1 . In many ways, life has become far more comfortable and convenient in the past few decades.
Air Pollution
The main cause of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels by vehicles and power plants. Other human activities, such as construction and the burning of waste, also contribute to air pollution. The effects on our health can be very serious.
You can easily contribute to reducing air pollution by only using a car to make journeys when it’s absolutely necessary.
Global Warming
Global warming is the increase in the temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans. It’s caused by the build-up of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere. These trap the Sun’s heat and warm up the planet.
Global warming has already caused a wide range of problems.
Overflowing Landfills
Landfills are used for waste disposal (处理) in many countries around the world. However, these landfills are now nearing their limit. When this happens, the chances of dangerous chemicals in the waste entering our water supply increase.
The amount of waste in landfills in China has risen sharply over the last ten years.
| A．If it isn’t, try using public transport instead. |
| B．Sea levels are rising due to the melting of polar ice sheets. |
| C．However, this has come at a huge cost to the environment. |
| D．This resulted in the flooding of the River Po near Turin in Italy. |
| E．For instance, that in Hong Kong is likely to reduce within a few years. |
| F．Thus, the government is now trying to find alternative waste disposal methods. |
| G．Apart from the three Rs, some experts have called for the fourth R—Responsibility. |
要点包括：1. 倡议的背景和目的；2. 倡议的具体内容；3.发出呼吁。
注意：1. 词数80左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Students’ Union
3 . At any moment, about half the world’s population is wearing denim (牛仔布). But few realize tiny bits of denim have been adding up to a surprising amount of pollution in water, as a new study shows.
Sam Athey, one of the study’s authors, says, “Even though denim is made of a natural material—cotton—it contains chemicals.” Cotton fibers are treated with many types of chemicals, she notes. Some improve its durability (耐久性) and feel. Others give denim its distinctive blue color.
Athey and her team washed jeans and found that about 50,000 microfibers come off from each pair per wash. Not all of those fibers make their way into the environment. Wastewater treatment plants catch about 83 to 99 percent of them. Catching 99 percent may sound pretty good. But one percent of 50,000 is still 500 fibers per wash. And since every pair of jeans is washed again and again, it still adds up to lots of microfibers entering water environments.
Denim microfibers showed up in sediment (沉淀物) from the Great Lakes. More of these fibers polluted a series of shallow lakes in southern Ontario. They even turned up in sediment from the Arctic Ocean in northern Canada. The team found denim accounted for 12 to 23 percent of microfibers in the sediment. There were other microfibers too. But the team focused on denim because so many people wear jeans.
“Everyone wears jeans so they could be our largest input of microfibers into our streams and soils,” Athey says. “An easy way to limit that is by washing our jeans less often.” Athey grew up thinking she should wash her jeans after every couple of wearings, but most jean companies recommend washing them no more than once a month. “The solution is not that you shouldn’t wear jeans,” she says. “We need to buy fewer denim clothes and only wash them when they truly need it.”
1. Why are chemicals used to deal with cotton according to the passage?| A．To avoid its harm. |
| B．To make it into denim. |
| C．To remove its blue color. |
| D．To prevent fibers from falling. |
| A．wastewater treatment plants are good at dealing with microfibers |
| B．few microfibers are entering water environments |
| C．catching 99 percent means doing no harm to the environment |
| D．the effects of microfibers can not be ignored |
| A．The seriousness of denim pollution. |
| B．The types of water pollution. |
| C．The wide uses of denim. |
| D．The large water area of Canada. |
| A．Wash jeans more often. |
| B．Avoid wearing jeans. |
| C．Produce less jeans. |
| D．Reduce denim consumption. |
4 . Human and their inventions, such as cars or plastic, have caused most environmental pollution on Earth. Today car emissions (排放物) are a major source of air pollution leading to climate change. In the meanwhile, plastics fill our ocean, creating a significant health issue to marine (海洋的) animals.
And what about the electric light, which is thought to be one of the greatest human inventions of all time? Electric light can be a beautiful thing, guiding us home when the sun goes down, keeping us safe and making our homes bright. However, like CO2 emissions and plastic, too much of a good thing has started to influence the environment. Light pollution, the wrong use of outdoor light, is affecting human health, wildlife behavior and our ability to observe stars.
Light pollution is a global issue. This became obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-created map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016, which can be viewed online. The map shows how and where our globe is lit up at night. Vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are glowing (发光) with light, while only the most distant regions on Earth (Greenland, Central African Republic and Niue) are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted countries in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, due to the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.
People living in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time seeing more than a handful of stars at night. Astronomers (宇航员) are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view stars.
Mostly over 80 percent of the world's population, and 99 percent of Americans and Europeans live under sky glow.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．Electric light should be not be used outdoors. | B．Electric light is the main factor to keep us safe. |
| C．Electric light has both advantages and disadvantages. | D．Electric light is the greatest human invention. |
| A．Niue. | B．Singapore. | C．Kuwait. | D．Qatar. |
| A．Keeping the streetlamps on. | B．Littering plastics about. |
| C．Driving cars around. | D．Overfishing marine animals. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Unclear. | C．Worried. | D．Satisfied. |
5 . Humans’ light at night does not spare even the sea from its glare (强光). Researchers published the first global map of ocean light pollution. It shows large parts of the sea are lit up at night. And that risks confusing or disrupting the behaviors of sea life.
Tim Smyth led a team to research the areas of the ocean where light pollution is strongest. Smyth and his colleagues started with a world map of man-made night-sky brightness that had been created in 2016. Then they added data on the ocean and atmosphere. Some data came from shipboard measurements of man-made light in the water. Others came from satellite images that judge how clear the water is. Particles (微粒) in the water, such as tiny floating plants and animals, can affect how far downward light travels. These factors vary from place to place and may change with the seasons. The team also used computers to copy how different wavelengths of light move through water.
Next, they wanted to know how that underwater light might affect animals. Not all species will be easily affected. The team focused on copepods (桡足亚纲甲壳动物). These common creatures are a key part of many ocean food chains. They use light as a signal to move all together to the dark deep, seeking safety from other surface creatures. Normally they use the sun or the winter moon as their signal. Too much man-made light can mess up their usual patterns.
Light pollution is strongest in about three feet of the water. Here, man-made light can be strong enough to confuse the copepods. Nearly 2 million square kilometers of ocean get such strong night light. That’s an area about the size of Mexico. Farther down, the light gets weaker. But even 65 feet deep, it’s still bright enough to bother copepods across 840,000 square kilometers of ocean.
The team published its findings on December 13 in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “disrupting” in Paragraph 1?| A．Upsetting. | B．Observing. | C．Ensuring. | D．Protecting. |
| A．They are main eaters of other creatures. |
| B．They are not affected by underwater light. |
| C．They can escape attacks with the help of light. |
| D．They can weaken the effect of man-made light. |
| A．By stating opinions. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By giving reasons. |
| A．Light Pollution from Sea Life | B．Living Conditions of Copepods |
| C．Discoveries of Copepods | D．Light Pollution Even in Sea |
6 . Not even the sea is safe from the glare (强光) of humans’ light at night. Researchers published the first global map of ocean light pollution. It shows large parts of the sea are lit up at night. And that risks confusing or disrupting the behaviors of sea life.
Tim Smyth led a team to research where in the water this light is strongest. Smyth and his colleagues started with a world map of man-made night-sky brightness that had been created in 2016. Then they added data on the ocean and atmosphere. Some data came from shipboard measurements of man-made light in the water. Others came from satellite images that judge how clear the water is. Particles (微粒) in the water, such as tiny floating plants and animals, can affect how far downward light travels. These factors vary from place to place and may change with the seasons. The team also used computers to copy how different wavelengths of light move through water.
Next, they wanted to know how that underwater light might affect animals. Not all species will be easily affected. The team focused on copepods (桡足亚纲甲壳动物). These common creatures are a key part of many ocean food webs. They use light as a signal to move all together to the dark deep, seeking safety from other surface creatures. Normally they use the sun or the winter moon as their signal. Too much man-made light can mess up their usual patterns.
Light pollution is strongest in about three feet of the water. Here, man-made light can be strong enough to confuse the copepods. Nearly 2 million square kilometers of ocean get such strong night light. That’s an area about the size of Mexico. Farther down, the light gets weaker. But even 65 feet deep, it’s still bright enough to bother copepods across 840,000 square kilometers of ocean.
The team described its findings December 13 in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
1. What do we know about copepods from the passage?| A．They are main eaters of other creatures. |
| B．They are not affected by underwater light. |
| C．They can escape attacks with the help of light. |
| D．They can weaken the effect of man-made light. |
| A．By stating opinions. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By giving reasons. |
| A．Light Pollution from Sea Life | B．Living Conditions of Copepods |
| C．Discoveries of Copepods | D．Light Pollution Even in Sea |
7 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
Inspired by a Canadian couple, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The British Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches. However, for every photo album of a beautiful beach, there were 10 photos of trash (垃圾). It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such primitive and remote beaches. So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick upon our daily dog walks.
The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pollution. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free. We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.
It’s been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.
Our aim now is to keep on going. We love connecting with like-minded people. It’s been amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?
1. Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
| A．Pet sitting is a new sort of occupation. |
| B．The Caribbean is a perfect travel destination. |
| C．Travel blog is a superb way to gain popularity. |
| D．Actions should be taken to fight plastic pollution. |
| A．Challenging. | B．Significant. | C．Adventurous. | D．Unbearable. |
| A．Shifting Lifestyles by Pet Sitting | B．Address Global Environment Pollution |
| C．Unexpected Gains from Pet Sitting Travel | D．The availability of Pet Sitting in the Caribbean |
8 . Light pollution is defined as too much misdirected or obtrusive (突兀的) artificial light. This definition applies to unwanted light in your own community as well as the night sky.
The primary cause of light pollution is the improper use of outdoor lighting. Many lights are arranged in a way that wastes up to 60% of their emitted (发散的) light. About 50% of emitted light shines directly into the atmosphere, a large percentage bouncing back down to Earth and creating the dome (穹顶) of light over cities called skyglow. We can see these domes from many miles away and they have a significantly negative effect on our view of the universe. The remaining 10% of that wasted light shines directly into our line of sight producing blinding light which destroys our ability to see safely at night.
Not only does light pollution make our cultural connections weaker and prevent our scientific explorations of the night sky, but it also harms wildlife. Many animals that rely on the natural darkness of the night to hunt become confused about the obtrusive skyglow of artificial light. Their inborn ability to follow this false light leads them on an unnatural routes which often leads to death.
Light pollution also takes a toll on our limited resources. It is estimated that up to 35% of the total outdoor lighting in the United States is completely wasted into the atmosphere. This means that 35% of the resources we use to create that electricity are completely wasted. This translates to about 3 billion dollars a year in wasted resources that are creating sky glow and light pollution.
We have seen a big increase in light pollution over the last few decades. Many people have watched the Milky Way disappear over their homes as growing unwanted light dominates the sky like continuous, incoming tides. Thankfully, unlike many other forms of irreparable pollution, light pollution is 100% fixable, which can be cleaned up at the speed of light.
1. What is the main cause of light pollution according to the text?| A．The inefficient use of outdoor lighting. | B．The overuse of household electric lights. |
| C．The reflection of light from the atmosphere. | D．The popularity of shining domes over cities. |
| A．By making them overactive. | B．By exposing them to their hunters. |
| C．By disturbing their biological clock. | D．By leading them off their hunting routes. |
| A．has a bad effect on | B．breaks away from |
| C．keeps an eye on. | D．adds up to. |
| A．It can be costly to deal with. | B．It will disappear sooner or later. |
| C．It can be relatively easy to get rid of. | D．It will cause lasting effects on the environment. |
9 . Recycling in general can be an effective way to reuse natural material resources. The U.S.’s high recycling rate of paper, 68 percent, has proved this point. But although some materials can be effectively recycled and safely made from recycled content, plastics cannot. Plastic recycling does not work and will never work.
The problem with recycling plastic lies not with the concept or process but with the material itself. There are thousands of different plastics, each with its own characteristics. They all include different chemicals that cannot be recycled together, making it impossible to sort the trillions of pieces of plastics into separate types for processing. What’s more, plastic recycling costs more than new plastic because collecting, sorting, transporting, and reprocessing plastic waste is very expensive.
Despite this obvious failure, the plastics industry has begun a decades-long campaign to keep the lie that the material is recyclable, which reminds the public of the tobacco industry’s efforts to tell smokers that filtered (过滤的) cigarettes are healthier than unfiltered cigarettes.
Traditional mechanical recycling, in which plastic waste is ground up and melted (熔化), has been around for many decades. Now the plastics industry is promoting the benefits of so-called chemical recycling, in which plastic waste is broken down using high heat and turned into a low-quality fossil fuel. In 2018, Dow Chemical claimed that the Renewlogy chemical-recycling factory in Salt Lake City was able to reprocess mixed plastic waste through the “Hefty EnergyBag” program and turn it into diesel fuel (柴油). As Reuters showed in a 2021 survey, however, the pyrolysis (高温分解) process was not worth it.
We’re not making a case for hopelessness. Just the opposite(相反的). We need the facts so that individuals and policymakers can take action. Proven solutions to the plastic-waste and pollution problems exist and can be quickly copied across the country. These solutions include placing bans on single-use plastic bags and unrecyclable single-use plastic food-service products, and installing dishwashing equipment in schools.
Consumers can put pressure on companies to stop filling store shelves with single-use plastics by not buying them and instead choosing reusables and products in better packaging. And we should all keep recycling our paper, boxes, cans, and glass, because that actually works.
1. What is the problem with recycled plastic?| A．It costs too much to produce. |
| B．It can hardly be selected out. |
| C．It is generally of poor quality. |
| D．It can’t be stored in large numbers. |
| A．To compete with the tobacco industry. |
| B．To cut down the cost of recycling plastic. |
| C．To uncover the lie of the tobacco industry. |
| D．To prove the possibility of recycling plastic. |
| A．Traditional recycling proves to be safer. |
| B．Chemical recycling turns out to be a failure. |
| C．Chemical recycling can save energy resources. |
| D．Traditional recycling can deal with limited waste. |
| A．To show the difficulty in recycling plastic. |
| B．To introduce a new way of recycling plastic. |
| C．To stress the importance of recycling plastic. |
| D．To call for a ban on single-use plastic products. |
10 . In the past several months, Apple, Google and Samsung have all launched their newest smartphones and other products. But in the process, this may also be adding to a growing problem: electronic waste.
The limited lifespan of many tech gadgets(设备)has caused the issue of e-waste to increase over the years. “People tend not to realize that all these seemingly insignificant things have a lot of value, especially in large amounts, ”Pascal Leroy, director general of the WEEE Forum, said in a statement
How to solve the problems of e-waste is much more than just cleaning out space in your junk drawers. Actually, large amounts of e-waste are shipped to developing countries that lack the power to refuse and safely recycle these imports. The WHO warned that children, with their smaller hands, are often used to deal with mountains of e-waste in developing nations in search of valuable elements such as copper, silver, palladium and so on. The WHO said the health of more than 18 million children are being affected negatively as they are employed in this informal e-waste processing industry.
Personally, what can you do to reduce the e-waste burden? Find an e-waste disposal(处理) service. The impact of recycling e-waste can be staggering. For every 1 million cellphones that are recycled, 35, 000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Meanwhile, environmental advocates say the most important step to deal with the mounting e-waste problem is simply to try to use your electronics for as long as possible
1. What might come along with companies launching new e-products?| A．More electronic waste. |
| B．Few optional tech gadgets. |
| C．Limited lifespan of the devices. |
| D．Important things for consumers. |
| A．Developed countries can’t recycle e-waste safely. |
| B．E-waste mountains are places for children to play. |
| C．Many valuable elements can be found on e-waste mountains. |
| D．Children are hired in the informal e-waste processing industry. |
| A．Interesting. | B．Surprising. | C．Annoying. | D．Challenging. |
| A．What is the source of e-waste? | B．E-waste—a serious problem? |
| C．E-waste—a processing industry? | D．What to do with your e-waste? |
