In an effort to fight plastic pollution, Indian company EnviGreen has produced a new material that looks like plastic, but is 100% organic and eco-friendly. You can even dispose (处理) of such a “plastic” bag by eating it.
EnviGreen founder Ashwath Hedge came up with this idea after seeing people struggling to find alternatives to plastic bags, following bans released by several Indian cities. So he decided to work on something that would solve this problem while being environment-friendly.
Hedge spent four years experimenting with various materials, but one day he discovered a combination of 12 ingredients, including potatoes, corn, vegetable oil, bananas etc, which looked and felt like plastic, but caused none of the environmental problems. The process is obviously a closely-guarded secret, but Hedge did reveal that the raw materials are first changed into liquid form, and then taken through a six-stage process to create the bags.
The cost of an EnviGreen bag is about 35% higher than that of a plastic bag, but the benefits of using the former are more than worth the extra cost. EnviGreen bags dissolve naturally in less than 180 days, and if placed in water at room temperature, they dissolve in less than a day. Placed in boiling water, they dissolve in about 15 seconds.
EnviGreen has begun to produce EnviGreen bags for commercial use. The company has set up a factory in Bangalore, where it produces around 1,000 tons of eco-friendly “plastic” bags a month. That’s not very much, considering that the city of Bangalore alone consumes over 30,000 tons of plastic bags every month, but Hedge says that he wants to set up enough factories before they start distributing to individual customers. They have started supplying the bags to big supermarkets like Metro and Reliance. Apart from protecting the environment, Hedge also plans to use EnviGreen bags to support local farmers.
Nowadays, over 15,000 tons of plastic waste is produced in India every day, only 9,000 of which are collected and processed. Inventions of EnviGreen can help solve this problem, so let's hope it lives up to its potential.
1.What can we know about EnviGreen bags?
A.They give out wonderful smells.
B.They cost much less than plastic bags.
C.They are beneficial to the environment.
D.They are developed by the Indian goverment.
2.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.it is very easy to produce EnviGreen bags
B.EnviGreen bags are made from various fruits
C.the details of how to make EnviGreen bags aren’t made public
D.the Indian government has banned plastic bags across the country
3.EnviGreen bags dissolve most quickly when they are ________.
A.thrown in the wild B.washed in cold water
C.buried in the soil D.put in boiling water
4.What can we infer about EnviGreen bags from the passage?
A.Individual customers cannot buy them so far.
B.They will replace all plastic bags in India soon.
C.They are not well-accepted by big supermarkets.
D.Local farmers are in great need of EnviGreen bags.
5.What does the author think of EnviGreen bags?
A.Wasteful. B.Practical.
C.Ridiculous. D.Crazy.
When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, "Do you have the address? ""No, but I'll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine. "
"Oh, stop. There it is!”
The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
"May I help you?" a man asked. "No, "I said. "We're fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren't that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy(爱窥探的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. "Where do you think you are? " he asked. I turned sharply. "The McNay Art Museum!" He smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street." "What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. "Well, it's our home." My heart jolted(震颤). I raced to the staircase and called out, "Sally! Come down immediately! "
"There's some really good stuff(艺术作品) up there." She stepped down, looking confused. I pushed her toward the front door, waving at the family, saying, "Sorry, please forgive us, you have a really nice place." Outside, when I told Sally what happened, she covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn't believe how long they let us look around without saying anything.
The real McNay was splendid, but we felt nervous the whole time we were there. Van Gogh, Picasso. This time, we stayed together, in case anything else unusual happened.
Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place. "Excuse me, did you ever enter a residence, long ago, thinking it was the McNay Museum?"
"Yes. But how do you know? We never told anyone."
"That was my home. I was a teenager sitting in the hall. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before. You thought it was a museum. My feelings about my home changed after that. I've always wanted to thank you."
1.What do we know about Marian McNay?
A.She was a painter.
B.She was a community leader.
C.She was a museum director.
D.She was a journalist.
2.Why did the author refuse the help from the man in the house?
A.She disliked people who were nosy.
B.She felt nervous when talking to strangers.
C.She knew more about art than the man.
D.She mistook him for a tour guide.
3.How did the author feel about being stared at by the people in the hall?
A.Puzzled. B.Concerned.
C.Frightened. D.Delighted.
4.Why did the author describe the real McNay museum in just a few words?
A.The real museum lacked enough artwork to interest her.
B.She was too upset to spend much time at the real museum.
C.The McNay was disappointing compared with the house.
D.The event happening in the house was more significant.
5.What could we learn from the last paragraph?
A.People should have good taste to enjoy life.
B.People should spend more time with their family.
C.People tend to be blind to the beauty around them.
D.People tend to educate teenagers at a museum.
The final results of Best-Ever Teen Fiction vote are in. While it’s no surprise to see Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series on top, this year’s list also highlights some writers we weren’t as familiar with. For example, John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, appears five times in the top 100.
Summer, like youth, passes quickly. But the books we read when we’re young can stay with us for a lifetime. The following are the top 4 on the list. Enjoy.
1. Harry Potter series
The Harry Potter books make up the popular series written by J. K. Rowing. The series includes seven books. The books concern a wizard (魔法师) called Harry Potter and his journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The stories tell of him over coming dangerous obstacles to defeat the dark wizard Lord Voldemort who killed his parents when Harry was 15 months old.
2. The Hunger Games series
In the ruins of a future North America, a young girl is picked to leave her poor district and travel to Capitol for a battle to the death in the cruel Hunger Games. But for Katniss Everdeen, the main character in this series by Suzanne Collins, winning the Games only puts her deeper in danger as the strict social order of Panem begins to unravel (瓦解).
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
Author Harper Lee explores racial tensions in the fictional “tired old town” of Maycomb, Ala., through the eyes of 6-year-old Scout Finch. As her lawyer father, Atticus, defends a black man accused of a crime, Scout and her friends learn about the unjust treatment of African-Americans – and their mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley.
4. The fault in Our Stars
Hazel Grace, a teenage girl, has got all sorts of cancer inside her body, and her lungs aren’t working very well. She knows she is dying and doesn’t live in hope any more. When a man named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at the Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
1.What do we know about John Green?
A.One of his novels tops the list.
B.Many of his novels are very popular.
C.He is the favorite writer of many teens.
D.He was a well-known writer long before the vote.
2.Who is the author of The Hunger Games series?
A.Harper Lee.
B.John Green.
C.J.K. Rowling.
D.Suzanne Collins.
3.What is To Kill a Mockingbird mainly about?
A.Lifelong friendships.
B.Racial discrimination.
C.A man working as a lawyer.
D.A little girl’s difficult childhood.
4.Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars ______.
A.is very optimistic
B.writes a great story
C.makes many mistakes
D.is changed by Augustus.
5.In which part of a newspaper can we find the text probably?
A.Sports.
B.News.
C.Literature.
D.Entertainment.
Zuriel Oduwole is a girl filmmaker who has made several films with her newest one called Follow the Ball for Education. All her _______ focused on Africa and girls’ education and rights.
Zuriel got her _______ in filmmaking after entering the National History Day Contest. The requirements of the contest were to do research on a _______ topic. Zuriel _______ to do a documentary. She traveled to _______ former head of Ghana, as her documentary focused on the Ghana Revolution. The film was released in 2012.
For Zuriel, the most _______ thing she learned from the experience was a(n) _______ to create more films. This has taken her all around the world and given her _______ to exciting stories and people, and Zuriel is very busy. Balancing schoolwork with these events can sometimes be a(n) _______.
Although her films were at the beginning about 10 minutes long and her last two documentaries were about 55 minutes long, the time it took to ________ the documentaries was much longer than that. Take Follow the Ball for Education for example. Zuriel had spent the last three years ________ on it. But obviously, all her hard work has ________. Zuriel is ________ the world’s youngest filmmaker. But for Zuiel, one of the biggest ________ is knowing that she is making a difference.
She also launched the Twitter hashtag—Follow the Ball for Education, which focused on Zuriel taking a soccer ball across three continents to gain more attention to girls’ ________. To girls who are facing hardships in their countries, Zuriel ________ them “to fight, speak, and dig in”. Besides making films, Zuriel has ________ students how to make films in five different countries.
Zuriel was the youngest honoree in a list including many women ________ their communities. Zuriel has done a great job representing girls with ________. To fellow kids, Zuriel advises that they chase their dreams ________.
1.A.films B.books C.changes D.savings
2.A.reply B.start C.permission D.title
3.A.popular B.similar C.historical D.local
4.A.chose B.stopped C.refused D.agreed
5.A.amuse B.meet C.persuade D.follow
6.A.basic B.difficult C.complex D.important
7.A.atmosphere B.inspiration C.condition D.example
8.A.attitude B.approach C.access D.talent
9.A.challenge B.opportunity C.attempt D.motivation
10.A.present B.produce C.polish D.promote
11.A.working B.carrying C.commenting D.depending
12.A.went on B.ended up C.stood out D.paid off
13.A.treated B.supported C.considered D.reminded
14.A.wishes B.tasks C.problems D.rewards
15.A.honor B.emotion C.health D.education
16.A.orders B.promises C.encourages D.allows
17.A.taught B.contributed C.arranged D.delivered
18.A.reporting B.serving C.advocating D.governing
19.A.puzzles B.hardships C.stories D.achievements
20.A.properly B.personally C.bravely D.eventually
A large amount of solar energy ________ electrical energy since amounts of advance equipment ________ introduced.
A.was converted into; were B.were converted into; was
C.have been converted into; was D.has been converted into; were
John didn’t come along, ______ making it necessary for us to get someone else to replace him.
A.thus B.anyhow C.besides D.however
