1. What is getting less and less these days according to the talk?
A.Empty land. | B.Garbage. | C.Water. |
A.Burying it. |
B.Sending it out of our planet. |
C.Using it as an energy source. |
A.It is hardly ever done. |
B.It causes air pollution. |
C.It is useless for hard materials. |
2 . Plastic pollution has long been a problem, but now it's gotten to a new height literally. Microplastic, referring to plastic fragments and particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter, have been found on Mount Qomolangma as high as 8,440 meters above sea level, just 408.86 meters below the peak of the mountain, according to a recent study published in the journal One Earth.
“These are the highest microplastics ever discovered so far.” lead author Imogen Napper from the University of Plymouth, UK, said in a statement. Scientists collected snow and water samples from 19 different locations from 4,200 meters above sea level all the way up to the summit of Mount Qomolangma. They found microplastics in all the water samples and part of the snow samples. The most polluted sample was from the Base Camp in Nepal, where most human activities on the mountain are concentrated. It had 79 particles of microplastics per liter of snow.
But how have these fragments made it all this way and in such a great abundance? The answer is apparent human activities. It is climbers who bring plastic products to the mountain. Even if they don't litter, just walking for 20 minutes or opening a bottle of water can release microplastics into the environment.
The harsh fact is that plastic pollution has reached even the most remote places on Earth. Researchers even found a plastic bag al the deepest point in the world's oceans—in the Mariana Trench, located in the Pacific Ocean. The bag is the same as the ones commonly used in grocery stores. Even covered in ice, the Arctic is still a victim of plastic pollution. A 2020 report published in Nature suggests that there are 2.000 to 17,000 plastic particles per cubic meter in Arctic ice cores, and between 0 to 18 microplastic particles per cubic meter from the water beneath ice floes. Experts think microplastics may be transported by air and then reach the North Pole in snowfall.
“What we don t yet fully know is the potential problems these tiny pieces of plastic could be having to ecosystems, to organisms and even to our own health as well,” said Christian Dunn of Bangor University, UK. Then what can we do? “We need to start focusing on deeper technological solutions that focus on microplastics, like changing fabric design and including natural fibers instead of plastic when possible.”
1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?A.The polluted samples from the peak were the most serious. |
B.Plastic pollution has been discovered at high altitudes. |
C.Humans have .climbed to the peak of Mount Qomolangma. |
D.Microplastics are a newly-found material by researchers. |
A.Microplastics may go far beyond the range of human activities. |
B.The means of microplastics transportation has been confirmed. |
C.There are frequent exchanges between Arctic ice cores and ice floes. |
D.Bags from grocery stores are the main source of plastic pollution. |
A.to prohibit the use of plastic products | B.to diversify the design of microplastics |
C.to apply only natural fibrous alternatives | D.to develop more advanced technologies |
A.Litter in the Mariana Trench | B.New One Earth Campaigns |
C.Pollution Reaches New Height | D.Adventurous Human Activists |
3 . Angela never liked seeing plastic waste washed up on the shore near her home. She had been
Here's how it
The Washed Ashore team is now working on sculpture of a dolphin, with
A.offering | B.longing | C.admitting | D.hesitating |
A.landscape | B.world | C.surface | D.situation |
A.attempt | B.choice | C.program | D.instruction |
A.walks | B.applies | C.functions | D.prepares |
A.stopping | B.presenting | C.delivering | D.employing |
A.waste | B.floor | C.waves | D.creatures |
A.rethink | B.remark | C.confirm | D.announce |
A.Generally | B.Hopefully | C.Fortunately | D.Surprisingly |
A.achieved | B.observed | C.purchased | D.recommended |
A.devoted | B.surprised | C.grateful | D.adventurous |
A.guides | B.managers | C.advertisements | D.exhibitions |
A.folk | B.simple | C.special | D.strange |
A.plans | B.calls | C.elements | D.exchanges |
A.get down to | B.keep away from | C.get rid of | D.end up with |
A.answer | B.appeal | C.warning | D.response |
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 |
Traditionally, livestreamers sell delicious snacks or local goodies. But
According to the Sohu website, in 2019, about 40 million tourists visited Tibet, which in consequence left about 360 million plastic bottles
Over the past few years, more than 5,000 volunteers of different ages and from all walks of life
The livestream has successfully involved more people
6 . Sixty-six years ago, there was one human-built object in Earth’s orbit. It was Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, launched in October 1957. Try to guess how many human-made objects are circling the planet now. Ready?
Your answer is wrong, unless you guessed 100 trillion. That’s a jaw-dropping number. It was provided by an international team of researchers writing in the journal Science. For years, this junk has formed an ever-growing mass near Earth. It’s a danger to spacecraft. The researchers are calling for a global treaty to limit the number of satellites and the amount of rubbish in space.
There are 9,000 active satellites in orbit, the scientists report. That could grow to more than 60,000 by 2030. The rest of that 100 trillion figure includes everything from used-up booster rockets and stray bolts to metal flecks and paint chips. Don’t think a paint chip is harmless. Travelling at 17,500 miles per hour, it can strike a spacecraft hard. The International Space Station is dotted with dents and holes. Astronauts often take shelter in an attached spacecraft to wait out a passing swarm of space debris (残骸). That way, if the station is severely damaged, they can escape in a hurry.
The mess we’ve made in space is like the mess we’ve made in the oceans. Think of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s a mass of floating junk twice the size of Texas. We’ve had centuries to make the ocean dirty. But it has taken just decades for us to do the same in space. That’s why the Science authors include experts in satellite technology and in ocean plastic pollution. “As a marine biologist, I never imagined writing a paper on space,” writes Heather Koldewey, who works at the Zoological Society of London. Cleaning up space, she says, has a lot in common “with the challenges of tackling environmental issues in the ocean.”
Coauthor Moriba Jah is an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Marine debris and space debris,” he writes, “are both a human-made damage that is unavoidable.”
1. Why is Sputnik mentioned in paragraph 1?A.To provide background information. |
B.To introduce the topic. |
C.To make a comparison. |
D.To tell a story. |
A.What caused space debris. |
B.The number of space debris. |
C.The seriousness of space pollution. |
D.What astronauts often do in space. |
A.Ocean pollution is very serious. |
B.Ocean is the same as space. |
C.Space pollution is getting worse. |
D.She is going to write a paper on space. |
A.There is the same amount of marine debris and space debris. |
B.Humans are to blame for the space pollution. |
C.Marine and space pollution are unavoidable. |
D.Humans can do nothing to prevent space pollution. |
1. Who does the speaker probably speak to?
A.Students. | B.Teachers. | C.Parents. |
A.Paper bags. | B.Plastic bags. | C.Reusable bags. |
A.Unplugging the devices. |
B.Using energy-saving devices. |
C.Standing beside the devices. |
A.To call for people to take action. |
B.To correct some wrong ideas. |
C.To discuss different habits in life. |
8 . There are many kinds of pollution, which can be classified by environment, including air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Modern society is also concerned about specific types of pollution, such as noise pollution, light pollution and plastic pollution. Pollution of all kinds may not only have negative effects on the environment and wildlife, but also do harm to human health and well-being.
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes, use of the word “pollution” generally means that the wastes have an anthropocentric source—that is, a source created by human activities. Pollution has accompanied humankind ever since groups of people first congregated and remained for a long time in any one place. Indeed, ancient human settlements are frequently recognized by their wastes, Pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. However, with the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of people, pollution became a problem, and it has remained one ever since.
By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public. In particular, the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focused attention on environmental damage caused by improper use of pesticides such as DDT. In response, major pieces of environmental law and regulation were passed in many countries to control the environmental pollution.
Great efforts are made to limit the release of harmful substances into the environment. Unfortunately, attempts at pollution control are surpassed by the scale of the problem, especially in less-developed countries. Noxious levels of air pollution are common in large cities. To control the pollution completely, we still have a long way to go.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly talk about?A.The history of pollution. | B.The types of pollution. |
C.The causes of pollution. | D.The effects of pollution. |
A.Natural disasters. | B.Forest fires. |
C.Volcanoes. | D.Human activities. |
A.Gathered. | B.Separated. |
C.Attended. | D.Lived. |
A.No measures have been taken by the government to control the problems of pollution. |
B.The book Silent Spring helped to improve the awareness of protecting the environment. |
C.Silent Spring concentrated on the improper use of plastic bags. |
D.The pollution has been controlled in less-developed countries. |
A new bill has been
Over the past decades, the Philippines
In fact, this isn't the only positive rule
10 . 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 |