【推荐2】There have been many times in my life when I have felt very confident about myself and the outcomes of events, even when there was no reason why I should be.

For example, when I was in my internship (实习期) in my ex-company, I was fully confident that I would perform well and secure the internship — even though it was my first internship, first time working in an actual corporate role and I knew absolutely nothing about what I was going to get.

Another time was while I was still studying in university as a first year student. The people around me constantly discussed the monthly starting pay for graduates, which was around two grand. At that time I simply brushed that aside and was confident I would get a starting pay of at least three grand. The funny thing was that this was simply an arbitrary (任意的) number I picked out of the air which I felt I was comfortable with. There was absolutely no basis or research I did which made me point out that figure.

A more recent example would be when I left my job to pursue my passion. While I had a broad vision of what I wanted to do, I had not developed my plan to the level of specificity, and I was not worried about it at all either. I wasn’t worried about money, about how it would work out, or about the challenges I would face. All I knew was I was going to reach my end goal and I would do everything it took to reach that goal.

In all of the cases, there was totally nothing present that proved my self-confidence. Yet, in the end, everything turned out as well as I wanted, if not better. In my internship, I was one of the few interns to secure a preplacement job offer with my ex-company. For my starting pay, I received a figure which was higher than what I targeted. And for my personal development work, it is currently moving along well toward my vision. Honestly, the self-confidence I had was probably one of the reasons why I achieved those outcomes eventually.

1. What made the author do well in his internship?

A．Passion.	B．Specificity.
C．Experience.	D．Confidence.

2. The underlined words “brushed” and “aside” in Para. 3 probably means “________”.

A．ignored	B．understood
C．considered	D．deserved

3. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The causes of the author’s three experiences.

B．The effects of the author’s three experiences.

C．The processes of the author’s three experiences.

D．One of the reasons for the success of the author’s three experiences.

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Confidence in yourself is the first step on the road to success.

B．Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

C．Good is rewarded with good.

D．Two heads are better than one.

【推荐3】The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and havechildren, concluded as a“lying down”lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.

Many millennials(千禧一代)and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial pressure, have pushed them“against the wall”. They said they hate the“involution(内卷)”, joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.

“Instead of always following the’virtues’of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear thestresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis(宣泄)and adjustment,”said ascholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to house costs today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”

Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, whoclaim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, admitted that they only accept a temporarylying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youths have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear toomuch hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who liedown always feel guilty about their constant loss of confidence in pursuing the dreams beyondtheir reach.

“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, butmost of us have refused to set ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,”apostgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’and face the reality sooner or later.”

1. What might have caused the“lying down”lifestyle among the young?

A．Growing pressure from family and social life.

B．Improvements in living conditions.

C．Increasing material possessions from families.

D．Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions.

2. What does the underlined word in Para.2 probably mean?

A．Discussion.

B．Argument.

C．Meeting.

D．Agreement.

3. What’s the scholar’s attitude toward the“lying down”group?

A．Understanding.

B．Objective.

C．Supportive.

D．Unclear.

4. What can be inferred about the young generation from the text?

A．They would rather escape than take challenges.

B．They really enjoy the“lying down”lifestyle.

C．They find their dreams far beyond their reach.

D．They never really drop their responsibilities.

【推荐1】Grandparents Answer a Call

As a third－generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never planned to move away.Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help with their children, she politely refused.Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms.Garza finally say yes.That was four years ago.Today all three generations regard the move as a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.

No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to adult children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing.Even President Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and move into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study by grandparents.com, 83 percent of the people said Mrs.Robinson's decision will influence grandparents in the American family.Two－thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family.

“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn't get away from home far enough or fast enough to prove we could do it on our own,”says Christine Crosby, publisher of Grand, a magazine for grandparents. “We now realize how important family is and how important it is to be near them, especially when you’re raising children.”

Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead.Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.

1. Why was Garza’s move a success?

A．It strengthened her family ties.

B．It improved her living conditions.

C．It enabled her to make more friends.

D．It helped her know more new places.

2. What was the reaction of the public to Mrs.Robinson’s decision?

A．17% expressed their support for it.

B．Few people responded sympathetically.

C．83% believed it had a bad influence.

D．The majority thought it was a trend.

3. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?

A．They were unsure of themselves.

B．They were eager to raise more children.

C．They wanted to live away from their parents.

D．They had little respect for their grandparents.

4. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the last paragraph?

A．Make decisions in the best interests of their own.

B．Ask their children to pay more visits to them.

C．Sacrifice for their struggling children.

D．Get to know themselves better.

【推荐2】EVEN the best of communicators can sometimes hit a wrong note, whether with a joke, turn of phrase, or even an ill-timed chuckle（轻笑）.

For instance, a former finance minister Ken Gabriel usually tries to keep things casual when answering reporters’ questions. But in a television interview on the news program 60 Minutes, some people felt his register was a little too casual—even careless.

At one point, Gabriel spoke about the bankers who have been widely blamed for causing the collapse of the financial sector: “I mean there were a whole bunch of folks who, on paper, if you looked at quarterly reports, were wildly successful, selling derivatives that turned out to be …completely worthless,” Gabriel said, with a chuckle.

Shocked by Gabriel’s laughter during the interview, journalist David finally asked: “You’re sitting here. And you’ re—you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems.”

Gabriel quickly explained himself by replying, “No, no. There’s gotta be a little humor to get you through the day.” But that exchange ended up making news, as TV pundits, journalists and public relations experts debated Gabriel’s tone.

One unnamed strategist for Gabriel’ s party said that the finance minister’ s attempts at humor were distracting: “Gabriel is gifted in so many ways, but humor is not something that he seems to be comfortable with. He does not come across as a funny guy.”

The TV critic Daniel, meanwhile, came to Gabriel’s defense.

“Gabriel isn’t a rookie …All this laughter seems clearly to be calculated rather than accidental. His laughs last night were designed as laughs of reassurance. They were designed to tell the TV audience he understands the severity of the situation.”

There would have been little debate if Gabriel had not laughed during a speech. Answering questions in a public setting, however, should allow for a more conversational register. But as Gabriel discovered, not everyone agrees on just how casual the tone should be.

1. What’s the meaning of the phrase hit a wrong note?

A．Say something wrong.	B．Do something wrong.
C．Write down something wrongly.	D．Play the music wrongly.

2. What did Gabriel do when journalist David asked him about the laughter?

A．Tried to account for it.	B．Found an excuse for it.
C．Refused to say anything about it.	D．Learned a lesson from it.

3. Which of the following stands by Gabriel?

A．The banker.	B．David.
C．The unnamed strategist.	D．Daniel.

4. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

A．Debatable speeches of Gabriel.	B．Be cautious while you are speaking.
C．Gabriel’s rude behavior in speeches.	D．Honest or not, it’s hard to say.

【推荐1】Identifying the chemical makeup of pigment (色素) used in ancient documents, paintings, and watercolors is critical to restoring and conserving the precious artworks. However, despite numerous efforts, scientists had been unable to determine the source of folium, a popular blue dye used to color manuscripts (手稿) in Europe during the middle ages — from the 5th to the 15th century. Now, a team of researchers from Portugal has finally uncovered the mysterious ingredient responsible for the gorgeous blueish-purple color that helped bring ancient illustrations and texts to life.

The research team began by poring over instructions penned by European dye makers from the 12th, 14th, and 15th centuries. They found what they were seeking in a 15th-century text entitled The Book on How to Make All the Color Paints for Illuminating Books. However, translating the instructions was no easy task. It was written in the now extinct Judaeo-Portuguese language, and though the source of the dye was traced back to a plant, no name was mentioned.

However, by piecing together suggestions from the text, the scientists were able to determine that the dye was made from the bluish-green berries of the chrozophora tinctoria plant. After an extensive search, the team found a few varieties of the plant growing along the roadside near the town of Monsaraz in south Portugal.

The detailed instructions gave the researchers critical clues — including the best time to pick the berries. “You need to squeeze the fruits, being careful not to break the seeds, and then to put them on linen (亚麻).” The scientist says the detail was important since broken seeds polluted the pigment, producing an inferior quality ink. The dyed linen, which was left to dry, was an efficient way to store and transport the pigment during ancient times. When needed, the artist would simply cut off a piece of the cloth and dip it with water to squeeze out the blue color.

Once the key ingredient had been identified, the researchers began to determine the dye’s molecular structure. To their surprise, they found that folium was not like any other known permanent blue dyes — it was an entirely new class of color, one they named chrozophoridin. “Chrozophoridin was used in ancient times to make a beautiful blue dye for painting.” the team wrote in the study. “Thus, we believe that this will not be our final word on this amazing plant and its story and that further discoveries will follow soon.”

1. The primary purpose of the study is to ________.

A．restore and conserve ancient precious artworks

B．determine the substance making up the folium

C．prove the ancient dye-making technique was organic

D．identify which class of color folium belongs to

2. The underlined phrase “poring over” in the second paragraph means ________.

A．discussing publicly	B．testing repeatedly
C．passing directly	D．reading carefully

3. What can be learned about the blue dye folium?

A．It was essentially an inferior type of ink.

B．It was the only kind made from wild berries.

C．It could be carried and used easily.

D．It was carefully squeezed from broken seeds.

4. The article is mainly about _________.

A．how the mystery of a thousand-year-old blue dye was solved

B．why the researchers took the trouble to recreate the dye

C．what needs to be done to make an organic dye from a plant

D．when and where the discovery of the dye was made

【推荐2】It was April 14, 2016. It was the first full day of Kobe Bryant’s new chapter as a retired NBA player. All he had done the night before was score 60 points in his farewell game, not getting out of Staples Center until around midnight.

His staff at Kobe, Inc. were certain they would beat their boss to the office that morning. They were wrong. He beat everyone there by two hours. “We have a lot of work to do,” Bryant told them. Even in retirement, Bryant found no substitute for hard work. Kobe Bean Bryant was many things: one of the greatest players in basketball history, a five-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, a fluent speaker of multiple languages, a resident of the world, an Oscar winner, the self-described Black Mamba that started as a nickname and became his brand, someone so good he had two numbers retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tears, as would be expected once the news broke of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday, flowed freely in the NBA world. The best ones, the ones like James and Leonard and lonescu and Neymar, were all like Bryant. Driven. Obsessed with their skill. Those are the sort of people Bryant enjoyed most. He didn't have much patience for any thing else.

His toughness was legendary (享有盛名的). Bryant hurt his knees on a play in 2013 but he played through the game because the game was so important in the playoff race. “We were down two. Had to tie the game first.” Bryant said years later, when asked why he stayed in the game.

His commitment (敬业) was legendary. There was a game in 2011 in Miami where the Lakers lost by six, and Bryant was so displeased with his performance that he went back to the court for 90 minutes of uninterrupted shooting that went on until after midnight. His teammates were on Miami Beach for dinner. Bryant was working instead. “It’s my job,” Bryant said.

He was as driven in his storytelling life as he was in his playing days. Kobe, Inc. wasn’t just a cool name. It was his world. He wanted to inspire kids through books that combined the worlds of sports and story. He was considering the idea of taking his stories to Broadway. He won an Oscar for “Dear Basketball,” a short film in 2018 that had been converted from a poem that he penned when he decided it was time to retire from playing the game.

He wasn’t joking when talking to his staff on April 14, 2016. Kobe Bryant still had a lot of work to do. The tribute (悼念) will continue, though at last fade away. The influence will be forever.

1. The underlined word “converted” in paragraph 6 can be replaced by_____.

A．adapted

B．adopted

C．accepted

D．achieved

2. Why did Kobe Bryant have two numbers retired by the Los Angeles Lakers?

A．It was the common practice to do so in NBA.

B．It was the reward for his excellent performance.

C．The numbers once used are not accepted by others.

D．The numbers are forever in memory of his death.

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Kobe’s spirits will be long-lasting after his death.

B．Kobe never goes out dining with his teammates.

C．Kobe got the nickname Black Mamba from his fans.

D．Kobe had a good relax after his farewell game.

4. Suppose this passage is from a magazine, which column do you think it belongs to?

A．Current Affairs.

B．Global Personage.

C．Financial window.

D．Culture Online.

【推荐3】At 88, I remain a competitive runner. The finish line of my life is drawing close, and I hope to reach it having given the best of myself along the way. I’ve been training my body to meet the demands of this final stretch. But, I wonder, should I have asked more of my mind?

If I didn’t exercise, I would release the hungry beasts that seek their elderly prey on couches, but not in the gym. The more I sweated, the more likely it was my doctor would continue to say, “Keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll see you next year.” My mind, on the other hand, seems less willing to give in to discipline. I have tried Internet “brain games”, solving algebraic problems flashing past and changing the route of virtual trains to avoid crashes. But these never approach my determination to remain physically fit as I move deeper into old age.

Though I have many friends in their 70s, 80s and 90s, I’ve been far too slow to realize that how we respond to aging is a choice made in the mind, not in the gym. Some of my healthiest friends carry themselves as victims abused by time. Other friends, many, whose aching knees and hips are the least of their physical problems, find comfort in their ability to accept old age as just another stage of life to deal with. I would use the world “heroic” to describe the way they cope with aging.

One such friend recently called from a hospital to tell me a sudden brain disease had made him legally blind. He interrupted me as I began telling him how terribly sorry I was: “Bob, it could have been worse. I could have become dead instead of blind.”

In spite of all the time I spend lifting weights and exercising, I realized I lack the strength to have said those words. It suddenly struck me that I’ve paid a price for being a “gym rat”. If there is one characteristic common to friends who are aging with a graceful acceptance of life’s attacks, it is contentment. Aging had to be more than what I saw in a mirror.

But rather than undertaking a fundamental change in the way I face aging. I felt the place to begin would be to start small. A recent lunch provided a perfect example.

I’ve always found it extremely difficult to concentrate when I’m in a noisy setting. At this lunch with a friend in an outdoor restaurant, a landscaper began blowing leaves from underneath the bushes surrounding our table. Typically, after such a noisy interruption, I would have snapped, “let’s wait until he’s finished!. ”, then fallen silent. When the roar(吼叫)eventually faded, my roar would have drained(消耗)the conversation of any warmth. It troubled me that even a passing distraction(分心)could so easily take me from enjoying lunch with a good friend to a place that gave me no pleasure at all. I wanted this meal to be different.

My years in gyms had taught me to shake off pains and other distractions, never permitting them to stop my workout or run. I decided to treat the noise this way. I continued talking with my friend, challenging myself to hear the noise, but to hold it at a distance. The discipline was so familiar to me in the gym—this time applied to my mind— proved equally effective in the restaurant. It was as though I had taken my brain to a mental fitness center.

Learning to ignore a leaf blower’s roar hardly equips me to find contentment during my passage into ever-deeper old age. But I left the lunch feeling I had at least taken a small first step in changing behavior that stood in the way of that contentment.

Could I employ that same discipline to accept with dignity the unavoidable decline awaiting me like the finish line? Hoping that contentment will guide me as I make my way along the path yet to be travelled.

1. The author’s question in Paragraph 1 implies that ________.

A．he feels unsatisfied with the result of the brain games.

B．he has never believed the necessity of mind training.

C．He has realized he should mentally prepare for aging.

D．he feels regret for not sharpening his thinking skills

2. What can we learn from the author’s friend mentioned in Paragrph 4?

A．He takes physical illnesses as they come.

B．He fears that his illness will become worse.

C．He needs to find a way through those hardships.

D．He sees life as a series of disappointments.

3. After that recent lunch, the author realized that ________.

A．he had made small changes to adapt to aging.

B．the restaurant was not an ideal place for eating

C．distractions were not uncommon in everything life.

D．his roar had spoiled the friendly conversation.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A．Benefits of Regular Exercise

B．Old Age Hate and Blessing

C．Never Too Old to Learn

D．The Secret to Aging Well

【推荐1】Although Bertha Young was thirty she still had moments like this when she wanted to run instead of walk, to take dancing steps on and off the pavement, to throw something up in the air and catch it again, or to stand still and laugh at —nothing — at nothing, simply.

What can you do if you are thirty and, turning the corner of your own street, you suddenly feel happy — absolutely happy.

Oh, is there no way you can express it without being “drunk and disorderly"? How stupid civilization is! Why should you be given a body if you have to keep it shut up in a case like a rare, rare fiddle (小提琴)?

"No, that about the fiddle is not quite what I mean," she thought, running up the steps and feeling in her bag for the key—she'd forgotten it, as usual—and rattling the letter-box. "It's not what I mean, because—Thank you, Mary"— she went into the hall. “Is nurse back?”

“Yes, M’m."

"I'll go upstairs." And she ran upstairs to the nursery.

Nurse sat at a low table giving Little B her supper after her bath. The baby looked up when she saw her mother and began to jump.

“Now, my lovey, eat it up like a good girl," said nurse, setting her lips in a way that Bertha knew, and that meant she had come into the nursery at another wrong moment.

“Has she been good, Nanny?”

“She's been a little sweet all the afternoon," whispered Nanny. "We went to the park and I sat down on a chair and took her out of the pram(婴儿车) and a big dog came along and she pulled its ear. Oh, you should have seen her."

Bertha wanted to ask if it wasn't rather dangerous to let her pull a strange dog's ear. But she did not dare to. She stood watching them, her hands by her side. like the poor little girl in front of the rich girl with the doll.

The baby looked up at her again, stared, and then smiled so charmingly that Bertha couldn't help crying.

“Oh, Nanny, do let me finish giving her supper while you put the bath things away.

“Well, M’m, she oughtn't to be changed hands while she's eating,” said Nanny, still whispering. “It unsettles her, it's very likely to upset her.”

How absurd it was. Why have a baby if it has to be kept—not in a case like a rare, rare fiddle—but in another woman's arms?”

“Oh, I must!” said she.

Very offended, Nanny handed her over.

Now, don't excite her after her supper. You know you do, M'm. And I have such a time with her after!"

Thank heaven! Nanny went out of the room with the bath towels.

"Now I've got you to myself, my little precious," said Bertha, as the baby learned against her.

She ate delightfully, holding up her lips for the spoon and then waving her hands. Sometimes she wouldn't let the spoon go; and sometimes just as Bertha had filled it, she waved it away to the four winds.

When the soup was finished Bertha turned round to the fire. "You're nice—you're very nice!" said she, kissing her warm baby. "I'm fond of you. I like you."

And indeed, she loved Little B so much—her neck as she bent forward, her pretty toes as they shone transparent in the firelight that all her feeling of happiness came back again, and again she didn't know how to express it—what to do with it.

“You’re wanted on the telephone," said Nanny, coming back in victory and seizing her Little B.

1. In paragraph 3 and 15, a “rare, rare fiddle" is used to show that ______

A．Bertha is frustrated by not feeling free to express her musical talents

B．wealthy mothers are not allowed to look after their children

C．Bertha considers her baby girl an extraordinary child

D．people of a certain age are expected to follow a certain code of behavior

2. Nanny's facial expression on seeing Bertha's arrival in the nursery suggest ______.

A．a vain attempt to hide her joy at seeing Bertha

B．fear of dismissal from her job for untidy nursery

C．dislike for Bertha's ill-timed visits to the nursery

D．a relief as she can at last eat her supper

3. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 11 imply?

A．Bertha wishes to have care-giving time with her baby.

B．Bertha lacks emotional and psychological strength.

C．Bertha desires a closer relationship with Nanny.

D．Bertha suffers from an unrealistic hope of having more babies.

4. Which of the following best describes the relationship between Bertha and Nanny?

A．Bertha feels that Nanny is a competent nurse and will do anything liberate her from chores.

B．Nanny considers herself the baby's primary caregiver and Bertha just an occasional visitor.

C．Bertha prefers to leave the child in Nanny's care so that she can fulfill her inappropriate fantasies.

D．Nanny is tired of working hard for Bertha and would like to find other pleasant employment.

5. In Nanny 's eyes, what was Bertha like?

A．She is a kind employer but a strict mother.

B．She is a thoughtless person and inexperienced mother.

C．She is excited and is always lost in her overactive imagination.

D．She is forgetful and has no sense of class distinctions in society.

【推荐2】I’ve been taking time this week to smell the roses. I bend over in my neighbors’ front yard, check that nobody is watching, then bury my head in the flowers.

I’ve also been walking into bakeries and walking around without buying anything.

After having surgery on my broken nose 18 months ago, I haven’t been able to smell or taste things. This week, however, my nose is back in business.

I’ve been fascinated by smells, and it’s given me a new way of thinking. Smell is just one of the little bits and pieces that make life enjoyable, but which we often ignore. I remember once, when my son was 5 months old, I was carrying him down the street. Wind swept through and almost tipped us over. He threw his little head back and giggled (傻笑). He’d never felt the wind on his face. When is the last time I laughed at the weather?

The first time I ate bacon, I rushed home to my parents, determined that we ate this deliciousness at every meal. My father smiled and agreed.

Do you recall when you learned that the voice actors of Mickey and Minnie Mouse were married in real life? Do you enjoy sleeping in new, clean bed sheets?

We don’t write postcards about the small things. We don’t frame them in photographs.

They aren’t that great or grand, but without them, life is altogether too loud. These quiet experiences give us a chance to enjoy the simple fact of being alive.

As my sense of smell returns to me, it’s like I’m smelling things for the first time. They’re full of memories and magic. Food tastes better, and the air is indeed sweet. I know what the poets mean now. It almost makes my broken nose worthwhile. Now, I am waiting for this bandage to come off. There’s an itch (痒) I can’t reach!

1. What does the writer try to do in the first two paragraphs?

A．Discuss new ways to enjoy leisure time.

B．Show that she loves doing secret things.

C．Give examples of how she kills time.

D．Get readers to wonder about her behavior.

2. What does the underlined part “a new way of thinking” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．The ability to discover the joy of small things.

B．The habit of overcoming ignorance.

C．The ability to fully use our limited attention.

D．The habit of making personal reflections.

3. What did the author take for granted before?

A．Memories and magic.	B．Valuing being alive.
C．Her sense of smell.	D．Laughing at the weather.

4. Which word can be used to describe the writer’s feeling while writing the passage?

A．Depressed.	B．Pleased.
C．Disturbed.	D．Annoyed.

【推荐3】Climate change leads to a threat to the world’s sandy beaches, and as many as half of them could disappear by 2100, a new study has found. Even by 2050 some coastlines could be unrecognizable from what we see today, with 10% to 12% facing severe erosion (侵蚀).

Using updated sea level rise predictions, the researchers analyzed how beaches around the world would be in a future with higher seas and more damaging storms. They also considered natural processes like wave erosion, as well as human factors-like coastal building developments, all of which can affect a beach’s health. The study found that sea level rise is expected to outweigh these other factors, and that the more heat-trapping gases humans put into the atmosphere, the worse the influences on the world’s beaches are likely to be.

It’s hard to overstate just how important the world’s beaches are. They cover more than one third of the world’s coastlines, and protect coastal areas from storms. Beaches are also important economic engines, supporting relaxation, tourism and other activities. And in some areas, the beach is more than a vacation destination. In places like Australia, life near the coast revolves around the beach for much of the year.

Some of the world’s most popular beaches are already taking action. Places like Miami Beach are trucking in thousands of tons of sand to patch up (修复) badly eroded shorelines, while others have built sea walls and breakwaters in an attempt to hold precious sand in place. But the financial and environmental costs of these projects are huge, and scientists say rising seas and more powerful storms, supercharged by a warmer climate, will make this a losing battle.

However, the researchers did find that humans have some control over what happens to the world’s beaches. If the world’s governments are able to stick to modest cuts to heat-trapping gas pollution, the researchers found that 22%of projected beach losses by 2050 could be prevented, a number that grows to 40%by 2100 if greenhouse gases are limited.

1. Which is the biggest contributor to severe beach erosion?

A．Damaging storms.	B．Wave erosion.
C．Coastal building.	D．Sea level rise.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．It is hard to protect coastal beaches.

B．One third of storms take place near beaches.

C．Beaches are of great significance to our lives.

D．Most Australians live on beach tourism.

3. What does the underlined word “this” refer to in Paragraph 4?

A．Popularizing the beaches.

B．Holding sand in place.

C．Reducing the project costs.

D．Stopping global warming.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Half beaches could disappear by 2100.

B．Climate change is doing harm to our lives.

C．The beach is more than a vacation destination.

D．Governments are taking action to fight wave erosion.