1 . Supermarkets, conservationists and farming groups have shown their concerns about pollution of the Wye, one of the UK’s longest rivers. “The pollution pressures upon the Wye are unacceptable and there was strong enthusiasm for cooperative action to resolve the problem.” said Craig Bennett, head of the Wildlife Trusts.
The pollution referred largely to runoff of the nutrient-rich waste matter produced by the 20 million-plus chickens near the river.
Bennett said: “We discussed how, if the Wye were a school or a hospital, we would be calling for it to be placed into ‘special measures’. We agreed the same level of urgency must be applied.”
Increasing concern led the local government to hold a discussion in May, when they promised to publish a plan for the Wye by the autumn. However, the local government’s push on the river was marred in June when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a Wye video showing sea otters (海獺) rather than the river’s local European otters. The pollution of the Wye was not mentioned at all.
In July Bennett hosted a Wye round table in Powys, Wales, bringing together local groups, the Environment Agency, the chicken produce Avara Foodsr, regional branches of the National Farmers Union and local authorities. They agreed on a plan that included cutting the nutrient pollution “through a reduction in animal numbers” and other measures.
Bennett also wrote to Julie James, the Welsh Climate Change Minister, who said, “I share your concern for the health of the River Wye and other Welsh rivers.”
A supermarket chain said they are committed to protecting the river and engaging with their chicken suppliers to tackle water pollution. They have detailed management plans to make sure their suppliers are farming with care for the environment. A government spokesman said: “We are offering a wide range of support to farmers to speed up their transition to more sustainable practices and help protect this important site.”
1. Why does Bennett compare the Wye with a school or a hospital?| A．To call for urgent measures. | B．To stress the impacts of the river. |
| C．To show the importance of the river. | D．To urge people to protect the environment. |
| A．Destroyed. | B．Boosted | C．Perfected. | D．Emphasized. |
| A．Making a careful plan. | B．Reducing animal numbers. |
| C．Arousing people’s awareness. | D．Asking the government for money. |
| A．Sea Otters Are under Attack for Possible Pollution |
| B．Cooperated Efforts Are Made to Protect the Wye |
| C．People Are Having More Environmental Awareness |
| D．More Measures Should Be Taken to Prevent Air Pollution |
1. 活动目的；
2. 倡议内容：清理活动，保护环境；
3. 活动意义。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A Call for Assistance in Building “the Yellow River Cultural Belt”
Dear fellow students,___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours faithfully,
The Student Union
3 . My work in cancer research was generating a lot of waste every day. As our research turned to full capacity, our waste production
I went to my adviser and suggested the idea of
We created a group to push for greener ways to
I encourage scientists everywhere to think about ways to reduce the
| A．returned | B．declined | C．stabilized | D．rocketed |
| A．creating | B．buying | C．borrowing | D．renting |
| A．suspected | B．criticized | C．encouraged | D．comforted |
| A．struggle | B．discussion | C．training | D．confusion |
| A．source | B．relief | C．target | D．success |
| A．distribution | B．option | C．phase | D．footprint |
| A．cure | B．defend | C．operate | D．negotiate |
| A．commented | B．introduced | C．moved | D．knocked |
| A．properly | B．typically | C．naturally | D．annually |
| A．recipe | B．prevention | C．vision | D．association |
| A．set off | B．speak out | C．hold on | D．step back |
| A．local | B．academic | C．final | D．new |
| A．fundamental | B．historical | C．environmental | D．financial |
| A．significance | B．possibility | C．fortune | D．depth |
| A．broad | B．supportive | C．different | D．particular |
(1)活动目的；
(2)活动内容；
(3)活动反响。
注意：1. 词数80个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Planet vs Plastics-we are coming
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Eli walked to school every day, a familiar routine that never failed to bring him a sense of peace. The school day
One particular day, Eli’s eyes were caught by a
With the bird gone, Eli noticed something
But as he picked up the balloon, Eli noticed a
| A．started | B．continued | C．ended | D．worked |
| A．route | B．direction | C．plan | D．goal |
| A．block | B．flash | C．leaf | D．light |
| A．crying | B．shouting | C．singing | D．screaming |
| A．faded | B．followed | C．went | D．fell |
| A．amazing | B．familiar | C．unusual | D．important |
| A．balloon | B．bag | C．string | D．object |
| A．Curious | B．Serious | C．Upset | D．Scared |
| A．said | B．knew | C．found | D．confirmed |
| A．toy | B．gift | C．litter | D．material |
| A．eat | B．kick | C．get | D．take |
| A．ceasing | B．intending | C．hesitating | D．pretending |
| A．letter | B．paper | C．note | D．poster |
| A．preserve | B．keep | C．watch | D．trap |
| A．secretly | B．carefully | C．really | D．ultimately |
6 . The American robin (知更鸟) is the state bird for Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin because it is a very common, easily seen and handsome bird with a beautiful song. But it is now facing extinction due to the hidden dangers involved in the use of insecticides, a chemical used for killing insects.
Insecticides is usually sprayed on lawns to kill the grass disease. The chemicals used in the US break down into non-poisonous molecules (分子) far faster than DDT did, but most are still highly poisonous to robins for the time that they work on insects. Adult robins hopping on a freshly-sprayed lawn get their feathers coated, and then if they hatch their eggs or babies, the poison can be taken in, to kill the babies.
Elm trees in the United States, like those in Europe, are being attacked by Dutch elm disease. This disease is spread by the elm bark beetle. American scientists have attacked the disease by attacking the carrier. They have treated the trees with a chemical which kills the beetles. But the substance they use sticks to the leaves of the trees. These leaves are a basic food of a certain type of earthworm (蚯蚓) which is itself not attacked by the insecticide. The worms can store up huge quantities of this poison in their bodies. The robin eats these worms and is thus being poisoned by its normal food. The bird is already in danger of dying out in some areas.
It is sometimes difficult to foresee side effects like these, which is why many people object to the use of chemical sprays. They fear that man may be poisoning himself the same way as he has poisoned the American robin and other higher organisms at the top of the food chains.
1. What is the carrier that spreads Dutch elm disease?| A．The American robin. | B．The earthworm. |
| C．The elm leaf. | D．The elm bark beetle. |
| A．Killing the beetles. | B．Poisoning the earthworms. |
| C．Protecting the robins. | D．Attacking the elm trees. |
| A．touch the insecticide | B．touch the elm leaves |
| C．eat the earthworms | D．eat the beetles |
| A．The side effects of insecticide is endangering the robin. |
| B．American scientists have attacked Dutch elm disease. |
| C．The robin is dying out in some parts of the world. |
| D．Many people object to the use of chemical sprays. |
A composting (堆肥) program at The Wesley School in Los Angeles is helping students get hands-on experience and ways
The school’s composting program
The school will use the compost on plants around campus. Some will
It takes two hours for the container to be emptied and prepared to receive
8 . California’s Water Resources Control Board recently approved new regulations in a unanimous (一致同意的) vote — toilet or shower wastewater will be recycled and pumped into the public drinking water system.
In 2023, more than 97% of California has been in moderate to severe drought, while water suppliers are struggling to keep up. A 2022 water supply and demand report indicated that around 18% of water suppliers were at risk of facing potential shortages. “The reality is that anyone out there on Mississippi River and on Colorado River, and anyone out there taking drinking water downstream is already drinking ‘toilet to tap’,” said Esquivel, a director of the Board.
Early in the 1990s, the state was struggling to overcome the distaste its residents had toward drinking recycled water. Their efforts fizzled out when the phrase “toilet to tap” caught on and met with fierce resistance. The idea became too unpopular to be implemented. Despite the negative name, the regulations are the key to ensuring the supply of drinking water.
California’s new regulations would let water agencies to treat wastewater, and then put it back into the drinking water system. It has taken officials more than 10 years to develop these regulations, a process that included several studies by independent groups of scientists. To put the scheme into effect and build huge water recycling plants, however, water agencies say they will need to prove to people that recycled water is not only safe to drink but also under monitoring.
The new regulations require the wastewater be treated for all bacteria and viruses. In fact, the treatment is so intense that it removes all of the minerals that make fresh drinking water taste good. That means the minerals need to be added back at the end of the process. “What we have here are standards, science, and importantly monitoring that allow us to have safe pure water, and probably better in many instances,” said Esquivel. He added that it takes time and money to build these treatment centers. So, they will only be available for bigger cities at first.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 2?| A．To highlight the current severe climate crisis in California. |
| B．To describe the role of California’s new water regulations. |
| C．To reveal the distribution of water resources in California. |
| D．To show the urgency of water supply reform in California. |
| A．Failed. | B．Worked. | C．Stood out. | D．Paid off. |
| A．Policies from the government. | B．The recognition by the public. |
| C．Scientific research on wastewater. | D．The construction of recycling plants. |
| A．The minerals will be preserved in the treatment. | B．The treatment centers will be built in rural areas. |
| C．The recycled water seems to be of better quality. | D．Bacteria will be produced in the treating process. |
9 . Extended producer responsibility (EPR) refers to a policy approach where producers are given responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products throughout the product lifecycle. Based on the polluter pays principle, this approach requires producers to finance the costs of recycling or disposing of products that consumers no longer want. It aims to shift the costs associated with the management of dealing with solid waste away from the local government.
The term EPR was first coined in 1990 by a Swedish professor, Thomas Lindhqvist, who introduced the idea of producers being responsible for their products to the Swedish Ministry of the Environment. The first example of EPR came in Germany in 1991, where manufacturers picked up household packaging alongside municipal waste collections. Since 1990, countries around the world have adopted EPR policies around key sectors such as packaging, electronics, batteries, and vehicles.
EPR creates a financial motivation for producers to design products that last longer and can be recycled. This is because EPR places the end-of-life costs on the producer. EPR has historically been successful in the managing of products that pose risks to communities such as batteries, paint and old medicines. EPR has led many producers to redesign these items to reduce their risks. Finally, due to ERP closing the loop (循环) on materials management, this approach uses much less energy than it takes to produce items from the beginning.
However, critics of EPR have issues with producers adding recycling costs to the initial price tag of a product. Another disadvantage is that at the international level, it can negatively affect imports to countries that have strict EPR policies as producers in other countries will not want to be subject to extra fees from these policies. Additionally, it restricts competition at the local level as producers who take on the extra costs to accommodate EPR policies are at a competitive disadvantage to those who are able to bend the rules and get out of paying these costs.
1. Who may be most in favor of the policy EPR?| A．The local government. | B．The producers. |
| C．The end consumers. | D．The retail traders. |
| A．Cut down their selling costs. | B．Increase production capacity. |
| C．Produce sustainable products. | D．Reproduce out-of-date goods. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Objective. | C．Conservative. | D．Suspicious. |
| A．The Constantly Varying Policy EPR |
| B．Challenges of EPR Implementation |
| C．Holding Back Global Trade and Competition: EPR |
| D．Reducing Waste and Shifting Responsibilities: EPR |
10 . Work starts early on White Gate Farm in East Lyme, Connecticut. By 7 a. m., farm manager Dan Wood was at the East Lyme Post Office dropping off a box of fresh produce that later in the day would be delivered by mail to Chelsea Gubbins, who lives across town.
White Gate Farm is a member of Farmers Post, a pilot programme that enables smallholder farms across eastern Connecticut to ship fresh produce and other farm products to local households through the United States Postal Service (USPS). Farmers Post takes advantage of a USPS programme called Connect Local that allows small businesses to offer same-day and next-day delivery at a fixed low cost.
Food remains in the fields because either market prices are too low or the cost of the workforce is too high, or because the size and shape of the produce make it unattractive to stores. Each year, around 10 million tons of crops never get harvested, causing about 16% of total US food loss and waste.
“Food that is wasted has a much larger influence than just the loss of the food itself,” says Julia Kurnik, senior director of Innovation Start-ups at WWF. “Everything that went into growing it goes out the window as well—the water, the land, and the energy. And as the food breaks down, it produces greenhouse gases. The bad effects amplify greatly.”
Besides reducing food waste, selling farm products directly to local customers cuts down on the cross-country shipping of food grown in California or elsewhere. This reduces the so-called food miles that researchers believe cause about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Fruits and vegetables, which are often transported out of season and require refrigeration, produce lots of greenhouse gases between farms and people’s plates.
Wood understands that Farmers Post can help to end that waste. “Farming is kind of like cooking for a big group.” he says. “This is helping us get right on the money, using almost 100% of what we grow and harvest.”
1. Why was Farmers Post started?| A．To provide professional modern farming methods. |
| B．To create more delivery jobs for local people |
| C．To pick up and carry customers to different farms. |
| D．To make the delivery of produce easier and cheaper. |
| A．The limited need for farm products. | B．The shortage of workers and harvesting tool. |
| C．Their low value and poor quality. | D．Bad weather and road conditions. |
| A．Increase. | B．Slow. | C．Switch. | D．Weaken. |
| A．The Food Safety Movement Has Met Some Challenges |
| B．A Farm-to-Table Programme Helps Reduce Food Waste |
| C．Farmers Post Explores Ways to Make High-Quality Products |
| D．Small Farms Play a Leading Role in Serving Communities |
