The area around Taal Lake on Luzon Island in the Philippines is known for its natural beauty. Tourism is popular there as travelers go there to see the scenery that surrounds Taal Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the country. It was quiet for years until January 12, 2020 when the volcano erupted. Since then, the cities surrounding the volcano have been covered with ash and many people are forced to leave home.
But the ash didn't stop the residents of Binan, a city that is 35 km south of Manilla, from finding a way to help their neighbors in the towns that suffered the most from Taal. Binan Mayor Walfredo Dimaguila ordered the city residents to collect the ash and to put it in sacks (麻袋) to be sent to the state-owned factory that can produce 5,000 bricks a day to turn it into bricks to use for rebuilding damaged communities.
“What we plan is to turn them into hollow blocks and bricks and sell them to interested companies,” Dimaguila said. But he noted, the money would be donated to the people directly affected by the volcano. “When Batangas (the region where Taal is located) is in recovery, the bricks can not only be used to build schools, community halls and livelihood centers but also help deal with ash pollution for the earth,” Dimaguila said. “The misfortune of our neighbors in Batangas is there. Let's transform this into opportunity.”
The Philippines, located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire: zone of fire” and part of the typhoon belt, is a country that is known for natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and major storms. But the Filipino people show their strong will and community spirit.
1. What has happened to Taal Volcano?| A．It attracts more and more visitors. |
| B．It becomes quieter and quieter. |
| C．It is covered with ash completely. |
| D．It causes bad effects on the locals. |
| A．To collect volcanic ash for recycling. |
| B．To save sacks for factories to use. |
| C．To set up a factory for making bricks. |
| D．To build communities for people from disasters. |
| A．Companies are expected to donate money. |
| B．Bricks made of volcanic ash are popular. |
| C．Batangas has been the most misfortune. |
| D．Turning ash into bricks benefits the earth. |
| A．Taal Lake on Luzon Island is destroyed. |
| B．Taal Volcano has enjoyed popularity. |
| C．Disasters always hit the Philippines. |
| D．The Filipino people turn ash into treasure. |
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【推荐1】You may laugh it off if someone told you that extreme weather disasters were actually a child’s tricks. But El Nino, meaning ＂little boy＂ in Spanish, could be about to cause trouble.
A recent statement from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned of a strong El Nino event that may be similar to the strongest in modern times. Scientists believe that evidence shows a more than 90 percent chance that it is coming – and it’s going to be big. ＂If this lives up to its potential, this thing can bring a lot of floods, mudslides (泥石流), and trouble,＂ said Bill Patzert, a NASA scientist.
El Nino is a climate event occurring in the Pacific Ocean. The wind usually blows strongly from east to west due to the rotation (旋转) of the Earth. This causes water to pile up in the Western Pacific and pulls up colder water from the bottom in the eastern part. However, in El Nino years, the winds pushing the water get weaker and cause the warmer water to shift back toward the east. This warms the ocean as it travels before finally reaching the shores of North and South America. In an El Nino event, the waters of the eastern Pacific can be up to 4 degrees Celsius warmer than usual.
Most El Ninos last from 9 to 12 months and their effects are felt around December. They don’t happen every year though, usually between every two to seven years.
Last seen in 1997-98, El Nino caused severe droughts in Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as deadly floods in Peru and Ecuador. The world also heats up during an ElNino – 1998 became the warmest year on record at the time. If the current trend continues, 2015 is almost certainly to become the hottest year yet again.
A strong El Nino also affects hurricane seasons around the planet. The warmer the Eastern Pacific is, the more hurricanes it gets. The Western Pacific, on the other hand, tends to see more and stronger typhoons.
The weather isn’t the only thing that’s affected. Warmer surface waters in the Eastern Pacific make the cold-water fish swim away and damage the fishing industry in much of Latin America.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．El Nino and its harmful effects. | B．Extreme weather disasters ever. |
| C．The hottest years ever in history. | D．The strongest El Nino in history. |
| A．It results from hurricanes or typhoons in the oceans. |
| B．It happens every two years and last about half a year. |
| C．It is a weather phenomenon occurring in the Atlantic. |
| D．It can cause extreme weather, such as floods and droughts. |
| A．the wind blows so strongly that it causes the water to pile up |
| B．the fishing industry in much of Latin America is likely to suffer |
| C．the more typhoons it experiences, the warmer the Western Pacific is |
| D．the surface water in the Eastern Pacific usually gets colder than ever |
| A．a little Spanish child’s trick |
| B．the natural rotating of the Earth |
| C．an American expert’s prediction |
| D．the weaker winds in the Pacific |
【推荐2】There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales has been hardest hit. Fires have torn through bushland (丛林地), wooded areas, and national parks. Some start and are controlled in a few days, but the biggest fires have been burning for months.
Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for fires to start and spread. Natural causes are responsible for fires most of the time, like lightning hits in drought-affected forests. Dry lightning was to blame for starting a number of fires in late December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers in just five hours. Humans can also be responsible. Police have charged at least 24 people with starting bushfires on purpose, and have taken action against 183 people for setting fire since November.
Fire season in Australia is always dangerous -- the 2009 Black Saturday fires killed 173 people in Victoria, making it the deadliest bushfire disaster on record. But conditions have been unusually bad this year, making fires burn more strongly and making firefighting conditions particularly difficult. Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts over the years. Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some places under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius. Strong winds have also made the fires and smoke spread more rapidly, and have led to deaths.
About half a billion animals have been affected by the fires across NSW, with millions likely dead -- and that's lower than what is probably the real number. That number of total animals influenced could be as high as one billion nationwide. Almost a third of koalas in NSW may have been killed in the fires, and a third of the places where they live have been destroyed.
Some species, like koalas, aren't in any immediate danger of extinction because they are spread out across the country. But others that live in more suitable environments with lower populations, including certain types of frogs and birds, could be destroyed entirely if their home is hit by the fires.
1. Fires in Australia _________.| A．may last a long time | B．often happen in spring |
| C．mainly happened in some states | D．are easily controlled in a few hours |
| A．spread rapidly | B．caused by humans |
| C．were put out by police | D．were due to wet weather |
| A．big fire | B．strong wind |
| C．serious drought | D．period of hot weather |
| A．Because they can run fast. |
| B．Because they live far and wide. |
| C．Because their home is well protected. |
| D．Because they have a lower population. |
【推荐3】When it rains, it pours, and when it snows, the lights turn off. Or so it goes in Texas, California. After a winter storm hit the Lone Star State with record snowfall and the lowest temperatures in more than 30 years, millions were left without electricity and heat. At the worst moment on February 16th, 4. 5m Texan households were cut off from power.
Whole skylines, including Dallas's, went dark to save power. Some Texans braved the snowy roads to check into the few hotels with remaining rooms, but the hotels' power went off as they arrived. Others put on skiwear and remained inside, hoping the lights and heat would come back on. Across the state, what were supposed to be “rolling” blackouts (断电) lasted for days. More than 20 people have died in motor accidents, from fires lit for warmth and from carbon - monoxide poisoning after using cars to get warm. The storm has also stopped deliveries of covid - 19 vaccines (疫苗) and may prevent around 1 million vaccinations from happening this week.
Other states, including Tennessee, were also covered in snow, but Texas got the lion's share and broke down completely. Texans are extremely angry that people in America's energy capital cannot count on reliable power. Everyone is asking why.
The short answer is that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid, did not properly forecast the demand for energy as a result of the storm. Some say that this was nearly impossible to predict, but there were warnings of the seriousness of the coming weather in the previous week, and ERCOT didn't make adequate preparations.
Many Republican politicians were quick to blame renewable energy sources, such as wind power, for the blackouts, but that is not fair. Some wind turbines (涡轮机) did indeed freeze. Natural gas plants broke down, as did the gas supply chain and pipelines. The cold also caused a reactor at one of the state's two nuclear plants to go offline. In short, Texas experienced a perfect storm of equipment failure.
In California, as in Texas, it would help to have additional power generation and energy storage to meet peak (峰值) demand. Weather events that once might have been dismissed as unusual are becoming more common. Without more money put in electricity grids, blackouts will be, too.
1. What happened in Texas during the winter storm?| A．People put on skiwear to save power |
| B．More than 20 people were frozen to death |
| C．Many people delayed receiving covid - 19 vaccinations |
| D．The whole state suffered power cuts except hotels |
| A．Texas was hit hardest by the storm | B．Texas was provided with generous aid |
| C．Texas fought against the storm bravely | D．Texas had the power to return to normal |
| A．the use of renewable energy sources |
| B．no warnings of the seriousness of the storm |
| C．the breakdown of a nuclear plant |
| D．improper forecast and equipment failure |
| A．It is not worthwhile to put too much money into electricity grids |
| B．We should turn to renewable energy sources rather than natural gas |
| C．Texas should get well prepared for the highest demand for power |
| D．Blackouts are unavoidable with the growing frequency of extreme weather |
【推荐1】Only 12% of a poll’s (民意调查) 1,000 respondents answered that improper grammar in a text message would bother them “A lot”, while 24% thought “Somewhat”, 29%responded “Not very much”, 30%believed “Not at all”, and 5% answered “Not sure”. These findings were fairly consistent across age, income and region. Obviously, there was a difference between men’s and women’s grammar preferences: Women were 6% more likely to respond that improper text grammar bothers them “A lot”. The language used in an email was only a slightly different story.
A similar study conducted earlier this year showed that caring about grammatical errors was independent of age or education level. The study found that introverts (性格内向的人) were more likely to view a peer who misspelled something as a bad roommate.
However, while respondents were accepting of improper grammar, most of them reported using proper grammar themselves when texting and emailing. 48%answered“I may use improper grammar” when asked about their texting habits, while 52% said they used proper grammar when sending emails. So, it was not that everyone who made an effort to use correct grammar wouldn’t forgive those who were more creative in their textual communication.
This is great news, as no negative links have been made between using improper grammar when texting and literacy scores. In fact, the link between “improper” language use and language learning is proven to be positive. Keep that in mind next time you find yourself shaking your head at a text message with improper grammar. Using improper grammar when sending text messages or emails does not mean a lack of writing skills. However, young learners are supposed to separate schoolwork from media communication. After all, it is one thing to write schoolwork, but it is another to communicate on social media platforms.
1. What was the finding of the poll about improper grammar in media communication?| A．6% didn’t know about it. | B．24% considered it unacceptable. |
| C．Most people didn’t mind it much. | D．Less than 10% were totally against it. |
| A．Use emails rather than text messages. | B．Make more grammar mistakes. |
| C．Be more likely to comment on improper grammar. | D．Be more concerned about improper grammar. |
| A．Age. | B．Personality. | C．Region. | D．Education level. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Critical | C．Negative. | D．Unconcerned. |
【推荐2】First published in 2001, the book Life of Pi written by Canadian author Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize and an Asian American Prize for Literature. It is the story of a young boy named Pi who spends 227 days at sea with a small group of animals after disaster strikes their ship and is an account of his journey of survival and hardship.
Piscine Molitor Patel（Pi）, on whom Life of Pi is based, is a young boy living in Pondicherry, India, where his father owns a zoo. The story starts when Patel's family decide to move to Canada, along with their zoo animals for their new home.
However, because of the bad weather, the ship sinks. Pi and an orangutan（猩猩）, an injured zebra, a hyena（鬣狗）and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker are the only survivors who take shelter in a small lifeboat. Both the injured zebra and the orangutan are soon killed and eaten by the hyena. The tiger in turn kills and eats the hyena, leaving just the two of them alone on the boat now.
In an effort to avoid being eaten by Richard Parker, Pi acts himself as the head of the group and remains safe from harm. Since he does not want the tiger to die for fear of going mad by being alone on the boat, he fishes and feeds the two of them in order to stay alive.
The life of Pi then enters its third stage when their lifeboat washes up on the shores of Mexico and the tiger escapes into a nearby forest, leaving Pi alone. After the Mexicans refuse to believe Pi's story, he changes his tale by replacing the animals with his mother, a cook and a sailor and asks the Mexicans which one they prefer. They prefer hearing the first story though they do not believe a word of it.
In my view, Life of Pi is a must-read book for all those who love reading.
1. We can learn that the book Life of Pi_____________.| A．was written in 2001 |
| B．was awarded two prizes |
| C．tells a story about friendship |
| D．is based on the author's personal experience |
| A．Pi | B．the zebra |
| C．the orangutan | D．Richard Parker |
| A．By catching fishes for the tiger. |
| B．By locking the tiger in a cage. |
| C．By being the leader of the two of them. |
| D．By fighting with the tiger. |
【推荐3】Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives.For example,the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite.Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving.Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls.
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites.Many of our TV programmes come to us through satellite.Airplane pilots sometimes also use a satellite to help them find their exact location.
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another.They are usually 35,880 kilometres above the equator(赤道).Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place.This is because it is moving around the world at 11,000 kilometres an hour — exactly the same speed that the earth rotates(转动).A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线) facing the earth.Sometimes,it moves away from its orbit,so there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position.This usually happens about every five or six days.
Space is not empty!Every week,more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth.A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years.Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to the Earth to be repaired.Often,very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time.This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other.
1. Which of the following is NOT done by satellite according to the passage?| A．Sending information for weather forecasts. |
| B．Taking photographs of the Earth. |
| C．Sending TV pictures. |
| D．Providing food for airplane pilots. |
| A．35,880 kilometres per hour. |
| B．335,880 kilometres per hour. |
| C．11,000 kilometres per hour. |
| D．110,000 kilometres per hour. |
| A．A satellite. |
| B．A little rocket. |
| C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky. |
| D．The satellite puts the rockets in the right position. |
| A．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years. |
| B．Every time a satellite gets broken,it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired. |
| C．A broken satellite is never left in space. |
| D．Broken satellites often crash into each other. |
Operation Always ride your bike in a safe, controlled manner on campus (校园). Obey rules and regulations. Watch out for walkers and other bicyclists, and always use your lights in dark conditions.
Theft Prevention Always securely lock your bicycle to a bicycle rack -- even if you are only away for a minute. Register your bike with the University Department of Public Safety. It's fast, easy, and free. Registration permanently records your serial number, which is useful in the possible recovery of the bike stolen.
Equipment
* Brakes Make sure that they are in good working order and adjusted properly.
* Helmet A necessity, make sure your helmet meets current safety standards and fits
properly.
* Lights Always have a front headlight -- visible at least 500 feet in front of the bike.
A taillight is a good idea.
Rules of the Road
Riding on Campus As a bicycle rider, you have a responsibility to ride only on streets and posted bicycle paths. Riding on sidewalks or other walkways can lead to a fine. The speed limit for bicycles on campus is 15 mph, unless otherwise posted. Always give the right of ways to walkers. If you are involved in an accident, you are required to offer appropriate aid, call the Department of Public Safety and remain at the scene until the officer lets you go.
Bicycle Parking Only park in areas reserved for bikes. Trees, handrails, hallways, and sign posts are not for bicycle parking, and parking in such posts can result in a fine.
If Things Go Wrong
If you break the rules, you will be fined. Besides violating rules while riding bicycles on campus, you could be fined for:
* No bicycle registration --------------------------$25
* Bicycle parking banned ---------------------------$30
* Blocking path with bicycle ----------------------$40
* Violation of bicycle equipment requirement ------$35
1. Registration of your bicycle may help you ________.
| A．find your stolen bicycle | B．get your serial number |
| C．receive free repair services | D．settle conflicts with walkers |
| A．Brakes. | B．A helmet. | C．A headlight. | D．A taillight. |
| A．ride on posted bicycle paths and sidewalks |
| B．cycle at a speed of over 15 mph |
| C．put the walkers' right of way first |
| D．call the police before leaving in case of accident |
| A．$25 | B．$30 | C．$35 | D．$40 |
| A．A guide for safe bicycling on campus. |
| B．Directions for bicycle tour on campus. |
| C．Regulations of bicycle race on campus. |
| D．Rules for riding motor vehicles on campus. |
【推荐2】It's said that making friends gets harder when you get older. People settle into their existing friendships during childhood or at university. However, new research suggests that's not what happens. According to a recent survey, the age group that feels least confident in chatting to strangers is those aged 18 to 24. Similarly, it was found that 59% of Millennials (千禧一代) spend more time chatting to friends on social media than they do seeing them in person
Author and expert on friendship, Kate Leaver, said, "Young people are not confident when speaking to strangers not only because they're afraid of refusal, but also because they've really been socially conditioned not to. Previous generations had a much stronger sense of community in public, shared spaces. We don't have as much access (接近) to that because the way we structure our modern lives means we are less in touch with our communities. Shared public spaces like parks and libraries - places where people might get close to a stranger - are being shut down."
Laura, 27, hates meeting new people. The majority of her friends are from university days. "I'm pretty chatty and open when I get to know someone, but during that first meeting, I'm very shy. I get very anxious about what to talk about, and people judging me or just not understanding my sense of humor."
But not all young people feel the same way. Hayley, 31, regularly meets people in unusual ways and makes friends with them. "I became good friends with someone who I met on the plane," she said. "It just shows how you can really connect when you're offline."
If you're comfortable with your present friendship situation, that's great. But, if you do want to enlarge your social circle, here are some tips. Avoid unpleasant silences by searching for people with common interests - join a book club or a local sports team. If it is too stressful, there are some friendship apps that you can use.Or, strike up a conversation with someone in a public place.
1. What can we get from the recent survey?| A．Seniors prefer to make friends online |
| B．Teens spend less time on friends than before |
| C．Making friends gets harder when you're older. |
| D．Young people build relationships with difficulty. |
| A．refusal |
| B．a stranger |
| C．the sense of community |
| D．the social condition |
| A．She fails to contact her old friends. |
| B．She is skilled at making new friends. |
| C．She prefers to make new friends online. |
| D．She is unwilling to get close to new people. |
| A．Developing a sense of humor. |
| B．Enlarging friend circles offline. |
| C．Joining groups with shared interests. |
| D．Keeping strong ties with old friends. |
【推荐3】Last year, a popular restaurant released a live stream of a family dining in it, without asking their permission. After finding out what the restaurant was doing, the family showed their objection, but the restaurant ignored it and insisted that they had the right to do it. Moreover, they tried to silence the family, saying that their behavior was damaging the restaurant's image. This event has caused a debate on the violation of privacy and portrait rights by webcasts.
It doesn't bother some people when their images are unconsciously recorded by cameras and shown through live streams on different online platforms. They may even enjoy appearing on screens and cooperate with some businesses. In that way, the restaurant can have more public exposure and thus attract more customers, which is their purpose of webcasting. However, others including the family mentioned above, are against it. The family thought that their portrait rights were violated, considering no one had asked if it was okay to use the images of them. They found intolerable that their actions captured by the camera were webcast live to millions of viewers, not to mention the fact that some of them were not so decent. Thus they demanded an apology from restaurant.
People may behave in a relaxed way when eating or resting, and they don't want others to see them in this way. Thus, from a legal perspective, if businesses webcast their customers for commercial reasons, they have violated customers portrait rights.
Webcasting someone without his or her consent amounts to a violation of portrait rights, which is getting increasingly common these days as cellphone webcasting is growing in popularity for technical convenience, However, public awareness of privacy protection is still falling behind. More should be done to make sure webcasting is developing sustainably, without violating people's legal rights.
1. What is the major issue argued in the passage?| A．A famous restaurant published a live stream of a family dining in it. |
| B．The family showed their objection to the famous restaurant's webcast. |
| C．The restaurant ignored the objection and insisted they had the right to do it. |
| D．The restaurant claimed that the family was damaging the restaurant's image. |
| A．Customers enjoy appearing on screens. |
| B．Customers cooperate with some businesses. |
| C．Customers are shown through live streams online. |
| D．Customers are unconsciously recorded by cameras. |
| A．Businesses webcast customers live according to their agreement. |
| B．Businesses webcast customers for commercial reasons and pay them. |
| C．Businesses webcast customers improper actions with their permission. |
| D．Businesses webcast customers behaving in a relaxed way without informing them. |
| A．Public awareness of privacy protection is increasing |
| B．A famous restaurant released a live stream of a family |
| C．How can people behave in a relaxed way when having a rest |
| D．A debate on whether webcasts violate privacy and portrait rights |
| A．Objective. |
| B．Negative. |
| C．Positive. |
| D．Subjective. |
【推荐1】Sports fandom is about more than just entertainment. It can boost your self-esteem (自尊) and make you happier — and you don’t have to root for the winning team to gain the benefits.
Being a sports fan is a “very psychologically healthy activity,” says Daniel Wann, professor at Murray State University whose research program centers on the psychology of sport fandom. Fandom connects us to other like-minded people, which satisfies our human need for belonging, he says.
These relationships are significant: People who identify as sports fans have higher levels of self-esteem, lower levels of loneliness and tend to be more satisfied with their lives compared to those who aren’t interested in sports, Wann says. Fans tend to have more access to social support, help and resources as well. Research suggests that when people have support from their communities, they have better health.
Beyond bonding, fans get to enjoy the psychological benefits of winning, even if they have nothing to do with the players or games, says Stephen Reysen, associate professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce who studies identity and fandom.
“Individuals feel that the fan interest (in this case a sport team) is a part of them,” Reysen says. “So when the team is winning, you feel like you are winning even though you are not a player.”
Of course, teams sometimes lose.
So, why do people continue to put their faith behind teams that tend to lose? People who feel a strong psychological connection to a team are more likely to root for a team when they’re having a losing season, Reysen says.
“Sports fandom has nothing to do with the outcome of a game,” Wann says. For example, if a pizza restaurant continually got your order wrong, you’d likely switch to a more reliable one. But because being a fan is so central to people’s identities, people are willing to accept defeat and continue to be loyal to a team.
Being part of a fan community can also help people cope with losses. A 2019 study found that watching a football game with other fans helps to ease the negative psychological effects of losing.
“For fans of the losing team, sharing the pain may have protected them from losing self-esteem,” Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, co-author of the study and professor of communication at The Ohio State University said in a release.
1. According to the passage, why do sports fans feel happier?| A．Because they could gain the benefits from the winning team. |
| B．Because they can share pains and happiness with people who have the common interests. |
| C．Because they could have a low level of self-esteem. |
| D．Because most of them are optimistic. |
| A．Sports fans have support from their favorite teams. |
| B．Sports fans have higher levels of loneliness. |
| C．Sports fans are likely more content with their lives. |
| D．Sports fans tend to compare themselves to those who aren’t interested in sports. |
| A．display their identities |
| B．have a boost of self-esteem |
| C．not support the team any more |
| D．have a negative psychology period |
| A．Being part of the team. |
| B．Ordering a pizza in a different restaurant. |
| C．Sharing the pain with family members. |
| D．The loyalty to the team. |
【推荐2】One of the tallest wooden buildings in Europe, a 98m timber mixture skyscraper, is to rise in Berlin.
The 29-storey WoHo Tower, to be designed by a firm of Norwegian architects, is intended to be a “light-house project” for low-carbon construction, towering over Potsdamer Platz and the Landwehr Canal.
Its core, including lifts and a staircase, is to be built around a steel-reinforced concrete structure but the rest of the building, including flats, offices, cafes and a kindergarten, will be fashioned down wooden beams and panels.
“As Norwegians, we are used to working a lot with timber,” Nicolai Riise, CEO of the Mad Architects’ Practice said.
“The thing about timber is that it demonstrates sustainability from top to bottom. The carbon footprint is close to zero and it’s a fantastic material to build with. If you look at this in a broader way, it’s one of the ways we are going to be able to beat the climate crisis.”
Wooden skyscrapers, once regarded as an unprofitable pipe dream, have become a realistic prospect with the coming of cross-laminated building techniques and more flexible planning laws. Because these structures’ parts are fit with care, they can be far lighter than their concrete equivalents and are thought to be relatively resistant to fire. A cubic meter of wood can also take an estimated ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Larger wooden structures are planned elsewhere. London is examining blueprints for the 300-meter Oakwood Tower. A project in Tokyo could rise to 350m.
1. What can we know about WoHo Tower?| A．It will be among the tallest in Europe. | B．It will be mostly made of wood. |
| C．It is designed by a Norwegian architect. | D．Its core is to be built with timber. |
| A．Timber is too flexible. | B．Timber is easy to process. |
| C．Timber is eco-friendly. | D．Timber is multi-functional. |
| A．The concrete equivalents. | B．Creative planning. |
| C．Fire-resistant materials. | D．New building techniques. |
| A．World. | B．Comment. | C．Literature. | D．Business. |
【推荐3】“Why did the fox steal my shoes?” sounds like the start of a brain teaser or an annoyingly hot. But for people in Berlin, it was a real question that a local fox was behind a series of shoe thefts.
About two weeks ago, Meyer, a resident of Berlin, noticed that one of his new running shoes had disappeared from his porch and he decided lo examine the theft, German news site reported.
Meyer quickly found out that he was not the thief’s only victim, and a tip helped him catch the fox. Days later, Meyer spotted the fox again; he followed it and discovered the fox’s secret place of more than 100 shoes.
Meyer got a photo of thieving fox and its ill-gotten shoes,which he shared on Twitter. The shoes contained sneakers, and slippers in a range of colors, shapes and sizes, though the most numerous shoes by far were Crocs.
This isn’t the first time that an urban fox has demonstrated a seeming shoes fetish(恋物). In August 2019, a fox in Melbourne, Australia, repeatedly visited a woman’s porch and stole three boots over the course of a week. In a small town in Western Germany, a female fox stole about 110 to 120 shoes in just one night, possibly “for her babies to play with”, according to Reuters.
It’s unknown whether all of these foxes were acting independently or whether their actions were linked, perhaps as part of an international shoe-stealing group with a bad purpose that humans can only imagine.
1. What happened to Meyer?| A．He had his shoes stolen. |
| B．He loved Crocs best. |
| C．He was physically attacked by a fox. |
| D．He moved out of Berlin and settled in a new place. |
| A．He drove the fox away. |
| B．He took a picture and posted it on social media. |
| C．He sent some food to the fox. |
| D．He followed the fox and found many other foxes. |
| A．To analyze the reason for fox’s behavior. |
| B．To introduce more people’s similar experience. |
| C．To explain how many shoes were stolen by the fox. |
| D．To prove some fox does have affection for shoes. |
| A．Delighted. | B．Serious. | C．Humorous. | D．Terrified. |
