Every year, the world makes about 350 million tons of plastic waste, and much of it ends up in the sea. A UK packaging company called Notpla, however, has found an answer in the ocean itself. It creates seaweed-based packaging that can replace plastic.

Two young designers, Rodrigo and Pierre, started Notpla with a simple question: how to package things without harming nature. Looking at natural materials, they found that seaweed was strong, long-lasting and harmless to the environment. In 2013, they designed Ooho, a soft water bubble that people can even eat.

Ooho soon caught the attention of Just Eat, an online company that delivers food. Just Eat asked Notpla to design greener food boxes, because conventional ones often contain harmful chemicals or thin plastic inside. Notpla answered with boxes that have a natural seaweed coating, which keeps oil out and breaks down into the soil. The whole package can be composted just like a banana skin.

Notpla’s work has already won important prizes. In 2022, it won Innovation of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards.

Notpla’s goal is big. The company hopes to replace one billion single-use plastic items by 2030 and has already replaced over 41 million. Notpla believes that replacing all single-use plastic with seaweed would need just 0.066% of the ocean. That is a level experts consider safe for ocean life.

Why does the team believe in seaweed so much? “Seaweed grows quickly and needs no fresh water, land or chemicals,” Notpla says. “It takes in harmful gases and keeps the water around it healthy.”

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1.1. Ooho is designed to ______.

A satisfy people

B win prizes

C hold more water

D protect nature

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第二段，Rodrigo和Pierre创办Notpla时提出的问题是“how to package things without harming nature”，他们寻找天然材料并设计出Ooho，说明Ooho的设计目的是保护自然，所以选D。A“满足人们”只是Ooho可以食用这一特点，并不是设计初衷；B“获奖”是后来Notpla取得的成就，不是设计Ooho的目的；C“装更多水”文中没有依据。故选 D。

2.2. Why did Just Eat ask Notpla to design new food boxes?

A To pack water in bubbles.

B To make its boxes greener.

C To win packaging prizes.

D To sell more food online.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。第三段明确说Just Eat请Notpla设计“greener food boxes”，因为传统餐盒常含有害化学物质或内部薄塑料，所以Just Eat的目的是让餐盒更环保，选B。A“把水装进泡泡”是Ooho的特点，不是Just Eat餐盒；C“赢得包装奖”是Notpla后来的成果，不是Just Eat提出设计的原因；D“在网上卖更多食物”文中没有提到。故选B。

3.3. The underlined word “composted” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to “______”.

A burned to get energy

B cleaned for reuse

C returned to the soil

D made into new boxes

解析：选C。C 词义猜测题。根据第三段“breaks down into the soil”和“just like a banana skin”可知，这种包装可以自然分解，像香蕉皮一样回归土壤。“composted”在这里最接近“returned to the soil”的意思。A“燃烧获取能量”、B“清洗后重复使用”、D“做成新盒子”都不符合上下文。因此选C。

4.4. What is Notpla's attitude towards its seaweed plan?

A It expects a bright future.

B It worries about the sea life.

C It is proud of its prizes only.

D It has little hope for it.

解析：选A。A 观点态度题。根据最后两段，Notpla说自己的目标很大，希望到2030年替代10亿件一次性塑料制品，并且相信用海藻替代所有一次性塑料只需要海洋面积的 0.066%，专家认为这对海洋生物是安全的。这些内容说明Notpla对自己的海藻计划充满信心，期待光明未来。B“担心海洋生物”与文中“safe for ocean life”相反；C“只为奖项感到骄傲”太片面，文中还有更大的环保目标；D“几乎没有希望”与文章态度相反。因此选A。

5.5.What is the best title for the passage?

A Ooho: A Bubble Full of Water

B Turning Seaweed into Packaging

C Just Eat’s New Food Boxes

D Prizes Won by Notpla in 2022

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。全文围绕“用海藻做包装、替代塑料”这条主线展开：两位设计师的疑问、水泡 Ooho、绿色餐盒、获奖情况和海藻的优势，B 项 Turning Seaweed into Packaging 概括了全文。A 项 Ooho: A Bubble Full of Water 只讲了第二段的一个产品；C 项 Just Eat’s New Food Boxes 只对应第三段；D 项 Prizes Won by Notpla in 2022 只讲了获奖的事，都以偏概全。故选 B。