1 . Around 50 million acres of forests in Russia were almost swallowed up by enormous fires two years ago, the country’s worst fire season on record. Now, researchers are more aware of just how significant the north forest fires were in terms of emissions. The fires produced more planet-heating carbon dioxide than any other extreme fire event that has occurred since the turn of the 21st century, according to a study.
North forests grow where it is very cold. The trees that live in this type of forest grow slowly and store carbon in their trunks and roots for hundreds of years, comprising a collection of trapped emissions that researchers call a carbon sink. But rising temperatures and related drought in these historically cool regions have led to an increase in extreme wildfire activity and threaten to release the carbon stored in the trees that grow there, transforming a carbon sink into a carbon source.
In all, fires in north forests released the carbon sink and produced nearly half a billion metric tons of carbon in 2022. That’s more carbon than the entire continent of Australia produced the same year, though some of the emissions produced by the fires will be sucked back up as forests regrow.
The researchers obtained the data for their study by tracking concentrations of emissions in the atmosphere using satellites, and then they put that information into a computer model to determine where, geographically, those emissions came from. They found that north forests, which typically produce about 10 percent of the globe’s annual wildfire emissions, accounted for 23 percent of the world’s wildfire emissions in 2022—more than twice as much as normal.
Canadell, who led the study, is most concerned about the study’s main takeaway, north forests have served an important and underappreciated role in isolating carbon emissions, but climate change threatens to release that carbon. “We need to be very careful with these systems in terms of their future development,” he said.
1. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?| A．To indicate the seriousness of the fire. | B．To illustrate two scientific concepts. |
| C．To explain the source of carbon. | D．To show the importance of north forests. |
| A．By turning to the firefighters. | B．By searching on the website. |
| C．By analyzing previous data. | D．By employing technology. |
| A．Assessing. | B．Preventing. | C．Monitoring. | D．Increasing. |
| A．To show the reasons for the forest fires in the north. |
| B．To state the increasingly growing carbon emissions. |
| C．To prove the impact of the north forest fires. |
| D．To explain the link between fires and carbon dioxide. |
2 . “There’s a little black woman walking, spraying (喷洒) stuff on the sidewalks and trees on Elizabeth and Florence...” he told the police. Her neighbor saw her spraying something on the sidewalks and trees and this made him worried. In the call to 911, he described the child as “a little black woman”.
Well, the “little black woman” was actually 9-year-old Bobbi Wilson, a young scientist. The fourth-grader had created her own insecticide (杀虫剂) to fight spotted lanternflies (斑衣蜡蝉). She came across the recipe on TikTok and had recently learned that the harmful species damages trees because they feed on their sap (树液). Bobbi was simply testing out her invention in her neighborhood when the police call was made.
“That’s her thing,” her mother Monique Joseph said. “She’s going to kill the lanternflies, especially if they’re on a tree. That’s what she’s going to do.” Bobbi’s 13-year-old sister, Hayden Wilson, also defended her, noting that Bobbi “was not only doing something amazing for our environment, but she was also doing something that made her feel like a hero”. Luckily, what happened didn’t influence Bobbi’s spirit and has led to some positive experiences for her.
She has since been recognized by several organizations for her environmental efforts. She has also been invited on special tours. One took place at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Another was given by the United States Department of Agriculture of New Jersey at a plant where they discussed lanternflies. But that’s not where her recognition ends! The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) honored Bobbi with their Sustainability Award for her work to save trees and fight lanternflies.
“We were excited that she was doing that,” Ann Marchioni of the ANJEC said. Ann added that the organization praises volunteers for being “hands-on” in their community. In addition to the award, she and her family got to visit with a group of black female scientists at Yale University. They showed her various labs and even invited her to donate lanternfly specimens (标本) for the university’s work.
1. What made the neighbor call the police?| A．A girl climbing trees. | B．A girl spraying something. |
| C．A girl littering the sidewalks. | D．A girl testing something dangerous. |
| A．Ashamed. | B．Proud. | C．Shocked. | D．Relieved. |
| A．Those whose donations help ANJEC. |
| B．Those who can do something creative in their university. |
| C．Those whose environmental awareness is quite impressive. |
| D．Those who can do something practical in their community. |
| A．Creative and determined. | B．Watchful and serious. |
| C．Friendly and generous. | D．Talkative and strict. |
3 . “Leave no track” is popular among many campers who are concerned about our environment and favor sustainable (可持续的) travel. Its goal is simple; to minimize human-created impacts on the natural world.
Reject plastic and paper. First and foremost, one of the easiest ways to reduce the impact of camping on the planet is to go plastic and paper-free. Instead of single-use plastics and paper plates, choose bamboo or other recyclable camping dinnerware and food packages.
Rent or buy a used tent. Instead of brand-new equipment, consider renting camping equipment instead. Outdoor retail (零售) brands like REI offer a wide variety of camping products to rent, including tents.
Only camp in designated (指定的) camping areas.
| A．Pack with the planet in mind. |
| B．Sort out what you really need when camping. |
| C．They even carry other outdoor essentials for rent. |
| D．Learn how to sustainably upgrade the summer camping here. |
| E．Campers can also buy reusable paper towels in order to genuinely leave no track. |
| F．Eco-friendly campers can learn how to update their skills with these simple tips. |
| G．Although backpacking off the beaten path sounds fascinating, it may not be eco-friendly. |
4 . Low-effort things you can do to live sustainably
You might think you need to change a lot of your daily habits to live sustainably but, in fact, becoming more eco-friendly is much easier than it might seem. Below are some easy steps towards becoming more sustainable.
Shop at farmer markets.
Getting your daily fruit and vegetables from a local farmer market is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint while eating healthily. It cuts out lengthy stays of the products in refrigerated storage and up to thousands of miles of fossil-fueled transportation.
Practice meatless Mondays.
Global meat production is a big contributor to greenhouse gasses.
Dispose of unused medications properly.
Flushing (冲) unused medications down the drain (下水道) can pollute water supplies affecting everything downstream. You shouldn’t throw medications away either as they can be dangerous for others to find.
It is easy to understand that buying something used is more environmentally friendly than buying something new and clothes are no exception.
| A．Shop second-hand. |
| B．Think twice before shopping. |
| C．A meatless diet can help prevent disease. |
| D．The best option is to take them to a collection site. |
| E．It is not practical to expect everyone to go vegetarian, |
| F．Additionally, less plastic in packaging reduces plastic waste. |
| G．The fast-fashion industry consumes considerable resources each year. |
5 . Barcelona’ s opera house has celebrated its reopening to the public since the corona-virus pandemic (新冠疫情) put the world into a huge horror, but their opening night had an unusual audience. For its first concert, the theater refused the usual crowd of people and instead packed the house with plants. Yes, that’s correct. All 2, 292 seats at the Gran Teatre Liceu were occupied by leafy green plants.
The idea was conceived by conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia and was broadcast live on the theater’s website. These lucky ficus trees, palms, and Swiss cheese plants, which were brought in by local nurseries (苗圃), got the pleasure of hearing Puccini’s Crisantermi performed by the UceLi Quartet string musical group.
Ampudia hopes that his idea and the work will inspire people to think more deeply about their relationship with nature and the concept of sustainability (持续性). “We are at the end of an era and that means that we have to change certain patterns,” he shares. “We don’t live in the same world as 90 days ago, and this means we have to reflect on everything that we do.”
As plants can respond to different vibrations (震颤) caused by music, they certainly weren’t a passive audience, even if they weren’t able to give applause. Now that the concert is over, each plant will be given to a different frontline healthcare worker who helped guide the country through its battle with the corona-virus.
The moving concert is a continuation of the Liceu’s mission to create a dialogue between music and the visual arts. Pictures and a video of the performance taken by Ampudia will now become part of La Caixa contemporary art collection.
1. What was the special part of the concert?| A．It had only 2, 292 seats. |
| B．It made the world fall in horror. |
| C．It welcomed audience with plants to come . |
| D．It gave plants opportunities to enjoy music. |
| A．Put forward. | B．Enjoyed. | C．Hated. | D．Turned down. |
| A．We didn’t do very well in dealing with nature. |
| B．The healthcare workers were more important. |
| C．The plants should have the equal rights. |
| D．We did everything in a wrong way. |
| A．Daily Hero. | B．Teens’ Life. |
| C．Animals and Plants. | D．Art Around the World. |
6 . While electronics can make life easier and more entertaining, the devices aren’t easy on the environment.
As newer, more advanced devices come out, huge amounts of old electronics are thrown away, instead of being recycled. These items often end up in landfills, where the chemicals inside them may be a danger to the environment. Electronics can contain noxious materials like lead or mercury (汞) . If these materials get into the ground or water, the pollution can cause serious problems.
Most electronics require rare metals. These metals must be mined (开采) from the earth. Often the mining process creates serious pollution. In many cases, these materials are getting harder and harder to find. If more e-waste was recycled, many of those rare metals could be taken from old electronic devices instead of being mined. A group known as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum) is trying to make people more aware of the problems of e-waste. WEEE says that the rare metals and other materials that get thrown out as e-waste every year are worth about $ 57 billion.
Recently, WEEE asked researchers from the United Nations to study a kind of e-waste that’s often not noticed because people don’t consider the items to be electronics. The WEEE calls this type “invisible” e-waste.
The surprising type leading the invisible e-waste group was toys. Worldwide, about 7. 3 billion electronic toys are thrown away each year. In all, toys make up about 35% of invisible e-waste. But the problem is far larger than just toys. The report also shows that other everyday items like alarms, power tools, and computer cables (电缆) are also big sources of invisible e-waste. The UN report says that 36% of the world’s invisible e-waste comes from these three types.
WEEE is hoping that as more people and governments become aware of e-waste, they will make a much greater effort to make sure electronics get reused or recycled.
1. What does the underlined word “noxious” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Harmful. | B．Critical. | C．Powerful. | D．Abnormal. |
| A．Looking for alternative options. | B．Recycling rare metals from e-waste. |
| C．Buying rare metals from other countries. | D．Reducing the production of electronic devices. |
| A．Toys. | B．Alarms. | C．Power tools. | D．Computer cables. |
| A．That e-waste will soon no longer be a problem. |
| B．A global law on electronic devices will be issued. |
| C．E-waste will be burned to avoid damage to the environment. |
| D．Everyone will play a part in the reusing and recycling of electronics. |
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the
According to The Guardian, the Japanese government argued that they
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on March14 once again denounced (谴责) Japan’s unilateral (单边的) decision to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea,
8 . Todmorden is an ordinary town in England. In less than two years, it has changed the way it produces its food and the way its residents think about the environment. Compared with 18 months ago, a third more townspeople now grow their own vegetables, almost 7 in 10 now buy local produce regularly, and 15 times as many people are keeping chickens. “Our aim is to make our town completely self-sufficient in food production,” said Pam Warburst, who planned the project, Incredible Edible.
The change started 18 months ago. Nick Green, who runs a company that provides workspace for local artists took on the job of doing the planting. He chose the first land in the middle of the town and it attracted plenty of attention. “We wanted everyone to see what we were doing, so they could ask questions and finally join in.” he said.
Incredible Edible was originally funded out of the participants’ (参与者) own pockets. “We were very clear that we didn’t want to look at what grants (拨款) were available and change our projects to suit them,” said Mr. Green. “We felt that what would work was to start with the town and what it needed. We’d look for money later on.” What the project leaders found was that a lot could be achieved with small amounts of cash. And awards and grants have followed.
“The important thing about Incredible Edible is that it involves (影响) everyone in the town and it’s a grass-roots project. I honestly believe it’s a good plan for every neighborhood. What we’re doing here could easily be rolled out anywhere. It’s all about involving people, giving them ownership, letting them realize it can be fun and interesting and that the food is delicious, and giving them space to set up their own ideas and run with them.”
1. Which of the following can best describe Todmorden?| A．It has an artistic atmosphere. | B．It is leading a green lifestyle. |
| C．It produces everything it needs. | D．It is famous for its beautiful scenery. |
| A．Doing the planting. | B．Choosing the land. |
| C．Nick Green’s company. | D．The workspace for artists. |
| A．By raising money from the locals. | B．By winning an award from a competition. |
| C．By collecting money from the participants. | D．By applying for a grant from the government. |
| A．It helps the residents get rich. | B．It provides enough food for the locals. |
| C．It has been achieved by ordinary people. | D．It has a strong effect on reducing pollution. |
9 . Student scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras recently demonstrated the power of combining hardware with artificial intelligence by developing a water assessment device. The team won the $ 200,000 top prize at IBM’s Global Call For Code Challenge for 2021 for their innovative technology.
Developed by the team that calls itself “Saaf Water,” the device has a lot of uses. The low-cost device could help save millions of lives in India if deployed on the large-scale. It not only senses decontaminated(净化)water but also provides a comprehensive summary of the water quality while suggesting purifying methods.
Using IBM Cloud and IBM Watson, the students developed the tech to especially cater to rural areas in India. Saaf Water was in theory when one of the developer, Hrishikesh Bhandari’s mother fell ill due to unknown consumption of contaminated water, which came from a public ground water source.
“When we came back to Goa, her treatment was going on and the doctor said it’s due to a very rare disease caused due to polluted water,” Bhandari told Indiatimes. Three months into her treatment, Bhandari and her teammates decided to develop Saaf Water in hopes of preventing such kind of disasters.
Saaf Water timely monitors the water and informs the community in real time. In addition, Saaf Water also suggests purification(净化)methods that may be best for different locations and geographies.
Saaf Water’s goal is simple and straightforward. With their breathtaking machine, they give local communities the power to save lives. The data is studied in real time by Saaf Water, which does analysis of the contamination.
1. What does the underlined word “innovative” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Strange. | B．Contradictory. | C．Fashionable. | D．original. |
| A．It purifies drinking water directly. |
| B．It separates dirty from clean water. |
| C．It makes clean water from used water. |
| D．It monitors the water and offers purification ways. |
| A．To finish an academic task. |
| B．To help secure lives in local communities. |
| C．To collect money for the poor. |
| D．To raise people’s awareness of water safety. |
| A．A diary. | B．A novel. | C．A magazine. | D．A notebook. |
10 . Sometimes a camera’s eye in the sky can cast new light on the world we live in—highlighting changes or celebrating beauty we might be unaware of on ground level. And that’s what you’ll see in the winners from the 2023 Drone (无人机) Photo Awards.
The photography competition, now in its sixth year, received nearly 14, 000 images from amateur and professional photographers from 104 countries for the nine categories of the competition. All photos were taken from above using a drone.
Here’s a look at some of those award-winning photos and honorable mentions from around the world.
Amigos
“In Baja California Sur in Mexico, gray whales come to interact with people—as if they were friends(in Spanish’Amigos’),” says the photographer.
The art of rice processing
Rice mill workers start their day at the break of dawn. Some of them boil the paddy rice. Others carry it and spread it outside the rice mill to dry in the sun. To make sure that it dries properly, they rake (耙) it out, then sweep it back.
A cherished wetland drowning in trash
The Pallikaranai wetland is one of the few remaining wetlands in India. Every day, the photographer says that 3,500 tons of garbage are dumped on some 300 acres of this nearly 20,000-acre wetland.
Strawberry fields forever, Act I, Scene 1
Naming it The strawberry show is about to begin, the photographer says that the strawberry field from above looks like the opening of a theater curtain before a big show.
1. What can we learn about the 2023 Drone Photo Awards?| A．It is held every six years. |
| B．The theme of the entries is limited. |
| C．The photos are taken by professionals. |
| D．It attracts many photographers from all over the world. |
| A．Amigos. |
| B．The art of rice processing. |
| C．A cherished wetland drowning in trash. |
| D．Strawberry fields forever, Act I, Scene 1. |
| A．They all celebrate beauty. |
| B．They all highlight changes. |
| C．They are all taken from the air. |
| D．They belong to the same category. |
