1 . Gracing every continent of the Earth, wetlands are essential to the planet’s health, often compared to its vital organs, acting as arteries (动脉) that carry water and as kidneys that filter harmful substances.
Wetlands serve as protectors: they form protective barriers against tsunamis and absorb the excess rainfall. During the dry season in dry climates, wetlands release the stored water which helps delay the attack of drought and reduce water shortages. They also store vast quantities of carbon, helping ease climate change. Home to some of the most diverse and rich ecosystems, wetlands support one billion people. 40 percent of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.
World Wetlands Day is observed each year on 2 February to increase people’s understanding of the importance of wetlands and raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the threatened natural treasure.
“We are proud to join in this celebration and recognize the unique and valuable ecosystem services provided by wetlands. We are committed to doing our part to conserve and protect wetlands, and we are calling on all of you to join us in this vital cause,” said UNCCD (The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw.
To date, nearly 90 percent of the world’s wetlands have been degraded or lost, with 35 percent in the last 50 years alone. That is why on this World Wetlands Day, UNCCD is joining the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and other partners to highlight the examples of countries and communities making strides in wetland restoration.
As stressed by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, successful wetland restoration requires a joint effort from governments, civil society and the private sector. Investments in science for technology innovation, infrastructure for effective management and financial mechanisms for project implementation (实施) can turn the tide toward a better future for wetlands.
1. How does the author present the current situation of wetlands in paragraph 5?| A．By giving examples. | B．By listing figures. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By analyzing causes. |
| A．Follow the trend. | B．Break the ice. | C．Run the risk. | D．Change the game. |
| A．Wetland ecosystem. | B．Wetland restoration. | C．Wetland exploration. | D．Wetland biodiversity. |
2 . Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution to two of her country’s problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip waters drop off their empty bags from Doritos. Lays. and other favorites at two locations in Detroit:a print shop and a clothing store. where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding (衬垫) and liners (衬里) from old coats to line the insides.
It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof lightweight and easy to carry around”. Oleita told the Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life —and her fellow volunteers. “We are devoted to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,”she says.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of rescuing bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental problem and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit.com, “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”
1. What did Oleita ask the snack lovers to do with their empty chip bags?| A．To turn them into sleeping bags. |
| B．To donate them to the homeless directly. |
| C．To throw them into the trash. |
| D．To give them away to her. |
| A．It is convenient. | B．It is only made of old coats. |
| C．It has the function of heating. | D．Its size is adjustable. |
| A．The aim of the project is more than social issues. |
| B．Poverty results from environmental problems. |
| C．Oleita’s project made 110 sleeping bags per month. |
| D．Oleita started the project mainly to raise money. |
| A．Hardworking and loyal. | B．Talented and brave. |
| C．Selfless and modest. | D．Generous and creative. |
3 . Recycled, reused and renewable textiles (纺织品) only go so far in solving the fast-fashion crisis, writes Alexandra Carlton. The answer may lie in consumption.
Australia is the world’s second-largest consumer of clothing, generating 800,000 tonnes of textile waste yearly. Individuals consume about 27 kilograms of new clothes annually and cast 23 kilograms of waste. Globally, the situation is even more severe, with an estimated 92million tonnes of clothing waste produced each year. This equates to a truckload of clothes entering landfills every second.
If you want to stop our unwanted clothes from jamming the planet, you’d assume that reusing and recycling would lead the discussion. However, full clothes recycling — breaking clothes down to their base fibres to create new ones — is no simple task. Clothes consist of various fibres, fasteners, and decorations that traditionally require painstaking manual (手工的) separation. Yet, innovation is underway, such as the Swedish large-scale sorting facility Siptex, where textiles can be sorted by color and material using infrared (红外线) technology.
Brands like Adelaide’s Autark focus on minimizing output. “I keep my collections tightly designed and production numbers slim,” says designer Sophia McMahon. Sometimes this means she doesn’t have the exact clothes someone wants in store, but customers are patient while she makes items to order because they understand her brand’s essence.
Startups like AirRobe are giving clothes a second life and could be part of the solution. The clothing resale market is currently worth 49 billion and is expected to reach 103 billion by 2025．AirRobe lets customers add new purchases to their digital wardrobe so they can be resold later without uploading photos or descriptions. “The ‘re-economy’ — the reuse and recycle market sector — will be a real opportunity for us,” says Erica Berchtold, CEO of The Iconic.
Researchers Samantha Sharpe and Taylor Brydges from the University of Technology Sydney advocate a widespread shift among consumers towards buying fewer, higher-quality clothes besides these innovations.
1. Why are the numbers used in Paragraph 2?| A．To encourage factories to produce more clothes. |
| B．To emphasize the severity of the clothing waste. |
| C．To present the amount of clothing consumption. |
| D．To set the stage for discussing how to landfill clothes. |
| A．It is challenging. | B．It is energy-saving. |
| C．It is unworthy of attention. | D．It is time-efficient. |
| A．Consumers should be patient to buy high-quality clothes. |
| B．Clothes specially designed for consumers are the most fit. |
| C．Adelaide’s Autark has enough clothes in store for consumers. |
| D．Slowing the production cycle is essential to reducing output. |
| A．Buying more clothes. | B．Following the fashion trend. |
| C．Changing consuming behavior. | D．Concentrating innovation. |
4 . Supermarkets, conservationists and farming groups have shown their concerns about pollution of the Wye, one of the UK’s longest rivers. “The pollution pressures upon the Wye are unacceptable and there was strong enthusiasm for cooperative action to resolve the problem.” said Craig Bennett, head of the Wildlife Trusts.
The pollution referred largely to runoff of the nutrient-rich waste matter produced by the 20 million-plus chickens near the river.
Bennett said: “We discussed how, if the Wye were a school or a hospital, we would be calling for it to be placed into ‘special measures’. We agreed the same level of urgency must be applied.”
Increasing concern led the local government to hold a discussion in May, when they promised to publish a plan for the Wye by the autumn. However, the local government’s push on the river was marred in June when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a Wye video showing sea otters (海獺) rather than the river’s local European otters. The pollution of the Wye was not mentioned at all.
In July Bennett hosted a Wye round table in Powys, Wales, bringing together local groups, the Environment Agency, the chicken produce Avara Foodsr, regional branches of the National Farmers Union and local authorities. They agreed on a plan that included cutting the nutrient pollution “through a reduction in animal numbers” and other measures.
Bennett also wrote to Julie James, the Welsh Climate Change Minister, who said, “I share your concern for the health of the River Wye and other Welsh rivers.”
A supermarket chain said they are committed to protecting the river and engaging with their chicken suppliers to tackle water pollution. They have detailed management plans to make sure their suppliers are farming with care for the environment. A government spokesman said: “We are offering a wide range of support to farmers to speed up their transition to more sustainable practices and help protect this important site.”
1. Why does Bennett compare the Wye with a school or a hospital?| A．To call for urgent measures. | B．To stress the impacts of the river. |
| C．To show the importance of the river. | D．To urge people to protect the environment. |
| A．Destroyed. | B．Boosted | C．Perfected. | D．Emphasized. |
| A．Making a careful plan. | B．Reducing animal numbers. |
| C．Arousing people’s awareness. | D．Asking the government for money. |
| A．Sea Otters Are under Attack for Possible Pollution |
| B．Cooperated Efforts Are Made to Protect the Wye |
| C．People Are Having More Environmental Awareness |
| D．More Measures Should Be Taken to Prevent Air Pollution |
5 . Plastic, once seen as a revolutionary material for its wide application and convenience, has become a global environmental crisis because it is non-biodegradable. The ubiquity (无处不在) of plastic in our daily lives has led to an increasing amount of plastic waste, causing great harm.
One of the most alarming examples of this crisis is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of plastic waste in the North Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and consists of everything from microplastics to abandoned fishing nets. Marine life often mistakes plastic particles for food, leading to ingestion and death. Additionally, the chemicals used in plastic production can pollute water and soil, and finally threaten marine ecosystems.
Plastic waste is not limited to the oceans; it also impacts the land. Landfills overflow with plastic waste, emitting (排放) harmful greenhouse gases as plastics break down slowly over time. The production of plastics is highly energy-intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change. Furthermore, plastic litter is evident in urban and rural landscapes, destroying the natural beauty of our planet.
Beyond its environmental impact, plastic poses serious health risks to humans. Many plastics contain harmful chemicals, which can be found in food and drinks when plastic containers are used for storage and heating. These chemicals have been linked to a range of health problems, including developmental issues and cancer.
In conclusion, the problem of plastic pollution demands urgent action. A comprehensive strategy for cutting down on plastic is essential to tackle these challenges and safeguard the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.
While reducing the consumption of plastic may seem challenging, it is achievable through a combination of policy measures, technological innovations and changes in consumer behavior. Governments must issue laws to ban or heavily regulate single-use plastics and promote alternatives. Businesses should adopt sustainable packaging practices, and individuals can reduce plastic consumption by making conscious choices.
1. What does the example of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch show?| A．Animals rely on plastic waste to survive. |
| B．Plastic is too widespread to remove. |
| C．Plastic waste is harming the oceans. |
| D．Plastic poses health risks to humans. |
| A．Worsening. | B．Controlling. | C．Recording. | D．Evaluating. |
| A．Ways to cut plastic consumption. |
| B．Problems of handling plastic. |
| C．Alternatives for plastic products. |
| D．Some benefits of banning plastic. |
| A．Plastic Packaging Is Everywhere |
| B．Plastic Consumption Should Be Reduced |
| C．How Should Plastic Be Used |
| D．How Plastic Products Affect People |
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a young couple to dive (潜水) in Thailand on one of my favorite reefs (礁). The weather conditions were perfect, with mild currents and excellent sight of the beautiful ocean and the bright, vivid corals. Even with their masks on, I could see the smiles on my students’ faces.
The div e couldn’t have gone better. However, things changed as we made our way back to the boat. As we swam back along the reef, I noticed the current (水流) changing As it did, huge quantities of trash and plastic began to flood the area . I saw small reef fish swimming amongst the straws, plastic bags and other bits of rubbish. I noticed that some of the fish were pecking away (啄) at the plastic. By the time we got back onboard the boat, there were bits of plastic floating all around us. It looked more like a trash site than the ocean.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to go online and research plastic pollution in the ocean . I was surprised to find out that over the past decade, divers and beach lovers have seen a lot of changes in the oceans. Even very remote locations were suddenly filled with plastic and other chemicals. Plastics were entering our oceans at an alarming rate —up to 12 million tons each year. This huge amount of plastic was wreaking havoc (破坏) not only on the environment, but also on the marine animals that lived in the ocean, such as sea turtles and sea birds. Some of them were sadly mistaking the pieces of plastic for food. Pollution has brought our oceans to the point of disaster, and unless we make a great change, then our oceans and all of its living things, will be at risk.
Since that unforgettable plastic-polluted dive, I have become an ocean supporter and spend my days trying to get the message out there about just how harmful ocean pollution is, not only to marine life, but also to mankind.
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。
Paragraph 1
Then the idea came to me: I could appeal to my fellow divers to take action.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2
I decided to take it a step further to try and stop those companies producing single-use plastics.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . Textile (纺织品) waste is a growing problem for our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported the US throws away more than 11 million tons of clothing every year. That is why some small businesses spotting the problem are beginning to recycle in ways they haven’t before.
Create Good Company is a clothing company that tries to produce sustainable (可持续的) clothing and repurpose older clothing into updated fashionable items. Maggie. Hendricks, the owner of Create Good Company, said, “If you can revamp what you find, why wouldn’t you do that instead of buying new things? It’s a big issue not to create new waste. I would say we are 90%recycled materials.”
According to the EPA, the average consumer (消费者) throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes every year. “Anywhere between 10%-17%of the waste that’s going into landfills (废弃物填埋场) is made up of things like textiles and clothing,” said Danny Katz with the CoPIRG Foundation.” A lot of the clothing that we’re producing doesn’t even get worn, so it’s going right to the landfill or even being burned and contributing to pollution that way. It’s really worrying.”
This is why businesses like Create Good Company exist—to use outdated clothing and turn it into dresses or jackets.
“There’s just so much waste and so many big companies that might not think about it,” Hendricks said. “Just standing with other like-minded people who are interested in sustainability is important.”
Another important element Hendricks has focused on is creating these items and selling them at an affordable price.
“Sustainability sometimes is green washed in companies and they make things more expensive,” Hendricks said. “That’s not how we become a sustainable world. I think making products affordable is important to me. I want to buy things that are better for the environment without throwing my pocketbook in the fire.”
1. What does the underlined word “revamp” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Share. | B．Decorate. | C．Replace. | D．Improve. |
| A．The use of old clothing. | B．The cost of textile pollution. |
| C．The effect of clothing waste. | D．The future of the textile industry. |
| A．Its sales. | B．Its price. | C．Its producer. | D．Its quality. |
| A．The EPA’s measures to reduce textile waste |
| B．Small businesses working to prevent textile waste |
| C．Textile businesses’ social responsibility and their waste |
| D．Consumers being aware of the seriousness of textile waste |
8 . Plastic is everywhere in our modern world. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal (处理). However, Japanese scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily and can self-heal and remember past shapes.
Based on a kind of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which is brittle (脆性的), the new plastic has a huge range of advantages. Once scratched (刮划) with a knife, it can completely patch itself up after being heated to 150 ℃ for just 60 seconds. When shaped into the shape of a crane, then flattened, it can fold itself back into the crane shape by being heated up. It does all of this much faster than others of its type.
The new plastic can also break down easier. Even if it’s thrown into the environment, it still has less of a problem than other kinds of plastic, which the team demonstrated by placing it in seawater for 30 days. It biodegraded (生物降解) by 25% and released something that is eatable for ocean life.
The new plastic is more resistant to breaking. It can also repair itself, and can recover its original memorized shape. It even biodegrades safely in a ocean environment, according to Shota Ando, a researcher of the study.
The material can be used in a variety of applications. “Building materials for roads and bridges are often composed of epoxy resins mixed with compounds (化合物) such as concrete and carbon,” said Ando. “By using the new plastic, these would be easier to maintain as they would be stronger and healable using heat. Unlike conventional epoxy resins, this new material is hard but flexible, so it could also be expected to strongly bond materials of different hardness and stretch.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic of the text. | B．To show the disadvantages of plastic. |
| C．To highlight the importance of plastic. | D．To show his views on previous plastic. |
| A．Change itself. | B．Destroy itself. | C．Repair itself. | D．Burn itself. |
| A．It is safe for animals in the ocean. | B．It is made up of concrete and carbon. |
| C．It can change its shape when frozen. | D．It is more brittle than previous plastic. |
| A．How to Make a New Plastic | B．An Interesting Scientific Study |
| C．The Widespread Application of Plastic | D．A New Environmentally Friendly Plastic |
9 . The green, natural forest absorbs carbon dioxide from the air through photo- synthesis (光合作用). There is another way of dealing with the climate crisis. That is setting up fields of dark-colored solar panels (太阳能电池板), also known as “solar forests”, which replace power stations that use fossil fuels such as coal and gas to make electricity, thus mitigating harmful emissions (排放) of greenhouse gases.
But since they are both relatively dark, they absorb a lot of solar radiation. Some of the energy is used for photosynthesis in natural forests or to produce electricity in “solar forests”, but most returns to the atmosphere, heating it up. Then what would be the more effective land use option in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, or building solar panels? This issue has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, we may have an answer, thanks to a new study.
First, the researchers compared the impact of a forest on the climate crisis in a dry area to that of a solar farm in a similar environment. The researchers found that the albedo effect (反射效应) of both of these “forests” was similar, but that the absorption or prevention of carbon emissions was very different. It turns out that it takes 2.5 years for the heat emitted by solar farms to be balanced by the carbon emissions that are avoided, thanks to the energy they produce. In the case of a natural forest of similar size, it would take more than 100 years of photosynthesis to balance its heating effect.
The researchers also studied how the heating-cooling relationship changed in other climates and found that in more humid environments, the heating effect of planting large numbers of trees is smaller. And the break-even point is reached within 15 to 18 years.
“In dry places, building solar forests seems far more effective in addressing the climate crisis. Meanwhile, forests absorb about a third of annual carbon emissions and play a vital role in the global rain cycle, in maintaining biodiversity and in many other environmental and social contexts. Preventing them from being cut down and planting more trees in humid areas are of great significance,” explains one of the researchers in the study.
1. What does the underlined word “mitigating” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Releasing. | B．Decreasing. | C．Generating. | D．Stabilizing. |
| A．They cause much damage to the land. |
| B．They result in a serious loss of farmland. |
| C．They contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. |
| D．They lose energy during the absorption of solar radiation. |
| A．The natural forest exhibits a stronger albedo effect. |
| B．The solar forest can generate more energy in dry areas. |
| C．The solar forest is superior in balancing the heating effect. |
| D．The natural forest is more effective in solving the climate crisis. |
| A．More trees should be planted in dry regions. |
| B．More methods should be adopted to address the climate crisis. |
| C．Fields of solar panels should be set up everywhere on the earth. |
| D．Building solar panels and planting trees should be effectively combined. |
10 . Small-scale fisheries supply many people with food. Almost all of those in this trade rely on gillnets (刺网) to trap fish. But gillnets trap other things, for example, endangered animals such as turtles; dangerous ones, such as Humboldt squid; and ones that are both endangered and dangerous, such as several types of sharks. Everyone involved would be better off if this did not happen.
Building on studies done both by himself and by others, to try to avoid the accidental netting of turtles, Jesse Senko, a marine-conservation biologist at Arizona State University, has been investigating the idea of fitting LEDs to nets to avoid netting other unwanted by-catch (误捕的鱼) without discouraging target animals. And, as he reports in Current Biology, it seems to work.
Dr. Senko and his team set up an experiment in the Gulf of Ulloa, in Mexico, in which they cooperated with local fishermen to employ over 10,000 meters of nets that had had nets battery-powered waterproof green LEDs fixed onto them every ten meters. Half of these lights were lit. The other half were left unlit, as controls. Each lit net was paired with an unlit one, and the two were used alongside one another at major fishing locations. The fishers’ target fish were large groupers (石斑鱼). Dr. Senko was interested both in what else got caught and whether the lights decreased catches of the target species.
On the latter point, to his relief, they did not. On the former, the lit net s caught 95% fewer kilograms of shark-related species. In particular, several threatened species turned up less often in the lit than the unlit nets.
The advantage from the point of view of fishermen was that they needed to spend a lot less time clearing these dangerous by-catches from their nets. And, crucially, the LEDs concerned are cheap, hard-wearing, and easy to fix. There are also plans to make them solar powered, for easy recharging. Here, then, is an environmental-protection idea from which everyone wins.
1. What is the problem with gillnets?| A．They are costly to maintain. | B．They trap unwanted by-catches. |
| C．They discourage target catches. | D．They only trap dangerous species. |
| A．The principle of the experiment. | B．The results of the experiment. |
| C．The purpose of the experiment | D．The process of the experiment. |
| A．Fixing LEDs to gillnets is a win-win idea. |
| B．Fishermen benefit the most from the idea. |
| C．The Lit-net catches more threatened species. |
| D．The LED-net just catches less target species. |
| A．Critical. | B．Unclear. | C．Hopeful. | D．Doubtful. |
