1 . Environmentally Friendly Denmark
What Are They Doing and
How Is It Helping?
THEY PREFER TO CYCLE On average, Danes living in Copenhagen cycle almost 2 miles a day. Danes are far more likely to own a bike than they are a car, in fact 40% of Danes own a car and 90% a bike. Source: Cycling Embassy of Denmark |
THEY DON’T WASTE FOOD Danes are very good at avoiding wasting food. Supermarkets offer 80% reductions at the end of the day to try to minimize waste. An app called “TooGoodToGo” also allows restaurants to give away unwanted food at closing time. |
THEY ARE AWARE Danes are mindful about knowing where their food has come from. It is not uncommon for children to be taken to witness killing and dissections of animals at zoos so they understand where the food on their plate began its life. Source: New Yorker |
THEY EAT ORGANIC Danes eat more organic food than any other country in the world. This is because organic food is not significantly more expensive than other options, making it a good choice for everyone. Source : The Local |
THEY USE CLEAN ENERGY By 2050, Denmark wishes to become independent of fossil fuels. This is far from unreachable as earlier this year the country ran entirely on wind energy for a whole day. Source: The Danish Ecological Council |
1. The article is written to _______.
A.show the readers how Denmark stays environmentally-friendly |
B.persuade the readers to adopt Danes’ environmental-protection methods |
C.entertain the readers with creative environmental-protection methods taken by Danes |
D.identify organizations providing information about the environmentally-friendly Denmark |
A.Demark is able to function properly for long without the use of fossil fuels. |
B.Danish supermarkets are trying to reduce its amount of food to cut waste. |
C.Many Danes take their children to zoos to show them where food comes from. |
D.Unlike other countries, organic food in Denmark is cheaper than non-organic food. |
2 . Countries are failing to take the action needed to stave off the worst effects of climate change, a UN climate report has found, and the commitments made in the 2015 Paris agreement will not be met unless governments introduce additional measures as a matter of urgency.
New taxes on fossil fuels, investment in clean technology and much stronger government policies to bring down emissions are likely to be necessary. Governments must also stop subsidizing (补贴) fossil fuels, directly and indirectly, the report said.
Greenhouse gas emissions continued their long-term rise last year, according to the report, but they could be brought under control. There are promising signs, such as investment from the private sector in renewable energy and other technologies to cut carbon, but these are currently insufficient to meet scientific advice.
Global emissions have reached what the UN has called "historic levels" of 53.5 gigatonnes(十亿吨) of carbon dioxide equivalent, and are showing no signs of peaking, despite a leveling off in the past decade.
Joyce Msuya, deputy executive director of UN Environment, said: "The science is clear: for all the ambitious climate action we've seen, governments need to move faster and with greater urgency. We're feeding this fire, while the means to extinguish it are within reach. "
Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) warned of the dire effects of allowing global warming to reach 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. The world has a little over a decade to bring down greenhouse gas emissions before such dangerous levels of warming become inevitable.
Only 57 countries, representing 60%of global greenhouse gas emissions, are on track to cause their emissions to peak before 2030.If emissions are allowed to rise beyond that, the IPCC has said countries are likely to breach the 1.5℃ limit, which will trigger sea-level rises, droughts, floods and other extreme weather events.
According to the Paris agreement, the first global pact to bind both developed and developing countries to a specific temperature goal, governments must do all they can to stop warming reaching 2℃ above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration to limit warming to no more than 1.5℃.
Jian Liu, the chief scientist at UN Environment, said some of the necessary policies were clear and available, if there was political will to implement them. "When governments embrace fiscal(财政的) policy measures to subsidize low-carbon alternatives and tax fossil fuels, they can stimulate the right investments in the energy sector and significantly reduce carbon emissions. If all fossil fuel subsidies were phased out, global carbon emissions could be reduced by up to 10% by 2030."
1. Which of the following ideas is NOT included in the UN climate report?A.Governments should stop their subsidy to the coal and petroleum industry. |
B.The efforts made by the government showed some promising signs. |
C.Man has been breaking the historical records of global emissions. |
D.There is still hope for us to control Greenhouse gas emission. |
A.The situation is dangerous and we need to do something to bring it under control. |
B.Immediate fire-fighting measures should be taken to keep the fire under control. |
C.We are making climate efforts but the achieved effects can be easily reversed. |
D.To reduce emissions, we need to close down the fossil-fuel-powered plants. |
A.It is desirable for humanity to limit the temperature rise within 1.5℃. |
B.Countries need to control the temperature rise within 2℃ above prehistoric level. |
C.Developed and developing countries are bound by their own temperature goals. |
D.Disastrous climate change will be irrecoverable if we exceed the 1.5℃ limit. |
A.upcoming | B.hazardous |
C.crucial | D.convincing |
A.To show a huge gap between words and deeds in fighting global warning. |
B.To present a clear picture of how Paris agreement is implemented. |
C.To appeal for further global commitment to avoid disastrous climate. |
D.To warn of worsening climate caused by lack of combined human effort. |
Sneakers (运动鞋) Made from Old Chewing Gum
Dutch fashion and shoe label Explicit Wear is hoping to solve one of life’s sticky situations—the annoyance of stepping in waste chewing gum on the pavement—while helping to keep Amsterdam’s city streets clean. The brand has partnered with local marketing organization Iamsterdam and sustainability firm Gumdrop
Chewing gum causes an incredibly serious ecological problem,
The waste gum will be put to good use to make stylish kicks,
Available for preorder now, the new Gumshoe sneakers—offered in both a bubblegum pink and a black/red colorway—
Nearly 2.2 pounds of gum
To help spread their sustainability message,
4 . Each year, backed up by a growing anti-consumerist movement, people are using the holiday season to call on us all to shop less.
Driven by concerns about resource exhaustion, over recent years environmentalists have increasingly turned their sights on our “consumer culture”. Groups such as The Story of Stuff and Buy Nothing New Day are growing as a movement that increasingly blames all our ills on our desire to shop.
We clearly have a growing resource problem. The produces we make, buy, and use are often linked to the destruction of our waterways, biodiversity, climate and the land on which millions of people live. But to blame these issues on Christmas shoppers is misguided, and puts us in the old trap of blaming individuals for what is a systematic problem.
While we complain about environmental destruction over Christmas, environmentalists often forget what the holiday season actually means for many people. For most, Christmas isn’t an add-on to an already heavy shopping year. In fact, it is likely the only time of year many have the opportunity to spend on friends and family, or even just to buy the necessities needed for modern life.
This is particularly, true for Boxing Day, often the target of the strongest derision(嘲弄) by anti-consumerists. While we may laugh at the queues in front of the shops, for many, those sales provide the one chance to buy items they’ve needed all year. As Leigh Phillips argues, “this is one of the few times of the year that people can even hope to afford such ‘luxuries’, the Christmas presents their kids are asking for, or just an appliance that works.”
Indeed, the richest 7% of people are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. This becomes particularly harmful when you take into account that those shopping on Boxing Day are only a small part of our consumption “problem” anyway. Why are environmentalists attacking these individuals, while ignoring such people as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has his own£1.5bn yacht with a missile defence system?
Anyway, anti-consumerism has become a movement of wealthy people talking down to the working class about their life choices, while ignoring the real cause of our environmental problems. It is no wonder one is changing their behaviours—or that environmental destruction continues without any reduction in intensity.
1. It is indicated in the 1st paragraph that during the holiday season, many consumers .A.ignore resource problems |
B.are fascinated with presents |
C.are encouraged to spend less |
D.show great interest in the movement. |
A.has targeted the wrong persons |
B.has achieved its intended purposes |
C.has taken environment-friendly measures |
D.has benefited both consumers and producers |
A.madness about life choices |
B.discontent with rich lifestyle |
C.ignorance about the real cause |
D.disrespect for holiday shoppers |
A.anything less than a responsibility | B.nothing more than a bias |
C.indicative of environmental awareness | D.unacceptable to ordinary people |
Where are the bees?
Bees are essential to the production of food we eat. Bees make honey, but they also pollinate large areas of crops, such as straw berries, apples and onions. About a third of the food we eat is a result of pollination of the bees. Unfortunately, bees have been disappearing at an alarming rate.
In 2006, bee keepers started reporting about something called Colony Collapse Disaster (CCD).The main sign of CCD is the loss of adult honey bees from a hive. In October of 2006, some beekeepers reported that they had lost between 30 and 90 percent of their hives.
There were many theories for the disappearance of the bees. But the most convincing one has to do with pesticides and lifestyles of bees today. Nowadays, beekeeper get most of their income not from producing honey but from renting bees to pollinate plants. This means that the life of the typical bee now consists of travelling all around the country to pollinate crops as the seasons change. That means a lot of traveling on trucks, which is very stressful to bees. It is not unusual for up to 30% of the hive to die during transport due to stress. In addition, bees that spend most of their time locked up on trucks are not exposed to what they usually live on. Instead, they live on a sweet liquid from corn, usually polluted with pesticides.
The exact reason for the disappearance of bees is not sure, but losing bees is very costly to the economy. The bee pollination services are worth over $8 billion a year. With no bees, pollination will have to be done by hand, which would have effects on the quality of food and increased food priced. We hear a lot about big environmental disasters almost every day. But one of the biggest may just be the less of that tiny flying insect.
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Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
Are Your Clothes Causing Pollution?
Very small pieces of plastic, called microfibers, are polluting rivers and oceans.
Studies on microfibers in the environment
Pollution caused by plastic is not new, but recent studies have shown the effect of microfibers in the environment. Studies show very small microfibers are ending up in our waters, which may come from waste water treatment factories. A 2015 study found them in fish from California.
Microfibers, effect on food supplies
Beyond the waterways, the researchers say microfibers may end up in soil and agricultural lands.
Steps to save or keep microfibers from the environment
Until more information becomes known, there are steps to take to reduce the amount of microfibers in the environment. People should use less of the artificial materials. If we already have those in our lives and we’re using them, an important step would be washing them less.
A.New technology may a1so help. |
B.So if these m icrofiber s have been found in fish and seafood, ar e they safe to eat? |
C.They can al so move around the atmosphere. |
D.Studies are conducted on how much of the microfibers is released |
E.The source of these mi crofibers may surprise you: your clothes. |
F.Washing machines keep microfibers from escaping with w ash water |
7 . Mountain regions are not just playgrounds for the richer citizens on the planet, however. The disappearing snows of Mount Kilimanjaro are a worrying sign that nowhere is safe from the adverse effects of human actions. The United Nations has identified three main areas that need to be addressed to ensure the future safety of the world’s mountains. These are: the protection of mountain ecosystems, the encouragement of peace and stability in mountain regions, and assistance for mountain people to maintain their ways of life.
From the busy cities of India to the farmlands of California, more than half the world’s population is dependent on mountains for their fresh water supply. Global warming, deforestation, mining and heavy farming seriously damage breakable mountain ecosystems and put vital fresh water sources at risk.
Mountain regions host a large proportion of the world’s wars. From Afghanistan to the Balkans and the Andes to many parts of Africa, territorial(领土的) and drug related conflicts have damaging effects on the local environment and the lives of the local people. Fighting makes essential tasks such as farming impossible. Land mines make large areas of potential farming ground unusable. Also schools, roads, bridges and other important infrastructure(基础设施) are left in ruins.
Mountain people are among the poorest, least represented groups on the earth. They face many hardships and each day can be, “a test of survival”. Damage to mountain ecosystems worsens their situation and leaves them even more unprotected to disease and ‘natural’ disasters such as floods and landslides. It’s been recommended that forest profit should be reinvested in mountain communities and the people living there should be given a stronger political voice. Their fate is in many ways directly connected with that of people living at sea level.
There is an old motto for visitors to the countryside which advises them to leave nothing but footprints. It is still as relevant today as it always was. Unfortunately, the size of our footprints seems to be getting larger.
1. What the writer discussed in the previous sections is most probably about .A.mountain ecosystems | B.mountain regions |
C.mountain people | D.mountain sports |
A.direct | B.harmful |
C.positive | D.powerful |
A.inadequate supply of fresh water | B.impossible farming |
C.mountain people’s poor living condition | D.ruined infrastructure |
A.Mountain people have enough political voice to protect themselves. |
B.More money should be raised to establish mountain communities. |
C.Worsened ecosystems put mountain people’s lives under threat. |
D.Visitors to mountains have left nothing but large footprints. |
Is climate change consuming your favorite foods?
Coffee: Whether or not you try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world’s coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.
Tea: When it comes to tea, warmer climates and erratic precipitation aren't only
Seafood: Climate change is affecting the world's aquaculture as much as its agriculture. As air temperatures rise, oceans and waterways absorb some of the heat and
And that
Is Climate Change Consuming Your Favorite Foods?
Due to climate change, the world’s endangered lists are no longer just for animals. We may not only need to adapt ourselves to living in a warmer world but a
As the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air linked to global warming
Whether or not you try to limit yourself
Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns are reported to have been threatening coffee plantations in South America, Africa, Asia, and Hawaii. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield.
According to organizations like Australia's Climate Institute, half of the present coffee-producing areas
With temperatures continuously rising, oceans are absorbing some of the heat and undergoing warming of their own,
And how about that satisfying “crack” which you get when you are eating crabs and lobsters? It could be silenced
Even worse is the possibility
A.The demand of the job market. | B.The location of the hotel. |
C.The damage to the environment. | D.The solution to the issue. |