1 . There are over 15 million restaurants in the world. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, when combined (合并), food that is produced by these restaurants is more or less enough for the customers. About 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted.     1    

It’s really a pity that billions’ worth of food is wasted.     2     For it’s rather difficult to recycle or reduce waste if big companies aren’t going to stop sending out gas into the atmosphere (大气), or cutting down entire forests to provide the world with food to satisfy its hunger for cattle and coffee.

    3     CNN World reports that restaurants in California right now are trying out a new way to fight food waste in the form of the surcharge (附加费) that aims to help farmers. The initiative (倡议) is still optional for restaurants.

According to Anthony Myint, the organizer of the initiative, he hopes that restaurants do take the lead, and that they try to do what they can to ease environmental concerns.     4     It shows their dishes are eco-friendly and nutritious (有营养的).

Myint hopes at least 200 restaurants sign on for their statewide programme by the end of this year so that the farmers could receive funding that could reach $10 million per year.     5     This partnership is an opportunity for eaters and buyers to share in land-based solutions.

A．The food is very cheap.

B．It will be used to promote healthier soil.

C．We can really save a lot of money in fact.

D．Despite all this, restaurants are trying to change that.

E．These billions’ worth of wasted food is also expensive.

F．However, it would be too difficult to just keep everything.

G．He also shares how he wants to eventually see Restore California signs on restaurants.

2 . Imagine if your clothes could pick up the sounds of everything going on around you. Scientists have created a fibre (纤维) which can pick up sounds and could be used as a hearing aid, to monitor heartbeats or even in spacecraft.

The new fibre works like a microphone. It picks up sounds and turns them into vibrations (震动) and then electrical signals, in a similar way to how ears work. When woven (编织) into a shirt, the researchers say the fibre can even detect a wearer’s heartbeat. The fibre can hear sounds as low as those in a quiet library to louder sounds like heavy road traffic. It can even accurately tell the direction of sudden sounds like handclaps.

The fibre was created by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and researchers at Rhode Island School of Design. “Wearing a piece of clothing that can hear, you might talk through it to answer phone calls and communicate with others,” said lead author Yet Wan, who created the technology at MIT.

Once they had created the fibre, the team wove it into a more traditional piece of clothing which was much more flexible. When it was woven into the back of a shirt it was able to pick up the sound of people clapping, even picking up the direction the clapping was coming from. When woven into the shirt’s inner lining (内衬) it could pick up the person’s heartbeat, which the researchers think could be used in a pregnant woman’s clothes to monitor a baby’s heartbeat.

As well as wearable hearing aids, and clothes that track your heartbeat, the team says there are possibilities beyond clothing. “It can be integrated with spacecraft skin to listen to space dust, or embedded into (嵌入) buildings to detect cracks or strains,” Yet suggests. “It can even be woven into a smart net to monitor fish in the ocean.”

1. What is the scientists’ new invention?

A．A lightweight fibre.	B．A new spacecraft skin.
C．A fibre that can hear.	D．A microphone that can talk.

2. What can we learn about the new material?

A．It is easily distracted by loud sounds.

B．It can even pick up faint sounds.

C．It works more accurately than human ears.

D．It fails to recognise the direction of sounds.

3. What did the team do after creating the new material?

A．They wove it into babies’ clothes.	B．They turned it into a fishnet.
C．They put it into mass production.	D．They tested its performance.

4. What do Yet’s words in the last paragraph suggest?

A．The fibre has a wide range of applications.	B．The fibre can bring in a big profit.
C．The fibre needs to be improved.	D．The fibre is less flexible than traditional clothes.

3 . We’ve all heard the age-old advice to drink eight cups of water a day. But if you fall short, don’t worry: That advice is probably wrong anyway. That’s according to new research. which found that for most healthy adults, there is no real benefit to drinking eight cups of water a day.

The advice to drink eight cups of water a day comes from a 1945 recommendation from the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council, which encouraged adults to consume about 64 ounces of water daily. The recommendation referred to a person’s total daily intake of water, including from all their foods and drinks, but it was widely misinterpreted to mean that people should drink 8-ounce glasses of water every day.

To see how much water people really need, Herman Pontzer, a professor at Duke University and his co-authors analyzed data on 5,600 people. The participants were tracked with a gold-standard technique called “doubly labeled water”, which uses water laced with tracers that can be used to track the body’s production of carbon dioxide, allowing the researchers to get precise measurements of the participants’ daily energy consumption.

The researchers determined how much water the participants lost and replaced each day. a measurement known as water turnover (水周转率). They found that a person’s daily water turnover was largely determined by their size and their level of body fat, which contains less water than muscle and other organs. The more “fat-free” mass a person has, the more water they need.

The research showed that how much water you need changes over your lifetime. In general, our water needs peak between the ages of 20 and 50 and then decline in parallel with the slowing down of our metabolisms (新陈代谢).

So how much water should you drink? The answer is simple: Drink when you’re thirsty. Prioritize water, and try to avoid sugary drinks, which can cause metabolic problems. “If you’re paying attention to your body and drinking when you feel like you need to, then you should be fine,” Pontzer said.

1. What is the author’s attitude toward the advice to drink eight cups of water a day?

A．Critical.

B．Supportive.

C．Tolerant.

D．Uncertain.

2. What can be known about the research conducted by Pontzer?

A．It was conducted in 1945.

B．It tracked participants’ daily water turnover.

C．It studied participants’ feelings about drinking water.

D．It found that body fat contains less water than muscle and other organs.

3. Which of the following is correct according to the passage?

A．When people get older, they should drink more water.

B．Drinking 64 ounces of water per day is beneficial to people.

C．When people have more muscles, they need relatively more water.

D．Drinking water with sugar can help improve metabolism.

4. Which is the best way to determine how much water to drink?

A．By following the advice of experts.

B．By drinking as much water as possible.

C．By paying attention to one’s body and drinking when thirsty.

D．By measuring one’s water turnover.

4 . If you’ve ever seen a sparrow steal your dog food or a crow open a garbage bag, you get a sense of that some birds have learned to take advantage of new feeding opportunities—a clear sign of their intelligence. Scientists have long wondered why certain species of birds are more innovative than others, and whether these capacities stem from larger brains or from a greater number of neurons (神经元) in specific areas of the brain.

It turns out that it’s a bit of both, according to a recent study by an international team that included members from McGill University published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

The researchers used a new technique to estimate the number of neurons in a specific part of the brain called the pallium in 111 bird species. The pallium in birds is equal to the human cerebral cortex (大脑皮层), which is involved in memory, learning, reasoning, and problem-solving, among other things. When these estimates about neuron numbers in the pallium were combined with information about over 4,000 feeding innovations, the team found that the species with the higher numbers of neurons in the pallium were also likely to be the most innovative.

“The amount of time chicks spend in the nest as their brains develop might also play a crucial role in the evolution of intelligence,” says McGill University Emeritus Professor Louis Lefebvre who spent more than 20 years gathering examples of feeding innovations. “Larger species of crows and parrots, which are known for their intelligence, spend longer in the nest, which allows more time for the brain to grow and accumulate pallial neurons.”

The results of the study help to deal with previously opposed views of the evolution and significance of brain size and show how a life-history perspective helps to understand the evolution of cognition.

1. What may a sparrow be thought of when it steals dog food?

A．It is lovely.

B．It is immoral.

C．It is heartbroken.

D．It is intelligent.

2. What did researchers do with the 111 bird species?

A．Assessed the neurons in their pallium.

B．Tested a new technology on their brain.

C．Trained them to learn to feed individually.

D．Compared their pallium with the human cerebral cortex.

3. What is behind the intelligence of larger bird species?

A．Their large shape.

B．More time in their nest.

C．Their learning ability.

D．More feeding innovations.

4. In which section may the text appear in a newspaper?

A．Health.

B．Society.

C．Science.

D．Culture.

5 . More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes’ belief systems — specifically irrational (非理性) beliefs — are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.

“Phrases that reflect self-depreciating (贬低) beliefs such as ‘If I lose, I’m a failure’ or ‘If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am’ are warning signs,” said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, “Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes’ beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes.”

This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they “must” get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a “complete failure”.

“We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport,” said Paul Mansell.

The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe “I am a failure if I fail”, this might be countered with “Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure”.

1. What did the study centre on?

A．Physical health of athletes.

B．The competition state of athletes.

C．Psychological health of athletes.

D．Competition habits of athletes.

2. Which can best replace the underlined word “exacerbated” in paragraph 2?

A．Worsened.

B．Examined.

C．Promoted.

D．Recognized.

3. Which of the following is a sign of irrational beliefs?

A．Setbacks won’t stop me.

B．If I fail, I will lose everything.

C．It is a world full of competition.

D．What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Psychological benefits of physical activity

B．Effective tools for protecting self-confidence

C．Rational and logical beliefs about performance

D．Warning signs of poor mental health in athletes

6 . Overtourism Is For Real: How Can You Help?

Travel promotes understanding, expands our minds, makes us better people, and boosts local economies and communities, but the rapid growth of travel has led to overtourism in certain regions and destinations.     1     Certainly not. The loss of what travel offers would be unacceptable in today’s world. Here are some tips on making wise decisions to minimize pressure on the places we visit and improve our experience.

●Choose mindfully. Overvisited destinations are that way for a reason: they’re special. With so many online posts featuring the same places, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out. Go somewhere only when the landscape, culture or food deeply draws you.     2    

●Get creative. The best way to ease pressure on over-touristed destinations is to go somewhere else. Though overtourism is described as a problem affecting the entire world, it’s actually concentrated to a small number of extremely popular spots. That means you have tons of less-visited options to choose from.     3     Why not try a regional alternative or check out a popular destination’s lesser-known sights?

●    4     Minimize impact and maximize experience by skipping major holidays or rush hour. You’ll compete with fewer tourists, save money, experience a different side of a popular place, and boost the economy when tourism is traditionally slower.

Visiting a place that others call home is a privilege (荣幸). Do your part to preserve what makes a destination special in the first place.     5     You may be amazed how much closer you’ll feel to the people there.

A．Visit during off-peak times.

B．So, should we stop traveling?

C．Travel for you and no one else.

D．Can overtourism be avoided then?

E．You can still find relatively undiscovered places.

F．You’ll find yourself virtually alone, or close to it.

G．Consider giving back to the communities you’re visiting.

7 . The Best New Dolly Parton Attractions

Dolly Parton’s theme park is expanding with the opening of a new star-rating resort in the grand Great Smoky Mountains, alongside a string of other developments. Here are her latest hits.

1. Dollywood adds new attractions

The new star of Dolly’s theme park is Big Bear Mountain, the longest roller-coaster-at Dollywood, which takes two minutes to move around nearly 4,000ft of track. If this isn’t your taste, head to the freshly released Dolly Parton Experience, a practical exhibition describing Dolly’s rags-to-riches story.

2. Her tour bus offers a superstar sleepover

With the Dolly’s customized tour bus now in retirement at Dollywood’s Dream More Resort, fans can peek inside the singer’s maximalist wardrobe (衣橱) before sleeping in her luxurious bed. The Tour Bus Experience also offers a big meal with wine, as well as the option to book a cruise (游轮) around the mountainous landscape in a custom Jeep.

3. Moonshine gets hip

Moonshine, an eye-wateringly strong whisky, was once the first choice for Prohibition-era bootleggers. Today, Dolly’s niece, Danielle Parton, is part of a growing movement to update the drink’s secret image with the opening of her Tennessee micro-distillery (酿酒厂), Shine Girl. Take a tour before sitting down at the bar, where red-velvet-flavored cocktails are occasionally shaken by Danielle herself.

1. Where can visitors learn about the life-story of a celebrity?

A．Shine Girl.	B．Big Bear Mountain.
C．Dream More Resort.	D．Dolly Parton Experience.

2. What services can visitors enjoy in the tour bus?

A．Bus sightseeing.	B．Clothes fitting.
C．Overnight staying.	D．Cruise for hiring.

3. Who might be attracted by these latest hits?

A．An admirer of Dolly.	B．An enthusiast of wine.
C．A goer of concerts.	D．A fan of adventure.

8 . For most of history, people lived in small groups of up to 150 people. Then villages and small towns developed, offering safety and support through the sharing of resources. As time passed, urban living brought additional advantages such as better jobs, schools and healthcare. Larger towns also gave people more chances to meet and interact. This is important.     1    

Today, over half of the world’s population currently lives in towns and cities. But this has resulted in a strange paradox (悖论). Although social opportunities are one reason people choose to live in large cities, research suggests that city life can be lonely.     2     People from all over the world can join online communities and make virtual friends without leaving their home.

The development of virtual communities can be traced back to the 1860s. Back then, telegraph operators exchanged messages and gradually formed friendships over long distances.     3    

Later, in the 1960s, radios started to provide a means of short-distance communication and developed communities with their own unique language and usernames.

    4     Computers were not very powerful yet, so people could post messages and share news and stories but not music or photos. Still, people loved being able to make friends online and then hang out with them. As technology became more powerful, online communities for fun, education and business emerged, where people could explore a virtual 3D world, have online lessons, and even buy things with virtual money.

These days, there are thousands of virtual communities and that number keeps growing. Many people believe they will become more important.     5     Particularly, they’re concerned that posting personal information online might lead to a loss of privacy. So perhaps the future will be more like the past. People will spend most of their time in real communities.

A．This trend, however, is not likely to continue.

B．As Aristotle said, the nature of humans is to be social.

C．That may explain why virtual communities are so popular.

D．The first popular online communities developed in the 1980s.

E．Before cell phones existed, radio was an easy way to communicate.

F．Nevertheless, others worry about problems with these communities.

G．This is among the earliest examples of virtual community interactions.

9 . Human history is full of horse stories like guiding cowboys home on foggy nights and taking wounded soldiers through battle zones. Such sensible and highly trained horses made Elina Jatel, a computer scientist and roboticist, think of robots. “A horse that can take a rider home on its own would be the highest level of autonomy,” Jatel says. “You trust them with your life.” She was drawn to learning how such relationships form and if it could help improve human-robot interactions.

For a year, Jatel engaged herself in the horse world. She watched classes in horse training, and she also talked with students, instructors, trainers and horse owners. Along the way, Jatel even learned to ride.

Horses learn signals from their trainers on how to comfortably interact with people. People, too, must learn their part. Riders must learn what a horse wants or feels based on its behavior, and what signals to use to direct horses to perform in desired ways. Jatel found some similarities, here, to working with robots. People must learn how to direct robots to do specific tasks. They also must learn what to do when robots don’t perform as planned. The goal is to program robots that will respond predictably to inputs from people. But like horses, autonomous robots also should be able to respond on their own as conditions change. For example, a self-driving car must stop to avoid hitting something, even if some human mistakenly tells it to keep going.

Trainers and riders work with horses to build respect. Horses show that respect by matching their pace to a human or giving someone who is leading them a safe degree of personal space. Trainers begin their work with a horse by getting them to show signs of respect in basic interactions, Jatel says. Later, trainers will develop more complex interactions. Gradually, a horse’s respect can grow into trust.

But that trust is not given. And there may be a similar limitation with robots. What would it mean for robots and people to respect and trust each other? For now, she adds, this is largely uncharted territory. But she’s looking to build a path.

1. What drew Elina Jatel’s attention to horses?

A．Horses’ amazing performance.	B．Long history of horse training.
C．Horse-human interdependence.	D．Her horse-riding experience.

2. What are the robots of the highest autonomy designed to do?

A．To act like real horses.	B．To show respect to humans.
C．To follow instructions from humans.	D．To make independent and sensible decisions.

3. What will Jatel’s future research most probably focus on?

A．The limitations of robots.	B．Trust between robots and humans.
C．Path toward higher robot efficiency.	D．Similarities between horses and robots.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．History of Human-Horse Relationship	B．Secrets of Human-Animal Interactions
C．The Role of Trust in Human-Robot Partnerships	D．Horses as the Inspiration for Autonomous Robots

10 . You are what you think. Whatever you are doing right now is determined by your thinking. All your emotions and desires are influenced by your thinking. The problem is that when you are not aware of your thinking, you have no chance of correcting it if it is poor. When thinking is subconscious, you are in no position to see any problems in it. And, if you don’t see any problems in it, you won’t be motivated to change it. What’s worse, few people realize the powerful role that thinking plays in their lives, so they don’t gain significant command of it. As a result, most people are in many ways victims of their thinking.

Consider your success as a student. The single most significant variable in determining your success as a student is the quality of your thinking. Your instructors will play a role in your learning, but even the best teachers cannot get into your head and learn for you. If you lack the intellectual skills necessary for thinking well through course content, you will not be successful in school.

Here is the key question we are putting to you in this book. If the quality of a person’s thinking is the single most significant determinant of both happiness and success, why not take the time to learn from the best thinkers?

This book will inform you of the tools that the best thinkers use and will illustrate the activities and practice you can use to begin to emulate them, and take control of your destiny as a thinker. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of these thinking aids, helping you discover the power of your own mind and of your potential to think systematically about your thinking.

This book, as a whole, introduces you to the tools of mind that will help you reason well through various challenges you face. If you take these ideas seriously and practice using them, you can improve the quality of your thinking and ultimately, the quality of your life.

1. Why do many people lack motivation to change their poor thinking?

A．They are victims of emotions.	B．They are unaware of the need.
C．They think highly of themselves.	D．They lack the academic guidance.

2. What plays the most crucial role in school success?

A．The course content.	B．The school environment.
C．The commitment of teachers.	D．The quality of an individual’s thinking.

3. What does the underlined word “emulate” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Make friends with.

B．Win over.

C．Follow the example of.

D．Look up to.

4. The book is organized according to ________.

A．types of life challenges	B．varieties of thinking tools
C．determinants of life value	D．ideas of different thinkers