【推荐1】Fri, Aug 24，

LONDON—This Evening and Tonight:

Rain, locally heavy across northwest Scotland.Mostly cloudy but dry in other northern and western areas.Dry with clear spells (持续时间) in more central and eastern parts, but some low cloud and fog will develop.Generally mild with light winds.

Saturday:

Cloud and rain over western Scotland at the beginning will gradually push down over N.Ireland and northwest England.Largely dry, warm with sunny spells elsewhere, once early fog and low cloud clears.

The Nation's Weather

Fri, Aug 24，

NEW YORK—Heavy rain was forecast throughout Friday in parts of the Midwest.The heaviest rainfall was over northern Illinois, with more than 4 inches possible around Chicago.

Wet weather was also expected in the plains as the same storm system tracks through the region.

Periods of heavy rain were also forecast for the Northeast as the remnant (剩余部分) of tropical storm Erin moves into the Canadian Maritimes.

Hot weather was expected to continue in the south and west.

Death toll rises to 36 in China typhoon

Wed, Aug 22，

BEIJING—At least 36 people were killed by Typhoon Sepat in four provinces in eastern and central China in widespread destruction that also forced the evacuation(撤退) of 1.37 million people.

More than 60,000 homes in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Hunan also were destroyed or damaged, Xinhua News Agency said.

Total economic losses in the provinces have reached $ 663 million.

Fujian was the worst－hit province, with 18 people killed, Xinhua said.

Earlier, the storm, named after a Malaysian fish, killed at least one person in Taiwan, and left three dead in the Philippines.

1. On August 25, in N.Ireland and northwest England,   there will be ____.

A．low cloud and fog	B．cloud and rain
C．typhoon and flood	D．sunshine and mild wind

2. What was the weather like in the south and west of the USA on Friday？

A．It was warm.	B．It was rainy.
C．It was foggy.	D．It was hot.

3. The storm named Sepat ____.

A．caused one death in the Philippines	B．killed 18 people in Taiwan
C．caused great economic losses	D．destroyed about 60,000 homes in Fujian

【推荐2】Not only farmers but scientists have studied weather forecasting. People, for many centuries and in all countries, have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasts. Sometimes distant objects such as hills and tall trees seem to be very clear and near. This is a sign of much water-vapor in the air, and therefore a rain will probably come.

When distant sounds(such as the noise from a train, birds singing, or people shouting) are very clearly heard, then wet and stormy weather is on the way.

Rings around the sun is a sign of coming rain. Many people feel the coming of wet weather in their bones Their joint(关节)aches. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming, but they fly very near the ground if rainy weather or a storm is on the way. This as probably because the insects which they are hunting, fly low at that time. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sigh that the weather will clear up and become fine. Such rainbows come in the evening if the stars twinkle clearly at night, fine weather will come continue. If a mist appears in the early morning, just about sunrise, the day will be warm.

If the sunset is mostly red in color, the following day will be fine. When big cumulous clouds(积云)appear at sunset, the bad weather will follow the next day.

If circus clouds remain quite still, fine weather will come. If a rainbow appears in the morning, then rainy weather will probably come. Most of the above sayings have been made up by people who have used their eyes and their brains to forecast the weather.

1. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming, because________.

A．they like fine weather

B．hey can fly high when fine weather is coming

C．they fly high to catch insects

D．they feel very happy

2. In this passage “wet weather” means ________ weather.

A．cloudy

B．rainy

C．windy

D．dry

3. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, it shows that the weather will clear up and become fine. This because________.

A．there is much water—vapor in the air

B．there is not much water vapor in the air

C．there is not any water-vapor in the air

D．there are all kinds of water-vapor in the air

4. Weather will be fine if________.

A．you see rings rounds the sun

B．you see the distant objects very clear and near

C．you feel pain in your bones

D．the stars twinkle clearly at night

【推荐3】No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.
For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if the weather is fine, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is _____ If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.
Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.
1. Which is true about weather forecasting?

A．Weather forecasting is a way of telling what the weather will be like.

B．Weather forecasting is a report about the weather.

C．Weather forecasting is a sign of coming rain.

D．People can change the weather forecasting.

2. Which of the following can be used here to replace the underlined phrase “on the way”?

A．continuing

B．reducing.

C．coming.

D．disappearing.

3. Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?

A．Some birds fly high.

B．A rainbow appears in the morning.

C．The sunset is mostly red in colour.

D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river.

4. The best title of the passage is _______.

A．Weather forecasting plays an important role in our life

B．Weather forecasting can bring people some signs of weather

C．Weather is forecasted only by eyes and brains.

D．People can predict weather by experience in daily life

【推荐1】Ever been hungry enough to eat a house? Now, you actually could.

Food waste is a big problem in Japan and globally. Japan produced around 5.7 million tons of food waste in 2019. The government plans to reduce that by around 2.7 million tons by 2030. Tokyo University researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a way to transform food waste into cement(水泥) for construction use and more. This is the first-ever process created for making cement entirely from food waste. The researchers say their product is four times as strong as traditional concrete. This particular cement can be used to make things like tea cups or chairs as well. However, there’s one additional feature — it’s also edible(可食的).

Kota and Yuya are the intelligence behind the formation of Fabula Inc., a company with purposes of reducing food waste, and helping fight global warming.

As expected, something this unique took years to develop. It took a few attempts to find just the right process. Kota and Yuya created the unique technology while researching possible environmentally-friendly materials to replace cement-based concrete. Cement production accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

After a few failures, they realized they could get the cement to bind(黏合) by adjusting the temperatures. “The most challenging part was that each type of food waste requires different temperatures,” Yuya said. So the researchers had to observe them and respond in time. In the experiments, Kota and Yuya have successfully made cement using tea leaves, coffee grounds, cabbage and even lunchbox leftovers.

Fabula Inc. is currently working to make tea cups and furniture, but Yuya is thinking a little bit bigger. Their product could provide relief in the form of edible emergency shelters in disaster ones. “For example, if food cannot be delivered to the people, they could eat makeshift beds made out of food cement,” he said. To eat the material, a person needs to break it apart and boil it.

1. Which is one of Kota and Yuya’s purposes in making use of food waste?

A．To handle climate change.	B．To offer Fabula Inc. more cement.
C．To warn how serious food waste is.	D．To extend concrete’s service life.

2. What did Kota and Yuya assess previously about making edible cement?

A．Its damage to the environment.	B．Its cost of recycling the cement.
C．Its difficulties they would face.	D．Its popularity among the public.

3. What made the experiment of making cement out of food waste harder?

A．Making sure to make cement tasty.	B．Selecting correct food waste timely.
C．Getting cement broken apart easily.	D．Regulating the temperatures constantly.

4. What does the underlined word “makeshift” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Bendable.

B．Strong.

C．Temporary.

D．Commercial.

【推荐3】If you have ever been disappointed because you don’t have a good gardener ,the clever robot may one day become the helper of your indoor plants

The Hexa Plant is a six-legged robot that has been specially made to care for the potted plant that carries on top of its head .Using light and heats sensors (传感器) the robot has the ability to carry its plant in and out the daylight .If the houseplant needs more sun，the Hexa will walk into the sunlight ;and if the houseplant is getting too hot , the Hexa will go back into the area that blocks direct light The Hexa Plant will even do a little dance when it senses that the plant needs to be watered to warn its owner .

The robot was developed by Vincross engineer and founder Sun Tianqi after he saw a dead sunflower sitting in the darkness in a room back in 2014 .” Plants only receive an action without responding ,”SunTianqi wrote in a blog post .” Whether they are being cut ,bitten ,burned or pulled from the earth ,or when they haven’t received enough sunshine ,water ,or are too hot or cold ,they will hold still and take whatever is happening to them .

According to Sun Tianqi ,for billions of years ,plants have never experienced movement of any kind ,not even the simplest movement .In their whole lives ,they stick to where they were born .Sun Tianqi continued ,” Do they want break their own settings or have a tendency towards this ?I do not know the answer ,but would love to try to share some of this human tendency and technology with plants With the help of the robot ,plants can experience the move”.

The Hexa Plant model robots are not for sale ,though Vincross does sell a Hexa robot model .It is said that in the near future the robots can open up a new market to watch over our household plants

1. What can we learn about the Hexa Plant?

A．It helps people do some gardening .

B．It waters the plants through dancing

C．It helps indoor plants get proper sunlight

D．It carries the potted plant with its hands

2. What does the author try to show through Paragraph 3?

A．The way plants spend their whole lives

B．The common way people deal with plants

C．The difference between plants and humans

D．The cause of making the indoor plants’ helper.

3. What does Sun Tianqi try do using this technology?

A．To develop gardening skills.

B．To draw people’s attention plants

C．make plants experience move

D．study the living conditions of plants

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A New Market for robots

B．An Indoor Plants’ Helper

C．An Important Development in Gardening

D．The Tendency of Gardening in the Future

【推荐1】Vanessa Brown, a senior lecturer of art at Nottingham University, explores the cultural and psychological relation between sunglasses and our modern idea of “cool.” Her research has uncovered about why most of us look better in shades.

Because they really make your misshapen face look better. Put on a pair of sunglasses, and an instant beauty as a result of balance! The dark lenses cover up any unbalanced oddities(奇异) around your eyes, and research on facial attractiveness shows a clear link between balance and our sense of beauty.

Because of mystery. Many of the quick judgments we form about people come from looking in the eyes; shade yours, and you’re instantly a more attractive presence. Eye contact helps us form judgments about someone’s intelligence, confidence, and sincerity and sunglasses keep us literally in the dark about forming those perceptions. And it works both ways, because the wearer of the sunglasses feels more mysterious, too.

Because of their historical link with sharpness and attraction. We take their existence for granted today, but sunglasses are relatively modern, Brown said. Sales started to pick up in the 1920s, but they didn’t become commonplace until about two decades after that. The way sunglasses were most used prior to their commercialization helps explain their inside coolness, Brown said, because in their early days sunglasses were primarily used during risky water and snow sports, which made them seem “daring and totally modern.”

Soon after that, Hollywood stars of the 1950s and 1960s started wearing sunglasses to defend themselves from being recognized by the public or bothered by paparazzi(狗仔队), whose flashbulbs would often explode violently, Brown said. Anyhow, movie stars’ adoption of them strengthened a sense of romance. Also—and this is more from my own personal research than Brown’s—hang-overs. They’re really great for hiding hang-overs.

1. Which of the following would Vanessa Brown agree with?

A．Sunglasses deliver mystery to the observers as well as the wearers.

B．Sunglasses were mainly used in risky sports after their commercialization.

C．Sunglasses are relatively modern and they became commonplace in the 1920s.

D．Sunglasses cover up unbalanced oddities on the face to give people a sense of mystery.

2. The writer believes that Hollywood stars prefer to wear sunglasses ________.

A．to hide their hang-overs

B．not to be recognized in the public

C．to be more attractive and romantic

D．to escape the flashbulbs of paparazzi

3. Which of the following best shows the structure of this passage?
(①="Paragraph" 1 ②="Paragraph" 2 ③="Paragraph" 3 ④="Paragraph" 4 ⑤="Paragraph" 5)

A．

B．

C．

D．

【推荐3】Protected areas have mixed success in protecting wildlife, according to the largest study on the effects of reserves (保护区).

A team led by researchers from the U. K. examined water bird data from 1,506 protected areas and analyzed more than 27,000 bird populations across the world. The authors write that their study, published in Nature, is the first robust (强有力的), global assessment of protected area influence on bird populations. The scientists found that protected areas with management of water birds and their habitats were more likely to benefit those populations.

“Our study shows that, while many protected areas are working well, many others are failing to have positive effect,” lead author Hannah Wauchope of the University of Exeter says in a statement. Rather than focusing only on the total global area protected, we need more focus on ensuring areas are well-managed to benefit biodiversity (生物多样性). “The study compared water bird populations before and after the establishment of protected areas and also compared trends of similar populations within and outside of protected areas. Water birds respond quickly to changes in site quality, making them a good group to look at when studying the impact of protected areas.

“In the majority of places we looked at, wildlife populations were still stable or were increasing, but they weren’t doing any better than in unprotected areas,” Wauchope says. “That’s disillusionary, but not surprising. There seems to be this disconnect between people talking about how much land is protected and whether those areas are actually doing anything positive.”

This research comes ahead of a United Nations meeting in China to discuss biodiversity goals for the next decade. Several countries have already devoted to protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030, yet researchers say protection alone does not necessarily ensure positive outcomes for species.

“Efforts to reach a certain area-based goal such as 30 percent by 2030 — without a focus on improving the condition of existing protected areas will achieve little,” says co-author Julia Jones from Bangor University. “When world leaders gather in China later this year to set goals for the next decade, I really hope to see a focus on effectiveness of protected areas, rather than simply how much surface area is devoted to them.”

“We are not saying protected areas don’t work,” Wauchope concludes in the statement. “The key point is that their effects vary hugely, and the biggest thing this depends on is whether they are managed with species in mind — we can’t just expect protected areas to work without effective management.”

1. What is the purpose of the UK’s study?

A．To test whether water birds can adapt to new environments.

B．To see whether bird populations have increased in protected areas.

C．To record the changes of water birds worldwide.

D．To help water birds survive in hard conditions.

2. Why are water birds chosen as the study subject?

A．They are an endangered species

B．They can sense environmental changes.

C．They can help change the quality of waters.

D．They can hardly be found outside protected areas.

3. What does the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．pleasant

B．exciting

C．horrible

D．disappointing

4. What is Hannah Wauchope’s advice about protected areas?

A．They should occupy a large area.	B．They should host various animals.
C．They should be under good management.	D．They should give water birds more freedom.