1 . Have you heard of the save soil movement? It was
The efforts of Sadhguru have
The movement aims to
The main motive of the campaign was to bring together people from all around the world to protect the soil’s health. Sadhguru has become
Sadhguru is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy. He has been a(n)
A.launched | B.sponsored | C.experienced | D.commanded |
A.resulted in | B.originated from | C.paid back | D.reacted to |
A.airports | B.companies | C.conferences | D.locations |
A.abilities | B.struggles | C.characters | D.requests |
A.transform | B.address | C.drag | D.confirm |
A.messages | B.responses | C.proposals | D.positions |
A.exhausted | B.ambitious | C.successful | D.confident |
A.improvement | B.awareness | C.imagination | D.standard |
A.locally | B.individually | C.nationally | D.globally |
A.urging | B.requiring | C.cheering | D.permitting |
A.stable | B.ongoing | C.favorable | D.temporary |
A.However | B.Besides | C.Therefore | D.Meanwhile |
A.ensure | B.bring | C.affect | D.define |
A.strong | B.pleasant | C.determined | D.influential |
A.circumstance | B.lifestyle | C.atmosphere | D.soil |
2 . If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.
●Use food containers smartly
Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.
●Choose real cutlery (餐具)
Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.
You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?
●Think about the drinks
Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.
●Put cloth bags to good use
Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.
A.Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket. |
B.There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy. |
C.To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea. |
D.If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates. |
E.Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground. |
F.These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided. |
G.In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything. |
3 . The forest of today will not be the forests of tomorrow. Rising temperatures, trees being cut down, development and climate-change-caused disasters are changing the very makeup of the Earth’s forests, new research published in Science finds.
Older, bigger trees are being lost at an alarming rate, making the planet’s forests shorter and younger. The change is being driven at different rates by different causes in different places, the study’s authors say, but the consequences will be global.
Old growth forests absorb and store massive amounts of climate-warming CO2. They provide habitats for rare and endangered species and promote rich biodiversity. Researchers found that the world lost roughly one-third of its old growth forests between 1900 and 2015. In North America and Europe, they found that tree mortality has doubled in the past 40 years.
“Warming temperatures, wildfires, logging and insect outbreaks were among the many causes of the decline,” says Nate McDowell, the study’s lead author. “What’s perhaps more concerning is that the trajectory of all these disturbances is generally increasing over time and is expected to continue increasing in the future.” he says.
McDowell’s focus is on how trees are affected by rising temperatures, arguably the biggest driver of forest change. To get a broader understanding of how forests are changing globally, he brought in more than 20 other researchers in different fields. Together, they examined more than 160 previous studies about tree mortality and its global causes, applying current satellite data and modeling to create a look at the Earth’s changing forests to date.
“It’s not a shock, but it’s very sad,” says Kristina, an ecologist and leader of the ForestGEO Ecosystems &Climate Program who helped with the research. “We as a human society are hitting these forests so rapidly with so many different changes that they can’t keep up.” she says.
1. What can we know from the figures in the paragraph 3?A.More trees should be planted in no time. | B.We are losing old growth forests quickly. |
C.Forests are important habitats for wildlife. | D.Different trees can absorb CO2 differently. |
A.Timely and long-standing | B.All-sided and careful |
C.Time-limited and regional | D.Traditional and extensive |
A.Worried | B.Optimistic | C.Supportive | D.Indifferent |
A.To call on people to plant more trees. |
B.To discuss the influence of climate change. |
C.To warn against the loss of old growth forests. |
D.To compare forests of today with those of the future. |
4 . Concerns about microplastics are not new. They’ve been growing for more than a decade. Over the past two years, however, many creative solutions have emerged to address the problem on a local level. Still, experts say there’s a need for a huge effort if we want to curb (控制) the global issue.
The term microplastics was coined in 2004 by marine ecologist Richard Thompson after he discovered tiny bits of plastic littering British beaches. Since then, scientists have found microplastics nearly everywhere. Even inside us. According to a 2021 study in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, the physical presence of plastic inside the body poses a potential problem. Plastic’s chemical additives might also affect different species’ tissues and organs. However, there is disagreement as to how much microplastics harm species, including humans.
For a global view of this vast issue, Duke University scientists created a public database to track plastic removal innovations. For instance, the Hoola One is a vacuum that internally separates microplastics from organic materials. In Amsterdam, scientists have introduced the Bubble Barrier in canals, a device that creates a wall of bubbles to send submerged plastic to the surface. Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers presented a unique idea — a bacteria biofilm that could attract and trap microplastics before they flow into rivers and oceans.
But “if you have a technology that would capture microplastics before they enter our waterways, that would be ideal,” says Zoie Diana, who added 40 new inventions this year. That’s where Alain Marty, chief scientist at the biochemistry start-up Carbios, comes into the picture. In a 2020 Nature article, Marty and colleagues describe how they engineered an enzyme (酶) to break down plastic efficiently. “Industries could employ that in their manufacturing processes so that nearly all of their material could be reused to create products. Marty’s discovery is a breakthrough in the right direction, though preventing microplastics by reducing our plastic use also matters,” says Diana. “We really want to turn off the tap.”
1. What can we learn about microplastics?A.They didn’t exist until 2004. |
B.They can be easily tracked down. |
C.They remain a matter of worldwide concern. |
D.They do more harm to other species than humans. |
A.By giving examples. | B.By making comparisons. |
C.By referring to another study. | D.By presenting research findings. |
A.The enzyme can solve industries' productivity problems. |
B.Taps should be prohibited for fear of the spread of microplastics. |
C.A decline in plastic use is no less important than Marty's discovery. |
D.Microplastics-capturing technology can rid waterways of microplastics. |
1. When will the team return from Costa Rica?
A.April 6. | B.July 10. | C.July 20. |
A.The national parks. |
B.The city of San José. |
C.The east of Costa Rica. |
A.Plant trees. | B.Feed birds. | C.Train animal |
6 . In 2019, more than 1. 4 million young people around the globe took part in the School Strikes for Climate Action protests that were largely prompted by a 17-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The inspirational teenage is far from the first or last young person to fight for a better environmental future.
With the rise of social media in recent years, young people around the globe have easy access to surprising information about how we're currently failing to look after the Earth. Websites such as YouTube provide accessible coverage on ecological matters and links to new scientific information are easily shared between peers. But, it's not just online research that exposes the truth, and it's not a distant threat either. Climate change is around us. Our oceans are 30 percent more acidic(酸性的)due to carbon pollution, an increase of droughts and heatwaves means a loss of crop production and forest is cut down every second.
Of course, just because young people are now readily armed with statistics doesn't mean all adults will eagerly listen to them. Many write off young activists simply due to their age, and others still aren't willing to see the environmental challenges we face, but that doesn't mean a diligence can’t be made.
In fact, there are some advantages of being a young activist. A study on participants aged 16-24 in the UN climate negotiations revealed that adults perceived younger activists as being more trustworthy. Young activists not only aren't smudged (弄脏)by agendas being forced on them, they also have an untainted(未染污的)view of what's going on and, being free from politics, they often say what adults aren't willing to.
So, it seems achieving a carbon neutral world in the future might depend on young determined voices inspiring experienced adults who can make a difference. Preferably, young people wouldn't worry about the environment at all, but our civilization forced them into the conversation when their futures were put at stake, so their voices should be included in the solution.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?A.The influence of social media. |
B.The truth behind the statistics. |
C.The different examples of Climate change effects. |
D.Young people's easy exposure to climate problems. |
A.Adults speak highly of the young people. |
B.Adults look down upon the young people. |
C.Adults show sympathy to the young people. |
D.Adults regard young people as unimportant persons. |
A.Taking a younger approach. | B.Protecting the globe. |
C.Speaking out your voices. | D.Meeting environmental challenges. |
①垃圾分类的做法;
②垃圾分类的益处;
③呼吁全体学生一起参加。
注意:1. 词数在80左右;2. 开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
参考词汇:垃圾分类 garbage classification;
厨余垃圾 leftovers;
废旧电池 used batteries.
Dear fellow students,
Our school has started a program of garbage classification.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________①使用纸巾的弊端; ②使用手帕的好处; ③呼吁全体学生一起加入。
注意:1. 词数在80左右;
2. 开头已给出,不计入总词数。
参考词汇:面巾纸facial tissue 手帕handkerchief/hanky
Dear fellow students,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Students’ Union
9 . A 2018 report found that food waste would increase by a third to 2. 1billion tons by 2030. Beyond the cost of the waste itself,thrown-away food generates a gas that contributes to climate change.
Home delivery meal kits(盒)can reduce food waste by more than two-thirds,but suppliers need to switch to reusable packaging to make them environmentally friendly.
Tailor-made meal kits cut waste by providing people with precise amounts of fresh ingredients(烹饪原料)for chosen recipes,meaning leftovers are minimized. But while the delivery services score well on reducing food waste,buying the same food ingredients from the supermarket almost always saves energy overall simply because meal kits use so much single-use packaging. The good news is that if people have meals that are tailored for consumption,they won’t overbuy and have less food waste. They fine-tune the amount of food to what they will actually eat.
Meal kits can reduce transport emissions(排放)if people go to the supermarket less frequently. If people only go and buy such goods as soap and toilet paper,they may only have to visit once every couple of months. A delivery truck can carry meals for a lot of people in the neighborhood. So dozens of car trips might be replaced with one truck trip.
However,study found that even if delivery meal kits reduced food waste to zero,they would still use up more energy overall than buying the same food from the supermarket unless the energy used for the meal kit packaging was cut by a fifth. The packaging is a killer if it’s single-use and thrown away,which can make all the environmental benefits lost. But if the packaging can be reused,if it’s glass bottles,like in the old days,we can get some benefits.
1. What can we learn about home delivery meal kits?A.They can cut down on daily expenses. |
B.They will totally solve the problem of food waste. |
C.They can keep energy consumption to a minimum. |
D.They will benefit the environment with reusable packaging. |
A.Attach. | B.Adjust. |
C.Raise. | D.Compare. |
A.reduce transport emissions | B.save more food |
C.shop only in the supermarket | D.shorten car trip distances |
A.Supportive. | B.Unfavorable. |
C.Objective. | D.Indifferent. |
10 . “Developed and developing nations can learn from each other seeking a low-carbon economy. In terms of energy saving and green economy, China doesn’t lag behind developed nations,” said Zhou Changyi, director of the energy saving department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
“While we can learn many aspects from developed nations, they also should learn something from us, such as water conservation,” Zhou said in a speech during the new Path of China’s Industrialization forum at the ongoing China International Industry Fair.
He said industrialized nations and China are dealing with different issues to fight climate change. The United Kingdom, for example, is concerned about transport, buildings and new energy in reducing carbon emissions. For China, the most urgent task is how to realize new type of industrialization and avoid mistakes that other countries made when they industrialized.
Swiss power and automation technology group ABB called for a stronger focus on product life-cycle assessment, or LCA, which is used to study the environmental impact of a product from the research and manufacturing stage through its usage and recycling.
Tobias Becker, head of ABB’s process automation division for North Asia and China, said LCA is an effective tool in helping manufacturing industries to reduce carbon emissions.
LCA shows that industrial customers should focus on a product’s environmental impact throughout its life-cycle instead of on its initial investment.
Richard Hausmann, North East Asia CEO of Siemens, said, “The color of future industrialization is green. ”
The Germany company recently announces that it wants to receive orders worth more than 6 billion Euros ( US 8. 8 billion) for intelligent power networks, Smart Grid, over the next five years. Siemens has set a 20 percent market share target for the global smart grid business.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology, advanced sensors specialized computers that save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability. The United States and China are considered the two biggest markets for smart grid.
1. Which of the following can best replace the underlined phrase “lag behind” in Paragraph 1?A.act better than | B.perform worse than |
C.run faster than | D.keep quieter than |
A.Small in size | B.Low-cost |
C.Energy-saving | D.Security |
A.Intelligent Power Networks |
B.Low-carbon Economy a Shared Goal |
C.Two Biggest Markets for Smart Grid |
D.Developed and Developing Nations Can Learn from Each Other |