Ⅰ.阅读理解
[2019·武昌区高三元月调研]Historians and archaeologists have defined periods of human history for centuries by the technologies or materials that made the greatest impact on society. This includes the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. But what age are we in now? That question can be answered with one word for some researchers. Plastics.
“Plastic has redefined our material culture and the artifacts we leave behind. It will be found in stratified (分层的) layers in our trash deposits (沉积层)．” That's according to John Marston, an archaeologist.
The wide variety of synthetic polymers (合成聚合物) would not exist if it weren't for human action. About six billion tons of plastics have been made and spread around the planet. They have been spread from forests to oceans ever since the first plastic polymers were invented.
Plastics are one of the most significant changes that humans have made to the Earth's makeup. Most plastics don't easily degrade. This only adds to the problem. Recycling isn't an adequate solution. Not all types of plastic are easily recyclable And there are only a few recycling plants that can process all varieties of plastic.
According to Debra Winter, writer for The Atlantic, this means that many of the materials thrown into recycling bins can cross the planet several times before they are processed. They are made into rugs, sweaters, or they are used to make other bottles. Millions of tons of plastics are recycled every year, but millions more end up in landfills or the ocean. The problem has reached the point where it's possible that in just a few decades there might be more plastic in the world's oceans than fishes.
“Plastics have a supposed lifespan of over 500 years, so it's safe to say that every plastic bottle you have used exists somewhere on this planet, in some form or another，” Winter writes.
The damage may already be done. It may be too late for human populations worldwide to change their plastic using ways. So the Plastic Age might soon take its place next to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the history of human civilization.
1．Why do people call our age the Plastic Age?
A．Because plastics are not naturally made.
B．Because humans create plastics.
C．Because plastics influence the world greatly.
D．Because historians and archaeologists think so.
2．According to the passage, how are most plastics dealt with currently?
A．They are recycled.
B．They are degraded
C．They are thrown away.
D．They are made into bottles.
3．What is the author's attitude to the Plastic Age?
A．Negative. B．Ambiguous.
C．Favorable. D．Unconcerned.
4．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Plastics have ruined our environment.
B．We must stop using plastics altogether.
C．Human beings are in the Plastic Age.
D．Plastics are significant to human development.
