Interlibrary Loan is the service that the Osterhout Free Library offers for free to our patrons (顾客). You can use Interlibrary Loan to borrow an item (books, DVDs, music CDs, etc.) from within the continental 48 states if it is unavailable in the Luzerne County Library System.

How to request an Interlibrary Loan item
·To request an Interlibrary Loan item, you must either call the Osterhout Free Library, or come to our Information Services Desk.
·You must know exactly what item(s) you would like. We do not accept requests for general topics, for instance, “I would like books on antique cars.”
·Be sure to check the Luzerne County Library System’s catalog before asking Interlibrary Loan for an item.
Interlibrary Loan Processing
·When a patron requests Interlibrary Loan items, they are allowed to request more than one item, but there is a maximum of 5 requests in the system per patron.
·When the item comes in, the patron will be contacted via phone to ask him/her to pick it up. If the item is not able to be obtained, the patron will be notified via e-mail.
·If you wish to renew your Interlibrary Loan item, you must call us at least one week before the due date.
Interlibrary Loan Penalties (处罚)
·Interlibrary Loan overdue fees are $0.50/day per item.
·The following actions will result in an additional $3.00 per item fine:

(1)Returning an Interlibrary Loan item to any library other than the Osterhout Free Library.

(2)Returning an Interlibrary Loa n item without the paperwork with the due date.

1. What is a must when you borrow a book from Interlibrary Loan?

A．Renewing the book 3 days in advance.	B．Specifying your desired book.
C．Visiting the Osterhout Free Library.	D．Giving priority to Interlibrary Loan.

2. What’s a privilege for patrons of the Osterhout Free Library?

A．Being reminded of an unavailable item by e-mail.

B．Borrowing at least 5 items at a time.

C．Being given unlimited renewal of an item.

D．Having a free delivery service.

3. How much fine will you pay for just an item’s delayed return for 2 weeks?

A．$4.	B．$6.5.
C．$7.	D．$3.5.

One early morning, I was cleaning the bathroom shower curtain and its liner (衬布) when it hit me. I had to clean a two-dollar plastic liner because I didn’t have a few extra dollars to buy a new one. I couldn’t believe it! Complaining wasn’t how I would start the day, especially when the sun was shining.

To continue the day optimistically, I left the cleaning for my daily walk at the beach. Along the way through the down town area, something on the sidewalk caught my attention. I walked over and picked it up. It was a small paper bag with no markings, so it wasn’t possible to figure out who it belonged to. I assumed someone must have dropped it, perhaps while loading other bags into his/her car. I turned it over for any identification. No store name, but the brand marking on the front clearly specified it was a shower curtain liner!

Speechless, I turned it over many times in my hands. Believe it or not, it was really an unopened shower curtain liner. I just happened to be the person who walked by and found it on the sidewalk. It took me a few minutes to decide what to do next, not wanting to claim something that wasn’t mine. If I brought it to the police station across the street, the police might just share a good laugh over a two-dollar shower curtain liner. I decided to keep it for myself.

But I was still surprised because the worthless plastic liner that had needed cleaning inspired my complaint and an early morning walk had suddenly transformed itself into a gift on the sidewalk for me. How that moment brightened my day!

At home, my focus was on myself, my anxieties, and my limits in being able to fix the problem. Once outside, I relaxed in the perspective of a much bigger picture. My personal complaint changed to thankfulness for the beauty that extended before my eyes in the form of a brand-new shower curtain liner, which matched perfectly with my bathroom!

4. What is the purpose of the author going for a walk on the beach?

A．To seek a replacement for the liner.

B．To start her day in an optimistic way.

C．To get energetic for the day’s work.

D．To get relaxed after the heavy cleaning.

5. What stopped the author from reporting the bag to the police?

A．The curiosity of opening the bag.

B．The urge to keep it to herself.

C．The chance to find the owner.

D．The fear of being laughed at.

6. Why did the author feel surprised?

A．It was strange that a free liner should make her day.

B．The worthless liner turned out a gift from friends.

C．There was a special way for her financial support.

D．A chance meeting gave her confidence in life.

7. What did the author try to convey in the last paragraph?

A．Learn to be grateful.	B．Fix the problem timely.
C．Avoid complaints.	D．Broaden your perspective.

Food polluted with fungi (真菌) can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins (毒素) high and dry, and that’s potentially good news for food safety.

Some fungi produce toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that not only ruin food such as grains but can also make us sick. “It is a silent enemy,” said fungal researcher Ozgur Bayram of Maynooth University in Ireland, as most people don’t notice when foods like corn or wheat are ruined.

For years, researchers have known that some fungi produce these toxins, but didn’t know all the detail. Now, Bayram and his colleagues have identified a group of proteins responsible for turning on the production of mycotoxins. Genetically engineering the fungus to remove even just one of the proteins prevents the toxins from being made, the researchers reported in the September 23 issue of Nucleic Acids Research.

“The newly identified proteins act like a keystarting a car,” Bayram said. “The researchers wanted to figure out how to remove the key and prevent the starting signal from going through, meaning that no toxins would be made in the first place.”

Bayram and his team identified the proteins in a kind of fungus named A. nidulans, revealing that four proteins come together to make the key. The researchers genetically engineered the fungus to delete each protein in turn. When any of the four proteins are missing, the key does not start mycotoxin ignition(点火装置), the team found.

Fungi and fungi-like organisms are estimated to ruin a third of the world’s food crops each year. If that contamination could be prevented, Bayram estimates the saved food would be enough to feed 800 million people in 2024.

The new research is a good start, but it will still be a challenge to try to understand how this can be operationalized for agricultural purposes. “It’s difficult to apply the technique, and getting US regulatory agencies to approve the use of a genetically modified fungus on key food crops might be difficult,” said Felicia Wu a food safety expert.

8. Why is the mycotoxin called “a silent enemy”?

A．It is hard to be proved.	B．It tends to be unnoticed.
C．Its protein is harmful.	D．Its damage is incurable.

9. What does the underlined word “contamination” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Pollution

B．Increase

C．Spread

D．Control

10. What is one difficulty according to Felicia Wu?

A．Changing the genes of fungus.	B．Putting the technique to practical use.
C．Enlarging the size of farmland.	D．Using genetically modified food.

11. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Many crops are ruined by fungi each year.	B．Fungi bring great harm to people’s health.
C．Deleting a protein can stop toxin production.	D．Researchers found new proteins producing toxins.

Sharon downsized her parents’ home and then cleared out her father’s stuff after he died. “So much of it hadn’t been used in years. So I decided that we wouldn’t do the same thing to our children.” Sharon spent six months looking over each object in her home. Each day, she sold, donated or threw one away. “It was liberating,” she said. “Now, life is much simpler and the clutter (杂乱) is gone.”

This process has its own reality TV show, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Inspired by a best-selling book by Magnusson, 89, three Swedes travel across the Atlantic to help Americans clean house and face death. “A loved one wishes to inherit (继承) nice things from you,” mentions Magnusson in her book, “not all things from you.” If you’re lucky enough to meet your material needs, then letting go of some of your stuff, or not buying it in the first place, can bring immediate benefits. The clutter is linked to stress and anxiety, even depression. Prioritizing relationships and experience over possessions has been proven to boost our happiness.

What is Swedish death cleaning? It isn’t about clearing out closets. It’s about rethinking your relationship with things. Rather than making do with less, it’s about getting more from the things that make you happy. Death cleaning happens to agree with scientists’ understanding of our relationship with things and why we’re unwilling to part with them. Decades of research has shown that we subconsciously see our possessions as physical extensions of ourselves. For most of us, of course, a degree of attachment is healthy, but it’s not the number of things or the quality that matters. It’s about the symbolic meaning of it. That can bring a lot of happiness.

Things take up space in our minds, well beyond what our storerooms and garages hold. By clarifying what’s important and what’s not, you make room. Your loved ones can receive what they might like before you go, relieving themselves of the burden of cleaning up once you’re gone.

12. Why does the author mention Sharon’s experience in paragraph 1?

A．To lead to the topic.	B．To make a comparison.
C．To support an argument.	D．To reach a conclusion.

13. What is the purpose of Swedish death cleaning?

A．To reduce the waste.	B．To remember their loved ones.
C．To boost their happiness.	D．To make the reality TV show.

14. What should one focus on when cleaning up the old things?

A．The quantity.	B．The popularity.
C．The significance.	D．The degree of attachments.

15. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Old Stuff: a Heavy Burden or a Sweet Memory.

B．Everyone’s Stuff: Physical Extensions of Himself.

C．The Way to Deal with Your Belongings: Give Away.

D．Swedes’ Secret to Happiness: You Aren’t Your Stuff.