1 . The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.
The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.
The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.
AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.
Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.
Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.
Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”
“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”
1. What makes the French company stop selling certain fishbowls?| A．Their size. | B．Their price. |
| C．Their weight. | D．Their popularity. |
| A．Progress. | B．Pleasure. |
| C．Difficulty. | D．Suffering. |
| A．The age goldfish can reach. | B．Costs of keeping goldfish. |
| C．Proper living conditions for goldfish. | D．The advice on how to choose fishbowls. |
| A．Raise the price of the fishbowls. | B．Remove the chances of harming goldfish. |
| C．Keep goldfish outside in the wild. | D．Educate parents to care for goldfish. |
2 . A new study suggests that science role-playing may help tighten the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM)education and careers for women simply by improving their identity as scientists.
Frustrated by the gender gap in STEM, in which some fields employ at least three times more men than women, Cornell graduate student Reut Shachnai wanted to do something about it. Reut said the idea to help foster young girls’ interest in science came to her during a lecture in a class she was taking on Psychology of Imagination.
Reut designed an experiment to test if assuming the role of a successful scientist would improve girls’ persistence in a “sink or float” science game. The game itself was simple yet challenging: a computer screen projected a slide with an object in the center above a pool of water. Kids then had to predict whether the object would sink or float.
She studied 240 four -to -seven -year -olds, because this is around the time kids first develop their sense of identity and capabilities. They were divided into two groups. Children in the “story” group learned about the successes and struggles of a gender -matched scientist before playing the game. Boys heard about Isaac Newton and girls were told about Marie Curie. Children in the “pretend” group were told to assume the identity of the scientist they just learned about.
All kids played at least one round of the game. No matter what group they were in, girls got the answers right just as often as boys -nearly 70% of the time. Boys, however, didn’t really benefit from the stories or make-believe. Besides, girls pretending to be Dr. Marie persisted twice as long at the sink-or-float game, playing just as much as the boys did.
Reut’s teacher Tamar Kushnir said, “Rather than merely hearing about role models, children may benefit from actively performing the type of actions they see role models perform. In other words, taking a few steps in the role model’s shoes, instead of merely observing her walk.”
1. Why did Reut design a “sink or float” science game?| A．To handle the gender gap in STEM. | B．To attach importance to STEM. |
| C．To draw kids’ attention to STEM. | D．To compare boys’ and girls’ persistence. |
| A．Kids enjoyed listening to scientists’ stories. | B．Boys avoided playing make-believe games. |
| C．Girls performed as well as boys in science. | D．Children followed Dr. Marie to explore science. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．Girls should get recognition like boys | B．A fine example has boundless power for kids |
| C．Girls can work on more science games | D．Make-believe exercises benefit girls in STEM |
3 . Daniel Gill has been helping to open young minds as a teacher. He has always been a champion for civil rights because he grew up
In the 1950s, 9-year-old Daniel was
Daniel
Since he became a teacher, he has been keeping a (n)
Daniel says that students tend to
At a recent festival he mentioned a book idea called “No More Chairs” to publishers, hoping to take his
Daniel’s story is powerful, and it is a (n)
| A．causing | B．tracking | C．promoting | D．witnessing |
| A．forced | B．invited | C．shown | D．sent |
| A．took off | B．looked around | C．gave in | D．turned up |
| A．friends | B．teachers | C．parents | D．relatives |
| A．go away | B．sit down | C．pass by | D．come in |
| A．tickets | B．chairs | C．dishes | D．rooms |
| A．volunteered | B．managed | C．agreed | D．happened |
| A．admitted | B．hesitated | C．refused | D．failed |
| A．actually | B．eventually | C．slightly | D．occasionally |
| A．free | B．confident | C．welcome | D．reliable |
| A．chance | B．advice | C．idea | D．feeling |
| A．empty | B．old | C．valuable | D．comfortable |
| A．prepares | B．reviews | C．teaches | D．assesses |
| A．challenge | B．reason | C．news | D．course |
| A．search | B．communicate | C．respond | D．learn |
| A．home | B．classroom | C．party | D．office |
| A．message | B．schedule | C．level | D．measure |
| A．friendlier | B．larger | C．healthier | D．younger |
| A．honor | B．phenomenon | C．reminder | D．promise |
| A．quiet | B．active | C．equal | D．competitive |
4 . Are newspapers dying? Many say the disappearance of the daily paper is just a matter of time. Now newspaper circulation is dropping, ad income is drying up, and the industry has experienced a great wave of layoffs (裁员) in recent years. A third of the large newsrooms across the United States had layoffs between 2017 and April 2018 alone. So these people say the Internet is just a better place to get news. “On the web, newspapers are live, and they can enrich their coverage with audio, video, and the invaluable resources of their vast archives (档案),” said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of USC’s Digital Future Center. “For the first time in 60 years, newspapers are back in the breaking news business, except now their delivery method is electronic and not paper.”
Yes, newspapers are facing tough times, and the Internet can offer many things papers can’t. However, newspapers are still here, and many of them remain profitable. Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, says the widespread newspaper industry layoffs of the last decade should make papers more survivable. “Many newspapers are operating more leanly (精简地) now,” Edmonds said. “The business will be smaller, but there should be enough profit there to make a sustainable business for years to come.”
Those who claim the future of news is online ignore one important point: Online ad income alone just isn’t enough to support most news companies. Thus, online news sites will need a new business model to survive. One possibility may be paywalls, meaning people have to pay for content. The 2013 Pew Research Center media report found that paywalls had been adopted at 450 of the country’s 1,380 dailies.
Until someone figures out how to make online-only news sites profitable, newspapers aren’t going anywhere. Despite the occasional scandal (丑闻) at print institutions, they remain trusted sources of information people turn to.
1. Why are newspapers still there?| A．Many newspapers report more scandals. |
| B．Newspapers have applied new marketing methods. |
| C．Many newspaper companies simplified their operation. |
| D．Newspapers enrich their coverage with audio and video. |
| A．By charging their readers. | B．By featuring the online advertisements. |
| C．By releasing more shocking news. | D．By cooperating with local printed newspapers. |
| A．Newspapers won’t exist. | B．Newspapers won’t be dead. |
| C．Newspapers won’t be trusted. | D．Newspapers won’t be reduced. |
| A．The future of newspapers. |
| B．Advantages and disadvantages of newspapers. |
| C．The meaning of the existence of printed newspapers. |
| D．The comparisons between newspapers and online news. |
