1 . You may have visited antique stores and found cutting-edge goods in second-hand furniture stores, but have you ever stooping? On the streets of big cities at night, some young people are “looking for something”. Obsessed with the spiritual core of the old thing recycling, they fell in love with it. But what exactly is stooping?
In fact, this English word originally meant “bending over”, and now refers to a way of life of picking up discarded items and renovating and recycling old things, which originally emerged in New York and other foreign big cities.
Since the beginning of last year, the trend of “stooping” has spread to many big cities in China and many young people look for second-hand items such as discarded furniture on the streets, take home and repurpose them with a new look. In order to make the flow of information better, some “stoopers” have also built communities where group members can share “treasures” on the street with each other.
Mikiko, 27, is reportedly one of the first people in China to get involved in practicing stooping. At first, she posted online things that people no longer use, want to throw away, or exchange at home, and slowly hundreds of messages flooded in and since then, stooping has become more and more popular among young people. Mikiko admitted that she was surprised that the concept has become a hit on social media, as older generations often stigmatize picking up things from the street or using second-hand goods. “People like my mom consider stooping as’rubbish-picking’, and people will be looked down upon by doing this.” She even created an app called “Grecycle” where people can give away or take unwanted items for free, hoping people may realize that stooping can also be about doing good and helping others.
This generation of young people has given “new life” to old things, practiced social responsibility in their own environmentally friendly ways in life, and also contributed to the circular economy and sustainable society.
1. What do we know about “stooping” in this text?| A．It was developed in England. | B．It equals to rubbish-picking. |
| C．It is an expression to show respect. | D．It is a way to turn trash to treasure. |
| A．To show off their good use of items. |
| B．To argue about the misuse of good treasure. |
| C．To share the information of the discarded items. |
| D．To make some comments on the abandoned items. |
| A．Be skilled at. | B．Be ashamed of. |
| C．Be fed up with. | D．Be accustomed to. |
| A．Second-hand stores are worth visiting. |
| B．Big cities offer more job opportunities. |
| C．Young people spend less than older people. |
| D．The young have a stronger eco-awareness. |
2 . It’s rare that you see the words “shyness” and “leader” in the same sentence. After all, the common opinion is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent net-workers and that those shy people are not.
A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of managers who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy — they’re just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few “innies”.
Shy people take a cautious approach to chance. They listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They’re listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically (内在地) motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.
Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence: they “own” the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.
Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers (引人注目的人) aren’t modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to recognize mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.
Since shy people have a lower desire for outside rewards than outgoing ones, they’re more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren’t primarily apparent. Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s that I stay with problems longer.” Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.
1. What is the traditional belief to the shy people?| A．They are good at making friends. |
| B．They are not popular with people. |
| C．They like making speeches in public. |
| D．They are unlikely to become leaders. |
| A．Shy people. | B．Public speakers. |
| C．Net-workers. | D．Survey conductor. |
| A．They focus on achieving themselves outside rewards. |
| B．They make the best of the power of presence actively. |
| C．They realize their abilities and imperfections clearly. |
| D．They perform more confidently than outgoing people. |
| A．By making contrasts and giving examples. |
| B．By quoting authorities and making evaluations. |
| C．By explaining problems and providing solutions. |
| D．By giving definitions and presenting research results. |
3 . One of the problems damaging our planet is the number of things we throw away. Rubbish of all kinds is piling up in landfill and polluting our rivers and oceans. A more recent addition to the list of things we threw away is e-waste—electronic items that are broken and not recycled.
Millions of tonnes of televisions, phones, and other electronic equipment are abandoned each year.
As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another solution is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales involves extracting these materials from electronic gadgets.
These projects make total sense, but collections of e-waste for recycling are decreasing.
| A．The demand for waste is on a high level. |
| B．Now two solutions can give them a new life. |
| C．Because it’s cheaper to replace them than fix them. |
| D．It’s impossible that people practice e-waste recycling. |
| E．Doing it could be more profitable than traditional mining. |
| F．And in countries without law on e-waste, much of it just goes to landfill. |
| G．However, there’s a growing trend for repair events to solve such a problem. |
4 . The idea to transform a mini treehouse into a school office didn't come to Williams at the start of COVID-19 pandemic. At first, like thousands of other school teachers, she tried to work from home. She has two daughters and her husband at home, and they have a cat and two quite large dogs. There are four of them in the house all doing jobs and distance learning. Surrounded by her own family, she had a hard time concentrating. It was Williams's friend who drew her attention to the cozy treehouse, where Nelle's daughters once played when they were smaller. Their friend Corey Hannah looked up and said, “you know, I think that should be your classroom for the year.” And so they thought about it and it sounded silly at first, but the next day they decided to go to Home Depot and Lowe's and look around, and then they said “Okay. Let's do it!”
The first thing to go through a transformation was a rope ladder. Williams needed something strong enough for her new office. The porch needed to be redone, so she went to pick out her favourite colors to paint it. Inside the treehouse, the ceiling and walls needed to be properly insulated (隔热). The floor was fully changed as well.
Most importantly, Williams made sure there was Internet access. Her husband and his friend Alex dug a 150-foot trench to bury the cable, and drilled a hole into their house and it's it. They worked all summer and finished just in time for the new school year.
Williams often has company in her treehouse office: her cat and dogs pop by. Her students love the space and often say “Oh I want one, I want one.” And since most of them chose distant learning in the spring semester as well, Williams will spend at least the next six months hard at work up in a tree.
1. What finally made Williams start her treehouse project?| A．The advice from Corey Hannah. |
| B．The inspiration from her daughter. |
| C．The visit to Home Depot and Lowe's. |
| D．The encouragement from her husband. |
| A．The colour of the porch. | B．The ladder into the house. |
| C．The repair of the floor. | D．The access to the Internet. |
| A．Amazed. | B．Doubtful. | C．Proud. | D．Distracted. |
| A．A treehouse office with a rope ladder. |
| B．Take remote classes to a treehouse. |
| C．Help students to build a treehouse. |
| D．The decoration of a treehouse office. |
