【推荐1】Keeping animals safe on the road

Roadkill is not a rare sight when driving down most highways and sometimes also on roadways in cities.     1    . A recent study has measured, for the first time, the damage that can be caused to animals in urban areas on China’s fast-developing road network.

    2    . Li Zhongqiu and his team from Nanjing University’s School of Life looked at the problem in cities, where roadkill could have an even larger impact.

They chose Nanjing as the study subject, where there are more than 9,700 kilometers of paved roads. A total of nine roads were chosen for the research, including three national highways.     3    . The researchers then monitored the roads every two weeks over a year. The team recorded a total of 293 individual roadkill cases. Birds made up nearly half the total, making them the most susceptible (易受影响的) group to roadkill.     4    . “This may be owing to the large number of stray (流浪的) cats and dogs in urban areas,” Li said. “Abandoned pets are more likely to wander into traffic.” Also, there are a large number of black birds in East China, and they can be attracted by flies or other insects, leading to further accidents.     5    . This may be owing to the fact that some warm-blooded animals have to go out and search for food during these times when food is hard to find. “Roadkill has resulted in the decline (下降) of urban animal populations and must be taken seriously,” Li said. The researchers also call on policymakers to put forward related traffic rules and animal protection rules, such as speed limits and traffic controls.

A．You may not feel good about seeing roadkill

B．The object is to educate people about road safety

C．The length of the roads combined was over 224.27 kilometers

D．It refers to animals being hit by cars or other vehicles by accident.

E．Cats, dogs and blackbirds were the three commonly killed animals

F．In the past, research in China focused on roadkill in nature reserves

G．Roadkill incidents are more likely to happen in November and January

【推荐2】If you’ve noticed you’re getting less while your bill almost stays the same, it’s not just you. “Shrinkflation” — reducing a product’s size or quantity while keeping its price stable — is showing up in shops around the world.

As the global economy struggles with inflation (通货膨胀), rising material costs and higher human cost, consumers are bearing the increasing production prices. “Consumers are more likely to notice how their purchases are affecting their wallets than the amount of product lost when sizes decrease,” says Mark Stiving, the chief pricing educator at Impact Pricing. As a result, companies use shrinkflation to make consumers “less painful”.

Yet even as shrinkflation comes with inflation, the problem doesn’t end after inflation does. Once the new sizes are on the shelf, they are likely to stay that way. “Shoppers don’t have a choice. They have to adapt themselves to the changes,” adds Stiving. There are rare exceptions, but companies generally take the opportunity to get more profits.

For many companies, shrinkflation seems to be unavoidable. In food industry, for example, where customers are highly sensitive to price, lifting prices might make customers jump ship to another brand. But facing the continuous inflation, the companies have to do something to maintain their profits. Introducing small reduction in the size of their goods should enable them to improve profits while keeping their prices competitive. But once customers notice the change, they might feel fooled, leading to a loss of trust and confidence.

Some grocers are using stickers to remind shoppers of shrinkflation, but still, it’s a tough hit to the bottom line — especially because the price of products generally doesn’t fall as inflation does. Consumers may need to examine both price and size sensibly as they shop, and make sure they don’t fall into the trap of that super size on the shelf.

1. Why does shrinkflation make consumers “less painful” according to Stiving?

A．Shrinkflation reduces human cost.

B．Shrinkflation raises purchasing power.

C．Consumers become more aware of size.

D．Consumers experience little increase in cost.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The concerns of shoppers.	B．The interests of companies.
C．The impact of shrinkflation.	D．The phenomenon of inflation.

3. What is the author’s attitude to the shrinkflation in paragraph 4?

A．Favorable.	B．Objective.
C．Dismissive.	D．Unclear.

4. What should consumers do according to the last paragraph?

A．Draw a bottom line.	B．Put warning stickers.
C．Choose smaller packs.	D．Make a conscious decision.

【推荐3】The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress made towards gender equality, according to a global study that reveals women have been hit much harder socially and economically than men. Previously, coronavirus-related gender disparity studies have focused on the direct health impacts of the crisis. It is well known that across the globe men have experienced higher rates of COVID cases, hospitalization and death. However, until now, few studies have examined how gender inequalities have been affected by the many indirect social and economic effects of the pandemic worldwide.

The research, conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and published in The Lancet, shows that women have experienced greater negative social and economic impacts than men. The greatest and most persistent gender gap was seen in employment and uncompensated labour, with 26% of women reporting loss of work compared with 20% of men globally in September 2021. Women and girls were also more likely to drop out of school and more likely to report an increase in gender-based violence than men and boys.

“This study provides the first comprehensive global evidence on gender disparities for a wide range of health-related, social and economic indicators throughout the pandemic,” said senior author Prof Emmanuela Gakidou. “The evidence suggests that COVID-19 has tended to exacerbate previously existing social and economic disparities.”

The study analysed publicly available data sets from 193 countries using surveys taken from March 2020 to September 2021 on health and well-being during the pandemic. In every part of the world, women have experienced higher rates of employment loss than men since the start of the pandemic.

“Economic impacts have affected women more than men in some countries because they tend to be employed disproportionately in sectors harder-hit by COVID-19, such as the hospitality industry or as domestic workers,” said Dr Luisa Flor, the study’s co-lead author. “Moreover, gendered social norms in many countries attribute household and childcare responsibilities preferentially to women and reduce their time and ability to engage in paid labour.”

“The further we progress in this pandemic the more we feel that the inequities being exacerbated are only going to worsen, and that any pre-pandemic progress towards gender equality will be reversed,” said Rosemary Morgan of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which was not involved in the study. “Hopefully this data will reinforce the need for decision-makers to act before it is too late.”

1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A．More men have died from the novel coronavirus than women.

B．Plenty of gender disparity studies are in progress.

C．The COVID-19 pandemic affects men and women equally.

D．The progress towards gender equality got reversed.

2. The underlined word “exacerbate” in paragraph 3 most probably means “”.

A．accelerate

B．accumulate

C．lessen

D．worsen

3. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．More women have lost their jobs because some industries have been harder-hit by COVID-19.

B．The gender inequalities existed before the COVID-19 pandemic.

C．More women have lost their jobs because they have been replaced by men.

D．The gender gap is not only in employment.

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Women Need Jobs More than Men in the Pandemic	B．COVID-19 Has Hit Women Harder than Men
C．More Act Is Needed to Curb Gender Inequalities	D．COVID-19 Has Intensified Gender Inequalities

【推荐1】What springs to mind when you think of kung fu, also known as wushu? Maybe the image of Shaolin monks striking fierce poses with a serious look in his eyes, or popular children’s movies like Kung Fu Panda.    1    

Recently, Laurence J. Brahm, a documentary filmmaker from the United States, explored this question in Searching of Kung Fu. In the movie, Brahm travelled to cities in China and the US in search of the origin and value of kung fu.

Around a decade ago, Brahm was unable to use one of his legs for about two years and had to walk with crutches and a cane.    2    Now kung fu has become a daily routine for him.

“Martial arts can help us connect our body, connect our neural system, connect our blood flow.    3    ” Brahm said.

    4    Nonviolence is one of these values, which is shown both in the name and the practice. Wu, consists of two characters—ge, meaning “dragger-ax” (匕首) and zhi, meaning “to stop”.    5    Kung fu artists always salute with baoquan. This lets each person know that there are no hidden weapons and shows trust.

A．Brahm's appreciation of kung fu is obvious.

B．Still others find additional values in the practice.

C．Chinese kung fu is a mirror of Chinese culture.

D．But do they really reveal the meaning of kung fu?

E．Besides, it can also connect us into our environment to increase our awareness.

F．But by practicing martial arts slowly, he was able to recover step by step.

G．So, the meaning of kung fu in Chinese is the art of stopping fighting, the art of nonviolence.

【推荐2】The Chinese new year begins on 22 January, 2023 and lasts until 9 February 2024.While most of Asia celebrates the year of the rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the year of the cat. In the Chinese zodiac (十二生肖), there are 12 animals, and the 4th animal is the rabbit; while in the Vietnamese zodiac, the 4th position is occupied by the cat. How the cat covered for the rabbit in Vietnam’s zodiac is still the subject of debate.

It was said the Jade Emperor organized a race across a river for all the animals in the world. The first 12 to reach the other side would appear in the zodiac. In the Chinese version of the story, the cat and the rat were riding across a river on an ox when the rat pushed the cat into the water. The rat won the race, turning the two animals into enemies. That is why cats have been hunting rats ever since. However, in the Vietnamese version — which did not have a rabbit — the cat could swim and ended up arriving.

One possible explanation for replacing rabbit with cat might have to do with language. In old Chinese, there is’ a word tied to the sign of the rabbit that is pronounced mao (卯). The pronunciation is similar to mèo, the Vietnamese word for cat.

Quyen Di, a lecturer at UCLA, said the custom has to do with the landscape of Vietnam. “Initially, the Chinese lived in the savanna (稀树草原) area, while the Vietnamese lived in the lowland area. The people of the savanna prefer a nomadic life, close to the wilderness, and they chose the rabbit as an animal that lived in the wild fields. In contrast, the lowland people of Vietnam consider rabbits as animals that are used for food and chose the cat because they believe cats are friends living in their house.

This year, many Vietnamese are buying new cat-themed cases for their mobile phones. And one of the top Google searches in Vietnam is “why there is no cat in the Chinese zodiac”.

1. What does the underlined phrase “covered for” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．took charge of	B．fought for
C．took the place of	D．depended on

2. What can we learn from the Vietnamese zodiac story?

A．The Jade Emperor showed favor to the cat.

B．The rabbit fell into the river in the zodiac race.

C．The cat finished fourth by swimming across the river.

D．The rat and the rabbit were enemies in ancient times.

3. According to Quyen Di, what made the Vietnamese choose the cat?

A．Their living environment.

B．Their language pronunciation.

C．Their lifestyle of raising cats as pets.

D．Their custom of hunting rabbits for food.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The History of the Chinese Zodiac

B．Ways of Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit

C．The Popularity of Chinese Traditional Culture

D．The Origin of the Year of the Cat in Vietnam