1 . A study of almost 2,700 children aged between seven and ten in 38 schools in Barcelona, Spain, first researches the impact of traffic noise on child cognitive development over time.
The children in the study are in a critical stage for the development of memory and attention skills, which are essential to learning. The research found that children exposed to about three times more traffic in the street than other children had memory development that was 23% slower and attention ability development 5% slower over a year.
Noise is the second most damaging environmental factor to health, after air pollution, and, for example, was already known to increase heart attacks in adults. The UN said that urban noise pollution was growing into a global public health threat, leading to 12,000 early deaths a year in the EU alone and affecting many cities.
But research on the impact of road noise on children was limited until now. “We do not understand that noise can actually be toxic (有害的) from a physical point of view,” said Dr. Maria Foraster, from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, who led the study. “We think that we adapt to it, but research has shown that we don’t completely — we still have a physiological (生理的) response.”
The research revealed that peaks of noise heard inside the classroom, such as the passing of loud trucks, had more impact than a higher average level of noise. It also found higher noise levels at school were more damaging than at home.
Prof. Iroise Dumontheil, at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, said, “This carefully designed study provides convincing evidence. Considering that many European children living in large cities are exposed to high road-traffic noise levels, this study has implications for public policy to reduce road-traffic noise near schools.”
The research follows previous work that showed higher levels of aircraft noise at school affected reading comprehension and cognitive development. Next, the authors said, they would like to see their findings replicated (复制) in different cities and towns, where schools may be built differently and windows opened more or less often.
1. What can we learn from Maria Foraster’s words?| A．We have been troubled by noise. |
| B．We lack confidence in her study. |
| C．We had tried hard to adapt to noise. |
| D．We had underestimated the harm of noise to humans. |
| A．Curious. | B．Positive. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Unsatisfied. |
| A．Finding solutions to reducing noise. |
| B．Helping students to realize the impact of noise. |
| C．Confirming their findings in different areas. |
| D．Studying the differences between various noises. |
| A．Policies on traffic noise should be improved |
| B．Traffic noise slows children’s memory development |
| C．Traffic noise has a growing impact on people’s health |
| D．Attention should be paid to the environment around schools |
2 . In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite — the first ever plastic. Since then, plastics have been used widely in various industries and people’s lives. Plastic bags were introduced to supermarkets in 1977. Now, 160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second!
Plastic bags live on much, much longer — perhaps as much as 1,000 years in a landfill (垃圾填埋地).
When plastic breaks down in the ocean, it doesn’t break down completely.
Plastic bags cause the death of many sea animals when they are mistaken for food. In 2008, a whale was found beached in California. It died due to the more than 22 kilos of plastic found in its stomach.
The key to improving our environmental behavior is to make a plan. And you should build your environmental muscle memory: Put your recyclable bags somewhere that will ensure you always remember to bring them with you.
If you drive to the store, keep your bags in your car.
Through this act of green, you have created a plan to ensure you will always have your reusable grocery bags on hand when you need them.
| A．If you bike, keep them in your basket. |
| B．But it only counts if you stick to the plan. |
| C．It remains harmful even when it breaks down. |
| D．Plastic bags are billed for their “convenience”. |
| E．It just gets smaller and ends up getting eaten by fish. |
| F．So we know that we should never use plastic grocery bags. |
| G．You’ll feel proud when you see what a difference you’ve made! |
3 . As our boat moves quickly up and down in a windy ice-filled small bay, I try to judge the health condition of the polar bear (北极熊)in front of me. We are in Franz Josef Land, a remote part of Russia between the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
While offshore bears follow the sea ice, hunting seals (海豹)on ice all year round, bears that live by the sea spend their summers on land and are forced to search for whatever they can find. Relying on low-calorie meals such as the eggs of nesting seabirds, it is harder for these bears to pack on the pounds. Researchers recently found that offshore bears around the Barents Sea are some of the most polluted animals on Earth. This is a direct consequence of the seals they feed on.
Over a period of 14 years' study, Heli Routti from the Norwegian Polar Institute found that offshore female bears were in a better health, having greater body weight, than female bears by the sea, but on average their levels of pollutants called PFASs are 33 percent higher.
PFASs are used to make industrial products which are poisonous and degrade (降解)very slowly. These pollutants find their way to the Arctic through air, where they fall in snow and gradually add up in the ice. As the ice melts every summer, the PFASs go into the water, where they enter the food chain. They eventually make their way into the fat that keeps seals warm and from there into the bears that eat them.
During my 15 days in Franz Josef Land, I saw five bears, all living by the sea. Each looked relatively healthy. There are signs that these bears are dealing with the global-warming-caused ice loss relatively well. “The bears, so far, seem to be handling the sea ice loss,” says Andrew Derocher at the University of Alberta, who worked with Routti on the study, “But I'm sure that's going to change if the speed of ice loss increases sharply in the area.”
1. From the text we can learn polar bears living by the sea ________.| A．eat seals on ice all year round |
| B．look for food on land in summer |
| C．become the most polluted animals on Earth |
| D．stay on the ice in summer to avoid hot weather |
| A．Put on weight. | B．Move around. |
| C．Fight against pollution. | D．Live alone. |
| A．The rate of PFASs' degradation. | B．The effects of PFASs on the environment. |
| C．The process of PFASs' entering polar bears. | D．The application of PFASs in modern industry. |
| A．More pollutants may go into the air. | B．It will make no difference to bears. |
| C．The death rate of seals may increase. | D．Bears might fail to adapt to the change. |
4 . Whether enveloped by the thick smog from factories or unseen poisons from vehicle waste gases, many cities around the world are losing the battle against air pollution．
Somewhere, many people died from breathing in the smoke and harmful gases
Many companies are compressing fresh countryside air into bottles and
