【推荐1】Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal.

The paper calls for a complete change in government spending on wildfires, changing their investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness.

The report, Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires, finds a higher risk even for the Arctic and other regions previously unaffected by wildfires. The report had been released before representatives of 193 nations held a meeting in Nairobi for the restarted 5th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), between 28 February and 2 March, 2022.

The publication calls on governments to adopt a new “Fire Ready Formula” with two-thirds of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with one third left for response. Currently, direct responses to wildfires typically receive over hall of related cost, while planning and prevention receive less than one per cent.

To prevent fires, authors call for a combination of data and science-based monitoring systems with native knowledge and for a stronger regional and international cooperation.

“Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place. Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported. We have to reduce the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.

Wildfires disproportionately (不成比例地) affect the world’s poorest nations. With an impact that extends for days, weeks and even years after the flames die down, they block progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Coals and deepen social inequalities.

1. What does the paper appeal to the government to do with wildfires?

A．Invest more money on forecast.

B．Give advanced warning to wild animals

C．Focus on the act of stopping them from happening,

D．Plant more tress to make up for the loss of forests.

2. What’s Inger Andersen’s attitude towards the current government’s measure?

A．Supportive.

B．Critical.

C．Unfair.

D．Unconcerned.

3. What is the author likely to talk about next?

A．The areas hit by climate change.

B．The names of the world’s poorest nations.

C．The relationship between wildfires and health.

D．The bad effects of wildfires on different fields.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Wildfires are spreading worldwide.

B．The UN held a meeting to discuss wildfires.

C．Governments should prepare themselves for wildfires.

D．The UNEP Executive Director released a report on wildfires.

【推荐3】Some people like modern art, while others say that it is rubbish. But a cleaner who works in the Tate Britain Gallery in London isn’t able to tell the difference. The woman, whose name isn’t known, mistook a work of art by the German painter Gustav Metzger for a bag of rubbish, and threw it out with other bags. The plastic bag, which contained pieces of paper and cardboard, was later recovered outside the gallery, but the artist thought that it was too badly damaged to be put on show again, and so he found another bag. 78-year-old Mr. Metzger explained that the exhibit, which he said was a copy of a similar work he had created in 1960, was meant to show that all art is temporary (暂时的).

Embarrassed officials at the museum said that they had had to call a meeting with cleaners to explain which things should not be touched. They would not say whether Mr. Metzger   would be paid for the incident. However, to make absolutely sure the same thing would not happen again, they decided to cover Mr. Metzger’s work every evening with a coloured cloth. In this way cleaners arriving after the gallery had closed to the general public would realize that they should not touch it.

This is not the first time that museum cleaners have had trouble distinguishing exhibits from rubbish. In 2001, in another London gallery, a cleaner threw away a work by the well-known British artist Damien Hirst. It was an arrangement of empty beer bottles, coffee cups, and ashtrays (烟灰缸), which were meant to show the disorder in the life of an artist.

However, cleaners don’t always throw things away—sometimes they clean them! This was the case with a dirty bath, which was on show in a gallery in Germany. Without asking what the bath was doing in the gallery, the cleaner simply cleaned it.

1. The woman cleaner threw away the plastic bag because__________.

A．the plastic bag was badly damaged

B．she didn’t recognize it was a work of art

C．she hated modern art and considered it rubbish

D．The exhibit on show was taken the place of by another bag

2. The underlined word “distinguishing” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_______”.

A．collecting

B．replacing

C．telling

D．exchanging

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Mr Metzger would be paid some money for the incident.

B．Tate British Gallery will be closed to avoid the same mistake.

C．Artists often use rubbish to show how content they feel with life.

D．More than one cleaner threw away works of art in galleries.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Cleaner Mistakes Modern Art for Rubbish	B．Good Cleaners Make Mistakes
C．Damaged Modern Art Works	D．Dangerous Galleries and Cleaners

【推荐1】The idea behind Facebook is to make us feel connected all the time. But in my research, I’ve found that the truth is quite different.

Technology, it turns out, has made being alone seem like a problem that needs solving. When young people are alone, even for a minute or two, they feel the need to connect, to get on Facebook or some other social networks and chat. But in connecting, they often end up feeling more isolated. Why? Because by being in constant (不断的) connection, they lose the ability to feel satisfied with their own company (独处).

Sherry Turkle, a professor, says that Facebook can help us keep in touch with our friends, but we too often use it instead of spending face-to-face time with them. And since we feel the need to keep up with them online, we don’t have moments of loneliness where we can collect our thoughts and learn how to be comfortable being alone.

Jane, a former student of mine, who is back in New York after living abroad for ten years, told me that Facebook helps her a lot. The first time she moved back to New York from abroad, she felt disconnected from her family and friends. Now, because of lots of photos and information updates (更新), she knows what is happening with her friends all the time.

“In fact, if you are lonely in real life, you will be lonely online as well.”

—by Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer

1. The underlined word “isolated” in Paragraph 2 means “________”.

A．free

B．lonely

C．careless

D．selfish

2. According to Sherry Turkle, we should________.

A．feel satisfied with our life

B．avoid using social networks

C．keep in touch with our friends

D．enjoy moments of loneliness

3. What’s Jane’s attitude towards Facebook?

A．Hopeful.

B．Doubtful.

C．Thankful.

D．Regretful.

4. The purpose of the text is to________.

A．educate

B．discuss

C．persuade

D．introduce

【推荐2】The Internet has become a way of life for many people around the world. So what would happen if one fine morning, you woke up to find the Internet has no existence? How would your life be changed? Well, your lifestyle might be impacted. If you were an Internet addict, you would find that your life has come to an end. With no online facilities, a considerable part of your time would be spent waiting in long lines at banks, post offices or government offices. You would be waiting for days or even weeks for your mail to arrive from another corner of the world. Suddenly, you would realize that your fast-­paced life is running at a snail’s pace.

Without the Internet, your socializing would also be impacted. If you’d gotten very used to socializing online, you would now be clueless as to how you could share the pictures of your recent trip you went for with your friends across the globe. It would be difficult to interact with people living outside your locality.You might have to become a member of a club or a community in your neighborhood to make new friends.With no online social media, you would find yourself saying this very often: Let’s go and talk to them!

With no way to use emails, instant messaging, chat or social media, we would have to take advantage of the option of a telephone conversation, or sending a snail mail. Communication via the Internet is free, whereas the options available otherwise would cost you extra money and time. Your would have to write letters and buy stamps, as we used to do before the Internet became popular.   

The Internet has become a huge sea of information and resources. No Internet would mean no instant and easy access to information at the click of a button. You would have to walk down to your local library and actually search the whole place to get the information you’re looking for, with little chances that you’ll find what you seek instantly. The students who were accustomed to using the Internet for completing their assignments would have a tough time.There would be no way to get an education without actually going to a school or a college physically.

Without the Internet, things at your workplace would be turned upside down. If your work was largely Internet-­based, your company might have to shut down.If your work involved only minor use of the Internet, for example, using online system to acquire statistics from the Internet, this simple task would now be a complicated and time­consuming process.Your desk would be full of documents and files, and you would have a nightmare searching or sorting them out by hand.In any case, life without the Internet would seem like a nightmare! So enjoy living in the paradise we call the Internet and make wise use of it！

Can You Imagine the World Without the Internet？
Paragraph outline	Supporting details
Lifestyle	·It would take you much longer time to get some public     1    . ·The pace of your life would     2     down.
Socializing	·You would not know how to share your things with your faraway friends. ·You would have difficulty interacting with people living outside your locality. ·You would need to join a club or a community to     3     new people. ·You would always be obliged to make face-­to-­face     4     with others.
Communication	·Without emails,instant messaging or social media,you would have to use old communicating ways like telephone conversation. ·Communicating in old ways would be     5     and time­consuming.
Information	·Large amounts of information and resources online would no longer be easily     6    . ·The students who were in the     7     of using the Internet would have trouble completing their assignments. ·It would be impossible for students to be     8     via the Internet.
Workplace	·Those companies that were heavily     9     on the Internet would close down. ·It would be complicated and time­consuming to acquire some statistics. ·Your desk would be in a     10     and it would be hard for you to search or sort something out.