Free school meals are back in the news. Footballer Marcus Rashford’s petition(请愿书) to extend free school meals provision(供给) into the school holidays has collected 1.1 million signatures, causing the government to reverse policy. It has restarted the debate over free school meals, fuelled, most recently, by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up(附加款), another 200,000 children will slip into poverty. This is in addition to the 550,000 children already living in poverty previous to Covid-19.
The roots of the current school meals system lie in the mid-19th century. In Manchester, independent charities as well as official bodies started to provide free meals for undernourished children in the 1870s. When education became compulsory in the following decades, the extent of the issue became apparent. Proponents of feeding starving children pointed out that it was due to government order that children were in school, not working and contributing to the family food budget, so the government should pay.
Reception was mixed. Then, as now, children rejected foods they weren’t used to. Diaries of the time talk of “little bags of mystery” (sausages). Some children were put off brassicas(芥菜类) for life. Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. The chief medical officer talked about the lack in calorie value and elements of a well-balanced diet which a needy child does not get at home, such as milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables, fruit and meat”. In 1980, the Tory government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards. Over the next 15 years convenience and cost became the most important.
Today, school meals provision is linked to benefits: in England around 17 per cent of children are entitled to free school meals. Provision is outsourced(外包), leading to huge variation. In the last year, we’ve seen all of the age-old debates repeated once more. How do we decide who is entitled? How do we guarantee quality? Who decides what children eat? Who pays? Undernutrition does not just have physical effects, but also affects behavior and ability to learn. It has a lifelong impact. The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.
1. Why did Marcus Rashford start the petition?| A．To feed an increasing number of children in poverty. |
| B．To restart the debate over free school meals. |
| C．To raise fund for hunger relief for children. |
| D．To lift children out of poverty. |
| A．Officials. | B．Charities. |
| C．Advocates. | D．Critics. |
| A．Some children liked brassicas provided in the school. |
| B．School meals were both tasty and cheap. |
| C．School meals failed to meet children’s nutritional needs. |
| D．The Tory government chose nutrition over cost. |
| A．Never-ending. | B．Meaningless. |
| C．Influential. | D．Necessary. |
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【推荐1】Imagine a way to produce meat without killing animals. Instead of raising livestock on farms, Uma Valeti, a cardiologist, and co-founder of Upside Foods, dreamed of a way to “grow” meat by cultivating(培养) animal cells(细胞).
The idea for what’s now called “cultivated” meat came to Valeti when he was working with heart attack patients at the Mayo Clinic more than 15 years ago, growing human heart cells in a lab. It should be possible to grow meat with similar science, he realized. Scientists could take cells from an animal by a needle biopsy(切片检查), place them in tanks, feed them the nutrients they need to reproduce, including fats, sugar, amino acids and vitamins, and end up with meat.
It has taken years of experimentation by a crew of biologists, biochemists and engineers to turn that idea into a product ready to eat. Now the company is awaiting a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin selling its first cultivated meat products, including a chicken fillet (without bone).
After four years of talks with regulators at the FDA, Valeti expects this could happen “in the very near future.” When it does, Upside’s production facility in Emeryville, California, will be able to produce over 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat products per year.
For Valeti, the potential benefits of cultivated meat are too important not to try to overcome the current obstacles. He sees a future with a better choice to the current system of producing meat, and he’s determined to create it. Valeti says, at last, as a doctor he might have been able to help a few thousand patients during his career. But, by taking the great step to cultivated meat, with its potential promise to surpass meat production, he believes he can have a larger impact. “This could literally affect billions of human lives and save potentially trillions of animal lives,” Valeti says.
1. What made Valeti come to the idea of making cultivated meat?| A．His heart attack patients’ inspiring advice. |
| B．The inspiration from growing human heart cell. |
| C．His dreaming about a way to grow meat. |
| D．The thought of helping his heart attack patients. |
| A．The company is waiting for the permission from FDA. |
| B．The idea of cultivated meat turned into a product easily. |
| C．Chicken fillets will be very popular in the future . |
| D．FDA is a big company that makes and sells cultivated meat. |
| A．The cultivated meat is very popular among young people. |
| B．Valeti has helped many patients with cultivated meat. |
| C．Valeti is producing cultivated meat to avoid killing many animals. |
| D．It will take decades before enormous cultivated meat is produced. |
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. |
| C．Critical. | D．Positive. |
【推荐2】The weather is getting hotter and you’ll be getting thirstier playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you pour down your throat. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health.
There are plenty of so-called energy drinks on the market. Most of them have an attractive color and cool name. Their nutrition lists also contains various things from vitamins to ginseng. Sounds great!
But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine. These drinks are typically aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players.
Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much Caffeine raises your heartbeat. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee has limited their use. The amount of caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as high as in a strong cup of coffee or strong tea.
There are potential health dangers linked to energy drinks. Just one can of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart attacks.
Teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them, an expert from the Australia Nutrition Foundation said.
1. The teenagers like drinking energy drinks because of the following EXCEPT that ________.| A．they have an attractive color and cool name | B．they contain high levels of caffeine |
| C．they can keep them awake and better at sports | D．they are said to have various nutrition |
| A．dropped | B．stopped | C．helped | D．asked |
| A．advertisements play an important part in getting people to buy the goods |
| B．the amount of caffeine in most energy drinks is lower than that in a strong cup of coffee |
| C．Australian teenagers drink more energy drinks than those in the other countries |
| D．The energy drinks are typically aimed at young people |
| A．What’s the Use of Energy Drinks? | B．Who can Drink Energy Drinks? |
| C．What is That in Energy Drinks? | D．Why can’t We Buy Energy Drinks? |
People in Europe are soon to have another choice when looking for meat at food stores or choosing a meal at a restaurant. Instead of the usual meat from an animal, they may soon be able to buy a kind made from plants and shaped by 3D printers.
The Israeli company Redefine Meat makes the substitute (替代品) meat. It is called “New Meat”. It looks and tastes like meat. It is shaped by the printer that creates real objects of different materials — not just paper. New Meat is already sold in Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. Some restaurants pay $ 40 per kilogram for New Meat.
Eshchar, a Redefine Meat founder and leader, says the food has all the qualities of real meat but is just made in a different way.
Success is not guaranteed (保证) in the substitute meat market. However, another company that makes such products is Beyond Meat in the Unite States. Over the summer, Beyond Meat said it did not expect sales of its product in 2023 to reach the number it wanted.
Meat made from plants are seen as better for animals and the environment. But according to some recent marketing surveys, people don’t often buy substitute meat. That’s because .
1. Is New Meat sold in Greece now?2. What does Eshchar think of New Meat?
3. How is New Meat different from real meat?
4. Why may New Meat not sell well in the market? Please complete the last sentence. (at least 20 words)
【推荐1】Today when it comes to the use of digital(数码的) technology, girls have less basic education, leaving them far behind boys. And because the world is more digital. those who lack(缺少) basic internet skills will find it more difficult to take part in the formal economy(经济), to get a quality education, and to have their voices heard.
Since 2013 the global gender gap(性别差异) in male and female about the Internet has actually increased from 11 to 12 percent. Worse yet, women and girls living in the poorest countries are 31 percent less likely than men and boys to surf the Internet. In developing countries, some 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, the most common means of surfing the internet there. This digital divide is increasing. and if it continues at the present pace, it is predicted that over 75 percent of women and girls will lack internet access (进入) and digital skills.
There are many causes of the digital gender gap. They include girls’ exclusion (排斥) from basic education, from specific technology education and high costs of mobile phones and internet access.
Indeed, one of the so-called reasons why girls may be discouraged from learning how to access and use digital technology is also a groundless(毫无根据的) one: that girls are simply not good at using technology.
Without the help of the government, most of the benefits of technological change will be enjoyed only by men, making gender inequality even more serious.
1. What can we know from paragraph 1?| A．Girls usually don’t like to share their ideas. |
| B．Girls don’t have enough digital knowledge. |
| C．Boys are more interested in making money. |
| D．Boys may always receive advanced education. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving reasons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．Positive. | B．Acceptable. | C．Negative. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Girls are lacking in education. |
| B．Women suffer a lot from poor economy. |
| C．Internet continues to develop fast and fast. |
| D．Girls are at a disadvantage compared with boys in digital technology. |
【推荐2】No poverty, zero hunger, quality education, these are some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)the United Nations(UN)established in 2015. In May 2019, the UN launched the SDG Book Club; each month, it posts on the club website a selection of books that illustrate a particular SDG to help young people interact with these goals.
Batesville Intermediate School launched the Junior Ambassadors (大使) program in August 2019, using the SDG Book Club as a springboard to introduce students to a more global view on world issues. Twenty-four 4th and 5th graders met for 30 minutes four days a week to read, discuss, research, and conduct the sharing of knowledge and solutions to these issues. Research activities, special projects, and guest speakers are additional opportunities for junior ambassadors to build knowledge. What began as a desire to help small-town children expand their views grew into a broader program that affected the school, community, and beyond.
The UN’s recommendation of Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg was perfect for the junior ambassadors to begin their study of the first SDG: no poverty. The book is set in Haiti, so members of local Haitian groups were invited to speak to the program participants. Then, the junior ambassadors used their newfound knowledge to create multimedia lessons, sharing them with the other 480 students.
The study of the second SDG — zero hunger — gave junior ambassadors an opportunity to organize and carry out a read- a-thon (a reading marathon) to raise funds for the Grain of Rice Project’s school initiative in Kenya. The nonprofit’s co-founder, Amy Ahiga spoke to and inspired the students with her passion for helping others.
Junior ambassadors use what they learn to engage with their community and the world, earning the school the American Library Association’s 2020 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Excellence in Humanities Programming. They can look back with pride, knowing they made a difference. With increased confidence and skills, these children will know that they can and will continue to save the world — one goal at a time.
1. What does the SDG Book Club do?| A．Teach reading techniques. |
| B．Provide quality education. |
| C．Address global conflicts. |
| D．Recommend selected books. |
| A．To broaden children’s horizons. |
| B．To motivate children to set goals. |
| C．To stress the importance of reading. |
| D．To make an impact on the community. |
| A．Multimedia lessons were created. |
| B．Guest speakers concerned were invited. |
| C．Students were inspired to raise funds. |
| D．Junior ambassadors organized read-a-thons. |
| A．Earning an award from reading |
| B．Working towards a sustainable world |
| C．Establishing a platform to share viewpoints |
| D．Providing a springboard for future life |
【推荐3】Young people almost never get a good press(评论) these days. “Their outlook is centered on trashy books and films,” expressed one citizen in a letter I recently came across in the Daily Mail. It seems that people have been complaining about the young since ancient times. However, the young are probably no worse than they’ve ever been. And I think they’re better. Teenagers today are brighter, more energetic, more outgoing, and more interesting than any generation before.
The truth is, we hear plenty of bad news about youth, but we never hear about the majority. Surely they all want to be footballers or attractive models? Not a bit of it. When research company Britain-Thinks examined teenagers attitudes earlier this year, they found that the most popular goal (shared by some 70 percent) was to “have a job you love”, followed by having a university degree, owning your own home and being in a happy, long-term relationship. It tallies with another study by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, which found that what made teenagers happiest wasn’t a new smart-phone or pair of shoes, but “the simple things in life” such as close friends, going swimming and spending time with their parents.
Indeed, the more you look at the young, the more impressive they seem. They are, of course, more technologically knowledgeable and skillful than any generation before them. But the interesting thing is that they’re not merely consumers; they’re creators. Think of all those young people developing their own websites or machines.
Seventeen-year-old Nick D’Aloisio is an example. He invented a news-summary app (应用程序)called Summly and sold it to Yahoo this year for a reported £18 million. The company offered him a job in California, but he turned it down. “I’ll be staying in London,” he explained. “I want to finish my A levels and I couldn’t really live on my own out there.”
Of course they aren’t perfect, and every generation has its fair share of bad apples. But I think our future is in safe hands.
1. The underlined part “tallies with” in Paragraph 2 probably means “ ” .| A．leads to | B．focuses on |
| C．agrees with | D．belongs to |
| A．Are quite creative | B．can find a job easily |
| C．can earn a living by themselves | D．are homesick for their hometown |
| A．Worried. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Uninterested. | D．Hopeful. |
【推荐1】The painting “Portrait(肖像) of Omai” was finished in 1774 and was sold to John Magnier in 2001. When he wants to take the painting out of the country, the government believes it’s important for Britain and stops him doing so. Yet British buyers can’t raise the money needed to get it from Mr. Magnier before the deadline of a ban one exporting it. A solution may now involve Getty Museum in Los Angeles; it could be a model for her treasured artworks too expensive for the nation to buy.
Most countries have export restrictions on their cultural treasures. Many European counts a low the government to step in and buy any work offered for sale. Britain operates a system called Waverley standards, balancing the aims of keeping important pieces and protecting the rights of their owners. Valuable pieces are evaluated at monthly meetings of a committee of owners, dealers and art historians. The most important works are kept in Britain temporarily while institutions at home try to raise the funds to buy them.
Mr. Magnier paid £10.3 million for “Portrait of Omai”. Now he wants £50 million for it, a fair value. The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London has been trying to raise the cash, but only half the money had been raised. The NPG’s answer is to buy the painting together with the Getty Museum, spending half its time in London and the other half in California. In 2015 a similar arrangement was agreed between France and the Netherlands to share ownership of a pair of important portraits by Rembrandt.
The Waverley standards were meant to keep Brit in’s cultural treasures at home. But protecting an artwork for the nation for some time maybe all that can be achieved. Closed for three years for repair, the NPG hopes it will open its doors again with “Portrait of Omai” as its glory.
1. What can we learn about Magnier from Para. 1?| A．He painted a portrait of an Englishman. | B．He wanted to take the painting abroad. |
| C．He illegally took hold of the paining. | D．He solved the problem with a portrait. |
| A．They set aside time for home purchase. |
| B．They checkout annual export licences. |
| C．They decide a ban on the rare treasures. |
| D．They advertise the sales of the treasures. |
| A．Britain takes it for permanent ownership. |
| B．Mr. Magnier takes it abroad after the deadline. |
| C．Britain works with France to share its ownership. |
| D．NPG and the Getty Museum share its ownership. |
| A．The Cooperation of World’s Galleries | B．The Protection of Galleries’ Paintings |
| C．A New Way to Save Art for the Nation | D．A Clever Way to Stop Loss of Paintings |
【推荐2】It’s easy to think festivals are just about drinking and dancing, but festivals are also representatives of what a certain way of life thinks, the way they express themselves. I’ve been to over 60 festivals in 22 different countries, and I still want to experience more. One of the main reasons I enjoy going to international festivals so much is the fact that they are a microcosm of what they represent. Festivals are an opportunity to see as much as possible in a weekend into worlds so different, or even familiar, of my own.
Festivals are a fascinating insight into a group of individuals with a common understanding and the world they are living in. This is also one of the reasons I enjoy international festivals.
I ticked off a huge bucket list festival in Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi a few years ago. I was unwell and not my usual party self, but, it gave me the opportunity instead to sit and listen to the local poets. Through their poetry they enlightened me to some of the issues of the day—calling out their “fat government” and covering everything from housing, to relationships, to the nominal(名义上的) opportunities.
The importance of celebrating festivals abroad isn’t just to gather with your “tribe”. What I learned in a few poems at Lake of Stars Festival were fascinating insights into modern social issues and the Malawi of the present, which I would have had to dig deep to find out. And I probably wouldn’t have bothered to, to be honest.
Even if only for a weekend, what I learned there from the poets and artists gave me a better understanding of what life was like in Malawi.
You never know what you’re going to learn when you visit a new festival. That’s all part of the fun and expectation.
Comedy makes current social issues fun, music makes them melodic(有旋律的), while poetry makes them considered and heartfelt. Festivals bring you them all.
1. What does the underlined word “microcosm” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Different view. | B．Mixed reaction. |
| C．Small world. | D．Rare opportunity. |
| A．He likes having fun with others. |
| B．He can learn about the world. |
| C．He expects to get job opportunities there. |
| D．He enjoys tasting a variety of drinks and food. |
| A．Instructive. | B．Informal. | C．Commercial. | D．Huge. |
| A．The author’s wishes. | B．The greatness of poets. |
| C．The differences between festivals. | D．The significance of festivals. |
【推荐3】Nowadays, with the development of the Internet, emojis (表情符号) are more and more popular among netizen Some people even feel difficult to talk online without using emojis. Emojis help netizens to communicate with each other easily and vividly. Yet, not all emojis are properly used on social media. So we are going to introduce some common but confusing emojis to help you have a better understanding of these small signs.
1.A recent survey shows that over 53% people use this emoji when they are chatting online. Some people think it means “I’m shy,” but others only use it when they are surprised or shocked.But what does it really mean? It is still an unsolved question.
2.What do you think of this sign? Believe it or not, 80% of netizens use it under the meaning of “It is not funny at all, but I have to smile.” Is it right? Of course not! It actually means that “I saw what you did (usually bad things) and I want to give you a sinister (奸诈的) smile.”
3.People have very different opinions on this emoji. The Apple company has told that this emoji means “highfive (嗨,击掌)”. But most people still use the incorrect meaning—pray. Some netizens even think, “If you see this emoji as two people give each other a high five, you must be a bad guy.”
4.According to the official guidelines (官方指南), it is used as “smile through tears (破涕为笑)”. However, most young netizens consider this emoji as “laugh to tears” or simply “LOL”, which means “laugh out loud”.
1. After reading the passage, we still can’t understand the emoji well.A． | B． | C． | D． |
, what does he mean?| A．Stop doing your homework. |
| B．Send this emoji back to your father. |
| C．Go on playing with your mobile phone. |
| D．Put away your mobile phone and do your homework. |
| A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Because they are more important. |
| B．Because they are not so common. |
| C．To help netizens use them easily. |
| D．To help netizens use them properly. |
【推荐1】To call someone bird-brained in English means you think that person is silly or stupid.
But will this description soon disappear from use in the recent research? It seems English may have been unfair in association bird’s brains with stupidity.
In an attempt to find out how different creatures see the world，psychologists at Brown University in the USA have been comparing the behaviour of birds and humans.One experiment has involved teaching pigeons to recognize letters of the English alphabet.The birds study in “classrooms”，which are boxes equipped with a computer.After about four days of studying a particular letter, the pigeon has to pick out that letter from several displayed on the computer screen.Three male pigeons have learned to distinguish all twenty-six letters of the alphabet in this way.
A computer record of the birds7 four-month study period has shown surprising similarities between the pigeons’ and human performance.Pigeons and people find the same letters easy, or hard，to tell apart.For example, 92 percent of the time the pigeons could tell the letter D from the letter Z.But when faced with U and V ( often confused by English children)，the pigeons were right only 34 percent of the time.
The results of the experiments so far have led psychologists (心理学家）to conclude that pigeons and humans observe things in similar ways.This suggests that there is something basic about the recognition process.If scientists could only discover just what this recognition process is, it could be very useful for computer designers.The disadvantage of a present computer is that it can only do what a human being has programmed it to do and the programmer must give the computer precise，logical instructions.Maybe in the future，though，computers will be able to think like human beings.
1. Why does the writer suggest the expression “bird-brained” might be out of use?| A．It is silly. | B．It is impolite. |
| C．It is unnecessary. | D．It is inappropriate. |
| A．92 percent of pigeons. | B．Many English children. |
| C．Most people learning English. | D．34 percent of English children. |
| A．Pigeons and humans find letters equally fast. |
| B．Pig eons have brains more developed than other birds. |
| C．Their basic ways to know the world are the same. |
| D．Pigeons and humans have similar brains. |
| A．Computer designers. | B．Computer salesmen. |
| C．Psychologists. | D．Teachers. |
【推荐2】Jewel’s Online Footwear Store
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These shoes do exactly what shoes are supposed to do. There isn’t anything too special about them. In the morning, I put them on and go to work. They look delightful enough , and they are quite durable. I will probably buy another pair.
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These shoes are my most cherished (珍爱的) possession. I met my bride while buying a pair of these shoes. She was the saleswoman at the store I bought them at , and after she sold me three pairs, I asked her for her phone number and we started dating. Soon after that, we were engaged. We are getting married this afternoon, and I couldn’t be happier.
1. How many pairs of leather dress shoes does the first customer own?| A．Four. |
| B．Three. |
| C．Two. |
| D．One. |
| A．Customer 1. |
| B．Customer 2. |
| C．Customer 3. |
| D．Customer 4. |
| A．They are made to last. |
| B．They make him feel more comfortable. |
| C．They make him attractive. |
| D．He got to know his wife while buying them |
【推荐3】When Hurricane Florence landed in North Carolina on the morning of September 14, it wasn’t 90-mile-an-hour winds that officials feared most. It was water. The 400-mile-wide-storm brought heavy rain and a 10-foot wave of seawater. Roads were destroyed. Trees fell down. More than 600,000 homes and businesses on the East Coast lost power. And it was just beginning.
By afternoon, the winds had slowed. But as the storm moved west, it brought great amounts of rain to North and South Carolina. By the end of Florence’s second day on land, North Carolina had gotten more than 30 inches of rain, a new record. The National Center said the results would be “catastrophic”.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper surveyed the situation in his state on September 15. “Floodwater are still spreading,” he said afterwards, “and the risk to life is rising.”
It is hard to tell how many of the 1.7 million people along the East Coast who were ordered to leave actually did, or could. Even when skies cleared, on September 17, people were dying for help. Floodwaters trapped people on rooftops. Federal and state authorities(官方) in the Carolina saved hundreds of people by plane, boat, etc. Others were saved by volunteers.
By September 18, Florence had left at least 32 people dead. There was more trouble on the way. “Wilmington, North Carolina, was cut off by floods. The hardest-hit areas will remain underwater for days to come,” Chris Vaccaro, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told TIME for Kids. “Rivers that have already flooded areas may continue to rise as more water flows down.”
Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said, “Recovery is always a very hard thing for people when they’ve lost their livelihoods,” he said. “But we’re going to be okay.”
1. What did officials fear most when Hurricane Florence hit the city?| A．Its high traveling speed | B．The area it affected |
| C．The water it brought | D．Its strong wind |
| A．Extremely bad | B．Totally different |
| C．Far more common | D．A little disappointing |
| A．The hurricane grew stronger than ever. |
| B．Communication was totally cut off. |
| C．Rivers and streams stopped rising. |
| D．Most trapped people were saved. |
| A．By providing examples |
| B．By making comparisons |
| C．By following the order of time |
| D．By following the order of importance |
