1 . The company SpaceX has already launched hundreds of its Star-link satellites, with plans to put as many as 42,000 of them in Earth orbit. Its goal is to provide high-speed Internet to billions of people. Moving toward that kind of access is important, but it comes at a cost. Glittering with reflected sunlight, these first orbiters, sent up in the past year, are brighter than 99 percent of the 5,000 or so other satellites now circling Earth, and obviously there are going to be a lot more. This sudden increase is bad for astronomy: the probability of a Star-link satellite crossing a telescope’s field of view and ruining an observation will be quite high near sunset. For that reason, my fellow astronomers have signed a petition (请愿书) calling for governments to protect the night sky from this invasion.
In response to protests, SpaceX has promised to address the visibility problem by, for example, applying experimental coatings — essentially painting the satellites black — but the company’s aggressive launch schedule remains unchanged. And the satellites’ illuminated (被照亮) surfaces are mostly their solar panels — exactly the part that cannot be painted over.
Unfortunately, at present no regulations govern how bright a single satellite can be, let alone thousands of them together. Even if there were such regulations, one nation’s laws can not hinder (阻碍) another country’s launches. Space literally has no borders, and the sky will need to be protected at an international level. As a consequence, we hope that the United Nations will find a way to think outside of the box to save the sky for everyone.
When I was growing up in Montana, it was a game to be the first to find a moving satellite among the host of stars in the night sky. Soon it could be a game to recognize the constellations (星座) behind a swarm of moving points of light.
1. What is the writer’s attitude toward Space X’s launching plans?| A．Indifferent. | B．Doubtful. | C．Optimistic. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．SpaceX plans to send too many Star-line satellites into space. |
| B．The Star-line satellites will possibly ruin an observation near sunset. |
| C．The first orbiters are brighter than most of other satellites circling Earth. |
| D．Space X fails to provide high-speed Internet to people around the world. |
| A．The United States. | B．The United Nations. |
| C．The company SpaceX. | D．Just one nation. |
| A．Preserve the Night Sky | B．Ban Star-line Satellites |
| C．Observe the Stars Attentively | D．Protest against Space X |
2 . Rubbish is a major kind of environmental pollution. Each person produces about two kilograms of rubbish in our homes a day. And this is only a small part of all the rubbish we produce. We also create waste in industry.
Have you wondered what happens to the rubbish? Most of it is buried in landfills (垃圾填埋地) or burned. Less than 25% of our waste is recycled.
A landfill is carefully designed and it is built into or on top of the ground. Rubbish buried in landfills is cut off from the surrounding environment (groundwater, air, rain, etc).
One problem with landfills is that they cover a lot of land space. If they are not well-built, there is a high risk of polluting the land and water. Some people also say that landfills remove materials for ever. As a result, the materials that can be reused are wasted.
Burning rubbish in factories is another way to cut out waste. Burning reduces 95% of the waste. And if poisonous materials are removed, and burning is completed at controlled temperatures, it is possible to do so without causing too much pollution. Some factories could even produce electricity from the burning process.
Not all of the rubbish can be burned, so we have to separate it before we burn it. However, separation costs a lot of money. Another problem with burning rubbish is that what is left after burning is poisonous. How to safely deal with it is a continuing problem.
Before the mid-20th century, landfills were the main way to deal with waste. In the late 20th century, other ways like recycling have been introduced to help reduce global pollution.
Maybe in the near future, with combined efforts, scientists will find a better way to dispose rubbish and cut out waste, like recycling things. But anyway, mountains of rubbish from life every day is a huge burden for any country.
1. What is the advantage of burying rubbish in landfills?| A．Producing electricity. |
| B．Reusing the materials buried in landfills. |
| C．Reducing 95% of the waste. |
| D．Cutting off rubbish from the surrounding environment. |
| A．the separation of rubbish | B．the problems with burning rubbish |
| C．the safety of burning rubbish | D．the cost of burning rubbish |
| A．rubbish should be separated when it is burning |
| B．landfills are too dangerous to be built too many |
| C．there’re advantages and disadvantages about burning rubbish |
| D．developed countries are better at dealing with rubbish |
| A．Pollution. | B．Landfills. |
| C．Recycling. | D．Environment. |
3 . In the last few years, you may have noticed the terra “microplastics” in the news. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic from discarded (丢弃的) plastic bottles, bags and containers that end up in rivers, lakes and oceans. Because they are so tiny and hard to see, researchers set sail to collect water samples and estimate the amount of plastic in the ocean. The 5 Gyres Institute, an organization aimed at reducing plastics pollution in our oceans, estimates that 296,000 tons of plastic are floating in the world’s oceans. But, if you think that oceans are the only water bodies with a micropiastics problem, think again - the problem is also reported in the Chesapeake Bay, in our own backyard.
In a partnership with the 5 Gyres Institute, Trash Free Maryland took to the Chesapeake Bay in November to study the presence of micropiastics in the water. Setting out from Deale, Md., the research team collected seven samples by dragging a trawl (拖网) for an hour at a time. The trawl was fitted with a cone-shaped (锥形的) net, whose holes measure 330 microns (微米) wide, about the width of two to three strands of human hair. Water flows through the main opening and the fine mesh (网眼) of net ensures anything suspended m the water is trapped behind.
In seven samples, the net picked up algae (海藻) trash, foam and plastic. According to the 5 Gyres Institute representative, the first sample collected contained almost 10 times the amount of plastic than would be collected in a typical ocean sample. The plastic found in the Chesapeake Bay samples included bits of bags, sheeting, fishing line and microbeads, which are small plastic scrubbers mm found in face wash, toothpaste and cleaning products. Microbeads in particular are a major source of microplastics pollution worldwide. They are small enough to bypass water treatment systems’ filters (过滤器) and end up in waterways. Scientists warn that chemicals and toxins (毒素) absorbed by microbeads and other micropiastics could be passed on to organisms who mistake them for food and eat them, and could then be passed up higher and higher on the food chain, eventually reaching humans.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The description of the trawl. |
| B．The basic data of the water samples. |
| C．The process of collecting water samples. |
| D．The introduction of Trash Free Maryland. |
| A．Bits of bags. | B．Chemicals. |
| C．Microbeads. | D．Micropiastics. |
| A．By analyzing the data. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By giving some examples. | D．By referring to scientists views. |
| A．To explain some new scientific terms to people. |
| B．To let people learn more about plastics pollution. |
| C．To urge governments to make environmental laws. |
| D．To tell people some new findings in scientific research. |
