1 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.
Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.
While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.
Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.
With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.
1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.A.poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation | B.human consumption and clean energy limits |
C.crop diversity and crop production expansion | D.pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion |
A.Integrating data collection and regulation. | B.Improving carbon emission monitoring. |
C.Separating data for land use changes. | D.Establishing groundwater levels. |
A.Perform as the authorities suggest. | B.Act based on further understanding. |
C.Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation. | D.Challenge the groundwater management. |
A.The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps |
B.Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future |
C.The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation |
D.Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction |
2 . Finland’s system for returning drink containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success.
Nowadays there are almost 5,000 container-return machines across Finland. Most of them are located in the same shops that sell drinks, making returning them a convenient part of people’s routine. Hotels, restaurants, offices, schools and event organizers return containers through their drink providers.
The return machines are easy to use. You place a bottle or can on a set of mini conveyor belts at the front of the machine. They carry it past a scanner and out of sight. The machine sorts the bottles and crushes the cans. When you’re done, you press a button and the machine gives you a receipt. Plastic bottles are worth 20 to 40 cents, depending on their size, while glass bottles are worth 10 to 40 cents and aluminium (铝) cans are 15 cents. The returned containers are recycled or the materials are reused. Across Finland, on average, every Finn returns 373 items in a year: 251 aluminium cans, 98 plastic bottles and 24 glass bottles.
The government has entrusted this function to the private agency. “Palpa is completely nonprofit and receives no government funding,” says Tommi Vihavainen, Palpa’s director of producer services, ICT and communication.
Russia, the UK and other countries have shown interest in the Finnish system. “Most visitors want to see how the return system works in Finland,” says Vihavainen. “We don’t act as consultants, but we’re proud to present our system.”
1. What do we know about Finland’s system for returning drink containers?A.It still has a long way to develop. | B.It gains popularity for its convenience. |
C.It used to be fashionable but now out-dated. | D.It’s supported financially by the government. |
A.To show Finns consume various drinks. | B.To help make the story more interesting. |
C.To make the impact of the system convincing. | D.To guarantee the proper logic of the passage. |
A.Indifferent. | B.Positive. | C.Pessimistic. | D.Dismissive. |
A.Finland’s recycling programme keeps bottles off streets. |
B.The return machines in the world are popular and easy. |
C.Palpa—a complete nonprofit to recycle the bottles. |
D.Finland—a country free of waste such as bottles. |
3 . Plogging is a great way to make your little area of the world a little cleaner, brighter, and safer while boosting your own health, fitness, and mood. This up and coming environmental activity began in Sweden in 2016.
Because plogging typically involves jogging or running, there are many health benefits to this eco-friendly fitness trend. However, the benefits extend beyond just improving heart health.
Before you start, you’ll need to outfit yourself with the right gear to get the job done. If you’re already running or jogging, you should have a good pair of running shoes and running apparel (装备).
Theoretically, you can go plogging almost anywhere you have permission to be. Depending on where you live, you may encounter trash along the side of the roads, parks, school playgrounds, trails, parking lots, town squares and bike paths.
A.How to do plogging |
B.Where to go plogging |
C.It has since spread around the world |
D.Here are some of the top benefits of plogging |
E.It’s important that you have the right footwear |
F.Beyond that, you’ll need a good pair of gloves to protect your hands |
G.Plogging is not, in fact, a compound word of “plodding” and “jogging” |
4 . In a small, rough shipyard on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a small team is building what they say will be the world’s largest ocean-going clean cargo ship.
Ceiba is the first ship built by Sailcargo, a company trying to prove that zero-carbon shipping is possible, and commercially available. Made largely of wood, Ceiba combines both very old and very new technology: sailing masts stand alongside solar panels, a uniquely designed electric engine and batteries. Once on the water, she will be capable of crossing oceans entirely without the use of fossil fuels, which sets her apart.
“The thing that is striking is the fact that she’ll have one of the largest marine electric engines of her kind in the world,” Danielle Doggett said. The system also has the means to capture energy from underwater propellers (螺旋桨) as well as solar power, so electricity will be available for the engine when needed. “Really, the only limit on how long she can stay at sea is water and food on board for the crew.”
Despite some hold-ups due to the global disaster, the team hopes to get her on the water by the end of 2024 and operating by 2025, when she will begin transporting cargo between Costa Rica and Canada.
“There are actually loads of innovations happening that could transform shipping emissions, but few companies are willing to apply them to building ships like Ceiba.” says Lucy Gilliam. “So it’s not that we don’t have great ideas. The problem that we have is that fossil fuels are still too cheap. And we don’t have the rules to force people to take up the new technology.”
When it comes to promoting this kind of boat, it has to be said that Ceiba is small for a cargo ship — tiny in fact. She will carry around nine standard shipping containers. She is also relatively slow. Being a world-first, there are some aspects of Ceiba’s design that have yet to be proven at sea.
1. What is unique about Ceiba as a cargo ship?A.It is the world’s largest. | B.It is environment-friendly. |
C.It is wooden with old technology. | D.It is modern with unique equipment. |
A.The size of the sail. | B.The weather of the ocean. |
C.The power of the electric engine. | D.The quantity of the living supplies. |
A.The rules are disobeyed. | B.The fuels are affordable. |
C.The bigger ships are preferable. | D.The innovations are distrusted. |
A.Objective. | B.Doubtful. | C.Critical. | D.Favorable. |
1.外卖垃圾的现状;
2.原因分析;
3.建议和号召。
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。
参考词汇:外卖food delivery
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1. 活动目的;
2. 活动时间、地点;
3. 活动内容。
注意:写作词数应为80词左右。
NOTICE
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Wildlife Conservation Association
7 . We’re all familiar with the idea of climate change and how our planet is warming. Extremes in temperature have become more commonplace, making parts of the world difficult to live in. But one place where extreme heat is making life very uncomfortable is our cities. Luckily, innovation might be keeping it under control.
As thermometers(温度计) record temperatures, sometimes above 50 degrees Celsius, solutions are being sought to cool the air in our cities. In India, for example, heatwaves and rapid urbanization have led to a big rise in the use of air-conditioning units, adding to CO2 emissions. So, architects, looking for a sustainable cooling solution, are copying an ancient lattice (框架) design, used in old buildings like the Taj Mahal, to construct comfortable,low-carbon buildings. Yatin Pandya told the BBC: “Traditional architectural forms have proven their performance in combating environmental conditions.”
In America, about 80% of the population lives in cities, and it’s these cities that suffer from an urban heat island effect, caused by factors such as trapped waste heat, concrete structures and pavements absorbing the sun and tall buildings blocking the wind. Residents and developers have tried to cool these places by planting large trees that offer shade and putting plants and gardens on top of roofs to help trap heat. And in Los Angeles, there’s a experiment to cover street s with light-coloured material that reflects rather than absorbs the sun and so they remain cooler than typical black roads.
But it’s satellites in space that are really giving us the best picture of our over-heated cities. Glynn Hulley, who is leading an image-capturing project, called the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission, told the BBC: “The data can be used to identify hot spots, weak regions, and assess the cooling impacts of heat mitigation (缓解) approaches.” It’s already found how green spaces, white roads and water features, have helped prevent our cities from boiling over. But with extreme heat still posing a threat to our lives, more solutions are still needed.
1. What leads to the increase of CO₂ emissions?A.Invention of thermometers. | B.Imitation of traditional architecture. |
C.Building of concrete structures. | D.Application of air-conditioning units. |
A.To prove it is miserable to suffer from heat. | B.To show people are trying to solve problem. |
C.To demonstrate the benefit of modern buildings. | D.To support the idea of low-carbon construction. |
A.Evaluating the cooling effect. | B.Identifying city features |
C.Emphasizing threats to lives | D.Testing image capturing technology. |
A.Cities in Danger | B.Dramatic Climate Change |
C.Temperature Monitoring Mission | D.Cooling Hot Cities |
While there is growing consumer
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2020 over 12 million tons of furniture
With growing calls for sustainability, many brands are announcing to change though it remains
1. 近年来开展的相关活动;
2. 最新变化。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80 左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Green Campus
Dear friends,
I am glad to meet you on our campus.
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10 . Sorting out your wardrobe(衣柜) as winter approaches? As we store away our spring and summer clothes to make room for big woolly jumpers and thick layers to survive the colder weather, there might be a few items of clothing that deserve a better home so the love you previously had for them can continue on. Luckily, the Camden Chilly TRAID Off might be able to help…plus there’s a cold, refreshing beer in it for you.
Here to help avoid those pre-loved clothes going to landfill, Camden Town Brewery has partnered with clothes waste charity TRAID for the launch of its Camden Chilly TRAID Off. The nationwide tour allows consumers to exchange their pre-loved clothes for a can of Camden’s new winter seasonal: Chilly, Cold IPA—so you can do your bit to save clothes from going to landfill and be rewarded with a refreshing drink in the process. And today’s the day for Londoners looking to exchange pre-loved clothes for free beers—so take that box of clothes you’ve been meaning to donate to the local charity shop, and head on down to the van(面包车).
Touring Manchester, Leeds and London from November 15-17, Camden and TRAID will be stationing their van at the heart of each city, ready for consumers to come down and donate any unworn or pre-loved clothing this Chilly season. Encouraging consumers to shop more sustainably this winter, the Camden Chilly TRAID Off aims to freeze out waste, while giving people good beer for a good cause.
Research from TRAID has found that 300,000 tonnes of clothing end up in landfill every year in the UK—of which it is estimated 40% is in reusable condition. Camden is encouraging British people to take another look at the estimated 1.6 billion pieces of unworn clothing in their wardrobes this winter and think about how we shop as we head towards the festive period.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?A.To summarize the main idea. | B.To start a vivid story. |
C.To give a good example. | D.To explain reasons. |
A.Chilly, Cold IPA enjoys great popularity. | B.TRAID is expert at its work. |
C.40% of clothes thrown away can be reused. | D.Camden can provide expensive beer. |
A.People can exchange their pre-loved clothes for a beer anytime. |
B.It is planned to do the collection in London on November 17th. |
C.People around Britain can find the van for the clothes within 15 days. |
D.It can pick up people’s clothes from door to door at the fixed time. |
A.Empty Your Wardrobe for Your Winter Clothes Now |
B.Save Earth by Reducing Landfill of Pre-loved Clothes |
C.Get a Good Can of Camden’s New Summer Seasonal |
D.Exchange Your Pre-loved Clothing for Free Beer |