1 . Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary material we are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
1. What does the underlined word “over-consumption” refer to?A.Using too much packaging. |
B.Recycling too much waste. |
C.Making more products than necessary. |
D.Having more material than is needed. |
A.the tendency of cutting household waste |
B.the increase of packaging recycling |
C.the rapid growth of supermarkets |
D.the fact of packaging overuse |
A.Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
B.Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
C.It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
D.Other products are better packaged than food. |
A.Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
B.Needless material is mostly recycled. |
C.People like collecting recyclable waste. |
D.The author is proud of his consumer culture. |
2 . Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood.When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity(囚禁) my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
1. Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?A.He had just got a new cage. | B.He liked its beautiful feather. |
C.He wanted it to sing for him. | D.He wanted a pet for a companion. |
A.was frightened to death | B.ate the poisonous food its mother gave it |
C.refused to eat anything | D.drank the poisonous water by mistake |
A.a religious person | B.a kind person |
C.a schoolmaster | D.an expert in birds |
A.Freedom is very valuable to all creatures. |
B.All birds put in a cage won’t live long. |
C.You should keep the birds from their mother. |
D.Be careful about food you give to baby birds. |
阅读下面短文,从短文后所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Washoe is a young chimpanzee. She is no ____1____ chimpanzee, though. Scientists are doing a research ____2____ her. They want to see how civilized (驯化) she can _____3___. Already she does many things a human being can do.
For example, she has been learning how to exchange __4______ with people. The scientists are teaching her ___5_____ language. When she wants to be picked ___6_____, Washoe points up with one finger. She rubs her teeth with her finger ___7_____ she wants to brush her teeth. This is done after every meal.
Washoe has also been __8______ to think out and find answers to problems. Once she was put in a ___9_____ with food hanging from the ceiling. It was too high to ___10_____. After she considered the ____11____, she got a tall box to stand ___12_____. The food was still too high to be reached. Washoe found a ____13____ pole. Then she climbed onto the _____14___, grasped the pole, and _____15___ down the food with the pole. Washoe_____16___ like a human, too. The scientists keep her in a fully furnished house. After a hard ___17_____ in the laboratory, she goes home. ___18_____ she plays with her toys. She ___19_____ enjoys watching television before going to bed. Scientists hope to____20____ more about people by studying our closest relative — chimpanzee.1.
A.foolish | B.ordinary | C.special | D.simple |
A.for | B.by | C.to | D.on |
A.experience | B.change | C.develop | D.become |
A.actions | B.views | C.messages | D.feelings |
A.sign | B.human | C.spoken | D.foreign |
A.out | B.at | C.on | D.up |
A.when | B.until | C.since | D.while |
A.raised | B.trained | C.ordered | D.led |
A.cave | B.zoo | C.room | D.museum |
A.pull | B.see | C.eat | D.reach |
A.problem | B.position | C.food | D.ceiling |
A.by | B.on | C.up | D.with |
A.straight | B.strong | C.long | D.big |
A.wall | B.box | C.ceiling | D.pole |
A.knocked | B.picked | C.took | D.shook |
A.lives | B.acts | C.thinks | D.plays |
A.task | B.lesson | C.day | D.time |
A.Here | B.There | C.So | D.Then |
A.quite | B.already | C.even | D.still |
A.observe | B.discover | C.gain | D.learn |
4 . When your pet is sick, you know it needs medication. But pets, like babies, don’t know the pill you want them to take will help them.
Next, while the pet is still hungry, mix the medication in a small amount of food and present it. Repeat as necessary to get the entire dose (剂量) down.
If the chemist says the medication cannot be taken with food, you need a syringe (注射器) or a dropper to get the liquid down your pet’s throat.
Be sure you end the process with praise and perhaps a treat so your pet will not associate medication with a bad experience.
A.Before you call your pet in, be sure to have the medication and any other materials you’ll need ready. |
B.Once the pet is in position, use one hand to gently open the pet’s mouth from above, tilting back the head slightly. |
C.Ask the vet if the liquid medication can be given with food. |
D.You should know the reason why the pet refuses to take medicine. |
E.Never mix the medication with the full meal. |
F.They just know it smells funny and they don’t want it. |
G.Don’t force your pet to swallow all the medicine. |