We all have things we don’t need. For Canberra resident Zoe Bowman, it is melon ballers（蔬果挖球器）. “Someone asked for a melon baller to make some melon balls for a kid's party, and I looked in the drawer and I had three,” she says. “I don’t need three melon ballers!”The request was made on a Facebook page that she manages, one of the thousands of local pages that make up the “buy nothing” movement.
Part zero—waste movement, part community—building project, “buy nothing” has taken off in Australia's inner—city suburbs as a way to rehome unwanted goods and avoid unnecessary purchases—like a third melon baller. "It gives people something to do before immediately consuming," says Bowman. In a world where people rarely know their neighbors, a "buy nothing" page is a way to get to know the people living on your street. Bowman has become friends with some people she regularly corresponds with in the group.
In such a group, both behaviour and membership are strictly policed. Demanding or offering money in exchange for goods or services will get you banned. Posting about lost pets is discouraged, and politics is outlawed.
Once a group gets too big, usually more than 1,000 or 1,500 members, it is divided into smaller groups. When Bowman joined her group in Canberra, it covered a sixth of the city. Now it covers just three suburbs: Aranda, Cook and Macquarie. The aim is always to make the groups as hyper—local as possible.
The “buy nothing” community exists in a comfortable and trusting bubble. People recognize each other by name and leave their back gates unlocked for people to come and collect what they need. Without trust, a “buy nothing” group can’t go smoothly.
1. Why did Bowman respond to the request for a melon baller?| A．She was eager to become famous. |
| B．She desired to make friends with others. |
| C．She wanted to make money by selling them. |
| D．She had extra melon ballers that she didn't need. |
| A．The origin of “buy nothing” groups. | B．The meaning of “buy nothing” groups. |
| C．The regulations of “buy nothing” groups. | D．The achievements of “buy nothing” groups. |
| A．Trust. | B．Profit. | C．Commitment. | D．Management. |
| A．Buy Nothing—A Good Way to Save Money |
| B．Buy Nothing—Explodes Around The Global |
| C．Buy Nothing—Saving Money & Living Better |
| D．Buy Nothing—Contributes to World Development |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Guidance for Teenagers
Guide for Teenagers
The teenage years can be tough，and it's normal to feel sad every now and then．But if these feelings don't go away or become so intense that you can't handle them，you may be suffering from depression．
Try not to isolate yourself
When you're depressed，you may not feel like seeing anybody or doing anything．Just getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult，but isolating yourself only makes depression worse．
Keep your body healthy
Making healthy lifestyle choices can do wonders for your moods．Ever heard of “Runners High"？Physical activity can be as effective as medications for depression，so get involved in sports，ride your bike，or take a dance class．Any activity helps！
Avoid alcohol and drugs
You maybe try drinking or use drugs in an effort to escape from your feelings and get a “mood boost"，even if just for a short time．However，substance abuse can not only make depression worse，but can cause you to become more depressed．
Stress and worry can lead to depression．Talk to a teacher if exams or classes seem overwhelming．In addition，if you have a health concern you feel you can't talk to your parents about，see a doctor．A health professional can help you approach your parents and guide you toward appropriate treatment．If you're dealing with relationships，friendships，or family problems，talk to an adult you trust．
| A．Ask for help if you are stressed |
| B．Even a short walk can be beneficial |
| C．Turn to your parents for help |
| D．As you get out into the world，you may find yourself feeling better |
| E．In short，drinking and taking drugs will make you feel worse-not better-in the long run |
| F．The more exercise you do，the healthier you will be |
| G．Help is available and you have more power than you think． |
| Welcome to my Message Board! | |
| Subject Slimming down classics? | |
| Mr. Handsome  2007-5-12&24 AM | Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to |
| Mr. Edwards  2007-5-12 9:40 AM | Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them. |
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM | I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics! |
| Mr. Crockatt  2007-5-124:38 PM | I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing. |
1. According to the message board,Orinon Books_______.
| A．opposes the reading of original classics |
| B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics |
| C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future |
| D．is cautious in its decision to cut down classics |
| A．make them easier to read |
| B．meet a large demand in the market |
| C．increase the sales of literary books |
| D．compete with their original versions |
| A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics |
| B．shows gailty of the original classics |
| C．feels guilty of not reading the classics |
| D．disapproves of shortening the classics |
| A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt |
| B．shortening the classics does harm to the original |
| C．publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job |
| D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs |
【推荐3】A typical lion tamer (驯兽师) in people’s mind is an entertainer holding a whip (鞭) and a chair. The whip gets all of the attention, but it’s mostly for show. In reality, it’s the chair that does the important work. When a lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion’s face, the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time. With its focus divided, the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next. When faced with so many options, the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.
How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion? How often do you have something you want to achieve (e.g. lose weight, start a business, travel more) — only to end up confused by all of the options in front of you and never make progress?
This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best, the people who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information. The end result is that we feel like we can’t focus or that we’re focused on the wrong things, and so we take less action, make less progress, and stay the same when we could be improving.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Anytime you find the world waving a chair in your face, remember this: All you need to do is focus on one thing. You just need to get started. Starting before you feel ready is one of the habits of successful people. If you have somewhere you want to go, something you want to accomplish, someone you want to become...take immediate action. If you’re clear about where you want to go, the rest of the world will either help you get there or get out of the way.
1. In what sense are people similar to a lion facing a chair?| A．They feel puzzled over choices. | B．They hold on to the wrong things. |
| C．They find it hard to make changes. | D．They have to do something for show. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Respectful. | D．Supportive. |
| A．wait for a better chance | B．break your old habits |
| C．make a quick decision | D．ask for clear guidance |
【推荐1】Before the 1830s, most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually $8 to $10 a year. Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.
The trend, then, was toward the "penny paper"-a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.
This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy)to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830,but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny-usually two or three cents was charged-and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase "penny paper" caught the public’s fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.
This new trend of newspapers for "the man on the street" did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企业) were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.
1. What did street sales mean to newspapers?| A．They would be priced higher. | B．They would disappear from cities. |
| C．They could have more readers. | D．They could regain public trust. |
| A．It was a difficult process. | B．It was a temporary success. |
| C．It was a robbery of the poor. | D．It was a disaster for printers. |
【推荐2】Adult musk ducks raised in captivity (圈养) can copy the sounds they heard as hatchlings, such as a door slamming, a man coughing and even what was probably a former caretaker’s catchphrase (口头禅), “ You bloody fool! ”
The large, grey Australian waterbirds usually learn to make high-pitched whistles from their older flock mates. But individuals raised in captivity away from other musk dusks have been heard copying the sounds around them associated with human life.
The findings provide evidence that musk dusks now join parrots, seals, bats, elephants and humans as vocal (声音的) language learners, which means they acquire “ words ” based on what they hear as infants, says Carel Ten Cate at Leiden University in the Netherlands. “ Vocal learning is a rare and special trait, so that makes this duck particularly special, ” he says. Ten Cate studies vocal learning in birds and was recently fascinated to come across a story about a talking duck in Australia. So he tracked down the now-retired Australian scientist Peter J. Fullagar, who first noticed the phenomenon more than 30 years ago.
Fullagar shared his conserved audio clips (片段) of 4-year-old Ripper, a male musk duck hand-raised on a nature reserve without other musk ducks. In the clips, Ripper walks around speaking when acting aggressively and copying a slamming door sound when trying to attract females.
Fullagar also shared an audio clip of a second male that was raised on the same reserve with his mother in 2000, along with Pacific black ducks that make sounds “ like common park ducks, ” Ten Cate says. Female musk ducks don’t perform vocal displays, and the young, unnamed duck grew up to copy the black ducks around him.
After Ten Cate ensured the recordings, he used software to confirm that the birds were repeating noises from their environment, in some cases sounds that they had only heard in the first weeks of life. In the recordings, the ducks made these sounds dozens of times in a matter of minutes, at about 4-second intervals (间隔).
1. What is special about adult musk ducks raised in captivity?| A．They can make high-pitched whistles. | B．They join elephants in large forests. |
| C．They repeat what they hear around. | D．They create languages of their own. |
| A．Studies on vocal learning. | B．Fullagar’s audio clips. |
| C．A story about a talking duck. | D．Fullagar’s living condition. |
| A．Female musk ducks can make vocal sounds. |
| B．Musk ducks repeat what they hear as infants. |
| C．Musk ducks repeat vocal sounds without pause. |
| D．Musk ducks raised with other ducks make vocal sounds. |
| A．Australian Ducks Talk Like Humans | B．Animals Are Smarter Than We Expect |
| C．What Vocal Language Can Animals Learn | D．People Learn a Lot from Adult Musk Ducks |
【推荐3】Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic it was vital to see doctors over online platforms like Zoom or Face Time when in-person appointments posed risks of corona virus exposure. By April 2020, one national study found that telemedicine visits already accounted for 13 percent of all medical claims compared with 0.15 percent a year earlier. COVID-19 let virtual medicine out of the bottle, but now it s time to tame it. Using it too widely or too quickly risks poorer care and higher charges in a system already infamous for big bills.
The pandemic has demonstrated that virtual medicine is great for many simple visits. But many of the new types of telemedicine being promoted by companies more clearly benefit providers and investors pockets, rather than giving patients more convenient, high-quality and cost-effective medicine. “Right now there’s a lot of focus on ideas that sound cool rather than solving problems,” said Dr. Peter Pronovost from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “We know precious little about its impact on quality.”
Even so, the financial world is full of investment opportunities. In the first six months of 2020, telehealth companies raised record amounts of funding, with five new companies each raising more than $ 100 million. There are now telehealth apps that target markets like the mental health of pregnant(怀孕的) women. You can even do a digital eye appointment, and meet with your dentist virtually to monitor your oral health.
But there are things that virtual medicine can miss. One study showed that commercial telemedicine services were much more likely to suggest antibiotics(抗生素) for children’s respiratory (呼吸的) infections as a primary care doctor at an in-person visit. That' s in part because if you can’t see into the ear to observe closely, for example, the safer course is to overtreat - even though that' s contrary to giving guidelines intended to prevent antibiotic resistance. There is actually much to be solved. If we allow the market to make the choice, we risk preserving those telemedicine services that make money for providers and investors and lose those that benefit patients.
1. What does the underlined word “tame” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Control. | B．Test. | C．See. | D．Promote. |
| A．A lack of cool ideas. | B．The ability of investors. |
| C．The convenience of telemedicine. | D．The effectiveness of virtual medicine. |
| A．They are popular with female patients. |
| B．They tend to invest in many other fields. |
| C．They are getting a significant flow of funds. |
| D．They mainly focus on mental health problems. |
| A．Patients’ overreaction. |
| B．Patients’ antibiotic resistance. |
| C．Patients’ putting off appointments. |
| D．Patients’ limited treatment options. |
