is likely to face numerous challenges in the lab before its CO2-cleaning plants can be put in the ground. Additional social, policy, and ethical considerations will determine whether those crops are widely accepted by farmers. But the researchers believe their ambitious project is beneficial to cope with climate crisis.
1. What is the purpose of using CRISPR genome editing on crops?A.To improve soil structure. | B.To increase carbon storage. |
C.To create new crop varieties. | D.To help fight climate change. |
A.Mix. | B.Release. | C.Absorb. | D.Grab. |
A.CO2-cleaning plants can be put in the ground now. |
B.It is still unknown whether gene-edited crops will be accepted. |
C.Researchers have successfully created gene-edited rice and sorghum seeds. |
D.CRISPR genome editing will face so many challenges that it has no future. |
A.Hopeful. | B.Doubtful. | C.Indifferent. | D.Negative. |
9 . When trash sculptor Stephanie Hongo meets friends for drinks or dinner, it’s not unusual for one of them to hand her shopping bags full of lids, empty soap bottles, and even a Barbie leg or two. By now, she’s used to neighbors, friends and even strangers giving her their recyclable rejects.
But Hongo doesn’t need any more garbage. She has a large collection of her own at home. “You don’t need to be a trash picker to do this,” she says. “Trash is everywhere.” And for Hongo, where there is trash, there is art. Since 2017, Hongo has crafted complex sea creatures, realistic-looking jungle animals and other creatures out of everything from plastic forks to plastic tubing as well as a hair dryer, a purse, a tooth brush, and even a hair straightener.
Starting with her first piece—a blue deer named Yandoo that she fashioned out of odds and ends laying around her flat, which she screwed together and spray painted in a makeshift basement art studio—she’s gone on to create more than 160 trash sculptures.
“I feel very fortunate,” says Hongo, who loves making a living as an artist. “I care about our environment. The upcycling aspect of it is a lovely byproduct.” Though she doesn’t consider herself a true eco-artist, she hopes she’s inspiring others to reuse items that usually end up in landfills. But for her, she says, “The art comes first.”
Before starting each project, Hongo figures out exactly what pieces of scrap (废旧的) metal, tubing and plastics she’ll need to transform the pile of junk on her worktable into something fantastic, like a majestic octopus (章鱼) rocketing through the coral or a cute koala hugging a tree.
Since her funky creations sell on line at prices starting at $400, she’s been fortunate enough to make trash sculpting her full-time career. “It’s so much more than I ever expected,” she says.
1. Why does Hongo say “You don’t need to be a trash picker to do this”?A.Because it is hard to pick trash. |
B.Because there is trash everywhere. |
C.Because her friends give her enough. |
D.Because she has a large collection of trash. |
A.To enjoy art. | B.To collect trash. |
C.To trash sculptures. | D.To recycle waste. |
A.Find enough fantastic shapes to copy. |
B.Put away the things on her works. |
C.Make out what materials suit her works. |
D.Figure out what her pile of junk is made of. |
A.Creative and inspiring. | B.Diligent and practical. |
C.Helpful and generous. | D.Humorous and determined. |
10 . From solar panels to electric cars, clean energy has become a bigger part of our lives in recent years. A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that it will only develop a stronger foothold in the decades to come, with more solar panels, electric cars, and renewable energy by 2030.
The IEA analyzed the current policies and added that there will likely be two-thirds more clean energy ten years from now with a decreased dependence on fossil fuels. “The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and is unstoppable. It’s not a question of ‘if’, but a matter of ‘how soon’—and the sooner, the better for all of us,” says the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
“Governments, companies, and investors must support clean energy transitions rather than hinder them. There are immense (巨大的) benefits on offer, including new industrial opportunities and jobs, greater energy security,cleaner air, universal energy access and a safer climate for everyone. Considering the ongoing strains and volatility (波动) in traditional energy markets today, claims that oil and gas represent safe or secure choices for the world’s energy and climate future look weaker than ever,” Biral adds.
Although this is welcome news for many, the IEA stresses that more improvement will be needed for the 200 countries in the Paris Agreement to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Governments must triple renewable capacity, reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 75%, and triple clean energy in developing economies.
“Every country needs to find its own pathway, but international cooperation is crucial for accelerating clean energy transitions,” Birol asserts. “In particular, the speed at which emissions decline will be largely determined by our ability to finance sustainable solutions to meet rising energy demand from the world’s fast-growing economies. This all points to the importance of redoubling cooperation, not retreating (逃避) from them.”
1. What does the new report from the IEA show?A.The demand for fossil fuels is still currently strong. |
B.The worldwide shift to clean energy is unstoppable. |
C.The threat of global warming is being underestimated. |
D.The use of renewable energy is a new focus of mankind. |
A.Follow. | B.Delay. | C.Improve. | D.Prevent. |
A.It is challenging. | B.It is impractical. | C.It is unclear. | D.It is conservative. |
A.Changes to global economic policies. | B.The pattern of energy consumption. |
C.Combined efforts between nations. | D.The development of advanced technologies. |