When athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics collect their medals, they'll not only be wearing something that celebrates their sporting performance, but something that symbolizes lastingness. For both the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, organizers aim to make all of the gold, silver, and bronze medals out of used electronics. This strong message about how to make use of e-waste has gotten a lot of Japan involved.
Starting in April 2017, the Japanese Olympic Committee began collecting old laptops, digital cameras, smartphones, and other abandoned electronics. The initiative(倡议）has achieved great success. Already, the quantity needed for bronze medals has been met, and they're in the homestretch for silver and gold medals, meaning the collection process can pack up at the end of March.
When looking just at the number of cell phones collected, the amount of waste is shocking. In a period of about 18 months, a little over 5 million smartphones were collected thanks to cooperation with NTT DOCOMO. Japan's largest mobile phone operator allowed the public to turn in phones at their shops, which counted a lot in the project’s success.
After being taken apart and sorted, the small electronics underwent a smelting process to extract(提炼）all the gold, silver，and bronze elements. Thanks to this initiative, the worldwide struggle with e-waste will have a global platform. According to a study published by the United Nations University—44.7 million metric tons of e-waste were made in 2016. Only 20% of that was actually recycled. Unfortunately, this figure is set to rise significantly in the coming years, moving to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. So while the Tokyo Olympics initiative might be just a drop in the bucket, it’s a good start in showing what the public can do if they're made more aware of the issue.
1.What can be learnt about Tokyo Olympics initiative from the passage?
A. E-waste in the world is increasing significantly.
B. It is easy to get elements needed from the used electronics.
C. Only producers of electronics participated in the project.
D. NTT DOCOMO contributed to the success of the project.
2.Which can best replace the underlined word “homestretch” in Paragraph 2?
A. starting period B. collection effort
C. final stage D. hard search
3.What influence does the Tokyo Olympics initiative have?
A. It offers an effective method to solve the problem of e-waste.
B. It shows the power of advanced technology in daily life.
C. It saves the expense spent in making all the medals.
D. It encourages the public’s involvement in dealing with e-waste.
4.What is the writer’s attitude to the Tokyo Olympics initiative?
A. Positive B. Negative
C. Ambiguous D. Indifferent
As a young child, Ann Makosinski would spend hours experimenting with her toys and other everyday objects ar ound her to create her own inventions.
Now a first-year Arts student, Makosinski is a well-known inventor. She won the recent Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award of Excellence, which recognizes creative business solutions to social problems--the same recognition was given to Barack Obama in 2014. Her two inventions—the Hollow Flashlight and the e-Drink—have been causing excitement internationally since their creation.
When Makosinski was 15 years old, she created a flashlight powered by the heat of one's hand. This invention was the result of a 9th grade science project, but her goal was to offer a practical solution to people with unlimited access to power and electricity. “One of my friends from the Philippines told me that she failed school because she had no light to study with at night, so that was kind of the inspiration.” Makosinski explained.
At 12th grade, Makosinski then went on to create the e-Drink. It is a coffee cup that harvests the extra heat of a hot drink while it cools, stores it as electricity in an internal(内置的)battery and makes it available to charge an external device such as a phone, whose life can now be longer by approximately 10 to 30 minutes.
“My favorite part of creating inventions would be when you had the idea and you have to physically build it，and it doesn't work out,” she said. “So you have to figure out different ways to solve it. A lot of times, I'll give up and I’ll come back after a couple of days and I'll take it up again.”
Her advice to other student innovators? “Start now. There’s nothing holding you back. Actually, you can do whatever you want.” Makosinski said，“If you want to make something，follow your heart, then go ahead. If there's something you really want to do, you will make time for it and you will find time in the day to do your schoolwork.”
1.Makosinsky created the powerless flashlight mainly to ________.
A. satisfy her desire to create inventions
B. settle problems in study for her friend
C. help those who are short of electricity
D. finish the assignment of a science project
2.Which of the following is mainly explained in paragraph 4?
A. How the e-Drink was invented. B. Why the e-Drink was created.
C. What the e-Drink brings. D. How the e-Drink works.
3.Which can be the best title for this passage?
A. Popular Inventions by a Teenager Girl
B. Teenager Girl Advancing in Creation
C. Valuable Advice from a Creative Girl
D. Awards Given to a Young Inventor
In the U.S. state of Washington, a road called Interstate 90 cuts through a wild, mountainous area to reach the city of Seattle. For the area's many kinds of animals, the busy highway greatly limits their movements. Crossing 1-90—as the road is called—is a risky but sometimes necessary act. But soon, animals will have a safer choice for crossing the road. They will be able to go above it.
To help the animals, the state is finishing work on its largest-ever wildlife bridge. The 11-meter-tall, 20-meter-wide structure begins in the forest. It forms two arches above the highway, one for each direction of traffic. Workers are adding fencing and plants to help guide the animals across the bridge. Two-meter-thick walls will help block noise from vehicles below.
The 1-90 Bridge is part of a growing number of wildlife crossings across the United States. Some are fences, some are overland bridges, and some are underpasses. They all aim to keep drivers and animals away from each other. Collisions between animals and drivers are rarely deadly to people. But they are often deadly to wildlife. In Canada's Banff National Park, studies have found that wildlife crossings reduce the area's animal-driver collisions by 80 percent.
Most of the wildlife bridges are in western states. But experts have noted many other areas that have a need for such paths. Jen Watkins, whose organization has helped campaign for animal crossings, says ftind for more crossings is "the number-one barrier."
Patty Garvey-Darda of the U.S. Forest Service has worked on the 1-90 crossing from the start of the project. She says the $6- million bridge will one day pay for itself because the highway will not have to be fully or partly closed each time a large animal is struck. She said, 4tIf you shut down Interstate 90, you shut down interstate commerce.”
1.What is the purpose of building the bridge over “Interstate 90”?
A. To reduce human deaths in crash with wildlife.
B. To prevent wildlife from being struck by vehicles.
C. To arouse public awareness of wildlife protection.
D. To provide a safer choice to cross the risky road.
2.According to Jen Watkins, what is the biggest challenge in crossing construction?
A. Finding ways to help guide animals across the bridge.
B. Collecting money to build more wildlife crossings.
C. Locating areas to construct appropriate crossings.
D. Encourage drivers to obey the regulations of traffic.
3.What do the underlined words in Paragraph 5 imply?
A. The bridge will prove to be well worth the high price.
B. Expense for building such bridges will be reduced.
C. The bridge will greatly promote trade and commerce.
D. Lives saved through the bridge are definitely beyond price.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the woman’s talk about?
A. The school trip. B. The school rules. C. The lab instructions.
2.What do the listeners need to do before Thursday?
A. Invite their parents to the trip.
B. Learn to make pizza.
C. Give the speaker some money.
3.What can we learn from the talk?
A. Sandwiches will be prepared for the listeners.
B. The listeners should take a pencil and a notebook.
C. The speaker suggests parents ask questions on the phone.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What do you know about Alisha Ryan?
A. She wanted to be famous as a little girl.
B. She was the winner of a famous TV talent show.
C. She was encouraged by her parents to show her talent.
2.How did she feel when she heard the result of the talent competition?
A. Relieved. B. Disappointed. C. Annoyed.
3.What did the newspaper say after the talent show?
A. They praised Alisha for her singing style.
B. They commented on Alisha’s appearance.
C. They appreciated her beautiful voice.
4.What advice does Alisha give on friendship?
A. Treasure your old friends.
B. Learn from those famous friends.
C. Make friends with people around you.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Who is the Best Car Design Prize winner?
A. Mr Zarba. B. Mr Giddings. C. Ms Miller.
2.What do we know about the Best Car Design Competition?
A. It was very competitive.
B. There were few competitors.
C. There will be no prize money.
3.Why are they going to the Hyatt Hotel next week?
A. To enjoy the excellent food.
B. To interview the winner.
C. To attend the ceremony.
