1 . The increase in the price of oil has brought the world to its senses. Scientists are searching for suitable alternative (替换) but so far in vain. They are considering how they can make better use of the two other major fuels, coal and natural gas, but they have found that neither can take the place of oil in their economics. In recent years there has been a growing concern for the environment and coal is not a popular fuel with environmentalists. Natural gas, the purest of the three fuels, is also the most limited in supply.
The answer would seem to lie in nuclear power stations. They need very little fuel to produce enormous amounts of power and they do not pollute the atmosphere. Their dangers, however, are so great and the cost of building them are also high. Not only could one accident in a nuclear power station spread as much radioactivity as a thousand Hiroshima atom bombs, but the radioactive waste from these station is extremely dangerous.
Scientists have recently turned their attention to natural sources of energy: the sun, the sea, the wind and hot spring，of which the sun seems the most promising source for the future. Houses have already been built which are heated entirely by solar energy. However, solar energy can only be collected during daylight hours, and in countries where the weather is unreliable, an alternative heating system has to be included.
However, many scientists are optimistic (乐观的) that new ways of generating large amounts of energy will be successfully developed, but at the same time they fear the consequences. If the world population goes on increasing at its present rate, we may, in fifty years’ time, be burning up so much energy that we would damage the earth’s atmosphere. By raising the temperature of the atmosphere, we could melt the Arctic and Antarctic ice-caps and change the pattern of vegetable and animal life throughout the world — a frightening possibility.
1. The natural gas cannot take the place of oil because ______.| A．its price is increasing |
| B．it may cause more pollution |
| C．the source of it is limited |
| D．it is too pure |
| A．Scientists have succeeded in finding a suitable alternative |
| B．Scientists are worried about the environment problem in the future. |
| C．Scientists have found none of the alternatives can take place of oil. |
| D．Scientists are confident that they will eventually find the new ways |
| A．natural gas |
| B．coal |
| C．wind energy |
| D．solar energy |
| A．it cannot generate large amounts of power |
| B．it may pollute the atmosphere |
| C．It may cause great danger to us if not properly handled |
| D．It may use up enormous amounts of fuel |
| A．all energy supply would be burnt up |
| B．earth’s atmosphere would be damaged |
| C．the Arctic and Antarctic ice-caps would melt |
| D．the pattern of vegetable and animal life throughout the world would be changed |
2 . Human’s appetite for sand could increase 45 percent within four decades, according to researchers who say unchecked consumption risks environmental damage and shortages of a key material for urban expansion. Growing demand for building sand — which is used to make concrete, glass and other vital construction materials – has already seen the rise of sand pirates (盗贼) , with dozens of islands disappearing in Indonesia as a result of casual mining.
Xiaoyang Zhong at Leiden University and his colleagues have calculated that global building sand demand will jump from 3.2 billion tonnes a year in 2020 to 4.6 billion tonnes by 2060. The figure is based on a central situation of future population rises and economic growth, and modelled using estimates of concrete and glass consumption, and the floor area needed in buildings.But there is no reliable estimate for remaining sand reserves, so it is unclear if the world can bear such a big increase. “Sand, and the sand crisis (危机), has been overlooked, creating severe environmental and social consequences. If we don’t act now, we may not have enough sand to develop our cities,” says Zhong.
However, Zhong’s team found that about half the projected consumption in 2060 could be avoided if countries take a suit of measures, including extending the lifetime of buildings, reusing concrete, creating more lightweight building designs and using other materials, such as wooden frames. According to the model, the single biggest reduction in sand use could come from more efficient (有效的) use of space: distributing less floor space per person in buildings, sharing offices, and so on. “It’s hard to say how realistic these measures are. But we want this to happen,” says Zhong.
The research only looked at sand used for glass and concrete in buildings, so is an underestimate of total future demand. Granular data on sand consumption for the 26 world regions studied is also lacking, and not detailed enough for country-level breakdowns.
Failure to act will add existing environmental pressures on reserves of sand in lakes and rivers first, but absolute shortages shouldn't be overlooked, says Zhong. “It would be very questionable if this growing demand could be met,” he says.
1. What may cause the environmental and social effects according to Zhong?| A．Sand reserves are not enough. |
| B．The sand crisis is overestimated. |
| C．Sand crisis isn’t paid much attention to. |
| D．The construction industry is lack of sand. |
| A．By reusing he building materials. |
| B．By lengthening the building’s lifetime. |
| C．By making use of space more wisely. |
| D．By preventing sand use completely. |
| A．It only studied the sand use in 26 areas. |
| B．It didn’t show the detailed data on sand use. |
| C．It didn’t take realistic measures on sand use. |
| D．It overlooked the total sand need in the future. |
| A．How we will take action to stop it. |
| B．Why its shortages are overlooked in most countries. |
| C．Whether the increasing sand need may be satisfied. |
| D．What damage the environmental pressures do to rivers. |
The development of human society brings us opportunities as well as challenges. One of these challenges is how to live harmoniously with nature.
Millions of years ago, our ancestors realized that they were entirely dependent on nature. They made for themselves totems symbolizing plants or animals. By doing this they showed great respect for nature and also showed us that mankind and nature should not be divided as, they were originally one. Yet this delicate balance between humans and nature has long been ignored and now the damage is done.
Today, around the globe, as many as three species die every 60 minutes. “Species that become extinct are lost forever. We can't bring them back,” says biologist Stuart Pimm. At this rate, in the following 50 years, all known species could disappear. The collective actions of man are changing the course of rivers and streams and altering the atmosphere's protective ozone layer. These may bring an end to the lives of creatures on Earth. With the gradual extinction of a number of species, we are getting lonelier and taking 'a step closer to our own extinction.
We cannot exist without biodiversity. But how? What strategy can satisfy both immediate human needs and long-term environmental protection? The answer is the sustainable development that maintains economic growth and at the same time protects our environment. For example, conservationists have never stopped searching for ways to protect biodiversity. Thanks to their ceaseless effort, an increasing number of biological breakthroughs will benefit the survival of the species. More and more people realize what biodiversity means to us. And we do need a revival of the respect that our ancestors used to give to nature.
We shall always remember don't ask what nature can do for us; ask what wean do for nature.
1. How did our ancestors show respect for nature? (no more than 10 words)2. How many species are dying out every day globally today?(no more than 2 words)
3. According to the passage, what is sustainable development?(no more than 15 words)
4. What causes the increasing number of biological breakthroughs?(no more than 5 words)
4 . Climate change can happen naturally or in response to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests. Burning fossil fuels creates gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. In fact, about 90 percent of the heat is absorbed by the ocean. So it’s really important to track the oceans’ warming, says Jörn Callies. He’s an oceanographer at the California Institute of Technology. Tracking how that heat affects the ocean is difficult because of its depth and size, though. This makes it hard for scientists to understand long-term changes in temperature.
In September 2020, Callies and other scientists reported a new way to check the temperature of the ocean. As temperature affects how fast sound travels (sound travels faster in warmer water than colder water). Scientists originally proposed using sounds produced by machines to measure ocean warming, but it would affect marine animals. Whales, for example, use sound to communicate. Finally, Callies and his team showed they could use the natural sounds produced by earthquake instead.
For their study, the scientists looked at data for 2,000 pairs of earthquakes. Each earthquakes pair happened in the same place but at different times. What did the scientists find? The sound waves traveled a few tenths of a second faster in more recent quakes than in older ones. This difference suggests a warming trend of 0.04 degrees Celsius (about 0.08 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. A tiny amount of a degree may not sound like a lot. But it represents a huge of heat that the ocean absorbed. It takes a lot of heat to change the temperature of a body of water almost 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) wide and several kilometers deep.
However, Callies says it’s not the time to worry about that yet. They don’t know if the warming is only specific to the one region (East Indian Ocean) or if it’s happening elsewhere. “We just don’t have the data yet.” he says.
1. The heat caused by burning fossil fuels is mainly ________.| A．cleared by the forest | B．disappearing naturally |
| C．taken in by ocean | D．trapped by human activities |
| A．scientists can’t understand the changes in temperature |
| B．measuring the temperatures cost too much |
| C．the changes in temperature is too small |
| D．oceans are so deep and big to measure |
| A．natural sounds is less harmful to marine animals |
| B．sounds produced by machines are not correct |
| C．marine animals absorb sounds produced by machines |
| D．sounds produced by earthquakes travels faster than those by machines |
| A．The change of sound sped affects temperature. |
| B．The change in the ocean’s heat can be ignored. |
| C．The experiment was not a success. |
| D．The change in the ocean’s heats is actually very big. |
| A．Study should be continued and more data need to be collected. |
| B．There is no need to worry about the climate change. |
| C．He lost confidence in the study. |
| D．The scientists can’t analyze the data correctly. |
Do you ever stop and think about this big, beautiful world we live in? It's home
A long time ago, I started thinking about what I could do to help take care of the planet. I wondered
One thing I've learned is that a lot of people feel like
6 . Pre-school children who spend time together take on one another's personalities, a new research has found. The study shows that environment plays a key role in shaping people's personalities. While genetics still forms the central part of the human psyche (心理), the research finds that personality traits (特征) are "contagious" (传染的) among children. "Our finding flies in the face of common assumptions that personality can't be changed," said Dr. Jennifer Neal, co-author of the study.
The researchers studied the personalities and social networks of two pre-school classes for a full school year. One of the classes was a set of three-year-olds, and the other a set of four-year-olds. Children whose friends were hard-working or outgoing gradually took on these personality traits over time. Psychology expert Dr. Emily Dublin said kids are having a far bigger effect on each other than people may realize.
The new study is not the first to explore the contagious effects of personality traits. A 2015 psychology study found that rudeness at work can be contagious as it travels from person to person "like a disease". The study found that seeing a boss being rude to an employee was enough to cause people to be rude to those around them.
The researchers questioned 6,000 people on the social "climate" in their workplaces, which included offices, hotels and restaurants. They found 75 percent of those who took part said they had been treated rudely at least once in the past year. And the study also suggests that merely seeing other people being subjected to rudeness made it more likely that a person would treat their colleagues in the same way. Rudeness could include leaving someone off an invite to a company event, sending unkind emails, finding fault with others or failing to give praise.
Dr. Torkelson believes companies need to be more aware of the harm that rudeness in the workplace can do as it can damage the working environment. She said better training could help to fight against the problem.
1. What does the underlined part "flies in the face of" in Paragraph1mean?| A．Leads to. | B．Results from. |
| C．Goes against. | D．Agrees with. |
| A．Their parents. | B．Their friends. |
| C．The researchers. | D．The psychologists. |
| A．Ignoring the faults of co-workers. |
| B．Not sending emails to workmates. |
| C．Seeking praise from colleagues and bosses. |
| D．Not inviting a colleague to a company party. |
| A．One's personality is hard to change. |
| B．One's personality is shaped by genes. |
| C．One's personality traits can spread to others. |
| D．One's personality traits can change overnight. |
| A．a science report | B．a study guide |
| C．a school textbook | D．a technical journal |
