Disposing (处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. Residents or trash haulers (垃圾拖运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often
just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent. Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recyclin
g programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
1. The most suitable title for this passage would be _________.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
2. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways except for ________.
A. burying it B. recycling it C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
3. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. Farm areas will continue accepting waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
4. The main purpose of writing this article is to _________.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
Part-time jobs for 15 and 16 years olds
| Waiter / Waitress A job as a waiter or waitress is a good choice for 16-year-olds. Not only can one earn $9-$12 an hour, but they can also get the tips (小费). Most people that visit a restaurant don’t just have good food. They come here to relax and have a good time. Besides serving food quickly, a young waiter who talks to them politely with a smile on his face will make the diners enjoy their time at the restaurant. |
| Work in a library If one is fond of books, working in a library is another suitable choice. Besides the pay is good, it offers a lot of free time when students can actually sit down and finish their homework. So on returning home, they would have time to hang around with friends or just relax. So working in a library is an excellent part-time job for teens, especially for school students. |
| Internet jobs There are many ways of making money through online jobs like clicking on advertisements, visiting sites and signing up with them. However, such online jobs don’t pay well. A better Internet job for teens is to complete online surveys. These are quite simple surveys that usually ask one about his/ her opinions and ideas. Many companies use these ideas to make products designed for teenagers. |
What does the writer think of the job as a waiter/waitress?
| A．It needs a period of training. |
| B．It pays much more than other jobs. |
| C．It can improve one’s leadership skills. |
| D．Making diners comfortable is part of the job. |
A student who is busy with his research paper will probably choose to work ______.
| A．in a restaurant | B．in a library | C．on the Internet | D．in an IT company |
The writer wrote this text to ______.
| A．tell us the importance of doing part-time jobs |
| B．advise teenagers how to choose a part-time job |
| C．teach young people how to make lots of money |
| D．introduce his/her experience of doing part-time jobs |
Why do some companies ask the teens to do surveys?
| A．The teens have more free time. |
| B．They can pay less to the teens. |
| C．They need advice to make products for teens. |
| D．The teens usually express their true opinions. |
Four out of ten parents in the UK spend between ￡100 and ￡500 on their children’s birthday parties, according to a survey. Four in ten parents of children under 18, who were questioned in a survey, admitted that they felt pressured into organizing more expensive birthday parties for their children than they would like to.
How much parents spend on their children’s birthday parties is one of the most frequently discussed topics on parenting websites. Here is one comment on Mumsnet summing up the thoughts of many parents: “Where we live everyone hires places, entertainers and so on. I don’t want to compare with my rich neighbors, but I want my son to have what all his classmates have.”
The research was carried out on behalf of the children’s charity, Lumos, set up by the author JK Rowling. Just 13 percent of parents spent ￡50 or less in the past year on their children’s parties.
Many children’s clowns(小丑) or entertainers charge ￡150 or more for an hour, and parents often feel it necessary to book a special place. Even without these, the cost of plates, the cake and party bags can mount up. Party Pieces, a company set up by Carole and Michael Middleton, charge about ￡16 for a birthday cake for a party with 16 guests, ￡22 for table decorations and up to ￡48 for party bags.
Many children of famous people have increasingly expensive parties, often seen in famous magazines. Suri Cruise, the daughter of actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, enjoyed a ￡100,000 birthday party according to a report.
Georgette Mulheir of Lumos, said,“Parents in the UK are under increasing pressure to spend more and more money on birthday parties for their children and their children’s friends.”What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Children’s birthday parties put their parents under financial pressure in the UK. |
| B．Many parents are willing to spend more on their children’s birthday parties. |
| C．Parents pay more and more attention to their children’s birthday parties. |
| D．Children in the UK hope for more and more expensive birthday parties. |
What does the underlined part “mount up” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Increase. | B．Change. | C．Exist. | D．Count. |
By the example of the birthday party for Suri Cruise, the writer probably wants to show that________.
| A．famous people love their children very much |
| B．children of famous people can get whatever they want |
| C．some children of famous people have really expensive birthday parties |
| D．holding expensive birthday parties is common nowadays |
In which of the following sections would you most probably read this passage?
| A．Business | B．Education | C．Science | D．Family |
Sydney—A shark savaged a schoolboy's leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney on February 23．It was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia's largest city in a month．
The 15-year-old boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches, around dawn when he was attacked．The city's beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the summer months．
"The father heard a scream and turned to see his son trashing （扭动） about in the water," police said．"Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to shore by his father．
Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller: "It got him around the top of his left leg and the father came and dragged him out of water．" He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to shore．"There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine"．The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment for leg injuries．
Police said the bites" cut through to the bone" , but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures （骨折）．He was in a stable condition now．
Several beaches were closed after the attack．Water police and lifeguards were searching for the shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks．But they said it was too early to say what type of shark attacked the boy．"I don't even know if he saw it," Miller said．
Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney's beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively rare．However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in Sydney harbor, not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city's world-famous Bondi beach．
Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise．There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor, which has increased fish stocks．Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to shore as they chase fish．Many shark species, including the Great White—the man-eater made famous in Steven Spielberg's Jaws—are protected in Australian waters．The report mainly tells us _______．
| A．shark attacks on humans are on the rise |
| B．sharks attacked humans three times in one month |
| C．a boy was attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach |
| D．shark numbers are increasing in the waters off Sydney's beaches |
The underlined word" savaged "in the first paragraph probably means _______．
| A．attracted | B．dragged |
| C．bit | D．packed |
What do we know about the city of Sydney from the passage?
| A．It is one of the largest cities in Australia． |
| B．Sydney harbor is not far from the famous Opera House． |
| C．There are many locals and tourists on its coast all year round． |
| D．There are few shark species in the waters off Sydney's beaches． |
All the followings are the causes of Australia's sharks increasing EXCEPT that_______．
| A．environmental protection has created a cleaner environment |
| B．a ban on commercial fishing has increased fish numbers |
| C．many shark species are protected in Australia waters |
| D．the film Jaws made the Great White famous |
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| D．tocollectmoremoneyforcharity |
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| B．Readers can get a free offer of the magazine any time of the year. |
| C．Readers from all over the world can enjoy the free offer. |
| D．Readers can communicate face to face with child experts on the Internet. |
A reader subscribed PARENTS 3 months ago, but now he finds the magazine dissatisfying. What can he do?
| A．He can cancel without getting his money back |
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We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed — no examination is perfect — but to have no tests or examination would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency， the values and the purpose of each teacher.
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them — a form offavoritismwill replace equality at the moment. The bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well-respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.
The opponents（反对者） of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.The word “favoritism” in paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that .
| A．bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs. |
| B．poor children with certificates are favoured in job markets. |
| C．children from well-respected schools tend to have good jobs. |
| D．children attending ordinary schools achieve great success. |
What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?
| A．Schools for bright children would lose their reputation. |
| B．There would be more opportunities and excellence. |
| C．Children from poor families would be able to change their schools. |
| D．Children’s job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation. |
The opponents of the examination system will agree that .
| A．jobs should not be assigned by systematic se lection |
| B．computers should be selected to take over many jobs. |
| C．special classes are necessary to keep the school standards |
| D．schools with academic subjects should be done aw ay with |
The passage mainly focuses on .
| A．schools and certificates | B．examination and equality |
| C．opportunity and employment | D．standards and reputation |