【推荐1】By March 2018, Cape Town’s biggest reservoir (储水库) had dropped to just 11 percent of its capacity. The city was close to turning off the taps. “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Samantha Reinders. Like everyone else here, Reinders learned to wash, cook and drink using just the official daily limit—50 liters. Posters were put up everywhere, telling 400,000 people in Cape Town how far the reservoirs had dropped. They also showed the countdown until “Day Zero”. Finally, in June, the rains returned. People ran outside to feel the water flow on their faces. Cape Town’s water shortage was over, at least temporarily. “Day Zero” had never quite arrived.

Afterward, an international group of scientists analyzed Cape Town’s drought and water shortage. They studied computer models and rainfall records. Finally, they came to a conclusion: Climate change wasn’t the culprit (罪魁祸首) of the drought. It hadn’t begotten the drought. But it had tripled (使成三倍) the chance that a drought would occur.

Friederike Otto is a climate scientist at Oxford University in England and lead author of that study. The risk of drought could triple again by the end of the 21st century, she said. That’s when global temperatures are predicted to rise another 1 degree Celsius.

Co-author Piotr Wolski said that better planning could help in the future. The area could manage its water reservoirs more carefully. People could fix leaky dams and make use of a variety of water sources instead of only reservoirs. “Drought may or may not translate into a crisis (危机),” he pointed out.

In many ways, said Reinders, the water crisis made a change to the city. Most people, across race, gender, religion and class, did their best to save water and help their neighbors out. And most were sticking to the water-saving habits they had learned. “I think this is the new normal. And that is pretty much the word on the street,” said Reinders.

1. What does Paragraph 1 show about Cape Town?

A．It experienced a severe drought.

B．It was carrying out a water-saving campaign.

C．It needed one more reservoir urgently.

D．It was repairing its water-supply lines.

2. What does the underlined word “begotten” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Caused

B．Stopped

C．Expanded

D．Worsened

3. What’s Piotr Wolski’s suggestion on the water crisis?

A．Never too late to mend.	B．Be aware of the potential leaky dams.
C．Save for a rainy day.	D．Make full use of the water reservoirs.

4. What’s the main purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To call on people to show kindness to others.

B．To stress people’s efforts to save water.

C．To encourage people to stick to their good habits.

D．To show the beneficial sides of the water crisis.

【推荐2】There was much discussion of the concept of “quiet quitting” meaning, doing the bare minimum at work. And perhaps that’s not surprising: nowadays employee’s stress levels are at all-time highs. When you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, it feels like something needs to give up—the pursuit of excellence at work.

But is taking your foot off the gas the answer? I’d argue it isn’t. As a writer focused on time management, I’ve come to realize that the opposite of burnout isn’t doing nothing but engagement. That’s what I found when I ran a study with more than 140 busy people. At the beginning, they spoke of feeling exhausted and tapped out. “My work to do list is never ending,”. one person said.

The participants applied time-management strategies over the course of nine weeks. But instead of asking them to scale things back, most of the strategies I taught people were additive. I had them build in regular physical activity, make space for little adventures. And when it came to leisure activities, I asked them to put “effortful before effortless”—to choose those that require action over those that are passive.

I also introduced them to the principle of taking “one night for you”—committing to doing something you enjoy, apart from work and family. As with quiet quitting, this might sometimes mean leaving work a little earlier than usual, but the point is not to do less; the idea is adding energizing activities to your schedule.

And it worked. Over weeks, participants came to feel that their schedules were brimming (充满) with activities that they had actively chosen—and as a result, time felt more abundant. Their satisfaction with how they spent their time overall rose 16 percent from the beginning to the end. They even reported making more progress on their professional goals —pretty much the opposite of quiet quitting—as their increased energy and engagement spilled over into all areas of life.

We each have the same hours every week. But time is also all about the stories we tell ourselves. When life is full of have-to-dos, we can feel beaten down by responsibilities. But add things we actually want to do, and time feels different. We feel a bit more in control of our lives. Put simply, when we put time into what we find energizing, our inner narrative changes. We no longer feel like life is a slog (苦役), when you’re feeling overwhelmed, committing time to something that feels wonderful could be a better bet than simply doing less.

1. According to Paragraph 1, quiet quitting makes one ______.

A．feel exhausted and overwhelmed	B．pursue no excellence at work
C．work at all-time highs	D．hardly finish the work on time

2. According to the writer, what is the best way for people to handle their exhaustion?

A．Proper participation before burning out.	B．The cut-down of to-do list and a proper rest.
C．Adding active elements to be effortful.	D．Time management and physical activity.

3. What does the underlined part “scale things back” mean in the passage?

A．To pay more effort than required.	B．To go back to nature and relax.
C．To reflect on the old days.	D．To reduce the amount of work.

4. The idea of “one night for you” is suggested, for one can ______

A．enjoy adventure with family members.	B．go for physical exercises after work.
C．choose to be an active person at night.	D．engage yourself in more favorable things.

5. What is the main idea of paragraph 5?

A．Actively choosing activities have positive impact.

B．People are satisfied with more free time to spent.

C．People can make progress if they do not quit quietly.

D．Too much energy may be wasted if not concerned about.

6. What is the proper title of the passage?

A．The power of time management.	B．Strategies for a More Satisfying Life.
C．The secret of a happy life: Quiet Quitting.	D．Rejecting Quiet Quitting: Active participation.

【推荐3】Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, consists of a discarded phones, printers, TVs, electric toothbrushes and many other electronic goods no longer in use.

A shocking 53. 6 million tons of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019 — less than a fifth of which was recycled, according to UN's Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report.

Of the total e-waste last year, Asia contributed the biggest amount — 46.4 per cent — followed by the Americas(24.4 percent), Europe (22.3 percent), Africa (5.4 percent) and Oceania (1.3 percent).

The combined heap of e-waste for 2019 averaged 7. 3 kg for every man, woman and child on Earth. The UK averaged the second-biggest in the world, at 23.9 kg, behind Norway, which averaged 26kg.

The report also reveals that just 17.4 percent of the e-waste was properly collected and recycled. E-waste is a health and environmental hazard (危害), containing hazardous substances such as mercury, which damages the human brain.

After a device is discarded and e-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air, damaging the atmosphere. E-waste in landfills can also seep (渗透) toxic materials into groundwater, affecting animals and plants.

Gold, silver, copper, and other high-value materials were collectively valued at $57 billion. However, they were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse. In countries with developing markets, an increasing number of household electronics like refrigerators, air conditioners, and lamps are now being bought, leading to the rapid increase in e-waste. A global obsession with smart phones, which tend to be replaced by an updated model after a year, also helps build e-waste piles.

It's not that countries don't have policies to fight e-waste since 2014, the number of countries that have adopted a national e-waste policy has increased from 61 to 78, the report says. But advances are slow, enforcement (执行) is poor, and policies fail to encourage the collection and proper management of e-waste. The lack of effective policies around the world needs to be addressed (解决) as soon as possible.

1. According to official figures, how much e-waste was recycled in 2019?

A．53.6 million tons.	B．10.8 million tons.
C．9.3 million tons.	D．20.1 million tons.

2. E-waste does harm in many aspects EXCEPT ________________.

A．health condition	B．electronic products
C．energy resources	D．environmental protection

3. What's the attitude toward reducing e-waste according to the report?

A．Tolerant.

B．Indifferent.

C．Ambiguous.

D．Critical.

4. What's the main idea of this text?

A．E-waste is increasing.	B．E-waste is being reduced.
C．E-waste is harmful to people.	D．E-waste is being encouraged.