【推荐1】Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off.     1     Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

    2     Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious when they’re in poorly lit places — and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn’t have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

Mind the colors.     3     In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it’s time to repaint, go blue.

    4     People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you’re at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

Downsize the dishes.     5     We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake jumps by 14 percent. And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tail, skinny glass.

A．Slow down while cooking.

B．Don’t forget the clock or the radio.

C．Open the curtains and turn up the lights.

D．Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites.

E．Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat.

F．They depend on how much time you spend designing.

G．You can make your environment work for you instead of against you.

【推荐2】A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities （设施） for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes （样品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation （朝向）,”Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
1. How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?

A．They lost balance in excitement.	B．They showed strong disbelief.
C．They expressed little interest.	D．They burst into cheers.

2. Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?

A．Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.

B．Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.

C．Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.

D．Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.

3. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?

A．The large size.	B．Limited facilities.
C．The desert climate.	D．Poor natural resources.

4. What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?

A．They are questionable.	B．They are out of date.
C．They are advanced.	D．They are practical.

【推荐3】Earl Forlales, a graduate in Materials Science and Engineering, took inspiration from the bamboo hut his grandparents lived in outside Manila and created a house made of bamboo that can be put together in four hours to solve the chronic(长期的) shortage of affordable accommodation in the Philippines. His design won a £50,000 top prize from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in its Cities for our Future competition.

His house, known as Cubo, could be produced in a week, constructed in four hours and costs £60 per square meter. Its use of bamboo — which releases 35% more oxygen into the environment than trees — was praised by the judges. The ability of the houses to be constructed in any bamboo-producing area was one of the key attractions.

“The world’s cities are growing all the time and there is a real need to make sure they are safe, clean and comfortable places to live in,” John Hughes, the competition’s head judge and president at RICS, said. “As we look at our competitors, who are our next generation of leaders, I believe that real progress will be made in tackling the world’s biggest issues.”

Forlales has already identified a suitable area of land to start building his Cubo houses. He plans to begin the work next year with experts from the RICS in an attempt to help relieve the huge pressure on housing in Manila, where a third of the 12 million population live in poor districts. He said, “I would like to thank RICS for the opportunity, and look forward to working with them to put this money to good use in Manila and then hopefully elsewhere around the world.”

1. What contributes most to Forlales’ winning the prize?

A．The material of his house.

B．The shape of his house.

C．The design of his house.

D．The expense of his house.

2. Which word can best replace the underline word “tackling” in Paragraph 3?

A．Facing.

B．Treating.

C．Covering.

D．Handling.

3. What can we infer about the Cubo house?

A．It is created by Forlales and his parents.

B．It can be constructed in a week.

C．It has already been built in Forlales’ hometown.

D．It is environmentally friendly and economical.

4. Which of the following provinces can Forlales’s design be applied to?

A．Jilin.

B．Inner Mongolia.

C．Sichuan.

D．Xinjiang.

【推荐2】In today’s consumer world, we’ve never had so much, yet it seems we’ve never been so unsatisfied. The cost of housing has been rising for decades, and the cost to the planet has been huge, too. But there is a way to live a simpler, greener, and more affordable life: buy a TinyDwelling home!
TinyDwelling homes are very small, yet comfortable houses at affordable prices. Each TinyDwelling home has a contemporary design and included a living room, kitchen, bathroom, upstairs sleeping area, and convenient storage space. TinyDwelling homes are cheap to run and ecologically-friendly, too. All you need is a small heater to keep your house warm in cold weather, and solar panels (太阳能电池板) in order to provide light and electricity.
TinyDwelling is part of the small-living movement that began in the late 1990s. Back then, a growing number of people began to live in very small homes. They wanted to reduce their possessions, living space, and energy costs, so as to lead more ecologically-friendly lives. But the small-living movement really took off after the economic crisis of 2008, when many people realized that they couldn’t afford to keep large homes.
Lizzy Morriaon, a small-living enthusiast, started TinyDwelling homes in 2008 to meet the needs of these people. Since then, Lizzy has been designing and building homes nonstop, and TinyDwelling homes have become so popular that thousands of people have bought one. And Lizzy hasn’t only designing and building houses. She has also been teaching people how to build them. Simply buy the plans and materials so that you can build your own home, and save even more money!
1. It is implied in Paragraph 1 that __________.

A．rich people are very unsatisfied

B．people are damaging the environment

C．there are more poor people than before

D．people spend much money in saving the planet

2. What do we know about the small-living movement?

A．It aimed to handle the economic crisis.

B．It was started by people without houses.

C．It was well received by house designers.

D．It did not become quite popular until 2008.

3. What is the main attraction of TinyDwelling homes?

A．They are affordable.

B．They provide storage space.

C．They have upstairs sleeping area.

D．They are equipped with solar panels.

4. Besides designing TinyDwelling homes, Lizzy also ___________.

A．urged people to buy them.

B．helped people to build them.

C．taught people to save money.

D．offered courses to train designers.

【推荐3】Besides being fun, well-managed festivals and events offer a host of economic and social benefits to communities.     1     There are risks and costs related to the effort.

Festivals attract visitors and boost the economy.     2     On-site spending includes admission fees, parking fees, food, beverage and souvenir sales — and more. But off-site spending related to festivals brings income for communities, too. For example, visitors stop at local gas stations, souvenir shops, and restaurants — the list goes on. Festivals also provide free marketing and advertising for local businesses as visitors talk about their fun experiences when they go back home. If visitors post comments and photos about their experiences on Facebook or other social media, so much the better. The economic benefits of successful festivals affect local tourism and non-tourism-related businesses alike.

    3     Planning and conducting festivals involves many members of the community, which produces a number of social benefits. “The best thing about being involved with festivals and events is the opportunity to help build a community, develop a sense of pride within a community, and engage a community,” says Chris Romano, a business consultant with Thrivent Financial Services. “Honestly, in my professional career, I’ve never found something outside a community festival that can do that to the same degree.” Experts agree that hometown pride is a critical factor in the development and improvement of any community. People with community pride are more likely to speak positively about their town to others and to volunteer with organizations and activities that support the common good.

Festivals will teach visitors new things. Whatever a festival’s theme, it’s bound to be instructional and visitors are bound to learn from it. Of course, education is another social benefit of festivals.     4     Learning is a big byproduct of the annual Lady Slipper Celebration in the northwestern Minnesota community of Black duck. The community launched the celebration, named after the Minnesota state flower, to showcase and promote understanding of the area’s natural resources and Native American culture.    5     who were pleased with their experience and planned to return to the area.

A．But hosting festivals also poses challenges.

B．Festivals may help to improve community pride.

C．Festivals play a significant role in developing relationships.

D．This is hands-on, experiential learning offered in the fun context of celebration.

E．They spend money, which boosts the local economy both on and off the festival site.

F．While a successful event raises a community’s fame, a less-than-successful effort does just the opposite.

G．This educational experience helped visitors connect to the area.