【推荐2】Cheap “blind box” plane tickets become a popular choice for travel.

A promotion offering $15 plane tickets is being advertised by an online travel platform. While such a low price sounds amazing, there is just one rule.    1    Labeled a “destination blind box” on the site, tickets are bought through a rather simple booking procedure. Passengers provide their travel information, select a departure airport and then pay their money to book the ticket. If the date and destination are unsuitable, users may ask for a refund (退款).     2    

“Plane ticket blind box” is now a hot topic on online platforms. Fan, a marketing expert, said, “I believe young people are a big target group for this promotion, because they not only enjoy the thrill of the unknown but also like to show off their lives through these types of commercial activities.    3    What matters is that it suggests that one has adventurous and life-loving qualities.”

    4    Some even teach the booking procedure under the free canceling policy. Some others claim it is too rare to draw a ticket that is ideal.

“If it wants to be a profitable activity, the release of the tickets must be planned ahead and is not as random as it seems.    5    The marketing campaign may also be aimed at the fast sale of some tickets from less popular airlines that were originally not that expensive. If they sell a large quantity of tickets, the company may still earn a profit even though the price is low,” said an expert in tourism.

A．It will not have popular airlines.

B．It doesn’t matter whether they finally go or not.

C．The promotion has become a hot topic on social media.

D．The upcoming holiday is expected to be a major travel period.

E．But once they “lock in” their tickets, there’s no money going back.

F．Many netizens share the screenshots (屏幕截图) of the tickets they have drawn.

G．The purchaser is not told where the flight is heading or when it takes off.

【推荐3】HOT on the heels of equality

    1     They lengthen the legs but shorten the steps; they give the wearer a sense of power but can also be painful to wear; they are worn by working women, but their visual appeal has nothing to do with work.

In Japan, a new social media campaign highlights the issues many women have with this footwear.     2    In May, thousands of women signed an online petition(请愿书)demanding that the government ban the practice.

“    3    ” said the movement founder Yuni Ishikawa, 32 yeas old, in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s the view that appearances are more important for women at work than for men.”

As early as January, Ishikawa shared her frustration about the unfairness of this dress code on the Instagram social network. In her part-time job as a funeral usher(迎宾员), she was required to wear black heels between 5 and 7cm high.    4    . “High heels can cause bunions, blisters and strain the lower back. It’s hard to move, you can’t run and your feet hurt,” Ishikawa wrote in the petition, “    5    “

It’s a modest dream. Not too long ago, Japanese businessmen were expected to wear neckties, even on hot days. Then, the government encouraged companies to use less air conditioning and reduce electricity use. Men were freed from neckties. “This petition is the first step toward ‘creating a working environment free from unnecessary burdens’.” Ishikawa said.

A．It’s unreasonable.

B．This is about gender discrimination.

C．She would come home with bleeding toes.

D．I hope there will come a day when women don’t have to wear heels in the workplace.

E．High-heeled shoes are loaded with contradictions.

F．They are upset that many companies require women to wear high heels to work.

G．It would be great if the country had a similar kind of campaign about neckties.

【推荐1】Did you ever notice how your favorite clothes lose their color and seem thinner with time? Washing may be to blame.

According to a new study, clothes lose fewer dyes(染料) and fibers when washed in shorter cycles and in cool water. That means they will fade and thin less. These wash settings are greener, too—good for the environment.

As clothes are being washed in a washing machine, some of the fabric’s fibers loosen and are washed away. Clothes also lose some of dyes that colored them and the dyes and fibers lost in the water will end up in the environment.

“There is some sort of environmental impact as to almost everything you do,” says Lucy Cotton from the University of Leeds. Her research team put together two batches of clothes for tests. One had dark-colored T-shirts. The other had shirts in lighter colors. The team washed each batch in the same machine but used two different cycles. The first cycle lasted 30 minutes and used 25°C water. The second cycle used 40°C water and ran for 85 minutes.

After each cycle, the team collected fibers in the wash water and from an extra empty wash cycle afterward. They found that all shirts lost more color when washed in hot water in the longer cycle. Room-temperature water released fewer dyes than the hotter water did. The shirts also lost more tiny fibers in the longer, hotter cycle. Those microfibers matter because they give fabric its weight and strength. When the fabric loses too many microfibers, it will thin and weaken. Those microfibers will also pollute waterways.

And, just as microfibers add up to tons of waste, even small steps to cut waste will also add up. “Everything that you can do can make a difference,” Cotton says, “even if it is something as simple as changing your wash settings.”

1. What did the new study mainly express in the passage?

A．The advantages of washing clothes.	B．The frequency of washing clothes.
C．The results of washing clothes.	D．The results of washing time and water temperature.

2. From the passage, what can we learn about microfibers?

A．They are useless at all.	B．They are beneficial to fabric.
C．They can improve water quality.	D．They are good for the environment.

3. What can we know from the team’s experiment?

A．We should wash clothes as few as possible.

B．We should wash clothes in longer cycles.

C．We’d better use cool water when washing clothes.

D．We need a proper washing machine when washing clothes.

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Wash Properly, Pollute Less	B．Wash Quickly, Spend Less
C．The Research on Microfibers	D．The Ways to Wash Clothes

【推荐2】These days,American children usually can receive about$800 each year in tips,according to the American Institute of Public Accountants. Most of American parents tie the tips to the completion of certain daily work.

“Kids are tipped for two main purposes,”says Steven Mintz,a historian at the University of Texas at Austin.“First,to give them a sense of independence—to buy candies,cheap toys,and other inexpensive products for themselves—and second,to teach them the value of money.”

However,many experts expressed concern that tying payments too closely to daily work can send kids wrong messages about family and personal responsibility. Suniya Luthar,a psychologist at Arizona State University,is doubtful of the idea of paying kids on a per-work basis.“Should we pay a child when he picks up his clothes off the floor?”she asks.

Luthar is not opposed to(反对) giving tips, but she thinks it’s important to let children know that certain work has to be done not because it’ll lead to payment,but because it’s part of what you have to do for yourself or as a family member. “In a family, no one’s going to pay you to put your clothes away or tidy up the house,” Luthar says.

Other researchers disagree.Heather Beth Johnson,a sociologist at Lehigh University,says,“When we pay kids to do things that humans have always had to do,”she says,“it sends them a message that they have to work for returns.”

Johnson adds that upper-middle-class families are usually ready to pay children for things like doing well in school or taking care of the younger children.She says that this sort of tips can make kids happier to carry out more basic responsibilities.“This isn’t happening in poor families,”she adds.

1. Suniya Luthar would probably agree to tip the children______.

A．when they pick up their clothes off the floor.	B．every time they take care of their brothers
C．once they have made big progress in school.	D．each time they help clean up the house

2. What does Heather Beth Johnson mean?

A．Rich children will be more successful.

B．Rich parents are too generous with tips.

C．Poor parents should not be misled by rich parents.

D．Poor kids are less inspired to take on responsibilities.

3. What is the text mainly about?

A．Ways to tip the children.	B．Views on tipping children.
C．The main purposes of tips.	D．The value of tipping.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．An education report.	B．A government guideline.
C．A history book.	D．An official survey.

【推荐3】American and British people both speak English of course. But sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English.

First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don’t say each word separately. They say several words together. Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know.” Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?” However, the British are more careful in their speech. They usually say all the words and keep them separate.

Also, some letters have different sounds. For example, the Americans say the “a” in half like the “a” in cat. But the British say the “a” in half like the “o” in soft. Sound is not only the difference between British English and American English. Words sometimes have different meanings too. Some American words are never used in England. The same thing is true of some British words in America. For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different. Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries.

Many expressions are also different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you “phone them up”. In America, you “give them a call”. When you are saying goodbye in England you might say “Cheerio!”In America you might say “See you later.”

There’re also some differences in grammar. For example, Americans usually use the helping verb “do” when they ask a question. They say “Do you have a storybook?” But the British often leave out the helping verb. They say “Have you a storybook?”

All these differences can be confusing if you are learning English. But most languages are like this. Languages change over time. When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways. This is what has happened to English. It can also happen to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France.

1. What does the author think of the differences between American and British English?

A．American and British English are the same languages.

B．American and British English are quite different.

C．Although American English came from the British English, there are still some important differences.

D．There are slight differences between American and British English.

2. What does the underlined word “separately” mean?

A．Together.	B．One by one.
C．In common.	D．In different ways.

3. What does the underlined sentence “The same thing is true of some British words in America.” mean?

A．The words of American and British English are the same.

B．The spelling of American and British English are the same.

C．Although they don’t sound the same, the words are the same.

D．Some British English words are not used in American English.

4. How many ways are used to talk about the differences between American and British English in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

5. Why has English changed over time?

A．Geography plays an important role in the changing.

B．Different people have different living habits.

C．Different people have different jobs.

D．The income of the native English speakers is different.