1 . A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.
“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”
For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”
Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.
1. How does traffic pollution affect people according to the study?| A．Exhausting their body. | B．Decreasing their income. |
| C．Endangering their safety. | D．Harming their brain function. |
| A．Growth. | B．Sport. | C．Memory. | D．Behaviour. |
| A．Avoid being exposed to the polluted air constantly. |
| B．Be mindful of the air quality in a new city. |
| C．Measure the brain activity in laboratories. |
| D．Stay inside a house as often as possible. |
| A．A Role Of Brain Will Be Ruined |
| B．Traffic Pollution May Impair Brain Function |
| C．A Famous UK University Did A Vital Study |
| D．A Source Of Pollution Has Drawn People’s Attention |
2 . You are welcome to our channel. An interest in the way ocean currents move led Dr. Erik van Sebille to track garbage. This Dutch scientist hopes that by making us aware of how much we litter our oceans, we’ll be motivated to better stash (存放) our garbage.
Question: Where does the garbage in our oceans come from ?Answer: It can come from litter people leave behind on beaches. Or from things falling off ships. Almost every river’s garbage will end up in the ocean too. Plastic garbage is the biggest problem, though. That’s because it doesn’t easily break down. It can stay in the ocean for thousands of years. Eventually, it arrives at the garbage patches (垃圾带).
Question: Does this mean that ocean garbage is worse than garbage on land ?
Answer: Litter in the ocean is probably just as bad as litter in a forest or a park. The main problem in either place is that, if animals eat plastic pieces, they can become very ill. But we know how to solve the problem: Just stop polluting!
Question: Many persons love tossing a message in a bottle into the ocean. Is that a bad idea ?
Answer: Finding a bottle with a message in it is awesome, very special! But most bottles will never end up on a beach. They’ll turn up in the garbage patches, where it’s unlikely that someone will find them. If you want to play with ocean currents, go to the website and release virtual bottles. That way, you’re not littering our oceans.
1. Animals can become very ill if they _______________.
| A．turn up in the garbage patches. | B．arrive at the garbage patches. |
| C．eat plastic pieces. | D．play with bottles. |
| A．educative. | B．useful. | C．interesting. | D．meaningless. |
| A．story. | B．poem. | C．scientific article. | D．television interview. |
3 . As newer, more advanced technologies come out, huge amounts of electronics (电子产品) are thrown away, instead of being reused. These goods often end up in landfills, where the chemicals inside them may be a danger to the environment. Electronics can contain harmful materials. If these materials get into the ground or water, the pollution can cause serious problems. Most electronics require metals. These metals must be mined from the Earth. Often the mining process creates serious pollution.
A group known as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum is trying to make people more aware of the problems of e-waste. Recently, the WEEE Forum asked researchers from the United Nations (UN) to study a kind of e-waste that’s often not noticed because people don’t consider the goods to be electronics. The WEEE Forum calls this kind “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The UN study shows that about 1/6 of all e-waste is “unable-to-be-seen”. Though it’s “unable-to-be-seen”, it’s certainly not a small amount. The “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste weighs about 9 billion kilograms. The WEEE Forum says that if this e-waste were put into 40-ton trucks and the trucks were then lined up, the line of trucks would be about 5,630 kilometers long.
The surprising kind leading the “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste group was toys. Worldwide, roughly 7.3 billion electronic toys are thrown away each year. These include goods like car racing sets, electric trains, and musical toys. They also include toys with electronic parts, like dolls that speak or games with electronic timers. In all, toys make up about 35% of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste. But the problem is far larger than just toys. The report also shows that other everyday goods like home alarms, smoke alarms, power tools, and computer cables (电缆) are also big sources of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The WEEE Forum is hoping that as more people and governments become aware of e-waste, they will make a much greater effort to make sure electronics get reused.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The amount of electronics. | B．The development of electronics. |
| C．The ways of reusing electronics. | D．The pollution of electronics. |
| A．People’s interest in electronics’ character. |
| B．People’s impression on electronics’ package. |
| C．People’s misunderstanding of electronics. |
| D．People’s struggle to adapt to electronics. |
| A．By showing numbers. | B．By providing examples. |
| C．By making a summary. | D．By making a comparison, |
| A．Designing advanced electronics. | B．Making electronics get reused. |
| C．Stopping giving away electronics. | D．Reducing electronics’ production. |
4 . 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 |
5 . The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by S02 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must care about the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. Why is our world becoming much smaller?| A．Thanks to the development of science. |
| B．Because of the rise in pollution. |
| C．Because the earth is being polluted day and night. |
| D．Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year. |
| A．Rubbish. | B．Water pollution. |
| C．Air pollution. | D．Noise pollution. |
| A．Because it’s bad for all living things in the world. |
| B．Because it makes much noise. |
| C．Because it has made our rivers and lakes dirty. |
| D．Because it makes us become angry more easily. |
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth. |
| C．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does. |
| D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of S02. |
The babies of women living in high air pollution neighborhoods may have lower IQs. A study followed low-income pregnant women in the South Bronx and upper Manhattan. The women
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7 . One company in Japan is working with farmers in the coastal town of Namie. Nearby is the Fukushima nuclear (原子能的) center, closed since a nuclear disaster there in March 2011.
Jinichi Abe is a local rice farmer. He says people do not want to buy his rice because they worry it is polluted. The farmer has been trying for years to recover from the effects of the disaster.
Now, he has a new way to sell his rice. Tokyo-based company Biomass Resin opened a factory in Namie in November, 2022. It turns locally grown rice into materials that can be made into all kinds of products, including plastic tools, food containers and shopping bags.
“Without growing rice, this town can’t recover, the 85-year-old Abe said, adding that in the years since the disaster, he has tried selling rice as animal feed, among other things. “Even now, we can’t sell it as Fukushima rice,” Abe said. “So having Biomass come is a huge help. We can grow rice without worries.”
In 2011, officials ordered people in the area to retreat when the nuclear disaster happened. In 2017, the government allowed some people to return to their lives in Namie after a cleanup of the area. But about 80 percent of the town’s land remains off-limits and currently about 2,000 people live there, while about 21,000 people lived in Namie before the accident.
Biomass Resin now employs 10 people in Namie, including a 20-year-old who returned, and the company hopes to expand (扩大). It uses only about 50 tons of Namie rice. The rest of the 1,500 tons needed is mainly from elsewhere in Fukushima. But the company says it will buy a larger amount from Abe and his cooperative (合作社) next year, grown on the freshly cleared fields.
1. Why don’t people want to buy Abe’s rice?| A．It tastes terrible. | B．It costs too much. |
| C．It may go bad quickly. | D．It may affect their health. |
| A．Hide. | B．Leave. | C．Volunteer. | D．Relax. |
| A．It has been studying nuclear for years. |
| B．It plans to open more factories in Namie. |
| C．It processes about 1,500 tons of rice a year. |
| D．It decides to help the farmers clear more fields. |
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. |
| C．A farmer’s story. | D．A research paper. |
8 . The plastic value chain faces two key challenges: controlling plastic waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The chemical industry has a unique role to play in addressing these challenges. Cooperation between upstream and downstream partners is essential to develop solutions that reduce plastic pollution and emissions in plastic production. SABIC(Saudi Basic Industries Corporation)is at the forefront of these efforts.
SABIC has set specific goals, including a commitment to achieve icarbon neutrality(碳中 和) by 2050. To realize this goal, the company has outlined a Carbon Neutrality Roadmap that focuses on five pathways: energy efficiency; renewable energy; electrification; carbon capture, usage and storage(CCUS); and green/blue hydrogen.
Recognizing the scale of the challenges, SABIC understands that progress cannot be made alone. The company actively cooperates through initiatives, such as the Low — Carbon Emitting Technologies(LCET) initiative, where chemical companies work together to accelerate the development of technology solutions for carbon neutrality.
Partnerships are also vital in addressing plastic waste. SABIC is a founding member of the Alliance(联盟) to End Plastic Waste, an organization that brings stakeholders(利益相关者) from across the value chain together to take collective action on the ground. The alliance works towards a future where plastic products never end up in landfills or oceans, but instead are reused or transformed into new products. SABIC is also actively involved in driving the transition from a linear to a circular carbon economy. As responsible plastic producers, SABIC recognizes the importance of offering sustainable materials to customers.
Although the chemical industry has made significant progress, there is still more work to do to achieve the goals. SABIC is already making progress on the complex, long—term effort required and will continue to partner with others to increase the solutions needed to push meaningful change.
1. What kind of difficulty is the plastic value chain faced with?| A．Exploring renewable energy. | B．Reducing plastic production. |
| C．Decreasing plastic pollution. | D．Achieving carbon neutrality. |
| A．Technology development. | B．Partners’ cooperation. |
| C．Carbon neutrality. | D．Sustainable development. |
| A．Fruitless | B．Predictable. | C．Frustrating. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．SABIC: A leader mapping the path forward. |
| B．SABIC: A leader solving the plastic pollution. |
| C．SABIC: A leader reducing greenhouse gas emission. |
| D．SABIC:A leader founding the plastic value chain. |
9 . Objects in the night sky are disappearing from view because of light pollution, according to a new study. Outdoor lighting from street lamps, office buildings and vehicle headlights leads to sky less bright, which is when the night sky gets brighter. The brighter it is at night, the harder it is to see stars and planets from Earth.
Christopher Kyba, an astronomer with the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, led his team studying over 50, 000 star observations between 2011 and 2022. “If the brightening of the night sky continues at the current rate,” Kyba said, “a child born in a place where 250 stars are visible will only be able to see 100 stars by the time he or she turned 18.”
The issue is global but particularly common in North America, where 80% of people cannot see the Milky Way galaxy (银河系). This huge group of billions of stars should look like a wide strip of light in the dark night sky. However, only very remote places, such as the Sahara Desert and the Amazon Rain Forest, have a truly dark night sky.
Light pollution makes it harder for astronomers to study stars and planets. It also causes problems for animals. Animals active at night like bats become confused and crash into objects. Turtles that hatch (孵化)at night need moonlight to find the sea, but artificial lights can confuse them and make them head inland instead. Birds in cities often wake up and start singing earlier than they should. Human lights also cause themselves to produce less of a chemical called melatonin(褪黑激素). This can lead to sleep problems, headaches, tiredness, and mood issues.
To help, scientists want to raise awareness of light pollution. They suggest that people use outdoor lighting that causes less light pollution, such as motion-sensitive lights that switch on only when they’re needed.
1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text?| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By offering evidence. |
| C．By making comparison. |
| D．By bringing up the issue. |
| A．Light pollution is becoming serious. |
| B．Adults are easier to see stars than kids. |
| C．Stars are becoming fewer year by year. |
| D．Kids are losing interest in watching stars. |
| A．Turtles are forced to hatch at sea. |
| B．Humans produce more melatonin. |
| C．Bats can get lost during the flight. |
| D．Birds in cities wake up much later. |
| A．A New Origin of Light Pollution |
| B．Light Is Making Stars Unobserved |
| C．Ways to Deal with Light Pollution |
| D．Light Causes Human Sleep Issues |
10 . A sea of plastic is a disaster that we are currently facing. Our oceans are filled with plastic waste, and it is causing significant harm to marine life and the environment. The cause of this problem is the overuse of plastic in our daily lives, which is not being disposed (处置) of properly. Plastic waste is often thrown into the ocean, where it takes hundreds of years to decompose.
A recent study has shown that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, and this number is only increasing. This plastic waste is not only harming marine life, but it is also affecting human health. Fish that consume plastic are often caught and sold for human consumption, which means that we are also ingesting plastic.
To combat this problem, we need to reduce our use of plastic and properly dispose of it. We can start by using reusable bags, water bottles, and containers instead of single-use plastic. We can also recycle plastic waste and dispose of it properly to prevent it from ending up in the ocean.
Governments and businesses also need to take action to reduce plastic waste. They can implement (执行) policies and regulations to reduce the use of plastic and encourage recycling. Businesses can also switch to more sustainable packaging options to reduce their plastic waste.
In conclusion, a sea of plastic is a significant problem that we need to address urgently. By reducing our use of plastic and properly disposing of it, we can prevent further harm to the environment and marine life. It is time for us to take action and make a positive change for the future.
1. What worsens the plastic waste problem, according to paragraph 1?| A．The oceans are getting warmer and warmer. |
| B．The plastic is becoming cheaper to produce. |
| C．It turned out an issue that received little attention. |
| D．It takes several centuries for plastic waste to break down. |
| A．releasing | B．producing | C．swallowing | D．reducing |
| A．What the effects are of the plastic waste on humans. |
| B．What the three-Rs are to deal with the plastic waste problem. |
| C．What laws should be passed to deal with the plastic waste problem. |
| D．What individuals and society need do to solve the plastic waste problem. |
| A．It’s a call to action on it. | B．It’s an analysis of its cause. |
| C．It’s an introduction to a study on it. | D．It’s a warning of its consequences. |
