1 . Holding hands, people jumped into the water, and floated around in Boston’s Charles River recently. That is something that would not have been possible years ago because the river was so polluted. In the 1960s, the music group The Standells even sang about the river in their popular song, “Dirty Water.”

The swimmers were getting their once-a-year chance to cool off from the summer heat in the Charles River. It is called “City Splash.” For a few days each year, the state of Massachu-setts allows public swimming on Boston’s part of the nearly 130-kilometer Charles River.

The event is in its fifth year. It is a chance for the nonprofit Charles River Conservancy to show its efforts to build a “swim park.” Their idea is to build floating docks where swimmers can jump safely into the river—without touching the risky bottom. These docks would be in areas where the water quality would be tested repeatedly.

Boston is one of the cities hoping to follow the model of Copenhagen, Denmark. That city opened the first of its three floating harbor baths in the early 2000s. On sunny days, people swim in the harbor baths surrounded by tall buildings and cars on the highways. At night the area is filled with people enjoying music and food.

Just recently Paris opened public swimming in a once-polluted canal. New York London, Berlin and other cities are planning similar features for their waterways.

In Boston, the Charles River Conservancy still needs to raise several million dollars. It also needs to get approvals from city, state and federal agencies. The group’s spokeswoman, S. J. Port, said the biggest problem has already been taken care of: The Charles is now one of the cleanest city rivers in America.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this month that the river earned a “B” grade for water quality last year—an “A” being the best grade. It means the Charles River met the requirement for swimming 55 percent of the time.

1. What is the function of floating docks?

A．They are places for swimmers to rest.

B．They let swimmers get into the river safely.

C．They surround swimmers in a safe area of the river.

D．They are used to test the water quality repeatedly.

2. Which of the following has set a good example for others in offering floating harbor baths?

A．Paris.	B．Boston.
C．Copenhagen.	D．Berlin.

3. What does the underlined part “the biggest problem” refer to?

A．The pollution of Charles River.

B．Lack of money to treat pollution.

C．Getting approvals from governments.

D．Meeting the requirement of “A” grade.

4. What can be inferred from the text?

A．The water in Charles River reaches drinking standard.

B．People can swim in Charles River at any time.

C．This summer is the hottest in Boston.

D．Charles River flows through Boston.

2 . Scientists have come up with a new way to measure ocean trash(垃圾) and the numbers are even worse than thought. In 2010, eight million tons of plastic trash ended up in the ocean from coastal countries far more than the trash floating on the surface of the ocean. That ' s bad news. The even worse news is that the tonnage may increase by as much as ten times in the next decade unless the world finds a better way to improve how trash is collected and managed.

The new study identifies the major sources of plastic trash and names the top 20 countries producing the greatest amount of ocean trash. The United States is 20th. The rest of the list includes 11 Asian countries, Turkey, five African countries, and Brazil.

The size of the difference is huge --- 20 to 2,000 times more than the amount of floating trash. To make the figure eight million tons understandable, Jenna Jambeck, who led the study, compares it to lining up five grocery bags of trash on every foot of coastline around the globe. "And by 2025, those five grocery bags of plastic are going to be ten bags," she says. That would be 155 million tons a year if present trash management practices remain the same."

Ocean plastic has turned up everywhere. It has been found in the deep sea and buried in Arctic ice with terrible consequences for some 700 species of wildlife in the ocean.

The study has also created a new mystery. Because what flows into the ocean is so large, scientists now have to figure out where else it collects and in what amounts. "But what we need to do now is close the gap." says Richard Thompson, a scientist from the U.K.

1. What is the most serious problem concerning ocean trash?

A．There is no way to get rid of it.

B．Eight million tons of trash goes into the ocean.

C．A lot more trash may be put into the ocean in the future.

D．The way to measure ocean trash hasn't been found.

2. Jenna Jambeck explains the seriousness of ocean trash mainly by ______.

A．showing the causes	B．describing a process
C．making comparisons	D．making a classification

3. The underlined part “the gap” in the last paragraph refers to the difference between ______.

A．what is harmless and what is dangerous

B．what is on the surface and what is in the deep sea

C．what is found and what can be recycled

D．what is from America and what is from other countries

4. Which of the following can best describe the author 's tone in writing the text?

A．Doubtful.

B．Hopeless.

C．Critical.

D．Concerned.

3 . In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _______ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of _______ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.

How did we _______ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _______ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. _______ modern manufacturing (制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and _______.

Another cause is our _______of disposable (一次性的) products. As _______ people, we are always looking for _______ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.

Our appetite for new products also ________ to the problem. We are ________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.

All around the world, we can see the ________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ________, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ________, this is not enough to solve (解决) our problem.

Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ________ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ________. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.

1.

A．key

B．reason

C．project

D．problem

2.

A．gifts

B．rubbish

C．debt

D．products

3.

A．face

B．become

C．observe

D．change

4.

A．hide

B．control

C．replace

D．withdraw

5.

A．Thanks to

B．As to

C．Except for

D．Regardless of

6.

A．safe

B．funny

C．cheap

D．powerful

7.

A．love

B．lack

C．prevention

D．division

8.

A．sensitive

B．kind

C．brave

D．busy

9.

A．ways

B．places

C．jobs

D．friends

10.

A．donate

B．receive

C．produce

D．preserve

11.

A．adapts

B．returns

C．responds

D．contributes

12.

A．tired of

B．addicted to

C．worried about

D．ashamed for

13.

A．newer

B．stronger

C．higher

D．larger

14.

A．pick up

B．pay for

C．hold onto

D．throw away

15.

A．advantages

B．purposes

C．functions

D．consequences

16.

A．show

B．record

C．decrease

D．measure

17.

A．technology

B．environment

C．consumers

D．brands

18.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

19.

A．by

B．in favour of

C．after

D．instead of

20.

A．spending

B．collecting

C．repairing

D．advertising