Every day is Earth Day — probably you’ve heard it before. Nearly all Americans have access to a plastic recycling program. You may be surprised to learn how many types of plastic packaging can be recycled into new, useful products!
Ford Motor Company has been helping to promote the use of environmentally-friendly auto parts — and one way they’re doing that is by using recycled plastic bottles for underbody shields (底盘保护罩) and other auto parts on cars.
“The underbody shield is a large part, and for a part that big, if we use solid plastic, it would likely weigh three times as much,” said Thomas Sweder, a design engineer of Ford Motor Company. “We look for the most durable and highest performing materials to work with to make our parts, and in this case, we are also creating many environmental benefits.”
In the past decade, the global use of plastics in vehicle parts has grown quickly. Ford alone uses about 1.2 billion recycled plastic bottles per year, about 250 bottles per vehicle on average.
When plastic bottles are thrown into a recycling bin, they are collected with thousands of others and cut into small pieces. These pieces are typically sold to suppliers who turn them into fibers, by melting and pressing them. Then they are mixed together with other various types of fiber in a process and used to make a sheet of material which is formed into the auto parts.
Due to its light weight, recycled plastic is ideal for the manufacturing of underbody shields. These shields reportedly also help create a significantly quieter environment on the new 2020 Ford Escape.
This is not the only way that Ford has been committed to environmental protection; the automotive company recently partnered with McDonald’s coffee suppliers to recycle all of their coffee roasting biowaste into headlights.
“Ford is among the leaders when it comes to using recycled materials such as this,” Sweder said. “This material meets all of our requirements for durability and performance.”
1.Why does Ford choose recycled plastic as environmentally-friendly materials for vehicle parts?
A.Because it’s new and useful. B.Because it’s cheap and easy to get.
C.Because it’s durable and light. D.Because it’s portable and well-performed.
2.What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
A.The global use of plastics. B.The mixing process of fibers.
C.The advantages of plastic bottles. D.The formation of the new auto material.
3.What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
A.Recycling coffee roasting biowaste. B.Improving vehicle parts.
C.Recycling plastic bottles into auto parts. D.Creating a quieter environment.
4.What can be the best title of the passage?
A.Every Day is Earth Day
B.Ford Takes the Lead in Plastic Recycling
C.Ecological Auto Underbody Shields
D.A Pioneer in Promoting Environmental Protection
When you think of the Himalayas, you may picture tall, rocky, snow-covered peaks. But that’s not true.
The subnival (亚冰雪的) region is the zone between the treeline and the snowline. It is 5 to 15 times as large as the areas of glaciers (冰川) and permanent snow, which means studying it is vital to understanding the Himalayas as a whole.
The treeline is the edge of an ecosystem where trees are able to grow, and beyond the treeline environmental conditions become too tough to allow tree growth. Meanwhile, snowlines are the boundaries on mountains that separate areas with permanent snow (where snow is present for the majority of the year) from areas with seasonal or no snow.
Researchers used satellite data from 1993 to 2018 to measure plant cover between 4,150 meters and 6,000 meters above sea level. The scientists discovered that the greatest increase in plant cover was between an altitude of 5,000 meters and 5,500 meters. Subnival plants mostly include small shrubs and grasses.
Even areas once completely occupied by glaciers now hold rocks covered with mosses (苔藓), lichen (地衣), and sometimes even flowers. In addition, the snowline seems to be retreating, while the treeline is expanding. This shows that the region is becoming warmer, causing more melting of snow and allowing vegetation to move up in height.
In the past 40 years, 25%of all Himalayan ice has been lost due to global warming. Himalayan glaciers are reducing by about 0.5 meters each year. The rate of glacier melting has doubled in this decade. The melting of glaciers increases water in the region, making it wetter. Receding snow also forces the snowline to move up, providing a greater amount of area for the warm and moist conditions, which are perfect for vegetation growth.
As of now, we do not know whether vegetation will accelerate or slow down the rate of glacier melting.
1.How does the writer develop the third paragraph?
A.By making explanations.
B.By giving some examples.
C.By analyzing cause and effect.
D.By listing specific data.
2.What does the underlined word “retreating” mean in Paragraph 5?
A.Disappearing.
B.Lengthening.
C.Withdrawing.
D.Widening.
3.What is the direct effect of global warming on the Himalayas?
A.The snowline moves up.
B.Glaciers are melting faster.
C.The subnival area is wetter.
D.Plants grow much better.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.The Climate of Himalayas Is Changing.
B.Icebergs in the Himalayas Disappear.
C.Plants Are Diverse in the Himalayas.
D.Plant Life Spreads in the Himalayas.
In 2003, Mary Marggraff was a 47-year-old California mother, devoted to school committees and car pool (拼车) schedules. But after losing her trusty notebook and buying a new one, she had an inspiration. ''It was blank, '' says Marggraff, now 64. ''What else could I fill it with?'' Soon she was thinking about her childhood love of flying, and next thing she knew, she determined to register in flight school. ''In my first class, all the students were single men half my age. I felt like a housemother attending a fraternity (兄弟会), but I loved it too much to walk away. '' she says.
Marggraff earned her first pilot's license in 2005. Six years and four additional licenses later, her addiction to being in the air changed into something grander: a desire to go to space. To move closer to her starry dreams, Marggraff got a part-time job as a mission support representative at Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's commercial space line. In that role, she attended space-related gatherings where she educated people about the future of universe voyages. Though space tourism isn't quite a reality yet, Marggraff has already begun space training in expectation of being on one of Virgin's early flights. ''I've completed acceleration force exercises, '' she says, ''which require getting inside a machine, spinning around at 2,500 miles per hour, and trying not to black out. ''
Marggraff's training has meant more than getting her wings—it's expanded her sense of what the future may hold. ''It turns out I’m capable of much more than I imagined, '' she says. ''I used to think it'd be a miracle if I got my first license. Now I've completed nearly 1,000 hours of flight! I'm rotten in the kitchen and I burn anything I iron, but if you need someone to land a plane, call me. ''
1.Why did Marggraff register in flight school?
A.To break away from car pool schedules.
B.To fill her new blank notebook.
C.To prove women are equal to men in flying.
D.To pursue her childhood dream of flying.
2.What did Marggraff do after earning 5 licenses?
A.She got into space on one of Virgin's early flights.
B.She instructed people in how to make universe voyages.
C.She received space training in preparation for space tourism.
D.She tried in vain to overcome faintness from high speed.
3.What does Marggraff benefit from her space training besides getting a license?
A.It proves her a miracle. B.It increases her self-confidence.
C.It wins her a qualification. D.It improves her imagination.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Marggraff?
A.Aggressive and hopeful. B.Creative and fragile.
C.Energetic and sensitive. D.Considerate and persistent.
The Ig Nobel Prize, a spoof (滑稽模仿) of the actual Nobel Prize, exists to award the 10 strangest research projects of the year that bring you fun and make you think. The following are three of them in 2019.
Medicine Prize: pizza
It’s one of the world’s most popular foods. According to the Ig Nobel Medicine Prize winner, eating more pizzas can lower the risk of cancer and heart disease—if your pizza is loaded with fruits and veggies. These provide flavonoids (类黄酮) to fight against certain diseases. So, if you’re a pizza enthusiast, you now have one more reason to love it!
Economics Prize: Dirty Money
Paper money the most frequently passed items on the planet, is known to pick up all kinds of bacteria. Which country’s currency is the dirtiest? An international team compared seven countries’ paper money. The Romanian Leu was the only one to carry all three types of bacteria tested and the US dollar was also a finalist. Perhaps this will make cashless payments more popular.
Biology Prize: Cockroach
Cockroaches (蟑螂) are well known for their survival abilities, but few folks know they can sense magnetic fields. More surprisingly, an international team found that dead cockroaches have more magnetic properties (磁性) than live ones. That’s because magnetic properties decrease when the temperature gets higher. So if you can stand cockroaches, they may be good magnetic sensors.
1.What do the three prizes have in common?
A.They are beneficial to our health.
B.They are entertaining and unusual.
C.They’ve gained the recognition of the Nobel Prize.
D.They are stranger than any other project in previous years.
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A.People with heart disease should eat more pizzas.
B.US Dollar is relatively dirtier than Romanian Leu.
C.Dirty paper money leads to cashless payments.
D.Dead cockroaches are better magnetic sensors than live ones.
3.Which Prize are you possible to win if your major is organizing money?
A.Medicine Prize. B.Economics Prize C.Biology Prize. D.Literature Prize.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
"Wanted: A violin. Can’t pay much. Call…"
Why did I notice that? I wondered, since I rarely looked at advertisements. I laid the paper on my lap, remembering what had happened many years before. When my family struggled to make a living on our farm. I, too hard wanted a violin, but we didn’t have the money.
It was not a good year. At harvest time the crops did not bring as much as we had hoped. Yet, even though times were hard, I couldn’t wait any longer to ask, "Daddy, may I have a violin of my own?" Daddy’s face looked sad.
One evening, we all sat around the table. Daddy wrote a letter to his friend Mr. Finkle, in Columbus. As he wrote, Daddy read a part of his letter out to Mother. Weeks later, I discovered he’d written lines he didn’t read aloud: "Would you look for a violin for my daughter? I can’t pay much, but she enjoys much, and we’d like her to have her own instrument."
When Daddy received the letter from Columbus a few weeks later, he announced, "We will be driving to Columbus to spend the night with Aunt Alice as soon as I can find someone to care for the farm."
At last the day arrived and we drove to Aunt Alice’s. After we arrived, Daddy made a phone call. He hung up and asked, "Mary, do you want to go with me to visit Mr. Finkle ?" "Sure," I answered.
He drove into a residential area and stopped in the driveway of a fine house. A tall man, older than Daddy, opened the door. "Mary, I’ve been hearing things about you. Your daddy has arranged a big surprise for you." Mr. Finkle led us into the living room. He picked up a case, opened it, lifted out a violin, and started to play. The melody(旋律) surged and flowed like waterfalls.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2.至少使用 5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
“I found it in a second-hand shop for seven dollars,” Mr. Finkle said, handing the violin to me.
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Paragraph 2:
I forced my thoughts to the present and read again the advertisement.
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假设你叫李华，是一家英文杂志社的心理咨询师。某中学生小王给你写信，提到自己偏胖，想节食减肥，征求你的意见。请你给她回一封信，谈谈你对该问题的见解。内容要点如下：
1. 健康比漂亮更重要；
2. 不要过于注重外貌和别人的看法；
3. 适当锻炼，改变不良饮食习惯；
4. 健康的心态也很重要。
注意：1. 短文必须包括所有内容要点，可适当发挥；
2. 词数：100左右。
3. 参考词汇：state of mind 心态
Dear Xiao Wang，
I have received and read your letter，in which you mentioned that you wanted to lose weight by dieting.
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Your,
Li Hua
