1 . People have different ways of dealing with waste paper, specifically used newspapers. Some put them in the recycling area, while others keep them as wrappers. While these are both good measures, a Japanese publishing company had a better idea for their end use.
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. invented the “Green Newspaper”, which allows people to grow plants with it. This unique newspaper was published on Greenery Day, which is an edition devoted to environmental news and made of green paper with seeds placed into it. What makes it even more sustainable is the ink (油墨) used to print words and photos, which is made from plants. The publisher advised readers to tear the used newspaper into small pieces and plant them in a container with soil. They should water them, like they would do for any plant. Within a few weeks, the seeds will grow into plants.
This brilliant concept was invented by Dentsu Inc., one of Japan’s most distinguished advertising agencies, which works with the publishing company on the initiative. The publisher’s core belief is environmental sustainability. As its mission statement says, “The Mainichi doesn’t take action only through information, but also by solving global issues.” With joint efforts, this initiative has reached the corners of Japan and sold around millions of copies daily. Other such initiatives producing plantable paper are also seen in India and the US.
Approximately 95 million trees are lost for producing newspapers every year. The Internet, the number of whose users represents 62.5 percent of the population worldwide, has impacted how people look at the news and the print readership has declined dramatically. Likewise, the reinvention and reimagination of this newspaper can bring about a revolution in the publishing industry as well as having an environmental impact.
1. What do we know about the “Green Newspaper”?| A．It uses water-resistant materials. |
| B．It’s printed with plant-based ink. |
| C．It functions as nutrients for seeds. |
| D．It’s published to celebrate Greenery Day. |
| A．It’s easier said than done. |
| B．Everything comes to him who waits. |
| C．Many hands make light work. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
| A．By listing statistics. |
| B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By conducting surveys. |
| D．By analyzing results. |
| A．A living newspaper gives back to Earth. |
| B．The publishing industry sees a green milestone. |
| C．Used newspapers become home to plants. |
| D．Many companies support plantable newspapers. |
During the Beijing Winter Paralympics, Li Man worked at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, tirelessly carrying a medical rescue kit on her back
As one of the 38 Chinese rescue staff on duty to protect the disabled athletes, Li and her team members call
With competitors capable of hitting top speeds of up
3 . One of the ocean’s noisiest creatures is smaller than you’d expect-snapping shrimp (鼓虾). They create a widespread background noise in the underwater environment, which helps them communicate, defend territories and hunt for food. When enough shrimp snap (发出劈啪声) at once, the noise can dominate the soundscape of coastal waters.
Aran Mooney, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, suggested that with increased ocean temperatures, snapping shrimp will snap more often and louder than before. This could raise the background noise of the global ocean. “They make a sound by closing a claw so fast. This makes a bubble (泡泡) and when that bubble explodes, it makes that snapping sound,” said Mooney.
Mooney detected a strong relationship between warmer waters and deafening, more frequent snapping shrimp sounds after experimenting with the shrimp in tanks in the lab and by listening to the shrimp in the ocean at various water temperatures. “As the temperature rises, the snap rate increases,” he said. This makes sense because shrimp are essentially cold-blooded animals, meaning their body temperature and activity levels are largely controlled by their living environment. “We can actually show in the field that not only do snap rates increase, but the sound levels increase as well.”
How the louder snapping shrimp would bother or benefit the surroundings remained to be seen. “We know that fish use sound to communicate,” Mooney said. “If the environment gets noisy, it has the potential to influence that communication. That’s something we have to follow up on.” There is also the possibility that the change of snapping shrimp disturbs instruments humans use to detect mines, which could have implications for national defense.
1. What can we know about the snapping shrimp’s sound?| A．It has multiple uses. | B．It is vital to the ecosystem. |
| C．It is hard to be detected. | D．It aims to protect the shrimp. |
| A．By observing snapping shrimp in the field. |
| B．By recording the snap rates in the lab. |
| C．By analyzing the way shrimp make noise. |
| D．By comparing shrimp’s sound in different places. |
| A．Applications of shrimp’s sound. |
| B．Impacts of the noise on other creatures. |
| C．Means of communication among fish. |
| D．Methods of preventing shrimp’s snapping. |
| A．Underwater World Is No Longer Quiet |
| B．Small Animals Make a Big Difference |
| C．Warming Oceans Are Getting Louder |
| D．Snapping Shrimp’s Noise Speaks Much |
4 . Four Stories in Life
A real doll
I’ve worked at an amusement park and when another Barbara joined the team, I changed my name tag (标签) from “Barb” to “Barbie”.It was funny to see how kids reacted to my name differently.“Is she really a Barbie?” they asked. I changed it at another job, too, and began answering the phone, “This is Barbie. How can I help you?” Ninety percent of callers now respond, “Barbie, can you tell me……?” Pronouncing that long “e” sound forces your mouth into a smile. But I’ve found the smile is usually returned voluntarily.
—Barbie Bosco Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Rice twice as nice
We replaced rice with cauliflower (花椰菜) rice. There’s not much of a difference in taste, and it cooks in minutes, and is a vegetable instead of empty carbs (精制碳水化合物).
—Michelle Byrd Marlton, New Jersey
Happy wife, happy life
Early in our marriage, my husband would come home feeling tired after work, and I’d be tired due to looking after the kids. We were both tired and bad-tempered, and we often ended up arguing. It got to a point where I worried we were on the verge (边缘) of divorce. The day I realized it, I asked myself, “Am I the person I would want to come home to?”
I began greeting him with a smile and kiss instead of complaining about my day. He’d smile back and we’d talk calmly. We still have our differences, but one small change in attitude saved our marriage forever.
—Annabelle Wallis, Pennsylvania
Our “Spoonland” and “Forkland”
We presort silverware in the dishwasher. It takes no extra time to load and makes emptying much easier. We always smile when our kids, now adults, introduce friends to “Spoonland” and “Forkland”.
—Kathleen Luck, Ohio
1. In what aspect did Barbie Bosco Latrobe change to live a better life?| A．Her name tag. | B．Her diet. |
| C．Her housework. | D．Her relationship. |
| A．Barbie. | B．Michelle. | C．Annabelle. | D．Kathleen. |
| A．No pain, no gain. | B．Grasp all, lose all. |
| C．Nothing seek, nothing find. | D．Small changes, big improvements. |
Olympic record-setting Chinese teen Quan Hongchan collected gold in the synchronized 10m platform (双人10米跳台) event alongside her partner Chen Yuxi, at
Quan was born in a small village of Zhanjiang, Guangdong, in 2007 and took up
“I’d never tried any other sports before,
Journalists from around the world lined up for two hours to ask her questions. Her short and simple answers won
6 . Australian snowfields offer a unique experience for skiers looking for fresh snow with a beautiful backdrop.
Perisher Ski Resort (度假胜地)
Where: a six-hour drive from Sydney
If you like big ski resorts, then Perisher is for you. The resort features the best ski runs inAustralia. You can stay at Perisher without the crowds of a ski village with options like the MarritzHotel. Many skiers prefer to stay in the nearby town of Jindabyne, where you’ll find a variety of classic country cafés.
Thredbo
Where: a five-hour drive from Sydney
Whether you’re skiing down Australia’s longest ski run, or finding your feet in the beginner’s area, Thredbo has it all. You’ll have unforgettable experiences like the Sunrise Session to enjoy the first run of the day. When darkness falls, you have warm accommodation options like The Eastern orThe Denman.
Falls Creek Alpine Resort
Where: a five-hour drive from Melbourne
Falls Creek is a pedestrian (行人) — only ski village, where all the accommodation, dining and snow activities are ski-in/ski-out, so bring your boots! The largest ski resort in Victoria, it’s also great for families, with a ski school and child-friendly runs. If you love to explore something beyond the park, take a backcountry tour to find fresh snow.
Mount Hotham
Where: a four-hour drive from Melbourne
The ski village at Mount Hotham is on the top of the mountain, meaning your first ski of the day is down to the chairlift. This is a mountain for those who like their runs steeper (陡峭) and deeper, with an impressive mix of advanced and expert ski runs as well as a separate beginners’ area.
1. How long does it take to drive from Sydney to Perisher Ski Resort?| A．Four hours. | B．Five hours. | C．Six hours. | D．Seven hours. |
| A．It features Australia’s longest ski run. | B．It has the steepest ski run in Australia. |
| C．It is the largest ski resort in Victoria. | D．It sits at the foot of a huge mountain. |
| A．Thredbo. | B．Mount Hotham. |
| C．Perisher Ski Resort. | D．Falls Creek Alpine Resort. |
7 . If you were to move to a new country with a different language and bring along the family dog, your pet would likely have a hard time understanding commands from the locals, according to a new study looking at how dogs’ brains react to different languages．
The new study was conducted by lead author Laura Cuaya, a neurobiologist at Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, who recently moved from Mexico to Tokyo alongside her dog Kun Kun．
Cuaya and her team trained 18 dogs, including Kun Kun, to lie motionless in an MRI machine so they could scan their brains. As the dogs were being scanned, the researchers played the dogs three different recordings: a Spanish version of the famous children’s book The Little Prince; a Japanese version of the same book; and a series of human noises that did not resemble speech at all.All of the dogs had been exposed to only one of the two languages, meaning one was familiar to them and the other was unfamiliar.MRI scans revealed that dogs’ brains can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages, making them the first known, and so far only, non-human animals to be able to tell the difference between human languages．
During the experiments, researchers also found that older dogs showed more activity in the secondary auditory cortex (听觉皮层) of the brain, suggesting they were better at differentiating familiar and unfamiliar languages than younger dogs. “The main reason that older dogs are better at differentiating languages is the amount of exposure to the language,” Cuaya said. “Older dogs have had more opportunities to listen to humans.”
Dogs do not need to be trained to distinguish between human languages.“Their brains detected the difference naturally, perhaps due to the domestication process,” Cuaya said.“Though many species can distinguish between human languages, dogs are one of the few that are interested in hearing us.”
1. What may happen to dogs when they go abroad?| A．They may settle into the new environment easily. |
| B．They can face some language barriers. |
| C．They become more sensitive to languages. |
| D．They fail to understand their owners. |
| A．Its background. | B．Its benefit. | C．Its process. | D．Its purpose. |
| A．Domestication helps dogs live better with humans. |
| B．Dogs are closely related to humans. |
| C．Humans should be more friendly to dogs. |
| D．Training plays an important role in raising dogs. |
| A．Dogs Can Bring Surprising Health Benefits |
| B．Dogs Are Good Translators in a New Environment |
| C．Dogs That Are Often Exposed to Humans Are More Intelligent |
| D．Dogs Can Distinguish Between Familiar and Unfamiliar Human Languages |
8 . People tend to use trees for papermaking. But maybe electronics (电子) engineers are missing out on something here. “It turns out that two major building blocks of wood have a lot of electrical qualities,” says Magnus Berggren, a professor at Linköping University.
His team has been working to make parts for electronics from the forest. Right now, they’re focusing on two materials of trees. The first material is cellulose, which can make energy. Lignin, the second material, can store that energy, just as a battery does. The team has found when pressed, cellulose can produce electricity.
Some device must then store the electricity until it’s needed. Batteries can do this. But batteries aren’t very green. They have harmful materials. That’s where lignin comes in.
Batteries cause electrons to flow from one place to another, which can produce electricity. In a typical battery, one material must give electrons. The other must accept them. Lignin can do both. A weak acid (酸) encourages lignin to produce electrons. “With a metal wire (金属线) to guide those electrons, you’ll have electricity,” says Berggren.
Berggren’s team use this quality to create its new lignin-based battery. Typical batteries use a metal wire as a path to guide the flow of electrons into or out of the device. But since Berggren wants to make a battery of the forest, he looks for a natural way. Once again, he turns to cellulose.
This natural material can serve as a wire-like path for electrons. To make it work well, Berggren lines them with another chemical known as PEDOT, which isn’t from a tree. But when PEDOT is added to cellulose, they can conduct electricity like a wire. “With a weak acid, now you have a battery,” Berggren says. “And two of its three materials come from the forest.”
Berggren can imagine one day having mobile phone batteries made largely from forest products. Tree-based electronics might also be useful in lighting.
1. What is cellulose used to do in the study?| A．Act as a weak acid. | B．Collect rainwater. |
| C．Produce electricity. | D．Make quality paper. |
| A．Well-received. | B．Eco-friendly. | C．Harmful. | D．Heavy. |
| A．They may change farming practices. | B．They might save a lot of wood. |
| C．They would serve the elderly. | D．They could light the rooms. |
| A．A Green Way to Make and Store Energy | B．An Attempt to Raise Power Production |
| C．Practical Suggestions on Planting Trees | D．Recent Advances in Mobile Phones |
9 . Leah Brown aged 36 fell several hundred feet from Oregon’s highest mountain right before the eyes of a group of volunteer rescue workers who rushed to her aid and helped save her life.
The woman was coming down a popular path (小路) on Mt. Hood, about 70 miles east of Portland, on Saturday morning, according to the local police. Mt. Hood is the highest in Oregon, standing at around11.240 feet.
The fall was seen by members of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR), a volunteer organization focused on helping people in mountainous areas. The group called 911 and rushed to the woman, providing medical care. They helped keep the woman warm for seven hours as the police worked to get her off the mountain safely. Finally, the woman was evacuated (转移) to a parking lot at 9:30 pm and taken to a hospital.
The climber, Leah Brown, said she didn’t know what caused her fall. “I can only guess it was either an ice tool or a crampon (冰爪) that didn’t land and stick like it should have, so I became detached from the mountain,” Brown said. “The thing I’d like to most stress is my appreciation for the members of PMR who evacuated me and took good care of me the whole time,” Brown added. “They saved my life. ”
In a statement after the rescue, PMR warned of the dangerous winter conditions at the mountain. “The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the conditions tend to be much steeper. Climbing the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult,” the group said.
1. What happened to Brown on Saturday morning?| A．She lost her way in a forest. | B．She hurt her eye unexpectedly. |
| C．She failed to call her family. | D．She fell down on a downhill path. |
| A．Different. | B．Hidden. | C．Separated. | D．Tired. |
| A．Thankful. | B．Regretful. | C．Surprised. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Climbing requires teamwork. | B．Climbing in winter is too risky. |
| C．We must remain positive in hard times. | D．We can admire the view on sunny days. |
Mr Swales was talking about what people do, and wanted to find out what his students wanted to be when they grew up. Mr Swales was about to call on Jodie when the girls in the back row burst out laughing.
Shirley yelled, “Jodie’s daddy is a garbageman! Pee-yoo!” Everybody in the class laughed out loud except Jodie. She felt her face turn bright red. She looked around the whole classroom. Everyone was laughing. Some kids were even holding their noses. Mr Swales was angry. He almost never raised his voice, but now he did.
“Silence! I want everybody quiet this instant.”
The laughter stopped immediately. “You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Mr Swales said. “Being a garbageman, I mean, a sanitation engineer, is a difficult and extremely useful job. We should all be grateful to Mr Harris. Where would we be without him? Up to our ears in garbage, that’s where. How would you like that?”
“Pee-yoo!” somebody said. A few kids started laughing again.
“It’s not funny,” Mr Swales went on. “Garbage is a serious matter. I think you all owe Jodie an apology. And after that, you’re all going to write Jodie’s father, Mr Harris, a nice letter to tell him how much you appreciate what he does for all of us.” Everybody moaned (抱怨). Everyone said sorry to Jodie, but Jodie could tell they didn’t really mean it.
Her face was burning red and she felt like crying.
Mr Swales came to her and said, “Let’s go out in the hall, so we can have a private talk.” Jodie couldn’t hold back any more. She started crying out in the hall. “I’m sorry this happened,” he said. “But remember, hard work done well is something to be proud of. There’s nothing wrong with being a garbageman… a sanitation engineer, absolutely not.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Jodie’s father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn’t run up to him the way she always did.
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Next day, Jodie went to work with her father.
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