1 . An extraordinary new restaurant in Semarang, Indonesia is on a mission (使命) to support locals trapped in poverty, many of whom are earning less than $25 a month, by providing them with an alternative way to pay for their food.
The Methane Gas Canteen, run by husband and wife team Sarimin and Suyatmi, is located in an unexpected place for an eatery — Jatibarang Landfill. The landfill is a mountain of purifying waste, where poor locals spend their days collecting plastic and glass to sell. Meanwhile, the couple, who spent 40 years collecting waste before opening the restaurant, is busy cooking.
What makes the restaurant unusual, aside from its location, is that no cash is required to pay for meals. Poor people have the option to pay for their food with recyclable waste instead of cash. Sarimin weighs the plastic customers bring in, calculates its worth, and then deduct that value from the cost of the meal, giving any extra value back to the customer. The scheme is part of the community’s solution to reduce waste in the landfill and recycle non-degradable plastics.
“I think we recycle 1 ton of plastic waste a day, which is a lot. This way, the plastic waste doesn’t pile up, drift down the river and cause flooding,” said Sarimin in an interview with Channel News Asia. “It benefits everyone.”
The restaurant seats about 30 people and serves meals that cost between $0.40 and $0.80 each. Since opening the canteen Sarimin and Suyatmi have seen their daily income more than double to $15 a day.
“I’m happy to see our customers enjoying their meals,” Sarimin told NHK World. “The poor must also have the right to enjoy healthy eating. I want to give them that chance as much as possible.”
1. What do we know about Jatibarang Landfill?| A．An unusual restaurant for people to eat free meals. |
| B．A mountain where the locals live on selling waste. |
| C．A place where poor locals collect waste to sell. |
| D．A plant where waste is recycled. |
| A．To double their daily income and profit. |
| B．To prove waste is a valuable thing. |
| C．To provide food for locals trying to survive. |
| D．To help settle the issues of poverty and trash. |
| A．Increase | B．Replace |
| C．Remove | D．Equal |
| A．An unusual way to pay for meals. |
| B．A local mission to help get rid of poverty. |
| C．A different scheme to reduce waste. |
| D．A new restaurant getting double income. |
2 . Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England, is home to birds of gray and red squirrels. Around 90 years ago, it was also home to the pine marten(松貂). The 0.5 meters animal was driven to dying out in England by 1926 because gamekeepers wanted to secure the safety of their game birds, according to The Guardian.
However, the martens thrived in Scotland, and the animals appear to be crossing back into England. A pine marten was spotted in Kielder Forest by John Hartshorne, a volunteer who monitors the red squirrel population in the forest, part of an effort to stop gray squirrels from further invading(入侵) the red squirrels’ territory.
The pine marten is one of the animals receiving a helping hand from Back from the Brink, one of the conservation groups working together to help save 20 species from dying out in England. Their efforts aim at helping the pine marten and other at-risk species.
Red squirrels are threatened by invasive gray squirrels, which out-compete the native squirrels for food and pass on a deadly virus. Martens keep gray squirrel numbers in check, especially since the invasive animals aren’t used to having a predator like the pine marten around. A 2018 study found that the presence of pine martens can be enough to push the gray squirrel population out of an area. So the pine marten returning to Kielder is a win-win: The pine marten returns to part of its historic range and by doing so, helps red squirrels continue to survive.
1. Why was the pine marten forced to leave Northumberland?| A．To attract more hunters. |
| B．To protect local animals. |
| C．To keep game birds safe. |
| D．To keep game birds from hunters. |
| A．Died out slowly. | B．Evolved rapidly. |
| C．Had difficulty adapting. | D．Increased in population. |
| A．To help the pine marten to thrive. |
| B．To free the red squirrels of danger. |
| C．To monitor the population of birds. |
| D．To stop gray squirrels from dying out. |
| A．the role of the pine marten |
| B．the importance of a 2018 study |
| C．the promising future of red squirrels |
| D．the harmful effects of gray squirrels |
3 . Skin cancer deaths among men have jumped sharply in wealthy nations since 1985, with death rates among women rising more slowly or even declining, researchers have told a medical conference in Glasgow.
Reasons for the difference between sexes are unclear but evidence suggests men are less likely to protect themselves from the sun or pay attention to public health warnings, Dorothy Yang, a doctor said.
More than 90% of melanoma (黑素瘤) cancers are caused by skin cell damage from exposure to the sun or other sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.
In eight of 18 developed countries examined, men’s skin cancer death rates had increased in the past 30 years by at least 50%.
But the nations with the biggest rise in skin cancer deaths were often not those with the highest death rates, the research showed. In Australia, for example, nearly six out of every 100,000 men died of the disease in 2013 -2015. That is twice the second highest death rate (Finland), but only a 10% increase compared to 30 years earlier.
Australia has been an early performer of public health media campaigns since the 1970s to promote sun-smart’ behaviour. While debate continues on how much of Australia’s record skin cancer rate originates from the sun, 30 years of public health campaigns have no doubt made Australians acutely aware of the dangers.
Skin cancer deaths among women in 1985 in Australia occurred at half the rate as for men, and declined by 10% over the next 30 years. In other countries, female death from the disease went down over the same period. In some other sun-loving nations, however, women saw at least as sharp a jump from 1985 to 2015 in death rates as men.
Scientists are studying whether biological or genetic factors might also play a role in skin cancer, but findings so far are inconclusive.
1. What can be concluded from the passage?| A．Death rates among women are declining all the time. |
| B．Australia is the first country to conduct public health media campaigns. |
| C．Death rate of skin cancer in Australia was once the highest. |
| D．Female death rate of skin cancer in some sun-loving countries went down. |
| A．Declining exposure to UV. |
| B．Biological or genetic factors. |
| C．People’s love for sun. |
| D．People paying little attention to public health warnings. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Evident. | C．Definite. | D．Satisfying. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Critical. | D．Controversial. |
4 . A decade ago, colored lights danced around the living room on New Year’s Eve and happy music was played. Upstairs, the children were asleep. But I wasn’t feeling happy. In mid-December, my husband and I had been informed that he had cancer and that he was going to die. He had less than a year left, the doctors said.
In the years since that painful season, I have come to look back upon New Year’s Eve as an ending and a beginning. New Year’s Eve brings a halt to the endless commitments that fill our daily lives and a chance to reflect.
New Year’s Eve is full of possibility and anticipation. What will be the surprising experiences and delightful successes in the coming year? But also, what disappointments are waiting for us in the next twelve months?
In many ways, New Year’s Eve and the days that surround it are a line between past and future. That line is made up of a series of moments of transition(过渡) that take us out of the old and into the new. Transition can be challenging for many of us. It’s about letting go of the familiar and diving headlong (迅猛地) into the unfamiliar.
Just as, back then, I had to face letting go of the life I had led with my beloved husband and stepping into a new world as a widowed mom. I find that each year I have to step out of the version of me that suited the year that is ending and ease into the version of me who will rise to the goals I am holding for myself for the year ahead.
Last year at this time, I sat in a chair in southern France and drank in the stillness(沉静) and beauty of the countryside around me. The three children and I had brought into this world talked and laughed around the table beside me as we enjoyed a lunch of bread and cheese.
I was filled with a sense of joy and I had a glowing(热情洋溢的) heart that was full of hope. It was another ending and another beginning. May we all transition into the best of what lies ahead. May we all find happiness this holiday season.
1. What does the underlined word “halt” in Paragraph 2 mean most probably?| A．Stop. | B．Beginning. | C．Meaning. | D．Tradition. |
| A．The pressure she faced in her work. | B．The health problem her husband faced. |
| C．The information received from her family. | D．The relationship between her and her husband. |
| A．Set challenging goals for the next year. | B．Break with daily routines and form a new habit. |
| C．Spend more time with family members. | D．Think about the past and get ready for the future. |
| A．To memorialize her husband. | B．To show how she got through a hard time. |
| C．To share her view of New Year’s Eve. | D．To remind us that uncertainty is part of life. |
5 . Lucy， whose skeleton（骨骼） was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974， died shortly after she fell out of a tree， according to a new study published Monday in the British journal Nature．
For their research， Kappelman and Dr． Richard Ketcham used a CT scanner to create more than 35，000 "slices" of Lucy's skeleton． Scientists named her Lucy from the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"， which was played at the camp the night of her discovery．
The following analysis of the slices showed sharp， clean breaks seen at the end of Lucy's right humerus （肱骨） are similar to bone breaks seen in victims of falls．
The researchers concluded that these and other breaks in her skeleton show that Lucy， who is believed to have stood about 3 feet 6 inches and weighed about 60 pounds， fell feet first and used her arms to support herself ﹣ but that the injury was too severe to have been survivable．
The researchers estimate that Lucy was going about 35 miles an hour when she hit the ground after falling from a height of roughly 40 feet， according to the statement．
That sounds plausible． But other scientists are doubtful． "There are countless explanations for bone breaks，" Dr， Donald C， Johanson， director of the Institute of Human Origins and one of the scientists who discovered Lucy， said， "The suggestion that she fell out of a tree is largely a just﹣so story and therefore unprovable． " Johanson said it was more likely that Lucy's breaks occurred long after she died， saying that "elephant bones appear to have the same kind of breaks， It's unlikely they fell out of a tree．
But the new research focused on "a small number of breaks" that are consistent with "high﹣energy bone﹣to﹣bone influences" and which differ from the sorts of breaks commonly seen in other collected bones． Kappelman responded in an email， "These appear to have occurred at or near the time of death． "
1. What can we infer about Lucy from Kappelman and Dr． Richard Ketcham's research？| A．She got her name from a song． |
| B．She had more than 35，000 slices． |
| C．She couldn't use her arms properly． |
| D．She made an effort to save herself． |
| A．Reasonable． |
| B．Creative． |
| C．Surprising． |
| D．Unbelievable． |
| A．Elephants are unlikely to die from falling． |
| B．Lucy got breaks at or near the time of death． |
| C．Other reasons for the breaks should be considered． |
| D．Lucy's bone breaks differ from other bone breaks． |
| A．Lucy didn't die from falling out of a tree． |
| B．The newly published study was meaningless． |
| C．The argument on how Lucy died will continue． |
| D．Scientists will find another way to solve the problem． |
