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. |
A Chilean(智利)soap-opera star, a beauty from Ancient Pompeii and a freckled (雀斑的)boyish girl hardly make an average beauty show line-up.
The first world-wide digital beauty contest to the surprise of many online fans was won by a woman who is virtually(虚拟) real flesh and bones. "Virtual models are not the anti-real, they are a different representation of reality," said Franz Cerami, the organizer of Miss Digital World (数字世界小姐).
Each of the contestants had to provide the charming photo of high degrees, with date of birth and body measurements.
Chilean Rodolfo Perez Ayala decided that no figure of his imagination could beat the beauty of his wife, Katty Kowaleczko, so he hired artist Flavio Parra to recreate her. Kowaleczko, who plays Paula Sandoval in the popular Latin American soap opera Tentacion, was transformed into Katty-ko and won the digital contest with more than 17,000 online votes.
"I'm so happy Katty-ko won. I think her strength is her similarity to a real woman - not too luxurious or exposed", Kowaleczko, 40, told reporters. "Her beauty is in her simplicity." Kowaleczko was not afraid of being replaced by her 3D clone in movies or theatres, but hoped she would become "a sort of ambassador(使者) of Chilean beauty".
Cerami said Latin American interest in Miss Digital World had greatly increased since Katty-ko joined the contest, which attracted about 3600 entries from countries from Iran to Australia and even from the ancient Roman empire.
"Pompea" was the digital reconstruction of a young woman killed by the outbreak of Vesuvius in 79 AD．"She was a slave, but also a rich man's lover. When her body was discovered, many jewels and a bangle(手镯) with the writing 'from the master to his servant girl' were found" said Genny Tortora, a professor at the University of Salerno who led Pompea's creative team.
Other contestants included Kaya, the most realistic model with digital freckles, pouty (噘起的) lips and upturned nose.
Now, Cerami's dream is to manage a form of virtual beauties, introducing them for calendars, games, ads, and movies. One is even reported to be heading for Playboy's front page.The winner in the first Miss Digital World contest was ______.
| A．a star who performed in some soap operas |
| B．a beauty who came from Chilean |
| C．a beauty who was from the ancient Roman empire |
| D．a made-up beauty based on a real woman. |
Which group of the following are the names for the digital beauties mentioned in the passage?
| A．Katty-ko, Pompea, Kaya. |
| B．Katty Kowaleczko, Pompea, Playboy. |
| C．Flavio Parra, Genny Tortora, Franz Cerami. |
| D．Rodolfo Perez Ayala, Pompea, Franz Cerami |
The digital beauty “Pompea” was created by ______.
| A．Genny Tortora | B．a group of people |
| C．by a young woman | D．a rich man |
What the organizer of Miss Digital World wants to do next is ______.
| A．sell pictures of beauties for calendars | B．hold another contest |
| C．put the digital beauties into practical use. | D．start an ads company |
When most people think of tropical islands, lined with white sandy beaches and bright blue seas, it is often the Caribbean or South Pacific that comes to mind．But for Chinese tourists who want a taste of paradise on Earth there is a new place to consider.
Mauritius, an island lying off the southeast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, has just been added to China's list of tourist destinations. Rich in history, natural beauty and culture, the island has been a popular destination for the world's tourists for many years.
On December 15 a total of eight African countries were added to the list. The others are Tunisia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Seychelles.
The island has passed through the controlling hands of a number of European powers, including Dutch, French and British. In 1968, Mauritius won its independence.
At present, over half the population of Mauritius is Hindu and another fifth is Muslim. Both groups are descendants(后裔)from workers brought to the island from India by the British. Some Chinese were also brought over to work. There are also descendants of African slaves and Franco-Mauritians, the original settlers of the island.
One of the best things about the island is the food．There is a mouth-watering mix of European, Chinese and Indian flavours and seafood is very popular. A typical Mauritian dinner might have Indian chicken curry, Chinese pork, British roast beef and French-style vegetables. Boiled rice is served with just about everything. All that is washed down with a plentiful supply of local beer and rum(朗姆酒).
The pleasant tropical climate and scenery provide the perfect setting to enjoy everything. The sea is full of colorful life that lives around the coral reef. This makes Mauritius a wonderful place for swimming and diving. The large number of interesting fish means it is also an exciting place for those who like to go fishing.Which of the following can’t be used to describe Mauritius?
| A．Tropical island, white sandy beach and bright blue sea. |
| B．Beautiful scenery, rich history and culture. |
| C．Most of the people in Mauritius are black. |
| D．Delicious food mixed with eastern and western flavours. |
Which group of the following topics is not discussed in the text?
| A．Food and history. | B．Scenery and population. |
| C．Location and sports. | D．Natural resources and agriculture. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Mauritius has something similar to the Caribbean or South Pacific. |
| B．Mauritius has a history of less than 40 years. |
| C．Mauritius has been a popular destination for Chinese tourists for many years. |
| D．The main food in Mauritius is local beer and rum. |
The underlined word “This” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
| A．Pleasant tropical climate | B．Beautiful scenery |
| C．The sea with colorful life | D．The coral reef |
Beauty has always been regarded as something admirable. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal consultants (顾问) give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive persons. But in the executive circle (政界), beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive thing for a man’s rise, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to be the reasons for their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck. All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives.
Why are attractive woman not thought to be able? An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine (女性的) and an attractive man more masculine (男性的) than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the "masculine" qualities required．
This is true even in politics. Anne Bowman recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates (候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked lo rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the woman who had been ranked most attractive always received the fewest votes.In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness _____.
| A．strengthens the feminine qualities required |
| B．makes women look more honest and capable |
| C．is of great importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
Bowman’s experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness _____.
| A．turns out to be an obstacle to men |
| B．affects men and women alike |
| C．has as little effect on men as on women |
| D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women |
It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often _____.
| A．practical | B．old-fashioned |
| C．prejudiced (偏见的) | D．serious |
The author writes this passage to _____.
| A．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive |
| B．give advice to job-seekers who are attractive |
| C．demand equal rights for women |
| D．emphasize the importance of appearance |
A "lost tribe" that reached America from Australia may have been the first Native Americans, according to a new theory.
If proved by DNA evidence, the theory will break long established beliefs about the southerly migration of people who entered America across the Bering Strait, found it empty and occupied it.
On this theory rests the belief of Native Americans to have been the first true Americans. They would be classified to the ranks of escapee, beaten to the New World by Aboriginals (土著人) in boats.
To a European, this may seem like an academic argument, but to Americans it is a philosophical question about identity (身份), Silvia Gonzales, of Liverpool University said .
Her claims are based on skeletons found in the California Peninsula of Mexico that have skulls (头骨) quite unlike the broad Mongolian features of Native Americans. These narrow-skulled people have more in common with southern Asians, Aboriginal Australians and people of the South Pacific Region.
The bones, stored at the National Museum of Anthropology (人类学) in Mexico City, have been carbon-dated and one is 12,700 years old, which places it several thousand years before the arrival of people from the North. "We think there were several migration waves into the Americas at different times by different human groups," Dr. Gonzales said． "The timing, route and point of origin of the first colonization of the Americas remains a most contentious topic in human evolution."
But comparisons based on skull shape are not considered conclusive by anthropologists, so a team of Mexican and British scientists, backed by the Natural Environment Research Council, has also attempted to take out DNA from the bones. Dr. Gonzales declined yesterday to say exactly what the results were, as they need to be checked, but indicated that they were consistent（一致） with an Australian origin. It is generally considered that the first Native Americans came from _____.
| A．North Asia | B．Australia | C．South Pacific | D．South Asia |
The skeletons found in the California Peninsula of Mexico have _____.
| A．the broad skull shape |
| B．the narrow skull shape |
| C．different features of Aboriginal Australians |
| D．the same features of Native Americans |
The underlined “contentious” is similar in meaning to “_____”.
| A．likely to cause great interest | B．difficult to solve |
| C．well-known to all | D．likely to cause argument |
Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
| A．Research on skulls can draw an exact conclusion. |
| B．DNA tests have proved the fact that the first Native Americans came from Australian. |
| C．Scientists are still not sure about the origin of the Native Americans. |
| D．People began to enter America across the Bering Strait about 12,700 years ago. |
He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life grace our greeting cards and day-timers.
Fifty years after his death, his shock (蓬乱) of white hair and hanging mustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton, Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
Around the world, universities and academies (研究院) are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time, light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.
Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more change in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunication, lasers, television and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world．
He escaped Hitler's Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism (法西斯主义) and racial prejudice. His FBI (美国联邦调查局) file ran 1,400 pages.
His letters expose a disorderly personal life -- married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy.The first paragraph implies that Einstein _____.
| A．had the gift for politics and music |
| B．had run for president before he worked at his research |
| C．was an excellent violinist |
| D．was more a political leader or a musician than a thinker |
When you think of Einstein, what typical appearance was formed in your mind?
| A．Funning and humorous, with an air of a musician. |
| B．Wearing very wide trousers, a moustache, with an image of an actor. |
| C．Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache, with an image of thinking. |
| D．Black long hair and moustache, with his eyes deep set. |
Why was 1905 called Einstein’s “miracle year”?
| A．Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity. |
| B．Because he made important discoveries of space, time, light and matter. |
| C．Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity. |
| D．Because he wrote five important articles to help people better understand space, time, light |
and matter.Which of the following is not true about Einstein according to the passage?
| A．When he was absorbed in his research, he didn’t care for his family. |
| B．He tried to amuse his family and friends in his spare time. |
| C．He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics. |
| D．His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields. |