We often think that buying an artificial tree instead of a real one for Christmas will help the environment by not cutting down trees. However, this argument doesn’t consider the process of producing and disposing of the trees, during which a lot of CO2, emissions are being let off into the air. Actually, increased demand(需求)for real trees is helping the environment.
Artificial trees, when created, give out an average of 40kg of CO2. To harvest a real Christmas tree, very little CO2 emissions are caused. If left to biodegrade (生物降解), a real tree will return to the earth in one to two years depending on conditions. An artificial tree, however, will take hundreds of years to degrade, letting out more pollutants into the air. Further, even if an artificial tree is recycled, the process will continue to produce even more CO2.
Real trees do not have these problems. They can have positive effects on our health. When they are near a window and regularly watered, they will produce clean oxygen which can improve health.
Undoubtedly, cutting down trees is bad for the environment, so what makes cutting down Christmas trees any different? Christmas trees have specific farms where they are harvested, meaning that protected forests aren’t cut down, and, with every tree harvested a new one is planted. The trees aren’t harvested until they are between 10 and 12 years old and the farms always have trees growing while they’ re harvesting this year’s trees.
If you have already used an artificial tree, the best thing you can do is to keep using it year over year to save it from going to landfill.
12. What does the Paragraph 1 say about artificial trees?
A.The process of producing them is difficult. | B.The demand for them is on the increase. |
C.They help fight againstCO2 emissions. | D.They do no good to the environment. |
13. How is Paragraph 2 organized?
A.By listing data. | B.By explaining different views. |
C.By making comparisons. | D.By giving examples. |
14. What do we know about the real Christmas trees from the passage?
A.They have a bad effect on the environment. | B.Cutting them down almost causes no harm. |
C.They are harvested from protected forests. | D.Harvesting them needs great efforts. |
15. What’s the purpose of the text?
A.To inform us of the function of real Christmas trees. |
B.To tell us the benefit of not keeping a Christmas tree. |
C.To show artificial trees have less value than real trees. |
D.To explain why real Christmas trees are environmentally-friendly. |