【推荐1】Far away, in a forest outside Oslo, Norway, 1,000 newly planted trees are growing. When the trees are full-size, they will be cut down and used to make paper. The paper will be used to make copies of an unusual book. The book will contain 100 stories by 100 authors written over the course of 100 years.

        Scottish artist Katie Paterson began the project last year. “We’re asking one writer a year to submit a story,” Paterson said. Subject, style, and length are up to the author, However, it is 100 years later that the stories can be revealed.
        What’s the point of asking authors to write stories that readers alive today will never get to enjoy? “The project is a lot about the imagination,” she says. “It’s about thinking about the future and developing an artwork that’s not just for now but for a future generation.”
        Paterson got the idea for the project while drawing tree rings in a notebook. Each ring in a tree’s trunk represents one year of growth. That inspired her to create a project that ties the present with the future. The idea seemed so far that she set it aside. But a few years later, Paterson had the opportunity to take part in a program called Slow Space. Organizers were looking for projects designed to unfold over time. Paterson’s was one of three selected.

The first work for the book was completed this year. The manuscript(手稿) is being held at Oslo’s public library, where a special room house the growing collection of stories.

       “More and more paper books are phased out,” Paterson says. She notes that Oslo’s library has had thousands of digital books. Hopefully, she says that she expects the future generations will be excited enough to shout, “Look! They’re paper books!”
1. What’s the purpose of the project according to Paterson?

A．Protecting the forest.

B．Setting up a library.

C．Leaving behind some paper books for future generations.

D．Encouraging more authors to create more wonderful works.

2. How did the idea of the project occur to Paterson?

A．Inspired by tree rings.

B．Inspired by the library.

C．Inspired by the ecological environment.

D．Inspired by the program of Slow Space.

3. What’s the proper meaning of the underlined part?

A．Lit up.

B．Dying out.

C．Coming to life.

D．Passed down.

4. It can be inferred that ________.

A．the stories inside the book will remain secret until 2115

B．the stories inside the book will be selected among many

C．the book will record the biggest events during 100 years

D．the book will be held in the form of both paper and digital

【推荐2】What will the future be like? Good or bad? A lot of science-fiction writing imagines a world which is dark and scary. In Blade Runner, Harrison Ford hunts robots in a chaotic (混乱的) Los Angeles. Planet of the Apes shows a hopeless future for humankind.

There's a word to describe the kind of future world which often appears in science fiction: dystopia. It means an imagined place where things are unpleasant or bad. The opposite is utopia. But does tomorrow's world have to be so disappointing?

No. A new project wants to use the power of science fiction to inspire people to create a better future. Project Hieroglyph brings together writers, scientists, engineers and artists to create optimistic stories about things which really could happen in the next 50 years.

It's just a matter of making an effort. Experts say it's easier to create a dystopia than write a feel-good story. There's more conflict in a world full of problems, and stories are interesting when there are a lot of problems to solve. No challenge, no story!
But the project produced a book with some promising plots. One of them is about environmentalists who fight to stop entrepreneurs (创业者) from building the first hotel in Antarctica. Well, there's conflict there and it seems reasonable, so it could be a good story.
But will these stories actually change anything or just keep us entertained? Ed Finn, the book's editor, thinks the former. He says: "A good science-fiction story can be very powerful. It can inspire hundreds, thousands, millions of people to do something that they want to do."
The influence of science fiction can already be seen in modern research, says Professor Braden Allenby. He asks: "Why are people working on, for example, invisibility cloaks (斗篷)? Well, it's Harry Potter, right?"

Time will tell how far we can go. Let's dream big and think outside the box. Who knows the wonderful things we can come up with?

1. The underlined word “utopia” in paragraph 2 most probably means “______’.

A．a real world where people can do anything they like

B．an imagined place where things are unpleasant or bad

C．an imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy

D．a wild and terrible place where no one can live happily

2. Experts say it’s easier to create a dystopia than a feel-good story because ______.

A．a dystopia needs less imagination

B．a feel-good story is more interesting

C．there is no conflict in a feel-good story

D．there are more problems to solve in a dystopia

3. Professor Braden Allenby takes “invisibility cloaks” as an example ______.

A．to cause readers’ attention

B．to amuse science fiction readers

C．to introduce a science fiction story

D．to show the influence of science fiction

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．What is science fiction?

B．Can science fiction help us?

C．What will man do in the future?

D．Shall we live a better life in the future?

【推荐3】You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. You look young. In 2040, many people can live to be about 150 years old. So at the age of 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents look the same age as you!

You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2040, “smart clothes” can change the color or style as you like.

You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but you hear the voice, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge remembers the information about the milk. It knows that the milk is not fresh. In 2040, every household appliance (家用电器) is like your servant.

It’s time to go to work. In 2040, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend with your watch. Such “smart technology” is all around you. So will all these things come true? “All these will come true, and maybe even better.” says a scientist. I am looking forward to the new life.

1. How do “you” look in the mirror in 2040?

A．Young.

B．Fat.

C．Handsome.

D．Beautiful.

2. Where is the “voice” from?

A．The servant.

B．The watch.

C．The milk.

D．The fridge.

3. What will the cars be like in 2040?

A．They will run in the sky.	B．They can talk with humans.
C．They won’t need drivers.	D．They won’t need gas.

4. Which of the following is TRUE about the life in 2040?

A．People won’t get old.

B．People can call their friends with a watch.

C．People don’t need to have breakfast.

D．People don’t need to wear clothes.

5. What does the writer think of the life in the future?

A．It will be much better than now.	B．It will be as good as now.
C．It will be as hard as now.	D．It will be much worse than now.

【推荐1】【课本改编题】

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE FESTIVALS?

Festivals are celebrated all around the world. They have a wide range of origins, such as the seasons of the year, religions, famous figures, and important events. Every festival has its different customs and unique charms. However, no matter how different they may seem, all over the world, the spirit of sharing joy, gratitude, love, or peace is common in all festivals.

Of all the traditional festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every culture. This important agricultural festival takes place after all the crops have been gathered in. People celebrate to show that they are grateful for the year’s supply of food. In ancient Egypt, the harvest festival was celebrated during the springtime— the Egyptian harvest season. It featured a parade and a great feast with music, dancing, and sports. Today, in some European countries, people decorate churches and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to celebrate over a meal. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, families gather to admire the shining moon and enjoy delicious mooncakes.

Customs play a significant role in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. With the development of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may fade away and others may be established. One example is the typical Chinese Spring Festival custom of lighting firecrackers to drive away the evil spirits and celebrate the new year. Nowadays, many big cities have given up this custom in order to avoid air pollution. Another example is Halloween, which slowly became an exciting festival for children, in spite of its religious origins.

Festivals are becoming more and more commercial, with businesses taking advantage of the celebrations. Online shopping websites and social media apps have made it much easier for the public to spend more on gifts for their loved ones. Although some believe festivals should not be commercialised, others believe the increase in spending is good for the economy and public happiness.

Festivals are an important part of society. They reflect people’s wishes, beliefs, faiths, and attitudes towards life. They are occasions that allow us to relax and enjoy life, and forget about our work for a little while. They help us understand where we came from, who we are, and what to appreciate. And if you study festivals carefully, you may be surprised to find that different cultures actually have a lot in common after all.

1. What’s mainly talked about in the text?
From the title, we can predict the passage is mainly about ________.
2. Match the main idea with each paragraph.

a.The harvest festival. b.Festivals are an important part of society. c.Festivals are celebrated all around the world. d.The customs in festivals. e.The commercialised festivals.

Para.1 ________
Para.2________
Para.3________
Para.4________
Para.5________

【推荐3】Most sea turtles, whales and fish may have plastic in their bodies. To determine the various forms and colors of this material in marine animals, Marga Rivas at the University of Almeria in Spain and her team analyzed data from 112 studies published in the past decade. These looked for microplastics and larger macro plastics in marine species globally.

Of the studies, 80 examined the gastrointestinal tracts (胃肠道)of animals to see what they had taken in. The others also looked at wider animal tissues to identify plastics that end up in other parts of the body. After examining all of the data, Rivas and her team concluded that 66 per cent of sea turtles have white-colored macro and microplastics in their systems, while 55 percent have a distinct class of plastic called microfibers, which are shed by some fabrics (织物). The high amount of white plastic in turtles was unsurprising, says Rivas, given that plastic of this color, particularly larger pieces, may resemble jellyfish, a large part of the animals' diets.

Microfibers were also present in 80 percent of whales and dolphins - and white macro and microplastics in 38 percent of them. The researchers also concluded that clear fiber microplastics are probably the most common form of this waste that is taken in by large marine animals globally. Rivas and her colleagues also discovered that the animals with the highest rates of plastic were those in the Mediterranean and the northeast Indian Ocean.

“The Mediterranean is the most contaminated sea in the world, so we expected to find these results,” says Rivas. Marine plastic pollution has increased roughly 10-fbld since 1980, and Rivas says the problem is worsened by inadequate water treatment systems. In parts of India and the southeast Mediterranean, waste water isn’t adequately treated or recycled, she says. This means that microfibers shed by fabrics in washing machines, and larger pieces of rubbish, enter the sea. “It’s possible to introduce management strategies to control these huge threats,” says Rivas.

1. How did Rivas and her team conduct the study?

A．By doing comparative experiments.

B．By analyzing data from previous studies.

C．By determining the forms and colors of plastics.

D．By looking for plastics in global marine animals.

2. Why was it unsurprising to find a large amount of white plastic in sea turtles?

A．White plastic looks like the food sea turtles consume.

B．More while plastic was in the sea than that of other colors.

C．White plastic is the most common form of the plastic waste.

D．White microfibers from fabrics were abundant in the oceans.

3. What does the underlined word “contaminated” probably mean in the last paragraph?

A．Researched

B．Conserved

C．Examined

D．Polluted

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Health.

B．Lifestyle.

C．Science.

D．Education.