We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.
| A．he found a new kind of microorganism |
| B．he contributed much to environmental protection |
| C．he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time |
| D．he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way |
Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ________.
| A．make the live bacteria work better |
| B．test how effective his method was |
| C．know which bacteria worked faster |
| D．control the temperature in the process |
Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ________.
| A．plastics can get hot easily |
| B．microbes can produce heat themselves |
| C．much carbon dioxide is produced |
| D．the temperature can be controlled |
Daniel Burd got his idea from ________.
| A．his school textbook | B．the failure of researchers |
| C．his everyday work | D．the practice of other people |
Myth: Skipping meals helps you lose weight fast.
Truth: There’s no truth in this advice. Not only will you lose weight by starving yourself, but according to Carol Ann Rinzler, this may actually cause you to gain weight. Rinzler reasons that missing a meal causes your metabolism(新陈代谢) to slow down so that you burn food more slowly. This only makes you feel hungrier and by the time you finally do reach the table you will probably eat more food. Strange as it may seem, studies show that eating several small meals and snacks throughout the day is a more healthy way to lose pounds.
Myth: If you swallow (吞下) gum (口香糖)，it will stay inside your stomach for seven years.
Truth: Actually, it takes just a few days for gum to make its exit---not seven years, says Nei Izenberg, M. D., editor of Kids Health Organization. But because gum is made of the same thing as rubber, it cannot be fully digested (消化) in your stomach--- so if you gum up the works on a regular (经常的) basis, you might find yourself in a sticky situation.
Myth: The best way to stop a nosebleed is to lift your head back.
Truth: Now that’s bad advice. Bloody noses are caused by broken blood vessels (血管), so while lifting your head back might stop the fluid from rushing out of your nose, it won’t stop the bleeding; you’ll just end up swallowing lots of blood. Your best bet? “Rest quietly. Don’t poke or pick, and the blood will naturally clot (凝结) within a minute or two”. Suggests Dr. Izenberg.
Myth: Cutting your hair will make it grow long faster.
Truth: That’s not true. “Your hair isn’t like a lawn or a rosebush, where cutting can stimulate (刺激) fresh growth,” says Phillip Kingsley. The length of your hair is genetically ( 遗传地) determined. When it reaches a certain length, it stops growing. When you clear up the dead split ends, this make your hair look healthier, but not necessarilylonger.According to Carol Ann Rinzler, skipping meals will __________.
| A．help you lose weight fast |
| B．help you lose weight slowly |
| C．cause you to become fatter |
| D．make you burning food more quickly |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Gum cannot be fully digested in the stomach |
| B．Gum can leave your stomach after you swallow is a few days later |
| C．If you often swallow gum, you might find yourself in a sticky situation |
| D．Gum can stay inside your stomach for seven years if you swallow it |
The length of your hair is determined by ________
| A．clearing up the dead split ends |
| B．your gene |
| C．cutting it often |
| D．the food you eat |
I remember the first time that I was extremely happy. I was about 8 years old when for the first time, there was a computer in the classroom. I remember that my teacher allowed each student to take turns to play various educational games on the computer. One day, I found the source code(编码)for one of these games. Without knowing or being taught any programming language, I was able to figure out some of the BASIC code. I just gave myself an infinite number of lives in the game, so I could continue playing it forever. This was also my first introduction to algebra, and I didn't even know it at the time. This was a decisive moment in my life. I was quite excited because of what I was learning and what I was able to do. As a result, I was enthusiastic for the rest of my life about self learning and computers, and I was quite happy doing them too.
I've noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic about what they do. This enthusiasm, along with good health, is the key to being happy. It also leads to self-confidence and content in life too. It may also lead to success, wealth, and achievements.
Success, wealth, or achievements can also bring some people happiness, yet I know plenty of rich people who are unhappy. I know many people with successful businesses that are not happy with what they are doing. I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys, such as cars, computers, and televisions, yet never seem content for too long. Please remember, happiness is the journey of life, not the destination.What can we know from Paragraph 1?
| A．The author has a great talent for algebra. |
| B．Creative thinking is necessary for every child. |
| C．The BASIC code of the computer is not difficult. |
| D．The author's experience in his childhood changed his life. |
The underlined word "infinite" means __________.
| A．big | B．limitless |
| C．normal | D．small |
The author wants to tell us through his experience in the school that ________.
| A．interest is the best teacher |
| B．children are the hope of the future |
| C．young people are fearless |
| D．where there’s a will, there’s a way |
We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
| A．people who are rich and successful in career generally feel unhappy |
| B．wealth can’t bring people any happiness and comfort |
| C．one will feel unhappy once he has gained all the things that he wants |
| D．being enthusiastic about what you do is more important than wealth |
Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga (瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999. I had plantar fascitis (足底筋膜炎) in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis. I was desperate for exercise. Yoga became my salvation (拯救) and even enhanced my other fitness activities. I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat (静修), and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. “Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K. I. S. S. Guide to Yoga. “Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells.” I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams. You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group. Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people.
| A．grow taller |
| B．lose weight |
| C．become flexible in thinking |
| D．make more friends |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．What’s Yoga? | B．How I Do Yoga Poses |
| C．The Benefits of Yoga | D．The Varieties of Yoga |
If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
| A．Yoga as a means to keep fit. |
| B．Different yoga poses. |
| C．Popularity of yoga all over the world. |
| D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
While working in Southeast Asia in the mid 1990’s, I became a branch manager in a factory. At the beginning, I used human relations principles, such as putting myself into the others place to help gain trust. After a few months, I was told that the factory team members liked and trusted me.
Then the owner, seeing how everyone thought well of me, believed that I could become an instrument of change to carry out his several unpopular programs. The factory members resisted and eventually saw me as a puppet controlled by the owner. The more I insisted that they ‘follow orders’ the more they found ways to weaken the new changes.
Finally, I was replaced by a manager who knew enough to please both masters. Even though the owner did not like the fact that his new changes were not immediately applied, the new manager gained his power by the support received from his team together with an intention to find a way. What I learned was that your team must always see you as supportive of their needs, even to the extent that the owner may not be pleased that you are unable to follow their wishes. At the end of the day, if your people do not follow you then you are no longer in charge and will be replaced.
At first I blamed my boss for putting me in such a position. Then in honest reflection, I began to realize that he had probably hoped that I would have found some middle ground. What I could have done was to first obtain their advice about why they did not wish to follow the new policy changes, and then I should have used my influence with both the owner and team members to find a better way.
Though, in fact it is a painful lesson for me, it has served me well along my career path!What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Obeying is the best quality. |
| B．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| C．Appreciating others will benefit a lot. |
| D．Dealing with relationship is important. |
The underlined word “puppet” has the similar meaning to.
| A．instrument | B．assistant |
| C．wretch | D．winner |
Which is the right order according to the passage?
a. He was removed from his position.
b. He got on poorly with the coworkers.
c. He carried out the orders of the owner.
d. He became a branch manager.
f. He was believed in not only by coworkers but leaders.
| A．a, b, d, c, f | B．f, d, c, b, a |
| C．d, f, c, b, a | D．d, c, f, b, a |
From the third paragraph we can infer that .
| A．the new manager carried out the programs at once |
| B．the new manager got on badly with workers |
| C．workers need to be recognized and supported |
| D．you should make full use of your power |
Although I started learning English during my college years, when I entered the States, I only understood two English words “Yes” and “No”. We learned many grammar rules but we could not make the language connections to the real English world. Language frustration worries almost all first generation immigrants. For example, I got a letter from a Chinese-American who has lived in the States for a long time and has a good IT job saying “My 11-year-old girl writes quite well, but as her parents, we could not even read her article.”In addition, my Chinese-American professor friend has difficulty reading a novel. Improving our English skills has become a long journey for all of us. Honestly, if I have a chance, I really want to reach out to everyone in the world who has had a similar experience: learning a second language in adulthood. I wish I could encourage them to speak out about the culture shock, frustration they felt about the differences between West and East.
I have mainly focused on my English writing since 2008 after I found “Literacy Volunteers”, an organization that specially focuses on helping immigrants improve their English. I decided to challenge myself, writing a story like an American. I saw many wonderful Americans there. As soon as I met my teacher Alice, I asked her to be my private language tutor and have taken Tims English class. Every week Alice and I have worked on my English essays sentence by sentence.
To observe the culture differences between West and East, occasionally, I posted a few of my English essays online. I mentioned previously about American culture; when people read the same article or even face the same situation, American and Chinese act very differently. In my viewpoint, these differences make America the strongest country in the world. I know you have the right to express your own opinions, but accusing others without proof is not acceptable.The underlined word “frustration” in the first paragraph means.
| A．failure and setbacks | B．words and problems |
| C．understanding and progress | D．slang and idioms |
In the passage, “Literacy Volunteers” is.
| A．only intended to help the Chinese-Americans |
| B．an organization which is set up to make a profit |
| C．of great use to people like the author |
| D．a school showing how to enjoy literature |
From the last paragraph we can learn that.
| A．Americans and Chinese are of the same idea about something |
| B．culture shock only exists between Chinese and Americans |
| C．accusing others freely can be acceptable in America |
| D．culture differences have great influence on the people |
The purpose of the passage is.
| A．to show how hard a Chinese-American lives in America |
| B．to share her experience of improving her English |
| C．to imply grammar rules are not important |
| D．to warn Chinese-Americans of English |