阅读下面短文,简要回答所给问题。
The first Earth Day was in 1970. People were beginning to worry about what we were doing to our environment. So they set up Earth Day to tell everyone about their worries.
In 2007 organizers over 150 countries planned over 4,000 big events. But Earth Day is not just about marches(游行) and big events. In the week around Earth Day (22 April) there were many thousands of smaller, local events. These events dealt with environmental problems in the neighborhood. The World Wide Fund for Nature made a list of 5 things that each person could do to save the environment.
*Don't leave the tap running.
*Turn off lights when you leave a room.
*Turn off your computer every night.
*Wash your clothes, and yourself, in warm or cold water, not hot water.
*Dishwashers use as little water as possible. If we all do at least 20 of these all the time, we can make a big difference.
1. What is the purpose for people to set up Earth Day?
2. When is Earth Day?
3. What should people do when the water keeps running from a tap?
4. Does the word “dishwashers” mean “machines for washing dishes”?
5. Besides the five, what else can you do to save our environment? (One example is OK.)
The Araguaia River is one of the biggest rivers in Brazil. It is home to thousands of animals. River dolphins swim and play in the water, and there are many different colored fish.
In one town, a 13-year-old boy named Rhenan walks along the river every day. But looking at the river makes him worry because there is rubbish everywhere. He sees plastic bottles, old clothing, and empty food packages. The water looks dark and ugly.
One day Rhenan asked about the dirty river at school. “You wouldn’t want rubbish in your house,” said his teacher. “Think about the poor animals!” For days, Rhenan couldn’t stop thinking about the river. It doesn’t seem right to him that this big and powerful river is filled with rubbish. “It’s hurting the animals in my area,” he thought. “And it’s also hurting the families who live here.” Then Rhenan had an idea.
The next morning, Rhenan talked to his mother about his plan for the river. He wanted to go around his town and ask for everyone’s help. Maybe if they all worked together, they could clean up the river!
Rhenan’s mother loved his idea. “I believe the most important thing for you, Rhenan, is learning how to change things that you care about. That will stay with you forever.” She said. She told him she would help him along the way.
The next day, Rhenan went to the police department and next to the office of the Mayor (市长). He visited offices, businesses, and other schools. Soon he had a very big group of people who like his idea! They all decided to meet at the river the following week. On the day of the river clean-up, Rhenan was excited—but he was also nervous. What if no one showed up? But when he and his mother arrived, there were almost a hundred people there, including many of Rhenan’s friends.
注意: 1. 续写词数应为150左右;2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Over the whole day, they all worked together to clean up the rubbish.
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At the end of the day, everyone started to cheer.
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3 . Unless you’ve been faithfully bringing reusable shopping bags to the store, you probably grab the plastic bags waiting for customers at the checkout. You’re not alone.
About 100 billion plastic bags are used in the U. S. each year. Unfortunately, single-use plastic bags have serious consequences once our trip to the store is over. Less than 10% of plastic bags used in the U. S. are recycled, leaving the rest to end up in landfills (垃圾填埋场), and polluting soil, oceans and other natural habitats.
To fight pollution and other environmental problems, major companies are taking steps to get rid of the use of plastic shopping bags. If you’re a frequent customer at Walmart, don’t be surprised if you notice the plastic bags disappearing over the next few months. Last summer, Walmart announced its goal to be a zero-waste company — meaning no more plastic bags.
But Walmart has announced its Beyond the Bag, an initiative (倡议) working to explore reusable options and “reimagine” the plastic bag. Target and CVS are also on board as founding partners of Beyond the Bag, and so far, the three brands have invested $15 million to come up with a brand-new bag design.
The initiative also started the Beyond the Bag challenge, giving innovators (创新者) a chance to share their ideas. The challenge ran throughout the summer of 2020, and nine winners from over 450 submissions were selected. From a station supplying reusable bag in-store to a new and improved paper bag, the winning designs cover a lot of bases. Each product now has the chance to be tested with funding from the initiative.
While a final replacement for plastic bags at Walmart has yet to be decided, there’s a more sustainable future on the horizon. And if you want to start reducing your use of plastic bags right now, check out our list of reusable bags to bring on your next shopping trip.
1. What does the author mean by saying “You’re not alone” in the first paragraph?A.Reusable shopping bags are becoming more popular. |
B.Customers need to wait for long at the checkout. |
C.Some people are waiting in the line with you. |
D.Many people use plastic bags when shopping. |
A.Single-use plastic bags cause severe environmental problems. |
B.Supermarkets should stop providing single-use plastic bags. |
C.Single-use plastic bags should be more widely recycled. |
D.More landfills should be built to deal with plastic bags. |
A.To attract more customers. | B.To provide more plastic bags. |
C.To set a good example to Target and CVS. | D.To make shopping more environmentally friendly. |
A.People pay more attention to environmental protection. |
B.Walmart is getting rid of single-use plastic bags. |
C.Reusable paper bags are becoming more popular. |
D.Free plastic bags have become a thing of the past. |
1. What is the evidence of climate change according to the man?
A.Hot weather. | B.Rising seas. | C.Less food. |
A.Air pollution. | B.Sound pollution. | C.Plastic pollution. |
A.To save water. | B.To use less plastic. | C.To follow the trend. |
A.Raise more animals. | B.Use cloth bags. | C.Eat less meat. |
5 . It took a wave of water full of plastic crashing over Babacar Thiaw as he went out to sea for him to decide to act. By the time his surfboard had carried him back to Virage beach on the north shore (岸) of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, Thiaw had a plan to make use of the surfing community he had built there.
Within a year he had turned Copacabana Surf Village, which he founded with his father two decades ago, into a center for young Senegalese eco-surfers, where he organizes beach cleans, environmental courses for children and runs Senegal’s first zero-waste restaurant.
Thiaw grew up in a fishing village near the beach, and the Copacabana Surf Village’s foundations (地基) were laid by his fisher father, who after a day’s work would head to Virage beach to surf on a wooden board. They worked hard to turn the Village into a business by renting out surfboards and later offering lessons with the help of visiting overseas surfers.
It is now a popular surfing location, attracting tourists. It’s also a place where Thiaw teaches young Senegalese how to surf and care for the ocean they spend so much time in.
“When we come to the water to surf, we can see how much plastic is ending up here and it disturbs (使烦恼) us,” says Mohammed Sarr, 17, who Thiaw taught to surf. Sarr says he has become more aware of how he uses and deals with plastic because he and his family, who live near the sea, are directly affected.
Thiaw says there was doubt about the plastic-free initiative (倡议), with diners questioning whether it was healthy for him to be serving water in reusable glass bottles. But he stresses that everyone needs to understand the requirement to change .“ Once the environment is getting worse, you and your family and friends will surely suffer,” he says.
1. What caused Thiaw to decide to make a change?A.The attack of seawater. | B.The sight of plastic in the sea. |
C.The dirty Virage beach. | D.The needy surfing community. |
A.He is very good at running a business. | B.He founded the Village to save the sea. |
C.He was the first to develop Village beach. | D.He tried hard to get support from the public. |
A.To show Thiaw’s influence on him. | B.To describe his relationship with Thiaw. |
C.To share his worries about Thiaw’s efforts. | D.To praise his surfing skills taught by Thiaw. |
A.They’ll have a healthy diet. | B.They’ll donate to locals in need. |
C.They’ll do their part for the environment. | D.They’ll contribute to running the restaurant. |
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
7 . Most Beautiful of All
A.They smelled wonderful and crunched (发出碎裂声) under our feet as we walked along. |
B.Then, she approached and asked us whether we had any trash. |
C.I decided to take my sons for a walk the other day. |
D.As is often the case, we are too busy to find the beauty of nature. |
E.As we turned a corner along the walking trail, I noticed a woman slowly making her way towards us. |
F.Of all the things I saw that day, she was the most beautiful. |
G.Then, quickly and neatly, she placed it in the trash bag. |
8 . Organic (有机的) farming is a type of agriculture that benefits from the recycling and use of natural products. Use of dried plants not only saves money, but also ensures the growth of crops. The technique is characterized (具有……的特征) by the use of green manure (肥料), biological pest control methods and special farming techniques to keep soil productive. Limiting the use of manmade chemicals or completely doing away with (去掉) them reduces the risk of diseases. Today, organic farming is a major and preferred industry around the world. Organically grown products have a huge market, with farmlands covering about 10% of the total world farmland. The initial effort made by Sir Albert Howard, the Father of Organic Farming, has paid off.
Advantages of Organic Farming:
1. The economics of organic farming are characterized by increasing profits (利润) through reduced water use and reduced soil erosion (侵蚀).
2. Organic farming produces the same crops as those produced through traditional farming methods, but uses half the energy, and holds 40% more top soil.
3. Farming the organic way enables farmers to get rid of weeds without the use of any chemicals.
4. The use of green pesticides (杀虫剂) is environmentally friendly and does no harm to human’s health.
Disadvantages of Organic Farming:
1. Organic methods of farming produce less, compared to traditional farming techniques.
2. Organic agriculture does little to fight global climate change. Though organic farming practices are recognized as giving out less CO2, but not to a significant degree.
However, though there are some disadvantages to organic farming, farms where organic methods for cropping have been used have more advantages than traditional farms. Organic agriculture is surely better in the long term.
1. Organic farming uses the manure made from ________.
A.expensive soil | B.dried plants |
C.harmful pests | D.manmade chemicals |
A.worked hard for nothing |
B.succeeded in organic farming |
C.spent all his time on organic farming |
D.didn’t expect organic farming to be successful |
a.is more environmentally friendly
b.produces a lot more food
c.uses less energy
d.results in more weeds in the farmland
e.is better for human’s health
A.abc | B.acd | C.ace | D.bce |
A.anxious | B.hopeless |
C.unclear | D.optimistic |
Palm oil(棕榈油) is the most widely used vegetable oil worldwide. It’s found in a wide variety of products from of vitamins to chocolate and bread.
But the oil’s popularity comes at a high price.
With half of the world’s palm oil coming from Indonesia,orangutans(猩猩) have suffered a lot.
A.Palm trees need lots of land to grow. |
B.The easiest solution is to stop using palm oil so widely. |
C.The palm oil is so expensive that many families can’t afford it. |
D.In the last 20 years,over 80% of their habitat has been destroyed. |
E.There are many things we can do to protect the endangered wild animals. |
F.The oil is popular because it has a high melting point and contains healthy fats. |
G.It eats the sugars from the waste and turns it into thick oil that has similar qualities to palm oil. |
10 . Lying alongside mountains of smelly garbage under the South American sun, Cateura is a long way from the conservatories of Prague or Vienna. Yet the township, which grew out of Paraguay's largest dump(垃圾场), is gaining a reputation as a hothouse for musical talent and for its youth orchestra(管弦乐队) that plays instruments made from garbage. "The world sends us garbage. We send back music," says Favio Chavez, leader of the "Recycled Orchestra," during a recent visit by the group to Los Angeles. Orchestra members, poor children from Cateura, play violins fashioned from oven trays and guitars made from dessert dishes. The orchestra provides the youngsters an outlet and an escape, a chance to go beyond the mess of their slum(贫民窟) through the music of Mozart, and even Sinatra. "In the beginning, it was difficult to play," says the l0-year-old violinist Celeste Fleitas." But Favio helped me learn over time. From Favio, I have learned to be more responsible and value the things I have."
The destination for more than 1,500 tons of waste each day, the community has no safe drinking water and little access to electricity or sanitation(卫生设施). Illiteracy is severe, and the children of the township often fall into drugs, violence and crimes.
Favio Chavez, a musical talent, came to Cateura as an environmental technician in 2006 and started a youth music school. He knew shop-bought instruments were beyond the means of villagers whose sheds are worth less than a violin, so he approached a carpenter to make some out of waste from the dump.
The orchestra caught the eye of Paraguayan filmmaker Alejandra Amarilla. She uploaded a short piece of the orchestra to YouTube in 2012, hoping to secure crowdfunding for what would become Landfill Harmonic, a documentary released across the United States this month and promoting the youngsters on a tour of the world's music halls later on.
1. What is the best title of the text?A.Youngsters carry tunes from garbage to victory |
B.A music talent hit the road to the world stage |
C.A town for music fans |
D.An orchestra on a global tour |
A.It has raised people's awareness of recycling trash |
B.It has caught more attention through the orchestra |
C.It recycles more than l,500 tons of rubbish per day |
D.It provides its children with better schooling conditions |
A.To assist the youngsters with a world tour |
B.To collect funding for a documentary |
C.To organize carpenters to make instruments |
D.To catch the eye of the Paraguay government |
A.To work in a team weighs more |
B.To recycle things is to conserve things |
C.To be creative is a quality of a leader |
D.To own nothing is no excuse to do nothing |