1 . 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. |
2 . Half of the world's beaches could disappear by 2100, a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests.
Michalis Vousdoukas, of the European Union's Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, was the lead researchist. "Tourist areas which have sandy beaches as their main selling point will probably face strong consequences," he said. Aside from economic value, beaches play an important environmental role. "Sandy beaches are important habitats supporting a wide range of species. They also protect the coast from the effects of storms, so without sandy beaches other inland environments can be affected by the effects of waves and saltwater entering," Vousdoukas added.
The main causes are rising sea-level and erosion (侵蚀)from storms, the study says, which warned of the near-disappearance of almost half of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century. Beaches in the United States will be “greatly affected”，as will shorelines in Canada, Mexico, China and Chile. In the U. S. , beaches along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast will experience the most erosion.
Michalis Vousdoukas and other researchers used satellite images to track the way beaches have changed over the past 30 years and patterned how global warming might affect them in the future. They found that West Africa will see some of the worst losses, where more than 60% of sandy coastline may be lost in countries such as The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Australia will also take a hit:when the total length of sandy beach projected to be lost is analyzed, Australia would be hit the hardest, with more than 7,000 miles at risk.
1. What mainly caused the disappearance of half of the world's beaches?| A．Over population and more tourism. | B．Severe erosion and coastline losses. |
| C．Global warming and climate change. | D．Sea-level rise and storm destruction. |
| A．Chile. | B．The Gambia. | C．Australia. | D．The United States. |
| A．They can provide habitats for species. |
| B．They can block out waves and storms. |
| C．They can be popular tourist attractions. |
| D．They can stop erosion from happening. |
| A．To introduce beaches. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To protect environment. | D．To explain a study. |
3 . 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
5 . 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. |
6 . Before you throw your trash into the nearest can, think for a moment. Not all your garbage can be dumped into one trashcan. It needs to be sorted out with different things going into different bins. Waste classification, a practice that has long been normal in developed countries like Japan, is the new challenge for many Chinese urban residents. However, though initially you might need to rack your brains to figure out which trash goes into which can, in the long run, the result is well worth the effort.
Landfills, sites where waste is buried and covered over with soil, are a major method of disposing of residential waste in China. However, considering the environmental disaster associated with burying waste, there is a pressing need to reduce the amount of waste that goes into a landfill. Classification, sorting waste into different categories such as harmful waste, recyclables and kitchen waste, is a key solution.
Currently, 46 cities across China, are carrying out a program that aims to put in place a classification-based garbage disposal system by the end of 2020. It is hoped that this will reduce the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills by a large degree. Shanghai came into the media focus in early July after it carried out compulsory garbage sorting rules that those who fail to dispose of garbage properly should be fined. Beijing is reviewing its regulations to follow in Shanghai's footsteps. The new rules may cause short-term inconvenience but they are meant to help residents follow the concept of garbage classification for the common good.
As the programs show, residents can gradually develop this habit with their growing awareness and the help of advanced technology. In future, this practice should be adopted across China, in urban cities and rural areas alike. With public involvement, China's garbage sorting program will contribute not only to the nation's sustainable (可持续的) development but also to making the planet a better place to live in.
1. What is the most probable reason for classifying waste?| A．No site for burying waste. | B．People's habit. |
| C．Economic cost. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．To practise waste classification. |
| B．To protect environment. |
| C．To save oil for farming. |
| D．To reduce the quantity of waste. |
| A．A program adopted across China. |
| B．Shanghai carried out new disposal rules. |
| C．Doing the best with waste. |
| D．Protecting environment is necessary. |
| A．China will become the leading country of the program. |
| B．The program will be spread nationwide. |
| C．Development in rural areas will make great progress. |
| D．People will help develop modern technology. |
1.海洋的重要性；
2.保护海洋的倡议。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节， 以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Global warming is one of the most serious problems facing humans and greenhouse gases are the main cause of it. Greenhouse gases are produced not only by industry but also by individuals (个人). People use energy to drive cars, make homes
Look for ways
Eat locally. A lot of energy
Make your house an eco-friendly one. Put a sweater on to keep warm rather than turning the heating on. Plant a tree to provide shade in summer so you don’t have to use
Reduce and recycle. Be careful with the products you buy. Recycle all paper, plastic, glass and aluminum cans.
Be energy-conscious of transportation. Walk, ride a bike
9 . When athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics collect their medals, they'll not only be wearing something that celebrates their sporting performance, but something that symbolizes lastingness. For both the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, organizers aim to make all of the gold, silver, and bronze medals out of used electronics. This strong message about how to make use of e-waste has gotten a lot of Japan involved.
Starting in April 2017, the Japanese Olympic Committee began collecting old laptops, digital cameras, smartphones, and other abandoned electronics. The initiative(倡议）has achieved great success. Already, the quantity needed for bronze medals has been met, and they're in the homestretch for silver and gold medals, meaning the collection process can pack up at the end of March.
When looking just at the number of cell phones collected, the amount of waste is shocking. In a period of about 18 months, a little over 5 million smartphones were collected thanks to cooperation with NTT DOCOMO. Japan's largest mobile phone operator allowed the public to turn in phones at their shops, which counted a lot in the project’s success.
After being taken apart and sorted, the small electronics underwent a smelting process to extract(提炼）all the gold, silver，and bronze elements. Thanks to this initiative, the worldwide struggle with e-waste will have a global platform. According to a study published by the United Nations University—44.7 million metric tons of e-waste were made in 2016. Only 20% of that was actually recycled. Unfortunately, this figure is set to rise significantly in the coming years, moving to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. So while the Tokyo Olympics initiative might be just a drop in the bucket, it’s a good start in showing what the public can do if they're made more aware of the issue.
1. What can be learnt about Tokyo Olympics initiative from the passage?| A．E-waste in the world is increasing significantly. |
| B．It is easy to get elements needed from the used electronics. |
| C．Only producers of electronics participated in the project. |
| D．NTT DOCOMO contributed to the success of the project. |
| A．starting period | B．collection effort |
| C．final stage | D．hard search |
| A．It offers an effective method to solve the problem of e-waste. |
| B．It shows the power of advanced technology in daily life. |
| C．It saves the expense spent in making all the medals. |
| D．It encourages the public’s involvement in dealing with e-waste. |
| A．Positive | B．Negative |
| C．Ambiguous | D．Indifferent |
10 . China’s war on garbage is as digital as the country itself. Think QR codes attached to trash bags that allow the government to trace exactly where its trash comes from.
On July 1, Shanghai began a compulsory garbage sorting program. Households and companies must classify their wastes into four categories and dump them in appointed places at certain times. The strict program became a headache for some residents. Not even the most environmentally conscious person can get all the answers right. Like, which bin does the newspaper you just used to pick up dog poop (粪便)belong to?
Gratefully, China’s tech startups are here to help. For instance, China’s biggest internet companies responded with new search features that help people identify what wastes are “wet”, “dry”, “toxic”, or “recyclable”. Simply pull up a mini app on WeChat, Baidu or Alipay and enter the keyword. The tech firms will give you the answer and why.
Alipay, Alibaba’s electronics payment company, claims its garbage sorting mini app added one million users under just three days. The mini app has so far indexed (编索引) more than 4,000 types of rubbish. Its database is still growing, and soon it will save people from typing by using image recognition to classify trash when they snap a photo of it. If people are too busy or lazy to hit the collection schedule, well, startups are offering trash service at the doorstep. A third-party developer helped Alipay build a recycling mini app and is now collecting garbage from 8,000 apartment complexes across 11 cities. To date, two million people have sold recyclable materials through its platform.
Besides helping households out, companies are also building software to make property managers, life easier. Some residential complexes in Shanghai began using QR codes to trace the origin of garbage. This way, regulators in the region know exactly which family has produced the trash and fine violators.
1. What are some residents confused about?| A．Environmental knowledge. | B．Bin for dog poop. |
| C．Some waste classification. | D．Time for dumping. |
| A．It provides time flexibility. | B．It reduces household waste. |
| C．It saves people from typing. | D．It classifies rubbish properly. |
| A．Third-party developers. | B．Company managers. |
| C．Community administrators. | D．Rubbish collectors. |
| A．People need recycling apps badly. |
| B．People should classify their rubbish. |
| C．How regulators benefit from the tech. |
| D．How China uses tech to sort waste. |
