2 . 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.

2. What does the underlined word"circumvents" in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Tightens

B．Abolishes

C．Avoids

D．Follows

3. What should be the biggest concern according to the text?

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

4. What does the author think is the best solution to the e-waste problem?

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.

3 . Terribly hot weather. Pouring downpours. Scientists have long suspected that global warming can cause extreme weather events. Now experts have numbers to support that idea.

The burning of fossil fuels has been leading to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. This CO₂ is a greenhouse gas. That means it can trap heat in the air. As a result, our planet's temperature has been rising. And this global warming will account for a growing share of ever more frequent extreme weather events.

Many governments hope to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius （摄氏度）above temperatures that were typical before the Industrial Revolution. It will be hard for nations to achieve that. But even if they do, global warming still will be responsible for nearly all heat extremes. Global warming also will be to blame for about 2 out of every 5 extreme rains and snowfalls. "This is a considerable fraction of major weather events,” says climate scientist Peter Stott.

Erich Fischer and Reto Knutti analyzed 25 different computer models of global climate. These analyses looked at different climate periods from preindustrial times to the present. The analyses also predicted what weather events were likely to be like in the future. This period was predicted to be warmer by 2 and 3 degrees Celsius.

The computer looked at when extreme heat and precipitation（冰雹） occurred during each climate period. It focused on events of unusual heal or heavy precipitation. Before the Industrial Revolution, such extremes typically would have occurred only once in every 1,000 days.

“But since the globe has been warming, such extremes are no longer nearly as rare. These new findings provide a global statement", Fischer says. "You can still get the biggest heat that you have over seen without any human changes.”

1. The second paragraph is mainly about?

A．what a greenhouse gas refers to

B．how the global warming came into being

C．where the global warming is becoming serious

D．why fossil fuels have to be forbidden

2. What Peter said in Para. 3 suggests that?

A．it is impassible for climate change to happen

B．there is no serious effect of the global warming now

C．the influence of the global warming is great

D．the extreme weather happens in small numbers

3. According to the passage，extreme weather?

A．will happen more often than before

B．happens once in every 1,000 days now

C．happens every region without differences

D．has become a rare situation around the world

4 . Coffee chains create a lot of waste, from disposable take-away cups to the used grounds that are sent to landfills. Starbucks has started to try recyclable alternatives to the disposable cups. But the used coffee is often unnoted.

The world drinks around 2 billion cups of coffee a day, producing 6 million tons of used grounds every year. When they go to landfills, the grounds release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

UK Bio-bean has found a way to turn that waste into a valuable resource. At Bio-bean, used coffee grounds are processed to remove paper cups or plastic bags, and then passed through a dryer and a further screening process. They are finally processed into the fuel. Coffee Log.

"Coffee is highly calorific and lends itself to being a really fantastic fuel," says May. director of Bio-bean. "They burn about 20% hotter and 20% longer than wood logs do."

While these fuels release greenhouse gases when burned, if they replace other carbon-based fuels. Bio-bean estimates that the recycling process reduces emissions （排放）by 80% compared with sending the grounds to landfills.

Founded in 2013 Bio-bean grew rapidly,   launching coffee collection services across the UK and building the world's first coffee recycling factory only two years later. In 2016 they launched their first product,   Coffee Log, and are now ready to launch their first natural flavouring ingredient into the food and drink industry.

“We've really managed to succeed with our innovation because we've managed to get to scale. What started as a good idea is today the UK's largest recycler of coffee grounds. We are turning 7,000 tons of those grounds per year into the fuel," says George May. "Despite being delayed by the COVID-19, we plan to expand our operation into northwestern Europe within the next five years."

1. What do the first two paragraphs suggest?

A．It’s necessary to limit coffee consumption.

B．Drinking coffee is popular around the world.

C．Measures should be taken to recycle coffee waste.

D．Coffee grounds are the main cause of global warming.

2. What is the Bio-bean's Coffee Log?

A．A solid fuel.	B．A natural food.
C．A cup of hot coffee.	D．A tree trunk.

3. What do we know about Bio-bean?

A．It is a high-tech company with a long history.

B．It is a promising recycler of coffee grounds.

C．It is started to produce coffee and fuels.

D．It's developing faster than Starbucks.

4. What does the underlined phrase "get to scale" in the last paragraph mean?

A．Give accurate measurement.	B．Cover a wide range.
C．Do mass production.	D．Classify different grades.

5 . The artificial lighting which lines the world’s coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests.

Creatures such as the sand hopper(沙蚤) orientate(确定方位)their nightly migrations based on the moon’s position and brightness of the natural night sky. However, a study by Bangor University and the University of Plymouth shows the presence of artificial light originating from cities several kilometres away (also known as artificial sky glow) disrupts the lunar compass they use when covering long distances.

In some cases, this can lead to animals travelling towards the sea and away from food, while in others it reduces the chance of them venturing out for food at all. Writing in Current Biology, researchers say this could pose a distinct threat not just to the health of sand hopper populations but also the wider ecosystem, since they play an important role in breaking down and recycling algae washed up on coastlines.

Dr. Thomas Davies, Lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth (UK), said, “Artificial sky glow is the most geographically widespread form of light pollution. Surveys have shown it can currently be detected above 23% of the world’s coasts nightly, and with coastal human populations set to at least double by 2060, its effects are only going to increase. Our results show it is already having obvious impacts on biological processes that are guided by celestial(天上的)light signals.”

Through the study, researchers find increasing evidence that light pollution from coastal cities can influence marine species inhabiting nearby beaches, rocky shores and even the seafloor. These results highlight how pervasive(遍布的)city lighting could be in shaping the ecology of coastlines kilometres distant from their nearest urban centres. They also highlight the potential for artificial sky glow to impact other species that undergo migrations using the moon as a compass.

“While our understanding of the impacts of street lights on nature has improved dramatically, artificial sky glow has been largely overlooked. More work is urgently needed to fully understand the extent to which it is shaping the natural environment.” Dr. Thomas Davies added.

1. Which of the following could best replace “disrupts” in paragraph 2?

A．disturbs

B．makes

C．unites

D．replaces

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The ways of creatures hunting food.

B．The causes of animals migrating at night.

C．The results of ecosystems being destroyed.

D．The influence of artificial light on creatures.

3. What have researchers found about light pollution?

A．It is the main pollution in cities.

B．It shapes the ecology of the ocean.

C．It has a great influence on surroundings.

D．It affects the migrations of sea creatures.

4. What does Dr. Thomas Davies think of the study of artificial sky glow?

A．It is useless.	B．It is essential.
C．It is doubtful.	D．It is challenging.

6 . Pigeons in London have a bad reputation. Some people call them flying rats. And many blame them for causing pollution with their droppings. But now the birds are being used to fight another kind of pollution in this city of 8. 5 million.

“The problem for air pollution is that it’s been largely ignored as an issue for a long time,” says Andrea Lee, who works for the London-based environmental organization Client Earth. “People don’t realize how bad it is,and how it actually affects their health. ‘‘ London’s poor air quality is linked to nearly 10,000 early deaths a year. Lee says, citing report released by the city manager last year, “If people were better informed about the pollution they’re breathing,” she says,”they could pressure the government to do something about it. ‘‘

Nearby, on a windy hill in London’s Regent’s Park, an experiment is underway that could help-the first week of flights by the Pigeon Air Patrol. It all began when Pierre Duquesnoy, the director for DigitasLBi, a marketing firm, won a London Design Festival contest last year to show how a world problem could be solved using Twitter. Duquesnoy, from France, chose the problem of air pollution.

“Basically, I realized how important the problem was,v he says. “But also I realized that most of the people around me didn’t know anything about it. ‘‘ Duquesnoy says he wants to better measure pollution, while at the same time making the results accessible to the public through Twitter.

“So, “ he wondered, “how could we go across the city quickly collecting as much data as possible?” Drones ( 无人驾驶飞机)were his first thought. But it’s illegal to fly them over London. “But pigeons can fly above London,right?” he says. “They live -actually? they are Londoners as well. So, yeah, I thought about using pigeons equipped with mobile apps. And we can use not just street pigeons, but racing pigeons, because they fly pretty quickly and pretty low. “

So it might be time for Londoners to have more respect for their pigeons. The birds may just be helping to improve the quality of the city's air.

1. What can we infer about London’s air quality from paragraph 2?

A．Londoners are very satisfied with it.

B．The government is trying to improve it.

C．The government has done a lot to improve it.

D．Londoners should pay more attention to it.

2. Duquesnoy attended the London Design Festival to __.

A．entertain Londoners	B．solve a world problem
C．design a product for sale	D．protect animals like pigeons

3. Why did Duquesnoy give up using drones to fly across London?

A．Because they are too expensive	B．Because they fly too quickly.
C．Because they are forbidden.	D．Because they fly too high.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．London’s New Pollution Fighter

B．London’s Dirty Secret

C．Clean Air in London

D．Causes of Air Pollution in London

7 . Fireworks have been enjoyed by countless people ever since they were invented in China during the Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago. From small family gatherings (团聚) to huge global celebrations, there isn’t a party that couldn’t be made more fun with a few fireworks. But it seems that there’s a big price to pay for some brief beauty and fun.

It’s been discovered that fireworks contain metals such as copper (铜) and lead, in addition to other pollutants like perchlorates (高氯酸盐). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, perchlorates can form naturally or be made. They are an industrial chemical used in rocket fuel and explosives (炸药), and are soluble (可溶解的) in water.

This is a reason for concern because perchlorates negatively affect the thyroid gland (甲状腺), which influences important bodily functions like blood pressure and heart rate.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Terry Gordon, a professor at New York University, examined the emissions(排放物) whose sizes were big enough to enter the lungs. They concluded that these emissions may lead to various dangerous conditions like cancer, heart attacks, and strokes (中风).

It is worth noticing, however, that no studies have proven the connctions between these conditions and the dangerous chemicals in fireworks.

However, the negative effects of firework emissions can be observed in birds. Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warns against setting off fireworks close to wildlife areas as they may cause confusion among birds.

In 2010, an incident involving 5,000 red-winged blackbirds falling out of the sky on New Year’s Eve in Arkansas, US supported this idea. A fireworks display held at a nesting ground for blackbirds led to the birds’ night sight being affected, causing them to fall to their deaths.

Arguably (可以说), the use of fireworks during celebrations may be because people don’t realize how they pollute our environment. Companies and researchers could take this cue (线索) and find other new, eco-friendly ways.

After all, for all the beauty fireworks bring, there’s no better beauty than that of our planet’s.

1. According to the article, perchlorates contained in fireworks ______.

A．do harm to the thyroid gland

B．raise the risk of cancer

C．are dangerous when put in water

D．are made from copper and lead

2. Terry Gordon concluded from his research that ______.

A．fireworks are directly connected with lung cancer

B．the waste from fireworks could threaten our body

C．chemicals in fireworks could increase our blood pressure

D．our body is strong enough to fight against the pollutants in fireworks

3. What is the author’s attitude toward the use of fireworks?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Indifferent.	D．Neutral.

8 . Youth is a stressful time from friends to school to families, and stressful situations become common. The body can respond (反应) with faster breathing, a fast beating heart, tense (绷紧的) muscles and drop of sweat. And teens who breathe polluted air appear to respond most strongly to stress, a new study shows.

Jonas Miller, a psychologist working at Stanford University ,studied whether or how air pollution might affect the body’s response to stress. Miller's team invited 144 teens to participate in a stressful test. Most of the kids lived in or near San Francisco,which has the worst air quality.

Before the test, the researchers used sensors(感测器) to record heart rates and sweat levels for five minutes as the kids rested. Then as the test began, a researcher read aloud the beginning of a story and the kids had five minutes to make up an exciting ending to the story. They would have to memorize their ending and present it aloud to a judge. After finishing this task, the kids were asked to do math problems, which obviously was a harder task. If he or she made a mistake, the judge let the student start over. The whole time, sensors recorded heart rates and sweat levels.

Miller found all the students had similar heart rates and sweat levels at rest. But as the test got difficult, differences began to appear. Kids from places with more air pollution responded more strongly to stress and their heartbeats became irregular. They sweated more than teens who lived in cleaner places.

"The teens' bodies were preparing to deal with possible challenges in the environment and such bodily responses to stress were linked to negative feelings", Miller concludes. Over time, he says, "these responses can contribute to both physical and mental health problems."

This study has proved the negative health effects of air pollution among teenagers. Therefore, teenagers should try to avoid their exposure (暴露) to air pollution They should consider limiting their time outside during rush hour, especially on days when air pollution is particularly strong.

1. What happened to teens in stressful situations?

A．Their bodies react strongly.

B．Their muscles cause pain.

C．They become seriously sick.

D．They have trouble in breathing.

2. What can we learn about the test?

A．The judge of the test was strict with the kids.

B．The kids enjoyed making up endings of stories.

C．Those breathing polluted air doesn't have more stress in life.

D．The kids gradually felt more stress in the process.

3. From the study we can infer that tens should ____.

A．solve their mental health problems

B．spend less time outside in heavy traffic

C．learn to deal with stressful situations

D．enjoy more outside activities in good weather

4. Where is the passage probably from?

A．A report on pollution.	B．A geography book.
C．A psychologist's diary.	D．A science magazine.

9 . Edgar Degas, J. M. W. Turner and other painters captured centuries of atmospheric records as they decorated canvases with sunset scenes.

Greek Scientists worked with an artist to confirm that the ratio of red to green in sunset painting, both old and new, increased when particles filled the air, such as after major volcanic eruption（火山喷发）or dust storms. The atmosphere physicists also found a gradual shift in artistic sunset hues over centuries, possibly due to ever-increasing air pollution during the Industrial Revolution.

An earlier study, led by atmospheric physicist Christos Zerefos of the Academy of Athens in Greece, discovered that the amount of red relative to green in sunset descriptions increased after eruptions, including Tambora, Indonesia in 1815, Coseguina, Nicaragua in 1835 and Krakatau, Indonesia in 1883.

Zerefos’ team analyzed 554 paintings created between 1550 and 1990. For up to three years after eruptions, sunsets reddened as sunlight bounced off dust and gas from the volcanoes. The latest study, also by Zerefos, used improved scanning and analysis techniques to confirm the earlier results.

A modern painter, Panayiotis Tetsis, unknowingly repeated the artistic atmospheric observations of classical masters. In the artists’ description of sunsets light over the Greek island of Hydra, the color ratio shifted towards red in paintings done both before（June 19,2010）and after（June 20,2010）a dust cloud from Sahara Desert filtered the sunset’s light.

Zerefos’ team connected the timing of classical paintings’ red shift to other records of the atmosphere trapped in ice cores from Greenland, in the recent study published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The ice cores recorded spikes（尖刺）in sulfur-containing chemicals likely from volcanoes. These spikes corresponded in time to artists’ increasingly dark red sunsets.

The comparison of ice and art also revealed a slow shift in the coloring of the sunset. As the factories of Europe roared into production in the 19th and early 20th century, painting described a steady increase in the red to green ratio. The ice cores recorded a steady rise in airborne particles from industrial pollution during the same time.

1. The underlined word“hues”in the second paragraph probably means_____.

A．angles	B．colors
C．locations	D．times

2. What do we know about Zerefos’ research from the passage?

A．Both modern and ancient artists describing sunset are involved in the research.

B．It confirmed an obvious increase in the ratio of green to red in sunset paintings.

C．The shift from green to red also existed in the records of ice cores trapped items.

D．The team used traditional techniques to confirm the earlier results of the research.

3. How did Zerefos’ team confirm that atmospheric records kept by painters were reliable?

A．By analyzing classical paintings.

B．By connecting time to color.

C．By comparing art with ice.

D．By working with an artist.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．A modern research of ancient art and ice with pollution.

B．Art Masterpiece and pollutants trapped in ice cores.

C．An increase in the ratio of red to green in paintings.

D．Art Masterpiece Recorded Centuries of Pollution.

10 . The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.

Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.

She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”

The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.

The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.

1. The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.

A．chemicals have a high production cost

B．Africa needs more development aid

C．the use of pesticide causes a great loss

D．the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect

2. Which of the following is NOT a source of danger according to the text?

A．Pesticide.	B．Fertilizer.
C．Heavy metals.	D．Minerals.

3. According to the text, what is the main reason for the risks from chemicals?

A．The mass production of cement and textiles.

B．Lack of research funds on chemicals.

C．Poor management of chemicals.

D．Contradictions between chemical producers and governments.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments

B．A UN warning about chemical dangers

C．The unpredictable future of chemical industry

D．Preventing is much better than fixing