To change bad habits is never easy, even with many
Then what is causing the increase in the global average surface temperature? Climate scientists often mention a key climate process called the “greenhouse effect”,
2 . Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, also known as “Birdman,” takes to the skies aboard his adapted light aircraft. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the impressive views, but to guide flocks (鸟群) of lesser white-fronted geese (小白额雁) through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations.
His deed began in 1995 when he noticed their declining population in the wilds of Lapland, Sweden. To prevent their numbers from dropping further, Moullec tried to get the threatened species to follow him along migration routes that would protect them from bird hunters.
However, getting grown geese to follow his lead proved challenging. As young geese imitate and follow whomever they view as their parent, Moullec decided to raise the geese from birth.
To help raise funds and awareness of his job to protect not just the geese but birds worldwide, Moullec often allows paying tourists to join him on the 30-minute-long flights aboard his aircraft. In addition to the trained birds flying alongside them, visitors, who come from as far as a 15-hour plane flight away, are treated to a variety of crane and geese species as well as breathtaking views of castles and cities.
He often brings his camera along for the flights, capturing photos not just for their beauty, but for what they describe. Moullec believes the use of agricultural chemicals has done harm to wild European birds, with more than a third disappearing in the last 30 years. “It's a disaster,” he said. “My beautiful images with flying birds should be used to tell this story. ”
1. Why does “Birdman” always fly to the sky on his aircraft?A.To observe geese along their migration routes. |
B.To follow geese through safe migration paths. |
C.To take visitors to operate his adapted aircraft. |
D.To guide geese fly safely during the migration. |
A.He is a nature lover. | B.He is a bird watcher. |
C.He is a volunteer pilot. | D.He is a bird hunter. |
A.Recording the use of agricultural chemicals. |
B.Showing serious damage caused by chemicals. |
C.Describing his experiences with flying birds. |
D.Capturing the beautiful views of birds and cities. |
A.Birdman Guides Flocks to Learn to Fly. |
B.Birdman Finds Birds Disappearing. |
C.Birdman Helps Flocks Safely Migrate. |
D.Birdman Protects Birds From Hunters. |
3 . Zologial Sociey of London(ZSL), which runs London Zoo, brought together 16 scientists from different organizations to make a full “heath heck” on 215 miles of the Thames. The results of the first-ever State of the Thames Report have been shown to the public and there’s both good and bad news for London’s main waterway.
First up, since the Thames was pronounced “biologically(生物学地)dead” in1957, the number of animals and plants growing in and around the river has increased greatly. Natural habitats(栖息地)are also on the increase, some of which can help in the fight against climate(气候)change.
It’s not all good news though—like everywhere else, the Thames is influenced by climate change, mainly through changes in water temperature and sea levels. The Thames is increasing in temperature at an average(平均数)of 0. 2℃ each year, changing the natural environment.
Water levels are also rising in the Thames—at Silvertown. There has been an average increase of 4. 26 mm per year since 1990, which makes London more likely to be flooded.
As with pretty much everywhere on Earth, the Thames needs climate change to be stopped in order to make itself a living river in the future.
The Environment Agency has put together the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan which sets out a long-term plan for dealing with the influence of rising sea levels for the rest of this century, in order to protect London from floods.
James Brand, Thames Estuary 2100 Advisor at the Environment Agency said, “We are glad to support the State of the Thames Report. If we are going to stop climate change, nature needs to be at the heart of our activities, both in slowing the pace of future change and dealing with the changes that we are already seeing.”
1. What did the 16 scientists do with the Thames?A.They did an examination of it. | B.They gave an introduction to it. |
C.They brought new animals to it. | D.They organized a clean-up of it. |
A.The way animals are raised. | B.The development of natural habitats. |
C.The meaning of “biologically dead”. | D.The welcome changes to the Thames. |
A.It has caused many floods. |
B.Its temperature has been rising. |
C.Its plants have become fewer and fewer. |
D.It is home to a smaller number of animals. |
A.To record the rising sea levels. | B.To help rebuild London. |
C.To explain the importance of nature. | D.To fight against climate change. |
A.In a storybook. | B.In a health magazine. |
C.In a research paper. | D.In a geography textbook. |
Earlier 2019,the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development published
This is a bad
The answer is that the Himalaya, for example, long defined by
5 . As heat waves continue to ravage the planet, air conditioners are becoming more and more common. However, these "active" cooling devices are posing problems because the electricity consumption which most people are concerned about and the release of ozone-damaging chemicals worsen the greenhouse gas effect, resulting in the creation of heat islands and further thermal pollution. Therefore, "passive" cooling, which doesn't have such effects, has attracted considerable attention from both scientists and ordinary people in recent years.
In a recent study, a team of researchers from China and US presented an eco-friendly, low-cost smart coating to keep buildings cooler while consuming zero electricity. Infrared radiation-based passive cooling has been investigated since 2014, but challenges, mainly the expensive and unsustainable design, have greatly limited their large-scale and widespread application. Besides, the imbalance in cooling ability of these coatings during the day and night tends to lead to great day-night temperature differences as more heat is lost than gained at night.
The solution therefore requires a "smart" mechanism that can both enhance daytime cooling and minimize nighttime heat loss. To do this, the researchers created a new smart coating comprised of conventional building materials, including titanium dioxide nanoparticles, fluorescent microparticles, and glass microspheres that were engineered to reflect most of the sunlight. Specifically, the titanium dioxide particles effectively reflect sunlight through light scattering(撒播)while the fluorescent particles increase the amount of reflection by changing the absorbed sunlight into fluorescence emissions, which drive more heat away from the building. Meanwhile, the glass microspheres re-send mid-infrared broadband radiation, allowing not only heat loss, but allowing heat exchange to take place between the building and the sky.
The coating was tested on a model concrete building. Through this efficient heat exchange with the sky, daytime cooling was strengthened while nighttime cooling was reduced. The building's inside temperature was always maintained at around 26℃, even when the out-side temperature varied from 24℃ to 37℃ during the day. We believe this new coating will make it to commercialization soon, enabling a sustainable, passive cooling technology that could help to fight climate change and the global energy crisis.
1. What is the virtue of passive cooling?A.It is simple to design. | B.It uses no chemicals. |
C.It is smart. | D.It uses no power. |
A.It was hard to design. |
B.Its material was hard to produce. |
C.Its heat loss and cooling are imbalanced. |
D.It wasn't tested on a model concrete building. |
A.Metal. | B.System. | C.Platform. | D.Building. |
A.The principle of air-conditioning. |
B.The differences between active and passive cooling. |
C.A new coating to keep buildings cool without electricity. |
D.A new building to maintain its inside temperature without electricity. |
6 . Every year on April 22,Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.It gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet.The founder was Gaylord Nelson.
What moved Gaylord Nelson to action was the1969massive oil spill(溢出)in California,the largest oil spill in the United States at that time.The spill proved to be an environmental nightmare as it had a strong impact on marine life,killing an estimated3,500sea birds,as well as marine animals such as dolphins,elephant seals and sea lions.Inspired by the student antiwar movement at that period of time,Nelson found it was a right time to channel the energy of the students towards a fight for environmental protection.He decided that it was time to educate the Americans on the need to protect the environment.Thus,Earth Day was born in1970,and public environmental consciousness took centre stage.
On 22nd April 1970,millions of Americans took to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy,sustainable environment and thousands of students marched in protest of the terrible situation of the environment.Businesses were forced to follow environmental standards if they wanted to continue their operations.The year1990 saw Earth Day reach out to many more countries around the world.It helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,bringing together many nations,for a joint effort towards protecting the environment.In 2009,the United Nations decided to officially set April 22 as Earth Day.
For his role as founder of Earth Day,Gaylord Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom(1995),the highest honour given to civilians in the United States.We honor the man,as the fight for a cleaner environment continues.
1. What can we learn about Earth Day?A.It was founded at the end of 1970s. |
B.It was first celebrated in Rio de Janeiro. |
C.People will march on the street on this day. |
D.It arouses public environmental awareness. |
A.He reduced the loss of the oil spill. |
B.He participated in an antiwar movement. |
C.He set environmental standards for business. |
D.He involved more people in environmental issues. |
A.The focus of Earth Day. |
B.The development of Earth Day. |
C.The world 's concern on the environment. |
D.The joint efforts of different countries. |
A.Intelligent. | B.Responsible. | C.Considerate. | D.Knowledgeable. |
7 . The twilight zone (朦胧地带) contains the largest and least explored fish stocks (储备) of the world’s oceans. Ranging from just below 200 metres to 1,000 metres deep, it is an interface between the well-studied sea life in the sunlit zone above and the ecosystems of the darkest territory below. It has a major role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for centuries or longer. The twilight zone is also known to the largest migration on Earth. Huge numbers of fishes and zooplankton (浮游动物) move hundreds of metres towards the surface each night to feed, before withdrawing back down at dawn.
Yet the zone is poorly understood — physically, biogeochemically and ecologically. Even the number of organisms that live there remains a mystery, let alone their diversity and function.
It is alarming, then, that this vast ocean domain is at risk in three ways-even before any of the potential consequences are understood. First, the world’s growing population has an increasing need for food. Second, sea-floor mining for minerals and metals could release waste into the region. And third, climate change is varying temperature, acidification and oxygen levels in ways that are likely to affect life there.
The twilight zone is hard Io study. Its organisms are difficult to sample and analyse, being thinly distributed, almost invisible and often fragile. They also live at pressures of up to 100 atmospheres, which poses problems for laboratory-based investigations.
Critics might argue that walers near coasts and above shelves are more deserving of study, given the huge environmental pressures there, as well as their importance to societies. And, of course, they need attention. Sadly, however, it is too late to avoid widespread environmental damage to these inshore regions. Instead, research efforts and local policies must aim at minimizing the worst effects.
By contrast, the twilight zone is almost left in its original condition. Moreover, the majority of it lies beyond national administration. This makes it of common interest and responsibility, and means that global agreement is necessary to manage it.
1. What can we learn about the twilight zone?A.It has the least fish stocks. |
B.It reduces atmosphere’s carbon dioxide. |
C.It lies at the bottom of sea. |
D.Il is located above the sunlit zone. |
A.Where global warming leads us. |
B.Why high food consumption arises. |
C.How the twilight zone is threatened. |
D.What impacts pollution has on ocean. |
A.The twilight zone. | B.The inshore area. |
C.Its original condition. | D.National administration. |
A.International cooperation is essential. |
B.Inshore regions deserve more attention. |
C.Global agreement has been reached. |
D.Study on the twilight zone is out of the question. |
8 . Germany’s top court has ruled that parts of the country’s 2019 climate (气候) action law must be changed because they don’t do a good job of protecting young people. The result is a big victory for the nine young people who started the law suing (诉讼).
The court suing stresses an important part of the climate change: The change will impact greatly on young people far more than the adults. That’s because the effects of earth warming will become more serious over time. As young people become adults, they’ll be left to deal with many problems that today’s adults have ignored. The government’s failure to plan carefully was putting their future lives in danger.
In 2019, Germany passed a new law, promising that the country would be carbon neutral (碳中和) by 2050. The law made a detailed plan of action until 2030. But the law didn’t have any specific rules or plans for climate actions that would be taken between 2031 and 2050.
Last Thursday, the judges of Germany’s highest court agreed with the young people. They said that not taking climate action made the basic rights of young people to a good future in danger.
The young people had challenged the government’s law in four specific areas. The judges didn’t agree with all of the challenges. But having the court support even a part of their case is seen as a big victory. Neubauer is one of the young people who sued. She works with the climate action group Fridays For Future. Ms. Neubauer said, “Climate protection is our basic right. This is a huge win for the climate movement. It changes a lot.”
The court has given the German government until the end of 2022 to fix the law. The climate law will now need to have a much more detailed plan for the actions that will be taken after 2030 to cut Germany’s pollution, allowing it to become carbon neutral by 2050. Germany’s government has said that it will quickly begin working to make the needed changes.
1. Why did the nine young people sue the Germany government?A.They faced a higher rate of losing jobs. |
B.The government refused their law suing. |
C.The local court ruled against the climate law. |
D.They weren’t satisfied with the climate action law. |
A.The adults nowadays are put under pressure. |
B.The climate change will influence the young. |
C.Earth warming is becoming out of control. |
D.Humans feel uncertain about the future. |
A.Improve the present law. |
B.Win people’s wide support. |
C.Take strict punishment measures. |
D.Achieve carbon neutral in advance. |
A.Business. | B.Health. |
C.Education. | D.Environment. |
9 . Living downstream from a waste-treatment plant can leave fish tired, a new study finds, led by Graham Scott, a biologist in Canada. “Wastewater treatment plants are pretty good at taking out the waste and treating it before it gets into our waterways,” he said. “But not everything can be taken out,” he added.
For example, some plants beside the stream were not designed to remove remains of drugs. So when some medicines are left over after people use them, they can be released into the environment. These include the drugs used to treat depression and high blood pressure.
Life-sustaining chemical reactions in an animal’s body (including ours) allow it to grow, move and reproduce. These reactions, taken together, are known as the creature’s metabolism (新陈代谢). Some studies have shown that even just one drug can change the metabolism of fish, making their metabolism slow down. Then that will impair their bodies.
That creates a problem for the animals — using the extra energy to rid their bodies of the pollutants which can damage their cells and tissues. “That’s energy they burn just to stay alive,” explained Scott. That is also the energy no longer available to avoid predators (天敌), to find food and to mate.
And they report that fish exposed to a mix of chemicals can use up some of their energy just to deal with those pollutants. Therefore, they will have less energy to eat and avoid being eaten, says Paul Craig, a biologist in Ontario.
“It is up to us to help reduce the types of pollutants in. wastewater,” Craig says. “That includes not throwing leftover medicines down the toilet.” he recommends.
1. What do Scott’s words mean in paragraph 1?A.There are still some pollutants in the treated water. |
B.Wastewater treatment plants don’t work well. |
C.Things in waterways are difficult to deal with. |
D.Canadians tend to throw waste down the toilet. |
A.Form. | B.Harm. | C.Benefit. | D.Examine. |
A.They will stop growing. |
B.They will avoid their mates. |
C.They will have to rid their bodies of the polluted cells. |
D.They will consume extra energy to survive. |
A.To explain how pollutants affect animals. |
B.To show ways of fighting against pollution. |
C.To advise people to stop buying polluted fish. |
D.To urge people to reduce pollutants in wastewater. |
Henan Province
Nearly 11.45 million residents in 139 counties across the province were affected due
Though flooding during the summer months is an annual occurrence in parts of China, recent rains have alarmed scientists and officials, raising questions as to whether we should be prepared