1 . 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.

2 . Japan said Tuesday that it would start pouring treated radioactive water (放射性废水) from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean within two years. Officials in Tokyo said the water would be filtered and diluted (稀释) to safe levels first, but most locals remain firmly opposed to the plan. Protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s residence in downtown Tokyo to criticize the government’s decision.

More than a million tons of radioactive water is currently being stored at the Fukushima power plant in a massive tank farm big enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The wastewater comes from water pumped in to cool the plant’s damaged reactors (反应堆). The government says it has simply run out of room to store all the water. The plan to dump the water into the ocean first came to light in the autumn of last year, when Japanese news reported anonymous (匿名的) officials said the decision had been taken.

On Tuesday, Suga said that after years of study, his scientific advisors had concluded that ocean discharge was the most possible way to cope with the wastewater. But the decision to pour Fukushima wastewater into the ocean has drawn fire from neighboring Asian countries and local fishermen along Japan’s coast.

China called the decision “extremely irresponsible,” and South Korea summoned (召唤) the Japanese ambassador in Seoul over the matter. “They told us that they wouldn’t release the water into the sea without the support of fishermen,” Kanji Tachiya, who leads a local cooperative of fisheries in Fukushima, told national broadcaster NHK ahead of the announcement on Tuesday. “We can’t support this move to break that promise and release the water into the sea unilaterally (单方面地).”

The actual release of water from the Fukushima plant will take decades to complete. Critics have called on Japan’s government to at least ensure that independent monitoring is in place to check the level of radiation in the poured water is safe for the environment.

3 . Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Men have been polluting the earth. Many years ago, the pollution 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, men moved to another place.

Air pollution is now the most serious. Air makes people sick. And lots of people now are trying to use something to clear the air. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight air 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. It is true that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

Although most of the pollution is caused by us, we are the ones who can change the situation. The earth is our home. We must take care of it. And we must pay more attention to the information in pollution at the same time.

4 . Space is where our future is — trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond.    1     But, since our space journey started we have left so much trash (垃圾) there that scientists are now concerned that if we don’t clean it up, we may all be in great danger.

The first piece of space junk was created in 1964, when the American satellite Vanguard I stopped operating and lost its connection with the ground center.    2    

    3     The junk varies from tiny pieces of paint chipped off rockets to cameras, huge fuel tanks, and even odd items like the million-dollar tool kit that astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn Piper lost during a spacewalk.

    4     Moreover, pieces of junk may crash with each other and break into pieces which fall back to the Earth.    5     Ground stations have been built to monitor larger pieces of space trash to prevent them from crashing into working satellites or space shuttles. Future plans include a cooperative effort among many nations to stop littering in space and to clean up the trash already there.

5 . In today’s world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people’s health. However, not all the persons know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human health, too.

People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf. Today, however, scientists believe that 10 percent of workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave (织) cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old persons, for these young people like to listen to pop music and most of pop music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people’s life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad.

It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels (分贝) can cause deafness. Now the governments in many countries have made laws to control noise and make it less than 85 decibels.

In China, the government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise pollution problems.

8 . Three­quarters of a million tourists flock to the white beaches every year, but this booming industry has come at a price. Poisonous smoke rising from open fires, rubbish made up of plastic bottles, packets..., it’s a far cry from the white sands, clear waters and palm trees that we associate with the Maldives (马尔代夫), the paradise island holiday destination set in the Indian Ocean.

Of its 200 inhabited islands, which are spread across an area of 35, 000 square miles, 99 are good resorts (旅游胜地)．So many tourists come every year, more than double the local population. Of these, over 100, 000 travel from the UK. The capital, Male, is four times more densely populated than London. Given these facts, it’s hardly surprising that the Maldives has a waste disposal problem.

Years ago, when the tourists left, the government had to deal with a stream of rubbish. Their solution was to turn one of the islands into a dumping ground. Four miles west of Male is the country’s dumping ground, Thilafushi.What you are seeing here is a view of the Maldives on which no honeymooners would like to clap eyes.Each visitor produces 3.5 kg of waste per day.The country dumps more than 330 tons of rubbish on the island every day.

Now, since many waste boats, tired of waiting seven hours or more, directly offload their goods into the sea, the government of the Maldives has banned the dumping of waste on the island. So, the waste boats ship the rubbish to India instead.

10 . It’s no secret that inhaling (吸入) smoke is bad for your lungs. But now, scientists are suggesting smoke may also carry and spread infectious diseases. The theory, published in Science Magazine, is based on research that found wildfire smoke is crowded with thousands of species of microorganisms. Some of these microorganisms, including bacteria and fungal spores, are known to cause disease.

The new research suggests that when a wildfire burns plant or animal matter and disturbs soils, it exposes thousands of species of bacteria and fungi that otherwise might not easily become airborne (空气传播的). You might think the high heat from fire would kill these organisms, but one study mentioned in the article found that some bacteria even multiply post-fire. Scientists say the organisms attach to smoke particles, allowing them to travel thousands of miles across continents.

Dr. Peter Chen, director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is interested in the theory but somewhat skeptical that the microorganisms in smoke would actually cause infections. Many bacteria and fungi don’t cause lung infections, says Chen, but it’s certainly possible that a significant amount could worsen symptoms in someone with a preexisting lung condition. “I always thought it was the particles in smoke that were causing these issues,” says Chen. “But when I read this, I started thinking: Could it be the microorganisms that are also worsening existing illnesses?”

Whether the microorganisms in smoke actually cause infection or simply worsen potential respiratory (呼吸的) issues, the article raises a new health threat that is “certainly alarming”, says Kelsey Jack, an associate professor of environmental and development economics. This is especially true for lower-income populations, Jack says, because people with fewer means are often more exposed to the environment. If smoke is affecting the air quality in a certain area, the people who work outside, or who have to go to the office on foot or by bike will inhale more smoke than those who drive.

But until more research is done, Chen says the best thing people can do is just follow existing recommendations when air quality is poor—including staying indoors, keeping windows and doors closed, using HEPA filters and running air conditioning.