1 . Global fast-food giant McDonald's announced it would be phasing out (逐步淘汰) plastic straws in China. From June 30, nearly 1,000 stores in Beijing. Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen began to phase out plastic straws for both dine-in and take-out, expanding to all stores in China by the end of 2020. Diners would drink cold beverages directly through the new cup cover. The move is expected to reduce plastic waste by about 400 tons a year.

Zhang Jiayin, CEO of McDonald’s China, expressed that McDonald's is devoted to building a “beautiful China”. “We believe that taking advantage of McDonald's influence worldwide. reducing straws can be a huge step for sustainable development. In the past decade or so, we have continued to carry out the green packaging action.” Zhang said, “This movement is playing a positive role in the protection of the ecological environment.”

The move is in keeping with China’s national plan to phase out single-use plastics which came into effect in January of this year, in an effort to combat its growing trash problem.

Among other things, the government carries out a nationwide ban on plastic straws and disposable cutlery (一次性餐具) by the end of 2020, as well as a ban on plastic bags in major cities by the end of 2020, and nationwide by 2022.

Plastic has increasingly played a role in global solid waste, and has choked oceans and rivers as well as landfills. Both companies and volunteers in the past few years have taken it upon themselves to respond to this plastic problem in their own ways.

1. What happened to McDonald’s in 2020?

A．It started to gradually get rid of using plastic straws in China.

B．It banned using plastic package in all stores.

C．It became the first company to ban plastic straws in China.

D．It successfully dealt with China’s trash problem.

2. What does the underlined word “combat” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Protect.

B．Separate.

C．Arouse.

D．Fight.

3. What can we know about plastic?

A．It is a kind of poisonous material.	B．It has been solved completely so far.
C．It results in a growing waste problem	D．It should be banned in all fields.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．McDonald’s green packaging action	B．Plastic a controversial material in daily use
C．How to control environmental pollution?	D．Devotion to building a beautiful China

2 . Reducing plastic waste isn't easy because the cheap material is found in almost every household item. Now, a delicious and nutritious solution has come up to help reduce our dependence on this environmental hazard.

David Christian, the co-founder of Evoware, says the idea of creating the biodegradable (生物降解的) products came from concern at the country’s high pollution rate. Indonesia is home to four of the world's worst polluted rivers. Since single-use packaging is a large contributor to the problem, Evoware decided to deal with that first.

After investigating various materials, the company settled on seaweed. Unlike corn, commonly used for biodegradable containers, seaweed does not require resources like water or large amounts of space. Since Indonesian farmers already harvest more seaweed than they can sell, it's easy for the company to find the material.

Though they will not reveal their production process, Evoware says the seaweed packaging contains no chemicals and is safe to consume. The company has also invented single-use cups, which can break down 30 days after they're thrown away.

While replacing plastic with the seaweed products may seem appealing to most of us, it is a hard-sell in Indonesia. According to Christian, ''The awareness to reduce single-use plastic is still very low. This makes our bioplastic unnecessary.” Also a factor is the cost, which is higher than using plastic. Hopefully, Evoware will succeed in convincing Indonesians and people worldwide that switching to their products will be helpful to protecting our beautiful planet.

1. What problem did Evoware decide to deal with first?

A．Ways to clean the four worst polluted rivers.

B．What nutritious materials for people to use.

C．How to deal with single-use packaging.

D．Means to contribute to the country's economy.

2. Why did Evoware choose seaweed?

A．It didn't require much space and was easy to get.

B．It could be found everywhere in his country.

C．It was most commonly used for packaging.

D．It grew thickly in most of the polluted rivers.

3. What can we infer from Christian's words?

A．Their seaweed products have won government support.

B．Sometimes it's hard to get people to reduce the use of plastics.

C．Their new products have received worldwide popularity.

D．The cost of making seaweed products will be lowered soon.

4. What does the underlined word ''hard-sell'' in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Something lasting long.	B．Something hard to accept.
C．Something easy to get.	D．Something commonly seen.

3 . Time magazine’s tradition —“Person of the Year” originated in 1927, when it honored 25-year-old pilot Charles Lindbergh for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean Though the magazine has recognized several young people for their global influence, it has never given the important honor to a teenager. But its 2019’s “Person of The Year” is the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg’s rise to global reputation is even more surprising given that just over a year ago, she was a shy 15-year-old anxious about the increasing threat of climate change. In August 2018, tired of the “refusal” of world leaders to take action, the young girl started camping out in front of the Swedish Parliament every Friday with a sign that said: “School Strike for Climate.”

The teen’s act of protest soon drew public attention, inspiring kids and adults worldwide to take action. By September 2018, her weekly strike became a global climate change movement called “Fridays for the Future”, with tens of thousands of students skipping school on this day to protest the inaction of the leaders of their respective countries. Her appeal for progress in environment protection also encouraged other young activists to begin their own climate change movements.

Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the US Youth-Led Sunrise Movement, says Thunberg “symbolizes the suffering, the frustration, the desperation, the anger — at some level, the hope — of many young people who won’t even be of age to vote by the time their futures are doomed.”

The teenager, who has single-handedly helped bring climate change to the forefront of the global conversation, owes her success to her Asperger’s syndrome (阿斯佩各综合征). She says, “I see the world in black and white, and I don’t like compromising. If I were like everyone else, I would have continued on and not seen this crisis. Right now, we have entered a new decade — a decade that will define our future. And I’ve seen hope, but it does not come from the governments or companies. It comes from the people.”

1. Why did Greta Thunberg camp out in front of Swedish Parliament every Friday?

A．To heighten public awareness of environmental protection.

B．To show her support for school strike for climate.

C．To condemn the government’s inaction on climate change.

D．To win a global reputation as a teenager climate change activist.

2. Where can we find the direct influence of Greta Thunberg’s behavior?

A．In paragraph2.	B．In paragraph3.
C．In paragraph4.	D．In paragraph5.

3. What kind of girl is Greta Thunberg according to the passage?

A．Positive and sensitive.	B．Uncaring but reliable.
C．Selfish but intelligent.	D．Brave and determined.

4. We can learn from the passage that _____________.

A．Charles Lindbergh is the first adolescent “Person of the Year” of Time magazine

B．on account of Asperger’s syndrome, Greta Thunberg has suffered a lot

C．all governments haven’t already taken effective measures to deal with climate change

D．Varshini Prakash thinks little of Thunberg and her strike for climate change

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

There is a small but growing movement in America of many     1     ( family) that want to reduce waste to zero.     2       (they) goal of producing no trash is probably impossible to reach. Some come close, reducing a year’s worth of trash to only a few things     3     can fit into a small container. All other things, they say, can be recycled or composted.

Zero Wasters, as they are called, help each other by sharing advice on blogs and social media. A lot of people have given     4     (value) advice on the subject recently. Some of the advice includes where to buy things     5     (avoid) unwanted packaging and how to recycle things that most people throw away.

Bea Johnson, a housewife, says that reducing shopping means her family has more money for fun vacations     6     ever before. She, who is     7     (satisfy) with the fact, says all their clothing comes from used clothing stores. She says that has reduced her household spending     8     40 percent.

Zero Wasters advocate     9     (talk) about five “r’s” that describe want they do: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot. They request that things like remaining food not     10     (throw) away randomly and refuse containers at restaurants.

5 . In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _______ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of _______ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we _______ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _______ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. _______ modern manufacturing (制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and _______.

Another cause is our _______of disposable (一次性的) products. As _______ people, we are always looking for _______ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also ________ to the problem. We are ________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the ________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ________, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ________, this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ________ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ________. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

1.

A．key

B．reason

C．project

D．problem

2.

A．gifts

B．rubbish

C．debt

D．products

3.

A．face

B．become

C．observe

D．change

4.

A．hide

B．control

C．replace

D．withdraw

5.

A．Thanks to

B．As to

C．Except for

D．Regardless of

6.

A．safe

B．funny

C．cheap

D．powerful

7.

A．love

B．lack

C．prevention

D．division

8.

A．sensitive

B．kind

C．brave

D．busy

9.

A．ways

B．places

C．jobs

D．friends

10.

A．donate

B．receive

C．produce

D．preserve

11.

A．adapts

B．returns

C．responds

D．contributes

12.

A．tired of

B．addicted to

C．worried about

D．ashamed for

13.

A．newer

B．stronger

C．higher

D．larger

14.

A．pick up

B．pay for

C．hold onto

D．throw away

15.

A．advantages

B．purposes

C．functions

D．consequences

16.

A．show

B．record

C．decrease

D．measure

17.

A．technology

B．environment

C．consumers

D．brands

18.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

19.

A．by

B．in favour of

C．after

D．instead of

20.

A．spending

B．collecting

C．repairing

D．advertising