1 . At any moment, about half the world’s population is wearing denim (牛仔布). But few realize tiny bits of denim have been adding up to a surprising amount of pollution in water, as a new study shows.
Sam Athey, one of the study’s authors, says, “Even though denim is made of a natural material—cotton—it contains chemicals.” Cotton fibers are treated with many types of chemicals, she notes. Some improve its durability (耐久性) and feel. Others give denim its distinctive blue color.
Athey and her team washed jeans and found that about 50,000 microfibers come off from each pair per wash. Not all of those fibers make their way into the environment. Wastewater treatment plants catch about 83 to 99 percent of them. Catching 99 percent may sound pretty good. But one percent of 50,000 is still 500 fibers per wash. And since every pair of jeans is washed again and again, it still adds up to lots of microfibers entering water environments.
Denim microfibers showed up in sediment (沉淀物) from the Great Lakes. More of these fibers polluted a series of shallow lakes in southern Ontario. They even turned up in sediment from the Arctic Ocean in northern Canada. The team found denim accounted for 12 to 23 percent of microfibers in the sediment. There were other microfibers too. But the team focused on denim because so many people wear jeans.
“Everyone wears jeans so they could be our largest input of microfibers into our streams and soils,” Athey says. “An easy way to limit that is by washing our jeans less often.” Athey grew up thinking she should wash her jeans after every couple of wearings, but most jean companies recommend washing them no more than once a month. “The solution is not that you shouldn’t wear jeans,” she says. “We need to buy fewer denim clothes and only wash them when they truly need it.”
1. Why are chemicals used to deal with cotton according to the passage?A.To avoid its harm. |
B.To make it into denim. |
C.To remove its blue color. |
D.To prevent fibers from falling. |
A.wastewater treatment plants are good at dealing with microfibers |
B.few microfibers are entering water environments |
C.catching 99 percent means doing no harm to the environment |
D.the effects of microfibers can not be ignored |
A.The seriousness of denim pollution. |
B.The types of water pollution. |
C.The wide uses of denim. |
D.The large water area of Canada. |
A.Wash jeans more often. |
B.Avoid wearing jeans. |
C.Produce less jeans. |
D.Reduce denim consumption. |
2 . A study of almost 2,700 children aged between seven and ten in 38 schools in Barcelona, Spain, first researches the impact of traffic noise on child cognitive development over time.
The children in the study are in a critical stage for the development of memory and attention skills, which are essential to learning. The research found that children exposed to about three times more traffic in the street than other children had memory development that was 23% slower and attention ability development 5% slower over a year.
Noise is the second most damaging environmental factor to health, after air pollution, and, for example, was already known to increase heart attacks in adults. The UN said that urban noise pollution was growing into a global public health threat, leading to 12,000 early deaths a year in the EU alone and affecting many cities.
But research on the impact of road noise on children was limited until now. “We do not understand that noise can actually be toxic (有害的) from a physical point of view,” said Dr. Maria Foraster, from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, who led the study. “We think that we adapt to it, but research has shown that we don’t completely — we still have a physiological (生理的) response.”
The research revealed that peaks of noise heard inside the classroom, such as the passing of loud trucks, had more impact than a higher average level of noise. It also found higher noise levels at school were more damaging than at home.
Prof. Iroise Dumontheil, at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, said, “This carefully designed study provides convincing evidence. Considering that many European children living in large cities are exposed to high road-traffic noise levels, this study has implications for public policy to reduce road-traffic noise near schools.”
The research follows previous work that showed higher levels of aircraft noise at school affected reading comprehension and cognitive development. Next, the authors said, they would like to see their findings replicated (复制) in different cities and towns, where schools may be built differently and windows opened more or less often.
1. What can we learn from Maria Foraster’s words?A.We have been troubled by noise. |
B.We lack confidence in her study. |
C.We had tried hard to adapt to noise. |
D.We had underestimated the harm of noise to humans. |
A.Curious. | B.Positive. |
C.Cautious. | D.Unsatisfied. |
A.Finding solutions to reducing noise. |
B.Helping students to realize the impact of noise. |
C.Confirming their findings in different areas. |
D.Studying the differences between various noises. |
A.Policies on traffic noise should be improved |
B.Traffic noise slows children’s memory development |
C.Traffic noise has a growing impact on people’s health |
D.Attention should be paid to the environment around schools |
3 . Natural selection is the process by which one type of animal within a species grows or develops well because of certain features that make it more likely(可能的) to live than others in its group. The history of the peppered moth (灰蛾) is an example of the natural selection process.
In nineteenth-century England, certain types of peppered moths were able to better blend (融合) into their surroundings. During that time period, great changes were happening in Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution was part of this change, and with it came air pollution. Natural selection often takes hundreds or even thousands of years to happen. For the peppered moth, this process happened comparatively(相对地) quickly.
At the beginning of the Industrial Age, most peppered moths in England were light-colored and covered with black markings, although a few moths had dark-colored wings. Because the light-colored moths blended into the light-colored bark on the trees, they could not be easily seen by birds that would eat them. As the air grew more polluted, however, tree trunks became covered with soot (煤烟) and became darker. The light-colored moths became easy for birds to see against the dark tree trunks. Since the dark-colored moths now had the advantage, their numbers grew. Within 50 years, the peppered moth went from being mostly light-colored to being mostly dark-colored.
In the twentieth century, the air cleared up, and the peppered moth population changed again. As tree trunks lightened because of less soot in the air, light-colored moths once again had an advantage. Their numbers increased as soot levels dropped. Depending on their environment, the coloration of the moths helped them to be “naturally selected” to survive(生存).
1. What do we know about the peppered moth’s natural selection process?A.It was a good example of environmental protection. |
B.The soot levels in England did not affect it. |
C.This type of color change was typical for moths. |
D.The length of time was unusual. |
A.Both kinds of moths preferred the dark-colored trees. |
B.Birds failed to see light-colored moths. |
C.There were more light-colored moths than dark-colored moths in the beginning. |
D.The color of moths was unimportant. |
A.Birds would eat fewer moths. |
B.Light-colored moths would disturb people’s life. |
C.Moths would not be able to stay alive. |
D.The population of dark-colored moths would increase. |
A.the surrounding environment may affect some peppered moths’ survival |
B.birds preferred to eat dark-colored moths than to light-colored ones |
C.different types of peppered moths liked different kinds of tree trunk |
D.birds were dangerously affected by the soot levels |
4 . In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite — the first ever plastic. Since then, plastics have been used widely in various industries and people’s lives. Plastic bags were introduced to supermarkets in 1977. Now, 160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second!
Plastic bags live on much, much longer — perhaps as much as 1,000 years in a landfill (垃圾填埋地).
When plastic breaks down in the ocean, it doesn’t break down completely.
Plastic bags cause the death of many sea animals when they are mistaken for food. In 2008, a whale was found beached in California. It died due to the more than 22 kilos of plastic found in its stomach.
The key to improving our environmental behavior is to make a plan. And you should build your environmental muscle memory: Put your recyclable bags somewhere that will ensure you always remember to bring them with you.
If you drive to the store, keep your bags in your car.
Through this act of green, you have created a plan to ensure you will always have your reusable grocery bags on hand when you need them.
A.If you bike, keep them in your basket. |
B.But it only counts if you stick to the plan. |
C.It remains harmful even when it breaks down. |
D.Plastic bags are billed for their “convenience”. |
E.It just gets smaller and ends up getting eaten by fish. |
F.So we know that we should never use plastic grocery bags. |
G.You’ll feel proud when you see what a difference you’ve made! |
5 . Flower scents (香味) help pollinators (传粉者) locate their favorite plants. Scientists have established that air pollutants change those scents, throwing off the tracking abilities of such beneficial insects as honeybees. But new lab experiments are the first to confirm that one pollinator, the tobacco hawkmoth, can quickly learn that a pollution-changed scent comes from the jasmine tobacco flower that the insect likes.
Chemical ecologist Markus Knaden and colleagues focused on one pollutant-ozone, the main element in smog. In the lab, his team blew an ozone-changed scent from a tiny tube into a tunnel, with a moth (飞蛾) awaiting at the far end of the tunnel. Usually, when the moth smells the unchanged scent, it flies upwind and uses its long, skinny mouthparts to probe the tube the way that it would a flower. The researchers expected that the changed scent might throw the moth off a little. But the insect wasn’t attracted at all.
In addition to scent, tobacco hawkmoths track flowers visually, so Knaden’s team used the feature, along with a sweet snack, to train the moth to be attracted to a pollution-changed scent. The researchers wrapped a brightly-colored artificial flower around the tube to trick the moth back across the tunnel, despite the unfamiliar scent. And the team added sugar water to the artificial flower. After a moth was given four minutes to taste the sweet stuff, it was attracted to the new smell when sent into the tunnel 15 minutes later, even when neither the sugar water nor the visual signal of the artificial flower was present.
This study focused on only one moth species, but Knaden’s team is now working on planning experiments with other pollinators that are easier to follow than tobacco hawknoths. While he guesses honeybees might also be as adaptable as the moth was, that won’t be true of every pollinator. “The situation can become very bad for insects that are not as clever or cannot see that well. I don’t want the take-home message to be that pollution is not a problem.”
1. What does the underlined word “probe” in paragraph 2 mean?A.Surround. | B.Favour. | C.Access. | D.Examine. |
A.not all moths were attracted to ozone-changed scent as expected |
B.the current research conducted by Knaden is pioneering and wide-ranging |
C.not all pollinators are adaptable to human-driven changes to their environment |
D.the moth didn’t like the new smell without sugar water and artificial flower |
A.Positive. | B.Cautious. | C.Unclear. | D.Critical. |
A.A moth can be rid of the tracking ability to locate its favourite plants. |
B.A moth is able to establish a relationship between pollution and scents. |
C.A moth may outsmart smog by learning to like pollution-changed scent. |
D.A moth is born with an ability to adapt to the changes in the environment. |
We can also
Every year, people around the world buy about 526 billion bottles, and that number is
The Ford Motor Company has used recycled plastic since the 1990s. Today, it
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8 . Noise pollution has a long-term effect on tree populations that may persist even after the sources of noise are removed, according to research published Wednesday.
Man-made noise from industry and the building of infrastructure such as roads and pipelines has increased greatly since the middle of last century. While previous research has documented the short-term effect noise has on tree populations as it scares off pollinators (传粉者) such as insects and animals, few studies have covered the long-term effect.
Researchers in the United States looked at tree populations in New Mexico that had been “hearing”a high level of man-made noise for 15 years. They found 75 percent fewer pinyon pine seedlings (矮松苗) in noisy places than quiet ones.
Then they looked at other places in New Mexico, where sources of noise had recently been added and then removed, and examined how populations recovered. The team assumed that populations of the trees — in this case pinyon seedlings — would recover as the pollinators would return to the places once the noise had disappeared. Instead, they found a long-term drop in seedling numbers as the birds refused to revisit the places.
“The effects of human noise pollution are growing into these woodland communities,” said Clinton Francis, lead researcher from California Polytechnic State University. “What we’re seeing is that removal of the noise doesn’t necessarily immediately result in a recovery of ecological function.”
Jennifer Phillips, co-author of the research, said the findings showed how the effect of noise pollution could put pollinators off even after the noise is removed. “Animals like the birds that are sensitive to noise learn to avoid particular areas.” said Phillips. “It may take time for animals to come back to pollinate trees in these previously noisy areas, and we don’t know how long that might take.”
As governments continue to face growing evidence of the damage to nature caused by urbanization (城市化), Phillips held that the influence of noise pollution should also be factored into planning decisions.
1. What does the underlined word “persist” mean in paragraph 1?A.Recover. | B.Decrease. | C.Last. | D.Disappear. |
A.By studying cases in New Mexico. |
B.By challenging the previous research. |
C.By recording the routines of pollinators. |
D.By following the sources of noise pollution. |
A.Noise pollution kills large numbers of birds. |
B.Governments should take measures to remove noise. |
C.Ecological recovery contributes to the removal of noise. |
D.It’s hard to tell when birds will revisit previously noisy places. |
A.Removing noise enables plants to grow better. |
B.Pollinators play a role in increasing plant population. |
C.Noise pollution has long-term effects on plant populations. |
D.Man-made noise does great harm to woodland communities. |
9 . The effects of noise can reach organisms (生物体) without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland of pine trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings (小苗) in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones.
The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors (压缩机) that create a constant noise. This allowed Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pine seedlings, compared with 55 pine seedlings per hectare (公顷) in quiet areas.
The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators (传粉昆虫) such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pine trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pines depend on birds to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and birds are known to avoid noise. The differences between the sites aren’t yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist (植物学家) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That’s probably because pines are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old.
The study raises questions about the future of the area. “If the noise stays there long term, are we going to lose this important ecosystem of the pine which supports so much wildlife?” said Phillips. The study was published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.
1. What does the new study focus on?A.The influence of noise pollution on plants. |
B.The way the organisms receive noise. |
C.The harm of noise pollution to insects. |
D.The effects of noise pollution on humans . |
A.Gas wells dotted in the area provide favorable conditions for the study. |
B.The study sites are different in many ways including their noise level. |
C.It is difficult for plants to live without noise and animals. |
D.People can easily find the difference between the noisy and the quiet sites. |
A.Seedling. | B.Thin. |
C.Grown-up. | D.Tall. |
A.Noise pollution is obviously a trouble that can be avoided. |
B.Noise pollution could be a threat with the power to change ecosystems. |
C.The pine forest is important because it supports so much wildlife. |
D.Wildlife should be well protected for the future of this area. |
10 . Hardware in general,and smartphones in particular,have become a huge environmental and health problem in the Global South's landfill sites(垃圾填埋场).
Electronic waste(e-waste) currently takes up 5 percent of all global waste,and it is set to increase rapidly as more of us own more than one smartphone,laptop and power bank They end up in places like Agbogbloshie on the outskirts of Ghana's capital,Accra. It is the biggest e-waste dump in the world,where 10,000 informal workers walk through tons of abandoned goods as part of an informal recycling process.They risk their health searching for the precious metals that are found in abandoned smartphones.
But Agbogbloshie should not exist.The Basel Convention,a 1989 treaty,aims to prevent developed nations from unauthorized dumping of e-waste in less developed countries.The e-waste industry,however,circumvents regulations by exporting e-waste labelled as "secondhand goods' to poor countries like Ghana,knowing full well hat it is heading for a landfill site.
A recent report found Agbogbloshie contained some of the most dangerous chemicals.This is not surprising: smartphones contain chemicals like mercury(水银),lead and even arsenic(砷).Reportedly, one egg from a free-range chicken in Agbogbloshie contained a certain
chemical which can cause cancer and damage the immune system at a level that's about 220 times greater than a limit set by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA).Most worryingly,these poisonous chemicals are free to pollute the broader soil and water system.This should concern us all, since some of Ghana's top exports are cocoa and nuts.
Some governments have started to take responsibility for their consumers' waste.For example,Germany has started a project that includes a sustainable recycling system at Agbogbloshie,along with a health clinic for workers.However,governments cannot solve the problem alone, as there is an almost limitless consumer demand for hardware,especially when governments' green policies are focused on issues like climate change.
Only the manufacturers can fix this.A more economically sustainable and politically possible solution is through encouraging hardware manufacturers to make the repair, reuse and recycling of hardware profitable,or at least cost-neutral
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?A.Electronic waste requires more landfill sites across Ghana. |
B.Electronic waste is too complex to get fully recycle |
C.Electronic products need to be improved urgently |
D.Electronic pollution is a burning question in Agbogbloshie |
A.Abolishes | B.Tightens |
C.Brings in | D.Gets around |
A.The thread of polluted food around the world |
B.The damage of chicken’s immune system |
C.The lack of diversity in Ghana's exports |
D.The violation of EFSA's standards |
A.Manufacturers' developing a sustainable hardware economy |
B.Governments’ adjusting their green policies about e-waste. |
C.Reducing customers' demands for electronic products |
D.Manufacturers’ urging the government to make effective policies to ensure more profit. |