E-waste is a serious problem that isn’t going to get better on its own. Here are some do-it-yourself tips on how to manage e-waste.
Maybe the biggest cause of our e-waste problem is the fact that we buy things that we just don’t need. Next time you feel like you need a device or electronic item, stop yourself and ask if it is truly necessary. This is maybe also the easiest way we can manage e-waste. Organize your electronics. If you don’t keep your connectors, DVDs, wires and gadgets organized, you won’t be aware of what you have. When we buy duplicate electronics because we think we need them, we are contributing to our growing e-waste problem. “How to manage e-waste” becomes less of an issue when we keep our own houses in order.
If you do not need a piece of equipment and it is in good enough condition to be reused, donate it as soon as you can so that somebody else can use it. Donations are good for us because they are a useful way to get tax deductions, and a lot of times that tax deduction will be close to the value of the item had you tried to sell it. Take your electronics back to the store. Some stores offer trade-in programs, where you can drop off your old equipment in return for gift cards.
There are also places to sell electronics that might be valuable to somebody else. Just be sure to sell them right away, because they lose value very rapidly in our changing market.
If you are frequently receiving memory sticks and little gadgets, collect them into a good-e-bag. Whenever you no longer need a USB stick or a small electronic device, toss it into the bag. You might be surprised at how quickly it fills up. So be sure you are utilizing your materials and products thoughtfully. With these tips you can use DIY solutions to learn how to manage e-waste. Your house will be cleaner, you will save money and you’ll be doing a good thing.
1. What is the biggest cause of our e-waste problem?2. How can people get tax deductions when managing e-waste?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Sell the electronics that you don't need right away because the earlier you sell them, the more gift cards you can get.
4. Why do we need to manage our e-waste? (In about 40 words)
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【推荐1】One of the big challenges that students face in applying to universities abroad is writing the application essay.
You can try and guess what the admissions officers like.
It is true that admissions officers aren’t exactly looking for anything.
There are some important things to remember. These admissions officers want good writers. You don’t have to be Ernest Hemingway, but you have to be able to form an interesting story. That means revision and editing, cutting out stupid grammar mistakes, reading it over several times, leaving it for a few days and looking at it again.
Also, you should use exciting language and really make the reader feel the same passion as you do. It also means finding something unique about your point of view, something that other people might not think of. For example, if you want to write about your dad, you can focus on a specific anecdote(趣闻)about him.
| A．The essays you are required to write differ from university to university. |
| B．The answer is just as open-ended as the question itself. |
| C．Admissions officers love personal stories that ring true. |
| D．The essay topics all have something in common. |
| E．You can turn to famous writers to polish your essay. |
| F．Whatever you do, make sure the essay is as good as possible. |
| G．But that won’t work. |
【推荐2】Imagine that on a Friday afternoon, before leaving work to start your weekend, you are asked to solve two problems that require creative thinking. Do you: 1). Spend the first half of your time attempting the first problem and the second half of your time attempting the second; 2). Alternate between the two problems at a regular, predetermined interval (e.g., switching every five minutes); 3). Switch between the problems at your own discretion (自行决定).
If you are like the hundreds of people to whom we posed this question, you would choose to switch between the two problems at your own discretion. After all, this approach offers maximum autonomy and flexibility, enabling you to change tracks from one problem to the other when you feel stuck.
But if coming up with creative answers is your goal, this approach may not be ideal. Instead, switching between the problems at a regular, predetermined interval will likely yield the best results, according to research we published in the March issue of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
In an experiment, we randomly assigned participants to one of the three approaches. Participants who were instructed to continually switch back and forth between two problems at a fixed interval were significantly more likely to find the correct answer to both problems than participants who switched at their own discretion or halfway through the allotted time. The issue with both other approaches seemed to be that people failed to recognize when rigid thinking crept in. Participants who didn’t step away from a task at regular intervals were more likely to write “new” ideas that were very similar to the last one they had written. While they might have felt that they were on a roll, the reality was that, without the breaks afforded by continual task switching, their actual progress was limited.
The findings suggest that the hustle and bustle of your daily work life may facilitate your creativity if it leads you to step away from a task and reset your thinking.
So when you’re working on tasks that would benefit from creative thinking, consciously insert breaks at regular intervals—use a timer if you have to. When it goes off, switch tasks: Organize your receipts, check your email, or clean your desk, and then return to the original task. If you’re hesitant to break away because you feel that you’re on a roll, be mindful that it might be a false impression. We tend to generate redundant ideas when we don’t take regular breaks; ask yourself whether your latest ideas are qualitatively different. Finally, don’t skip your lunch breaks, and don’t feel guilty about taking breaks, especially when you are feeling stuck. Doing so may actually be the best use of your time.
1. The third approach in Paragraph 1 is favored because people believe _______.| A．it allows much freedom |
| B．it improves concentration |
| C．it facilitates autonomous learning |
| D．it encourages independent thinking |
| A．critical | B．innovative | C．inflexible | D．serious |
| A．Doing daily chores is key to generating new ideas. |
| B．Regularly scheduled breaks can refresh people’s thinking. |
| C．People will automatically take breaks when they feel stuck. |
| D．People will make great progress when they work continually. |
| A．explain why people fail to produce creative ideas |
| B．compare three methods of creative thinking |
| C．introduce a new study on work efficiency |
| D．present a way to boost creative thinking |
【推荐3】A long time ago, being happy was considered to be something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. But now we know that getting along with other people is something that we can work at. It is possible to act in such a way that other people will like us better. One way is being unselfish (无私的), not wanting everything from our friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this treasure hunt (珍宝) can be.
You don’t have to be spineless (软弱的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. Being friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you is one way to develop a good character.
You can not expect to be perfect, and so you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is to be blamed unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like—selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.
At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too. To be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right, then you will have to learn to get along the best with situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.
1. Which is one of the two ways the writer suggested for us to get along with others?| A．To look for treasure in order to be successful. |
| B．To draw attention of our friends. |
| C．To pay more attention to others’ good points. |
| D．To demand the best share of everything. |
| A．Avoid arguing with other people. | B．Be polite and friendly. |
| C．Give up some rights. | D．Try to change his or her character. |
| A．refuses to learn from their faults |
| B．is very happy about his unpleasant quality |
| C．is no better than others |
| D．is selfish and lazy |
| A．show you the way to be happy |
| B．teach you how to be popular among your friends |
| C．train you to be a perfect person |
| D．tell you how to act when you dislike a person |
【推荐1】The scientists who re-engineered the plastic-eating enzyme(酶) PETase have now created a new enzyme called “cocktail” , which can digest plastic up to six times faster.
PETase breaks down PET back into its building blocks, creating an opportunity to recycle plastic and reduce plastic pollution. PET is the most common thermoplastic(热塑性塑料) used to make single-use drinks bottles, which takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment, but PETase can shorten this time to days. The initial discovery set up the prospect of a revolution in plastic recycling, creating a potential low-energy solution to tackle plastic waste.
Now, the same trans-Atlantic team have combined PETase and its “partner”, a second enzyme called MHETase, to generate much bigger improvements: simply mixing PETase with MHETase doubled the speed of PET breakdown, and engineering a connection between the two enzymes to create a “super-enzyme”, increased this activity by a further three times.
The team was co-led by the scientists who engineered PETase, Professor John McGeehan and Dr Gregg Beckham. Professor McGeehan said: “Gregg and I were chatting about how PETase attacks the surface of the plastics and MHETase chops things up further, so it seemed natural to see if we could use them together. Our first experiments showed that they did work better together, so we decided to physically link them. It took a great deal of work, but it was worth the effort — we were delighted to see that our new enzyme is up to three times faster than the separate enzymes.”
The original PETase enzyme discovery indicated the first hope that a solution to the global plastic pollution problem might be within grasp, though PETase alone is not yet fast enough to handle the tons of PET bottles. Combining it with a second enzyme, and finding together they work even faster, means another leap forward has been taken towards finding a solution to plastic waste. PETase and the new combined MHETase-PETase both work by digesting PET plastic. This allows for plastics to be made and reused endlessly, reducing our reliance on fossil(化石) resources.
1. What can we learn about “cocktail” from the text?| A．It doubles the breakdown of plastics. |
| B．It takes hundreds of years to break down. |
| C．It contributes to breaking down plastic quickly. |
| D．It deals with the plastic waste three times faster. |
| A．A new study of PET. | B．The breakdown of PET. |
| C．The discovery of PETase. | D．The functions of PETase. |
| A．Co-leading the trans-Atlantic team. | B．Combining PETase and MHETase. |
| C．Attacking the surface of the plastics. | D．Talking about conducting experiments. |
| A．PET pollution is no longer a difficult problem to deal with. |
| B．New enzyme is speeding up our reliance on fossil resources. |
| C．MHETase-PETase makes the world free from plastic pollution. |
| D．Plastic-eating enzyme “cocktail” promises new hope for plastic waste. |
【推荐2】Moran works at the California Academy of Sciences, which is capped by 2.5 acres of living roof where nearly 1.7 million plants, insects and birds flourish. The building has been painstakingly designed to be among one of the most environmentally-friendly in the world. Solar panels that surround the living roof provide 5% of the building’s energy, while water flowing through pipes in the bathrooms also generates power. Automatic skylights open and close to help regulate the temperature inside the building while natural sunlight is used to light the building as much as possible. During his 15 years at the academy (研究院), Moran has helped design, build and now maintain the building’s green systems.
Constructing new environmentally-friendly buildings like the one Moran works in is expected to generate more than 6.5 million jobs by 2030, according to predictions by the International Labor Organization. Next to energy, it will be the second fastest growing sector for green jobs in the coming decades. This jobs growth comes from a growing need for buildings that can deal with multiple problems: meeting tough climate-change targets; rising energy costs, water shortages and an increased risk of extreme weather conditions. This is driving a movement known as green building.
In 2000, just 41 new construction projects were officially rated as green buildings in the US. Last year, that figure had grown to more than 65,000. Elsewhere in the world there have been similar increases and it is a trend that is expected to continue. In China the government has set an ambitious goal as part of its five-year plan that require 50% of all new urban buildings to be green certified.
Moran sees green building as requiring new skills that have not featured much in the building sector in the past. “It takes a different skill set to look after a living roof compared to normal landscaping,” he says. “You need to understand the environment, how the direction of the sun and wind will affect it. But we are also seeing technology being integrated into everything.”
1. How was the building of the academy planned?| A．Rigidly. | B．Effortlessly. | C．Thoroughly. | D．Strategically. |
| A．Constructing new buildings. | B．Generating more jobs. |
| C．The growing need for houses. | D．The International Labor Organization. |
| A．To develop a large market. | B．To satisfy humans’ ambitions. |
| C．To solve different challenges. | D．To control the new movement. |
| A．Challenging. | B．Risky. | C．Traditional. | D．Urgent. |
【推荐3】Everything about nuclear energy seems terrifically big: the cost, construction and decommissioning—and the fears of something going badly wrong.
The future, however may well be much smaller. Dozens of companies are working on a new generation of reactors that, they promise, can deliver nuclear power at lower cost and reduced risk.
These small-scale plants will on average generate between 50MW and 300MW of power compared with the 1,000MW-plus from a conventional reactor. They will draw on modular manufacturing techniques that will reduce construction risk, which has plagued larger-scale projects. Supporters believe these advanced modular reactors (AMRs)—most of which will not be commercial until the 2030s—are critical if atomic power is to compete against the rapidly falling costs of solar and wind.
“The physics hasn’t changed. It’s about much cleverer design that offers much-needed flexibility in terms of operation,” said Tim Stone, long-term industry adviser and chairman of Nuclear risk Insurers, which insures nuclear sites in the UK.
Since the Fukushima meltdown in Japan in 2011, safety fears have threatened nuclear power. But the biggest obstacle today is economic. In western Europe, just three plants are under construction: in the UK at Hinkley point C in Somerset; at Flamanville in France; and at Olkiluoto in Finland. All involve the European Pressurized Reactor technology of EDF that will be used at Hinkley Point. All are running years late and over budget. In the US, the first two nuclear projects under way for the past 30 years are also blowing through cost estimates.
The UK, which opened the world’s first commercial nuclear reactor in 1956, is one of the few western nations committed to renewing its ageing fleet to ensure energy security and meet tough carbon reduction targets. It is seen as a proving ground, by many in the industry, of nuclear power’s ability to restore confidence.
However, the country’s agreement with EDF to build two units at Hinkley Point—which together will generate 3.2GW of electricity—has come under severe criticism over its cost. The government is looking at different funding models but said it still sees nuclear power as vital to the country’s future energy mix. Small reactors, it believes, have the potential to generate much-needed power from the 2030s.
A nuclear sector deal, unveiled last month, promised up to ￡56m in funding for research and development into AMRs and attracted interest of start-ups from around the world. The government hopes the funding will give the UK a lead in the global race to develop these technologies, helping to provide energy security while also creating a multibillion-dollar export market for British engineering companies.
1. Which of the following is true about the advanced modular reactors (AMRs)?| A．AMRs produce more power than traditional reactors |
| B．Small in scale, AMRs rose more safety risks |
| C．So far, most AMRs have not been put into use yet |
| D．Governments prefer energy of solar and wind to that of AMRs |
| A．prove that nuclear power has been threatened by safety concern. |
| B．show that the construction of nuclear power plants cost more that the budget available. |
| C．indicate the construction of nuclear plants are slow in speed. |
| D．point out that most power plants have adopted the latest nuclear technology. |
| A．Some people have lost confidence in the development of nuclear plants |
| B．The UK government seeks to reduce the negative impact of nuclear power on its economy. |
| C．The plan to build two power plants in Hinkley Point has been deserted |
| D．a kind costs for small modular reactors would be higher relative to large nuclear reactors. |
| A．Britain counts on nuclear energy to keep lights on |
| B．Traditional nuclear plants boom with mini reactors |
| C．Nuclear’s share of power generation remain stead |
| D．Nuclear power looks to shrink its way to success |
