We as individuals can also reduce our “carbon footprint” by
| situation However on Amazingly natural |
Boyan Slat has one huge goal. It’s a goal that could be good for people and animals all over the world.
When he was 16. Dutch engineering student Slat was on vacation in Greece, and he started to think about all the rubbish that is pushed onto beaches by water. The oceans around the world are all of plastic—millions of tons of plastic.
The present
Slat started with an idea for an unusual machine to “catch” the plastic floating(漂浮)in the water using the
A year later, Slat was named a “Champion of the Earth” by the United Nations for his valuable work.
3 . Bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Sadly, over the past 15 years, the global population of the hardworking insects has been dropping worldwide at alarming rates due to loss of food and habitat. Now, Dutch cities are coming up with creative ideas to help stem the population decrease of these all-important insects.
In Amsterdam, bees can live for free in specially built “hotels” — tall wooden structures — across the city. While they may not look like much to the untrained eye, they provide perfect homes for members of the over 200 known species of solitary bees. As the name indicates, the insects spend their lives alone. The smart insects nest inside holes like the ones provided by the insect hotels, marking their occupancy by covering the entrance with a mud “door”. Though unable to produce honey, solitary bees are excellent pollinators and perform an essential role in many ecosystems.
Additionally, city officials are also educating people on the use of harmful chemicals and are providing prize money to encourage developers to build green roofs and populate them with local plants. In 2015, they set a goal to change some plants in public green spaces to native plants. Geert, one of eight ecologists working for the city, says, “Our idea is when we design a park, we use native species but also the species that give a lot of flowering and fruit for bees.” Many people, with help from the government, are replacing the sidewalks outside their homes with small gardens featuring flowers.
In Utrecht, bus stop roofs are gradually being turned into beautiful, living gardens designed to attract varieties of bee species. The green roofs, which naturally collect both rainwater and dust, are also beneficial for the environment.
These cities’ collective efforts seem to be working. A recent study found that the variety of bee species there has increased by an astonishing 45 percent since 2000.
1. What does the underlined word “stem” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Review . | B．Stop. | C．Monitor. | D．Improve. |
| A．They’re not social insects. |
| B．They make high-quality honey. |
| C．They like to nest together in woods. |
| D．They’re scared of other species of bees. |
| A．Collect rainwater for future use. |
| B．Plant flowers for enjoyment. |
| C．Draw bees to them. |
| D．Clear dust away. |
| A．Protecting the environment. |
| B．Importance of bees in ecosystems. |
| C．Design ideas of insect hotels and bee stops. |
| D．Dutch cities’ attempts to restore bee population. |
4 . Although a rich literature exists documenting the negative relationship between air pollution and physiological (生理的) health, little has been done to examine the role of air pollution in psychological heath. In the study, titled “Air Pollution Reduces Interpersonal Trust” researchers used three different experimental designs to test their theory that air pollution would reduce one's level of trust in others.
In Study 1, participants were presented with landscape photos that showed either polluted scenes or clear scenes. Those who viewed photos of polluted scenes reported lower scores when completing a questionnaire measuring social trust.
In Study 2, researchers used a “big data” approach, collecting mass information from social media platforms and analyzing it in connection with weather monitoring data. Their analysis showed that polluted conditions were associated with reduced expressions of positive emotions on social media sites, while clearer conditions were associated with stronger positive emotional expressions.
Finally, in Study 3, participants who were asked to read social media posts about poor air quality reported less social trust than those who read posts unrelated to pollution. This makes sense---as air pollution causes negative emotions, people are more likely to focus on others' negative characteristics and find them less trustworthy.
The effects of this study are far-reaching. By reducing trust in others, this study suggests that air pollution can have negative effects on social unity and harmony. Considering widespread air pollution throughout the globe, any effect between pollution and human psychology should be given serious attention.
1. What did the researchers design three different experiments for?| A．To prove that one's level of trust would be negatively affected by air pollution. |
| B．To test the theory that air pollution would increase the level of trust in others. |
| C．To prove that air pollution would have a positive effect on trust in others. |
| D．To test the theory that air pollution would have a negative effect on physical health. |
| A．A fair day | B．A happy day |
| C．A rainy day | D．A polluted day |
| A．People expressed their feelings more positively in polluted weather on social media sites. |
| B．People posted more negative feelings in clearer weather on social media sites |
| C．Polluted weather led to less positive emotion expressions on social media sites. |
| D．Clearer weather led to less positive emotion expressions on social media sites |
| A．It has little effect on the society and can be ignored. |
| B．It should be paid special attention to. |
| C．It should be further conducted. |
| D．It should be stopped. |
1. When did the earthquake happen?
| A．On the morning of Tuesday. |
| B．On the morning of Wednesday. |
| C．On the afternoon of Wednesday. |
| A．He was buried under ruins. |
| B．He hid in a refrigerator for fun. |
| C．He was locked in a refrigerator. |
| A．They were opening the refrigerator. |
| B．They were pulling Tom’s father out of ruins. |
| C．They were digging holes to bury dead people. |
| A．The earthquake happened in another place. |
| B．There were more people dead in another place. |
| C．There was no hope to find people alive here. |
6 . As ice melts in West Antarctica the ground beneath is quickly rising---a process that could prevent the catastrophic(灾难性的) collapse of ice sheets, according to researchers.
A study published in the journal Science provides a glimmer(一丝;一线) of hope for a region affected by climate change. In recent years, several studies have warned the ice sheet, which contributes to a quarter of melted ice worldwide annually, is very easy to break up. Scientists fear even slightly melting could cause global sea levels to rise by 3 meters.
Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark set out to answer how the bedrock underneath the ice sheet of West Antarctica behaves as the ice melts. To study the land, the team analyzed data collected by high-precision GPS equipment positioned on remote rock formations in West Antarctica, which measured movements of the land down to the millimeter over a 10-year period.
“After a heroic effort to install and maintain the network of sensors in one of the least accessible places on the planet, the team has been rewarded with incredibly valuable data, which tell an incredible story about the Barth,” wrote Valentina Barletta.
The team found that the Earth was pushing the bedrock to rise faster than expected. In 2014, the surface rose by 41 millimeters: four to five times quicker than predicted. In 100 years, the land could be up to 10 meters higher than it is currently.
It is hoped that as the ice melts, the Earth's crust(地壳) will bounce back much faster than previously expected. In turn, this could stabilize what the researchers described as the "catastrophic collapse" of the ice sheet.
Barletta told Newsweek the ice sheet will never be stable if global warming becomes too extreme. “Reducing the greenhouse gas will give the ice sheet a better chance of survival because that would allow some known and unknown feedback(反馈) to create better conditions for the ice,” she said.
1. What happens to West Antarctica as ice melts?| A．The ground beneath is getting taller. |
| B．Its ice sheets break up completely. |
| C．Global sea levels rise by 3 meters. |
| D．Climate change comes to an end. |
| A．To find out whether the ice sheet is very easy to break up. |
| B．To find out the connection of the bedrock and ice melting. |
| C．To find out what really affects the speed of ice melting. |
| D．To find out when West Antarctica will disappear totally. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Sorry. | C．Surprised. | D．Angry. |
| A．Stop the bedrock from rising. |
| B．Prevent the temperature rising. |
| C．Create more ice for the ice sheet. |
| D．Cut down the greenhouse gas. |
7 . Drive through any suburb in the U.S. Today, and it’s hard to miss the recycling bins that have become companions to America’s trash cans. Recycling has become common, as people recognize the need to care for the environment. Yet most people’s recycling consciousness extends only as far as paper, bottles, and cans. People seldom find themselves facing the growing problem of e-waste.
E-waste rapidly increases as the techno- fashionable frequently upgrade to the most advanced devices, and the majority of them end up in landfills (垃圾填埋地). Some people who track such waste say that users throw away nearly 2 million tons of TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones, and other electronics every year. Unless we can find a safe replacement, this e-waste may get into the ground and poison the water with dangerous toxins (毒素), such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Burning the waste also dangerously contaminates the air.
However, e-waste often contains reusable silver, gold, and other electrical materials. Recycling these materials reduces environmental problems by reducing both landfill waste and the need to look for such metals, which can destroy ecosystems.
A growing number of states have adopted laws to ban dumping e-waste. Still, less than a quarter of this waste will reach lawful recycling programs. Some companies advertising safe disposal in fact merely ship the waste to some developing countries, where it still ends up in landfills. These organizations prevent progress by unsafely disposing of waste in an out- of- sight, out- of- mind location.
However, the small but growing number of cities and corporations that do handle e- waste responsibly represents progress toward making the world a cleaner, better place for us all.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Many Americans now have access to recycling bins. |
| B．E-waste cannot be put into trash cans in the U.S. |
| C．Most Americans have realized the dangers of e-waste. |
| D．Most of America’s trash cans are made of recycled material. |
| A．pollutes. | B．heats. |
| C．absorbs. | D．reduces. |
| A．It’s important. | B．It’s unsafe. |
| C．It’s acceptable. | D．It’s uncommon. |
| A．To tell us how to recycle e-waste. |
| B．To talk about the future of e-waste. |
| C．To discuss if it’s necessary to recycle e-waste. |
| D．To encourage us to deal with e-waste properly. |
Many students use the new system but opinions on it are divided. Some students say it is bad because bathing had become a sort of race. Many people using it for the first time are not sure how long they need to shower. Some might be embarrassed if their time is up and they’re still covered in soap. They have to ask the bathhouse worker to help them buy extra time.
“It’s aflawin the system that you can not buy extra time on the ID card,” said Ren, a freshman in Wuhan University. The university is also considering some students’ suggestions that they be allowed to pay after they’ve finished the shower. Not surprisingly, some are complaining about losing the hour shower. But many students say the move helps them develop a water-saving sense.
Without the time limits, most students tended to shower for 30 to an hour in the bathhouse.
Some even used the hot water to wash their clothes. “In my experience, 10—20 minutes is enough,” said Dai Zhihua, a third-year student who usually takes 8 minutes.
A similar system has been installed in other universities. Shanghai Normal University introduced it at its Fengxiang Campus in September. The bathing fee there is 0.2Yuanper minute. One male student responded by setting a record with a two-minute shower.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Students pay for the amount of time they want in the shower. |
| B．The clock times all through while the student is bathing except when the bather paused for soap. |
| C．If money runs out, there will be no water. |
| D．Having finished bathing, the student has to pay for it. |
| A．fault | B．advantage |
| C．pity | D．perfection |
| A．a quarter | B．one third |
| C．one half | D．two thirds |
| A．The new operation can raise students’ environmental awareness. |
| B．the new operation can solve the water crisis. |
| C．a similar operation has been set in other universities. |
| D．The university has saved a lot of water by using the new system. |
| A．People. | B．Society. |
| C．Campus Life. | D．Lifestyle. |
