1 . In 2022, campaign group Fashion Revolution Chelsea dye a garden for its Chelsea Flower Show presentation. An ancient craft, natural dyeing is a practice whose time has come again, with hand tie-dyed fashion also making a comeback in recent years.
The revival has been encouraged by Covid lockdowns, “which allowed people to explore the craft at home, says natural-dyeing enthusiast and teacher Susan Dye. It’s unlikely, though, that the practice would have caught on in quite the same way if not for a continually growing discomfort about fashion’s heavy footprint. From carbon emissions to animal cruelty, fashion is under considerable inspection. “Put it this way, 97% of dyes used in the industry are petrochemically (石油化学产品) based,” says sustainable fashion consultant Jackie Andrews, who helped advise the UN Ethical Fashion Initiative. We’ve got net zero targets which mean we’re going to have to remove all those petrochemicals from the manufacturing cycle.
Fashion is a huge polluter. According to the UN Environment Program, the industry is responsible for up to one-fifth of all industrial water pollution—due to the fact that most clothes today are produced in poorer countries where regulation is weak and enforcement weaker. Waste water is dumped directly into rivers and streams, poisoning the land as well as the water sources of people and animals who rely on them.
It’s easy to see why someone who cares about people, planet and animals, as well as clothes, might turn to natural plant dyeing. From the beauty of the raw materials—often wild plants-to the property of only bonding with natural fiber like cotton and linen (亚麻布) from the minor footprint of recycling old clothing that has grayed or faded over time to the vibrant and long-lasting dyeing results, plant dyeing feels like a quiet act of rebellion. This is why, while beginners start with simply changing their clothes’ color, new worlds open. Many of today’s natural dyers grow their own dye plants, run local community workshops, and advocate for change in industrialized fashion systems and beyond.
1. What is the main reason for the growing discomfort mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．The adoption of petrochemical-based dyes |
| B．The disturbing consequences of the fashion industry. |
| C．The fashion industry’s focus on luxurious designs. |
| D．The challenging net zero targets to be achieved. |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By listing numbers |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By introducing a new topic |
| A．A protest against turning to natural fiber. |
| B．An objection to recycling old clothing |
| C．A resistance to vibrant colors in natural dyeing |
| D．A struggle for a sustainable fashion industry |
| A．The Environmental Impact of Natural Dyeing |
| B．The Return of Natural Dyeing with Ethical Appeal |
| C．Fashion Revolution’s Dye Garden Presentation |
| D．The Petrochemical Dye Industry and Its Challenges |
2 . Every spring, as the weather warms, trees up and down the East Coast explode in a display of bright green life as leaves fill their branches, and every fall, the same leaves provide one of nature’s great color displays of vivid yellow, orange and red.
Thanks to climate change, the timing of these events has shifted over the last two decades, Harvard scientists say.
Andrew Richardson, an associate professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, and research associate Trevor Keenan worked with colleagues from seven different institutions on a study which found that forests throughout the eastern United States are showing signs of spring growth dramatically earlier, and that the growing season in some areas extends further into the fall.
Richardson said, “Climate change isn’t just about warmer temperatures. It’s also about changes in precipitation (降水) patterns... so in the future, an earlier spring might not help forests take up more carbon dioxide if they end up running out of water in mid-summer.”
The research combined information from three sources. Using satellite data, Keenan tracked when forests across the region began to turn green in the spring, and when leaves began to turn yellow in the fall. Ground observations made every three to seven days at the Harvard Forest in Petersham and a long-term research site in New Hampshire provided information about the state of buds, leaves and branches. When combined with records from instrument towers, the data sets allowed the researchers to paint a richly detailed picture that shows spring starting earlier, and the growing season lasting longer than at any point in the past two decades.
Another important result, Richardson said, was the discovery of a significant source of error in existing computer models on how forest ecosystems work.
“This shows an opportunity to improve the models and how they simulate how forests will work under future climate scenarios forecast.” he said.
The real power of the findings, however, may be in helping to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public, the researchers said.
1. What is the reason of the earlier spring according to the Harvard scientists?| A．The human activities. | B．The climate change. |
| C．The tree growth. | D．The reduction in water. |
| A．An earlier spring can only bring benefits. |
| B．The influence of climate change is complex. |
| C．The water in mid-summer will increase. |
| D．The role of forests becomes less important. |
| A．Change | B．Explain | C．Imitate | D．Create |
| A．It helps scientists to figure out how forest ecosystems work. |
| B．It reflects how the growing season is extending faster. |
| C．It provides an opportunity to improve the computer models. |
| D．It helps to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public. |
| A．To tell us people should be more aware of the climate change. |
| B．To tell us the climate change has some effects on the world. |
| C．To tell us the early spring in eastern USA is a good time to travel. |
| D．To tell us high technology is useful to detect the climate change. |
3 . Not only does the use of plastic water bottles hurt your wallet, it also increases pollution and wastes energy and water. Only 23% of all plastic in America ends up in a recycling bin, meaning over $ 1 billion worth of plastic is treated as rubbish a year. Recently, Skipping Rocks Lab has invented a kind of water bottle called Ooho.
It is a convenient, clear water bottle that can either be drunken or eaten. To drink it, you can either peel off the membrane (薄膜) or tear a hole in the membrane with your teeth to pour the water into your mouth. To eat it, you simply put the whole bottle in your mouth. One problem the scientists have run into is how to ship large amounts of Ooho bubbles(水泡) without arriving with a very wet truck. However, they have attempted to package units of individual bubbles together inside a larger and thicker membrane. It is targeting large outdoor events, such as marathons, music festivals, and sporting events, where tons of plastic bottles are used, and frequently left behind as litter. And too much plastic is sure to do harm to the environment, which could account for their purpose of such a new invention.
The team has been working for the past two years to develop the technology and materials needed to produce Ooho; they have recently applied a patent for their new advancements. The price for an individual bubble or a unit of bubbles has not been set yet, but they cost about two cents to create a unit, which is cheaper than plastic bottles. It has appeared at events in London, San Francisco, Boston, at conferences, festivals, and so on.
Ooho is catching many people’s attention and has raised over $ 1 million and gained 1,000 investors in only three days. It is mostly being sold at events at the moment to keep the consumer’s interest while the production machine is getting up and running. It is quickly making a rise,so keep an eye out this year for these bottles of the future.
1. How is most plastic dealt with in America?| A．It’s sold. | B．It’s recycled. |
| C．It’s buried. | D．It’s wasted. |
| A．To make a profit for a company. | B．To protect the environtnent. |
| C．To make people eat as they drink. | D．To reduce the cost of plastic bottle. |
| A．It is easy and safe to ship it in large amounts. |
| B．It has become popular since it began to be sold. |
| C．It might be sold at a lower price than plastic bottles. |
| D．It cost the team a lot of money to develop the technology. |
| A．Ooho is to be a success in the future. |
| B．Ooho is being supported by smart people. |
| C．Ooho is taking the place of plastic bottles now. |
| D．Ooho is being produced to attract more investors. |
4 . Ant Forest, a green initiative by the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform Alipay, received the “U.N. Champions of the Earth” award, the UN’s highest environmental honor. It was given to Ant Forest for motivating half a billion people to adopt an eco-friendly and greener lifestyle, greatly contributing to ecological protection with the help of digital technology.
Alipay achieved this by inspiring its users to do environmentally-friendly things, such as walking, using public transportation, going paperless in the office and more to earn “green energy points”. These points can then be used to water and grow their own virtual young trees. After the virtual young trees have grown up on line, Ant Forest will plant real trees somewhere in China.
The number of Ant Forest users has reached 350 million, reducing 3 million tons of carbon dioxide. “Such programs are quite attractive to me. I feel satisfied to see a real tree planted just by doing some simple things such as riding bicycles and buying tickets online,” said an interviewee.
This initiative of Ant Forest is in line with the Chinese government’s strategy of a “Green Economy”. The country is taking aggressive actions in expanding its green coverage. Now, its efforts are paying off, with improved biodiversity and a healthier economic growth. Rare animal species have been spotted and forest parks are now popular attractions of tourism.
The planet is at a critical point which could result in natural disasters. It seems clear that unless governments, businesses and people form a focused team, it’s difficult to stop global warming. Fortunately, Ant Forest shows that it is possible to make joint efforts while relying on digital technology. And more initiatives are using technology to contribute to a sustainable future of the planet.
1. What was Ant Forest given the award for?| A．It brings convenience to people’s lives. |
| B．It is run by the world’s leading payment platform. |
| C．It technically assists many people to protect ecology. |
| D．It has made the greatest contribution to global development. |
| A．How Alipay makes profits. |
| B．How Ant Forest is carried out. |
| C．What a low-carbon life is like. |
| D．Why Alipay takes up the initiative. |
| A．350 million people have planted real trees. |
| B．Promoting tourism can help save animals. |
| C．China keeps a balance between economy and ecology. |
| D．The expansion of green coverage mainly results from Ant Forest. |
| A．By criticizing natural disasters. |
| B．By stopping the global warming. |
| C．By providing a platform to make joint efforts. |
| D．By encouraging people to donate money to plant trees. |
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Caring for the Environment Starts from Ourselves
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Trees are symbols of hope, life and transformation. They are also increasingly labeled as a straightforward, relatively inexpensive, and best solution to climate change. Lately, society has been putting a lot of pressure on trees to get the whole world out of the climate change emergency. Accordingly, enthusiasm is worldwide popular among governments, businesses and individuals for ambitious projects to plant billions, even a trillion more, so as to help cut current emission (排放).
“Trees are having a bit of a moment right now,” says Joe Fargione, an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy based in Minneapolis. “There’s no anti-tree lobby. Trees have lots of benefits for people. Not only do they store carbon, they help provide clean air, prevent soil erosion, shade and shelter homes to reduce energy costs and give people a sense of well-being.”
Yet, as global eagerness for adding more trees grows, some scientists are urging caution. Before moving forward, they say, such massive tree projects must address a range of scientific, social and economic concerns. Poorly designed projects that don’t address these issues could do more harm than good, the researchers say, wasting money as well as public goodwill. “There’s a real feeling that forests and trees are just the idea we can use to get some unspeakable support for many, perhaps more complicated, types of landscape restoration initiatives”, says ecologist Joseph Veldmanan.
The concerns are myriad: There’s too much focus on numbers of seedlings planted, and too little time spent on how to keep the trees alive in the long term, or in working with local communities. And there’s not enough emphasis on how different types of forests store very different amounts of carbon. There’s too much talk about trees, and not enough about other carbon-storing ecosystems. And over the last decade, a diverse garden of tree-centric proposal has spread across the globe. That can lead to all kinds of problems, Joseph adds. “For me, the devil is in the details.”
1. According to Paragraph 1, what is the global fever?| A．Getting rid of the air pressure of the earth. |
| B．Launching environment-based movements. |
| C．Spending more time on global tree projects. |
| D．Planting more trees to handle climate change. |
| A．Tree-planting projects might be wrongly used. |
| B．There’s no scientific basis for planting programs. |
| C．Growing mere trees is just a waste of money. |
| D．Public goodwill is surely abused to a certain degree. |
| A．Unique. | B．Precise. | C．Many. | D．Reliable. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Neutral. | D．Unclear. |
7 . If you’ve never had hot pot, you’re absolutely missing out. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also a fantastic meal to share with friends or family. But it also generates a lot of waste oil. In fact, hot pot is reportedly responsible for 12,000 tons of waste oil per month just in the Chinese city of Chengdu alone. Instead of just throwing away that oil, one company decided to turn it into jet fuel (航空燃料).
Bloomberg recently published a great article about Sichuan Jinshang Environmental Technology, a company that began exporting hot pot waste oil to be turned into biofuel that can power planes. It’s not exactly a perfect solution to the greenhouse gas emissions that the aviation (航空) industry is responsible for, but it’s a step in the right direction. “Our mission is to make waste oil fly to the sky,” Zhong Guojun, the company’s vice president, told Bloomberg.
Based in Chengdu, Sichuan Jinshang Environmental Technology takes waste oil from around the city and refines it into something called industrial mixed oil. The refined oil is then exported to be turned into jet fuel or biodiesel (生物柴) by companies such as BP or Neste Oyj, the biggest producer of sustainable jet fuel in the world. And with new requirements for airlines to use more biofuel in their planes, there’s a lot of demand despite the fact that it’s still more expensive than regular jet fuel.
“When there is a demand, the supply will catch up, and the demand is already here,” said Chong Cheng Tung, Associate Professor at the China-UK Low Carbon College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University told Bloomberg. “So either you switch your fuel to green fuel, like bio-jet fuel, or you have to meet additional payments for travelling.”
Last year, Neste announced plans to spend more than $2 billion expanding its capacity to produce sustainable jet fuel. By 2026, it hopes to be able to produce 1.2 million tons of the stuff. Other companies such as Chevron, BP. and Total Energies are producing it on a smaller scale (规模) but also plan to increase their output soon.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．Purify. | B．Add. | C．Pack. | D．Ruin. |
| A．Sichuan Jinshang Environmental Technology is the biggest producer. |
| B．Airlines are required to use more of it or they will be fined. |
| C．It is cheaper than regular jet fuel. |
| D．Greenhouse gas emission can be greatly reduced by it. |
| A．tell us the plan of several companies |
| B．show the popularity of this bio-jet fuel |
| C．call on more companies to follow the trend and produce green jet fuel |
| D．prove this green jet fuel is a perfect solution to greenhouse gas emission |
| A．Chinese company helps turn leftover hot pot oil into jet fuel |
| B．How was the hot pot oil turned into green jet fuel |
| C．A new way to produce jet fuel was discovered |
| D．Environmental protection calls for eco-friendly jet fuel |
8 . Darrell Blatchley, a marine biologist and environmentalist based in the Philippine city of Davao, received a call from the Philippines, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (渔业与水产资源局) early Friday morning reporting a death of a young whale.
When the necropsy (尸检) was performed, Blatchley told NPR, he was not prepared for the amount of plastic they found in the whale’s stomach. “It was full of plastic nothing but nonstop plastic.” he said “It was filled to the point that its stomach was as hard as a baseball.” That means that this animal has been suffering not for days or weeks but for months or even a year or more,” Blatchley added.
Blatchley is the founder and owner of the D’Bone Collector Museum, a natural history museum in Davao. In the coming days, the museum will display all the items found in the whale’s system. Blatchley and his team work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other organizations to assist in rescue and recovery of marine animals.
“Within the last 10 years, we have recovered 61 whales and dolphins just within the Davao Gulf,” he said. “Of them, 57 have died due to man whether they took plastic or fishing nets or other waste, or gotten caught in pollution — and four were pregnant.”
Blatchley said he hoped that the latest incident would launch the issue of plastic pollution in the Philippines and across the globe. “If we keep going this way, it will be more uncommon to see an animal die of natural causes than it is to see an animal die of plastic,” he said.
1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?| A．The whale was starved to death. |
| B．Blatchley was shocked at what he found. |
| C．The dead whale must have swallowed a baseball. |
| D．Blatchley didn’t make preparations for the necropsy. |
| A．Waste collected from the ocean. |
| B．The whole system of the whale. |
| C．Things found in the whale’s body. |
| D．Many different tools of whaling. |
| A．Uncommon. | B．Worrying. | C．Inspiring. | D．Mild. |
| A．A Whale Found Dead of Plastic |
| B．Stand Up for Protecting Whales |
| C．Plastic Threatening Our Existence |
| D．Natural Death or Merciless Murder |
9 . Don't worry about why the chicken crossed the road—the bigger question is whether it'll make it at all.
When officials began issuing stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19, Shilling and his colleagues quickly realized they were witnessing a novel experiment:
The answer is a lot of things, including fewer accidents and lower greenhouse gas emissions from cars. In their latest report, the researchers found that driving less has also led to a dramatic decrease in roadkills.
"
The team documented about a third fewer kills in the four weeks following shutdowns. If such a slowdown persisted for a year, 27.000 large animals would be saved in just those three states.
People are now returning to the roads as stay-at-home orders are lifted.
| A．What happens when we all start driving way less? |
| B．But Shilling hopes some of the lessons might stick. |
| C．It's a good idea to stay knowledgeable about the risks. |
| D．The idea is that most of the animals died a senseless death. |
| E．It's actually the largest protection action that the U.S. has ever taken. |
| F．In California, the researchers also looked specifically at mountain lions. |
| G．Every year, millions of animals get killed by vehicles in the U.S. |
10 . Songs of Disappearance is a 24-minute album of endangered birdcalls recorded by Australia’s best wildlife sound recordist, David Stewart. It sold over 2,000 copies and shows the love of Australians who want to help their native species — with all proceeds (收益) going to conservation of our feathered friends.
Its genesis came when Stephen Garnett, a conservation professor at Charles Darwin University, finished the2020 Action Plan for Australian Birds, a set of recommendations that found 1 in 6 native species are threatened with extinction. He had a conversation with his Ph.D. student Anthony Albrecht, a classical cellist (大提琴手) and one-half of a two-person multimedia company called the Bowerbird Collective.
Albrecht asked his advisor if there was anything Bowerbird Collective could do to make people aware of the action plan. That was when they discussed the idea of an album. “I knew it was an ambitious thing to suggest and — I don’t know — Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me, and he said, let's do this,” Albrecht tells NPR. The other half of Bowerbird, the violinist Simone Slattery, arranged a musical collage (拼贴) of all 53 birds on the record, while the remaining tracks are each bird’s individual songs recorded by Stewart.
“We did it! Thanks to your incredible support we reached Number 3 in the ARIA charts, ahead of Taylor Swift, ABBA, Mariah Carey and Michael Buble,” the organizers wrote on their website, noting the Christmas-time bump given to the latter.
All proceeds of the album were donated to BirdLife Australia, which helped in production.
Some of the singing comes from birds that are Critically-Endangered, and one bird, the Night Parrot, wasn’t even known to science until 2013. “The golden bowerbird sounds like a death ray from some cheesy 70s sci-fi series,” says Sean Dooley, the national public affairs manager at BirdLife Australia.
1. What does the underlined word “genesis” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Conversation. | B．Change. | C．Record. | D．Beginning |
| A．David Stewart. | B．Anthony Albrecht. | C．Simone Slattery. | D．Sean Dooley. |
| A．To state the popularity of the album. |
| B．To compare different musical styles. |
| C．To stress the influence of the album. |
| D．To show Taylor Swift’s love for the album. |
| A．To record a new album. |
| B．To preserve endangered birds. |
| C．To donate to charity organizations. |
| D．To expand the multimedia company. |
