1 . In 2009, when Qatar (卡塔尔) bid to host the 2022 Football World Cup, it promised a carbon-neutral (碳中和) event. Even back then, the prospect of neutralizing the carbon-dioxide emissions (排放) generated by hosting hundreds of thousands of fans in newly constructed stadiums, in a desert state, seemed fanciful. So it is proving. In their greenhouse-gas accounting report, published last year, FIFA (国际足联) and the Qatari organizers estimated that the World Cup would generate 3.6 million tons of CO2 emissions. Estimating emissions for big sporting events is a relatively new practice and methods can vary, but that figure is higher than any recent World Cup or Olympics.
It is also likely to be a significant underestimate. A report in May 2022 by Carbon Market Watch (CMW), a climate watchdog (监督者), found that the official forecast failed to account accurately for the emissions generated from stadiums. FIFA, which insists its method is “best in practice”, reckons that the majority of the emissions (52%) will come from fans and players travelling to Qatar, while less than 25% are from stadium construction. That is because organizers expect these stadiums to be used for years after the World Cup, spreading their carbon footprint way into the future.
CMW believes such an excuse is far from reasonable. Before the World Cup, Qataris were able to get by with only one stadium, it points out. Consequently, it estimates that the emissions from stadium construction for the World Cup are undercounted by a factor of eight. It puts the real figure at 5 million tons. Though it amounts to less than 0.02% of the world’s annual emissions, sports teams and organizations should have set a positive example in this.
To remove the doubt from outside, Qatar has established the Global Carbon Council (GCC), a dedicated environmental agency. Beyond adjusting for World Cup emissions, the GCC will promote a path to “a low-carbon future”, a great step for a country with the world’s highest emissions per person. Yet the agency is still at its early stage. Only six projects, saving less than 600,000 tons, have been approved so far.
1. What is the main problem Qatar and FIFA are faced with at present?| A．The 2022 World Cup isn’t as successful as it should be. |
| B．They may fail to keep the promise to hold a green event. |
| C．The figure they published is higher than that of other events |
| D．They are unfamiliar with the new practice of the World Cup. |
| A．By insisting on its way of environmental protection. |
| B．By promising to use the new stadiums for more years. |
| C．By blaming the greenhouse-gas emissions on travelers. |
| D．By cooperating with Carbon Market Watch for instructions. |
| A．5 million tons accounts for a little of the annual emissions. |
| B．The stadium construction for the World Cup sets a bad example. |
| C．The method they employed in estimating the emissions is unscientific. |
| D．There will be more stadiums than Qatar actually needs after the World Cup. |
| A．The GCC is an agency specially established for the World Cup |
| B．The Qataris attach great importance to environmental protection. |
| C．The Qataris need to make more efforts to hold a carbon-neutral event. |
| D．The GCC has achieved a lot in cutting down greenhouse-gas emissions. |
The problem that the Li River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region suffered from severe water pollution was caused by many factors such as many tourists frequently
3 . For Christina and her team, planting trees isn’t the only goal. She hopes to employ residents, especially youth, to get their hands in the dirt and see how they can grow change.
Groundwork Bridgeport hired a team of youth and trained them to provide ongoing care for trees in the community (社区). They serve the neighborhoods where they live, monitoring the trees, providing basic care, and connecting with their neighbors. Their “patrolling” is improving each tree’s longevity while giving them valuable experience and a good payment.
“We’re using data and technology to be able to find even down to the specific city block of where trees are needed the most,” said Amy Lester, Ventures Project Coordinator, Arbor Day Foundation. With a NatureQuant NatureScore® of 10, the east Bridgeport neighborhood was flagged as desperately needing trees. NatureQuant is a tech and research company that helps the Arbor Day Foundation determine where trees are needed most in urban spaces.
The most recent program that happened in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation was a tree giveaway. Fifty trees were given to residents of the neighborhood identified by NatureQuant.
Residents showed their support for the effort by coming out in full force. They know what the trees mean to their community, to their health, to the next generation of those growing up in east Bridgeport.
1. What did Groundwork Bridgeport hire a youth team to do?| A．To cut down trees. | B．To provide guidance. |
| C．To care for trees. | D．To get a good payment. |
| A．By counting numbers. | B．By using technology. |
| C．By giving away trees. | D．By observing trees. |
| A．Far-reaching. | B．One-sided. | C．Short-lived. | D．Time-wasting. |
| A．A Tree Planting Plan by Groundwork Bridgeport |
| B．Employ the Next Generation of Tree Planters |
| C．A Tree Giveaway Program to Communities |
| D．Tree Planting Cooperation Between Communities |
Over the last decade, China
Recently, a man named Zou Yi,
5 . Fast fashion has been sweeping the whole world for its accessibility and price. However, these quick and easily accessible clothing brands aren’t as safe as they appear. As fast fashion grows, so does the environmental influence it leaves behind. Fast fashion brands search for the cheapest and fastest way to keep up with the latest trends, and many clothing items require large amounts of cotton, nylon and polyester (聚酯纤维). These materials may appear safe to the eye, but they have a greater impact on the environment than most people believe.
Cotton is the most profitable non-food crop in the world. The cotton industry makes up 7% of all labor in developing countries. Cotton, however, is not very safe for the environment once it’s mass-produced for clothing. Cotton planting, the process of putting the leaves of the cotton plants under the soil to grow new cotton, actually destroys the quality of the soil in which it is grown. Cotton production usually includes the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which not only pollute the soil, but also the water through polluted runoff.
Nylon, unlike cotton, is a fully synthetic (合成的) material. It is the first fabric (布料) to be made fully in a laboratory. Nylon is not biodegradable (可自然降解的) and its production is an energy-wasting process that creates unsafe gases and sends them into the atmosphere.
Polyester is made out of petroleum. This fabric is one of the world’s most popular and cheapest fabrics to make. Its whole production process sends unsafe gases into the air. Besides, once the polyester clothing is made, washing it sends microfibers into the environment, specifically in waterways. So polyester is considered one of the most perilous materials to the environment.
Despite various companies making clothing out of unsafe materials, it’s up to you to put a stop to it. Try shopping for more environmentally friendly materials. And when it’s time to get rid of old clothes, don’t throw them away. Instead of having your clothes become landfill, sell them, or even donate them to somebody else.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Fast fashion is popular because of its high quality. |
| B．Fast fashion has a negative effect on the environment. |
| C．The materials of fast fashion brands are environmentally-friendly. |
| D．Despite the expensive price, the materials of fast fashion brands are safe. |
| A．A large quantity of water is wasted. | B．Harmful gases are sent into the air. |
| C．The soil environment is damaged. | D．Great profits are gained by farmers. |
| A．Safe. | B．Important. | C．Useful. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．Call on people to take action. | B．Give a warning to the public. |
| C．Offer some shopping advice. | D．Raise some questions of fast fashion. |
In an age of rapidly growing urbanization, rooftop farming has emerged as a sustainable response
Rooftop farming, also
As urban populations continue to grow, rooftop farming fosters community engagement
7 . As the world struggles to deal with the climate crisis, some companies are working to remove polluting carbon dioxide from the air.
Scientists say large amounts of CO2 must be removed from the CO2 atmosphere and stored.
That means humans need to come up with ways of removing carbon from the air and storing it. This is called Direct Air Capture(DAC). The science of removing carbon from the air is challenging, and it’s still pretty new.
A company called Heirloom has just opened the first DAC plant in the United States. The company heats up the limestone to separate out the CO2, which is concrete. The process is extremely expensive.
| A．Plants and trees do this naturally. |
| B．That’s a huge and challenging goal. |
| C．Not everyone is excited about carbon removal. |
| D．Graphyte is another US company working on DAC. |
| E．The new plant can remove 1,000 tons of CO2 a year. |
| F．Most DAC processes require a large amount of energy. |
| G．As a matter of fact, CO2 is just a small part of the gases that make up air. |
8 . Whales are celebrated for being the largest and most intelligent creatures in the ocean. Now, biologists have discovered that they also capture (捕获) tons of carbon from the atmosphere, a service with an economic value of US $1 trillion for all the great whales, according to a new study published by the International Monetary Fund. The study points out that protecting whales, normally viewed as a human good, also has a monetary motivation.
“The carbon capture potential of whales is truly incredible,” said the report. “Our conservative estimates put the value of the average great whale at more than US $2 million, and easily over US $1 trillion for the current stock of great whales.” Whales absorb carbon in their bodies during their long lives, some of which stretch to 200 years. When they die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean, taking the carbon with them. According to the study, each great whale traps around 33 tons of carbon dioxide on average. A tree during the same period only contributes to 3 percent of the carbon absorption of the whale.
Whale populations are today a smidgen of what they once were. It is estimated that there are slightly more than 1.3 million whales in the ocean, a quarter of their pre-whaling number of 4 to 5 million. Some species in particular, like the blue whale, are only 3 percent of what they used to be. “We can create financial methods to promote the restoration of the world’s whale populations,” said the report’s authors. “Rewards could help those who pay significant costs as a result of whale protection.”
With the Paris Agreement coming into force next year and the effects of climate change ever more widespread, we must prevent the harm to whales. Researchers analyzed that unless new methods are put forward, it would take over 30 years to double the number of current whales, and several generations to return them to their pre-whaling numbers. “Society and our own survival can’t afford to wait this long,” they said.
1. What does the new study reveal about whales?| A．They are money-makers for good. | B．Their intelligence is unquestionable. |
| C．They are a natural climate solution. | D．Their survival is threatened by carbon. |
| A．To indicate all matter regarding green efforts. | B．To illustrate whales are friendly to the oceans. |
| C．To highlight whales’ carbon capture potential. | D．To emphasize the importance of tree planting. |
| A．Climate change intensifies. | B．Whale populations stay low. |
| C．Our survival is endangered. | D．Whale protection is a priority. |
| A．Protect whales to protect the planet | B．How to restore whale populations |
| C．Live in harmony with ocean giants | D．Whales can guarantee our survival |
9 . Google recently announced that it has begun using carbon-free electricity from a geothermal (地热能) project to power data centers in the state of Nevada.
Tim Latimer is chief and co-founder of Fervo Energy based in Houston, Texas. His company is working with Google on its geothermal project. Latimer said that getting electricity on the grid from geothermal resources is an event many new energy companies never reach. He added that he believes geothermal energy will become more well-known than in the past.
The International Energy Agency(IEA) has long suggested geothermal could be an answer to climate change. The IEA said in a 2011 document that geothermal could reach 3.5 percent of global electricity production each year by 2050. The Paris-based international group says geothermal energy could prevent almost 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Fervo Energy is using this first test to launch other projects that will provide more electricity to the grid. The company is currently completing some work in southwest Utah for a 400-megawatt project. Google and Fervo Energy started working together in 2021 to develop geothermal power. The plant near Winnemucca, Nevada, is now operating and is sending about 3.5 megawatts to the grid.
Google announced in 2020 that it would use what it calls “carbon-free” energy every hour of every day, wherever it operates, by 2030. Many energy experts believe huge companies like Google can play a part in increasing the use of clean energy.
Terrell noted the company was also an early supporter of wind and solar projects, helping those markets grow to where they are today. “It’s a very similar situation. Now that we’ve set a goal to be 24/7 carbon-free energy, we have found it will take more than just wind, solar and storage,” Terrell said.
The United States leads the world in using heat from the Earth for electricity production. U. S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said earlier this year that advances in new geothermal systems will help introduce this form of energy to areas where it has been thought to be impossible. This makes it possible to find energy in more places.
1. What is Tim Latimer’s attitude to working with Google?| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Concerned. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Fervo Energy has launched many geothermal projects before. |
| B．Geothermal energy will take the place of solar energy. |
| C．Getting electricity from geothermal resources has been widely used. |
| D．Geothermal energy has the potential to tackle environmental problems. |
| A．CO2 emission is to blame for climate change. |
| B．Carbon-free electricity only exists in our dream. |
| C．Google is setting a good example in environmental protection. |
| D．Wind and solar projects are more important than geothermal project. |
| A．Geothermal: an answer to climate change |
| B．Google: a company launching a new project |
| C．IEA: an organization contributing to global warming |
| D．CO2: the leading factor to global warming |
10 . Landfills are places where a large amount of waste and other refuse is buried in the ground. They are responsible for releasing a large amount of planet-warming methane gas into the atmosphere, a new study suggests.
The study, which was published in Science Advances on Wednesday, is aimed at helping local governments carry out targeted efforts to limit global warming by identifying areas of major concern. For this purpose, the scientists used satellite data from four major cities around the world — Delhi and Mumbai in India, Lahore in Pakistan and Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Based on the collected data, the scientists have drawn the conclusion that landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions (排放) worldwide, after oil and gas systems and agriculture. And further investigation shows that the methane released from the landfills is generated from the decomposition (分解) of natural waste in them, like food, wood or paper.
Methane, though only accounting for about 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, traps 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO₂. Scientists estimate that at least 25 percent of today’s warming is driven by methane from human actions. That’s why landfills are partly to blame for the global warming.
Joannes Maasakkers, a leader of the study, said, “We found that these landfills, which are relatively small compared to city sizes, are responsible for a large part of total emissions from a given area.” Another scientist, Euan Nisbet, who was not part of the study, said, “This new work shows just how important it is to manage landfills better, especially in countries like India where landfills are often on fire, resulting in a wide range of damaging pollutants (污染物).” He also added that the newer satellite technology and on-the-ground research make it easier for researchers to identify “who is polluting the world”.
1. Why did the scientists carry out the study?| A．To reduce the emission of the methane. | B．To help the authorities control the global warming. |
| C．To test out the new satellite technology. | D．To clarify which places people are concerned about. |
| A．There exists methane in food, wood and paper. |
| B．Methane makes up most of the greenhouse gases. |
| C．More methane is released from landfills than from agriculture. |
| D．Methane prevents more heat in the air from escaping than CO₂ does. |
| A．Favourable | B．Concerned | C．Unclear | D．Doubtful |
| A．Methane causes the temperature of the earth to go up. |
| B．Satellite data help identify the source of the pollutants. |
| C．Landfills are to blame for the release of much methane. |
| D．Waste and other refuse should be forbidden for their impact. |
