1 . Nuclear pollution is a serious global
When nuclear accidents occur in coastal areas, the
Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, efforts to cool the reactors by pumping in seawater resulted in the
This
| A．change | B．opportunity | C．concern | D．possibility |
| A．caused | B．posed | C．created | D．increased |
| A．resulted in | B．led to | C．brought about | D．caused |
| A．terrestrial | B．aquatic | C．marine | D．atmospheric |
| A．balancing | B．regulating | C．considering | D．stabilizing |
| A．heightened | B．raised | C．decreased | D．lifted |
| A．minor | B．slight | C．substantial | D．insignificant |
| A．accumulation | B．storage | C．deposition | D．buildup |
| A．Therefore | B．Despite | C．However | D．Hence |
| A．from | B．by | C．of | D．in |
| A．residents | B．citizens | C．inhabitants | D．dwellers |
| A．issue | B．measure | C．release | D．disposal |
| A．web | B．chain | C．network | D．system |
| A．urgent | B．immediate | C．pressing | D．critical |
| A．address | B．tackle | C．solve | D．resolve |
1.比赛目的；
2.比赛过程；
3.比赛反响。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.提示词：保护生态环境，建设绿色家园 Protecting the Eco-environment；Building a Green Homeland
An English Speech Contest
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3 . A report from the UN warns that countries’ current commitments would reduce carbon by only about 7.5% by 2030, far less than the 45% cut, which scientists say is needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃, the aim of the COP26 summit (峰会).
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, described the findings as a “thundering wake-up call” to world leaders, while experts called for action against fossil fuel companies.
Although more than 100 countries have promised to reach net zero emissions (净零排放) around mid-century, this would not be enough to avoid climate disasters, according to the UN emissions report, which examines the shortfall (差额) between countries’ intentions and actions needed on the climate. Many of the net zero commitments were found to be unclear, and unless accompanied by strict cuts in emissions this decade would allow global heating of a potentially disastrous extent.
Gutierrez said: “The heat is on, and as the contents of the report show, the leadership we need is off. Far off. Countries are wasting a massive opportunity to invest Covid-19 finance and recovery resources in sustainable, cost-saving, planet-saving ways. As world leaders prepare for COP26, that is another thundering wake-up call. How many do we need?”
Inger Andersen, the director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said: “Climate change is no longer a future problem. It is a now problem. To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5℃, we have 8 years to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions: 8 years to make the plans, put in place the policies, carry them out and deliver the cuts. The clock is ticking loudly.”
Emissions fell by about 5.4% last year during Covid lockdowns, the report found, but only about one-fifth of the economic recovery spending goes towards reducing carbon emissions. This failure to “build back better”, despite promises by governments around the world, cast doubt on the world’s willingness to make the economic shift necessary to settle the climate crisis, the UN said.
In the run-up (前期) to COP26, countries were supposed to submit (递交) national plans to cut emissions—called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) —for the next decade, a requirement under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. But the UNEP report found only half of countries had submitted new NDCs, and some governments had presented weak plans.
1. Why were the findings described as a “thundering wake-up call” in Para. 2?| A．Because the world has failed to live up to its current commitments. |
| B．Because the opportunities presented by covid-19 have been wasted. |
| C．Because the world is falling behind in slowing down temperature rises. |
| D．Because the serious problems were brought about by global fossil fuels. |
| A．strict measures are taken to reduce emissions |
| B．current commitments of many countries remain unchanged |
| C．huge gaps are bridged between previous and present proposals |
| D．global sustainable environmental resources develops significantly |
| A．To show the number of alarm clocks required. |
| B．To explain the reason for the world’s wasting chances. |
| C．To ask for the number of the countries attending the meeting. |
| D．To stress the need to make the most of resources and reduce emissions. |
| A．Few countries have submitted plans to reduce the emissions. |
| B．Many countries’ plans to cut emissions are far from satisfactory. |
| C．Most of the countries work under the Paris Climate Agreement. |
| D．Much progress in reducing emissions his been made these years. |
1.活动目的；
2.活动内容；
3.活动反响。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。
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5 . Beach is a relaxing place to catch waves, get some sun, enjoy picnic, spot wildlife and go exploring. Here are tips from experts on how to be a better beachgoer, so future generations of sea lovers can get their beach therapy (疗法) when they need it.
Use safer sunblock
Many sunblocks advertise that they are “reef-friendly”, which has no firm definitions, and their usage isn’t regulated by governmental bodies.
Get involved
Thoughtful toys for kids
It’s fun for your little ones to play with plastic toys in the sand.
Read the signs
Signs at the beach aren’t optional reading. They tell you where you can’t go and what you can’t do, so you don’t mess with the local ecosystem.
Destroy what you build
It doesn’t matter how much time and effort your children spent building sand castles or digging tunnels: if you are on a beach marked as a sea turtle habitat, fill in the trench and knock down the structure. Sea turtles have heavy bodies and they can die if they fall into a hole and get trapped.
| A．So it’s best to read the fine print carefully |
| B．Beach-goers are generally advised to stay off sand hills |
| C．Thus, try your best to be a considerate eco-friendly tourist |
| D．However, plastic toys break easily, leaving behind bits and pieces |
| E．Sand structures also can prevent them from reaching birthing areas |
| F．Bring a reusable bag to clean up while you’re walking the shoreline |
| G．Have your children pick up trash with you when walking on the beach |
6 . Pregracke grew up in Illinois, where the Mississippi River was in his backyard. Communities along the river use it to
With persistence and sincerity, Pregracke got a small
It began as an individual effort, but over the years Pregracke turned it into a
Picking up garbage is
| A．store | B．deliver | C．obtain | D．process |
| A．rubbish | B．furniture | C．sand | D．paper |
| A．fond | B．shy | C．sick | D．hopeful |
| A．report | B．fund | C．review | D．team |
| A．studying | B．crossing | C．exploring | D．cleaning |
| A．sort | B．remove | C．mix | D．bury |
| A．empty-handedly | B．absent-mindedly | C．single-handedly | D．light-heartedly |
| A．political | B．cultural | C．competitive | D．collective |
| A．trade | B．protest | C．research | D．cause |
| A．weather-beaten | B．good-looking | C．well-equipped | D．old-fashioned |
| A．application | B．campaign | C．discovery | D．assessment |
| A．consults | B．interviews | C．contacts | D．educates |
| A．fortune | B．damage | C．opportunity | D．limitation |
| A．tough | B．practical | C．unfair | D．rewarding |
| A．gratitude | B．accomplishment | C．expectation | D．curiosity |
7 . Can wine corks(酒瓶塞) be used in architecture? This is the innovation(创新) that Yan Sze Hon, a 31-year-old Hong Kong man, is striving for in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area(GBA).
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yan came to Guangzhou in 2021 after several years of doing remodeling projects for old houses in Portugal. With the establishment of the GBA, “I saw the great opportunity and market prospects(前景) in the area,” Yan said.
Yan wanted to bring back an innovative idea from Portugal—using wine corks as an environmentally friendly building material.
“I love wine, and Portugal is the largest cork producer in the world,” Yan said. “It occurred to me that by recycling the corks, we can actually use them inside doors and walls to make them more sound-proof, which can provide a quieter private space for people.” According to Yan, he was one of the first to put this idea into practice, and obtained success in Portugal.
“Now I want to be the one that takes the first step in China,” Yan said.
Yan said that companies like his have benefited a lot from the supportive policies of the GBA. Since the establishment of the GBA, Guangdong has built 13 innovation and entrepreneurship bases, providing resources and services for nearly 600 Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurship teams. He chose Guangzhou’s Tianhe district because it offers cheaper accommodation and office space to Hong Kong and Macao businessmen. “Also, the opening of new ports has made it very convenient for the flow of goods and talented people,” Yan said.
“I’m sure GBA will be the right place for me to start my business on the Chinese mainland,” Yan said. One day, he wants his business to operate in Shanghai, Zhejiang and more places.
1. What innovation is Yan Sze Hon trying to achieve in the GBA?| A．Designing environment-friendly buildings. |
| B．Using wine corks as a building material. |
| C．Establishing an architectural enterprise. |
| D．Remodeling projects for the old houses. |
| A．They are accessible in the world. |
| B．They can create a soundless place. |
| C．They do harm to the environment. |
| D．They have been recycled in Portugal. |
| A．They have access to cheaper accommodation and offices. |
| B．They have been able to hire talented people to the GBA. |
| C．They have been granted loans for innovative projects. |
| D．They have received financial support from the 13 bases. |
| A．Intelligent and humorous. | B．Cautious and far-sighted. |
| C．Ambitious and creative. | D．Supportive and outgoing. |
8 . Janet, now 37, was playing with her new pet dog, Stitch, who jumped up, grabbed her sleeve, and tore several holes in her sweater with its sharp teeth. Instead of throwing the sweater away, Janet decided to repair it.
She turned to “visible repairing,” an idea of repairing clothes that leaves an obvious fix. She added bright flowers and other small designs to damaged clothes. “Every time you do a repair, it’s like having bought a new piece of clothes,” says Janet.
Actually, repairing is a great opportunity to realize the urgent (迫切的) need to reduce waste. Sadly, we have become used to replacing things instead of repairing them — and the rubbish is piling up. Worldwide, we throw away 92 million tons of cloth every year. Electronic waste is another growing problem: About 50 million tons of it is created each year around the world.
The good news is that fixing things can help deal with the waste problem. There are some solutions. Due to information online, the popular how-to site iFixit.com , a database (数据库) with nearly 100,000 repair brochures for everything from electronics to clothing, has promoted more than 100 million repairs. In addition, since the first Repair Café opened in2009 in Amsterdam, more than 2,700 cafés have been set up to offer in-person fix-it help in various countries. Organizers set up events, and volunteers with repair knowledge bring their tools. They will try to fix whatever people bring in, for free, and teach visitors how to do repairs themselves.
Fixing things is part of a larger change toward a circular economy —the idea that instead of throwing away things once they are broken or out of date, we reuse or repair them, keeping them out of the landfill (垃圾填埋场) for as long as possible. According to a 2023 report from Circle Economy, a Netherlands-based NGO, if the world changed to a circular economy, we could lower the amount of waste by a third.
1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Janet?| A．To praise her way of protecting pets. |
| B．To introduce special clothing designs. |
| C．To call for attention to repairing things. |
| D．To market the products of fixed clothes. |
| A．The action of replacing things is wise. |
| B．The behaviour of repairing things is popular. |
| C．The need for reducing clothes is urgent. |
| D．The problem of producing waste is serious. |
| A．By teaching volunteers repair knowledge. |
| B．By sharing tips on opening repair cafés. |
| C．By providing information to the repair database. |
| D．By offering online and off line help to encourage repairs. |
| A．Jim threw away a used bike. | B．Jackson mended a torn sofa. |
| C．Sue replaced a worn carpet. | D．Windy removed a broken vase. |
9 . The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear’s famous warning: “Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires”. However, that’s not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles and amphibians such as the pine snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, “One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine (松树) forests. Within a few years most forests choke up with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被) and can no longer support birds dependent on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover.”
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind — all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the ‘fuel load’ can lead to fires catastrophic to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smoky Bear even has an updated warning: “Only You can Prevent Wildfires,” as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include prescribed fire as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
1. What can benefit birds according to Herbert Stoddard?| A．Forest bushes. | B．Fuel sources. | C．Periodic burning. | D．Pine forests. |
| A．preventable | B．planned | C．wild | D．damaging |
| A．To keep the forest in balance. | B．To keep the fuel rich in the forest. |
| C．To put out wildfires. | D．To remove tree and plant species. |
| A．Never Keep The Forest Fire Burning | B．Not All Forest Fires Are Created Equal |
| C．Where There Is Smoke There Is A Fire | D．One Match Can Start A Forest Fire |
10 . McDonald’s customers are sharing their excitement over an eco-friendly change making its way to select US restaurants. McDonald’s eaters across the globe are used to collecting their burgers in paper wrapping, their fries in cardboard, and their drink in a plastic cup — even if they’re dining inside a McDonald’s restaurant. However, this may become a thing of the past. One American diner said there were reusable containers available at their local McDonald’s for dine-in meals only.
Plastic containers and cups have an environmental cost: Plastics are made using fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. And when these materials are heated to mould (浇铸) plastic, poisons are again released into the air.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, about 100 million tons of plastics are produced on an annual basis — releasing an estimated 850 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. “Generally, when those plastics go to landfill, they take hundreds of years to break down and slowly release substances into the environment,” Dr. Thornton said.
It is reported in the industry research that about 27 percent of customers at fast food establishments eat at the restaurant. This means McDonald’s could potentially remove a quarter of its packaging waste through a reusable container system. “If you’re comparing the single-use with the reusable, the reusable take a lot more combined in terms of resources, and energy and water and so on. If you use them a sufficient number of times, that’s when they start to become better environmentally.”
Currently, most of the fast-food outlets use paper containers. But in order to truly be sustainable(可持续的), Dr. Thornton said these items should be made of recycled materials — and only distributed to customers on a need-to-use basis. “Don’t use new resources. That’s probably one of the most important things to say,” he said. “Close the loop in terms of recycling, and make sure that they only provide packaging or the amount of packaging as needed.”
1. What is the eco-friendly change in some of the US McDonald’s?| A．Recycled plastic cups for drinks. |
| B．Cardboard packagings for fries. |
| C．Reusable containers for dine-in meals. |
| D．Selected paper wrappings for burgers. |
| A．25%. | B．50%. | C．75%. | D．100%. |
| A．Use paper containers for dine-in meals. |
| B．Reduce the food waste in their establishments. |
| C．Make reusable containers out of new materials. |
| D．Provide necessary recycled packaging to customers. |
| A．The impact of McDonald’s on the environment. |
| B．The cost of plastic containers and cups in McDonald’s. |
| C．The disadvantage of plastic packaging in fast-food establishments. |
| D．The significance of sustainable practices in the fast-food industry. |
