1 . Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has long worked to make her city less dependent on cars. She wanted to see more people using bicycles to get around. Over a number of years, the city government set limits on cars and increased the amount of bike paths from 200 kilometers to over 1,000 kilometers.
This year, Parisians are not complaining about too much automobile traffic. Instead, they say there are too many bikes. “Now, it’s really like a bike traffic jam(阻塞),” Thibault Quere, a spokesperson for France’s Federation of Bicycle Users, said. ”It’s kind of a good difficulty to have, especially when we think about what Paris used to be.”
Some famous roads along the River Seine are completely closed to cars. Now you see people riding bikes, running and walking with their families along the river. In another part of Paris, a bike path on Sebastopol Boulevard is one of the busiest in Europe, after opening in 2019. In one week in early September, it reached a record high of 124,000 riders.
The city will host the Summer Olympics in 2024 and plans to add more bike paths by then. Paris wants to reduce its pollution by half during the games, even as visitors from around the world will be in the city for the event. Organizers say all of the competition sites will be reachable by bike through a 60-kilometer network of bike paths.
The change to Paris, however, has not been easy. With more people using bikes, more people are making mistakes. Some of them are new to cycling and disobey traffic rules. But the environment may be improving. Cycling is good exercise and helps reduce pollution, which is still a problem for the large city. The French government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 early deaths in the country each year.
Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020 and plans to keep making what she calls a “Paris that breathes”. Her newest five-year bike plan includes over $250 million for more bike paths and bike parking. The new budget is an increase of over $100 million from her first five-year plan.
1. What can be learned from the second paragraph?| A．Hidalgo’s effort has paid off. | B．Parisians prefer to travel by car. |
| C．Parisians find it difficult to ride bikes. | D．Quere disagrees with Hidalgo. |
| A．To compare the famous roads in France. |
| B．To praise people enjoying riding bicycles. |
| C．To stress the importance of France in Europe. |
| D．To show how busy a cycle path is in Paris. |
| A．Tour local bike shops. | B．Ride to competition sites. |
| C．Promote the sights in France. | D．Support the athletes around the world. |
| A．Friendly. | B．Helpful. | C．Determined. | D．Honest. |
South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also
What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were
The baby pandas,
Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health
3 . A team of leading environmental experts have warned that the current war on plastic is detracting from the bigger threats to the environment. In an article, they say that while plastic waste is an issue, its prominence in the general public’s concern for the environment is overshadowing greater threats, for example, climate change and biodiversity loss.
The team argue that much of the bad talk about plastic waste is based on data that is not always representative of the environments that have been sampled. The dislike of plastic associated with this could encourage the use of alternative materials with potentially harmful effects.
The authors warn that plastic pollution dominates the public’s concern for the environment and has been exploited politically, after capturing the attention of the world, for example, through the images of wildlife caught in plastic was alarmist headlines. They say small political gestures such as law banning cosmetic microplastics, taxing plastic bags, and financial rewards for using reusable containers, as well as the promotion of products as “green” for containing less plastic than alternatives, make people neglect other environmental problems that are not as noticeable as plastic pollution.
The article also highlights that plastic is not the only type of polluting materials, originating from human activity that pollutes the environment. Other examples include natural textile fibres such as cotton and wool, and brake-wear particles from vehicles — all of which are present in different places. The authors note that these materials are often much more abundant than microplastics and some are associated with “plastic alternatives” that are marketed as solutions to plastic pollution. The impacts of these materials are less well-known than plastic and microplastic pollution, yet they could have huge impacts.
The article states that solutions are likely to come from a greater focus on designing materials and products that can be recycled, that have their end-of-life, and that markets and facilities exist to recycle.
1. What’s the experts’ attitude towards the current war on plastic?| A．Indifferent. | B．Favorable. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．The negative view of plastic. |
| B．The use of alternative materials. |
| C．The potential harmful effects. |
| D．The defense for plastic. |
| A．Explain a rule. | B．Make a comparison. |
| C．Clarify a point. | D．Offer a suggestion. |
| A．A response to plastic pollution. |
| B．A schedule to fight against pollution. |
| C．An argument against climate change. |
| D．A guide to plastic management. |
4 . The United Nations’ International Year of Soils is hardly a media favorite. Maybe it’s because many people are like me, who recall Mom’s words: “Take off your shoes! Don’t bring dirt into the house! “With all the challenges in the world today, why would we recognize soils?
Simply put, soils are literally the base that humans stand on. Ignoring the importance of this meter-thick skin covering our planet is like ignoring the importance of the air we breathe.
Without healthy soils, we would not be here.
Soil provides the structure and nutrients needed to grow our food. It stores water that satisfies the thirst of the environment, agriculture and humans. It houses the largest amount of carbon (碳)on land, keeping the climate from warming even faster. It provides the necessary support for the habitat of all life on land-including diversity in the soil itself (in some regions, just a handful of soil contains microorganisms that are more than the people on Earth). In short, soil plays an essential role not only in feeding humans but in supporting the living things that produce the oxygen we breathe and purifying the water we drink. In other words, soil keeps our planet habitable.
We, therefore, must stop considering ”soil“ a dirty word and remember that the food we eat and water we drink can be traced back to it. Businesses should adopt guidelines that ensure the long term health and productivity of soil. And local and national governments should provide policies that encourage soil protection.
Soil is one of the most important resources on our planet, and we have ignored it too long-at our own risk. The most important thing that can happen is a change in mind-set that recognizes soil is not dirt. It’s life beneath our feet.
1. Why does the author mention Mom’s words?| A．To criticize media. |
| B．To find fault with parents |
| C．To show a common attitude. |
| D．To promote International Year of Soils. |
| A．roles | B．types | C．health | D．structure |
| A．Soil Being in Danger |
| B．Making the Most of Soil |
| C．Unearthing the Importance of Soil |
| D．Healthy Soil Growing More Food |
5 . Justin Gavin, 18, was on a walk to a local shop. Then he saw something that made his heart
“I’m yelling (叫喊) to stop the car! Your car is on fire! Your car is on fire!” Gavin said. But the driver — a mother of three kids, couldn’t stop. That’s when, Gavin says, he didn’t have
When Gavin finally reached the
“It kind of got
The mother
Gavin said the experience was inspiring and changed his
| A．sing | B．freeze | C．sink | D．hurt |
| A．covered | B．built | C．packed | D．hidden |
| A．plan | B．time | C．money | D．energy |
| A．escape | B．rest | C．reflect | D．participate |
| A．interruption | B．performance | C．situation | D．presence |
| A．gave away | B．took over | C．settled down | D．dropped in |
| A．vehicle | B．bus | C．root | D．peak |
| A．fixed | B．designed | C．decorated | D．opened |
| A．safety | B．destinations | C．function | D．conflicts |
| A．easy | B．exciting | C．scary | D．interesting |
| A．gradually | B．luckily | C．skillfully | D．angrily |
| A．charged | B．interpreted | C．credited | D．bothered |
| A．tutor | B．hero | C．firefighter | D．journalist |
| A．anxious | B．curious | C．serious | D．courageous |
| A．composition | B．logic | C．flavor | D．perspective |
6 . In this day and age we live in, our life is taken over by technology. We can’t imagine our life without it, and listening to stories that my mom tells about how she grew up without the Internet or cell phones sounds like a nightmare to me.
Though technology is wonderful and we are used to it and have no desire to be without it, it can be a good idea to sometimes just unplug (拔掉) from it all. Have you ever woken up in the morning just to see you have actually replied to a message to which the reply either doesn’t make sense or you can’t even remember that you did reply? This can be one of the signs that you are allowing technology to take over your life.
It can be very difficult to pull yourself away from the technology and you will feel you are going to be separated from the things or people around and miss a lot, but is it really so bad to at least get away from it at night and make sure you get a good night’s rest? You may feel you don’t need a lot of sleep, but at the end of the day you are making it difficult to concentrate the next day.
So let’s pack away the technology for a few hours at night—you only have to make a few small changes. Turn off your cell phone and switch off your computer at night when you go to bed. If you feel you will use your phone during the night, charge your phone in another room.
Make enough sleep a priority and feel and look good the next day. You may think it is a really silly idea to be without a cell phone or a computer during the night, but once you do it a few times and you get enough sleep and feel refreshed the following day, you will understand why it is a good idea and will try and unplug more times.
1. Why does the author mention his mom’s stories?| A．To show life without the Internet. | B．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| C．To compare two generations’ life. | D．To analyze the effects of cell phones. |
| A．Carefree. | B．Sleepy. | C．Disconnected. | D．Comfortable. |
| A．Something important. | B．Something interesting. |
| C．Something amusing. | D．Something disturbing. |
| A．Sleep is the most important thing in our life. |
| B．It is silly without cell phones or computers. |
| C．We should try to switch off our electronic products for one night. |
| D．Turning off electronic products at night makes us energetic in daytime. |
1. Who might the speakers be?
| A．Police officers. | B．Doctors. | C．Passengers. |
| A．She didn’t see anything. |
| B．The traffic lights broke down. |
| C．The red car was driving very fast. |
| A．Crossing the street. |
| B．Playing in their front yard. |
| C．Standing on the street corner. |
| A．The red car. | B．The dog. | C．The blue car. |
8 . Fire threats and environmental concerns have led some US cities to give up the traditional Fourth of July fireworks in favor of spectacular drone (无人机) light shows this year.
Maybe most importantly, the drones being employed by more and more cities for Fourth of July celebrations don’t leave behind a blanket of smoke at a time when America’s air quality is already at its worst in decades. Cities making the switch to high-tech shows say there’ re plenty of other reasons people may want to avoid traditional fireworks.
“Fireworks can be harmful to people who suffer from PTSD or families who have dogs. Salt Lake City has more households with dogs than we do with kids,” said Lynze Twede, an events manager for Salt Lake City Public Lands. The Southern California cities of La Jolla and Ocean Beach also cited animals as a key driver behind their switch to a July Fourth drone show.
There’s also the risk of starting actual fires with annual fireworks shows. An estimated 12,264 fires were started by fireworks displays in 2021.
But data also shows that much of the wildfire risk comes not from grand public displays, but from the small-scale shows set off on streets and sidewalks. Consumer-grade fireworks usage rose quickly across the US in recent years, when people looked for ways to celebrate life’s milestones in their own backyards.
Trying something new has been met with mixed reaction from the community but, as Dan Kingdom, owner of WK Real Estate in Boulder, says, “The turnaway from fireworks is considered by many to be the way of the future. Drones are reusable; with fireworks, you have smoke, other fallout like debris, and noise that stresses out dogs and people with PTSD.”
It may be too early to tell how the new trend in alternatives at the city level may get close to smaller shows and consumers, but price is a limiting factor: those high-tech displays are expensive.
1. What is the top consideration of people in Ocean Beach when choosing drone shows?| A．Reducing fire risks. | B．Protecting animals. |
| C．Improving air quality. | D．Attending to people with PTSD. |
| A．Grand public displays are more preferred celebrations. |
| B．Small-scale shows lead to more wildfires. |
| C．The usage of fireworks has been on the decrease. |
| D．Drones will replace fireworks very soon. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Supportive. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．How Americans celebrate special events. |
| B．The harm fireworks have done lo America. |
| C．The development of drone shows in some American cities. |
| D．Why some US cities choose drone shows instead of fireworks. |
1.方便出行；健康环保；
2.随意停放；人为损坏；
3.你的看法。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：randomly adv.随意地
Bicycle Sharing
Nowadays, bicycle sharing has come into people’s lives in many cities in China and it has become a popular means of transport .
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10 . We’ve all done it before—dropped a box of unwanted household belongings at a flea market and driven off with a sense of accomplishment. But have you ever stopped to think about where those items actually go?
Business journalist Adam Minter began considering this while cleaning out his late mother’s home. Seeking reassurance that his mother’s donated items would be put to good use rather than destroyed, he started a journey worldwide that resulted in his latest book, “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale”. He found the industry significantly in the dark, with a disturbing lack of data on secondhand goods, despite their crucial role in clothing, furnishing and educating people worldwide.
In this book, Minter fully reveals himself as an investigative journalist. He doesn’t shy away from the commonly-accepted assumptions about the global trade in used goods. First, Minter questions the idea that shipments of secondhand clothes from developed countries to Africa have destroyed local textile industries (纺织业). That’s overly simplistic, he says. He further explains that multiple factors, such as declining cotton production in local areas and economic liberation, have influenced the situation.
Minter then explores the topic of car seats, making a statement that recycling car seats, instead of selling them secondhand, is wasteful and might compromise (危害) safety for children in developing countries. It is disturbing to say so in a society that prioritizes child safety and highlights zero risk, but when you consider the excessive caution that might endanger children’s lives elsewhere, the situation starts to look different.
Minter calls it “waste colonialism,” this idea that developed countries can apply their own safety standards onto the markets of developing countries—and it’s deeply wrong. Why label an used car seat or an old TV as unsafe if someone else, with different skills, is perfectly capable of repairing it and willing to use it, especially if they lack access to new products and other options?
The book explores the huge problems of handling surplus (剩余的) items and how producers discourage repairs and promote the sales of new products. Minter calls for initiatives to enhance product repairability and increase product lifetime.
1. Why does Minter set out on a journey worldwide?| A．To remember his late mother. | B．To explore where used items end up. |
| C．To collect data for fashion industries. | D．To advocate recycling of used goods. |
| A．groundless | B．one-sided | C．conventional | D．self-contradictory |
| A．Selling old TV sets to developing countries. |
| B．Denying access to used car seats domestically. |
| C．Banning used goods export to developing countries. |
| D．Prioritizing safety in new goods for developing countries. |
| A．Handle used items efficiently. | B．Promote sales of new products. |
| C．Make more sustainable products. | D．Take the initiative to boost production. |
