1 . Climate breakdown threatens to cause a global food production crisis. The UN forecasts that by 2050, feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in global water use for agriculture. It is hard to see how agriculture can feed the population of the planet, let alone toward the end of the century and beyond. Agriculture is a major cause of climate breakdown, and both river and air pollution. Industrial fishing is similarly driving ecological collapse in seas around the world.
However, at this critical time, farming (a new kind of food technology) is creating astonishing possibilities to save both people and the planet. Farming will enable the return of vast areas of land and sea to nature, greatly reducing carbon emissions (排放物). It means an end to the employment of animals, a stop to overfishing, and a dramatic reduction in cutting down forests and the use of pesticides (杀虫剂). It is the best hope for stopping the destruction of the planet and, if it is done right, it means cheap and abundant food for everyone.
We are about to welcome one of the biggest economic transformations, of any kind, for 200 years. Arguments continue about plants against meat-based diets; however, new technologies will soon make these arguments irrelevant. Before long, most food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from micro-organisms (微生物).
Not only will food be cheaper, it will also be healthier. Due to the fact that farming creates food products built up from simple components rather than broken down from complex ones, hard fats and other unhealthy components can be screened out. Meat will still be meat, but it will be grown in factories rather than in the bodies of animals. Fats will still be fats, but food is likely to be better, cheaper and much less damaging to the living planet.
1. What is the major cause of sea ecological breakdown?| A．Food production. | B．Global farming. |
| C．Industrial fishing. | D．Climate breakdown. |
| A．Its benefits. | B．Its security. | C．Its research. | D．Its limits. |
| A．Sea animals. | B．Wild plants. | C．Micro-organisms. | D．Farm products. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Disapproving. | D．Unclear. |
An article describing the attitude of post-1990s generations toward life has
“It is fine to have something or not, there is no need to fight for or win anything, and they are easy
The phrase has been received well by netizens
注意:1）每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2）只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last Saturday I went to the library as usually. At noon, I was enjoying my reading near a lake when suddenly I hear someone crying for help. I went up to see what was happened. I was shocking to find a little child struggling in the water while many people were standing by without doing anything. With any hesitation（犹豫）, I had pushed through the crowd but jumped into the water quickly. I managed to reach him and carry him back to safety. Lucky, the kid saved. I was proud of that I had done. I hope everyone can give a hand when someone else is in the need.
4 . Screens during meals rob kids of opportunities to improve language and communication skills （storytelling, making jokes, etc.）, as well as to develop patience and even imagination as they entertain themselves waiting for food to arrive.
Meals are an opportunity to connect, to learn more about and enjoy each other. They strengthen the bonds that will bring benefits to the rest of our lives. We squander that opportunity when we stick a screen in front of our kids during dinner.
Of course, we all want to have enjoyable family meals, which is why I love Bruce Feiller's book "The Secrets of Happy Families", in which he devotes an entire chapter to ways to make them fun and meaningful for everyone---such as "fill in the blank" sentences you make up. Sharing something good and something challenging makes for pleasant conversations, too. And I've had fun playing Uno with my daughters until the food arrives in a restaurant.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (小儿科）also offers guidelines to help families manage children's screen time. The academy recommends avoiding digital media for children under 2, except for video-chatting, and limiting screen time to just one hour a day of high-quality programming for children ages 2 to 5.
Fundamentally, we all benefit from more human connection, not less — and that's especially true for children. Schools, airplane trips, most jobs, games, even "social" interaction were all once done without screens but now are filled with them. And while we have gained some advantages, including new connections, we have lost something fundamental, as well.
Less is always more when it comes to screens, even if they are effective at keeping kids quiet. But soon after complaining that they are "bored, ” kids have a natural tendency to fill the screenless void （空虚）with creative games, art, exploration and conversation. There are no studies that warn against having too many hours of those activities.
Let's all work harder to keep family meals special by getting rid of the iPads and nourishing our personal connections as we nourish our bodies.
1. What's the author's attitude to the kids' staring at screens during meals?| A．Disapproving. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Take. | B．Waste. |
| C．Expect. | D．Create. |
| A．Keep quiet. |
| B．Refuse to eat. |
| C．Feel bored all the time. |
| D．Find ways to entertain themselves. |
| A．To introduce the iPads to the children. |
| B．To stress the importance of family meals. |
| C．To appeal for family meals without screens. |
| D．To teach parents how to punish their children. |
Marian Bechtel sits at West Palm Beach's Bar Louie counter by herself, quietly reading her e-book as she waits for her salad. What is she reading? None of your business! Lunch is Bechtel's "me" time. And
A new report found 46 percent of meals are eaten alone in America. More than half (53%) have breakfast alone and nearly half (46%) have lunch by themselves. Only at dinnertime
"I prefer to go out and be out. Alone, but together, you know?” Bechtel said,
Just two seats over, Andrew Mazoleny, a local videographer, is finishing his lunch at the bar. He likes that he can sit and check his phone in peace or chat up the barkeeper with whom he's on a first-name basis
That freedom
6 . The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.
As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today’s relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.
For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, the normal retirement age.
Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation, they have family problems, or they do not believe that they can find a job.
Other poor people look for a job, but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.
At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways:
First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer below the poverty line.
Second, if society invests in the poor, the poor will become more productive.
If the government spends money on social programs, education and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more probable that they can find jobs.
Finally, if the government distributes society’s income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare.
Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.
1. This passage is mainly about ________.| A．the poverty line |
| B．how to look for jobs |
| C．how to raise the standard of living |
| D．the causes of poverty and solutions to the problem |
| A．falls | B．does not change |
| C．rises | D．changes at random |
| A．They are too sick to work. | B．They have no motivation. |
| C．They family problems. | D．They are too lazy to find jobs. |
| A．charge | B．share |
| C．receive | D．deliver |
“This job has caused me a lot of problems,” said the 27-year-old, checking cars waiting to be cleaned in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara state.
Aliyu took up her work two years ago, hoping to use the 7,000 naira (£28) she earned every month to put her younger sisters and brothers through school following the death of their mother, the only one who made money to support the family. But her family begged her to stop doing this job, and she has received “judgment and warnings” from strangers too.
“My grandmother cried for many days. Some people thought it was a joke to bring more customers (顾客). Others said if she is doing it for money, let's just give her money to stop bringing us shame,” she said as she got water from a well by the roadside. “But I hate laziness or depending on somebody else.”
However, Aliyu has admirers. “Some customers only allow her to wash their cars,” said her colleague (同事) Shamsudeen Mohammed. “I was trained to wash cars by men, and I can honestly tell you women are better to work under,” he added.
Recently another woman came to Aliyu to ask for advice on starting her own car wash. “Unfortunately her family discouraged her. I told her, if you listen to them, you will find yourself begging or marrying a man who is older than your grandfather,” she said.
Though she is considered a pariah (贱民) by many, Aliyu has no plans to stop her work. “I see men doing something and I think I can do it too.”
1. Madinat Aliyu washes cars mainly to _____.
| A．make a living |
| B．learn about cars |
| C．meet her future husband |
| D．know the life of the poor |
| A．thought Aliyu did a good job |
| B．trained Aliyu to wash cars |
| C．had more customers than Aliyu |
| D．liked to work with men |
| A．gets her family's support |
| B．dreams of going to school |
| C．is thought highly of by strangers |
| D．sets an example for the women in Nigeria |
| A．Shy but smart. |
| B．Independent and confident. |
| C．Honest but lazy. |
| D．Humorous and imaginative. |
