1 . Ecofriendly replacement products for single-use plastics are appearing everywhere. But have you heard of edible (可食性的) straws? Now EQUO, a new eco-friendly company in Vietnam has come up with a natural edible solution to plastic or paper straws.

The edible straws are completely plastic free, nontoxic, chemical free, and 100 percent biodegradable according to a company press release.

“It’s well known that plastic straws are harmful to the environment. Most of the 500 million used every day in America end up in oceans where they pollute water and harm marine life. Currently over eight billion straws pollute the world’s beaches,” said Marina Tran-Vu in the press release. “Although there are some plastic and paper straw alternatives on the market, most are environmentally harmful, and we were also unsatisfied with the quality and lasting of paper straws.”

All of the materials are locally from regions that support sustainable farming according to the company’s website and they struggle to have zero-net influence by” using the power of mother nature”. The name of the company was created by combining “ECO” — meaning environmentally friendly — with “STATUS QUO” — meaning the existent state. EQU stands for creating products that have minimal influence on the environment. The company was first shown on Kickstarter on May 18 and hit their funding goal in only 30 days.

Many countries are banning single-use plastics. The EU banned 10 single-use plastic products including straws that will take effect in 2021. Other items that will no longer be made of plastic include cutlery (餐具), and balloon sticks. These 10 items make up a large percentage of ocean waste that harms marine life.

So do your part, use biodegradable cutlery — you can carry your own , edible straws, and reusable water or coffee cups. These small items can contribute to reducing plastic waste.

1. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The popularity of plastic straws.

B．The harm of plastic straws.

C．The pollution of beaches.

D．The necessity of change.

2. What does ECO stand for?

A．It means the original aim.

B．It means the existent state.

C．It means how to create products.

D．It means being good for the environment.

3. What can we expect in Europe after 2021?

A．Plastic straws will be forbidden.

B．Edible straws will be sold cheaply.

C．Ocean waste can be rid completely.

D．Single-use plastic products will disappear.

4. Which word best describes the author’s attitude to biodegradable cutlery?

A．Skeptical.

B．Objective.

C．Tolerant.

D．Approving.

2 . August 24, 2023 may be imprinted in history as the day of disaster for the marine environment. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean from Thursday, ignoring strong objections from both home and abroad.

It will be a public crime if the discharge goes through and the decision will prove to be extremely unrewarding. The international community can hold Japan accountable indefinitely.

According to Paris-based French TV network France 24, some 1.34 million tonnes of nuclear wastewater, equivalent to almost the water in 540 Olympic pools, will be released into the ocean off Japan’s northeast coast, at a maximum rate of 500 cubic meters per day. The whole process is expected to take 30 to 40 years and cost around eight trillion yen (55 billion USD).

Junichi Matsumoto, the TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, told the Associated Press in July that the company plans to release 7,800 tonnes of treated water for 17 days in the first round. By the end of March 2024, the aim is to release 31,200 tonnes. The pace is expected to pick up later.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong asked the Japanese ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi on August 22 to meet him and make serious representations over the Japanese government’s announcement that it would start releasing nuclear-contaminated water on August 24.

Sun said the Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the world’s most serious nuclear accidents to date, resulting in the release of a large amount of radioactive material, which has far-reaching implications for the marine environment, food safety, and human health.

“The ocean is the blue home that all humanity depends on for survival, and the Japanese side should not dump nuclear-contaminated water at will,” Sun said.

1. Who did Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ask to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean?

A．Spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

B．The TEPCO executive Junichi Matsumoto.

C．Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.

D．The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

2. Except for the amount released in the first round, how many tonnes of treated water will be released into the ocean by the end of March 2024?

A．1.34 million tonnes.

B．7,800 tonnes.

C．2,3400 tonnes.

D．31,200 tonnes.

3. What does Sun Weidong say about the Fukushima nuclear accident?

A．It has no implications for the marine environment.

B．Has no implications for food safety and human health.

C．It is one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history.

D．It resulted in the release of a small amount of radioactive material.

4. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．A research paper.	B．A newspaper report.
C．A business report.	D．A geography textbook.

7 . 近十年来很多野生动物灭绝，引起了全世界的广泛关注。假设你是李华，请在环境保护日写一篇关于保护野生动物的倡议书。要点如下：
1. 野生动物被掠杀的现状和后果；2.保护野生动物的具体措施。
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Saihanba National Forest Park, located in northern China’s Hebei Province, was once a royal summer retreat (避暑地) thanks to its    1    (comfort) summer weather and hunting area, but the region turned into a desert by the end of the Qing Dynasty due to massive forest    2    (destroy) and constant wars. Strong northern winds from neighboring Inner Mongolia worsened the situation.

The expansion of the desert led to Beijing    3     (struggle) with sandstorms for decades, seriously threatening the capital’s environment. Over 360 foresters    4    (send) to the region to deal with the problem as early as the 1960s. Their duty was     5     (build) a forest in Saihanba. Since Saihanba was a wasteland at that time, at     6    very start the foresters had to build shelters and plant crops for themselves. They also had to survive the     7    (absolute) cold winter there. Temperatures often dropped to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Up to now -- after a great many years of efforts by three generations of experts, Saihanba     8    (become) the largest man-made forest park in northern China. The forest,    9    covers over 185,000 acres, absorbs tons of carbon dioxide a year, providing important protection for Beijing and Tianjin     10    sandstorms.

9 . Recycling is good for our planet, but it can be confusing. Can I recycle plastic bags? What about pizza cartons? Toothpaste tubes? Which bin should I use? There are so many questions, and more than half of Americans are unsure about how to recycle.     1     Here’s a handy four-step guide on how to recycle effectively:

Know what to put in the recycling bin. Keep it simple and focus on the most commonly recycled items, such as paper, glass, aluminum and plastic.     2     Don’t use the recycled symbol as a guide. “The number on the container is really for people to identify the type of resin (树脂). That’s not helpful for the common consumer,” said Cody Marshall, a strategist at nonprofit Recycling Partnership.

    3     It is really important to know what you cannot put in your bin. You can always check with your city or at BeRecycled.org. If you live in the US, just plug in your postcode to search. Recycling companies struggle with the same problem items: hoses (软管), cords, needles and clothing, according to Marshall, so don’t put those items in your bin.

Wash or clean items. Do a quick clean to make sure there is no food left in containers before you put them in the bin.     4     Save food for composting (堆肥) in your garden.

Don’t bag it. Unless you live in a place that requires it, like New York City, keep the recyclables lost in the bin. “A lot of the time, it’s not safe for our employees to tear those bags open, or it takes too much time,” said Keller. “    5    ”

A．Know what is not recyclable.

B．The answers are not hard to find.

C．A lot of bagged stuff goes right to the landfill.

D．Plastic bags can be used again or returned to grocery stores.

E．If you really don’t know if an item is recyclable, then just throw it in the garbage.

F．This is really important if you only use one bin because food items could ruin paper.

G．Hard plastics like water and soft drink bottles or anything like these can be recycled.

10 . Heatwaves in the U. S. and floods in western Europe have dominated the news cycle recently, forcing us to re-examine the relationship between climate change and extreme weather. Other catastrophes are going unnoticed.

In the past week, 380,000 people have been evacuated due to floods in China’s Henan province,30 villages in Uganda were affected as rivers overflowed and 25 people died in landslides after Mumbai was hit by big storms. Temperatures in Turkey and North Africa approached 50 °C, while South Africa and Brazil froze. Siberia is battling wildfires again. Finland experienced 31 continued days with maximum temperatures above 25 °C, the longest heatwave ever recorded in the country. In Iran, the hottest summer in decades has led to water shortages that in turn caused protests in the country’s southwest.

All these disasters are part of a series of extreme weather events that paint a picture of a world that’s already warmed 1.2 C from pre-industrial times. There’s no doubt that it will get warmer.

The global climate is out of balance, German meteorologist Johannes Quaas said in an interview last week. Our climate’s reaction to greenhouse gas emissions isn’t immediate. The warming and resulting weather events that we see today are a reaction to emissions that entered the atmosphere decades ago.

Scientists estimate that, even if we meet global emissions reduction goals, the planet will continue to warm after that. That will take the planet to somewhere between 1. 5 °C to 2 C above pre-industrial times by the end of the century. While their warming predictions have been correct in the past, there’s no way to be absolutely sure when temperatures will stop rising, because the experiment we’re running on the planet has never been attempted before.

Death, violence and destruction are all signs of humanity’s struggle to adapt to a changing climate. ”lt seems like there’s something in human nature that makes us be behind the events, and not ahead,”said Hans-Otto Portner, an adviser to the German government on climate and the environment. “ Maybe that’s because the nature of unprecedented events is that we can ‘t imagine what’s coming. ”

1. How is the second paragraph of the article developed?

A．By making comparisons.	B．By giving examples.
C．By presenting research results.	D．By analyzing the facts.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．Temperatures won’t necessarily continue to rise.

B．Extreme weather contributes to disasters to some degree.

C．Scientists can effectively control climate changes.

D．Climate’s response to greenhouse gas emission is quick.

3. What will scientists agree with according to the text?

A．Global emissions reduction target will be soon met.	B．Temperatures have risen by 2 ℃ up to now.
C．Global warming will undoubtedly continue.	D．Temperatures will stop rising for sure.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A．A guidebook.

B．A science fiction.

C．A newspaper.

D．A feature story.