1 . I don’t think I can recall a time when I wasn’t aware of the beauty of the ocean. Growing up in Australia, I had the good fortune of having the sea at my side. The first time I went to Halfmoon Bay, I suddenly had the feeling of not being able to feel the ground with my feet anymore.
For my 10th birthday, my sister and I were taken out to the Great Barrier Reef. There were fish in different colors, caves and layers of coral (珊瑚). They made such an impression on me. When I learned that only one percent of Australia’s Coral Sea was protected, I was shocked. Australian marine (海洋的) life is particularly important because the reefs (暗礁) have more marine species than any other country on earth. But sadly, only 45% of the world’s reefs are considered healthy.
This statistic (数据) is depressing, so it’s important for us to do everything to protect them. The hope that the Coral Sea remains a complete ecosystem has led me to take action. I’ve become involved with the Protect Our Coral Sea activity, which aims to create the largest marine park in the world. It would serve as a place where the ocean’s species will all have a safe place forever.
Together, Angus and I created a little video and we hope it will inspire people to be part of the movement. Angus also shares many beautiful childhood memories of the ocean as a young boy, who grew up sailing, admiring the beauty of the ocean, and trying to find the secrets of ocean species.
1. What can we learn about the author from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?| A．He seldom went sailing at the sea. |
| B．He forgot his experiences about the ocean. |
| C．He never went back to his hometown. |
| D．He had a wonderful impression of Halfmoon Bay. |
| A．It is escaping from the Coral Sea gradually. |
| B．It depends on reefs for living greatly. |
| C．It may be faced with danger. |
| D．It is protected better than that in other oceans. |
| A．To contribute to a complete ecosystem. |
| B．To prevent more marine species being endangered. |
| C．To set up a large nature reserve for reefs. |
| D．To raise more teenagers’ environmental awareness. |
| A．To ask more people to take action to protect the marine species. |
| B．To inspire more people to study the secret of the ocean. |
| C．To share their childhood experiences about the ocean. |
| D．To bring back to people their memory of ocean species. |
2 . Summer floods are an annual occurrence for many cities across China. According to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, in 2012, urban flooding affected 184 cities, while in 2013 the number was 234, and last year it was 125, it said. Now, new measures are being introduced to reduce loss of life and the economic damage caused by flooding.
One of the most effective measures to increase the efficiency of storm drains in cities would be to reduce the storm-water runoff and raise the levels of water filtration（过滤）and conservation in urban areas, experts said. To solve the problem of urban flooding once and for all, the central government has decided to push forward the "Sponge City" program, which in part borrows the experiences of low-impact development from the United States and Canada in recent years.
The program will allow at least 60 percent of rainwater to soak into the ground, rather than being discharged into rivers. The level of filtration could be further raised in some areas with low levels of rainfall to increase the use of rainwater. The project includes the development of residential communities with storage ponds, filtration pools and wetlands, plus roads and squares built with materials that will allow storm water to soak into the ground more effectively, according to the guideline.
"It would require a major shift in ideas about urban construction. Rainwater should be regarded as a resource, rather than a burden to be dealt with. Concepts of urban construction should shift from the destruction of the ecosystem to its renewal," Chen Zhenggao, Minister of Housing and Urban-rural Development, told a work conference in May. "If the urban runoff cannot be effectively filtered into the ground, the floods that follow will cause the direct loss of life and property," he said. He also believes low-impact development represents the future of the country's urbanization drive. "It（the dealing with storm water）is an issue of public security. Thus it should be a compulsory requirement when new urban areas are being planned and built," he said.
1. The purpose to build a "Sponge City" is to________.| A．reduce the storm-water runoff in urban areas |
| B．raise the levels of water filtration and conservation |
| C．address the problem of urban flooding permanently |
| D．achieve low-impact development with borrowed experiences |
| A．At most 60% of rainwater is to soak into the ground. |
| B．The level of filtration could be increased in areas with more rainfall. |
| C．Residential communities should be replaced by ponds, pools and wetlands |
| D．Roads should be built with materials allowing water to soak into the ground |
| A．Floods take place because of the shift of the ecosystem |
| B．Floods will not happen when, urban runoff is filtered into rivers. |
| C．New urban construction concept means replacement of the ecosystem. |
| D．Low-impact urban development is a must to solve the issue of public security. |
| A．Summer floods have always been an issue for cities |
| B．"Sponge City" program is set to soak up urban floodwater. |
| C．Rainwater should be regarded as a resource rather than a burden. |
| D．Low-impact development can change the situation of urban ecosystem |
1. How was the land in the 1940' s?
| A．All of the native animals were gone. . |
| B．There were many native animals on it. |
| C．It was overdeveloped by the natives. |
| A．4 years. | B．10 years. | C．14 years. |
| A．The pollution from the factory. | B．The cats and the foxes. | C．The frequent hunt. |
| A．The envioronment. | B．Their lovely cats. | C．The farmers and miners. |
| A．Living on Mars. | B．Protecting the Earth. | C．Preventing air pollution. |
5 . Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Sandy. These names for hurricanes might sound lovely, but they're not in a mess. So how do scientists pick which name to use?
In the beginning, hurricanes in the West Indies were named after the saints' names when the storm hit. For example, there were two Hurricane San Felipes in Puerto Rico-one that hit on September 13, 1876, and the other that hit on the same day in 1928. By the 1900s, Australian scientists started a new system. Instead of naming hurricanes after the saints, they started using women's names, and the United States followed in 1953. By 1979, men's names were added to the list.
Later, the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) came up with a group of names before the storms hit. The group has six lists with 21 names each—one for every letter except Q, U, X. Y, and Z—to be used each year in the Atlantic. So some of the next Atlantic hurricane names you can expect to see are Katia, Lee, Maria and Ophelia.
The Pacific Hurricane gets its name from six different lists, which include every letter except Q and U. Every time a storm hits, scientists take a name down that year's list. So some of the names for the Pacific Hurricanes this year are: Hilary, Irwin, Jova and Kenneth.
Once six years go by? the naming starts again with the first list. For example, one of the Atlantic Hurricanes was Arlene, and that will be the name for the first hurricane in 2023, too. If there happens to be more than 21 hurricanes in one year (or 24 in the Pacific) , the rest will come from the Greek letters.
Now that the lists are made, it's hard to change the names. The lists only change if there's a particularly bad storm. The WMO decides if it will take any names off the list during its meeting every year.
1. What were hurricanes named after in the West Indies at first?| A．Men's names. | B．The Greek letters. |
| C．Women's names. | D．The saints' names. |
| A．Queen. | B．Ulaina. | C．Selian. | D．Yachila. |
| A．By borrowing the Greek letters. | B．By naming after a famous person. |
| C．By using names like Katia or Ophelia. | D．By choosing a name from the six lists. |
| A．They can't be reused. | B．They were made by American scientists. |
| C．They can't be changed. | D．They are different in the Pacific and the Atlantic. |
6 . In the past few decades, the way we shop has changed dramatically. We used to buy our goods in traditional shops. Now, customers are increasingly buying online, where they can order whatever they want directly to their door with the click of a mouse. As companies race to improve their Internet shopping experience, the trend towards shopping online is predicted to continue.
Most people commonly think that online shopping is better than in-store shopping. After all, an online store does not use the electricity that a traditional store might use and it doesn't require the customer to drive anywhere. So you would think the carbon savings must be significant.
Take the typical home delivery round in the UK, for example. Supermarket drivers often do 120 deliveries on an 80-kilometre round, producing 20 kilograms of CO2 in total. In contrast, a 21-kilometre drive to the store and back for one household would produce 24 times more CO2! However, the reality is slightly more complex than that. Many home deliveries fail the first time and the driver has to make a second or third attempt to deliver the purchase.
The carbon footprint also goes up if the customer chooses to return the item. A study in Germany shows that as many as one in three online purchases are returned. According to another study, merchandise（商品）worth nearly $326 million is returned each year in the USA. Two billion kilograms of this ends up in landfill（垃圾填埋池）, leading to 133 tons of CO2 being released.
When we take all these factors into consideration, we realize that online shopping isn't necessarily as green as people might think. There is some positive news, as various online retailers（零售商）are starting to lower their carbon footprint by turning to electric delivery vehicles. However, the question of how to deal with returns efficiently and without waste is a challenge that many companies have not wanted to face, but they have to shoulder responsibilities.
1. What is a common belief about online shopping according to the text?| A．It increases companies' pressure. |
| B．It costs less than in-store shopping. |
| C．It is more environmentally-friendly. |
| D．It improves customers' shopping experience. |
| A．online shopping is sometimes inconvenient |
| B．some online items are actually of poor quality |
| C．customers should think twice before shopping |
| D．online shopping may cause much carbon footprint |
| A．By cutting the distance of delivery. | B．By using a greener way of delivery. |
| C．By choosing to sell electric vehicles. | D．By recycling their customers' returns. |
| A．Online shopping has bad impacts on the environment. |
| B．The trend towards shopping online will continue. |
| C．Online companies cause much carbon footprint. |
| D．Online shopping is greener than in-store shopping. |
7 . India and China are leading the global greening effort, a latest NASA study said on Monday, observing that the world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago.
Data from NASA Earth satellites show that human activities in China and India play an important part in this greening of the planet, thanks to tree planting and agriculture. The effect comes mostly from tree-planting programs in China and agriculture in both countries. “China and India account for one-third of the greening,’’ said lead author Chi Chen of Boston University.
China alone accounts for 25 percent of the global increase in leaf area with only 6.6 percent of global green area. The greening in China is from forests and croplands (农田), but in India, it is mostly from croplands with minor contribution from forests. China’s huge contribution to the global greening trend comes in large part from its programs to protect and expand forests.
“When the greening of the earth was first observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate from the added carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Now with the data, we see that humans are also contributing,” said Rama Nemani, research scientist at NASA. “Once people realize there is a problem, they tend to fix it. In the 1970s and 80s in India and China, the situation around vegetation (植被) loss was not good. In the 1990s, people realized it, and today things have improved. That’s what we see in the satellite data,” added Nemani.
Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India, and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet these places have greatly increased both their green leaf area and their food production by enhancing the way of cropping. This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more has increased by about 35%〜40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.
1. In India, the greening mainly comes from .| A．agriculture. | B．tree planting. | C．forests and croplands. | D．a warmer and wetter climate. |
| A．Carbon dioxide causes global warming. |
| B．Man can actively change the environment. |
| C．In India and China, vegetation loss has been solved. |
| D．Climate has little to do with the greening of the earth. |
| A．Praising. | B．Ignoring. | C．Improving. | D．Limiting. |
| A．India and China lead the global greening. |
| B．Human activities change the global climate. |
| C．Warmer climate contributes to the global greening. |
| D．Land area for crops in China and India has changed much. |
8 . Wasting things is a nightmare (噩梦) for the environment, especially food waste, which does double harm to the environment. A plenty of resources go into the food and the food system also produces lots of greenhouse gases and pollution.
In our homes, restaurants, and food shops, 17 percent of all our food is thrown away—that’s about a sixth of all of the food we have. If you add on the food lost in production, about a third of all food produced never reaches a mouth. At the same time, nearly 700 million people were affected by hunger in 2019, while 3 billion still struggle to afford healthy food. It is mostly households that are to blame: 11 percent of the food ends up in the trash of our homes, compared to a mere 5 and 2 percent from stores and restaurants.
The reasons why food goes to waste are probably familiar to you: dinner party leftovers that never get eaten, food going bad before you cook it, or simply confusion over sell-by and use-by dates that leads to totally fine food ending up in the garbage.
The UN aims to cut food waste in half at the consumer and sale levels by late 2022. Luckily, there’s actually a lot we can do as individuals and governments can make policies to help people and the environment a lot. For individuals, something important is being more thoughtful and prepared when going to the grocery store. Make a list of meals you want to cook, and then only buy fresh produce that you will 100 percent be eating in the next few days. In social aspect, improving education on how to preserve food and understand tricky labels (标签), encouraging food recycling and pushing companies to sell smaller quantities of healthy, fresh food for one or two people could all play a helpful role in bringing down the massive pile of eatable waste.
1. Which of the following contributes most to food waste?| A．Food shops. | B．Restaurants. | C．Households. | D．Food production. |
| A．People eat less than before. | B．The food price is low. |
| C．Food spoils easily during the summer. | D．People are confused about the shelf life of food. |
| A．Grocery stores should supply limited food. |
| B．People should raise their awareness of food conservation. |
| C．Everyone should consume as little food as possible. |
| D．Governments should distribute food resources fairly. |
| A．Health. | B．Fashion. | C．Environment. | D．Science. |
9 . Norway aims to discover new resources beneath the sea, but its push into mining has raised environmental concerms.
Norway could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023. That could place it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals. Copper, zinc and other metals are in high demand for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar energy centers. However, that could also place Norway on the front line of controversies over the environmental risks of mining the world’s unexplored seabeds.
Norway recently announced it was carrying out an environmental study needed to start mineral exploration and mining. Once that is completed, the govemment plans to have public comments on its environmental study and on a proposal to open areas for exploration and production by the end of 2022.
The demand for minerals is being driven by what are often called “clean” technologies. But the process of getting those minerals from the seabed could cause environmental problems.
Environmentalists including Britain’s David Attenborough have called for a temporary (暂时的) stop to deepseabed mining until more is known about how it affects sea life. The environmental group Greenpeace called for a total ban in a recent report. In another report, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, known as the Ocean Panel, also called for greater knowledge about the effects of deep-sea mining. The Ocean Panel is cochaired by Norway and has 14 member states that want to shape policy on the world’s oceans.
Norway is known as a major oil producer. But, the country of 5. 4 million people wants to find something to replace its top industry that is better for the environment and can grow in the future.
The move toward deep-sea mining follows three years of expeditions(探险). The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, which carried out the work, said it found copper, zinc, cobalt, gold and silver. The expeditions also discovered large armounts of lithium and the rare earth metal scandium used in electronics and metal mixtures.
1. What does the underlined word “controversies”in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Power. | B．Benefits. |
| C．Arguments. | D．Popularity. |
| A．Decide mining areas. | B．Ask for people’s opinions. |
| C．Start seabed mining at once. | D．Take action to protect nature. |
| A．Unsupportive. | B．Positive. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Earning more money. | B．Controlling the areas. |
| C．Developing clean energy. | D．Learning about sea resources. |
1. What happened to the pictures on the wall?
| A．A truck knocked them off. |
| B．The woman took them down. |
| C．An earthquake shook them down. |
| A．Curious. | B．Excited. | C．Doubtful. |
| A．In Taiyuan. | B．In Beijing. | C．In Shanghai. |
