| A. has negatively affected B. restore the habitats C. dying out D. significantly E. take steps F. be at risk of |
Species are
The air is thin and we have to rest several times on the short hike from camp. To our left, snow- covered mountains disappear into clouds that seem almost close enough to touch. On the plain in front of us, we can just make out a herd of graceful animals. This is why we are here—to observe Tibetan antelopes.
Tibetan antelopes live on the plains of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinhai. Watching them move slowly across the green grass, I am struck by their beauty. I am also reminded of the danger they are in. They are being hunted illegally for their valuable fur.
My guide is Zhaxi, a villager from Changtang. He works at the Changtang National Nature Reserve. The reserve is a shelter for the animals and plants of northwestern Tibet. To Zhaxi, the land is sacred and protecting the wildlife is a way to life. “We are not trying to save the animals,”he says. “Actually, we are trying to save ourselves.”
The 1980s and 1990s were bad times for the Tibetan antelope. The population dropped by more than 50 percent. Hunters were shooting antelopes to make profits. Their habitats were becoming smaller as new roads and railways were built.
In order to save this species from extinction, the Chinese government placed it under national protection. Zhaxi and other volunteers watched over the antelopes day and night to keep them safe from attacks. Bridges and gates were added to let the antelopes move easily and keep them safe from cars and trains.
The measures were effective.The antelope population has recovered and in June 2015, the Tibetan antelope was removed from the endangered species list. The government, however, does not intend to stop the protection programmes ,since the threats to the Tibetan antelope have not yet disappeared.
In the evening, I drink a cup of tea and watch the stars. I think about the antelopes and what Zhazi told me. Much is being done to protect wildlife, but if we really want to save the planet, we must change our way of life. Only when we learn to exist in harmony with nature can we stop being a threat to wildlife and to our planet.
1. Why did the writer visit Tibet?2. What happened to the Tibetan antelope in the 1980s and 1990s?
3. What were the measures to save the Tibetan antelope from extinction? Please write down at least one measure?
Shark attacks can be deadly,
4 . There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered animals and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.
 Friend of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy. Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P.O. Box 19199 1000 G.D. Amsterdam The Netherlands |  Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to protect the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear power. Greenpeace International Keizergracht 176 1016 D W Amsterdam The Netherlands |
 BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world. BirdLife International Wellbrook Court Girton Road Cambirdge CB30NA England |  WWF—World Wide Fund For Nature is the World’s largest private international organization for the conservation of nature and endangered species. Information Officer WWF International Avenve du Mont-Blanc 1196Gland Switzerland |
1. If you want to learn more about the organizations, you can________.
| A．call them | B．write them a letter |
| C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
| A．reduce pollution | B．protect rainforests |
| C．protect ocean animals | D．save endangered birds |
| A．Friends of the Earth | B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace | D．BirdLife International |
| A．Environmental Protection Organizations | B．Global Traffic Problems |
| C．Endangered Animals | D．Natural Beauty |
5 . ECycling refers to the recycling of electronic items, which are becoming a common problem in American home and throughout the world. The EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, has actually started a program to help and motivate the recycling of electronics.
To get the program to the regional and neighborhood levels, the EPA directed “Plug-In to eCyeling Partners.” These partnerships support electronic reusing programs in individual communities. They provide local governments, retailers and manufacturers with opportunities to reuse and recycle their items. Those who make and offer electronic devices then promote programs and opportunities for consumers to reuse their second-hand electronic products. One of the EPA’s goals is to enlighten customers about why the recycling of electronics is so important. They likewise wish to make eCycling chances easily accessible to specific consumers and their family electronics. According to the EPA, the eCycling program has actually been quite successful. In 2008, the EPA collected 66.5 million pounds of electronic devices through their Plug-In Partners.
Local governments have actually likewise got on board and passed laws intended to handle used electronic devices. Huge corporations have actually introduced eCycling programs at their local retail stores. One seller offers customers small, medium and big boxes for sale, which the customers then load with used electronics and go back to the store. Typically，customers bring their recyclable electronics to a location. When the electronic items are gathered by the EPA(typically this is done byt he Partners), they are reused or recycled.
Reused items are repaired and refurbished, and passed on to others as a contribution. You can repair or recondition your very own electronic devices too, extending the life of the items and conserving the energy of making new materials. Reusing electronic devices includes making use of the products and pats of the items. These materials and parts are then made use of to produce another item. This is more efficient than making items from new materials.
Some items that are commonly eCycled consist of televisions, computer monitors, printers, notebook computer, keyboards and cable televisions. Less usual items include copying machines, CDplayers, voice mail machines, computer hard drives, mobile telephones, remote controls, radios, batteries, telephones, facsimile machines and computer games. Occasionally, electronic items such as microwaves, fans, vacuums, smoke alarms, and toasters are eCycled.
As the eCycling program continues, you or your organization may want to get involved. Check the EPA’s internet site (www.epa.gov) for regional eCycling programs, or for details on how your company can participate. Their website has links to organizations that are taking part in the eCycling program.
1. The EPA brought about “Plug-In to eCycling Partners” to__________.| A．make and offer electronic devices to consumers |
| B．make customers understand the importance of eCycling |
| C．make the program accessible to local regions and communities |
| D．make it possible for consumers to reuse their used e-products |
| A．repairing electronic device | B．gathering recyclable electronics |
| C．reusing second-hand e-products | D．offering customers different boxes for sale. |
| A．People can sell their reused items on the Internet. |
| B．Individuals can’t take part in eCycling programs. |
| C．Devices of computers are well eCycled. |
| D．Not every electronic item can be eCycled. |
| A．To introduce a new way to save costs. |
| B．To teach customers how to recycle electronics. |
| C．To attract people to join in the eCycling programs. |
| D．To call on local governments to support Plug-In Partners. |
Your Food Choices Affect the Earth’s Climate
Every action has a cost, even for growing food and delivering it to your dinner plate. A team of researchers has found that meat production releases more climate-warming pollution than it does when producing fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Their calculations suggest that people could do a lot to slow global warming if they limited how much meat they eat.
There are plenty of “costs” of food. As to the visible costs, people pay money for the food as well as the fuel needed to get groceries to the store or restaurant. However, producing foods also takes resources，for example，the water used to irritate (灌溉）crop fields or the fertilizer and chemicals used to promote plant growth and fight pests.
Peter Scarborough at the University of Oxford in England decided to calculate some of the less-visible pollution created by food production. His team focused on greenhouse gases emitted through the production of our food, including carbon dioxide(CO2)，methane(甲烷） and the nitrous oxide. All three gases are important. While CO2 is the greenhouse gas released in the highest volume, methane and nitrous oxide stay in the atmosphere far longer than CO2 does. As such, they are more powerful in warm the earth’s atmosphere.
They used a computer to change the methane and nitrous-oxide emissions for each person’s diet into its carbon dioxide “equivalent.”That’s the amount of CO2 needed to warm Earth’s atmosphere by the same amount as the methane or nitrous oxide would.
As for the calculations of the carbon dioxide “equivalent(等量)”, in the 1990s, a survey asked65,000 adults what they typically had eaten throughout the past year. Scarborough’s team fed those data into a computer and then included the amount of green house gases linked with producing nearly100 common foods. Then the computer matched those green house-gas amounts to the mix of foods each person had reported eating.
It shows that the diet of someone whose meals included an average of 50 to 99 grams of meat each day would be responsible for the daily release of 5.6 kilograms of CO2 equivalent while those vegans had the lowest diet-linked greenhouse-gas emissions (2.9 kg of CO2 equivalent).
Its authors conclude that reducing the intake of meat and other animal-based products can make a valuable contribution to climate change reduction. And compared to meat, more plant-based food calories can be grown on more lands with less water and other resources. In places where many people are going hungry, raising meat may make it harder to ensure that everyone gets enough to eat.
1. What are the visible costs of food mentioned in the article?2. According to the author, why can our food choices affect the earth’s climate?
3. Please underline the inappropriate part in the following statement and explain why.
Plant-based food can adapt to more types of lands than meat, but they may have a higher requirement of water and other resources, which can be a disadvantage of such food.
4. Apart from food choices, are there any other ways for you to protect the environment? List two or more.
Some American cities are banning drive-through windows at fast—food restaurants. There are two basic reasons for the bans: concern for the environment and the need
In the US, most adults drive automobiles and almost 40% of the adults are overweight. That’s partly
“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” That’s a common expression, but the next time you throw something away, think about a twist on the old saying. What if your trash could become your own treasure? Many creative, thrifty, and environmentally minded people have come up with a way to make that happen. It’s called upcycling. Our world would be a better place if everyone would begin upcycling.
Upcycling is the practice of taking an unwanted item and turning it into something useful. For example, how about that pair of jeans with a hole in one knee? It could become a new pillow for your bedroom. How about the old T-shirts you never wear anymore? It could be sewed together to make a picnic blanket. All of these are examples of upcycling.
Upcycling is not the same as recycling. Upcycling is actually much better for the environment. Recycling takes an item made of glass, paper, metal, or plastic, breaks it down to its base material, and then uses that material to make another product. This requires a great deal of energy. On the other hand, when you choose to upcycle, the only energy you use is your own. And upcycling not only reduces the amount of trash that goes into our landfills, but it also protects natural resources, such as oil and gas. Recycling is good for the environment, but upcycling is even better.
Upcycling also makes a family’s budget stretch further. Before you run to the store to buy something, look around your house. Old teacups can be transformed into candles. And an old ladder can even become a bookshelf. Of course, the idea of reusing items to save money is not new. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, many families lived on a tight budget. People had to use what they already had in order to meet their needs. Flour sacks were used to make clothes, and a broken door became a new table. Today we should follow the examples of our great-grandparents and save money by upcycling.
As responsible citizens, we should all be concerned with protecting our environment and budgeting our resources. Upcycling is a fun and creative way to help. The next time you go to toss something into the trash can, stop and think about what it could become. Chances are, there’s a brand-new item in your hand just waiting to be upcycled.
1. What is upcycling according to the passage?2. Why is upcycling much better for the environment than recycling?
3. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?
4. The Spring Festival is coming. Figure out one thing to upcycle. Explain what you will do with it and how it will help with the celebration of the festival. (about 40 words)
注意：1. 词数不少于50；2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
They suggest making small changes like taking public transport, recycling, using low-flow shower heads, and buying light bulbs that use less energy. Even simple things like using
