1 . States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.
The Supreme Court’s opinion Thursday overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases.
The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect sales tax for the state. Customers were generally responsible for paying the sales tax to the state themselves if they weren’t charged it, but most didn’t realize they owed it and few paid.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. “Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States,” he wrote in an opinion joined by four other justices. Kennedy wrote that the rule “limited States’ ability to seek long-term prosperity and has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field.”
The ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states, since they usually collect sales tax on online purchases already. Now, rivals will be charging sales tax where they hadn’t before. Big chains have been collecting sales tax nationwide because they typically have physical stores in whatever state a purchase is being shipped to. Amazon.com, with its network of warehouses, also collects sales tax in every state that charges it, though third-party sellers who use the site don’t have to.
Until now, many sellers that have a physical presence in only a single state or a few states have been able to avoid charging sales taxes when they ship to addresses outside those states. Sellers that use eBay and Etsy, which provide platforms for smaller sellers, also haven’t been collecting sales tax nationwide. Under the ruling Thursday, states can pass laws requiring out-of-state sellers to collect the state’s sales tax from customers and send it to the state.
Retail trade groups praised the ruling, saying it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. The losers, said retail analyst Neil Saunders, are online-only retailers, especially smaller ones. Those retailers may face headaches complying with various state sales tax laws. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council advocacy group said in a statement, “Small businesses and internet entrepreneurs are not well served at all by this decision.”
1. The Supreme Court decision Thursday will ______.| A．better businesses’ relations with states |
| B．put most online businesses in a dilemma |
| C．make more online shoppers pay sales tax |
| D．force some states to cut sales tax |
| A．have led to the dominance of e-commerce |
| B．have cost consumers a lot over the years |
| C．were widely criticized by online purchasers |
| D．were considered unfavorable by states |
| A．hindered economic development | B．brought prosperity to the country |
| C．harmed fair market competition | D．boosted growth in states revenue |
| A．gives a factual account of it and discusses its consequences |
| B．describes the long and complicated process of its making |
| C．presents its main points with conflicting views on them |
| D．cites some cases related to it and analyzes their implications |
2 . AI can transform education for the better
As students return to classrooms for the new year, it is striking to reflect on how little education has changed in recent decades. The sector remains a digital laggard (落后者). American schools and universities spend 2% and 5% of their budgets,
When the pandemic forced schools and universities to shut down, the moment for a digital
If the pandemic couldn’t overcome the education sector’s
Learners, for their part, are
For one, AI chatbots often talk nonsense, an unhelpful trait in an educational context. “Students want content from
Bringing AI to education will not be easy, but once answers on how to make use of this technology become clearer, such a development will certainly deserve top marks.
1.| A．respectively | B．appropriately | C．totally | D．ultimately |
| A．divide | B．reverse | C．boom | D．withdrawal |
| A．tendency | B．resistance | C．attention | D．anxiety |
| A．serve the purpose | B．break the ice | C．take the initiative | D．do some good |
| A．maintain | B．panic | C．doubt | D．wonder |
| A．personalized | B．individualistic | C．characteristic | D．attentive |
| A．attempting | B．declining | C．opposing | D．embracing |
| A．for | B．under | C．to | D．in |
| A．detect | B．transform | C．overtake | D．enhance |
| A．comprehensive | B．advanced | C．distinguished | D．trusted |
| A．give away | B．take in | C．bring about | D．hold up |
| A．By contrast | B．Despite this | C．What’s more | D．As a result |
| A．applause | B．edge | C．hesitation | D．improvement |
| A．convince | B．engage | C．capture | D．challenge |
| A．intervals | B．cost | C．mercy | D．best |
3 . Feeling depressed or lonely can age us faster than smoking, researchers say
Feeling unhappy, depressed or lonely could speed up the ageing processes more than smoking or even certain diseases, researchers have suggested. While everyone has an age based on their date of birth - “chronological age”, they also have
Now researchers say they have created a digital model of ageing,
“We demonstrate that psychological factors, such as feeling unhappy or being lonely, add up to 1.65 years to one’s biological age,” they write. While Galkin said the figure is an estimate, not least as the model assumes that different feelings like hopelessness or fearfulness are independent of each other, the study highlights that
“Taking care of your psychological health is the greatest contributor that you can have to
But, he said, it is unlikely isolation and loneliness are truly worse risk factors for health than smoking, while the study only looked at the data that
| 1 | 自动贩卖机 vending machine |
| 2 | 空调 air-conditioner |
| 3 | 微波炉 microwave oven |
6 . 我逐渐明白，颜宁之所以被世界认可并被授予杰出女科学家称号是因她对卓越的追求和对研究的投入。(dawn) (汉译英)
7 . 在异国他乡，使我不能入乡随俗的不是文化差异，而是无法吃上一口我从小熟悉的上海菜。（familiar）(汉译英)
8 . 你越多练习武术，你就越能理解为什么它是一个值得传承的国之瑰宝。（the more…the more）(汉译英)
9 . Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated (位于) in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have got at least 40 credits (学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1. What can students do on the upper floor of the library?| A．Chat at the table. | B．Have group discussion. |
| C．Relax themselves. | D．Read attentively. |
| A．The application form. | B．The marked library map. |
| C．An active school account. | D．The topic of the discussion. |
| A．By booking in advance. | B．By attending enough courses. |
| C．By paying the rental fee. | D．By earning the required credits. |
| A. avoided B. processed C. suited D. equal E. steer F. interfere G. understandably H. concentration I. thirst J. cabin K. unsettle |
Eating on a plane used to be common practice. But in the age of COVID-19, many passengers are
As a result, it’s more common to eat at home before embarking on a flight. Those with longer travel journeys may even eat a large meal to carry them through the day. Still, not all preflight eats are created
Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, a registered dietitian based in New York City, said it’s worth considering your overall health as you prep for travel, including what you eat and drink. “It’s important to eat foods that will keep your immune system strong, keep you hydrated and are easily digested before flying,” Beckerman said.
So, which foods are best
“It’s super common for dehydration to set in when flying, thanks to the lack of humidity and dry air in the
Alcohol consumption tends to cause dehydration and has a different effect on the body than if you were to have a drink at ground level due to the low pressure in the cabin and the low oxygen
A cup of coffee can leave you dehydrated in an already dry environment and coffee also has a mild diuretic effect, which can lead to more frequent trips to the bathroom.
Beyond the dehydrating effects, caffeine can also keep you awake during a flight, which is often an opportunity to catch up on sleep. The need for more frequent bathroom visits can also
If you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to
A balanced meal that satisfies your
