1 . Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World—Katherine Hayhoe’s new book, proposes to fight climate change through better communication. It is a follow-up to her awesome TED talk in 2018, when she declared the most important thing any individual can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.
Of many refreshing aspects of this book, one is that Hayhoe recounts both her successes and her failures to communicate, through which she has gathered evidence about what works and what does not. Much of the book’s advice is common sense, all backed up not just by Hayhoe’s experience but also with convincing research by psychologists and social scientists.
Hayhoe advises against trying to engage with a small minority, the “Dismissives”, who angrily reject the idea that human-caused climate change is a threat. Hayhoe pays special attention to Dismissives early on, noting that their aggressive posture online may create the impression that they’re everywhere. However, she argues, Dismissives account for only 7% of all American adults. The other 93% are more receptive by degree.
The book includes amusing examples of her encounters with the “Dismissives”, including an engineer who was unconvinced about the evidence but with whom she was able to establish mutual (相互的) respect through a shared passion for knitting (打毛线衣). It is also packed with inspiring accounts of how she has won over even the crowds who are the most suspicious. Her motto is “bond, connect and inspire”, which represents her approach of always looking for point s of common ground.
She also tells of a man who approached her after an event in London in 2019. Inspired by her TED talk, he had started to speak to everybody he could in his neighborhood of Wandsworth. He showed her details of 12,000 conversations that had taken place, claiming that they had helped to convince the council to declare a climate emergency and to switch investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And so, while it may feel difficult to influence the outcome of the COP26, Hayhoe’s uplifting book makes a persuasive case that we can all do our bit to bring about success just by talking about the issue.
1. What does the book mainly focus on?| A．Explaining critical talking through literature. |
| B．Teaching communication skills with TED talks. |
| C．Sharpening people’s insight into climate change. |
| D．Sharing communication-centered tips for climate problems. |
| A．Serious and challenging. | B．Well-based and workable. |
| C．Approachable but one-sided. | D．Practical but unacknowledged. |
| A．By upgrading their social position. |
| B．By seeking shared interests or hobbies. |
| C．By changing their fundamental beliefs. |
| D．By offering more facts about climate change. |
| A．Turning to clean energy is inevitable. |
| B．We should raise people’s awareness of the climate crisis. |
| C．Conversations have an impact on climate decision-making. |
| D．A shy man began to speak to everybody motivated by Hayhoe. |
2 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.
If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.
Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.
Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.
1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?| A．To explain a concept. | B．To introduce a topic. |
| C．To provide a solution. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．The severity of natural disasters. | B．The worst air quality in New York City. |
| C．The extreme damage by flash flooding. | D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada. |
| A．He advocated a twofold strategy. |
| B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions. |
| C．He required people to use more electric cars. |
| D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes. |
| A．The Hottest Month in History | B．Natural Disasters in the World |
| C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse | D．Green Technology Would be Needed |
3 . The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s longest reef, measuring 2,027 km. Running parallel (平行的) to the coast of Queensland, Australia, the reef is home to many species of fish.
The Great Barrier Reef took thousands of years to form, and has existed for thousands of years, but in just a few short decades we humans have made remarkable progress in killing it. The balance of this ecosystem is being destroyed. Poisonous coastal pollution, overfishing and unsustainable tourism all contribute to the damage done. However, the biggest threat of all is climate change, which causes coral bleaching (珊瑚白化) and other problems.
Coral bleaching is a process that causes coral to turn white in color when exposed to certain stressors, such as changes in temperature or light. As water temperatures rise due to climate change, the algae (海藻) living inside coral becomes poisonous and is expelled from the coral, causing it to lose its color and a major source of food. Not only do the algae produce coral’s color, they also provide 90%of the coral’s energy. Thus, without the algae, most corals will die.
Unfortunately, coral bleaching events are now occurring at an alarming rate. Mass coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef have been recorded in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2016, 2017 and 2020, and they are now expected to become an annual occurrence. The Great Barrier Reef is believed to have lost over 50% of its corals since 1995 and as global warming continues, this number will continue to increase rapidly.
In 2015, the Australian government formed a plan for the protection and preservation of the Great Barrier Reef until 2050. While the plan contains many great aims to improve water quality and restore the reef, there are no measures to deal with the root cause of the issue-climate change.
Solving the most important problem of our generation will require many solutions, such as supporting the use of renewable energy, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, protecting forests, reducing plastic production and preventing unsustainable business practices.
Repairing the damage done to the Great Barrier Reef — and other ecosystems around the world — will be no easy job, but we believe that individuals, businesses and governments will make a change and then there will be hope in the future.
1. What can we know about the Great Barrier Reef?| A．It is a lifeless coral reef structure. |
| B．It has the most preserved ecosystem. |
| C．It is a threat to the survival of human. |
| D．It has been affected by various factors. |
| A．Taken out. | B．Given away. | C．Driven out. | D．Washed away. |
| A．Coral reefs are experiencing growth. |
| B．The loss of corals is expected to decrease. |
| C．Coral bleaching takes place more frequently. |
| D．The government has taken steps to stop coral bleaching. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
4 . Every order of takeout comes with a side of single-use plastics and each plastic fork. knife, spoon and straw-whether or not you wanted it or used it-ends up in the trash.
New research found that 139 million metric tons of single-use plastic waste was generated in 2021-six million metric tons more single-use plastics compared to 2019. A hunger for takeout meals during the pandemic contributed to the surge.
An estimated 60% of Americans order takeout or delivery at least once a week and online ordering is growing 300% faster than in-house dining; that means millions of single-use plastic utensils (餐具) are going out with every order.
New laws aim to address the problem. Some of the recent bills are thanks to The National Reuse Network, part of the environmental nonprofit Upstream, which launched a national Skip the Stuff campaign to work out policies that require restaurants to include single-use plastic utensils, straws, and napkins only when customers request them.
The bills also require meal delivery and online apps like Uber Eats, GrubHub and Door Dash to add single-use extras to their menus; customers can choose the items and quantities to have them included in the order. Customers that don’t order the single-use plastics won’t receive them. The goal of the bills is to reduce the 40 billion plastic utensils sent to the landfill (垃圾填埋场) every year.
“Most of the time, people are taking food home or to their offices where there are reusable utensils so these utensils wind up in a drawer or get thrown out,” says Alexis Goldsmith, national organizing director for a nationwide project Beyond Plastics. “Some people do need utensils, but for the most part, they’re not needed.”
To date, Skip the Stuff bills have been passed in several cities, including Denver, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, California and Washington state passed statewide bills that make single-use plastic “accessories” available with takeout orders only upon request.
Organizations like Upstream, Beyond plastics and NRDC have created toolkits to help additional communities launch their own Skip the Stuff campaigns.
1. What does the underlined word “surge” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Great desire. | B．Sharp decline. | C．Rapid increase. | D．Obvious panic. |
| A．Choosing green products. | B．Adding single-use napkins. |
| C．Recycling and reusing utensils. | D．Providing utensils only on request. |
| A．To reduce plastic waste. | B．To stop bad eating habits. |
| C．To encourage people to eat out. | D．To better the dining environment. |
| A．Unimportant. | B．Damaging. | C．Much-needed. | D．Well-known. |
5 . On December 16, 2023, the first section of Maya Train officially opened, which runs between Campeche and Cancún, carrying up to 231 passengers across 290 miles and stopping at 14 train stations.
Built as an ambitious effort to promote tourism and boost Mexico’s economy, the rail system connects the major cities and tourist regions of the Yucatán Peninsula —from Cancún’s beaches to Tulum’s archaeological wonders. Once the project is completed, the entire rail system will link tourist destinations across five states. However, environmentalists and archaeologists argue that the train route will cause great damage to the environment-and ancient Mayan sites.
The Maya Train passes through six UNESCO World Heritage sites and thousands of archaeological sites. One particular area of concern is the Calakmul biosphere reserve, which is home to many endangered species, such as jaguars and over 500 other animal species. The train lines, more than 60 meters wide, could act as artificial barriers that may limit the movement of these animals within the reserve making it difficult for them to move around and access food and water sources.
Opponents also express safety concerns. Certain sections of the rail system will be built right on top of the aquifer’s(含水层的) most fragile points of contact with the surface. “It’s like wanting to build over eggshells,” says Guillermo Christy, a water treatment consultant. “Putting trains weighing thousands of tons on top could cause the underground caves to crash down.” To construct the train infrastructure also requires driving long piles deep into the ground, which poses a big threat to this fragile ecosystem and leads to water shortages.
In the ongoing debate of Maya Train, it is crucial to consider the delicate balance between economic development and environmental preservation. While Maya Train may provide economic benefits, we must not overlook the potential environmental and cultural losses, as well as the safety risks it may bring. Achieving harmony between progress and conservation may be a significant challenge for the project, but we must take into account the long-term consequences of our actions.
1. What do we know about the Maya Train project?| A．It consumes lots of labor in Mexico. |
| B．It has concerned some professionals. |
| C．It was completed on December 16,2023. |
| D．It blocks the development of local tourism. |
| A．Restricting their activities. |
| B．Polluting their water sources. |
| C．Disturbing their sleeping patterns. |
| D．Attracting their enemies to the area. |
| A．To show the difficulty of constructing the rail lines. |
| B．To prove the urgency of protectıng the fragile ecosystem. |
| C．To explain the reasons for water shortages along the railway. |
| D．To stress Maya Train’s potential harm to the aquifer system. |
| A．Preserving cultural sites requires strong financial support. |
| B．It is time to speed up the con truction process of Maya Train. |
| C．We should value the economic benefits of the project in the long run. |
| D．Economic development should not come at the cost of the environment. |
| A．Living on Mars. | B．Protecting the Earth. | C．Water pollution. |
7 . Our ship sailed on the sea into the Earth’s night. Here, there was no visible light from the Sun or the Earth Engines. But as we looked up, we children saw the starry sky for the first time in our lives. How breathtakingly beautiful it was!
Ms Xing put an arm around us while pointing at the sky with her other hand. “Look, children! That is Proxima Centauri (比邻星), our new home!” With these words, tears ran slowly down her face. Before long, we were all in tears—even the captain and crew. We all looked in the direction that Ms Xing was pointing. There was only one point of light among the twinkling stars that shined constantly: Proxima Centauri—the only source of hope and comfort for a hundred future generations. “Whatever risks we might take, we will finally make it there!” said the captain, in an assured voice.
On our way back from the sea, we saw the first sign that Earth had begun its journey. In the night sky, a huge comet had appeared. It was the Moon, abandoned by humankind. Lunar Engines had been installed to the Moon to force it out of its orbit so that a disastrous crash could be avoided as the Earth sped up and moved away. As it progressed, the gravitational tide of the Moon caused the ocean to swell, creating gigantic waves. We quickly got off the ship to our destination in the Southern Hemisphere. The next few days were the countdown to our departure.
Finally came the big day! As Earth Engines was set at a full power, we got immediately blinded by the bright light from it. This acceleration created massive tsunamis hundreds of meters high that crashed onto the coasts of every continent. Burning hot hurricanes roared through the boiling waves, screaming with wild fury and pulling up almost every tree on Earth.
Our Earth, with its blue tail cutting through the darkness of space, had set out on its long journey, and with it went all of humankind.
1. Why did we all cry when looking up into the sky?| A．Because we had to abandon the Earth. |
| B．Because we were fascinated by the stars. |
| C．Because we saw our new settlement. |
| D．Because we felt lonely in the universe. |
| A．To protect the Earth from a deadly impact. |
| B．To make sure the Moon runs in its orbit. |
| C．To keep the moon at the same speed as the Earth. |
| D．To shelter humans from the tide of the Moon. |
| A．Smooth and steady. | B．Endless and hopeless. |
| C．Exciting and entertaining. | D．Ambitious and adventurous. |
| A．A personal diary. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A travel magazine. | D．An academic article. |
8 . In the U.S., people eat more protein than they need to, which might not be bad for human health, but does pose a problem for the country’s waterways. The nation’s wastewater is loaded with the leftovers from protein digestion: nitrogen compounds (氮化合物) that can feed harmful algal blooms (藻华) and pollute the air and drinking water.
Maya Almaraz, a biogeochemist at the University of California, Davis, and her team wanted to see how much of this nitrogen entered into the U.S. wastewater system because of a protein-heavy diet. The researchers found that the majority of nitrogen pollution present in wastewater — some 67 to 100 percent — is a by-product of what people consume.
Once it enters the environment, the nitrogen can have a series of ecological impacts. It helps algae grow much faster than they would normally, which is harmful to humans, other animals and plants. And when the algae eventually die, the problem is not over. Microorganisms (微生物) that feed on dead algae use up oxygen in the water, leading to “dead zones”, where many species simply cannot survive, in rivers, lakes and oceans.
Although it is possible to treat algal blooms, many of the current methods are not always effective at getting rid of all of the harmful growth. Some of these methods can even lead to additional pollution. So the best strategy for dealing with the effects of nitrogen pollution is prevention, says Patricia Glibert, an ocean scientist at the University of Maryland. Almaraz and her team state that controlling nitrogen pollution could be approached more quickly with a change in eating habits that could save billions of dollars in the long term.
1. Which aspect of Americans’ diet does Almaraz’s research focus on?| A．Its nitrogen compounds. | B．Its algal blooms. |
| C．Its amount. | D．Its effect. |
| A．No oxygen for many species. |
| B．Death of lots of healthy algae. |
| C．Microorganisms’ over-consumption of nutrients. |
| D．Poisonous chemicals released by harmful algae. |
| A．They are costly but inefficiently . | B．They may cause secondary pollution. |
| C．They may kill all algae. | D．They are slow to take effect. |
| A．Why the Algae Grow So Rapidly? |
| B．Why Eating Too Much Protein Harms the Planet? |
| C．How to Prevent the Air and Water Pollution? |
| D．How to Solve the Problem of Wastewater? |
9 . International ShakeOut Day This Year
This year’s International ShakeOut Day is October 17, when millions of people worldwide will take part in earthquake drills (演习) at work, school, or home! It is a great way for your family or organization to become better prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes.
At 10:17 am (local time) on 10/17, you can join millions of people across the world in practicing earthquake safety. While we encourage everyone to take part, you can sign up for your ShakeOut drill for any day of the year, and drill at a time of your choice. You can also include people in different locations through videos.
FIND YOUR REGION· Most participants (参与者) are in one of the official ShakeOut Regions listed below the page (with current sign-up totals). People and organizations in other countries can also sign up.
· All regions take part in it on October 17, 2024, unless specified.
| (As of Today) | Global Totals | US Totals |
| Oct.17, 2024 Drills | Over 270,000 | Over 260,000 |
| All 2024 Drills | Over 1.10 million | Over 950,000 |
| All 2023 Drills | Over 57.3 million | Over 19.3 million |
ShakeOut began in California and has also been organized in many other states and countries. Official ShakeOut Regions require special local or regional cooperation, typically by an emergency (紧急情况) management agency or a union of many organizations. If you are interested in establishing ShakeOut for your region, please contact us at https://www.shakeout.org. If your state, province, or country is not yet taking part, you can sign up for yourself or your organization as part of the global participation total.
1. What is the purpose of the activity?| A．To raise people’s safety awareness. |
| B．To stress the challenges of earthquakes. |
| C．To help people get ready for an earthquake. |
| D．To warn people of the danger of earthquakes. |
| A．Over 270,000. | B．Over 950,000. |
| C．Over 57.3 million. | D．Over 19.3 million. |
| A．A website. | B．A book review. |
| C．A guidebook. | D．A diary entry. |
10 . Check out our tsunami (海啸) facts and lean some interesting information related to these great walls of water that can cause so much destruction. Find out what causes tsunamis and read about some notable recent examples of tsunamis that have occurred around the globe.
Tsunamis are huge waves of water that are usually caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
As a tsunami approaches the shore, water may move back from the coast. If it is shallow enough, the water may be pulled back hundreds of meters. If you are in the area, observing this is a good indication that a tsunami is on the way.
Regions in tsunami danger zones often have warning systems in place to give people as much time to evacuate (撤离) as possible.
When tsunamis hit shallow water (often near the coast), they slow down but increase in height.
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia in December 2004 caused a tsunami that killed over 200, 000 people in 14 countries.
In March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan caused a tsunami that was a major factor in the death of over 15, 000 people.
The tsunami waves created by the Tohoku earthquake reached heights of over 40 metres (131feet) in mine areas, wiping out coastal towns and causing a number of nuclear accidents.
The Japanese word “tsunami” literally means “harbour wave”.
Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves but this term has fallen out of favour because tsunamis are not related to tides.
1. Which of the following shows a tsunami is coming soon?| A．An earthquake takes place. |
| B．The water marches towards the coast. |
| C．The water near the shore is pulled back. |
| D．The water near the shore is very shallow. |
| A．the earthquake itself |
| B．the lack of warming systems |
| C．the tsunami caused by the earthquake |
| D．the nuclear accidents caused by the tsunami |
| A．The word “tsunami” is from British English. |
| B．The term “tidal wave” is used more often than “tsunami” |
| C．Some nuclear accidents happened after Indonesia tsunami. |
| D．More people died in Indonesia tsunami than in Tohaku tsunami. |
