1 . Light pollution is a significant but overlooked driver of the rapid decline of insect populations, according to the most comprehensive review of the scientific evidence to date.
Artificial light at night can affect every aspect of insects' lives, the researchers said. "We strongly believe artificial light at night — in combination with habitat loss, chemical pollution.invasive (入侵的) species, and climate change — is driving insect declines, " the scientists concluded after assessing more than 150 studies.
Insect population collapses have been reported around the world, and the first global scientific review published in February, said widespread declines threatened to cause a "catastrophic collapse of nature's ecosystems".
There are thought to be millions of insect species, most still unknown to science, and about half are active at night. Those active in the day may also be disturbed by light at night when they are at rest.
The most familiar impact of light pollution is moths (飞蛾) flapping around a bulb, mistaking it for the moon. Some insects use the polarisation of light to find the water they need to breed, as light waves line up after reflecting from a smooth surface. But artificial light can scupper (使泡汤) this. Insects are important prey (猎物) for many species, but light pollution can tip the balance in favour of the predator if it traps insects around lights. Such increases in predation risk were likely to cause the rapid extinction of affected species, the researchers said.
The researchers said most human-caused threats to insects have analogues in nature, such as climate change and invasive species. But light pollution is particularly hard for insects to deal with.
However, unlike other drivers of decline, light pollution is relatively easy to prevent. Simply turning off lights that are not needed is the most obvious action, he said, while making lights motion-activated also cuts light pollution. Shading lights so only the area needed is lit up is important. It is the same with avoiding blue-white lights, which interfere with daily rhythms. LED lights also offer hope as they can be easily tuned to avoid harmful colours and flicker rates.
1. What is discussed in the passage?| A．Causes of declining insect populations. |
| B．Consequences of insect population collapses. |
| C．Light pollution: the key bringer of insect declines. |
| D．Insect declines: the driver of the collapsed ecosystem. |
| A．How light travels in space. |
| B．How light helps insects find food. |
| C．How the food chain is interrelated. |
| D．How light pollution affects insects. |
| A．Selective things. | B．Similar things. | C．Variations. | D．Limitations. |
| A．To offer solutions. |
| B．To give examples. |
| C．To make comparisons. |
| D．To present arguments. |
2 . BEIJNG, Feb. 26 (China Daily) — As the smog orange warning continues, tourist attractions in Beijing are experiencing a quick fall in visitor number.
A new report on the morning of February 24 shows that the concentration of PM 2.5 has risen, with no sign of decreasing, the orange warning will still be in effect, according to Xinhua News Agency.
According to data by the Beijing Tourism Website, by 2:00 pm, February 24, popular tourist attractions including The Great Wall and Palace Museum had been affected by the smog in terms of tourist numbers.
As for the Palace Museum, the number of visitors was only 11,200 that day, far from the figure of 40,000, which is the daily average number of visitors it normally receives.
There were a few visitors in Beihai Park on the morning of February 24, and two visitors from Hebei province planned to end their morning tour earlier than planned because of the smog. One of them said, "The visibility is so poor that we can't take good photos, or even see clearly. We'd better leave early. As for worsening air conditions, travel agencies have also taken some measures to avoid a further fall in tourist numbers. An employee with China Youth Travel Service, Wang Tao, said the agency will inform tourists of the weather conditions at their destinations (目的地). A tour guide with China Travel Service also told the media that it was a tour guide's duty to inform foreign visitors of the smog conditions in Beijing, and the agency would provide free face masks to those in need. But work to do so only treats the symptom (症状) rather than the disease itself, because the root cause is air pollution. China will introduce various emergency responses and long-term measures against air pollution. Officials and experts called for combined work by government, industries and the public to cooperate more efficiently and to together solve the problem.
1. In the following statements, which one is TRUE?| A．The tourism in Beijing was hardly affected by the smoggy weather. |
| B．Not both the Great Wall and Palace Museum had been affected by the smog. |
| C．The concentration of PM 2.5 has risen, but it will not decrease soon. |
| D．According to the data by the Beijing Tourism Website, we can't know the information. |
| A．take some measures of treating the symptom only |
| B．unite the power of government, industries and the public |
| C．give free face masks to those in need |
| D．warn tourists of the weather conditions ahead of time |
| A．introduce the tourism situation of Beijing |
| B．explain the main cause of air pollution |
| C．introduce the influence of smog on tourism of Beijing |
| D．introduce the measures carried out to improve the air quality |
PM stands for particulate (微粒的)matter: the term for a mixture of solid particles(粒子) and liquid droplets in the air. Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen by our eyes. Others are so small that they can only
These particles come in many sizes and
Particulate matter
Fortunately, every day the Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or
The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and TV, telephone and so on. Life today is much easier than it
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious
Air pollution is still the most serious. It's bad to all living things in the world. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes
Many countries are making rules
5 . About 12 million tons of plastic wastes are entering the oceans every year. This garbage pollutes the water, kills wildlife and breaks down into small pieces that fish and other creatures eat.
Now a group of Spanish fishermen will receive economic support to catch plastics. It is part of a new project. Carlos Martin is one of the fishermen taking part in the project. He and his partners collect the plastic in the ocean and bring it back to land every week. Martin thinks rivers carry a lot of plastics to the sea. He says his most concern is no more than that the plastics often get caught in the nets, which makes nets not work properly. They take on mud（泥）, causing the nets to break because they weigh so much.
Under the new programs, one million pounds will support ocean cleanup efforts for fishermen like Martin. The money is coming from the European Union and the Catalan government. Sergi Tudela, the General Director of Catalonia Fisheries, is responsible for the cleanup project. He said, "We are hopeful that if we are successful in this project, we can apply it to other areas in the Mediterranean（地中海）."
Government reports show that the amount of plastic wastes washing up along the Spanish coastline has grown by 65 percent in just six years. Fishing equipment makes up a large part of the about 8 to 12 million tons of plastics left in the world's oceans every year.
Martin says the fishing community now understands how big the problem is. He says, "In the past we didn't see it that way. We took the plastic garbage and threw it back into the water. I think that after a few year here we have realized the problem. Nothing is thrown into the water; we collect everything and bring it to shore.
1. What worries Martin most about plastic wastes at the beginning?| A．They pollute the sea environment. |
| B．They affect the quality and taste of fish. |
| C．They prevent the fishing nets from working well. |
| D．They kill wildlife and reduce his fishing amount. |
| A．Getting more money to support the project. |
| B．Getting help from other European countries. |
| C．Spreading the cleanup project to more places. |
| D．Praising the European Union for their helping to the oceans. |
| A．Its members do a lot of work for free. |
| B．It has stopped using plastic fishing equipment. |
| C．It has made positive changes to fight plastic wastes. |
| D．Its members find people sill throw the garbage carelessly. |
| A．New programs are changing fishermen's life |
| B．Money is given to Spanish fishermen to clean up oceans |
| C．Traditional fishing equipment causes a lot of plastic wastes |
| D．Spanish fishermen are encouraging people to clean up oceans |
6 . Turtles have a habit of eating plastic objects floating in the sea, which may kill them. Many believe that it is because floating plastic bags look similar to jellyfish, which many types of turtles love to eat. However, lots of plastic objects that turtles eat do not look like jellyfish at all. Joseph Pfaller of the University of Florida doubts that the smell of sea micro-organisms（微生物） which live on floating plastic objects attract turtles to eat.
The kind of idea first appeared in 2016. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, noticed that certain chemicals, especially dimethyl sulphide（二甲基硫）, which can be found on plastics where micro-organisms live, are those which many seabirds sniff（嗅）to find food. These birds are more likely to eat plastics.
Since turtles usually appear above the sea surface and sniff the air when going to their feeding areas, Dr. Pfaller believed that they are following these same chemicals like those seabirds and mistakenly think that floating plastic objects are edible.
To test that idea, he and his team did an experiment using loggerhead turtles. They exposed 15 turtles to four smells: the smell of clean water; the smell of turtle-feeding food; the smell of a clean plastic bottle; and the smell of a bottle that had been kept in the ocean for five weeks to allow micro-organisms to grow on it. When sniffing both the smell of turtle-feeding food and that of five-week-old bottles, turtles kept their noses out of the water more than three times as long, and took twice as many breaths as they did when sniffing the smell of fresh bottle-plastic or clean water.
Though they have not yet tested whether dimethyl sulphide on the five-week-old bottles cause turtles to eat plastic objects, Dr. Pfaller and his team think it is highly possible.
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "edible"?| A．pleasing the eyes | B．suitable for use as food |
| C．holding the attention | D．concerned with actual use |
| A．Seabirds prefer the smell of the plastic bottles. |
| B．Seabirds feed on the food similar to the turtles'. |
| C．Seabirds produce a certain micro-organism. |
| D．Seabirds break up the plastics without difficulty. |
| A．To suggest a new way to study turtles. |
| B．To stress the importance of sea protection. |
| C．To introduce the findings on the cause of turtles' death. |
| D．To discuss the overusę of the plastic bottles. |
| A．Education. | B．Entertainment. |
| C．Science. | D．Health. |
7 . UNICEF is calling on world leaders to reduce air pollution, saying it leads to the deaths of more children yearly than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined.
Around 600,000 children under age 5 die every year from diseases caused by or worsened by outdoor and indoor air pollution, especially in poor nations, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in the introduction to a report titled “Clear the Air for Children.”
“Pollutants don't only harm children’s developing lungs, they can actually cross the blood brain barrier and permanently damage their developing brains, and, thus, their futures. No society can afford to ignore air pollution.”
UNICEF is asking world leaders to take four steps:
Reduce pollution by cutting back on fossil fuel burn and investing in energy efficiency.
Increase children's access to health care, including more immunization programs and information programs about pneumonia, a leading killer of children under 5.
Minimize children's exposure to air pollution by keeping schools away from factories and other pollution sources and using cleaner cookstoves in homes.
Improve monitoring of air pollution.
UNICEF said its air pollution report uses satellite imagery to show the global scope of the air pollution problem.
Around 2 billion children live in places with outdoor pollution exceeding World Health Organization air quality guidelines, the report said. Most of these children live in low and middle income countries.
That includes 620 million in South Asia, 520 million in Africa and 450 million in East Asia and the Pacific, UNICEF said.
The outdoor air pollution is most common in low-income, urban areas and is caused by vehicle emissions, heavy use of fossil fuels, dust and burning of waste, the report said.
The satellite map doesn't take into account the dangers of indoor pollution, primarily a problem in lower-income, rural areas where people use solid fuels like coal and wood for cooking and heating.
More than 1 billion children live in homes where solid fuels are used in this way, UNICEF said, For example, 81% of rural households, in India use this kind of fuel because it's cheap and Air pollution is an especially serious threat for children because their lungs and immune systems are developing, the report said.
Unborn children are also at risk. Studies show long-time exposure to high levels of dust matter is associated with high rates of fetal loss, premature births and lower birthrates.
1. UNICEF calls on the following steps except .| A．Reduce fossil fuel combustion | B．Give children more access to health care |
| C．Stop Children's exposure to air pollution. | D．Strengthen monitoring of air pollution |
| A．America | B．South Africa | C．East Asian and the Pacific | D．India |
| A．positive | B．negative | C．supportive | D．not mentioned |
| A．a story | B．an advertisement. | C．a geography magazine | D．a news report |
| A．The sea is getting smaller. |
| B．The sea is being polluted. |
| C．The sea is getting cleaner. |
9 . Last night’s meteor(流星) shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.
“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.”
Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.
There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers.”
Countless more animals casualties result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase person’s chances of getting cancer.
Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of high pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.
1. It happened last night that .| A．the meteors flew past before being noticed | B．the city’s lights affected the meteor watching |
| C．the city light show attracted many people | D．the meteor watching ended up as a social outing |
| A．Light pollution has remained unsolved for years. | B．Their observation equipment is in poor repair. |
| C．Meteor showers occur less often than before. | D．Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting. |
| A．create an ideal observation condition | B．lessen the chance of getting cancer |
| C．ensure citizens a good sleep at night | D．enable all creatures to live in harmony |
| A．Saving wildlife is saving ourselves. |
| B．Great efforts should be made to save energy. |
| C．New equipment should be introduced for space study. |
| D．Human activities should be environmentally friendly. |
10 . Garbage has been negatively connected with germs(细菌), dirt and useless junk. However, a recent art exhibition proved that “useless” things can have practical significance.
Dear Pretty Rubbish, an art event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFN) and digital media art company Blackbow, was held in Beijing. It looked at wasteful consumption (消耗) and asked questions about the relationship between our lifestyles and our garbage.
“We hope that everyone who visited the show can think about how ‘useless things’ are produced why they are throw away, and whether ‘useless things’ are really useless, ”said Cao Yujia, the design director of Blackbow.
The organizers said that all the raw materials for the exhibition were collected from community garbage cans.
Artists Zhou Yuxuan and Liu Yifan collected nylon cable ties (尼龙扎带), LED lights and beverage bottles from designers’ workshops to create a work where plastics, in the shape of cells “grow” in a corner. There, the lights blink (闪烁) regularly to imitate (模仿) “breathing”. When people walk near it, the work responds by forming light patterns, as if communicating with the visitor.
Speaking about the work, Zhou said. “It’s like some kind of communication between humans and plastics.” Plastic has a life longer than almost any creature, taking centuries to break down. Though people blame plastics for damage to the environment, they are a big part of our daily lives.
“So we want to ask the question: Although the damage continues, whether there is a way for humans to reconcile (调和) with plastics,” said Zhou.
Liu said that plastic waste can be used to make clothes “Re-use of plastics will be a future trend, ” he said. Cable ties are a useful and common material for fastening. Many people will buy a large bundle of them but only use a few pieces. The rest of cable ties could be re-used as a decoration in handicrafts.
“This exhibition calls for everyone to re-think their wasteful lifestyle full of single-use plastics and make changes, ”said Cao.
1. What was the purpose of Dear Pretty Rubbish?| A．To inspire people to reflect on waste management. |
| B．To remind people to live a healthy lifestyle. |
| C．To encourage people to use more plastic. |
| D．To teach people how to recycle different kinds of garbage. |
| A．Communication is important for everyone. |
| B．A community’s garbage is full of hidden treasures. |
| C．Creativity can change your life. |
| D．Plastics could be reused to reduce pollution. |
| A．An art exhibition held in Beijing. |
| B．The rise of a new lifestyle. |
| C．The many uses of plastics. |
| D．An introduction of two artists and their works. |
