1 . In a small, rough shipyard on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a small team is building what they say will be the world’s largest ocean-going clean cargo ship.
Ceiba is the first ship built by Sailcargo, a company trying to prove that zero-carbon shipping is possible, and commercially available. Made largely of wood, Ceiba combines both very old and very new technology: sailing masts stand alongside solar panels, a uniquely designed electric engine and batteries. Once on the water, she will be capable of crossing oceans entirely without the use of fossil fuels, which sets her apart.
“The thing that is striking is the fact that she’ll have one of the largest marine electric engines of her kind in the world,” Danielle Doggett said. The system also has the means to capture energy from underwater propellers (螺旋桨) as well as solar power, so electricity will be available for the engine when needed. “Really, the only limit on how long she can stay at sea is water and food on board for the crew.”
Despite some hold-ups due to the global disaster, the team hopes to get her on the water by the end of 2024 and operating by 2025, when she will begin transporting cargo between Costa Rica and Canada.
“There are actually loads of innovations happening that could transform shipping emissions, but few companies are willing to apply them to building ships like Ceiba.” says Lucy Gilliam. “So it’s not that we don’t have great ideas. The problem that we have is that fossil fuels are still too cheap. And we don’t have the rules to force people to take up the new technology.”
When it comes to promoting this kind of boat, it has to be said that Ceiba is small for a cargo ship — tiny in fact. She will carry around nine standard shipping containers. She is also relatively slow. Being a world-first, there are some aspects of Ceiba’s design that have yet to be proven at sea.
1. What is unique about Ceiba as a cargo ship?| A．It is the world’s largest. | B．It is environment-friendly. |
| C．It is wooden with old technology. | D．It is modern with unique equipment. |
| A．The size of the sail. | B．The weather of the ocean. |
| C．The power of the electric engine. | D．The quantity of the living supplies. |
| A．The rules are disobeyed. | B．The fuels are affordable. |
| C．The bigger ships are preferable. | D．The innovations are distrusted. |
| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Favorable. |
| A．The weather is too hot. | B．The time is very tight. | C．Their car is being repaired. |
1. Why did the man make the phone call?
| A．To send a drunk man back. |
| B．To send back a lost card. |
| C．To book a room. |
| A．A driver. | B．A waiter. | C．A doctor. |
| A．By bus. | B．By taxi. | C．On foot. |
| A．At the two-storey building. | B．At the Student Center. | C．At the first traffic circle. |
1. How many teams were the teenagers divided into?
| A．Four. | B．Six. | C．Eight. |
| A．Sticking to the original plan. |
| B．Learning to do film-making. |
| C．Talking to some teammates. |
| A．Killer whales. | B．Wolves. | C．Bears. |
| A．Making friends. | B．Seeing natural wonders. | C．Camping in the wild. |
6 . On Feb. 21, four students were standing on the side of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when a driver going 110 miles per hour lost control of his car and it crashed into the parked vehicles.12 people were killed at the scene, including 2 drivers.
This kind of traffic death shouldn’t be called an accident. In Los Angeles, we seem to have accepted constant carnage (屠杀) in our streets in exchange for maximizing driver speed and convenience. The official responses to proven traffic dangers are mere gestures, if even that.
Los Angeles is a uniquely deadly city with a death rate that is four times the national average. Unsurprisingly, it’s also a city that has been designed with one thing in mind: a concept called level of service, which grades streets on how well they serve those in automobiles. To many Angelenos, that makes sense — to design our streets for car traffic, which is the way many get around the city. Unfortunately, we don’t recognize that there’s a trade-off. We can either have streets bettered for free-flowing traffic, or we can design streets for people to move around safely outside of cars.
City leaders consistently choose for the easy but deadly option. In one recent example, a resident asked the city’s Department of Transportation to block drivers from using Cochran Avenue at Venice Boulevard as a cut-through street, as they were speeding through a quiet residential neighbourhood. The department responded by suggesting a “speed awareness campaign” in which neighbours put up yard signs urging drivers to slow down.
People don’t drive based on signage, but they drive on the design of the street. The trunk roads of Los Angeles such as Venice Boulevard all need to be revised so that people are prioritized over cars. This would include narrowing travel lanes (道), building bike lanes, and banning right turns at red lights. These measures would make drivers feel like they’re in a city and not on a highway. A recent John Hopkins study says this would have substantial safety benefits.
With more than 7,500 miles of streets in the city of Los Angeles, they won’t all be rebuilt anytime soon. But with each road construction project, or each crash, we should be revising streets to make them safer for all road users.
The solution to traffic jam isn’t to make more space for cars. It’s to design the streets to be safe enough for alternatives such as biking, walking and mass transit, especially for the 50% of trips daily in Los Angeles that are less than three miles. The solution to protecting people dining outdoors isn’t crash barriers. It’s a street design that forces drivers to go slowly. The problem is carnage in the streets, and we know the solutions.
1. Why should the traffic death in Los Angeles be called “constant carnage”?| A．The traffic accidents happen quite often. |
| B．Too many people are killed in the traffic accidents. |
| C．The drivers’ speeding is to blame for the traffic death. |
| D．City leaders’ consistent choice contributes to the traffic death. |
| A．Balance. | B．Guideline. | C．Conflict. | D．Resolution. |
| A．To widen travel lanes. | B．To add more crosswalks. |
| C．To arrange more traffic police. | D．To punish speeding drivers. |
| A．Drivers first or walkers first? | B．Traffic death or constant carnage? |
| C．More warning signs or safer designs? | D．More narrow lanes or speedy highways? |
7 . Getting Around Washington, DC by Public Transportation
Washington, DC, is not an easy city to drive in. If you’d rather avoid the headache of driving, consider taking advantage of the city’s public transportation system during your visit.
Public transportation
When Washingtonians say “Metro” or “Metrorail”, they mean the subway. The bus system is called Metrobus, and is usually simply referred to as the bus. Six rail lines (Red, Yellow, Blue, Silver, Green, and Orange) and an extensive bus system (more than 15,000 stops on 400 routes) connect DC to Maryland and Virginia.
Rail station entrances are marked with towers topped with the letter“M”. Stripes (线条)of color indicate, the lines traveling down below. Each, train, displays the name of its farthest destination.
Operating hours
Metro Operating Hours
DAY | TIME |
Monday-Thursday | 5 am-12 am |
Friday | 5 am-1 am |
Saturday | 7 am-1 am |
Sunday | 7 am-12 am |
Metrobus schedules vary by route. Free transfers (转乘) to use within two hours are available, and they are accepted on most local buses in addition to Metrobuses.
Fares
Metrorail fares run $1.35 to $3.90 based on distance traveled. A $6.50 One Day Pass is valid (有效的) for unlimited Metrorail travel on weekdays after 9:30 am or all day Saturdays or Sundays. Bus fares are $1.25, and 60 cents for seniors and people with disabilities, and $3 for express buses. The DC Circulator primarily serves visitors. This bus service connects major tourist attractions and parts of town. Each ride is $1.
1. What does a color represent in the DC Metro?| A．A rail line. | B．The subway. | C．A rail station. | D．A day of the week. |
| A．Weekdays and weekends. | B．Distances and departure times. |
| C．Starting points and destinations. | D．Fares and the number of passengers. |
| A．From 5 am to 12 am. | B．From 7 am to 12 am. |
| C．From 9:30 am to 1 am. | D．From 5 am to 1 am. |
1. Which flight is late?
| A．NA 115. | B．EA 642. | C．PA 415. |
| A．45 minutes. | B．40 minutes. | C．30 minutes. |
| A．To leave their luggage. |
| B．To attend their luggage. |
| C．To remove their luggage. |
| A．Gate 43. | B．Gate 41. | C．Gate 40. |
1. What is the woman looking at?
| A．A map of the city. | B．A list of restaurants. | C．A schedule of activities. |
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. | C．Autumn. |
| A．At a concert. | B．In the street. | C．In a restaurant. |
| A．He likes helping visitors. |
| B．He just went to a concert in the park. |
| C．He will take a walk with the woman. |
1. How long has the man lived in this area?
| A．For 5 years. | B．For 10 years. | C．For 20 years. |
| A．About half a mile. |
| B．About two miles. |
| C．About two and a half miles. |
| A．It has a red roof. | B．It is very large. | C．It is very small. |
