【推荐1】The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks, which was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a wolf-proof house from bricks. The fairy tale could have been written by an agent for the construction industry, strongly favoring brick, concrete and steel. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.

No other building material has environmental credentials (认证信息) as exciting and overlooked as wood. The energy required to produce a laminated wooden beam (层压木梁) is one-sixth of that required for a steel one of comparable strength. As trees take carbon out of the atmosphere when growing, wooden buildings contribute to negative emissions by storing the stuff. And for refitting older buildings to be more energy efficient, wood is a good insulator (绝缘体). A softwood window frame provides nearly 400 times as much insulation as a plain steel one of the same thickness and over a thousand times as much as an aluminium (铝) equivalent.

But such bigger stories are still uncommon. Governments can help push the industry to use more wood, particularly in the public sector — the construction industry’s biggest client. That would help wood-building specialists achieve greater scale and lower costs. Zero-carbon building regulations should be altered to take account of the emissions that are presented in materials.

Construction codes could be regulated to make building with wood easier. Here the direction of travel is wrong. Britain, for instance, is banning the use of timber on the outside of tall buildings after 72 people died in a tower fire in London in 2017. That is a nonsense. Grenfell Tower was covered in aluminium and plastic, not wood. Modern cross-laminated timber (交叉层叠木板) panels perform better in fire tests than steel ones do.

Carpentry alone will not bring the environmental cost of the world’s buildings into line. But using wood can do much more than is appreciated. The second little pig was not wrong, just before his time.

1. The purpose of the writer telling the story in the first paragraph is to _______.

A．attract the readers’ attention	B．make the argument more convincing
C．criticize the author of the tale	D．lead in the topic of the text

2. Paragraph 2 is intended to inform us _______.

A．wood is a good insulator

B．such skyscrapers with wood are uncommon currently

C．the unique advantages of wood material being friendly environmental

D．how wood reduces the emission of carbon dioxide

3. Which of the following does NOT belong to the governments’ measures to help the scheme?

A．To encourage the construction industry’s biggest client to use more wood.

B．To transform Zero-carbon building regulations.

C．To arouse the public’s awareness of protecting the woods.

D．To regulate the Construction codes.

4. The author may imply that _______.

A．the second pig in the tale was unlucky

B．the outside of tall buildings Grenfell Tower could have been constructed in wood

C．we haven’t appreciated the characteristics of using wood at all

D．wood-building specialists will achieve greater profits

【推荐2】The traditional tent cities at festivals such as Glastonbury may never be the same again. In a victory of green business that is certain to appeal to environmentally-aware music-lovers, a design student is to receive financial support to produce eco-friendly tents made of cardboard that can be recycled after the bands and the crowds have gone home.

Major festivals such as Glastonbury throw away some 10,000 abandoned tents at the end of events each year. For his final year project at the University of the West of England, James Dunlop came up with a material that can be recycled. And to cope with the British summer, the cardboard has been made waterproof.

Taking inspiration from a Japanese architect, who has used cardboard to make big buildings including churches, Mr. Dunlop used cardboard material for his tents, which he called Myhabs.

The design won an award at the annual New Designers Exhibition after Mr. Dunlop graduated from his product design degree and he decided to try to turn it into a business.

To raise money for the idea, he toured the City’s private companies which fund new businesses and found a supporter in the finance group Mint. He introduced his idea to four of Mint’s directors and won their support. Mint has committed around ￡500,000 to MyHab and taken a share of 30 per cent in Mr. Dunlop’s business. The first Myhabs should be tested at festivals this summer, before being marketed fully next year.

Mr. Dunlop said that the design, which accommodates two people, could have other uses, such as for disaster relief and housing for the London Olympics.

For music events, the cardboard houses will be ordered online and put up at the sites by the Myhab team before the festival-goers arrive and removed by the company afterwards. They can be personalized and the company will offer reductions on the expense if people agree to sell exterior(外部的) advertising space.

The biggest festivals attract tens of thousands of participants, with Glastonhury having some 150,000 each year. Altogether there are around 100 annual music festivals where people camp in the UK. The events are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious.

1. “Eco-friendly tents” in paragraph 1 refer to tents              .

A．economically desirable

B．favorable to the environment

C．for holding music performances

D．designed for disaster relief

2. Mr. Dunlop established his business              .

A．independently with an interest-free loan from Mint

B．with the approval of the City’s administration

C．in partnership with a finance group

D．with the help of a Japanese architect

3. It is implied in the passage that               .

A．the weather in the UK. is changeable in summer

B．most performances at British festivals are given in the open air

C．the cardboard tents produced by Mr. Dunlop can be user-tailored

D．cardboard tents can be easily put up and removed by users

4. The passage is mainly concerned with              .

A．an attempt at developing recyclable tents

B．some efforts at making full use of cardboards

C．an unusual success of a graduation project

D．the effects of using cardboard tents on music festivals

【推荐3】A 90-year-old may not be typical for a show's narrator（解说员）,but without the voice of English broadcaster Sir David Attenborough,one of the most successful new shows on television just wouldn't be the same.

BBC's Planet EarthⅡis getting good ratings in the United Kingdom.And Sir David,the man behind the show's voice,describes it as "greatly pleasing".The naturalist is the father of nature documentaries（纪录片）,with a television career that started in 1950.Since then,the London-born broadcaster has traveled the world intent on sharing his discoveries through the television in new ways.

Ever since his first wildlife documentary series,1954's Zoo Quest,Sir David's voice has become synonymous（同义）with environmental protection.Concerned with how humans are harming the planet,he attempts to educate viewers on the threats and dangers that are present today.He's used his profile to raise important issues like global warming,deforestation,climate change and overpopulation.

"We can't go on increasing at the rate human beings are increasing forever,because the Earth is finite（有限）and you can't put infinity into something that is finite,"he told The Independent two years ago."So if we don't do something about it then the world will do something about it."

And after almost 30 years of nature-based programming,Sir David's efforts to protect wildlife and the environment have not gone unnoticed.His work has been significant in reconnecting an increasingly disconnected human population with the environment of the planet that we not only come from but also rely on.

1. What can we learn about Planet EarthⅡ?

A．It was made in 1950.

B．It is now very popular.

C．It is broadcast all over the world.

D．It was filmed in the United Kingdom.

2. When did Sir David's job begin to be widely recognized?

A．In 1950.

B．In 1954.

C．When he is 90 years old.

D．After 30 years of hard work.

3. What does Sir David intend to tell in Paragraph 4?

A．We will lose control of the worsening of the Earth.

B．He will help to deal with some important issues.

C．Measures should be taken to protect the Earth.

D．Human population should stop increasing.

4. Which of the following best describes Sir David according to the text?

A．Optimistic.	B．Ambitious.
C．Generous.	D．Devoted.

【推荐2】The Canadian red and white maple leaf (枫叶) flag is officially called the National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag.

The red and the white used in the National Flag of Canada were proclaimed the official colors of Canada in 1921 by King George Ⅴ. Although the maple leaf did not have its official status as a symbol of Canada until the announcement (宣告) of the national flag in 1965, it had historically been used as a Canadian symbol, and was used in 1860 in decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada. The 11 points on the maple leaf have no special significance.

In the early days, the Royal Union Flag, or the Union Jack, was still flown in British North America. In 1925 and again in 1946, the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King tried to get a national flag of Canada adopted, but failed. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester Pearson appointed a 15-member, all-party committee to come up with a design for a new flag. The committee was given six weeks to complete its task.

The committee studied 2,000 submitted (提交的) designs as well as 3,900 that had been gathered as a result of the 1946 committee’s study. Those designs with a chance of being accepted were given to the full committee for further study.

The suggestion of a red and white single maple leaf design for the Canadian flag came from George Stanley, a professor at the Royal Military College. After a heated discussion, they finally decided on his suggestion.

1. How many colors are there in the National Flag of Canada?

A．One.	B．Two.
C．Three.	D．Four.

2. When did Canada have its own national flag?

A．In 1921.	B．In 1860.
C．In 1964.	D．In 1965.

3. What does the underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The officials of the government.

B．The professors from the Royal Military College.

C．The members of the 1946 committee.

D．The members of the 1964 committee.

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the designer of the National Flag of Canada

B．the history of the National Flag of Canada

C．the meaning of the National Flag of Canada

D．why the red and white single maple leaf was chosen as the design for the National Flag of Canada

【推荐3】While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some elementary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher, Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Will is just an avatar (化身) that turns up on the students’ desktop, tablet, or smartphone screen when called.

Thanks to a digital camera and microphone, the avatar not only responds to questions the kids may have, but also picks up non-verbal signals. For example, if a student smiles at Will, he responds by smiling back. This two-way communication not only helps draw the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their involvement (参与) and make changes if needed.

Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to attract the attention of the next generation. He says, “Using a digital human is a very popular method to deliver new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a means to deliver rich and educational experience in the future.” Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer for Soul Machines, states that kids who have grown up in this digital time adapt to new technology quickly, and he hopes to develop the idea of digital humans in the area of education further.

The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success so far. However, no matter how popular it becomes, Will is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars could never predict and react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a “personal teacher”, providing kids with one-on-one help on the subjects or even topics.

1. What is mentioned about Will in the first paragraph?

A．He is unlikely to replace human educators.

B．He is the first robot teacher in the world.

C．He will walk across the classroom to you when called.

D．He is a digital teacher teaching in a school.

2. In what way does the digital teacher help the students?

A．By taking part in discussion.	B．By communicating with students.
C．By changing teaching methods.	D．By monitoring students’ behavior.

3. What is Greg Cross’s attitude toward the digital teacher?

A．Doubtful.	B．Uncaring.
C．Supportive	D．Dissatisfied.

4. What can be inferred about the digital teacher from the last paragraph?

A．It has entered many homes as kids’ private teacher.

B．It will teach in class in place of human educators.

C．It’s good at handling unexpected situations.

D．It remains to be improved.