1 . Chaudhary quietly weaves together lengths of ropes, binding them with grass collected from the riverbank. She skillfully shapes the materials into a jewelry box. Meanwhile, she’s instructing a group of women to work out the materials. The ropes used were once the lifeline for climbers tackling Nepal’s mountains and were then discarded (扔掉). They are now finding new life, transformed by skilled hands into items to sell.

Acharya, working with the cleaning campaign, owns a waste processing business in Kathmandu, also an advocate for sustainable waste management. “Aluminum and other metal waste go through the recycling process, but we found no way to recycle ropes and gas cans,” she says. It struck her that the non-recyclable waste could be reused, but it wasn’t until she met Maya Rai that a solution emerged. Rai, leading Nepal Knotcraft Centre, helped connect Acharya with Chaudhary’s team of craftswomen in hopes of turning the mountain waste into economic opportunity. “While this seems insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it’s a start. We aim to connect local expertise, mountain waste and local economy,” says Acharya, proudly displaying a mat made from ropes left on Mt. Qomolangma by climbers. Her goal is to ensure that no waste collected from mountains ends up in a landfill again.

Finished crafts are sold at outlets and exhibitions. The craftswomen are paid according to how many items they make and sell. With flexible hours, the project gives women an opportunity to earn money even as they maintain household responsibilities.

Eventually, Acharya hopes to expand the program to involve more women and process more waste. But progress has been slow. “We still have not found a sustainable business plan to make crafts in large quantities, ”she says. Now, she is searching for cooperators to make a model that serves not only the mountain but the communities. “After all, we are trying to craft a sustainable future.”

Each rope turned into a decorative item is a way to help local women earn a living and keep mountains clean.

1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Chaudhary in paragraph 1?

A．To lead in the topic with her example.

B．To spread her environmental consciousness.

C．To show her patient instructions to the women.

D．To speak highly of her outstanding weaving skills.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．A business involving waste processing.

B．A team transforming waste into treasure.

C．A campaign advocating sustainable management.

D．A solution connecting expertise, waste and economy.

3. Which of the following is the most likely reason for craftswomen to join in the project?

A．Selling crafts at outlets can earn more money.

B．Removing mountain waste generates a sense of pride.

C．Cooperating with local experts helps promote skills.

D．Work-life balance can be achieved due to flexible hours.

4. What is Acharya’s attitude towards expanding the program?

A．Hesitant.

B．Positive.

C．Suspicious.

D．Disapproving.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the man do just now?

A．He took some photos.

B．He did some reading.

C．He shared an article online.

2. What is the consequence of plastic in the ocean according to the woman?

A．Seafood will be polluted.

B．Ships won’t sail properly.

C．The beauty of the ocean will be damaged.

3. What recyclable item has the man started using?

A．A reusable bag.

B．A metal straw.

C．A glass bottle.

4. What do the speakers agree to do?

A．Stop buying bottled water.

B．Organize beach cleanup events.

C．Participate in club activities every month.

3 . In the hands of a skilled stylist, your hair can help you boost your self-confidence, express your unique personality, and maybe even attract a romantic partner. In the hands of Matter of Trust, however, your hair might be able to do something even more meaningful: help save the environment.

For more than 20 years, Matter of Trust has been collecting hair and fur from hair salons, and farmers around the world for the purpose of making “hair mats” that can assist with oil spill cleanups.

Typically, oil spills on land are cleaned up using polypropylene (聚丙烯) mats that are effective but might cause environmental problems. After all, polypropylene is a non-biodegradable (不可生物降解的) plastic that’s made from fossil fuels; using it to clean up oil therefore requires drilling for even more oil. Hair and fur, on the other hand, are of no poison, biodegradable, sustainable, and can absorb more oil.

To date, Matter of Trust has produced more than 40,000 hair mats and more than 300,000 booms, reports CNN. Matter of Trust’s products have been used to clean up not only oil spills, but also non-emergencies like oil leaks from vehicles and machines. In both cases, oil can flow into soil and water, which can harm people, plants, and wildlife, according to Matter of Trust.

Although it’s an elegant solution, it isn’t perfect. Hair mats can only be used once, for instance, and can only be dealt with through incineration (焚化) or composting (堆肥). And in the case of composting, the resulting compost isn’t suitable for growing food.

Still, hair mats are a surprisingly effective tool in the fight for a cleaner planet. And because Matter of Trust hasn’t patented its designs, all that’s needed to produce them are hair cuttings—of which there are plenty, according to Gautier, who says there are about 900,000 qualified hair salons in the U.S. alone, each of which can easily cut at least a pound of hair per week.

“Anyone can make a hair mat,” she told CNN. “It creates green jobs, it cleans water, it reduces waste, and it’s promoting sustainable resources.”

1. Which of the following is NOT the function of your hair based on this text?

A．It can help you keep healthy.	B．It can promote your social contact.
C．It represents your personal image.	D．It can help protecting environment.

2. What’s the main reason for the replacement of polypropylene mats by hair mats?

A．Polypropylene mats are poisonous.

B．Hair mats are cheaper than polypropylene mats.

C．Hair mats are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

D．The raw materials for polypropylene mats are hard to find.

3. What’s Gautier’ attitude towards hair mats absorbing oil?

A．It’s impractical.	B．It’s of short-term effects.
C．It’s worthy to be applied.	D．It increases global employment.

4. What can be inferred from the last two paragraph?

A．Gautier will apply for a patent for Matter of Trust.

B．More and more hair salons will be opened in America.

C．Everyone will take action to make hair mats to clean the earth.

D．Hair mats have good prospects for development.

4 . Unless you’ve been faithfully bringing reusable shopping bags to the store, you probably grab the plastic bags waiting for customers at the checkout. You’re not alone.

About 100 billion plastic bags are used in the U. S. each year. Unfortunately, single-use plastic bags have serious consequences once our trip to the store is over. Less than 10% of plastic bags used in the U. S. are recycled, leaving the rest to end up in landfills (垃圾填埋场), and polluting soil, oceans and other natural habitats.

To fight pollution and other environmental problems, major companies are taking steps to get rid of the use of plastic shopping bags. If you’re a frequent customer at Walmart, don’t be surprised if you notice the plastic bags disappearing over the next few months. Last summer, Walmart announced its goal to be a zero-waste company — meaning no more plastic bags.

But Walmart has announced its Beyond the Bag, an initiative (倡议) working to explore reusable options and “reimagine” the plastic bag. Target and CVS are also on board as founding partners of Beyond the Bag, and so far, the three brands have invested $15 million to come up with a brand-new bag design.

The initiative also started the Beyond the Bag challenge, giving innovators (创新者) a chance to share their ideas. The challenge ran throughout the summer of 2020, and nine winners from over 450 submissions were selected. From a station supplying reusable bag in-store to a new and improved paper bag, the winning designs cover a lot of bases. Each product now has the chance to be tested with funding from the initiative.

While a final replacement for plastic bags at Walmart has yet to be decided, there’s a more sustainable future on the horizon. And if you want to start reducing your use of plastic bags right now, check out our list of reusable bags to bring on your next shopping trip.

1. What does the author mean by saying “You’re not alone” in the first paragraph?

A．Reusable shopping bags are becoming more popular.

B．Customers need to wait for long at the checkout.

C．Some people are waiting in the line with you.

D．Many people use plastic bags when shopping.

2. What does the author want to tell us in Paragraph 2?

A．Single-use plastic bags cause severe environmental problems.

B．Supermarkets should stop providing single-use plastic bags.

C．Single-use plastic bags should be more widely recycled.

D．More landfills should be built to deal with plastic bags.

3. Why does Walmart want to start Beyond the Bag?

A．To attract more customers.	B．To provide more plastic bags.
C．To set a good example to Target and CVS.	D．To make shopping more environmentally friendly.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．People pay more attention to environmental protection.

B．Walmart is getting rid of single-use plastic bags.

C．Reusable paper bags are becoming more popular.

D．Free plastic bags have become a thing of the past.

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Growing up in a coastal town in San Francisco, Christian had a special love for the ocean and its creatures. He had always found joy in the rhythmic tides and the ocean waves against the shore. The salty wind and the cries of the seagulls (海鸥) had been like a comforting song to him during his childhood.

However, all these changed over the years. Every time he wandered along the familiar stretch of sand, his heart sank. The once charming beach was now littered with plastic bags, bottles and other wastes, a distinctive contrast to the natural beauty that had always absorbed him.

The sight was a painful reminder of the harm the locals were bringing to the very land where he was growing up. Christian felt a deep sense of loss and responsibility. Previously, he had seen the news reports about the severe effects of plastic pollution on the oceans, and the images of sea creatures stuck in plastic wastes haunted (萦绕于脑际) him.

Determined to make a change, Christian decided to take action. He knew he couldn’t solve this problem alone, but he could start something that might grow into a powerful movement. With the passion and belief of a young man who loved his ocean and his land deeply, he founded an organization called Waves of Change. The early days presented challenges in calling on volunteers.

He began by reaching out to the students in his school. He shared the shocking reality of the polluted beaches and the urgent need to reduce plastic litter. To his delight, gradually more and more schoolmates started showing interest in the organization and many were eager to join in the cause. They were all too familiar with the beauty of the ocean and were equally saddened by the damage they had witnessed. As high school students, Christian and other members properly allocates (分配) time to balance the cause and their academic work.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Together, Christian and other members did a lot of things in their free time.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Their efforts finally paid off.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . To produce the classic clothing, blue jeans, producers rely on indigo dye (靛蓝染料), the only molecule known to provide jeans’ unique, beloved color. While indigo itself naturally comes from a plant, growing demand for blue jeans throughout the 20th century gave rise to synthetic (合成的) indigo, which is now more commonly used.

Indigo is the dye that makes jeans blue, but it doesn’t mix with water. To dye clothes, usually, chemicals are needed to make the color stick to the cloth. But in Denmark, scientists have created a new way to dye clothes using an enzyme (酶), which is a kind of protein that can cause chemical reactions, instead of harmful chemicals. This new method is better for the environment and doesn’t use poisonous stuff.

The chemical process for dyeing blue jeans has persisted for the last century. Workers are exposed to the poisonous chemicals, which also pollute the environment near factories. Waste water from those factories often ends up in waterways, decimating local ecosystems and even dyeing rivers blue.

Ditte Hededam Welner, the study’s lead researcher, says their new enzyme works really well and is strong enough for making lots of jeans without breaking down. This enzyme makes dyeing with indican, which is like indigo, much less harmful to the planet — about 92% better than the old way.

However, the new method doesn’t fix all the environmental problems of making jeans. Making a single pair of jeans uses a lot of water — enough to fill many bathtubs — from growing the cotton to putting the final touches on the jeans.

Even though the new dyeing process is better for the environment, it’s not always easy or cheap to change to it. Welner’s team isn’t sure if jeans companies will find it easy or affordable to switch to this method. It costs a little bit more — just seven cents extra per pair of jeans — to use the enzyme for dyeing. But Welner believes it’s worth it because it’s much better for the environment.

1. Why was synthetic indigo created in the 20th century?

A．It made jeans’ color unique.	B．It was easy to dye cloth with it.
C．People liked jeans made from it.	D．People were in greater need of jeans.

2. What does the underlined word “decimating” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Troubling.

B．Entering.

C．Destroying.

D．Defeating.

3. Which is an advantage of the new method?

A．The colour is more beautiful than the synthetic indigo.

B．The market can keep stable goods supplies.

C．Enzyme facilitates the advance of science.

D．The dye is more environmentally friendly.

4. What makes Welner worried about the new method?

A．Production costs.	B．Environmental benefits.
C．Water consumption.	D．Laborer shortage.

9 . Not much happens in the sleepy village of Colaton Raleigh, where almost half of the residents are retired, so local walkers were horrified when they discovered 100 ancient beech trees were cut down.

Residents in the east Devon community are saddened by the loss of the beloved trees, which were cut down by a government agency without consulting the community or council. They were located in a special conservation area and site of special scientific interest, and were home to lots of local plants and animals.

An application was made by a local landowner to the Forestry Commission, a branch of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It would not comment on individual cases, but said all decisions were taken in line with its standards. Alan Pearce, a local tree manager, said, “It certainly ought to be a fairly wide consultation because it’s part of our heritage. Once they’re gone you’re talking about 200 years to regrow. The stumps (树桩) look, nearly all of them, perfectly sound and solid. I can’t see they can say they were diseased or dying. We’re meant to be planting trees, not felling (砍) them.”

He said people were “absolutely horrified”, with one walker in tears over the felling, which he suggested may have been taken to improve grassland in the nearby field.

Resident Fiona Carroll said, “Many people walk in this area as it is part of a large expanse of heathland and they are at a loss as to why this has been allowed to happen. These were valuable landscape and wildlife trees situated along an extensive ancient Devon bank. The roots had grown into large supporting structures giving many a distinctive look.”

Ewan Macdonald, a research fellow at the University of Oxford, who studies how people engage with the environment, said he was not surprised the felling had caused such an emotional reaction because of the way people connected with trees. He said, “It highlights how intrinsically (内在地) bound up things like trees, the environment and conservation are with our culture.”

1. What happened in Colaton Raleigh?

A．Half of its residents retired from their jobs.

B．A government agency felled 100 ancient beech trees.

C．The Forestry Commission made an application to cut down trees.

D．The felling of the trees was done to improve their living conditions.

2. What can we know from the text?

A．The trees were cut down because of disease.

B．The local council didn’t approve of the application.

C．The local residents are eager to protect the environment.

D．The trees were cut down without consulting local villagers.

3. What’s Alan Pearce’s attitude to felling the trees?

A．Supportive.

B．Opposed.

C．Indifferent.

D．Doubtful.

4. Which of the following may Ewan Macdonald probably agree with?

A．Protecting trees is protecting our culture.

B．The felling of trees doesn’t cause emotional reactions.

C．The environment, conservation, and trees are closely linked to our culture.

D．People’s engagement with the environment has no influence on their emotions.

10 . Every tropical (热带的) forest looks different, particularly in the eyes of an ecologist, and Peter Ellis has been lucky enough to visit a fair few. One in particular holds a special place in his heart: the rain forests of Gabon. He first visited as a Peace Corps volunteer. “It completely changed the way I think about conservation and our relationship with nature,” he says.

These days, Ellis is the global director of natural climate solutions science at the US-based conservation organization — The Nature Conservancy, where he’s presently investigating the role that logging (cutting down trees) can play in tropical forests. Logging for forest conservation may sound contradictory, and it often is. But logging in a tropical forest looks different to the practices we might expect to see. “We might imagine it as a wasteland of stumps (树桩) after a clear cut,” says Ellis. Instead, only a few trees are actually removed. A sustainably logged forest is the one that remains a breathing, rich, tropical rain forest full of trees and wildlife, thus helping keep a large part of the biodiversity while ensuring that more damaging industries don’t take its place. It can also provide a means of basic livelihood for the local people.

The two years that Ellis spent in the Gabon rain forests opened his eyes to a different method of land management. “The locals took me out into the forest and taught me the names, usages and spiritual significance of all the trees and other plants in the forest,” he says. “Science is about exact, designed experiments, but it’s also about asking the right questions. And the people who live in those places and protect the ecosystem are more likely to help us learn what the right questions to ask are.”

Tropical forests are essential to our planet’s future as they support high levels of biodiversity and act as crucial carbon sinks (碳储存器). “We need to honour, and protect them so that they can do their job to help save us all” says Ellis.

1. What does Peter Ellis think of his first visit to the rain forests of Gabon?

A．It was poorly arranged.	B．It made little difference to his life.
C．It brought him far-reaching influence.	D．It was physically challenging for him.

2. What does Peter Ellis realize after his investigation in tropical rain forests?

A．Logging balances the rain forests.

B．Logging means a complete clear-out.

C．Logging brings huge profits to the locals.

D．Logging encourages the local damaging industries.

3. What does Ellis suggest scientists do in protecting the rain forests?

A．Conduct many experiments.	B．Consult experienced local people.
C．Get involved in designing procedures.	D．Spread more knowledge about wildlife.

4. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To stress the importance of biodiversity.

B．To introduce Ellis’s ideas about the future.

C．To provide further information about Ellis.

D．To call on people to preserve tropical rain forests.