1 . If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go in darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal (夜间活动) species on this planet. Instead, we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun’s light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it’s the only way to explain what we’ve done to the night: We’ve engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky. Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels — and light rhythms — to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life is affected.
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars, leaving behind a vacant haze (霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark. We’ve grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit night — dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth — is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost.
We’ve lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further from the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.
Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint, including their nighttime breeding choruses. Humans are no less trapped by light pollution than the frogs. Like most other creatures, we do need darkness. Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.
Living in a glare of our own making, we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage — the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night. In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.
1. According to the passage, human beings .| A．prefer to live in the darkness |
| B．are used to living in the day light |
| C．were curious about the midnight world |
| D．had to stay at home with the light of the moon |
| A．The night. | B．The moon. | C．The sky. | D．The planet. |
| A．provide examples of animal protection. |
| B．show how light pollution affects animals. |
| C．compare the living habits of both species. |
| D．explain why the number of certain species has declined. |
| A．The Magic Light. | B．The Orange Haze. |
| C．The Disappearing Night. | D．The Rhythms of Nature. |
2 . Pollution of the world’s rivers from medicines and pharmaceutical (制药的) products poses a “threat to environmental and global health”, a report says.
Various drugs were widely detected in a University of York study. The research is among the most extensive conducted on a global scale. Rivers in Pakistan, Bolivia and Ethiopia were among the most polluted. Rivers in Iceland, Norway and Amazon Rainforest were the least polluted.
The impact of many of the most common pharmaceutical substances in rivers is still largely unknown. But it is already well established that dissolved human contraceptives (避孕药) can impact the development and reproduction of fish, and scientists fear the increased presence of antibiotics (抗生素) in rivers could limit their effectiveness as medicines.
The study took samples from more than 1,000 test sites in more than 100 countries. Overall, more than a quarter of the 258 rivers sampled had what are known as “active pharmaceutical ingredients” present at a level considered unsafe for life in water.
“Typically, what happens is, we take these chemicals, they have some desired effects on us and then they leave our bodies,” Dr. John Wilkinson, who led the research, said. “What we know now is that even the most modern efficient wastewater treatment plants aren’t completely capable of removing these substances before they end up in rivers or lakes.”
The report said the increased presence of antibiotics in rivers could also lead to the development of resistant bacteria, damaging the effectiveness of medicines and finally posing “a global threat to environmental and global health”.
The most polluted sites were largely in low-income to middle-income countries, and in areas where there was poor wastewater management and pharmaceutical production. “This is most concerning because you have the weakest populations with the least access to healthcare exposed to this,” said Dr. Mohamed Abdallah from the UK’s Birmingham University.
On the question of what can be done, Dr. Wilkinson suggested, “One of the few things that could have an effect right now is the proper use of medicines.” That would mean making it harder to get hold of medicines like antibiotics, and tougher restrictions on doses (剂量).
1. In which county were rivers the least polluted?| A．Pakistan. | B．Bolivia. | C．Ethiopia. | D．Iceland. |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing different facts. | D．By debating and concluding. |
| A．Positive. | B．Hateful. | C．Worried. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．How to Deal with the Pollution in the Rivers |
| B．The Proper Use of Medicines such as Antibiotics |
| C．Most Rivers in the World Have Been Polluted Seriously |
| D．Pharmaceutical Products Left in Rivers Threaten Creatures and People’s Health |
3 . Oil spills (泄漏) are common. When they happen, they can cause a lot of damage.
How Oil Spills Happen
Oil is a fossil fuel. It’s used in gasoline. That powers boats, cars, and trucks. It’s also used to make things. Some plastics, paints, and makeups are made with oil. Oil can be found below the ocean floor. Machines drill beneath the ocean. Then the oil is pumped out. This is called extraction (开采). It’s one way oil can accidentally leak. Oil spills can also be caused by transporting or moving oil.
Impacting the Environment
In the United States, thousands of oil spills happen each year. It can take years to clean up after a large spill. But even small leaks and spills can cause damage. Oil spills can have long-lasting effects. They hurt wildlife. Birds get oil on their feathers. They can’t fly. Sea otters (海獭) get oil in their fur. This makes it hard for them to stay warm. Oil creates poisonous gas. This makes it hard for whales to breathe.
Larger oil spills are a danger for people and wildlife. Spilled oil must be removed from the environment. Emergency response teams are called in to do the work. There are several ways to clean up oil spills.
●Shoreline flushing (冲刷). Pipes flush oil from the shore. The oil is washed into the water. It’s more easily collected there.
●Booms. Booms are floating barriers. They are used to stop oil from spreading on the water’s surface.
●Sorbents. Sorbents act like sponges (海绵). They absorb oil but do not pick up water.
●Burning. Newly spilled oil can be set on fire. This helps remove the oil that is floating on the water.
1. What can we know about oil spills?| A．They are uncommon. | B．They are easy to clean up. |
| C．They affect the environment. | D．They are not a danger for people. |
| A．They can’t swim. | B．They can’t breathe. |
| C．They can’t find enough food. | D．They can hardly stay warm. |
| A．Pipes. | B．Booms. | C．Sponges. | D．Boats. |
4 . A new study suggests classic paintings by well-known Impressionists Joseph Turner and Claude Monet may have been influenced by air pollution during the Industrial Revolution.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by authors from Harvard and Sorbonne universities, analyzed 60 oil paintings by Turner from 1796 to 1850 and 38 paintings by Monet from 1864 to 1901.
Scientists don’t know exactly how polluted the cities were during that time for lack of data. However, researchers say examining the works of Turner and Monet can give a picture of long-term environmental change with the air pollution.
In particular, researchers said changes in local sulfur dioxide emissions from burning coal may explain changes in the colour contrast and intensity of Tuner, Monet, and others’ works, even after taking into account the artistic trends and subject matter of the time.
Scientists successfully measured painters’ representation of nature, focusing on differences in local weather patterns which influenced colour in works painted in different parts of Europe. Paintings’ done in Britain generally feature a paler blue sky than other works in other parts of the continent. Generally, artists can historically accurately represent their environment, so Turner and Monet were chosen because they are famous for their landscape and cityscape paintings and also because they were active during the Industrial Revolution, when air pollution grew at a rate never seen before.
Additionally, researchers say that as the air in London and Paris became more polluted, the cities would appear hazier to the eyes as well as in photographs. By comparing the paintings of Turner and Monet to pictures from the era, they were able to determine the artists were at least partly influenced by the change in emissions.
1. What did the researchers find in the works of Turner and Monet?| A．Change in subject matter. | B．Air pollution at that time. |
| C．Social trends of the period. | D．Development of photography. |
| A．referring to relevant historical records |
| B．comparing the paintings of Turner and Monet |
| C．relating the paintings to the air conditions then |
| D．analyzing the data during the Industrial Revolution |
| A．European artists preferred landscape paintings. |
| B．Scientists focused on studying weather patterns. |
| C．Turner and Monet intended to present pollution. |
| D．Britain suffered from air pollution most in Europe. |
| A．To inform people of a new discovery. |
| B．To instruct people to appreciate paintings. |
| C．To introduce the Industrial Revolution. |
| D．To call on people to protect the environment. |
5 . A strong sense of smell is a key component of a healthy and enjoyable life. Yet our sense of smell is in decline as a result of an unnoticed threat to our health: air pollution.
Scientists are finding that anosmia, a loss of the sense of smell, is becoming a widespread problem among people of all ages exposed to PM2. 5 pollutants constantly, which are tiny particles (微粒) that can enter our bodies with every breath we take.
The reason, they suggest, is that the olfactory bulbs (嗅球), which are located in our noses and packed with nerve endings, are affected by exposure to air pollution. The tiny particles cause illness either in the bulbs themselves or in the brain, impacting our sense of smell over time, “Our data show the risk of developing anosmia with constant particulate pollution is 1.6 to 1.7 times higher,” says Ramanathan, a doctor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, America.
Ramanathan is an author of a recent study of nearly 2,700 patients, a fifth of whom had anosmia despite many of them being non- smokers.’ When he and his colleagues looked into the backgrounds of the affected patients, they found most of them lived in neighborhoods with significantly higher levels of air pollution.
The findings prove other studies with similar findings. One of these studies, conducted in a town in Italy, found that more than 200 teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 suffered olfactory damage as a result of exposure to NO2, a common component in traf-fic emissions. “This is alarming as olfactory loss affects patient safety, well-being, and it is a predictor of poor health,” says Ramanathan.
Yet the loss of a sense of smell is a condition that is often overlooked though it can bring about numerous health problems. A sense of smell is linked to memory as well and life is a lot less fun without it. “People don’t remember what the pastry that they ate in childhood looked like, but they remember what the shop smelled like,” says Ramanathan.
1. How air pollution negatively influences our sense of smell!?| A．It blocks the inside transport of information. |
| B．It prevents the nerve system functioning normally. |
| C．It leads to the brain requiring more time to respond. |
| D．It results in diseases in the olfactory bulbs or the brain, |
| A．Air pollution can rob us of our sense of smell. |
| B．Smokers are more likely to suffer from anosmia. |
| C．Traffic emissions contribute a lot to air pollution. |
| D．Exposure to PM2.5 pollutants occasionally is harmless. |
| A．Confusing and astonishing. | B．Complicated but treatable. |
| C．Critical and concerning. | D．Disturbing but temporary. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A science website. |
| C．A biology textbook. | D．An art magazine. |
6 . Plastic is everywhere. A lot of it ends up in the ocean. Most plastics in the ocean break up into very small particles called “micro-plastics”—less than five millimeters in length or about the size of a sesame (芝麻) seed. It is the most common type of marine debris (垃圾) found in the ocean. Plastic debris can come in all shapes and sizes and be harmful to our ocean and water life.
Micro-plastics come from various sources, including larger plastic debris that degrades into smaller pieces. In addition, micro-beads, a type of smaller micro-plastic, are very tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene (聚乙烯) plastic added as exfoliants (去角质剂) to health and beauty products,like toothpastes. These tiny particles easily pass through water systems and end up in the ocean, posing a potential threat to water life. What is worse, these micro-beads or plastic particles in the marine environment are eaten by plankton (浮游生物)，which are then eaten by fish. They continue to work their way up the food chain until they reach our dinner plates.
New research has shown that household dust is a more likely source of micro-plastics. According to researchers,114 pieces of micro-plastic settle on a dinner plate during the 20-minute duration of a meal. adding up to anywhere between 13,000 and 68,000pieces per year. And when you breathe in air, you could be breathing in the microscopic plastic particles as well.
How about drinking water? The non-profit journalism organization Orb Media tested 259 bottles of water bought from 9 different countries. The tests found that there was an average of 10. 4 plastic particles (0. 1 millimeters or larger) per liter of water. That level of micro-plastics in bottled water was double the level found in tap water. The findings suggest if you drink one liter of bottled water per day, you could be consuming tens of thousands of micro-plastic particles each year.
It is apparent that the problem of micro-plastics is still a huge one.
1. Where is the text probably taken from?| A．A science lecture. | B．A tourism brochure. |
| C．A wildlife website. | D．A water advertisement. |
| A．To state micro-plastics are eatable. | B．To show micro-plastics are common. |
| C．To prove micro-plastics are small. | D．To explain micro-plastics are light. |
| A．Plastic debris→ health products →plankton →micro-beads →fish →humans’ body |
| B．Plastic debris →health products →plankton →fish →micro-beads →humans’ body |
| C．Plastic debris →micro -beads →health products →plankton →fish →humans’ body |
| D．Plastic debris →micro-beads →health products →fish →plankton →humans’ body |
| A．The Harmful Effects of Micro-plastics | B．The Development of Plastics |
| C．The Polluted Drinking Water | D．The Measures to Protect the Oceans |
Coca-Cola
The annual audit(审计)，
“The world's top polluting corporations claim to be working hard to solve plastic pollution,
Coca-Cola came under fire from environmental campaigners earlier this year when it announced it would not abandon plastic bottles, saying they
8 . The Japanese government, citizens and groups are debating what to do with radioactive water from the disabled nuclear power plant near Fukushinma. An earthquake on March 11, 2011 caused severe damage to three of the six nuclear reactors at the Fukushinma Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Since then, Japanese officials have been trying to contain and clear up the damage.
The Associated Press recently observed the decontamination (净化) process taking place there. Officials are trying to decide what to do with 1.2 million tons of radioactive water being stored at Fukushinma. The nuclear center is operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. , or TEPCO. The company says it needs to free up space as work on the damaged reactors reaches an important point. Many people expect TEPCO to slowly release the water into the ocean near the nuclear center. The government has already approved the plan.
However, it is not clear when the company will carry out the plan. Local people oppose it because that could hurt the fishing industry. Sales of fish caught off the coast near Fukushinma are half what they were before the nuclear disaster. Fish caught in the area have been approved for sale after radioactivity testing by health officials.
TEPCO Chief Decommissioning Officer Akira Ono said the water must be removed. He says crews need the space currently occupied by the water tanks. In their place, workers will set up structures to hold melted reactor wreckage(反应堆残骸).
People wear protective clothing and head coverings to work in the most radioactive areas around the nuclear center. But underground conditions remain dangerous and radioactive water is leaking from the melted reactors and mixing with groundwater. This water is being pumped into containers to keep it from flowing into the sea. The polluted water from underground is processed and filtered to remove dangerous radioactive elements. Tritium(氚) is the only radioactive material that remains. Japan's industry ministry and nuclear officials say tritium is not harmful in small amounts. However, although officials try to ease public fear, there are worries that fish might be affected if the water is released into the sea.
1. What do we know from the text?| A．The Fukushinma disaster was caused by humans. |
| B．Tons of radioactive water has been leaked into the ocean. |
| C．Melted reactor wreckage will take up most of the region. |
| D．Japan is struggling with the clean-up of radioactive pollution. |
| A．Making room for the damaged reactors. |
| B．Releasing the water into the nearby ocean. |
| C．Filtering the water near the nuclear center. |
| D．Storing the radioactive water in the nuclear center. |
| A．It can be found in the polluted water. |
| B．It has aroused great panic among residents. |
| C．It does no harm to fish. |
| D．It exists in a solid form. |
| A．The groundwater has been severely polluted in Fukushinma. |
| B．People in Fukushinma used to earn their living by fishing. |
| C．It is hard for the authorities to earn the public's trust. |
| D．It is unclear when TEPCO will remove the radioactive water. |
9 . Hardware in general, and smartphones in particular, have become a huge environmental and health problem in the Global South' s landfill sites(垃圾填埋场).
Electronic waste(e-waste) currently takes up 5 percent of all global waste, and it is set to increase rapidly as more of us own more than one smartphone, laptop and power bank. They end up in places like Agbogbloshie on the outskirts of Ghana's capital, Accra.It is the biggest e-waste dump in the world, where 10,000 informal workers walk through tons of abandoned goods as part of an informal recycling process.They risk their health searching for the precious metals that are found in abandoned smartphones.
But Agbogbloshie should not exist. The Basel Convention, a 1989 treaty aims to prevent developed nations from unauthorized dumping of e-waste in less developed countries. The E-waste industry, however, circumvents the regulations by exporting e-waste labelled as “secondhand goods” to poor countries like Ghana, knowing full well that it is heading for a landfill site.
A recent report found Agbogbloshie contained some of the most dangerous chemicals.This is not surprising: smartphones contain chemicals like mercury(水银), lead and even arsenic (砷 ) Reportedly, one egg from a free-range chicken in Agbogbloshie contained a certain chemical which can cause cancer and damage the immune system at a level that's about 220 times greater than a limit set by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), Most worryingly, these poisonous chemicals are free to pollute the broader soil and water system. This should concern us all, since some of Ghana's top exports are cocoa and nuts.
Some governments have started to take responsibility for their consumers' waste.For example, Germany has started a project that includes a sustainable recycling system at Agbogbloshie, along with a health clinic for workers.However, governments cannot solve the problem alone, as there is am almost limitless consumer demand for hardware, especially when governments’ green policies are focused on issues like climate change.
Only the manufacturers can fix this.A more economically sustainable and politically possible solution is through encouraging hardware manufacturers to make the repair, reuse and recycling of hardware profitable, or at least cost-neutral.
1. What can we infer from paragraph2?| A．Electronic products need improving urgently. |
| B．Electronic waste is too complex to get fully recycled. |
| C．Electronic waste requires more landfill sites across Ghana. |
| D．Electronic pollution is a burning question in Agbogbloshie. |
| A．Tightens |
| B．Abolishes |
| C．Avoids |
| D．Follows |
| A．The violation of EFSA’s standard |
| B．The lack of diversity in Ghana s exports. |
| C．The damage to chickens immune system |
| D．The threat of polluted food around the world |
| A．Manufacturers' developing a sustainable hardware economy. |
| B．Governments' adjusting their green policies about e-waste. |
| C．Reducing customers' demands for electronic products. |
| D．Letting governments take on the main responsibility. |
10 . Do you still remember the haze（雾霾）in the winter? So many people got terribly ill during or after the haze.
Spend less time outdoors.This is the most effective way for self-protection in such bad weather.With PM2.5 increasing 103mg per cubic meter,residents will risk a 2.29% increase of death,which experts found out in 2012.If you have to get out,avoid riding bicycles.
Close your windows.Experts advice residents to avoid opening windows at home.If you have to ,avoid the time when smog is at its densest（浓的）.
Smoke less.
| A．Wear masks. |
| B．Pay attention to other daily things. |
| C．Also avoid rush hours,when pollutants will be denser. |
| D．That’s because haze does harm to the health of people. |
| E．Cigarettes could cause more particulate matters,which are included in PM2.5 . |
| F．Take more fruits and vegetables instead,which are good for lung,spleen（脾）and kidney（肾）. |
| G．For residents who use air-conditioner,make sure your apartment has enough oxygen indoors. |
