We as individuals can also reduce our “carbon footprint” by
2 . Bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Sadly, over the past 15 years, the global population of the hardworking insects has been dropping worldwide at alarming rates due to loss of food and habitat. Now, Dutch cities are coming up with creative ideas to help stem the population decrease of these all-important insects.
In Amsterdam, bees can live for free in specially built “hotels” — tall wooden structures — across the city. While they may not look like much to the untrained eye, they provide perfect homes for members of the over 200 known species of solitary bees. As the name indicates, the insects spend their lives alone. The smart insects nest inside holes like the ones provided by the insect hotels, marking their occupancy by covering the entrance with a mud “door”. Though unable to produce honey, solitary bees are excellent pollinators and perform an essential role in many ecosystems.
Additionally, city officials are also educating people on the use of harmful chemicals and are providing prize money to encourage developers to build green roofs and populate them with local plants. In 2015, they set a goal to change some plants in public green spaces to native plants. Geert, one of eight ecologists working for the city, says, “Our idea is when we design a park, we use native species but also the species that give a lot of flowering and fruit for bees.” Many people, with help from the government, are replacing the sidewalks outside their homes with small gardens featuring flowers.
In Utrecht, bus stop roofs are gradually being turned into beautiful, living gardens designed to attract varieties of bee species. The green roofs, which naturally collect both rainwater and dust, are also beneficial for the environment.
These cities’ collective efforts seem to be working. A recent study found that the variety of bee species there has increased by an astonishing 45 percent since 2000.
1. What does the underlined word “stem” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Review . | B．Stop. | C．Monitor. | D．Improve. |
| A．They’re not social insects. |
| B．They make high-quality honey. |
| C．They like to nest together in woods. |
| D．They’re scared of other species of bees. |
| A．Collect rainwater for future use. |
| B．Plant flowers for enjoyment. |
| C．Draw bees to them. |
| D．Clear dust away. |
| A．Protecting the environment. |
| B．Importance of bees in ecosystems. |
| C．Design ideas of insect hotels and bee stops. |
| D．Dutch cities’ attempts to restore bee population. |
3 . How do you deal with plastic bags from the supermarket？Throw them away or recycle them? How about eating them?
The bags are no harmful to the environment.Humans and animals can safely eat them.Indian company EnviGreen has made a bag with natural materials.It looks and feels just like plastic，but can be broken down(分解) easily.
Ashwath Hedge who set up the EnviGreen company spent four years doing experiments(实验)with 12 natural materials.They include potato，corn，vegetable oil and banana.He made the materials into liquid(液体) and used the liquid to make the bag.
Although the EnviGreen bag is more expensive than a common plastic bag，it has many advantages.According to the Wall Street Journal，it takes 1，000 years for common plastic bags to break down.But an EnviGreen bag can naturally break down in less than 180 days.It also breaks down in less than a day in water，and in less than a minute in boiling water. Hedge was happy to show it in his interview；he put an EnviGreen bag in water and ate it with a smile.
There are more that 15，000 tons of plastic waste in India every day.But only 9，000 tons are processed.In China，3 billion plastic bags are used every day.Maybe the EnviGreen bag could be a solution(解决办法) to the world problem of plastic pollution.
1. According to Paragraph 2，we can know the following EXCEPT________．| A．the EnviGreen bag can break down easily |
| B．the EnviGreen bag is made from natural materials |
| C．the EnviGreen bag can be eaten by humans and animals |
| D．the EnviGreen bag is a little bit harmful to the environment |
| A．What Hedge thinks of the new bag |
| B．How Hedge makes the EnviGreen bag |
| C．Who sets up the EnviGreen company |
| D．How long it takes Hedge to make the bag |
| A．is safe and can break down quickly |
| B．is useful although it is more expensive |
| C．looks and feels like a common plastic bag |
| D．will be used more widely than a common bag |
| A．hot air | B．cold water |
| C．boiling water | D．natural air |
| A．all of India’s plastic waste is processed |
| B．India has the most plastic waste in the world |
| C．China produces more plastic waste than India |
| D．the EnviGreen bag may help solve the problem of plastic pollution |
