An environmental group in Colombia is leading a project to save wild areas in the San Lucas Mountains with the help of coffee growers.
Since 2016, San Lucas areas have been threatened by mining and coca (古柯) planting Gold miners and coca growers make more money than coffee farms. Now the group WebConserva helps link coffee farmers with coffee processors from around the country in order that they can earn more. At the same time coffee farms can serve as boarders around the forests to protect the biodiversity within.
To date, the project includes 10 families who farm 400 hectares of coffee plants. WebConserva said it hopes, in time, 200 families will be included. At that level. 20,000 hectares of untouched forest could be protected. The families promise not to cut down trees to expand their crops or to hunt wild animals. In return, they receive $300 for 125 kilograms of coffee.
Arcadio Barajas is among those taking part. His coffee farm sets up a barrier between cattle farms and forests where wild animals live, thus reducing the possibility of conflict between cattle farmers and wild animals. “Cutting down the forest to plant coca and killing wildlife were against my faith, and now I feel that growing coffee lets me be a good guard of the land,” he said.
Amnobis Romero is a former coca grower and miner. “Many families depended on illegal activities to support their children years ago. Now, we feel it a duty to look after this biodiversity and leave it for future generations,” he said. Activists want San Lucas to be protected as a national park, but the process has been slow. Carlos Valderrama, director of Webconserva, hopes the project can build production system that will last far into the future. “It protects forests, biodiversity and ecosystems at the same time as improving coffee growers’ quality of life,” he said.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?A.Coffee farmers. |
B.WebConserva members. |
C.Gold miners. |
D.Coca growers. |
A.By increasing cattle farms. |
B.By setting up a barrier. |
C.Ry developing gold mining. |
D.By encouraging coffee farming. |
A.Families have enough money for their kids. |
B.Coffee planting will last for several generations. |
C.Coffee farming changed the former coca growers’ lives. |
D.The project benefit the forests more than the local farmers. |
A.Families protecting wildlife will get very rich. |
B.WebConserva benefits ecosystems and local people’s life. |
C.Gold mining and coca farming have been replaced rapidly. |
D.San Lucas will develop into a national park in the near future. |
If you’re a fan of fast fashion, your choices may be narrowing in the near future.
At the end of 2020, fast-fashion giant H&M said it would close 350 stores worldwide. Recently, Spanish fashion giant Inditex announced that it would close all its Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius stores in China. It all indicates that fast fashion is slowing down, noted the website Fast Company.
A major reason is the shift in the mindset (心态) of consumers. Millennials, those who were born in the 1980s or 1990s, are now the largest consumer group. Unlike their predecessors (前人), millennials are more financially stable,and thus low-priced fast fashion is not their priority. According to The South China Morning Post, more people are starting to care about quality and the stories behind a product.
Another factor is the growing concern over the fashion industry’s effect on the environment. As The New York Times noted, the fashion industry is one of the largest polluters of clean water and three-fifths of clothes produced in a year end up in landfill (垃圾场). As there is more awareness of the climate crisis, younger people are pursuing more eco-friendly choices.
Molly, 22, is one of them. Before she went to college, she used to frequent fast-fashion shops like Forever 21 and H&M. But after taking a class that focused Fast fashion slows down on the environmental impact of clothing production, her preference changed. Now, she tries to shop in a way that is both sustainable (可持续的) and affordable: She shops second-hand. “My friend showed me how easy it was to be thrifty (节约的) and I developed a new personal style that focused less on trends but on basics that don’t go out of style.” she told MTV News.
In order to survive in the competitive market, many fast-fashion brands are making changes as well. For example, Inditex said that the company plans for all of its clothes to be sustainable by 2025.
“Sustainability is a never-ending task in which everyone here is involved.” said Pablo Isla, CEO of Inditex.
【小题1】Why is fast fashion unpopular among millennials?A.Millennials follow former generations’ style. |
B.Millennials prefer cheaper clothes. |
C.Millennials attach more importance to quality. |
D.Millennials like brands with a long history. |
A.Unsold clothes are a threat to the environment. |
B.Low-quality fashion products don’t last long. |
C.Climate change should be blamed on the fashion industry. |
D.More people prefer eco-friendly fashion products. |
A.She likes thrifty brands. |
B.She buys used clothes. |
C.She prefers trendy clothes. |
D.She buys only necessary clothes. |
A.how competition is becoming more fierce in the fashion industry |
B.how sustainability has become the top priority for most fashion brands |
C.how the fast-fashion industry is suffering a big loss |
D.how a major company can change their products to fit the market |
A.Promising. | B.Hopeless. | C.Unclear. | D.Unpredictable. |
The Vjosa River, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, has been declared a national park by the Albanian government, making it the first wild river park on the continent.
Home to more than 1,000 animal and plant species, the river flows for 270 kilometers, from Greece, through Albania and into the Adriatic Sea. Giving the credit to no dams or other artificial barriers, it is rich in aquatic (水栖的) species and supports a large number of wildlife species, including some endangered ones.
The wild river national park will include almost 13,000 acres of land, crossing most of the body of the country, with thousands of people living in its surroundings. The decision to establish the park is more important than people may realize. For years, the Vjosa’s fragile ecosystem has been under threat: at one point as many as 45 hydropower plants (水电站) were planned to build across the region. But thanks to the campaigning by environmental NGOs, the tiny Balkan nation was placed at the forefront of river protection.
Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, described the creation of the national park as a “truly historic moment” for nature as well as social and economic development. “Today we protect the only wild river in Europe once and for all,” he said. “This is to change a mindset. Protecting an area does not mean that you make it in isolation from the economy.” He said national parks attract 20% more tourists compared with nonprotected areas.
The park will cover the 118 miles of the Vjosa in Albania, three main tributaries (支流), and some land, including areas at risk of flooding. Other tributaries will be added afterwards. Unlike the IUCN’s Wilderness Protected Areas, which limit the number of visitors, it will allow recreational tourism and some other activities such as local fishing, particularly for 60,000 residents in the catchment.
“We hope it will inspire others to come together to protect the wild places in a meaningful way,” said Ryan Gellert, Patagonia’s CEO, and added that the park was proof that the destruction of nature did not have to be the price of progress.
【小题1】Which of the following contributes to the Vjosa River’s biodiversity?A.The existence of natural construction. | B.The emergence of artificial barriers. |
C.The absence of human disturbance. | D.The effect of governmental policies. |
A.To maintain Vjosa’s ecosystem. | B.To establish hydropower plants. |
C.To create jobs for local residents. | D.To protect the tiny Balkan nation. |
A.It covers more tributaries. | B.It attracts tourists to fishing. |
C.It limits the number of visitors. | D.It allows economic development. |
A.Social progress results in destruction of nature. |
B.Protection of nature conflicts with social progress. |
C.Social progress doesn’t necessarily mean destroying nature. |
D.Protection of nature doesn’t have to cost society much money. |
Going green seems to be a fad (时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic (有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of homemade fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.
【小题1】It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because ________.A.they were expected to follow the green fad |
B.they didn’t know how to educate other people |
C.they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
D.they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
A.They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
B.They ignored others’ ungreen behaviour. |
C.They chose better chemical cleaners. |
D.They sold their homemade food. |
A.The government will give support to the green project. |
B.The couple may continue their project in the future. |
C.Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
D.Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
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