1 . Feeling down about money? Do you know you could have thousands of pounds worth of junk hiding in your drawers? Well, here’s some fantastic news to brighten your day: your unwanted tech could be a goldmine, with potential earrings ranging from £1,300 to £6,330.That’s right — that neglected hairdryer, forgotten electric toothbrush, or unused smartphone sitting in your cupboard could be your ticket to some extra holiday cash, a dream summer vacation, or a special weekend treat!

Recent research from Recycle Your Electricals reveals a shocking 880 million unused working electrical items gathering dust in UK households, averaging 31 items per household. The potential earnings? A suriprising £36.7 billion for older, lower, and unbranded items and an astonishing £178.5 billion for newer, higher branded items. It’s an incredible new opportunity!

It’s not just about making money; selling your old electricals is also great for the planet. Waste electricals are the fastest growing e-waste stream, with few people realising that they contain some of the most precious materials on the planet, like gold, aluminium and lithium. So whether you choose to sell or donate your working items, or you recycle the broken ones, it’s going to be good for the environment.

It’s time to unlock that money. Start by taking stock of all your electricals and research their market value by considering factors like brand, age, and condition. Wipe down surfaces, remove dust, and ensure everything is in working order. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words— a detailed description with high-quality photos speaks louder. Select the platform that suits your item and target audience. Above all, security first. Ensure all personal data are securely wiped. If meeting in person, choose a safe, public location. Alternatively, use secure shipping methods with tracking for added peace of mind.

1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?

A．The wealth from junk is often overlooked.

B．People often put plenty of cash in the drawers.

C．The potential earnings from wastes are worth a goldmine.

D．Electricals are likely to break down if not used frequently.

2. What can the e-waste be used for according to the text?

A．Repair work.

B．Metal extraction.

C．Data security.

D．Scientific research.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Methods of saving money.	B．Ways to promote online sales.
C．Procedures of online shopping.	D．Steps to profit from used electricals.

4. What’s the author’s writing purpose?

A．To offer tips for making a fortune.

B．To warn against e-waste pollution.

C．To increase the purchase of new electricals.

D．To advocate recycling economically and environmentally.

2 . Travelling allows us to see landscapes we wouldn’t be able to explore otherwise. Sometimes, the beauty is so attractive that we’d like to extend our stay to immerse (沉浸) ourselves in it, or simply have a version of it we could carry with us back home. Inspired by questions about personal land preservation and wondering how the hurried pace of travel can be slowed, Kathleen Vance launched her Travelling Landscapes series. With it, she creates miniature (微小的) landscapes inside antique suitcases and trunks.

“In first creating the Travelling Landscapes series, I was thinking about accessibility to nature and exploring the concept of ‘untouched natural sites’,” Vance says. “The perfect landscapes I sculpt are visual connections from my personal memories of travels and focus on waterways as a primary element. I consider these a reminder of how precious our natural resources are, and how necessary it is to protect these vital elements for life.”

The initial pieces of Travelling Landscapes were created in 2005 and each contained soil, water, and grasses native to the area it described. “It was created as a ‘site displacement’ sculpture, in which I removed the soil and plants from a designated stream and transplanted them into a container,” the artist says.

The well-travelled beauty wouldn’t come alive if it weren’t for the use of antique luggage in her work. These additions further the message she’s trying to put out into the world. “I use primarily antique luggage for this series as it denotes not only this concept of containment, but travel, preciousness, and possession,” Vance points out. “I consider each case carefully, investigating its prior history, its owner, and for which type of travel it was designed to be used. All these indicators help to inform the landscape that I create.”

Throughout her expressive body of work, Vance tries to connect people to local aspects of nature that are overlooked or underappreciated, opening new channels to bring nature into our daily lives.

1. What are the main elements in the landscapes sculpted by Kathleen Vance?

A．Waterways.	B．Trees and forests.
C．Mountains and valleys.	D．Grasses native to the area.

2. What is the main message that Kathleen Vance wants to convey?

A．The need to get close to nature.	B．The concept of travel and transport.
C．The importance of protecting nature.	D．The historical value of antique luggage.

3. What does the underlined word “denotes” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Identifies.

B．Confirms.

C．Requires.

D．Indicates.

4. Which of the following can best describe Kathleen Vance?

A．Noble-minded and brave.	B．Eco-conscious and talented.
C．Hard-working and optimistic.	D．Far-sighted and knowledgeable.

3 . Is climate candy set to be the next trend?

LA-based PurePlus says yes. The startup launched its first consumer product, Faven, two years ago. Today, each packet of chews contains one serving of fruits and vegetables and saves scores of produce from ending up in landfill.

According to PurePlus, every Faves packet uses six carrots, three heels, one sweet potato, half a squash and one-fourth of a pumpkin. A lot of the time the products are made with “imperfect” produce. The ultimate aim of the company is to tackle food waste in a meaningful and healthy way.

Co-founder and CEO Amy Keller knows sweets. She’s the granddaughter of Norman Spangler, a second-generation leader at Spangler, a second-generation leader at Spangler Candy Co. Instead of following in her family’s footsteps, she set up PurePlus in 2018. PurePlus works with farmers to secure unsold or unsellable produce to turn into plant-based powders that can be used in multiple food and drink applications.

Around 930 million tonnes of food is wasted every year, twice as much as previous estimates, with 61 percent coming from domestic households, 26 percent comes from food services and retail claims the last 13 percent.

The US Sustainable Development Goals initiative have laid out plans to reduce food waste by half by 2030. It is seeking to tackle the issue due to the increased burden on waste management systems, impact on climate change and food insecurity that it brings. Up to 10 percent of global carbon emissions are tied to waste produce.

PurePlus has so far launched two flavors of its fruit and vegetable chew: strawberry and grape. Developed using its special produce powder and sustainable oil, among other things, they are marketed as healthy alternatives to standard sweet chews.

“Faves has set out to solve the climate crisis by preventing food waste by upcycling perfectly good fruits and vegetables to create a candy that’s good for people and the planet, thus, making both healthy choices and climate impact more accessible,” Amy Keller said in a statement. “We don’t make a product unless it will deliver a real benefit and is truly sustainable. ”

1. What does the company PurePlus aim to do?

A．To start a new trend.	B．To produce the best sweets.
C．To help people eat more healthy.	D．To recycle food waste in a sustainable way.

2. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Food waste.	B．Climate change.
C．Food insecurity.	D．Waste management system.

3. What can be inferred about Amy Keller?

A．She set up Faves two years ago.

B．She was the only founder of PurePlus.

C．She has a sense of social responsibility.

D．She was the fourth generation leader at Spangler Candy Co.

4. Which is the best title?

A．A new trend is set by Amy Keller.	B．Climate candy is tackling food waste.
C．PurePlus has launched two new flavors.	D．PurePlus has made plans to reduce food waste.

5 . In a groundbreaking achievement, a rhino has successfully undergone embryo (胚胎) transfer, marking the first successful use of a method that holds promise for saving the nearly extinct northern white rhino subspecies.

The experiment, conducted with the less endangered southern white rhino subspecies, involved creating an embryo in a lab using eggs and sperm (精子) collected from other rhinos. This embryo was then transferred into a southern white rhino alternative mother in Kenya. Despite the unfortunate death of the alternative mother due to an infection in November 2023, researchers praised the successful embryo transfer and pregnancy (怀孕) as a proof of concept. They are now ready to proceed to the next stage of the project: transferring northern white rhinoembryos.

Professor Thomas Hildebrandt expressed optimism about the findings, highlighting the significance of the successful embryo transfer in demonstrating that frozen and defrosted embryos produced in a lab can survive. This development offers hope for the revival of the northern white rhino population.

However, challenges facing rhino conservation remain significant. While the southern white rhino subspecies and the black rhino species have shown signs of recovery from population declines due to illegal hunting for their horns (牛角), the northern white rhino subspecies is on the edge of extinction. With only two known members left in the world, Najin and her daughter Fatu, both unable to reproduce naturally, and the recent death of the last male white rhino, Sudan, in 2018, urgent action is needed to prevent the extinction of this subspecies. Dr. Jo Shaw, CEO of Save the Rhino International, emphasized the importance of addressing the primary threats facing rhinos worldwide: illegal hunting for their horns and habitat loss due to development. She stressed the need to provide rhinos with the space and security they need to succeed in their natural environment.

While the successful embryo transfer representsa significant advancement in rhino conservation efforts, organized action is required to address the main challenges facing rhino populations worldwide.

1. What is the purpose of the experiment mentioned in the text?

A．To evaluate the efficiency of a new rhino birth program.

B．To observe the behavior of rhinos in a controlled environment.

C．To assess the effects of climate change on the southem rhino habitats.

D．To develop a way of rescuing the endangered northern white rhinos subspecies.

2. Which word can replace the underlined word “revival” in paragraph 3?

A．Rebirth.

B．Decline.

C．Stability.

D．Decrease.

3. What is the current condition of the northern white rhino subspecies?       

A．Facing extinction.	B．Showing signs of recovery.
C．Developing in their natural habitat.	D．Recovering from population declines

4. What might be the best title of this text?

A．Dr. Jo Shaw’s Call to Action: Addressing Threats to Rhino Survival

B．Challenges Facing Rhino Conservation Efforts: Urgent Action Needed

C．The Successful Embryo Transfer: A Breakthrough in Rhino Conservation

D．Professor Thomas Hildebrandt’s Optimism: Hope for Rhino Population Revival

6 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How do students celebrate Earth Day?

A．By holding a celebration.	B．By doing some clean-up.
C．By promoting a volunteer job.

2. How long will the event last?

A．Two hours.

B．Three and half hours.

C．Four hours.

3. What requires the participants to do?

A．Go there with parents.

B．Complete an online form.

C．Bring their own gloves.

7 . Not much trash and almost no plastic actually gets recycled. About a third of U.S. garbage gets recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent estimate. The rest goes to landfills, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and pollute their surroundings.

To make recycling easier, many U.S. cities don’t ask Americans to separate paper, glass, metal and plastic. ‘They just ask people to put anything recyclable into one bin and let waste plants do the sorting. But waste plants don’t catch everything. AI is now an essential tool for the world’s waste management leaders. Greyparrot, a tech company has already installed more than l00 AI trash spotters in about 50 sorting facilities.

Greyparrot’s device is, basically, a set of visual and infrared (红外线的) cameras hooked up to a computer, which monitors trash as it passes by on a conveyor belt and labels it under 70 categories, from loose bottle caps to books to aluminum cans. Waste plants could connect these AI systems to sorting robots to help them separate trash from recyclables more accurately. They could also use the AI as a quality control system to measure how well they’re sorting trash from recyclables. That could help plant managers adjust their production lines to cover more recyclables, or cheek that a bundle of recyclables is free of pollutants, which would allow them to sell at a higher price.

In the next few years, some recycling companies plan to retrofit (改良) thousands of material- recovery facilities with Al trash - spotting tools. Of these companies, Bollegraaf has built thousands of these facilities, including 340 in North America, accounting for a majority of the recovery plants in the world.

The trash-spotting computers could one day help regulators punish companies that produce tsunamis of non - recyclable packaging because the AI systems are so accurate that they can identify the brands on individual items. Putting the AI tools in thousands of waste plants can raise recycling percentage. If the needle can be moved by even 5 to 10 percent, that would be a phenomenal outcome for greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact.

1. What does the author want to show in paragraph 1?

A．People pay little attention to environmental protection.

B．Greenhouse gas is a major contributor to air pollution.

C．Americans show little enthusiasm for recycling.

D．All trash has not been recycled in the US.

2. How does Greyparrot’s AI system work?

A．By working with sorting robots.

B．By adjusting the production line.

C．By monitoring the conveyor belt.

D．By controlling cameras in a computer.

3. What can he inferred about AI tools in the last two paragraphs?

A．They are well received.

B．They are highly profitable.

C．They have unpredictable prospect.

D．They present a challenge for regulators.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Use of the Useless

B．AI Assistants in Recycling

C．A Pressing Trash Issue in US

D．AI Tools with Great Potential

9 . Xu Hai’ou has spent most of her life promoting environmental protection work in Beihai, a coastal city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, by cleaning beaches, protecting mi-grant birds and recycling kitchen waste.

Though her family originally comes from the eastern province of Shandong, the 60-year-old was raised in Guangxi and moved to Beihai for work at age 23, directly after graduating from college. Before she retired, she worked as a reporter for the Guangxi Daily Media Group, a news outlet in the region. In her free time, she became involved in voluntary work.

“In initially, in the 1990s, I helped impoverished children in Guangxi’s rural areas obtain financial aid from donors in Hong Kong, and set up my own NGO in 2004. At the time, it was Beihai’s only nonprofit social organization involved in volunteer work,” she said, “It’s very enjoyable to do this charity work and I have made many friends through it.”

She said her NGO focuses on environmental protection work and organizes a range of voluntary activities, including cleaning up beaches, and protecting mangrove forests and migratory birds.

In 2008, the organization joined a marine life protection event supported by the central government, the UN Environment Programme and the Global Environmental Facility.

Xu and her colleagues at the association arranged a number of voluntary events such as raising awareness of marine biodiversity among local residents and students, and beach-cleaning activities to help promote understanding of the need to protect marine animals and plants.

“Undertaking voluntary activities or charitable work has become my mission, and I want to contribute my own efforts to the nation’s environmental protection work, even if they only produce a small improvement. However, protecting the environment is very hard work. which can’t be done by a single person. I sometimes feel like my ability falls short of my wishes.”

According to Xu, her NGO is currently promoting the classification of waste in Beihai and recycling kitchen waste into compost. “We have mature technologies, but still face difficulties in promoting the program because many residents lack awareness of environmental protection. We hope the government can figure out better ways of managing the garbage after we classify it to make full use of this ‘waste’.”

1. What can we learn about Xu Hai’ou from the first two paragraphs?

A．She grew up in Shandong Province.

B．She graduated in Beihai at the age of 23.

C．She works as a journalist for a newspaper at present.

D．She is a retired reporter volunteering to protect the environment.

2. What did Xu Hai’ou think of her voluntary work?

A．Rewarding.

B．Exhausting.

C．Amazing.

D．Embarrassing.

3. What is Xu and her colleagues’ purpose in arranging voluntary events?

A．To clean beaches and recycle kitchen waste.

B．To get support from the central government.

C．To raise people’s awareness of marine biodiversity.

D．To help people understand the necessity of protecting marine life.

4. Why does Xu Hai’ou persist in her volunteer work?

A．She wants to win a good reputation.

B．She wants to do what others don’t want to do.

C．She wants to do her part to protect the environment.

D．She wants to make the most of kitchen waste on her own.

10 . 阅读下面的材料，在空格处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Wang Xin, a marketing manager based in Shanghai, paid special attention to the carbon consumption figures shown on a flight booking platform. “When booking a flight, I will first check the flights     1     meet my time requirements. If multiple flights within the time range are approximately the same price, I will     2     (definite) choose the one with     3     (little) carbon consumption.” Wang says.

Business travelers like Wang have shown a     4     (prefer) for trips that leave a smaller carbon footprint, according to a recent report. More than 60 percent of its business customers have options     5     low-carbon travel products. “The low-carbon travel trend began in 2022 when we launched flight carbon emission data, which has been recognized by     6     increasing number of business clients,” says Zha Jun, an official with the travel management division.

Afterwards, the carbon emission data of hotels, trains and cars     7     (add) up to now. Business travelers have been encouraged to use new energy vehicles and save electricity and water at hotels, as well as food on flights. Those     8     (choose) low-carbon travel products can also get rewards, such as air miles and credits that can be used     9     (reduce) future travel costs.

According to the US-headquartered Global Business Travel Association, 25 percent of companies worldwide consider carbon footprint and sustainability important in business travel. Among     10     (they), 35 percent have carried out sustainable policies.