外刊时文阅读理解1 -2025届高三上学期英语二轮复习专项

题型：高中阅读理解 来源：外刊读物 Passage 1 字数：311 来源：The Economist The claim that American children are being endangered by the food industry with regulatory inaction has drawn attention. Robert F. Kennedy junior, a potential health secretary nominee, wants to abolish the FDA's nutrition division, accusing it of permitting toxic substances in food. The FDA's regulation of food additives like artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives is lax. It lets food companies decide on the safety of these chemicals and whether to inform the FDA. Also, not all ingredients need to be fully listed on labels. A chemical made in a lab could be labeled just as "flavouring" on a food package. This traces back to a 1958 food-safety law loophole. While some common items like vinegar and spices were exempted from full FDA assessment as "generally recognised as safe" (GRAS), the number of new chemicals in food has skyrocketed. In 1997, to handle a backlog, the FDA enlarged the GRAS loophole, enabling companies to skip notifying the FDA about self-deemed safe ingredients. The consequences are significant. The FDA's registry has about 4,000 substances, and experts think there are over 1,000 unknown to the FDA. In 2022, nearly 400 people got sick and 133 were hospitalized after consuming food with tara flour. The FDA took two years to declare it unsafe. Health experts fear some additives may trigger cancer or chronic diseases. Americans often get calories from ultra-processed foods full of additives. Red 3 dye, in many US foods, is banned in EU food and US cosmetics for being potentially carcinogenic. Potassium bromate in bread is also banned in the EU but used in around 600 US foods. Consumer-safety groups, after failing at the federal level, are trying in New York. A proposed bill there would require food companies to disclose safety assessments of chemicals in sold foods, which might lead to ingredient replacements and reformulated product sales across the nation. 1. Why does Robert F. Kennedy junior want to remove the FDA's nutrition division? A. To reduce government spending. B. Because of its alleged failure in food safety. C. To give more power to food companies. D. To promote a new food regulation system. 2. What was the impact of the 1997 rule change regarding the GRAS loophole? A. It made food safer. B. It increased the FDA's workload. C. It allowed companies to use more unreported ingredients. D. It led to a decrease in the use of food additives. 3. The example of tara flour is used to illustrate that ______. A. consumers should be more careful about what they eat B. the FDA is efficient in handling food safety issues C. some food ingredients have unknown safety risks D. food companies often hide dangerous ingredients 4. What is the potential effect of the proposed bill in New York? A. It will make food prices rise. B. It may improve food safety standards. C. It will limit the variety of food available. D. It may cause food companies to close down. Answers: 1. B. Because of its alleged failure in food safety. 2. C. It allowed companies to use more unreported ingredients. 3. C. some food ingredients have unknown safety risks. 4. B. It may improve food safety standards. Passage 2 字数：255 来源：The Economist The development of plastic alternatives has become a significant trend. In Victorian London, Alexander Parkes invented the first plastic. Now, London-based Notpla is making waves with its seaweed-based material that decomposes in six weeks, unlike traditional plastics. It's one of many companies exploring natural polymers like corn, mushrooms, or agricultural waste. Traceless is producing compostable cutlery, C&A uses biodegradable hooks, and IKEA has experimented with mushroom packaging. The global plastic situation is dire. The OECD reports that this year, around 500m tonnes of plastic will be produced, with only a fraction recycled or incinerated and the rest ending up in landfills or water bodies. Plastic production and disposal contribute 3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, more than aviation. To address this, the UN is negotiating a binding treaty to curb plastic's environmental impact, focusing on recycling, set to take effect next year. For companies, plastic is mainly used in packaging. Many are taking steps to reduce waste. Coca-Cola switched Sprite bottles to a more recyclable transparent design. Over 250 companies, including giants like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Unilever, and Danone, have joined a coalition supporting the UN treaty. Since 2018, coalition companies have reduced virgin plastic use by 3%, but it's short of the 18% target. They're exploring alternative materials, with Nestlé having a sustainable packaging research center. VC firms have also invested heavily in this area. However, alternative materials are costly. Seaweed-coated trays are several times more expensive than plastic ones. While consumers express willingness to pay more for sustainable packaging, it's uncertain if they'll follow through. 1． What makes Notpla's material different from traditional plastics? A. It is made from fossil fuels. B. It decomposes much faster. C. It is more durable. D. It is cheaper. 2． Why is the UN negotiating a global treaty on plastic? A. To promote plastic production. B. To encourage more plastic recycling. C. To reduce plastic's environmental harm. D. To standardize plastic packaging. 3． What have companies like Coca-Cola done to reduce plastic waste? A. They have stopped using plastic bottles. B. They have increased the use of virgin plastic. C. They have changed the design of their bottles. D. They have joined a coalition against plastic use. 4． What is the challenge for the adoption of alternative packaging materials? A. Lack of consumer demand. B. High cost. C. Insufficient research. D. Government regulations. Answers: B. It decomposes much faster. C. To reduce plastic's environmental harm. C. They have changed the design of their bottles. B. High cost. Passage 3 字数：274 来源：The Economist Gold mining conventionally requires heavy machinery and toxic chemicals to extract a small amount of gold from ore. However, urban mining of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in electronic waste offers a more lucrative option. A tonne of PCBs can contain significantly more gold than a tonne of ore and other valuable metals like silver, palladium, and copper. The amount of electronic waste is staggering. In 2022, about 62m tonnes of electrical items were discarded globally, with less than a quarter recycled formally. Current PCB recycling methods like burning or using chemical solvents have drawbacks such as high carbon emissions and toxic by-products. So, cleaner methods like bioleaching are being developed. Bioleaching is an old concept, first observed over 2,000 years ago and commercialized in the 1950s for mining tailings. It uses bacteria like Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans that produce oxidizing agents to dissolve metals. In a modern processing plant, a combination of similar non-pathogenic bacteria can be used. By maintaining an acidic environment, warm temperature, and good oxygen supply, the process can be sped up, with metals like gold and copper recovered using precipitation and electroplating-like methods respectively. Bioscope Technologies is building a bioleaching plant in Cambridge. It has a capacity of 1,000 tonnes of PCBs per year and aims to create a sustainable, circular recycling system. The company separates plastics and fibreglass from PCBs first, with plastics recycled and silica extracted from fibreglass. The process can recover most metals from PCBs, with the amount depending on the type of circuit. Servers have more precious metals than domestic appliances. And new bioleaching methods are being developed to recover other metals like tin, zinc, gallium, and tantalum. 1.What makes urban mining of PCBs more attractive than traditional gold mining? A. It requires less machinery. B. It can extract more gold and other valuable metals per tonne. C. It is less harmful to the environment. D. It is easier to operate. 2.What is the main problem with current PCB recycling methods? A. They are too expensive. B. They produce large carbon emissions and toxic by-products. C. They are not efficient in extracting metals. D. They require a lot of water. 3. How does bioleaching work in a modern processing plant? A. By using a single type of bacteria in a natural environment. B. By using a combination of bacteria in a carefully controlled environment. C. By using chemical solvents to dissolve metals. D. By using high temperature to melt out metals. 4. What is the goal of Bioscope Technologies? A. To build the largest bioleaching plant in the world. B. To recycle only gold from PCBs. C. To create a sustainable and circular recycling system. D. To replace traditional gold mining completely. Answers: B. It can extract more gold and other valuable metals per tonne. B. They produce large carbon emissions and toxic by-products. B. By using a combination of bacteria in a carefully controlled environment. C. To create a sustainable and circular recycling system. 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$