Everyone knows by now that plastic pollution is a big problem for the environment. Beying, for example, has dealt with this by stopping using thin plastic bags, plastic tableware and other plastic products in supermarkets, restaurants and hotels since May 1, 2020.
But an even better method might be on the way. Researchers at a French company called Carbios have discovered a bacterial enzyme that can break down plastic. The enzyme, which was first found in compost leaves, can not only break down plastic in hours, but also use the things left to create new products.
In fact, the first compost enzyme was found in 2012. Scientists changed its genes, allowing it to break down 90 percent of one ton of waste plastic in less than 10 hours. “It had been completely forgotten, but it turned out to be the best,” said Marty.
The new enzyme was discovered in research published in April, 2020. Before that, the team, led by Professor Alain Marty, studied over 100,000 micro-organisms to find one that could break down plastic quickly.
The enzyme especially breaks down PET, a kind of plastic that is most commonly used for plastic bottles and food packaging. It is also the fifth most common kind of plastic that we use.
However, waste bottles must be ground up and heated before the new enzyme is mixed in. These will make the recycled PET more expensive. But because of a shortage of this recycled plastic, people still like paying more money for it.
Carbios said it is working together with companies like Pepsi and Nestle — main users of plastic themselves - to develop their research and start using the enzyme in the factories. “There is still a lot of work to do to use it in the factories, but this opens the door.” said a research scientist.
1. In Paragraph 1, the writer mentions Beijing to show ________.| A．plastic is useful in our daily life | B．ifs easy to break down plastic |
| C．plastic causes serious pollution | D．it’s necessary to stop using plastic |
① studied lots of micro-organisms
② discovered the new enzyme
③ found the first compost enzyme
④ changed genes of the enzyme
| A．②-①-④-③ | B．③-④-①-② | C．①-②-③-④ | D．④-③-②-① |
| A．the new mixed enzymes | B．plastic bottles and food packaging |
| C．common kinds of plastic | D．grinding up and heating waste bottles |
| A．A Natural Way to Recycle Plastic | B．The Most Common Way to Stop Plastic |
| C．The Bright Future of Using Plastic | D．A New Way to Create the New Enzyme |
2 . It's no surprise that a night without enough sleep can lead to a bad morning.Does it also do harm to our bodies?
According to US sleep researcher David Dinges, not getting enough sleep can have serious side effects on our minds and bodies.
For the study, Dinges divided some people into three groups.The first group was allowed eight hours of sleep for two weeks;the second group was given six hours;the third group got four hours of sleep.
Dinges found that the people in the first group stayed normal while the people in the last two groups showed tiredness and negative feelings.
"When people don't have enough sleep,it’s hard to sense their happiness,"Dinges said."Also,they are less able to sense others' good feelings."
But if not having enough sleep can harm our health,can we get better later on?
“People think that sleep is like the bank that you can pay off your debt (债务)*at a later point in time,Us Sleep Scientist Matthew Walker told popular Science."But we now know that sleep is not like that.
According to Live Science,humans are the only animal species that don't have sleep storage (储存)systems,our brains（大脑）*cannot get back what we have lost.
So Scientists suggest that no matter how busy people are,they should always try to get enough sleep.
Here's the recommended*(建设)hours of sleep by age.Preschoolers(3 to 5 years):10 to 13 hours.School—age children(6 to 13 years):9 to 11 hours .Teenagers(14 to 17 years):8 to 10 hours.Adults(18 to 64 years):7 to 9 hours.Older adults(over 65 years):7 to 8 hours.
1. To get enough sleep,a five—year—old boy should go to bed before _______and get up at seven in the morning.| A．9:00 p.m. | B．9:30 p.m. | C．10:00 p.m. | D．10:30 p.m. |
| A．can feel better after a good sleep later | B．cannot return to a good condition |
| C．will need much time to get well again | D．can still stay active for several days |
| A．shows interest in many things | B．wants to share funny things |
| C．sees the dark side of something | D．pays attention to others' good feelings |
| A．The Importance of Sleep | B．When to Get a Sleep |
| C．The Right Ways to Sleep | D．A Research on Sleep Problems |
3 . Do you use emojis to show your feelings? The SwiftKey,a company did research on the number of emojis used in the world.The result shows the top three most—used emojis are happy faces(44.8%),sad faces(14.33%)and hearts(12.5%).
The company also found out people in different countries have their own favourite emojis.
No one can beat.Americans when it comes to their love of pizza.Pizza is the most widely used emoji in the US,as well as the chicken emoji.It shows that compared with other countries,America has interesting food habits.
The French are as romantic (浪漫的)* as we've known all along.They use the heart emoji four times more than people in other countries.
Russians also like using romantic emojis.Maybe it's all those low temperatures that make them look for love—they use more cold weather emojis than any other countries as well.
Surprisingly,it seems that Arabic speakers also like showing love with emojis.Among Arabic speakers,the rose(玫瑰)*emoji is used ten times more than any other group studied.
English speakers that live in the UK like using more lovely emojis.The study showed that British emoji users especially like to send the winking （眨一只眼）*smiley face.
What emojis do you often use?
1. Which emoji is used most often all over the world?A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The UK | B．France | C．Russia | D．the US |
| A．Each Arabic speaker uses rose emoiis ten times a day . |
| B．Russians use the snow emoji more often than Americans. |
| C．Englishmen like to use winking smiley faces to show love . |
| D．Compared with Englishmen,the French use more lovely emojs . |
4 . Even the closest star to us, Proxima Centauri, is very far away.
Scientists would love to get a closer look at this star and its planets. But the fastest spaceship ever built would take nearly 75,000 years to get there. That's just too long!
Scientists have come up with a plan—send a group of very tiny spaceships. Why tiny? The smaller something is, the easier it is to make it go fast. They're hoping a group of stamp-sized ships(Star Chips)could travel fast enough to reach Proxima Centauri in just 20 years. There they could take pictures and collect information. If there is any life there, the Star Chips might be able to find it—and say hello from Earth.
Each Star Chip will carry a tiny camera, thrusters, and sensors. It will ride a sail about the size of a picnic table. The plan is to send many, in case some don't make it.
Scientists hope that their tiny Star Chips will be able to reach a speed of 134 million miles(216 million km)an hour. First, the rocket will take the Star Chips to space. Once in space, they will open their shining sails. Then, people on Earth will shoot out lasers at the sails. All those lasers shot at the sails will push the Star Chips so fast that they will reach the moon in just two minutes.
The computer chip at the heart of each Star Chip is tiny like the ones in mobile phones. None of the other technologies has been built yet. The hardest part will be the lasers, which have to be extremely powerful. The team will also need to invent a light, strong, and very shiny material for the sails, and tiny cameras powerful enough to take pictures of planets. And they'll have to find a way to send those pictures back to Earth. There's a lot of work ahead. But if they succeed, the heart of a mobile phone may be the very first interstellar traveler.
1. Scientists plan to invent the Star Chip mainly because it .| A．could send messages to other planets | B．could take photos and collect information |
| C．could find life in other stars and planets | D．could be small enough to travel much faster |
| A．make sure Star Chips won't be hit in space | B．send Star Chips to space from Earth safely |
| C．open the strong and shining sails of Star Chips | D．give Star Chips enough energy to travel in space |
①The way to send pictures back to Earth.
②The strong and shiny material for the sails.
③The tiny cameras able to take photos of planets.
④The chip as small as the ones in mobile phones.
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ |
| C．①②④ | D．①③④ |
| A．A Chip with Great Power | B．A New Coming Spaceship |
| C．A Big Problem about Star Chips | D．A Great Trip to Proxima Centauri |
5 .
Safety tips for taking the bus | |
| Wait for the bus · Always arrive at your bus stop early. If the bus is late, please stay at the bus stop. · Wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before you get on. · Make sure that you have your bus card or money ready before you get on the bus. Get on the bus · If you are on a bus with seat belts, make sure to wear yours. · Make sure you know where the emergency exits are when there is an emergency. · Do not run or jump on the bus. · Respect other people. 1) Do not kick the seat in front of you. 2) Do not leave trash behind on the bus. 3) Treat the bus driver with respect. | Get off the bus · Take off your headphones before you get off the bus, as you may not notice the danger around you. · Get off the bus in a right way. Do not push, or run. · Never cross the road in front of a bus. · Cross the road after the bus has moved on and you can see clearly in all directions · Please tell the bus driver if there is an emergency.  |
1. If the bus is late, it's better to ______________.
| A．catch the last bus | B．wait at the bus stop |
| C．leave the bus stop | D．call the bus company |
a. Getting on the bus while it's still moving.
b Respecting other passengers.
c Wearing headphones while getting off the bus.
d. Crossing the road in front of the bus.
| A．a b c | B．a b d | C．a c d | D．b c d |
| A．At a train station | B．At a bus stop. |
| C．In a newspaper. | D．In a fashion magazine. |
6 . 
Now people in England, the US and many other countries celebrate Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday of May. On this day, children give flowers, cards, chocolate and other things to their mothers, but they don’t give money to them. And they also make presents for their mothers. And some of them get up early to cook breakfast for their mothers. They also help their mothers do housework. They want to show their love to their mothers. They know if they have no mothers, they can’t live a happy life.
Many people in China celebrate this festival for their mothers because they want to show their love to their mothers too. In every Chinese family, the mother looks after the children, does the housework and cooks meals for the family, so she is quite hard-working and she is always busy in the family. Now more and more people celebrate Mother’ Day in China.
1. When is Mother’s Day?| A．The first Sunday of May. | B．The second Sunday of May. |
| C．The first Saturday of February. | D．The second Saturday of February. |
| A．Flowers, money and cards. | B．Flowers, money and chocolate. |
| C．Flowers, cards and chocolate. | D．Money, cards and chocolate. |
| A．make presents | B．cook breakfast | C．get up late | D．do housework |
| A．勤劳的 | B．聪明的 | C．美丽的 | D．困难的 |
| A．Because they know Mother’s Day. | B．Because their mothers are very busy. |
| C．Because they have mothers. | D．Because they love their mothers very much. |
Finishing national dreams makes us proud, but realizing personal dreams makes us worthy in our own eyes. Though the media would try to convince you, there is no set of “approved” dreams that we should all go after. Some may strive for money, fame and power, but others have more humble dreams that are just as important: learn English, study abroad, achieve inner peace, and be of service to humanity. It’s normal for people to create lofty New Year’s resolutions and just as normal to start strong and give up a few weeks later on our goals. How do we make sure that we achieve our dreams? Make your resolutions SMART and they’ll come true.
S — specific, detailed goals are easier to accomplish.
M— measurable goals enable you to complete a fixed amount of something.
A— achievable goals are possible, not ones that would take magic or miracles to accomplish.
R— relevant goals are meaningful to you.
T— time bound goals have an ending date. They’re not infinite. You know when you’re done.
Trip Bethel, a local college professor suggests that all goals should be positive and future-focused. “You can’t make a goal about being perfect. You’ll always disappoint yourself. But you can make a goal about perfecting your process. Then, you’re always on the way to a better life.”
Trip says many people write endless lists, but he just writes his resolutions once. He states them simply on a piece of paper and then puts the paper away for a year. “Often, when I look at the paper a year later, I’ve accomplished everything, or gotten close. There is something about writing things down that makes goals real and the opportunities to achieve them will come into your life.”
1. In 2013, China chose “__________” as the Character of the Year?
| A．dream | B．smart |
| C．future | D．Chinese dream |
| A．worried | B．proud | C．worthy | D．excited |
| A．Together | B．Today | C．Time | D．Tomorrow |
| A．Dreaming in 2013 | B．Dreaming Big in 2013 |
| C．Dreaming Big in 2012 | D．Dreaming in 2012 |
