专题03 词义猜测题 重点练-冲刺2021年高考英语阅读理解专项复习

冲刺2021年中考英语二轮复习 阅读理解 第三模块：词义猜测题重点练 Passage 1（2021·河北高三二模） There is an "environmental silver lining" as a result of the coronavirus (冠状病毒) —carbon emissions have been reduced by more than 4%, many wildlife markets around the world have been shuttered and air quality in some places has slightly improved, Dave Ford, founder of the environmental literacy organization SoulBuffalo, says. But thanks to an increase in pandemic-related, non-recyclable materials such as take-out plastic containers and masks, 30% more waste has entered our oceans, he notes. "There's 129 billion facemasks being made every month—enough that you could cover the entire country of Switzerland with facemasks at the end of this year if trends continue," he says. "And a lot of these masks are ending up in the water." The masks look like jellyfish—in other words, food—to turtles and other wildlife creatures, thus, attractive to those animals and then endangering them, he says. Very little of the plastic we use is actually recyclable. Sharon Lerner of The Intercept told Here & Now last year that "the vast majority of plastic that has ever been produced—79%—has actually ended up in landfills or burned, but not refashioned into new products." Even if the plastics we have can be reused, Ford says recycling programs across the globe are facing drastic budget cuts. "We're starting to see recycling programs shuttered, waste picking communities operating at 50% or actually shutting down. They are the last line of defense between plastic and the environment," he says. Last year, Unilever planned to cut its use of non-recycled plastics in half by 2025. In an interview with Here & Now, Richard Slater, Unilever's chief research and development officer, drew on the industry argument that plastic packaging is lighter, which means less shipping and therefore fewer dangerous emissions that cause climate change. Yes, plastics are lightweight and can cut down on fuel spending. But on the other hand, plastic waste is