1 . When Malaika Vaz was a kid, living in Goa, India, she was constantly surrounded by nature. Among her childhood experiences, she recalls journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic, climbing mountains, diving, and windsurfing.
At some point in her late teens, Vaz realized adventure didn’t really mean anything if there wasn’t an intention to protect the natural spaces we were exploring in. Motivated by her passion for filmmaking, she began to seek a way that would both satisfy her appetite for adventure and allow her to advocate the protection of the species and ecosystems she interacted with.
Today Vaz wears many hats in the filmmaking world, as a documentary director, producer, and presenter. After falling in love with manta rays (蝠鲼), she discovered they were being hunted illegally and started to dress herself as a seafood trader to get as close as possible to the issue. She traced sellers to figure out why the threatened species were being killed. She shared the shocking details in Peng Yu Sai, her Green Oscar-nominated film on the matter.
The subjects that grab her attention, Vaz admits, run the gamut. When she was asked to define her focus, she replied that she preferred variety. She always argues that the issues she looks into are more interrelated than they may initially appear. “I think that it’s exciting to dive into the different aspects of environmental stories,” she says.
Her work doesn’t stop at recording important stories; she also ensures the message is heard. From Vaz’s viewpoint, real improvement in planetary protection lies in the hands of each of us rather than just those of several environmentalists. “If you’re an engineer and you care about the natural world, you can change the kind of construction materials you use. If you’re a teacher loving nature, you can bring that into the learning for your class.” she says.
As a filmmaker, Vaz believes it’s important to figure out ways that attract the audience who can push for the protection of the natural world.
1. What did Malaika Vaz decide to do in her late teens?A.Motivate children to get close to nature. |
B.Make a film about her childhood experiences. |
C.Develop a passion for an adventurous lifestyle. |
D.Combine nature exploration with nature conservation. |
A.The role of manta rays in the local economy. | B.Vaz’s personal life as a seafood trader. |
C.The threatened species in India. | D.The illegal trade in manta rays. |
A.Are quite popular. | B.Cover a wide range. |
C.Make little progress. | D.Are hard to deal with. |
A.Human beings are closely linked to nature. |
B.Stories are effective in changing people’s behavior. |
C.Everyone can make a difference to the environment. |
D.Environmentalists play a big part in solving environmental issues. |
2 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit
While there are
3 . Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors from the wild, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.
Cities are built for humans.
There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Beijing Olympic Forest Park is a good example. The park used native plants and created open, natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo.
If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors to the wildlife around us.
A.They would feed water plants. |
B.Our actions sometimes help other species. |
C.If we do not, more species will become extinct. |
D.Now, they have come to value their winged neighbors. |
E.Therefore, they do not always provide suitable habitats for wildlife. |
F.Instead of being kept in cages, wildlife can move about freely. |
G.It’s intended to protect birds and fight pollution at the same time. |
4 . Many animals move from one place to another at certain times of the year. This
Every autumn, millions of these beautiful insects with fine black and orange wings
A team of scientists led by Professor Eli Shlizerman at the University of Washington has now found the answer. They have found out that the monarch is able to
The
The
A.symbolic | B.former | C.occasional | D.annual |
A.live long | B.return to the wild | C.protect themselves | D.seek a partner |
A.positive | B.wonderful | C.professional | D.frightening |
A.begin | B.break | C.continue | D.end |
A.heard | B.worried | C.knew | D.ignored |
A.notice | B.tell | C.guess | D.illustrate |
A.height | B.driection | C.brightness | D.position |
A.news | B.advice | C.information | D.evidence |
A.determine | B.consider | C.acquire | D.approach |
A.Eventually | B.Currently | C.Obviously | D.Originally |
A.solution | B.reaction | C.preference | D.response |
A.increased | B.exploded | C.changed | D.crashed |
A.history | B.belief | C.activity | D.experience |
A.improving | B.destroying | C.decorating | D.monitoring |
A.take away | B.cut down | C.pickup | D.put together |
A.comment | B.research | C.effect | D.discussion |
A.creature | B.experiment | C.opinion | D.function |
A.recognise | B.design | C.record | D.remember |
A.look at | B.play with | C.feed on | D.focus on |
A.stay | B.suffer | C.exist | D.survive |
5 . A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think. Think, and then act. We need to take action on our dependence on plastic. We’ve been producing plastic in huge quantities. Drinking bottles, shopping bags and even clothes are made with plastic.
The film begins as a journey to film the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale. But during the journey the filmmakers make the shocking discovery of a huge, thick layer of plastic floating in the Indian Ocean.
In the film there are beautiful shots of the seas and marine life.
We make a shocking amount of plastic. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, and at least 8 million of those are thrown into the oceans. The results are very harmful, but it isn’t too late to change.
A.It has raised public concern all over the world. |
B.In conclusion, we only have one earth to live on. |
C.But the film doesn’t only show the negative side. |
D.These are contrasted with plastic rubbish thrown around. |
E.Once you’ve seen the film, you’ll realize it is time to do our part. |
F.This causes them to travel globally to look at other affected areas. |
G.We live in a world full of plastic, and only a small amount is recycled. |
Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in
The good news is
The development of electric vehicles is particularly
Ecological civilization has become the cornerstone (基石) of China’s long-term development strategy, much like climate action is
7 . It is late autumn—millions of gardeners across the northern hemisphere, pulled on their thickest sweaters, spent hours clearing large piles of leaves and packed them into plastic bags at the end of driveways.
In the US alone, nearly 10 million tonnes of garden waste go to landfill every year. That is a large amount of effort, not just from an environmental viewpoint but from that of our aching backs, too. So where does this advice come from? Well, it largely comes from the belief that thick fallen leaves can make plants under them unable to breathe, especially shorter grass. They shut down important photosynthesis (光合作用) and get in the way of the growth of the shorter grass. However, this received wisdom has recently been questioned by researchers at Wisconsin University.
The key finding of their new research was that although clearing fallen leaves is one of the most common gardening practices, it makes very little sense. In natural ecosystems, fallen leaves help return nutrients necessary for healthy plant growth to the soil, which greatly improves soil condition. Removing leaves year after year breaks this ecological (生态的) balance. Letting some leaves stick around to cover your garden is a great way to help your grass and the local ecosystem.
They further explained that if up to 50percent of your grass lawn (草坪) is covered by fallen leaves, you might as well go back indoors and put your feet up. The advantages of this light leaf coverage far outweigh the disadvantages—the leaves will quickly break down and help next year’s lawn grow far better than if you had cleared them. Only at over 50 percent coverage do the Wisconsin researchers recommend clearing.
So why not consider leaving the leaves? Save time, carbon and effort, and in exchange get a healthier lawn from this garden waste—that seems like a pretty good deal. And how many plastic bags could be saved by simply not binning fallen leaves every year? In the US alone, about 700 million.
1. What does the author describe in paragraph 1?A.An amazing autumn game. | B.A common sight in gardens. |
C.A hot attraction in the north. | D.An extreme weather event. |
A.Fallen leaves need not be cleared. |
B.Fallen leaves protect shorter grass. |
C.Fallen leaves block photosynthesis. |
D.Fallen leaves are hard to break down. |
A.it ruins city image | B.it breaks gardening rules |
C.it affects local economy | D.it causes ecological damage |
A.Doubtful. | B.Positive. | C.Unclear. | D.Worried. |
Leonora, a 51-year-old from the Philippines,
In Asia, there is plenty of waste material for Leonora to apply. Most of the world’s ocean waste
“The dresses are really
Most of her dresses are used in the beauty
To observe Tibetan antelopes, we made a trip to Tibet. There we made out
To protect them, the Changtang National Nature Reserve was set up,
In the 1980s and 1990s, the population dropped badly because of being shot to make profits and the loss of
10 . How did Cape Town, South Africa, get into a Day Zero situation—when the city’s taps would go dry because its reservoirs (水库)would become dangerously low on water? The city gets its water from six reservoirs in Western Cape province, which usually
Cape Town is not
In the U.S., the situation is somewhat better, but many urban centers still
A.take over | B.fill up | C.make off | D.set out |
A.decreased | B.rose | C.remained | D.drowned |
A.likelihood | B.proportion | C.demand | D.efficiency |
A.architecture | B.agriculture | C.economy | D.conservation |
A.policy | B.growth | C.crisis | D.change |
A.enough | B.possible | C.difficult | D.alone |
A.making up for | B.resulting from | C.taking advantage of | D.looking into |
A.In a word | B.By comparison | C.What’s worse | D.For example |
A.avoid | B.solve | C.discuss | D.face |
A.passive | B.purposeful | C.adaptable | D.reliable |
A.Similarly | B.Fortunately | C.Initially | D.Alternatively |
A.questionable | B.memorable | C.effective | D.confusing |
A.daily | B.legal | C.maximum | D.normal |
A.neglect | B.lack | C.provide | D.find |
A.drink | B.pour | C.place | D.record |