1 . There’s been growing concerns about the damaging impact of human travel on the environment in recent years. Irresponsible tourism is a main cause of environmental destruction. The destruction of the natural environment is an urgent matter as it directly affects everyone’s well-being.
Avoid takeaways as many as possible
Buying “food to go” seems logical when you are in a rush. Though convenient, this kind of take-out packaging often uses disposable(一次性的) plastic boxes and bags, which can contribute significantly to environmental pollution if not properly disposed of.
Go for train or bus when traveling nationally
Transportation accounts for nearly a third of all greenhouse gases produced in the environment. Flying and driving, in particular, are major contributors to carbon emissions(排放) within the transportation sector, with domestic flying emitting more carbon than driving.
Stay on designated roads and foot paths
Responsible tourism is about having as minimum physical interaction with the wild as possible. We not only protect the fragile ecosystems around us but also ensure our own safety.
Pick up trash after yourself and others
In conclusion, responsible tourism is traveling with awareness, respect, and consideration for the places you visit. It’s about ensuring that your travel experiences enrich not only your own lives but also contribute positively to the destinations you explore, leaving them better than you found them.
| A．So stick to marked roads and footpaths. |
| B．Therefore, hike for some trips at times. |
| C．Pay attention to the trash while traveling. |
| D．Make a habit of collecting trash after yourself. |
| E．You don’t have to be in a rush when on holiday. |
| F．Therefore, use public transport for short travels. |
| G．These concerns have resulted in the green travel campaign. |
2 . A woman in a cap wanders calmly along. Except for the lava (熔岩) erupting behind her, she could be walking in the park. The woman turns to watch the molten rock flow for a moment then walks calmly toward the camera. The footage(镜头) is from Werner Herzog’s book to volcanoes and volcano hunters, Into the Inferno, and the woman pictured is perhaps one of the most important volcanologists of all time, Katia Krafft.
Born in France, in 1942, Katia developed an interest in volcanoes at an early age. Later, she met Maurice Krafft. The pair bonded over their shared love of volcanoes before marrying in 1970. The Kraffts wrote about 20 books on volcanoes across the globe.
Katia and her husband made great progress in educating the general public in volcanology. Their footage had more than scientific value. For instance, when Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines began to show signs of an eruption in 1991, the Kraffts were able to present Philippine President Cory Aquino with video footage of the effects of the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, asking him to call for an evacuation of those in the danger zone.
In 1969, Katia was awarded the prize of the Vocation Foundation for her work on active volcanic sites.
The couple lost their lives, along with more than 40 others during the eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan on June 3.1991. when they were caught in a flow of rock, gas and ash moving at speeds of over 100 miles per hour, with temperatures of more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Katia was 49; Maurice, 45.
Katia’s impact on volcanology has reached far beyond her death and has encouraged many young women to study our restless planet. “Katia Krafft is definitely the reason why I’m doing this job,” says Carla Tiraboschi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minster, Germany. Carla first saw Katia in a documentary when she was just six or seven years old and has been crazy about volcanoes ever since.
1. What can we infer from the book Into the Inferno?| A．Its author is Katia Krafft. | B．It’s a biography of Katia Krafft. |
| C．It calls on protecting the environment. | D．It focuses on volcanoes and their explorers. |
| A．They prevented a natural disaster. |
| B．They served as a warning in Japan. |
| C．They helped spread volcano science. |
| D．They covered Mount Pinatubo’s eruption. |
| A．Substance. | B．Departure. | C．Occupation. | D．Intervention. |
| A．Katia’s death made her restless. | B．Katia helped her with her research. |
| C．Katia taught her to make a documentary. | D．Katia’s deeds inspired her career choice. |
3 . Coastal Clean-ups Program
General IntroductionOur program aims to develop appreciation for our environment in our participants by including fun into environmental education. Our program places great emphasis on experiential learning, which offers our participants the opportunity to get close to nature, enjoy and value it while learning issue of litter pollution, and the importance of individual ownership in ensuring environmental sustainability. Our program is well-suited in supporting the objectives of Values-in-Action ( VIA) programs for schools. Ever wondered how our beaches look without the care of the cleaners? So please explore yourself through the Coastal Clean-ups Program and join us in taking care of our beaches. Gain insightful discovery on the consequences of ocean pollution, and its implications on our marine environment, wildlife, and even us, humans.
DetailsLocation:
This program is subjected to weather and tidal （潮汐的） conditions. Please email us for the available dates and more information on the location.
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Maximum—60 participantsEquipment/Items needed:
·All materials needed for the program will be provided by our program.
·Participants should bring their own personal water bottles and writing materials.
·Participants should wear comfortable outdoor clothes with covered shoes.
Price: $10/per person. For more information, please consult via the official website of our program.
Important Note:
●Available dates for this program are subjected to tidal conditions.
·The program cannot be conducted in the event of bad weather.
·There is no wet-weather program. Please email us for further enquiries.
1. What do we know about Coastal Clean-ups Program?
| A．It is specially designed for scholars. |
| B．It is interesting as well as instructive. |
| C．It is part of schools’ VIA programs. |
| D．It contributes to participants’ independence. |
| A．Terrible weather. | B．Shortage of cleaning tools. |
| C．No comfortable outdoor shoes. | D．Limited number of participants. |
| A．An advertisement. | B．A natural science magazine. |
| C．A research report. | D．A school-tour website. |
4 . Sarah Toumi, a young girl growing up in France, had a dream of becoming a leader who could make a positive impact on the world. Her desire to help others was awakened when she accompanied her Tunisian father to his hometown in the eastern part of Tunisia during vacations. During her time there, she organized homework clubs and activities for children. Toumi personally witnessed the negative effects of desertification (沙漠化). She realized that within 10 years, wealthy farmers had become worse off. Toumi was determined to stop the progression of the Sahara Desert. Due to a decrease in average rainfall and an increase in severe droughts (干旱), nearly 75% of Tunisia’s agricultural lands are currently at risk of desertification.
Toumi understood the need for a change in farming practices. She firmly believed that even small plots of land could bring significant returns if farmers were willing to adapt. This adaptation involved planting sustainable crops, using advanced water treatment technologies, and using natural products and fertilizers (肥料) instead of chemical alternatives.
In 2012, Toumi took a decisive step towards realizing her dream of fighting desertification. She moved to Tunisia and set up a program called Acacias for All, with the aim of putting her sustainable farming ideas into action. “I want to show young people in the countryside that they can create opportunities where they are. Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living without water.”
By September 2016, over 130,000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with a survival rate of 60% reported by farmers. Toumi estimates that around 3 million acacia trees are required to protect Tunisia’s farmland. She plans to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the coming years, Toumi aims to promote the program to Algeria and Morocco.
1. How did Toumi’s holiday trips to Tunisia influence her?| A．They made her decide to leave the country. | B．They helped her better understand her father. |
| C．They destroyed her dream of being a teacher. | D．They inspired her to take action to help others. |
| A．Cold weather. | B．Soil pollution. | C．Low rainfall. | D．Forest damage. |
| A．To ensure access to primary education for children. |
| B．To promote the protection of agricultural land. |
| C．To create job opportunities for young people. |
| D．To persuade the farmers not to use fertilizers. |
| A．Determined and helpful. | B．Considerate and calm. |
| C．Wealthy and academic. | D．Thankful and flexible. |
5 . Growing up in Kenya, Lesein Mutunkei, together with his family, always celebrated significant occasions by planting trees, which motivated him to protect the environment. It’s what the now 18-year-old soccer player treasures, especially since Kenya has an ongoing problem with deforestation.
Mutunkei follows in the footsteps of the late Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai who founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. This initiative has resulted in the planting of over 51 million trees to date.
In 2018, Lesein decided to start a movement of his own. He started by planting one tree for every goal he scored during a football match. He called it Trees4Goals, and it has grown so much that he now plants 11 trees, one for each member of his team, every time he scores. Through this, he wants to inspire young people, specifically his fellow athletes, to follow in his footsteps, take nature conservation seriously, and promise to plant trees every time they score. As a result, some of them have adapted this practice for their sports. “Seeing that they’re taking that responsibility because of the project I started, for me, that is the biggest achievement,” he said.
The initiative has caught the attention of English football club Arsenal and Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which he now works with regularly and gets advice from.
Like Green Belt Movement, Trees4Goals, which has planted 5,500 trees so far, has made it. While Lesein has received some recognition for his initiative, he sets his sights on making it a worldwide phenomenon. “Football is a universal game, and climate change is a universal problem,” he explains. “It has the power to unite, educate and inspire my generation to create a safer and greener future.” This is why he wants to work with the world’s biggest football federation FIFA.
As for what others can do to fight deforestation or other environmental concerns, the teenager says it’s important to just get involved in some way, no matter how small.
1. What made Lesein get interested in environmental protection?| A．The influence of his family. |
| B．Wangari Maathai’s huge assistances. |
| C．The demand of the football team. |
| D．His fellow athletes’ encouragement. |
| A．To gain Kenya’s support. |
| B．To set an example for others. |
| C．To catch Arsenal’s attention. |
| D．To show his achievements. |
| A．Promoting football’s development. |
| B．Going global with the help of FIFA. |
| C．Beating climate change completely. |
| D．Getting beyond Green Belt Movement. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．Positive thinking and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting personal desires satisfied. |
6 . Omar Vazquez grew up in poverty on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. He watched his single mother struggle to put food on the table, and today the memory inspires him to help those in need. When an invasive (入侵的) seaweed called sargassum showed up on Mexico’s Caribbean beaches, Omar looked past the matter of it all and saw an opportunity to help others.
Sargassum is not dangerous, but it has an unpleasant smell and can become so thick that it keeps people from entering the water. Mexico has experienced record-setting amounts of the seaweed in recent years, and it has made its way to Florida’s beaches as well. Experts say there could be as much as 100 tons of sargassum blocking Mexican shorelines in 2023.
With tourism dollars at risk, officials and locals alike were eager to remove the seaweed, but only Omar saw its true potential. The professional gardener organized a beach cleanup that provided jobs for about 300 local families, but he knew there was more to do. Since people’s attitude towards the seaweed reminded him of his own life experiences, he decided to become an agent (推动者) for change.
When sargassum started arriving, everyone was complaining. “I wanted to make something good out of something everyone saw as bad,” Omar explained.
In 2018, Omar found a way to turn sargassum into building blocks that he calls Sargablock. He creates these blocks by mixing 40% sargassum with other materials like clay, then putting them in a block-forming machine and baking them in the sun for days. The end result is an organic, sustainable, and ecologically friendly building material that experts say could last for 120 years.
To date, Omar’s company, Bluegreen Mexico, has used 700 tons of sargassum to build low-income housing for those in need. Omar said he would take on more projects, and donate more houses to single mothers like his own mom.
1. What can be learned from paragraph 1?| A．Omar’s family often assisted people in need. |
| B．Sargassum originated on the Caribbean beaches. |
| C．Omar’s experience in childhood has influenced him much. |
| D．Omar has met a lot of generous people since he was young. |
| A．They didn’t take it seriously. | B．They were anxious to clear it up. |
| C．They viewed it as new materials. | D．They were excited to see a grand scene. |
| A．Honest and ambitious. | B．Strong-willed and confident. |
| C．Quick-thinking and humorous. | D．Sympathetic and innovative. |
| A．It’s never too old to learn. | B．Love shines every dark corner. |
| C．Solutions can be obtained from problems. | D．Heroes arise from humble beginnings. |
7 . Most of us have heard of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It is the core principle of a sustainable (可持续的) life, but few of us can apply it in our own lives. Now, there’s a “lab” you can explore and discover a way toward living sustainably.
3R Lab is located in Xuhui district, Shanghai. It offers exhibitions, activities and goods that showcase the 3R principle. The key to a sustainable life, according to Vincent T. M. Fong, the 32-year-old from Hong Kong who created the lab, is to make it a long-term promise. “A sustainable life should be sustainable itself in the first place. You can’t lead a sustainable life on a whim. Small and comfortable changes are exactly what you need,” Fong said.
The lab regularly hosts ugly fruit markets, offering these strange fruits which are often thrown away by traditional markets and consumers at a quite attractive price. “They’re thrown away simply because of their appearance. Buying fruit regardless of how they look reduces food waste significantly in our daily life,” Fong commented.
A water tank with two types of straws is another equipment in the lab. “One type is made from normal plastics widely used in our daily life while the other is from PHA, a new replacement for plastics, and the water is sourced from the Suzhou River,” explained Ni Li, an employee of the lab. Visitors can see how the PHA straws degrade (降解) into a thin layer in just one month, while the others remain unchanged.
“Leading a sustainable life does not necessarily mean sacrifice,” said Fong. Consuming ugly fruit and using degradable plastics are small changes that are good for the environment and easy to stick to. Only in this way can the 3R principle become part of our lives, he added.
After working there for six months, Ni, who wasn’t mindful of the 3R principle before arriving at the lab, now uses her cup every time she buys a coffee. “The job has reshaped my life,” Ni said.
1. What does the-underlined phrase “on a whim” in the second paragraph probably mean?| A．In a rush. | B．On a regular basis. |
| C．Without any reason. | D．As a common practice. |
| A．To reduce food waste. | B．To promote healthy eating. |
| C．To sell new kinds of fruit. | D．To provide more affordable fruit, |
| A．The water pollution caused by plastics. | B．The degradation of PHA straws. |
| C．The interaction between two types of straws. | D．The disappearance of normal plastic straws. |
| A．She avoids going to traditional markets. | B．She has devoted less time to her hobbies. |
| C．She has got rid of a few bad habits. | D．She is leading a low carbon life now. |
8 . When Alex Lin was 11 years old, he read an alarming article in the newspaper about e-waste. The article said that people were throwing away their e-waste in places it should never go. This was dangerous, the article said, because e-waste contains poisonous chemicals and metals like lead. These harmful substances (物质) can leak into the environment, getting into crops, animals, water supplies — and people.
Alex showed the article to a few of his classmates. They were worried too. But what could they do about this problem with e-waste? How would they even start? “The first thing we did,” Alex says, “was to learn more about the problem.” Alex and his friends spent several weeks gathering information about the chemicals in e-waste and their effects on humans. They learned how to dispose (处理) of e-waste properly and how it could be recycled. “Then,” he says, “we had to find out what the situation was in our town. So we sent out a survey.”
What they found shocked them: Of the people who answered the survey, only one in eight even knew what e-waste was, let alone how to properly dispose of it. Alex and his friends went into action. They advertised in the local newspaper and distributed notices to students, asking residents to bring their unwanted electronics to the school parking lot. The drive lasted two days, and they collected over 21,000 pounds of e-waste.
The next step was to set up an e-waste drop-off center for the town and to find a responsible company to recycle the waste. That was when Alex and his friends learned another scary fact about e-waste — some irresponsible recycling companies don’t break down the e-waste and dispose of it safely themselves. Instead, they ship it overseas to countries such as China and Nigeria, where local environmental laws are not applied. “We checked carefully online to make sure the company we chose didn’t do this,” Alex says.
Because of the work of people like Alex and his team, more and more people are getting the message about safe disposal of e-waste. As Alex says, “Today’s technology should not become tomorrow’s poisonous trash.”
1. What can we learn about Alex from paragraph 1 and paragraph 2?| A．He was curious about chemistry experiments. |
| B．He possessed a strong sense of responsibility. |
| C．He set out to solve the problem individually. |
| D．He formed the habit of reading newspapers. |
| A．Campaign. | B．Imagination. | C．Performance. | D．Technology. |
| A．Lack of available space was the reason for shipping. |
| B．Recycling was totally banned in their own country. |
| C．They were running their companies on a tight budget. |
| D．They were not charged with insecurely disposing it. |
| A．Reusing School Computers | B．Recycling Electronic Waste |
| C．Meeting a challenge | D．Doing Scientific Experiment |
9 . Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms, which can cause deaths and destroy a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped (漏斗形的) cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be over one mile wide and 50 mileslong. Every state is at some risk from this disaster.
Some tornadoes can be seen clearly, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds cover others. At many times, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible.
Before a tornado hits, the air may become very still. A cloud of debris (散片) can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel can not be seen. Tornadoes generally occur near the edge of a thunderstorm, when the strong wind may die down. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.
The following are facts about tornadoes:
☆The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from still to 70 MPH. Debris is picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
☆The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction. Tornadoes are most often reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
☆Tornadoes can happen together with tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land. Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
☆Peak tornado season in the southern states of America is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer. Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.
1. From the passage, we learn that tornadoes come from ______.| A．hurricanes | B．great heat |
| C．thunderstorms | D．sandstorms |
| A．The wind may die down. | B．A clear and sunlit sky may appear. |
| C．The air may become still. | D．Its position may be marked by clouds. |
| A．only happen in the late hours of the day | B．only move from southwest to northeast |
| C．may form over sea water | D．often move at a speed of 70 MPH |
| A．tornadoes warning systems are well-developed in many countries |
| B．of all the natural disasters, tornadoes cause the greatest damage |
| C．tornadoes are mostly seen in the southern states of America |
| D．tornadoes may strike so quickly that there is often little or no warning |
10 . My name is Alice. Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that weakened my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me. For almost a year I struggled on, constantly staring at this wall that faced me. My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.
One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. I joined a pre-presentation dinner with him and that smaller setting allowed me to slowly build up my courage to speak one-on-one with him –– an idea that had seemed completely impossible. This first contact was where my story began.
A month later, Brown invited me to attend the World Youth Wildlife Conference. Looking back, I now see this would be the first in a series of timely opportunities that my old self would have let pass, but that this new and more confident Alice enthusiastically seized. Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit myself to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.
I am writing this just six months since my journey began and I’ve realized that my biggest obstacle the whole time was myself. It was that voice in the back of my head telling me that one phrase that has stopped so many people from reaching their potential: I can’t. They say good things come to those who wait. I say: grab every opportunity with everything you have and be impatient. After all, nature does not require our patience, but our action.
1. What was the main cause of Alice’s anxiety?| A．Her wish to be perfect. | B．Her habit of consumption. |
| C．Her lack of inspiration. | D．Her inability to act her age. |
| A．She built up her courage to speak up. | B．She tasted the sweetness of friendship. |
| C．She learned about the harm of desire. | D．She decided to do something for nature. |
| A．critical | B．intelligent | C．confident | D．innovative |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Action is worry’s worst enemy. |
| C．Patience is a cure of anxiety. | D．Everything comes to those who wait. |
