1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Diets have changed in China — and so too has its top crop. Since 2011, the country     1    （grow）more corn than rice. Corn production has jumped nearly 125 percent over     2     past 25 years, while rice has increased only 7 percent.

A taste for meat is     3     (actual) behind the change: An important part of its corn is used to feed chickens, pigs, and cattle. Another reason for corn's rise: The government encourages farmers to grow corn instead of rice     4     (improve) water quality. Corn uses less water     5     rice and creates less fertilizer(化肥) runoff. This switch has decreased     6     (pollute) in the country's major lakes and reservoirs and made drinking water safer for people.

According to the World Bank, China accounts for about 30 percent of total     7     (globe)fertilizer consumption. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture finds that between 2005—when the government     8     (start) a soil-testing program     9     gives specific fertilizer recommendations to farmers - and 2011, fertilizer use dropped by 7.7 million tons. That prevented the emission(排放) of 51.8 million tons of carbon dioxide. China's approach to protecting its environment while     10     (feed) its citizens "offers useful lessons for agriculture and food policymakers worldwide." says the bank's Juergen Voegele.

2 . We may think we're a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.

To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life — from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation — Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.

As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones. "The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids' room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house," said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We're not just keeping these old devices — we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions（排放）more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.

So what's the solution（解决方案）? The team's data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.

1. What does the author think of new devices?

A．They are environment-friendly.	B．They are no better than the old.
C．They cost more to use at home.	D．They go out of style quickly.

2. Why did Babbitt's team conduct the research?

A．To reduce the cost of minerals.

B．To test the life cycle of a product.

C．To update consumers on new technology.

D．To find out electricity consumption of the devices.

3. Which of the following uses the least energy?

A．The box-set TV.	B．The tablet.
C．The LCD TV.	D．The desktop computer.

4. What does the text suggest people do about old electronic devices?

A．Stop using them.	B．Take them apart.
C．Upgrade them.	D．Recycle them.

3 . Let's take a minute to think about the water we use. The human body is 60% water and we need to drink lots of water to be healthy. When we are thirsty we just go to the kitchen and fill a glass with clean water.

    1    For example, farmers, who produce the food we eat, use water to make the plants grow. When we turn on a light or switch on a TV or a computer we use energy and we need water to produce this energy.

The truth is that we are lucky enough to have clean water whenever we want，but this is not the case for many people around the world.    2    That's around one in 10 people in the world. If we drink dirty water，we can catch diseases from the bacteria and become ill. Every year over 500，000 children die from diarrhea(腹泻)from dirty water. That's around 1，400 children every day！Also，in some countries children walk many kilometres every day to get water.    3    Therefore，they don't have time to learn how to read or write and don't get an education.

    4    On this day every year，countries around the world hold events to educate people about the problems of dirty water and that clean water is something that everyone should have around the world. At one school in the UK，children between the ages of 10 and 15 walk 6km with six litres of water.    5    People give them money to do this and all the money helps get clean water to as many people as possible around the world.

A．We use water indirectly too.

B．Every system in our body depends on water to function.

C．It is to inspire people to learn more about water-related problems

D．If children walk many hours a day to get water，they can't go to school.

E．Did you know that around 750 million people do not have clean water to drink？

F．In 1993 the United Nations decided that March 22nd is the World Day for Water.

G．In this way，they know how it feels to walk a long distance carrying heavy bottles.

4 . Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.

Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.

Among the bag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.

The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.

Environmentalists don’t dispute(质疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.

1. What has Steven Stein been hired to do?

A．Help increase grocery sales.

B．Recycle the waste material.

C．Stop things falling off trucks.

D．Argue for the use of plastic bags.

2. What does the word “headwinds” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Bans on plastic bags.

B．Effects of city development.

C．Headaches caused by garbage.

D．Plastic bags hung in trees.

3. What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic-bag makers?

A．They are quite expensive.

B．Replacing them can be difficult.

C．They are less strong than plastic bags.

D．Producing them requires more energy.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Plastic, Paper or Neither

B．Industry, Pollution and Environment

C．Recycle or Throw Away

D．Garbage Collection and Waste Control

5 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

When Peter Sanger and Liang Wu got together, it    1    （strike）them that they must be long-lost friends, Both firm advocates in the fight    2    air pollution, they believe that if you can't measure it, you can't beat it. That's    3     they founded Green City Solutions: "The solution to quantifiably improve city air."

The invention—the City Tree—act as an air purifier-an interesting    4    （add）to urban trees and green spaces. Rooted in science, air pollution can be eaten by the vertical flat-paneled（平面的）"trees"    5    （dot）around cities across Europe, while the "trees" also act as seats for pedestrians Sanger and Wu's vision is for a world in which people in cities can live    6    （healthy）. They long to create living conditions that allow all people around the world to permanently have cleaner air    7    （breathe）.

Using remote technology, the City Tree combines    8    air-purifying feature of moss with remote technology to increase the air flow through the "trees". This allows them to "suck up" and clean more air than normal, and the amount they filter can be increased    9    （depend）on pollution levels at different times of day.

The German green-tech start-up is now funded by the European Commission to set up a City Tree network of 15 brand new units and test it in a    10    （science）way in Berlin's pollution hotspots next year.

6 . Lots of people have trees to look at from their bedrooms, but my perspective（视角）is different. My name is Miranda Gibson. I have been living at the top of a tree_______60 meters for 449 days now. Some people might wonder_______on earth I would choose to do this.

Stretching out below me is one of Tasmania's last areas of ancient forest---in an area that was proposed for World Heritage protection, yet remains under the_______of industrial logging（砍伐）. On 12 December 2011, machinery（大型机械）rolled into the forest and the destruction began. I couldn't_______the thought that these forests would be_______forever. So, on 14 December 2011, I packed up my life,_______of my job plans, and climbed 200 feet onto the top of this tree. I have been here ever since.

People often ask me what I do up here all day. It's busier than you would imagine. Like an office job, but with a splendid_______! I spend my days writing about this forest and its urgent（紧急的）need for_______on my blog.

Life in the treetops can be_______at times. I have times when I feel frustrated（沮丧）and wish I could________, to anywhere, just to have a change of scenery for a minute! There are also times when I feel terribly________. I miss my friends and family. My only connection to the outside world is my phone and computer, which I charge via solar panel.________these times, I find myself loving the experience. Living on the tree has been inspiring. I am willing to________up here for as long as it takes, but I honestly hope it won't be too________before I will be able to get down and put my feet on the ground in a forest that is no longer under threat—in a forest that will be________guarded for future generations.

1.

A．lengthening

B．measuring

C．weighing

D．topping

2.

A．why

B．when

C．how

D．where

3.

A．danger

B．alarm

C．threat

D．pressure

4.

A．keep

B．help

C．bear

D．lose

5.

A．sold

B．protected

C．hunted

D．gone

6.

A．grew out

B．fell short

C．ran out

D．let go

7.

A．sight

B．view

C．scenery

D．landscape

8.

A．extinction

B．preservation

C．creation

D．harmony

9.

A．refreshing

B．alarming

C．challenging

D．rewarding

10.

A．get around

B．get away

C．give in

D．give up

11.

A．confused

B．upset

C．lonely

D．sorry

12.

A．Despite

B．Without

C．Beyond

D．Unlike

13.

A．return

B．stop

C．stay

D．hide

14.

A．long

B．soon

C．distant

D．nearby

15.

A．particularly

B．finally

C．immediately

D．safely

7 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It    1    (be) unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it    2    (actual) caught fire and burned. Now, years later, this river is one of    3    most outstanding（杰出的）examples of environmental cleanup.

But the river wasn’t changed in a few days    4    even a few months. It took years of work     5    (reduce) the industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is    6    (clean) than ever.

Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit    7    is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don’t know how to control your credit card use. When you face such an impossible situation, don’t you want a quick fix and something to change immediately?

While there are    8    (amaze) stories of instant transformation, for most of us the    9    (change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be     10    (patience).

8 . A shocking 53.6 million tons of electronic waste were discarded（丢弃）last year, a new UN-backed report has revealed. The report shows that e-waste is up 21%from five years ago. This isn't surprising, considering how many more people are adopting new technology and updating devices regularly to have the latest versions, but the report also shows that national collection and recycling strategies are nowhere close to matching consumption rates.

E-waste contains materials including copper（铜）, iron, gold and silver, which the report gives a conservative value of $ 57 billion. But most are thrown away or burned rather than being collected for recycling. Precious metals in waste are estimated to be worth $ 14 billion, but only $4 billion-worth is recovered at the moment.

While the number of countries with national e-waste policies has grown from 61 to 78 since 2014, there is little encouragement to obey and a mere 17% of collected items are recycled. If recycling does occur, it's often under dangerous conditions, such as burning circuit boards to recover copper, which "releases highly poisonous metals" and harms the health of workers.

The report found that Asia has the highest amounts of waste overall, producing 24.9 million metric tons (MMT), followed by Europe at 12 MMT, Africa at 2.9 MMT, and Oceania at 0.7 MMT.

But whose responsibility is it? Are governments in charge of setting up collection and recycling points, or should companies be responsible for recycling the goods they produce? It goes both ways. Companies do need to be held accountable by government regulations and have incentives to design products that are easily repaired. At the same time, governments need to make it easy for citizens to access collection points and deal with their broken electronics in a convenient way. Otherwise, they may turn to the easiest option-the landfill.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．What e-waste refers to.

B．Where e-waste is collected.

C．Why e-waste is increasing rapidly.

D．How many kinds e-waste includes.

2. What do the statistics in paragraph 2 show?

A．The functions of policies.

B．The great damage to environment.

C．The change of consumption rates.

D．The urgency of recovering e-waste.

3. What is the problem with recycling e-waste at present?

A．It does harm to the workers' health.

B．It lacks national policy support.

C．It hardly makes profits.

D．It takes too much time.

4. How should the problem be solved according to the passage?

A．New technology should be used to update old devices.

B．Governments and companies should take responsibilities.

C．Non-poisonous metals had better be used in e-device.

D．Citizens must play a key role in recycling e-waste.

9 . By the end of the century，if not sooner，the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate，according to a new study.

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms(海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms，these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue，depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas，while reducing it in other spots，leading to changes in the ocean's appearance.

Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface，where they pull carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die，they bury carbon in the deep ocean，an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean's warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth，since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow，but also nutrients.

Stephanie Dutkiewicz，a scientist in MIT's Center for Global Change Science，built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃，it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters，such as those of the Arctic，a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton，and these areas will turn greener. “Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing. ”she said，“but the type of phytoplankton is changing. ”

1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?

A．The various patterns at the ocean surface.

B．The cause of the changes in ocean colour.

C．The way light reflects off marine organisms.

D．The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.

2. What does the underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Sensitive.	B．Beneficial
C．Significant	D．Unnoticeable

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem.

B．Dutkiewicz's model aims to project phytoplankton changes

C．Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate

D．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener.

4. What is the main purpose of the passage？

A．To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes

B．To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain

C．To explain the effects of climate change on oceans

D．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton

10 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.

As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．Wildlife research in the United States.

B．Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.

C．The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.

D．The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.

2. What did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about?

A．Damage to local ecology.

B．Preservation of vegetation.

C．A decline in the park’s income.

D．An increase in the variety of animals.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?

A．Doubtful.

B．Uncaring.

C．Positive.

D．Disapproving.