1 . A record surge in the creation of marine protected areas has taken the international community close to its goal of creating nature refuges on 17% of the world’s land and 10% of seas by 2020, according to a new UN report. Protected region snow cover more than five times the territory of the US, but the authors said this good news was often undermined by poor enforcement. Some reserves are little more than “paper parks” with little value to nature conservation. Atleast one has been turned into an industrial zone. More than 27m square kilometres of seas (7% of the total) and 20m sq km of land (15% of the total) now have protected status, according to the Protected Planet report, which was released on Sunday at the UN biodiversity conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Almost all of the growth has been in marine regions, most notably with the creation last year of the world’s biggest protected area: the 2m sq km Ross Sea reserve, one-fifth of which is in the Antarctic. The no-fishing zone will be managed by New Zealand and the US.
“We have seen an enormous expansion in the past two years. There is now more marine protected area than terrestrial, which nobody would have predicted,” said Kathy McKinnon of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. “I think we’ll continue to see a substantial increase, I’d guess, to at least 10% in the near future.”
The UN convention on biological diversity says it has received national commitments for an additional 4.5m sq km of land and 16m sq km of oceans to be given protected status in the next two years. This would put it on course to achieve one of the key aims of the 2010 Aichi biodiversity targets.
“This is the target with the most progress. In an ocean of bad news about biodiversity loss and eco-destruction, it is important to highlight that progress, though we still have a lot more to do to ensure not just the quantitive target but the effectiveness of the management,” said CristianaPașca Palmer, the head of UN Biodiversity.
The creation of protected areas has not been enough to halt a collapse of species and ecosystems that threatens civilisation. Since 1970 humanity has wiped out 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations, with a dangerous knock-on impact on food production, fisheries and climate stability.
Protected areas are important refuges from this wave of extinctions but many are underfunded and poorly policed. Only one in five have provided management assessments to the UN, which has raised questions about the viability of the rest.
Naomi Kingston, of UN environment world conservation monitoring centre, said: “There is a race to deliver on Aichi target 11. It is fantastic that countries are coming with more ambition, but not if it is just a number without substance.
“Some areas that have been reported to us as protected areas have been completely built over. We need datasets to define which areas are paper parks and which are real.”
Developing nations have better reporting standards because many are obliged to provide regular assessments in order to qualify for funds from the Global Environment Fund. By contrast, many wealthier nations devote few resources to monitoring.
Discussions will focus on a new, more flexible category for community land that is used by locals for both agricultural production and wildlife conservation. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, this is a model that has often helped improve biodiversity because residents — often from indigenous communities — live closely with nature and have an interest in protecting it.
1. What promotes the achievement of the goals of marine nature reserves?| A．Poor management of marine protected areas. |
| B．Loss of biodiversity and ecological destruction. |
| C．Rapid growth in the number of marine protected areas. |
| D．Commitments in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. |
| A．They have promoted the expansion of marine protected areas. |
| B．They have little value for nature conservation. |
| C．They all turn into industrial zones. |
| D．They will slow down the collapse of ecosystems. |
| A．NewZealand and the United States regulate fishing-ban zones. |
| B．In the near future, the number of marine refuges will increase by at least 10%. |
| C．The quantity and management quality of marine refuges are equally important. |
| D．Many countries have ambitions to achieve Aichi 11. |
| A．A recorded surge in the creation of marine protected areas. |
| B．Developing countries may receive funding from the Global Environment Facility. |
| C．The Increase of marine refuges and the views of relevant personnel. |
| D．Achieving Aichi 11 Goal. |
2 . Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element.
Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet.
A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject (注入) concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used.
California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium (镁) , which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete.
Additionally, researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product.
The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.
Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used.
1. What is the environmental issue associated with traditional concrete production?| A．The high demand for energy. | B．The processing of waste materials. |
| C．The mass release of carbon dioxide. | D．The use of non-renewable resources. |
| A．By using silicate rock as the basis. | B．By putting carbon dioxide into concrete. |
| C．By replacing sand with coffee grounds. | D．By absorbing carbon dioxide with magnesium. |
| A．Difficulty in making profits. | B．Convincing the public of the convenience. |
| C．Lack of funding for research. | D．Removing the industry members’ safety concerns. |
| A．To promote an alternative to concrete. | B．To advocate environmental protection. |
| C．To introduce new ways to produce concrete. | D．To emphasize the significance of creativity. |
3 . Mark Covington, founder of the Georgia Street Community Collective in Detroit, stands in a corner of his urban farm, breathing the fresh air in the early morning.
In 2007, Covington lost his job and returned to his childhood street.
Covington started with a small community garden.
| A．But if he planted stuff, they might not. |
| B．It’s a typical morning scene at the collective. |
| C．He saw garbage piled high in vacant, abandoned lots. |
| D．Covington made the garden a little bigger to plant more. |
| E．And almost immediately neighbors began asking to participate. |
| F．He planted a garden to help feed residents and enrich their lives. |
| G．What began as an effort to remove trash has turned into a site of community. |
4 . As environmental awareness has risen in the world, attitudes to sightseeing have changed. It is exciting to visit remote forests or spot rare species in those mysterious countries. However, with flights or long road journeys involved, traveling to far-away destinations is carbon-intensive, and conservation can be made more difficult as well as assisted by sightseers. Therefore, people and authorities have been trying to maximize the benefits while minimizing the harms by advocating domestic tours.
Most people, who take most holidays, understand better than ever that there are costs as well as benefits associated with exploring. One of the six pledges made by an environmental campaign launched last month-The Jump, is to “holiday local”, taking short-distance flights once every three years and long-distance flights very rarely. On a higher level, some governments are working on this as well. Colombia, for example, recently introduced laws aimed at promoting sustainable tourism.
Fortunately, the UK’s national parks and countless other landscapes mean that there is no shortage of special places for domestic nature tourists to visit. One recent survey found that Windsor Great Park and Kew Gardens have become Britain’s most popular attractions, while in this special time there have difficulties for indoor spaces which do not apply to outdoor ones. Some companies that formerly ran foreign trips have adapted to the infectious disease by taking people to watch dolphins and other marine life off British coasts instead. This is not to minimize the destruction of nature that is also taking place, But as we lace an increasing environmental emergency, it is essential to appreciate the nature that surrounds us. In a small way, outings to watch dragonflies, seals, or be surrounded by trees could help us to focus on what matters.
1. Why have people changed their attitudes towards travel?| A．Visiting remote areas is too exciting. |
| B．Long-distance travels are more attractive. |
| C．People’s environmental awareness has improved. |
| D．Travelers can assist with protection of scenic spots. |
| A．Commitments. |
| B．Prohibitions. |
| C．Symbols. |
| D．Surveys. |
| A．Indoor activities are becoming more popular. |
| B．People in the UK are carrying out the initiative. |
| C．The travel agencies prefer overseas business. |
| D．The UK lacks abundant historic attractions. |
| A．Domestic traveling means no harm to the environment. |
| B．There is no point in traveling to remote scenic spots. |
| C．The scenery is much better in foreign countries. |
| D．It matters much to appreciate the beauty around us. |
5 . Climate change leads to a threat to the world’s sandy beaches, and as many as half of them could disappear by 2100, a new study has found. Even by 2050 some coastlines could be unrecognizable from what we see today, with 10% to 12% facing severe erosion (侵蚀).
Using updated sea level rise predictions, the researchers analyzed how beaches around the world would be in a future with higher seas and more damaging storms. They also considered natural processes like wave erosion, as well as human factors-like coastal building developments, all of which can affect a beach’s health. The study found that sea level rise is expected to outweigh these other factors, and that the more heat-trapping gases humans put into the atmosphere, the worse the influences on the world’s beaches are likely to be.
It’s hard to overstate just how important the world’s beaches are. They cover more than one third of the world’s coastlines, and protect coastal areas from storms. Beaches are also important economic engines, supporting relaxation, tourism and other activities. And in some areas, the beach is more than a vacation destination. In places like Australia, life near the coast revolves around the beach for much of the year.
Some of the world’s most popular beaches are already taking action. Places like Miami Beach are trucking in thousands of tons of sand to patch up (修复) badly eroded shorelines, while others have built sea walls and breakwaters in an attempt to hold precious sand in place. But the financial and environmental costs of these projects are huge, and scientists say rising seas and more powerful storms, supercharged by a warmer climate, will make this a losing battle.
However, the researchers did find that humans have some control over what happens to the world’s beaches. If the world’s governments are able to stick to modest cuts to heat-trapping gas pollution, the researchers found that 22%of projected beach losses by 2050 could be prevented, a number that grows to 40%by 2100 if greenhouse gases are limited.
1. Which is the biggest contributor to severe beach erosion?| A．Damaging storms. | B．Wave erosion. |
| C．Coastal building. | D．Sea level rise. |
| A．It is hard to protect coastal beaches. |
| B．One third of storms take place near beaches. |
| C．Beaches are of great significance to our lives. |
| D．Most Australians live on beach tourism. |
| A．Popularizing the beaches. |
| B．Holding sand in place. |
| C．Reducing the project costs. |
| D．Stopping global warming. |
| A．Half beaches could disappear by 2100. |
| B．Climate change is doing harm to our lives. |
| C．The beach is more than a vacation destination. |
| D．Governments are taking action to fight wave erosion. |
Northern Kenya is a vast, varied and breathtakingly beautiful landscape
According to Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata, across Africa, all giraffe populations
To better understand the wildlife found here, Wildwatch Kenya seeks
7 . Chinese scientists say they have developed a robotic fish that can remove microplastic particles from water environments. Researchers working on the project say the robots could help to clean up plastic pollution in oceans around the world.
The robotic swimmers are about 1.3 centimeters long. They are made of a soft chemical Compound. The robots are designed to absorb microplastics while moving through the water. The project was launched by a team at Sichuan University in southwestern China. The researchers said the robots have already performed well in shallow water and they plan to carry out more tests in deeper waters. The scientists reported their findings in a new study in Nano Letters. The publication comes from the American Chemical Society, a nonprofit organization supported by the U.S. Congress. The robotic fish were built to target microplastic particles, which are smaller than five millimeters. Studies have confirmed that microplastic pollution has been discovered in many natural environments. The material comes from the breakdown of manufactured plastic products and industrial waste.
The team said the robots can be controlled by light. Turning “a near-infrared light laser” on and off causes the fish’s tail to move back and forth, the American Chemical Society said. The robotic fish can swim up to 2.76 body lengths per second. The researchers said this is faster than most similar soft robots. Wang Yuyan was a member of Sichuan University’s research team. She told Reuters news agency that the small, lightweight robot is currently being used to collect microplastics for research purposes. But Wang added that the team plans to expand that use so the robot fish can remove larger amounts of microplastic waste from deep ocean areas. The fish can take in different kinds of microplastics and even repair itself when damaged, the researchers said. And if a robot fish is accidentally eaten by a real fish, it could safely digest the material, the team added. Wang said similar robots could be developed to be placed inside the human body to remove unwanted materials or disease.
1. Why has a robotic fish been created?| A．To remove disease in people. | B．To clean up pollution in oceans. |
| C．To remove unwanted materials in body. | D．To remove microplastic particles in water. |
| A．It will be harmless. | B．It will repair itself. |
| C．It will take in microplastics. | D．It will collect microplastics. |
| A．The purpose of the robotic fish. |
| B．The function of the robotic fish. |
| C．A further introduction of the robotic fish. |
| D．Potential application of the robotic fish. |
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Positive. | C．Unclear. | D．Suspicious. |
8 . In order to learn about advanced scientific technology and ideas for combating desertification, Rezaali Pakzad left the Iranian capital Teheran, in 2018, to study in Northwest China’s Gansu Province.
He is a 27-year-old doctoral student at Lanzhou University, focusing on soil desertification control. In his view, Iran, like other arid and semiarid countries, faces environmental problems such as desertification. When he did field surveys and research in Minqin county, Gansu, he found that the local desertification characteristics were very similar to those of his hometown.
“Minqin is between two deserts. From being “about to disappear” to being gradually green, from being ravaged by “sand devils” to being covered by vast green plants, the scientific and effective prevention and control methods of the Chinese government have greatly changed the county, and made me see the hope of improving the ecology in my hometown,” he says.
He believes that China has certainly contributed to the global effort to combat desertification, and that the Chinese contribution is worth learning from. China has developed advanced technology models, such as quicksand fixation and vegetation restoration, and protective forest systems along major transport routes, which have introduced more green to deserts.
Already among the top nations in the world in the field of combating desertification, China has shared its experience with other countries, carried out international exchanges and cooperation, and contributed to global desertification control, he says.
He believes he has made progress during his five years of living and studying in China. By learning more about the Chinese language and culture, he has adapted to life in China and enjoyed the help and sincere concern of his teachers, classmates and friends here.
He hopes to achieve a lot, at a high level, in his research field and to contribute to international exchanges and cooperation in desertification control. “I want to be an ‘ecological messenger’ by spreading green ideas,” he says.
1. What problem does Pakzad want to solve?| A．Shortage of greens. | B．Water pollution. |
| C．Energy reduction. | D．Drought. |
| A．Protected. | B．Constructed. | C．Destroyed. | D．Reduced. |
| A．Generous and ambitious. | B．Responsible and hopeful. |
| C．Hard-working and creative. | D．Determined and tolerant. |
| A．China seldom participates in the global affairs. |
| B．China has solved the problem of desertification. |
| C．China is the top nation in international cooperation. |
| D．China plays a vital role in global desertification control. |
Litter is everywhere，doing great harm
The story began with his 6-year-old daughter.One day they were going on a hike when the girl noticed a
Jeff started to take
Litterati is more than an app.It is a highly
10 . Not only does the use of plastic water bottles hurt your wallet, it also increases pollution and wastes energy and water. Only 23% of all plastic in America ends up in a recycling bin, meaning over $ 1 billion worth of plastic is treated as rubbish a year. Recently, Skipping Rocks Lab has invented a kind of water bottle called Ooho.
It is a convenient, clear water bottle that can either be drunken or eaten. To drink it, you can either peel off the membrane (薄膜) or tear a hole in the membrane with your teeth to pour the water into your mouth. To eat it, you simply put the whole bottle in your mouth. One problem the scientists have run into is how to ship large amounts of Ooho bubbles(水泡) without arriving with a very wet truck. However, they have attempted to package units of individual bubbles together inside a larger and thicker membrane. It is targeting large outdoor events, such as marathons, music festivals, and sporting events, where tons of plastic bottles are used, and frequently left behind as litter. And too much plastic is sure to do harm to the environment, which could account for their purpose of such a new invention.
The team has been working for the past two years to develop the technology and materials needed to produce Ooho; they have recently applied a patent for their new advancements. The price for an individual bubble or a unit of bubbles has not been set yet, but they cost about two cents to create a unit, which is cheaper than plastic bottles. It has appeared at events in London, San Francisco, Boston, at conferences, festivals, and so on.
Ooho is catching many people’s attention and has raised over $ 1 million and gained 1,000 investors in only three days. It is mostly being sold at events at the moment to keep the consumer’s interest while the production machine is getting up and running. It is quickly making a rise,so keep an eye out this year for these bottles of the future.
1. How is most plastic dealt with in America?| A．It’s sold. | B．It’s recycled. |
| C．It’s buried. | D．It’s wasted. |
| A．To make a profit for a company. | B．To protect the environtnent. |
| C．To make people eat as they drink. | D．To reduce the cost of plastic bottle. |
| A．It is easy and safe to ship it in large amounts. |
| B．It has become popular since it began to be sold. |
| C．It might be sold at a lower price than plastic bottles. |
| D．It cost the team a lot of money to develop the technology. |
| A．Ooho is to be a success in the future. |
| B．Ooho is being supported by smart people. |
| C．Ooho is taking the place of plastic bottles now. |
| D．Ooho is being produced to attract more investors. |
