1 . The number of fish caught just outside a recently expanded marine (海洋) protected area in Hawaii has risen. It is a sign that quadrupling (四倍) the size of the reserve in 2016 may have shored fish populations in the region.
When the Marine National Monument around Hawaii was enlarged to 1,510,000 square kilometers, marine conservationists around the world rejoiced.
Fishers may have felt differently, however, as fishing inside the area is not allowed. Yet by creating a space for dwindling tuna populations to recover, supporters argued, the reserve would benefit fisheries as well.
As populations inside the reserve boundaries steadily increased, they predicted, the fish would spill (溢出) over into the surrounding areas, increasing the amount of tuna available to catch.
Proving that is tricky, however, as tuna can’t be counted directly. Their numbers may rise or fall for a variety of reasons other than the expansion of a reserve. But the new study, published in Science this week, strongly suggests the number of fish caught just outside the MPA is higher now than it used to be.
Alan Friedlander, chief scientist for the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas project, calls the study a “very careful and strict test of spillover from marine protected areas.”
Importantly, says John Lynham, an environmental economist at the University of Hawaii and one of the study’s authors, the increase in tuna catches near the reserve held up even when looking at the average numbers caught by particular fishers. This shows the effect is not due to more effective crews now fishing local waters, he explains. To account for effort, catch numbers were divided by the ever-increasing number of fishing hooks in the area.
Lynham and colleagues found the catch per hook increased over the 10 years of the study. Fishers were catching on average six more yellowfin and five more bigeye tuna per year after the expansion than before.
“That last one, especially, was a surprise,” says Lynham, “because it is economically much more important, and there were fewer indications of an increase.”
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?A.The rising number of fish caught is a sign of a well-reserved area. |
B.Enlarge the size of reserve may contribute to the increasing of fish population. |
C.The number of fish caught has risen to quadrupling (四倍) the size of that in 2016. |
D.Fish catching outside the reserve does good to the expanded marine protected area. |
A.They felt joyful. | B.They felt different. | C.They felt unpleasant. | D.They felt excited. |
A.By figuring the average catch per hook in the area. |
B.By summing up the catch of mare effective crews. |
C.By looking at the numbers caught by particular fishers. |
D.By detecting the number of tuna population in the surrounding area. |
A.Tuna population embraces a boost | B.Marine Protected Areas Help Fisheries |
C.Local fisheries hold a promising future | D.Tuna population can be counted scientifically |
2 . In shallow coastal waters of the Indian ocean, Dugong, a kind of sea cow, is in trouble. Environmental problems pose such a major threat to its survival that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the species’ extinction risk status(地位)to vulnerable (脆弱的).
Much worse, Dugongs are at risk of losing the protection of the Torres Strait Islanders, who have looked after them historically, hunting them for food sustainably and monitoring their numbers. These native people keep their biodiversity, and have deep knowledge about their environment. But these people are also threatened, in part because rising sea levels are making it difficult for them to live there.
This situation isn’t unique to Dugongs. A global analysis of 385 culturally important plant and animal species found 68 percent were both biologically vulnerable and at risk of losing their cultural protection.
The findings clearly illustrate that biology shouldn’t be the primary factor in shaping conservation policy,says anthropologist Victoria Reyes-García.When a culture declines,the species that are important to that culture are also threatened.“Lots of conservationists think we need to separate people from nature,” says Reyes-García. “But that strategy misses the caring relationship many cultural groups have with nature.”
One way to help shift conservation efforts is to give species a “bio-cultural status,”which would provide a fuller picture of their vulnerability. In the study, the team used a new way to determine a species’ risk of disappearing: the more a cultural group’s language use declines, the more that culture is threatened.The more a culture is threatened, the more culturally vulnerable its important species are. Researchers then combined a species’ cultural and biological vulnerability to arrive at its bio-cultural status. In the Dugong’s case, its bio-cultural status is endangered, meaning it is more at risk than its IUCN categorization suggests.
This new approach to conservation involves people that have historically cared for them. It can highlight when communities need support to continue their care. Scientists hope it will bring more efforts that recognize local communities’ rights and encourage their participation-taking advantage of humans’ connection with nature instead of creating more separation.
1. What is the relationship between the native people and Dugongs?A.The native people help conserve Dugongs. |
B.The native people train Dugongs to survive. |
C.Dugongs ruin the native people’s environment. |
D.Dugongs force the native people to leave home. |
A.The protection policy is used incorrectly. |
B.Culture is connected to species’ existence. |
C.Many groups take good care of each other. |
D.Conservationists prefer nature over people. |
A.It involves more preservation efforts. |
B.It relies on the IUCN’s classification. |
C.It highlights the effect of human languages. |
D.It assesses the biological influence of a species. |
A.Conservative. |
B.Favourable. |
C.Critical. |
D.Ambiguous. |
3 . With an abundance of sun and wind, Spain is positioning itself as Europe’s future leader in green hydrogen production to clean up heavy industries. But some energy experts express caution because this process relies on massive availability of zero-carbon electricity.
Green hydrogen is created when renewable energy sources power an electrical current that runs through water, separating its hydrogen and oxygen molecules (分子). The process doesn’t produce planet-warming carbon dioxide, but less than 0.1% of global hydrogen production is currently created in this way.
The separated hydrogen can be used in the production of steel, ammonia (氨) and chemical products, all of which require industrial processes that are harder to stop fossil fuels. Hydrogen also can be used as a transportation fuel, which could one day transform the highly polluting shipping and aviation sectors.
Spain’s large, windswept and thinly populated territory receives more than 2,500 hours of sunshine on average per year, providing ideal conditions for wind and solar energy, and therefore green hydrogen production.
“If you look at where hydrogen is going to be produced in Europe in the next million years, it’s in two countries, Spain and Portugal,” said Thierry Lepercq, the founder and president of HyDeal Ambition, an industry platform bringing together 30 companies. “Hydrogen is the new oil.”
Lepercq is working with companies like Spanish gas pipeline corporation Enagas and global steel giant ArcelorMittal to design an end-to-end model for hydrogen production, distribution and supply at a competitive price. Criticism has centered on green hydrogen’s higher cost compared with highly-polluting “gray hydrogen” drawn from natural gas. Lepercq argues that solar energy produced in Spain is priced low enough to compete.
Globally, Lepercq said, “Electricity is 20% of energy consumption. What about the 80% that is not electrified? ... You need to replace those fossil fuels. Not in 50 years’ time. You need to replace them now.”
1. Why are some experts cautious about green hydrogen production in Spain?A.It needs large amounts of sun and wind. | B.It has an effect on heavy industries. |
C.It causes conflicts among countries. | D.It uses lots of zero-carbon electricity. |
A.Ideal geographical conditions. | B.The support from government. |
C.Hydrogen production technology. | D.Well-developed public transports. |
A.It is highly priced. | B.It is easy to store. |
C.It is competitive. | D.It is highly-polluting. |
A.Spain manages to use zero-carbon electricity. | B.Spain struggles to lead EU in heavy industry. |
C.Spain takes the lead in preventing air pollution. | D.Spain replaces fossil fuel with green hydrogen. |
4 . The suburb I live in backs on to a large nature reserve. One morning I saw a koala (考拉) sitting in a palm tree in my front yard. I phoned around to ask what I could
I’ve always been befriending animals. As a young kid I used to pick up lizard eggs and
Once I had accreditation (合格证), I volunteered with the RSPCA in 2014, rehabilitating (使康复) wildlife. I was an ambulance driver,
One day, I thought why not
I cut the leaves of the eucalyptus trees for the koalas to eat and look after the
As a kid I would never have imagined doing this. I feel like I’m the
A.learn from | B.do about | C.require of | D.save for |
A.kicking | B.shooting | C.coaching | D.blowing |
A.together | B.illegally | C.angrily | D.guiltily |
A.roll | B.sell | C.break | D.hatch |
A.rescue | B.admire | C.purchase | D.identify |
A.courses | B.races | C.fairs | D.shows |
A.watching | B.attending | C.recording | D.assessing |
A.made out | B.ran across | C.gave up | D.cared for |
A.leave | B.start | C.dismiss | D.advertise |
A.house | B.hunt | C.train | D.amuse |
A.confuse | B.direct | C.feed | D.test |
A.aggressive | B.hungry | C.deserted | D.injured |
A.sold | B.released | C.thrown | D.dragged |
A.quietest | B.greediest | C.noisiest | D.luckiest |
A.guess | B.calling | C.treat | D.fault |
5 . Have you noticed how evenings cool off more in rural areas than they do in cities? Urban areas also tend to get hotter during the day than any nearby areas with lots of greenery.
It’s mainly caused by the difference in materials that cover the ground in urban areas and the countryside. In the country, evaporation(蒸发)of water from soil and the leaves of plants helps to cool the air.
Dark colours are another problem. Dark objects absorb all wavelengths of light, making the temperature increase more noticeably. In contrast, white objects reflect all wavelengths of light energy.
But cities don’t have to be so hot. Some cities have lightened their streets. This is done by covering black asphalt streets, parking lots, and dark roofs with a more reflective gray coating.
Having more green spaces also helps. Plants serve as a natural air conditioner. They catch heat, release vapour(蒸汽)into the air, and take away heat, contributing to cooler, fresher cities.
A.Cities also produce more heat than suburban areas. |
B.The higher the temperature, the shorter the wavelength. |
C.This phenomenon is known as the urban heat-island effect. |
D.So it will not be transformed into heat which makes the air hot. |
E.Changes in building materials have a minimal effect on city temperatures. |
F.Much of the soil in cities, by contrast, has been covered with roads and buildings. |
G.These changes can decrease air temperatures dramatically, especially in summer. |
6 . The environmental practices of big businesses are shaped by a fundamental fact that offends our sense of justice. A business may maximize the amount of money it makes by damaging the environment and hurting people. When government regulation is effective, and the public is environmentally aware, environmentally clean big businesses may out-compete dirty ones, but the reverse is likely to be true if government regulation is ineffective and the public doesn’t care.
It is easy to blame a business for helping itself by hurting other people. But blaming alone is unlikely to produce change. It ignores the fact that businesses are not charities but profit-making companies, and they are under obligation to maximize profits for shareholders by legal means.
Our blaming of businesses also ignores the ultimate responsibility of the public for creating the conditions that let a business profit through destructive environmental policies. In the long run, it is the public, either directly or through its politicians, that has the power to make such destructive policies unprofitable and illegal, and to make sustainable environmental policies profitable.
The public can do that by accusing businesses of harming them. The public may also make their opinion felt by choosing to buy sustainably harvested products; by preferring their governments to award valuable contracts to businesses with a good environmental track record; and by pressing their governments to pass and enforce laws and regulations requiring good environmental practices.
In turn, big businesses can exert powerful pressure on any suppliers that might ignore public or government pressure. For instance, after the US public became concerned about the spread of a disease, transmitted to humans through infected meat, the US government introduced rules demanding that the meat industry abandon practices associated with the risk of the disease spreading. But the meat packers refused to follow these, claiming that they would be too expensive to obey. However, when a fast-food company made the same demands after customer purchases of its hamburgers dropped, the meat industry followed immediately. The public’s task is therefore to identify which links in the supply chain are sensitive to public pressure.
Some readers may be disappointed or outraged that I place the ultimate responsibility for business practices harming the public on the public itself. I also believe that the public must accept the necessity for higher prices for products to cover the added costs of sound environmental practices. My views may seem to ignore the belief that businesses should act in accordance with moral principles even if this leads to a reduction in their profits. But I think we have to recognize that, throughout human history, government regulation has arisen precisely because it was found that not only did moral principles need to be made explicit, they also needed to be enforced.
My conclusion is not a moralistic one about who is right or wrong, admirable or selfish. I believe that changes in public attitudes are essential for changes in businesses’ environmental practices.
1. The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that environmental damage__________.A.is the result of ignorance of the public |
B.requires political action if it is to be stopped |
C.can be prevented by the action of ordinary people |
D.can only be stopped by educating business leaders |
A.reduce their own individual impact on the environment |
B.learn more about the impact of business on the environment |
C.raise awareness of the effects of specific environmental disasters |
D.influence the environmental policies of businesses and governments |
A.Meat packers stopped supplying hamburgers to fast-food chains. |
B.Meat packers persuaded the government to reduce their expenses. |
C.A fast-food company forced their meat suppliers to follow the law. |
D.A fast-food company encouraged the government to introduce regulations. |
A.Will the world survive the threat caused by big businesses? |
B.How can big businesses be encouraged to be less driven by profit? |
C.What environmental dangers are caused by the greed of businesses? |
D.Are big businesses to blame for the damage they cause to the environment? |
7 . Solar farms offer one way to meet the world’s decarbonization targets, but they could also be used to deal with another of the planet’s big problems: loss of biodiversity. The approach is starting to take off. Residents of Barnsdale, for example, will soon play host to a new solar farm lined with grass field of wildflowers and native grasses, which Banks Group, the developer, says will promote pollinating insects.
The idea comes from the combination of two long-term trends: declining numbers of pollinating insects and the growing amount of land distributed to solar farms. According to the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona, more than 40 percent of insect pollinators globally are listed as “highly threatened”—an issue that could seriously threaten food security. Meanwhile, solar-energy competence has been increasing. Matthew O’Neal, a scientist at Iowa State University, would like to see more solar developers seize this opportunity.
The benefits of such projects don’t stop at the insects. Research from Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment indicates that pollinator-friendly solar farms can raise crop output on nearby farmland, increase the recharging of groundwater and reduce soil erosion. In 2018, a US Department of Energy study found that if all existing and planned solar facilities near soybean and cranberry crops included pollinator home and increased output by just one percent, annual crop values could rise by US $1.75 million, US $4 million and US $233,000, respectively.
“Farmers could identify unprofitable areas, such as poor, highly erodible lands, as candidates for a pollinator-friendly solar farm. There’s the potential to increase their net income with pollinator motivation projects,” says O’Neal.
With enough forward thinking, these studies show, clean energy can provide new environmental opportunities. “We’re at a turning point with energy production and we’re seeing more opportunities to provide extra benefits that wouldn’t have been considered with older methods of energy generation,” says O’Neal. “You never heard of a coal mine planning pollinator conservation.”
1. What can be an additional function of solar farms according to paragraph 1?A.Adding the amount of farmland. | B.Addressing the decline of biodiversity. |
C.Improving the solar-energy competence. | D.Increasing the amount of profitable areas. |
A.Reduce the size of their farms. |
B.Live away from pollinator-friendly solar farms. |
C.Grow their crops near areas rich in groundwater. |
D.Make full use of soil erosion areas to make extra profits. |
A.Supportive. | B.Conservative. | C.Skeptical. | D.Uncertain. |
A.Solar Power Is Starting to Take Off |
B.Solar Energy Will Be in Urgent Need |
C.Solar Farms Can Deal with the Loss of Biodiversity |
D.Solar Farms Need to Expand the Amount of Farmland |
This year, August 15th marked China’s first National Ecology Day,
The establishment of National Ecology Day will enhance ecological understanding among the public and help the nation
The move
China’s laws and administrative regulations
9 . How does an ecosystem(生态系统) work? What makes the populations of different species the way they are? Why are there so many flies and so few wolves? To find an answer, scientists have built mathematical models of food webs, noting who eats whom and how much each one eats.
With such models, scientists have found out some key principles operating in food webs. Most food webs, for instance, consist of many weak links rather than a few strong ones. When a predator(掠食动物) always eats huge numbers of a single prey(猎物), the two species are strongly linked; when a predator lives on various species, they are weakly linked. Food webs may be dominated by many weak links because that arrangement is more stable over the long term. If a predator can eat several species, it can survive the extinction(灭绝) of one of them. And if a predator can move on to another species that is easier to find when a prey species becomes rare, the switch allows the original prey to recover. The weak links may thus keep species from driving one another to extinction.
Mathematical models have also revealed that food webs may be unstable, where small changes of top predators can lead to big effects throughout entire ecosystems. In the 1960s, scientists proposed that predators at the top of a food web had a surprising amount of control over the size of populations of other species—including species they did not directly attack.
And unplanned human activities have proved the idea of top-down control by top predators to be true. In the ocean, we fished for top predators such as cod on an industrial scale, while on land, we killed off large predators such as wolves. These actions have greatly affected the ecological balance.
Scientists have built an early-warning system based on mathematical models. Ideally, the system would tell us when to adapt human activities that are pushing an ecosystem toward a breakdown or would even allow us to pull an ecosystem back from the borderline. Prevention is key, scientists say, because once ecosystems pass their tipping point(临界点), it is remarkably difficult for them to return.
1. What have scientists discovered with the help of mathematical models of food webs?A.The living habits of species in food webs. |
B.The rules governing food webs of the ecosystems. |
C.The approaches to studying the species in the ecosystems. |
D.The differences between weak and strong links in food webs. |
A.has a wide food choice |
B.can easily find new prey |
C.sticks to one prey species |
D.can quickly move to another place |
A.The prey species they directly attack will die out. |
B.The species they indirectly attack will turn into top predators. |
C.The living environment of other species will remain unchanged. |
D.The populations of other species will experience unexpected changes. |
A.Uncontrolled human activities greatly upset ecosystems. |
B.Rapid economic development threatens animal habitats. |
C.Species of commercial value dominate other species. |
D.Industrial activities help keep food webs stable. |
A.By getting illegal practices under control. |
B.By stopping us from killing large predators. |
C.By bringing the broken-down ecosystems back to normal. |
D.By signaling the urgent need for taking preventive action. |
A Tsinghua professor is leading authority on tackling global warming and public attention has been drawn
Global warming, carbon footprints, the 2-degree limitation for temperature
In addition to his academic research and teaching work, the climate change economics professor from the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University,has made a speech to
“I’m a strong believer in environmental protection
His speech last year on I Am A Scientist, a multiplatform series of online articles and videos organized by the China Association for Science and Technology,
“Since the industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels
In 2000, he chose