1 . In the endless sky, the unaided human eye should be able to perceive several thousand stars on a clear, dark night. Unfortunately, growing light pollution has impeded people from the nightly view.
New citizen-science-based research throws alarming light on the problem of “sky glow”-the diffuse illumination (漫射照明) of the night sky that is a form of light pollution. The data came from crowd-sourced observations collected from around the world as part of Globe at Night, a program developed by astronomer Connie Walker.
Light pollution has harmful effects on the practice of astronomy but also on human health and wildlife, since it disturbs the cycle from sunlight to starlight that biological systems have evolved alongside. Furthermore, the loss of visible stars is a great loss of human cultural heritage. Until relatively recently, humans throughout history had an impressive view of the starry night sky, and the effect of this nighty spectacle (壮观) is evident in ancient cultures.
Globe at Night has been gathering data on star visibility since 2006. Anyone can submit observations through the Globe at Night web application. Participants record which one best matches what they can see in the sky without any telescopes or other instruments.
Researchers find that the loss of visible stars indicates an increase in sky brightness of 9.6% per year while roughly 2% is measured by satellites. Existing satellites are not well suited to measuring sky glow as it appears to humans, because they can not detect wavelengths shorter than 500 nanometers (纳米). White LEDs, with shorter wavelengths under 500 nanometers, now are increasingly commonly used in outdoor lighting. But human eyes are more sensitive to these shorter wavelengths at nighttime. Space-based instruments do not measure light from windows, either. But these sources are significant contributors to sky glow us seen from the ground.
“The increase in sky glow over the past decade underlines the importance of redoubling our efforts and developing new strategies to protect dark skies,” said Walker. “The Globe at Night dataset is necessary in our ongoing evaluation of changes in sky glow, and we encourage whoever can to get involved to help protect the starry night sky.”
1. What does the underlined word “impeded” in the first paragraph mean?| A．separated. | B．disabled. | C．demanded. | D．protected. |
| A．Poorer human health. | B．Fewer wildlife species. |
| C．More delicate biological systems. | D．Less nightly culture elements of the sky. |
| A．Crowd sourced data are invaluable | B．Shorter wavelengths are hard to detect. |
| C．Satellites play a vital role. | D．White LEDs are widely used. |
| A．Their consistent efforts pay off. | B．The dataset needs to be updated. |
| C．The sky glow has been over-emphasized. | D．More participants are expected to join in. |
2 . Chinese consumers have said they will avoid eating Japanese seafood over safety concerns once Japan starts releasing (排放) nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
On July 7, the General Administration of Customs released an import (进口) ban on aquatic products from the 10 Japanese cities. It’s indicated that Japan’s plan to release polluted wastewater into the sea was a matter of global concern. The plan caused more Chinese consumers who eat seafood began to worry about their safety, according to the administration.
According to a survey in 2022 by Chinese market consultancy company iiMedia Research, 39.58 percent of participants eat Japanese seafood once every two or three weeks.
“I will not eat seafood imported from Japan anymore,” said a data engineer surnamed Wang in Shanghai. The 42-year-old has been a fan of Japanese food since 2000 and used to eat Japanese food once a month. “If I have other options, I will choose seafood that does not come from the Pacific Ocean,” he added.
Wang Qian, a financial employee in Beijing, said she has been to about 20 Japanese restaurants so far. “Normally, I would not pay attention to where the seafood came from. But now I will try not to choose seafood from Japan,”she said. “Wastewater poses a threat to human health and marine ecology.”
Wang Qian said that Japan should use other methods to solve the problem, rather than releasing nuclear wastewater into the ocean.
An employee of the Japanese restaurant Jiubanwu, in Beijing, who did not want to be named, told China Daily that the restaurant’s fish and shrimp are imported from Russia, France and other countries. “We have not been buying seafood from Japan since April,” she said.
In addition to food safety, some people are worried about using cosmetic (美容的) products made in Japan.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Releasing nuclear wastewater has aroused worldwide concern. |
| B．All the seafood which is imported from Japan will be banned. |
| C．Chinese consumers will be stricter when choosing seafood to eat. |
| D．Japan’s plan to release the wastewater is criticized by Japanese. |
| A．She won’t eat Japanese seafood anymore. |
| B．She will be more cautious of the source of seafood. |
| C．She will be devoted to career of human health and marine ecology. |
| D．She is sure that Japan will figure out methods to solve the problem. |
| A．China’s specific methods to dealing with nuclear wastewater. |
| B．The influence of wastewater on Japanese cosmetic products. |
| C．A formal call to Japan for producing safer cosmetic products. |
| D．The world’s reply to Japanese nuclear wastewater releasing. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Critical. |
3 . Naturalist Enzo Suma, who is now 40, lives in Puglia, a region in southern Italy whose long coastline faces the Adriatic Sea. Floating waste accumulates in this relatively enclosed part of the Mediterranean, unlike the open ocean, where the waste tends to be spread over a vast area. Feeling concerned about that, Suma makes it a habit to pick up the washed-up waste along the shore, especially after big winter storms.
One day, Suma was walking along the beach near his home when he discovered a bottle of Coke. Suma noticed on the bottle that the price, clearly printed on the bottom, was in lire, a currency (货币) that hadn’t been used in Italy since it was replaced by the euro in 2002. Could a plastic container have well survived in the Mediterranean, he wondered, for about two decades?
That led him to founding the Archeoplastica museum. It has a collection of about 500 unique pieces recovered from Italian shores and the Coke bottle is the first one of them. All collection demonstrates the unsettling life force of plastic waste in the environment. “Seeing that a product people may have used 30, 40, or 50 years ago remains still unchanged, you’ll feel different. It’s a great shock,” Suma said to a reporter. So Suma often exhibits selected pieces from the Archeoplastica collection at local schools around his hometown of Ostuni.
“The playful side of the work allows you to arrive at the less beautiful side of things,” Suma acknowledged. “Plastic is a kind of useful substance. But it’s unthinkable that a water bottle, made from a material designed to last so long, can be used for just a few days—or even minutes—before becoming garbage. Clean the beaches. Clean the oceans. Recycle. But if we are still throwing out plastics, none of those are going to be long-term solutions.”
1. What’s Suma’s concern about his living place?| A．Its long coastline is disappearing. | B．Big storms frequently hit the area. |
| C．Floating waste spreads over a vast area. | D．The waste pollution on shore is worsening. |
| A．They have a history of more than half a century. |
| B．They were quite valuable before turning into waste. |
| C．They’re more like educational exhibits than garbage. |
| D．They have stronger life force than ordinary plastic products. |
| A．Creative, devoted and socially responsible. | B．Enthusiastic, ambitious and adventurous. |
| C．Generous, cautious and humorous. | D．Curious, efficient and playful. |
| A．The birth of plastics has greatly served humans. |
| B．The key to tackling the plastic pollution is to stop littering. |
| C．The plastic problem can be solved by cleaning and recycling. |
| D．People should be more aware of the powerful functions of plastics. |
4 . We all have an idea about the common types of environmental problems. However, light pollution may be a new term to many of us. But, the fact is that it does affect mankind, other living forms and the environment as a whole.
What is light pollution? It presents all forms of misused man-made light. The obvious cause of light pollution is the use of outdoor lighting products improperly. It can be office lighting, car headlights, station lights, streetlights and many more.
Light pollution is harmful to both animals and plants. Upon studies, it is found that obvious effects are observed in the behaviour of animals that are active at night. Needless to mention, bright light at night makes it difficult for these animals to hunt, wander and perform their regular activities. Light pollution is directly or indirectly responsible for causing several diseases. Its effects are related to disturbance in the physical rhythm (节奏). It contributes to risks of developing cancerous cells. So, it’s nothing less than a threat to human health.
You have already seen the negative effects of light pollution on animals and human health. Apart from this, the actual cost of misused light is about millions of dollars every year. It also leads to the release of greenhouse gases and global warming. After all, coal or gas is used for producing electricity.
While outdoor lighting and using man-made lighting products are part of our modern lifestyle, some simple ways will surely help in reducing light pollution. For example, while installing (安装) outdoor lighting, make sure that they are pointed downwards. Also, use only the required lighting equipment for both home and offices. Believe it or not, many people living in the urban areas cannot view clear sky and stars at night. Let’s contribute our part in reducing the pollution.
1. What can we learn about light pollution?| A．It has little effect on plants. |
| B．It contributes to most cancers. |
| C．It is a negative fruit of light technology. |
| D．It affects animals’ behavior during the day. |
| A．It increases the temperature at night. |
| B．It creates clouds in parts of the Earth. |
| C．It stops the release of greenhouse gases. |
| D．It is related to the burning of coal and gas. |
| A．Forbid the use of outdoor lighting. |
| B．Use clean energy to produce electricity. |
| C．Avoid unnecessary lights at home and offices. |
| D．Reduce money spent on light in urban areas. |
| A．Citizens should be banned to install outdoor lighting. |
| B．Only simple ways can help reduce light pollution. |
| C．There is no clear sky or stars over the urban areas. |
| D．Light pollution needs to be dealt with urgently. |
5 . Conifers (针叶树) are generally better than broad-leaved trees at purifying air from pollutants. But deciduous (落叶的) trees may be better at taking in particle-bound pollution. A new study led by the University of Gothenburg shows that the best trees for air purification depend on the type of pollutants involved.
Trees and other greener in cities provide many benefits that are important for the well-being of residents. Leaves and needled on trees filter air pollutants and reduce exposure to poisonous substance in the air. But which trees purify the air most effectively? Researchers from the University of Gothenburg have collected leaves and needle from eleven different trees growing in the same place in the Gothenburg Botanical Garden (GBG) to analyse which cub-stances they have absorbed.
“This tree collection provided a unique opportunity to test many different species of trees with similar environmental conditions and exposure to air pollutants,” said Jenny Klingberg, a researcher of the GBG
A total of 32 different pollutants were analysed, some of which are bound to articles of various sizes. Others are gaseous. This project has focused on paths (多环芳烃). In cities, traffic is the biggest source of these pollutants, which are released due to incomplete burning in engines.
“Our analysis show that different species of trees have different abilities to absorb air pollutants. Conifers generally absorb morn gaseous paths than broad-leaved trees. Another advantage of conifers is that they also act as air purifies in winter, when air pollution is usually at its highest,” said Jenny Klingberg.
“This study contributes to improving our understanding of the ability of trees to clean the air and which species are best at absorbing air pollutants,” said Jenny Klingberg. This known-edge is important for urban planning when designing sustainable cities. While trees and green-era can contribute to better air quality in cities, at the end of the day, the most important measure is to reduce emissions.
1. Which is the determining factor in choosing the most suitable tries to purify air?| A．Air quality. | B．Geographical location. | C．The height of plants. | D．The kind of pollutants. |
| A．To compare their shapes. | B．To create a tree collection. |
| C．To figure out what they absorb. | D．To display them on exhibition. |
| A．Fuel vehicle’s. | B．Electric engines. | C．Traffic accidents. | D．Complete burning. |
| A．Decreasing emissions. | B．Planting more conifers. |
| C．Raising public awareness. | D．Designing sustainable cities. |
6 . The essence (本质) of fast fashion is to make clothes inexpensively and quickly, to get new trends and styles into stores and online as soon as possible, and it comes at a high social and environmental cost. Keeping production costs low means they can make their clothes cheap, using cheap labour in unsafe working conditions, and in countries with bad environmental regulations.
Throw-away culture is deeply rooted in our society; three in five of our clothing pieces are thrown out within a year. Fast fashion brands keep the consumers hungry and feeling like they need more by attracting them with newness and convincing the consumers that they need what they’re selling. This only results in increasing textile waste as people no longer want but throw it away.
Criticisms of the fast fashion industry include its negative environmental impact: water pollution, the use of toxic (有毒的) chemicals and increasing levels of textile waste. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally, after agriculture. Fast fashion companies rely on their products being made cheaply and quickly, so they avoid talking when it comes to being aware of their impact on the environment. Greenpeace’s recent Detox Campaign showed that many brands use toxic and dangerous chemicals in their supply chains, and many of the chemicals are either banned or strictly controlled in lots of countries.
In conclusion, the fast fashion industry has a bad effect on our environment through fast fashion brands’ ecological practices and only continues to make the problem last for a long time in the future through extreme consumerist culture. In order for change to happen, the common people need to open their eyes and take measures to prevent the fast fashion from growing.
1. What’s one of the characteristics of fast fashion?| A．Causing a lot of anxiety. | B．Making people buy old clothes. |
| C．Selling most clothes through stores. | D．Producing clothes quickly. |
| A．They are mainly sold online. | B．They are made in unsafe countries. |
| C．They are made by cheap labour. | D．They save the cost of advertising. |
| A．Natural. | B．Surprising. | C．Absurd. | D．Puzzling. |
| A．Changing fast fashion brands’ working conditions. |
| B．Changing clothes stores’ sales model. |
| C．Introducing stricter laws for factories. |
| D．Raising public awareness of preventing fast fashion. |
7 . With roaring ships, hammering oil drill, industrial fishing and coastal construction, humans have strongly influenced the underwater soundscape (声音景观) over the past couple of hundred years — in some cases posting a threat to whales, dolphins and other ocean creatures. Until recently, underwater sound pollution had not attracted the same attention. Now, a new paper published in the journal Science lays out the impacts, demonstrating that noise pollution can be just as harmful to the ocean environment as other kinds of pollution.
Even the cracking of glaciers and any drop of rain falling on the water’s surface can be heard deep under the sea. Sea life uses sound to study their habitat, and to keep in communication with each other. They also use sound by listening to know something about their environment.
“It’s a long-lasting problem that certainly weakens the animals all the way from individuals to populations,” says lead author Carlos M. Duarte, distinguished professor at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), “We are hoping that this report will not only reveal elements of how humans impact the ocean through sound pollution, but that it will also bring the topic to the attention of policymakers who will be able to act based upon the very real solutions.”
Marine (海洋) ecologist Kirsten Thompson of the United Kingdom’s University of Exeter, who was not involved in the study, said the report could not have come at a better time. “It summarizes the fact that we are in this new phase of human-caused noise in our oceans that is having a dramatic impact on different species.” What matters most, she notes, is the fact that the paper “doesn’t just point at the problem, it shows how to solve it.”
Unlike plastic pollution or fertilizer runoff, noise pollution will not take years to fix. The moment we switch our noise off the impact disappears, Duarte says, pointing to marine life surveys conducted around April 5, 2020. Having the world use more renewable energy would lessen the need to drill for oil and gas. The international team of researchers also called for a global regulatory framework for measuring and managing ocean noise.
1. Which of the following threatens ocean creatures?| A．Travel industry. | B．Human activities. |
| C．Construction companies. | D．Sailing off the coast. |
| A．Ocean animals can’t fall asleep. | B．It causes the cracking of glaciers. |
| C．It’s a signal to the lower sea level. | D．It disrupts the behavior of sea life. |
| A．She is one of the paper’s co-authors. |
| B．The report does not come at the right time. |
| C．The solutions are already available. |
| D．The report has raised great attention from seamen. |
| A．Technical advances and regulation. |
| B．A policy to measure the depth of ocean. |
| C．A global ban on drilling for oil and gas. |
| D．Noise standards for cars and trucks. |
8 . On average, we each eat more than 20 kilograms of fish per year. Worldwide, between 1961 and 2016, fish consumption increased faster than meat consumption, and grew twice as fast as the human population. All of these fishy dinners have reduced marine fish stocks to a point where a third of global fish stocks are now classed as "overfished". Fishing also has negative impacts on non-food species in the ecosystem, and pollutes the waters with fishing waste. Temporary fishing bans may help, but what if we banned fishing altogether?
One thing is for sure: the ocean would hopefully become a better place for marine species. Recent years have seen plastic products much less used as the public has woken up to the effects of marine plastics. But few people realize the contribution that fishing makes. Pieces of abandoned fishing tools account for about 10 percent of all marine litter, and according to a 2018 study, 86 percent of the big pieces of plastics floating in the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch". Without fishing, we'd also wipe out emission from fishing boats. One 2014 study claimed that fishing industry was actually highly fuel-consuming, like lobsters, with some boats using 20,000 liters of fuel to catch a single ton.
However, what we must not forget is that our planet is highly dependent on fishing in various ways. Around the world,40 million people earn their living directly from catching wild fish, while another 19 million are employed in relevant industries. A total ban on fishing would make it hard for them to put food in their families' mouths. Moreover, seafood is a major source of protein across Southeast Asia and islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. So while in Europe or the US people could eat more meat or soy products to make up for lost protein, there could be food shortage in communities with little land-based farming.
Though not a realistic choice, a total fishing ban is an interesting thought experiment, which may throw light on how man can get along with marine species. After all, the damage fishing does to the entire ecosystem and the pollution it brings about are becoming so enormous that it's time we did something to change it.
1. Why would the ocean become a better place if we banned fishing altogether?| A．Because there would be less pollution to the ocean. |
| B．Because the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" would disappear. |
| C．Because lobster fishing boats would consume less fuel. |
| D．Because people would realize the effects of using plastics. |
| A．Some would suffer from a lack of food. |
| B．Some would change their diet and eat less meat. |
| C．Some communities would start developing land-based farming. |
| D．Some workers would have to find jobs in fishing-relevant industries. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Disapproving. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The Urgent Need of a Total Fishing Ban. | B．The Harmful Effects of Fishing industry. |
| C．A Newly Launched Policy on Fishing Industry. | D．An Assumption of a Complete Fishing Ban. |
9 . Human activity is changing the surface and temperature of the planet. But new research shows it is also changing the sound of the Earth’s oceans and seas. Scientists say the changes in the sounds of our oceans, seas, and other waterways affect many marine animals (海洋生物) —from very small shrimp to huge whales.
Sound travels “very far underwater,” Francis Juanes told the Associated Press. Juanes is an ecologist at the University of Victoria in Canada. “For fish,” he explained,“sound is probably a better way to sense their environment than light.”
Sounds help fish and other marine animals survive. They use sounds to communicate with each other. Sounds also help some ocean animals find food and avoid their hunters. Many ocean animals use sounds to find good places to mate.
However, increased noise from humans is making it harder for these animals to hear each other. The noise is corning from shipping traffic, motorized fishing ships, underwater oil and gas exploration, offshore construction and other noisy human activities. “For many marine animals, their attempts to communicate are being blocked by sounds that humans have introduced,” said Juanes.
Experts at NOAA say that effects of noise on marine mammals are not well understood. However, some studies suggest that noise may cause hearing loss. The stress from human noise might also affect the immune (免疫) system—an animal’s natural defense system.
“When people think of threats facing the ocean,” said Joe Roman, a marine ecologist at the University of Vermont, “we often think of climate change, plastics, and overfishing. But noise pollution is another vital thing we need to be monitoring.” “If you make something for the ocean,” Joe Roman suggested,“think about how to make it quieter. In theory (理论),you can reduce or turn off sound immediately. It’s not like plastics or climate change, which are much harder to get rid of.”
1. Why is sound important for ocean animals?| A．It makes them travel far in the sea. |
| B．It guides them to find their mates. |
| C．It helps them locate food and avoid danger. |
| D．It keeps them stay away from offshore construction. |
| A．prevented | B．destroyed | C．caused | D．monitored |
| A．Marine animals are being monitored. |
| B．People pay equal attention to noise pollution. |
| C．Noise pollution is theoretically easier to deal with. |
| D．Plastics is the most serious threat for ocean animals. |
| A．Sound Is Important to Ocean Life. | B．The Future of Oceans Exploration. |
| C．The Changes in the Sounds of Oceans. | D．Humans Are Making Oceans Too Noisy. |
10 . A report has warned of a "destructive" decline(减少) in freshwater fish, with nearly a third in danger of extinction(灭绝). Conservation groups said 80 species were known to have gone extinct, 16 in the last year alone.
The report said, for example, populations of migratory fish have fallen by three-quarters in the last 50 years. Over the same time period, populations of larger species, known as "megafish", have crashed by 94%. In UK waters, the sturgeon and the burbot have disappeared, salmon are disappearing and the European eel remains extremely endangered.
According to the WWF(世界自然基金会), much of the freshwater fish decline is driven by the poor state of rivers, mostly as a result of pollution. Besides, dams and waste water are also the factors. It has called on the government to restore freshwater habitats to good health through proper carrying out of existing laws, strengthening protections in the Environment Bill and championing a strong set of global targets for the recovery of nature.
Dave Tickner, from WWF, said freshwater habitats are some of the most full of life on earth, but as this report shows they are in "destructive" decline around the world. "If we are to take this government's environmental promises seriously, it must get its act together, clean up our rivers and restore our freshwater habitats to good health," said the organization's chief adviser on freshwater.
Carmen Revenga of The Nature Conservancy said freshwater fish are a diverse and unique group of species that are not only important for the healthy functioning of our rivers, lakes and wetlands, but millions of people, particularly the poor, also depend on them for their food and income.
"It's now more urgent than ever that we find the collective political will and effective cooperation with private industries, governments, NGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) and communities, to carry out nature-based solutions that protect freshwater species, while also ensuring human needs are met," she said.
1. How many species went extinct last year?| A．80. | B．16. | C．96. | D．64. |
| A．Overfishing. | B．River pollution. | C．Global warming. | D．Natural disasters. |
| A．megafish. | B．burbot. | C．the European eel | D．migratory fish. |
| A．By examples. | B．By argument. | C．By comparison. | D．By discussion. |
