Polar bears are undergoing hunger in a world
Polar bears live in the environment too cold for most animals. For most of the year, they live and hunt on Arctic sea ice. Nature has prepared
Polar bears’ world is melting. Studies show that polar ice
2 . During the 20th century, an estimated 3 million great whales were hunted to provide humans with oil, meat and rose fertiliser. Roger Payne, a biologist and environmentalist, spurred (推动) a worldwide environmental conservation movement with his discovery that whales could sing.
This discovery was made in 1967 during his research trip to Bermuda (百慕大) when a navy engineer provided him with a recording of curious underwater sounds documented. Payne identified the tones as songs whales sing to one another and he was conscious from the start that whale song was to get the public interested in protecting an animal previously considered little more than a resource, curiosity or nuisance.
Payne saw the discovery of whale song as a chance to spur interest in saving the giant animals, who were disappearing from the planet. In 1970, Payne released the album Songs of the Humpback Whale. The record, a surprise hit, fueled a global movement to end the practice of commercial whale hunting and save the whales from extinction. It remains the bestselling environmental album in history.
The impact of the whale song discovery on the early environmental movement was immense. Many antiwar protesters of the day took on saving animals and the environment as a new cause. The humpback whale became the icon of a new environmental awareness. And the whales entered pop culture, no longer the fearsome beasts. In 1977, the whale calls were loaded on to the Voyager probes and sent into outer space.
Payne, graduating from Harvard University and Cornell University with a doctor’s degree, authored or co authored dozens of scientific papers, gave hundreds of lectures, made countless television programmes and films, and led 100 oceanic expeditions. Payne had started an ambitious new project: CETI, a combination of scientists using new technology to interpret what whales might be “saying”.
1. What caused the decline of the whale population in the 20th century?| A．Habitat loss. | B．The climate change. |
| C．Uncontrolled hunting. | D．The ocean pollution. |
| A．To boost interest in protecting whales. | B．To satisfy people’s curiosity about sea. |
| C．To achieve great commercial success. | D．To earn a reputation as a researcher. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Accomplished. |
| C．Courageous. | D．Patient. |
| A．The conservation of ocean environment. |
| B．Efforts to awake public ocean awareness. |
| C．A high-tech way to document whale tones. |
| D．A whale protection campaign by a biologist. |
3 . From the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the orange gardens of Seville, urban planners down the ages have taken inspiration from nature. And those living in the concrete and brick jungle have perhaps never appreciated green space more than during the covid-19 pandemic. During lockdowns, citizens have found parks and gardens an unexpected source of calm and joy.
The evidence of positive effects from nature includes studies on specific psychological conditions.
The evolving understanding of nature’s broad health benefits, plus our ongoing pandemic experience, is a big urge to build the green cities.
| A．How to build green cities is a problem. |
| B．What does an ideal green city of tomorrow look like? |
| C．Actually, the trend for urban greening has already begun. |
| D．This isn’t just a phenomenon in developed countries, either. |
| E．Clean air and water, nutrient recycling and flood defence are the bonuses. |
| F．Access to nature can improve sleep, reduce stress and increase happiness. |
| G．It has a huge impact on people’s perceptions of their health and well-being. |
4 . 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. |
5 . This past summer I set out on a journey to Canada’s Arctic. When I left I was wrapped in a blanket of uncertainty and
But when I first met the group members, I knew I didn’t have anything to
Approaching the Arctic, I was repeatedly
However, I also learned the pollutants carried by ocean from far away have a negative
During the journey, I talked with some
The Arctic is a land of incredible beauty which
| A．relief | B．anxiety | C．pride | D．argument |
| A．put up | B．prepare for | C．give up | D．worry about |
| A．easy-going | B．well-behaved | C．sensitive | D．flexible |
| A．failure | B．performance | C．adventure | D．conflict |
| A．embarrassed | B．ashamed | C．amused | D．shocked |
| A．watching | B．organizing | C．noticing | D．guessing |
| A．painfully | B．patiently | C．unconsciously | D．doubtfully |
| A．source | B．reaction | C．effect | D．development |
| A．rest | B．ease | C．peace | D．risk |
| A．hunt | B．explore | C．help | D．meet |
| A．demanding | B．learned | C．modest | D．rigid |
| A．classified | B．decorated | C．confused | D．occupied |
| A．promises | B．benefits | C．deserves | D．intends |
| A．take care of | B．make use of | C．run out of | D．became tired of |
| A．deny | B．ensure | C．argue | D．overlook |
6 . The scientists who re-engineered the plastic-eating enzyme(酶) PETase have now created a new enzyme called “cocktail” , which can digest plastic up to six times faster.
PETase breaks down PET back into its building blocks, creating an opportunity to recycle plastic and reduce plastic pollution. PET is the most common thermoplastic(热塑性塑料) used to make single-use drinks bottles, which takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment, but PETase can shorten this time to days. The initial discovery set up the prospect of a revolution in plastic recycling, creating a potential low-energy solution to tackle plastic waste.
Now, the same trans-Atlantic team have combined PETase and its “partner”, a second enzyme called MHETase, to generate much bigger improvements: simply mixing PETase with MHETase doubled the speed of PET breakdown, and engineering a connection between the two enzymes to create a “super-enzyme”, increased this activity by a further three times.
The team was co-led by the scientists who engineered PETase, Professor John McGeehan and Dr Gregg Beckham. Professor McGeehan said: “Gregg and I were chatting about how PETase attacks the surface of the plastics and MHETase chops things up further, so it seemed natural to see if we could use them together. Our first experiments showed that they did work better together, so we decided to physically link them. It took a great deal of work, but it was worth the effort — we were delighted to see that our new enzyme is up to three times faster than the separate enzymes.”
The original PETase enzyme discovery indicated the first hope that a solution to the global plastic pollution problem might be within grasp, though PETase alone is not yet fast enough to handle the tons of PET bottles. Combining it with a second enzyme, and finding together they work even faster, means another leap forward has been taken towards finding a solution to plastic waste. PETase and the new combined MHETase-PETase both work by digesting PET plastic. This allows for plastics to be made and reused endlessly, reducing our reliance on fossil(化石) resources.
1. What can we learn about “cocktail” from the text?| A．It doubles the breakdown of plastics. |
| B．It takes hundreds of years to break down. |
| C．It contributes to breaking down plastic quickly. |
| D．It deals with the plastic waste three times faster. |
| A．A new study of PET. | B．The breakdown of PET. |
| C．The discovery of PETase. | D．The functions of PETase. |
| A．Co-leading the trans-Atlantic team. | B．Combining PETase and MHETase. |
| C．Attacking the surface of the plastics. | D．Talking about conducting experiments. |
| A．PET pollution is no longer a difficult problem to deal with. |
| B．New enzyme is speeding up our reliance on fossil resources. |
| C．MHETase-PETase makes the world free from plastic pollution. |
| D．Plastic-eating enzyme “cocktail” promises new hope for plastic waste. |
7 . More than 45,000 years ago, by the shore of present-day Tasmania, a local person picked up a large piece of thick, dark brown seaweed. And he realized that this giant piece of seaweed could be used to make a watertight(不透水的) bag. And 45,000 years later on mainland Australia, people are again turning to seaweed to solve pressing problems. Today, it is used to address the world’s climate crisis.
Winberg, a marine ecologist, has spent decades studying seaweed. She believes seaweed’s fast growth rate and ability to absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide can help fight climate change, clean the oceans, and change the way we farm, not just in the oceans but also on land.
Realizing seaweed’s potential as a climate solution, Winberg opened Australia’s first land-based, commercial seaweed farm in 2013. On her farm Winberg produces seaweed juices that are used in food, and medicines. Like plants on land, seaweed absorbs CO2 and grows biomass(生物量). Coastal marine systems can absorb carbon at rates up to 50 times greater than forests on land. Globally, seaweeds are thought to sequester nearly 200 million tons of CO2 every year — as much as New York States annual emissions. And when the seaweed dies, much of the carbon locked up in its tissues is transported to deep oceans.
The potential for seaweed doesn’t stop in the oceans. Winberg has found there are benefits on land, too. She believes that seaweed farming offers “huge potential” to not only address the climate crisis, but also feed a growing population in a sustainable way. According to Winberg, one hectare of a seaweed farm can produce more protein than the same amount of land used for cattle. “We’re sitting on undiscovered, renewable, sustainable resources,” she says.
In the thousands of years of human experimentation with seaweed, the scale of the challenges that seaweed can help solve has grown largely. But some things are still the same. To the Aboriginal Australians living in Tasmania who first discovered some of seaweed’s uses, it might have seemed like a wonder material as they made watertight bags out of it. To seaweed experts like Winberg today, this old idea is still ringing true.
1. What is mainly introduced about seaweed in Paragraph 1?| A．It’s history. | B．It’s origin. | C．It’s use. | D．It’s appearance. |
| A．Unclear | B．Critical | C．Doubtful | D．Favorable |
| A．By comparison. | B．By argumentation. | C．By example. | D．By simile. |
| A．People can only feel the seaweed’s benefits from the sea. |
| B．Seaweed can solve an increasing number of difficulties. |
| C．The seaweed today has no more advantages than before. |
| D．The potential for seaweed does not apply to the land. |
8 . How to Reduce Gift Wrap Waste
Wrapping paper may have “paper” in its name, but that doesn’t automatically mean it can be recycled.
Reuse what you have.
Use different materials.
Ask for better paper. Shops store what customers want, and recyclability should be a top priority, so let that be known when you’re out shopping. As explained by Simon Ellin, CEO of the Recycling Association, a trade body that represents about 90 waste management companies and paper merchants in the United Kingdom, “It’s a campaign we’ve been on all year — do you really need to design a non-paper wrapping paper? Make paper with recycling in mind!”
| A．Try zero waste. |
| B．Shop with that in mind, too. |
| C．You don’t have to choose shining paper to decorate a present. |
| D．In fact, many types of wrapping paper cannot due to their materials. |
| E．When wrapping paper is extremely thin, it has few good quality fibers for recycling. |
| F．Wrapping paper can be used many times if care is taken to unwrap it without tearing. |
| G．Having a mix of recyclable and non-recyclable papers is a real problem for companies. |
9 . If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.
●Use food containers smartly
Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.
●Choose real cutlery (餐具)
Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.
You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?
●Think about the drinks
Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.
●Put cloth bags to good use
Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.
| A．Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket. |
| B．There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy. |
| C．To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea. |
| D．If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates. |
| E．Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground. |
| F．These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided. |
| G．In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything. |
10 . In the summer of 2021, an unseasonal event took place. More than 100 miles of Florida’s coast around Tampa Bay became an oxygen-depleted (缺氧的) zone containing dead fish along the nearby shoreline.
Much of the conversation around our climate crisis highlights the emission of greenhouse gases and their effect on warming, sea-level rise and ocean acidification (海洋酸化). We hear little about the effect of climate change on oxygen levels, particularly in oceans and lakes. But water without adequate oxygen cannot support life. For the three billion people who depend on coastal fisheries for income, declining ocean oxygen levels are devastating.
As ocean and atmospheric scientists focus on climate, we believe that oceanic oxygen levels are the next big victim of global warming. To stop the situation from worsening, we need to expand our attention to include the dangerous state of oceanic oxygen levels — the life-support system of our planet. We need to accelerate ocean-based climate solutions that boost oxygen. Examples include nature-based solutions such as those discussed at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow.
Enhanced monitoring of oxygen and the establishment of an oxygen-accounting system are a must. Putting oxygen into the climate story motivates us to do the work to understand the deep systemic changes happening in our complex atmospheric and oceanic systems. We celebrated the return of humpback whales in recent years to an increasingly clean New York Harbor and Hudson River. However, dead fish blocked the Hudson in the summer as warmer waters carried less oxygen.
Ecosystem changes connected to physical and chemical system-level data may point the way to new approaches to climate solutions. It includes an enhanced understanding of the life-support system of our planet. Roughly 40 percent of the world’s people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods. If we do not save marine life from oxygen starvation, we starve ourselves.
1. What is the result of less ocean oxygen according to the text?| A．A rise in the coastal fisheries. | B．The warming of the atmosphere. |
| C．The emission of greenhouse gases. | D．An increase in deaths of sea animals. |
| A．Attention to oceans is necessary. | B．Global warming effects are serious. |
| C．Oceanic oxygen levels are dangerous. | D．Ways to boost oceanic oxygen are urgent. |
| A．To bring in an oxygen-accounting system in climate. |
| B．To explain the urgency of oxygen levels in atmosphere. |
| C．To call for more attention to oxygen starvation in waters. |
| D．To show the achievements in reducing air pollution. |
| A．Save Marine Life. | B．Make Oceans Safe. |
| C．Let Oceans Breathe. | D．Keep Marine System. |
