We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is heating up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions(排放) of carbon dioxide(CO2) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭) produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers:How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化) of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent, ”he said.
Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary.Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
| A．To take special kinds of food. |
| B．To respond to climate change. |
| C．To lose weight. |
| D．To improve their health. |
The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to “ ”.
| A．freezing points | B．burning points |
| C．melting points | D．boiling points |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time |
| B．it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2 |
| C．the average US household produces about 3, 000 pounds of CO2 a month |
| D．the average European household produces about 1, 000 pounds of CO2 a month |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Saving Energy Starts at Home |
| B．Changing Our Habits Begins at Work |
| C．Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable |
| D．Reducing Emissions of CO2 Proves Difficult |
Five Booming Careers in Health Care
Loving what you do is great，but knowing your career will be there tomorrow is even better. And when it comes to booming fields，the health care industry is one that's primed(准备好) for growth.
Want to prepare to take your place in the health care field？Check out these five indemand health care careers.
Career 1 Medical and Health Services Manager
If you want to take your leadership skills into the growing health care field，consider pursuing a career as a medical and health services manager.
As a medical and health services manager you might plan，direct，and organize health services in an entire health care facility，or a specific department or clinical area，says U．S. Department of Labor. Daily duties could include handling a facility's finances，creating work schedules，and making sure that health care services are delivered efficiently.
Career 2 Medical Assistant
If you are interested in working in a doctor's office，consider preparing for a career in the indemand field of medical assisting.
As a medical assistant，you could play a role in helping patients' visits go smoothly from when they first walk in the door. Your duties might include measuring vital signs，assisting the physician with examinations，recording health information，and scheduling appointments，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 3 Registered Nurse
Ready to put your helpful nature to use in the largest health care field？Look into prepping（准备） to pursue a career in registered nursing.
As a registered nurse，you could work closely with patients by providing care，education，and emotional support. You might give patients medicines and treatments，observe their conditions，or perform diagnostic(诊断的)tests，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 4 Physical Therapist （理疗师）Assistant
Want to enter an indemand health care field where you could really play a handson role in helping patients restore their physical functionality？If so，a career as a physical therapist assistant could be a good fit.
Under the supervision of a physical therapist，you could help patients regain movement as they recover from injuries，illnesses, or surgery. Your role in the rehabilitation process could include assisting patients with techniques(massage[按摩]，stretching)and therapeutic methods like electrical stimulation and mechanical traction，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 5 Pharmacy Technician(药剂师)
Prefer a health care career that is less handson？Consider pursuing a career in the growing pharmacy technician field.
Pharmacy technicians can be responsible for counting pills，filling prescriptions，providing customer service，and fulfilling administrative tasks under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.As a medical assistant，your duties might NOT include ________.
| A．scheduling appointments |
| B．providing customer service |
| C．assisting the physician with examinations |
| D．recording health information |
Which of the following is TRUE about a physical therapist assistant?
| A．His/Her duty might include measuring vital signs and recording health information. |
| B．His/Her function includes assisting patients and providing customer service. |
| C．He/She could play a practical role in helping patients restore their physical functionality. |
| D．He/She can help patients gain movement as they are in the illness. |
What does the underlined word “rehabilitation” mean?
| A．The process of recording somebody's name on an official list. |
| B．The process of cutting a part of a person's body in order to remove or repair a damaged part. |
| C．The process of helping somebody to have a normal life again after they have been ill for a long time. |
| D．The process of improving or becoming stronger. |
The author writes the passage mainly to ________.
| A．advocate five booming careers in health care |
| B．persuade you to go into five booming careers in health care |
| C．introduce five booming careers in health care |
| D．classify health care into five careers |
Our children feel stressed out by an educational system that actually uses stress as an educational technique. It's a constant pressure of homework deadlines，essays and exams. And our children are told at a young age that failing a test means that they are failures in life. They'll end up nowhere if they don't pass this or that exam. Our educational system is based on a very Western idea that life is a struggle and you'd better measure up. It's survival of the fittest. While there is some truth to this，not as much as people think.
Our ancestors didn't develop a constant stress environment. Back then，stress came quickly and was over quickly，it wasn't like the stress of modern education. Stress was originally just a shortterm biological response to danger；however，the constant stress of modern education rarely stops. It's long term，at least ten years and usually more.
Recent research has shown that the neurological(神经系统的)response to stress is the same response that is found in depression. So，what's the solution? A number have been proposed，including but not limited to the following.
________.Exercise consumes energy that would otherwise build up in the stress response and could cause physical and mental problems.
Teach relaxation exercises. Allowing the mind and body to relax cuts off the stress response and reduces the neurological fatigue(疲惫)，enabling the individual to recover at least somewhat.
Pay attention to thinking. Training the stressed student to pay attention to his or her own mind to a point where he or she is sufficiently aware to shut off the stress response when necessary.
Of course，there's a logical answer to the problem. Just rearrange our teaching methods to encourage，rather than prevent，the natural curiosity and joy in learning that we are all born with. This would remove the stress and probably cut learning time in half.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Getting rid of the modern education. |
| B．Helping children live a happy life. |
| C．Dealing with stress in modern education. |
| D．Taking measures to learn at school. |
How did our ancestors treat education?
| A．They believed education could bring the best out. |
| B．They felt education could bring shortterm stress. |
| C．They thought education was the only way to success. |
| D．They knew the importance of good education. |
Which of the following is the best for the blank?
| A．Try to save energy as much as possible. |
| B．Quite a few children avoid exercise. |
| C．Make sure that kids get exercise. |
| D．Set a few limits to your physical activities. |
If you are a teacher in a high school, ______.
| A．you should leave students in a good mood |
| B．you should ignore the stressed student |
| C．you should relax yourself as far as possible |
| D．you should stick to your teaching methods |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商)with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to identify: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year—and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets—not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing almost a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is secondary to(对…来说是次要的) consumer buying. Chinese retail（零售）buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping—big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how extensive(广大) the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Alibaba | B．a new store |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online is TaoBao. |
| B．Alibaba greatly influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| C．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage refer to?
| A．Alibaba acts as a bridge between buyers and sellers. |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task, you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Each child got an important job. |
| B．Each child got an interesting job. |
| C．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference. |
| D．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. |
| C．Totally positive. | D．Acceptive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．hunter | B．director |
| C．biologist | D．principal |
When we can see well, we do not think about our eyes often. It is only when we can notsee perfectly that we come to see how important our eyes are.
People who are nearsighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Many people who do a lot of close work, such as writing and reading, become nearsighted. Then they have to wear glasses in order to see distant things clearly.
People who are farsighted face just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts(白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
When night falls, colors become fainter to the eyes and finally disappear. After your eyes have grown used to the dark, you can see better if you use the side of your eyes rather than the centers. Sometimes, after dark, you see a small thing to one side of you, which seems to disappear if you turn your head in its direction. This is because when you turn your head, you are looking at the thing too directly. Men on guard duty sometimes think they see something moving to one side of them. When they turn to look straight at it, they can not see it any more, and they believe they were mistaken. However, this mistake happens because the center of the eye, which is very sensitive in daylight, is not as sensitive as the sides of the eye after dark.We don’t know that our eyes are of great importance until _____.
| A．we think about our eyes |
| B．we cannot see clearly |
| C．we wear glasses |
| D．we have to do much reading |
According to the passage, who is more likely to be nearsighted?
| A．A typist. | B．A sailor. |
| C．A tourist. | D．A driver. |
People who are farsighted _____.
| A．can do a lot of close work without glasses |
| B．can only see things that are very close to their eyes |
| C．have difficulty reading a book if they hold it at arm's length |
| D．can correct their eyes by glasses |
To see a small thing at night, it is better to look _____.
| A．with wide open eyes | B．with half shut or narrowed eyes |
| C．straight at it | D．in a slightly different direction |