1 . More than half the world’s population live in cities, and by 2050 the UN expects that proportion to reach 68%. This means more homes, roads and other infrastructure. In India alone, a city the size of Chicago will have to be developed every year to meet demand for housing. Such a construction increase is a bad sign for dealing with climate change, because making steel and concrete, two of the most common building materials, generates around 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions (排放). If cities are to expand and become greener at the same time, they will have to be made from something else.
Wood is one of the most promising sustainable (可持续的) alternatives to steel and concrete. It is not, however, everyday wood that is attracting the interest of architects.
Rather, it is a material called engineered timber. This is a combination of different layers, each designed to meet the requirements of specific parts such as floors, panels and beams (横梁). Designers can use it to provide levels of strength like steel, in a product that is up to 80% lighter. In addition, engineered timber is usually made into large sections in a factory for future use, which reduces the number of deliveries to a construction site.
According to Michael Ramage of the University of Cambridge, a wooden building produces 75% less CO2 than a steel and concrete one of the same size. However, if building with wood takes off, it does raise concern about there being enough trees to go round. But with sustainably managed forests that should not be a problem, says Dr Ramage. A family-sized apartment requires about 30 cubic metres of timber, and he estimates Europe’s sustainable forests alone grow that amount every seven seconds. Nor is fire a risk, for engineered timber does not burn easily. Besides, fireproofing layers can be added to the timber. All in all, then, it looks as if wood as a building material may get a new lease of life.
1. Why is India mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To point out the severe pollution. |
| B．To predict the population increase. |
| C．To indicate the high degree of urbanization. |
| D．To show the great need for building materials. |
| A．It is produced at a low cost. |
| B．It hardly appeals to architects. |
| C．It helps save energy in transportation. |
| D．It possesses greater strength than steel. |
| A．Becomes cheaper. | B．Gains popularity. |
| C．Requires less work. | D．Proves sustainable. |
| A．Making Future Cities More Attractive |
| B．Living in a World with Less Emission |
| C．Building Sustainable Cities with Woods |
| D．Growing More Trees for Future Building |
2 . Biofuels (生物燃料), gained from plants and animal matter, are a key solution to the environmental problems caused by fuels like coal. “Bioalcohol (生物酒精) is the most common biofuel and is produced by sugars found in materials such as corn. With some engine redesigned, it can be used directly by cars, buses, etc.,” says Professor Daniel Tan, “12 percent of transport fuel could come from biofuels, especially bioalcohol, by 2030.”
But a 2016 study of biofuels said, “Bioalcohol presently is mostly produced with food crops. Altogether, the environmentally-friendly biofuels rely on about 2-3 percent of the global water and land used for agriculture, which could feed a large number of hungry people.”
Energy experts have therefore been trying to deal with the problem. Recent research led by an international team found that the agave (龙舌兰) plant might offer a way out. This plant tends to be the right bioalcohol source to supersede others such as sugarcane (甘蔗) and corn.
Daniel Tan explains that the agave can be grown in unfavorable conditions and is not a major food crop. “It can grow in areas that lack water and rainfall without being watered by farmers, and it does not compete with food crops or put demands on limited water. This kind of useful plant is recently being grown in Australia. It can survive Australia's hot summers,” he says.
The study finds that sugarcane produces just a little more fuel per square meter each year than the agave. However, the agave outperforms sugarcane in a range of areas, including pollution to the earth, and water using. The agave uses 69 percent less water than sugarcane and 46 percent less water than corn for the same amount of fuel produced. As for corn，it produces less fuel per square meter each year than the agave.
However, Daniel Tan states: “The first generation of bioalcohol from the agave recently faces a big competition from oil, whose recent low price makes it far more attractive to customers. Without some policy support from the government, bioalcohol production from the agave faces big challenges.”
1. What can we learn about bioalcohol from the first paragraph?| A．It is popular among customers worldwide. |
| B．It is a kind of biofuel made from artificial matter. |
| C．It helps vehicles' engines stay in good condition. |
| D．It can play a big role in making transport fuel green. |
| A．Take the place of. | B．Take advantage of. |
| C．Get away from. | D．Get along with. |
| A．It improves the local weather. | B．It keeps the water in the ground. |
| C．It produces plenty of food for humans. | D．It puts low demands on growing environment. |
| A．Reduce the price of oil. | B．Make some favorable policies. |
| C．Expand agave bioalcohol's production. | D．Introduce competition into agave bioalcohol market. |
3 . Two women going on a journey to green their city is the best way to describe the founders of Utility, Portland's low-waste and reuse company. It started in January 2019 and opened its first retail shop in April. Its founders, Rebecca Rottman and Nadine Appenbrink, are deeply committed to sustainability and supporters of zero waste.
They started Utility as a second job for both and as a personal journey, looking for clean products that didn't come in plastic. Their goal is to reduce the amount of single-use plastics by allowing people to bring their own reusable containers when they buy environmental friendly home and personal care items.
Every week the women teamed up with local stores to sell their goods and to refill products for returning customers. Now they are operating only online for pickup or local delivery in the Portland area. It is really easy, the company said. Just shop online and choose a container. Then select pickup or delivery. The products include all-natural dish bar soap and a wide variety of plastic-free kitchen tools.
While not completely zero waste, Utility is striving to get extremely close. Appenbrink said, “We are all on a journey. And we want to be as approachable as possible. Utility is to raise awareness about this lifestyle.” They are focused on careful growth because Utility will never ship products because of the carbon footprint involved in shipping.
There are zero waste stores in other communities, like Clean Kilo in Birmingham UK, but they are real brick and mortar (实体的) buildings. Utility's concept is so simple that it can be followed almost anywhere. Zero waste markets are the way to the circular economy that is needed to stop plastic waste, reduce our carbon footprint and have a sustainable future.
1. Why did Rebecca and Nadine found Utility?| A．To satisfy people's basic needs. | B．To offer job chances to local people. |
| C．To raise money for a personal journey. | D．To promote the use of reusable containers. |
| A．Reducing their carbon footprint. | B．Offering more home-made products. |
| C．Providing low-price shipping service. | D．Expanding their market internationally. |
| A．It is a hard job to stop plastic waste. | B．It is easy to copy Utility's practice. |
| C．Zero waste stores should run offline. | D．Traditional shops produce more waste. |
| A．Two women are going on an eco-travel |
| B．Single-use plastics are replaced in Portland |
| C．A community online shop helps Portland go zero waste |
| D．A Portland company is changing plastic into green products |
When I worked as a nurse, I was on day duty and while my friends were on night duty. On one shift, I remember I sensed something just before going off duty at 11am. I had brought the ward sister her morning tea, so I put down the tea tray. The tray rattled and fell through the window. At first I thought I had accidentally knocked it over, but then I felt the whole building shook and patients screamed.
I realized that we were in the grips of a tremendous earthquake. I caught hold of a nearby patient, who was terribly frightened by it. I pushed her under the bed and held the bed in place while I got under it myself. I then pulled a blanket down between us. As soon as it settled, I decided to try and get the patient safely outside, I carried her out and helped her down to the lawn, where several other people now had gathered.
I knew the ward sister was with another patient, so I went back inside the building. When I reached the ward sister, I found her patient couldn’t walk. We made a seat for her by linking our hands and arms, and carried her outside together. We went back through the building to check no one was left behind. Almost all of the patients had been able to get themselves out of our ward, as far as I knew.
Once our ward was cleared, a doctor called for volunteers to go down to the isolation ward with him to help more people. Another nurse and I went down there. The first thing we saw was a bath in the hallway, We came to the ruined ward. The doctor went in ahead of us through the remains of what had been a doorway. He found one of the nurses partially covered with rubble (碎石). She was still alive so we began to clear the rubble away. Suddenly the aftershock struck. The doctor ordered us to leave. This brave man intended to stay with the trapped nurse and risk his own life.
注意：1. 所叙写的短文词数应为150左右；
2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 叙写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 叙写完成后，用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
We were determined to save the nurse with him together.
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Later in the afternoon I had time to look around, and saw the ruined building.
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5 . Much of the United States is locked by an unusually large winter storm, which has sent temperatures dropping sharply across the country, from coast to coast and as far south as southern Texas. In many areas, ice and snow storms have added to the challenges. Only a few areas in the south have dodged the freezing weather pattern. The National Weather Service( NWS) says that a winter storm, this large and this serious, has almost never been seen before.
The NWS reports that over 150 million Americans were under winter storm warnings. In Texas, over 2.7 million people were left without power on Monday. Texas isn't used to such serious winter weather. In the city of Houston, temperatures have dropped to - 9℃. The storm has led to huge, deadly highway accidents, and has forced its airport to cancel flights. On Sunday, President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Texas, allowing the state to get more help for the weather disaster from the US government. Several other states have declared some sort of weather-related emergency. In Washington and Oregon, warming shelters were opened to help people stay warm and safe.
The NWS says cold air from the Arctic is behind the record-breaking low temperatures. Though it may seem surprising, global warming may be one of the causes. A strong wind known as the jet stream usually flows in a circle around the Arctic, keeping super-cold air near the North Pole. But as the jet stream weakens because of climate change, the cold air is able to escape the Arctic and bring freezing temperatures to places that are normally much warmer.
The NWS is forecasting there’ll be more snow and freezing rain over the next few days as a new storm cuts up toward the Northeast from the middle of the country. The NWS says that much of the country will continue to have extremely cold temperatures, and it's likely that hundreds of cold weather records will be broken. Perhaps, people should think about the consequences of global warming.
1. Which can best replace the underlined word “dodged” in paragraph 1?| A．Seen. | B．Recorded. |
| C．Avoided. | D．Defeated. |
| A．It’s hit the hardest by extreme weather. |
| B．It's brought the super cold under control. |
| C．It's the first to warn of the climate disaster. |
| D．It's helping other states with the winter storm. |
| A．How the jet stream forms in the Arctic. |
| B．What causes the extreme cold in America. |
| C．Why the cold air escapes from the Arctic. |
| D．When the global warming affects America. |
| A．It’ll change climate permanently. | B．It’ll cause another new storm. |
| C．It’ll lessen global warming. | D．It’ll go on for some time. |
1. What would MAD Architects prefer buildings to be like?
| A．More environmentally friendly. |
| B．More attractive. |
| C．More traditional. |
| A．The situation of separation from nature. |
| B．The experience of living in ancient times. |
| C．The feeling of being in the natural world. |
| A．In Beijing. | B．In Chongqing. | C．In Rome. |
| A．Architects. | B．Engineers. | C．Office workers. |
7 . In an effort to fight the “throw-away culture” and promote reuse and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store.
This isn’t your grandma’s thrift shop (旧货商店). It resells perfectly good items that would otherwise be thrown away. A pun on the German words for “department store” and “conserving house”, B-Wa(h)renhaus sells a wide variety of products. Far from simply selling old items, the electronic goods have been fixed by expert technicians and come with a year’s guarantee. And, to reach more secondhand shoppers, the store was set up right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store.
With the success of its initial six-month trial run, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlin’s 12 districts. Since 2008, city policies and educational campaigns have reduced average annual household waste by about 25 pounds per resident. It also recycles about 49% of its mineral construction waste. Currently, the city estimates that 8% of abandoned electronic goods and 6% of huge items thrown away can actually be reused. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.
“Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods,” city spokesperson Dorothee Winden said. “There are lots of things that are well-preserved and functioning but aren’t being used anymore. The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them.” The store also includes an education center to encourage more sustainable lifestyles — and also gave an award to a project that recycles school uniforms, so that parents don’t have to buy new ones every year.
1. Why has Berlin opened its own secondhand department store?| A．To attract more shoppers. | B．To promote recycling. |
| C．To foster traditional culture. | D．To expand secondhand market. |
| A．The variety of the goods. | B．The location of the store. |
| C．The quality of the products. | D．The operation of the store. |
| A．Berlin currently has 4 second-hand stores in construction. |
| B．Berlin has been successful in cutting its waste since 2008. |
| C．It is not easy to make the goal to expand the market a reality. |
| D．It is estimated that Berlin will be a zero-waste city by 2030. |
| A．To introduce Berlin’s new reuse shop operation. |
| B．To raise people’s awareness of reasonable shopping. |
| C．To persuade people to become eco-friendly shoppers. |
| D．To encourage more people to donate to secondhand shops. |
8 . The company SpaceX has already launched hundreds of its Star-link satellites, with plans to put as many as 42,000 of them in Earth orbit. Its goal is to provide high-speed Internet to billions of people. Moving toward that kind of access is important, but it comes at a cost. Glittering with reflected sunlight, these first orbiters, sent up in the past year, are brighter than 99 percent of the 5,000 or so other satellites now circling Earth, and obviously there are going to be a lot more. This sudden increase is bad for astronomy: the probability of a Star-link satellite crossing a telescope’s field of view and ruining an observation will be quite high near sunset. For that reason, my fellow astronomers have signed a petition (请愿书) calling for governments to protect the night sky from this invasion.
In response to protests, SpaceX has promised to address the visibility problem by, for example, applying experimental coatings — essentially painting the satellites black — but the company’s aggressive launch schedule remains unchanged. And the satellites’ illuminated (被照亮) surfaces are mostly their solar panels — exactly the part that cannot be painted over.
Unfortunately, at present no regulations govern how bright a single satellite can be, let alone thousands of them together. Even if there were such regulations, one nation’s laws can not hinder (阻碍) another country’s launches. Space literally has no borders, and the sky will need to be protected at an international level. As a consequence, we hope that the United Nations will find a way to think outside of the box to save the sky for everyone.
When I was growing up in Montana, it was a game to be the first to find a moving satellite among the host of stars in the night sky. Soon it could be a game to recognize the constellations (星座) behind a swarm of moving points of light.
1. What is the writer’s attitude toward Space X’s launching plans?| A．Indifferent. | B．Doubtful. | C．Optimistic. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．SpaceX plans to send too many Star-line satellites into space. |
| B．The Star-line satellites will possibly ruin an observation near sunset. |
| C．The first orbiters are brighter than most of other satellites circling Earth. |
| D．Space X fails to provide high-speed Internet to people around the world. |
| A．The United States. | B．The United Nations. |
| C．The company SpaceX. | D．Just one nation. |
| A．Preserve the Night Sky | B．Ban Star-line Satellites |
| C．Observe the Stars Attentively | D．Protest against Space X |
9 . Earth Hour is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It's a big event usually at the end of March every year. On this evening, people “go dark”.
It's true that turning off lights for just one hour saves only a small amount of power.
But on another level, a large number of people’s acting together sends a powerful message to governments and companies.
The logo(标识) of Earth Hour is “60+” .The number 60 is for the 60 minutes of Earth Hour.
| A．But this is only the beginning. |
| B．Earth Hour represents every hour of every day. |
| C．After all, everyone has to answer for what they have done. |
| D．Besides turning off the lights, people get involved in other events. |
| E．It pushes them to take urgent measures by making changes to policies. |
| F．That is, they switch off all unnecessary lights at the same time for one hour. |
| G．The plus invites people to continue their action even after Earth Hour is finished. |
10 . 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. |
| A．Protect. | B．Separate. | C．Arouse. | D．Fight. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
