Earth Day, marked on 22 April, is an annual event
2 . Indian scientists plan to add substances to clouds above the capital New Delhi in an effort to produce rain to reduce pollution. The method is called cloud seeding. The process involves adding different chemicals to clouds to cause rain. When rain falls from the sky, water droplets can attach to pollution particles and bring them down to the ground.
New Delhi has been rated the city with the most air pollution in the world. Air quality decreases in the city ahead of winter each year. During this time, cold air can trap many pollutants, including gases from vehicles, industry and agricultural burning.
Scientists expect some clouds over the city around November 20. They hope the clouds will result in heavy rainfall. The project, estimated to cost $120,000 for 100 square kilometers, would involve spraying into clouds a mix of salts that include silver iodine.
“The local government in New Delhi, a city of 20 million people, has already closed all schools and other educational institutions, asked people to work from home, restricted the movement of trucks and other vehicles and ceased all building activities”, said Gufran Beig, head of the Indian government’s air-quality measuring agency SAFAR, adding that “The city needs heavy and widespread rain to wash away the pollutants, and light rain could worsen the situation.”
New Delhi’s pollution has been exacerbated by more than 3,500 fires in Punjab and Haryana, where farmers burned stubble (秸秆) ahead of sowing their winter wheat crop. The smoke has been trapped tightly in the cold winter air, leaving the hospitals filled with children and the elderly.
It is reported that officials in New Delhi now are seeking approval for the project from the Supreme Court. In 2021, a plan to seed clouds over the mountains of New Mexico to increase snowfall was pulled because of the blame that it could poison people and the environment. As a matter of fact, several countries have used this method to produce rain, improve air quality and water crops in times of extreme dryness, including Mexico, the United States, Indonesia and Malaysia.
1. What do you know about cloud seeding?A.A method to let rain fall down together with pollutants. |
B.A method designed to generate rain or snow artificially. |
C.A method created to absorb substances from clouds. |
D.A method used to assess clouds’ quality and quantity. |
A.Most schools have to break up their off line classes. |
B.The roads are closed to trucks and other vehicles. |
C.It is possible that a light rain will visit the city. |
D.A huge pressure from an intense rain will work. |
A.Worsened. | B.Considered. | C.Controlled. | D.Restored. |
A.Cloud seeding has become popular in the world. |
B.Cloud seeding is indeed a threat to living creatures. |
C.Not all the nations and areas support cloud seeding. |
D.It is the second time that India has seeded clouds. |
3 . Have you got any electronic devices hanging around your home that you no longer want or use? Between us, we have millions of bits of unused tech kept in drawers.
Probably the best cure for our throwaway culture is to fix our broken tech.
A final choice for your unwanted items is to up-cycle them. You can breathe new life into them by transforming them into valuable pieces or collectable retroitems (复古物品), which could be sold on.
A.Recycling is another solution. |
B.All you need is patience and skills. |
C.Another cure is to give them away. |
D.However, they don't need to be thrown away. |
E.You can have fun in repair clubs and repair cafés. |
F.You can make some cash and create needed space in your home. |
G.You might even get some cash back when buying their new products. |
4 . If you’re aiming to cut back on meat and you want to build muscle strength, you’re not alone. Now, a new study finds that swapping red and processed meat for plant protein a few times a week leads to better health and lowers carbon emission.
“We found that there was an increase in life expectancy of approximately nine months linked to 50% reduction of red meat consumption,” says Olivia Auclair. “When it comes to diet changes to improve health and climate, we don’t need to go to major extremes or completely wipe out foods from our diet.”
But sudden changes can be jarring. For a long time Kyle Backlund had been in the habit of eating meat at many meals, and when he cut back, he felt a drop in his energy level and experienced some tiredness and weakness. When he realized he needed to increase his protein intake, his wife Stephany Marreel — who does most of the cooking and also eats a plant-based diet — found a solution by adding tofu, vegetables, and grains. Kyle says he is now feeling good on his plant-focused diet.
People can get all the protein and nutrients they need from a plant-based diet as long as they do a little planning, says Dr. Christopher Gardner, a food scientist. “If someone is consuming a reasonable variety, meeting protein needs from plant sources is no problem,” Gardner says.
There’s an environmental argument for shifting diet as well, Gardner says. Livestock (家畜) require lots of land and water. Beef production requires 20 times more land and produces 20 times more greenhouse gas emissions, per gram of protein, compared to beans. If people in the U.S. swapped beef for beans, this one switch alone could get the U.S. about halfway to its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
1. What should you do to improve health and climate according to Olivia Auclair?A.Change your meat-based diet a little. | B.Give up red meat in your meals. |
C.Become a devoted plant-protein lover. | D.Take up proper ways of cooking. |
A.Admirable. | B.Upsetting. | C.Meaningful. | D.Rewarding. |
A.By exercising more. | B.By consuming less red meat. |
C.By eating various foods. | D.By having whole grain. |
A.Cattle are the main source of greenhouse gases. |
B.Americans are reducing greenhouse gas emission. |
C.Shifting diet can be beneficial to the planet. |
D.Bean production requires lots of land and water. |
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics. These must-read environmental books are sure to spark the interest of the greenest books.
Silent Spring
Written by Rachel Carson, Silent Spring highlights the effects of pesticides (杀虫剂) on the environment, especially DDT, which was a very popular insecticide until it was finally banned in 1972. The book eventually led to a change in the United States’ pesticide policy and contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.
This book collects 11 speeches made by climate activist Greta Thunberg, highlighting the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations. Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the School Strike for Climate, also known as Fridays for Future. She inspired protests worldwide.
The Uninhabitable Earth
This book by David Wallace Wells examines the disasters that have already occurred and looks ahead to the year 2100 and what climate change will do if we continue on our current path. Its opening line is incredibly telling: “It is worse, much worse, than you think.”
The End of Nature
Published in 1989, the book describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the idea that nature was previously independent of humans but has now been affected by them in every way. According to author Bill McKibben, the idea of wilderness is lost, and nature is no longer complete.
1. Which book brought the environment to the government’s attention?A.Silent Spring. | B.The End of Nature. |
C.The Uninhabitable Earth. | D.No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. |
A.Curiosity. | B.Concern. | C.Annoyance. | D.Disappointment. |
A.Nature will not exist any longer. | B.Wild animals are disappearing fast. |
C.Human activities are destroying nature. | D.Climate change affects future generations. |
7 . On Friday, students around the world will walk out of their classrooms and gather in joint protests to highlight the global crisis created by climate change. The goal? To get elected officials and industry leaders to actually act to stop the coming disaster.
Climate change poses a terrible threat to humanity, and politicians aren’t doing enough to find solutions, protest organizers wrote on the Global Climate Strike website. Greenhouse gas emissions (排放) are a primary driver of global warming, but leaders have been irresolute about abandoning fossil fuels, even as global temperatures continue to climb.
Strikes and protests by students in more than 2,500 locations aim to show that the younger generations won’t stand easily by while their future — and their planet — hang in the balance. The strike follows a summer of extreme weather linked to climate change: strange global heat waves, wildfires and ice loss from glaciers (冰川). In July, three studies found that the global climate is changing more quickly than it has in the past 2,000 years.
Sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is currently visiting New York City, is one of the strike’s key organizers. Thunberg will speak at a Friday demonstration at Foley Square there at 12 p. m. local time, after which protesters will march to Battery Park. Thunberg will also address the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23. The emergency meeting is being organized so that world leaders can present “concrete, realistic plans” for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050, according to a UN statement.
Thousands of protests are planned for Friday — just three days prior to the summit—and collectively, they will be the biggest climate action in history.
1. Why will students gather together?A.To make their voice heard by leaders. |
B.To call on moves to protect the earth. |
C.To celebrate the newly elected officials. |
D.To organize a big protest for civil rights. |
A.Hesitant. | B.Concerned. | C.Decisive. | D.Thoughtful. |
A.Electing new leaders of the summit. |
B.Reorganizing the UN department. |
C.Reaching zero emissions by 2050. |
D.Protecting the whole human beings. |
A.Global Students Mobilize for Climate Action |
B.Why Not Join the Students for a New Planet? |
C.Organize a Climate Talk for the Only Earth |
D.A New Strike Will Be Staged Worldwide |
8 . Chinese scientists say they have developed a robotic fish that can remove microplastic particles from water environments. Researchers working on the project say the robots could help to clean up plastic pollution in oceans around the world.
The robotic swimmers are about 1.3 centimeters long. They are made of a soft chemical Compound. The robots are designed to absorb microplastics while moving through the water. The project was launched by a team at Sichuan University in southwestern China. The researchers said the robots have already performed well in shallow water and they plan to carry out more tests in deeper waters. The scientists reported their findings in a new study in Nano Letters. The publication comes from the American Chemical Society, a nonprofit organization supported by the U.S. Congress. The robotic fish were built to target microplastic particles, which are smaller than five millimeters. Studies have confirmed that microplastic pollution has been discovered in many natural environments. The material comes from the breakdown of manufactured plastic products and industrial waste.
The team said the robots can be controlled by light. Turning “a near-infrared light laser” on and off causes the fish’s tail to move back and forth, the American Chemical Society said. The robotic fish can swim up to 2.76 body lengths per second. The researchers said this is faster than most similar soft robots. Wang Yuyan was a member of Sichuan University’s research team. She told Reuters news agency that the small, lightweight robot is currently being used to collect microplastics for research purposes. But Wang added that the team plans to expand that use so the robot fish can remove larger amounts of microplastic waste from deep ocean areas. The fish can take in different kinds of microplastics and even repair itself when damaged, the researchers said. And if a robot fish is accidentally eaten by a real fish, it can safely digest the material, the team added. Wang said similar robots could be developed to be placed inside the human body to remove unwanted materials or diseases.
1. Why has a robotic fish been created?A.To remove disease in people. |
B.To clean up pollution in oceans. |
C.To remove unwanted materials in body. |
D.To remove microplastic particles in water. |
A.The purpose of the robotic fish. |
B.The function of the robotic fish, |
C.A further introduction of the robotic fish. |
D.Potential application of the robotic fish. |
A.It will be harmless. | B.It will repair itself. |
C.It will take in microplastics. | D.It will collect microplastics. |
A.Pessimistic. | B.Positive. | C.Unclear. | D.Suspicious. |
(1)发出倡议的原因和目的;
(2)浪费用水的现象和节约用水的方法;
(3)发出倡议。
注意:
(1)词数100左右;
(2)可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear schoolmates,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Student Union
1. What is the man doing probably?
A.Shopping online. |
B.Watching a program. |
C.Playing a video game. |
A.2 years. | B.5 years. | C.10 hours. |
A.Supportive. | B.Neutral. | C.Opposed. |