【推荐2】Does using an eco-friendly paper straw (吸管) give you a good feeling because you’re doing something for the environment? It is said that straws made from plant-based materials, such as paper and bamboo, are often advertised as being more sustainable and eco-friendly than those made from plastic.     1    

PFAS chemicals, infamous for their longevity and potential harm, can adversely affect humans, wildlife and the environment.     2     They are also linked to various health issues, including liver damage, kidney cancer and so on.

For a more in-depth analysis, a research team conducted a test.     3     They were made from five materials —paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel and plastic, and then there searchers conducted two rounds of testing for PFAS. They found that most brands (69%) contained PFAS, with 18 different PFAS detected in total. In paper straws, PFAS was detected in 90% of the brands tested. PFAS was also detected in 80% of the brands of bamboo straws, 75% of the plastic straw brands and 40% of the glass straw brands.     4    

On the whole, the PFAS concentrations (浓度) are low and, considering that most people only use straws occasionally, cause a limited risk to human health.     5     So the researchers advise consumers to use the stainless steel straws—or just avoid using straws when drinking.

A．They purchased 39 different brands of drinking straws.

B．PFAS was not detected in any of the five types of steel straws.

C．So many people choose to use straws made from plant-based materials.

D．However, the presence of PFAS in these straws means that could be discredited.

E．However, PFAS can remain in the body for many years and concentrations can build up over time.

F．The presence of PFAS in paper and bamboo straws shows they are not necessarily biodegradable.

G．They biodegrade (生物降解) very slowly over time and can persist over thousands of years in the environment.

【推荐3】The Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific are the four oceans we learned about in the geography class. But now we have a new ocean.

On World Oceans Day, which falls on June 8, the US National Geographic Society announced it would recognize the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, bringing the global total to five.

Unlike the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans—which are defined by the continents that bound them—the Southern Ocean is instead characterized by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. According to the National Geographic, the Southern Ocean includes most of the waters surrounding Antarctica out to 60 degrees south latitude.

“Rimmed by the powerful swift ACC, it is the only ocean to touch three others and to completely embrace a continent rather than being embraced by them," Sylvia Earle, US marine biologist and oceanographer, told the Daily Mail.

Those familiar with the Southern Ocean know it’s unlike any other. “Anyone who has been there will struggle to explain what’s so attractive about it, but they’ll all agree that the glaciers are bluer, the air colder, the mountains more intimidating and the landscapes more captivating than anywhere else you can go,” Seth Sykora-Bodie, a marine scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told National Geographic.

Due to the ecologically distinct environment of the Southern Ocean, it’s home to thousands of unique species. The ocean also has wider ecological effects. For example, humpback whales are known to feed on small shrimp off Antarctica during the summer before migrating north to the warmer climates of Central and South America for the colder winter months, according to the Daily Mail.

National Geographic hopes their revised maps will bring public awareness to the region, thereby encouraging Southern Ocean conservation—but its significance is beyond that.

“We think it’s really important from an educational standpoint, as well as from a map-labeling standpoint, to bring attention to the Southern Ocean as a fifth ocean,” Alex Tait, National Geographic Society geographer, told The Post. “So when students learn about parts of the ocean world, they learn it’s an interconnected ocean, and they learn there are these regions called oceans that are really important, and there’s a distinct one in the icy waters around Antarctica.”

1. What is the difference between the Southern Ocean and the other four oceans?

A．It is defined by its neighboring continent.	B．It is defined by a current.
C．It touches all the other four oceans.	D．It is surrounded by frightening mountains.

2. What does the example of humpback whales show?

A．Visitors to the ocean are driving some species away.

B．The Southern Ocean has a distinct ecosystem.

C．The Southern Ocean is home to unique species.

D．The Southern Ocean influences ecosystems elsewhere.

3. What are the last two paragraphs mainly about?

A．Significance of labeling the Southern Ocean.	B．People’s interest in the Southern Ocean.
C．Purpose in revising maps.	D．Interconnectivity among the five oceans.

【推荐1】Drinks Have No Wings

You may have heard that “Red Bull gives you wings”. But while most people take the advertising slogan as a metaphor(隐喻), some Americans seem to have taken it very seriously.

Benjamin Careathers had been drinking the drink for 10 years, expecting to at least feel more energetic, but nothing happened. Feeling fooled by the ad, he took the issue to court.

In October, the Austria-based company agreed to pay $ 6.5 million (39.7 million yuan) to customers who have bought the drink since 2002. People in the US can apply for a share through energydrinksettlement.com before March 2015.

But is the case really that ridiculous?

Red Bull said they had done nothing wrong and they only paid the money to save the cost and trouble of legal action.

However, the suit(诉讼) told a different story. Even though there is no evidence that Red Bull energy drinks provide more benefit for consumers than a cup of coffee, the company markets their products as a superior source of energy that costs little.

“Such conduct means that Red Bull’s advertising and marketing is not just ‘puffery’ (吹捧) but is misleading and therefore actionable (可诉讼的) ,” the suit said.

The company said that the drink could promote healthy joints and reduce the risk of eye diseases. However, according to the organization, the product contains a lot of sugar, which could actually lead to many health problems.

Coca-Cola agreed to pay $ 1.2 million in compensation in July. But to fully stop the company from linking the drink to health benefit, Truth in Advertising, another non-profit organization, took the issue to court again in late October.

False advertisements have become a common problem around the world. China changed its consumer rights   last year to ban advertising companies and media from making or publishing false advertisements. Celebrities are also made responsible if they endorse (代言) false or substandard products.

1. Faced with the suit, the Red Bull company decided to _______________.

A．apologize to its customers and pay for their losses in health

B．take full responsibility for the bad effects it has caused to its customers

C．give no one but its American customers some money as a reward

D．spend some money to save the cost and trouble of legal action

2. What benefits can people get, according to the Red Bull company?

A．One can really fly like birds, for it offers you wings.

B．Drink it, and one can be forever energetic and young.

C．As it contains a lot of sugar, it can make one more powerful.

D．Healthy joints can be promoted if one takes this drink.

3. It is implied in the passaged that __________________.

A．in China more companies will be taken to court for failing to live up to their promises

B．both Red Bull and Coca-Cola are now winning the consumers’ trust and respect

C．Benjamin Careathers has benefited a great deal since he drank Red Bull

D．no puffery words have ever appeared in both Red Bull and Coca-Cola’s advertisements

4. Many countries’ attitude towards those false advertisements is likely to be ____________.

A．Tolerant.

B．Favorable.

C．Unbearable.

D．Indifferent.

【推荐2】The Philippines, a tropical island nation in the Pacific, will now require by law all graduating students from elementary school to college plant 10 trees each before they can graduate.

The law was supported in the House and is now sent to the Philippines Senate for action, Supporters of the law see this as an opportunity for the Filipino youth to help deal with climate change and air pollution and build a greener environment for their generation.

“To this end, the educational system shall be a centre of spreading continuous use of natural resources among the young to make them socially-responsible citizens, The House bill stated, which was authored by representative Gary Alejano.

Alejano estimates that over the course of one generation the bill will be responsible for 525 billion trees planted.This comes from over 12 million students graduating from elementary school each year, 5 million from high school and 500,000 from college, equaling 175 million new trees planted each year.

The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia.Across those islands,deforestation has been a primary environmental issue.Agriculture has led to a significant drop in forested areas across the Philippines. Through the 20th century, forested area in the Philippines decreased from 70 percent to 20 percent.It is estimated that 24.2 million acres of forests were cut down from 1934 to 1988, primarily from logging.

The performance of this new law could set off a situation, by which the Philippines switches from net loss to net gain of trees, a simple and powerful message to the Filipino youth with the potential for long term positive influence.

1. Why does the Philippines make the law to plant trees?

A．To create a better environment to live in.

B．To show the government is taking action.

C．To make sure students can graduate easily.

D．To raise people's awareness of education.

2. What does Alejano think is important?

A．Natural resources.	B．The future generation
C．Powerful messages.	D．The educational system.

3. How many trees will high school graduating students plant each year?

A．5 million.	B．50 million.
C．120 million.	D．175 million.

4. What has caused a sharp drop in forests across the Philippines?

A．A.loss of soil.	B．Agriculture.
C．Climate change.	D．Air pollution.

【推荐3】Drivers who drive a little too close to cyclists on the road could soon be caught on the spot. A new technology adopted by legal departments in Ottawa could help carry out legal distance between bikers and cars on the road.

The device, which is fixed on a bicycle’s handlebars like a bike bell, uses sonar(声呐) technology to measure the distance between the bike and passing cars. The device will make a loud noise if the car is within one meter of the bike, the legal limit in the city of Ottawa, allowing the police rider to radio ahead to his colleagues so that the driver can be pulled over. “The safety of all road users is extremely vital, including cyclists. These cycling changes are directed at encouraging cycling, promoting road safety, and sharing the road,” said Rob Wilkinson, coordinator of the Safer Roads Ottawa Program.

The authorities started the program last week with a single sonar device. One police officer rode the bike bearing the device around the city on Tuesday to prove the effectiveness(有效性) of the technology. Within a few minutes of riding, the device was beeping, registering that two drivers had violated the one-meter distance requirement. The drivers were pulled over and given brochures informing them that they had broken the safe distance law.

Wilkinson noted that the device is not currently being used to issue fines, which can go up to $110, and that there are no plans to use it for enforcement(执法)in the future. At this point, its main use is to spread awareness about the safe distance law, which was passed last September in an effort to encourage rider safety and reduce deadly crashes.

1. What will happen if the safe distance is beyond the legal limit?

A．The cyclist will soon be caught on the spot.

B．The police will make the driver stop by the road.

C．The driver will be arrested for driving too fast.

D．The device will at once call the police of itself.

2. What’s the main purpose of using the device?

A．To make the bicycle attractive.	B．To encourage people to walk.
C．To guarantee road safety.	D．To warn drivers of danger.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “beeping” in paragraph 3?

A．Making a loud noise.	B．Receiving an urgent message.
C．Sending a stop signal.	D．Radioing the police rider.

4. What does Wilkinson say about the device?

A．It is being developed at present.	B．It still has room for improvement.
C．It may be used to fine drivers later.	D．It helps reduce traffic accidents.

【推荐3】A 525-year-old copy of a letter by Christopher Columbus, stolen from the Vatican, was returned this week. An investigation by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Vatican located the letter.

“We are returning it to its rightful owner, ” said U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Callista Gingrich, at a ceremony in the Vatican Library. Columbus wrote the letter to the king and queen of Spain after discovering “The New World.” He described what he had found and requested money for another trip. His original letter was written in Spanish. But several copies of a Latin translation were made to spread news of his discovery to the royal courts of Europe and the Pope.

One of the Latin letters, copied by Stephan Plannack in 1493, was put in the Vatican Library. Known as the Columbus Letter, it has eight pages, each about 18.5 cm by 12 cm. In 2011, an American expert in rare manuscripts received a similar looking letter. After reviewing it, he decided that it was real. The year before, the same expert had studied a Columbus Letter in the Vatican Library and suspected that it was a fake. One reason was that the stitching (针脚) marks on the letter were not the same as those on the cover. The letter in the United States, however, had the exact same stitching marks as the leather cover of the fake letter he had studied in the Vatican.

The expert, who was not identified, contacted Homeland Security art investigators, who began working with Vatican inspectors and rare book experts. They believed that someone took the real letter out of its cover at the Vatican Library and replaced it with an artificial one. Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues is the Vatican’s chief librarian. He said, “We do not know exactly when the substitution took place. We will probably never know who the forger (伪造者) was.”

Their investigations found that Marino Massimo De Caro, a well-known Italian book thief, had sold the real letter to a New York book dealer. De Caro is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Italy for stealing about 4,000 ancient books and manuscripts from Italian libraries and private collections. The late collector David Parsons bought the letter for $875,000 in 2004. After the investigations, his widow agreed to return the letter to the Vatican Library. Officials said the letter is now worth about $1.2 million.

1. What does the underlined word “artificial” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．criminal.

B．real.

C．false.

D．valuable.

2. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．We know when the theft took place.

B．Christopher Columbus discovered “The New World” about 500 years ago.

C．Columbus’s letter was first written in Latin.

D．A Vatican inspector suspected that Columbus Letter in the Vatican Library was a fake.

3. Now you can see the once stolen letter in ________.

A．Callista Gingrich’s

B．Jean-Louis Brugues’

C．David Parsons’s

D．the Vatican Library

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．Columbus wrote the letter both in Spanish and Latin.

B．One of the Latin letters was copied by Stephan Plannack.

C．The letter in the United States is not a fake letter.

D．David Parsons returned the letter to the Vatican Library.

【推荐1】Believe it or not, dental floss(牙线) has been around for thousands of years. Researchers have discovered dental floss in the ancient teeth of prehistoric(史前的) humans. After all, people have been getting food stuck in their teeth since they began to eat!

In the early 1800s, a dentist advised people to use the dental floss. In 1819, New Orleans (新奥尔良) dentist Levi Spear Parmly wrote a book called A Practical Guide to the Management of the Teeth. In the book, he advised people to floss waxed(含蜡的) silk thread(线).

Although historians believe Parmly was the inventor of modern dental floss, the first patent(专利) for dental floss was presented to Asahel M. Shurtleff   in 1874. Shurtleff's company didn’t begin to provide unwaxed silk floss for home use until 1882.

However, dental floss didn't become popular right away. Professional dentistry was still a developing field, and silk thread was expensive. Flossing didn’t become more common until World War II ended. Dr. Charles C. Bass used nylon (尼龙) floss to replace silk floss. Then Today, dental floss is still made of nylon, as well as other types of plastic fibers(纤维).

Some dentists say that we’d better floss at least once each day if we want to keep our teeth clean and healthy. Sadly; studies have shown that only 10 percent to 40 percent of Americans floss every day.

1. Parmly gave advice to people that they could use ________ to clean teeth.

A．waxed silk thread	B．unwaxed silk thread
C．nylon floss	D．plastic “floss picks”

2. Who got the first patent for dental floss?

A．Levi Spear Parmly.	B．Asahel M. Shurtleff.
C．Dr. Charles C．Bass.	D．Not mentioned.

3. The underlined word “replace” probably means “________” in English.

A．take the place of	B．change the place of
C．help to produce	D．give up

4. After reading the passage, we can know ________.

A．A Practical Guide to the Management of the Teeth is an article

B．there hadn’t been unwaxed silk floss since people use dental floss

C．you need to wrap(包，缠绕) it around your finger when you use “floss picks”

D．some dentists advise us to floss at least once each day

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Development of Dental Floss	B．Famous Dentists in America
C．A Famous Book about Dentistry	D．Different Materials of Dental Floss

【推荐3】It was a rainy day and I was walking down the street feeling comfortable and happy. I wanted to do something kind for someone else without any reason and purpose, almost as if I was just trying to spread the abundance (充足) of love I was receiving. It was then that I saw a teenage girl dressed in tattered clothes, getting soaked(湿透). She wasn't wearing any shoes or socks. The rain wet her skin through the holes in her clothes and she was making her way through the garbage, trying to find something that would be of use to her.

I walked towards her and told her to wait for me there while I ran home to get her something. On getting home, I took off my shoes, which I really loved, wrapped them up in a plastic cover and ran to give them to the teenage girl on the street.

The girl looked surprised as if she was not used to this kind of kindness. She thanked me in a trembling (颤抖的) voice.

A famous musician who lives down the street corner stopped his car and smiled when he saw what happened. The two watchmen who saw me do this talked and gave me friendly looks.

Although I had to wear my dad's shoes, I was satisfied even if they were a bit large for my feet, because I knew the girl would walk comfortably wearing the shoes. That day I learned that letting go off the little things we own can be a big help to others.

1. What does the underlined word ''tattered'' in the first paragraph probably mean?

A．Old and torn.	B．Large and new.
C．Colorless and small.	D．Thick and old.

2. In the passage, we are told that _______.

A．the author liked going down streets on rainy days

B．the author liked walking in her father's shoes

C．nobody wanted to help the poor girl

D．the author was very kind-hearted

3. What did the musician's and the watchmen's reactions to the author’s behavior mean?

A．They were laughing at the author.	B．They thought what the author did was right.
C．They also wanted to help the poor girl.	D．They were curious about what the author did.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．It is important to get others' praise.	B．It is no use giving things to others.
C．It is a pity to lose favorite things.	D．It is good to help others.