Mount Qomolangma is the
However, 15 Nepalese artists are taking action. They have worked hard and turned eight tonnes of rubbish into 75 sculptures,
The rubbish used in the artworks was collected by
2 . “What if we treat the ocean as if our lives depend on it? Or, what if we don’t?” World-famous marine biologist Sylvia Earle poses her famous “what if” questions to inspire people to reflect on how they can help save the ocean. In 1998, Time magazine named Earle its first “Hero for the Planet.”
Earle’s move to Florida’s west coast at age 12 is what started a lifelong passion. She says, “That’s where I first fell in love with the ocean.” In 1953, using newly developed equipment, the young scientist became one of the first in her field to scuba dive (水肺潜水). Her first long-term exposure to the ocean depths came in 1970 when she led an all-female research team to study the ocean. They lived under the sea in a submersible (潜水器) for two weeks. When they returned to the surface, world-wide cheer and praise were waiting, especially for Dr. Earle.
Sylvia Earle’s career includes many firsts. In 1979 she became the first woman to walk the ocean floor 381 meters below the surface. In 1990, she became the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Through the years, Earle has spent roughly 7,500 hours underwater. During that time, she has become increasingly alarmed by the significant changes she has observed.
The famous scientist fears that the ocean is dying. Climate change, overfishing, the dumping of trash and chemicals and oil spills are just some of the many causes. In order to tackle the problem, Earle formed Mission Blue in 2009. This organization promotes the legal protection and conservation of the world’s oceans. Her plan is to develop “Hope Spots,” protected areas large enough to reverse (逆转) damage and restore the ocean.
1. Why does Sylvia Earle put forward “what if” questions?| A．To call on people to protect the ocean. |
| B．To stress our dependence on the ocean. |
| C．To criticize people’s damage to the ocean. |
| D．To contribute an article to Time magazine. |
| A．She moved to Florida to learn diving. |
| B．She was the best in scuba diving. |
| C．She did not get much attention in 1970. |
| D．She became a chief scientist of NOAA in 1990. |
| A．Scientists’ fears. | B．Causes of the damage. |
| C．Efforts Earle made. | D．Bright future for the ocean. |
| A．Dr. Sylvia Earle — A Lover of Diving |
| B．Dr. Sylvia Earle — Pioneer of the Deep |
| C．The Ocean — A place in Urgent Need of Our Care |
| D．Scuba Diving — A Fantastic Way to Learn the Ocean |
3 . The aftermath (后果) of an earthquake can be horrible, but it is important that you are attentive and focused after an earthquake happens. Fires, gas leaks, and injuries are all dangers you might face after an earthquake.
Check yourself for injuries.
Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes which follow the main shock of an earthquake.
Exit the building and go to a safer place once the shaking has stopped. The structure of the building you’re in may have been weakened by the main earthquake.
| A．Signal for help if you are trapped. |
| B．They can cause significant damage. |
| C．Remain calm as the earthquake occurs. |
| D．The more prepared you are, the safer you’ll be. |
| E．Make sure you’re not seriously hurt before you do anything. |
| F．After the earthquake, you must get medical treatment in time. |
| G．Therefore, you should leave as soon as possible in case of any aftershocks. |
4 . Soil creates life from death. The production of more than 95% of the food we eat relies on soil. But this precious resource is eroding (侵蚀) at a global average of 13.5 tons per hectare per year. Instead of nourishing crops, fertile topsoil is washed and blown away, ending up in inconvenient places such as ditches and oceans.
Jo Handelsman and Kayla Cohen try to make readers care about soil in A World Without Soil. Their prologue (前言) takes the form of a letter to the government. With the letter, they hope to make soil management a federal priority. The following chapters cover the basic science of soil as well as the causes and consequences of its erosion. In the last part of the book, the authors turn to possible solutions—many of them simple, and some centuries old. They describe about traditional soil management techniques, including planting diverse crops in rotation (轮种), increasing organic content, ploughing as little as possible, etc. With these techniques, farmers are able to produce rich agricultural production while maintaining deep banks of fertile soil.
Why, then, is fertile soil being allowed to be washed and blown away? The answer, not surprisingly, rests in global capitalism. Farmers' profit is thin, forcing farmers to plant the highest-profit crop from field to field every season. To ensure food security, Handelsman and Cohen urge the world to demand a real top-down change in how agricultural production is managed. "The burden of protecting soil cannot be shifted to farmers and environmental activists," they note. Governments must begin to move towards a model in which farmers are less independent business people growing and selling food, and more government-supported land workers managing both food production and soil protection. This should be the core of agriculture.
Our land and soil are too precious to be destroyed by the market price of crops. We must invest deeply and thoughtfully in our farmers so that they can invest deeply and thoughtfully in the land. This is the future of farming.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The gradual process of losing soil. |
| B．The worrying situation of soil erosion. |
| C．The alarming decrease of food output. |
| D．The great significance of soil protection. |
| A．It targets federal officials as its main readers. |
| B．It puts forward some practical solutions to soil loss. |
| C．It advocates changing traditional farming techniques. |
| D．It blames governments for not taking care of farmlands. |
| A．Invest in the most profitable crops. |
| B．Grow and sell food all by themselves. |
| C．Shoulder the burden of protecting soil. |
| D．Work the land with government support. |
| A．A Call to Save Soil | B．Tips to Reshape Agriculture |
| C．Ways to Enrich Farmland | D．An Appeal to Guarantee Food Supply |
5 . The tornadoes that recently struck the U.S. are some of the most destructive and deadly in history. The death in Kentucky, the hardest hit state, reached 80 on Monday, with dozens still unaccounted for. The scale of destruction and timing of the tornadoes so late in the year — most tornadoes occur in the spring and summer — is fueling discussion about how climate change may have influenced this deadly disaster.
“In my 40 years as a meteorologist (气象学家), this was one of the most shocking weather events I’ve ever witnessed,” says Jeff Masters, at Yale Climate Connections. “Watching these storms on Friday night, my thought was, ‘Is no season safe?’ Extreme tornadoes in December. That was mind blowing to me.”
Unlike heat waves and floods, the link between a wanning world and tornadoes is complex and uncertain. Scientists have several theories about how tornado behavior may change. Tornadoes in December are possible. But it remains to be seen whether climate change will strengthen or increase the frequency of tornadoes.
According to NOAA’s data, there has been a recorded increase in the number of observed tornadoes since 1950, which experts believe is largely due to better technology such as Doppler radar. There’s been no observed increase in the frequency of major tornadoes over time. For example, 59 of the most severe F5 tornadoes in the U.S. have occurred since 1950. But if the storm that destroyed Kentucky turns out to have been an F5, it will have been the first since 2013 — bringing to an end the longest recorded period so far.
Nevertheless, “given the general influence of global warming on the atmosphere, it makes sense that it should be having an impact on tornadoes too,” says Victor Gensini, an extreme weather expert at Northern Illinois University. “Instead of asking: ‘Did climate change cause this tornado?’ It’s better to operate under the assumption that climate change did play a role,” he says.
While the science on climate change and tornadoes isn’t clear, meteorologists are predicting that conditions benefiting tornadoes will continue this month. “I’m worried about the rest of the year to be honest. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.” Gensini says.
1. What is one difference between the recent tornadoes and the ones in the past?| A．They hit only Kentucky. | B．They happened in December. |
| C．They caused no deaths. | D．They caught people unprepared. |
| A．Waves and floods often follow tornadoes. |
| B．There is an agreement on how tornadoes may change. |
| C．Climate change will make tornadoes the most deadly disaster. |
| D．Scientists are unsure about how climate change influences tornadoes. |
| A．The climate change most likely has an effect on tornadoes. |
| B．The tornadoes have nothing to do with climate warming. |
| C．The science on climate change is advancing very quickly. |
| D．The climate change will make tornadoes much less frequent. |
| A．Out of forest. | B．Out of difficulty. |
| C．Out of danger. | D．Out of question. |
6 . Plastic is nearly everywhere — in shoes, clothes, refrigerators and construction materials. But this highly useful material can have a major defect. Made from oil and slow to break down, conventional plastic is not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss inventing what they say should be a safer, biodegradable (可生物降解的) alternative made from fish waste— heads, bones and skin— that would otherwise likely be thrown out.
If developed successfully, fish-oil-based plastic could help meet the considerable need for more sustainable plastic, says Francesca Kerton, the project’s investigator. Previously, others have developed new plastic using plant-based oils. However, this too comes with a disadvantage: the crops that produce these oils require land that could otherwise be used to grow food.
Leftover fish struck Kerton as a promising alternative. Salmon (鲑鱼) farming is a major industry for coastal Newfoundland, where her university is located. After the fish are processed, leftover parts are often thrown away. Kerton and her colleagues developed a process for turning this fish oil into a plastic-like material. But does the plastic smell fishy? “When we start the process with the fish oil a slight kind of fish smell, but as we go through the steps, that smell disappears,” Kerton says.
In other experiments, they have begun examining how quickly the new material would likely break down once its useful life is over. Kerton put pieces of it in water, and to speed up the degradation for some pieces, she added a chemical capable of breaking down fats like those in the fish oil. Under a microscope, she later saw microbial (微生物的）growth on all of the samples, even those that had been in plain water, an encouraging sign that the new material might biodegrade quickly, Kerton says.
Kerton now intends to study the material’s physical properties to see how it might in real-world applications, such as in packaging or fibers for clothing.
1. What does the underlined word “defect” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Mistake. | B．Burden. | C．Difficulty. | D．Disadvantage. |
| A．It causes damage to the soil. | B．It needs a large amount of land. |
| C．It produces an unpleasant smell. | D．It increases the price of cooking oils. |
| A．It can break down easily. | B．It has a very short useful life. |
| C．It is hard to mix with plain water. | D．It proved a good packaging material. |
| A．A living trend. | B．A fishing method. |
| C．A scientific project. | D．A biological phenomenon. |
1. What did the man think of Americans?
| A．Health-conscious. | B．Ignorant. | C．Lazy. |
| A．To show how influential American food culture is. |
| B．To show how people’s attitudes have changed. |
| C．To show that Americans are spending more on food. |
| A．People have access to more information. |
| B．People are more active in general. |
| C．People are more positive. |
| A．Watching too much TV. | B．Eating fast food. | C．Driving her car. |
