1 . The world has a plastic problem—and it is increasing.
1.Replace plastic bags. People use a lot of plastic bags worldwide every year.About 10 percent are used in the United States alone. That’s almost one bag per American per day.
2.Skip the straw(吸管).Today, around 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches.
3.Use limited plastic bottles. Buy a reusable bottle and fill it with any type of beverage(饮料)you like.
4.Avoid plastic packaging materials.Don’t buy fruit or vegetables in plastic packaging.In the United Kingdom, leaders are calling for supermarkets to have plasticfree areas.They also want to tax plastic takeout containers.
5.Recycle. We can’t recycle all plastic items, but it is possible to recycle most bottles and milk or juice cartons.Today, Norway recycles 97 percent of its plastic bottle.How?
A.Likewise, the average Dane(丹麦人) uses four plastic bags per day. |
B.In contrast, the average Dane uses four singleuse bags per year. |
C.So when you order a drink, say no to the straw, or bring your own reusable one. |
D.However, there are still loads of people ignoring the seriousness of it. |
E.Scientists are working to find a longterm solution by making plastic more biodegradable (可降解的). |
F.Some cities, like Bundanoon in Australia and San Francisco in the U.S., have completely or partially banned bottled water. |
G.Machines at most supermarkets take the bottles and give a refund (退款) of up to 2.5 kroner (32 cents) per bottle. |
Nowadays, our living conditions are becoming increasingly serious owing to the destruction of our environment. Many plants and
It is obvious that there are many reasons
Personally, I hold the view that effective measures must be taken
Factory farming involves
The main
On the other hand, opponents of factory farming say that it is cruel to the animals. For instance, many farm animals are kept in small spaces
To sum up, despite producing cheap food, factory farming is bad for the planet and for the animals themselves. We should try to reduce this kind of farming, although we would have to pay more for our eggs
4 . In May 2021, a hole was found in a robotic arm aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The main cause was believed to be a piece of space junk. While thankfully no astronauts were injured, it has refocused attention on the growing problem of orbital debris (残骸).
It’s easy to forget that just seventy years ago the Moon was the only thing orbiting the Earth. On January 1st, 2021, there were 6,542 satellites in orbit. Actually, only over half of them were active. That’s a lot of useless metal rushing around the planet at 28,000 kilometers per hour.
Jan Wörner, the former European Space Agency Director General, put it this way, “Imagine how dangerous sailing the high seas would be if all the ships ever lost in history were still moving around on top of the water.” In fact, even the smallest pieces can cause huge amounts of damage.
The problem is very bad and getting worse. There are now about half a million pieces of debris about one centimeter wide or larger and 100 million pieces of debris above one millimeter across. Yet only 27,000 pieces are actively tracked.
Space is only going to get more crowded, with the number of satellite launches set to increase by five times in the next ten years. In January 2021, 143 satellites were launched into space on a single SpaceX Falcon rocket alone. And 12,000 more are to be put in orbit by Starlink over the next five years. All this greatly raises the chances of crashes.
Better control of new launches would help as right now it’s a bit of a free-for-all. Increased tracking of existing space junk could also help because active satellites can be moved off a crash course—yet dead satellites are sitting ducks and there’s nothing we can do to prevent a crash. That’s why many are calling for a clean-up job. A space debris removal task called ClearSpace-1 will be launched in 2025 and attempt to deorbit (使...脱离轨道) the upper stage of a rocket left in space back in 2013.
1. What can we learn about space junk?A.It can be recycled for other uses. | B.It has injured astronauts in space. |
C.It first appeared over seventy years ago. | D.It threatens the safety of space activities. |
A.The high speed of orbital debris. | B.The complex procedures of debris clean-up. |
C.The large amount of untracked space debris. | D.The ineffective functions of clean-up facilities. |
A.By listing numbers. | B.By offering solutions. |
C.By explaining the causes. | D.By stressing the efforts. |
A.Orbital Debris: What Results in It? | B.Satellite Launches: The More the Merrier? |
C.Space Junk: Is It a Disaster Waiting to Happen? | D.Satellite crashes: Who Should Be Responsible? |
5 . London is in a valley. So towns in valleys see the surrounding air staying to the lower point. During the night, cold air from surrounding hills falls down in the valleys. The fog reputation of London, which called the smog, comes from the fact that the houses were, in the past, heated by coal. Houses and factories gave off much pollution in the air and, in order to condense (浓缩) into tiny water droplets, moisture (湿度) needs to be in contact with something that has a mass. So, the valley, the city, the coal heating, a high pressure with no wind and staying air... and you get the London’s smog.
In common with many countries, Britain has serious environmental problems. In 1952,more than 4,000 people died in London because of the worst smog. The government introduced new laws to stop smog from coal fires and factories and the situation improved a lot.
Today, London is much cleaner but there is a new problem: smog from cars. In December 1991,there was very little wind in London and pollution increased a lot. As a result, about 160 people died from pollution in just four days.
Part of the problem is the new “out of town” shopping centers. In the past, people often walked to shops near their homes or went by bus. Now, many people drive to the new shopping centers. As a result, the small shops have disappeared and more people have to travel to do their shopping.
Many people are trying to reduce the use of cars in Britain. Some cities now have special bicycle paths and many people cycle to work. Some people also travel to work together in one car to reduce the pollution and cost.
Sometimes people take “direct action”. In 1995,for example, many people wanted to stop a new road from being built near Newbury. They set up houses in trees and lived there for many months. It took a long time to force the people out of the trees before the construction work on the road could continue.
1. Which of the following isn’t the direct cause of smog in London?A.The valley. | B.The staying air. | C.The coal heating. | D.The developed industry. |
A.The government once introduced a law against smog from cars and factories. |
B.London is much cleaner than before so nobody dies from pollution any longer. |
C.Now smog in London mainly comes from cars. |
D.The “direct action” taken in 1995 was a successful example of people reducing the use of cars. |
A.They prefer to do shopping in big shopping centers outside the town. |
B.Small shops near their homes have disappeared. |
C.Many new shopping centers have appeared outside the town. |
D.It has become a fashion to do shopping in large shopping centers. |
A.To Reduce the Use of Cars | B.The Disadvantages Brought by the Use of Cars |
C.Smog from Cars in Britain | D.People’s Actions against Smog |
My aim in life is
There is no
A. balance B. communicate C. contaminated D. deprive E. disruptive F. dramatically G. interrupt H. mate I. occupational J. respectively K. vibrations |
Noisy Earth
When we think of pollution, we usually think of harmful toxins in the environment. For example, air pollution is
Noise pollution consists of loud sounds in the environment that are
Why should we be concerned about noise pollution? According to a World Health Organization report, noise can cause serious health problems. It may
Physical health problems are just some of the effects of noise. Noise also affects learning ability and memory. Noise poses a threat to animals in nature as well, which can cause them to die from lack of food. For example, some types of birds cannot find food in areas that have bad noise pollution. Whales, for example, produce sounds in order to
Countries around the world recognize that noise pollution is a real problem. Many government agencies already control noise from trucks and buses. Noise barriers covered with plants along the highway
Plastic pollution at sea is reaching worrying levels. According to a review of hundreds of academic
As plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, it also enters the marine food chain and
While consumers can help reduce plastic pollution by
A. restrict B. down C. nonrenewable D. energy-consuming E. taxing F. reusable G. elsewhere H. transport I. intaking J. purchase K. trash-can |
Standing in line at the grocery store last week, I watched the woman in front of me buy a tube of toothpaste. As the clerk placed her
People have come to rely on plastic bags as everything from shopping bags for groceries to
Plastic bags harm the environment in several ways. First, they break
People all over the world are starting to recognize the problems associated with plastic bags. Countries such as China, South Africa, Switzerland, and Uganda are taking action and banning the bags. Other nations, including Italy and Ireland, have been trying to
Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air
There are different kinds of
The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solids, liquid and gas. The pollution is threatening our existence. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative
We must face the situation that exists and take action
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care