1. 痊愈，恢复 (v.)
2. 孤独；寂寞 (n.)
3. 目击者，证人(n.)
4. 正式的 (adj.)
5. 猛烈的，暴力的(adj.)
6. 筋疲力尽的 (adj.)
7. 仁慈，好意(n. )
8. 突发情况，紧急情况 (n.)
9. 有责任的；负责的(adj.)
10. 壮观的；辉煌的 (adj.)
With a handful of tasks to
When it comes to making friends, an attractive appearance or personal possessions
This disease
10 . Keeping our environment clean, especially our waterways, is something everyone can agree on. That’s why people take part in the beach cleanup and work so hard to remove plastics from our oceans.
But sometimes things that come to pass can undo all of these efforts. One of the worst things that can happen to our oceans is an oil spill. Cleaning up after a spill has always been a costly and lasting process that often harms wildlife and further damages the sea environment. But now researchers at Northwestern University have developed a smart sponge to clean up oil spills in the ocean.
This new method is designed to absorb oil, leaving the clean water behind without influencing sea wildlife. Previous methods included removing oil from the surface, burning oil, and using absorbent materials. “Each method has its own disadvantages and none of them are green solutions,” Gondwana, a senior research associate said. “Our sponge can absorb these spills in a more economic, efficient and eco-friendly manner than any of the previous solutions.”
The secret of how the new sponge can selectively absorb only the oil lies in a coating of a special material that can be used to cover any ordinary sponge. All you have to do is apply a thin coating of the material to the sponge and let it dry before use. It’s really simple to change an ordinary sponge into a smart sponge. And the new sponge can absorb up to 30 times its own weight in oil. Moreover, it is reusable up to a dozen times.
The researchers even came up with a plan to better exploit the new sponge. Gondwana said, “The new sponge will come in large sheets that are rolled. While there are no limitations in the size, a width of 2-3 feet is enough. The new sponge can be used on a beach or in the ocean after an oil spill.”
1. How does the author consider the work of cleaning up oil spills?| A．Difficult and meaningless. | B．Challenging and costly. |
| C．Significant but fruitless. | D．Boring but rewarding. |
| A．Traditional solutions contribute a lot to sea protection. |
| B．The previous methods of cleaning up oil spills are unsatisfying. |
| C．Oil pollution is the main reason for the unbalanced ecosystem in the ocean. |
| D．The new method fails to meet the requirement of a green environment. |
| A．It makes no use of the ordinary sponge. | B．It relies on water to form a coating. |
| C．It enjoys excellent absorption capacity. | D．It does some harm to sea wildlife. |
