Prince Charles yesterday pledged to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services. The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities. He said, "Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, 'How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded , how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities?' These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked. " He added, "At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone's books...Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a ly short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy. "He said the world was "running up _ in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid. '' Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James's Palace, the prince said his new"accounting for sustainability" project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet* Duchy Originals, the prince's food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince's travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences:Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 1 0 5 full-time staff . Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.... How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection? A) Dissatisfied. B) Disappointed. C) Doubtful. D) Impatient.
A
(Question)
Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds. Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol to put down disturbances. The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park--which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore--has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador's national assembly. "It's a very tense situation," said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. "We are watching it with concern." The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands' population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life "in paradise ". On top of _ , more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year. Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises. These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit the islands' waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in... What is the primary contributing factor to the conflict between conservationists and fishermen? A) The dismissal of the previous director of the Galapagos National Park. B) The exploitation of the islands. C) The government's support of Galapagos Conservation Trust. D) Cepeda's close tie with the fishing industry.
(Answer)
B
Ques: The story is about two old people named David and Rosy Jackson. Both of them had very bad memories. For example, Rosy would forget to cook dinner or take vegetables home after paying for them. David would show up for work on Sundays, thinking it was Monday. One winter they were to take a long plane trip. When they arrived at the airport, there were only ten minutes left. In that situation, anyone would get into the plane right away. But David and Rosy didn't do so. They went to buy some flight insurance instead. Immediately after they put a two-pound note into a machine, their policy came out. "Who would get the money if the plane crashed, I wonder?" asked Rosy. "My mother, of course," her husband replied. "We should post the policy to her. Now, be quick! Give me a stamp, will you?" he said to Rosy. "The plane is going to take off in another minute." David put the stamp on the envelope, dropped it into a postbox, and suddenly he let out a cry. What do you suppose happened to him? He had posted their plane tickets to his mother. David meant to post his mother _ . A) two plane tickets B) a two-pound note C) the flight insurance D) an empty envelope
Ans: C
Ques: It had been a long,hard,wonderful day.The two of us had walked from the sea's edge through the length of a beautiful valley,climbed a superb mountain,travelled its narrow,rocky ridge ,and now stood on its final peak,tired,happy and looking for the perfect campsite. The experienced backpacker has a natural feeling for such things,and our eyes were drawn to a small blue circle on the map,like an eye winking at us.We could not see _ from where we were,but we followed our judgement and went down steeply until it came into view. We were right.It was a calm pool,with flat grass beside it.Gently taking our packs off,we made the first of many cups of tea before pulling up our tent.Later that evening,over another cup of tea and after a good meal,we sat outside the tent watching the sunset over a sea dotted with islands,towards one of which a ferry was slowly moving.It is not always so perfect,of course.On another trip,with a different companion,a thoroughly wet day had ended at a lonely farm.Depressed at the thought of camping,we had knocked and asked if we could use a barn as a shelter. Backpacking could be defined as the art of comfortable,selfsufficient travel on foot.Everything you need is in the pack on your back,and you become _ .I once left my pack hidden in some rocks while I made a long trip to a peak I particularly wanted to climb.I was away for nearly three hours and ended up running the last stretch in fear that my precious pack would not be there.It was,of course. The speed at which the backpacker travels makes this the perfect way to see any country.You experience the landscape as a slow unfolding scene,almost in the way it was made;and you find time to stop and talk to people you meet.I've learned much local history from simply chatting to people I met while walking through an area.At the end of a trip,whether three days or three weeks,there's a feeling of achievement,of having got somewhere under your own power. After years of going out walking just for the day,many people start backpacking simply... How did the writer and his companion feel at the end of the day? A) They were too tired to put up their tent. B) They wished they could have found a farm. C) They were anxious about the coming weather. D) They were delighted with the spot they'd found.
Ans:
D