We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.
【小题1】Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.
| A．he found a new kind of microorganism |
| B．he contributed much to environmental protection |
| C．he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time |
| D．he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way |
| A．make the live bacteria work better |
| B．test how effective his method was |
| C．know which bacteria worked faster |
| D．control the temperature in the process |
| A．plastics can get hot easily |
| B．microbes can produce heat themselves |
| C．much carbon dioxide is produced |
| D．the temperature can be controlled |
| A．his school textbook | B．the failure of researchers |
| C．his everyday work | D．the practice of other people |
【小题1】C
【小题2】B
【小题3】B
【小题4】C
解析试题分析：本文是关于环保的一篇文章。主要讲述了一个加拿大的高中生，发现了一种能够快速降解塑料的方法，并因此获奖的故事。
【小题1】细节理解题。从文章第二段“...has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair...”可知，Daniel Burd因发现短时间降解塑料袋的方法而获奖。故选C。
【小题2】推理判断题。从文章第四段中的“...exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control”可知，他这样做的目的在于测试他的方法是否有效。故选B。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“maintaining the required temperature takes little energy
because microbes produce heat as they work”可知，细菌在工作的时候会产生热量。故选B。
【小题4】推理判断题。从文章最后一段丹尼尔·伯德说的话“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, ...So I decided to do something myself.” 可推知，他是从每天的工作中得到启发的。故选C。
考点：环境保护类短文阅读
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Below is a selection from a popular science book.
| If blood is red, why are veins (静脉) blue? Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it's outside the body, when it's sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it's more of a dark reddish purple colour. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison. Which works harder, your heart or your brain? That kind of question depends on whether you are busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five tunes as much blood to feed it. Why do teeth fall out, and why don't they grow back in grown-ups? Baby (or "milk") teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you're done. When they're gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you're set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off. Do old people shrink as they age? Yes and do. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn't because they're shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects, of gravity (重力). Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don't really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards ---- their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it's because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bait and curved. Why does spinning make you dizzy (眩晕的)? Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you're moving while you're Dot! Where do feelings and emotions come from? Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area — from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other, newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet. If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you? Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s "use it, or lost it”! It's not that exercise makes you healthy; it's more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease. |
| A．Blue. | B．Dark reddish purple. |
| C．Red. | D．Light yellow. |
| A．Because they are more easily affected by gravity. |
| B．Because their spine is in active use. |
| C．Because their spine becomes more bent. |
| D．Because they keep growing backwards. |
| A．In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart. |
| B．When our brain senses the spinning, we will fell dizzy. |
| C．The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans. |
| D．Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain. |
| A．To give advice on how to stay healthy. |
| B．To challenge new findings in medical research. |
| C．To report the latest discoveries in medical science. |
| D．To provide information about our body. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
For the people living in the Nile Basin, the river is their life．This 6,825 km waterway, whose watershed（流域）covers three million square kilometers, flows through mountains ,woodlands, lakes and deserts．Its potential for fishing, tourism and shipping is great—but so are its challenges.
Water shortage , already serious in Egypt and Sudan , will soon influence several other countries in the watershed as well．Today, about 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their living．Within the next 25 yeas ,the district's population is expected to double, adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculture．The frequent drought（干旱）adds to the urgency.
Water quality is also a problem．Precious soil is washed out to sea．Wastes from industry and agriculture create pollution．Higher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soils．Water-borne diseases continue unchecked．In areas where it's hot and damp, water hyacinths choke off（阻止） lakes, dams and other sections of the river, making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward.
Native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by day．They’ve seen the river change course, and their only source（来源） of water thickened with mud．They’re very poor and have few choices.
But a new program, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), is offering very practical assistance．The program is more than just a water-management project．It’s a plan for the social and economic development of a vast district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them.
These are whole ecosystem problems, calling for united solutions．Half the Nile Basin's countries are among the world's poorest nations；yet, somehow, they must find the resources, skills and political will to overcome these challenges.
【小题1】What are the great challenges the Nile Basin faces？
| A．The development of shipping industry. |
| B．Over fishing of native people. |
| C．Water shortage and water quality. |
| D．Increasing population and tourism. |
| A．plants | B．animals | C．rocks | D．salts |
| A．preventing water pollution |
| B．improving living condition of the poor |
| C．changing the river course |
| D．preventing land from becoming desert |
| A．People’s Life in Egypt and Sudan |
| B．Frequent Drought in Egypt and Sudan |
| C．The Poorest Countries in the Nile Basin |
| D．The Ecosystem Problems in the Nile Basin |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The United States is full of cars. There are still many families without cars, but some families have two or more. However, cars are used for more than pleasure. They are a necessary part of life.
Cars are used for business. They are driven to offices and factories by workers who have no other way to get to their jobs. When salesmen are sent to different parts of the city, they have to drive in order to carry their products. Farmers have to drive into the city in order to get supplies.
Sometimes small children must be driven to school. In some cities school buses are used only when children live more than a mile away from the school. When the children are too young to walk too far, their mothers take turns driving them to school. One mother drives on Mondays taking her own children and the neighbors' as well. Another mother drives on Tuesdays, another on Wednesday, and so on. This is called forming a car pool. Men also form car pools, with three or four men taking turns driving to the place where they all work.
More car pools should be formed in order to put fewer cars on the road and use less gas. Too many cars are being driven. Something will have to be done about the use of cars.
【小题1】The United States is filled with cars, but .
| A．not every family has a car |
| B．few families have two cars or even more |
| C．every American has a car |
| D．every family has a car |
| A．Small children are driven to school. |
| B．All children go to school by bus in some cities. |
| C．Mothers drive their children who can't walk to school. |
| D．School buses pick up all children. |
| A．they can drive to school |
| B．they can take turns driving their children to school |
| C．they reach school quickly |
| D．they can drive their children to school in time |
| A．too many cars are being driven | B．there are too many car pools |
| C．people put fewer cars on the roads | D．there is less gas |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Expensive and new gloves allow chatterboxes（话匣子）to take the term “handsfree” to a new level—by talking into them as they make a call. The gloves are known as “Talk to the Hand” and cost £1,000 a pair. They fixed a speaker unit into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.
Artist Sean Miles designed the new gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget recycling. He uses outdated gloves and combines them with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2, which commissioned（承担）the project. Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets or handbags.
Mr Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves—one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If demand is high, they will then be produced on a larger scale. O2 Recycle, which backed the project, estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK. The service pays up to £260 to those who recycle gadgets including phones, handheld consoles, MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Sean Miles hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling. The 41-year-old said, “I hope that my ‘Talk to the Hand’ project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets. If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to trash, I think this project will have fulfilled its aim.”
Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, urges people to recycle their phone responsibly. He said, “There’s a pressing need for all of us to look at outdated handsets, and all the gadgets that we move on from or upgrade each year. Whether they are consoles or cameras, we should think of them as a resource that we need to recycle responsibly rather than throw them away.”
【小题1】The underlined word “O2” in Paragraph 2 is probably the name of ______.
| A．an artist | B．a company | C．a mobile | D．an exhibition |
| A．in the exhibition |
| B．from Mr Miles |
| C．when they are mass produced |
| D．after they recycle the gadgets |
| A．promote the technology of IT |
| B．enable people to talk to their hands |
| C．raise people’s awareness of recycling |
| D．attract visitors’ attention in the exhibition |
| A．New mobiles that are fashionable. |
| B．Outdated handsets that are upgraded. |
| C．Outdated gadgets that can be used for recycling. |
| D．New gloves that can be used for making phone calls. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.
When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.
Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.
Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel’s bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words: __________________________.
【小题1】Ken Levin asked Argutel to walk to the north in order to ________.
| A．prove that people could walk out of the desert see |
| B．how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert |
| C．tell people not to walk in circles |
| D．show Argutel was a great person |
| A．knew Argutel before he came to the village |
| B．came to Bissel to do experiments on behalf of his college |
| C．became the first man to walk out of the desert from Bissel Village |
| D．taught Bissel villagers knowledge of the North Star when he first arrived |
| A．Ken Levin didn’t walk south because it would take more days |
| B．the use of a compass was necessary to walk out of the desert |
| C．tourism in Bissel has been greatly developed and improved |
| D．Argutel became the leader of Bissel after his return |
| A．A new life starts from the fixed direction. |
| B．Where there is a will , there is a way . |
| C．A long journey starts with the first step . |
| D．Two heads are better than one. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The smallest animal with a backbone（脊椎） known to science, a fish from the carp family, has been discovered in the peat swamps （沼泽）of Indonesia. Mature（成熟的）females of the fish species （种类）Paedocypris reach just 7.9mm in length.
The species was discovered in the highly acidic (酸性的) peat swamps of the Indonesian island of Sumatra by a team led by Ralf Britz, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
“This is one of the strangest fish that I’ve seen in my whole career,” Dr Britz said. “It’s tiny, and it lives in acid. I hope that we’ll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.”
The species lives in dark tea-colored swamp waters, which are 100 times more acidic than rainwater. Although these swamps were once thought to be inhabited by very few animals, recent research has shown that they are home to a highly different range of species that occur nowhere else.
The peat swamps were damaged by forest fires in 1997, and are also threatened by agriculture. The scientists behind the discovery said that several populations of Paedocypris had already been lost.
“Many of the peat swamps we surveyed（调查）throughout South-East Asia no longer exist,” Dr Britz said. “Populations of all the miniature（微型的）fish of peat swamps have decreased or disappeared.”
Details of the discovery are published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B.
【小题1】64.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Strangest Fish |
| B．Acidic Peat Swamps |
| C．Strange Species |
| D．The Smallest Backbone Animal |
| A．It lives in highly acidic rainwater. |
| B．The species lives in the acidic waters of dark tea-coloured swamps. |
| C．It was put in the Natural History Museum in London. |
| D．Its habitat disappears completely. |
| A．many places where these animals lived have been damaged |
| B．the population of the specieshas increased |
| C．there are many animals in the acidic peat swamps today |
| D．agriculture doesn’t affect the living space of these animals |
| A．the habitat will be more after a period of time |
| B．many peat swamps that they surveyed have already survived |
| C．he wants to find more miniature fishes before their habitat disappears |
| D．he wants to have further research |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
How long you live has a lot to do with your environment and lifestyle, but exceptional(特别的)long life may have even more to do with your genes. For the first time, researchers have discovered a genetic recipe(基因谱)that accurately predicts who may live to 100 and beyond.
Analysis shows that 90% of the participants who lived to 100 had at least one of the signature genetic clusters(标志基因组). Dr. Thomas Perls at the Boston University School of Medicine said, “We realize this is a complex genetic puzzle. There is a long way for us to go to understand how the integration(融合)of these genes—not just with themselves but with environmental factors—is playing a role in this long life puzzle.”
Perls has studied many factors that contribute to long life, and he is the first to acknowledge that living longer isn’t likely to be simply a matter of genes. His previous work has shown, for example, that among most elderly people who live into their 70s and 80s, about 70% can owe their long life to environmental factors such as not smoking; eating a healthy, low-fat, low-calorie diet; and remaining socially engaged and mentally active throughout life.
It seems clear that those who live extremely long are benefiting from a special DNA. In fact, Perls believes that the older a person gets, the more likely it is that his or her genes are contributing to those extended years.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 2?
| A．Most long-living people have special long-life-related genes. |
| B．Ninety percent of the participants lived to 100 years of age. |
| C．All the long-living people have only one signature genetic cluster. |
| D．Scientists know how the integration of the genes helps people live long. |
| A．most people living extremely long benefit from not smoking |
| B．living longer just depends on certain genetic recipes |
| C．environmental factors play an important role in long-living |
| D．being mentally active has nothing to do with living an old age |
| A．Remaining socially engaged helps a person to live long. |
| B．A genetic recipe can accurately predict who may live to 100 and beyond. |
| C．Perls is the first to think living longer is just a matter of genes. |
| D．The older he gets, the more likely the genes contribute to his extended years. |
| A．Genes May Predict Who Lives to 100 | B．Environment And Genes |
| C．Genes, the Secret of Long Living | D．Lifestyle And Genes |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Scientists Alan M．Goldberg and Thomas Hartung describe recent advances in replacing the use of animals in toxicology(毒物学)testing．Improvements in cell and tissue culture technologies，for example，allow a growing number of tests to be performed on human cells alone．Computer models are becoming increasingly complex and many could one day become more accurate than trials in living animals．
Since the late 1990s，Huntingdon Life Sciences--a company that conducts testing of substances on animals conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration—has become a proving ground for aggressive strategies by animal-rights militants （好战分子）．At a hearing，a Senate．committee listened to testimony（证词） against Huntingdon employees and financial institutions providing services to the company．One experimentation witness at the hearing insisted that any means necessary were justified（辩护） to spare animals’ lives；he has previously accepted the idea of murder to that end．
Use of animals in testing and in biomedical research continues to be necessary in many instances and is ethically（伦理道德地）preferable to experimenting on humans or giving up cures that could save human lives．But for the sake of people and animals alike，the development and acceptance of animal substitutes deserve enthusiastic support．
In some instances, substitutes are already thought as good or better than animals，but supervising agencies（监督机构）have yet to catch up．In both the European Union and the U．S．，scientists and companies wanting to use the new alternative tests complain that regulatory standards for proving a drug or chemical to be safe for humans force the continued use of animals．Thus，animal-loving Americans might turn to persuading the EPA and the FDA to speed validation（确认）of new methods so that they can be more widely employed．And animal advocates（保护者） who want to influence business could consider investing in the small biotech’s and large pharmaceutical（药品的） companies that are working to develop alternatives to animals in research．
【小题1】_____ plays a leading role in replacing the use of animals in testing．
| A．Huntingdon Life Sciences | B．Improvement in technologies |
| C．Animal-fights militants | D．Scientists Alan and Thomas |
| A．animals shouldn’t be used in toxicology testing |
| B．animals should enjoy equal rights with human beings |
| C．animals should live wildly and freely |
| D．we should protect animals from being killed casually |
| A．the use of animals in testing has been stopped abruptly |
| B．animal substitutes are not preferable |
| C．supervising standards contribute to the continued use of animals in testing |
| D．only Huntingdon Life Sciences is accused |
| A．Saving animals and people． |
| B．The new trend in toxicology testing |
| C．The use of animals in testing is against human nature |
| D．New technology changes the fate of animals |
| A．arbitrary（武断的，随意的） | B．pessimistic |
| C．indifferent（不关心的 ） | D．optimistic |
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