EU members' states have agreed to ban a toxic substance widely found in clothing because it poses an ''acceptable risk'' to the environment. Countries voted in favor of extending existing restrictions on nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) to imports to clothing and other textile products.
The measure is intended to protect species in water. Use of NPE in textile manufacture in Europe was banned over 10 years ago but the substance is still released into the water environment through imported textiles being washed.
NPE degrades in the environment into substances including nonylphenol (NP), which accumulates in the bodies of fish and disturbs their hormones, harming fertility, growth and sexual development.
NPE is used in textile manufacture as a cleaning and dyeing agent. The EU decision notes that several studies have found NPE to be present in textile items.
A 2011 study by Greenpeace found NPE in two-thirds of clothes tested, including items sold by big-name brads such as Adidas, H&M, Lacoste, and Ralph Lauren. The NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) argued that although concentrations of NPE found in the clothes were low, the chemical’s existence in the environment posed a risk.
The new ban on textiles containing NPE in concentrations equal to or greater than 0.01% will enter into force five years after it is adopted by the European Commission, which is likely to happen in September.
In comments submitted to ECHA (European Chemicals Agency), clothing and textile firms have warned that obeying the restriction will be difficult because NPE ubiquitous in the supply chain and has numerous uses.
The new restriction will not apply to second-hand goods or recycled textiles because it is assumed that these will already have been washed several times so they contain negligible(微不足道的)amounts of NPE.
EU countries must eliminate pollution of water bodies by NP as it is a priority substance under the Water Framework Directive. A 2013 study by the UK environment agency warned that emissions from textiles could prevent progress towards this objective. It found 29% of imported cotton underwear contained NPE, which was released during the first two washes by the consumer.
1.The 2011 study by Greenpeace found _________.
A.29% of imported cotton underwear contained NPE
B.NPE had limited effects on aquatic species
C.NPE was widely present in textile products
D.clothes of good quality had no concentrations of NPE
2.What's the possible meaning of the underlined part ''ubiquitous'' in Paragraph 7?
A.is legally protected B.is not easy to be found
C.seems to be every where D.is uncommon
3.What can we learn from the text?
A.The original ban on use of NPE was very effective.
B.Recycled textile contain less NPE.
C.The new ban on imports of textile has come into force.
D.The UK environment agency is optimistic about the new ban.
4.Which section of the website does the text come from?
A.lifestyle B.technology.
C.Business. D.Environment.
If you like to take a walk in the woods in the United States or you prefer to decorate a tree at Christmas, you should know that climate change is making both of those activities a lot more ___________.
Looking at two ___________ and economically important species - the Douglas fir and the Ponderosa pine -scientists found that fires and drought _____________ by climate change make new growth difficult, especially in low-elevation forests, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some forests in four regions in California, Colorado, the Northern Rockies and the southwestern part of the United States have crossed ''a(n) ___________ climate tipping(转折)point for post-fire tree generation, '' the study says.
Climate conditions over the past 20 years have _____________ changes that would have taken decades or even centuries to ___________ across broad regions of the country. This is leading to the sudden _____________ of trees and making these lands increasingly unsuitable for tree regeneration.
''Climate changes is _____________ our forests now, not just in some distant future. Maybe in areas where there are really _____________ seed sources, there could be some trees, but it is becoming really hard to get these trees back due to climate change, '' said study co-author Kim Davis.
The problem probably won't get any better, as climate change is making intense wildfires much more ______________. Western foresters say there used to be a fire season. But devastating and ____________ fires have become a reality all year long. In 2018, fire cost California more than $9.05 billion, according to the USA insurance commissioner, the deadliest and most destructive wildfires season in the ________________ history.
A higher number of fires and low seed availability means a high probability that these trees in these regions won't come back, Davis said. This study ______________ on the driest and hottest areas of the Western forests, but researchers will next try to focus on how much will be impacted.
____________, there are some things people can do to ease some of this problem. Forest management plans that reduce high-severity burns can help. Increasingly, forest managers are considering allowing some fires to burn under more moderate conditions, Davis said, Forest ______________.
1.A.convenient B.difficult C.encouraging D.frustrating
2.A.ecologically B.apparently C.physically D.financially
3.A.destroyed B.worsened C.extended D.established
4.A.necessary B.enormous C.critical D.invisible
5.A.accelerated B.delayed C.eliminated D.strengthened
6.A.transform B.spread C.preserve D.escape
7.A.extinction B.decline C.tragedy D.increase
8.A.sustaining B.abandoning C.facilitating D.endangering
9.A.sufficient B.limited C.moderate D.approximate
10.A.occasional B.common C.essential D.temporary
11.A.astonishing B.hopeless C.costly D.irreversible
12.A.world B.state C.human D.forest
13.A.concentrated B.depended C.insisted D.commented
14.A.As a result B.For example C.In fact D.What’s more
15.A.savers B.managers C.researchers D.advocates
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
A ban on distracted walking
You can’t walk down the street without passing so-called ''smart-phone zombies(僵尸). '' They are too absorbed in their screen 1. (watch) where they are going. Almost four in ten people admit having suffered a technology-related small accident 2. they pay more attention to their electronic device than to the pavement.
Now the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, has decided it’s time to take immediate action and make it illegal to cross the road while using a mobile phone. Those 3. (catch) using phones, tablets or other electronic devices at crossing points could face a fine of up to $ 100.
Honolulu is the first major U. S. city to ban 4. is called ''distracted walking. '' It comes after a study that found there 5. (be) more than 11,000 injuries in the United States resulting from phone-related distraction while walking in the past few years.
To explain the decision, mayor Kirk Caldwell said, ''We hold the unfortunate honor of being a major city 6. more pedestrians are hit in crosswalks than almost any other city in the country. ''
Under the fine systems. 7. breaks this law for the first time will get a fine of $15 to $35. People breaking the law for a second or third time will get a $99 fine.
The law, which is called the Distracted Walking Law, does permit an exception. Pedestrians 8. use such devices in the street to call emergency services and rescue workers, such as firefighters and police officers.
If you still want to text while walking, you could avoid 9. (fine) in Honolulu by using a voice-controlled digital assistant such as Siri or Google Assistant. Or you could just wait 10. you are again, safely, off the street.
假如你是李华，准备今年参加高考。得知在疫情期间，你们学校全体高三学生将在学校封闭学习，你的美国朋友Mike来信表示对你的情况非常关心。请你给他写一封回信，内容包括：
1. 简单介绍学校的住宿和学习环境；
2. 表明自己对封闭管理（enclosed management）的看法；
3. 表达自己决战高考的信心。
注意：1. 词数100 左右；
2. 适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mike,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假如英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的以下作文，文中共有10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号(/\),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除: 把多余的词用斜线(\) 划掉。
修改: 在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词:
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起) 不计分。
Yesterday afternoon. I felt illness all of a sudden. I was about to get up from the sofa while I felt dizzy as if everything were spinning around. Then my head ached a lot of. That is a kind of feeling you have when you get drunk. I go to the hospital nearby, where I was given a medical examination. To my relief, there was something seriously wrong with me. The doctor said the symptom was probably caused by too many pressure and tiredness. Now I think it necessarily to forget my work for little while. I need to taking some exercise every day and find ways to relax me. That really matters.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Can you imagine the world full of crying and shouting, 1. (cover) in darkness? However, it’s not just a joke. It’s a real description of a world without happiness and 2. (laugh).
If you compare our life 3. a pie, what would you put in if you were in charge of making the pie? 4. (obvious), many people would add as much happiness as possible. Do you know why? It’s 5. happiness stands for sweetness in most people’s minds.
Don’t think of it just as a comparison. Happiness is a flower living in the sunshine, and 6. is not difficult to reach for it. We have a variety of 7. (emotion) like sadness, anger, fear, enthusiasm and happiness, and they all appear naturally when something 8. (affect) our feelings. So, if we can change our attitude to things in the world, we can certainly adjust our emotions. It means that we can choose to be happy if we want to, as long as we view everything in 9. positive way.
If we can be happy, why not choose to be? Let’s try together to create a world filled with 10. (smile) faces and sunshine.
