1 . Nearly 40 years ago, Peter Harrison, a marine ecologist witnessed the first recorded large-scale coral bleaching(珊瑚白化)event. Diving in the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁), he was shocked by the scene before him. "The reef was made up of healthy corals and badly bleached white corals, like the beginnings of a ghost city," he says. Just months before, the same site was filled with colorful tropical life.
"Many of the hundreds of corals that I'd carefully tagged and monitored finally died," he says. "It was shocking and made me aware of just how weak these corals really are.”
Coral exists together with photosynthetic algae(藻类), which live in its tissues and provide essential nutrition(and coloration). But high temperatures and other stresses can turn algae poisonous. When this occurs, the algae may die or be removed by the coral, a process known as bleaching because the coral's clear tissue and white calcium carbonate skeleton(碳酸钙骨骼)are exposed. If the coral can't reestablish its link with algae, it will starve or become ill.
The widespread destruction Harrison saw in 1982 was repeated on many other Pacific Ocean reefs that year and the next. In 1997 and 1998 the phenomenon went global, killing some 16 percent of the world's corals. With rising temperatures, pollution, disease, increased ocean acidity, invasive species, and other dangers, Harrison's ghost cities are expanding
Scientists suppose that about four decades ago severe bleaching occurred roughly every 25 years, giving corals time to recover. But bleaching events are coming faster now—about every six years—and in some places soon they could begin to happen annually.
"The absolute key is dealing with global warming," says marine biologist Terry Hughes. "No matter how much we clean up the water, the reefs will die." In 2016, a record-hot year in a string of them, 91 percent of the reefs that consist of the Great Barrier Reef bleached.
1. Peter Harrison was shocked when diving in the Great Barrier Reef, because___________.A.the reefs were made up of precious corals | B.the corals were ruined badly and quickly |
C.he found a ghost city with tropical life | D.he saw the corals he had tagged before |
A.the causes of coral bleaching | B.the weakness of corals and algae |
C.the elements that make algae die | D.the process of building a link with algae |
A.global warming | B.the polluted ocean | C.the white corals | D.invasive species |
A.With algae living in its tissues, coral's white skeleton is exposed. |
B.Solving global warming is the real solution to coral bleaching. |
C.The reefs die because the water hasn't been cleaned thoroughly |
D.The severest coral bleaching occurred about four decades ago. |
A. profitably | B. fallen | C. sell | D. dangerous | AB. dump | AC. efficiently |
AD. plastic | BC. endless | BD. civilization | CD. throwaway | ABC. stylish |
The value of upcycling
Recycling is a well-known idea that refers to reusing waste materials in any way possible. But what about “upcycling”? It’s a new word, even though it’s something that has been going on since human
One answer to this question is that we reuse fewer and fewer things, and so have become a (n) “
So upcyclers have adopted this new word to focus people’s attention on how waste cannot simply be reused, but be reused
Imagine living on the edge of a vast desert, which is moving quietly closer to your village every day and covering your fields. The desert is on the move. This is called desertification.
Desertification occurs in regions close to an already existing desert. It generally arises from two related causes. The first is over-use of water in the area. There is not enough water in any case, and if it is not carefully used, disaster can follow. As time goes on, water shortages make farming more and more difficult. In some places, locals can remember local lakes and marshes which were once the homes for all kinds of fish and birds. They have been completely buried by the sand now. Farmers leave the land, and fields are replaced by deserts.
The second cause is misuse or over-use of the land. This means that the wrong crops are planted and need more water than is available. Ploughing large fields and removing bushes and trees means that the wind will blow away the soil. Once the soil is lost, it is hard to replace, and if there is rain, it has nowhere to go, and brings no benefit.
It is not only the farmers and villagers who suffer. Every spring, the skies over some of eastern cities, thousands of kilometers away from the deserts, can be darkened by sandstorms. Dust from deserts can have a great effect on weather systems. While desertification is perhaps being partly caused by global warming, these sandstorms can make global warming worse by adding to what is known as the greenhouse effect.
What can be done to slow down or stop the process of desertification? A great deal of work is already under way. Obviously first steps are to find new water sources. Tree planting can help, by providing barriers between desert and rich field. Some types of grass also hold the soil together, and stop the wind taking it. Without these efforts, it will be harder and harder to stop the world’s deserts in their tracks, and more and more farmers will give up and head for cities. The lesson to be learnt lies beneath the sand.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4 . "When I was 16 years old, I was diving in Greece, but I was disappointed because I saw more plastic bags than fish.” These are the words of Boyan Slat, an engineer who designed the world's first ocean plastic cleanup system.
Every year, more than 8 million tons of plastics end up in our oceans, according to the UN Environment Programme. It is predicted that the weight of ocean plastics will match the weight of all the fish in our oceans by 2050. To prevent this from happening, in 2013 Slat created the Ocean Cleanup, an environmental non¬governmental organization, and put his plan for an ocean cleanup device into action.
After years of research and develop¬ment in the Netherlands, a device called System 001/B successfully started gathering plastics on October 2, 2019. The device uses a 600-meter-long C-shaped tube to gather all the floating rubbish. Unlike other cleanup methods, the system floats freely according to the direction of the waves, which allows waste to flow into and stay within the device. A sea anchor is attached to either end. This slows down the system as it floats through the water and allows the faster-moving rubbish, carried by the waves, to flow into its mouth. System 001/B can also collect waste below the surface using a 3-meter-deep skirt(挡板)attached to the end. After being gathered, the trash will be dragged back to shore by boat and recycled.
Right now, the system operates in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area that is 3 times the size of France. Once operational, the Ocean Cleanup expects a full fleet to be able to clear 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years.
"It remains to be seen whether this dream will become a reality, but it is undeniable that humanity must work together to reduce our plastic use and repair the damage our waste has caused," Slat said. "We are starting to see a young generation that gets it and is excited about a sustainable (可持续的)future, but the question still comes down to: Are we going fast enough, and how much damage will have been done before we get there?"
1. The underlined word “match” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_________”.A.compare | B.equal |
C.measure | D.cover |
A.To collect ocean plastic waste. |
B.To help to invent System 001/B. |
C.To protect the living environment of fish. |
D.To do research on the ocean environment. |
A.It can collect and recycle garbage at the same time. |
B.It can only gather ocean waste which floats on the water. |
C.It aims to clear up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years. |
D.It is an ocean-cleaning device which has already been put to use. |
A.Young generations care less about the environment. |
B.The future ecology of the oceans is deeply worrying. |
C.People should work hard to decrease plastic pollution. |
D.It's quite difficult to repair the damage to the environment. |
Sneakers (运动鞋) Made from Old Chewing Gum
Dutch fashion and shoe label Explicit Wear is hoping to solve one of life’s sticky situations—the annoyance of stepping in waste chewing gum on the pavement—while helping to keep Amsterdam’s city streets clean. The brand has partnered with local marketing organization Iamsterdam and sustainability firm Gumdrop
Chewing gum causes an incredibly serious ecological problem,
The waste gum will be put to good use to make stylish kicks,
Available for preorder now, the new Gumshoe sneakers—offered in both a bubblegum pink and a black/red colorway—
Nearly 2.2 pounds of gum
To help spread their sustainability message,
6 . When discussing the causes of animal endangerment, it is important to understand that individual species are not the only factors involved in this difficult situation. Endangerment is a broad
Our planet is continually changing, causing habitats to be altered and modified. Natural changes tend to occur at a(n)
It can be difficult for an individual to
A.remark | B.issue | C.project | D.experiment |
A.worsen | B.protect | C.seek | D.ignore |
A.extreme | B.favorable | C.gradual | D.rapid |
A.command | B.spirit | C.impact | D.expectation |
A.react | B.boost | C.express | D.announce |
A.sports | B.meanings | C.forces | D.crimes |
A.usually | B.formally | C.freely | D.formerly |
A.escape | B.goal | C.release | D.origin |
A.update | B.recognize | C.cover | D.remind |
A.predict | B.devote | C.struggle | D.transfer |
A.obvious | B.vital | C.contemporary | D.selfish |
A.In short | B.In a word | C.As a result | D.For example |
A.naturally | B.completely | C.fully | D.actually |
A.contain | B.lack | C.reduce | D.limit |
A.growth | B.loss | C.extension | D.planting |
7 . Each year, backed up by a growing anti-consumerist movement, people are using the holiday season to call on us all to shop less.
Driven by concerns about resource exhaustion, over recent years environmentalists have increasingly turned their sights on our “consumer culture”. Groups such as The Story of Stuff and Buy Nothing New Day are growing as a movement that increasingly blames all our ills on our desire to shop.
We clearly have a growing resource problem. The produces we make, buy, and use are often linked to the destruction of our waterways, biodiversity, climate and the land on which millions of people live. But to blame these issues on Christmas shoppers is misguided, and puts us in the old trap of blaming individuals for what is a systematic problem.
While we complain about environmental destruction over Christmas, environmentalists often forget what the holiday season actually means for many people. For most, Christmas isn’t an add-on to an already heavy shopping year. In fact, it is likely the only time of year many have the opportunity to spend on friends and family, or even just to buy the necessities needed for modern life.
This is particularly, true for Boxing Day, often the target of the strongest derision(嘲弄) by anti-consumerists. While we may laugh at the queues in front of the shops, for many, those sales provide the one chance to buy items they’ve needed all year. As Leigh Phillips argues, “this is one of the few times of the year that people can even hope to afford such ‘luxuries’, the Christmas presents their kids are asking for, or just an appliance that works.”
Indeed, the richest 7% of people are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. This becomes particularly harmful when you take into account that those shopping on Boxing Day are only a small part of our consumption “problem” anyway. Why are environmentalists attacking these individuals, while ignoring such people as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has his own£1.5bn yacht with a missile defence system?
Anyway, anti-consumerism has become a movement of wealthy people talking down to the working class about their life choices, while ignoring the real cause of our environmental problems. It is no wonder one is changing their behaviours—or that environmental destruction continues without any reduction in intensity.
1. It is indicated in the 1st paragraph that during the holiday season, many consumers .A.ignore resource problems |
B.are fascinated with presents |
C.are encouraged to spend less |
D.show great interest in the movement. |
A.has targeted the wrong persons |
B.has achieved its intended purposes |
C.has taken environment-friendly measures |
D.has benefited both consumers and producers |
A.madness about life choices |
B.discontent with rich lifestyle |
C.ignorance about the real cause |
D.disrespect for holiday shoppers |
A.anything less than a responsibility | B.nothing more than a bias |
C.indicative of environmental awareness | D.unacceptable to ordinary people |
Sustainable Transport in Cities
Transporthas always shaped cities. In Medieval times crossroads gave birth to bloomingmarket towns. Many North American cities were created for the car. But how arethe cities of today being shaped by a need for more sustainable transport?
Manylocal governments are speeding up change through policy initiatives such asjoined transport, congestion charges and low emission zones, sustainablegaining and life-cycle costing, and opening data up to companies and academics.And these city level policies can move markets in more sustainable directions.
The least dense cities, for example, Houston, have per capita(人均价)carbonemissions nearly ten times higher than the densest, such as Singapore.
Light weighing and new engine and fuel technologies are helping to make existing road and rail vehicles more efficient.
A.Many options require city - level investment in new facilities. |
B.However, it is not yet clear which technologies and fuels cities will back. |
C.Through their actions, city governments today are helping to shape the cities of the future. |
D.For example, London is requiring all newly licensed taxis to be zero - emission capable from 2018. |
E.City planners are using transport - oriented development to increase density while maintaining quality of life and property value. |
F.Some cities, such as Delhi, are investing heavily in creating the mass transport systems needed to change how citizens travel. |
Acid rain is now a familiar problem in the industrialized countries in Europe. Harmful gases like Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are produced by power stations and cars.
Acid rain is also capable of dissolving some rocks and buildings made of soft rock, such as limestone, are particularly badly affected. The acid rain attacks the rock, and so carvings and statues are worn away more quickly.
The acid rain is said to be caused by pollution from oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Car exhaust gases are also a problem. Local volcanic eruption make the problem even worse. Nevertheless, with enough money and effort, researchers say that many of the problems could be solved and the rate of dissolving reduced.
Mexico’s current lack of funds is also partly due to oil. The country has rich oil field and a few years ago, when oil was expensive, Mexico was selling large quantities of oil to the USA and earning a lot of money. The government was therefore able to borrow huge sums of money from banks around the world, thinking they would have no problem repaying their debts. However, the price of oil then dropped, and Mexico has been left owing enormous sums of money and with not enough income from oil sales to pay back the loans.
A.However, the Mexican government does not have enough money to do the work, and needs to spend what money it has on the Mexican people. |
B.That is enough to have caused some of the ancient carvings to become seriously damaged already. |
C.So unless the price of rises, it is unlikely that Mexican will be able to afford to clean up the pollution and save its Mayan ruins from destruction. |
D.These measures would reduce the pollution, but would not stop it completely. |
E.The problem, however, is not a European one. |
F.They dissolve in rainwater and this makes acid rain, which damages trees, rivers and streams. |
10 . Hailing from Sweden, “plogging” is a fitness craze that sees participants pick up plastic litter while jogging adding a virtuous, environmentally driven element to the sport. Plogging appears to have started around 2016, but is now going global, due to increasing awareness and
The appeal of plogging is its
Running and good causes have always gone
Anything that’s getting people out in nature and connecting
We need to keep momentum high and the pressure up, and empower people through
The plastic Patrol app allows users to
Plogging isn’t the first fitness trend to combine running with a good cause, Here are some of our favourites:
Good Gym
Its idea is simple: go for a run, visit an elderly person, have a chat and some tea, and run back.
Guide Running
Guide runners volunteer their time to helping blind people get
Start-up Stuart Delivery and the Church Housing Trust collaborated last year in bringing clothing and healthy food to the homeless. Deliveries are mostly made by bike, so those who deliver keep fit while helping rough sleepers(无家可归者).
1.A.satisfaction | B.hesitation | C.fear | D.control |
A.complexity | B.simplicity | C.instrument | D.expense |
A.substance | B.responsibility | C.value | D.weight |
A.one on one | B.head to toe | C.hand in hand | D.on and off |
A.positively | B.neutrally | C.objectively | D.fairly |
A.accuse | B.rid | C.assure | D.rob |
A.shift | B.interest | C.aid | D.delight |
A.motives | B.performances | C.exercises | D.initiatives |
A.eliminate | B.map | C.seek | D.degrade |
A.leading | B.devoting | C.ending | D.uploading |
A.Disappointment | B.Tiredness | C.Sickness | D.Loneliness |
A.therefore | B.moreover | C.however | D.instead |
A.excited | B.ready | C.active | D.smart |
A.visually | B.audibly | C.visibly | D.sensibly |
A.Running | B.Plogging | C.Driving | D.Cycling |