要点：1.问题：全球沙漠化的面积约占整个地球的四分之一；全世界受沙漠化影响的国家有100多个；到下个世纪，沙漠化的面积有可能增长17%；
2.原因：人类的行为，如乱砍滥伐；全球气候变暖等；
3.倡议：植树造林；呼吁人们提高环保意识……
注意：1.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
2.词数：不少于100词(开头已给出，但不计入总词数)。
In recent years, desertification has gone from bad to worse and threatened us in many ways.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
With about half of the vast country covered in wilderness, China is the world’s third most species-rich country. Therefore, China’s
The vital biodiversity,
The national parks cross China’s vast ecosystems, from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the south
The national parks are open to all. Visitors can make reservations online in advance
3 . As the effects of climate change become more disastrous, well-known research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea: artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
That strategy, called solar climate intervention (干预) or solar geoengineering, involves reflecting more of the sun’s energy back into space — abruptly reducing global temperatures in a way that imitates the effects of ash clouds flowing out from the volcanic eruptions. The idea has been considered as a dangerous and fancied solution, one that would encourage people to keep burning fossil fuels while exposing the planet to unexpected and potentially threatening side effects, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters.
But. as global warming continues, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters, some researchers and policy experts say that concerns about geoengineering should be outweighed by the imperative to better understand it, in case the consequence of climate change become so terrible that the world can’t wait for better solutions.
One way to cool the earth is by injecting aerosols (气溶胶) into the upper layer of the atmosphere. where those particles reflect sunlight away from the earth. That process works, according to Douglas MacMartin, a researcher at Cornell University.
“We know with 100% certainty that we can cool the planet,” he said in an interview. What’s still unclear, he added, is what happens next. Temperature, MacMartin said, is an indicator for a lot of climate effects. “What does it do to the strength of hurricanes?” he asked, “What does it do to agriculture production? What does it do to the risk of forest fires?”
Another institution funded by the National Science Foundation will analyze hundreds of simulations of aerosol injection, testing the effects on weather extremes around the world. One goal of the research is to look for a sweet spot: the amount of artificial cooling that can reduce extreme weather events without causing broader changes in regional rainfall patterns or similar impacts.
1. Why do researchers and government agencies work on cooling the earth?| A．To prevent natural disasters. | B．To win more time to reduce gas emissions. |
| C．To imitate volcanic eruptions. | D．To encourage more people to bur fossil fuels. |
| A．More volcanoes will throw out. |
| B．More solar energy will go into space. |
| C．More disasters will endanger the future of the world. |
| D．People will keep burning fossil fuels to keep warm. |
| A．He thinks more research remains to be done. |
| B．He is optimistic about the effect of cooling the earth. |
| C．He is concerned about the reduction in agriculture production. |
| D．He disapproves of the practice of solar climate intervention. |
| A．The rainfall pattern of a region. |
| B．The modest drop in temperature. |
| C．The number of extreme weather events. |
| D．The injection amount of aerosol. |
4 . As heat waves continue to ravage the planet, air conditioners are becoming more and more common. However, these "active" cooling devices are posing problems because the electricity consumption which most people are concerned about and the release of ozone-damaging chemicals worsen the greenhouse gas effect, resulting in the creation of heat islands and further thermal pollution. Therefore, "passive" cooling, which doesn't have such effects, has attracted considerable attention from both scientists and ordinary people in recent years.
In a recent study, a team of researchers from China and US presented an eco-friendly, low-cost smart coating to keep buildings cooler while consuming zero electricity. Infrared radiation-based passive cooling has been investigated since 2014, but challenges, mainly the expensive and unsustainable design, have greatly limited their large-scale and widespread application. Besides, the imbalance in cooling ability of these coatings during the day and night tends to lead to great day-night temperature differences as more heat is lost than gained at night.
The solution therefore requires a "smart" mechanism that can both enhance daytime cooling and minimize nighttime heat loss. To do this, the researchers created a new smart coating comprised of conventional building materials, including titanium dioxide nanoparticles, fluorescent microparticles, and glass microspheres that were engineered to reflect most of the sunlight. Specifically, the titanium dioxide particles effectively reflect sunlight through light scattering（撒播）while the fluorescent particles increase the amount of reflection by changing the absorbed sunlight into fluorescence emissions, which drive more heat away from the building. Meanwhile, the glass microspheres re-send mid-infrared broadband radiation, allowing not only heat loss, but allowing heat exchange to take place between the building and the sky.
The coating was tested on a model concrete building. Through this efficient heat exchange with the sky, daytime cooling was strengthened while nighttime cooling was reduced. The building's inside temperature was always maintained at around 26℃, even when the out-side temperature varied from 24℃ to 37℃ during the day. We believe this new coating will make it to commercialization soon, enabling a sustainable, passive cooling technology that could help to fight climate change and the global energy crisis.
1. What is the virtue of passive cooling?| A．It is simple to design. | B．It uses no chemicals. |
| C．It is smart. | D．It uses no power. |
| A．It was hard to design. |
| B．Its material was hard to produce. |
| C．Its heat loss and cooling are imbalanced. |
| D．It wasn't tested on a model concrete building. |
| A．Metal. | B．System. | C．Platform. | D．Building. |
| A．The principle of air-conditioning. |
| B．The differences between active and passive cooling. |
| C．A new coating to keep buildings cool without electricity. |
| D．A new building to maintain its inside temperature without electricity. |
5 . Royal Dutch Shell is launching a $ 300 million and forestry program, at a time when an increasing number of oil companies are putting money in carbon offset (碳补偿)plans to meet climate goals. The company will spend the money over the next three years on projects to store carbon, including large forests in the Netherlands and Spain, and will start offering motorists the option of purchasing carbon offsets when they buy petrol at the pump.
The executives of the company explained that these carbon offset projects were a new business opportunity for Shell, as well as a way to meet its climate targets. “We believe that over time we will be building a business, because these carbon credits will become more valuable as carbon becomes more limited," they said. Shell recently decided to cut its net carbon footprint (碳排放)by 2-3 percent in five years, which includes emissions (排放)from the products it sells. The company plans to produce carbon credits from the forestry projects, then sell these credits on to customers buying its oil and gas products, or apply the credits to its own operations to lower its carbon footprint.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and restoring forests and other natural areas is considered one of the simplest ways to store carbon. However, the voluntary market for carbon credits based on forestry projects has its critics, as projects in developing countries can be hard to monitor. Shell's move has also been criticized by some environmentalists. They worried that there was a risk of " greenwash when companies invested in forestry projects. "There is an entire debate about whether forestry projects truly reduce emissions or not," they said, pointing out that planting in one area could cause deforestation (滥伐森林)to another.
Shell said it would rely on the third party to ensure its forest program to meet the Voluntary Carbon Standard and strict biodiversity requirements. Mark Lewis, head of climate change investment research at BNP Paribas, said, " Planting trees to offset emissions, as far as it goes, is a step in the right direction."
1. What is popular among oil companies these days?| A．Studying climate changes. |
| B．Launching forestry programs. |
| C．Working out carbon offset plans. |
| D．Attracting motorists to buy their petrol. |
| A．By quitting the emissions of its products. |
| B．By reducing its carbon footprint by a quarter. |
| C．By limiting the oil used by its own operations. |
| D．By putting carbon credits it produces on the market. |
| A．The projects can't really stop carbon emissions. |
| B．The projects are hard to monitor in poor countries. |
| C．The projects may lead to deforestation in other forests. |
| D．The projects haven't met strict biodiversity requirements. |
| A．Discount. | B．Cheat. |
| C．Decline. | D．Change. |
6 . The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.
Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.
She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”
The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.
The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.
1. The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.| A．chemicals have a high production cost |
| B．Africa needs more development aid |
| C．the use of pesticide causes a great loss |
| D．the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect |
| A．Pesticide. | B．Fertilizer. |
| C．Heavy metals. | D．Minerals. |
| A．The mass production of cement and textiles. |
| B．Lack of research funds on chemicals. |
| C．Poor management of chemicals. |
| D．Contradictions between chemical producers and governments. |
| A．The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments |
| B．A UN warning about chemical dangers |
| C．The unpredictable future of chemical industry |
| D．Preventing is much better than fixing |
7 . At the age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola, from Peru, came up with the creative idea of an eco-bank, which allows kids of all ages to become economically independent and financially wise while also helping the environment.
Established in 2012, The Bartselana Student Bank is the world’s first cooperative bank for kids. Whoever wants to join has to bring in at least 5 kilograms(11 pounds) of solid waste(paper or plastic) and establish a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit at least one additional kilogram(2.2 pounds) of recyclables on a monthly basis and obey other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops. The waste accumulated is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to some clever negotiation by Jose, pay a higher-than-market rate for everything brought in by Bartselana Student Bank members. The funds received are placed in the individual’s account where they collect until his／her savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw his／her money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target.
“At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not undertake this type of project, ” Jose recalls. “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily, I had the support of the school principal and an assistant in my classroom.”
The youngster’s persistence paid off. Today, the eco-bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, has ten educational centers and begins accepting applications from kids all across Peru. On November 20, 2018, the young boy was awarded the famous Children’s Climate Prize (CCP). “Jose’s eco-bank is a brilliant way of linking economy and climate impact, both in thought and practice. The potential impact is amazing,” a judge said.
Hopefully, Jose’s success will inspire more kids and adults to come up with new ideas that create value while helping the environment. As the boy says,” Together we can change the world…we just need an opportunity…”
1. For what main purpose was the eco-bank created?| A．To educate children how to spend their allowances. |
| B．To help children become independent from their parents. |
| C．To raise children’s awareness of environmental protection. |
| D．To encourage children to buy whatever they want. |
| A．The history of the eco-bank. |
| B．The requirements of membership. |
| C．The wise way to deal with waste. |
| D．The process of running the eco-bank. |
| A．Lack of enough support. | B．Lack of enough money. |
| C．Lack of relevant experience. | D．Lack of relevant knowledge. |
| A．An Amazing Boy，Jose |
| B．Recycling does Count Much |
| C．An Opportunity to Change the World |
| D．An Eco-bank, Economical and Ecological |
8 . Even as we humans keep polluting the world. Nature somehow keeps finding a way to help correct our mistakes. First, there is a molecule(分子)that helps reduce global warming. Now, a team of Yale students may have discovered something equally amazing — plastic eating fungi(真菌).
Pestalotiopsis microspora(微孢子)is the only known fungus to be able to survive only on plastic. The plastic is so hard that it takes thousands of years to break down on its own.
The best part is that these fungi can do the job even in an oxygenless environment, which means that it could work perfectly even at the bottom of a landfill.
The discovery was the result of an effort between three Yale students who were part of the Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory Program, allowing a selected group of students to visit Ecuador’s rainforest and seek out fungi and bacteria that live inside plants without harming them, which could hold medical or scientific promise. The samples are then brought back to the University’s lab where they do wide testing to see if they are of any practical or scientific use.
In 2008, a student named Pria Anand gathered specimens for one purpose — to find a microbe that could eat plastic. That’s when she came across the Pestalotiopsis microspora. Though she did show the unbelievable characteristics of the fungi, she was unable to get the desired results by the time she graduated, in 2010.
Luckily for her Jonathan Russell, a 2011 graduating student, picked up right where she had left off. By combining her work with research performed by another of Pria’s classmates, Jeffery Huang, he was able to separate the enzyme(酶)in the fungus that is the most effective in breaking down plastic.
Hopefully, experts will take it up from here and make the project a reality and help reduce plastic!
1. What is the main character of Pestaltiopsis microspora?| A．It helps reduce global warming. |
| B．It needs less oxygen to produce. |
| C．It can break down plastic. |
| D．It can be buried in a landfill. |
| A．Jonathan continued to study what Pria failed |
| B．Jonathan drove to pick up Pria when she got off |
| C．Jonathan came across Pria at an unexpected place |
| D．Jonathan invited Pria to go on with her research |
| A．There are some kind of fungi that can eat plastic. |
| B．These fungi can only work in an oxygen environment. |
| C．The discovery was made by chance. |
| D．A group of students made the discovery that fungi can break down plastic. |
| A．Fungi Love Plastic |
| B．Plastic Is Eaten by Fungi |
| C．Fungi Are Eaten by Plastic |
| D．Fungi Are Hidden in Plastic |
9 . Green is not always referring to the color. In some cases, it is the term used for environmental
First, green furniture isn’t harmful
The materials
Therefore, when you want to hunt for the perfect green furniture, you should choose the green materials.
