1 . A Swedish company came up with a creative and cheap way to clean up its streets: to hire birds. Crows, especially, have been trained to collect cigarette butts (烟头) off roadways and put them in a machine that rewards the clever birds.
The pilot project called Corvid Cleaning comes from The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation and aims to lower the cost of street cleaning in the city of Sodertalje.
Founder Christian Gunther-Hansen thought crows would be the best choice because they are very clever. “They are easier to teach and there is also a higher chance for them to learn from each other,” he told Swedish news agency TT. “At the same time, they have a lower risk of eating any rubbish by mistake”.
The birds are trained through a step-by-step process to pick up rubbish and place it into a machine that offers them food.
Tomas Thernstrom, a waste expert for the Sodertalje Municipality, said one of the most interesting things about the project was that crows could be taught to pick up cigarette butts but humans can’t learn not to throw them on the ground in the first place.
1. Why did the Swedish company prefer to choose crows instead of other birds to collect cigarette butts?A.Because crows are clever. |
B.Because crows like eating cigarette butts. |
C.Because there are plenty of crows in Sweden. |
D.Because people there are interested in crows. |
A.punishes | B.discovers | C.searches | D.awards |
A.To train crows to collect cigarette butts. |
B.To set up the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation. |
C.To lower the costs of street cleaning. |
D.To make the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation famous. |
A.It’s difficult to train crows to pick up rubbish on the ground. |
B.It’s difficult to stop people from throwing away rubbish everywhere. |
C.It’s interesting to train crows to pick up rubbish on the ground. |
D.People who throw away rubbish everywhere are not as clever as crows. |
2 . Many animals and plants are endangered in the world today. These endangered species are threatened with becoming extinct, meaning they will no longer exist on Earth. Examples include the Cuban Macaw and the Sri Lankan Legume Tree. Illegal hunting, and collecting of the Macaw bird for pets, led to its extinction. While the main reason the native Sri Lankan Legume Tree went extinct was due to habitat loss from development in the 20th century. The main cause for animals and plants disappearing is often a damage to the food chain due to hunting, habitat loss or even the introduction of new species.
Every living thing from one- celled animals to a blue whale needs to eat. Nature is connected and controlled by many weak food chains. A food chain describes who eats whom in a habitat. When one of the links in a food chain is no longer present—for example, a species goes extinct—the food chain breaks and sometimes this can cause other animals to disappear and the whole system can become imbalanced or even collapsed.
Humans can have horrible effects on food chains. When people first explored the world, they took animal and plant species from their home countries to the places they explored and settled in. They did not realize the consequences of introducing invasive species. By doing so, they were damaging the natural food chains of the areas they explored.
Nowadays there are strict rules controlling the movement of animals and plants between countries. But some parts of the world are still experiencing problems with invasive species introduced hundreds of years ago.
With rising awareness of how we affect the natural environment, hopefully we can learn to protect these food chains and help them to thrive. Otherwise the continued loss of species will eventually mean our own extinction.
1. Which is the main reason for Cuban Macaw’s extinction?A.Illegal hunting. | B.Food chain damage. |
C.Invasive species. | D.Habitat loss. |
A.It only affects one-celled animals. | B.It decides the balance of the whole system. |
C.It is always broken by invasive species. | D.It breaks after nearly ten species disappear. |
A.By hunting endangered animals. | B.By exploring new places. |
C.By polluting natural environment. | D.By introducing invasive species. |
A.Disappearance of Endangered Species | B.Effect of Illegal Hunting on a Habitat |
C.The Link between Food Chains and Extinction | D.Damage of Invasive Species |
3 . Ways to Reduce Plastic Waste
Plastic has been found virtually in everything these days. Your food is packaged in it. Your car, phone and computer are made from it.
Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to dramatically decrease the amount of plastic waste you produce.
One of the easiest ways to keep plastic out of the landfill is to refuse plastic straws. Simply inform your waiter or waitress that you don’t need one, and be sure to state this clearly when ordering at a drive-through. Can’t stand giving up the convenience of plastic straws?
Use reusable bags
About one million plastic bags are used every minute. A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade(降解). If you’re already bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, you’re on the right track. Purchase some reusable bags and help keep even more plastic out of the landfill. However, you should avoid those bags made from nylon or polyester (聚酯纤维).
Use matches
A.Say no to plastic straws |
B.Choose cotton ones instead |
C.Don’t use plastic containers |
D.Choose matches instead of plastic lighters |
E.Most restaurants will have no problem with it |
F.And you might even chew it daily in the form of gum |
G.Purchase a reusable stainless steel or glass drinking straw |
4 . Corals are comeback creatures. As the world froze and melted and sea levels rose and fell over 30,000 years, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which is roughly the size of Italy, died and revived five times. But now, due to human activities, corals face the most complex condition they have yet had to deal with.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change, a rise in global temperatures of 1.5℃ could cause coral reefs to decline 70-90%. The planet is about 1℃ hotter than in the 19th century and its seas are becoming warmer, stormier and more acidic (酸性的). This is already affecting relations between corals and the single-celled algae (海藻), which give them their color. When waters become unusually warm, algae float away, leaving reefs a ghostly white. This “bleaching” is happening five times as often as it did in the 1970s. Meanwhile the changing chemistry of the oceans makes it harder for corals to form their structures.
If corals go, divers and marine biologists are not the only people who will miss them. Reefs take up only a percent of the sea floor, but support a quarter of the planet’s fish diversity. The fish that reefs shelter are especially valuable to their poorest human neighbors, many of whom depend on them as a source of protein. Roughly an eighth of the world’s population lives within 100 km of a reef. Corals also protect 150,000 km of shoreline in more than 100 countries and territories from the oceans buffeting (肆虐), as well as generating billions of dollars in tourism revenue.
Coral systems must adapt if they are to survive. They need protection from local sources of harm. Their eco-systems suffer from waste from farms, building sites and blast fishing. Governments need to impose tighter rules on these industrials, such as tougher local building codes, and to put more effort into enforcing rules against overfishing.
Setting up marine protected areas could also help reefs. Locals who fear for their livelihoods could be given work as rangers with the job of looking after the reserves. Visitors to marine parks can be required to pay a special tax, like what has been done in the Caribbean.
Many reefs that have been damaged could benefit from restoration. Coral’s biodiversity offers hope, because the same coral will grow differently under different conditions. Corals of the western Pacific, for example, can withstand higher temperatures than the same species in the eastern Pacific, which proves a way forward to encourage corals to grow in new spots.
1. According to the passage, what may happen to coral reefs when waters become warm?A.Floating away. | B.Changing forms. |
C.Turning white. | D.Becoming acidic. |
A.ban people from fishing in the coral reef areas |
B.reduce the number of visitors to the marine parks |
C.call on volunteers to look after the marine reserves |
D.carry out stricter rules on industries around the coast |
A.Corals have experienced death and revival for five times. |
B.Reefs play an important part in protecting the fish diversity. |
C.Coral systems suffer from agriculture, tourism and fishing. |
D.The growth of coral has nothing to do with the condition. |
A.To attach more importance to coral reefs protection. |
B.To present the significance of coral reefs to the world. |
C.To expose the influence of climate change on coral reefs. |
D.To appeal to governments for quick action to save coral reefs. |
5 . YosDive is on the waterfront. Next to it is a village with a beautiful sandy beach, with the house reef 100 meters out. We often
As I was considering ways to
Days later, more helpers
Then I realized this project might have a(n)
So we also bought some and
A.worked | B.dived | C.studied | D.rolled |
A.terrible | B.familiar | C.typical | D.simple |
A.inspired | B.amused | C.shocked | D.puzzled |
A.afford | B.handle | C.organise | D.appreciate |
A.story | B.plan | C.excuse | D.suggestion |
A.compare | B.connect | C.cover | D.fill |
A.preparation | B.store | C.exchange | D.search |
A.improved | B.failed | C.worked | D.changed |
A.bags | B.boxes | C.candies | D.cookies |
A.joined in | B.gave up | C.took off | D.calmed down |
A.offers | B.awards | C.efforts | D.sacrifices |
A.arguing | B.mixing | C.leaping | D.cooperating |
A.future | B.ending | C.error | D.beginning |
A.hats | B.gloves | C.T-shirts | D.shorts |
A.converted | B.distributed | C.attached | D.applied |
A.quiet | B.peaceful | C.powerful | D.acceptable |
A.spread | B.reduce | C.explode | D.occur |
A.secretly | B.unwillingly | C.bravely | D.voluntarily |
A.contributions | B.discoveries | C.donations | D.comments |
A.gained | B.refused | C.offered | D.lacked |
6 . I shall never forget the day when the earthquake happened. It was about 5 in the afternoon and I was
Then I realized what had happened. I had been
A.walking | B.leading | C.driving | D.running |
A.shopping | B.dancing | C.sightseeing | D.swimming |
A.shop | B.farm | C.park | D.school |
A.bridge | B.road | C.school | D.side |
A.Under | B.Over | C.Along | D.Beside |
A.roof | B.bridge | C.cover | D.top |
A.tired | B.thirsty | C.hungry | D.sleepy |
A.over | B.beside | C.ahead of | D.under |
A.move | B.roll | C.run | D.jump |
A.been | B.broken | C.done | D.gone |
A.stopped | B.started | C.moved | D.parked |
A.put | B.fell | C.ran | D.jumped |
A.afternoon | B.dark | C.evening | D.car |
A.quiet | B.dusty | C.noisy | D.blood |
A.on | B.at | C.in | D.by |
A.food | B.apples | C.sandwiches | D.bread |
A.climbing | B.shouting | C.moving | D.driving |
A.know | B.tell | C.see | D.understand |
A.falling | B.breaking | C.broken | D.dirty |
A.sleeping | B.eating | C.feeling | D.going |
The 21st century is dominated by more technology-oriented inventions than before. The 20th century
Technology is advancing fast. Social media at present acts as one of the leading 64.
Mobile phones will play a greater role
Global warming will become an even
8 . Why do we like drinking water form plastic bottles? Some people think it is healthy and clean. Others drink bottled water because it’s easy — you can carry it around with you. In hot countries, like Greece, they often buy bottles of cold water in summer.
However, making lots of plastic is not a good idea for many reasons. First of all, we need a lot of oil for plastic products. We usually use oil as a source (资源) of energy. If we reduced the number of bottles we made, we wouldn’t need so much oil. Plastic bottles also pollute the environment. If we recycled all our plastic bottles, we wouldn’t need so much space for rubbish dumps. But in Greece, they don't recycle much of the plastic they use. In 2006, Greeks recycled only about 10% of plastic waste. The rest became rubbish on land and in rivers and seas.
So next time you want to throw away a plastic bottle in the litter bin, stop and think. If you recycled it, you would help the environment. But what can you do when there isn’t a recycling bin near you? Well, there are lots of useful ways that you can use your bottles again. For example, an empty bottle makes a great piggy bank for your pocket money, and if you cut a bottle in halves, you will have a plant pot. Go green! You can make a difference.
1. What is not mentioned about bottled water in this passage? It’s ______.A.expensive | B.healthy | C.clean | D.easy |
A.energy | B.oil | C.soil | D.plants |
A.10% | B.50% | C.80% | D.90% |
A.To drop them into the river. | B.To make a plant pot. |
C.To make a piggy bank. | D.To recycle them. |