When he was nine years old， American boy Milo Cress had a question： How many plastic straws（吸管） do Americans use every day？
He quickly learned there wasn't a simple answer． The boy tried to work it out himself． Through lots of research， Cress found out that Americans use about 500 million straws every day． In hopes of reducing plastic waste， he founded the Be Straw Free project in 2011．
Cress started the project in his hometown ﹣ Burlington， Vermont． He asked a local restaurant to stop offering straws with every drink order． It was a simple change． However， it would save money． And by doing that， the restaurant would cut down on its straw use by 50 percent．
For the years that followed， Cress tried to spread his project across the United States． More and more restaurants agreed to join． They stop providing the customer with a straw unless he or she asks for one． Last April， Seattle became the first American city to completely ban （ 禁 止 ） plastic straws．
Plastic pollution has been one of the most serious problems today． According to scientists， more than eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year． Plastic straws are especially terrible． They make it easy for people to get comfortable with single﹣use plastics．
After his project became popular， Cress took his findings on the road． He has since spoken to tens of thousands of students around the world． He wants to encourage more people to say no to plastic straws．
"Focusing（聚焦） on straws is one simple step we all could take，" Cress says． "And it makes me feel that I， as a kid， could make a difference， too．"
（1）When did Milo Cress start to care about the problem of straws？
| A． |
Ten years ago． |
| B． |
In the year 2011． |
| C． |
In the year that he was 9． |
（2）Cress started the Be Straw Free project in order to ．
| A． |
get a good score in science at his school |
| B． |
encourage people to reduce plastic waste |
| C． |
become a famous person in his hometown |
（3）What did Cress ask a restaurant in Burlington to do？
| A． |
Stop offering straws to its customers． |
| B． |
Prevent people from using straws to drink． |
| C． |
Count the number of straws it uses every day． |
（4）Plastic straws are especially terrible because ．
| A． |
they are the most serious problem today |
| B． |
scientists pay little attention to their influence |
| C． |
they help people get used to using single﹣use plastics |
（5）Over the years， Cress has ．
①spread his project across the United States
②asked Seattle to completely ban plastic bags
③counted the plastic straws in the ocean every year
④spoken to teens around the world about plastic waste
| A． |
①③ |
| B． |
②③ |
| C． |
①④ |
Neijae is one of the world's youngest barbers（理发师）． At just 7 years old， she completed training at the Junior Barber Academy．
Neijae says she didn't think much about hair or styling before she heard of the academy， "I would braid（编成辫） my own hair and my doll's hair，" she said， "but I wasn't really interested in barbering course． I thought only boys could do it．"
Her mom， Graham， says she tried to get Neijae's older brother to take the barbering course．When he didn't want to go， Neijae decided to give it a try．
Neijae was the youngest student in her class． She was also the only girl． "I was never afraid，" she says．
During the six﹣week course， Neijae asked her teacher a lot of questions． "If she needed to say it in a way that she could understand， she would ask right away，" Graham says， "She's not afraid to use her voice． She's not afraid to ask questions．"
What was the most important thing Neijae learned from the course？ "Safety first，" she says．"That's always the first thing， Cleaning our tools， that's the second most important thing． I have to protect myself and my customers．"
After Neijae finished the course， a video of hers became popular． Since then， she has had the opportunity to meet professional barbers and famous persons．
（1）How old was Neijae when she completed training at the academy？
（2）Did Neijae's brother take the barbering course？
（3）What wasn't Neijae afraid to do during the 6﹣week barbering course？
（4）What was the most important thing Neijae learned from the course？
（5）What became popular after Nejae finished the course？
Why Recess（课间休息） is So Important for Children
Recess used to be a daily thing﹣if you drove past your local school after lunch，you'd see hundreds of children running， playing and just being children． （1） ． Recent research have found that recess is important for more than just keeping children healthy and fighting children fatness﹣it also helps improve cognitive（认知） skills． （2） ．
1．Social Benefit（利益）
Children start learning social skills as soon as they start communicating with their parents． Once they reach the school age， their communications turn into with other children．（3） ．These skills will carry them through childhood and into their adult lives．
2．（4）
Besides the social benefits， recess also has some cognitive benefits that are just staring to be developed． Science has shown that recess helps children to get information better， learn new things faster and improve creativity． Recesses from the school day are good for both the body and mind， and they help keep children more active in their studies and get the information they're taught in class．
3．Physical Benefits．
（5） ．At present，about 18.5 percent of children in the United States are considered fat．Much of this problem can be caused without recess．Kids might spend their time on computer games at least 30 minutes a day， recess can help them run， jump play and just be kids． Now it's summer time， get them to spend some time in the swimming pool to get their weekly exercise．
|
A． Cognitive Benefits B． Behavioral Benefits C． Here are 3 ways that recess benefits children D． But now the push toward good test grades has changed that E． Childhood fatness is a growing problem in the world． F．Recess helps to build and improve social skills in a way that can never be taught in the classroom |
Each weekday， more than 30 million students in Canada eat meals in school cafeterias． And when lunch is over， they fill the rubbish cans with uneaten food．
More than ＄1 billion worth of food is wasted every year． Wasted food is wasted money．It's also a missed chance to feed hungry people．And it's had for the environment：farming， packing， and transporting food produces greenhouse﹣gas emissions（温室气体排放）． They pollute the air．
Schools have developed ways to cut back on（减少） waste． Making lunch period longer helps． It gives kids time to eat everything on their plates． Many schools follow government rules that say students must take a certain number of healthy things at mealtime． Those rules help kids get a better meal． But they can lead to more waste． That's why schools in Canada set up something called share tables．Students put untouched food on the table． A student who wants the food can take it． There are rules to make sure the food is safe． Food that isn't taken from the table is served another day．
Students also waste food because they don't like how it tastes． Cook Sam wants to change that． He works with a program called Cooks in Schools． He helps dining hall workers develop dishes kids enjoy．
You can fight food waste too． At the store， look for "ugly" produce．Fruits and vegetables with bad shapes are still delicious， but they are often not noticed． At home， read safety labels（标签）． If a label says "best before"， the food is still safe to eat for a little while after the date． If the label says "use by"， the food is no longer safe after the date．
（1）What does the underlined word "cafeterias" mean？
A． Dining halls
B． Classrooms
C． Hallways
（2）What is NOT the result of wasting food？
A． Wasting money
B． Bad for the environment
C． Feeding hungry people
（3）How do schools in Canada cut back on waste？
A． Making lunch period shorter．
B． Following government rules．
C． Setting up shared tables．
（4）Why do students waste food according to Paragraph 4？
A． They don't like Cook Sam．
B． They don't like the dishes．
C． They don't like dining hall workers．
（5）According to the last paragraph， which food is NOT safe on June 18th， 2019？
Addyson is an 8﹣year﹣old girl from Kansas． Maurine is a 9﹣year﹣old girl from a village called Bartabwa in Kenya． It might not seem as if the girls have much in common， but when they met at a dinner two years ago， in Kansas， they became friends at once．
The dinner was hosted by the group World Vision International． In some parts of the world， people must walk several miles each day to collect water from a stream（小溪） or another water source． Often， the water is polluted． World Vision builds wells（井） and rain catchers in these communities．
Addyson was at the dinner because her family supports World Vision． Maurine was there because her village had been without clean water． World Vision solved that by building a water station there． Addyson was influenced by Maurine． "People helped Maurine so she could have clean water，and kids are dying because the don't have it，" Addyson says． "Addyson says． "I want to help．"
Races are one way World Vision raises money to pay for its water projects． Runners promise to run a race， often a 26﹣mile marathon or 13﹣mile half marathon． They ask people to support them by giving away to World Vision．
Addyson decided to run the 2017 Knasa City Half Marathon for World Vision．She'd raised ＄20，000． She's the youngest person in World Vision history to raise more than ＄10，000． In 2018， she ran again﹣﹣﹣﹣and raised ＄36，000．
Addyson and Maurine still keep in touch． Last year， Maurine returned to the U．S． and they met up in Chicago． But Addyson's work is not finished． "My purpose is for every kid to have clean water，" she says．
（1）Where did the two girls become friends？
A． In Bartabwa．
B． In Kansas．
C． In Chicago．
（2）How did World Vision help Maurine's village？
A． By building wells．
B． By building a water station
C．By building rain catchers．
（3）Which of the following is the way Word Vision raises money？
A． By dinner．
B． By friendship．
C． By race．
（4）How much did Addyson raise in total from 2017 to 2018？
A． ＄46，000．
B． ＄56，000．
C． ＄66，000．
（5）What's the best title of the passage？
A． Run for Clean Water．
B． Run for Bartabwa．
C． Run for Maurine．
Learning a new language is hard． In recent research， scientists found that your
chances of reaching fluency（流利） in a new language drop off at the age of 10． Does that mean you should give up your French class if you are older than 10？ No!
The research found that it's "nearly impossible" to reach fluency if you start learning a language after age 10． That's not because your language sills start to get worse． "You're still learning fast，" says Joshua． "It's just because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 10 or 11 years old．"
The researchers say people who try to learn a new language after 10 may still become quite good． But they will probably not become fluent． Kids may better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons． One is that children's brains are more adaptable（能适应的） than adults' brains． This means they are better able to change． Kids may also would like to try new things． And adults may depend on the rules of their first language． But kids are able to accept a new language without them．
（1）Why is it difficult to reach fluency if we start learning a language after age 10？
A． Our ability to learn starts dropping．
B． We can't learn fast any more．
C． Our language skills start to get worse．
（2）Why are adults worse than kids at learning a new language？
A． Adults' brains are more adaptable．
B． Adults like to try new things．
C． Adults may depend on the rules of their first language．
（3）Who would become more fluent in learning a new language？
A． Mary， 8 years old．
B． Tom， 18 years old．
C． Jenny， 42 years old．
