Making greener choices, from the food you eat to the way you travel, can improve your health.A recent article advises people should try low–carbon (低碳) lifestyles which could be the most important contribution to yourself, even the earth.Some guidelines follow:
1.Use your own power rather than oil whenever you can
Burning oil in your car makes pollution like carbon dioxide (CO2) that causes global warming.Cutting down on driving and using your own two legs helps cut global warming pollution and helps reduce weight problems over time without dangerous diets or surgery.
If all Americans used foot instead of engine as daily exercise during normal travel, we could reduce our oil dependence by more than a third.Besides, by using a push mower(剪草机) instead of a power mower to cut your lawn, you can also cut up to 80 pounds of CO2 per year! And you’ll get a great workout!
2.Drop the bottled water, drink tap (自来水)
Drinking plenty of water is important during hot weather or when exercising.You may think bringing bottled water with you can be both convenient and harm-free to the environment.But, you may change your mind if you see the truth below in 2006, 30 billion plastic water bottles were made, which used the amount of more than 17 million barrels(桶)of oil–enough to fuel more than one million cars for a year, and produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
If you have worries about your tap water, clean it regularly! The truth is that tap water is no worse than bottled water ant it saves much money.
3.Choose foods carefully
There are some general ways you can follow that are good for you and the planet:
a.Eating less meat and more grains and vegetables helps reduce the need to cut down forests to grow the food for animals
b.Buying local food may be environmentally–friendly.Locally grown foods often use much less oil in transport than the foods coming from somewhere far away, which would help reduce CO2 amount.
For more information, you may consult http://www.edf.org/
1.What benefit can people make if they walk more but drive less?
A.More pollution will be made during the process.
B.There will be no obvious effect on reducing the amount of carbon dioxide.
C.Every year, more than 30% of the oil can be saved, which will help weaken global warming.
D.People’s weight will stay the same, and they still need to go on a diet to get thinner.
2.Why should we change our preference to bottled water?
A.Bottled water contains more good things for our health.
B.Tap water is not clean enough for people to drink.
C.Bottled water is more expensive than tap water for its better quality.
D.Tap water is as good as bottled water, which wastes so much resource during its production.
3.If you mean to protect the environment, you will ________.
A.often buy food from foreign countries B.seldom eat meat for dinner
C.usually drive to work and home D.never boil tap water to drink
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Low–carbon lifestyles bring more harm than benefit to nature.
B.Man’s daily life activities have no effect on the changes of the environment.
C.What you eat can not only be good for your health, but also for the health of the earth.
D.The choice of food is completely personal, which won’t be important for nature at all.
People in the United States honour their parents with two special days: Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June.
Mother's Day was proclaimed a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honour mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation.
In 1909, Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honour fathers. She wanted to honour her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910, the first Father's Day was observed in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to established Father's Day as a national commemorative day, in 1972.
These days are set to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honour parents.It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days, families get together at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.According to the passage, which of the following about the second Sunday in May isn't true?
A.It is a day to show love to mothers. |
B.it is a day to wear carnations. |
C.it is a day for many people to attend religious services. |
D.it is a day for people to visit the cemetery. |
Choose the right time order of the following events.
a. The first Father's Day was observed.
b. Mother's Day was proclaimed a day for national observance.
c. Father's Day became a day for national observance.
d. The idea of honoring fathers was bought up.
A.d a b c | B.a b e d | C.b a c d | D.d a c b |
Who plays the most important role in Father's Day becoming a national commemorative day?
A.Mrs. Dodd |
B.Ann Jarvis |
C.Margaret Chase Smith |
D.Woodrow Wilson |
From the passage, we know in the U. S. __________.
A.one should wear a red carnation if one's mother passed away |
B.the purpose to have these two special days is to show love to parents |
C.on Father's Day, people often stay at home to celebrate the special day |
D.on Mother's Day, families often go out to have barbecues |
The author's purpose of writing this passage is to __________.
A.call on people to love and respect their parents |
B.show how important fathers and mothers are |
C.tell the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day |
D.introduce Mother's Day and Father's Day |
Tokyo is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time.
In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to be. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast, but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams (拥挤). Tokyo is not different from London, Paris and New York in that. It is different when one wants to walk.
At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London Oxford Street. But the streets near the Ginze in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot; and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.
The worst time to be in the street is at 11: 30 at night. That is when the night-clubs are closing and everybody wants to go home. There are 35,000 night-clubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty.
During the day, most people travel to and from work by train. Tokyo people buy six million train tickets every day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes, but at certain hours there do not seem to be enough trains. Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time. On a London train you would see everybody reading a newspaper. In Tokyo trains everybody in a seat seems to be asleep, whether his journey is long or short.
In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fire-engines (消防车) race past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day. Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now.Tokyo is different from London in that __________.
A.it has a larger population |
B.there are more traffic jams |
C.it is more difficult to go somewhere on foot |
D.night clubs are sometimes empty |
Japanese trains __________.
A.often leave and arrive on time |
B.are often crowded |
C.are the main means people use to travel to and from work |
D.all of the above |
Where can you find everybody reading a newspaper?
A.At most London train stations. |
B.At most Tokyo train stations. |
C.On a Tokyo train. |
D.On a London train. |
Fires break out __________ in Tokyo according to the writer.
A.quite frequently (频繁) |
B.only several times a day |
C.not very often |
D.very __________ seldom |
Which of the following is NOT true about Tokyo?
A.The streets become more crowded at 11 : 30 at night. |
B.There are more trains than cars. |
C.Fire-engines are very busy in the city. |
D.Tokyo people are friendly. |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country's economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country's economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities (配套设施) needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.Which of the following do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection?
A.It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
B.Building roads and hotels is essential. |
C.Support facilities are highly necessary. |
D.Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
The underlined word "inhabitants" (in Paragraph 1) probably means __________.
A.tourists | B.passengers |
C.population | D.citizens |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT __________.
A.a bad effect on other industries |
B.a change of tourists' customs |
C.over-crowdedness of places of interest |
D.pressure on traffic |
It can be inferred from the text that __________.
A.the author doesn't like tourism developing so fast |
B.local people will benefit from tourism |
C.other parts of a country's economy won't benefit from tourism much |
D.we can't build too many support facilities |
The author thinks it is good for local people to know that tourism will __________.
A.waste a lot of money |
B.weaken their economy |
C.help establish their customs |
D.help improve their life |
Saturday, June 16th
In the morning, we went camping along a path in Green Natural Park. We were happy because it was a sunny day. We were expecting an enjoyable two-day holiday. On the way, we kept singing and making jokes.
However, in the afternoon, when we finished our picnic at one o'clock, it was dark and windy. Soon, there was a shower. Unluckily, none of us brought an umbrella. We ran about but we could find no place to hide.
Twenty minutes passed and it was still raining, There were hours to go before we reached the campsite (野营地). It was even worse that our small compass (指南针) showed that we went to the wrong way. We had lost our way!
We had to make a quick decision as it was raining heavily. Chris said we could set up a tent to hide in, so Mary and Tom helped to set up the tent. Chris and I tried to make a fire to keep us warm. But we were unable to light the fire, as everything was wet. We dried ourselves, chatted and waited inside the tent. At about five o'clock, it stopped raining. We decided to give up the camping trip because all of us had been very tired.
This camping trip may not be very successful but we know each other better. And the most important thing I've learned from this trip is the importance of team spirit.The writer went camping in Green Natural Park __________.
A.for 4 hour | B.for 2 days |
C.in June | D.in the afternoon |
It was even worse that they __________.
A.had no picnic | B.lost their way |
C.couldn't light the fire | D.couldn't know each other |
Chris suggested that they should __________ in the rain.
A.set up a tent | B.reach the campsite |
C.keep singing | D.find a place to hide |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.It was sunny in the morning. |
B.None of them had an umbrella. |
C.They gave up the camping at last. |
D.They ran about to dry themselves. |
The writer has learned the importance of __________ from the trip.
A.making a decision | B.working together |
C.enjoying holidays | D.taking a compass |
Swiss national Louis Palmer fulfilled a childhood dream when he set off from his mother country on July 3, travelling over deserts, cities and seas in 17 countries in a solar taxi to reach UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
"In 1986, 1 was a 14-year-old boy. I was dreaming that when I will be an adult. I want to drive around the world, " he told reporters.
"Then it came to my mind, how can I travel around the world and enjoy the beauty of this world with a car that is polluting the world? Then I thought the perfect car would be a solar car. "
His car, which has become a major attraction at the gates of the summit of some 188 nations, was built in three years with scientific help from four universities and 15 Swiss companies. The car pulls a trailer with six square meters of solar panels which absorb the sun. The electricity is fed into the battery which powers the car, and can run for up to 100 kilometers a day.
"It's the first time in history that a car is driving around the world without a single drop of petrol, " said Palmer.
His epic solar journey is not his first adventure—he crossed Africa on a bicycle and North America in a light aircraft.
So far, Palmer has gone by land through Europe and the Middle East, then by sea to India and on to Indonesia. After covering much of Asia, Australia, North America and Africa, he will return to Switzerland to try and drum up support for the commercial possibilities of solar cars.
For the moment, he has his hands full, with more curious customers waiting to take a ride in his unique automobile which, he said, "works like a Swiss clock. "The sentence in the third paragraph "how can I travel around the world and enjoy the beauty of this world with a car that is polluting the world?" means" __________ ".
A.Louis Palmer found it hard to choose how to travel |
B.Louis Palmer would feel guilty about his travelling in a polluting car |
C.Louis Palmer couldn't make up his mind whether to travel by car |
D.Louis Palmer was trying to enjoy the scenery in spite of polluting the world |
Why did Louis Palmer take so long a journey in a "solar taxi"?
A.To attend the conference. |
B.To advertise the solar car. |
C.To realize his dream. |
D.To turn to the summit for help. |
So many visitors came to the car mainly because __________.
A.it uses electricity as power |
B.it works as well as a Swiss clock |
C.it is the first solar car in the world |
D.they were eager to have a look at it |
The underlined phrase "has his hands full" in the last paragraph probably means __________.
A.becomes very popular | B.looks so proud |
C.is extremely busy | D.shakes hands |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Palmer will attempt to put solar cars on the market. |
B.Palmer dreamed of a solar car when he was a boy. |
C.Palmer will return home from Indonesia. |
D.Palmer has never made a journey before. |