1 . More Plastic than Fish in the Oceans by 2050
30 years from now our seas will be containing more plastic than fish．According to a report released by the World Economic Forum, plastic production around the world is expected to double within the next 20 years．
About 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the sea every year．
Plastic is becoming more and more common in our world．
Oil is the raw material that plastic is made of．Currently, 5% of the world's oil production is turned into plastic．
| A．By 2050 it will rise to a fifth． |
| B．There, it can last for hundreds of years． |
| C．It has many uses and is cheap to produce． |
| D．More people have sensed its seriousness． |
| E．Today, one garbage truck full of plastic gets into the ocean every minute． |
| F．They were aiming to highlight the global issue of plastic pollution in the oceans． |
| G．Plastic that turns up in the seas endangers the fish population and other marine animals． |
2 . Pollution
Pollution happens when the environment is dirtied, by waste, chemicals, and other harmful substances(物质).Pollution is a problem all over the world. But it is especially bad in large cities with a lot of industries and cars.
Wildfires, volcanoes, and industrial chemicals cause some air pollution. But most air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels (矿物燃料）These include coal, oil and natural gas. The burning of fossil fuels may release harmful gases. Air pollution may cause such diseases cancer and asthma. It also leads to polluted rain that can harm living things
Causes of water pollution are easy to see. People dump(倾倒) garbage and dirty water into river, lakes and oceans. Factories or cities sometimes release poisonous chemicals, and other wastes into water. These chemicals may make the groundwater unfit to drink.
Littering, or throwing garbage on the ground, is a form of land pollution. Litter can destroy the habitats of plants and animals. The buildup of dangerous chemicals in the ground is another form of land pollution. The chemicals may come from farms or factories.
Many governments, environmental groups, and ordinary people are working to control pollution. Governments have passed laws to keep people from releasing dangerous chemicals into the environment
| A．Farmers use chemical to help crops grow. |
| B．This type of pollution may be seen in big cities. |
| C．They also can harm fish and other forms of life. |
| D．These chemicals can spread to plants and animals. |
| E．In addition, air pollution may be a cause of global warming. |
| F．There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land. |
| G．Some companies and people are trying to use fewer fossil fuels. |
3 . Angela never liked seeing plastic waste washed up on the shore near her home. She had been
Here's how it
The Washed Ashore team is now working on sculpture of a dolphin, with
| A．offering | B．longing | C．admitting | D．hesitating |
| A．landscape | B．world | C．surface | D．situation |
| A．attempt | B．choice | C．program | D．instruction |
| A．walks | B．applies | C．functions | D．prepares |
| A．stopping | B．presenting | C．delivering | D．employing |
| A．waste | B．floor | C．waves | D．creatures |
| A．rethink | B．remark | C．confirm | D．announce |
| A．Generally | B．Hopefully | C．Fortunately | D．Surprisingly |
| A．achieved | B．observed | C．purchased | D．recommended |
| A．devoted | B．surprised | C．grateful | D．adventurous |
| A．guides | B．managers | C．advertisements | D．exhibitions |
| A．folk | B．simple | C．special | D．strange |
| A．plans | B．calls | C．elements | D．exchanges |
| A．get down to | B．keep away from | C．get rid of | D．end up with |
| A．answer | B．appeal | C．warning | D．response |
4 . Darrell Blatchley，a marine biologist and environmentalist based in the Philippine city of Davao，received a call from the Philippine，Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources(渔业与水产资源局) early Friday morning reporting a death of a young whale.
When the necropsy(尸检) was performed，Blatchley told NPR，he was not prepared for the amount of plastic they found in the whale’s stomach.“It was full of plastic nothing but nonstop plastic，” he said.“It was filled to the point that its stomach was as hard as a baseball.That means that this animal has been suffering not for days or weeks but for months or even a year or more，” Blatchley added.
Blatchley is the founder and owner of the D’Bone Collector Museum，a natural history museum in Davao.In the coming days，the museum will display all the items found in the whale’s system.Blatchley and his team work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other organizations to assist in rescue and recovery of marine animals.
“Within the last 10 years，we have recovered 61 whales and dolphins just within the Davao Gulf，” he said.“Of them,57 have died due to man whether they took plastic or fishing nets or other waste，or gotten caught in pollution—and four were pregnant.”
Blatchley said he hoped that the latest incident would launch the issue of plastic pollution in the Philippines and across the globe.“If we keep going this way，it will be more uncommon to see an animal die of natural causes than it is to see an animal die of plastic，” he said.
1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?| A．The whale was starved to death. |
| B．Blatchley was shocked at what he found. |
| C．The dead whale must have swallowed a baseball. |
| D．Blatchley didn’t make preparations for the necropsy. |
| A．Waste collected from the ocean. |
| B．The whole system of the whale. |
| C．Things found in the whale’s body. |
| D．Many different tools of whaling. |
| A．A Whale Found Dead of Plastic |
| B．Stand Up for Protecting Whales |
| C．Plastic Threatening Our Existence |
| D．Natural Death or Merciless Murder |
5 . It was late August when I got a call from a grandmother. She lives in Seeley Lake, Montana, and she has heard we have air purifiers(净化器)with highefficiency particulate air(HEPA)aircleaners that can help with smoke. She needs one for the baby’s room. I explained we didn’t have any and told her how to purchase one.
She coughed and went silent with disappointment before asking how much they cost. Almost every person I talk to in Seeley Lake has this cough.“The family doesn’t have much money, ”she said, but she promised to order a filter for the child.Small filters—ones that can clean a bedroom of up to 75 square feet—cost about
70 each.
The next day, the wildfire that had been burning for weeks in the Lolo National Forest, northeast of town, moved closer to the woman’s neighborhood, and the county sheriff’s office evacuated(疏散)the area.I wondered whether the aircleaner would be there when the family returned home.I knew the smoke would be.
As an airquality specialist with the Missoula CityCounty Health Department in Montana, my job is to understand air pollution, control it as much as possible, and help people protect themselves from its effects.I focus on smoke management：issuing permits for outdoor burns and updating residents about what to expect from the smoke when wildfires send it our way.
Never had we seen so many wildfires so close to home for so many weeks. There are six classes on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index(指数)：good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and dangerous.Seeley Lake’s air reached a dangerous class in 18 days last summer.
Last year was troubled by wildfires around the country.The fires that struck Northern California alone killed 44 people and caused more than9 billion in damage.But this isn’t just a recent problem, nor is it limited to the West.Wildfires hit 49 states in 2017, including a swath from Florida to Virginia. More than 9 million acres burned nationwide, compared with the yearly average of 6.5 million acres.
| A．To prevent the wildfire. | B．To help her make a move. |
| C．To ask for an air purifier. | D．To get information about air pollution. |
| A．Angry. | B．Hopeful. | C．Excited. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．about 49% | B．about 38% | C．about 72% | D．about 52% |
6 . Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground.
Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.
Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair（婴儿车）, she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency.
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）.
Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma."
“Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets（小装置）. About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it."
Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her."
1. With a monitor on her collar, Baggy can ____________.| A．take pollutant readings | B．record pollutant levels |
| C．process collected data | D．reduce air pollution |
| A．High places are free of air pollution. |
| B．Higher pushchairs are more risky for kids. |
| C．Conventional monitors are more reliable. |
| D．Air is more polluted closer to the ground. |
| A．To warn of a health risk. | B．To find out pollution sources. |
| C．To test his new monitor. | D．To prove Baggy's abilities. |
| A．Modest. | B．Generous. | C．Creative. | D．Outgoing. |
Pollution takes away all the beauty of the beaches of Hawaii. I hate to go to the beaches on
One thing that really annoys me is that I see
The dogs or the fish are not to blame
Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed(处理)．
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to get rid of them. Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution.
The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solids，liquid and gas. These pollutants have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact，pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution; the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and raise their awareness of protecting the environment and so on.
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generations. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. And laws have been passed to stop pollution, I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better.
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9 . The Great Wall, China
Stretching over 21,000 kilometers, the Great Wall was built to prevent invasions and has a history of more than 2,000 years. UNESCO in February 2019 calls it an absolute masterpiece, not only because of the ambitious character of the undertaking but also the perfection of its construction.”
But perfection isn’t protection. 51.2 percent of the Great Wall had either already disappeared or is at a significant risk of disappearing. Besides for wind and rain erosion, the main reasons for the destruction of the Great Wall are human factors such as tourism, construction, human contact and so on.
Pamukkale，Turkey
Pamukkale, which means “cotton castle” in Turkish, is famous for its shining white calcite terraces (方解石阶地)with warm and mineral-rich waters overrun.
Before being listed as a World Heritage Site in 1988, Pamukkale had been severely damaged by human activities. People used hot spring water to fill swimming pools, some visitors stood on the rocks and some even bathed in the hot springs with soap and shampoo. To protect the terraces, the Turkish government has decided to pull down the hotels and require all tourists to visit this site barefoot.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Home to 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish, the Great Barrier Reef draws visitors to Australia from all over the world.
However, the Great Barrier Reef is expected to suffer from increasingly frequent bleaching events, cases in which corals turn white and may die, according to a UNESCO report. The heat waves caused by global warming have killed half of the coral here in the two years, according to a CNN report. Pollution from industry developments and harmful fishing practices are also big concerns.
The Dead Sea, Jordan
At 423 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is 10 times saltier than the ocean, meaning that the water is so dense, even tourists who can9t swim will be able to float.
But the seaside resorts built in the 1980s now sit kilometers away from the water’s edge, which has lost half of its surface area in the past 40 years. The damage is irreversible due to the nature of the mineral industry and the type of agricultural use that has drained the water.
1. Which are you required to visit without shoes?| A．The Great Wall, China. |
| B．Pamukkale, Turkey. |
| C．Great Barrier Reef, Australia. |
| D．The Dead Sea, Jordan. |
| A．Main reasons for the destruction of the Great Wall come from wind and rain erosion. |
| B．Pamukkale was damaged by human activities after 1988. |
| C．Pollution and the heat waves caused by global warming kill much coral in the Great Barrier Reef. |
| D．Half of the Dead Sea surface area has disappeared in the past two decades. |
| A．They are all famous endangered natural spots. |
| B．They’re damaged only from human activities. |
| C．They all draw the attention of the governments. |
| D．They’re all seriously damaged. |
10 . The online takeaway industry is growing in China along with the rapid development of the Internet economy. But environmental activists complain that the huge volume of plastic utensils (用具), wrapping and containers presents a great challenge to the environment, and that the heavy use of throwaway wooden chopsticks is reducing natural resources.
On September 1, the Beijing No.4 Intermediate People’s Court accepted a lawsuit filed by the Chongqing Green Volunteer League, an environmental non-government organization (NGO), against the country’s three largest food delivery platforms—Baidu Waimai, Ele.me and Meituan. The NGO stated that the companies failed to provide customers with the choice to not receive throwaway plastic utensils along with their food deliveries. Meanwhile, these utensils have created large amounts of rubbish and caused serious ecological damage.
In response, both Meituan and Ele.me, which acquired Baidu Waimai in August, have promised to take measures to reduce plastic waste. Meituan announced that it would appoint a chief environmental officer to oversee environmental issues from plastic waste and upgrade its smartphone app to provide consumers with the option of ordering food without single-use chopsticks, spoons or napkins. Ele.me followed by offering a similar choice and putting forward a plan to introduce suppliers of degradable (可降解的) plastic utensils to restaurants in the long term.
Is there a possible way out? Combined efforts by delivery platforms, consumers, restaurants and government departments are required to address plastic waste pollution.
For platforms, promoting environmental protection and introducing this idea to consumers are a meaningful move. Moreover, in the future, they should also make strict rules on the use of plastic utensils. For example, no more than one plastic bag should be used to wrap soup dishes, and all plastic products should be degradable. It is a long and difficult task for them, and the recent reactions from Ele.me and Meituan are just beginnings.
Considering most takeout food packaging is thrown into garbage bins and then taken away along with other household garbage, sorting of waste also becomes more important. Government departments could play a major role in this, and by recycling some materials, waste pollution could be reduced and resources saved. Furthermore, there have been growing calls that the government should also invest more in developing degradable plastic products or environmentally friendly alternatives.
Though consumers enjoy the convenience yet also suffer exposure to the pollution, many of them have paid little attention to the plastic waste problem. Environmental groups suggest that consumers change their habits a little by using their own utensils and dishes and refusing unnecessary plastic containers.
1. The Chongqing Green Volunteer League accused the three food delivery platforms of ________.| A．causing damage to people’s health |
| B．violating environmental standards |
| C．using many wooden chopsticks |
| D．offering no utensil option |
| A．raise people’s awareness | B．research possible alternatives |
| C．upgrade their application design | D．hire a chief environmental officer |
| A．Government departments. | B．Food delivery platforms. |
| C．Environmental groups. | D．Fast food restaurants. |
| A．why environmental problems arise |
| B．who food delivery platforms affect most |
| C．how plastic utensil pollution can be solved |
| D．what efforts environmental groups have made |
