1 . Plastic, once seen as a revolutionary material for its wide application and convenience, has become a global environmental crisis because it is non-biodegradable. The ubiquity (无处不在) of plastic in our daily lives has led to an increasing amount of plastic waste, causing great harm.
One of the most alarming examples of this crisis is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of plastic waste in the North Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and consists of everything from microplastics to abandoned fishing nets. Marine life often mistakes plastic particles for food, leading to ingestion and death. Additionally, the chemicals used in plastic production can pollute water and soil, and finally threaten marine ecosystems.
Plastic waste is not limited to the oceans; it also impacts the land. Landfills overflow with plastic waste, emitting (排放) harmful greenhouse gases as plastics break down slowly over time. The production of plastics is highly energy-intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change. Furthermore, plastic litter is evident in urban and rural landscapes, destroying the natural beauty of our planet.
Beyond its environmental impact, plastic poses serious health risks to humans. Many plastics contain harmful chemicals, which can be found in food and drinks when plastic containers are used for storage and heating. These chemicals have been linked to a range of health problems, including developmental issues and cancer.
In conclusion, the problem of plastic pollution demands urgent action. A comprehensive strategy for cutting down on plastic is essential to tackle these challenges and safeguard the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.
While reducing the consumption of plastic may seem challenging, it is achievable through a combination of policy measures, technological innovations and changes in consumer behavior. Governments must issue laws to ban or heavily regulate single-use plastics and promote alternatives. Businesses should adopt sustainable packaging practices, and individuals can reduce plastic consumption by making conscious choices.
1. What does the example of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch show?| A．Animals rely on plastic waste to survive. |
| B．Plastic is too widespread to remove. |
| C．Plastic waste is harming the oceans. |
| D．Plastic poses health risks to humans. |
| A．Worsening. | B．Controlling. | C．Recording. | D．Evaluating. |
| A．Ways to cut plastic consumption. |
| B．Problems of handling plastic. |
| C．Alternatives for plastic products. |
| D．Some benefits of banning plastic. |
| A．Plastic Packaging Is Everywhere |
| B．Plastic Consumption Should Be Reduced |
| C．How Should Plastic Be Used |
| D．How Plastic Products Affect People |
2 . Washing machines are one of the greatest inventions of the last few centuries.They have made life easier. Unfortunately, washing machines also contribute to the environmental issues of energy use and micro-plastics flowing into the oceans. That is why the washing machine manufacturer (制造商), Samsung, and the outdoor-wear company, Patagonia, are working together to make a change.
For Patagonia, the issue of micro-plastics has been on its mind for years — its woolen jackets release many microfibers. As for Samsung, new requirements throughout the world have forced many producers to start thinking about ways to help reduce the number of micro-plastics. There are currently more than 14 million tons of micro-plastics floating in the oceans. Though people previously think of things such as plastic bottles and fishing lines when it comes to plastics in the ocean, thousands of micro-plastics are released into seas with every wash.
The issue is a sort of catch-22. In order to reduce energy costs, manufacturers try to make their machines more efficient. These machines use hotter water and are designed to create more friction (摩擦) between the clothing in the machine. However, both of these things lead to the release of more micro-plastics. So, using Patagonia clothes as test cases, Samsung came up with a two-fold solution: One is a technology called Eco-bubbles, which creates more bubbles to make the detergent (洗涤剂) more powerful, and the other is a water purifier that can filter (过滤) out more micro-plastics.
The cooperation between the two companies is proof of how complicated protecting the environment can be. On the one hand, clothing that is well-constructed and durable is a weapon in the fight against fast fashion. On the other hand, the material used to make those clothes and the way they are washed can also add pollutants to the environment.The same goes for washing machines. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The fight against climate change requires creative thinking and learning how to attack a problem from many angles. This will certainly lead to even more strange and fruitful cooperation between the environmentally conscious companies.
1. What is Samsung’s purpose in partnering the outdoor clothing company?| A．To limit the use of micro-plastics. |
| B．To solve the issue of energy waste. |
| C．To find a solution to micro-plastic pollution. |
| D．To produce high-efficiency washing machines. |
| A．A tricky situation. | B．A questionable fact. |
| C．A possible dream. | D．A practical method. |
| A．Using hotter water. |
| B．Creating more friction. |
| C．Using powerful detergents. |
| D．Adding a water purifier to washing machines. |
| A．The difficulty in fighting against fast fashion. |
| B．The complexity of environment conservation. |
| C．The influence of humans’ active action. |
| D．The importance of creative thinking. |
1. 活动情况；
2. 活动反响。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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4 . Scientists in South Africa have found that ceramic (瓷的) nest boxes can protect endangered African penguins from climate change.
In the past, the penguins laid eggs in holes dug into centuries-old layers of their own droppings, most of which was shipped by traders to the United Kingdom as fertilizer (肥料) in the 1800s. Since then, many penguins have nested in the open, exposing their eggs and themselves to the burning heat.
Because penguins evolved to keep heat in cold water, they can easily overheat on land. Typically, penguins leave their nests regularly to cool off in the sea. But without proper holes, this leaves their eggs unprotected. Since 1900, the African penguin population has dropped from three million to only 48,000.
Fortunately, a team of researchers seem to have found a way. Over the past years, the team has put more than 1,500 handmade ceramic nest boxes in five areas where the penguins live, including Bird Island in Algoa Bay, South Africa, which is home to nearly half of the world’s remaining African penguins. Looking like small round houses, the double-walled ceramic nests can keep African penguins cool.
“The nests are so useful,” says Welman, a zoologist, “Even if adults had to leave nests for some reason, their eggs would never be at any risk of overheating.” Christina Hagen of Bird Life South Africa, who was not part of the study, says finding effective conservation solutions is important given the decreasing population of African penguins.
The main threat to African penguins is overfishing of anchovy and sardines, the penguins’ favorite food. Scientists and conservationists are pushing the South African government to close commercial fishing around the five African penguin breeding (繁殖) colonies until populations recover. But without protection from rising temperatures, those efforts alone may not be enough. Ceramic nests could help to give these beloved penguins a fighting chance.
1. What can we learn about African penguins from the passage?| A．They well adapt to high temperatures. |
| B．They are mainly threatened by pollution. |
| C．They are suffering a lot from overheating. |
| D．They have a population of over three million. |
| A．There is a vast population of African penguins. |
| B．It enjoys the best climate for African penguins. |
| C．African penguins there can nest in the open. |
| D．There are holes for penguins to lay eggs. |
| A．To allow the penguins to stay cool inside. |
| B．To protect the penguins from being hunted. |
| C．To provide a place for the penguins to rest. |
| D．To save enough room for the adult penguins. |
| A．Creating more nesting areas for the penguins. |
| B．Stopping people fishing where the penguins breed. |
| C．Introducing new species of fish for the penguins. |
| D．Providing man-made cooling facilities for the penguins. |
5 . Vicky Barlow is a volunteer for a non-profit environmental organization. She was overturning stones in a rock pool in Falmouth, England when something “extremely bright and unusual” caught her eye. Under a large seaweed-covered rock, she made a very rare find: a rainbow sea slug (蛞蝓).
Rainbow sea slugs are very uncommon in England — they’re usually found in warmer waters, such as those along the west coasts of Spain, Portugal and France. In fact, there have only been three previously documented sightings of the species in the UK. But those were all found by divers rather than rock poolers. “It’s a warm-water species but it looks as if it has arrived here,” said the sea biologist Ben Holt. He adds that waters around the UK have seen rapid warming due to climate change. By the end of the century, water temperatures in the UK will rise by more than 3℃.
Sea slugs are particularly useful in related research. Most sea slugs only live up to about one year, which means they can make a very quick response to the changes in water temperatures caused by climate issues. In Australia, climate scientists have been collecting information on sea slugs for over 10 years to record the species and learn about changes in their distribution (分布), including their arrival in historically cooler waters.
Around 3,000 species of sea slugs exist in waters worldwide. They mainly feed on seaweed and other sea slugs. Unlike snails, adult sea slugs don’t have shells to protect them from being eaten by hungry marine animals. Instead, many of them have formed bright colors to scare off their enemies such as sea turtles, starfish and crabs. Some species may even have the unusual ability to steal stinging cells (刺细胞) from animals they feed on and shoot them out when threatened.
Before sending it back where it came from, Barlow placed the sea slug in a pot to get a better look at its colors. “It is absolutely amazing that I could find it on our rocky coasts,” Barlow writes in her blog. “It’s a perfect example of the incredible wildlife we have on our doorstep.”
1. Why are rainbow sea slugs rare in England?| A．They prefer to live in deep waters. |
| B．Divers are unable to recognize them. |
| C．Rock pools are poorly managed here. |
| D．The environment is normally unfavorable. |
| A．They are important in studying climate change. |
| B．Their overall population continues to decrease. |
| C．They mostly choose to live in cooler waters. |
| D．Their sea habitats have been badly polluted. |
| A．Their survival abilities. | B．Risks caused by their colors. |
| C．Changes in their feeding habits. | D．Their common marine enemies. |
| A．Calm and peaceful. | B．Surprised and glad. |
| C．Curious and doubtful. | D．Shocked and worried. |
6 . Plastic is everywhere in our modern world. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal (处理). However, Japanese scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily and can self-heal and remember past shapes.
Based on a kind of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which is brittle (脆性的), the new plastic has a huge range of advantages. Once scratched (刮划) with a knife, it can completely patch itself up after being heated to 150 ℃ for just 60 seconds. When shaped into the shape of a crane, then flattened, it can fold itself back into the crane shape by being heated up. It does all of this much faster than others of its type.
The new plastic can also break down easier. Even if it’s thrown into the environment, it still has less of a problem than other kinds of plastic, which the team demonstrated by placing it in seawater for 30 days. It biodegraded (生物降解) by 25% and released something that is eatable for ocean life.
The new plastic is more resistant to breaking. It can also repair itself, and can recover its original memorized shape. It even biodegrades safely in a ocean environment, according to Shota Ando, a researcher of the study.
The material can be used in a variety of applications. “Building materials for roads and bridges are often composed of epoxy resins mixed with compounds (化合物) such as concrete and carbon,” said Ando. “By using the new plastic, these would be easier to maintain as they would be stronger and healable using heat. Unlike conventional epoxy resins, this new material is hard but flexible, so it could also be expected to strongly bond materials of different hardness and stretch.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic of the text. | B．To show the disadvantages of plastic. |
| C．To highlight the importance of plastic. | D．To show his views on previous plastic. |
| A．Change itself. | B．Destroy itself. | C．Repair itself. | D．Burn itself. |
| A．It is safe for animals in the ocean. | B．It is made up of concrete and carbon. |
| C．It can change its shape when frozen. | D．It is more brittle than previous plastic. |
| A．How to Make a New Plastic | B．An Interesting Scientific Study |
| C．The Widespread Application of Plastic | D．A New Environmentally Friendly Plastic |
7 . Men’s consumption habits are worse for the planet than women’s, according to a new study. For the study, consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were measured for the average individual, the average single male, and the average single woman. These were 6, 9, 10, and 8.5 tonnes per capita per year respectively, and more than half of those amounts were due to food, holidays, and furnishings.
What’s interesting is that single men and women spend similar amounts of money on consumer goods, but men’s choices lead to 16% more GHG emissions than women’s. That is because they choose to spend money on things like cars and driving, rather than taking public transportation or trains, as women are more willing to do. More of men’s money goes toward alcohol, tobacco, and eating out, while women often spend money on clothes, home furnishings, and health-based purchases.
Curiously, there were no differences in the carbon footprints of men’s and women’s diets. While men tend to eat more meat, women make up for that in dairy products, which are also carbon-intensive foods.
Lead study author Mannikin Okayama says she wasn’t surprised by the findings because previous research had showed similar differences between single men and women regarding energy use. Instead, she expressed surprise at the fact that more studies haven’t been done on gender differences in environmental impact. “There are quite clear differences and they are not likely to go away in the near future.”
The purpose of the study was to examine where individuals could make changes to their consumption habits in order to shrink their carbon footprints. The researchers looked for ways that would require minimal additional spending, so as to be more accessible to a greater number of people. They found that only switching to plant-based diets and train-based holidays can reduce emissions by 40%.
Policy-makers would do well to pay attention to this if they want to get serious in the fight against global warming.
1. What do single men and single women have in common?| A．They take public transportation. | B．They choose carbon-intensive foods. |
| C．They spend money on the same things. | D．They are concerned about climate change. |
| A．Men seldom show interest in dairy products. |
| B．Single men and women are different in energy use. |
| C．The gender differences had existed for such a long time. |
| D．Lack of findings in gender differences in climate change. |
| A．Gender differences have long existed. | B．Global warming is getting much worse. |
| C．Reducing carbon emission is not so difficult. | D．Consumption habits vary from person to person. |
| A．The measures to reduce carbon emissions. |
| B．The new data about greenhouse gas emissions. |
| C．The consuming differences between single men and women. |
| D．The link between consumption habits and carbon footprints. |
8 . Schools in US are huge consumers (消费者) of energy. According to ENERGY STAR, K-12 schools spend more than $ 6 billion every year on energy, far more than the amount spent on other resources, and at least 30 percent of this energy is used inefficiently or needlessly.
Realizing that, some schools are looking for measures to save energy in several ways, from low-cost adjustments, such as turning off lights in unused rooms, to large-scale projects, such as turning to green equipment.
As solar energy (太阳能) is becoming a more financial choice for powering buildings, more schools are making the move toward the renewable energy and using solar panels (电池板) on their rooftops. According to an online solar marketplace Energy Sage, schools have their strong points to use solar energy. They often have the kind of enough space, suitable locations that are perfect for setting up solar panels.
In September 2020, a nonprofit Generation 180 released its third edition of a study on solar use in US schools. The findings showed that more than 7,300, or 55 percent, of K-12 public and private schools used solar energy, the number has increased by 81 percent since 2014.
They also described how solar schools were saving millions in energy bills, and provided several cases to show the increased savings achieved by solar-powered school districts. For example, an Arkansas school used its every year’s energy savings of nearly $ 100,000 to increase its teachers’ salaries.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, which tracks the number of K-12 schools with solar equipment and helps schools go solar, says on its website that schools with solar setups have an opportunity to educate students about clean energy, and show them that they are doing something for students’ and the planet’s health and future.
Third-party ownership also makes funding for 79 percent of schools to use solar energy possible, meaning a majority of schools don’t have to spend large amounts of money but can get the rewards of solar energy.
1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text in the first paragraph?| A．By giving an example. | B．By raising a problem. |
| C．By offering an evidence. | D．By making a comparison. |
| A．Enough space to fix solar equipment. |
| B．Fund support from solar marketplace. |
| C．Free access to using solar energy. |
| D．Being the largest consumers of the energy. |
| A．Increasing their operating expense. |
| B．Threatening their teachers’ income. |
| C．Raising the students’ environmental awareness. |
| D．Reducing their total amount of energy consuming. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Cautious. | D．Worrying. |
9 . Mobile Bay in Alabama is home to a strange and unique occurrence. During the summer months, hundreds of fish and crustaceans (甲壳纲动物) from the deep waters of the bay move to the shallow waters. The free seafood is so plentiful and easy to catch with nets or bare hands that locals gather to fill their buckets with it. This natural phenomenon has existed for centuries.
Sarah Van Winkle, a student at the Alabama School of Math & Science, is no stranger to the scene. Growing up there, the rich plants and animals never stop to amaze her.
As the world’s oceans face numerous issues such as pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction, she intended to figure out whether Mobile Bay was experiencing similar environmental threats in her most recent science project. Sarah studied the environment of Mobile Bay and she even extended the range of the research to the Mobile Tensaw-Delta, and the canals of a living district in Fairhope, Alabama. She analyzed key nutrient and metal levels in the ocean ecosystem.
Through the project, Sarah found that turbidity, an important indicator of water quality, increased sharply. This result showed, clearly that the area is filled with tiny pieces of matter, making the water there quite opaque.
For the project. Sarah was chosen as one of this year’s 24 Society for Science & the Public Community Innovation Award winners. “To me, this honor symbolizes that the ten months of late night readings, weekend field trips, and after-school sessions in the laboratory have truly come to fruition and impacted lives,” Sarah noted.
“Our local ocean ecosystem is in danger of chemical pollution from a variety of sources,” Sarah explained in an interview. “The bay plays a vital role in our community and every local should value what the bay offers. It’s our responsibility to work together to preserve it.”
1. What’s the unusual scene in Mobile Bay in summer months?| A．The water’s becoming shallow and clear. | B．The decline of the natural environment. |
| C．The flood of seafood into shallow waters. | D．The locals’ growing interest in fishing with buckets. |
| A．Fresh. | B．Cloudy. | C．Clear. | D．Shallow. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Time waits for no man. |
| C．Practice makes perfect. | D．Failure is the mother of success. |
| A．The focus of her future work. | B．Her concern for the local people. |
| C．The complexity of the local ocean system. | D．Her expectation of protecting the bay. |
1．简要描述海洋面临的污染问题 2．你的倡议
注意：1．词数100左右 2．可以适当增加细节，使行文更加连贯
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