1 . In the old days, when you had to drive to a movie theater to get some entertainment, it was easy to see how your actions could have an impact on the environment. After all, you were jumping into your car, driving across towns, coughing out emissions (排放) and using gas all the way. But now that we’re used to staying at home and streaming (流式传输) movies, we might get a little proud. After all, we’re just picking up our phones and maybe turning on the TV. You’re welcome. Mother Nature.
Not so fast, says a recent report from the French-based Shit Project. According to Climate Crisis: The Unsustainable Use of Online Video, digital technologies are responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, and that energy use is increasing by 9% a year. Watching a half-hour show would lead to 3.5 pounds of CO2 emissions. That’s like driving 6.28 kilometers. And in the European Union, the Eureca project found that data centers (where videos are stored) there used 25% more energy in 2017 compared to just three years earlier, reports the BBC.
Streaming is only expected to increase as we become more enamored of our digital devices (设备) and the possibility of enjoying entertainment where and when we want it to increase. Online video use is expected to increase by four times from 2017 to 2022 and account for 80% of all Internet traffic by 2022. By then, about 60% of the world’s population will be online.
You’re probably not going to give up your streaming services, but there’re things you can do to help lessen the impact of your online use, experts say. For example, according to Lutz Stobbe, a researcher from the Fraunhofer Institute in Berlin, we have no need to upload 25 pictures of the same thing to the cloud because it consumes energy every time. If instead you delete a few things here and there, you can save energy. Moreover, it’s also a good idea to stream over Wi-Fi, watch on the smallest screen as you can, and turn off your Wi-Fi in your home if you’re not using your devices.
1. What topic is the first paragraph intended to lead in?| A．The environmental effects of driving private cars. |
| B．The improvements on environmental awareness. |
| C．The environmental impacts of streaming services. |
| D．The change in the way people seek entertainment. |
| A．Get more skeptical of. | B．Become more aware of. |
| C．Ge more worried about. | D．Feel much crazier about. |
| A．Its environmental effects are worsening. | B．It is being reduced to protect the planet. |
| C．It is easily available to almost everyone. | D．Its side effects have drawn global attention. |
| A．Playing Online games over mobile networks. | B．Downloading music on a personal computer. |
| C．Uploading a lot of images of the same thing. | D．Watching downloaded movies on a mobile phone. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last Sunday we took a part in a clean-up activity in a forest outside the city. When we arrived, we were sad to see rubbishes everywhere. Though there was a “Do Not Litter” sign at the entrance, that didn’t stop people litter around. Our team leader, Jim, divided us by two groups - one cleaned up the north side of the forest and the other cleaned up the south side. We cleared up a lot of waste we were very happy to see the forest looked clean than before. It was absolutely worth our effort! There will be other clean-up activity in the green belt next Sunday. You can contact Jim and sign up for it if you’re willingly to help. Whoever participated will receive a medal like last time. I’ll join you too until I have time.
3 . Nature is all about relationships: the interconnected links between the living and lifeless, and how they harmonize beautifully into a whole that might not be immediately apparent to us humans, as the complexities of the world sometimes escape the grasp of our relatively short-sighted understanding. Perhaps that's why the urgency of the climate crisis and other environ-mental issues don't truly hit home for some; because that important data is presented in a dry, factual way that doesn't touch the deeper parts of our collective soul, in a way that would move us to realize what is being lost.
Clare Celeste is an environmentally-minded artist creating artworks that aim to highlight the precious biodiversity of the planet. Using paper that is complexly cut and then hand-assembled piece by piece, Celeste forms imaginary landscapes of plants and animals that are folded or pressed between glass.
Growing up in Brazil, Celeste says that her earliest childhood memories were of green, tropical ecosystems slowly being eaten up by the rapid expansion of nearby cities.
Celeste said, “When I made a series of combinations, I realized that many of the species in the illustrations had already gone extinct. Humans have wiped out 68 percent of all our planet's biodiversity since 1970, so working with old illustrations can be very heartbreaking as much of the diversity in these beautiful old illustrations has been wiped out by human activities.”
Celeste explains some of the motivations behind this series of paper works: “I wanted to convey the beauty of our planet's plants and animals, while also introducing a more architectural or human-made element with the geometric (几何图形的) patterns. Having grown up in Brazil, I was surrounded by dense urban spaces that often had rich jungle growth just wanting to break through the concrete architecture. I suggest we go back to our love: our love of nature, of our children, of future generations. Because when we love something deeply, we are required to act—to save it when it is threatened.”
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．People are connected with each other. |
| B．People find data on nature boring to study. |
| C．People can't solve the climate crisis on their own. |
| D．People don't fully understand environmental issues. |
| A．Cities were rich in green plants. |
| B．Buildings were decorated with plants. |
| C．Urbanization destroyed the local biodiversity. |
| D．Nature was a mixture of natural artworks. |
| A．Most species die without adapting to environment. |
| B．Humans feel painful at the loss of species. |
| C．Her paper cuts represent the extinction of species. |
| D．Human activities have severely damaged biodiversity. |
| A．The desire to protect the biodiversity. |
| B．The desire for a good childhood memory. |
| C．The idea of imagining landscapes. |
| D．The hope of preserving natural beauty. |
4 . This summer, many areas of the US have been suffering historic droughts (干旱). Climate change has brought very high temperatures and less-than-normal rain and snow to the country.
Although the region is a tropical rainforest, Tikal was built in a place that got little rain for half the year. Additionally, it had no year round lakes or river—although it did have an important spring. The Maya also did not have a system to reach groundwater.
“As Tikal grew, people there would have had to cut down parts of the surrounding rainforest to raise food.
The Maya would have used cut-and-burn techniques and let the forest grow back after a few years.
Although the Maya changed the environment with their farming and other practices, they had much less impact on the climate than we do now. The Maya understood that they have to have balance.
| A．If you abuse the world, it's going to come back |
| B．At the same time, they left enough of it in place |
| C．So they built tanks to collect and store rainwater |
| D．They would have served different, important purposes |
| E．That means there is less water to drink and less water for crops |
| F．Tikal was home to tens of thousands of people during the years 600 to 800 |
| G．Thousands of years ago, the Maya people suffered from the same problems |
5 . Tropical ( 热带的) rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate, and according to a new report by Rainforest Foundation Norway, humans are to blame. The world’s dependence on coal, farming, beans, palm oil and mining has resulted in two-thirds of Earth’s tropical rainforests being completely destroyed, and the remaining ecosystems being put closer to a tipping point.
Tropical rainforests once covered 14.5 million square kilometers of Earth’s surface, but now, just one-third of that remains undamaged. Of the original area tropical rainforests once occupied, 34% is completely gone and 30% is suffering from damage. All that remains is roughly 9.5 million square kilometers, and 45% of that is in a degraded (恶化) state, the report says.
Researchers blame human consumption for the loss. While agriculture has always been a driving factor of rainforest loss, the report said that energy consumption, international trade and the production of beans and palm oil, logging and mining have been the largest threats (威胁) over the past century. A significant number of US products rely on resources from tropical rainforests. The country heavily relies on palm oil, rubber and cocoa, all of which come from forests around the world. Often, these resources are harvested from illegally destroyed lands.
Tropical rainforests are home to more than half of the Earth’s biodiversity and have more carbon in living organisms than any other ecosystem. In addition to supporting significant animal life, tropical rainforests are also necessary for slowing down global warming. “These unique ecosystems are suffering from constant abuse, through our bottomless appetite for land and resources,” said Anders Krogh, the author of the report. “We expect that upcoming UN climate and biodiversity summits provide specific targets and measures to protect tropical rainforests.”
The researchers also believe that the loss of tropical rainforests puts the whole world at the risk of future diseases. “Huge deforestation (毁林) is violating nature’s natural virus protection systems,” Krogh said. “The outbreak of COVID-19 should bring rainforest protection to the top of the agenda of all policy makers and world leaders concerned about preventing the outbreak of new diseases.”
1. Why are the data listed in Paragraph 2?| A．To show the serious loss of tropical rainforests. |
| B．To present the process of rainforest degradation. |
| C．To stress the role of rainforests in the ecosystems. |
| D．To explain the reason for the disappearance of rainforests. |
| A．Traditional method of farming. |
| B．Global imbalance of international trade. |
| C．The world’s much dependence on clean energy. |
| D．Human unreasonable consumption of rainforest resources. |
| A．The loss of rainforests will destroy the future generations. |
| B．Immediate attention should be paid to protecting rainforests. |
| C．The disappearance of rainforests has accelerated the spread of the virus. |
| D．Politicians are concerned about preventing the outbreak of new diseases. |
| A．Tropical rainforests are declining |
| B．Rainforests slow down global warming |
| C．Humans are to pay for the loss of rainforests |
| D．World leaders are acting to protect rainforests |
1.保护环境的重要性；
2.保护环境的具体措施。
注意：1.词数100左右。
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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7 . In recent years, Ethiopia has become a regional leader in solid waste management. Last year, the country transformed the landfill (垃圾填埋场) in Addis Ababa into a new waste-to-energy plant, the first such project on the continent. The plant incinerates up to 1, 400 tonnes of waste every day, about 80 percent of the city's rubbish, supplying the capital with 25 percent of its household electricity needs.
However, despite these important steps, challenges remain in Ethiopia. Although the country has permitted the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions, laws and policies for environmentally sound management of hazardous (有害的) wastes are still not effective in pre- venting littering waste illegally.
To help Ethiopia meet these challenges, the Chemicals and Waste Management Program is supporting the country with a three-year project to enhance its capacity for sound management of hazardous wastes.
In the initial stages, a project management unit will be formed, made up of many representatives from government departments and private organizations. This unit will be responsible for reviewing and assessing Ethiopia's current legal system, which, despite numerous advances in recent years, does not specifically target the recycling of hazardous waste. Once legal gaps are identified, the project will seek to update existing policies and strategies.
Many people in Ethiopia are not aware of the possible effect of environmental damage and the need to report such crimes to the police. To resolve this pressing issue, Ethiopia will be conducting a series of capacity-building activities, including creating awareness-raising programs, training trainers and providing equipment.
Ethiopia will also work to establish a national mechanism for chemicals and waste management by engaging government departments and civil society groups. Authorities will also make budgetary provisions (预算拨款) in national, regional and institutional planning to ensure funding for these activities is sustainable even after the project's completion.
1. Which can replace the underlined word “incinerates” in paragraph 1?| A．Produces. | B．Burns. | C．Gathers. | D．Absorbs. |
| A．The relevant laws are not sound. | B．The shortage of workers is severe. |
| C．The pollution level is too high. | D．The funds are not sufficient. |
| A．Restrict their environmental movement. | B．Call on them to start some programs. |
| C．Reward them with budgetary provisions. | D．Raise their environmental awareness. |
| A．Ethiopia is facing serious environmental problems. |
| B．Ethiopia has achieved success in waste management. |
| C．Ethiopia is putting efforts into waste management. |
| D．Ethiopia has reduced environmental pollution levels. |
The theme of the Earth Day celebration this year is plastics-specifically how to decrease
Plastic refuse is everywhere. It’s
Some environmental groups are leading grassroots movements to cut back on the use of common plastics like straws；the U. K. even recently advised
Jonathan Baillie, chief scientist of the National Geographic Society, says that addressing this issue
9 . Gold mining has rapidly increased across the Amazon in recent years, especially along the Guiana Shield, where it is responsible for as much as 90% of total deforestation (森林砍伐). Now, an international study has provided detailed information on the regeneration (再生) of forests in Guyana after gold mining.
The team found that forest recovery rates on abandoned mines are amongst the lowest ever recorded for tropical forests. At some sites there was nearly no tree regeneration even after three to four years since mining had stopped.
The study shows that tropical forests are strongly affected by mining activities, and have very little capacity to re-establish themselves. The mining process has removed almost all nitrogen from the soil, a critical component to forest recovery, and in many cases directly contributed to the presence of mercury (汞) within neighbouring forests and rivers. Active mining sites have on average 250 times more mercury concentrations than abandoned sites.
Not only does this have serious consequences for our battle against global warming by limiting Amazonian forests' ability to capture and store carbon, but there is also a larger implication of polluting food sources especially for local communities who rely on rivers.
Active management and enforcement of laws is clearly needed to ensure recovery and to safeguard communities. However, the current economic crisis is significantly increasing the demand for gold, given its role as an economic stabiliser. With current gold price estimated to rise in the coming months, many miners are already rapidly responding to this increase in pricing. And the weakening of environmental laws and policies is also leading to further deforestation.
The study analyzed soil samples to determine recovery and chemical changes caused by mining. Their results suggest that forest recovery is strongly limited by severe mining-induced depletion (损耗) of soil nutrients, especially nitrogen, rather than by mercury contamination. The high rate of mercury, however, does have serious implications for negative impacts on food security, water supply and local biodiversity.
Mr Gavin Agard, Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC)said: “This scientific work will greatly improve Guyana's baseline and understanding of the forest degradation impacts of mining. The findings and recommendations from this study will significantly impact policy and management strategies for forest restoration and rehabilitation in mined-out areas.”
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 refer to?| A．The mining process. | B．The presence of mercury. |
| C．The mining-related deforestation. | D．The lack of nitrogen. |
| A．The rise of gold price. | B．Good economic situation. |
| C．Mercury pollution. | D．The strengthening of environmental laws. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Opposed. | C．Supportive. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Approaches to recovering forests on mined lands |
| B．Gold mining restricts Amazon rainforest recovery |
| C．Reasons for the poor rainforest recovery in Guyana |
| D．Strict environmental laws ensure rainforest recovery |
10 . Clothing rental is a hot new industry and retailers (零售商) are demanding to get on board in hopes of attracting green shopper.
But is renting fashion actually more environmentally-friendly than buying it, and if so, how much more? Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline investigated (调查) this question and concluded that it's not as sustainable as it seems.
Take shipping, for example, which has to go two ways if an item is rented — receiving and returning. Cline writes that consumer transportation has the second largest carbon footprint of our collective fashion habit after manufacturing.
She writes, ''An item ordered online and then returned can send out 20 kilograms of carbon each way, and increases up to 50 kilograms for rush shipping. By comparison, the carbon impact of a pair of jeans purchased from a physical store and washed and worn at home is 33.4 kilograms, according to a 2015 study by Levi's.''
Then there's the burden of washing, which has to happen for every item when it's returned, regardless of whether or not it was worn. For most rental services, this usually means dry cleaning, a high impact and polluting process. All the rental services that Cline looked into have replaced perchloroethylene (氯乙烯), a carcinogenic (致癌的) air pollutant, still used by 70 percent of US dry cleaners, with alternatives, although these aren't great either.
Lastly, Cline fears that rental services will increase our appetite for fast fashion, simply because it's so easily accessible. There's something called ''share washing'' that makes people waste more precisely because a product or service is shared and thus is regarded as more eco-friendly. Uber is one example of this, advertised as ''a way to share rides and limit ear ownership.'' and yet ''it has been proven to discourage walking,bicycling, and public transportation use.''
Renting clothes is still preferable to buying them cheap and throwing them in the dustbin after a few wears, but we shouldn't let the availability of these services make us too satisfied. There's an even better step — that's wearing what is already in the closet.
1. What is Elizabeth Cline's attitude toward clothing rental?| A．Approving. | B．Unfavorable. |
| C．Objective. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．rental services are on the rise |
| B．clothing rental will be as successful as Uber |
| C．renting clothes might waste more than expected |
| D．renting clothes might make people lose interest in fast fashion |
| A．give up renting any clothing |
| B．purchase inexpensive clothes |
| C．rent clothes rather than buy them |
| D．make full use of clothes we've possessed |
| A．Clothing rental is a new fashion. |
| B．Clothing rental is retailers' preference. |
| C．Renting clothes is not that eco-friendly. |
| D．Renting-clothes business is in a dilemma. |
