1 . In 2022, campaign group Fashion Revolution Chelsea dye a garden for its Chelsea Flower Show presentation. An ancient craft, natural dyeing is a practice whose time has come again, with hand tie-dyed fashion also making a comeback in recent years.
The revival has been encouraged by Covid lockdowns, “which allowed people to explore the craft at home, says natural-dyeing enthusiast and teacher Susan Dye. It’s unlikely, though, that the practice would have caught on in quite the same way if not for a continually growing discomfort about fashion’s heavy footprint. From carbon emissions to animal cruelty, fashion is under considerable inspection. “Put it this way, 97% of dyes used in the industry are petrochemically (石油化学产品) based,” says sustainable fashion consultant Jackie Andrews, who helped advise the UN Ethical Fashion Initiative. We’ve got net zero targets which mean we’re going to have to remove all those petrochemicals from the manufacturing cycle.
Fashion is a huge polluter. According to the UN Environment Program, the industry is responsible for up to one-fifth of all industrial water pollution—due to the fact that most clothes today are produced in poorer countries where regulation is weak and enforcement weaker. Waste water is dumped directly into rivers and streams, poisoning the land as well as the water sources of people and animals who rely on them.
It’s easy to see why someone who cares about people, planet and animals, as well as clothes, might turn to natural plant dyeing. From the beauty of the raw materials—often wild plants-to the property of only bonding with natural fiber like cotton and linen (亚麻布) from the minor footprint of recycling old clothing that has grayed or faded over time to the vibrant and long-lasting dyeing results, plant dyeing feels like a quiet act of rebellion. This is why, while beginners start with simply changing their clothes’ color, new worlds open. Many of today’s natural dyers grow their own dye plants, run local community workshops, and advocate for change in industrialized fashion systems and beyond.
1. What is the main reason for the growing discomfort mentioned in paragraph 2?A.The adoption of petrochemical-based dyes |
B.The disturbing consequences of the fashion industry. |
C.The fashion industry’s focus on luxurious designs. |
D.The challenging net zero targets to be achieved. |
A.By making a comparison. | B.By listing numbers |
C.By giving examples. | D.By introducing a new topic |
A.A protest against turning to natural fiber. |
B.An objection to recycling old clothing |
C.A resistance to vibrant colors in natural dyeing |
D.A struggle for a sustainable fashion industry |
A.The Environmental Impact of Natural Dyeing |
B.The Return of Natural Dyeing with Ethical Appeal |
C.Fashion Revolution’s Dye Garden Presentation |
D.The Petrochemical Dye Industry and Its Challenges |
2 . The sharing economy is an economic model known as a peer-to-peer(P2P)based activity of getting, providing, or sharing goods and services that is often promoted by on-line platforms (平台) It allows persons and groups to make money from the assets (资产) which is not
Concerns about the sharing economy often includes the uncertainty about
Another
There is also a fear that lots of information shared on online platforms can create racial or sex bias (偏见) among users. This can happen when users are allowed to
A.in danger | B.in use | C.in order | D.in hand |
A.taken out | B.picked out | C.rented out | D.sold out |
A.services | B.supplies | C.gifts | D.goals |
A.values | B.customers | C.markets | D.rules |
A.managed | B.punished | C.provided | D.judged |
A.offer | B.order | C.accept | D.stop |
A.higher | B.lower | C.full | D.right |
A.case | B.opinion | C.topic | D.concern |
A.impolite | B.impatient | C.improper | D.impossible |
A.highly | B.widely | C.narrowly | D.deeply |
A.official | B.special | C.unfair | D.equal |
A.which | B.who | C.where | D.when |
A.formal | B.unique | C.dishonest | D.specific |
A.cheat | B.choose | C.impress | D.recognize |
A.errors | B.styles | C.details | D.records |
3 . Conflict (冲突) between teenagers and parents happens for a lot of reasons. Sometimes conflict happens between teenagers and parents just because conflict happens between human beings anyway. Humans have different needs, different feelings, different opinions about what they want, and the relationship with people can be really difficult. However, teenagers can cause further conflict because of the hormonal (生理的) changes that are happening and the stage of life that they're in.
Teenagers and parents have different understanding about rules and at times they find it difficult to look into the future. So parents and teenagers will often experience conflict about many things, do chores, homework, whether teenagers speak respectfully or not and about what they're allowed to do.
Before we think about rule boundaries (界线) for teenagers, we need to make sure that we have a really good relationship base. There's no point saying “From now on, you have to listen to me”: if you don't have a positive relationship with your teenager. We need to go back and make sure there is some degree of shared respect, and some degree of positive communication and enjoyment being together. you do that first, it means that rule boundaries are a lot easier to set up.
Often we're dealing with conflict on the fly. This is not the right time to be dealing with it. We really want parents and teenagers to sit down and think about the kinds of things that may happen in the house before the problems come. The more detailed your rule boundaries are for teenagers, the more likely it is that they are going to follow them. So this means we don't have rule boundaries like “Have the bathroom cleaned”. It needs to be “The floors mopped, nothing on the countertop and the mirrors cleaned by ten o'clock every Saturday”: Rule boundaries need to be written down, and set out ahead of time so the teenager knows exactly what's expected.
1. What's important to set up a rule boundary easily for teenagers?A.Being strict from the start. | B.Developing a good relationship with them first. |
C.Saying"No" to their requirements. | D.Avoiding close talks with them. |
A.Doing some housework. | B.Having a good reading habit. |
C.Cleaning the bathroom. | D.Finishing your homework by five. |
A.In a hurry. | B.On the plane. | C.By oneself. | D.Another day. |
A.Growing Pains | B.Teenage Problems |
C.Parent-Child Conflict and Solutions | D.Knowing the Conflict |
A.He hit a bicycle. | B.He drove too fast. | C.He ran into a tree. |
A.He hit a bicycle. | B.He drove too fast. | C.He ran into a tree. |
6 . I believe that we can use social media for a lot of great things and it’s important especially for business owners like me. Ever since I started my calligraphy business two years ago, I’ve never spent a day without going on social media, especially a kind of social app on my phone, on which I promoted my products and services and got in contact with possible customers.
Later I found it got in the way of more important things. I hate to say I was hooked by it, but I was. Every time I turned on my phone, I would dive into it. For a long time, I had been I ignoring other parts of my life, like my family, my friends and my happiness. One day, I was thinking that a break should have happened long before to me.
Then I decided to remove the app off my phone for a month and only use that on my computer to keep track of my business. I wanted a clean break to reflect and plan for the future.
I had believed that if I spent less time on the platform, I would miss out much. Actually, I was so wrong. During this month off, I realized there was much to enjoy in life. I found more time to enjoy my hobbies and contacted my good friends that I had lost touch with, I was refilled with energy in all aspects of my life.
This one month off the app on the phone was healthy for me. If it were not for my business, I would like not to have it on my phone. I downloaded the app again on my phone, but only used it to post my own content. I didn’t intend to paint social media in a negative light, but now I just don’t think the way I was using it was healthy. It’s difficult to find balance, but I’m going to try to do it anyway. I’m going back, but it’s going to be different.
1. What did the author mainly do on social media?A.He connected with his friends. | B.He worked on business activities. |
C.He learned calligraphy on his own. | D.He shared advice about keeping fit. |
A.Opposed to. | B.Injured by. | C.Addicted to. | D.Frightened by. |
A.It was meaningless to share on social media. |
B.There was lots of fun away from social media. |
C.The social app contributed little to his business. |
D.The social app in the computer was more practical. |
A.One month away from social media upsets him. |
B.He wants to seek more hobbies on social media. |
C.He has confidence in balancing social media and life. |
D.His friends ask him to communicate on social media. |
7 . Sometimes the stress of work can get to be so high, so it’s nice to get away for a while. However, even on vacation, it can be hard to leave all your worries at the office-especially when you think about the mountain of emails.
Iceland now offers a solution with a service called OutHorse Your Email. The service encourages visitors to disconnect and enjoy the country’s beauty while one of several highly trained Icelandic horses replies to any email. “When visitors travel to Iceland we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer,” one official said. “Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that.”
To use the service, you should fill in a form on its website and your personalized out-of- office email will be written by one horse and sent automatically (自动地). The email explains the sender is away on vacation and that they’ve given their email jobs to one of Iceland’s four- legged animals. It then includes the message created by the animal. But how do horses type an email? They’ve got their own specially designed horse-sized keyboards in the fields and are able to walk across the keys. However, that still doesn’t mean coherency (条理性). They’re horses, after all. The result is just meaningless collections of letters.
This might seem like a joke, but is actually meant seriously. Nowadays the line between private life and work has become unclear. The service draws attention to the fact that people have the right to be away from work during their holiday. It also sends a message that Iceland is a unique destination by helping tourists go on a real holiday. It’ll surely put a smile on their face and make them want to vacation in Iceland.
1. What is a problem that people face when they are on vacation according to the text?A.They prefer work to holidays. |
B.They’re required to send emails. |
C.They always keep their work in mind. |
D.They feel uneasy without work at hand. |
A.They do not make any sense. |
B.They will be reviewed by the sender first. |
C.They’re expected to make the receiver laugh. |
D.They’re created in the style the sender requires. |
A.Advanced. | B.Competitive. | C.Educational. | D.Meaningful. |
A.To show a way to develop the tourist industry. |
B.To describe the new role of horses in travel. |
C.To encourage people to travel in Iceland. |
D.To introduce a new tourism service. |
8 . You must have heard the predictions from some of the brightest minds about AI’s influence. Tesla and SpaceX’s chief Elon Musk worries that AI is far more dangerous than nuclear weapons. The late scientist Stephen Hawking warned that AI could serve as the “worst event in the history of our civilization” unless humanity is prepared for its possible risks.
But many experts, even those who are aware of such risks, have a more positive attitude, especially in health care and possibly in education. That is one of the results from a new AI study released on Monday by the Pew Research Centre.
Pew investigated the opinions of 979 experts over the summer, a group that included famous technologists, developers, innovators, business and policy leaders. The experts interviewed, some of whom chose to remain anonymous (匿名的), were asked to join in the discussion of a serious and important question: “By 2030, do you think it is most likely that advancing AI and related technology systems will improve human capacities and control them?”
Nearly two-thirds of experts predicted most of us will be mostly better off. But a third thought otherwise, and a majority of the experts expressed at least some concerns over the long-term impact of AI on the “essential elements (要素) of being human”. Among those concerns were data abuse (滥用), loss of jobs and loss of control brought by cybercrime (网络犯罪). Above all, by taking data in and spitting answers out, those “black box” tools make decisions in digital systems. It is the gradual removal of our ability to think for ourselves.
1. Why is Stephen Hawking mentioned in the first paragraph?A.To prove great scientists care much about the future of AI. |
B.To inform readers that a new AI age has come into view. |
C.To warn humans to give up AI as soon as possible. |
D.To introduce the main idea of the text that AI benefits the future |
A.Most experts are certain that AI will be out of control. |
B.Pew asked experts from different fields for opinions. |
C.Pew concludes that humans will suffer from AI. |
D.33% of experts think AI will have little impact on humans. |
A.Because they make decisions in digital systems. |
B.Because they can take data in and spit answers out. |
C.Because they may weaken our ability to think independently. |
D.Because they may decrease humans’ welfare in the long term. |
A.To stop human developing AI. |
B.To show readers how AI develops. |
C.To tell readers the result of a study. |
D.To encourage a public discussion. |
Environmentalists are getting more
10 . Nearly half of us make New Year’s resolutions, but less than ten percent of us actually keep them. This can be due to lack of motivation or loss of interest, but it’s time for us to figure out ways to finish what we’ve started.
Lack of honesty
Are you truly devoted to running a marathon, losing weight, or whatever else you are promising to do? Be honest with yourself. We often find ourselves committing to things because we think we should.
While you may have the best intentions with your resolution, you could be putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Rather than associating the New Year with resolutions or changes you need to make, consider it a time for reflection on things you wish to work on throughout the year.
If your goal was to send out ten resumes (简历) for a new job and you only sent out five, don’t beat yourself up for it. Rather, congratulate and reward yourself for making the effort toward your goal. That will give you the energy to continue working towards your initial (最初的) goal.
Giving up too easily
Whether you get discouraged or simply lose interest, giving up too easily is a big resolution breaker. Many people make their resolutions believing they can accomplish them.
A.Wrong perspective (视角) |
B.Narrow your resolution |
C.Don’t waste your time on that. |
D.But the excitement wears off and other priorities appear. |
E.They thought they could stick to it because it’s what they want. |
F.Here are reasons people don’t stick to their New Year’s resolutions. |
G.Stop thinking about what you have not accomplished and focus on what you will accomplish instead. |