Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important, of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household's waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase "over-consumption" refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Having more material than is needed. |
| D．Making more products than necessary. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show_______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the fact of packaging overuse |
| D．the rapid growth of supermarkets |
According to the text, recycling_________.
| A．means burning packaging for energy |
| B．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．Other products are better packaged than food. |
| D．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| B．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable wastes. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
MEGADIM, Israel (AP)-The worst forest fire in Israel's history on Thursday destroyed one of the country's few forested areas, killing at least 36 guards on their way to rescue prisoners there, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation (疏散) of thousands. The fire ran through the Carmel forest in Israel's Galilee, reaching the coastal city of Haifa, jumping from place to place in the forest. The fire broke out around midday and quickly spread and was still burning out of control as midnight approached. Investigators (调查者) supposed that the fire could have been set accidentally, or it might have been a criminal act, but pretty much ruled out (排除) some sort of attack by a Palestinian group. “This is a huge disaster，” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The government is using all means to control the fire.” He said some countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Russia and Greece agreed to provide backup. Most of the dead were Prison Service guards racing through the fire toward a prison to evacuate the prisoners, most of them Palestinians. A tree fell across the road, blocking their bus. Some guards were burned alive inside, while others died as they tried to escape. Fourteen bodies were found near the burnt bus 10 hours after the fire started. The fire heavily damaged one of Israel's few large forests, made up of natural growth and planted areas, a favorite place for camping and a home for dozens of species of wildlife. Forestry workers tried to evacuate animals from the fire. The forest recovered slowly from a fire in 1989, but experts said Thursday's big fire was many times worse. Some Prison Service guards died when they tried to ________.
| A．control the running prisoners | B．put out the fierce forest fire |
| C．get away from the burning bus | D．save the guards trapped in the fire ． |
According to the investigators, which of the following might be the cause of the fire?
| A．Prisoners set the fire purposely. | B．The fire broke out all by itself. |
| C．A Palestinian group did it. | D．The fire was started by accident. |
We learn from the text that ________.
| A．all of the dead were Prison Service guards |
| B．the forest once suffered a fire in the 1980s |
| C．the animals didn't suffer from the fire |
| D．the fire caused 50 deaths altogether ． |
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the worst forest fire in Israel's history |
| B．the actual cause of the worst ever forest fire |
| C．the damage caused by the forest fire |
| D．the government's efforts in controlling the fire |
The average college student in America spent an estimated seven hundred dollars on textbooks last year. The National Association of College Stores reported more than five billion dollars in sales of textbooks and course materials. Association spokesman Charles Schmidt says electronic textbooks now represent just two to three percent of sales. But he says that is expected to reach ten to fifteen percent by 2012. Online versions are now available for many of the most popular college textbooks. E-textbooks can cost half the price of a new print textbook. But students usually lose access after the end of the term. And the books cannot be placed on more than one device (装置) so they are not easy to share.
So what do students think of e-textbooks? Administrators at Northwest Missouri State University wanted to find out. Earlier this year they tested them with five hundred students in twenty classes. The university is unusual. It not only provides laptop computers to all seven thousand of its full-time students. It does not require students to buy their textbooks either. They rent them to save money. The school aims to save even more by moving to e-textbooks. The students in the survey reported that downloading the books from the Internet was easy. They liked the idea of carrying lighter backpacks. And fifty-six percent said they were better able to find information. But most found that using e-textbooks did not change their study habits. And sixty percent felt they read more when they were reading on paper. In all, almost half the students said they still liked physical textbooks better. But the survey found that cost could be a big influence. Fifty-five percent said they would choose e-textbooks if using them meant their textbook rental fee would not increase. Roger Von Holzen heads the Center for Information Technology in Education at Northwest Missouri State. He tells us that administrators are disappointed with the e-textbooks now available because the majority are not interactive. He thinks growth will come when more digital books include video, activities, games and other ways to interact with the information. The technology is improving. But for now, most of the books are just words on a screen. The passage mainly tells us about ________.
| A．the development of e-textbooks |
| B．different attitudes towards e-textbooks |
| C．the sales of textbooks and course materials |
| D．the differences between e-textbooks and physical text-books |
According to the survey, over half of the students think e-textbooks ________.
| A．can be rented for less money | B．help in finding more information |
| C．are convenient to carry around | D．help them do better in their lessons |
It can be inferred from the passage that e-textbooks ________.
| A．will replace physical textbooks | B．are available at any time |
| C．have a very bright future | D．still have a lot to improve |
Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes (失礼) for the newcomers. A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs-starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters-you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability (社交) in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior. “If you haven't been to a pub, you haven't been to Britain.” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists' Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers' rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order. The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．taste | B．experience | C．test | D．record ． |
The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ______.
| A．encourage people to communicate with each other |
| B．encourage more people to consume drinks |
| C．attract more tourists to the pubs |
| D．form its own character of culture |
If you don't follow the local rules in a pub, ________.
| A．you won't buy good local drinks |
| B．you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff |
| C．you may fail to feel the local culture |
| D．you might get into a dangerous place |
What may be the best title for the passage?
| A．Self-service Pubs in Britain | B．British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places |
| C．Local Pub Culture in Britain | D．Manners in British Local Pubs |
It was getting dark and snow was coming down. Joe was driving home. He'd been unemployed since the factory closed. Most of his friends had left, but he stayed on. After all, he was born here. Suddenly he saw a lady standing on the side of the road and then he pulled up. She was worried. No one had stopped to help her. Was he going to hurt her? He looked poor and hungry. Joe knew how she felt and said, “My name is Joe and I'm here to help you.” All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe changed the tire, but he got dirty and his hands were hurt.
She wanted to pay Joe and said any amount would have been all right. Joe never thought twice about the money and there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed. Later the lady went in a small restaurant to take a bite to eat. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor-it didn't ring much. The waitress, who was nearly eight months pregnant (怀孕) brought a clean towel to her with a sweet smile. The old lady remembered Joe. After the waitress brought the change from a 100-dollar bill, she found the lady gone and something written on a piece of paper “Someone once helped me out-the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, don't let the chain of love end with you.” That night the waitress gave her sleeping husband a soft kiss and whispered, “Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Joe.” What did Joe do that dark snowy evening?
| A．He drove to work. | B．He helped an old lady with a flat tire. |
| C．He gave an old lady a lift. | D．He helped an old lady push her car. ． |
The underlined sentence “she wanted to pay Joe and...”suggests that ________.
| A．the old lady was very grateful to Joe's timely aid |
| B．the old lady cared little about money |
| C．the old lady didn't have money on hand to pay Joe |
| D．the old lady wanted to pay Joe less |
We can learn from this passage that ________.
| A．the old lady knew the waitress was Joe's wife |
| B．the old lady had a big meal in the small restaurant |
| C．Joe would have a baby soon |
| D．Joe helped a lot of people in the past |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Acts of luck | B．A warm-hearted man | C．A well-off lady | D．The chain of love |
| 237 West Palmdale Boulevard Fresno, California 93706 AmToy Corporation Suite 15 TransAm Building San Francisco, California 94115 November 20, 2008 Dear Sirs, As a concerned parent, I am writing to protest your recent advertisement for Electro—Robo seen in local media is California. Specifically, I am referring to newspaper and magazine ads （attached to this letter）published the week of November 15. Children respond to your type of advertising in an immature way; that is, they are unable to understand how expensive some toys are for middle-class parents. Further, you product is violent in nature. Youth advertisement gives children the impression that it’s fine to have “two guns and laser eyes.” You also suggest that children need your toy to protect them “when you go outside.” This is not a healthy attitude for children to have. I hope you will stop advertising your product in such a way that may harm our children. Sincerely yours, （Mrs.） Alma Hernandez President, Parents for Non-violent Toys Enc. |
| It’s here! Ready for You, Now! It’s Electro-Robo! Every boy dreams of being in control of a robot, and AmToy can make your dream come true! Electro-Roho is the world’s first fully automatic robot with radio control. Standing 80 centimeters tall, Electro-Robo is like a friend at home. He can walk, talk, and even shake your hand! He has two guns and laser eyes to help you defend yourself when you go outside with him. Every boy needs Electro-Robo! Ask your Mom and Dad to buy Electro-Robo for your birthday or for Christmas, which is coming up soon. Imagine that you are in control of your friend for life, Electro-Robo! Available at all toy stores and department stores NOW! |
What is the purpose of the letter?
| A．To complain about a broken toy. | B．To oppose the advertising. |
| C．To order a gift for Christmas. | D．To apply for a job in a toy company. |
What dose “Enc.” at the end of the letter mean?
| A．Something attached to the letter. | B．A complaint to the toy company. |
| C．A hidden message | D．An encouraging response. |
Electro-Robo can do all the following EXCEPT ______-.
| A．sitting down | B．shaking hands | C．talking | D．walking |