【推荐1】If the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) is a guideline to save the planet, garbage-sorting is where the   efforts start. Since May 1, Beijing has started to carry out mandatory garbage-sorting in new efforts to better protect the environment. Under the new regulation, residents are required to classify household waste into four categories: kitchen, recyclable, hazardous and other waste. People who fail to sort their garbage properly can be fined from 50 to 200 yuan, reported Xinhua.

Some residential communities in Beijing have introduced rewards to encourage residents to sort their garbage. According to Xinhua, residents can earn points by classifying their domestic waste correctly and then exchange the points they accumulate for daily necessities such as soap.

Garbage sorting practices have reached over 70 percent of housing estates in 18 cities, including Shanghai,     Xiamen and Hangzhou, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Shanghai first enacted a mandatory garbage-sorting regulation in July 2019 and has had a 90 percent compliance (服从) rate among its housing estates.

According to a report by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, over 90 percent of the public believe that garbage-sorting is important for the protection of the environment. However, garbage-sorting is still a big problem in China. Only 30 percent of participants said they think they are completely sorting their waste, the report noted. According to Xinhua, it’s partly because many people lack the willingness to sort their own waste. Also, some previous garbage regulations didn’t include fines for people who failed to obey them.

“It’s a must to have a legal guarantee to promote garbage sorting,” Liu Jianguo, a professor from Tsinghua University, told China Daily, “Aside from China, many countries like Germany, Spain and Britain, also ask people to sort waste into specific categories. In Japan, there is a fixed time for the sorting of each kind of garbage and littering.”

1. What can we learn about the new regulation in Beijing?

A．It hasn’t been put into use yet.

B．Residents can sort the garbage as they like.

C．People can get money if they classify their domestic waste correctly.

D．Those who can’t sort the garbage as the new rule requires shall be fined.

2. What’s the problem in garbage sorting in China?

A．Most people are unaware of its importance in protecting environment.

B．Some people don’t want to take the trouble to sort the garbage.

C．Only residents in big cities can sort the trash correctly.

D．The government doesn’t have enough money to support garbage sorting.

3. What can we infer from Liu Jianguo’s words?

A．It’s difficult to carry out garbage sorting in China.

B．Some laws in garbage-sorting are needed.

C．People in developed countries can better sort the garbage.

D．We should learn from Japan.

4. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Garbage sorting, a new start in China	B．New regulations in Beijing
C．Argument on garbage sorting	D．How to sort domestic garbage

【推荐2】People feel good about recycling, maybe even more so when it comes to electronics. While electronics recycling isn't bad, making it a panacea(万能药) for the e-waste problem we currently have certainly is. Unfortunately, that's how we think of recycling — and companies to jump on that trend to appear more “green”.

A case in point: Apple. In 2016, there was lots of report on Liam, a robot able to dismantle(拆卸) an iPhone in just 11 seconds — a good way to recycle 1.2 million units a year. That sounds amazing until you take into account the fact that Apple had actually sold 231 million new iPhones the year before. Liam, actually, is the perfect symbol for recycling in the field of high-tech: a drop of green water in an ocean of pollution.

According to a recent UN report, the US produces about 6.3 million tons or 14% of the world's electronic waste. Worldwide, almost 45 million tons of electronic waste were produced in 2016. Among them, only 20% had been recycled in some shape or form. The remaining 80% made its way to a more environmentally damaging end at the landfill(垃圾填埋场).

Of course, we can say it's time to double our recycling efforts. However, the huge amount of e-waste is impossible to cope with. The UN report points out that while there is an increased focus on recycling today compared to the past, the effort to reuse used devices simply can't keep pace with the high consumption rates for new devices.

In their environmental responsibility report, Apple admits that 77% of the carbon footprint of their electronics comes from their manufacture, versus(相对于) 17% comes from its actual use. The environmental effect of replacing a device, even if it is recycled after, remains significant.

1. Which of the following can best describe Liam?

A．It's useful but can't make a big difference.

B．It's energy-saving but too expensive.

C．It's well-made but won't become popular.

D．It's advanced but impractical.

2. What caused the e-waste recycling problem?

A．Few high-tech companies.

B．Not enough recycling efforts.

C．High demand for new electronics.

D．Difficult recycling processes.

3. What does the author think of the electronics recycling?

A．It is very effective.

B．It is quite good.

C．It is environmentally damaging.

D．It is far from “green” recycling.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Recent UN Report on E-Waste Problem

B．The Limitation of Electronics Recycling

C．A Good Way to Cope With E-Waste

D．The Responsibility for Apple to Decrease E-Waste

【推荐3】Should We Create More National Parks

Don't you find it worrying that more and more species of animals are in real danger of becoming national parks extinct?     1    And I think the best way to do this is for governments to create more national parks.

    2    If this environment is destroyed-for example, when farmers clear a forest for new fields, or trees are cut down for making money, many animals are unable to survive, and more species are likely to become extinct.

In addition, national parks protect animals from the danger of being hunted. A major reason why many species are endangered is that the animals are killed by hunters. They hunt animals to make money.    3    

On the other hand, some people fight against the creation of national parks because they consider it wrong to interfere with nature. They believe that wild animals are happier living in their natural environment.    4    They also point out that a few species are more likely to produce young animals in the wild than in national parks.

All in all, these disadvantages are far less important than the benefits of national parks, because these parks allow animals to live in a safe environment.     5    

A．They say though the animals may face danger, they enjoy a free life.

B．Firstly, national parks protect the animals' natural environment.

C．To begin with, animals are important to humans.

D．I personally believe that we must save these animals.

E．There is a heated discussion about whether to create more national parks.

F．In fact, they protect animals from their greatest enemies--human beings.

G．Some hunters even hunt animals simply for sport.

【推荐1】Particulate Matter

There are things floating around in the air. Most of them, you can not even see. They are a kind of air pollution called particles or particulate matter. In fact, particulate matter may be the air pollutant that most commonly affects people’s health.

Have a Look.

Particles can come in almost any shape or size, and can be solid particles or liquid droplets.    1     These two groups differ in many ways. One of the differences is size, we call the bigger particles PM 10 and we call the smaller particles PM 2.5.

BIG.

The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times thinner than a human hair). These particles are called PM 10 (we say ―PM ten, which stands for Particulate Matter up to 10 micrometers in size).    2    

SMALL.

The small particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (100 times thinner than a human hair).    3    We say ―PM two point five, as in Particulate Matter up to 2.5 micrometers in size.The smaller particles are lighter and they stay in the air longer and travel farther. PM 10 particles can stay in the air for minutes or hours while PM 2.5 particles can stay in the air for days or weeks.And travel?     4     PM 2.5 particles go even farther; many hundreds of miles.

Particulate Matter and Your Health.

When you breathe, you take in the air along with any particles in the air, like heavy metal sand cancer causing organic compounds. Both PM 10 and PM 2.5 particles can cause health problems, specifically respiratory (呼吸的) health.    5     Exposure to particulate matter leads to increased use of medication and more visits to the doctor or emergency room.

A．These particles are called PM 2.5.

B．We divide particles into two major groups.

C．These particles cause less severe health effects.

D．PM 10 particles can travel as much as 30 miles.

E．Air pollution is a growing problem in the whole world.

F．PM 2.5 can have worse health effects than the bigger PM 10.

G．Air pollutants have great effects on our environment and our health.

【推荐2】    1    How I was struck by the clear water and fresh air in my childhood! But everything has changed, that is, the clear water and fresh air are nowhere to be found again as they were.Above all, a great deal of waste hardly rots away.

    2    More and more people are beginning to have a good knowledge of the importance of a safer and cleaner environment, which in turn forces the business to be cleaned up.

    3    Organic products are getting more and more popular among people, but we should know the fact that organic products might also have something to do with pesticides.

    4    I’m very much fond of growing some vegetables of my own in my small garden, for many vegetables on sale in markets are actually becoming more and more dangerous as a result of widespread pesticides.

    5    Nowadays it is very convenient for consumers to find and buy green food in supermarkets as they are clearly marked.

A．"Organic produce is always better, "Gold said."The food is free of pesticides(农药) ,and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms.And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty." Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business.

B．Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences - but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete.For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products.And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand."The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market, "said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business.

C．Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted.Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment-friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem.One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced, and these are difficult to get rid of.

D．However, today, more and more consumers are choosing "green" and demanding that the products they buy should be safe for the environment.Before they buy a product, they ask questions like these: "Will this shampoo damage the environment?" "Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?"

E．Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds.Some supermarket products carry labels(标签) to show that the product is green.Some companies have made the manufacturing(制造) of clean and safe products their main selling point and emphasize it in their advertising.

F．The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business.No longer will the public accept the old attitude of "Buy it, use it, throw it away, and forget it." The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act.

【推荐2】Until recently, voice cloning — or voice banking, as it was then known — was a customized industry which served those at risk of losing the power of speech to cancer or surgery. Synthesizing（合成） a voice was a long and expensive process. It meant recording many phrases, each spoken many times, with different the history of the KidPass blog emotional emphase（s重音）and in different contexts (statement, question, command and so forth), in order to   the tips on writing good articles online cover all possible pronunciations.

Not any more. Software exists that can store pieces of recorded speech which is merely   five   milliseconds long, each marked with a precise pitch（音高）. These can be put together to make new words, and adjusted individually so that they fit harmoniously into their new sonic homes. This is much cheaper than conventional voice banking, and permits novel uses to be developed.

This year Vivo Text plans to release an app that lets users select the emphasis, speed and level of happiness or sadness with which individual words and phrases are produced. Mr. Silbert refers to the emotive quality of the human voice as “the ultimate instrument”. Yet this power also troubles him. Vivo Text licenses its software to Hasbro, an American toymaker keen to sell increasingly interactive playthings. Hasbro is aware, Mr. Silbert notes, that without safeguards a naughty child might, for example, type impolite words on his mother’s smartphone in order to see a younger sibling burst into tears on hearing them spoken by a toy using mum’s voice.

More troubling, when tested against voice-biometrics software like that used by many banks to block unauthorized access to accounts, more than 80% of the fake voices tricked the computer. Alan Black, one of Festvox’s developers, thinks systems that rely on voice-ID software are now “deeply, fundamentally   insecure”.

Dr. Saxena and his colleagues asked volunteers if a voice sample belonged   to a person whose real   speech they had just listened to for about 90 seconds. The volunteers recognized cloned speech as such only half the time (ie, no better than chance). The outcome, according to George Papcun, an expert witness paid to detect fake recordings produced as evidence in court, is the appearance of a technology with “enormous potential value for disinformation”.

As might be expected, countermeasures to recognize such deception （ 欺 骗 ） are being developed.

Nuance Communications, a maker of voice-activated software, is working on algorithms（算法） that detect tiny skips in frequency at the points where slices of speech are stuck together. Adobe, best known as the marker of Photoshop, an image-editing software suite, says that it may add digital watermarks to speech synthesized by a voice-cloning software called VoCo it is developing. Such technology may help computers recognize suspicious speech. Even so, it is easy to imagine the chaos that might be created in a world which makes it easy to put authentic-sounding words into the mouths of opponents — be they colleagues or heads of state.

1. Paragraphs 1 and 2 are mainly about .

A．significant elements influencing voice cloning

B．possible applications of voice cloning in reality

C．complexities of creating a synthetic copy of a voice

D．differences between traditional and existing voice banking

2. What’s Hasbro’s attitude towards Vivo Test’s new app?

A．Optimistic.	B．Conservative.
C．Unconcerned.	D．Subjective.

3. The experiment carried out by Dr. Saxena and his colleagues shows that volunteers .

A．identified cloned speech in about 45 seconds

B．preferred a real speech to a voice sample

C．proved only a little harder to fool than software

D．found it hard to use the software to record their voices

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Investments should be increased to advance voice cloning.

B．Long-term measures should be taken to popularize the idea of voice cloning.

C．Disagreements among firms about the way to treat voice cloning are getting serious.

D．Problems of voice cloning are unavoidable despite the efforts that have been made.

【推荐3】People who grow up left-handed have a different, more flexible brain structure than those born to take life by the right hand, say researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The reason is that right-handers have genes that force their brains into a slightly more one-sided structure, according to the research. Left-handers appear to be missing those genes.

"There really is a difference in brains that results in a more symmetric (对称的) brain in left-handers, where the two sides are more equal," said Daniel Geschwind, who led the research team.

In the effort to understand how the brain shapes the mind, researchers have been trying to document the way genes and environment affect intelligence and mental abilities. They found that right-and left-handedness is determined by genetics. If a person has the gene for right-handedness, that person will be right-handed. People who do not have that gene, however, can be either left- or right-handed. There is no specific gene for left-handedness.

Right-handers typically have a larger left brain, where their language abilities are concentrated. Conversely, left-handers have more balanced brains. The language abilities of left-handers more often, are concentrated on the right side.

The UCLA researchers conducted brain scans on 72 pairs of male identical (同卵双生的) twins between 75 and 85 years old. They noticed that if identical twins carry the gene for hand preference, both must be right-handed. If they lack the gene, one twin can develop right-handed while the other can develop left- handed.

The researchers found that the brains of identical right-handed twins were very similar in size and structure. But when a left-hander was part of the twin set, the brains were different. The conclusion, researchers said, is that the absence of the gene for hand preference allows the brain to develop differently as the individual grows up.

1. What is the finding of the researchers of UCLA?

A．Left-handers have more balanced brains.	B．Right-handers have more flexible brains.
C．Left-handers' brains are more one- sided.	D．Right-handers' brains are more symmetric.

2. Which element determines a person's hand preference?

A．Environment.	B．Intelligence.
C．Habit.	D．Gene.

3. What can be said about identical twins?

A．They always have similar brain structure.

B．They never carry the gene for hand preference.

C．They have different genes for hand preference.

D．They can have different hand preference.

4. What did the UCLA team research on?

A．People's genetic makeup.	B．People's hand preference.
C．People's brain sizes.	D．People's communicative skills.