1 . In the 2010s, 34-year-old Brianne Miller travelled around the world and made a surprising discovery: large amounts of plastic littering the water and doing harm to sea life. Miller knew she needed to do something.
Canadians throw out three million tons of plastic waste each year. Groups like A Greener Future, which organize litter clean-ups across Canada, think that 33% of what they pick up comes from food packaging. About one third of food produced worldwide goes to waste too, according to a UN study. Miller decided to solve the problem at the source, imagining a shop where both wasteful packaging and the bad habit of wasting food no longer existed.
In June 2018, she opened her first zero-waste store in Canada. She named it Nada. Customers can bring their own containers (容器), though it’s not necessary: by the front door are quarrels don’t go that far. These days, especially in cities, many people live in buildings. Our neighbours are all around us — so what problems can come from that?
The first obvious cause of arguement is noise pollution. Loud noise through the walls, construction (施工), or people arguing next door can disturb the silence of your living space. Asking someone directly to turn the music down can cause you to feel anxious. However, if you get someone like a building manager to speak to your neighbour, it can make things more awkward because you didn’t speak to your neighbour directly.
And then what about smells? If your neighbour likes eating food with pungent (刺激的) smells, and the smells flow through your window, what can you do? There are some other common problems, such as water running through the wall, pets making noise, and littering from the window above you. These can bring anger over time.
It’s not easy living next door to someone, especially if they’re noisy. But having a clear and honest conversation might help. Also, try thinking if what you are doing could make your neighbours angry. If it’s something that would make you feel bad,maybe think again.
1. Why does the author mention the figures in paragraph 2?A.To present a fact. |
B.To provide an example. |
C.To explain a topic. |
D.To make a comparison. |
A.Turn to the police. |
B.Talk to the neighbor directly. |
C.Quarrel with the neighbor. |
D.Ask the building manager for help. |
A.They provide you pleasure. |
B.They open your imagination. |
C.They’re your neighbor’s favorites. |
D.They make you uncomfortable. |
A.How to make a neighbor happy. |
B.How to deal with a noisy neighbour. |
C.How to communicate with a neighbour. |
D.How to get along well with a neighbour. |
2 . In 1960 the Aral Sea was one of the world’s largest inland water bodies, covering an area of approximately 68,000 square kilometers (26,000 square miles). By the year 2000 the area covered by the Aral Sea had become less than half its 1960 size, its volume reduced by 80 percent. By about 2010 all that will remain will be three shallow remnants.
What caused the Aral Sea to evaporate over the past 40 years? As recently as 1965, the Aral Sea received about 50 cubic kilometers (12 cubic miles) of fresh water per year. By the early 1980s this number had declined to nearly zero. The reason was that the waters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya had been diverted to supply a major expansion of irrigated agriculture in this dry realm.
The intensive irrigation has greatly increased agricultural productivity, but not without significant costs. The deltas of the two major rivers have lost their wetlands, and wildlife has disappeared. The once thriving fishing industry has been eliminated, and the 24 species of fish that once inhabited the Aral Sea are no longer there. The shoreline is now tens of kilometers from the towns that were once fishing centers.
The shrinking sea has exposed millions of acres of former seabed to sun and wind. The surface is covered with salt and agrochemicals brought by the rivers. Strong winds routinely pick up thousands of tons of newly exposed materials every year and deposit them throughout the region. This process has not only contributed to a significant reduction in air quality for the region’s population, but has also appreciably reduced crop yields due to the deposits of salt-rich sediments on farmable land.
The shrinking Aral Sea has had a noticeable impact on climate. Without the moderating effect of a large water body, there are greater extremes of temperature, a shorter growing season, and reduced local precipitation. These changes have caused many farms to switch from growing cotton to growing rice, which demands even more diverted water.
1. Why have crop yields been reduced on the land surrounding the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya?A.The Aral Sea no longer provides the land with fresh water for irrigation. |
B.The farmers have stopped using chemical fertilizers. |
C.The salt content of the soil has increased. |
D.Erosion due to wind has increased. |
A.forcefully |
B.necessarily |
C.unfortunately |
D.regularly |
A.Rice requires less water. |
B.Rice is cheaper to grow. |
C.Rice needs a shorter growing season. |
D.Rice has less impact on climate. |
Tibetan antelopes live on the plains of. They were hunted
I went to the Changtang National Nature Reserve to observe Tibetan antelopes along with my guide, Zhaxi,
In order
4 . More than one billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the U.S. every year, and after they’ve been used for Halloween, millions of them will end up in a waste yard.
“Driving around after Halloween, you see so many pumpkins on top of their garbage cans. All of them will go to a waste yard and become methane gas(沼气),” says Kay McKeen, director of an environmental education organization based in Illinois.
Methane is a greenhouse gas. Compared to CO2, it warms the atmosphere in a shorter amount of time, which means it’s a most important cause of climate change. And waste yards—where we send as much as 40 percent of the food we produce—take up 14 percent of methane produced in the US every year.
That’s why, in 2014, McKeen began a collection event where local people can bring their waste pumpkins to 69 different locations to send them off to the bins, and—of course—smash them to pieces.
“It puts nutrients(营养) back in our soil, it saves water, it doesn’t make methane gas—it’s just a win-win,” says McKeen.
But not everyone has access to pumpkin smashing events, so we asked our newsletter readers how they reduce their pumpkin waste. The answers are various, ranging from baking sweet treats to bringing a pumpkin treat to farm animals.
1. What happens after Halloween?A.A lot of pumpkins are thrown away. |
B.People are busy cleaning up garbage. |
C.It is the best time for pumpkin harvest. |
D.People use pumpkins to make methane gas. |
A.Pumpkins cause the climate change. |
B.Illinois people waste half of their food. |
C.Both methane and CO2 are greenhouse gases. |
D.Methane is the only reason for climate change. |
A.Burn. | B.Shake. | C.Break. | D.Press. |
A.A letter. | B.A speech. | C.A news report. | D.A health report. |
China has developed a technology that is able to transform desert lands into available soil. The technology
According to CGTN (中国国际电视台), Chinese scientists have achieved success in growing crops in areas with bad conditions caused by lack of rain and
Researchers are looking into expanding their project this fall, with
6 . Vicky Barlow is a volunteer for a non-profit environmental organization. She was overturning stones in a rock pool in Falmouth, England when something “extremely bright and unusual” caught her eye. Under a large seaweed-covered rock, she made a very rare find: a rainbow sea slug (蛞蝓).
Rainbow sea slugs are very uncommon in England — they’re usually found in warmer waters, such as those along the west coasts of Spain, Portugal and France. In fact, there have only been three previously documented sightings of the species in the UK. But those were all found by divers rather than rock poolers. “It’s a warm-water species but it looks as if it has arrived here,” said the sea biologist Ben Holt. He adds that waters around the UK have seen rapid warming due to climate change. By the end of the century, water temperatures in the UK will rise by more than 3℃.
Sea slugs are particularly useful in related research. Most sea slugs only live up to about one year, which means they can make a very quick response to the changes in water temperatures caused by climate issues. In Australia, climate scientists have been collecting information on sea slugs for over 10 years to record the species and learn about changes in their distribution (分布), including their arrival in historically cooler waters.
Around 3,000 species of sea slugs exist in waters worldwide. They mainly feed on seaweed and other sea slugs. Unlike snails, adult sea slugs don’t have shells to protect them from being eaten by hungry marine animals. Instead, many of them have formed bright colors to scare off their enemies such as sea turtles, starfish and crabs. Some species may even have the unusual ability to steal stinging cells (刺细胞) from animals they feed on and shoot them out when threatened.
Before sending it back where it came from, Barlow placed the sea slug in a pot to get a better look at its colors. “It is absolutely amazing that I could find it on our rocky coasts,” Barlow writes in her blog. “It’s a perfect example of the incredible wildlife we have on our doorstep.”
1. Why are rainbow sea slugs rare in England?A.They prefer to live in deep waters. |
B.Divers are unable to recognize them. |
C.Rock pools are poorly managed here. |
D.The environment is normally unfavorable. |
A.They are important in studying climate change. |
B.Their overall population continues to decrease. |
C.They mostly choose to live in cooler waters. |
D.Their sea habitats have been badly polluted. |
A.Their survival abilities. | B.Risks caused by their colors. |
C.Changes in their feeding habits. | D.Their common marine enemies. |
A.Calm and peaceful. | B.Surprised and glad. |
C.Curious and doubtful. | D.Shocked and worried. |
7 . On November 7, Lewis Pugh completed a one-kilometer swim in the freezing waters of King Edward Cove, off South Georgia in Antarctica. He was wearing only his swimming glasses, cap and Speedo !
Pugh is an advocate for our oceans and seas, working to protect these ecosystems with their large diversity of marine life. When asked why he doesn't wear a wetsuit(防寒泳衣), Pugh says, "I ask world leaders to do everything they can to protect our oceans. Sometimes the steps they need to take are difficult and unpopular. If I'm asking them to be courageous, I must also be. Swimming in a wetsuit would not send the right message."
It took Pugh about 19 minutes to complete the one-kilometer swim in Antarctica where the water averaged about 1.6 degrees Celsius. He says that his body can only tolerate about 20 minutes in the freezing waters before it starts shutting down. As he swims, his body temperature steadily drops, which in turn causes his muscle control to drop, slowing him down. When he is done with his swim, his support team rushes him to a hot shower and it takes almost an hour for his body temperature to return to normal.
Doctors and Pugh caution that one must receive months of training to swim in such cold waters. Even expert swimmers who are unused to freezing water can drown within minutes because of the physical shock experienced by the body. Pugh says he trained for six months before this swim.
This is not the first time that Pugh has swum in dangerous conditions. In 2007, he swam one kilometer in the North Pole to draw attention to the melting Arctic ice due to climate change. In 2015, he swam in the Bay of Whales in Antarctica's Ross Sea as part of his successful campaign to help set up a marine reserve there.
1. Why did Lewis Pugh swim without a wetsuits ?A.To show his bravery. |
B.To swim faster. |
C.To build up his body. |
D.To have overnight fame. |
A.His body temperature. |
B.His body |
C.The water. |
D.The water temperature. |
A.One should be expert at swimming. |
B.One must be used to long-distance swimming. |
C.One should be ready to take on challenges. |
D.One must be adequately prepared for it. |
A.Lewis Pugh: achieving the impossible |
B.How to survive a swim in cold waters |
C.Lewis Pugh: swimming for a cause |
D.How to prepare for extreme swimming |
8 . A waste management system is a collective kind of efforts and has to be supported by the government and all the people. There are some countries with the most interesting waste sorting culture.
Germany is the country with the world's number one recycling system. It has a quite detailed way of sorting their waste-down to the colour of glass waste and the type of paper that could be put inside the paper waste bin. Items like used batteries, electronics, unused paints and appliances must be returned to special locations to be recycled. Other items such as clothes, shoes and furniture are advised to be sold or donated. There's this thing called deposit in Germany, a certain part of the price on a bottled drink that you get back if you return the bottle. German law requires that all shops selling bottled drinks should have such a return point.
South Koreans used to ignore how to sort their waste, but in 1995 their government took a different path from other countries: they set up a systematic(系统的)and strict waste management standard to make sure the development of their future economy. Their government knows that a, good waste management system brings money-saving and environment-caring. South Korea succeeded in changing the people's behavior and did everything to ensure their waste reduction.
It's never too hard to throw your garbage in Indonesia. What Indonesians commonly do is putting your trashes in your personal garbage area at the front of your house, right at the side of the street. And the garbage collectors with their big garbage truck will pick the trashes up. Imagine how much culture shock an Indonesian would suffer when they live in a country famous for its complicated waste sorting system such as Japan, South Korea or Germany-a place where public shaming and fine for a failure in obeying the waste sorting rules is more likely to happen.
1. What can we know about Germany according to the text?A.It sorts the waste in a simple way. |
B.It has the best waste-recycling system. |
C.It pays no attention to sorting the waste. |
D.It advises people to donate unused paints. |
A.Fund donated by the public. |
B.Drinks forbidden by laws. |
C.Money returned to customers. |
D.Places set up for recycling. |
A.Indonesia. | B.Japan. | C.South Korea. | D.Germany. |
A.To inform a way of recycling. | B.To compare different cultures. |
C.To advertise a sorting company. | D.To introduce waste managing systems. |
1 .垃圾分类的好处; 2.讲座具体时间和地点; 3.邀请居民参加。
注意:1. 词数80词左右;开头和结尾已经给出,不计入总词数;
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
参考词汇:垃圾分类garbage classification
Dear sir or madam,
I' m writing this letter to call on attention to the community lecture concerning garbage classification.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Hongqi Community
10 . The production and distribution of food accounts for around a third of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions (排放). But as a consumer? It’s difficult to measure the climate impact of what you eat.
A Dublin-based startup called Evocco could soon make it much easier. It lets users track and improve the climate impact of your food purchases. Users simply photograph their grocery receipts using the Evocco app, which identifies the food products by reading the printed text and using machine learning. It then calculates the carbon footprint based on the store’s location and by checking the type, weight and origin o£ a food against a database. The database is maintained by Eaternity, a life cycle assessment company based in Switzerland. If the receipt doesn’t contain enough data on a product, it will give an estimate based on similar products and reference points.
The app is available for free on iOS and Android devices, which has been downloaded more than 1,000 times since its launch at the end of last year. As well as the personal shopping app — which Evocco hopes to launch in the United States by the end of this year — the company is developing a digital tool to sell to food storekeepers, e-commerce platforms and delivery apps that will track the climate impact of a product’s journey through the supply chain. The aim is to help storekeepers provide climate impact information directly to consumers, and more importantly, to give Evocco access to product data to improve its app.
The Evocco app is not the only app looking to reach this climate-conscious market. There’s Capture, which estimates monthly CO2 emissions by asking users a series of questions on diet, transport and other factors, as well as Yayzy and My Carbon Action, which link to a user’s bank account, calculating their footprint from trade.
1. What is the Evocco app designed to do?A.Confirm the origin of food products. |
B.Work out the climate effect of food. |
C.Collect varieties of grocery receipts. |
D.Monitor customers’ shopping practices. |
A.The product. | B.The receipt. | C.Evocco. | D.Eaternity. |
A.It profits a great deal from its app. |
B.It has launched its app in America. |
C.It is trying to get its app improved. |
D.It prefers to sell its app to storekeepers. |
A.The Evocco app is still far from satisfactory. |
B.Smart tools make tracking carbon footprint easier. |
C.Present digital markets should be strictly restricted. |
D.Environmental awareness boosts food industry rapidly. |