1 . The endangered pandas in the Qinling Mountains might face a new threat: the loss of their food — bamboo, which makes up 99% of their meals.
Adult pandas spend most of the day eating bamboo and have to take in at least 40 pounds a day to stay healthy. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change warned that they may soon find their food gone because most of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains might disappear by the end of the century as a result of the rising temperature worldwide.
A team made up of researchers from Michigan State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has studied the effects of climate change on the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains. They have found that bamboo is very sensitive to climate change. “80% to 100% of the bamboo would be gone if the average temperature increases 3.5 degrees worldwide by the end of the century,” said Liu Jianguo, one of the report's authors.
He added, “This is how much the temperature would rise by 2100 even if all countries will keep their promises in The Paris Agreement. But you know what is happening around the world.”
In recent years, China has been trying its best to protect the endangered pandas by setting up more and bigger nature reserves.
“But it is far from being enough and the endangered pandas need cooperation from the rest of the world, because their future is not just in the hands of the Chinese,”said Shirley Martin from the WWF but not a member of the team.
There are 345 wild pandas in the Qinling Mountains. That is about 18.5% of the population of China's wild pandas. In addition, about 375 pandas are living in research centers and zoos in China.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．The Qinling Mountains can provide enough bamboo for the pandas. |
| B．Pandas in the Qinling Mountains are only threatened by the loss of food. |
| C．Lots of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains will probably disappear. |
| D．Pandas have already eaten 99% of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains. |
| A．China needs more help from the WWF. |
| B．It is difficult to control the temperature rise within 3.5 degrees. |
| C．Bamboo is sensitive to changes in temperature. |
| D．China is making great efforts to protect the pandas. |
| A．About 345. | B．About 408. | C．About 2,272. | D．About 1,864. |
| A．The Disappearance of Bamboo |
| B．Necessity to Change Pandas' Food |
| C．A New Threat Faced by the Pandas |
| D．Efforts Made to Save Pandas |
1. 你推荐的活动；
2. 你的理由。
注意：
1. 词数：100词左右；
2. 短文的题目和首句已为你写好。
World Environment Day Activities
World Environment Day is just around the corner.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . A tree planting initiative in Kenya has seen over 30,000 trees being planted. The Green Generation Initiative is a Kenyan charity that has been planting trees to counter climate change and the reduction in forest in the East African nation since 2016.
Founded by climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti, the initiative's primary focus is on developing young climate activists through environmental education in schools and addressing food insecurity in the region through planting fruit trees. Since its foundation, over 30,000 trees have been planted in Kenya, while thousands of school children have not just planted trees but adopted them to ensure that young people learn the importance of acting as a guardian of the health of the environment. The trees have recorded a survival rate of over 98 percent, as they continue growing from young trees to maturity.
Speaking to world leaders at the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26)，Elizabeth issued a serious warning about the threat of climate change: “Over two million of Kenyans are facing climaterelated starvation. In 2025, half of the world's population will be facing water shortage. By the time I'm 50, the climate crisis will displace over 80 million people in subSaharan Africa alone.”
Elizabeth said, “I have been doing what I can.Inspired by the great Wangari Maathai, I founded a tree growing initiative that enhances food security for young Kenyans. So far, we have grown 30，000 fruit trees, providing desperately needed nutrition for thousands of children.” “Every day we see that when we look after the trees, they look after us. We are the adults on this Earth right now, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the children have food and water, ”she added.
1. What is the initiative intended for?| A．Making policies. |
| B．Raising money. |
| C．Educating adults. |
| D．Fighting climate change. |
| A．Hunger. | B．Sickness. |
| C．Water shortage. | D．Economic risks. |
| A．Over 3,000 trees have been planted. |
| B．Green awareness has been raised. |
| C．Over 80 million people have been saved. |
| D．School education has been guaranteed. |
| A．Friendly and talented. |
| B．Caring and responsible. |
| C．Honest and determined. |
| D．Ambitious and humorous. |
4 . If you were to throw, say, a banana peel out of your car while driving along the motorway, that would be a completely harmless action, due to the fact that it’s part of a fruit — right? Actually, no. A banana peel can take up to two years to be naturally processed, and with a third of motorists admitting to littering while driving, that’s a whole lot of discarded banana peels. An orange peel and a cigarette butt’s biodegrading (生物降解) term is similar to that of a banana peel, but tin cans last up to 100 years and plastic bottles last forever, as do glass bottles.
Despite the fact that longer-lasting materials will serve to damage the environment and its animals for a longer time, we can’t merely measure the severity of a certain type of rubbish by its lifetime. For example, despite having a fairly short length of biodegrading time, more than 120 tons of cigarette-related litter is discarded in the UK every day.
It’s not a cheap habit either: to keep our streets clean annually costs UK taxpayers ￡500 million, and when you include our green spaces, that goes up to ￡1 billion. So, it’s not surprising that if caught fly-tipping (乱倒垃圾) you will face a ￡20,000 fine or even jail time and, if you dispose of something dangerous, the court will give you five years to serve. Regardless of how severe these punishments might seem, however, among the reported cases only 2,000 were found guilty out of 825,000, so we still have some way to go in making sure people obey the rules.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” in Para. 1 mean?| A．Harmless. | B．Processed. |
| C．Thrown. | D．Long-lasting. |
| A．Tin cans. | B．Glass bottles. |
| C．Cigarette butts. | D．Banana peels. |
| A．Fly-tipping will only cost people some money. |
| B．It’s not so hard to make sure people obey the rules. |
| C．A large number of people were found guilty of illegally littering. |
| D．Every year UK taxpayers spend huge amounts of money to keep the streets from dirt. |
| A．To call for people not to litter illegally. |
| B．To stress the importance of good behavior. |
| C．To encourage people to use fewer plastic bags. |
| D．To inform readers of different biodegrading terms. |
5 . Located in the Indian Ocean,the Maldives(马尔代夫) are among the most beautiful islands in the world,with white sandy beaches,clear water,and amazing coral reefs(珊瑚礁).The country depends on tourism,fishing,and shipping.But the rising sea level and the carbon pollution causing warming oceans are threatening(威胁) their existence.
The Maldives have asked for international help.They are a tiny country.The World Bank,the United States,the European Union,and many other groups have offered money to develop safeguards against climate change.
To protect the islands,the Maldives have built sea walls and increased the elevation(海拔) of important buildings and services such as the two international airports,which lie just 165 feet from the coastline.
They’re also building up islands such as the Hulhumale.The new island is surrounded by 9-foot sea walls.More than 40,000 people live there.The plan is to house 240,000,providing new opportunities for jobs.The goal is an excellent planned community with sustainable housing and buildings sensitive to the environment and needs of the people.
The government will move people living on smaller,lower-lying islands to the new built-up islands.The new islands offer free houses,new schools,health hospitals,fresh water,and waste treatment.Depending on tourism,the country hopes to build 50 more tourist islands.
“Climate change is happening,but we are not leaving the Maldives to the sea,” said Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim.The Maldives will protect their islands,people and tourism with new islands and ongoing island development against the rising sea level.
1. What do we fail to learn according to the passage?| A．The Maldives are a small country. |
| B．Many groups have helped the Maldives. |
| C．240,000 people live on the Hulhumale now. |
| D．The Hulhumale is surrounded by 9-foot sea walls. |
| A．The Maldives will be protected. |
| B．The Maldivians will leave all the islands. |
| C．The Maldives should give up tourism. |
| D．The Maldives will sink to the sea. |
| A．The Maldives and Their Tourism |
| B．The Maldives and Their Rising Sea Level |
| C．The Maldives and Their Climate Change |
| D．The Maldives and Their Fight Against the Rising Sea Level |
| A．Their tourism,fishing and shipping. |
| B．Their rising sea level and carbon pollution. |
| C．Their sandy white beaches and coral reefs. |
| D．Their distant islands and warming oceans. |
6 . Twelve years ago, a young traveler named Rhett Butler from San Francisco, California, visited the Sabah rainforest on Malaysian Borneo. In one area of the rainforest, he watched a bird flying through the trees. The beautiful sight left quite an impression on him. But weeks later, back home, Rhett Butler got the news that trees had been cut down for their wood in the area he visited.
That experience led Rhett Butler to begin writing a book about rainforests and threats (威胁) to their existence. But he did not publish the book. Instead, in 1999, he used his research for the book to create a website. The site is Mongabay.com. His purpose was to inform the public about tropical rainforests. But the subject quickly developed. As a former businessman, he became a respected writer of science and environmental stories.
The popularity of Mongabay.com attracted advertisers. Small ads on the site pay for its operations. Mongabay.com has grown and led to other sites. For example, there is a site for children which is called kids mongabay.com. Another one, WildMadagascar.org, is all about the island nation that Rhett Butler calls his favorite place.
To keep his website going, he travels around the world on several major trips each year. His working tools are a laptop computer, cameras and sometimes diving equipment. He often calls on experts for information. For example, he interviewed Alison Jolly, a top expert on lemurs (狐猴). He interviewed Rodney Jackson, a biologist who established the Snow Leopard Conservancy.
Stories like these have made Mongabay.com a favorite place on the Internet for researchers, students and teachers. In April, Time. Com. named it one of the fifteen top climate and environment websites in the world.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Rhett Butler and His Website |
| B．Rainforest on Malaysian Borneo |
| C．How Rhett Butler Protected Rare Animals |
| D．How Rhett Butler Made His Website Popular |
| A．making websites earns more money than writing books |
| B．he was not prepared to publish his book |
| C．the book was not about rainforest protection |
| D．he wanted to use the information to create a website |
| A．It was set up in 1999. | B．It attracted many advertisers. |
| C．Two related websites grew from it. | D．Rhett Butler made a lot of money from it. |
| A．kept visiting the rainforest | B．traveled around and interviewed experts |
| C．raised rare snow leopards | D．made a great number of advertisements |
7 . Going green seems to be fad (时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2011,we decided to be green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic (有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planets.
1. What might be the best title for the passage?| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
8 . Royal Dutch Shell is launching a $ 300 million and forestry program, at a time when an increasing number of oil companies are putting money in carbon offset (碳补偿)plans to meet climate goals. The company will spend the money over the next three years on projects to store carbon, including large forests in the Netherlands and Spain, and will start offering motorists the option of purchasing carbon offsets when they buy petrol at the pump.
The executives of the company explained that these carbon offset projects were a new business opportunity for Shell, as well as a way to meet its climate targets. “We believe that over time we will be building a business, because these carbon credits will become more valuable as carbon becomes more limited," they said. Shell recently decided to cut its net carbon footprint (碳排放)by 2-3 percent in five years, which includes emissions (排放)from the products it sells. The company plans to produce carbon credits from the forestry projects, then sell these credits on to customers buying its oil and gas products, or apply the credits to its own operations to lower its carbon footprint.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and restoring forests and other natural areas is considered one of the simplest ways to store carbon. However, the voluntary market for carbon credits based on forestry projects has its critics, as projects in developing countries can be hard to monitor. Shell's move has also been criticized by some environmentalists. They worried that there was a risk of " greenwash when companies invested in forestry projects. "There is an entire debate about whether forestry projects truly reduce emissions or not," they said, pointing out that planting in one area could cause deforestation (滥伐森林)to another.
Shell said it would rely on the third party to ensure its forest program to meet the Voluntary Carbon Standard and strict biodiversity requirements. Mark Lewis, head of climate change investment research at BNP Paribas, said, " Planting trees to offset emissions, as far as it goes, is a step in the right direction."
1. What is popular among oil companies these days?| A．Studying climate changes. |
| B．Launching forestry programs. |
| C．Working out carbon offset plans. |
| D．Attracting motorists to buy their petrol. |
| A．By quitting the emissions of its products. |
| B．By reducing its carbon footprint by a quarter. |
| C．By limiting the oil used by its own operations. |
| D．By putting carbon credits it produces on the market. |
| A．The projects can't really stop carbon emissions. |
| B．The projects are hard to monitor in poor countries. |
| C．The projects may lead to deforestation in other forests. |
| D．The projects haven't met strict biodiversity requirements. |
| A．Discount. | B．Cheat. |
| C．Decline. | D．Change. |
When Abdus Salam looks across the trash-filled river near his home in one of Dhaka's major garment manufacturing districts, he remembers a time
The river beside him is now black like an ink stain. Abdus Salam said waste from nearby garment factories and dye houses has polluted the water. "There are no fish now," he said. "The water is so polluted that our children and grandchildren cannot have
Bangladesh is the world's second
Fashion is responsible for up to one-fifth of
One 55-year-old, who
10 . One of the tallest wooden buildings in Europe, a 98m timber (木材)mixture skyscraper, is to rise in Berlin.
The 29-storey WoHo tower, to be designed by a firm of Norwegian architects, is intended to be a “light-house project” for low-carbon construction, towering over Potsdamer Platz and the Landwehr Canal.
Its core, including lifts and a staircase, is to be built around concrete structure but the rest of the building, including flats, offices, cafes and a kindergarten, will be fashioned down wooden beams (横梁)and panels.
“As Norwegians, we are used to working a lot with timber,” Nicolai Riise, CEO of the Mad Architects' Practice said.
“The thing about timber is that its carbon footprint is close to zero and that it's a fantastic material to build with. If you look at this in a broader way, it's one of the ways we are going to be able to beat the climate crisis.”
Wooden skyscrapers, once regarded as a pipe dream, have become realistic with the coming of cross-laminated (交叉叠合)building techniques and more flexible planning laws. Because these structures' parts are fit with care, they can be far lighter than their concrete equivalents (同等物)and are thought to be relatively resistant to fire. A cubic meter of wood can also take an estimated ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Larger wooden structures are planned elsewhere. London is examining blueprints for a 300-meter Oakwood Tower. A project in Tokyo could rise to 350m.
1. What is special about the WoHo Tower?| A．It will serve as a light house. |
| B．Its core is to be built with timber. |
| C．It is designed for a Norwegian firm. |
| D．It will be a tall timber mixture building. |
| A．It is a flexible material. | B．It is easy to collect. |
| C．It is environmentally-friendly. | D．It can be cut into pieces. |
| A．A nightmare. | B．Something practical. |
| C．A piece of cake. | D．Something impossible |
| A．Flexible ideas. | B．The concrete equivalents. |
| C．Fire resistant materials. | D．New building techniques. |
