1 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.
If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.
Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.
Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.
1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?A.To explain a concept. | B.To introduce a topic. |
C.To provide a solution. | D.To make a prediction. |
A.The severity of natural disasters. | B.The worst air quality in New York City. |
C.The extreme damage by flash flooding. | D.The cause of the forests fires in Canada. |
A.He advocated a twofold strategy. |
B.He suggested forbidding carbon emissions. |
C.He required people to use more electric cars. |
D.He emphasized the awareness of climate changes. |
A.The Hottest Month in History | B.Natural Disasters in the World |
C.Extreme Weather Could Get Worse | D.Green Technology Would be Needed |
2 . The cry of the fishing cat sounds like the quack of a duck, and the rest of this midsize cat also enables it to hunt in the water. Its streamlined head is perfect for moves in the mangrove swamps (红树林沼泽地) and wetlands of South and Southeast Asia, and its pointy ears even fold (折叠) down when it jumps into deep water. The short and strong tail helps control its direction. The extra-thick coat keeps it warm and dry while swimming.
“I found fishing cats to be very ingenious,” says Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, a research and conservation group based in eastern India. Her research recently showed that the animal has two methods of catching fish. In deep waters, the cat stays still on the banks for hours before jumping into the water for the kill. In shallow (浅的) waters, though, the cat actively drives the fish out of their hiding places by moving about with heavy steps.
Now the fishing cat is facing another challenge: humans. The world has lost almost 90 percent of its wetlands since the 1700s, with Asia suffering the greatest loss. These days, industrialized fish farming, pollution and other human behaviors have destroyed the living condition of freshwater fish and set fishing cats against farmers, as the hungry cats steal farmed fish, and the farmers get even with them (报复). Once found along river systems from Pakistan to Vietnam, the cats have disappeared from large areas of their range.
Researchers are testing new methods, including the commercial launch (商业化推出) of a type of native rice variety. Depending on nutrients (营养物) washed in by rains rather than on chemicals, the rice creates living space for the fishing cat and its food. The idea is that in healthy lakes where there is plenty to feed fishing cats and fishermen alike, killings will be unnecessary. “Nobody takes a loss,” Adhya explains, “when somebody takes a fish.”
1. What does the author want to explain about fishing cats in the first paragraph?A.Why they moved to South and Southeast Asia. |
B.What helps them swim well in the water. |
C.What pushes them to live with ducks. |
D.Why they love staying in the water. |
A.Friendly. | B.Alarmed. | C.Clever. | D.Lazy. |
A.The battle between fishing cats and humans. |
B.The decision to protect freshwater fish. |
C.The importance of stopping pollution. |
D.The method of increasing wetlands. |
A.It will do some harm to the environment. |
B.It will create a win-win situation. |
C.It will increase food production. |
D.It will cost a lot of money. |
3 . As a child, Cruz Avila walked through the forest every day in central Mexico’s Amanalco-Vall de Bravo Basin. She would pick wood and medicinal plants. She also learned to find birds and identify the different trees near her home. Avila learned that listening to a waterfall is a good medicine for the soul and the body.
Several months ago, she and other residents decided to make these walks an attraction for tourists. Their goal is to create a source of income, preserve the forest and support responsible medicine for the soul tourism. In 2021, Avila and other community members attended training as nature guides.
In recent years, residents of the forest communities have suffered from tourism that’s not environmentally sustainable (可持续的). In early April 2022, the communities officially presented their alliance (联盟). One of the people presenting it was Avila, and her voice echoed (附和) the feelings shared by many who are part of this project. “To us, forests are our home,” she said. “We want to take care of them as we take care of our home. We invite hikers and tourists to come to see our house, to get to know and enjoy this place with respect and care.”
Avila said her community has developed a sustainable tourism plan based on hiking and workshops. They also plan to have a viewing platform ready by 2023.
Avila said she plans to start promoting her hiking project, “I’m going to take visitors to a place called El Caballero, and halfway through, with the other neighbors, we’ll offer them a workshop on making pulque and bread,” she said. Pulque is a drink made from a plant that grows in the region.
She believes the tourism project will receive support from visitors. She thinks it will be especially popular with those who are eager to help protect the forests and want to learn about forest communities.
1. Why does the author describe Avila’s childhood in paragraph 1?A.To explain the source of medicine. |
B.To prove the importance of the forest. |
C.To introduce the lifestyle of local teens. |
D.To memorize the good days of children. |
A.Sustainable rural tourism. |
B.Respect for the local culture. |
C.The restoration of destroyed forests. |
D.The end of some tourism companies. |
A.An experience of identifying trees |
B.A chance to swim in a lake |
C.A permission to pick medicinal plants. |
D.A workshop to make pulque and bread. |
A.Memorizing the Good Days in the Forests |
B.Showing Respect for the Traveling Routes |
C.Promoting Sustainable tourism to Protect the Forests |
D.Developing the Local Traveling Business |
4 . Vishwanath Mallabadi Davangere has a unique talent for turning abandoned items into amazing works of art. From metal and plastic to old devices and circuit boards, Vishwanath selects only the finest “good stuff” with potential for transformation.
Vishwanath’s father was a well-known sculptor and painter, but he had hopes of his son becoming a doctor. But Vishwanath had other ideas. He was fascinated with upcycling second-hand objects from a young age, and decided to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Art. Even as a high-level administrator at Wipro, working in Talent Transformation, Vishwanath wouldn’t shake his passion for eco-art. In his free time and on the weekends, he devoted himself to experimenting with e-waste and creating one-of-a-kind masterpieces before retiring two years ago.
With India facing a growing e-waste crisis, producing 10.1 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 with only 22.7% recycled, Vishwanath’s passion for recycling is more important than ever. As he learned more about the harm e-waste was causing to the environment, he took his art to the next level creating paintings and sculptures that spread awareness about this urgent issue.
From computer keyboard keys to data cards and even wristwatch parts, Vishwanath has transformed over 500 pieces of e-waste into amazing pieces of art! He has created a six-foot-tall sculpture, eco-jewellery and even wearable art for a fashion show. One of his masterpieces—an awesome landscape—was inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
In just a few short minutes, he can turn pieces of e-waste into great pieces of jewellery. When it comes to sculptures, the process might take weeks or even months. But it’s all worth it because sustainable initiatives and upcycled art are fashionable these days. Companies everywhere are looking to adopt a more sustainable culture, and Vishwanath’s art is the perfect addition to any eco-friendly office or home.
1. What was Vishwanath’s occupation before retirement?A.A doctor. | B.A famous sculptor. |
C.A conservation scientist. | D.A senior manager of a firm. |
A.The features of Vishwanath’s works. | B.The seriousness of e-waste in India. |
C.The motivation for Vishwanath’s creations. | D.The achievements of Vishwanath. |
A.The Starry Night. | B.The eco-jewellery. |
C.An impressive landscape. | D.A six-foot-tall sculpture. |
A.It’s promising. | B.It’s unpredictable. |
C.It will lose its appeal. | D.It won’t be accepted by companies. |
5 . Finding a California condor in the wild would be the most unusual treat. perhaps even more unusual than finding a wolf in Yellowstone National Park. In fact, the wolf was what opened my eyes to the fact that humans could bring an animal back to the place where it had disappeared.
In 1987, there were only 27 California condors left, none of which were in the wild, only in captive breeding programs, It was those breeding programs that contributed to their population rise, enough that by 1991 some of them could be freed into the wild.
Still, the hope of seeing a California condor, which remains an endangered species, is very low, let alone getting a photo of one. California condor population dropped mostly due to human factors, such as poaching and living areas destruction-these are challenges California condors still face today.
Although this is just a bird’s-eye view of the challenges California condors face and there are many others, it is part of why the opportunity to work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service team and their partners helping their recovery is so special to me as a photographer. I am not only able to photograph the birds in their wild living areas, but also understand and record how difficult the work is of those people on the front lines of the protection.
I am grateful for the work of the team, and my hope is that California condor population will continue to rise allowing future generations an opportunity I never had when I first got here-to look to the sky and see one flying around.
1. What helped the increase of the California condor population in 1987?A.Rules for hunters. | B.Captive breeding programs. |
C.The improved natural environment. | D.The enlargement of wild living areas. |
A.It is difficult. | B.It is easy. | C.It is boring. | D.It is dangerous. |
A.He guided ways for them. | B.He made records by photos. |
C.He helped the birds to recover. | D.He rebuilt the birds’ living areas. |
A.New Way, New Hope | B.Wolves and California Condors |
C.A Photo of a California Condor | D.The California Condor’s Coming Back |
6 . Most of us have heard of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It is the core principle of a sustainable (可持续的) life, but few of us can apply it in our own lives. Now, there’s a “lab” you can explore and discover a way toward living sustainably.
3R Lab is located in Xuhui district, Shanghai. It offers exhibitions, activities and goods that showcase the 3R principle. The key to a sustainable life, according to Vincent T. M. Fong, the 32-year-old from Hong Kong who created the lab, is to make it a long-term promise. “A sustainable life should be sustainable itself in the first place. You can’t lead a sustainable life on a whim. Small and comfortable changes are exactly what you need,” Fong said.
The lab regularly hosts ugly fruit markets, offering these strange fruits which are often thrown away by traditional markets and consumers at a quite attractive price. “They’re thrown away simply because of their appearance. Buying fruit regardless of how they look reduces food waste significantly in our daily life,” Fong commented.
A water tank with two types of straws is another equipment in the lab. “One type is made from normal plastics widely used in our daily life while the other is from PHA, a new replacement for plastics, and the water is sourced from the Suzhou River,” explained Ni Li, an employee of the lab. Visitors can see how the PHA straws degrade (降解) into a thin layer in just one month, while the others remain unchanged.
“Leading a sustainable life does not necessarily mean sacrifice,” said Fong. Consuming ugly fruit and using degradable plastics are small changes that are good for the environment and easy to stick to. Only in this way can the 3R principle become part of our lives, he added.
After working there for six months, Ni, who wasn’t mindful of the 3R principle before arriving at the lab, now uses her cup every time she buys a coffee. “The job has reshaped my life,” Ni said.
1. What does the-underlined phrase “on a whim” in the second paragraph probably mean?A.In a rush. | B.On a regular basis. |
C.Without any reason. | D.As a common practice. |
A.To reduce food waste. | B.To promote healthy eating. |
C.To sell new kinds of fruit. | D.To provide more affordable fruit, |
A.The water pollution caused by plastics. | B.The degradation of PHA straws. |
C.The interaction between two types of straws. | D.The disappearance of normal plastic straws. |
A.She avoids going to traditional markets. | B.She has devoted less time to her hobbies. |
C.She has got rid of a few bad habits. | D.She is leading a low carbon life now. |
7 . Going vegan or vegetarian is one way to decrease your diet’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions (排放) — but it isn’t the only way. A recent Purdue University study suggests that smaller changes can make a difference too, while improving your health.
After analyzing the 2010 grocery purchases of more than 57,000 U.S. families, Purdue researchers found 71 percent could reduce their food carbon footprint by making some changes. One is to skip the unhealthy snacks. Avoiding foods with high calorie is important and low nutritional value can reduce the total carbon footprint of U.S. family food consumption by nearly 10 percent. Items like candy, soda, and packaged snacks take more ingredients and more processing, which translates to higher environmental impacts.
Another effective way to reduce your carbon emissions is to avoid bulk buys. Households of one or two people may end up with food waste when they try to save money with bulk buys. Before you buy supersize, consider whether a three-pound jar of peanut butter will go bad before it’s used up.
The researchers of the study also suggest consuming fewer ready-made foods. One average microwave meal may not have a very large carbon footprint. But buying them regularly can add up to high emissions because ready-made foods are sold in large quantities, which makes their carbon footprint significant, the study found.
By making the above changes, the U.S. could cut more than a quarter of emissions from household food consumption, the researchers say. That’s about 36 million metric tons — about what 6.6 million households generate in a year of electricity use. “Collective action can make a huge impact,” says study co-author Hua Cai.
1. Why does the author mention being a vegetarian in Paragraph 1?A.To encourage us to become vegetarians. |
B.To introduce the findings of a recent study. |
C.To illustrate the impact of greenhouse gas emission. |
D.To tell readers it’s not a good way to help the environment. |
A.Two. | B.Three. |
C.Four. | D.Five. |
A.Buying things in quantity. |
B.Buying things of low quality. |
C.Buying things out of date. |
D.Buying things of low price. |
A.We should collect some materials to make a difference. |
B.We should take measures quickly to make a difference. |
C.We should make efforts together to make a difference. |
D.We should avoid all unhealthy food to make a difference. |
8 . Zea Tongeman, a 14-year-old student, who is crazy about the Internet, applied technology to create an application that encourages people to recycle rubbish while having fun.
Zea was really inspired when she attended “Little Miss Geek Day”, an event that aims at making technology more accessible and appealing to young women and inspiring them to consider technology careers. Soon after, she entered “Apps for Good”, a competition that encourages students to create positive change through technology. Teaming up with her friend, Jordan Stirbu, she laid the foundations for the “Jazzy Recycling”.
The “Jazzy Recycling” application is designed to encourage young people to recycle rubbish more, which wins the favour of the youth. It turns waste disposal into a game and helps you find places to recycle it. Then you scan what you need to recycle, share it, and get rewards such as shopping vouchers (代币券) and games to be unlocked for what you have recycled.
Tapping into the teen enthusiasm for sharing every little aspect of their daily lives on social media, recycling efforts can be shared too as a fun game among friends, which can make more people take part in recycling activities.
Zea explains why she is addicted to the Internet and how technology has changed her ideas about the future, “I used to think technology was just fixing computers and using smartphones; I have become very tired of just using what is available. I have discovered another side of it and that I can make technology of my own.”
In fact, Zea Tongeman has taken the idea of recycling seriously and hopes all her fellow human beings would give it a serious thought. This teen girl from the United Kingdom has made use of computer programming to create her own app that would encourage people to go recycling for a better world.
1. What is “Little Miss Geek Day” intended to do?A.To inspire students to go recycling. | B.To encourage students to create more. |
C.To introduce some famous young ladies. | D.To get girls interested and involved in technology. |
A.It combines recycling with fun. | B.It offers money to those who recycle rubbish. |
C.It raises their awareness of waste disposal. | D.It provides varieties of convenient services. |
A.Brave. | B.Honest. | C.Creative. | D.Kind. |
A.Teenagers have a talent for creating apps. |
B.Technology plays a significant role in education. |
C.Competitions inspire teenagers to achieve success. |
D.Young people can make a difference in their own ways. |
9 . British chip maker Walkers is being flooded with mail deliveries of its own packaging. An online petition (请愿) with more than 312,000 signatures so far encourages those who signed to mail their empty chip plastic bags to Walkers as an act of protest against the bags’ non-recyclable design.
As petition organizer Geraint Ashcroft explained, the majority of chip packets, made from plastic coated with metal, are not recyclable and have been found fully undamaged up to 33 years after consumption. The UK alone consumes 6 billion bags of chips a year, and Walkers turns out 11 million bags daily. Ashcroft wrote, “At today’s consumption rate in 33 years’ time, there will be 200 billion packets either sent to landfill or polluting our oceans. Many will be eaten by fish or birds, leading to a slow death.”
Mailing the bags to Walkers is a way to hold the company accountable for its packaging and to pressure it to come up with a better design. But it is controversial. Because the Royal Mail postal service isn’t happy about the sudden in flow of packages, asking people calm down to help with ease of delivery. Critics on Twitter also question the logic of buying a product in order to protest against its producer and suggest that giving up chips altogether would improve one’s health as well as the environment.
Walkers issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it will make its packaging plastic-free by 2025. “We have received some returned packets and recognized the efforts being made to bring the issue of packaging waste to our attention. The returned packets will be used in our research as we work towards our commitment of improving the recyclability of our packaging.”
1. Why do people mail their empty chip bags to Walkers?A.To oppose Walkers’ plastic packaging. |
B.To exchange them for some new chips. |
C.To make Walkers use them once more. |
D.To appeal to people for not using the bags. |
A.The production of plastic bags. |
B.The cause of animals’ death. |
C.The potential harm of chip bags. |
D.The opinion of Geraint Ashcroft. |
A.Explainable. | B.Responsible. | C.Significant. | D.Anxious. |
A.Doubtfully. | B.Indifferently. | C.Positively. | D.Cautiously. |
10 . For the past 13 years, Martin Burrows has been working as a long-distance truck driver. Spending up to five nights a week on the road can be a lonely business, leaving him with plenty of time to notice his surroundings. “I kept seeing more rubbish everywhere and it was getting on my nerves. I decided I had to do something about it,” he says. One day, he stopped his vehicle, took out a trash bag and started picking up the garbage. The satisfaction after clearing a small area was remarkable.
Before his time on the road, Burrows spent over two decades in the military as a vehicle driver. His service saw him stationed throughout Europe and also on tours in Afghanistan. After returning to civilian life, he was diagnosed with PTSD (创伤后应激障碍) and had a mental health crisis in 2017. His involvement in fundraising for Help for Heroes led him to meet a man who used model-building as a distraction from PTSD. Burrows realized that his act of roadside cleanup had a similar calming effect on his mental well-being.
By 2019, Burrows had begun using his free time on the road to regularly clean up garbage. A passerby encouraged him to set up a Facebook group, which he called Truckers Cleaning Up Britain. “I was worried I’d be the laughing stock of my town for putting videos and photos up of me cleaning but people started to join,” he says. “I was amazed. The local council stepped in and gave me litter-picking supplies and we’re up to almost 3,000 members now.”
Since truckers are so often on the move, the Facebook page acts as a means of raising awareness rather than a platform for organizing cleanups. Burrows expressed his intention to continue the cleanup efforts as long as his physical condition allowed, as he still found joy in the process.
1. What initially caused Burrows to pick up roadside garbage?A.He wanted to kill time by picking up litter. |
B.He aimed to raise fund for soldiers with PTSD. |
C.He felt annoyed to see the increasing rubbish. |
D.He received the assignment from his employer. |
A.It resulted in his embarrassment. | B.It increased his sense of isolation. |
C.It worsened his stress and anxiety. | D.It brought him comfort and relief. |
A.He feared being teased for his action. |
B.He was lacking in advanced cleanup tools. |
C.He was unsure about the group’s development. |
D.He worried about the local council’s disapproval. |
A.A Joyful Volunteer Experience | B.A Trucker’s Cleanup Initiative |
C.A Fighting Hero against PTSD | D.A Platform for Environmentalists |