1 . On December 16, 2023, the first section of Maya Train officially opened, which runs between Campeche and Cancún, carrying up to 231 passengers across 290 miles and stopping at 14 train stations.
Built as an ambitious effort to promote tourism and boost Mexico’s economy, the rail system connects the major cities and tourist regions of the Yucatán Peninsula —from Cancún’s beaches to Tulum’s archaeological wonders. Once the project is completed, the entire rail system will link tourist destinations across five states. However, environmentalists and archaeologists argue that the train route will cause great damage to the environment-and ancient Mayan sites.
The Maya Train passes through six UNESCO World Heritage sites and thousands of archaeological sites. One particular area of concern is the Calakmul biosphere reserve, which is home to many endangered species, such as jaguars and over 500 other animal species. The train lines, more than 60 meters wide, could act as artificial barriers that may limit the movement of these animals within the reserve making it difficult for them to move around and access food and water sources.
Opponents also express safety concerns. Certain sections of the rail system will be built right on top of the aquifer’s(含水层的) most fragile points of contact with the surface. “It’s like wanting to build over eggshells,” says Guillermo Christy, a water treatment consultant. “Putting trains weighing thousands of tons on top could cause the underground caves to crash down.” To construct the train infrastructure also requires driving long piles deep into the ground, which poses a big threat to this fragile ecosystem and leads to water shortages.
In the ongoing debate of Maya Train, it is crucial to consider the delicate balance between economic development and environmental preservation. While Maya Train may provide economic benefits, we must not overlook the potential environmental and cultural losses, as well as the safety risks it may bring. Achieving harmony between progress and conservation may be a significant challenge for the project, but we must take into account the long-term consequences of our actions.
1. What do we know about the Maya Train project?A.It consumes lots of labor in Mexico. |
B.It has concerned some professionals. |
C.It was completed on December 16,2023. |
D.It blocks the development of local tourism. |
A.Restricting their activities. |
B.Polluting their water sources. |
C.Disturbing their sleeping patterns. |
D.Attracting their enemies to the area. |
A.To show the difficulty of constructing the rail lines. |
B.To prove the urgency of protectıng the fragile ecosystem. |
C.To explain the reasons for water shortages along the railway. |
D.To stress Maya Train’s potential harm to the aquifer system. |
A.Preserving cultural sites requires strong financial support. |
B.It is time to speed up the con truction process of Maya Train. |
C.We should value the economic benefits of the project in the long run. |
D.Economic development should not come at the cost of the environment. |
A. allowing B. detectable C. hazard D. irresponsible E. linked F. optimism G. punishing H. routes I. sowed J. unavoidable K. widespread |
Time for a clean-up
You are probably aware of the term “forever chemicals”, if not entirely clear on the specifics. What they are is a class of around 16, 000 artificial compounds called PFAS that break down very slowly, if at all in the environment and our bodies. They are extremely useful, but also a potential
A growing body of research has
How did we let it come to this? To some extent, society is reaping what it
3 . Artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise in earthquake prediction, challenging the long-held belief that it is impossible. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that correctly predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance during a trial in China and provided accurate strength calculations for the predicted earthquakes.
The research team believes their method succeeded because they stuck with a relatively simple machine learning approach. The AI was provided with a set of statistical features based on the team’s knowledge of earthquake physics, and then instructed to train itself using a five-year database of earthquake recordings. Once trained, the AI provided its prediction by listening for signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.
This work is clearly a milestone in research for AI-driven earthquake prediction. “You don’t see earthquakes coming,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist who leads the Texas Seismological Network and Seismology Research (TexNet) .“It’s a matter of milliseconds, and the only thing you can control is how prepared you are. Even with the 70%accuracy, that’s a huge result and could help minimize economic and human losses and has the potential to remarkably improve earthquake preparation worldwide.”
While it is unknown whether the same approach will work at other locations, the researchers are confident that their AI algorithm could produce more accurate predictions if used in areas with reliable earthquake tracking networks. The next step is to test artificial intelligence in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNet has 300 earthquake stations and over six years worth of continuous records, making it an ideal location for these purposes.
Eventually, the authors hope to combine the system with physics-based models. This strategy could prove especially important where data is poor or lacking. “That may be a long way off, but many advances such as this one, taken together, are what move science forward,” concludes Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.
1. How does the AI forecast earthquakes?A.By modeling data based on earthquake recordings. |
B.By monitoring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. |
C.By analyzing background sounds in the Earth. |
D.By identifying data from the satellites. |
A.The importance of preparing for earthquakes. |
B.The significance of developing the AI prediction. |
C.The ways to reduce losses in earthquakes. |
D.The limitation of AI algorithms in earthquake prediction. |
A.Building more earthquake stations in Texas. |
B.Applying the AI approach to other fields. |
C.Enlarging the database to train the calculation accuracy. |
D.Conducting tests in different locations. |
A.Pioneering and promising. | B.Potential and economical. |
C.Stable but outdated. | D.Effective but costly. |
4 . Large earthquakes could be identified months or even years in advance by finding unique signals, according to a new research from a team of German researchers.
The research suggests more exact earthquake warning systems require more local and regional sites that can find underground signals. Along with this, finding second faults(断层)after the main rupturing (断裂) fault would further increase the exactness of these readings.
To find this out, the team led by Dr Patricia Martinez-Garzon studied the Kahramanamras earthquake that shook Turkey in early 2023. They found that there was an increase in the earthshaking event rates and larger energy release starting around eight months before the earthquakes.
These signals were found within 65 km of the epicenter (震中). Although the main rupture occurred on a fault line and in an area that was known to be the cause of earthquakes, signals before the event took place both on the main and secondary faults, which hadn’t received much attention from scientists in the past.
Now, short-term prediction (预测) of earthquake size, time and location is just possible. The scientists behind this study believe that long-term finding is seminal to help build our understanding of earthquakes and future events.
But not everyone, including Bill McGuire, professor at UCL, agrees with how useful this could be. “While this is interesting from a scientific viewpoint, it is unlikely that knowing a big earthquake might be on the way within months or years really gets us any further forward in preparing for them,” he says. “The only useful prediction of future earthquakes is arguably the one that exactly fixes the location of a coming quake and its timing to within a few weeks, so as to move people to a safe place.”
1. Why did Patricia’s team carry out the study?A.To find more exact signals before earthquakes. | B.To help the Turks in the earthquake-stricken area. |
C.To build the modern earthquake warning system. | D.To attract the attention of scientists worldwide. |
A.Wasteful. | B.Difficult. | C.Annoying. | D.Important. |
A.It will be put into practice soon. | B.It could tell a quake a year in advance. |
C.It can buy us time to move safely. | D.It doesn’t make any sense in reality. |
A.Scientists Work Hard to Figure Out Disasters | B.Hidden Signals Could Show Future Earthquakes |
C.German Researchers Stand Out in Natural Science | D.A Deadly Earthquake Shook Turkey This Year |
5 . Wondering what you can do to celebrate Earth Day on April 22? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered a comprehensive list of Earth Day activities, both fun and environmentally-conscious, to help raise awareness and make a difference. If you’re ready to learn more about joining the global celebration, initiating real change, and doing your part to save our planet, read on!
·Walk or ride your bike.
·Use a refillable water bottle.
Consider going with a stainless-steel refillable bottle for a super long-lasting option.
·Plant a tree.
Pick a tree species that’s native to where you live. If you’re unsure, ask an employee at your local nursery or garden department. Choose the best planting spot to meet the tree’s needs, dig a properly sized hole, and water the tree well to give it a good start.
·Visit a local farmer’s market.
Eating locally grown food is much better for the environment. For example, locally-grown food doesn’t have to be transported long distances to end up on grocery store shelves.
·
See if your community is holding an environmental fair. If your community doesn’t have one planned, consider starting one yourself! It’s the perfect day to get together for a fun and educational celebration of the Earth. Any money raised can go towards a local environmental restoration project or group.
A.Attend a local Earth Day event. |
B.Educate your community on environmental awareness. |
C.Going car-free for the day will reduce harmful carbon emissions. |
D.That means your money won’t be wasted on unnecessary spending. |
E.If physically doing this is unrealistic for you, there are other choices! |
F.Normally, plastic water bottles end up in garbage cans after a single use. |
G.You’ll also be giving back to your community by supporting local farmers. |
6 . Each spring, millions of people take photos among the famous cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington DC-some even get married there. That’s what Jody Axinn did 10 years ago.
“Now, the romantic spot is unrecognizable. The whole section is under water,” says Axinn who is revisiting the cherry trees with her family. “When I got here 10 years ago, the place was flooded regularly, but certainly not twice a day, every day.”
There are two forces working together to affect the Tidal Basin, the trees and monuments around it. The seawall around the basin, built with mud dug up from the Potomac River bottom, has sunk about five feet over the past century.
“At the same time, the water level in the basin has gone up by more than a foot because of climate change,” explains Leslie Frattaroli, manager of the National Park Service (NPS). “The Tidal Basin looks like a small lake, but it’s actually part of the Potomac River, because there are gates at the upstream and downstream ends of the basin that allow river water to rush through. Therefore, it is gradually rising along with the level of the world’s oceans.”
Combining these two factors, the water is six feet above where the seawall was originally designed to keep it out. Later this spring, the park service will start to raise parts of the walkway around the basin and along the Potomac River.
“It would be impossible to complete the $113 million project without removing the cherry trees along the water,” Leslie says. “The good news is that when the project is completed in 2027, 274 new cherry trees will be planted.”
Among the trees to be removed is a very famous little tree known as “Stumpy”. At high tide (潮汐), the base of the tree is flooded. Although it is in extremely bad conditions, its remaining three or four small branches burst into flower each spring, with the Washington Monument standing tall in the background.
1. What can be learned from Jody Axinn’s words?A.The famous cherry trees should be protected. |
B.The flooding around the basin is more serious. |
C.Getting married at the Tidal Basin is unpopular. |
D.Washington DC has changed beyond recognition. |
A.The sinking seawalls. | B.The rising sea level. |
C.The beautiful scenery. | D.The warming climate. |
A.too small to hold the water | B.a small inland lake |
C.at the downstream end of a river | D.connected with the oceans |
A.It is not in harmony with the scenery. | B.It is in very bad conditions. |
C.It happens to be in the reconstruction area. | D.It is attracting too much attention. |
7 . Look, let’s be honest-there’s no such thing as a “green” vacation. You’ll leave a carbon footprint, no matter what.
Is it a B Corp?
B Corps are businesses that meet a strict set of standards by the nonprofit B Lab. They include requirements for governance, workers, customers, community and the environment.
Does the company have any other environmental certifications?
Third-party certifications from Green Key, LEED and WELL can be signs that a travel company means business about the environment. Transportation companies may also offer verified certifications from organizations like Terrapass or the Gold Standard Foundation.
If the company claims to be green, don’t just take its word for it. Listen to what it says. If you see nothing but models on its Instagram channel or ads for online discounts on its site, perhaps it’s a shade of fake green. “A company’s social media strategy is generally a reflection of its current ethos and goals,” explained Julia Carter, founder of Craft Travel.
How deep is its commitment to the environment?
A.But your trip can be green-ish. |
B.What’s the company saying to everyone? |
C.How can we find a reliable company online? |
D.Don’t trust anything the company says to the public. |
E.These certifications aren’t a guarantee the company is green. |
F.Look for reliable reports on sustainability from a travel company. |
G.You can search the directory of these forward-looking companies online. |
8 . Aviation is a big polluter. Cutting the sector’s impact on global warming is high on the agenda. Although many governments are regulating emissions from cars and trucks, air transportation is technologically rooted in old patterns.
Facing the reality that the sector will keep emitting a lot, ICAO has established an international carbon-trading plan—Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA. This encourages wide use of offsets (抵消) : aviation companies can buy emissions credits or invest in sectors that store carbon, such as forestry, to allow them to carry on as normal. CORSIA aims to keep CO2 emissions at 2019 levels through such purchases for emissions over that year’s baseline. ICAO predicts that increasing demand might reach 1. 7 billion tons by 2035, potentially making aviation the largest offset market in the world.
Yet offsetting faces a fundamental challenge: the size of the offset requires estimating flows of warming pollution that would have occurred if the carbon-removal project hadn’t existed, and comparing them against flows with the project in place. The former — a baseline that is unobservable — is a hotbed for shady accounting.
The vast majority of offsets today and in the expected future come from forest-protection and regrowth projects. The track record of reliable accounting in these industries is poor, because they lack convincing baselines. Even with oversight, forest projects are often troubled by wild assumptions, for example that trees would disappear completely from these areas in the absence of those projects, even when there are other forest protections in place. Such assumptions drive up baselines and flood the market with huge volumes of offsets. They make it easier for accountants to claim a net reduction in emissions even though the atmosphere sees little or no benefit. These problems are essentially unfixable. Evidence is mounting that offsetting as a strategy for reaching net zero is a dead end.
In our view, this approach could prove dangerously narrow. Removing aviation’s impact on global warming means upending the industry. The longer that reality is overlooked, the harder it will be to find effective solutions.
1. What does aviation refer to in the passage?A.A project which needs revising. | B.A resource which needs trading. |
C.A market which needs expanding. | D.An industry which needs reforming. |
A.To support the development of forestry. | B.To earn the largest profit in offset market. |
C.To keep the levels of emission unchanged. | D.To make up for emissions over the baseline. |
A.Too many offsets are filling the market now. |
B.Some projects may cheat to create more offsets. |
C.Offsetting contributes a lot to reducing emissions. |
D.Trees would totally disappear without the projects. |
A.Disapproving. | B.Confused. | C.Favorable. | D.Unconcerned. |
9 . The Atacama Desert in northern Chile stretches from the Pacific to the Andes across an expanse of red-orange rock mountains and peaks. It’s a dream destination for tourists. But the Atacama Desert is also one of the world’s fast-growing dumps (垃圾场) of abandoned clothes. The scene in northern Chile has been shown in one online video-large amounts of abandoned clothes stretch as far as the eye can see.
Chile is home to one of South America’s largest duty-free ports-located in the coastal city of Iquique. The duty-free port was established in 1975 to help generate jobs and improve local economy. As fast fashion exploded, so did imports. Millions of tons of clothes arrive annually from all over the world.
“The free zone was a ’true transformation’ for the city’s residents,” says Bernardo Guerrero, a sociologist that studies Iquique’s history and culture. “They suddenly had access to things they could never have imagined.” Clothing began washing in and out of Iquique like waves as global fashions changed. Guerrero recalls a time when almost everybody in the city wore the same style of puffer jacket.
The free zone has also developed into a sorting site for abandoned clothes. Mehmet Yildiz, who operates a clothing import business, brings in clothes from the United States and Europe. Once the clothes reach Iquique, workers separate them into four categories according to quality. Yildiz then exports the best to other countries for resale. Clothing that the importers don’t want will be delivered a few miles outside Alto Hospicio, where it goes through another cycle of sorting and resale in street markets. Clothing that doesn’t sell at the market is sent to the desert, and much of it is made from materials that won’t biodegrade (生物降解).
As helpful as resale markets might have been in an earlier era, they’ve been flooded with the large amounts of the mounting discards. New efforts, large and small, are under way to deal with clothing waste, and attention to the mess in the desert may inspire additional projects.
1. What does the online video show about the Atacama Desert?A.Its large area. | B.Its considerable fame. |
C.Its natural beauty. | D.Its endless waste. |
A.It brought about disasters to Iquique. | B.It changed local people’s life rapidly. |
C.It created lots of jobs for local people. | D.It was affected by the history of Iquique. |
A.They are made in Iquique. | B.They are of excellent quality. |
C.They may harm the environment. | D.They boost local economy greatly. |
A.Things thrown away. | B.Clothes out of fashion. |
C.Markets out of business. | D.Deserts occupied by waste. |
1.环境保护的重要性;
2.目前面临的环境问题;
3.我们应如何采取行动保护环境。
注意:
1.写作词数应为80 左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Ladies and gentlemen,
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Thank you for your listening.