Covering 7 million square kilometers of jungle and river over eight countries, the Amazon Rainforest is home to millions of sorts of plants and animals, some of
The Amazon Basin
With the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, global warming becomes more of a threat. It is up to each individual to fight against the
2 . The measurable threat to the environment has been worsened by the spread of COVID-19 that increases the need for plastic protective equipment. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Millions of tons of greenhouse gas are released from the development of these resources and plastic production and burning.
The end life of plastic is just worrisome. Less than 10% of the plastic produced has been recycled. Even more of it has been burned. But the vast majority of plastic has been buried inland, and it is increasingly polluting the environment. We hear mostly about ocean plastic and the harm done to sea creatures that mistake plastic bags and bits for food. But microplastic is even more worrisome. Plastic doesn't break down biologically but instead breaks down into tiny particles（a very small piece of something）, which have been found in every corner of the planet, on land and in the air, in drinking water and food sources.
Yet the public has not given this global environmental disaster the attention it requires. Instead, they have viewed single-use plastic—which makes up about 40% of plastic used each year—as a litter issue that can be solved through better recycling and waste management. That attitude must change because the recent global breakdown of the market for recycling has made it clear that it has never been, nor ever will be, able to keep up with plastic trash use.
California has been the forerunner of plastic waste reduction—it was the first state to ban single-use plastic bags and may be the first state to transform the way goods are packaged. The state also came close to passing an act which would have required that products sold in plastic packaging in the state have a proven recycling rate of 75% by 2032. California, though influential, can't solve this crisis alone. The US has long been producing a great amount of plastic trash and it should engage in reducing the use of plastic as well.
1. Why does the author mention the release of greenhouse gas in paragraph 1?| A．To show the harm of plastic |
| B．To warn of the climate change. |
| C．To call for the development of fossil fuels. |
| D．To highlight the importance of plastic equipment. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Curious. | D．Opposed. |
| A．A pioneer. | B．A failure. |
| C．An objector. | D．A predictor. |
| A．Microplastic Products Are Harmful |
| B．Waste Recycling Is an Urgent Matter |
| C．Plastic Waste Pollution Is a Wake-up Call |
| D．Global Environmental Disasters Are Increasing |
3 . The good news is that more people bought electric vehicles （EVs） in 2020. The bad news is that sport utility （多用途的）vehicles （SUVs） continued to grow in popularity, too. “The fall in oil consumption due to the first trend was completely canceled out by the second," said Laura Cozzi, an officer at the International Energy Agency （JEA）,
Between 2010 and 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions （排放）from conventional cars fell by nearly 35 billion Lons, due to reasons such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the switch to electric cars. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 50 billion tons. "While the growth in EVs is encouraging, the boom in SUVs is heart-breaking," says Peters at the Cicero Climate Research Centre in Norway.
There are many reasons for the growing popularity of SUVs. For example, rising economic boom in many countries means more people are able to afford them. Some people see them as status symbols. Also, SUVs are heavily advertised by car-makers, whose profit is higher on these vehicles. Some countries, including France, have introduced plans under which more taxes are paid on heavier cars. But Peters thinks that people who are rich enough to afford SUVs won't be deterred by slightly higher taxes. "There are now some electric SUVs available, but 1 hope one day you will see more electric vehicles brought to the SUV market," says Peters.
Even if it happens, switching to electric SUVs isn't a good solution. Due to their size and bigger batteries, it takes more resources to build electric SUVs, and they consume around 15 percent more electricity. That means higher emissions unless the electricity comes entirely from renewable sources, and higher electricity demand makes it harder to green the electricity supply.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?| A．Scientists should devote themselves to improving fuel efficiency. |
| B．The emission of carbon dioxide of motor vehicles has hit a new low. |
| C．Electric vehicles will certainly take the place of sport utility vehicles. |
| D．The popularity of SUVs destroys some efforts at environmental protection. |
| A．Blocked. | B．Encouraged. | C．Removed. | D．Involved. |
| A．SUVs are discounted heavily. |
| B．SUVs are often advertised by car producers. |
| C．SUVs are taxed at a lower rate in some countries. |
| D．SUVs consume fewer resources than other vehicles. |
| A．The electric SUVs should be made smaller and lighter. |
| B．The electric SUVs are a good guarantee for less pollution. |
| C．More electric SUVs don’t necessarily mean "environment-friendly". |
| D．Future electric SUVs will be powered with completely green energy. |
1. 倡议的原因和目的；2. 倡议的具体内容；3. 发出倡议。
注意:1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使全文连贯。
参考词汇:垃圾分类garbage sorting；区分differentiate
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5 . In an effort to create more environmentally friendly vacations, Norwegian cruise operator (挪威邮轮公司) Hurtigruten is making a plan to power its ships using dead fish. This doesn’t mean that Norwegian cruise liners will be doubling as fishing ships; the dead fish will come from Norway’s good fishing industry, not as any sort of by-product of the cruise industry. But it s a plan that promises to make use of the leftovers and offcuts of the fishing industry to make shipping less wasteful.
So how do dead fish get transformed into fuel? Organic waste of any kind can be mixed to produce a type of fuel known as biogas (沼气). If it sounds smelly, well…it is, and not just because of the dead fish. Biogas can also have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide, a chemical compound, which can give it a bad egg smell. It’s not a particularly attractive process, but don’ t worry: those smells won’t be given off from your cruise ship’s exhaust. The raw materials in the biogas can be cleaned, which creates liquid biogas.
What others see as a problem, we see as a resource and a solution, said Daniel Skjeldam Hurtigruten chief executive. “By introducing biogas as fuel for cruise ships, Hurtigruten will be the first cruise company to power ships with fossil-free (无化石的) fuel”
Biogas is certainly cleaner than heavy oil, but it’s not exactly carbon-free. So while the plan might be a creative way of making use of organic waste, as well as helping to get rid of fossil fuels, it’s not a perfect solution. However, it’s at least a step in a better direction. And the company will also be stopping single-use plastics on its 17 cruise ships. It’s good to see change happening in a dirty industry.
1. What kind of dead fish will be used in the plan?| A．Those from tourists. |
| B．Those from restaurants. |
| C．Those from the cruise industry. |
| D．Those from the fishing industry. |
| A．Biogas is smellier than heavy oil. |
| B．The making of biogas isn’t cost-saving |
| C．Biogas burning produces chemicals containing carbon. |
| D．The raw materials are not enough to cover the needs. |
| A．It is all talk. |
| B．It will be of some help. |
| C．It is daring. |
| D．It will cause a debate. |
| A．Dead fish will soon make power |
| B．Norway’s fishing industry meets a challenge |
| C．Smelly biogas has caused new problems |
| D．Hurtigruten points out the world resource issue |
6 . How To Eat Better for the Planet
You're environmentally conscious - and hungry. Here are answers to all your coo-friendly food questions.
Does what I eat have an effect on climate change?
Yes. The world's food system is responsible for about one quarter of the planet-warming greenhouse gases that humans generate each year. That includes raising and harvesting all the plants, animals, and animal products we eat.
How exactly does food contribute to global warming?
When some forests are cleared to make room for farms, cattle, sheep or other livestock, some serious problems may come up.
What about chicken?
A number of studies have found that chickens, ducks, and other birds have a lesser climate impact than cattle or sheep kept on a farm.
Is organic produce better for the climate?
Organic produce is grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily better than conventionally grown produce from a climate perspective.
It's true that one person alone just makes a little bit in the climate problem. On the other hand, if many people made changes to their diets, that could start to add up. Experts have argued that it would make a big difference if the world's heaviest meat eaters scaled back - even moderately.
| A．Does what we eat matter? |
| B．Can I really make a difference? |
| C．Organic farms often require more land. |
| D．Modern-day chickens are bred to be extremely efficient. |
| E．Processing, packaging, and shipping food are also part of it. |
| F．Advances in chickens breeding are helping to reduce the cost of it. |
| G．Large stores of carbon released into the atmosphere heat up the planet. |
Everywhere
Even more buildings fell down. Water, food, and electricity were hard
8 . Microplastics, as the name implies, are tiny plastics that result from both commercial product development and the breakdown of larger plastics. Officially, they are defined as plastics less than five millimeters in diameter(直径). .
The problem with microplastics is that — like plastic items of any size — they do not readily break down into harmless molecules (分子). Plastics can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose, and in the meantime, cause damage to the environment. On beaches, microplastics are visible as tiny colored plastic bits in sand. In the oceans, microplastics pollution is often consumed by sea animals.
Some of this environmental pollution is from littering, but much is the result of storms and winds that carry plastics into our oceans. Single-use plastics, plastic items meant to be used just once and then thrown away, are the primary source of microplastics in the environment.
Microplastics have been detected in sea animals, in commercial seafood, and even in drinking water. Alarmingly, standard water treatment facilities cannot remove all the traces( 痕迹) of microplastics. To further complicate matters, microplastics in the ocean can combine with other harmful chemicals before being swallowed by animals.
Scientists are still unsure whether consumed microplastics do damage to human or animal health - and if so, what specific dangers they may cause. Even so, many countries are taking action to reduce microplastics. A United Nations resolution has discussed the need for rules to reduce microplastics to oceans, wildlife, and human health.
1. What does the underlined word “decompose” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Break down. | B．Fade away. . |
| C．Dry up. | D．Give out. |
| A．Water treatment facilities fail to remove their traces. |
| B．People might consume them through drinking water. |
| C．They can combine with other chemicals inside animals. |
| D．They have been a blow to commercial seafood industry. |
| A．Many governments turn a blind eye to microplastics. |
| B．It has been confirmed that consumed microplastics are harmful. |
| C．Measures will be taken to reduce microplastics in the environment. |
| D．Scientists have known what specific dangers microplastics may cause. |
| A．inform the public of an environmental issue |
| B．arouse the awareness of protecting seawater |
| C．persuade scientists to look into microplastics |
| D．introduce the microplastics treatment methods |
9 . Amid a global pandemic, another disaster was unfolding early this year beneath the ocean waters off the coast of Australia. Thanks to climate change, surface water temperatures across the Great Barrier Reef had hit record highs. By April, the damage was clear: the reef (礁) had experienced the most widespread bleaching event ever recorded and ended up disappearing, as corals expelled what serves as their food source and give them their color.
With a quarter of all ocean fish depending on reefs during their life cycles, scientists say we urgently need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to preserve the essential habitats. “Unfortunately we aren’t acting quick enough on climate change, and that leaves a real problem for coral reefs,” says Emma Camp, 33, a marine biogeochemist at the University of Technology Sydney. She’s investigating special corals that survive in forest lagoons (环礁湖) where water is warmer and more acidic compared with that surrounding most reefs, and which may be resistant to the conditions ruining the Great Barrier Reef.
Camp wants to learn if these creatures-named “supercorals” after she and a team discovered them during research for her Ph.D. in 2014-can be transplanted to other reefs to aid restoration.
She’s also investigating the biochemical characteristics that allow certain corals to survive in extreme environments. None of her efforts, she says, is a substitute for action to stop climate change. “My research is really about buying time.”
For Camp, it’s also essential to include a new generation of scientists to study the planet’s ecological systems. She talks about science with students around the world and speaks at local and international women-in-science events. “Our research tells more than itself. It is clear that if we lose 50% of the intellectual input because we’re filtering out women from that career path, we’re really going to struggle to solve those problems,” she says.
1. What’s the main concern according to the first paragraph?| A．The reef died out in great number. | B．The reef began to change color. |
| C．Climate change went beyond expectation. | D．Corals had no source of food. |
| A．Influenced. | B．Accepted. | C．Dismissed. | D．Adopted. |
| A．They suffer due to our slow response to the climate change. |
| B．They stand out by providing a good condition for reefs. |
| C．Their water has a big influence on the reef’s growth. |
| D．Their warmer and acidic water is the curse of the climate change. |
| A．It has served its purpose of restoring other reefs. |
| B．Her efforts will encourage people to deal with climate change. |
| C．Her efforts only put off the consequence of warm surface water. |
| D．More younger women should be included in the research. |
10 . Coca-Cola, which reportedly produced more than 3 million tons of plastic packaging in 2017, announced Thursday it wants to “help fix the world’s plastic waste problem one community at a time.”
The soda giant is doing so by providing $ 5.4 million for recycling programs in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Denver and Houston. In these cities, partners, like the Green Blue Institute and the Recycling Partnership, which receive the money, will work together to improve recycling rates.
“We focus on areas where we have the ability to make the biggest influence on communities through the funding and expert skills of Coca-Cola employees,” Carlos Pagoagoa, Coca-Cola’s group director of community partnerships, said in a statement. “In each city, local partners will work together to identify barriers to recycling on a local level and test a range of solutions,” he added. “We hope the learnings from these ‘model markets’ can offer solutions to other cities facing similar challenges.”
As part of the effort, the Recycling Partnership and the city of Atlanta, where the cola company’s headquarters are based, will send street teams out to open recycling carts and leave citizens cards informing them what they can and can’t recycle, and let them know how their efforts work.
“Two of the most urgent problems with recycling in the U.S. today are lack of access, followed by pollution in recycling,” Keefe Harrison, CEO of the Recycling Partnership, said in a statement. “We know from the success of Atlanta in 2017 that the citizens want to recycle, and that communicating with them in the street works.”
Last year, Coca-Cola announced its task to collect and reuse a bottle or can for each one it sells, and increase the amount of its products out of recycled materials to 50% by 2030. The brand also aims to make all its packaging fully recyclable by 2025.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?| A．Coca-Cola decides to produce less plastic packaging. |
| B．Coca-Cola will build a plant to recycle plastic waste in different cities. |
| C．A soda giant intends to help deal with plastic waste in communities. |
| D．A soda giant announces its marketing goals. |
| A．By offering funds and techniques. | B．By providing experts and employees. |
| C．By building recycling plants. | D．By advertising on TV. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Successful. | C．Discouraging. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Coca-Cola produces more than 3 million tons of plastic packaging every year. |
| B．Coca-Cola chooses cities like Atlanta, Boston and Denver according to the size. |
| C．Street teams will be sent out to tell local people what to recycle. |
| D．Coca-Cola intends to increase its products to 50% by 2030. |
