【推荐1】STA Travel, the world’s largest students and youth travel agency, beats any price! Every day we’re working with our partners around the globe to get you (students, teachers and anyone under 26 ) the cheapest and most comfortable flights and top-rated accommodations. This part of www.statravel.com provides great tips for green travel - how to pack, how to leave your house or apartment, and how to plan for your trips. You’ll also find a great selection of green travel adventure trips to all corners of the world.

Green travel means responsible travel! Leave as little influence as possible on the places you visit and protect the environment both at home and during your trip. Think “Green” when you pack and when you travel. You’ll help prevent long-term effects on the communities you leave and visit! Here’s some advice on how to do that.

Before you leave

 Turn your water heater to its lowest setting.

 Turn off your water from the outside.

 Unplug (拔去……的插头) electronics and appliances.

While you travel

 Pack eco-friendly clothes in your eco-friendly luggage.

 Don’t buy souvenirs produced from endangered species: shells, feathers, or animal skins.

 Carry a reusable bottle for water and refill it as you go.

1. Green travelers care most about _________.

A．Flight

B．accommodations

C．nature

D．prices

2. What are the readers advised to do before they go on a trip?

A．Try to leave little influence on the places they visit.

B．Make sure the electronics and appliances are plugged in.

C．Examine the water quality.

D．Examine the water supply.

3. Where can we most probably read the text?

A．On a travel website.	B．In a travel magazine.
C．On an environmental website.	D．In an environmental magazine.

【推荐3】Bored with your life? Dreaming of something different? When I feel like that I look up and wonder what life would be like 400 km above my head. That’s where the International Space Station orbits the Earth, with six astronauts who travels into space on board for months at a time.

How do they sleep? They spend the night floating in a sleeping bag inside a small separate room on the ceiling. American astronaut Sunita Williams explains: “It’s like a little phone booth but it’s pretty comfortable and it doesn’t matter if I turn over and sleep upside down. I don’t have any feeling in my head that tells me I’m upside down.”

Brushing your teeth in a place where you can’t have a tap or a sink can be a challenge. Can you imagine the mess that running water would make in weightlessness. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield uses a straw to put a big blob (团) of water from a sealed bag onto an ordinary toothbrush and adds a little toothpaste to clean his teeth-which he has to swallow when he’s done.

Daily exercise is of great importance. The weightlessness makes bones easier to break and muscles lose strength-so spacemen are encouraged to work out for at least two hours a day. The role of spacemen in the International Space Station is to act as lab technicians for scientists back on Earth. So they spend their time preserving their environment and performing and monitoring experiments in a confined (有限的) space about the size of a Boeing 747. Almost every task is carefully planned by mission control-although most astronauts spend their first days losing stuff until they get used to sticking everything they use to the walls.

One of their most valued privileges is the view from “the office”, ruled by that huge blue ball down there, sitting in the darkness of space. Wow! Absolutely breathtaking!

1. The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.

A．make a comparison	B．describe a daily scene
C．draw attention to the topic	D．provide a convincing example

2. How does it feel when astronauts sleep inside the small separate room?

A．They don’t feel well if they turn over.

B．They feel as if they are sleeping upside down.

C．They feel unwell like sleeping in a phone booth.

D．They are in comfort whichever position they sleep in.

3. Why is daily exercise necessary forastronauts?

A．To make them relaxed.

B．To get used to weightlessness.

C．To save energy for their experiments.

D．To strengthen their bones and muscles.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Sound Sleep in space	B．Secrets of the endless space
C．Living and working in space	D．Enjoying breathtaking view from space

【推荐1】There’s something satisfying about volunteering. Studies have shown that volunteering helps people who donate their time feel more socially connected, thus warding off loneliness and depression. But a growing body of evidence suggests that people who give their time to others might also be rewarded with better physical health, including lower blood pressure and a longer lifespan.

Evidence of volunteerism’s physical effects can be found in a recent study from Carnegie Mellon University, published this month in Psychology and Aging. Adults over age 50 who volunteered on a regular basis were less likely to develop high blood pressure than non-volunteers. High blood pressure is an important indicator of health because it contributes to heart disease, stroke, and premature death.

It’s impossible for this study to prove that volunteering was directly responsible for the lower blood pressure. People who volunteer may be more likely to do other things, like eating a healthy diet or exercise, which lower blood pressure. But the results are in line with other findings on the topic.

How might volunteering contribute to lower blood pressure？Performing volunteer work could increase physical activity among people who aren’t otherwise very active, says leading study author Rodlescia Sneed, a doctoral candidate in social and health psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. It may also reduce stress. “Many people find volunteer work helpful with respect to stress reduction, and we know that stress is very strongly linked to health out-comes,” she says.

A 2012 study in the journal Health Psychology found that participants who volunteered with some regularity lived longer, but only if their intentions were truly altruistic. In other words, they had to be volunteering to help others-not to make themselves feel better.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once guessed that the essence of life is “To serve others and do good.” If recent research is any indication, serving others might also be the essence of good health.

1. Which can replace the underlined phrase “warding off” in paragraph 1？

A．getting rid of.	B．keeping up with.
C．running out of.	D．putting up with.

2. Why does the author mention the study from Carnegie Mellon University？

A．To prove the benefit of volunteering to health.

B．To find out volunteerism’s physical effects on heart.

C．To explain the connection between exercise and health.

D．To warn readers the danger of volunteering to blood pressure.

3. What can we learn from what Rodlescia Sneed said？

A．Volunteers are supposed to be more outgoing.

B．Volunteer work can make people lack sports.

C．Taking appropriate exercise can strengthen social connection.

D．Performing volunteer work contributes to reducing stress.

4. What’s the text mainly about？

A．Volunteering can lower blood pressure.

B．Volunteering is beneficial to mental health.

C．Volunteering may be good for body and mind.

D．Volunteering can avoid suffering from heart disease.

【推荐2】North America's birds are disappearing from the skies at a rate that's shocking even to ornithologists （鸟类学家）.Since the 1970s, the continent has lost 3 billion birds, nearly 30% of the total, and even common birds such as sparrows and blackbirds are in decline, U.S. and Canadian researchers report this week online in Science. The findings raise fears that some familiar species could go the way of the passenger pigeon, a species once so abundant that its extinction in the early 1900s seemed unthinkable.

The results, ever done to North American birds, point to ecosystems in disorder because of habitat loss and other factors, researchers say. Yet ecologist Paul Ehrlich at Stanford University, California sees some hope in this new bad news: “ It might encourage needed action in view of the public interest in our feathered friends. ”

In past decades, Ehrlich and others have recorded the decline of particular bird groups, including migratory songbirds. All together, they studied 529 bird species, about three-quarters of all species in North America, accounting for more than 90% of the entire bird population. Rosenberg and his colleagues report Grassland birds have declined by 53% since 1970—a loss of 700 million adults in the 31 species studied. Habitat loss may be to blame.

The familiar birds that flock by the thousands in suburbs were not exempt（例外）. “There's a decline of the numbers of common birds,” Rosenberg says. His team determined that 19 common species have each lost more than 50 million birds since 1970. Twelve groups, including sparrows, warblers, finches, and blackbirds, were particularly hard hit. Even introduced species that have increased in North America, such as starlings and house sparrows, are losing ground.

1. What is happening to North America's birds?

A．Most of them are dying out.	B．Some of them are decreasing.
C．They are disappearing quickly.	D．They are raising fears to humans.

2. What does Paul Ehrlich mean?

A．The bad news will bring interest to the birds.

B．The bad news might alarm people to take action.

C．North America's birds need our help.

D．North America's birds suffered great loss.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Some common birds are also decreasing.

B．Some birds die from losing their habitat.

C．The research team found some unusual things.

D．The research team studied birds in North America.

4. In which section of a website may this text appear?

A．Environment.	B．Health.
C．Education.	D．Science.

【推荐3】When 19-year-old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation (基金会)，nobody understood what she was talking about .But Sophia knew just how important Make – A –Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one her best friends .We were interested in finding out more ,so we went along to meet Sophia listen to what she had to say .
Sophia told us that Make – A –Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980.”It’s a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make – A –Wish help children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true ,” Sophia explained .
We asked Sophia how Make – A –Wish had first started .She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris ,who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman .Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris’s dream come true ----so, with everybody’s help , Chris, only seven years old at the time ,had been a “policeman” for a day .” when people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too ,and that was the beginning of Make – A –Wish,” explained Sophia
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make-A-Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.
1. Sophia found out about Make-A-Wish because her best friend had .

A．volunteered to help it	B．benefited from it
C．dreamed about it	D．told the author about it

2. According to Sophia, Make-A-Wish        .

A．is an international charity

B．was understood by nobody at first

C．raises money for very poor families

D．started by drawing the interest of the public

3. What is said about Chris in Paragraph3?

A．He has been a policeman since he was seven.

B．He gave people the idea of starting Make-A-Wish

C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true.

D．He was the first child Make-A-Wish helped after it had been set up.

4. Which of the following is true about Make-A-Wish volunteers?

A．They are important for making wishes come true.

B．They try to help children get over their illnesses.

C．They visit sick children to make them feel special.

D．They provide what is necessary to make Make-A-Wish popular.

【推荐2】Greg Kloehn, an artist in Oakland, California is using his skills to help the homeless. He builds very small shelters that make life on the streets a little more comfortable. The structures offer the homeless some safety and protection from bad weather. Each little house also has wheels on the bottom so it can go wherever its owner goes.

Greg Kloehn has given away at least 20 tiny houses. Several are on the roadside near an active railroad. On a recent day, Mr Kloehn stops at one to visit Oscar Young. The two men hug. Inside his little shelter Mr. Young gets relief from cold nights on the streets. Mr Kloehn also visits Sweet-Pea, another friend who also lives in one of the little homes the artist built. She says it keeps her safe and protects her possessions.

In the mornings, Mr Kloehn searches the streets for building materials. He gathers what he can and takes it to his studio. There, he puts the houses together. Empty coffee bags become roof material. A washing machine door and refrigerator part become windows. Nails, screws and the sticky glue hold all the pieces together. The artist also attaches a small electrical device to the house. The device is powered by the sun.

Some of the people living on the streets once had normal houses of their own. But some of the people say they have learned to live with less and they are thankful to that man.

Mr Kloehn says his work is not a social project. He says he is just someone using his skills to help his homeless neighbors.

1. What are the advantages of the small shelters ____________.
① saving power and energy
② decorating the streets where they are
③ protecting possessions of the homeless
④ earning fame for Mr. Kloehn

A．①④

B．①②

C．①③

D．③④

2. We can learn from the passage that ____________.

A．an act of kindness has made people simple and grateful

B．Greg Kloehn has sold at least 20 tiny houses

C．the government has got involved in the action

D．the shelters are immovable

3. Greg Kloehn is a person who is____________.

A．kind and creative

B．modest and funny

C．generous and rich

D．helpful and proud

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．An artist creates homes for the homeless.

B．A more comfortable shelter on the streets.

C．Helping others makes the world more beautiful.

D．An artist makes a living by designing small shelters.

【推荐3】I always had the best intentions of packing my lunch, but putting this healthy habit into practice was a different story. I was always jealous when I would see my co­workers with their cute food containers full of fresh ingredients(食材). Occasionally, I would be inspired to have a productive Sunday afternoon when I would cook my favorite food, but once Wednesday passed, I would be back on the street, trying to figure out what sounded good to eat.

However, to form the habit of packing my lunch is not an easy thing. At first, the idea of packing my lunch felt like a sacrifice, but since I started bringing healthy food to work, I have not given it up. I'm able to bring foods that are rich in fiber and protein, and I avoid ingredients that make my blood sugar rise sharply. This was the big kicker for me to keep this healthy habit for good.

Portion(分量) control has always been a big issue for me. If there is food on my plate, I'm going to eat it. By packing my own lunch, I'm easily able to manage portions and know my ingredient choices. Eating a cleaner and lighter lunch not only supports my general weight ­loss goals, but it also makes space for the occasional weeknight dinner out that I can enjoy freely.

When developing my budget for 2017, I made a point to get real about the large expenses I did not even realize. Until I looked at my credit card statement, I had no idea how much money I was spending on my lunch every week. It's hard in the big city to find something that's fresh, nutritious, and filling for under $10.That's $50 a week I could be saving…Quite a sum of money, isn't it?

1. What can we know from the first paragraph?

A．Saying is one thing, and doing another.

B．Failure is the mother of success.

C．Actions speak louder than words.

D．Rome is not built in a day.

2. The change the author has made in eating habits suggests ________.

A．she regrets making so many sacrifices

B．she is a person with determination

C．she is not quite an independent person

D．she likes imitating her colleagues in life

3. Thanks to packing her lunch to work, the author ________.

A．saves the time to buy ingredients

B．stops having dinner out on weekends

C．can eat in a cleaner and lighter way

D．makes room for her weight­loss training

4. We can conclude from the last paragraph that packing her lunch to work in a sense ________.

A．has helped reduce her life expenses

B．has kept her blood sugar going up sharply

C．increases her chance to use the credit card

D．makes her get used to the life in big cities