1 . In 1561, King Philip Ⅱ of Spain made the decision to move the capital to Madrid, which had a significant impact on the city’s environment that is still felt today. Some suggest that the move was motivated by a desire for a healthier environment for his wife, as well as Madrid’s closeness to the Manzanares River. However, the removal of the surrounding woodlands to support the royal court exposed the city to severe weather, leading to the saying “nine months of winter and three of hell”.
Today, Madrid continues to struggle with environmental problems, such as pollution from a large number of vehicles that enter the city each day. To battle with this issue, Madrid’s city planners are constructing a 75-kilometer-long Metropolitan Forest, which is one of the most ambitious initiatives of its kind in Europe. This forest will consist of 1.5 million trees of species native to Madrid, along with eco-friendly bridges and recreational centers. Additionally, a 23-kilometer-long Forest Avenue for cyclists and pedestrians will connect the new forest with existing parks, schools, offices, and the airport. In 20 years, the Metropolitan Forest should be able to remove more than 800,000 tonnes of CO from the city’s atmosphere.
The idea for the forest was born in 2019 when Madrid councilors for urban development asked the children what kind of Madrid they would like to see in 2040. The dominating response was a “green city”, which motivated the city council to plan seriously. The city council has been aware of Madrid’s environmental problems since the 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2019, when a survey revealed that over 40 percent of the citizens cited the environment as the city’s number one problem that they decided to take action.
The Metropolitan Forest project represents a significant investment in Madrid’s future, demonstrating how a willingness to listen to the next generation’s ideas and the public’s concerns can lead to positive change.
1. What was the consequence of King Philip Ⅱ’s decision?| A．Water shortage. | B．His wife’s better health. |
| C．Sufficient wood supply. | D．Worsened climate. |
| A．More automatic public service systems. |
| B．Wider spread of tree species unique to Madrid. |
| C．Greener transportation and cleaner management. |
| D．More investment and advanced city management. |
| A．The proposal of Madrid’s city planners. |
| B．Madrid’s urgent need for urban development. |
| C．Younger generation’s vision of future Madrid. |
| D．The result of a survey among Madrid’s councilors. |
| A．To call of Madrid’s citizens to go green. |
| B．To introduce an eco-friendly initiative of Madrid. |
| C．To describe the struggles of Madrid’s urbanization. |
| D．To argue that city plans should agree with citizens’ will. |
2 . The Panda Ambassador Program is for those who are devoted to saving wildlife and the environment. Your passion, ideas, and unique points of view, plus our worldwide reach, become an unstoppable power for good. Together we can make a real, lasting influence on the future of our planet.
Like you, we’re big fans of the amazing diversity of life on Earth. Our Panda Ambassadors help to protect pandas on the local level, championing members to protect at-risk or extinct species, and reduce demand for illegal products on the international market. The good news is that as a Panda Ambassador, you’re not alone. Across the country our ambassadors are connected to share resources, ideas, experiences, and support. You’ll also be part of the WWF family—a network of experienced scientists and experts working on behalf of the planet.
Panda Ambassadors are on the front-lines of environmental protection, leading their communities to attract the public attention and make a real difference. Panda Ambassadors host fun and educational events and activities throughout the world.
Be the hero nature needs—raise funds to protect our planet as you run wild at the Go Panda Marathon on October 8, 2023. When you run with WWF’s Panda Nation, you’ll solve the biggest, toughest challenges facing the planet—things like illegal wildlife trade, deforestation, climate change and water scarcity. While those challenges are huge, when we work together, we can take on anything. That’s why every day, WWF works in unifying with many people, partners, and leaders to achieve lasting conservation solutions.
As a Panda Ambassador, you decide which issues matter most to you and we’ll make sure you have everything you need to start making a difference. You’ll get access to presentations, ideas and opportunities, and directions from WWF scientists and experts. You’ll also join our nationwide network of Ambassadors to share ideas, experiences, and support for your conservation efforts.
We’re always looking for people who are ready to lead an environmental movement today, and who might just be leading the country tomorrow. If you think you’ve got what it takes, apply today.
1. Who of the following is not the Panda Ambassador Program intended for?| A．Those who like to make efforts to save wildlife animals. |
| B．Those who has contributed to protecting the environment. |
| C．Those who are big fans of collecting souvenir and fur of wildlife. |
| D．Those who will share opinions and support to help extinct species. |
| A．Shortage. | B．Disadvantage. |
| C．Advantage. | D．Expense. |
| A．Presentations and ideas of wildlife protection. |
| B．Directions and guidance from scientists and experts. |
| C．Opportunities of leading the environmental protection. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．To help save endangered species by making laws and regulations internationally. |
| B．To invite reader to sign up for the program and do one’s part to make contribution. |
| C．To attract attention of protecting wildlife by running marathon in certain countries. |
| D．To create real hero in communities by stopping illegal trade in international market. |
3 . Efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforest, which supports immense biodiversity and locks away tons of climate threatening carbon, are growing more urgent as the ecosystem’s destruction speeds up. Indigenous (当地的) peoples have been trying to protect the region by patrolling (巡逻) their territorial boundaries for illegal activities. But rapid deforestation continues.
A recent study shows that combining on-the-ground monitoring with satellite data and smartphone technology could help put the brakes (刹车) on Amazon deforestation —and potentially that of forests elsewhere.
Illegal logging, agriculture and coca cultivation particularly threaten the Amazon in the Peruvian Indigenous communities and outsiders are often the culprits (罪魁祸首). The research team wondered if providing training for local people to use satellite based “early deforestation alerts (警报)” could help. The scientists cooperated with 76 Indigenous communities, 36 of which participated in using these alerts to watch over the forest. Over the next two years these trained participants were paid to work as forest monitors and received monthly alerts via the app when satellite data indicated local forest losses. Monitors investigated alerts, patrolled for deforestation in other areas and reported confirmed tosses back to their communities, which decided whether to deal with the culprits on their own or inform state authorities.
The researchers analyzed the same forest-loss satellite data from the given time period in all 76 communities. They found the early-alert program reduced forest loss by 8.4 hectares in the first two year — a 52% reduction compared with the average loss in the control communities.
Experts say this approach to tackling Amazonian deforestation looks promising. “Would this work in all communities that have high risk of deforestation? Given the results, it’s worth a try,” says Catherine Tucker, a researcher at the University of Florida. “But some communities may not have access to the resources needed for such a program, or their territories may hold valuable minerals that would increase the risk of deforestation by outsiders despite monitoring efforts,” wrote Francisco Hernandez Cayctano, a community member involved in the research, “we as Indigenous peoples ask the world for support.”
1. Why did the research team conduct the program?| A．To stop carbon being locked away. | B．To tackle Amazon deforestation. |
| C．To monitor satellite movement. | D．T control illegal activities. |
| A．By offering locals training in using a smartphone app. |
| B．By combining local monitoring with smartphone alerts. |
| C．By organizing native people to fight against the outsiders. |
| D．By equipping local forest with satellite data and monitors. |
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Objective. | C．Approving. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Local Monitors Trained for Forest Loss. | B．Satellite Data Cure Deforestation. |
| C．Outsiders Are to Blame for Forest Loss. | D．Smart Patrol Fights Deforestation. |
4 . Demands for stronger protection for wildlife in Britain sometimes hide the fact that similar needs are felt in the rest of Europe Studies by the Council of Europe of which 21 countries are members have shown that 45 per cent of reptile species and 24 per cent of butterflies are, in danger or dying out.
European concern for wildlife was outlined by. Dr Peter Baum, an expert in the environment and natural resources division of the council when he spoke at a conference arranged by the administrators of a British national park. The park is one of the few areas in Europe to hold the council’s diploma for nature reserves of the highest quality and Dr Baum had come to present it to the park once again. He was afraid that public opinion was turning against national parks and that those set up in the 1960s and 1970s could not he set up today. But Dr Baum clearly remained a strong supporter of the view that natural environments needed to be allowed to survive in peace in their own right.
“No area could be expected to survive both as a true nature reserve and as a tourist attraction.” he went on. The shortsighted view that reserves had to serve immediate human demands for outdoor recreation should be replaced by full acceptance of their importance as places to preserve nature for the future.
“We forget that they are the guarantee (保证) of life systems on which any built-up area depends,” Dr Baum went on. “We could manage without most industrial products but we could not manage without nature. However our natural environment areas which are the original parts of our countryside have become mere islands in a spoiled and highly polluted land.”
1. Recent studies by the Council of Europe have declared that _________.| A．wildlife needs more protection only in Britain |
| B．all species of wildlife in Europe are in danger of dying out |
| C．there are fewer species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe than elsewhere |
| D．many species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe need protecting |
| A．Because he needed to present it with a council’s diploma. |
| B．Because he was concerned about its management. |
| C．Because he valued the park as the only national park of its kind in Europe. |
| D．Because he wanted to congratulate the park for finally receiving a diploma. |
| A．national parks should serve more purposes for human activities |
| B．people would go on protecting national parks |
| C．certain areas of the countryside should be left undisturbed by man. |
| D．people should defend the right to develop the areas around national parks |
| A．preservation | B．relaxation |
| C．expression | D．modernization |
| A．Council of Europe is an international organization mainly intended for nature preservation. |
| B．Industrial products are not important at all in maintaining human survival. |
| C．Council of Europe holds high standards for presenting diplomas to nature reserves. |
| D．Britain has the most effective measures for environmental protection. |
5 . As an intense heat wave sweeps through China, residents are seeking relief in air raid shelters and swimming pools to stay cool, and dozens of cities, including Shanghai, Chongqing and Hangzhou, have issued their highest-level red alert warnings. Shanghai has issued three red alerts this year, with the temperature hitting 40.9 Celsius on July 13, matching the record set in 2017 since 1873. The fact that Shanghai has experienced only 16 days of 40°C-plus temperatures since the city began keeping records in 1873 should give us an idea about the seriousness of the situation.
Medical experts say extreme heat could cause nausea (恶心), fatigue, sunstroke and even death, with senior citizens and people with long-term illnesses particularly vulnerable to heat waves.
Extreme heat events, which began a month ago, have affected the lives of more than 900 million people in China. Between June 1 and July 12, the average number of days with temperatures above 35°Cwas 5.3, up 2.4 days over normal years, breaking the national record set in 1961, according to the National Climate Center.
Parts of Europe are also in the grip of heat waves and experiencing extreme weather events after the western part of North America faced extreme heat waves last year. In response to the exceptionally high temperatures, the United Kingdom has declared a national emergency and issued the highest-level red alert warning for Monday and Tuesday for the first time. More alarmingly, the average global temperature in June this year was 0.4°C higher than normal years and the highest since 1979, with temperatures in countries such as Spain, France and Italy exceeding 40°C.
Unfortunately, extreme heat, which is directly related to climate change, will become more frequent and intense in the next 30 years, setting new records for high temperatures. As global warming intensifies, losses and devastation will increase, forcing natural and human systems to raise their adaptation limits.
1. What can we know about the heat waves this year?| A．It may cause more harm to the old and people with long-term illnesses. |
| B．The number of days above 35°Cin June breaks the national record. |
| C．Shanghai has experienced a higher temperature than that in 2017. |
| D．The whole Europe as well as America are suffering from the heat waves. |
| A．By analyzing and concluding. | B．By explaining and contrasting. |
| C．By giving examples and quoting. | D．By giving figures and comparing. |
| A．Becoming more serious. | B．Remaining stable. |
| C．Staying unpredictable. | D．Getting controllable. |
| A．The solutions to the climate change. | B．The economic losses from heat waves. |
| C．The increase of severe heat waves. | D．The destructive effect of global warming. |
6 . A future where insects make up a large part of the world’s diet is on the horizon. Despite the unpleasant nature of such cuisine, insects have been considered a delicacy in some parts of world for centuries. Their being low-fat and high-protein makes them a perfect choice for reducing hunger.
Animal protein from livestock (家畜), such as cows, chicken and pigs, takes up 80 percent of the entire world’s farmland, despite only making up less than one-fifth of calories consumed globally.
Insects such as grasshoppers, meal worms and crickets are packed full of protein with much higher vitamin levels than pork or beef.
It seems that insects are an ideal solution for many issues the world today is faced with.
Times are changing. The European Union last year declared that meal worms were safe for human consumption. Cricket protein powder is also increasing greatly in popularity, with Canada rapidly becoming the largest market for the product.
| A．They also have a host of environmental benefits. |
| B．Insects reproduce quickly and have high growth rates. |
| C．Unlike agriculture, insects produce far fewer greenhouse gases. |
| D．They require little space, water and technology to raise compared to livestock. |
| E．However, making them a delicious cuisine can be a challenge in several cultures. |
| F．By freeing up livestock space, huge expanses of land could be returned to nature. |
| G．A future where insects will become invaluable to space exploration is also upcoming. |
7 . Recycling is a great way of doing your bit for the environment and helping to protect the earth’s precious resources. However, a new study has revealed that our desire to be sustainable maybe doing more harm than good. According to waste company Biffa, this is because of “wish-cycling” — assuming that items such as disposable coffee cup sand pizza boxes will be recycled if put in the recycling bin. In fact, pollution from those items or other non-recyclables can result in recyclable items that have been put in the correct bin going to landfill. David Heaton, a business director at Biffa, said: “Pollution happens when items are disposed of in the wrong bins or haven’t been cleaned before being recycled.”
Experts at Biffa analyzed the amounts of non-target and non-recyclable materials that entered UK material recycling facilities between 2016 and 2020. It was found that, in 2016, the average pollution rate of recycling waste was 13.4 percent, rising over four years to 17 percent by the end of 2020. This shows that, even as people are becoming more eco-conscious, wish-cycling is increasing both in households and businesses.
The Biffa experts say that one of the best ways to prevent pollution of recycling is to clean recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. They suggest cutting off the top of old pizza boxes and only recycling that part to avoid pollution from the grease (油脂). Check the on-packaging recycling label to check it can actually be recycled When it comes to plastics, Biffa recommends checking the resin code, the number in the plastic triangle, to know whether it should go in the recycling bin. In general, resin codes 1, 2, 4 and 5 are recyclable, while 3, 6 and 7 are not. Larger items, like electronics, furniture and batteries, can also be recycled but often can not go in household recycling bins as they need specialist separating. These will need to be taken to recycling centers or sustainable waste management companies.
“It’s vital as a nation that we get better at effective ‘pre-cycling’— sorting waste correctly before collection to reduce pollution rates,” added Mr. Heaton.
1. What’s the truth of “wish-cycling” according to the first paragraph?| A．The desire to lead a sustainable life. |
| B．The good intention to help recycling. |
| C．The habit of throwing items that end up in landfills. |
| D．The practice of recycling items that can not be recycled. |
| A．People are becoming more eco-conscious. |
| B．Wish-cycling is on the rise in recent years. |
| C．Pollution happens less frequently in recycling facilities. |
| D．People are used to cleaning recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. |
| A．Dispose of electronics together with household waste. |
| B．Skip the step of checking the on-packaging recycling label. |
| C．Check the resin code of plastics to see whether it is recyclable or not. |
| D．Cutoff the top of old pizza box and throw the rest to the recycling bin. |
| A．Recycling: a Big Project | B．Wish-cycling: a New Trend |
| C．Wish-cycling: a Growing Concern | D．Pre-cycling: an Effective Method |
8 . Artificial cloud technology could soon be used in the fight against environmental damage. Researchers in Australia have used machines to spray salt water into the air, and noted that the reflective qualities of these artificial clouds helped protect the Great Barrier Reef from sun bleaching (漂白).
The so-called cloud brightening project works by thickening existing clouds and reducing sunlight exposure to protect the reef. No artificial chemicals make it into the clouds in the sky. When water droplets steam, they leave only small salt crystals that float up into the atmosphere. This provides a larger surface area for water vapor to be liquids around them, forming thicker clouds.
The past two years have seen uncommon forest fires and droughts triggered by the climate change emergency, meaning that widespread use of this technique may become more commonplace if carbon emissions are not checked.
Drones, unmanned flying vehicles, have also entered the cloud controlling picture, used in the United Arab Emirates, a country desperately in need of more rainfall, to deliver electrical shocks to clouds in order to facilitate rainfall. Zapping (击打) clouds to produce a positive or negative charge within clouds can cause water droplets to form together. The greater the charge, the larger the droplets, which is vital for ensuring that as much rain as possible reaches the surface before steam gives off all the hard-won moisture (水分).
Even if one waves aside climate change, global waterfall shortages are still an increasing concern, given the planet’s booming population. More people means more mouths to feed, and the demand for water in agriculture for animals and crops further increases urgency for cloud controlling technology. An increase in rain also leads to positive economic growth in many countries, as large harvests stabilize financial systems and living standards in all climates.
Increasingly, scientists are looking to our skies in providing solutions to protect our environment. Cloud controlling technologies have promise. However, for this field of science to become practical economically, more research needs to be done in making this process a practicable option in protecting our environment.
1. How does the cloud brightening project work?| A．By creating more water vapor which later becomes liquids. |
| B．By spraying chemicals and small salt crystals into the atmosphere. |
| C．By expanding the water vapor arca and blocking more sunlight. |
| D．By steaming water droplets to provide a larger surface area. |
| A．They spread larger water droplets. |
| B．They charge clouds to promote rain. |
| C．They will be popularized in dry years. |
| D．They control the movements of clouds. |
| A．Problems of overpopulation. |
| B．Solutions to waterfall shortage. |
| C．Urgency of economic development. |
| D．Additional benefit of cloud technology. |
| A．High cost. |
| B．Research method. |
| C．Environmental impact. |
| D．Complicated process. |
9 . The UN this week launched a report urging companies to stop issuing false net-zero targets that amount to greenwashing.
Greenwashing is a term used to describe situations where companies mislead consumers by claiming to be eco-friendly or sustainable as a marketing plan rather than as a core principle of their business model. Often, these industries spend more money making themselves appear sustainable than they do taking actual sustainable measures into their company.
Cities, financial institutions, and scores of companies have announced plans to reduce their emissions to zero, which, in principle, should help the fight against climate change.
“The problem is that the criteria for these net-zero commitments have varying levels of precision and loopholes (漏洞),” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the launch of the report.
Many net-zero plans contain far-away or unclear targets and often call for the use of unproved technologies like carbon capture and tree planting, which effectively allow companies to continue polluting the atmosphere. Studies show that most of these net-zero plans will do little to stop temperatures from rising. For example, many oil majors have announced plans to reduce emissions from their operations to zero by 2050 that do not take into account the carbon emitted by the fossil fuels they sell, which would allow them to increase production. Far from decreasing, fossil fuel production is going strong.
To close these net-zero loopholes, the UN this week released a report that includes 10 recommendations to ensure that companies, cities, regions, and other non-state actors issue credible and accountable net zero commitments. “Their plans cannot rely on cheap carbon credits instead of immediately cutting their own emissions,” Guterres said.
Financial institutions need to cut down emissions from all their investments and businesses need to bring down the carbon footprint of their supply chain, the report said. The report’s lead author, Catherine McKenna, urged companies to release new net-zero targets within a year. The updated targets must contain concrete actionable details.
1. What does “greenwashing” refer to?| A．A green technology. | B．A misleading statement. |
| C．A business model. | D．A spending target. |
| A．To prove oil majors are really responsible. |
| B．To set some good examples for other companies. |
| C．To show some net- zero commitments make no sense. |
| D．To indicate the benefit of net zero plans to climate change. |
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Guilty. | C．Shocked. | D．Confused. |
| A．Plant more trees. | B．Share more supply chains. |
| C．Depend on cheap carbon credits. | D．Make concrete actionable targets. |
10 . Michael Gonsalves, a chef of Golden Oak at Disney World, has a cuisine concept rooted in fresh, locally-sourced ingredients that originated from childhood harvesting produce from their family garden with his mom to eventually leading kitchens at Walt Disney World Resorts to employ a sustainable model.
“Truly the whole process starts with menu planning,” he said. Creating one dish leads into the creation of many more through the end-to-end use of products. As chefs, they are always searching for the best ingredients. It is then their focus to ensure they appreciate and respect all that go into each and every one of them. For example, they source chicken that is naturally grown and fed on a natural plant forward diet, no hormones (激素) or additives — that’s used in many ways throughout menus from a simple grilled chicken breast to bone soup. Nothing goes to waste.
When they do have waste, even if minimal, they shift it from landfills to transform it into compost (堆肥) that’s then used across the Walt Disney World property. They also support Second Harvest, a local community food bank where healthy produce, prepared, but not served, meals eatable for human consumption are donated. Disney also works with pig farmers when they can’t distribute foods past the point of safety for human consumption. Besides, wildlife reservations love to get the meat because tigers and wild cats can still eat that.
Their operations are “on a path to a sustainable zero waste kitchen of tomorrow” where chefs learn the full-life cycle of plants from seed to plate and gain a better understanding and appreciation for the product and their craft.
Golden Oak at Disney has millions of bees that produce up to 300 pounds of honey per year, plus those bees help with cross pollination (授粉) of their gardens on a daily basis. They advocate a culture that helps develop not only the quality of food, but an appreciation for nature.
1. Where did Michael Gonsalves’ idea about cuisine come from?| A．His mom’s suggestions. | B．His dream of becoming a chef. |
| C．His interest in delicious food. | D．His labor experience as a child. |
| A．They are grilled to eat. | B．They are used to the fullest. |
| C．They are divided into groups. | D．They are selected by quality. |
| A．Give examples about zero waste. |
| B．Introduce the unique habit of wildlife. |
| C．Stress the importance of natural food. |
| D．Explain the operation mode of the food bank. |
| A．Disney World:New Cuisine Road |
| B．Michael Gonsalves:Creative Chef |
| C．Michael Gonsalves:Advocate of Food Diversity |
| D．Disney World:Pioneer in Environmental Protection |
