1 . Reducing, reusing and recycling is a way of life in Sweden. Recycling is required by law and garbage is sorted at home before it goes to a recycling center. Recyclables are sorted into seven categories and recycling stations are within just 300 meters of all residential areas. “Recycling almost everything is a must in Sweden now. It actually feels very uncomfortable when you visit another country and can't find easy ways to recycle,” said Owen Gaffney, an expert at Stockholm Resilience Centre and Future Earth.
But not all of its garbage is recycled. Sweden uses alternatives that include burning garbage to make electricity instead of using fossil fuels to heat 1.2 million homes. About half of household garbage is sent to one of the 33 waste-to-heat plants. Sweden is importing garbage from other countries to keep these plants running. Sweden is also a world leader in turning food waste into eco-friendly biogas. It has made food waste collection compulsory beginning in 2021. There is a food waste biogas plant, which allows biogas to be used to run public buses and to heat apartment buildings.
Sweden now wants to deal with those remaining items that cannot be recycled by using a circular(循环论证的)economy approach. It means that products can be reused and only recycled when absolutely necessary. The Swedish government formed an advisory group to find a new way of making this part of its environmental policy.
This will not work effectively unless people are taught to change their behavior. Now the government is reforming its tax code so that people could get cheaper repairs or buy used things. The large Swedish clothing retailer(零售商)H&M operates a recycling program that gives customers discounts when they bring back old clothing.
Sweden is fighting climate change by doing all the right stuff. Waste recycling and the plans to switch to a circular economy will go a long way in reducing its carbon footprint and will help stop global warming.
1. What do we know about Sweden?| A．Sweden imports household garbage for biogas. |
| B．Everything is recycled after being used in Sweden. |
| C．Half of garbage in Sweden is used to produce heat. |
| D．It is convenient to recycle things in Sweden. |
| A．Teach people how to save fossil fuels. | B．Conduct a survey about the local economy. |
| C．Make sure the citizens recycle wisely. | D．Offer advice on environmental policy. |
| A．It provides various recycling programs. | B．It cuts down taxes on new products. |
| C．It offers lower prices for repairs. | D．It gives discounts to regular buyers. |
| A．A book on city environment. | B．A news report on local environment. |
| C．A science report on public health. | D．A travel guide on Sweden. |
2 . From this issue, we explore why the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute hasn't turned up anything since its founding in the 1980s. (See page 30 for more.) We asked our Facebook followers: Do you think that astronomers will find evidence of alien life in your lifetime?
Loran McCormick: 1 think they already have it. Judging by the sudden industrialization, I figure they found something that's probably been here since before humans walked the Earth.
Jens Avery: We may find life, but it may not want anything to do with us. We are not very advanced and can't even get along with each other.
Steven Buhrow: I think the more important question is — will any government ever publicly admit it in our lifetime? I fully believe that we could discover alien life today and the government would simply say the public is not ready for this information.
Jenna Walsh: I think we already see it, but just don't realize what it is. Intelligent alien life probably doesn't want anything to do with the disaster that is Earth at this point, so no doubt they're playing it safe and observing from a safe distance.
Christopher Harvey: By alien life, do you mean intelligent alien life? Then no. It would be extremely hard to find, short of them coming down to Earth. But if you mean unintelligent alien life, like bacteria or single cell, we might.
1. Why did we ask the Facebook followers the question?| A．To question the efficiency of SETI. |
| B．To confirm the appearance of aliens on earth. |
| C．To ensure the existence of aliens. |
| D．To complain about the failure to find aliens. |
| A．Loran McCormick. | B．Steven Buhrow. |
| C．Jenna Walsh. | D．Christopher Harvey. |
| A．An album. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A travel guide. |
3 . A city in Netherlands is planning to construct a pretty bike path made of recycled wood.
The first of its kind in the world, the path near the city of Emmen will be surfaced not with the usual asphalt（沥青） but with wood chips packed together with organic resin(有机树脂).
The idea behind the path is to cut the use of conventional, less eco-friendly materials such as concrete, which is very difficult to recycle.And the creation of the wood chips will require no direct cutting down of trees; the company leading the experiment, Grontmij, plans to use waste products from sawmills(锯木厂).
The idea of creating a permanent road from a material that is celebrated for its biodegradability(生物降解性)might seem ridiculous. But the engineers working on the path insist that the wood and resin surfacing will stay in good condition for a long time, with a working life at least as long as concrete or asphalt. Rudi van Hedel, project manager of bio-based economy at Grontmij, explained that the light weight of the material also makes it far easier to move.
However, van Hedal said, “At present, the material costs of the path are higher than those of traditional paths made of asphalt or concrete, but the construction costs are comparable or perhaps slightly cheaper. We expect that as production ability increases, the costs will go down. In the future, we hope to use bio-fibres(生物纤维)that are cheaper than the wood fibres we’re currently experimenting with, and we expect that biodegradable materials will be able to compete with asphalt and concrete.”
1. What can we learn about the path?| A．It uses some asphalt. | B．It aims to protect trees. |
| C．It is a pioneering project. | D．It is being built by a sawmill. |
| A．Its material is heavy in weight. | B．It can stay in service for long. |
| C．Its length may break a record. | D．It is environmentally friendly. |
| A．Their production process is complex. | B．They are not as hard as asphalt. |
| C．They are not always available. | D．Their costs are relatively high. |
| A．A diary. | B．A novel. | C．A magazine. | D．A guidebook. |
4 . People around the world are finding different ways to reduce stress during the coronavirus (冠状病毒) pandemic. Some have tried running, gardening, doing puzzles, cooking — but what about screaming (尖叫)?
Promote Iceland, which encourages tourism to the country, is encouraging people to scream to reduce depression. And even if you can’t travel to Iceland to do it, you can scream into your device and your voice will be broadcast throughout the empty Icelandic countryside.
An advertisement of the campaign shows yellow loudspeakers playing the screams of people from around the globe in front of peaceful scenery like glaciers, caves and waterfalls. A button at the top of the site invites users to join in with the phrase, “Tap to scream.”
“You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out,” Promote Iceland says. “Record your scream and we’ll release it in Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces. You’ll feel better, we promise.”
According to a news release, the speakers are located at seven locations across Iceland. People who participate receive a video of their scream as it's broadcast from one of the stunning locations.
“Prolonged indoor living, loneliness, endless teleconferencing (视频会议), as well as restrictions (限制) on travel between countries, have increased people’s stress,” Promote Iceland says.
Zoe Aston, a mental health consultant, even offered screaming tips to people looking to participate. Some of her advice includes choosing what type of scream to use — volume, words or breath.
The campaign is light-hearted, but Promote Iceland still wants users to take mental health struggles during the pandemic seriously.
“This is a starting point,” Aston said. “If you need mental health support, it is necessary for you to seek for professional help.”
Some professional suggestions are put forward, and there are netizens’ views on the activity in the forum below.
1. What is the purpose of the campaign of Promote Iceland?| A．To encourage tourism to the country |
| B．To encourage people to scream to reduce depression |
| C．To call on people to donate to Iceland |
| D．To advise people to protect the environment in Iceland |
| A．Participants use the button at the top of the site to “tap to scream”. |
| B．Participants scream into the device and their voice will be broadcast. |
| C．Loudspeakers play the screams of people in peaceful scenery. |
| D．Participants send a video of their scream and it’s broadcast. |
| A．She is the organizer of the campaign. |
| B．She is not in favor of the campaign. |
| C．She gives some screaming tips and attaches importance to mental health help. |
| D．She thinks the coronavirus pandemic has increased people’s stress. |
| A．A medical journal | B．A website | C．A research report | D．A travel guide |
5 . Thinking about holidaying alone, but a bit concerned about the pitfalls? You needn’t worry if you consider these tips first.
Safety
Unless you positively invite danger—i.e. hanging around a remote park at 4 a.m. with headphones on—travelling alone isn’t actually that risky. The biggest danger is being taken for a ride. Literally, in the case of taxi drivers: always ask for an estimated fare before setting off. Otherwise, try to never look like a tourist. Ensure that someone else knows your journey and commit to regular contact with them.
Plan
Being alone means you can’t use your friends’ phones when yours runs out of juice, or rely on them should you lose your wallet. Put emergency systems in place: write down key numbers (friends, hotels, embassies, emergency services), have change for phone boxes and always keep some back-up money in your bag.
Making friends
This is another common and very valid worry when travelling alone: what if no one likes me? Acquiring new companions is always easier than feared, but still a scary subject. It helps to look approachable—smile at people, have open body language and lose the sunglasses. Read something interesting to start a conversation, or ask strangers a question.
More hands-on methods include visiting expatriate bars, joining tours or using apps designed to help people make friends, such as Meetup.
1. What can you do to ensure your safety when travelling alone?| A．Behave as a traveler. | B．Catch a lift when available. |
| C．Wander in a distant park in the early morning. | D．Make your travel known by someone close to you. |
| A．Calling the police | B．Contacting your friends. |
| C．Asking strangers for help. | D．Setting aside some money in your bag. |
| A．A travel website. | B．A health newspaper. |
| C．A project handbook. | D．A friend-making brochure. |
6 . Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed an affordable, easy to use system to track the location of flexible surgical robots inside the human body. The system performs as well as current state of the art methods, but the whole system, including the robot, magnets and magnet localization setup, costs around $100. Many current methods also require exposure to radiation, while this system does not.
The system was developed by Tania Morimoto, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, and mechanical engineering Ph. D. student Connor Watson.
“Continuum medical robots work really well in highly constrained (受限的) environments inside the body,” Morimoto said. “But it becomes a lot harder to track their location and their shape inside the body.” The researchers used existing magnet localization methods, which work very much like GPS, to develop a computer model that predicts the robot’s location.
GPS satellites ping (发送) smartphones and based on how long it takes for the signal to arrive, the GPS receiver in the smartphone can determine where the cell phone is. Similarly, researchers know how strong the magnetic field should be around the magnet placed in the robot. They rely on four sensors that are carefully spaced around the area where the robot operates to measure the magnetic field strength. Based on how strong the field is, they are able to determine where the tip of the robot is.
Morimoto and Watson went a step further. They then trained a neural network to learn the difference between what the sensors were reading and what the model said the sensors should be reading. As a result, they improved localization accuracy to track the tip of the robot. “Ideally we are hoping that our localization tools can help improve these kinds of growing robot technologies. We do want to push this research forward so that we can test our system in a clinical setting and eventually translate it into clinical use,” Morimoto said.
1. What be learnt about the system according to the text?| A．It’s complex. | B．It’s low-cost. |
| C．It’s delicate. | D．It’s radioactive. |
| A．The system’s working principle. |
| B．The function of GPS satellites. |
| C．The reason for inventing the system, |
| D．The necessity of inventing the system. |
| A．It’ll be environmentally-friendly. | B．It’ll be sold on the Internet soon, |
| C．I’ll be easy for us to operate. | D．It’ll be tested with real patients. |
| A．A diary. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A novel. |
7 . I have been dancing since I was 14 years old, when my best friend dragged me to an after-school dance class. I enjoyed that dance class so much that I have been dancing ever since. After every dance class, however, I always have to stretch out my legs and back, as dancing can be quite a tough workout! It feels like as much exercise as going to the gym—but dancing is not widely considered to be a sport.
Many dancers would argue that dancing is a sport, as it requires great physical stamina (耐力), strong muscles and impressive flexibility. No matter what style of dance you are participating in, you will always be using all of your muscles while dancing and this can often be for several hours a day. Additionally, in the more traditional dance styles (such as ballet and contemporary dance), men often lift their female dance partners up in the air. The strength that dancers need means that they are often just as athletic as footballers, runners or swimmers.
On the other hand, many people argue that dance is an art form. Dances often exhibit emotion, show characters and tell stories. Dancing to music is creative and visually appealing to the eyes and ears. It is easy to see why many people consider dance to be an art form. I personally believe that dance is both a sport and an art. I believe that a great dancer will be a mixture of an athlete and an artist.
However, whether you consider dance to be an art or a sport, the important thing is to enjoy it! Dancing is a great way to make new friends and it’s a really fun way to exercise!
1. Why did the author fall in love with dancing?| A．Because she got inspired by her best friend. |
| B．Because she found the dance class was for free. |
| C．Because dancing might be the best form of exercise. |
| D．Because dancing was the most challenging task. |
| A．A ballet dancer should be tall and strong. . |
| B．In some ways dancers are similar to athletes. |
| C．Most dancers find it hard to practice for several hours. |
| D．The traditional dance styles often cost more energy. |
| A．Because they think it is just like watching a play. |
| B．Because dancing merely brings amusement. |
| C．Because they think it is funny to watch dance. |
| D．Because dancers tell stories while dancing. |
| A．Fashion. | B．Sport. | C．Life around the world. | D．Music. |
8 . The River Thames has some of the highest recorded levels of microplastics for any river in the world.
Scientists have estimated that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down the river in places. The quantity is larger than that measured in other European rivers, such as the Danube and Rhine. Tiny bits of plastic have been found inside the bodies of crabs living in the Thames.
Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, are calling for stricter regulations on the labelling and disposal of plastic products. They warn that careless disposal of plastic gloves and masks during the coronavirus pandemic might make the problem of plastic pollution worse.
“Taken together, these studies show how many different types of plastic, from microplastics in the water through to larger items of debris physically altering the foreshore, can potentially affect a wide range of organisms in the River Thames,” said Prof Dave Morritt from Royal Holloway, “The increased use of single- use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic- containing cleaning products, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, may well make this problem even worse.”
Many forms of microplastics were found in the Thames, including glitter, microbeads from cosmetics and plastic debris from larger items. Most of the microplastics came from the break-down of large plastics, with food packaging thought to be a significant source. “Flushable” wet wipes were found in high abundance on the shoreline forming “wet wipe reefs”.
Study researcher, Katherine McCoy, said, “Our study shows that stricter regulations are needed for the labelling and disposal of these products. There is great range to further research the impacts of microplastics and indeed microfibres on Thames organisms.”
1. What did the researchers mainly suggest?| A．Stricter regulations should be made. | B．People shouldn't eat crabs for a while. |
| C．People should cut the use of plastic gloves | D．Plastic masks shouldn't be thrown away carelessly. |
| A．Wet wipes. | B．Food packaging. |
| C．Cleaning products. | D．Single-use plastic masks. |
| A．Wildlife Being Threatened by Microplastics. | B．Forms of Microplastics Found in the Thames. |
| C．River Thames Severely Polluted with Plastic. | D．Inappropriate Disposal of Single-use Plastics. |
| A．Science. | B．Environment. | C．Health. | D．Education. |
9 . Tai chi, a centuries-old Chinese martial art and an internationally popular form of exercise, has been added to the cultural heritage list of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
As its initial (最初) application was turned down in 2008, for more than 10 years, China has been trying to have Tai chi — also known as taijiquan — recognised officially by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产代表). At the time, judges told China it had applied for too many listings for Tai chi to be considered for a place. China was told to reduce its applications from listings, which included tai chi, Shaolin kung fu, Peking opera and acupuncture (针灸).
According to the Mayo Clinic in the United States, doing Tai chi can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, improve energy and stamina (耐力), strengthen the immune system (免疫)and reduce joint pain. “It is not just a sport to make people fit, but also contains Chinese culture and philosophy,” researcher Yan Shuangjun also told Xinhua News Agency. The application started in 2008 and now we made a victory, which will help this sport to reach more places.
Tai chi has a massive, devoted global following. Millions of elderly Chinese people practise it every day in city parks. Each year, tens of thousands of people from other counties come to China to learn it. Gisele Bundchen, one of the highest-paid models in the world, makes Tai chi into her daily life. Others who have been attracted by its use in their lives include actors Terence Stamp and Paul Adrian, Bollywood star Kunal Kapoor, and musician RZA of the Wu Tang Clan — to say nothing of its importance to martial artists such as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li.
1. What can we learn about the applications in 2008?| A．The first application of tai chi was accepted. |
| B．Tai chi is a Chinese martial art with a short time. |
| C．China applied for acupuncture and Peking opera. |
| D．China thought itself had applied for too many listings. |
| A．Help people think more quickly. |
| B．Reduce headache and promote sleep. |
| C．Lead to some depression and severe joint pain. |
| D．Help people build up energy and reduce stress. |
| A．Healthy. | B．Hard to learn. | C．Welcomed. | D．Time-taking. |
| A．Culture. | B．Life style. | C．Education. | D．Custom. |
10 . In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, there's a famous saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. The surprise is part of the fun. Now blind box toys（盲盒)are bringing the magic of surprise to online shopping.
A blind box toy is hidden inside similar boxes but invisible from the outside. You don't know what will be inside, although the toys typically come from pop culture, ranging from movies to comics and cartoons.
Blind boxes have become popular since they were first introduced from Japan to China in 2014. According to a 2019 Tmall report, the mini-series of Labubu blind box designed by Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, was named Champion of Unit Sales with 55, 000 sold in just 9 seconds during the Singles Day shopping event. Most customers for blind boxes are young people aged 18 to 35.
According to The Paper, blind box toys are popular in part because of their cute appearances. The typically cute cartoon figures(人物)come in small sizes, making them suitable for display almost anywhere.
Even if blind boxes are not their top choice for decorations, the mystery and uncertainty of the process also attracts people. It's the main reason why people buy blind boxes one after another.
"Expecting the unknown is always a part of the box-opening process," said Miss Cao, 24, who lives and works in Shenyang. Speaking to Sina News, she said: "Until you open all the boxes, you cannot know what it is inside."
Opening a blind box is a delightful little surprise for our mundane daily lives, something small but fun to wait for each day, week or month. When people open this simple little box, they may be disappointed, but the uncertainty is part of the fun. People will open more blind boxes and hope for a better outcome.
When someone re-makes Forrest Gump, don't be surprised if he says, "Life is like a blind box."
1. What do we know about blind boxes?| A．They may bring surprise to our life. | B．They are visible from the outside. |
| C．They are popular among all ages. | D．They were first designed in 2014. |
| A．Because blind boxes are fashionable gifts. |
| B．Because blind boxes are educational gifts. |
| C．Because people enjoy box-opening process. |
| D．Because people prefer the colorful boxes. |
| A．Wonderful | B．Interesting | C．Amazing. | D．Boring. |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. | C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
