【推荐3】It was once considered an important status symbol --- but having a home phone is increasingly seen as a white elephant. New figures show that one in five households no longer bother with a landline （固定电话），and almost a third of those that do never actually use it.

The vast majority of people who still have a home phone ——72 percent ——say they only have it because it is part of their broadband package. But that's not the only reason to desert the home phone - 20 percent of those surveyed said that they were fed up with the number of cold calls and would-be scammers （诈骗者）.

Digital media expert Dr. Elinor Carmi said there was a generational and social divide in phone use. She explained： "If you ^, re young and have the mobility to go outside, you would rely on a mobile phone. But if you are older, disabled and perhaps poorer, our research shows you're more likely to use a landline. If you are richer, you will have access to more smart devices --- a smart TV, smartphone or laptop. But the poorer you are --- or if you are older, your use of these devices is more limited.”

Last year, research from regulator Ofcom found that the amount of time spent on landline calls annually in the UK had halved over just six years, to 54 billion minutes. The new study also showed that more than a quarter of households have decided to find a broadband provider that does not charge for their unused landline, but only six percent have done so.

1. The underlined part “ a white elephant" in Paragraph 1 probably refers to something that is

A．costly but effective	B．useful and beautiful
C．expensive but useless	D．cheap and necessary

2. What's the main reason why some people still have a home phone?

A．Their broadband package contains it.

B．Their family can only afford to use it.

C．They are used to using a home phone.

D．They consider it an important status symbol.

3. Which of the following is more likely to use a landline?

A．A young adventurer.

B．An old poor gardener.

C．An outdoor photographer.

D．A famous indoor designer.

4. What's the best title of the text?

A．End of the landline?

B．Fed up with cold calls?

C．The history of phones

D．Different choices of phones

【推荐1】For the first time, scientists have measured what actually happens with face-to-face interactions when employees start to work at an open-plan office, and their results show these modern workspaces are not as cooperative as you’d think.

Two researchers from Harvard Business School and Harvard University wanted to test whether removing walls at a real-world workplace really increases interactions between co-workers. “To our knowledge, no prior study has directly measured the effect on actual interaction that results from removing walls to create an open office environment,” Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban write in the paper. To that end, they approached two multinational companies that were re-organizing their office spaces at the global headquarters, and enlisted small groups of employees for two studies.

For eight weeks before the office redesign and eight weeks afterward, the researchers tracked employees’ social interactions and locations. This data was analyzed together with email and instant messaging information from the company’s servers to measure differences in how people were communicating with each other.

What they found was a pretty astonishing difference in face-to-face interactions — but not in the direction you might think. Across both experiments, employees’ social interactions in person decreased by a crazy 70 percent, while emails saw an uptick by roughly 20 to 50 percent.

So, instead of spending more time cooperating with co-workers in the new space where everyone could see them, people got their heads down and tried to preserve their privacy any way they could. According to these results, it appears that being forced into a more open-plan environment can make people switch from chatting to others in person to sending an email or using instant messaging instead.

As the team notes, it’s not automatically a bad thing, but it can certainly change work dynamics in an unexpected way. “That can have important consequences for how — and how productively — work gets done,” the researchers conclude.

1. How did the two multinational companies redesign their offices?

A．By expanding the total floor areas.

B．By updating the computer servers.

C．By changing the employees’ locations.

D．By tearing down the space boundaries.

2. Why did the employees prefer email or instant messaging in an open office space?

A．To reduce the risk of privacy leaks.

B．To establish efficient communication.

C．To facilitate indirect social interaction.

D．To transform traditional work patterns.

3. What can be inferred from the researchers’ saying in the last paragraph?

A．Further relevant research needs conducting.

B．Their research findings are of practical value.

C．Their team intends to change working environment.

D．People hold different opinions on how work gets done.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Real-world workplaces increase employees’ interaction.

B．Work dynamics don’t have much effect on work efficiency.

C．Modern workspaces change workers’ way of communication.

D．Open-plan offices can’t promote cooperation between co-workers.

【推荐2】In San Francisco, a large group of sea lions move themselves out of the bay waters and hang out on PIER 39, which is a popular tourist destination. According to dock (码头) officials, this is the most sea lions seen in the region in 15 years.

“Over 1,000 sea lions have been counted this week,” PIER 39 harbormaster Sheila Chandor told many different media. “The surge in sea lions is usually a good sign of their strong population and healthy living environment,” said Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement at the Marine Mammal (海洋哺乳动物) Center in Sausalito, California.

“California sea lions are sentinels (哨兵) of the ocean,” Ratner said. Their population to some extent reflects the health of the ocean. Therefore, seeing a large number of California sea lions is clearly a good thing.

For nearly 35 years, the slippery (滑的) residents have been a star attraction for tourists. That autumn in 1989, PIER 39 had just been repaired, but the ships had not yet been moved back. At that moment, the sea lions unexpected arrival not only attracted fans but also created enemies. According to a website, some dock residents and workers were scared away by the strong and very unpleasant smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw these animals as a bright spot after the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake.

The officials sought help from the Marine Mammal Center to find a way to deal with sea lions. Ratner said that the final decision is to let the sea lions stay and coexist with humans. “The fact proves that this is really a good thing,” he said. “This is just a proof of how we can truly work together and think about how we can share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all the parties involved.”

1. How does the author start the text?

A．By describing a situation.

B．By answering a question.

C．By holding a conversation.

D．By comparing different opinions.

2. What does the underlined word “surge” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Sharp increase.	B．Tight control.
C．Slow development.	D．Sudden movement.

3. What is Ratner’s attitude to the final decision?

A．Doubtful.	B．Uninterested.
C．Supportive.	D．Unclear.

4. What message does the author seem to convey in the text?

A．Sea lions are pretty cool animals.

B．Animals and humans can live in harmony.

C．Watching sea lions might not be a proper action.

D．Sea lions should be driven out of PIER 39.

【推荐3】A quarter of the world’s population eat peppers every day, notes Joshua Tewksbury. He is a biologist who spent 10 years studying peppers.

Peppers do much more than burn people’s mouths. Scientists have discovered many uses for the thing. Called capsaicin(辣椒素), it’s the main ingredient in pepper spray. Some people use this weapon for self-defense. In smaller quantities, capsaicin can relieve pain, help with weight loss and possibly affect microbes(微生物)in the gut(肠道)to keep people healthier. Now how cool is that?

Capsaicin triggers a rush of stress hormones. These will make the skin redden and sweat. It can also make someone feel energized. Some people enjoy this feeling. But there is another reason why peppers show up on dinner plates around the world. When food sits out in warm weather, microbes on the food start to multiply. If people eat food with too many of these germs, they risk getting very sick. The cold temperature inside a refrigerator stops most microbes from growing. That’s why most people today rely on refrigerators to keep their food fresh. But long ago, those appliances weren’t available. Peppers were. Their capsaicin and other chemicals, it turns out, can slow or stop microbial growth. Before refrigerators, people living in most hot parts of the world developed a taste for spicy foods.

Peppers also may help people lose weight. However, a person can’t simply eat hot, spicy food and expect to lose pounds. “It’s not a magic remedy,” warns Baskaran Thyagarajan. As a pharmacologist, he studies the effects of medicines. His team is now working to create a drug to make the body burn through fat more quickly than usual. A primary ingredient: Capsaicin. In a 2015 study, his group showed that mice that ate a high-fat diet containing capsaicin did not gain extra weight. But a group of mice that ate only the high-fat diet became obese.

As scientists continue to uncover the secret powers of peppers, people will keep spicing up their soups, stews, stir-fries and other favorite dishes. Next time you see a pepper on a plate, take a deep breath, and then take a bite.

1. What can peppers be used to do according to Paragraph 2?

A．Keep people’s mouths clean.

B．Defend a country from invasion.

C．Make people feel less painful.

D．Prevent people from getting sick.

2. Before refrigerators, how did people eat safer?

A．Placing food in the open air.

B．Only eating fresh food.

C．Storing food in other appliances.

D．Adding peppers to food.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word in Paragraph 4?

A．Healthy.	B．Bad-tempered.
C．Skinny.	D．Overweight.

4. Which can be the suitable title for the text?

A．The Cool Science of Hot Peppers

B．A Great Way To Preserve Food

C．Magical Peppers To Lose Weight

D．A Hot Trend of Enjoying Peppers