At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents(文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. “I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down,” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a on-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away.
“I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling(回收利用),” said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity.
The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.
【小题1】The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to ________.A.the rapid development of small businesses |
B.the opening up of new markets |
C.the printing of high quality copies |
D.the increased use of the Internet |
A.to encourage printing more quality documents |
B.to develop new printers using recycled paper |
C.to find new materials for making paper |
D.to plant more fast-growing trees |
A.people are concerned about the environment |
B.printers in many offices are working overtime |
C.small companies need more hard copies |
D.they see a growing market for printers |
A.Computers and Printers |
B.E-mail and the Business World |
C.Internet Revolution and Environment |
D.Modern Technology and New Markets |
A road running through Accra, Ghana's capital, looks like any other blacktop(柏油路). Yet what most drivers don't realize is that it is made from plastics—melted bags, bottles, and snack wraps--that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.
In a developing nation, “it's difficult to recycle plastic,” noted Heather Troutman, program manager of the Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership. “It's expensive, and much easier just to burn it. But if you could put value on recycled plastic, it won't get buried or burned.”
First appearing two decades ago, plastic roads are being tested and built in more and more countries as the world's plastic pollution problem becomes more serious. India has built over 60,000 miles of these roads. The technology, meanwhile, is gaining ground in Britain, Europe, and Asia. Several countries—South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States, among them—have built plastic roads recently. Roads containing waste plastic have the potential to perform as well or better than traditional roads. They can last longer, are stronger and more durable(更耐用的)in respect to loads, car tolerate wide temperature changes, and are more resistant to water damage and cracking.
Troutman views plastic roads as “a promising advance,” especially in a country like Ghana with more road projects in the future. And yet, with the prediction that by 2050 the world will produce over three times as much plastic waste as it ever has, she stresses it is vital to curtail Ghana's all unnecessary use of plastics. “This is the first step,” she noted. “If we keep pumping out more and more plastic, we'll never be able to manage it in a sustainable way.”
【小题1】Why it's hard to recycle plastics in Ghana?A.The plastics are hard to break down. |
B.The country lacks related technology. |
C.The whole recycling process costs much. |
D.The government advocates burning plastics. |
A.They are mainly promoted by India. |
B.They are able to stand extreme weather. |
C.They are being tested for better functioning. |
D.They are becoming popular in some countries |
A.Reduce. | B.Cover. | C.Reward. | D.Delay. |
A.Tolerant. | B.Flexible. | C.Hopeful. | D.Pessimistic. |
Cigarette ends are everywhere--littering our streets and beaches--and for decades they've been thought of as “unrecyclable”. But a New Jersey-based company, called Terracycle, has taken on the challenge, and has come up with a way to recycle millions of cigarette ends and turn them into industrial plastic products. Its aim is to recycle things that people normally consider impossible to reuse.
Obviously it would be even better for the environment if everyone just stopped smoking but the statistics show that although there has been an increase in anti-smoking ads and posters, between 2000 and 2014.global sales of cigarettes increased by 8 percent, and a whole lot of those cigarette ends ended up as trash: Since most of our litter eventually ends up in waterways, cigarette ends can surely pollute the surrounding environment. “It only takes a single cigarette end to pollute a liter of water,” Temacycle’s founder, Tom Swak, said. “Animals can also mistake cigarette ends littered for food.”
So how do you go about turning all those poisonous ends into something useful? Terracycle does this by first breaking them down into separate parts. They mix the remaining materials, such as the tobacco and the paper, with other kinds of rubbish, and use it on non-agricultural land, such as golf courses. The filters (过滤嘴) are a little harder. To recycle these. Terracycle first makes them clean and cuts them into small pieces, and then combines them with other recycled materials, making them into liquid for industrial plastic products.
They’re now also expanding their recycling offerings to the rest of the 80 percent of household waste that currently can’t be recycled, such as chocolate packaging, pens, and mobile phones. The goal is to use the latest research to find a way to stop so much waste ending up in landfills, and then get companies to provide money for the process. And now, it works well.
“We haven't found anything that we can’t recycle,” communications director of Terracycle, Albe Zakes, said. “But with the amount and varieties of packaging and litter in the world, we are always looking for new waste streams to address.”
【小题1】What does Terracycle intend to do?A.Search for recyclable materials for use. |
B.Deal with as many cigarette ends as possible. |
C.Produce new kinds of industrial plastic products. |
D.Recycle what used to be considered unrecyclable. |
A.Rubbish. | B.Poison. | C.Disaster. | D.Ruin. |
A.The effective use of cigarette ends. |
B.The process of recycling cigarette ends. |
C.The difficulty in recycling cigarette ends. |
D.The reason for breaking down cigarette ends. |
A.There is more and more waste to be recycled. |
B.It is difficult for Terracycle to recycle everything. |
C.Terracycle is trying to meet the challenge of new waste. |
D.Terracycle has successfully recycled a large amount of waste. |
组卷网是一个信息分享及获取的平台,不能确保所有知识产权权属清晰,如您发现相关试题侵犯您的合法权益,请联系组卷网