【推荐1】Given the extremely unpleasant heatwaves of this summer, being green and good to the planet feels more urgent than ever. The actions of our governments and cities, who have the power to make a great dent in the climate crisis, are important.

Now, there are plenty of cities that are still failing to effectively take action in the climate emergency. But others are becoming successful quickly—like, for instance, the winners of two of the European Union’s most famous green cities awards: European Green Capital and European Green Leaf.

Both of the awards recognize not just what the green—stuffed cities have already achieved, but also what they’ve got planned for the future. There’s only one European Green Capital winner per year, while the yearly European Green Leaf recognizes the environmental achievements of two smaller EU cities.

And now the winners of those two awards have finally been announced. European Green Capital in 2024 will be Valencia in southern Spain, which defeated the Sardinian city of Cagliari in the final.

Valencia says proudly Turia park—the largest urban（城市的）park in Europe—has obviously increased its green infrastructure（基础设施）polices in recent years. As well as being Green Capital 2024, Valencia will take home £350,000 to put towards green policies. (2023’s winner is Tallinn, Estonia)

The Green Leaf award, meanwhile, has been won by the Danish city of Elsinore and Velenje, the fifth—largest city in Slovenia. The two winners of the Green Leaf will get £75,000 to fund local green efforts.

For the separate awards, each city had to present their ideas to a judging group. The winners were announced at a ceremony in Grenoble (this year’s European Green Capital) last week.

So even if you don’t care about EU medals. it’s very much worth visiting all these cities to find out all the cool stuff they’re doing to save the world, hit by hit.

1. What does the underlined word “dent” probably mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Progress.

B．Damage.

C．Ambition.

D．Effect.

2. How many green city award winners are mentioned in the passage?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．Six.

3. What must every city do to win the awards?

A．Build an urban park.	B．Donate to green efforts.
C．Predict weather accurately.	D．Demonstrate their ideas.

4. What does the author suggest doing in the end?

A．Being calm.	B．Cooling the world.
C．Paying attention to medals.	D．Calling at the green cities.

【推荐3】An ancient chemical process enabled Earth to become a fertile place packed with life. Now researchers are imitating this process in an attempt to slow global warming. Every plant, animal, and person owes their life to a series of chemical reactions: photosynthesis, which turns water and carbon dioxide into food using sunlight. As benefit receivers of photosynthesis, humans depend on plants in a sort of carbon seesaw (跷跷板). Plants take in CO₂ and release O₂. We do the opposite, taking in O₂ and releasing CO₂.

This seesaw is part of the much broader carbon cycle that has affected the radiation balance of our planet. Cutting down plenty of forests and the burning of carbon-based fossil (化石) fuels cause the levels of CO₂, a major greenhouse gas, to rise. And plants on Earth along with other natural parts of the carbon cycle can’t restore the balance on their own.

But what if we could copy what plants do to seize some of that extra CO₂ to make fuels constantly, instead of relying so heavily on fossilized carbon?“ Artificial photosynthesis is a really attractive approach,” says Jillian Dempsey, a chemist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “You’re able to store the energy of the sun in the bonds of molecules (分子).”

A hydrogen device with 12.6% efficiency that Agbo recently built was less than one inch across. For artificial photosynthesis to become practical, it needs to produce enough fuels to compete with the world’s existing energy supply of relatively inexpensive and abundant fossil fuels. It will take a lot of time and money before artificial photosynthesis can compete with fossil fuels. But the needed expenses won’t come close to the social cost of climate change. A recent survey of more than 2,000 economists projected the economic damages from climate change will reach $1.7 trillion per year by 2025 and roughly $30 trillion per year by 2075. Artificial photosynthesis could inch us back toward a better balance on the planet’s carbon seesaw.

1. What is researchers’ purpose to copy photosynthesis?

A．To release some of the extra CO₂.

B．To reduce the cost of using fossil fuels.

C．To reduce the speed of global warming.

D．To turn water and carbon dioxide into artificial sunlight.

2. What can we infer from paragraph 2?

A．Plants can turn carbon dioxide into food using sunlight.

B．Carbon seesaw is part of the less broader carbon cycle.

C．Avoiding the burning of fossil fuels can help protect the environment.

D．Carbon seesaw makes a difference to the radiation balance of the earth.

3. What is one disadvantage of the artificial photosynthesis?

A．Lack of mass production.

B．Its negative effect on the environment.

C．Disturbing the balance of the planet’s carbon seesaw.

D．Inability to store the energy of the sun in the bonds of molecules.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How Does the Artificial Device Works?

B．Wide Application of Artificial Device Is a Long Way to Run

C．Copying Nature to Fight Climate Change

D．Copying Photosynthesis to Change Society

【推荐2】Research has shown that 85 percent of communication is nonverbal, so choosing what to wear to an interview is clearly an important part of your overall presentation. It won’t make up for weak answers, but it can communicate some positive things about your personality and what you might be like to work with.

· Blue：You can’t go wrong with darker shades of blue, especially navy. Choosing from this powerful color will project an image of someone who is in control. From the interviewer’s point of view, the color blue suggests calm, stability, trust, truth, confidence and security. These are all great messages to send without saying a word.

· Gray: After blue, gray is the second most popular color to wear for an interview. Like darker blue, it’s not a distracting color to the interviewer, which means they’ll be focused more on what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. Gray means sophistication （老成）, so use it to your advantage.

· Black: This is a commanding color and represents authority. Black also suggests excitement, so use it carefully when putting together your interview outfit. You may want to use it as an accent （着重色） —like in a scarf or tie, for instance—rather than as the primary color.

· Red：This is an extremely powerful color. It’s so strong that you should only use it as an accent color. Reds are associated with energy, passion, desire, power and aggression. People think of intensity （紧张） and passion when they see the color red, so use it carefully or it could send the wrong message to the interviewer.

· White：White shirts and blouses are always appropriate. It sends the message of simplicity, cleanliness, precision and goodness.

1. What is the best title of the passage？

A．How to Prepare for Your Job Interview

B．A Research on Colours

C．Colorful Clothes Never Fail

D．What the Colors of Your Clothes Say about You

2. Why is it important to choose what to wear to an interview？

A．Because it will make up for your weak answers.

B．Because it suggests something about your personality.

C．Because it will make you feel better.

D．Because the interviewer judges a person by his appearance.

3. Based on the passage, which of the following are the messages from “Blue”？
①stability       ②energy       ③power       ④confidence        ⑤security

A．①②④

B．②③④

C．①④⑤

D．②③⑤

4. If you want to leave an impression of being simple and clean, you should be dressed in ________.

A．gray

B．red

C．black

D．white

5. From the passage we can infer that ________.

A．job interviewees should think twice before wearing red clothes

B．the colors can send all the messages you want to convey

C．you can wear white clothes if you want to appear active

D．gray is the most popular color to wear for an interview

【推荐3】In a May 2020 study, researchers showed that a junk food diet can be particularly bad for teen brains because it does not contain the good fats needed to build healthy brain cells. The good news is that you can make food choices that support a healthy brain. “The brain is the most fat-rich organ we have,” notes Alexandra Richardson, an expert at the University of Oxford. “And where does it get its fats? From what we eat.”

But not all fats are the same. Our brains need a type known as omega-3 fats, which are found in fish and some oils and help build the membrane (膜状物) that surrounds brain cells, which need membranes to hold them together and to communicate well with each other.

In the study, Richardson and her team showed improved mental health in children who took omega-3 pills. The children who took part were between the ages of 5 and 12. All not only had problems with attention and impulsivity, but also struggled with reading and spelling. After taking omega-3 pills for three months, they showed improved attention and ability to control their impulsive behavior. Their reading and spelling scores also went up.

“Research shows exercise can be a good way to avoid damage from junk food,” notes Cassandra Lowe, who has studied kids’ brains and nutrition.

Two important things happen in the brain when we exercise. The first is that the brain’s reward system — the one that feels good when we do something we like — becomes less sensitive to food cues (食物诱惑).

Exercise also triggers the body to make a protein called BDNF, which helps brain cells grow and strengthens links between them.

“Processed and fried foods, such as store-bought baked goods and chips don’t have many of the nutrients our bodies and brains need,” Richardson says. Kids need to understand that they tend to be rich both in calories and in “mixture (混合物) of chemicals that do not support human health — physical or mental.”

1. What is the writing purpose of Paragraph 2?

A．To emphasize that fish belongs to foods that are low in fat.

B．To introduce the idea that the brain gets its fats from foods.

C．To explain the difference between the fats found in various foods.

D．To describe how certain types of fat promote brain function and health.

2. How does the author build understanding of the importance of omega-3?

A．By describing a study about the relationship between omega-3 fats and behavior.

B．By emphasizing that omega-3 fats help children form the habit of eating healthily.

C．By explaining that exercise can increase the body’s production of omega-3 fats.

D．By stressing omega-3 fats mainly promote good physical health in children.

3. What can we conclude from the passage?

A．People who exercise regularly tend to take a risk.

B．Regular exercise can reduce the effect of junk food.

C．Regular exercise can help people consume less junk food.

D．Junk food may damage the good fats that help build the membrane.

4. What is probably the attitude of Richardson toward processed foods?

A．Positive.

B．Negative.

C．Doubtful.

D．Neutral.