You've heard that plastic is polluting the oceans-between4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, foreing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.
At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called"Strawpocalypse,"a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves, frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam.
Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source (来源)of plastic pollution, but they've recently come under fire because most people don't need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight,they cannot be recycled.Every straw that's part of Von Wong's artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone,the straw will take centuries to disappear.
In a piece from 2018,Von Wong wanted to illustrate (说明) a specific statistic:Every 60 seconds, a truckload's worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled "Truckload of Plastic, " Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic ,which were then tied together to look like they'd been dumped(倾倒)from a truck all at once.
Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.
8.What are Von Wong's artworks in tended for?
A. |
Beautifying the city he lives in. |
B. |
Introducing eco-friendly products. |
C. |
Drawing public attention to plastic waste. |
D. |
Reducing garbage on the beach. |
9.Why does the author discuss plastic straws in paragraph 3?
A. |
To show the difficulty of their recycling. |
B. |
To explain why they are useful. |
C. |
To voice his views on modern art. |
D. |
To find a substitute for them. |
10.What effect would "Truckload of Plastic"have on viewers?
A. |
Calming. |
B. |
Disturbing |
C. |
Refreshing |
D. |
Challenging. |
11.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. |
Artists'Opinions on Plastic Safety |
B. |
Media Interest in Contemporary Art |
C. |
Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies |
D. |
Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures |
Britain and France are separated by the English Channel, a body of water that can be crossed in as few as 20 minutes. But the cultures of the two countries sometimes seem to be miles apart.
Last Thursday Britain and France celebrated the 100th anniversary(周年纪念) of the signing of a friendship agreement called the Entente Cordiality. The agreement—signed in London on April 8, 1904—marked a new beginning for the countries following centuries of wars and love-hate partnership.
But their relationship has been ups and downs over the past century. Just last year, there were fierce disagreements over the Iraq war—which British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported despite(不管, 尽管) French President Jacques Chirac speaking out against it. This discomfort is expressed in Blair and Chirac's body language at international meetings. While the French leader often greets German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with a hug (拥抱), Blair just receives a handshake.
However, some political experts say the war in Iraq could in fact have helped ties. “The British population was against war, ” said Francois Heisbourg, director of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research(战略基金研究会). “So it could have actually helped bring the two sides closer. ”
The history of divisions(分割, 区分) may well be because of the very different ways in which the two sides see the world. “The French think Britain is not doing its best to become part of Europe by not introducing the single European currency(货币), ” said Geoff Hare, a former lecturer in French politics and language at Newcastle University in Britain. “France has spent the past 15 to 20 years making itself seen as part of the European Union. ”
But this doesn't stop 12 million Britons taking holidays in France each year. However,only 3 million French come in the opposite direction. Surveys show that most French people feel closer to the Germans than they do to the British. And the research carried out in Britain has found that only a third of the population believes the French can be trusted.Perhaps this bad feeling comes because the British dislike France's close relationship with Germany. Or because the French are not happy with Britain's close links with the US.
Whatever the answer is, as both sides celebrate 100 years of “doubtful friendship”, they are at least able to make jokes about each other. Here's one:What's the best thing about Britain's relationship with France? The English Channel.
1. For centuries, the relationship between England and France is______.
A. friendly
B. impolite
C. brotherly
D. a mixture of love and hate
2. The war in Iraq does ______ to the relationship between France and England.
A. good
B. harm
C. neither good nor harm
D. both good and harm
3. The British are not so friendly to ______ and the French are not so friendly to ______.
A. Germany;America
B. America;Germany
C. Germany;Germany too
D. America;America too
4. What does the last sentence mean?
A. As long as the English Channel exists, no further disagreement will form between France and Britain.
B. The English Channel can prevent anything unfriendly happening in both France and Britain.
C. France and Britain are near neighbors, and this will help balance the relationship between them.
D. The English Channel is the largest enemy between France and Britain.
5. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The British differ greatly from the French in culture, origin and custom.
B. The British and The French are against each other because of the very different ways in which they see the world.
C. The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of a friendship agreement mark-ed the mixture feeling of love and hatred over the last century between Britain and Franc-e.
D. The British dislike France's close relationship with Germany, while the French are not happy with Britain's close links with the US.
Man is a land animal, but he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two—thirds of the world’s population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive. Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man’s needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man’s technology is immense. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined.
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish (贝类动物) is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2020 the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved.
1. The major things that the sea offers man are ______.
A. fish and oil B. minerals and oil
C. warm temperature and ocean currents D. the food, energy sources, and minerals
2. The sea serves the needs of man because ______.
A. in provides man with food B. it offers oil to man
C. it supplies man with minerals D. all of the above
3. We can conclude from this passage that ______.
A. the sea resources have largely been used up
B. the sea, in the broad sense, has not yet been developed
C. the problems that prevent us from using the food, minerals, and energy sources of the
sea have already been solved.
D. by the year 2000 , the technology will be good enough to exploit all the sea resources
4. The underlined words Oriental people in the fourth paragraph probably mean ______.
A. the people in Asia B. African people
C. European people D. American people
5. The best title for this passage is ______.
A. Sea Harvest B. Sea Food
C. Technology for Exploiting the Sea D. Man and the Sea
Ⅲ阅读(共两节,满分40分)
.第一节:阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
A
Today I’ll be talking about the invention of the camera and photography. The camera is often thought to be a modern invention, but as early as 1727, a German physicist discovered that light darkens silver salt. Used as a camera, a big box was set up, and a small hole was cut in one side to let the light in; he made temporary pictures on the salt. Silver salt is still the base of the photographic film today. Then a French scientist made the first permanent picture by using a special piece of metal which was covered with silver salt. A photograph he made in 1826 still exists.
The painter De Gear improved the process by covering the metal also with placing the common salt which we can eat. This was in 1839, the official date of beginning of photographs. But the problem was the printing of the photographs. And it wasn’t until other scientists developed the kind of photographic paper we now use that good prints were possible and photography became truly modern. In the 1870’s, Matthew Bradey was able to take his famous pictures in American Civil War. In the 20’s of this century, Georges Mann of the United States simplified film developing (冲洗), and Dr Edward Lane invented the so—called ‘Instant Camera’ which uses self—developing film. If we say photography came into existence in 1839, it follows that it took more than 100 years for the camera to reach its present condition of technical refinement(密度).
1. What discovery was the basis of photography?
A. Light darkens silver salt. B. Light darkens natural salt.
C. Light darkens silver. D. Light darkens self--developing film
2. How was the first permanent picture made?
A. By making use of special paper. B. By adding common salt to silver salt.
C. By giving a slight colour to the silver salt. D. By using a special piece of metal.
3. What does the speaker regard as the official date of beginning of photography?
A. 1727 B. 1826 C. 1839 D. 1870
4. According to the speaker why is Matthew Bradey remembered today?
A. He was a soldier. B. He took war photographs.
C. He painted portraits. D. He designed a portable camera.
5. What did Doctor Edward Lane invent?
A. A cheap process of developing film at home.
B. A new kind of film.
C. An automatic printer. D. An ‘instant camera’ that develops its own film.
On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴) for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.
As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural (农村)medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis. Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.
While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.
Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health. To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.
The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).
Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.
1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?
A. 100% B. 50% C. 200% D. 150%
2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?
A. Bad management system.
B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly
state-owned.
C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.
D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.
3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?
①. Large amount of government investment in economy.
②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.
③. Economic policies to push the rural economy
④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system
⑤. A better management system
A. ①②③ B.②③④ C. ①②③④⑤ D. ②③
4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?
A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.
B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.
C. They don’t believe in the system.
D. They don’t think it necessary.
5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?
A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.
B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.
C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008.
D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.
If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible and who have good communication skills.
There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature (特点) of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.
Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important” by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.
Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.
1. By saying that “you may have had the last laugh” in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have _______.
A. earned as much as computer majors B. stopped joking about computer majors
C. shared the jokes with computer majors D. found jobs more easily than computer majors
2. Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates ______.
A. are likely to give others pressure B. are equally good at computer skills
C. are better able to deal with difficulties D. are ready to change when situations change
3. Which of the following is true about the communication skill?
A. Social science majors do not know they have had these skills.
B. Many companies prefer to employ those with good communication skills.
C. These skills have been considered very important by social science majors.
D. Computer majors have been offered a wide variety of positions because of these skills.
4 According to the text, what has made it easy for social science graduates to find jobs?
A. Part-time work experience. B. Skills in expressing themselves.
C. Willingness to take low-paid jobs. D. Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge.
5. The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph probably means _______.
A. successfully get B. lose regretfully C. immediately start D. keep for some time