1 . The green movement is catching on in many pockets of the world. This is especially true in the construction industry. Today's buzz words, which include global warming and zero emissions(排放), are causing everyday people to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Purchasing an environmentally-friendly home is a good investment for those who care about their own health and the well-being of our planet. Based on this trend, entire districts, known as eco-communities, are being designed with the concept of green in mind. One of these communities is Dockside Green in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its goal is to become the world's first zero-emission neighborhood.
Dockside Green is a mostly self-sufficient community along the harbor front of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The community is home to around 2,500 people and it includes a variety of environmental features, some of which can't be found anywhere else.
The planners and builders of Dockside Green have the environment in mind with every choice they make. They ensure proper ventilation (通风) and guarantee residents clean air indoors. Building materials, such as paints and wood, are natural and green.
Energy efficiency is attached great importance to in eco-communities like Dockside Green. Not only do energy-efficient appliances reduce the environmental impact of heating, cooking and lighting, they also save residents money. Dockside Green claims that home owners use 55% less energy than the average Canadian.
Eco-communities also take the future into account by recycling waste and reducing carbon emissions. At Dockside Green, waste water is treated and reused on-site for flushing toilets, and a gas plant changes waste wood into a renewable form of gas for hot water systems, stoves and gas heaters. The community also reduces carbon emissions by using local suppliers for all their transport and maintenance(维修) needs, and residents are encouraged to join the community's car share program.
1. Who are likely to buy an environmentally-friendly home?A.People interested in investment. | B.Those looking for carbon footprint. |
C.Those concerned about their health. | D.People caring about their community. |
A.an eco- community with over 2,500 people | B.a good investment for planners and builders |
C.the world’s first zero-emission neighborhood | D.a self-sufficient community in British Columbia |
A.Recycling waste and reducing carbon emissions | B.Encouraging people to join the car share program |
C.Calling on people to reduce their carbon footprint | D.Equipping people with energy-efficient appliances |
A.Climate scientists. | B.Natural gas companies. |
C.Coal mining investors. | D.Architects and interior designers. |
2 . There was no need to consult my smart-watch to know that we had climbed to an altitude of more than 4,500 meters.
After a four-hour journey, our coach
As the air pressure
I
Cracks could be seen meandering across the walls of the room, a warning sign of the quake’s destruction and a
It certainly hadn’t. At about midnight, a magnitude 4.8 quake
We scrambled for our clothes and shoes and argued about whether we had enough time to run outside. Before we had reached agreement, the shaking had stopped. The street our room overlooked was quickly
The older man and I stared at each other and then decided to creep back to our beds, but we kept our pants on, just
A.Bodily | B.Heart | C.Verbal | D.Eye |
A.pulled out | B.stopped by | C.pulled over | D.pulled into |
A.lengthened | B.worsened | C.lessened | D.weakened |
A.fell | B.rose | C.increased | D.applied |
A.pressure | B.contents | C.water | D.cap |
A.sight | B.type | C.style | D.scene |
A.signed up | B.walked into | C.checked up | D.checked into |
A.several | B.flights | C.few | D.steps |
A.survive | B.save | C.use | D.waste |
A.note | B.reminder | C.view | D.site |
A.came | B.broke | C.struck | D.scared |
A.awake | B.sleepy | C.quiet | D.ill |
A.credited | B.accompanied | C.flooded | D.covered |
A.danger | B.discomfort | C.disbelief | D.destruction |
A.in comfort | B.in relief | C.in case | D.in vain |
3 . Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, also known as “Birdman,” takes to the skies aboard his adapted light aircraft. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the impressive views, but to guide flocks (鸟群) of lesser white-fronted geese (小白额雁) through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations.
His deed began in 1995 when he noticed their declining population in the wilds of Lapland, Sweden. To prevent their numbers from dropping further, Moullec tried to get the threatened species to follow him along migration routes that would protect them from bird hunters.
However, getting grown geese to follow his lead proved challenging. As young geese imitate and follow whomever they view as their parent, Moullec decided to raise the geese from birth.
To help raise funds and awareness of his job to protect not just the geese but birds worldwide, Moullec often allows paying tourists to join him on the 30-minute-long flights aboard his aircraft. In addition to the trained birds flying alongside them, visitors, who come from as far as a 15-hour plane flight away, are treated to a variety of crane and geese species as well as breathtaking views of castles and cities.
He often brings his camera along for the flights, capturing photos not just for their beauty, but for what they describe. Moullec believes the use of agricultural chemicals has done harm to wild European birds, with more than a third disappearing in the last 30 years. “It's a disaster,” he said. “My beautiful images with flying birds should be used to tell this story. ”
1. Why does “Birdman” always fly to the sky on his aircraft?A.To observe geese along their migration routes. |
B.To follow geese through safe migration paths. |
C.To take visitors to operate his adapted aircraft. |
D.To guide geese fly safely during the migration. |
A.He is a nature lover. | B.He is a bird watcher. |
C.He is a volunteer pilot. | D.He is a bird hunter. |
A.Recording the use of agricultural chemicals. |
B.Showing serious damage caused by chemicals. |
C.Describing his experiences with flying birds. |
D.Capturing the beautiful views of birds and cities. |
A.Birdman Guides Flocks to Learn to Fly. |
B.Birdman Finds Birds Disappearing. |
C.Birdman Helps Flocks Safely Migrate. |
D.Birdman Protects Birds From Hunters. |
4 . When we think of bicycles, we think of fun and the outdoors. Bicycles give riders the freedom to explore and enjoy the environment and its surroundings.
Most people know that riding bicycles is environmentally friendly.
Bikes are becoming more and more popular across the world. In fact, they are becoming more than just a fun pastime (娱乐).
Some South American cities, such as Bogota in Colombia, have a weekly car-free day.
It seems that the bike is a force for good, providing solutions for cleaner cities without leaving a serious environmental footprint.
A.Riding bicycles is a healthy, cheap activity and good exercise. |
B.Cities are taking this love and demand for bicycles seriously. |
C.People are encouraged to buy bicycles to go to and from work. |
D.Daily use of a bicycle has very low effect on the environment. |
E.It is cheap and convenient to travel around the world on bicycles. |
F.They are also used as a daily transport to work, school or shopping. |
G.More than 2 million people bicycle, skate, or jog along the closed roads. |
5 . Innovation has pretty much finished with car tires (轮胎) right, I mean, what’s left to change? How about the whole “air” part?
Michelin Company’s attempt to tackle tire rubbish around the world witnessed them roll out puncture-proof “airless” tires, which they say should help reduce the 18% of all world tires that are abandoned early due to punctures (轮胎漏气). Deserted tires arc a huge worldwide waste problem — the US produces 260 million abandoned tires per year, many of which end up in landfills or on the sides of the freeway where they release harmful gases and microplastic pollutants as they break down.
Michelin Company's Unique Puncture Proof Tire System or “UPTIS” is designed using 46% recycled material, and made from a plastic matrix (母体) mixed with glass fibers that provide a flexible outer layer with a strong inner one. “The truly distinctive structure of the Michelin UPTIS prototype (原型), or its “strangeness” as we have often heard it called, really attracted the eye of many visitors and left a lasting impression on them,” stated Cyrille Roget, Michelin Group Technical and Scientific Communications Director. “It was an unusual experience for us, and our greatest satisfaction came at the end of the demonstration when our passengers, who were undoubtedly a little alert (警觉) at first, said they felt no difference compared with conventional tires.”
Michelin Company believes airless tires will improve everyone's lives. Maintenance (保养) costs for company’s vehicle fleets will be less expensive, and inexperienced car owners won’t accidentally ruin their rubbers when driving them because they are over-or under-inflated (充气). Although they are still in development stage and using at a large scale within years is unlikely to be available, Michelin Company is not in the least doubtful about their tires’ future.
1. Why does the author ask questions in the first paragraph?A.To explain a strange phenomenon. | B.To clarify a difficult concept. |
C.To present a well-known fact. | D.To introduce a new topic. |
A.The new tire runs more smoothly. |
B.The world greatly needs airless tires. |
C.Traditional tires threaten the environment. |
D.Michelin Company battles the issue of wasted tires. |
A.Its structure distances visitors. | B.It only uses recycled materials. |
C.It combines plastic and glass fibers. | D.Its comfortableness beats ordinary tires. |
A.Tolerant. | B.Positive. | C.Mixed. | D.Objective. |
6 . A new study shows that increases in extreme winter weather in parts of the US are linked to quickened warming of the Arctic (北极).
Over the past four decades, warming in the Arctic has been far more definite than that in the rest of the world and has caused a rapid decrease of summer sea ice. Heating in the Arctic has ultimately disturbed the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex (旋涡). As a result, it got stretched out of shape and slid southward off the pole. Scientists believe this vortex stretching process led to the deadly Texas cold wave in February this year.
![](https://img.xkw.com/dksih/QBM/2021/12/31/2884484573872128/2885351065829376/STEM/f9e142c76d4643e3833286bf848eceb9.png?resizew=302)
“The polar vortex over the Arctic usually locks in cold air at the poles and does not easily move south. The stronger the winds, the more the air inside is kept, and the colder it gets,” explained lead researcher Dr. Judah Cohen, who’s a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Melting (融化) ice in the Arctic and rising temperatures can disturb the Arctic vortex, making cold air no longer locked in the Arctic? but move some farther south.”
The researchers say that their findings are based on both observations and modelling and they show a physical link between climate change in the Arctic, the stretching of the polar vortex and the impacts on ground.
The researchers believe their work could improve predictions about the beginning of extreme cold winter events. The research team also believes that their findings will help people understand that global warming is complex and perhaps let go of the idea that colder winters mean climate change isn’t happening. “In the past, these cold extremes over the US and Russia have been used to justify not reducing carbon, but there’s no longer any excuse to not start reducing emissions (排放) right away,’’ said Dr. Cohen.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?A.The efforts made by scientists. | B.The definition of polar vortex. |
C.The decrease of summer sea ice. | D.The formation of Texas cold wave. |
A.Making the wind stronger. | B.Helping cold air move freely. |
C.Speeding up the melting of ice. | D.Keeping cold air from escaping. |
A.Global warming is just alarmist. |
B.Weather-gone-wild pattern is a fantasy. |
C.Reducing emissions is a pressing matter. |
D.Weather forecast has never been a perfect science. |
A.Environment. | B.Travel. | C.Education. | D.Life. |
7 . As heat waves continue to ravage the planet, air conditioners are becoming more and more common. However, these "active" cooling devices are posing problems because the electricity consumption which most people are concerned about and the release of ozone-damaging chemicals worsen the greenhouse gas effect, resulting in the creation of heat islands and further thermal pollution. Therefore, "passive" cooling, which doesn't have such effects, has attracted considerable attention from both scientists and ordinary people in recent years.
In a recent study, a team of researchers from China and US presented an eco-friendly, low-cost smart coating to keep buildings cooler while consuming zero electricity. Infrared radiation-based passive cooling has been investigated since 2014, but challenges, mainly the expensive and unsustainable design, have greatly limited their large-scale and widespread application. Besides, the imbalance in cooling ability of these coatings during the day and night tends to lead to great day-night temperature differences as more heat is lost than gained at night.
The solution therefore requires a "smart" mechanism that can both enhance daytime cooling and minimize nighttime heat loss. To do this, the researchers created a new smart coating comprised of conventional building materials, including titanium dioxide nanoparticles, fluorescent microparticles, and glass microspheres that were engineered to reflect most of the sunlight. Specifically, the titanium dioxide particles effectively reflect sunlight through light scattering(撒播)while the fluorescent particles increase the amount of reflection by changing the absorbed sunlight into fluorescence emissions, which drive more heat away from the building. Meanwhile, the glass microspheres re-send mid-infrared broadband radiation, allowing not only heat loss, but allowing heat exchange to take place between the building and the sky.
The coating was tested on a model concrete building. Through this efficient heat exchange with the sky, daytime cooling was strengthened while nighttime cooling was reduced. The building's inside temperature was always maintained at around 26℃, even when the out-side temperature varied from 24℃ to 37℃ during the day. We believe this new coating will make it to commercialization soon, enabling a sustainable, passive cooling technology that could help to fight climate change and the global energy crisis.
1. What is the virtue of passive cooling?A.It is simple to design. | B.It uses no chemicals. |
C.It is smart. | D.It uses no power. |
A.It was hard to design. |
B.Its material was hard to produce. |
C.Its heat loss and cooling are imbalanced. |
D.It wasn't tested on a model concrete building. |
A.Metal. | B.System. | C.Platform. | D.Building. |
A.The principle of air-conditioning. |
B.The differences between active and passive cooling. |
C.A new coating to keep buildings cool without electricity. |
D.A new building to maintain its inside temperature without electricity. |
Amsterdam has decided to remove gas vehicles (机动车) from the roads. By 2030 only non-polluting vehicles will be allowed in the streets. The Netherlands
The city will stop using gas vehicles gradually and increase the use of cleaner vehicles. Charging stations
That is
Hopefully, this policy will encourage other cities to ban polluting vehicles as well. In fact, Brussels is already considering
9 . The idea of billions of people going through a few masks a week during this pandemic definitely rings alarm bells, but a team of researchers in Melbourne may have the solution.
They’ve discovered that adding millions of discarded face masks to road-paving (铺路) mixtures would actually lower the cost of the road, while preventing billions of them from landfills. Just one kilometer of road would need three million masks, and the polypropylene (聚丙烯) plastic used to make single-use surgical face masks also increased the flexibility and durability of the road.
The new material is a mixture of about 2% torn masks, with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA)—a material obtained from waste concrete and other minerals from destroyed buildings. This recycled material was found in the study to be ideal for two of the four layers generally required to create roadways. Paving a kilometer of two-way road with the RCA and three million face masks would result in a change of 93 tons of waste from landfills.
The final product then is more resistant to wear than asphalt (沥青), as well as being cheaper too, provided there was a method for collecting masks. The research team did a cost-analysis and found that, at $26 per ton, the RCA was about half the cost of mining raw materials, and as much as a third of the cost of shipping the used masks to a landfill.
The widespread application would be ideal for large infrastructure (基础设施) projects. For example, Washington has the 11th worst roads in terms of unaddressed repairs in the U.S. If the damaged roads in Washington state were repaired with the RCA/mask mixture, it would reuse nearly 10 billion masks, sparing American landfills hundreds of millions of tons of trash.
It’s said that the team is looking for private industry partners or governments willing to give their plastic mask road an opportunity for a large-scale test.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” mean in paragraph 2?A.Recycled. | B.Produced. |
C.Mixed. | D.Abandoned. |
A.2% torn masks, concrete and tons of trash. |
B.Polypropylene plastic and building materials. |
C.Single-use surgical masks and recycled concrete aggregate. |
D.Waste concrete and other minerals from destroyed buildings. |
A.To tell us what the team has found. |
B.To prove this material is cost-effective in paving roads. |
C.To explain repairing roads costs a lot of materials. |
D.To praise the hard work the team has done. |
A.The material used to pave roads is made of masks. |
B.Generally speaking, it requires two layers to create roadways. |
C.It remains to be tested whether the solution is practical. |
D.The damaged roads in Washington were repaired with the RCA. |
1.活动目的;
2.活动过程;
3.感想与评价。
要求:
1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Thursday December 23rd, 2021 Windy
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