1 . China has planted millions of trees in its north over the past two decades as part of its fight against expanding deserts.
The effort paid off. Around the year 2000, deserts across the country were still expanding by 10, 400 km a year. But in 2017, the State Forestry Administration reported that China’s deserts were decreasing by more than 2, 400km2 a year. The achievement was confirmed by a 2018 study from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in Paris.
“In 1999, the Chinese government began planting millions of trees in its Grain for Green Program. It was intended to repair damaged farmland in the northern Loess Plateau, which is roughly the size of France,” says Philippe Ciais, a climate researcher at the laboratory. “I was there a few months ago, and it is indeed amazing that once bare landscapes are now almost fully covered by plants.”
And China is doubling its effort and has announced a target of 30% forest coverage by 2050. At the moment, the coverage is 22%.
“The growth of forests is significant and necessary progress in the fight against desertification,” says Jianping Huang, a climate researcher at Lanzhou University. “But it’s still too early to determine whether it has solved the problem. In northwestern China, researchers have found that many of the plant species introduced to the Loess Plateau use more water than native vegetation. A 2016 study found that the restored ecosystem was already using too much rainfall and reducing the amount of water that runs off to rivers. It could lead to water shortages for humans.”
Considering water shortages is important, the national forestry department has recognized the error of planting trees in dry areas. In recent years, it has worked more closely with researchers and communities to find ways to seed less-thirsty plants that have economic value. These include plants used in traditional Chinese medicine, which farmers can harvest and sell.
“All programs need to take into account local conditions,” the forestry department said in March. “Our efforts should go towards keeping vegetation healthy, rather than simply planting trees.”
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The effort of planting trees. |
| B．The worsening desertification. |
| C．The hard fight against expanding deserts. |
| D．The result of the Grain for Green Program. |
| A．22%. | B．30%. | C．44%. | D．52%. |
| A．The rapid growth of the foreign species. |
| B．The fast losses of native plants and trees. |
| C．The war for water between trees and humans. |
| D．The quickly declining rainfall in the dry areas. |
| A．To put economic value first. | B．To consider the income of all parties. |
| C．To base its decisions on local conditions. | D．To wait for complete scientific evidence. |
1. 活动时间、地点；
2. 活动内容。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数。
Dear Henry,
How have you been these days?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
3 . A man from Ivory Coast has found a creative way to repurpose (稍加改动) footwear that washes up on the beach-he turns it into artwork.
Aristide Kouame is a 26-year-old artist. But he says no one would know this when they see him going around beach areas picking up flip-flops (人字拖) and other kinds of footwear. They probably think he is gathering the old objects to sell on the street. But Kouame has recognized the real value of such waste. He has created artworks from the material that can sell for up to $1,000. He cuts the rubber and plastic bottoms from the footwear into pieces and uses them to create largo collages (拼贴画).
“This is the rubbish people have thrown into the sea and the sea brings it back to us because it doesn’t want it,” Kouame told Reuters News Agency. He was collecting material from a beach in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic and cultural capital. “I make art from used shoes. It’s a way to give Life to the objects that litter the beaches,” the artist explained.
Sitting on the floor of a narrow street, Kouame creates shapes, letters and faces with the rubber pieces he picked up on the beach. His method is not costly and does not harm the environment. Plastic and other waste-including large amounts of lost flip-flops-litter most city beaches in West Africa. The waste is thrown away in cities and carried out to sea. But a lot of it ends up on the beach later.
In just a few years, Kouame’s methods have caught the attention of Ivory Coast’s art establishment and his works have hung in galleries in Ivory Coast and in oilier countries. His works have included large portraits of civil rights and political leaders such as Nelson Mandela. Other pieces were created to draw attention to world problems, including climate change, COVID-19 and economic inequality.
The United Nations estimates that about 13 million tons of plastic waste is put into the world’s oceans each year. Two of Africa’s biggest waste producers, Ghana and Nigeria, share the same Atlantic coastal areas as the beach where Kouame searches for supplies. For his part, Kouame says he plans to keep collecting and creating. “My goal is to get people lo question the issue of their environment, in order to create a better life.”
1. Where does Kouame create his artworks?| A．On a beach in Abidjan. | B．In galleries in Ivory Coast. |
| C．On the floor of a narrow street. | D．In the coastal areas shared by Ghana and Nigeria. |
| A．Making money by selling his artworks. |
| B．Arousing people’s environmental awareness. |
| C．Purposing footwear that washes up on the beach. |
| D．Catching the attention of Ivory Coast’s art establishment. |
| A．Kouame collects used items to sell on the street. |
| B．Kouame has drawn a large portrait of Nelson Mandela. |
| C．Plastic and other waste litter everywhere in West Africa. |
| D．Tons of waste is thrown into the world's oceans annually. |
| A．Amazing Artworks Made of Rubbish |
| B．A Creative Way to Get Rid of Rubbish |
| C．Aristide Kouame, Waste Collector from Ivory Coast |
| D．Ivory Coast Man Turning Old Flip-Flops into Artworks |
It is reported that at present a city in Japan has a problem with graffiti(涂鸦). However, it is not the usual type of graffiti with paint from spray cans
Officials in the city of Tottori are asking tourists to give up
More than 3,300 cases of "sand graffiti"
The Tottori Sand Dunes are famous throughout Japan
The local government wants to improve tourists' understanding of the
5 . Water pollution is a serious problem in India. While the government usually plays the blame game as it fails to find an effective solution to such problems many times, the public has taken the matter into its hands and come up with a solution.
Aparna, a first-year college student, is beautifying Ashtamudi Kayal lakebed by reforming wasted plastic bottles. Aparna collected the pretty ones, brought them home and painted and drew on them. Later, when these bottles started piling up in Aparna’s backyard, she decided to sell them. Aparna’s artworks were so good that they created a hit online. What made her happier was the fact that the areas where she was picking these wasted bottles were slowly becoming cleaner.
Aparna also proved to be an inspiration to others. People started collecting wasted plastic materials from the lakebed and sending them to her. However, while collecting the waste materials was easy, Aparna had a difficult time cleaning the insides of the bottles. A lot of people joined her in this initiative and helped not just collect bottles, but also clean them. This motivated Aparna to conduct another programme in her city on World Water Day (March 22), which was attended by college students, teachers, and employees of the state health department. Aparna displayed a few of her artworks made from waste to show people about how objects can be cleaned, decorated and reused.
Talking about people’s view on waste materials, Aparna said, “We often spend much money buying craftworks from the shop. Instead, we can change such waste materials into something useful and beautiful. I was teased so much for collecting waste from the road. It is the attitude that should be changed.”
1. What does the government do with pollution?| A．It attempts but accomplishes nothing. |
| B．It makes and carries out practical plans. |
| C．It calls on and depends on common people. |
| D．It governs and succeeds by doing nothing. |
| A．By storing plastic materials. | B．By decorating the lakebed. |
| C．By buying much plastic waste. | D．By recycling plastic bottles. |
| A．The lack of hands to clean bottles. |
| B．The blame from the government. |
| C．Too much waste from the local people. |
| D．The shortage of space to store the waste. |
| A．Positive. | B．Uncaring. | C．Doubtful. | D．Disapproving. |
1.活动开始时间
2.活动开展情况
3.活动后社区变化
注意：
1.写作词数应为80词；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jack,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
7 . While harmful, single-use plastics like bags, and other packaging make life easier, they’re hard to give up without an alternative, but that’s where Lucy Hughes’ creative idea comes in. The 24-year-old is a University of Sussex graduate whose school project in product design led to a brilliant invention. Lucy Hughes initially intended to figure out how to either reduce fish waste produced by the fishing industry or to turn it into something useful. What she came up with not only does both,but offers up a great alternative to single-use plastics.
While Lucy was studying various waste streams at a fish processing plant in England, the fish skins and scales she touched felt surprisingly flexible and strong, which gave her a new idea. She began playing around in her kitchen with different combinations of fish waste and red algae(海藻). After more than 100 experiments, she knew she struck gold. She created MarinaTex, a stronger bio-plastic material that takes just four to six weeks to break down. It’s even fit to be eaten! And according to Lucy, just one Atlantic cod-a type of fish-can produce 1,400 MarinaTex bags. In 2019,Lucy was named the James Dyson Award UK winner for her invention, which she hopes to eventually produce in much larger quantity. She’ll be using her prize money for further MarinaTex research and development.
Globally,320 million tones of plastic gets produced each year-a figure that’s set to double by 2034, according to Surfers Against Sewage. Yet 90.5% of all plastic has never been recycled. That means that a lot of plastic gets burnt-creating greenhouse gases that then may warm the planet, causing climate change-or sent to landfill, and eventually, some plastic reaches the oceans, harming sea creatures that often consume the materials by accident, and even end up back in the human food chain too. Now MarinaTex could be used to settle the problems.
1. What is Lucy’s original purpose of the school project in product design?| A．To invent a new kind of plastic. | B．To produce new food for fish. |
| C．To deal with fish waste better. | D．To break down used plastics. |
| A．By accident completely. | B．By her hard research work. |
| C．Under the plant’s guidance. | D．With her prize money’s help. |
| A．It’s environmental-friendly. | B．It’s convenient to produce. |
| C．It’s been used in large quantity. | D．It can be used to feed fish. |
| A．It’s helping to reduce climate changes. | B．More people have realized it’s harmful. |
| C．It is under control in parts of the world. | D．People tend to rely more and more on it. |
8 . Have you imagined that planting trees can make a big difference? People say that one man can’t make a difference, but Abdul Samad Sheikh, a 60-year-old rickshaw (人力车) driver from Bangladesh, has proved that doing a small thing over a long period of time can mean very much. He has planted at least one tree every day since he was 12 years old, which means that he has so far planted a small forest of over 17,500 trees. Imagine if everyone followed his example.
Abdul has worked as a rickshaw driver for most of his life. He makes a little money from his job, which is only enough to put food on the table for his family, but he somehow tries to also buy at least one tree every day. He considers it his duty to the world. Mostly he plants them on government land so nobody can cut them down later. He also waters them, and if he sees anyone cutting a tree, he blames them.
Abdul, his wife Jorna, and four of their children live in two old houses, on a piece of land that is owned by the Faridpur deputy commissioner’s office. They have no land of their own.
Sometimes, she commands him not to plant trees but he doesn’t listen. Abdul’s 30-year-old son, Kutub Uddin, has never told his father not to plant trees, because he thinks his father does a good thing for society.
Abdul’s neighbors all know about his daily habit, and praise his work. Whoever can ask of him anything, he will do his best to help. Therefore, Abdul is loved by neighbors.
For his efforts, Abdul Samad Sheikh was recently honored by The Daily Star, and given $1,253 to help him build a better home for his family. The Daily Star wished everyone to follow his example, and protect the environment.
“I can’t do it alone. I need the help of you all,” Abdul said in his speech.
1. What do we know about Abdul?| A．He doesn’t support his family. | B．He plants trees with his own money. |
| C．He makes a living by doing different jobs. | D．He plants trees to win his neighbors’ praise. |
| A．To get money from government. |
| B．To set a good example to people. |
| C．To protect them from being cut down. |
| D．To get a place from government to build his own house. |
| A．Poor but helpful. | B．Rich and reliable. |
| C．Uncaring and stupid. | D．Active but dishonest. |
| A．Driving a rickshaw. | B．Planting trees. |
| C．Making big money. | D．Building a better home. |
9 . The world’s oceans will likely lose about one-sixth of their fish and other creatures within 100 years if climate change continues on its current path. Every degree Celsius that the world’s oceans warm, their biomass is expected to drop five percent, a study found.
The study predicts that if there is no change in the rate of worldwide greenhouse gas production, there will be a 17-percent loss of biomass by the year 2100. But, if the world reduces carbon pollution, biomass losses could be limited to only about 5 percent.
Warming temperatures are the biggest issue. But climate change also produces oceans that are more acidic and have less oxygen. This also harms sea life. Much of the world depends on the oceans for food or work.
The findings make sense and the possible effects of the predicted losses of animal life are huge. “Climate change has the potential to cause serious new conflicts over ocean resource use as the human population continues to grow,” said scientists.
Marine biologist Boris Worm, who helped run the study, added that the “building blocks of marine life—plankton and bacteria—may decline less heavily.”
“Those marine animals that we use directly, and care about most deeply, are predicted to suffer the most,” said Worm. He works at Canada’s Dalehousie University.
Scientists had already believed climate change would likely reduce future ocean life. But past computer-based studies looked at only part of the picture or used only one model. The latest study used six different computer models to give the best picture look yet, William Cheung said.
University of Georgia marine biologist Samantha Joye was not part of the research. But she praised the study as well researched and extremely detailed, and called it “an urgent call for action”.
1. What does the underlined word “biomass” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Ocean temperature. | B．Total marine life. |
| C．Sea condition. | D．Ocean level. |
| A．It may reduce the sea resource. |
| B．It leads to the extinction of marine life. |
| C．It pollutes the environment of the ocean. |
| D．It may increase the world population. |
| A．The largest ones. | B．The ones in deep oceans. |
| C．The bacteria on sea surface. | D．Those we humans need most. |
| A．Purpose of the study on oceans. | B．Computers used in the research. |
| C．Improvement of research methods. | D．Discovery of damage of climate change. |
10 . Most people know something about the greenhouse effect. Factories send gasses such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the atmosphere, the air around the earth. In the past, this wasn’t a problem because trees absorbed the CO2. But now people in many countries are cutting down billions of trees all around the world. At the same time, factories are sending more CO2 into the atmosphere. It’s difficult to believe, but factories put billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. One ton is over 2000 pounds, so it is a lot of pollution. There is too much CO2 and there aren’t enough trees, so the world is getting warmer. In other words, we have a greenhouse effect. This is terrible for the environment.
What can we do about this? Firsts we can stop using so much coal and oil. We can learn to use different kinds of energy: the sun, wind, steam from volcanoes，and heat from inside the earth. Second, instead of cutting down trees, we should plant more trees. One tree can absorb ten pounds of carbon dioxide every year.
The trees are good for the earth’s atmosphere and for Guatemala (拉丁美洲国家危地马拉).In small towns and villages in Guatemala, most women are poor and have hard lives. Trees help them in three ways. First, the Connecticut factories pay them to plant the trees. Their pay is com, not money. The com is good for their children. Second, these women know a lot about their environment. They know where to plant when to plant, and what kinds of trees to plant. For example，they plant many fruit trees. The fruit gives them vitamins for their families’ s diets. Other trees are good for firewood. In a few years, the women won’t spend so much time looking for firewood. Third, all these trees are good for the soil. Now rain can’t wash the soil down from the mountains so easily.
This plan isn’t enough to stop the greenhouse effect. However, it’s a start. The woman of Guatemala are helping themselves and helping their environment.
1. Which of the following statement is NOT true?| A．Factories send more CO2 into the atmosphere. |
| B．Trees can’t absorb the same CO2 as they did in the past. |
| C．Billions of trees are being cut down throughout the world. |
| D．The greenhouse effect is extremely bad for the environment. |
| A．The reasons why we should plant more trees. |
| B．Ways we can adopt to take heat from volcanoes. |
| C．Measures to be taken to forbid the use of coal and oil. |
| D．Things we can do to stop or reduce the greenhouse effect. |
| A．By preventing the greenhouse effect. |
| B．By developing their skills of planting trees. |
| C．By enabling them to earn more money to support their family. |
| D．By making them get com and fruit to feed their family in return. |
| A．Critical. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
