【推荐2】阅读理解

Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes in reducing population growth—but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas and installment(分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction(生育), they describe middle and upper class values—not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this message to all parts of Brazil and made people realise other patterns of family life and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”

Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. “This led to change in consumption(消费) patterns and consumption did not get along well with unlimited reproduction,” says Martine.

1. The underlined phrase “puts it down to” is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．considers the cause of it to be

B．finds it a reason for

C．looks it on as

D．compares it to

2. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because__________.

A．they keep people sitting long hours watching TV

B．they have gradually changed people’s way of life

C．people are drawn to their attractive package

D．they make birth control measures popular

3. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?

A．The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.

B．The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

C．Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory.

D．A country’s production is limited by its population growth.

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Brazil:the developing world’s success

B．Soap operas and installment plans

C．Brazil: reducing birth rate by accident

D．Learn from Brazil,one of the Third World Countries

5. From the passage,we can conclude that _________.

A．India have reduced birth rates by accident,too

B．many other Third World countries are suffering a population growth rate now

C．Brazil government’s achieved a success reducing the birth rate purposely

D．Brazil has successfully reduced population growth—but more by accident than design

【推荐3】The best festivals in Europe

Whether they’re in the countryside or a post-industrial landscape, Europe’s yearly festival calendar means new events, old favourites, crazy people and great charm.

OFF Festival, Poland

A small festival in Katowice in south-west Poland, OFF has, over the past 10 years, built an international audience thanks to a challenging and interesting mix of acts. This year’s selection focuses on female artists: singer-songwriters Feist and PJ Harvey headline, while Swedish pop singer Anna von Hausswolff and classical composer turned electronic producer Anna Meredith are also on the bill. Meanwhile, the experimental poetry and performance project by Moor Mother will undoubtedly be an unmissable show.

·4~6 August, ￡55, off-festival.pl
Melt, Germany

What would Melt be without its “sleepless stage”--a non-stop music marathon that runs from Saturday morning to midday on Monday? The German festival for those who love an all-hours party takes place in Ferropolis, Gra fenhainichen. This year, the festival celebrates its 20th anniversary, bringing 20,000 people together. A party train from Cologne also serves as your weekend accommodation! A worthy summer alternative to a party weekend in Berlin.

·￡140,14~16 July, melt festival.de
Primavera Sound, Portugal and Spain
A festival that has rapidly grown to attract visitors from across Europe with its electronic music, guitar-led acts and plenty of sunshine, Primavera Sound takes place in Barcelona and, since 2012, also in Porto, under the name NOS Primavera Sound. The Barcelona edition takes place across six days with an abundance of DJs on call to keep people dancing, while the smaller, three-day Porto festival has Bicep, Nicholas Jaar and Richie Hawtin, who will be doing a closing on the Friday night.
·Barcelona 31 May~4 June, ￡195; Porto 8~10 June, ￡110, primaverasound.com
1. When can people take part in OFF Festival in Poland?

A．On 5 August	B．On 3 August
C．Before 3 August	D．After 6 August

2. What can be learned about OFF Festival?

A．Only male artists can join in the festival

B．It’s a festival known all around the world

C．The festival is free of charge for all the people

D．Moor Mother’s poetry will be doubted by people

3. What can people do at Melt, Germany this year?

A．Run a marathon with other people

B．Take part in an all-hours party in Katowice

C．Enjoy music together with about 20,000 people

D．Take weekend accommodation in their own houses

4. What do the festival in the text have in common?

A．They all take place in Germany

B．Their participants are all females

C．They all take place in August

D．They are all concerned with music

【推荐1】Every year, young, talented, and ambitious nature conservationists (自然环境保护主义者) from all over the world participate in the presentation of the Future For Nature (FFN) Award, an honorable international award.

The Future For Nature aims to:

·Reward and fund individuals for their outstanding efforts in the protection of species of wildlife

·Encourage winners to sustain their dedicated work.

·Help winners to raise their profiles, extend their professional network and strengthen their funding basis.

Benefits

·The winners each receive 50, 000 euros and may make their own decision to spend the money in the service of nature conservation.

·FFN offers the winners a platform and brings their stories to the attention of conservationists, financiers and a wide audience, allowing them to increase their impact and gain more access to funds.

·FFN is building a growing family of winners, dedicated people who form a community of people with the same interest. FFN offers them the opportunity to meet each other and continue to learn with each other in order to continue their fight for nature as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Qualifications

The candidate (候选人) :

·Must be born on or after the 31st May 1988 and before the 28th of August 2005.

·Is able to explain his/her conservation work in fluent English (written and spoken)

·Has achieved substantial and long-term benefits to the conservation status of one or more animal or plant species.

·Must be determined to continue his/her conservation work, as the Award aims to stimulate (激励) the winner’s future work. It is not an “end of career” prize.

Additional Remarks

For the 2024 Future For Future Awards, we are again searching for natural leaders, who have proven that they can make a difference in species’ survival.

From all applications, 6 to 10 nominees (被提名者) will be selected. These applicants will be asked to provide additional information, which will be used to select the final Awardees. Ultimately, three inspiring wildlife heroes are selected as the winners.

Application Process: Apply online through the Apply Now link

Application Deadline: 28^th August, 2023

1. Which is one of the aims of the Future For Nature?

A．To help more green groups.	B．To fund academic education.
C．To inspire conservation efforts.	D．To raise environmental awareness.

2. The winners will get the chance to ________.

A．ask experts for advice	B．meet those with same interest
C．benefit the local community	D．promote self-created platforms

3. To apply for the 2024 Future For Nature Awards, candidates must ________.

A．meet the age requirement	B．apply via mail by the deadline
C．hand in the application in English	D．provide additional personal information

【推荐2】Dear Elaine,

My third-grade daughter is having friend problems at school. She comes home complaining （抱怨）about other children at school every day. None of the other children want to play with her. They make fun of her and no one wants to sit by her at lunch. My heart is broken when I hear her words. When I suggest things she should try, she tells me that I don't understand her. When I try to find out what is really going on, she gets even more upset and cries harder. What can I do to help her?

Sarah Dear Sarah,

We all want our children to be accepted by other children and it hurts us when they are not. We want to march right up to school, shake those children, and say "Don't treat my baby in this way!" Our task, however, is to keep our expectations, worry, and anger to ourselves and do something positive （积极的）for our children. We must encourage our children to solve their own problems.

If you want to help your daughter, the best thing you can do is accept her feelings. I know how hard it is not to do something to help our children with their friend problems, but they will always refuse our advice. When your daughter comes to you with her complaints, listen without saying a word. Try to see what your daughter is feeling and ignore the words. When you think you know what she is feeling, let her know that you know. She needs to express her feelings and you just allow her to do that.

Sit and listen for as long as she wants to talk, or cry. If you need to say something, let her know that her feelings are acceptable. They often need to be encouraged to solve their own problems. We may have to listen for a long time before they move from complaints （抱怨）to problem-solving. They need our support and encouragement but they don't need or want our advice .

Trust your daughter to learn and grow from this experience. You will, too.

Elaine Gibson

1. What does Sarah's daughter complain about?

A．Sarah's cooking.	B．The relationship with her schoolmates.
C．Too much homework every day.	D．Her teachers' teaching methods.

2. What is the best thing that Sarah can do according to Elaine?

A．Accept what her daughter feels.

B．Tell the matter to school teachers.

C．Argue with other students’ parents.

D．Offer her daughter some practical advice.

3. What does Elaine think parents should do?

A．Offer advice to solve children's problems.

B．Help children make important decisions.

C．Complain of problems together with children.

D．Encourage children to solve their own problems.

4. In which part of a website may the text appear?

A．Health.

B．Education.

C．Sport.

D．Entertainment.

【推荐3】EReader IQ

Daily free e-books are the main feature on this site, and there are some fantastic titles to choose from, including a large number of children's books and young adult novels. The format is unique to Kindle though,so unless you have a conversion(转换)program, you might be out of luck if you're using a different e-reader.

Ereader Love

The majority of books on this site are in the science fiction and romance styles, but there are some jewels to be found in the other sections as well. Young adult readers may find some unique stories to dive into, and there are a few hundred mystery and horror novels to read through too.

Project Gutenberg

This site deals only with older books such as classic novels and reference materials, and are free in the United States because their copyright has been out of date.Gutenberg has over 42, 000 free e-books available, so any book lovers will have plenty of materials to refer to.

Scribd. com

A great site for self-published authors, Scribd gives people the opportunity to upload their own work, and download books by other authors. There's a small catch: not all the books are free.You can read free short pieces of some novels and then purchase with a little money, but there are many impressive titles available for no charge whatsoever.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．E-books on EReader IQ are free of charge.

B．Up-to-date novels can be found in Project Gutenberg.

C．Scribd. com is for famous writers to upload their work.

D．Mystery and horror novels are in the majority on Ereader Love.

2. On which website can you probably find The Time Machine by H.G. Wells?

A．EReader IQ

B．Ereader Love

C．Project Gutenberg

D．Scribd.com

3. What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To stress the importance of e-reading.

B．To compare the advantages of e-book websites.

C．To introduce searching techniques for e-reading.

D．To recommend some online resources of e-books.