1 . Birders get nervous when they see landscapes covered in wind turbines (涡轮机). When the wind gets going, their blades (叶片) can turn around at well over 200km per hour. It is easy to imagine careless birds getting cut into pieces and wind turbines do indeed kill at least some birds. But a new analysis of American data suggests the numbers are negligible, and have little impact on bird populations.
Erik Katovich, an economist at the University of Geneva, made use of the Christmas BirdCount, a citizen-science project run by the National Audubon Society. Volunteers count birds they spot over Christmas, and the society gathers the numbers. He assumed, reasonably, that if wind turbines harmed bird populations, the numbers seen in the Christmas Bird Count would drop in places where new turbines had been built. Combining bird population and species maps with the locations and construction dates of all wind turbines, he found building turbines had no noticeable effect on bird populations.
Instead of limiting his analysis to wind power alone, he also examined oil-and-gas extraction (开采), which has boomed in America over the past couple of decades. Comparing bird populations to the locations of new gas wells revealed an average 15% drop in bird numbers when new wells were drilled, probably due to a combination of noise, air pollution and the disturbance of rivers and ponds that many birds rely upon. When drilling happened in migration centers, feeding grounds or breeding locations, bird numbers instead dropped by 25%.
Wind power, in other words, not only produces far less planet-heating carbon dioxide and methane than do fossil fuels. It appears to be significantly less damaging to wildlife, too. Yet that is not the impression you would get from reading the news. Dr Katovich found 173 stories in major American news media reporting the supposed negative effects that wind turbines had on birds in 2020, compared with only 46 stories discussing the effects of oil-and-gas wells.
1. What does the underlined word“negligible”in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Insignificant. | B．Inaccurate. | C．Inconsistent. | D．Indefinite. |
| A．Previous studies. | B．Relevant data. |
| C．Reasonable prediction. | D．Experiment results. |
| A．Oil-and-gas extraction has expanded in America. |
| B．Birds are heavily dependent on rivers and ponds. |
| C．Many factors lead to the decline of bird populations. |
| D．Well drilling poses a serious threat to birds' survival. |
| A．Wind turbines could share the sky with wildlife. |
| B．More evidence is needed to confirm the finding. |
| C．Wind power will be substituted for fossil fuels. |
| D．Wind turbines deserve wider media coverage. |
2 . People have always believed that nature is good for health and happiness. According to scientific studies, being in nature makes people less stressed. In a recent experiment in Japan, one group of people were asked to walk through a forest while another group had to walk through a busy city.
Gregory Bratman from Stanford University in the United States found in experiments that a walk in nature could have important cognitive (认知) benefits, improving a person’s memory and creativity.
Why does being in nature bring so many benefits for us?
Scientists also think that being in nature helps our brain recover from a lot of activities that we usually do during the day such as working on math problems or using our cell phone.
| A．The walks were equally long and hard |
| B．Regular workouts are surprisingly helpful |
| C．One idea is that human beings come from nature |
| D．Nature’s benefits have been scientifically confirmed |
| E．In these activities, we use a lot of directed attention |
| F．Being in nature increases people’s mental health as well |
| G．We can see this in schools where outdoor learning has been introduced |
3 . The streets and roofs of cities all absorb heat, making some urban areas hotter than rural ones. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as city heat spreads downward, and subway tracks and other subsurface infrastructure(基础设施) also constantly radiate warmth into the surrounding earth.
A new study of downtown Chicago shows underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that give off the heat in the first place. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says study author Rotta Loria, an environmental engineer.
Humans aren’t the only potentially affected. “For a lot of things in the subsurface, it’s kind of ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” says Grant Ferguson, a geologist. But the underground world is full of creatures that have adapted to subsurface existence such as insects and snails. As the temperature rises because of climate change and underground urban development, scientists are keeping eyes on the potential implications for underground ecosystems.
But the question of how underground hotspots could affect infrastructure has gone largely unstudied. Because materials expand and contract with temperature change, Rotta suspected that heat coming from underground could be contributing to wear and tear on various structures. To understand how underground temperature difference has affected the ground’s physical properties, he used a computer model to simulate(模拟) the underground environment from the 1950s to now—and then to 2050. He found that by the middle of this century, some areas may lift upward by as much as 0.50 inch or settle by as much as 0.32 inch, depending on the soil makeup of the area involved. Though these may sound like small displacements, Rotta says they could cause cracks in the foundations of some buildings, causing buildings to fall.
Kathrin Menberg, a geoscientist in Germany, says these displacement predictions are far beyond her guesses and could be linked to the soft, clay-heavy soils. “Clay material is particularly sensitive,” she says, “It would be a big issue in all cities worldwide that are built on such material.”
Like climate change above the surface, underground changes occur gradually. “These effects took decades to develop,” Ferguson says, adding that increased underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate on their own. “We could basically turn everything off, and it’s going to remain there, the temperature signal, for quite a while.”
But Ferguson says this wasted heat energy could also be reused, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Still, this assumption could fail as aboveground climate change continues to boost underground warming. However slowly, this heat will gather beneath our feet. “It’s like climate change,” Rotta Loria says. “Maybe we don’t see it always, but it’s happening.”
1. The author quotes Rotta Loria in Paragraph 2 mainly to _______.| A．make a prediction | B．highlight a finding |
| C．draw a conclusion | D．raise an assumption |
| A．“Urban heat islands” extend underground to spare ecosystems. |
| B．Surface climate change contributes to the reuse of underground heat. |
| C．Underground temperatures mirror the ground’s physical characteristics. |
| D．Buildings may collapse as a potential consequence of underground heat. |
| A．Show. | B．Stay. | C．Develop. | D．Disappear. |
| A．Underground climate change is a silent danger. |
| B．Humans fail to notice the dramatic climate change. |
| C．Cooling the subsurface helps control urban heat rises. |
| D．Researching underground heat helps save on energy costs. |
| A．Feeding birds. | B．Collecting rubbish. | C．Playing in the park. |
5 . How can a large city find water for 10 million people if it is in the desert? Fog-catching nets on hills around the city of Lima, the capital of Peru, could solve the city’s water shortages for good. A twenty-meter high net tower will soon be displayed in the city as a solution to the problem.
Peru’s capital city has just one inch of rain a year. The city sees high annual temperatures and water consumption rates. Located in a desert, the city’s temperatures are higher than world averages. However, a unique feature of Lima’s weather offers a way of meeting some of this demand. Located on the coast, Lima’s surrounding hills are constantly bathed in waves of fog coming off the Pacific Ocean, and the moisture (湿气) taken in by plants ensures they stay green year-round.
Inspired by fog nets placed by rural communities across the continent, Alberto Fernandez, a Chilean architect currently studying for a Ph.D. from University College London, has designed a series of towers and fog-catching nets. They can collect as much as 1,000 liters of water per day, amounting to 3.6 million liters per year, if enough are put into use. Their towering structure allows them to get into the clouds, collecting more vital water vapor (蒸气), and their unique shape means that no matter the direction of the wind, the moisture-rich fog will strike some part of the structure directly.
The water will largely be used for agriculture — as the water would require filtering (过滤) before consumption — helping free up resources for city residents. Cheaper than filtering water from the Rimac River, these towers and nets, which Fernandez says could be built up to 200 meters high, are part of a series of designs for the Lima 2035 project. It aims to change current desertification and create a new place for sustainable and human-centered food systems that promote healthy diets and improve incomes in the driest city on Earth.
1. What makes plants in Lima stay green year-round?| A．The heavy rainfall. | B．The high temperature. |
| C．The net tower. | D．The unique location. |
| A．The direction of the wind. | B．The moisture-rich fog. |
| C．The height of the tower. | D．The fog-catching net. |
| A．Supply drinking water. | B．Turn desert into rich soil. |
| C．Increase food production. | D．Develop healthy lifestyles. |
| A．Fog-catching towers help solve water shortage |
| B．The driest city on Earth faces a serious problem |
| C．Fernandez designed the first fog-catching net |
| D．Water plays a role in a sustainable food system |
6 . Issues such as global warming and sustainability have become passionate concerns for many of the concert industry’s fans and increasingly for the musicians. Coldplay, a pop band whose members scored their first big hit in 2000 with a song called Yellow, announced in November that it wouldn’t go on tour to promote its latest album, Everyday Life, until it could find a way to make concerts more sustainable and greener to the environment.
It’s not always easy to walk the talk. A growing number of artists, including Peggy Gou, have environmental demands built into their contracts when they tour, such as bans on plastic tableware. But there’s almost no way of avoiding carbon emissions produced by a tour, which involves moving hundreds of people and tons of equipment across large distances.
Lisa Pomerantz, who books travel for acts says that real change will require action by venue owners, concert promoters, and the fans. Major acts like Coldplay can afford to stop touring while figuring out how to lessen their environmental impact. But lesser-known artists can’t stay off the road, since streaming earnings haven’t been able to compensate (弥补) for the collapse in CD and downloaded music sales. Even when concerts are aggressive about being more sustainable, the impact of audience travel can easily swamp (淹没) their efforts. For bigger acts, this can represent as much as 80% of the carbon footprint, according to a 2015 study. Another analysis showed that roughly a third of the tour’s carbon footprint came from a venue’s power consumption.
Still, even the most green-conscious bands must balance their desire to be more sustainable against the financial necessity of touring. “I absolutely think you can go on tour and have a concern about the environment. It’s a matter of just keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible,” says Flavian Graber, lead singer of We Invented Paris.
1. Why did Coldplay stop its promotion tour?| A．Because it had already released a hit. | B．Because it wanted a more environmentally friendly concert. |
| C．Because its latest album needed further improvement. | D．Because they could afford the money. |
| A．Make it. | B．Talk it. | C．See it. | D．Appreciate it. |
| A．Stopping bands’ promotion tours. |
| B．Downloading music on the Internet. |
| C．Cutting down venues’ water and electricity consumption. |
| D．Combining efforts of bands, audiences and venue owners. |
| A．Achievable. | B．Fruitless. | C．Challenging. | D．Controversial. |
7 . Last summer on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, Tina Taniguchi worked close to the ground. Her coconut leaf hat covered most of her thick brown hair. Wet soil had gotten on her clothes and her smiling face.
Taniguchi smiles a lot while working on the Hanapepe salt land on the west side of Kauai. It is a piece of land about half a hectare in size with pools of salty water. The salt becomes crystals (晶体)as the water dries.
“The work is tiring, but for me it’s also play,” Taniguchi said with a laugh. Taniguchi’s family is one of 22 families who make salt, following a cultural and spiritual tradition. Hanapepe is one of the last remaining salt lands in Hawaii. Its salt can be traded or given away but must never be sold. Hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, and as protection.
Over the past 10 years, there have been several threats to this field. They encompass development, pollution from a neighboring airfield, damage to the sand from vehicle traffic and waste left by visitors to the nearby beach. In addition, rising sea levels and weather might stop the practice.
The process of turning sea water into salt can be slow. The season begins once the rain stops and water starts to disappear from the salt beds. Ocean water travels underground and enters the wells. Each family has their own well. As water enters the well, so do tiny, red brine shrimp. These small ocean animals give Hanapepe salt its unusual, sweet taste.
The families first clean the salt beds and line them with black clay (陶土). Then they move water from the wells into the beds. There, salt crystals form. The top level, or layer, is the whitest. It is used for table salt. The middle layer is pinkish and is used in cooking, while the bottom layer, which is a deep red color, is used in blessings.
1. What do we know about Taniguchi?| A．She gives salt to others as a gift. | B．She works hard but with pleasure. |
| C．She has found a new way to make salt. | D．She fears old traditions will disappear. |
| A．Trade goods with it. | B．Use it as a treatment. |
| C．Make money from it. | D．Cook vegetables with it. |
| A．Prevent. | B．Include. | C．Improve. | D．Discover. |
| A．The special taste of the salt. | B．A thicker middle layer of salt. |
| C．More water in the wells. | D．A quicker process of making salt. |
8 . Trees don’t look at the calendar to see when spring arrives, but they seem to know when spring is here better than we do. The annual shift from winter to spring is a breathtaking event to watch as leaves become green and a lush (苍翠的) environment reveals itself. Recently a research takes a look at why trees in cities are turning green earlier than expected.
Scientists use satellite imagery to see when plants turn green. By comparing spring green-ups in the 85 largest US cities, scientists found that on average trees start to turn green nine days earlier in cities due to the combined effect of artificial lights and urban heat effect, According to the findings-one of the reasons is the artificial light. City lights brightening the night skies, billboard signs lit up on roadways and car headlights all contribute to shifting the regular day to night cycle that plants and trees rely on. In order to stay alive during cruel winters trees hit the pause button on their growth. Since temperatures can vary dramatically throughout the winter, the length of daylight is the signal trees look for to safely start growing again and turn green.
On average cities are typically 1.8 to 5.4F warmer than rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island effect. The changes in city environments may affect seasonal changes even more than climate warming and can affect the allergy and mosquito season, water cycles, and also affect pollinators (授粉媒介).
Despite the worries and concern, it isn’t all bad news. “With a longer growing season, trees would be able to absorb more carbon dioxide.” A researcher said. “Hopefully they’d have a longer period to do the cooling effect that can help mitigate the urban heating effect in cities.”
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To reveal how trees survive bitter winters. |
| B．To warn how human activities disturb nature. |
| C．To explain why trees turn green earlier in cities. |
| D．To clarify how trees turning green earlier benefits cities. |
| A．Bringing out urban heat island effect. |
| B．Developing pictures shot by the satellite. |
| C．Allowing the city environment to reveal itself. |
| D．Comparing the green-up time in sample cities. |
| A．Street lamps. | B．Water cycle. | C．Road signs. | D．Plant pollinators. |
| A．Business. | B．Education. | C．Life Kit. | D．Environment. |
9 . High school students perform better on tests if they are in a classroom with a view of a green space, instead of a windowless room or a room with a view of built-up space, according to research from the University of Illinois Department of Landscape Architecture.
“It is the first to show a relationship between studying with a green view and students’ performance.” said William Sullivan, head of the research team. “It’s a substantial finding that if you have a green view outside your window, you’ll do better on tests.” Sullivan hopes the results of their research will lead to some changes. “Changes in school design, for example, would be a much better thing than any of the things we spend money on in secondary education today,” Sullivan said.
The research included 94 students at five central Illinois high schools. Students were randomly assigned to one of three kinds of classrooms — windowless, with a window looking out onto built-up space, or with a window looking out onto green space. Each kind of classroom had almost the same size and layout (布局). The students took part in one-on-one experiments in which they did 30 minutes of activities that included a proofreading (勘校) exercise, a speech and a math exercise. Following the activities the students were given an attention test which asked them to repeat a series of numbers.
The findings: Students did better on both study activities and the attention test if they were in a classroom with a green view, Sullivan said.
The researchers suggest their findings can help planners and policymakers improve students’ health and learning. For example, planners can choose places for new schools that already have trees, or they can plant many trees on the site; architects can design classroom windows so they look onto green spaces.
1. What did the study find out about high school students?| A．They like to have green plants in their classrooms. |
| B．They will get better grades when studying in different classrooms. |
| C．Changes in school design will influence their attitudes towards teachers. |
| D．A green view through a classroom window can improve their performance. |
| A．Early. | B．Important. | C．Useless. | D．Possible. |
| A．How the study was carried out. |
| B．The result of the study. |
| C．Why the study was different. |
| D．The purpose of the study. |
| A．It has drawn public attention to education. |
| B．It can play a guiding role in school planning. |
| C．It has encouraged students to get close to nature. |
| D．It needs more support from high school teachers. |
10 . Campaigners opposing the building of new wind farms often point to the possibility that the blades of wind turbines (涡轮机) can cut careless birds to bits. No one doubts that wind turbines kill some birds. But a new analysis of American data, published in Environmental Science & Technology, suggests the numbers have little impact on bird populations.
Wind power has expanded dramatically in America over the past 20 years. Many studies have analysed the effects in specific locations or on specific bird species. But few have looked at the effects on wildlife at the population level. Dr. Katovich, an economist at the University of Geneva, used the Christmas Bird Count, a citizen-science project. Volunteers count birds they spot over Christmas, and the society edits the numbers. Its records stretch back over a century.
Dr. Katovich assumed, reasonably, that if wind turbines harmed bird populations, then the numbers seen in the Christmas Bird Count would drop in places where new turbines had been built. He combined bird population and species maps with the locations and construction dates of all wind turbines in America, with the exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii, between 2000 and 2020. He found that building turbines had no obvious effect on bird populations. That reassuring finding held even when he looked specifically at large birds that many people believe are particularly easy to be struck.
Dr. Katovich didn’t limit his analysis to wind power alone. He also examined oil-and-gas extraction (提取). Like wind power, this has boomed in America over the past decades. Comparing bird populations to the locations of new gas wells revealed an average 15% drop in bird numbers when new wells were drilled, probably due to a combination of noise, air pollution and the disturbance of rivers and ponds that many birds rely upon. When drilling happened in places designated by experts as “important bird areas”, bird numbers instead dropped by 25%. Such places are typically migration hubs, feeding grounds or breeding locations.
Wind power, in other words, not only produces far less planet-heating gas than fossil fuels. It appears to be significantly less damaging to wildlife, too. Wind turbines might look dramatic, but their effect on birds isn’t.
1. What does a new analysis find about wind farms?| A．They take the lives of careless birds. | B．They improve birds’ living conditions. |
| C．They do little harm to bird populations. | D．Their harmful effects on birds vary a lot. |
| A．By counting bird numbers in different locations. |
| B．By relating bird numbers to turbines’ distribution. |
| C．By researching perfect places to build turbines. |
| D．By studying the decline of birds near turbines. |
| A．The wide spread of wind turbines. | B．The over-development of farming. |
| C．The lack of environmental concern. | D．The drilling of wells for oil and gas. |
| A．Wind Turbines and Birds Can Co-exist | B．Oil Drilling Shares the Sky With Birds |
| C．Several Factors Lead to Bird Decline | D．Campaigners Oppose Bird Disturbance |
