1 . The pink and green buoys（浮标）moved gently over the surface of the water as Catherine Puckett steered（操纵）her boat towards them. Underneath the area, Ms Puckett plants kelp-a type of seaweed-on long ropes that are like washing lines. In a good year she harvests about five tonnes of the stuff.

Seaweed has long been a mainstay(支柱)of Japanese cuisine, but it is now catching on in America. Dieticians(营养师)praise kelp's high nutritional value and its many uses in the kitchen. Restaurants offer kelp salads.

Seaweed also owes its rising popularity to something else. Research has shown that it restores underwater habitats and helps to reduce the effects of climate change.

Seaweed farming is attracting newcomers, especially women, to the seafood industry. GreenWave, a non-profit, has a waiting list of about 8, 000 people for its ocean-farming programme.

People, such as Suzie Flores, are switching careers. Before opening her kelp farm in 2017, she was a manager at a higher-education software company. Bren Smith, founder of GreenWave, says one reason ocean faming attracts newcomers is that starting a seaweed farm is easier than becoming a commercial fisherman, which requires permits that come in limited numbers and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For kelp farmers, however, getting the required permits can be a process involving numerous state agencies. Ms Flores says that outside of Maine(缅因州), plants to process the seaweed crop are limited. Ms Puckett has to harvest her crop within a five-hour window to get it on a ferry(渡船)before noon(she hopes to build her own processing plant on the island). And farmers sometimes have to deal with people who complain that the farming gear, though mostly underwater, spoils the view from their seafront villas(别墅).

The kelp industry is still young and farming seaweed is not always profitable. But, says Ms Flores, “I find it to be very fulfilling. You are growing food that is healthy for the environment and healthy for people. ”

1. What's Catherine Puckett?

A．A fisherman.

B．A seaweed farmer.

C．A scientist.

D．A dietician.

2. Why does ocean farming attract newcomers?

A．Fishing is no longer permitted.

B．It's not difficult to enter seafood industry.

C．A seaweed farm can be started at no cost.

D．It's more profitable than software industry.

3. What can we conclude from Paragraph 6?

A．Kelp farmers face some difficulties.

B．Kelp farmers complain about the ocean view.

C．Kelp farmers harvest their crop in the afternoon.

D．Kelp farmers process seaweeds in seafront villas.

4. What's Ms Flores' attitude towards the kelp industry?

A．Worried.

B．Doubtful.

C．Positive.

D．Unclear.

2 . People only contact their insurers when things go wrong and they need to make a claim. This generally means losses for the insurer. It also means stress and troubles for the customer. In order to relieve both problems, insurers increasingly offer extra services alongside their traditional policies.

Aviva, a British insurer, for instance, installs sensors on customers’ water pipes to detect very small leaks, so that these can be repaired before causing greater damage. This spares Aviva the cost of a bigger claim, and the customer the misfortune of a flooded basement.

Life insurers have so far been slower to catch on. But this is changing. Often extra services help people to live more healthily. AXA, a French insurer, gives its customers access to check-ups. Union Life, a Chinese one, guarantees customers a place in an old people's home and advises them on activities in retirement.

Last month, Haven Life, an American life-insurance agency, announced it would include a set of extra services for its customers. That makes it a pioneer on its home market as its new policy fits neatly into the global trend. Its extra services centre on health. For instance, customers also get discounts on family-health services at some clinics, and access to a genetic health test. Now more and more American life insurers have joined it. Ladder, a life-insurance startup, offers some help on financial planning through an online tool. State Farm, a large American insurer, gives customers a discount on in-home sensors that monitor old people’s health.

These services are not in short of demand. A survey by Bain & Company finds that American consumers have very similar preferences to other parts of the world on the sorts of services they want from life insurers. But America is not a friendly place for innovative insurers. New policies must be approved by each of its 50 state authorities. Some states’ laws are too inflexible, and do not allow for such extra benefits. Even when an offering suits insurers and their customers, it can still take time to spread.

1. Why do more and more insurers provide customers with extra services?

A．To help with the repair work.	B．To earn a greater reputation.
C．To prevent greater losses.	D．To make customers relaxed.

2. Why does the writer mention “AXA” and “Union Life” in Paragraph 3?

A．To draw people’s attention to keeping healthy.	B．To urge life insurers to provide more services.
C．To explain why life insurers develop slowly.	D．To show the changes in life insurers’ services.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about concerning American life insurance?

A．The new trend on its market.	B．The new leader of its industry.
C．The quality of its new services.	D．The future of its new policy.

4. What is preventing life insurers’ new policies from spreading in America?

A．Consumers’ preferences.	B．Customers’ demands.
C．Some states’ rigid laws.	D．Extra services’ quality.

3 . Technology is shaping many different areas of the world. One area that has been greatly changed by the advances of technology itself is the stock (股票) market. There are several ways how technology has changed and shaped the present state of the market, and also the future direction.

Apps like RobinHood Trading has made it easier than ever to access stock market trading. Driven by technology, they are able to operate with less cost, seeing a significant reduction in fees. These fees often make casual traders be turned off the idea of the stock market, as low amounts they want to invest (投资) will not be of worthwhile after paying varieties of fees to most companies. This has seen a new type of trader,with a lower amount of wealth, be able to effectively make use of the market.

The speed of buying and selling is now faster than ever. Traditionally trades were done by shouting from one human to another, then through telephones and now the internet. With faster transactions, more trades are occurring, and when market changes are occurring, investors can react quicker than ever. Quicker reaction to new information will mean that the market is constantly changing faster than ever.

Due to the rise of the Internet, information allowing people to make an informed decision is easier than ever to get. Instead of relying on other people’s recommendations and analysis, it is extremely easy to access company reports and see for yourself whether or not it would be a good investment. The information is now more in-depth as well, as technology is able to analyse company data in a more detailed and scientific way to allow you to form a more educated opinion. Many companies provide real time data on the stock markets, allowing you to see completely up-to-date information and see the start of any potential trends allowing you to take advantage of the changing market.

1. According to the text, the stock market has been changed in the following aspects except ______.

A．better investment	B．faster transactions
C．more in-depth information	D．easier access to trading

2. How does paragraph 3 develop?

A．By referring to a study.	B．By telling stories.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By giving examples.

3. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．What advantages the Internet has brought about.

B．What future changes will be caused by technology.

C．How modern applications have shaped stock market.

D．How technology has influenced the present stock market.

4 . When you buy food or other products at the store, you probably don't think much about the people who grew them or made them. That's normal, but many farmers and others involved in producing food and other goods have very hard lives. Farmers work hard to grow crops, but sometimes the weather is bad, and their fields don't produce much. Or sometimes the price of what people produce goes down, and they can't earn enough to support their families. In some industries, workers are not fairly paid to make products cheaper. The fair trade movement tries to solve these problems by taking care of the people whose work benefits consumers.

Fair trade is difficult to define because it includes multiple organizations in many countries. These organizations encourage distributors (分销商) to pay a specified (指定的) minimum price for products. This minimum is often higher than the market price, but it makes sure producers earn enough to make a living. Distributors also pay some additional money that goes to the community that produced the product. This money is spent to thrive the community. For example, they might build a school or dig a well, either of which benefits everyone who uses it.

To be labeled fair trade, products have to be made following certain high standards related to treating workers well and protecting the environment. This can be expensive, but the higher prices paid by purchasers cover the extra costs. These standards can vary from industry to industry to reflect the details of the various production processes.

What does this mean for you? Many fair-trade organizations offer certification for products made with fair-trade ingredients (成分). There are different levels of certification depending on what percentage of the ingredients are fair trade. Certain websites can help you find fair-trade products.

Buying fair-trade products when possible is important because it communicates that you want companies to be involved in fair trade. Businesses need to make money, so manufacturers (制造商) are more likely to use fair-trade ingredients if they know people will pay for them. It's also important for your own integrity. Buying fair trade ensures that you're not benefiting from someone else's suffering. If you want to help more, you can write to companies you buy from and ask them to use fair-trade ingredients. In short, fair trade is about helping people who help you through their labor.

1. The fair trade movement aims to ________.

A．guide farmers to produce more crops

B．help the people who make the products we use

C．tackle the problem of food shortage in rural area

D．encourage consumers to purchase more products

2. What does the underlined word "thrive" in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Rebuild.

B．Develop.

C．Recover.

D．Decorate.

3. In the fair trade movement, the consumers need to pay a higher price because ________.

A．distributors are in charge of the market price

B．the products labeled fair trade are of higher quality

C．organizations in fair trade encourage them to do so

D．they need to pay for the expense to meet the high criteria

5 . China's digital currency may be world's first. According to Xinhua Newspaper, China may issue the world's first central bank digital currency (CBDC) to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policy makers' control of money supply. The CBDC is a new form of money issued digitally by the central bank and serves as legal currency. The to-be-issued currency could be put into electronic wallets to support direct and peer-to-peer transactions (对等交易). The “wallet” could be an app on a smartphone, but the final design has not yet been settled.

At the beginning stage, the CBDC is for domestic use only. In the future, it is designed to adopt the same exchange rate as physical money, but the international transaction system will be much more complex. "If China successfully issued the world's first CBDC, it will motivate other countries to make relevant studies and join the competition of creating CBDC," said Huang Yiping, director of the Institute of Digital Finance at Peking University. As some officials said, the CBDC will replace bank notes and coins, or the cash in circulation and it is designed for retail (零售) payments at the early stage.

In other countries, many central banks have begun planning to issue their own digital currencies. The Bank for International Settlements, a club of central banks, last month said it expects one-fifth of the world's population will have access to a CBDC by 2024.

China is the clear frontrunner. On February 17th it ended the third big test of its digital currency, handing out 10 million yuan to 50,000 shoppers in Beijing. It has announced a joint venture (合资企业) with SWIFT, an interbank-messaging system used for international payments.   Sweden, another supporter, has extended its digital currency project.

The latest big central bank to get serious about a CBDC is the European Central Bank (ECB). Speaking to The Economist on February 10th, Christine Lagarde, its president, said she planned to seek approval from her colleagues to begin preparing for a digital EURO.

1. What can we say about the CBDC?

A．It has been issued in China.	B．It will be used legally in China.
C．It is a new form of paper money.	D．It could be put into people's wallets.

2. What can we know from the passage?

A．Digital currency has replaced the paper money totally.

B．The world population will have access to CBDC by 2024.

C．Sweden has begun to study its own digital currency.

D．ECB has got approval from its members for a digital EURO.

3. What does the underlined word “frontrunner” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Adventurer.

B．Pioneer.

C．Challenger.

D．Supporter.

4. From which is the passage probably taken?

A．A science journal.	B．An economic magazine.
C．A computer paper.	D．An educational report.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Trading and Trending

December 11, 2021 marks the 20^th anniversary of China's entrance to the World Trade Organization（WTO）. Over the past 20 years, China has won widespread     1     （recognize）for its commitments, becoming a country that practices and defends globalization

Since 2001. China's overall tax rate     2     （drop）from 15.3 percent to 7.4 percent, lower than that in most developing countries. China has also continuously cut     3     （it）negative list of foreign investment access, and opened up as many sectors as possible to international trade.

The facilitation of trade and investment proves that China is opening     4     （wide）to the outside world,     5     in turn has promoted faster growth of the Chinese economy. In the last two decades. China's GDP went from sixth to second in the world, with its trade in goods     6     （rise）from sixth place to firs and trade in services climbing from eleventh to second place.

WTO spoke highly of the nation's important role as a driver of global growth and its commitment     7     guarding the trading system and participating in the various parts of WTO projects.

As the years progressed, China contributed     8     average of 30 percent to world economic growth. In 2020     9     （specific），the global economy declined owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,     10     China became the only major economy to sustain positive growth, putting the nation in an important position to drive the world's gradual economic recovery.

7 . “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who is swimming naked.” This is a quote attributed to Warren Buffet, who is widely ________ to be one of the world's most successful investors of all time, with a net worth of over＄86 billion.

What does it mean? Simply, you can’t appreciate the risks you (or a company) are taking until tested by ________ circumstances. In other words, in favorable market conditions, making a small fortune is ________ but hard. It is only when market conditions ________ that you can tell who has made solid investment decisions.

This concept is more important than ever, as investing is literally just a few taps away on a smart-phone. This has ________ more young people to start their own financial ventures for the first time. According to a report published by The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, about 60 percent of the Alipay financial management users are under 35, with a significant ________ born after 1990. The traditional impression of Chinese youth as big spenders clearly does not ________ everyone. And increasingly, the younger generation are moving away from the habits of their parents. They are more willing to put some of their earnings into financial products instead of just ________ the money into a bank account or buying an apartment.

I ________ their decision. There is no doubt that it is critical for an individual to become financially literate. It means being able to set yourself short-and long-term financial goals, as well as to make good use of your ________ to meet these targets. For those who lack the skills and knowledge needed to make a budget, ________ spending, manage credit cards, and calculate interest on savings and loans, they will be more ________ to financial difficulties. A study conducted by the FINRA Foundation revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans failed to pass a basic test of financial literacy. I am much more fortunate than them because my parents helped me open my first bank account when I was young and advised me on how to make ________ meet.

New investors are riding a wave of growth in China that has been largely uninterrupted for decades now. They have never experienced a severe economic depression. Having a long life ahead of them, they have to keep on learning how to protect their wealth and to manage their risk—________ setting ambitious goals for the growth of personal finances may be desirable. Or, as Buffet would likely advise those ________ investing for the first time: Dress appropriately and swim safe.

1.

A．regarded

B．thought

C．considered

D．estimated

2.

A．positive

B．various

C．disadvantageous

D．sarcastic

3.

A．anything

B．nothing

C．everything

D．something

4.

A．sour

B．soar

C．sustain

D．surge

5.

A．guaranteed

B．motivated

C．tricked

D．confirmed

6.

A．sample

B．ingredient

C．number

D．part

7.

A．contribute to

B．lead to

C．switch to

D．apply to

8.

A．turning

B．accumulating

C．attributing

D．depositing

9.

A．fend

B．adjust

C．enhance

D．applaud

10.

A．sources

B．resources

C．magnitude

D．funds

11.

A．track

B．streamline

C．spot

D．trigger

12.

A．resistant

B．open

C．vulnerable

D．easy

13.

A．supplies

B．demands

C．ends

D．money

14.

A．as if

B．just because

C．only when

D．even though

15.

A．running toward

B．diving into

C．jumping into

D．flying towards

8 . The British love their supermarkets. And there are more and more of them every year. But is this a good thing? Not necessarily.

For a start, supermarkets have a negative effect on local communities. Money spent in independent small shops usually stays in the area. However, money spent at supermarkets is often put into the bank accounts of distant shareholders(股东), some of whom don't even pay any tax(税) in the UK!

Supermarkets are also bad for animal welfare(福利、关心). The UK has high standards in this field, but some supermarkets get their meat from abroad. And in many cases, this meat is produced under conditions that would be illegal (违法的) in the UK. But once they've got the meat, supermarkets put a British flag on the product as the meat is packed there. Dishonest? Not exactly, but it isn't entirely true either!

Supermarkets have a poor environmental record too. Many of them don't store food products themselves as storage space is expensive, so they get food producers to do it for them. This means that supermarket trucks have to make more trips to collect supplies. In turn,this increases the amount of petrol used, which leads to more pollution. In fact, the average item of food from a supermarket travels over 1,000 kilometres. Supermarkets also use a lot of plastic packaging, which isn't good for the environment either.

So, what can be done to help the small shops? Not much really. Supermarkets have a lot of power. Many political parties(政党) receive donations from supermarkets and supermarkets often use their money to influence decisions. For example, just before the millennium (the year 2000), one supermarket gave the government £12 million to help build the Millennium Dome in London. Later, plans to tax supermarket car parks were dropped.

Supermarkets are good news for shoppers looking for a bargain, but they're definitely bad for local business, animals and the environment!

1. Why are supermarkets in the UK bad for local communities?

A．They refuse to employ local workers.

B．They take money away from the locals.

C．They drive small shops out of the area.

D．They pay more tax than local companies.

2. What is the problem with the meat at supermarkets?

A．It is often priced dishonestly.

B．It may be packed under poor conditions.

C．It is sometimes produced illegally in the UK.

D．It may be below UK standard for animal welfare.

3. How do supermarkets affect the environment?

A．They cause too much food waste.

B．They reuse a lot of plastic packaging.

C．They occupy much land-as storage space.

D．They carry food over long distances by truck.

4. What does the author think of political parties in the UK?

A．They are heart-broken.

B．They are money-driven.

C．They are open-minded.

D．They are strong-willed.

9 . 选用适当的单词或短语补全短文。

A. equivalents     B. increase     C. capped     D. acknowledged   E. regulations   F. comparatively G. undeniable     H. vast       I. restoration     J. ranked          K. modestly

This past National Day holiday saw upwards of half a billion Chinese citizens travelling. While some flew off to international destinations, the     1     majority enjoyed the many tourist sites that China has to offer. If you were one of those people who decided to explore China’s scenic spots, you probably realized that it isn’t just the mountain steps that are steep-the entrance fees are, too!

The average cost of the highest     2    5A attractions is 109 yuan. This could prove to be a little too steep for some families, who find themselves spending too large a portion of their holiday budget on admission tickets. The 32 5A locations that upped their prices in the past five years experienced an average     3     of over 40 percent. The bad news is that these prices are expected to continue to rise. So how does China’s situation compare to other parts of the world? The average fees for cultural and historical sites seem to be on par with(与…同价) international     4    . It’s quite another story, however, when you compare natural wonders. For example, the cost of a ticket to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park(张家界国家森林公园) hovers around 245 yuan for a three-day tour. This seems    5     high when you consider that a week long pass to America’s Yellowstone National Park (黄石国家公园)is a mere 74 yuan. There are     6     benefits to increased revenue(收益) from ticket sales, which support necessary     7     , maintenance and operation costs. This is especially important for sites that must keep visitor numbers down in order to protect the natural environment. However, it must also be     8     that many of China’s tourist attractions are operated by private companies who are ultimately protecting their bottomline(盈亏底线).

While the government has put some     9     in place, such as only allowing entrance fees to be raised once every three years, they have not     10     the upper limit of ticket prices and increases. Further measures to settle the dispute are being considered. In the meantime, some families are forced to re-think if some attractions are really worth the costs.

10 . We've been told since we     1    (be) toddlers that “It's good to share”. Parents and teachers keep     2    (remind) us to share toys, snacks, books, happy memories, and even     3    (sorrow) with others. Today, the action of sharing takes     4     extra meaning. It's not just about sharing sweets or frustration; it has expanded to almost every aspect of our lives. This wealth of ways of sharing is a response     5     our increasing demand for quality goods and services at competitive prices, all     6    (deliver) at the click of a button. Whether we're a lender or a borrower, it's a win-win situation. What's more, sharing encourages us     7    (reuse) items, thereby cutting down on waste. But the sharing economy is not without its problems. The sharing economy is developing faster than existing regulations or ongoing supervision.     8     is in no doubt is that the sharing economy is     9    (increasing) relevant to our daily lives as well as to the     10    (globe) economy. (用适当的词填空)