1 . A new study suggests classic paintings by well-known Impressionists Joseph Turner and Claude Monet may have been influenced by air pollution during the Industrial Revolution.
Scientists don’t know exactly how polluted the cities were during that time for lack of data. However, researchers say that examining the works of Turner and Monet can give a picture of long-term environmental change with the air pollution.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by authors from Harvard and Sorbonne universities, analyzed 60 oil paintings by Turner from 1796 to 1850 and 38 paintings by Monet from 1864 to 1901. Scientists successfully measured painters’ representation (再现) of nature, focusing on the colors as well as differences in local weather patterns which influenced coloring. They significantly found that paintings composed in Britain generally feature a greyer blue sky than works in other parts of Europe.
Researchers particularly believe changes in local sulfur dioxide (二氧化硫) emissions from burning coal may explain changes in the color contrast and intensity (亮度) of Turner’s and Monet’s works, even after taking into account the artistic trends and subject matter of the time.
Generally, artists can historically accurately represent their environment. Turner and Monet were chosen because they are famous for their landscape and cityscape paintings and also because they were active during the Industrial Revolution, when air pollution grew at a rate never seen before.
Additionally, researchers say that since the air in London was much polluted, the cities would appear grey and dull to the eyes as well as in photographs. By comparing the paintings of Turner and Monet to photos from the era, they were able to determine the painting works were definitely influenced by the change in emissions.
1. What did the researchers find in the works of Turner and Monet?| A．Air pollution at that time. | B．Change in subject matter. |
| C．Social trends of the period. | D．Development of photography. |
| A．By referring to relevant historical records. |
| B．By examining the coloring of the paintings. |
| C．By comparing the paintings of Turner with Monet’s. |
| D．By analyzing the data during the Industrial Revolution. |
| A．European artists preferred landscape paintings. |
| B．Turner and Monet intended to present pollution. |
| C．The research focused on studying weather patterns. |
| D．Britain suffered most from air pollution in Europe. |
| A．To call on people to protect the environment. |
| B．To introduce air pollution in the Industrial Revolution. |
| C．To inform people of a new discovery in certain artworks. |
| D．To instruct people to admire classic paintings in new ways. |
2 . Even chess experts perform worse when air quality is lower, suggesting a negative effect on cognition(认知). Here’s something else chess players need to keep in check: air pollution.
That’s the bottom line of a newly published study co-authored by a researcher, showing that chess players perform objectively worse and make more suboptimal(次优的) moves, as measured by a computerized analysis of their games, when there is more fine particulate matter(颗粒物) in the air, notated as PM 2.5.
More specifically, given a modest increase in fine particulate matter, the probability that chess players will make an error increases by 2.1 percentage points, and the spectrum of those errors increases by 10.8 percent. In this setting, at least, cleaner air leads to clearer heads and sharper thinking.
“We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” says Juan Palacios, an economist in Sustainable Urbanization Lab.
“It’s pure random exposure to air pollution that is driving these people’s performance,” Palacios says. “Against comparable opponents in the same tournament round, being exposed to different levels of air quality makes a difference for move quality and decision quality.”
The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess players performed even more poorly when under time limitation. “We find it interesting that those mistakes especially occur in the phase of the game where players are facing time pressure,” Palacios says.
“There are more and more papers showing that there is a cost with air pollution, and there is a cost for more and more people,” Palacios says. “And this is just one example showing that even for these very excellent chess players, who think they can beat everything, it seems that with air pollution, they have an enemy who harms them.”
1. What effect does air pollution have on chess players?| A．They make fewer good choices. | B．They perform subjectively worse. |
| C．They suffer body discomfort. | D．They lose all games with computers. |
| A．Magic. | B．Process. | C．Range. | D．Balance. |
| A．His appeal for attention to chess players. |
| B．His concern about air pollution. |
| C．An example of chess players’ performance. |
| D．Approaches to dealing with air pollution. |
| A．Air pollution is a tough enemy chess players face. |
| B．Chess players make more and more mistakes. |
| C．There is a cost with air pollution for more people. |
| D．Chess players perform poorly under time limitation. |
3 . Hundreds of years ago, life was harder than it is today. People didn't have modern machines.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.
Many countries are making rules to fight against pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, and they mustn't let dirty smoke go into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and do not throw them on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight against pollution.
1. Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because_________| A．there were many problems | B．there were too many people |
| C．there were wars now and then | D．there were no modern machines. |
| A．noise pollution | B．water pollution | C．air pollution | D．waste things |
| A．The air. | B．The city. | C．The quilt. | D．The smog. |
| A．clean water after it is thrown away | B．throw waste things in the dustbin |
| C．let dirty smoke go into the air | D．encourage more people to drive to work |
4 . The coronavirus pandemic(新冠疫情)has brought with it the rise of a new kind of single-use plastic in the form of personal protective equipment (PPE), like face masks and gloves. Experts warned that these sharply increasing single-use items could cause a new wave of plastic pollution and kill wildlife.
The charity Ocean Conservancy reported that volunteers had collected more than 100,000 PPE items from coasts and waterways during the last six months of 2020. They sent out a survey to more than 200 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) coordinators and volunteers asking about their experience with PPE. The results show that it is a real problem. Volunteers collected 107,219 pieces of PPE in 70 of 115 participating countries. Of those surveyed, 94% reported seeing PPE at a cleanup, and 40% found five items or more. Further, 37% found the items had already sunk into the water.
“During one of our clean-ups in the canals of Leiden, our volunteers found a latex(乳胶)glove with a dead fish trapped in the thumb,” said Auke-Florian Hiemstra, a study coauthor from Leiden University. “Also, in the Dutch canals, we observed that a water bird was using face masks and gloves in its nests.” Other animals that have gotten tangled up in face masks include a fox in the UK, a pufferfish in Florida, and two crabs in France. Numerous dogs and cats have been observed eating PPE as well.
The danger posed by PPE goes deeper than what the eye can see. Luckily, there are ways that all of us can be part of the solution to the problem of PPE pollution. Hiemstra suggested using reusable PPE instead of single-use products. In that case, we should deal with them properly by cutting the ear loops to prevent animal entanglements(缠绕物)and throwing them away in a bin that is not overstuffed. “We definitely think it is important for citizens to understand how much PPE is ending up in the environment and impacting animals,” Hiemstra said.
1. What problem did experts mention in paragraph 1?| A．The decline of wildlife due to overhunting. |
| B．The shortage of personal protective equipment. |
| C．The plastic pollution caused by anti-pandemic products. |
| D．The increasing number of coronavirus patients. |
| A．The leading cause of ocean pollution. |
| B．Volunteers’ great efforts to protect the ocean. |
| C．The large amount of PPE in the environment. |
| D．Difficulties of cleaning up plastic waste in the ocean. |
| A．PPE pollution has threatened many animals’ lives. |
| B．Litter makes it hard for boats to pass through the canals. |
| C．Water birds may not be affected by plastic pollution. |
| D．PPE is attractive to dogs and cats due to its smell. |
| A．Limiting the production of non-recyclable plastic. |
| B．Cleaning the rubbish bin regularly. |
| C．Raising the price of PPE items. |
| D．Replacing single-use products with reusable ones. |
5 . A Plastic Ocean is a film to make you think.Think,and then act.We need to take action on our dependence on plastic.We’ve been producing plastic in huge quantities.Drinking bottles,shopping bags and even clothes are made with plastic.
The film begins as a journey to film the largest animal on the planet,the blue whale.But during the journey the filmmakers make the shocking discovery of a huge,thick layer of plastic floating in the Indian Ocean.
In the film there are beautiful shots of the seas and marine life.
They present short-term and long-term solutions.These include avoiding plastic containers and recycling as much as you can.The filmmakers also stress the need for governments to work more on recycling programmes.
We make a shocking amount of plastic.Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year,and at least 8 million of those are dumped into the oceans.The results are disastrous,but it isn’t too late to change.
| A．This causes them to travel around the world to look at other affected areas. |
| B．Once you’ve seen the film,you’ll realize it is time to do our part. |
| C．It has raised public concern all over the world. |
| D．We live in a world full of plastic,and only a small amount is recycled. |
| E．But the film doesn’t only present the negative side. |
| F．In conclusion,we only have one earth to live on. |
| G．These are contrasted with dumps of plastic rubbish. |
1. Why does the woman plan to wear a mask tomorrow?
| A．Because of the smog. |
| B．Because of her illness. |
| C．Because of the cold weather. |
| A．The heavy traffic. |
| B．The air pollution. |
| C．The large population. |
| A．Change their ways to go to work. |
| B．Ask the government to do something. |
| C．Call on people to protect the environment. |
| A．He always uses the public transport. |
| B．He seldom listens to the weather report. |
| C．He is waiting for the weather to improve soon. |
7 . A handful of old mobile phones lay in a grey bucket. These outdated devices, which are about to be chopped into thousands of pieces, will be given a second life as recycled e-waste. But many phones won't.
According to the latest estimates, the world gets rid of approximately 50 million tonnes of waste annually. E-waste is full of dangerous materials that can cause damage to human health and the environment if not managed properly. But only 20 percent of global e-waste is recycled.The rest ends up in landfill, or burned—or is not recycled at all.
And yet,Switzerland is a good example of how to deal with the growing environmental issue. The country collects and recycles roughly 7S percent of this discarded material. This is thanks to a strong voluntary take-back system, where consumers can take e-waste to a reclining collection point or any electronic shop retailer（零售商）. A recycling station can be found within at most 300 meters from any residential area. Everyone gets involved. Switzerland's e-waste system is unique and can't be easily copied-due to a strong recycling culture within the country.
However, Switzerland faces the same global challenges as every nation.The built-in lithium batteries（锂电池）aren't easy to take out. The only way to remove these potentially dangerous components is with a bar and hammer. This poses a significant risk to those handling the goods. As such, producers need to be more transparent(信息透明的) and show more clearly where the harmful substances are, and how they can be removed.
Once the battery is removed, e-waste is sorted into different component parts—-metals, plastics and other materials. Roughly 70 percent of the device can be recycled. The material that cannot be recycled is used for other purposes like construction material or is burned to generate energy. Mobile phones—from a material perspective (角度), from a value perspective，and also from an environmental impact perspective -are very important.
For the past 15 years, Switzerland has been actively encouraging and supporting electrical waste disposal practices. They are happy to share their knowledge, experience, lessons learned, and they are happy if other people pick up on it.
1. What can we know about the global e-waste?| A．Only 20% of the e-waste is useful. |
| B．It is becoming an environmental problem. |
| C．Most of it has been given a second life. |
| D．It has been the major cause of pollution. |
| A．It is unique and easy to copy. |
| B．It features many devoted volunteers. |
| C．It gains great support and understanding. |
| D．It is complicated and not easily accessible. |
| A．Remove harmful substances. |
| B．Use less dangerous components. |
| C．Offer customers free bars and hammers. |
| D．Help make the removal easier and safer. |
| A．How to fight against e-waste. |
| B．Why E-waste gets out of control. |
| C．How to be champion of recycling. |
| D．How to lead an Eco-friendly lifestyle. |
8 . Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice field, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect. Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whale's ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?| A．The man-made noise. |
| B．The noises made by themselves. |
| C．The sound of earthquakes. |
| D．The sound of the ice-breaking. |
| A．Different places with different types of noise. |
| B．The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises. |
| C．The same noise measure differently on land and in the ocean. |
| D．The ocean animal's reaction to noises. |
| A．They are deaf to noises. |
| B．Noises at a certain level may hurt them. |
| C．They are easily confused by noises. |
| D．Noises will limit their ability to reproduce. |
| A．prevent them from doing their research work |
| B．benefit them a lot in their research work |
| C．do good to their health |
| D．increase the industrial output |
9 . Rain is vital to life on Earth. However, rain isn’t just made of water anymore—it’s partly made of plastic.
Millions of tiny pieces of plastic, called microplastics, are wandering around Earth’s atmosphere and traveling across entire continents according to a study published in one journal on April 12.
Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter and come from a number of sources. Plastic bags and bottles released into the environment break down into smaller and smaller bits. Some microplastics are produced deliberately to provide abrasion(研磨)in products, such as toothpaste and cleansers. Another major source is your washing machine. When you wash clothing, tiny microfibers get washed away with the wastewater. Even though the water is treated by a wastewater plant, the microplastics remain, and they are released into the sea.
Plastic rain may remind people of acid rain, but the former is far more widespread and harder to deal with. The tiny particles, too small to be seen with the naked eye, are collected by the wind from the ground. They are so light that they stay in the air to be blown around the globe. As they climb into the atmosphere, they are thought to act as nuclei (核心) around which water vapor (水蒸气) combines to form clouds. Some of the dust falls back to land in dry conditions, while the rest comes down as rain.
Microplastics have been found everywhere you can imagine. From fish and frogs to mice and mosquitoes, their bodies have been found on average to contain 40 pieces of microplastic. As the top of the food chain, humans are exposed to microplastics, too. “We live on a ball inside a bubble,” microplastic researcher Steve Allen said. “There are no borders, there are no edges. It rains on the land and then gets blown back up into the air again to move somewhere else. There’s no stopping it once it’s out.”
1. What do we know about microplastics?| A．They have a diameter of over 5 millimeters. |
| B．They have become a threat to humans. |
| C．They are light and can be easily dealt with. |
| D．They cause acid rain and plastic rain. |
| A．Ways to deal with microplastics. | B．The wide use of microplastics. |
| C．Where microplastics come from. | D．How microplastics pollute water. |
| A．No place can be safe from microplastic pollution. |
| B．The atmosphere possesses the ability to self-cleanse. |
| C．Countries should work together to fight pollution. |
| D．Wind causes microplastics to move somewhere else. |
| A．call on people to use fewer plastic products |
| B．warn people of the danger of microplastics |
| C．introduce the sources and effects of microplastics |
| D．make a comparison between acid rain and plastic rain |
10 . You’ve heard that plastic is polluting the oceans — between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.
At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called “Strawpocalypse,” a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves, frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source (来源) of plastic pollution, but they’ve recently come under fire because most people don’t need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight, they cannot be recycled. Every straw that’s part of Von Wong’s artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone, the straw will take centuries to disappear.
In a piece from 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate (说明) a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped (倾倒) from a truck all at once.
Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.
1. What are Von Wong’s artworks intended for?| A．Beautifying the city he lives in. | B．Introducing eco-friendly products. |
| C．Drawing public attention to plastic waste. | D．Reducing garbage on the beach. |
| A．To show the difficulty of their recycling. |
| B．To explain why they are useful. |
| C．To voice his views on modern art. |
| D．To find a substitute for them. |
| A．Calming. | B．Disturbing. |
| C．Refreshing. | D．Challenging. |
| A．Artists’ Opinions on Plastic Safety |
| B．Media Interest in Contemporary Art |
| C．Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies |
| D．Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures |
