1 . Just wanting a hamburger, Hembert Figueroa was surprised to learn the dollar bills in his pocket were no good at Dos Toros Taqueria in Manhattan.
Figueroa, an ironworker, had to stand to the side, holding his hamburger, until a cashier helped him find another customer willing to pay for his meal with a card in exchange for cash. “I had money but I couldn’t pay,” he said.
Cash-free stores are causing a backlash among some activists who say the practice looks down upon people like Figueroa, who either lack bank accounts or rely on cash for many transactions (交易).
Supporters for banning cashless stores worry that technology is moving too fast for the 6.5% of American households—8.4 million—that do not have a bank account.
Business owners who go cashless say they are following the lead of majority of customers who are abandoning cash payments. Retailers are under pressure to satisfy customers with higher expectations for fast and convenient service, driven by companies like Amazon and Uber.
Leo Kremer, co-worker of Dos Toros, said the amount of cash transactions at his stores fell from about 50% a decade ago to 15% last year. Cash transactions made handling cash especially troublesome. Before going cashless, Dos Toros locations were robbed twice.
Financial experts who work with low-income people caution against making assumptions about the shopping preferences or buying power of those who rely on cash. Justine Zinkin, CEO of Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, said the greater urgency in the digital time is finding ways to better include low-income people in the banking system, such as urging banks to offer no-fee starter accounts and encouraging banks to open branches in underserved areas.
1. What trouble was Hembert Figueroa faced with at Dos Toros Taqueria?| A．He failed to find a cashier for help. | B．He couldn’t make a deal with cash. |
| C．He took no money or a card with him. | D．He was caught carrying false bank notes. |
| A．Strong disagreement. | B．Warm welcome. | C．Heated debate. | D．High expectation. |
| A．Making regulations to ban cashless stores. |
| B．Raising the buying power of low-income people. |
| C．Finding ways for banks to adapt with the digital time. |
| D．Making banks more accessible to low-income people. |
| A．An introduction of cashless stores, a new form of transaction. |
| B．An introduction of cashless stores, a production of new technology. |
| C．A discussion about whether cashless stores are lawful. |
| D．A discussion about whether cashless stores should be banned. |
Recent studies show that the amount of time people spend looking at screens is rising. We live in an era where mass media is
For example, advertisements often feature beautiful,
So be a critical mass media reader.
3 . My son’s seventh birthday is approaching, so conversation at my house has naturally turned to organizing his party.
For his sixth birthday, we booked the local trampoline(蹦床) park. This worked out well. But the whole event cost us hundreds of pounds. This year, I’m trying to convince him that the dinosaur-themed park down the road offers just as much fun—and you don’t even need to wear special socks! This will be cheaper, because we aren’t required to hire a space—we can simply buy tickets for his mates.
But I still keep pondering over one thing—party bags. Why should a bunch of seven-year-olds, who have already been treated to a day out and a mountain of sugar, also be handed a bag full of pound-shop gifts for simply bothering to show up?
Party bags are an environmental disaster. I reckon my son attends 20 parties per year, and at each party there are 20 kids in attendance, which means 400 plastic bags in total. Within these 400 bags are perhaps 800 plastic toys, almost all of which fall apart on the journey home and then get binned instantly. The waste is shocking, and I don’t want to be part of it.
I know there are some party bag alternatives: one couple I know covered a table with Mr. Men books and got the kids to choose one each. At another party, I saw the hosts fill a bucket with soft toys and crumpled newspaper, and do a lucky dip (抽奖). Admirable efforts.
Even if that is a nice try, and even if the contents in the party bags don’t fall apart, so what? Will our guests think more highly of our child because of the party bags from our party? Will my child’s ability to make and keep friends be improved?
Well, the tradition for kid’s party bags ends with me, and it ends here, and it ends now. Who’s with me?
1. Why does the author recommend the dinosaur-themed park?| A．Because it’s more enjoyable. | B．Because it provides socks. |
| C．Because it can reduce cost. | D．Because it offers free tickets. |
| A．Gifts brought by guests. | B．Gifts prepared by hosts. |
| C．Gifts distributed by parks. | D．Gift a donated by charities. |
| A．Intolerant. | B．Objective. | C．Favorable. | D．In different. |
| A．Be recycled. | B．Be repaired. | C．Be thrown away. | D．Be given away. |
4 . Haley Curfman, 25, of Blackwell, Oklahoma, is a teacher at Blackwell Public School and last year she bought a plain(朴素的) white dress, which she set up a station in her classroom for her students to decorate, encouraging them to go and draw on the dress whenever they had free time. Haley set up a station at a table with the dress and some colored markers so that her students could draw on it, having first seen the idea on Pinterest.
After the kids had finished the design, she then surprised them all by wearing the dress to class, sharing pictures of herself in it on Facebook in a post that has since been shared over 200, 000 times.
For teachers looking to do something similar for their own students, Haley said that she bought the dress off Amazon for less than $ 20 about six months ago and pre-washed the dress before she started the project. She used markers from Walmart. But she said these things can be bought in other places. She said, “To do the project, I set up a station at a table with the dress and markers. It takes anywhere from two weeks to a month to complete as we just work on it here and there when time allows. You'd better give the students enough time so they don't have to hurry.”
“Teachers have been sharing their dresses, T-shirts, etc. with me that they've been creating since the 1950s with the same idea. It is amazing, and I love the fact that you are sharing them with me! Thank you all so much for your kindness and support,” she wrote on Facebook.
Asked why she came up with the idea, Haley told Scary Mommy. “We don't have art in our school, so, I always try to do little creative projects when possible.”
1. What did Haley use the plain white dress to do?| A．To teach her students painting. |
| B．To prepare for her presentation. |
| C．To ask her students to draw on it. |
| D．To help her students with their homework. |
| A．It took Haley by surprise. | B．It is kept by Haley at home. |
| C．It is the product of a new idea. | D．It has enjoyed popularity online. |
| A．Buy the same dress online. | B．Give the kids enough time. |
| C．Buy the same markers in Walmart. | D．Leave the finished work untouched. |
| A．To teach art to her students. | B．To show her idea on Pinterest. |
| C．To share it with other teachers. | D．To excite her students' creativity. |
Students have responsibility to learn well and pay more attention to
The ideal student
When research is distributed, the professor expects the student to take it
6 . A first-year undergraduate student in Chengdu, recently complained online that her mother refused to raise her monthly allowance to 4,500 yuan ( $ 633) even when she said her current allowance 2, 000 yuan was not enough to cover her expenses, sparking a debate on how much money a college student needs per month. One expert shares his views on the issue with China Daily: Students should pursue education, not comfort.
Even for a college student studying in a first-tier city in China, 2,000 yuan is enough to cover all his or her monthly expenses. In fact, for a college student in Chengdu a monthly allowance of 2,000 yuan is more than enough. According to a survey conducted by a bookkeeping platform, the average monthly expense for an undergraduate in cities other than Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was less than 2,000 yuan in 2019； for Chengdu, it was 1,900 yuan.
Claiming that she can hardly afford new clothing and cosmetics with her 2,000 yuan monthly allowance, the undergraduate student in Chengdu criticized her mother for refusing to raise her pocket money. Her "meager" allowance, she said, prevented her from buying branded goods that her hostel-mates enjoyed.
By the time a person enters a college, she or he should have developed a healthy consumption habit. And a youth should adjust her or his consumption according to her or his family income. On a deeper level, the money they spend in college should depend on how much they value their parents' hard work. Besides, some college students could take UP part-time jobs to meet their monetary needs if they feel their parents don't or can't send them enough money. In this way they can also learn to meet the requirements of life in the future and develop healthy consumption habits. More importantly, they should always bear in mind that education is their top priority in college
1. What's the expert's attitude to the issue about the undergraduate student?| A．He was critical. |
| B．He was neutral. |
| C．He was supportive. |
| D．He was unconcerned. |
| A．more than 2,000 | B．633 dollars |
| C．less than 2,000 yuan | D．1,900 yuan |
| A．Empty. | B．Pitiful. |
| C．Mean. | D．Fruitful. |
| A．College students should keep their expenses in line with their family conditions. |
| B．College students consumption level is determined by their parents. |
| C．College students should take up a part-time job to cover their expenses . |
| D．College students should deal with their living expenses problems reasonably. |
7 . It seems that the great desire among the young is to be popular. And once they achieve
I was forced to
I told Margy that I would have been more concerned if she had been a(n)
I know that it has become harder and harder for a young person to stand up against the popularity wave and to
| A．permission | B．popularity | C．safety | D．ambition |
| A．improve | B．create | C．abandon | D．express |
| A．persuade | B．cheat | C．frighten | D．force |
| A．personal | B．childish | C．similar | D．ridiculous |
| A．think about | B．speak out | C．comment | D．discuss |
| A．leave | B．change | C．arrange | D．apply |
| A．famous | B．important | C．necessary | D．impossible |
| A．believing | B．finding | C．entering | D．handling |
| A．came | B．developed | C．finished | D．spent |
| A．academic | B．slim | C．political | D．instant |
| A．evidence | B．means | C．qualification | D．purpose |
| A．innocent | B．numb | C．complex | D．true |
| A．thoroughly | B．exactly | C．partly | D．typically |
| A．form | B．last | C．break | D．adjust |
| A．recall | B．desert | C．transfer | D．seek |
| A．choices | B．lessons | C．barrier | D．goals |
| A．motivation | B．path | C．hobby | D．potential |
| A．destroying | B．following | C．preparing | D．noticing |
| A．encourage | B．sympathize | C．respect | D．remind |
| A．varies | B．differs | C．does | D．counts |
