1 . For most of human history, the stars shone brightly in a dark night sky. But today, cities and towns, increasingly lit by artificial light at night, dramatically reduce the visibility of stars.
Satellite data suggests that light pollution has been increasing in many parts of the world over the last decade. However, satellites miss the blue light of LEDs (发光的二极管), which are commonly used for outdoor lighting, resulting in an underestimate of light pollution.
An international citizen science project called Globe at Night (环球夜景) aims to measure how everyday people’s view of the sky is changing. The data shows that the night sky got, on average, 9.6% brighter every year. For many people, the night sky today is twice as bright as it was eight years ago. The brighter the sky, the fewer stars you can see. If this trend continues, a child born today in a place where 250 stars are visible now would only be able to see 100 stars on his/her 18th birthday.
The main factors leading to increasing brightness of the night sky are industrialization and the growing use of LEDs for outdoor lighting. The loss of dark skies threatens our ability as astronomers to do good science. But everyday people feel this loss too. Starry night skies have inspired artists, writers, musicians and philosophers for thousands of years. Light pollution also has a bad effect on the daily cycle of light and dark that plants and animals use to adjust their lifestyle. Two-thirds of the world’s key biodiversity (生物多样性) areas are affected by light pollution.
Individuals and their communities can make simple changes to reduce light pollution. The secret is using the right amount of light, in the right place and at the right time. Making outdoor lights shine downward, using lights that give out more yellow-colored light instead of white light and putting on light timers can all help reduce light pollution. A view of about 2,500 stars in a truly dark sky might convince you that dark skies are a resource worth saving.
1. How is the first paragraph mainly developed?| A．By giving an example. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By reaching a conclusion. | D．By raising a question. |
| A．The light pollution is getting more serious. |
| B．The night sky today gets darker than before. |
| C．It’s difficult to imagine a child’s fast growth. |
| D．LEDs are commonly used for outdoor lighting. |
| A．The bad effects of light pollution. | B．The factors causing light pollution. |
| C．The functions of starry night skies. | D．Key biodiversity areas in the world. |
| A．To explain a phenomenon. | B．To suggest a solution. |
| C．To remember a scientist. | D．To increase public awareness. |
2 . As newer, more advanced technologies come out, huge amounts of electronics (电子产品) are thrown away, instead of being reused. These goods often end up in landfills, where the chemicals inside them may be a danger to the environment. Electronics can contain harmful materials. If these materials get into the ground or water, the pollution can cause serious problems. Most electronics require metals. These metals must be mined from the Earth. Often the mining process creates serious pollution.
A group known as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum is trying to make people more aware of the problems of e-waste. Recently, the WEEE Forum asked researchers from the United Nations (UN) to study a kind of e-waste that’s often not noticed because people don’t consider the goods to be electronics. The WEEE Forum calls this kind “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The UN study shows that about 1/6 of all e-waste is “unable-to-be-seen”. Though it’s “unable-to-be-seen”, it’s certainly not a small amount. The “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste weighs about 9 billion kilograms. The WEEE Forum says that if this e-waste were put into 40-ton trucks and the trucks were then lined up, the line of trucks would be about 5,630 kilometers long.
The surprising kind leading the “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste group was toys. Worldwide, roughly 7.3 billion electronic toys are thrown away each year. These include goods like car racing sets, electric trains, and musical toys. They also include toys with electronic parts, like dolls that speak or games with electronic timers. In all, toys make up about 35% of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste. But the problem is far larger than just toys. The report also shows that other everyday goods like home alarms, smoke alarms, power tools, and computer cables (电缆) are also big sources of “unable-to-be-seen” e-waste.
The WEEE Forum is hoping that as more people and governments become aware of e-waste, they will make a much greater effort to make sure electronics get reused.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The amount of electronics. | B．The development of electronics. |
| C．The ways of reusing electronics. | D．The pollution of electronics. |
| A．People’s interest in electronics’ character. |
| B．People’s impression on electronics’ package. |
| C．People’s misunderstanding of electronics. |
| D．People’s struggle to adapt to electronics. |
| A．By showing numbers. | B．By providing examples. |
| C．By making a summary. | D．By making a comparison, |
| A．Designing advanced electronics. | B．Making electronics get reused. |
| C．Stopping giving away electronics. | D．Reducing electronics’ production. |
3 . In the U. S., people eat more protein than they need to, which might not be bad for human health, but does pose a problem for the country’s waterways. The nation’s wastewater is loaded with the leftovers from protein digestion: nitrogen compounds(氯化合物) that can feed harmful algal blooms(藻华) and pollute the air and drinking water.
Maya Almaraz, a biogeochemist at the University of California, Davis, and her team wanted to see how much of this nitrogen entered into the U. S. wastewater system because of a protein-heavy diet. The researchers found that the majority of nitrogen pollution present in wastewater—some 67 to 100 precent—is a by-product of water people consume.
Once it enters the environment, the nitrogen can have a series of ecological impacts. It helps algae grow much faster than they would normally, which is harmful to humans, other animals and plants. And when the algae eventually die, the problem is not over. Microorganisms(微生物) that feed on dead algae use up the oxygen in the water, leading to “dead zones,” where many species simply cannot survive, in rivers, lakes and oceans.
Although it is possible to treat algal blooms, many of the current methods are not always effective at getting rid of all of the harmful growth. Some of these methods can even lead to additional pollution. So the best strategy for dealing with the effects of nitrogen pollution is prevention, says Patricia Glibert, an ocean scientist at the University of Maryland. Almaraz and her team suggest that controlling nitrogen pollution could be approached more quickly with a change in eating habits that could save billions of dollars in the long term.
1. Which aspect of Americans’ diet does Almaraz’s research focus on ?| A．Its variety. | B．Its effect. | C．Its make-up. | D．Its amount. |
| A．No oxygen for many species. | B．Death of lots of healthy algae. |
| C．Microorganisms’overconsumption of nutrients. | D．Poisonous chemicals released by harmful algae. |
| A．They are costly. | B．They may kill all algae. |
| C．They are slow to take effect. | D．They may cause secondary pollution. |
| A．It is high time to treat wild algae growth. | B．Eating too much protein harms the planet. |
| C．Prevention is better than cure in treating air pollution. | D．Researchers find solutions to the wastewater problem. |
4 . Micro plastics can accumulate in the brains of mammals (哺乳动物) and even lead to behavioral changes, according to a new study. This not only adds to evidence about the harm that micro plastics are doing to our environment, but crucially provides new insight into what they could be doing to our bodies.
Plastic pollution is a huge environmental concern. In particular, tiny pieces of micro plastic have been found everywhere from our oceans to the atmosphere. A team led by University of Rhode Island professor Jaime Ross wanted to learn about whether these micro plastics accumulate in the brains of mammals and the potential impact on behavior.
The researchers gave mice drinking water contaminated (污染) with different concentrations of micro plastics over a three-week period. They used mice of different ages to see whether the effects would vary in the younger or older mice.
Besides indications of changes in the mice’s brains, the team saw changes in their behavior, which were particularly apparent in the older animals. The behavioral changes are similar to symptoms you might expect to see in patients with dementia (痴呆) .
“These were not high doses of micro plastics, but in only a short period of time, we saw these changes,” Ross said in a statement.
“In this study, the micro plastics were delivered orally via drinking water, detection in tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract, which is a major part of the digestive system, was always probable,” Ross explained. “But the brain is protected by a boundary called the blood-brain barrier, which should make it harder to access. The team found that micro plastics had entered the brain’s tissues.”
“Once inside, micro plastics cause a decrease in the levels of a brain protein called GFAP,” Ross said. “A decrease in GFAP has been associated with early stages of some neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia and depression.”
Now that even the remotest parts of our planet are seemingly unable to escape contamination with micro plastics, more research like this, which seeks to better understand how human beings’ plastic habit could be coming back to bite us, is more urgently needed than ever.
1. What does paragraph 2 focus on?| A．Why the study was carried out. | B．How ocean pollution appeared. |
| C．How a team studied micro plastics. | D．Why micro plastics spread quickly. |
| A．They delivered micro plastics directly into mice’s brains. |
| B．They used mice of the same age to consume micro plastics. |
| C．They set boundaries for mice’s digestive systems in advance. |
| D．They gave mice micro plastic-contaminated drinking water. |
| A．Brain tissues are easy to attack. | B．The study is far from convincing. |
| C．The research results are surprising. | D．Mice’s brains are generally inactive. |
| A．Moving to the remotest parts of our planet. |
| B．Conducting more research on micro plastics. |
| C．Keeping human beings’ current plastic habit. |
| D．Preventing industries from producing plastics. |
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the
According to The Guardian, the Japanese government argued that they
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on March14 once again denounced (谴责) Japan’s unilateral (单边的) decision to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea,
6 . Most environmental pollution on Earth comes from humans and their inventions, such as cars or plastic. Today, car emissions(排放物) area major source of air pollution leading to climate change, and plastics fill our ocean, creating a significant health issue to marine(海洋的) animals.
And what about the electric light, thought to be one of the greatest human inventions of all time? Electric light can be a beautiful thing, guiding us home when the sun goes down，keeping us safe and making our homes bright. However, like carbon dioxide emissions and plastic, too much of a good thing has started to impact the environment. Light pollution, the inappropriate use of outdoor light, is affecting human health, wildlife behavior and our ability to observe stars.
Light pollution is a global issue. This became obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-generated map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016. Available online for viewing, the map shows how and where our globe is lit up at night. Vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are glowing(发光) with light, while only the most remote regions on Earth(Greenland, Central African Republic and Niue) are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted countries in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, due to the electric lights of cars, street lamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.
People living in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time seeing more than a handful of stars at night. Astronomers are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view stars.
More than 80 percent of the world’s population, and 99 percent of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．The use of outdoor light must be forbidden. |
| B．Electric light has both advantages and disadvantages. |
| C．Electric light is the main factor to keep us safe. |
| D．Electric light is the greatest human invention. |
| A．Qatar. | B．Singapore. | C．Kuwait. | D．Niue. |
| A．Sky glow costs too much. |
| B．Sky glow has a bad effect on their sleep. |
| C．Sky glow affects their viewing stars. |
| D．Sky glow wastes too much electricity. |
| A．Light pollution | B．Plastic pollution |
| C．Different kinds of pollution | D．Air pollution |
7 . Plastic pollution has become an unfortunate fact of life all over the world—including in the oceans. While all that junk floating around can pose a serious threat to many animals, a new study finds some species may have actually turned it into an entirely new ecosystem!
The North Pacific“Garbage Patch”is a huge area in the ocean where a lot of plastic waste gets stuck. However, it’s not just wastes that get caught up in this mess. Researchers from Georgetown University found that many sea creatures like jellyfish, snails, and barnacles also live there.
In 2018 and 2019, scientists collected 105 pieces of plastic from the patch, and found 46 different species of invertebrates(无脊椎动物)living on them. About 80％of those species normally live near the coast rather than in the middle of an ocean. The researchers also found that these species have been breeding on the patch—meaning there may now be a permanent community of coastal species in the middle of the ocean.
Lead author Linsey Haram said that it’s not yet known how this will affect the ocean ecosystem. But she said the coastal species are likely competing for food with ocean species, and they may also be eating each other.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the five areas of garbage that have formed in the middle of huge circular ocean currents called gyres(环流). Another garbage patch is in the South Pacific, two are in the Atlantic Ocean, and the fifth is in the Indian Ocean.
A 2018 study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch found that about one-third of garbage that could be linked to Japan. Up to 20％of garbage added since 2011 was created by the huge tsunami that hit northern Japan that year, the study said.
1. What makes the plastic waste get stuck in the garbage patch?| A．Climate change. | B．Human activities. |
| C．Sea creatures living there. | D．Huge circular ocean currents. |
| A．Reproducing. | B．Restoring. |
| C．Revising. | D．Refreshing. |
| A．To blame Japan for polluting the ocean. |
| B．To indicate one of the sources of the garbage. |
| C．To stress the responsibility of some countries. |
| D．To suggest clues that help with the plastic pollution. |
| A．Education. | B．Economy. |
| C．Environment. | D．Entertainment. |
8 . Chinese consumers have said they will avoid eating Japanese seafood over safety concerns once Japan starts releasing (排放) nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
On July 7, the General Administration of Customs released an import (进口) ban on aquatic products from the 10 Japanese cities. It’s indicated that Japan’s plan to release polluted wastewater into the sea was a matter of global concern. The plan caused more Chinese consumers who eat seafood began to worry about their safety, according to the administration.
According to a survey in 2022 by Chinese market consultancy company iiMedia Research, 39.58 percent of participants eat Japanese seafood once every two or three weeks.
“I will not eat seafood imported from Japan anymore,” said a data engineer surnamed Wang in Shanghai. The 42-year-old has been a fan of Japanese food since 2000 and used to eat Japanese food once a month. “If I have other options, I will choose seafood that does not come from the Pacific Ocean,” he added.
Wang Qian, a financial employee in Beijing, said she has been to about 20 Japanese restaurants so far. “Normally, I would not pay attention to where the seafood came from. But now I will try not to choose seafood from Japan,”she said. “Wastewater poses a threat to human health and marine ecology.”
Wang Qian said that Japan should use other methods to solve the problem, rather than releasing nuclear wastewater into the ocean.
An employee of the Japanese restaurant Jiubanwu, in Beijing, who did not want to be named, told China Daily that the restaurant’s fish and shrimp are imported from Russia, France and other countries. “We have not been buying seafood from Japan since April,” she said.
In addition to food safety, some people are worried about using cosmetic (美容的) products made in Japan.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Releasing nuclear wastewater has aroused worldwide concern. |
| B．All the seafood which is imported from Japan will be banned. |
| C．Chinese consumers will be stricter when choosing seafood to eat. |
| D．Japan’s plan to release the wastewater is criticized by Japanese. |
| A．She won’t eat Japanese seafood anymore. |
| B．She will be more cautious of the source of seafood. |
| C．She will be devoted to career of human health and marine ecology. |
| D．She is sure that Japan will figure out methods to solve the problem. |
| A．China’s specific methods to dealing with nuclear wastewater. |
| B．The influence of wastewater on Japanese cosmetic products. |
| C．A formal call to Japan for producing safer cosmetic products. |
| D．The world’s reply to Japanese nuclear wastewater releasing. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Critical. |
9 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
Inspired by a Canadian couple, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The British Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches. However, for every photo album of a beautiful beach, there were 10 photos of trash (垃圾). It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such primitive and remote beaches. So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick upon our daily dog walks.
The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pollution. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free. We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.
It’s been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.
Our aim now is to keep on going. We love connecting with like-minded people. It’s been amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?
1. Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
| A．Pet sitting is a new sort of occupation. |
| B．The Caribbean is a perfect travel destination. |
| C．Travel blog is a superb way to gain popularity. |
| D．Actions should be taken to fight plastic pollution. |
| A．Challenging. | B．Significant. | C．Adventurous. | D．Unbearable. |
| A．Shifting Lifestyles by Pet Sitting | B．Address Global Environment Pollution |
| C．Unexpected Gains from Pet Sitting Travel | D．The availability of Pet Sitting in the Caribbean |
10 . The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem 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, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by S02 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must care about the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. Why is our world becoming much smaller?| A．Thanks to the development of science. |
| B．Because of the rise in pollution. |
| C．Because the earth is being polluted day and night. |
| D．Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year. |
| A．Rubbish. | B．Water pollution. |
| C．Air pollution. | D．Noise pollution. |
| A．Because it’s bad for all living things in the world. |
| B．Because it makes much noise. |
| C．Because it has made our rivers and lakes dirty. |
| D．Because it makes us become angry more easily. |
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth. |
| C．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does. |
| D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of S02. |
