For some people, running outdoors is a great way to exercise. What may not be so great is seeing trash all over the ground. Well, some people are doing something about it. They are plogging! Plogging began in Sweden in 2016. A Swedish man named Erik Ahlstrom became concerned about the amount of trash and litter he saw each day on his way to work and he began picking up the trash. That is how plogging was born!
Plogging, by that term，may have officially begun in Sweden. But many people who exercise outdoors have been doing this for years. Take Jeff Horowitz for example. He is a personal trainer in Washington，D. C. He would often pick up trash while running outside. He even turned it into a game; he would try to pick up the trash without stopping.
Today, plogging is an official activity, one that is becoming increasingly popular. Plogging can build closer social connections in a community, and it can also be fun. When Dana Allen goes plogging around D. C., she invites her friends, and they make a day of it. Although Allen enjoys plogging，she doesn’t do it all the time. When she is training for a serious marathon race，the trash has to wait.
Cities around the world now hold plogging events. The goal is to spread the idea that littering is not acceptable. Along with cleaning up the environment, there may be another reason to choose plogging. One fitness app，Lifesum，records one hour of plogging as burning 288 calories. Usual jogging burns about 235 calories.
Getting ready to plog is similar to getting ready to jog. Ploggers do some deep knee bends as well as some balancing exercises and then they put on protective gloves. There are other safety rules for plogging. The main one is to plog in areas where there are not too many people. Stopping quickly in front of someone. to pick up an empty bag of potato chips, for example, could cause a crash.
1. What do we know about Jeff Horowitz from the text?| A．He was the first person to plog. | B．He has been actually plogging. |
| C．He is in support of eco-travelling. | D．He is an expert in picking up trash. |
| A．She doesn’t always do it with her friends. |
| B．She always finds it interesting to do it. |
| C．She nearly does it in a park every day. |
| D．She doesn’t insist doing it every day. |
| A．Picking up trash is important. | B．Plogging events are of little use. |
| C．Plogging is a better workout. | D．The idea of plogging is strange. |
| A．To avoid a crash. | B．To save energy. |
| C．To pick up more trash. | D．To make it unknown. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Ford is turning McDonald’s coffee waste into headlights
Ford is recently including coffee chaff (谷壳) that comes off during the roasting process—into the plastic headlights housing (大灯外壳) used in some cars. It has asked McDonald’s, which doesn’t roast its own coffee, to connect it with suppliers.
In recent years, as consumers feel more concern for plastic pollution and carbon emissions, companies have made full commitments to reduce their influences on the environment. They’ve also been developing new, sustainable materials to build consumer products.
Traditionally, Ford uses plastic and talc(滑石粉) to make its headlights housing. The coffee version is more sustainable because it’s lighter and doesn’t use the talc which, as a mineral, isn’t renewable. Coffee chaff, on the other hand, is widely available, and much of it goes to waste. Eventually, Ford hopes to use the material for more parts.
Ford decided to work with coffee chaff a few years ago. But it’s been experimenting with organic materials for over a decade. The auto company has been using soy-based foam(泡沫) in its cushions since 2011. It also uses waste from wheat, coconut, tomato and other plants in its cars in order to help meet some of its sustainability goals, which include using more renewable materials. Once the Ford team figured out how coffee chaff could be used to build car parts, it reached out to McDonald’s because of the restaurant chain ‘s scale and its sustainability goals. Like Ford, McDonald’s also wants to bring renewable and recycled materials into its products. The partnership between Ford and McDonald’s is an example of how brands with different projects can work together.
“We’ve conventionally thought of cooperation as within the food industry,” said Lan Olson, senior director of Global Sustainability at McDonald’s. “The Ford partnership can help McDonald’s see what kind of larger impacts are possible when it works with a company in another field. This is just scratching(划开) the surface of trying to understand what’s possible,” Olson said.
1. Why is Ford applying coffee chaff to headlights housing?| A．To work with McDonald’s. | B．To do experiments in the lab. |
| C．To save resources and money. | D．To reduce environmental pollution. |
| A．Coffee of McDonald’s is so popular and has great potential. |
| B．Ford wants to cooperate with one in the food industry. |
| C．They have the same sustainability goals. |
| D．Different brands with different projects can work together. |
| A．Cooperation between the two brands just begins. |
| B．The cooperation is only on the surface. |
| C．Ford has a large influence on McDonald’s. |
| D．Only cooperation within the food industry is welcomed. |
| A．News. | B．Business. | C．Science. | D．Entertainment. |
【推荐2】Greening the blue
Is there a “natural” way to enhance the potential of the oceans to lock away climate-warming CO2? Planting more trees on land can help draw down more CO2 from the atmosphere—the basis of many plans for carbon credits that companies buy to offset their emissions (抵消其排放).
Some regard the potential for this “blue carbon” as huge, although as yet there is no mechanism for integrating it into carbon offsetting plans. John Virdin of Duke University in North Carolina says, “
| A．Using the oceans as a solution to climate change is hardly a new idea. |
| B．There is still some doubt about how big the marine offsetting effect might be. |
| C．It’s really hard to turn blue carbon conservation and restoration into carbon credits that you can sell. |
| D．Something similar might work in the oceans, by stimulating the growth of marine and coastal ecosystems. |
| E．And conserving them is important given how much fishing and other activities have degraded them. |
| F．The big objection to all these plans is the possibility of negative environmental side effects. |
【推荐3】If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline powered cars 50 years from now, giving out heat-trapping carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) into the atmosphere—and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming.
In a proposal by two scientists, vehicle emissions(排放) would no longer contribute to global warming. The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline.
The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be put to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel(燃料): gasoline or jet fuel.
This process could change carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast resource for renewable fuels. The cycle—equal amounts of carbon dioxide produced and removed—would mean that cars, trucks and airplanes using the synthetic(合成的) fuels would no longer be contributing to global warming.
Although they have not yet built a synthetic fuel factory, or even a small model, the scientists say it is all based on existing technology. “Everything in the concept has been built, is operating or has a close cousin that is operating.” Dr. Martin said.
The Los Alamos proposal does not go against any laws of physics, and other scientists who have independently suggested similar ideas. Dr. Martin said he and Dr. Kubic had worked out their concept in more detail than former proposals.
There is, however, a major fact that explains why no one has built a carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline factory: it requires a great deal of energy.
According to their analysis, their concept, which would cost about $5 billion to build, could produce gasoline at an operating cost of $1.40 a gallon and would turn economically practical when the price at the pump hits $4.60 a gallon.
Other scientists said the Los Alamos proposal perhaps looked promising but could not evaluate it fully because the details had not been published. “It’s definitely worth pursuing,” said Martin I. Hoffert, a professor of physics at New York University. “It’s not that new an idea. It has a couple of pieces to it that are interesting.”
1. What is the value of the scientists’ proposal?| A．It increases the productivity of a fuel factory |
| B．It decreases the cost of producing gasoline |
| C．It reduces the pollution caused by car driving |
| D．It promotes a new idea of environmental protection |
| A．has been popular for so long |
| B．has been ignored by many people |
| C．is not appropriate for practice |
| D．will be put into practice in the near future |
| A．There is no theoretical basis. |
| B．It is not economically practical. |
| C．There is no solution to some technical problems. |
| D．Only a few scientists support the idea. |
【推荐1】For animals that spend most of their lives high in the trees, gaps (缺口) in the forest might as well be the Grand Canyon (大峡谷). These gaps are especially hard on gibbons, a kind of monkey-like animals with long arms; although larger males can jump across some gaps, females and young can be cut off from food, companions, and even potential mates. Now, a new study suggests a couple of strong ropes could really help bridge the gap.
Gibbons are at risk of dying out across Southeast Asia, largely because of habitat loss. With just 30 individuals (个体) left, the Hainan gibbon is considered the rarest primate (灵长目动物) on Earth. All of these animals live on the Bawangling National Nature Reserve in Hainan, an island province in southern China. In July 2014, a typhoon caused landslides across the reserve, creating gaps in the forest canopy (树冠) that were difficult for these primates to cross.
To help reconnect the habitats, professional tree climbers set up an artificial “bridge” across a 15-meter-wide narrow valley, made of two mountaineering-grade ropes. Nearly 6 months later, the gibbons started to use the bridge to cross the gaps, researchers report today in Scientific Reports. The team documented 52 crossings in a group of eight gibbons, with most walking along one rope while holding on to the second rope for support, which the scientists named “handrailing”. The gibbons also shimmied beneath the ropes using all arms and legs to the opposite side.
Conservationists previously built artificial bridges to help other treebound animal species such as the Bornean orangutan and the Javan slow loris. But this is the first example of the rare Hainan gibbon using them. The rope bridges could be a short-term solution (解决办法) to reconnect separated habitats, the researchers argue, combined with efforts to provide enough natural forest cover.
1. Why were rope bridges constructed according to the text?| A．To increase gibbons’ habitats. |
| B．To help all gibbons to cross gaps. |
| C．To save gibbons from being endangered. |
| D．To provide food and company for gibbons. |
| A．Gibbons are rarely seen because of dying out. |
| B．Habitat loss was to blame for gibbons’ dying out. |
| C．Gibbons couldn’t cross gaps caused by a typhoon. |
| D．The natural disaster may have put gibbons in danger. |
| A．showed up | B．fell down |
| C．moved forwards | D．hung up |
| A．Rope Bridges to Help Endangered Gibbons |
| B．What Led to the Disappearance of Gibbons? |
| C．Rarest Primate in the Hainan National Nature Reserve |
| D．The Most Effective Efforts to Provide Enough Habitat for Gibbons |
【推荐2】If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from London University, took a group of Britain people who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference was.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists. It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and math skill. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
1. The main subject talked about in this passage is .| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．language can help brain power |
| D．language learning and math study |
| A．say language is also a kind of physical labor |
| B．prove that one needs more practice when he/she is learning a language |
| C．show the importance of using the language when you learn the language |
| D．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well |
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying math |
| B．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in study other subjects |
| C．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| D．we’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language |
【推荐3】“You’ll get square eyes!” my mother used to say as I sat for hour after hour glued to the TV. I ignored her, of course. Past-forward a few decades and now I’m the parent. My 5-year-old lives in a world where screens aren’t fixed pieces of furniture. You can’t even avoid them by going outside. Screens are not only in our pockets; they’re everywhere.
The concerns have grown with the screens. In the past decade, we have heard that they will damage our mental health. Many of us feel more distracted by them, feeling guiltier and more tired as a result.
The apps and websites we can access on our phones have also sparked widespread concern. Big tech companies are also good at making use of our need for social recognition, hooking us on likes, retweets and follower counts. Social media has created a culture of mass narcissism (自恋), which has led many to worry about the emotional stresses on teenagers. A quick online search brings up dozens of papers linking screen use or social media with harmful effects on mental health, including depression and suicide.
Such statements are alarming. They are also widely believed, thanks to popular books like iGen by Jean Twenge, which claims that digital technology has ruined a generation. Yet, Amy Orben at the University of Oxford, who studies the impact of digital technology and social media in particular on mental health, holds different views. She claims that the underlying data can be used to tell different stories. She also spotted shortcomings in several large studies that claimed to show correlations (相关性) between the use of devices with screens and depression in users.
Twenge stands by her own finding, pointing in turn to what she considers flaws in Orben’s research methods. For David Max, at Royal College of Child Health in London, the effect of screen time and social media use on mental health remains speculative. “We cannot regard social media overall as good or bad,” says Davie. “We don’t know whether in individual cases social media is not responsible,” he says.
The explosion of mobile phone use has revolutionized our lives. I can download movies, write articles, communicate with my family and broadcast to the world all at the push of a button. Rather than impose constraints (限制), we should take a look at our use of screens and ask how they fit with the activities and lifestyle.
Every new technology with widespread impact has given rise to new fears. So the best bet may simply be to ask yourself what level of screen use makes you and those around you happy and try to stick to it. If you find yourself over addictive, don’t panic—and certainly don’t feel guilty. Nobody knows anything worth getting scared about.
1. According to the passage, people give likes, retweet or count followers to __________.| A．share one’s lifestyles | B．show respect for others |
| C．seek social recognition | D．relieve emotional stresses |
| A．doubtful | B．specific |
| C．important | D．abstract |
| A．Teenagers are more affected by screen use both physically and mentally. |
| B．Orben claims it is far too early to blame screen use for ruining a generation. |
| C．Big tech companies help to produce many research papers on mental health. |
| D．Twenge mainly introduces the overall benefits of digital technology in her books. |
| A．encourage readers to reduce the time of screen use |
| B．share different opinions on the effects of screen use |
| C．explain why screen use may have negative effects on people |
| D．relieve people’s concerns and worries about the use of screens |
【推荐1】We like to think that the human mind is special. One sign of our superiority is self-awareness, which is generally seen as the peak of consciousness. Only a select group of species has passed the test of being able to recognise themselves in a mirror. Most, including elephants, apes and dolphins, are smart. But now a little fish, the cleaner wrasse has become the first fish ever to pass the mirror test——a classic experiment used to judge self-awareness in animals. What are we to make of this?
Admittedly^ the mirror test is a questionable way of probing （探究）the minds of other animals. But the finding does fit with a new idea that the ability to recognise oneself is more related to an animal’s lifestyle than to its brain size. Self-awareness is likely to occur in creatures whose survival is dependent on reading the minds of others. In fact, by this way of thinking, it is nothing more than an accidental by-product of evolution^ a simulation （模拟）created by the brain, or even just a hall of mirrors giving the illusion of complexity.
The cleaner wrasse lives on coral reefs and provides a service by biting parasites （寄 生虫）off the scales of bigger fish gently, a delicate relationship that may require insight into the minds of its clients. Such “theory of mind” has long been seen as another cornerstone of human mental superiority. The possibility that fish possess it is not, however, the only threat to our human exceptionalism （例外）.It may not be long before computers give us a run for our money , too.
Researchers have created a set of tests to look for theory of mind in artificial intelligence— and some systems are on the point of passing. No AIs have passed the tests yet, but one got extremely close. We probably don't need to worry about robots that can recognise themselves in mirrors. But we might want to be more open to the idea that human intelligence isn't quite as special as we like to think.
1. What can we learn from the mirror test?| A．Mammals have a more adaptive body system. |
| B．A species of fish is capable of self-recognition. |
| C．The human mind is just as special as expected. |
| D．Humans have reached the peak of consciousness. |
| A．is formed during evolution by chance | B．corresponds with the size of the brain |
| C．isn't a hall of mirrors but a simulation | D．reflects the typical mental complexity |
| A．bring us huge profits |
| B．cost us a lot of money |
| C．have great control over us |
| D．challenge our exceptionalism |
| A．Fish possess no level of intelligence. |
| B．Humans are not unique in intelligence. |
| C．AIs will be able to understand our thoughts. |
| D．Self-awareness is a big mystery of the mind. |
【推荐2】Online programs to fight depression are already commercially available. While they sound efficient and cost-saving, a recent study reports that they're not effective, primarily because depressed patients are not likely to engage with them or stick with them.
The study looked at computer-assisted cognitive (认知的) behavioral therapy (CBT) and found that it was no more effective in treating depression than the usual care patients receive from a primary care doctor.
Traditional CBT is considered an effective form of talk therapy for depression, helping people challenge negative thoughts and change the way they think in order to change their mood and behaviors. However, online CBT programs have been gaining popularity, with the attraction of providing low-cost help wherever someone has access to a computer.
A team of researchers from the University of York conducted a randomized (随机的) control trial with 691 depressed patients from 83 physician practices across England. The patients were split into three groups: one group received only usual care from a physician while the other two groups received usual care from a physician plus one of two computerized CBT programs. Participants were balanced across the three groups for age, sex, educational background, severity and duration of depression, and use of antidepressants(抗抑郁药).
After four months, the patients using the computerized CBT programs had no improvement in depression levels over the patients who were only getting usual care from their doctors.
"It's an important, warning note that we shouldn't get too carried away with the idea that a computer system can replace doctors and therapists," says Christopher Dowrick, a professor of primary medical care at the University of Liverpool. "We do still need the human touch or the human interaction, particularly when people are depressed. "
"Being depressed can mean feeling lost in your own small, negative, dark world," Dowrick says. Having a person, instead of a computer, reach out to you is particularly important in fighting that sense of isolation. "When you're emotionally fragile, you're even more in need of a caring human being," he says.
1. What does the recent study say about online CBT programs?| A．Patients may not be able to carry them through for effective cure. |
| B．Patients cannot engage with them without the use of a computer. |
| C．They can save patients trouble visiting physicians. |
| D．They have been well received by a lot of patients' |
| A．Their effectiveness in combating depression |
| B．The low efficiency of traditional talk therapy. |
| C．Their easy and inexpensive access by patients. |
| D．The recommendation by primary care doctors. |
| A．They should not be neglected in primary care. |
| B．Their effectiveness should not be overestimated. |
| C．They should be used by strictly following instructions. |
| D．Their use should be encouraged by doctors and therapists. |
| A．A positive state of mind. | B．Appropriate medication. |
| C．Timely encouragement. | D．Human interaction. |
【推荐3】Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie — all without other people hearing the sound and without headphones.
That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming”, a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday, the company introduced a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver.
Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its introduction. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie.The sound seems so close that it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.
Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.
The device uses a 3-D sensing module that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves (超声波) to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener, therefore the listeners feel completely transported into the scene.
By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when he moves his head. It is also possible to move out of the sound beam's path and hear nothing at all.
While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology.
According to the chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein, a “smaller” version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.
1. What does the underlined word “possibility” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The listener may put on music to block out other sounds. |
| B．The listener may hear sound only for him or her without using headphones. |
| C．The listener may enjoy songs or movies without being interrupted by others. |
| D．The listener may have the ability to pick up some special sounds. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Impossible. |
| C．Strange. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．It places the listener on the scene to hear the sound. |
| B．It fixes a sound beam’s path which can not be changed. |
| C．It follows the listeners around to send and receive sounds. |
| D．With 3-D tracking technology, it sends ultrasonic waves to the target listener. |
| A．To promote the SoundBeamer. | B．To introduce a new sound device. |
| C．To recommend new headphones. | D．To explain a technical phenomenon. |
【推荐1】A machine that takes sweat-laden (浸满汗水的) clothes and turns the sweat into drinking water is in use in Sweden. The machine makes the clothes turn round quickly, heats them to remove the sweat, and then passes the steam through a kind of special material to make purified water.
Since it has been brought into use, its creators say more than 1000 people have drunk others’ “sweat” in Gothenburg. They add the liquid is cleaner than local tap water.
The device was built for the United Nations’ child-focused charity UNICEF to promote a campaign highlighting the fact that 780 million people in the world lack access to clean water.
The machine was designed and built by the engineer Andreas Hammar, known locally for his appearances on TV tech show “Mekatronik”. He said the key part of the sweat machine was a new water purification part developed by a company named HVR.
“It uses a technique called membrane distillation (膜蒸馏),” he told the BBC. “We use a special kind of material that only lets steam through but keeps bacteria, salts, clothing fibers and other things out. They have something similar to the International Space Station, but our machine is cheaper to build. The amount of water it produces depends on how sweaty the person is, but one person’s T-shirt typically produces 10ml, about a mouthful.”
The device has been put on show at the Gothia Cup-the world’s largest international youth football tournament. Mattias Ronge, chief executive of Stockholm-based advertising agency Deportivo, said the machine had helped raise awareness for UNICEF, but in reality had its limitations.
“People haven’t produced as much sweat as we hoped – right now the weather in Gothenburg is lousy,” Mattias Ronge said. “So we’ve equipped the machine with exercise bikes and volunteers are cycling like crazy. Even so, the demand for sweat is greater than the supply. And the machine will never be produced in large numbers, since there are better solutions out there such as water purifying pills.”
1. Which of the following is the disadvantage of the sweat machine?| A．The amount of water the machine produces is rather limited. |
| B．It takes too long for the machine to produce water. |
| C．It costs a large amount of money to build the machine. |
| D．The water processed by the machine is not clean enough. |
| A．show how the sweat machine works |
| B．show the importance of the United Nations |
| C．explain why the sweat machine was invented |
| D．tell us who invented the sweat machine |
| A．It could only be used in summer. |
| B．It was not worth popularizing. |
| C．It did not work at all. |
| D．The water it produced tasted sweet. |
| A．780 million people in the world lack access to clean water |
| B．a machine which turns sweat into drinking water is invented |
| C．a better solution to purifying dirty water is discovered |
| D．the pill which turns dirty water into clean water is produced |
【推荐2】You've probably heard that brick — and — mortar retail(实体零售)is in trouble. Even industry giants are closing hundreds of stores. Given retail's gradual change to mobile and e-commerce, you may be wondering. What will retail look like in the future? Nobody knows. But here are a few things you can expect to see based on current technology.
Ultrafast delivery is coming. Today, the normal practice is two — day delivery. But if you've been paying attention, you know that's changing. In fact, a surprisingly high 25% of consumers said that they would abandon their orders if one — day delivery wasn't available. Of course, that's just the beginning. Two-hour delivery is coming in the foreseeable future, and Amazon has already been trying 30-minute delivery.
Your kitchen will resupply itself. You won't have to worry about running out of essentials like coffee, pet food or snacks because your containers will sense stock levels and replace those items without you having to lift a finger. No more waking up to find your coffee store is empty or last-minute trips to the grocery store because you forgot to buy pet food.
Know exactly what's in stock and where. Have you ever gone to a store hoping to buy something, only to learn that they were out of stock? A new feature from Google Home allows people to ask Google Assistant to find in-stock products at the closest store. For example: "Google, where can I find the Nintendo Switch console?" An assistant will tell you how many stores have it right then and how close they are. Of course, it isn't currently available for all stores in all locations, but you can already see a future when it has become standard.
Convenience, experience, and options——retail will take on a new look.
1. How does the author develop the passage?| A．By asking and answering. |
| B．By arguing and debating. |
| C．By analyzing and commenting. |
| D．By comparing and concluding. |
| A．Consumers can't get their orders in one day now. |
| B．It is possible to deliver goods within two hours in the future. |
| C．The delivery will be in two days in the future. |
| D．Superfast delivery has widely been used now. |
| A．Retail will disappear gradually. |
| B．Industrial giants will rule the whole retail trade. |
| C．Shopping will be more convenient and effective. |
| D．People will ask Google Assistant to purchase goods. |
| A．What will retail be like in the future? |
| B．How will new technology change the world? |
| C．How will we run the retail trade in the future? |
| D．What benefits will high-tech bring in the future? |
【推荐3】From linguists’ point of view, grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form phrases or clauses, whether in spoken or written. Different languages have different patterns. Some scholars have tried to identify patterns common to all languages. But apart from some basic features, few of these so-called linguistic universals have been found.
The study of these patterns open up “an ongoing debate” between two positions, known as prescriptivism and descriptivism. Prescriptivism thinks a given language should follow consistent rules, while descriptivism sees variation and adaptation as a natural and necessary part of language. From much of history, the vast majority of language was spoken. But as people became more interconnected, writing gained importance. Written language was standardized to allow broader communication and ensure that people in different parts around could understand each other.
Language purists worked to establish and promote this standard by detailing a set of rules that reflected the established grammar of their times. And rules for written grammar were applied to spoken language as well. Speech patterns that deviated from the written rules were considered signs of low social status. And many people who are grown-ups speaking in these ways were forced to adopt the standardized form.
More recently, however, linguists have understood that speech is a separate phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns. Most of us learn to speak at such an early age that we don’t even remember it. We form our spoken skills through unconscious habits, not memorized rules. And because speech also uses mood and intonation for meaning, its structure is often more flexible, adapting to the needs of speakers and listeners. This could mean avoiding complex clauses that are hard to understand in real time, making changes to avoid awkward pronunciation or removing sounds to make speech faster. This linguistic approach that tries to understand and map such differences without dictating correct ones is known as descriptivism. Rather than deciding how language should be used, it describes how people actually use it and tracks the innovation they come up with in the process.
But while the debate between prescriptivism and descriptivism continues, the two are not mutually exclusive. At its best, prescriptivism is useful for informing people about the most common established patterns at a given point in time. Ultimately, grammar is best considered as a set of linguistic habits that are constantly being negotiated and reinvented by the entire group of language users. Like language itself, it’s a wonderful and complex fabric woven through the contributions of speakers and listeners, writers and readers, prescriptivists and descriptivists from both near and far.
1. The underlined word “deviated” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.| A．copied | B．updated |
| C．differed | D．originated |
| A．focuses on established language patterns |
| B．accepts the differences between languages |
| C．follows the innovations in language patterns |
| D．attaches more importance to written language |
| A．A new understanding of language. | B．The beliefs held by prescriptivists. |
| C．The impact of grammar on language. | D．The ongoing debate between linguists. |
| A．The importance of Grammar | B．The History of Grammar |
| C．Grammar: Rules or Habits | D．Grammar: Writing Rules |
