1 . A highly expected project to get plastic out of the massive pool of ocean debris (碎片) is ready to begin its first period from Alameda, California. The creators of the project, called the Ocean Cleanup, say their system can remove 90 percent of the plastic in the ocean by 2040.
It’s those larger pieces that the cleanup system will stop. The system features a 600-meter-long line of unmoored booms (未停泊的水栅) that act as an artificial shoreline traveling with the wind, waves and ocean currents while rounding up plastic debris. Beneath the surface, the booms drag a 3-meter-long skirt, through which only the tiniest bits of plastic can escape. Currents will naturally push the line of booms into a U-shape, herding plastic particles (颗粒) so they’re easier to collect.
The booms are also tricked out with solar-powered lights, anti-collision (防冲撞) systems and satellite positioning to avoid ships and help project scientists keep track of the system’s location. Periodically, support ships will cart the collected plastic bits back to land for recycling.
The launch of “System 001” will be a test for the first of a planned fleet of about 60 such systems. Once launched, System 001 will undergo two weeks of field testing off the California coast, Lebreton says. If all goes well, it will head to the North Pacific, arriving within five weeks of the launch date. “We’re hoping to bring the first plastic back before the end of the year,” he says.
The Ocean Cleanup representatives say their project is meant to work consistently with such upstream measures. “Even while trying to change human behaviors, it’s still worth trying to remove whatever is already out there floating near the surface. The whole point is that we want to try to collect as much as possible,” Lebreton says.
Whatever the result of this deployment, some experts trying to tackle the plastic trash problem applaud the Ocean Cleanup for raising awareness around the issue.
1. What can we know about the cleanup system?| A．It has been launched for several times. | B．It’s also called the Ocean Cleanup. |
| C．People don’t think much of it. | D．It may remove most large ocean plastic. |
| A．Acting as a shoreline. | B．Traveling with waves. |
| C．Collecting plastic particles. | D．Pushing booms’ line into a U-shape. |
| A．Equipped. | B．Filled. | C．Covered. | D．Poured. |
| A．It’s vital for protecting the ocean from plastic waste. |
| B．It contributes to informing people of ocean pollution. |
| C．It’s far from perfect and needs improvement before use. |
| D．It has won applause from ocean-protection organizations. |
2 . In 2015, the last golden eagle in England died at Haweswater in the Lake District National Park. Its death was the latest in a series of losses in the Lake District. In his book, Wild Fell, published by Doubleday on 24 February 2022. Haweswater Site Manager Lee Schofield calls on the local people to revive the landscape—telling the ups and downs of taking over the management of two hill farms in 2012 and how his team are combining ancient practices with new ambition so that farming and nature can develop well, and that one day eagles may surge once again.
In the Lake District, Lee and his team, working with landowner United Utilities, have changed a polluted river, restored wetlands, and equipped cows with GPS collars to protect endangered wildflowers. As well as helping wildlife, this is also good for people—there are twice as many people working at Haweswater than a decade ago, thousands of tons of carbon are being locked away in new woodlands and restored wetlands, and changing the river has added 180m to its length, slowing the flow of water and reducing flood risk. By restoring the habitats in the area, it will also finally help improve the water quality in the reservoir at Haweswater that provides water for more than two million people across North West England.
Lee says, “Change is possible, but we can’t depend on reserves as lifeboats for nature—we need a great transformation with people and wildlife at the heart of every decision made up and down this country. Wild Fell is not intended to be an instruction book, and there’s never a one-size-fits-all solution, but I hope it can serve as an example of what can happen when we work together to fight for our wildlife and our livelihoods.” Isabella Tree, author of The Return of Nature to a British Farm, says of Wild Fell, “It is an inspiring journey into the restoration of our lands. Reasoned, intelligent and well-informed, this is a story of hope and renewal for both nature and farming.”
1. What does the underlined word “surge” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Increase greatly. | B．Hide safely. |
| C．Compete freely. | D．Differ slightly. |
| A．Their plans and principles. | B．Their problems and solutions. |
| C．Their contributions and limitations. | D．Their efforts and achievements. |
| A．It will be an instruction book. |
| B．It will inspire more people to fight for nature. |
| C．It will provide an example of building reserves. |
| D．It will change the way of linking people with wildlife. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Negative. | C．Favorable. | D．Unconcerned. |
The United Nations want everyone to know that the world is in danger. They hope that the governments will act
What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more
1. What do the speakers work for?
| A．Museum. | B．Neighborhood. | C．Factory. |
| A．Paint the wall. | B．Plant trees. | C．Empty the rubbish can. |
5 . Used clothes are rather difficult to deal with. They are made from chemicals, cotton, or wool, which consume many resources in the process of manufacturing and, if burned, they pollute the air and increase the carbon pressure upon the environment. Therefore, it is a good thing for used clothes to be recycled in factories instead of being disposed of in garbage cans to be incinerated or transported to landfill sites. In that sense, the companies that put the donation boxes in communities have done something good and beneficial.
However, if they mean to recycle used clothes, they need to tell people that and label their collection boxes as "recycle boxes" instead of misleading people by calling them "donation boxes". People expect their "donated" clothes to go to the poor, not factories.
People need to be more realistic as well. Donating clothes may not bring much help to the poor. Especially, as it takes a lot of human labor to collect the used clothes, sort them, clean and disinfect them and deliver them to less-developed areas. Every step costs money and sometimes the total cost might even be higher than buying new clothes in large quantities. Sometimes the poor might not need used clothing, but they cannot trade the clothes for what they do need.
It might be a sad fact, but the most effective and efficient way of helping poor people is donating money and letting them get what they need themselves. So, when people want to send a helping hand, they need to donate money, instead of simply donating their used, unwanted clothes.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The donation boxes should be put more in communities. |
| B．Unwanted clothes can be recycled in donation boxes. |
| C．Putting donation boxes in communities is right for companies. |
| D．Used clothes should be recycled in factories. |
| A．The poor don’t need clothing donations any longer. |
| B．Recycling these used clothes needs much more money. |
| C．Donation boxes are intended for collecting unwanted clothes. |
| D．The clothes in the boxes are to be recycled at last. |
| A．The poor cannot get help from it. |
| B．The factories cannot benefit from it. |
| C．It’s not convenient for the residents. |
| D．It gets the communities into trouble sometimes. |
| A．Supportive | B．Disapproving |
| C．Indifferent | D．Doubtful |
6 . A city in Sweden has used rainbow-colored garbage recently. It has one of the most impressive recycling records in the world and met the EU’s 2020 target of recycling 50% of waste many years ago.
Almost all the citizens in this city follow a strict recycling policy at home. People are expected to sort their household waste into seven separate categories, including food, textiles, cartons and metal. But what really makes the system stand out is the bright color code.
The significance for this becomes clear at the city’s recycling factory. The bags are collected altogether, so when they arrive at the factory, they are mixed up. But thanks to those bright colors, scanners can select the bags and separate them easily. One of the benefits of this method of recycling is that there is less cross-pollution (交叉污染物), so more of the recycled waste can actually be used to make new things. The food waste in green bags is processed on site into mud to make biogas, which powers the city’s buses. Waste that cannot be recycled is burned at a local factory to generate electricity. This creates greenhouse gases, reducing dependence on traditional fuels, such as coal.
As countries around the world try to improve their recycling degree, some may look up to this city as an example to follow — as long as they think they can persuade their citizens to get sorting work done properly at home.
1. The following statements are all wrong EXCEPT________.| A．When the rubbish bags arrive at the plant, they are mixed up |
| B．Rainbow-colored rubbish is commonly seen around the world |
| C．The food rubbish will be recycled to make new things |
| D．All rubbish is burned to create electricity |
| A．The self-control of citizens. |
| B．The impressive colors of the rubbish bags. |
| C．The strict recycling policy. |
| D．The eco-friendly code. |
| A．persuade citizens to use as much traditional fuel as possible. |
| B．forbid citizens to create greenhouse gases. |
| C．talk people into sorting household waste in a correct way. |
| D．not allow citizens to create any waste. |
| A．An announcement. | B．A poster. |
| C．A science fiction. | D．A magazine. |
7 . The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles.
“It should be of huge concern to all of us, for insects are at the heart of every food web, they pollinate the large majority of plant species, keep the soil healthy, recycle nutrients, control pests, and much more. Love them or loathe them, we humans cannot survive without insects, ” said Prof Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex in the UK.
The analysis, published in the journal Biological Conservation, says intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines, particularly the heavy use of pesticides. Urbanization and climate change are also significant factors.
One of the biggest impacts of insect loss is on the many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that eat insects. A small number of adaptable species are increasing in number, but not nearly enough to outweigh the big losses.
Matt Shardlow, at the conservation charity Buglife, said: “It is gravely sobering to see this collation of evidence that demonstrates the pitiful state of the world’s insect populations. It is increasingly obvious that the planet’s ecology is breaking and there is a need for an intense and global effort to stop and reverse these dreadful trends.”
1. What does “are hurtling down ”underlined mean?| A．To climb very slow in a straight direction |
| B．To move very fast in a particular direction. |
| C．To become lower in value or level quickly |
| D．To speed up suddenly in a particular direction |
| A．Intensive agriculture |
| B．Urbanization |
| C．Climate change |
| D．Pests control. |
| A．by giving the examples |
| B．by making the comparison |
| C．by giving the definition. |
| D．by making the explanation |
| A．Sharply decreasing insects numbers threaten damage of nature. |
| B．The impacts will be brought by the insect loss. |
| C．The effective measures are taken to stop the scary trends. |
| D．The leading factors cause insects decline |
Our present situation is unlike natural disasters of the past. Worldwide energy use has brought us to a state where long – range planning is vital. What we need is not a continuation of our present serious state, which endangers the future of our country, our children, and our earth, but a movement forward in order to work rapidly and effectively on planetary problems.
This country has been falling back under the continuing exposures of loss of morality and the revelation (揭露) that lawbreaking has reached into the highest place in the land. There is a strong demand for morality to turn for the better and for some devotion that is vast enough and yet personal enough to enlist the devotion of all. In the past it has been only in a way in defense of their own country and their own benefits that people have been able to devote themselves wholeheartedly.
This is the first time that we have been asked to defend ourselves and what we hold dear in cooperation with all the other people of this planet, who share with us the same endangered air and the same endangered oceans. There is a common need to reassess our present course, to change that course and to employ new methods through which the world can survive. This is a priceless opportunity.
To grasp it, we need a widespread understanding of nature if the crisis we and the world are facing is no passing inconvenience, no byproduct of the ambitions of the oil – producing countries, no environmentalists’ only fears, no byproduct of any present system of government. What we face is the result of the invention of the last four hundred years. What we need is transformed life style. This new life style can flow directly from science and technology, but its acceptance depends on a sincere devotion to finding a higher quality of life for the world’s children and future generation.
1. Which of the following has nearly destroyed our cities?
| A．The loss of beliefs and ideas. | B．More of law – breaking. |
| C．Natural disasters in many areas. | D．The rapid growth of motors. |
| A．seriousness of this crisis | B．ineffectiveness of laws |
| C．similarity of the past to the present | D．hopelessness of the situation |
| A．Disregard for law. | B．Lack of devotion. |
| C．Lack of understanding. | D．Destruction of cities. |
| A．make a recommendation for a transformed life style |
| B．limit ambitions of the people of the whole world |
| C．demand devotion to nature and future generation |
| D．encourage awareness of the decline of morality |
