1 . For many people, it is hard to imagine what it is like to lose their sense of smell. Known as “anosmia”, loss of smell can have a substantial effect on our overall wellbeing and quality of life. But while a sudden respiratory infection (呼吸道感染) might lead to a temporary loss of this important sense, your sense of smell may well have been gradually eroding away for years due to something else- air pollution.
Exposure to PM2. 5 has previously been linked with smell loss, but typically only in occupational or industrial settings. But new research is now starting to reveal the true scale and the potential damage caused by the pollution we breathe in every day. On the underside of our brains lies the olfactory bulb (嗅球). This sensitive bit of tissue is essential for the enormously varied picture of the world we get from our sense of smell. It’s also our first line of defense against viruses and pollutants entering the brain. But, with repeated exposure to PM2. 5, these defenses slowly get worn down.
“Our data show there’s a 1.6 to 1.7-fold increased risk of developing anosmia with sustained particulate pollution (粒状物污染),” says Murugappan Ramanathan, a rhinologist. One Mexican study in 2006, which used strong coffee and orange odors showed that residents of Mexico City which often struggles with air pollution — tended to have a poorer sense of smell on average than people living in rural areas of the country.
So, should we care that air pollution to which we are all exposed -is damaging our sense of smell and causing anosmia? Clearly, the answer is yes. Ramanathan says, “Air quality matters. I think we need tight regulations and control. Many people may not even realize the pollution they are exposed to. But even the everyday, low level air pollution we are exposed to should be taken more seriously.”
1. What do the underlined words “eroding away” mean in paragraph 1?| A．Evolving. | B．Becoming weak. |
| C．Becoming sharp. | D．Appearing. |
| A．Exposure to PM2. 5 has nothing to do with smell loss. |
| B．The pollution we breathe in on a daily basis may cause harm. |
| C．Our nose stops viruses and pollutants from entering the brain. |
| D．Our defenses will disappear quickly with air pollution exposure. |
| A．They have developed anosmia with air pollution. |
| B．Their sense of smell is poorer than rural people’s. |
| C．They often consume strong coffee. |
| D．They tend to have a good sense of smell. |
| A．How we should react to air pollution. |
| B．What we should do to protect the environment. |
| C．What steps we can take to recover from anosmia. |
| D．How we can improve our life quality. |
2 . Air pollution remains a critical health risk in the European Union, claiming over 500,000 lives in 2021, with findings suggesting nearly half of these could have been prevented if pollution were reduced to levels recommended by health experts. Data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) show that of these deaths, 253,000 were linked to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) going beyond the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. These particles are especially dangerous as they can pass into the bloodstream and affect various organs. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone also contributed to the mortality (死亡频率) statistics, associated with 52,000 and 22,000 deaths respectively. The EU’s environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, underlined that air pollution poses the top environmental health risk in the EU. Nevertheless, there is evidence of improvement, with deaths from PM2.5 decreasing by 41% between 2005 and 2021, and the EU targets a reduction of 55% by 2030.
In response to these concerns, the WHO, which updated its air quality guidelines in 2021, warns that no level of air pollution can be considered safe but has set upper limits for certain pollutants. The European Parliament vote to bring the EU’s air quality standards in line with the WHO but decided to delay doing so until 2035.
Sinkevicius said that air quality is indeed improving due to effective clean air policies. Beyond death counts, the EEA also assessed air pollution’s broader impact on diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes, stressing not only mortality but the quality of life impacts. EEA researcher Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz pointed to severe disability states caused by these conditions, worsened by air pollution.
The EEA’s comprehensive approach shows that while the fight against air pollution has seen progress, immediate action is still critical to reduce pollution and reduce its widespread effects on public health.
1. Why does the author mention specific figures in Paragraph 1?| A．To stress the risk of PM2.5 in the EU. | B．To illustrate the impact of air pollution. |
| C．To prove the improvement in air pollution. | D．To show the guidelines of EEA lose control. |
| A．It adjusted air quality standards accordingly. |
| B．It didn’t perform the new limits until 2035. |
| C．It claimed current pollution levels were relatively safe. |
| D．It decided to change the guidelines completely. |
| A．Concerned about its policies. | B．Indifferent due to its level. |
| C．Uncertain about its impact. | D．Optimistic about its progress. |
| A．The impact of wise decisions on air pollution in the EU. |
| B．The specific health conditions worsened by air pollution. |
| C．The progress and challenges in dealing with air pollution. |
| D．The role of the WHO in establishing global health policies. |
3 . 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.
1. How do most of the local people react to the plan?| A．Indifferent. | B．Uncertain. | C．Supportive. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．The wastewater is being stored in 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. |
| B．It was last year that the plan was exposed to the public. |
| C．Ocean discharge is the only way to deal with the wastewater. |
| D．The plan has aroused anger in all the Asian countries. |
| A．The plan is to pull the whole world into the disaster. |
| B．It’s imperative that the plan should be carried out immediately. |
| C．It’s safe and easy to pour the wastewater into the ocean. |
| D．It’s unacceptable to pour the water into the ocean without fishermen’s permission. |
| A．The Japanese government has checked the level of radiation in the poured water. |
| B．Neigboring Asian countries agreed the decision to pour Fukushima wastewater into the ocean.. |
| C．It will actually take the Fukushima plant long to release treated radioactive water. |
| D．Independent monitoring of the water from the Fukushima plant aren’t necessary. |
4 . If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go in darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal (夜间活动) species on this planet. Instead, we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun’s light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it’s the only way to explain what we’ve done to the night: We’ve engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky. Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels — and light rhythms — to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life is affected.
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars, leaving behind a vacant haze (霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark. We’ve grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit night — dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth — is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost.
We’ve lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further from the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.
Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint, including their nighttime breeding choruses. Humans are no less trapped by light pollution than the frogs. Like most other creatures, we do need darkness. Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.
Living in a glare of our own making, we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage — the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night. In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.
1. According to the passage, human beings .| A．prefer to live in the darkness |
| B．are used to living in the day light |
| C．were curious about the midnight world |
| D．had to stay at home with the light of the moon |
| A．The night. | B．The moon. | C．The sky. | D．The planet. |
| A．provide examples of animal protection. |
| B．show how light pollution affects animals. |
| C．compare the living habits of both species. |
| D．explain why the number of certain species has declined. |
| A．The Magic Light. | B．The Orange Haze. |
| C．The Disappearing Night. | D．The Rhythms of Nature. |
5 . Do you know how much India struggles to gather the waste plastic water bottles? According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report from 2012, India generates 15, 000 tonnes of plastics a day, of which the gathered ones only achieve 60%. The trashed-but-not-gathered plastic waste leads to land and water pollution. posing serious threat to the environment.
After seeing that, Ankur Chawla, a drink expert, undertook research to find a solution, after which he realised the biggest problem the country faced was disposing of plastic waste. To address it, he wanted to come up with a solution where they do not add to the problem of waste. Fortunately, Ankur was not alone. He met Bhrigu Seth who was into green farming. Both of them found that they shared a common goal and it didn’t take long for them to draft a plan of action. It is estimated that over 90 percent of aluminium(铝) drink cans in India are recycled. Instead, 70 percent of the cans are manufactured through recycled waste. After going through challenges at hand, the pair made up their minds.
Before taking the next step. both co-founders visited five-star hotels and took samples of water in aluminium cans, asking them whether they would give it a shot if something like that comes in the market. The pair received an overwhelmingly positive response. They then determined to launch Responsible Whatr, natural spring water drink packed in an aluminium can to solve the problem of waste plastic water bottles.
As one of India’s first natural spring water drink, Responsible Whatr offered an environmentally friendly and endlessly recyclable aluminium can. It’s a non-alcoholic drink that was launched with a vision for an eco-friendly future and an agenda to reduce single-use plastic pollution.
Going forward, Ankur and Bhrigu aim to cooperate with airports and ecommerce gates which would help them in directly reaching the homes of high networth individuals (HNIs). They also plan to tie up with corporate firms and cinema halls and join hands with NGOs that are fighting for the conservation of beaches and oceans.
1. What inspired Ankur to conduct his research?| A．Plastics remained the major bottle material. |
| B．Uncollected plastics caused severe pollution. |
| C．Plastics accounted for most of the daily waste. |
| D．The amount of plastic waste was beyond control. |
| A．Creating a new packaging design. | B．Developing an alternative to plastics. |
| C．Launching a rubbish sorting program. | D．Increasing the recycling of plastic cans. |
| A．Removing plastic pollution. | B．Promoting aluminium cans. |
| C．Advertising non-alcoholic drinks. | D．Advocating a sustainable approach. |
| A．By cooperating with NHIs. | B．By introducing new products. |
| C．By targeting profitable NGOs. | D．By establishing diverse channels. |
6 . A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.
“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”
For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”
Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.
1. How does traffic pollution affect people according to the study?| A．Exhausting their body. | B．Decreasing their income. |
| C．Endangering their safety. | D．Harming their brain function. |
| A．Growth. | B．Sport. | C．Memory. | D．Behaviour. |
| A．Avoid being exposed to the polluted air constantly. |
| B．Be mindful of the air quality in a new city. |
| C．Measure the brain activity in laboratories. |
| D．Stay inside a house as often as possible. |
| A．A Role Of Brain Will Be Ruined |
| B．Traffic Pollution May Impair Brain Function |
| C．A Famous UK University Did A Vital Study |
| D．A Source Of Pollution Has Drawn People’s Attention |
7 . You are welcome to our channel. An interest in the way ocean currents move led Dr. Erik van Sebille to track garbage. This Dutch scientist hopes that by making us aware of how much we litter our oceans, we’ll be motivated to better stash (存放) our garbage.
Question: Where does the garbage in our oceans come from ?Answer: It can come from litter people leave behind on beaches. Or from things falling off ships. Almost every river’s garbage will end up in the ocean too. Plastic garbage is the biggest problem, though. That’s because it doesn’t easily break down. It can stay in the ocean for thousands of years. Eventually, it arrives at the garbage patches (垃圾带).
Question: Does this mean that ocean garbage is worse than garbage on land ?
Answer: Litter in the ocean is probably just as bad as litter in a forest or a park. The main problem in either place is that, if animals eat plastic pieces, they can become very ill. But we know how to solve the problem: Just stop polluting!
Question: Many persons love tossing a message in a bottle into the ocean. Is that a bad idea ?
Answer: Finding a bottle with a message in it is awesome, very special! But most bottles will never end up on a beach. They’ll turn up in the garbage patches, where it’s unlikely that someone will find them. If you want to play with ocean currents, go to the website and release virtual bottles. That way, you’re not littering our oceans.
1. Animals can become very ill if they _______________.
| A．turn up in the garbage patches. | B．arrive at the garbage patches. |
| C．eat plastic pieces. | D．play with bottles. |
| A．educative. | B．useful. | C．interesting. | D．meaningless. |
| A．story. | B．poem. | C．scientific article. | D．television interview. |
8 . Water companies have pumped waste water into Britain’s seas and rivers for more than nine million hours since 2016, new data suggests. The figure is an increase of 2,553% over five years, according to Environment Agency (EA) data, so the EA warned holidaymakers to avoid dozens of beaches across England and Wales this week.
Untreated waste water was spotted pouring into the sea near Bexhill, East Sussex on Wednesday. On Saturday, the red flags were removed, meaning the water was officially considered safe to bathe in. The beach, however, was nearly deserted.
Rachel Streeter moved to Bexhill in 2007 to enjoy wild swimming and the beach. “Flies actually flew above the surface of the water as well as the waste water. It’s quite horrible,” she said. Rachel says her friends and family have all become sick after swimming. Her 79-year-old mother went for a swim last week and fell ill with “a severe bacterial infection (感染)”.
Businesses say they are being affected by it too. Cliff Meadon, who runs business in the sea, says he has lost “thousands” pounds over the last two years due to water pollution. “We’ve been on the water with groups when we’ve had to come in as the waste comes out,” he said.
In Hastings people were advised not to swim due to a pollution risk this week. Beaches in Normans Bay as well as Bexhill were closed but have now reopened.
Southern Water argued that the water company had not been deliberately (故意的) pouring untreated water into the sea. A spokesperson for the company said, “This week’s heavy rain has fallen onto dry ground that can’t absorb surface run-off, meaning that more rain than usual has entered our waterway networks. This led to some overflows, spilling some untreated water into the sea.”
Southern Water was fined £90 million last year for widespread pollution after sending out more than 6,000 untreated waste water.
1. What warning has the EA given?| A．Holidaymakers not going to certain beaches. |
| B．A severe bacterial infection breaking out in the UK. |
| C．Southern Water stopping pouring waste water into the sea. |
| D．Cliff Meadon stopping running business in the sea. |
| A．Heavy rainfalls. | B．Too many holidaymakers. |
| C．Damaged waterway networks. | D．Poor management of water companies. |
| A．Holidaymakers facing pollution risk |
| B．Dozens of Britain’s beaches closed to holidaymakers |
| C．Lots of families pouring untreated waste water into seas |
| D．Huge increase in untreated waste water entering Britain’s seas |
| A．Health. | B．Business. | C．Environment. | D．Sports. |
9 . There are a lot of chemicals that can cause indoor air pollution. A recent project conducted has found over 900 different substances in our home are related to it. Many researchers have already examined the causes of indoor air pollution.
It has been proved that different kinds of chemicals can be released by building materials and new furniture. Everything from painting and decorating products, bathroom cleaners and beauty products can contain these chemicals.
As a research from Denmark has highlighted, cooking, particularly roasting can damage our body. Roast dinners contain many potentially harmful pollutants.
As far as cooking emissions are concerned, no one is suggesting switching to takeaways.
| A．In the long run, these changes lead to cancer. |
| B．They might also arise from cooking at home. |
| C．A wide range of sources are under investigation. |
| D．Therefore, what results from indoor air pollution? |
| E．However, most of us have ignored their bad effects. |
| F．So, what are the main contributors to poor air quality? |
| G．But we can change how we cook to deal with the emissions. |
10 . 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.
1. Why was the pollution in the past less serious?| A．Because life in the past was easier. | B．Because there were not so many people. |
| C．Because men stayed in one place. | D．Because people used less coal to make fire. |
| A．Air pollution. | B．Noise pollution. |
| C．Light pollution. | D．Water pollution. |
| A．Try to use something to clear the air. | B．Ask people to use public transport more. |
| C．Stop putting dirty smoke into the air. | D．Encourage people to move to another place. |
| A．To prove life is much easier today. | B．To call on us to take care of our earth. |
| C．To show the danger of pollution. | D．To introduce how to fight air pollution. |
