1 . Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element.
Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet.
A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject (注入) concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used.
California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium (镁) , which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete.
Additionally, researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product.
The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.
Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used.
1. What is the environmental issue associated with traditional concrete production?| A．The high demand for energy. | B．The processing of waste materials. |
| C．The mass release of carbon dioxide. | D．The use of non-renewable resources. |
| A．By using silicate rock as the basis. | B．By putting carbon dioxide into concrete. |
| C．By replacing sand with coffee grounds. | D．By absorbing carbon dioxide with magnesium. |
| A．Difficulty in making profits. | B．Convincing the public of the convenience. |
| C．Lack of funding for research. | D．Removing the industry members’ safety concerns. |
| A．To promote an alternative to concrete. | B．To advocate environmental protection. |
| C．To introduce new ways to produce concrete. | D．To emphasize the significance of creativity. |
2 . People have come to understand the enormous impacts-beneficial as well as harmful- plastics have on human lives and the environment. As polymer (聚合物) scientists committed to inventing sustainable solutions for real-world problems, we set out to tackle the issue of plastic waste by rethinking the way polymers are designed so we could make plastics with recyclability built right in.
Everyday items including milk jug, grocery bags, and takeout containers are made from a class of polymers called polyolefins. These plastics are really durable (耐用的) because the chemical bonds in those polymers are extremely stable. In a world set up for disposable (一次性的) items, durability is no longer a design feature but rather a design drawback. Imagine if half the plastics used today were recyclable through twice as many processes as they are now. Also conventional recycling requires careful sorting of all the collected materials, which can be challenging with so many different plastics. For example, separating paper from metal doesn’t require complex technology, but sorting a container from a milk jug of a different polyolefin is difficult to do without the occasional mistake.
In a study published in Science in October 2023, we described a series of polymers with only two building blocks-one soft polymer and one hard polymer-that behave like polyolefins but could be chemically recycled. Connecting two different polymers multiple times until they form a single, long molecule (分子) creates what’s called a multiblock polymer. By changing how much of each polymer type goes into the multiblock polymer, our team produced a wide range of materials with properties that covered all polyolefin types.
Using the same strategy but by adding hydrogen, we could disconnect the polymers back into their building blocks and easily separate them to use again. When we made new polymers out of these recycled plastics, they performed just as well as the original materials even after several rounds of chemical recycling. So we were able to create materials with similar properties of the plastics the world relies on. We believe this work is a step toward more sustainable plastics.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about concerning plastics?| A．Their multiple uses. | B．Their chemical properties. |
| C．Their recycling challenges. | D．Their classification criteria. |
| A．mixing building blocks with long molecules |
| B．integrating chemicals into the two polymers |
| C．combining two different multiblock polymers |
| D．adjusting the percentage of the two polymers |
| A．They are made from sustainable materials. |
| B．They can be recycled by adding hydrogen. |
| C．Their reliability outperforms traditional plastics. |
| D．Their properties change with rounds of recycling. |
| A．Designing for Recycling | B．Classifying Plastic Waste |
| C．Replace Plastics with Polymers | D．Technology Creates the Future |
3 . Every year, as the surface water temperature off the United States mid-Atlantic coast rises steadily from late spring through the summer, a pocket of uncharacteristically cool and crisp water gets trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Packed with nutrients this thick band of cold water, known as the mid-Atlantic cold pool, is a vital home for shellfish species. Extending at its seasonal peak from Nantucket, Massachusetts, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the cold poll creates a diverse ecosystem ranging from algae(海藻)to fish — and some of the most valuable shellfish fisheries in the United States.
Now, however, two pressures have scientists worrying about whether the cold pool will last. The first is no surprise: climate change. Over the past five decades, climates change has destabilized the cold pool, causing it to warm and shrink. Compared with 1968, the cold pool is now 13℃ warmer and has lost more than one-third of its area.
The second concern is 1ess certain. In 2023, the US federal government approved plans to install(安装)98 wind turbines(涡轮机)off the New Jersey coast, covering an area of more than 300 square kilometers. Yet putting so many turbines to the seafloor could have unexpected consequences for the cold pool. That’s why Travis Miles, a researcher at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, and his colleagues are investigating. So far, Miles and his colleagues can’t definitively say what will happen to the cold pool, saying more research is needed to assess how climate change and offshore wind, together, could affect the cold pool. However, their initial analyses suggest the cold pool should be fine — at least in normal conditions.
New Jersey’s offshore wind plans are strongly opposed mainly by fossil fuel-industry funded efforts. Miles worries that an overabundance of caution or fear of potential impacts, including on the cold pool, might slow down the development of renewable energy. “...it’s quite clear that climate change is far more damaging than installing wind farms,” he says. “I don’t think any scientist would argue with that.”
1. What do we know about the mid-Atlantic cold pool?| A．It forms in early spring. | B．It’s a band of cold near-bottom water. |
| C．It serves as a habitat of most sea species. | D．It extends from Nantucket to New Jersey. |
| A．Break down. | B．Get polluted. | C．Dry up. | D．Become smaller. |
| A．supportive | B．dismissive | C．overcautious | D．skeptical |
| A．The Cold Pool Plays a Role on species |
| B．Opinions Divide on Offshore Wind Farms |
| C．Scientists Eye Potential Risks to the Cold Pool |
| D．Renewable Energy Helps to Race Against Climate Change |
4 . In 2014, Xu Yitang, a student at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, saw corals at an aquarium for the first time.
Little did he know the chance
“The coral organism is quite
As he became better
Fast-forward to today, he
Each day, he spends several hours diving deep under the waves to observe and
His story has been
| A．incident | B．witness | C．encounter | D．appointment |
| A．passion | B．vision | C．friendship | D．career |
| A．study | B．frequent | C．examine | D．discover |
| A．treating | B．preserving | C．selecting | D．growing |
| A．tough | B．smooth | C．delicate | D．impressive |
| A．benefits | B．requirements | C．expenses | D．responses |
| A．reminded | B．informed | C．warned | D．convinced |
| A．shelters | B．partners | C．opportunities | D．services |
| A．Somehow | B．Nevertheless | C．Therefore | D．Unfortunately |
| A．extinction | B．variation | C．decline | D．expansion |
| A．responsibility | B．relief | C．achievement | D．belonging |
| A．consults with | B．applies for | C．seeks out | D．acts as |
| A．find out | B．note down | C．show off | D．speed up |
| A．revised | B．contributed | C．announced | D．featured |
| A．assess | B．follow | C．relate | D．invent |
5 . For the past 13 years, Martin Burrows has been working as a long-distance truck driver. Spending up to five nights a week on the road can be a lonely business, leaving him with plenty of time to notice his surroundings. “I kept seeing more rubbish everywhere and it was getting on my nerves. I decided I had to do something about it,” he says. One day, he stopped his vehicle, took out a trash bag and started picking up the garbage. The satisfaction after clearing a small area was remarkable.
Before his time on the road, Burrows spent over two decades in the military as a vehicle driver. His service saw him stationed throughout Europe and also on tours in Afghanistan. After returning to civilian life, he was diagnosed with PTSD (创伤后应激障碍) and had a mental health crisis in 2017. His involvement in fundraising for Help for Heroes led him to meet a man who used model-building as a distraction from PTSD. Burrows realized that his act of roadside cleanup had a similar calming effect on his mental well-being.
By 2019, Burrows had begun using his free time on the road to regularly clean up garbage. A passerby encouraged him to set up a Facebook group, which he called Truckers Cleaning Up Britain. “I was worried I’d be the laughing stock of my town for putting videos and photos up of me cleaning but people started to join,” he says. “I was amazed. The local council stepped in and gave me litter-picking supplies and we’re up to almost 3,000 members now.”
Since truckers are so often on the move, the Facebook page acts as a means of raising awareness rather than a platform for organizing cleanups. Burrows expressed his intention to continue the cleanup efforts as long as his physical condition allowed, as he still found joy in the process.
1. What initially caused Burrows to pick up roadside garbage?| A．He wanted to kill time by picking up litter. |
| B．He aimed to raise fund for soldiers with PTSD. |
| C．He felt annoyed to see the increasing rubbish. |
| D．He received the assignment from his employer. |
| A．It resulted in his embarrassment. | B．It increased his sense of isolation. |
| C．It worsened his stress and anxiety. | D．It brought him comfort and relief. |
| A．He feared being teased for his action. |
| B．He was lacking in advanced cleanup tools. |
| C．He was unsure about the group’s development. |
| D．He worried about the local council’s disapproval. |
| A．A Joyful Volunteer Experience | B．A Trucker’s Cleanup Initiative |
| C．A Fighting Hero against PTSD | D．A Platform for Environmentalists |
6 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
Inspired by a Canadian couple, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The British Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches. However, for every photo album of a beautiful beach, there were 10 photos of trash (垃圾). It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such primitive and remote beaches. So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick upon our daily dog walks.
The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pollution. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free. We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.
It’s been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.
Our aim now is to keep on going. We love connecting with like-minded people. It’s been amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?
1. Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
| A．Pet sitting is a new sort of occupation. |
| B．The Caribbean is a perfect travel destination. |
| C．Travel blog is a superb way to gain popularity. |
| D．Actions should be taken to fight plastic pollution. |
| A．Challenging. | B．Significant. | C．Adventurous. | D．Unbearable. |
| A．Shifting Lifestyles by Pet Sitting | B．Address Global Environment Pollution |
| C．Unexpected Gains from Pet Sitting Travel | D．The availability of Pet Sitting in the Caribbean |
7 . Farmer Pak Sadiman has made it his task to raise awareness and do something about Central Java’s water shortage problem, little by little.
He has changed his dry village into a groundwater haven by planting trees on nearby land for the last 19 years, and he’s encouraging others to join in, too.
Sadiman realised that the land was in need of some water when the Gendol River—previously the source of water for villagers—was quickly drying up. Even rubber trees, the local people’s main source of income, were so dry that they could no longer produce rubber latex. It was then that Sadiman took action so that generations to come could benefit from the planted trees.
“Banyan trees, unlike rubber trees, can keep groundwater. The more banyan trees are planted, the more clean water villagers will get,” he thought. Although he would often find his seeds dug up by cattle, the farmer never became discouraged from achieving his goal—providing his village with a clean water source.
He’s planted at least 11,000 trees over the last 19 years, and his village seems to have escaped from the dry season. Villagers have joined in Sadiman’s efforts and given him free seeds or worked alongside him to plant the trees. “Pak Sadiman is our hero. This village used to fight with water shortage, but now we have enough water because of him,” the local chief said.
Sadiman said as long as he’s physically healthy and fit, he’ll continue to plant trees and finish his vision of avoiding drought and help provide clean water for his fellow villagers.
1. What problem did Pak Sadiman plan to solve?| A．Water shortage. |
| B．Villagers’ low income. |
| C．Villagers’ bad living conditions. |
| D．The shortage of natural resources. |
| A．It has provided water for the villagers till now. |
| B．It has enough water even in the dry season. |
| C．It was the main source of water for locals. |
| D．It has been polluted by human activities. |
| A．Friendly and outgoing. |
| B．Kind and determined. |
| C．Thankful and patient. |
| D．Honest and clever. |
| A．A Plan to Plant More Trees |
| B．A Farmer Preferring to Plant Trees |
| C．A Village Saved by the Government’s Efforts |
| D．A Farmer Saving His Village from Drought |
8 . After spending 589 days picking up litter or rubbish at one of Los Angeles County’s most popular hiking spots, 20-year-old Edgar McGregor says the park is clean of waste.
McGregor’s journey was sparked by an Olympic dream. When he learned Los Angeles would be hosting the 2028 summer games, he worried that its national forest with litter everywhere would become a “global embarrassment” and took it upon himself to start cleaning.
McGregor decided to start with Eaton Canyon, the closest of the Angeles National Forest parks to where he lives. It has miles of crisscrossing trails, popular waterfalls, eleven storm drains, seven homeless encampments, five entrances, four parking lots and more than two miles of streambeds. At the beginning, he thought that cleaning the park would take 10 to 20 days. It took 589 days.
On his largest solo cleanup day, McGregor spent 300 minutes clearing an area less than one acre in size. He filled a previously empty dumpster (垃圾箱) with more than 1,000 pounds of trash. He ventured out in extreme weather, including during the state’s record heat wave in September, after a January snowstorm, and even while the other side of the park was actively on fire.!
After months of park cleanliness, McGregor noticed several weeks ago that he was running out of locations to clean-even the spots that were usually reliable sources of litter were mostly empty.
“Not worrying about litterbugs and simply immersing myself in this work has made me more excited than ever to go out every single day and pick up,” McGregor said “There is nothing more satisfying than seeing brand new animals return to your park after months of cleaning up. I highly encourage anyone with any spare time to give this mission a shot. Your parks need you.”
1. Why did McGregor decide to pick up trash in Los Angeles?| A．To raise money for wildlife there. |
| B．To improve its global image. |
| C．To qualify it for the Olympic Games. |
| D．To make good use of the waste. |
| A．The route of the cleanup. |
| B．The park’s recycling system. |
| C．The challenges of the cleanup. |
| D．The popularity of Eaton Canyon. |
| A．Demanding. | B．Disturbing. |
| C．Discouraging. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| B．A man can be destroyed but not defeated. |
| C．The secret of getting ahead is getting started. |
| D．Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. |
9 . Unusual incidents are being reported across the Arctic. Inuit (因纽特人) families going off on snowmobiles to prepare their summer hunting camps have found themselves cut off from home by a sea of mud. There are also reports of sea ice breaking up earlier than usual, carrying seals beyond the reach of hunters. Climate change may still be a rather abstract idea to most of us, but in the Arctic it is already having great effects — if summertime ice continues to shrink at its present rate, the Arctic Ocean could soon become almost ice-free in summer. The knock-on effects are likely to include more warming, cloudier skies, and higher sea levels. Scientists are increasingly eager to find out what’s going on in the Arctic.
For the Inuit the problem is urgent. They live in unsteady balance with one of the toughest environments on earth. Climate change, whatever its causes, is a direct danger to their way of life. Nobody knows the Arctic as well as the locals, which is why they are not content simply to stand back and let outsider experts tell them what’s happening. In Canada, where the Inuit people are trying hard to guard their hard-won autonomy in the country’s newest land, Nunavut, they believe their best hope of survival in this changing environment lies in combining their ancestral knowledge with the best of modern science. This is challenge in itself.
The Canadian Arctic is a vast, treeless polar desert that’s covered with snow for most of the year. Adventure into this area and you get some idea of the hardships facing anyone who calls this home. Farming is out of the question and nature offers few pickings. Humans first settled in the Arctic a mere 4,500 years ago, surviving by taking advantage of sea fish. The environment tested them to the limits: sometimes the settlers were successful, sometimes they failed and disappeared. But around a thousand years ago, one group appeared that was uniquely well adapted to deal with the Arctic environment. These Thule people moved in from Alaska, bringing dogs, iron tools and the like. They are the ancestors of today’s Inuit people.
1. Which of the following is not likely to be the effect of climate change?| A．Shorter and shorter summertime. | B．Ice-free summer around the Arctic. |
| C．Higher sea levels. | D．More cloudy skies. |
| A．to change their way of life |
| B．to use their ancestral knowledge |
| C．to make the best of modern science |
| D．to use their ancestral knowledge and modern science |
| A．the first settlers in the Arctic survived by taking advantage of sea fish |
| B．it’s hard to farm in the Arctic due to the climate change |
| C．the ancestors of Inuit people stood out among the settlers |
| D．the Thule people from Alaska invented iron tools |
| A．Climate Change and the Inuit | B．Climate Change around the Arctic |
| C．Global Warming around the World | D．The Inuit and Their Ancestors |
10 . With just a towel around Mr Goh Sia Hock’s neck to soak up ( 吸入) his sweat, the 54-year-old landscape worker continues to work outdoors under the midday sun. For five-and-a-half days each week, he spends hours outdoors. “But I have been doing this for about one-and-a-half years now, so I’m quite used to it.” Even so, he admits that the recent weather has been testing his limits.
Last month, Singapore saw 14 days where the daily maximum ( 最高的) temperature reached 34 degrees. The southern and south-eastern parts of the island also saw warmer nights with a minimum temperature of around 28 degrees.
As temperatures climb, experts said people may have a higher risk of developing heat-related injuries or illnesses and special focus should be paid to these diseases. Currently, cases of heat injuries and deaths in Singapore are low compared to places such as India and eastern Europe, where deadly summer heatwaves have killed thousands of people. According to data provided by the Ministry of Health, between 71 and 124 people were admitted to hospitals for heat-related illnesses each year from 2010 to 2020.
But with Singapore heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, temperatures could soar ( 猛增) to new heights in the coming years. According to the National Climate Change Secretariat, Singapore’s yearly mean temperatures have been continuously climbing over the past few years, increasing from 26.9 degrees in 1980 to 28 degrees last year. Seven of the top ten hottest years fell within these ten years.
“The sort of issues that Singapore will be facing won’t be things like wildfires, but rather a gradual increase of warmer temperatures,” said climate scientist Winston Chow, an associate professor of science, technology and society at the Singapore Management University. “We might see temperatures over 36 degrees at some point, but sooner rather than later. The likelihood of heat stress, heat injuries and deaths will increase because of increase in exposure ( 遭受) to a warmer climate.”
1. How does Mr Goh Sia Hock feel about working outdoors recently?| A．It is extremely uncomfortable. |
| B．It is pretty embarrassing. |
| C．It is very enjoyable. |
| D．It is quite easy. |
| A．Get checkups in hospital frequently. |
| B．Stay indoors when heatwaves come. |
| C．Pay attention to heat-related diseases. |
| D．Move to places with lower temperatures. |
| A．The mean temperature in Singapore is the highest in Asia. |
| B．The mean temperatures in Singapore have been rising for years. |
| C．The rate of temperature rise in Singapore is slower than expected. |
| D．The rising temperature has been unnoticeable in Singapore since 1980. |
| A．It would not have any influence for quite a while. |
| B．It would cause severe wildfires in the future. |
| C．It would be as common as wildfires. |
| D．It would be challenging to deal with. |
