1 . When the first visitors to Yellowstone tried to report what they saw, news magazines responded, “Thank you, but we do not print fiction.” Established in 1872 and located primarily in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) was famous for its natural scenery and biodiversity. As America’s first national park, it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions.
This year, YNP has reported that it had the most-ever September visitors. The increase contrasts sharply with May, when visitation rates were 90% lower compared to the same month last year. The park recorded about 837,000 visits in September, a rate 21% higher than September 2019 and 15.6% higher than the park’s second-busiest September on record in 2018, when it hosted 724,000 people.
Yellowstone was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic from March 24 to May 18, when its two Wyoming entrances reopened. In June, the park opened its three other entrances and visitation rates improved slightly. The park reported a 32% decline in visitors compared to the same month last year. Visitation rates through June were down 49% compared to numbers from the first six months of 2019. However, a rapid uptick saw an increase of 2% in visitation rates in July compared to the same month last year. The park hosted 955, 645 visitors in July compared to 534,000 people in June.
The national park’s peak season is typically from May through September. Most lodges, restaurants, stores and other services close for the year in October, followed by all park roads in early November.
Sara Fleming, a spokesperson for the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, said the increase in tourists could be caused by an increase in the amount of young people who have visited the park in recent months. She said more young people between 20 and 50 have visited the park than in previous summers.
1. In which of the following months visitation rates dropped most?| A．May. | B．June. | C．July. | D．September. |
| A．Rise. | B．Decline. | C．Close. | D．Reopen. |
| A．The government encourages people to visit it. | B．YNP is the best destination for holiday takers. |
| C．The number of young visitors is on the rise. | D．The admission fee has declined greatly. |
| A．America’s first national park | B．YNP got its busiest September |
| C．The best season to visit YNP | D．Visitors lost interest in YNP |
2 . Many of the world’s largest brewers (啤酒商) are using new technologies to replace single-use, plastic six-pack beer rings with more sustainable materials. Though mostly being used in small test trials, full adoption could have a positive environmental impact. Carlsberg, for example, is using glue to adhere cans in a production method that the Danish brewer says would avoid using 1,200 tons of plastic yearly, or the equal of 60 million plastic bags, once fully adopted.
Brewers have zeroed in on plastic six-pack-ring packaging partly because most consumers can recall the miserable image of a seagull, turtle, or some other aquatic (水生的) creature trapped or killed by the plastic rings. The packaging is so deep-rooted in our culture that many children were taught to cut up the rings to lessen the chance that an animal might choke itself to death.
The rings developed by E6PR (Edible Six Pack Ring) programme, which is led by another brewery called Saltwater, are now used by 35 brewers across the globe, including in Africa, Europe, and Australia. These rings are made of waste wheat in beer production. The final goal is to ensure that the rings can be eaten harmlessly by aquatic creatures or break down in nature within a matter of weeks rather than the years it would take for plastic.
Giving up plastic straws and beer rings may help consumers feel better about their carbon footprint, but some experts say we should focus on other efforts. Recycling rates in the U.S.stand at just over 34%. Glass, in which many brewers bottle their beer, can be difficult to recycle and large to transport. If brewers were to focus on using thinner glass, some experts say, the improvement could prove even more beneficial to the environment than giving up plastic rings.
There’s also the risk that if consumers think their E6PR rings are less harmful, they’ll be more likely to litter. “The idea of creating something that’s litter-friendly is an issue in my mind,” says Nina Goodrich, executive director of environmental nonprofit GreenBlue. “What we need in North America is a better system to encourage collection and sorting.”
1. What does the underlined word “adhere” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Collect. | B．Stick. | C．Open. | D．Reuse. |
| A．To collect the rings for recycling. |
| B．To make the rings break down more easily. |
| C．To prevent the rings harming aquatic animals. |
| D．To increase children’s awareness of loving nature. |
| A．Low recycling rates in the U.S. |
| B．Benefits of giving up plastic beer rings. |
| C．Difficulty in transporting beer glass bottles. |
| D．Another way to protect the environment. |
| A．They will be thrown away more casually. |
| B．They will not be accepted by consumers. |
| C．They will be more difficult to recycle. |
| D．They will be still made of plastic. |
3 . Want to pick up that new best-seller for your flight, but not sure you want to spend the money?
This will change your mind.
If you’ve done a lot of traveling, you’ve probably noticed that the bookstores at airports all look pretty similar. They’ve all got familiar logos, the walls of inviting plane snacks, and, of course, the towers of new hardcover books. Chances are you’ve wanted to grab one of those books for the plane ride. However, those hardcover books are a little pricey. Is it worth it to splurge, just to relieve the midair boredom?
Yes it is—because of a cool program that these bookstores have in place. These similar airport stores are all owned by the company Paradies Lagardère, and all of those stores take part in what’s called the “Read and Return program.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. Whenever you buy one of those books, you’ve got six months to finish it and bring it back to the same, or another, Paradies Lagardère location. When you do that, you get half your money for the original purchase back.
If you’re going on a trip, buy that book you’ve been dying to read. When you go back to the airport for the return trip, bring the book back with you and get half the money back. While you’re still in the bookstore, go ahead and get that other book you’ve been dying to read. Or the sequel to the book you read on the way there. Either way, your boredom on the flight back will be cured. And it gets better: the book you gave back will be re-sold for half price! Here’s what you can get for free at an airport.
There are two things you do need to make sure of. You have to bring back the receipt to get your money back. Also, the book needs to be in decent condition. But other than that, this program couldn’t be easier. In a way, it’s like a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal for books. Or get two books for the price of one-and-a-half. Either way, count us in.
1. What does the underlined word “splurge” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Spend the money. | B．Take the effort. |
| C．Take the trouble. | D．Spend the time. |
| A．You can read books for free in any Paradies Lagardère store. |
| B．You can buy books for half price in airport bookstores. |
| C．You need to return the book to the same store where you buy it. |
| D．You can get half your money back if you return the book timely. |
| A．It is difficult to take part in the program. |
| B．The receipt is necessary if you want to return the book. |
| C．The program is popular with readers. |
| D．The program runs successfully. |
| A．To encourage people to read on airplanes. |
| B．To introduce Paradies Lagardère company. |
| C．To advertise the “Read and Return program”. |
| D．To show the advantages of reading on airplanes. |
4 . If you want to be productive， you must complete work． Almost everything we do has many stages to completion and in many situations， you don't actually create value until you finish the last stage． Farmers can't sell their grain until it is harvested． Automakers can't sell cars that have made it 90% of the way through the assembly line（生产线）． Most employers aren't going to pay you for having a degree unless you finished the last class and graduated．
Now all those things require starting， but if you have work in progress， the most valuable thing you can do is to pick something and finish it． Finishing is where you start benefiting from the value you've created． I've noticed that many successful people aren't the ones who are the smartest or have the best ideas． They are often the ones who do the best job of taking an idea and completing it． A good idea fully carried out is better than a great idea that never gets completed．
Does this mean you need to finish everything you start？ Not necessarily， but if you don't think something is worth finishing， be honest with yourself and terminate the project． Don't leave hundreds of half finished efforts lying around physically or mentally acting like you are going to come back and pick them up． If you need to drop something ， do so strategically and intentionally． If you've put significant effort into a project， you may still benefit from finishing it even if you wouldn't start it again based on changed circumstances． For example， if you are in your last few months before graduating from college and realize you don't want to career in what you are majoring in， you probably should go ahead and graduate because there is significant value in having the degree---even if you don't intend to actually work in that field．
What projects do you have that are currently in progress？ Can you find something and finish it？
1. Why do many people become successful according to the author？ ______| A．They are the smartest | B．They have the best ideas |
| C．They start things smoothly | D．They make ideas fully completed |
| A．Develop | B．End |
| C．Plan | D．Support |
| A．A man decides to finish all he starts to do |
| B．Farmers hurry to sell their crops before they are ripe |
| C．A college student chooses to study until he gets his degree |
| D．A student keeps a half-filled stamp album around for future use |
| A．Finishing vs． Starting | B．Well Begun is Half Done |
| C．Planning vs． Performing | D．It is Easier Said than Done |
