1. What disaster hit Nah a yesterday?
A.A typhoon. | B.A snowstorm. | C.An earthquake. |
A.700. | B.500. | C.160. |
A.Her schoolmate. | B.Her father. | C.The police. |
A.Music. | B.Sports. | C.Weather. |
Experts say a recent change in the color of the Mekong River—from yellowish-brown to sky-blue-could be a worrying sign. They say the change suggests a possible problem
The Mekong usually has a yellowish-brown color
Experts and people living along the river blame the changes
3 . My love for animals began through watching wildlife documentaries when I was a kid. I went on to
I was very lucky to
We are sill a city in love with
With the marine ecosystem already
A.appreciate | B.choose | C.study | D.observe |
A.interested | B.skilled | C.careful | D.experienced |
A.swore | B.realized | C.witnessed | D.admitted |
A.meet | B.help | C.accompany | D.obey |
A.looking into | B.leaving for | C.working for | D.setting up |
A.reforming | B.promoting | C.changing | D.assessing |
A.response | B.memory | C.concern | D.worry |
A.funds | B.forms | C.levels | D.gaps |
A.understand | B.consider | C.inform | D.announce |
A.ask | B.hear | C.accept | D.offer |
A.cautious | B.private | C.efficient | D.admirable |
A.wildlife | B.seafood | C.trade | D.health |
A.distribution | B.consumption | C.occupation | D.donation |
A.hardly | B.simply | C.exactly | D.fully |
A.adopted | B.rejected | C.processed | D.threatened |
A.reliable | B.hopeless | C.fragile | D.promising |
A.unique | B.significant | C.useless | D.conservative |
A.solution | B.conclusion | C.procedure | D.development |
A.votes | B.sorts | C.plays | D.limits |
A.profits | B.connection | C.mistakes | D.progress |
4 . In the United States, most of our electricity comes from power plants (发电厂) that burn coal and oil.
There are two big problems with using these things for electricity. First, their supply is limited (有限的). Second, burning them causes pollution. So to make sure we always have power and to keep our planet clean, we must find other ways to make electricity.
Some people think that wind power is our best choice. First, there will always be more wind. Also, wind power does not pollute the environment. Best of all, we don’t have to search for wind.
Today, less than 1 percent of our electricity comes from wind. But scientists have been developing better wind machines. As a result, wind power is getting more popular in this country.
Yet wind power may not keep growing so quickly in years to come. Why not? Many wind turbines (风力涡轮机) are needed to make much electricity. So wind-power companies try to build wind farms but are competing (竞争) with other uses for the land. A wind farm is a group of turbines placed close together in an area with frequent winds.
In places where companies try to build wind farms, people think that lines of turbines are ugly. Noise from turbines often troubles people. Also, turbines kill birds that fly into them.
Wind-power supporters disagree. They think the sight of wind turbines is lovely. They point out that people have gotten used to living near noisy highways. They say ways can be found to keep birds away from turbines.
In today’s world, we need clean and unlimited power sources more than ever. Unless a better power source comes along, people may just have to accept wind power as a part of their lives.
1. The underlined part “these things” in the second paragraph refers to ________.A.frequent winds. | B.wind turbines. |
C.power plants. | D.coal and oil. |
A.How wind power works. |
B.How wind power was found. |
C.The advantages of wind power. |
D.The development of wind power. |
A.It is very expensive to build lots of wind turbines. |
B.It is difficult to improve the wind power technology. |
C.There are few people who accept it as a new power source. |
D.Many wind turbines are needed and there is less space for them. |
A.make a loud noise. |
B.look very beautiful. |
C.are built near highways. |
D.provide places for birds to stay. |
A.The Role of Wind. |
B.The Power of Wind. |
C.The Cost of Wind Power. |
D.The History of Wind Power. |
Palm oil (棕榈油) is the most
But the oil’s popularity comes
With half of the world’s palm oil
The easiest solution is to stop using so much palm oil. However, it’s not easy because no other natural oil has both of its qualities. Now scientists are creating a new oil
6 . Green Transport Week
Transportation is one aspect we cannot do without it this day. However, the current transportation systems come along with a wide range of problems including global warming, environmental worsening, health implications (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), and emission (排放) of greenhouse gases. In fact, the transport sector takes up 23% of the globe’ s greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuels. Out of the total greenhouse gas emissions, road transport takes up a lion share, 75% to be exact and this trend is to increase in the future. All this puts lot of pressure on the national governments to work out policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as oil demands.
Figures show that over 90% of all road transportation relies on oil. This figure almost goes hand- in- hand with the total global oil consumption, which stands at 60%. All these have caught the eyes of most governments and policies are being made to change this worrying trend of air pollution.
For example, car use is at an all-time high in Britain, and as the roads get busier, green transport—by foot and bike— gets more and more difficult. The car is being used for increasingly short journeys, as a proportion of all car journeys, 24% are less than 2 miles and 58% are less than 5 miles. The car accounts for 81% of our journeys, walking for only 3% and cycling for 0.5%.
Therefore, the ETA set up the first Green Transport Week in order to raise awareness of the part transport has to play in the areas of personal safety, quality of life and health—as well as its broader global effect on our environment.
In the past we have used Green Transport Week as a celebration of sustainable (可持续性的) transport and as an opportunity to launch a number of national campaigns such as Walk to School Day and Pop-Up Zebra Crossing. Green Transport Week is the most effective way to get a debate going about transport issues in your area, and to spread awareness of the relationship between transport and the environment in schools and workplaces.
1. What problems does the present transportation systems cause?A.Global warming and environmental problems. |
B.Emission of greenhouse gases and garbage problems. |
C.Health and ways of food consumption. |
D.Relationship between humans and animals. |
A.A large part. | B.A small part. |
C.National policies. | D.Oil demands. |
A.Walking. | B.Cycling. | C.Cars. | D.Subways. |
A.To celebrate sustainable development of car industry. |
B.To raise awareness of the relationship between transport and the environment. |
C.To raise awareness of children’s safety, quality of life and health. |
D.To launch a number of international campaigns. |
7 . Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000 three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.
The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”
The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants generated in most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.
1. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house ________.A.is well worth the money spent on its construction |
B.is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation |
C.failed to meet energy conservation standards |
D.was designed and constructed in a scientific way |
A.Poor quality of the air inside. | B.Poor quality of the construction. |
C.Gas leakage in the kitchen. | D.The newly painted walls. |
A.relieve | B.accelerate | C.worsen | D.improve |
A.Because indoor cleanliness was not emphasized. |
B.Because energy used to be inexpensive. |
C.Because environmental protection was given top priority. |
D.Because they were technically unavoidable. |
A.Energy Conservation | B.House Building Crisis |
C.Air Pollution Indoors | D.Traps in Building Construction |
8 . Wind power is a very clean source of energy. This is how wind power works. Wind makes windmills spin(旋转). When the windmills spin, they make electricity. Then we can use the electricity.
A lot of people think that wind power is new, but that’s not true. For thousands of years, people have used wind to sail boats and move water. We still do those things today, but these days we mostly use wind power to make electricity.
Wind power is a very popular source of energy. Most people think that we should use it more and more. First of all, it’s clean. Windmills don’t pollute the environment at all. Second, we can use wind power forever. After all, we will always have wind. Also, wind power is cheap, and it’s getting even cheaper.
A lot of people don’t understand wind power very well. They believe that there are problems with wind power, but many of those problems are not real. For example, some people say that windmills are dangerous for birds. They used to be true, but it isn’t true anymore. Old windmills killed birds because they spun very fast. New windmills spin slowly, and they aren’t dangerous for birds.
However, there are real problems with windmills. One problem is that many people think windmills are very ugly. This is a problem for people, because windmills are often in very pretty areas. Also, wind doesn’t blow all the time, so we can’t use wind power all the time. Finally, windmills are noisy.
Wind power is becoming more and more common. Right now, more than 80 countries use wind power. About 2.5 percent of the world’s power comes from the wind. For some countries, that number is a lot higher. Wind power gives Denmark more than 25 percent of its electricity.
1. Why DON’T new windmills kill birds? Because ________.A.birds don’t fly near them | B.they are shorter than old windmills |
C.they spin slowly | D.new windmills don’t spin |
A.Over 1,000 years ago. | B.About 500 years ago. |
C.About 80 years ago. | D.About 25 years ago. |
A.We can’t use windmills at night |
B.Windmills break all the time |
C.Wind doesn’t blow all the time |
D.Windmills are too expensive to use all the time |
A.Most people don’t like it. | B.Denmark doesn’t use it. |
C.It’s getting more expensive. | D.It’s getting cheaper. |
A.Dangerous Birds | B.Popular and Clean Wind Power |
C.Cheap and Clean Energy | D.Expensive Windmills |
9 . Air pollution influences our health in many ways. No air means death. Though we can’t see it, there is air around us. Air is everywhere and it gives a life to every living thing. But bad air makes people ill. In the city, there are a great many people and there are too many cars running on the road. The cars send out bad gases. There are many factories, too. From the chimneys of these factories, we get the smoke usually in black color. Every day we breathe it in and out. This makes us feel sick, when people talk about air pollution ,they are usually thinking about outdoor air pollution. But a lot of air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. Indoor air pollution can hurt people’s eyes, noses and throats. So air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease.
Everyone should help to fight against air pollution. In order to keep us healthy, we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. Or we can climb up hills to get more fresh air.
1. what is this article about?A.air pollution |
B.water pollution |
C.noise pollution |
D.environment pollution |
A.Many factories |
B.Bad air |
C.The cars |
D.Going out to the countryside |
A.bad gas from he cars |
B.black smoke from the chimneys of these factories |
C.smoking and cooking |
D.air pollution |
A.No air means death. |
B.air pollution can lead to lung cancer and heart disease. |
C.Only scientist should help to fight against air pollution. |
D.we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. |
A.A Little air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking |
B.Bad air never makes people ill. |
C.Air pollution influences our health in few ways |
D.we can climb up hills to get more fresh air. |
10 . Burning coal for energy adds planet-warming carbon dioxide(CO2) to Earth's atmosphere. As the planet heats up, experts warn that simply cutting greenhouse gas emissions(排放) will not be enough to avoid global warming. CO2 must also be remcved from the atmosphere.
Existing experimental machines that pull CO2 directly from the air are too expensive to be widely used. But a new effective technology to remove CO2 already exists. It is not expensive and easy. It is forests. Planting trees and watching forests are effective ways to clean the air.
Forests used to cover large areas of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. In the state of West Virginia, coal mining left the land there bare, without trees. Over the years, coal mining and cutting forests took over 90 percent of the red spruce(云杉) forests.
Chris Barton works for the University of Kentucky. He started a group called Green Forests Work, aiming to put trees back on the roughly 400 , 000 hectares of land.
However, Barton explains the land has problems. "If you planted trees on these places, they just didn't grow. The ground was too hard. Water didn't infiltrate(渗透). The trees can't root. Oxygen can't circulate in those environments. "Using heavy equipment, workers tear the ground. In this way, the trees put down roots.
Barton says not everyone believes the solution is a good idea. "We've had a lot of doubtful look at us twice from people. But after we do it, there's no question that it was the right thing to do. "And it has worked. Forests are coming back to the grounds.
Scientists say that, in West Virginia alone, restoring red spruce forests to the area could send what is equal to 56 million barrels(桶)of oil into the ground. But it will take time—a long time. Around the world, experts say, nature offers powerful tools to fight climate change. But patience is needed. Nature works, but slowly, in its own time.
1. What is the economical and effective way to remove CO2 from the air?A.Inventing new and powerful machines. | B.Cutting greenhouse gas emissions. | C.Making use of natural gases instead of coal. | D.Planting trees and protecting forests. |
A.Cry. | B.Repair. | C.Destroy. | D.Cover. |
A.oxygen is not enough for trees to grow there |
B.too many rocks had made it hard to plant trees |
C.coal mining has spoiled the land through years |
D.there is no water for trees to grow there |
A.a painful process | B.a slow process | C.a creative process | D.a learning process |