1 . Starbucks is promising to get rid of straws （吸管）by 2020 and it’s all for a very good reason. This move is an answer to our own partners about what we can do to reduce the need for straws. Not using a straw is the best thing we can do for the environment.
In place of plastic straws, Starbucks plans to offer recyclable lids（盖子）for all iced drinks and paper straws for coffee. The transition is already taking place in Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle, where a ban on plastic straws went into place on July 1. By carrying this out in all 28,000 of their stores by 2020, the company says every year they are removing more than one billion straws from going into the ocean.
Starbucks’ decision to gradually stop using single-use plastic straws is a shining example of the important role that companies can play in stopping the tide of ocean plastic. With eight million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, we cannot afford to let industry sit on the sidelines. Marine（海洋的）life has a 50% death rate when it swallows plastic—yet researchers believe there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050 if this rate of litter continues. That means there can be an immediate positive impact if we change plastic straws for environmentally friendly choices.
The smart design on the cup for cold drinks comes from Starbucks' in-house team of designers and has been in development for two years. However, the announcement comes as outcry （强烈的抗议）increases over the dangers that plastic straws can cause to marine life. Other companies making the eco-friendly change also announced plans last month to test possible choices to plastic straws last month.
1. Why does Starbucks decide to get rid of plastic straws?| A．To reduce its cost. | B．To meet the customers ' needs |
| C．To create a greener planet. | D．To develop its business worldwide. |
| A．Condition. | B．Change. | C．Reply. | D．Disagreement. |
| A．Humorous | B．Positive | C．Doubtful | D．Worried |
| A．Starbucks is throwing away plastic straws for a worthy cause. |
| B．Environmentally friendly materials will replace plastic straws. |
| C．Scientists are making efforts to solve ocean plastic pollution. |
| D．A sales promotion of a new brand by Starbucks is being done. |
1. 现在环境情况不令人满意；
2. 倡议：出行时多步行或骑自行车, 不乱扔垃圾等。
注意：
1. 词数 100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。
Boys and girls,
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3 . New Zealand introduced its new climate change curriculum (课程) to schools in January, but not everyone is happy about it. Dairy farmer Malcolm Lumsden told reporters, “If they're going to continue to bite the hand that feeds them, they're going to lose out in the long term.”
The curriculum, which is available to any schools that choose to use it, does point to industrial agriculture as being a major source of greenhouse gas emission. It encourages students to “eat less dairy and meat, have meatless days each week, eat more fruit and vegetables, drive less, recycle and buy second-hand products when possible”. Some of these suggestions, however, are being challenged for not being scientifically sound.
But animal agriculture is widely accepted in the scientific world as a driver of emissions, particularly methane (甲烷), which warms the Earth 86 times faster than carbon dioxide. A brand new study has shown that cutting the consumption of animal products by 50% would reduce dietary-related greenhouse gas emissions by 35%. It is just one of countless other studies that have made similar conclusions.
Kids aren’t clueless (笨的). They hear about the coming global catastrophe (灾难). They deserve to be given the tools with which to comprehend it and to take action. They deserve the knowledge with which to make their own decisions. The curriculum is a response to kids “really crying out for something like this”, in the words of an official from New Zealand.
There isn't about biting the hand that feeds, but rather engaging in thoughtful debate over how humans could be fed in ways that are better and gentler for the planet. Livestock farmers shouldn't be so offended, but rather be open to this debate so as not to become outdated or irrelevant.
1. What's Lumsden's attitude towards the new curriculum?| A．Unconcerned. | B．Disapproving. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Skeptical. |
| A．Advocating green lifestyles. | B．Blaming traditional agriculture. |
| C．Challenging experts' suggestions. | D．Forbidding eating dairy and meat. |
| A．A chance to get knowledge. | B．The global catastrophe. |
| C．The new curriculum. | D．A farming tool. |
| A．Stop Biting the Hand That Feeds One |
| B．A New Curriculum Favoured by New Zealanders |
| C．A Heated Debate Between Scientists and Farmers |
| D．Farmers Are Offended by a Climate Change Curriculum |
4 . A recent survey carried out by the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) found about half of clothes sold online by major fast fashion sellers are made completely from virgin polyester (纯聚酯纤维). The group studied over 10,000 clothes posted online during a two-week period in May by ASOS, Boohoo, Missguided, and PrettyLittleThing, and it made some worrying findings.
As many as 88% of the clothes on the above-mentioned websites cover virgin polyester mixed with other materials (材料). Very few have reused materials. In many cases, clothes covering both reused and virgin polyester had the word “reused” added to the product’s title, which is misleading.
The RSA study points out the production of virgin polyester causes big environmental damage. According to an MIT study, we can know that “a polyester shirt produces 5.5kg of CO2, 20% more than cotton (棉), and the same as CO2 produced by driving 13 miles in a passenger car. In 2015, polyester production was responsible for 700 million tonnes of CO2”. Clothes made cheaply from virgin polyester are not much different from the single-use plastic (塑料) packaging that is causing much environmental damage to the world.
Shoppers would do well to start viewing virgin polyester as similar to single-use plastic packaging. In order to encourage this, RSA hopes that shoppers will buy more natural fabrics, which are likely to age better, last longer, and not cause as much pollution once thrown away. The most useful strategy, of course, is to buy less. To be clear, RSA is not against all new polyester in clothing — it just needs to be used more responsibly.
1. What is described in Paragraph 2?| A．The difficulty in green production. | B．The popularity of online shopping. |
| C．The poor design of clothes sold online. | D．The actual materials used in most clothes. |
| A．By listing some examples. | B．By doing an experiment. |
| C．By referring to another study. | D．By using an expert’s words. |
| A．Advances in technology. | B．Less attention to fashion. |
| C．A change in shopping habits. | D．The disappearance of plastic. |
| A．Plastic packaging is still widely used. | B．Fast fashion causes an environmental problem. |
| C．It is unwise to follow the general fashion. | D．Environmental problems become more serious. |
5 . It will soon be possible to reduce common indoor air pollution using just a curtain. A mineral-based surface treatment enables this new curtain from IKEA to break down air pollutants when exposed to light. Air pollution is a global problem. According to WHO, around 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air. It causes eight million deaths per year.
The Swedish furniture company hopes to reduce this number by producing an air-purifying (净化空气) curtain. It can increase people’s awareness of indoor air pollution. It can also change some people's bad habits and bring clean air to the world. The technology will be applied to other textiles (纺织品).
The curtain uses a technology that has been developed by IKEA suppliers over the last few years. The process, similarly to photosynthesis (光合作用), is activated by both outdoor and indoor light. It's important to work on products that solve actual problems. Textiles are used across homes. By enabling a curtain to purify the air, they are creating an affordable and space-saving air purifying solution. Meanwhile, the home will become more beautiful.
For many years, IKEA has been reducing air pollution. They avoid using chemicals that release air. Last year, IKEA launched a campaign, aiming to turn rice straw—a rice harvesting remains that is traditionally burned and contributes heavily to air pollution—into a new renewable material source.
IKEA has also promised to become climate positive by 2030, reducing our overall climate footprint by 70% on average per product. The company has recently been praised for making their products made from renewable or recycled materials. In fact, IKEA has been working on positive change. It is their dream to enable people to live healthier lives.
1. What's special about the new curtain from IKEA?| A．It can purify air. | B．It can beautify the home. |
| C．It can block polluted air out. | D．It can carry on the photosynthesis. |
| A．It is a high-tech textile company. | B．It is a high-tech costume company. |
| C．It focuses on environmental protection. | D．It is an international environmental group. |
| A．Because of its economical materials. | B．Because of its environmental production. |
| C．Because it has made people live healthier. | D．Because it has developed a high-tech product. |
| A．A global problem. | B．A new explanation of photosynthesis. |
| C．An environmental company. | D．An air-purifying curtain. |
6 . In the United States, most of our electricity comes from power plants (发电厂) that burn coal and oil.
There are two big problems with using these things for electricity. First, their supply is limited (有限的). Second, burning them causes pollution. So to make sure we always have power and to keep our planet clean, we must find other ways to make electricity.
Some people think that wind power is our best choice. First, there will always be more wind. Also, wind power does not pollute the environment. Best of all, we don’t have to search for wind.
Today, less than 1 percent of our electricity comes from wind. But scientists have been developing better wind machines. As a result, wind power is getting more popular in this country.
Yet wind power may not keep growing so quickly in years to come. Why not? Many wind turbines (风力涡轮机) are needed to make much electricity. So wind-power companies try to build wind farms but are competing (竞争) with other uses for the land. A wind farm is a group of turbines placed close together in an area with frequent winds.
In places where companies try to build wind farms, people think that lines of turbines are ugly. Noise from turbines often troubles people. Also, turbines kill birds that fly into them.
Wind-power supporters disagree. They think the sight of wind turbines is lovely. They point out that people have gotten used to living near noisy highways. They say ways can be found to keep birds away from turbines.
In today’s world, we need clean and unlimited power sources more than ever. Unless a better power source comes along, people may just have to accept wind power as a part of their lives.
1. The underlined part “these things” in the second paragraph refers to ________.| A．frequent winds. | B．wind turbines. |
| C．power plants. | D．coal and oil. |
| A．How wind power works. |
| B．How wind power was found. |
| C．The advantages of wind power. |
| D．The development of wind power. |
| A．It is very expensive to build lots of wind turbines. |
| B．It is difficult to improve the wind power technology. |
| C．There are few people who accept it as a new power source. |
| D．Many wind turbines are needed and there is less space for them. |
| A．make a loud noise. |
| B．look very beautiful. |
| C．are built near highways. |
| D．provide places for birds to stay. |
| A．The Role of Wind. |
| B．The Power of Wind. |
| C．The Cost of Wind Power. |
| D．The History of Wind Power. |
7 . Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, and people all around the world celebrate this day by taking part in environmental awareness activities and working towards raising awareness about important issues that our planet Earth is currently facing, like global warming and pollution.
Before the 1970s, there were almost no environmental laws and industries were allowed to dump their industrial waste and fumes anywhere in the world. A US Senator by the name of Gaylord Nelson was concerned by the growing levels of pollution. So in the spring of 1970, Senator Nelson created Earth Day as a way to promote awareness about these issues in the US. His plan was successful, as 20 million Americans started a march for Earth Day around the world. As a result, the US government started an agency called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Over the next few years, the movement spread across the world and Earth Day became internationally recognised.
The theme of Earth Day 2021 is “restore our Earth”. The focus of this year’s theme is restoring Earth’s natural processes and ecosystems. Apart from that, the goal of this year’s Earth Day is to focus on taking green technologies and creative actions to restore the Earth’s natural ecosystem. More than stopping pollution and global warming, this year’s Earth Day focuses on reversing the damage caused to the Earth.
Despite strict environmental laws in many countries across the world, problems such as global warming, air pollution and climate change continue to threaten our planet. Many scientists around the world are warning us about the already irreversible(不可逆的) problems that have been created by microplastics, oil spills and depletion(消耗) of the ozone layer. If the human race continues on the same path as before, the extinction of the human race is not too far off in the future. Earth Day seeks to help raise people’s awareness around the world about these issues and bring positive changes, so future generations stand a chance of living a safer life.
1. What is the theme of this year’s Earth Day?| A．To slow down global warming. |
| B．To reduce individuals’ carbon footprint. |
| C．To promote the development of emerging industries. |
| D．To restore the Earth’s natural processes and ecosystems. |
| A．Running long-distance races. |
| B．Starting a movement on recycling. |
| C．Attending a lecture about human rights. |
| D．Participating in medical research on cancers. |
| A．Establishing a Day for the Earth |
| B．Efforts to Bring the Earth back to Normal |
| C．A Day for Promoting Environmental Awareness |
| D．A Fight against Severe Environmental Problems |
8 . German artist HA Schult is an unusual artist who uses trash to make sculptures. “We are living in a time of garbage,” says Schult. “I created a thousand sculptures of garbage. They are a mirror of ourselves.” Here, Schult was talking about his 1,000 trash sculptures in the form of humans.
“They are social sculptures,” he explained. “They are not only sculptures for the eyes. They are sculptures to spread the idea that we live in a time of garbage.” So far, Schult’s social sculptures have been on show in Paris, in Moscow’s Red Square, on the Great Wall of China, and in the desert next to the Great Pyramid of Giza near Cairo.
HA Schult’s work is unforgettable. Although his work has had a big influence on the art world, Schult remains modest about his creation, “Artists have to learn every time. We are not important. All that counts is the time in which we are living. ”
Trash art has been around for years. But it seems that only the popular artists are regarded as true artists when working with trash. Why can’t ordinary people be considered artists when they use the same things and change them into some form of personal art? Maybe it’s because we all have our own presumption of what art is and isn’t, or whom artists are or should be.
You can be an artist like Schult if you try. Look at used metal cans. What might be done with them? Imagine them in any number of new uses, or imagine them simply as an art form. What about boxes or clothing? Boxes can usually serve as new storage containers and houses for pets. And clothing? Imagine taking old clothes and turning them into hats or bags.
1. What do we know about Schult’s sculptures?| A．They served as garbage containers. | B．They reflected environmental issues. |
| C．They were first shown in Paris. | D．They were to raise economic awareness. |
| A．An artist must be socially responsible. | B．An artist must be as modest as possible. |
| C．An artist must make garbage recyclable. | D．An artist must take diverse artistic forms. |
| A．It takes talent to be a trash artist. | B．Presumptions are important to artists. |
| C．Trash art can’t be seen as a real art form. | D．Average people can also make trash artists. |
| A．Could You Be a Trash Artist? | B．What Are Social Sculptures? |
| C．Do You Know about Trash Art? | D．How Can We Deal with Used Cans? |
Recycling paper is a great way to help the environment, but reusing things made from paper is even better. Take a copy of magazine, for example. Once you finish
10 . A new government report has some bad news about sea levels on the U.S. coastline.
“The sea level rise is upon us,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean service.
Cities, such as Annapolis, Maryland, and Miami Beach, Florida, already experience a few minor floods every year during high tides, but those will be replaced by several “moderate (中等的)” floods a year by about 2050. “Higher sea levels mean more floods,” Sweet said, “
Climate change is the major cause of the sea level rise.
| A．She warned that the cost would be high. |
| B．But climate change can be slowed down. |
| C．Sea levels rise more in some places than others. |
| D．Some cities won’t be affected by the sea level rise. |
| E．Areas that haven’t been flooding are starting to flood. |
| F．People today are greatly concerned about this problem. |
| G．It says they’re expected to rise by at least 0.25 meters in the next 30 years. |
