【推荐2】Air pollution shortens human lives by more than a year, according to a new study from a team of leading environmental engineers and public health researchers. Better air quality could lead to a significant extension of lifespan(寿命) around the world.

It is the first time that data on air pollution and the lifespan has been studied together in order to check how air pollution affects overall life expectancy.

The researchers looked at outdoor air pollution from particulate matter (PM)(颗粒物) smaller than 2.5 microns. These particulates can enter deep into the lungs, and breathing PM 2.5 is associated with the increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancers. PM 2.5 pollution comes from power plants, cars and trucks, fires, agriculture and industrial emissions(排放物).

Led by Joshua Apte, the team used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study to measure PM 2.5 air pollution exposure and its consequences in 185 countries. They then quantified the national impact on life expectancy for each individual country as well as on a global scale.

“The fact that air pollution is a major global killer is already well­known,” said Apte. “And we all care about how long we can live. Here, we were able to systematically identify how air pollution shortens lives around the world. What we found is that air pollution has a very large effect on survival — on average about a year globally.”

In the context of other significant phenomena negatively affecting human survival rates, Apte said this is a big number. “For example, it’s considerably larger than the benefit in survival we might see if we found cures for both lung and breast cancer combined,” he said. “In countries like India and China, the benefit for elderly people of improving air quality would be especially large. For much of Asia, if air pollution were removed as a risk for death, 60­year­olds would have a 15 percent to 20 percent higher chance of living to age 85 or older.”

1. What do we know about PM 2.5?

A．It has a bad effect on human health.	B．It will be controlled in the future.
C．It only comes from industrial emissions.	D．It spreads to the world from Asian countries.

2. What did the researchers do to study how air pollution affects the lifespan?

A．They collected accurate information from all the Asian countries.

B．They employed the research data to calculate the effect.

C．They studied the disease and lifespan together time and time again.

D．They measured particulate matter much more carefully than before.

3. What can be inferred from the text?

A．The key to people living longer is good air quality.

B．People think air pollution is the most dangerous killer to them.

C．Apte will agree that people should take action to deal with air pollution.

D．Factories should decrease the production of cars to stop air pollution.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Way Human Beings Enjoy a Longer Lifespan

B．The Importance of Getting Rid of Air Pollution

C．Asian People Are Suffering from Serious Air Pollution

D．Air Pollution Reduces the Lifespan by More than One Year

【推荐3】When athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics collect their medals, they'll not only be wearing something that celebrates their sporting performance, but something that symbolizes lastingness. For both the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics(残奥会), organizers aim to make all of the gold, silver, and bronze medals(奖牌)out of used electronics. This strong message about how to make use of e-waste has gotten a lot of Japan involved.

Starting in April 2017, the Japanese Olympic Committee began collecting old laptops. digital cameras, smartphones, and other abandoned electronics. The initiative(倡议)has achieved great success. Already, the quantity needed for bronze medals has been met, and they're in the homestretch for silver and gold medals, meaning the collection process can pack up at the end of March.

When looking just at the number of cell phones collected, the amount of waste is shocking. In a period of about 18 months, a little over 5 million smartphones were collected thanks to cooperation with NTT DOCOMO. Japan's largest mobile phone operator allowed the public to turn in phones at their shops, which counted a lot in the project's success.

After being taken apart and sorted, the small electronics underwent a smelting process to extract(提炼)all the gold, silver, and bronze elements. Thanks to this initiative, the worldwide struggle with e-waste will have a global platform. According to a study published by the United Nations University—44.7 million metric tons of e-waste were made in 2016. Only 20% of that was actually recycled. Unfortunately, this figure is set to rise significantly in the coming years, moving to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. So while the Tokyo Olympics initiative might be just a drop in the bucket, it's a good start in showing what the public can do if they're made more aware of the issue.

1. What can be learnt about Tokyo Olympics initiative from the passage?

A．E-waste in the world is increasing significantly.

B．It is easy to get elements needed from the used electronics.

C．Only producers of electronics participated in the project.

D．NTT DOCOMO contributed to the success of the project.

2. Which can best replace the underlined word "homestretch" in Paragraph 2?

A．starting period	B．collection effort
C．final stage	D．hard search

3. What influence does the Tokyo Olympics initiative have?

A．It offers an effective method to solve the problem of e-waste.

B．It shows the power of advanced technology in daily life.

C．It saves the expense spent in making all the medals.

D．It encourages the public's involvement in dealing with e-waste.

4. What is the writer's attitude to the Tokyo Olympics initiative?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Doubtful.	D．Indifferent.

【推荐1】I decided at 10 that I was going to be a teacher because I had a burning desire for superpowers. As a boy, I could clearly see some of my teachers had extraordinary powers.

There was an English teacher in fifth grade who could magically transport us to different worlds every day by telling us stories and reading to us from books we would never pick up. This was our secret and fun time because fifth graders were considered too old to have stories read out to them.

It was even shocking that my teacher could see the invisible. I was one of those who lacked insight. Yet my teacher would notice me and the unspoken message in her eyes suggested that she could see me through. She had another superpower and even after four decades, I could still vividly remember her lessons about the great masters of art and great geographers, expanding our horizons. She did this even though her major was not art, nor geography. Her lessons went beyond the textbook. I knew I wanted to be one of those all-seeing ones with superpowers that made children feel safe and valued.

I know being a teacher isn’t the easiest or the most financially rewarding of jobs. And there are occupational risks--your knees can become worn out from years of carrying piles of notebooks up and down the school staircase, and your voice can give in from too much talking. But despite all that, there are those choosing this cause. To them, teaching is not just a job--it is a science, an art and a craft, and it demands emotional labour and investment.

All my life, for three decades now, I’ve gone to work early each day with a spring in my step. Occasionally, I meet my former students. Their obvious love for me and fond memories of our time together are my rewards. When I meet others who are thirsty for superpowers, like the brand new teacher struggling to perfect her skills with a brave face on, or the one in a remote, rural school travelling 70 kilometers each day just for his pupils, I feel proud to belong to the same group.

1. What can be inferred about the stories from paragraph 2?

A．They were told in a magic way.	B．They were written by the teacher.
C．They contained some students’ fun secrets.	D．They left the students with happy memories.

2. Which of the following best describes the English teacher?

A．Ambitious and generous.	B．Determined and wealthy.
C．Caring and modest.	D．Knowledgeable and observant.

3. What do we know about the author as a teacher?

A．He suffered a lot in his knees and voice.

B．He thought teaching was more than spreading knowledge.

C．He had some ideas of how to be a teacher at a young age.

D．He was rewarded with much money for his devotion at school.

4. What can be concluded about being a teacher from the text?

A．Learning without a teacher is hard to gain.

B．In scholarship there is no difference of age.

C．Teachers lead the door, progress in the individual.

D．With one thousand times for the peach garden sweet.

【推荐3】The air is thin and we have to rest several times on the short hike from camp. To our left, snow-covered mountains disappear into clouds that seem almost close enough to touch. On the grassland in front of us, we can just make out a herd of graceful animals. This is why we’re here — to observe Tibetan antelopes.

Tibetan antelopes live on the plains of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinghai. Watching them move slowly across the green grass. I’m struck by their beauty. I’m also reminded of the danger they are in. They are being hunted, illegally, for their valuable fur.

My guide is Zhaxi, a villager from Changtang. He works at the Changtang National Nature Rcserve. It covers an arca of about 120,000 square miles. The reserve is a shelter for the animals and plants of northwestern Tibet. To Zhaxi, protecting the wildlife is a way of life. “We’re not trying to save the animals,” he says. “Actually, we’re trying to save ourselves.”

The 1980s and 1990s were bad times for the Tibetan antelope. The population dropped by more than 50 percent. Hunters were shooting antelopes to make money. Their habitats were becoming smaller as new roads and railways were built.

In order to save this species from extinction, the Chinese government placed it under national protection. Zhaxi and other volunteers watched over the antelopes day and night to keep them safe from attacks. Bridges and gates were added to let the antelopes move easily and keep them safe from cars and trains.

The measures were effective. The antelope population has recovered and in June 2015, the Tibetan antelope was removed from the endangered species list. The government, however, does not intend to stop the protection programmes, since the threats to the Tibetan antelope have not yet disappeared.

In the evening, I drink a cup of tea and watch the stars. I think about the antelopes and what Zhaxi told me. Much is being done to protect wildlife, but if we really want to save the planet, we must change our way of life. Only when we learn to exist in harmony with nature can we stop being a threat to wildlife and to our planet.

1. Why did the writer visit Tibet?

A．To watch the Tibetan antelopes.	B．To go on a short hike from camp.
C．To see the snow-covered mountains.	D．To visit their friend Zhaxi in Changtang.

2. What happened to the Tibetan antelopes in the 1980s and 1990s?

A．Their habitats disappeared.	B．They were attacked by other animals.
C．They were shot by hunters for money.	D．Their population dropped by less than 50 percent.

3. What can we know about the Changtang National Nature Reserve?

A．It was built by volunteers and villagers.

B．Its protection programmes have been stopped.

C．It was founded to protect the wildlife that live there.

D．Its antelopes are on the list of endangered species now.

4. What does the author intend to tell us?

A．The importance of a good lifestyle.

B．Protecting wildlife is protecting ourselves.

C．Changtang is the best place to observe Tibetan antelopes.

D．More volunteers are needed to keep the antelopes from attacks.

【推荐1】In many aspects, nowadays business environment has changed greatly since the late 1980s. The end of the cold war completely altered the very nature of the world’s politics and economics. In just a few short years, globalization has started a variety of trends with profound consequences: the opening of markets, true global competition, widespread deregulation (解除政府对……的控制) of industry, and an abundance of accessible capital. we have experienced both the benefits and risks of a truly global economy, with both wall street and main street (平民百姓) feeling the pains of economic disorder half a world away.

At the same time, we have fully entered the information age, starting breakthroughs in information technology, which have irreversibly altered the ability to conduct business unconstrained by the traditional limitations of time or space. Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine a world without intranets, e-mail, and portable computers. With amazing speed, the internet is profoundly changing the way we work, shop, do business, and communicate.

As a consequence, we have truly entered the post-industrial economy. We are rapidly shifting from an economy based on manufacturing and commodities to one that places the greatest value on information, services, support, and distribution. That shift, in turn, attaches great importance to “knowledge workers,” a new class of wealthy, educated, and mobile people who view themselves as free agents in a seller’s market.

Beyond the field of information technology, the increasing pace of technological change in virtually every industry has created entirely new business, wiped out others, and produced a great demand for continuous innovation (创新).New product, process, and distribution technologies provide powerful levers for creating competitive value. More companies are learning the importance of destructive technologies-----innovations that hold the potential to make a product line, or even an entire business segment, virtually outdated.

Another major trend has been the consumer and business markets. There’s a growing appreciation that superficially similar groups of customers may have very different preferences in terms of what they want to buy and how they want to buy it. Now, new technology makes it easier, faster, and cheaper to identify and serve targeted micro-markets in ways that were physically impossible or prohibitively expensive in the past. Moreover, the trend feeds on itself, a business’s ability to serve sub-markets fuels customers’ appetites for more and more specialized offerings.

1. According to the first paragraph, the changes in the business environment in the past decades can be due to __________.

A．technological advances	B．worldwide economic disorder
C．the fierce competition in industry	D．the globalization of economy

2. What idea does the author want to convey in the second paragraph ?

A．The rapid development of information technology has taken businessmen by surprise.

B．The internet, intranets, e-mail, and portable computers have entered every corner of the world.

C．Information technology has removed the restrictions of time and space in business transactions.

D．The way we do business today has brought about startling breakthroughs in information technology.

3. If a business wants to boom in the post-industrial economy, ________.

A．it has to invest more capital in the training of free agents to operate in a seller’s market

B．it should try its best to satisfy the increasing demands of mobile knowledgeable people

C．it should not overlook the importance of information, services, support, and distribution

D．it has to provide each of its employees with the latest information about the changing market

4. In the author’s view, destructive technologies are innovations which _________.

A．demand a radical change in providing services

B．can eliminate an entire business

C．may destroy the potential of a company to make any profit

D．call for continuous improvement in ways of doing business

5. With the consumer and business markets, ________.

A．an increasing number of companies have broken down

B．manufacturers must focus on one special product to remain competitive in the market

C．it is physically impossible and prohibitively expensive to do business in the old way

D．businesses have to meet individual customers’ specific needs in order to succeed

【推荐2】The grey squirrels(松鼠)and Mary Krupa became friends during Mary Krupa's first week at Penn State University. After seeing them running around, she wondered what they would look like with tiny hats on their heads. Today, everyone at the university knows her as the “Squirrel Girl".

Mary started bringing them food, and gradually they began to trust her. She managed to put a hat on a squirrel and take a picture. Thinking that her friends could use something to lift their spirits, she started posting those photos on Facebook. The response(回应)was greatly positive, and before long Mary and her squirrels became very famous on the Internet.

Growing up in a neighbourhood outside State College, Mary was always fond of birds and animals around her home, but she didn't communicate with people very much. She was later diagnosed(诊断)with Asperger's syndrome(埃斯伯格综合征)，but the squirrels changed that. “Being together with the squirrels is actually a good way to break the ice, because I'll be sitting here touching a squirrel and other people will come over and we'll just start like feeding the squirrels together and chatting about them," she said. “I am a lot more outgoing.

Perhaps you're wondering how Mary is able to get the squirrels to do what she wants for her photos. Actually, it has a lot to do with food. For example, whenever she wants them to hold or play with something, she puts peanut butter on a plate, and they'll grab(抓住)it. But getting to that part took a while. In the beginning, she would throw peanuts up the trees on campus and invite the squirrels to come down and get them, but they didn't want to approach(接近)her. She had the patience to earn their trust, though.

This year, Mary graduated with a degree in wildlife science. She wants to be a science writer and educate people about how to protect the environment. As for her furry friends, Mary plans to stay in the area and visit them as often as she can.

1. How did Mary manage to make the squirrels trust her?

A．By playing music for them.

B．By providing them with food.

C．By playing together with them.

D．By building a small house for them.

2. How has the experience changed Mary?

A．She is friendlier to others.

B．She is more interested in animals.

C．She is more outgoing than before.

D．She is more willing to share her secrets.

3. What can we infer about Mary?

A．She is studying medicine in the university.

B．She is making a study on the life habits of squirrels.

C．She is very patient when getting close to the squirrels.

D．She likes animals because she can take photos of them.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Squirrel Girl of Penn State University

B．How Mary Made Friends with Wild Animals

C．How Mary Helped Squirrels in Her Neighbourhood

D．Mary's Studying Experience in Penn State University

【推荐3】I was in the middle of the Amazon (亚马逊) with my wife, who was there as a medical researcher. We flew on a small plane to a faraway village. We did not speak the local language, did not know the customs, and more often than not, did not entirely recognize the food. We could not have felt more foreign.

We were raised on books and computers, highways and cell phones, but now we were living in a village without running water or electricity It was easy for us to go to sleep at the end of the day feeling a little misunderstood.

Then one perfect Amazonian evening, with monkeys calling from beyond the village green, we played soccer. I am not good at soccer, but that evening it was wonderful. Everyone knew the rules. We all spoke the same language of passes and shots. We understood one another perfectly. As darkness came over the field and the match ended, the goal keeper, Juan, walked over to me and said in a matter-of-fact way, “In your home, do you have a moon too?” I was surprised.

After I explained to Juan that yes, we did have a moon and yes, it was very similar to his, I felt a sort of awe (敬畏) at the possibilities that existed in his world. In Juan’s world, each village could have its own moon. In Juan’s world, the unknown and undiscovered was vast and marvelous. Anything was possible.

In our society, we know that Earth has only one moon. We have looked at our planet from every angle and found all of the wildest things left to find. I can, from my computer at home, pull up satellite images of Juan’s village. There are no more continents and no more moons to search for, little left to discover. At least it seems that way.

Yet, as I thought about Juan’s question, I was not sure how much more we could really rule out. I am, in part, an ant biologist, so my thoughts turned to what we know about insect life and I knew that much in the world of insects remains unknown. How much, though? How ignorant   (无知的) are we? The question of what we know and do not know constantly bothered me.

I began collecting newspaper articles about new species, new monkey, new spider…, and on and on they appear. My drawer quickly filled. I began a second drawer for more general discoveries: new cave system discovered with dozens of nameless species, four hundred species of bacteria found in the human stomach. The second drawer began to fill and as it did I wondered whether there were bigger discoveries out there, not just species, but life that depends on things thought to be useless, life even without DNA. I started a third drawer for these big discoveries. It fills more slowly, but all the same, it fills.

In looking into the stories of biological discovery, I also began to find something else, a collection of scientists, usually brilliant occasionally half-mad, who made the discoveries. Those scientists very often see the same things that other scientists see, but they pay more attention to them, and they focus on them to the point of exhaustion (穷尽), and at the risk of the ridicule of their peers. In looking for the stories of discovery, I found the stories of these people and how their lives changed our view of the world.

We are repeatedly willing to imagine we have found most of what is left to discover. We used to think that insects were the smallest organisms (生物), and that nothing lived deeper than six hundred meters. Yet, when something new turns up, more often than not, we do not even know its name.

1. How did the author feel on his arrival in the Amazon?

A．Out of place.

B．Full of joy.

C．Sleepy.

D．Regretful.

2. What made that Amazonian evening wonderful?

A．He learned more about the local language.

B．They had a nice conversation with each other.

C．They understood each other while playing.

D．He won the soccer game with the goal keeper.

3. Why was the author surprised at Juan’s question about the moon?

A．The question was too straightforward.

B．Juan knew so little about the world.

C．The author didn’t know how to answer.

D．The author didn’t think Juan was sincere.

4. What was the author’s initial purpose of collecting newspaper articles?

A．To sort out what we have known.

B．To deepen his research into Amazonians.

C．To improve his reputation as a biologist.

D．To learn more about local cultures.

5. How did those brilliant scientists make great discoveries?

A．They shifted their viewpoints frequently.

B．They followed other scientists closely.

C．They often criticized their fellow scientists.

D．They conducted in-depth and close studies.

6. What could be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．The Possible and the Impossible .

B．The Known and the Unknown .

C．The Civilized and the Uncivilized .

D．The Ignorant and the Intelligent.

【推荐1】Words and the way we use them offer a rare window on social and cultural trends. Kory Stamper and Peter Sokolowski know that better than most.

The Merriam-Webster(韦氏词典) lexicographers(词典编纂者) are part of a team that edits the dictionary. In a recent interview, Sokolowski and Stamper talked about their job and what the way we use words says about us collectively.

So to know more about them, observers of the language, maybe we should start with some background.

What is a lexicographer?

Sokolowski: A lexicographer is a person who writes or edits a dictionary. The job of a dictionary editor is to prepare and present research about language. One of our former editors-in- chief said, “Tell the truth about words,” and that sums it up for me.

What do you guys do all day?

Stamper: The two main duties of a lexicographer are reading and defining. We read everything: books, journals, blogs, phone books, take-out menus, and so on. What we’re looking for are words that catch our eye. We record the context of these words and information about the sources. Those records are added to a database, and they are the raw material we use in writing definitions.

When we are writing or revising a dictionary, most of our time is spent defining. We define a word according to how it is used in the recorded context, deciding whether the usage has been covered by our dictionary. Once this is done, you look at the new words and new senses and draft a definition.

Drafting definitions requires some training, some experience and a lot of concentration. It’s very, very quiet on the editorial floor.

How closely do the most looked-up words on your online dictionary seem to be related to the news or trends?

Stamper: When our dictionary went online back in 1996, we could see for the first time which were the most looked-up words in English: Affect, effect and ubiquitous were the top words. It was fascinating to us—dictionary editors spend so much time writing definitions but never could have known if anyone ever read them. We could follow what people were thinking about according to what words they were looking up. Thanks to our online dictionary, we had data.

1. What do lexicographers do?

A．They collect as many words as they can and edit them into a dictionary.

B．They interview as many people as they can to collect new words.

C．They do research about language and edit the truth about words.

D．They make deep studies of social and cultural trends.

2. What’s the function of lexicographers’ records during their reading?

A．The records show how large the dictionary is.

B．The records contain what kind of things they read.

C．The records are the main things to add to the database.

D．The records offer the raw material to the editors.

3. Which of the following is the correct order of a lexicographer defining a word?
a. Write a draft of the definition.
b. Conclude the usage of the word.
c. Pay attention to the new words and new senses.
d. Decide whether the usage has been covered.

A．adbc

B．dbac

C．bdca

D．cbda

4. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．Observers of the language.	B．Process of making a dictionary.
C．Development of language.	D．Experience of editing new words.

【推荐2】I'm sure you know the song "Happy Birthday". But do you know who wrote the song and for whom it was written？

The retired professor, Archibald A. Hill in Lucasville, USA could tell us the story. Ninety-seven years ago，two of Mr. Archibald Hill's aunts，Miss Patty Hill and Miss Mildred Hill were asked to write some songs for a book called "Song Storied for the Sunday Morning". Miss Patty Hill and Miss Mildred Hill were both kindergarten teachers then. They loved children very much and wrote many beautiful songs for the book. One of them was the famous "Good Morning to You." The song said，"Good morning to you，good morning to you，dear children，good morning to all." This song was very popular at that time among kindergarten children. But not many grown-ups knew it. A few years later little Archibald was born. As his aunt，Miss Patty Hill sang the song "Happy Birthday" to the melody（曲调）of "Good Morning to you" to her little nephew. She sang the song like this：Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Archie! Happy birthday to you!

Miss Patty Hill and her sister had never expected that this song would become so popular，but it really did. People all over the world like the song because of its simplicity in tune（曲调）and friendliness in words.

1. Archibald A. Hill was ______ .

A．English

B．American

C．Russian

D．Australian

2. Professor Archibald A. Hill was Miss Mildred Hill's ______.

A．son

B．student

C．brother

D．nephew

3. Why did Miss Hills wrote songs？

A．Because they are musicians.

B．Because they were asked to write for a book.

C．Because they love children.

D．Because their nephew asked them to do so.

4. The sentence “ it really did" means ______ .

A．The song really became popular

B．Their wish would really come true

C．People all over the world like to listen to the song

D．Yes，but the song didn't become popular.

【推荐3】As Americans live longer and the job market stays competitive, fast-food chains are increasingly hiring from senior centers, churches and aging advocacy groups like AARP, Bloomberg reports. And it’s not just death rate and economic trends driving the change. Seniors have more polished social skills, but teens are stopped from growing up online with fewer real-world connections.

“I spend a lot of time with young kids. They can be very disrespectful,” 63-year-old Church’s Chicken manager Stevenson Williams tells Bloomberg of his teen co-workers. “You have to coach them and tell them this is your job, not the street,” Williams says. “Having ‘soft skills’ such as politeness often comes more easily to the seniors, who have had a lifetime of experience in the workforce to learn how to treat customers compared with young people.”

Employers thus get a more mature worker at no additional cost — but the reasons for seniors outpacing teen hires are many. The US Census Bureau reported this year that, by 2035, there will be more Americans over age 65 than there are children under age 18. Plus, fewer people in their prime (盛年) are working — thanks to the unaffordable child care that forces many parents to stay at home, according to a joint study by Princeton University.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts the number of American workers aged 65 to 74 will swell 4.5 percent by 2024, while the 16-to-24s will shrink 1.4 percent. By 2024, the BLS projects the labor force will grow to about 164 million people. That number includes about 41 million people aged 55 and older — about 13 million of those who are expected to be aged 65 and up.

So don’t be surprised to see even more service with a smile and silver hair in that drive-through lane.

1. What does the underlined part “the change” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Americans live longer.

B．The job market gets competitive.

C．Senior centers are becoming more.

D．Fast-food chains hire more senior people.

2. Why are seniors the hot new fast-food employees according to Williams?

A．Teens are easy to quit.

B．They demand less pay.

C．Teens are hard to control and manage.

D．They are good at socializing.

3. Which of the following can be regarded as a “soft skill”?

A．Having high education.	B．Knowing customers’ needs.
C．Being skillful at computer.	D．Having lots of connections with real-world

4. Why do many parents stay at home according to Paragraph 3?

A．They find it hard to find a job.

B．They prefer to look after children.

C．They find it hard to pay for child care.

D．They are unwilling to work with senior citizens.