1 . Microplastics, as the name implies, are tiny plastic particles found in the environment. Any plastic particle that has a diameter of less than 5 mm is considered to be microplastic. For a long time, a majority of people were unaware of the presence of microplastics and their effects on the environment. However, these particles have become a significant topic of debate in recent times after researchers noted their presence in almost every corner of the globe. from Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench.
There are two categories of microplastics: primary and secondary. Primary microplastics are tiny particles meant for external commercial use such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers to make other textiles, such as fishing nets. Secondary microplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles.
There are various sources of microplastics. Wastewater treatment plants and sewage treatment plants are the major sources of primary microplastics, most of which are residues (残留物) of cosmetics, paint, household and industrial waste. Single-use plastics plastic items meant to be used just once and then discarded, such as a straw — are the main source of secondary plastics in the environment.
The problem with microplastics is that like plastic items of any size they do not readily break down into harmless molecules. Plastics can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose (降解). That means once produced, we cannot get rid of them. Microplastics exist on beaches and deeper waters, and have been detected in marine organisms from plankton to whales, in commercial seafood, and even in drinking water. They are mistaken for food by marine animals and some plastics are so tiny that they end up in the animal tissues. They are passed across the food chain, and some find their way to humans.
Scientists are still unsure whether consumed microplastics are harmful to human or animal health and if so, what specific dangers they may pose. Even so, many countries are taking action to reduce microplastics in the environment. The best approaches to controlling microplastics include proper handling of plastics and thorough treatment of wastewater.
1. According to the first two paragraphs, microplastics are_________| A．common in our daily life |
| B．used to make glass bottles |
| C．found in all the uninhabited areas |
| D．tiny plastic particles with a diameter of 5mm |
| A．The use of straws should be forbidden. |
| B．Household waste contains microplastics. |
| C．Industrial waste is a source of secondary plastics |
| D．Wastewater and sewage treatment plants are useless. |
| A．Because they’re consumed as food. |
| B．Because they exist on the beaches. |
| C．Because they easily break down. |
| D．Because they’re left out in the food chain. |
| A．To analyze the sources of microplastics. |
| B．To warn people of the danger of microplastics. |
| C．To give an overall introduction to microplastics. |
| D．To persuade people to give up the use of microplastics. |
A new study found that light pollution is making the night sky brighter and the stars dimmer. Man-made lighting is the main cause, making the night sky about 10 percent brighter each year.
The result was a much faster rate of change than scientists had estimated. The research team gave an example to explain the result. If a child is born where 250 stars can be seen on a clear night, by the time that child turns 18, only 100 stars will be seen.
The researchers said they had hoped to see improvements in light pollution in recent years, because many urban centers have changed their lighting to be more energy-efficient. Towns and cities are replacing older streetlights with modern LEDS that are more carefully directed downwards, where the light is useful.
The hope was that if the light was better directed, the situation would get better. But there are many types of lighting — streetlights, decorative, advertising. So, with all these things combined — and possibly more lighting overall, we are making sky brightness worse. The relatively low cost of LED lighting is also contributing to the problem, that is, the cheaper and better the lighting, the higher society’s addiction to light.
Consequently, light pollution leads to a loss of universal human experience, a source of inspiration for art, science, literature. It also affects the routine of human as well as other forms of life. Migratory songbirds normally use starlight to position where they are in the sky at night. And when sea turtle babies hatch, they use light to position toward the ocean — light pollution is a huge deal for them.
1. What causes light pollution?2. What are the negative effects of light pollution?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
The sky brightness becomes worse because of more modern types of lighting being used and the lack of LED lighting.
4. Besides light pollution, what do you think is the most serious pollution in life? And explain its effects. (In about 40 words)
3 . Drive through any suburb in the U. S. today, and it’s hard to miss the recycling bins that have become companions to America’s trash cans. Recycling has become common, as people recognize the need to care for the environment. Yet most people’s recycling awareness extends (延伸) only as far as paper, bottle, and cans. People seldom find themselves facing the growing problem of e-waste.
E-waste rapidly increases as the techno-fashionable frequently upgrade to the most advanced devices, and the majority of them end up in landfills (填埋). Some people who track such wastes say that users throw away nearly 2 million tons of TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones, and other electronics every year. Unless we can find a safe replacement (替代品), this e-waste may get into the ground and poison the water with dangerous toxins (霉素), such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Burning the waste also dangerously contaminates the air.
However, e-waste often contains reusable silver, gold, and other electrical materials. Recycling these materials reduces environmental problems by reducing both landfill waste and the need to look for such metals, which can destroy ecosystems.
A growing number of states have passed laws to ban (禁止) getting rid of e-waste. Still, less than a quarter of this waste will reach lawful recycling programs. Some companies advertising safe disposal (处理) in fact merely ship the waste to some developing countries, where it still ends up in landfills. These organizations prevent progress by unsafely disposing of waste in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind location.
However, the small but growing number of cities and corporations that do handle e-waste responsibly represents progress toward making the world a cleaner, better place for us all.
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?| A．E-waste cannot be put into trash cans in the U. S. |
| B．Many Americans now have access to recycling bins. |
| C．Most Americans have realized the dangers of e-waste. |
| D．Most of America’s trash cans are made of recycled material. |
| A．Pollutes. | B．Heats. | C．Attacks. | D．Reduces. |
| A．Much e-waste is still not properly handled. |
| B．Some developing countries welcome e-waste. |
| C．Laws have played a major role in getting rid of e-waste. |
| D．The e-waste buried in the landfills won’t destroy ecosystem. |
| A．To tell us how to recycle &waste. |
| B．To talk about the future of e-waste. |
| C．To discuss if it’s necessary to, recycle e-waste. |
| D．To encourage people to deal with e-waste properly. |
4 . The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.
Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. Hundreds of years ago, life was ________ it is today.| A．much easier than | B．as easy as | C．much harder than | D．as hard as |
| A．it makes much noise | B．it makes us angry more easily |
| C．it makes our rivers and lakes dirty | D．it’s bad for all living things in the world |
| A．stopping people from burning coal. |
| B．stopping people from pouring dirty water into the ocean. |
| C．stopping people from moving to other places. |
| D．stopping people from putting dirty smoke in the air. |
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does. |
| C．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth. |
| D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2. |
5 . Many news reports focus on climate change these days. Extreme heat, wildfires, floods, homeless polar bears... How do you feel when reading worrying news about climate change? You may believe that people are becoming insensitive to the warming planet, accepting that it is only getting worse.
A research team at Pennsylvania State University, US, reported otherwise. To record how the news can impact people’s emotions, participants were first exposed to negative news stories about climate change for three days. They then continued to read negative news headlines for seven days. In the first three days, the participants experienced greater fear and less hope, which can potentially hurt an audience’s belief that they can do anything to tackle the problem.
However, during the seven-day-long exposure, the fear peaked and then held steady (稳定的). “We saw the opposite pattern in our second study. The more exposure people had to these threatening news stories each day, the more likely they are to think that they can make a difference in tackling climate change,” Christofer Skurka, the paper’s lead author told the Pennsylvania State University website.
According to the researchers, one possibility is that when the public hears about climate change threats, they may convince themselves that they have control over the situation. They will then believe that their actions may make a difference.
Knowing that everyone is able to help is only the first step. According to a study that analyzed information from 430 different studies, what motivates people the most to change their behavior is social comparison. For example, if a person’s neighbors follow a low-carbon lifestyle, such as driving electric cars, the person may feel social pressure and become more likely to follow this behavior. This happens because people usually judge their own behavior and follow social norms (规范). Another effective motivation is providing financial rewards to consumers, helping them save money.
“There are so many routes to our goals,” Matthew Goldberg, the co-author of the study, told Scientific American. As Goldberg pointed out, future research like this can help policymakers decide how best to encourage people to ward more climate-friendly habits.
1. How did the participants react to negative news in the second study?| A．They found the news unbelievable. |
| B．They lost hope in tackling climate change. |
| C．They experienced greater fear for the future. |
| D．They felt a strong sense of social responsibility. |
| A．Effective policy. | B．Healthy lifestyle. |
| C．Social influence. | D．Financial support. |
| A．Responses to climate change education. |
| B．T he effectiveness of community initiatives. |
| C．T he impact of social norms on environment. |
| D．Ways to encourage climate-friendly behavior. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Optimistic. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
6 . On Christmas Eve, a team of reindeer (驯鹿) will help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children all around the world. The reindeer, led by their fearless leader Rudolph, won’t be the only ones doing something special. Back in the highest Arctic, their cousins have a remarkable ability changing their eye color.
During the summer months, when the days are long and the sun is bright, reindeer’s tapetum lucidum (荧光膜), a mirror-like layer at the back of their eye, appears golden, which helps bounce the majority of light off the eyes, effectively acting like a pair of natural sunglasses. As winter comes, and the days become shorter and darker, the tapetum lucidum turns blue to absorb more light, allowing reindeer to improve their night vision and see clear in low light conditions.
With these adaptations, reindeer can adapt and thrive in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Unlike humans, reindeer can see well into the shorter Ultra Violet (UV) range. This UV vision enables them to spot food and predators more effectively in the snowy landscape. Lichens, a key part of their winter diet, absorb UV, so they show up dark against UV-reflecting white snow. Wolf and polar bear fur also absorb UV, so instead of disappearing against snow they pop out in high contrast, allowing reindeer to spot potential threats from a distance.
Reindeer change their eyes by adjusting their tapetum lucidum, which is made of collagen fibers. In winter, the collagen fibers become packed tighter, causing the tapetum lucidum to mainly reflect blue light. This change happens when reindeer dilate their pupils (瞳孔). In summer, the reindeer’s pupils return to a smaller size, which helps reindeer reduce the amount of light entering the eye.
But their unique adaptation may hurt them. Today, the increasing use of artificial lighting, especially during the winter months, poses a potential threat to their sensitive eyes. It can make reindeer lose their way, affecting their ability to survive in their challenging environment. So it is crucial for us to be mindful of our use of electricity and make efforts to minimize light pollution to ensure the well-being and survival of these magnificent creatures.
1. What do we know from paragraph 2?| A．The shape of reindeer’s eyes varies with seasons. |
| B．It is difficult for reindeer to live in low light conditions. |
| C．The tapetum lucidum helps reindeer adapt to seasonal changes. |
| D．Reindeer’s eyes appear golden in winter while blue in summer. |
| A．To help them see clear in dark nights. |
| B．To distinguish food of different colors quickly. |
| C．To protect their eyes from harsh sunlight in summer. |
| D．To better locate food and enemies during snowy days. |
| A．Relax. | B．Expand. | C．Narrow. | D．Hide. |
| A．To call on people to protect reindeer from light pollution. |
| B．To show the reasons for the decline in reindeer population. |
| C．To present humans’ great efforts to reduce artificial lighting. |
| D．To prove reindeer’s strong adaptability to harsh environments. |
7 . The Yurok people have lived along the Klamath River, which flows from the Cascades in Oregon southwest through Northern California, for thousands of years, protecting the region and river from which they — and others — draw sustenance (生计).
But as development and pollution continue to reduce the number of fish in the river and the quantity and quality of its waters, the Yurok Tribe is legalizing (合法化) the tribe’s longstanding care by granting the Rights of Personhood to the Klamath, the first river in North America to have such rights declared.
......
What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The process of legalization. | B．The tradition of Yurok tribe. |
| C．The reason behind the legalization. | D．The importance of the Klamath River. |
8 . Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling,and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?| A．The man-made noises. | B．The noises made by themselves. |
| C．The sound of earthquakes. | D．The sound of the ice-breaking. |
| A．Different places with different types of noises. |
| B．The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises. |
| C．The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean. |
| D．The ocean animals’ reaction to noises. |
| A．It’s short of fish. | B．It’s badly polluted. | C．It’s famous for rivers. |
10 . In the old days, when you had to drive to a movie theater or to a video store to get some entertainment, it was easy to see how your actions could have an impact on the environment. You were hopping into your car, driving across town, and using gas all the way.
But now that we’re used to staying at home and streaming movies, we might feel better about ourselves. After all, we’re just picking up our phones or maybe turning on the TV. You’re welcome, Mother Nature.
“Not so fast,” says a recent report from the French-based Shift Project. Watching a half-hour show would lead to 3.5 pounds of CO₂ emissions. That’s like driving 3.9 miles. According to “Climate Crisis: The Unsustainable Use of Online Video,” digital technologies are responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, and that energy use is increasing by 9% a year. Stored in data centers, videos are transferred to our terminals such as computers, smart phones, etc. via networks: all these processes require electricity whose production consumes resources and usually involves CO₂ emissions.
In the European Union, the Eureca project lead scientist, Rabih Bashroush, calculated that 5 billion downloads and streams of the song “Despacito” consumed as much electricity as the countries of Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Somalia, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic used in a single year.
Streaming is only expected to increase as we become more attached to our devices. Online video use is expected to account for 80% of all internet traffic in five years according to CISCO. By then, about 60% of the world’s population will be online.
You’re probubly not going to give up your streaming services, but there are things you can do to help lessen the impact of your online use.
Here are some tips:
Disable autoplay for video on social media.
Stream over Wi-Fi, not mobile networks.
Watch on the smallest screen you can.
Don’t use high-definition (高清) video on devices.
1. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that people think ______.| A．they should welcome Mother Nature |
| B．streaming at home avoids possible emissions |
| C．it is inconvenient to drive to a movie theater |
| D．watching movies at home is more fun |
| A．60% of the world’s population watch videos online |
| B．digital technologies account for 4% of electricity use |
| C．online video use makes up 80% of all internet traffic |
| D．30 minutes of streaming video may produce 3.5 pounds of CO₂ |
| A．To praise their energy-efficient practice. |
| B．To prove the poverty of the five countries |
| C．To stress the popularity of the song “Despacito” |
| D．To show the high energy use of downloads and streams |
| A．Use high-definition videos. | B．Turn off video autoplay |
| C．Stream over mobile networks. | D．Watch movies on bigger screens. |
