1 . Many people prefer eating out instead of cooking at home. A change appears to be taking place, though, and millennials (千禧一代) are leading the way. According to one survey, more young people are starting to cook at home for three basic reasons: They can save money, eat healthily and waste less food.
Popular TV chefs are also getting millennials excited about learning some basic cooking skills. Many millennials view cooking as a form of entertainment and self-expression. They proudly post pictures of their culinary (烹饪的) creations on Facebook or Instagram, and invite friends over to share the cooking experience.
Many millennials have also found ways to avoid wasting food. After roasting a chicken, they put the leftover bones in their freezer instead of the garbage can. Later, they use the bones to make chicken stock (鸡汤), which is an important ingredient in many dishes.
They also hate throwing out fruit that’s too old. To avoid that situation, they bake ripe fruit like berries and bananas for 15 minutes at 175 degrees C. Then they freeze it overnight. After that, they place the fruit in plastic bags and store it in their freezer for later use.
Many millennials only eat at restaurants that have excellent food-waste policies. These restaurants use every part of the vegetables they buy, including their stems and roots, in dishes. They also use beef, chicken and pork bones to make their own stock.
Millennials also reduce food waste by only buying what they require. Before going to a supermarket, they write down what they need and don’t buy anything else. That way they won’t purchase more food than they can consume.
1. What is this passage mainly concerned with?| A．A cooking trend that has attracted millennials. |
| B．A plan that TV chefs have for donating food. |
| C．A novel cooking technique that millennials like. |
| D．A food production system that is favored by millennials. |
| A．They give the bones to other people who need them. |
| B．They bake the bones for 15 minutes at 175 degrees |
| C．They freeze the bones for cooking chicken stock later. |
| D．They store the bones in the freezer and throw them away. |
| A．Money. | B．Soup. | C．Milk. | D．Noodle. |
| A．Life style. | B．Traveling tips. |
| C．Fashion shows. | D．Advanced technology. |
2 . When Faith Wanjiku graduated from the Technical University of Kenya last year, she immediately enrolled (注册) at the Confucius Institute in Kenyatta University. She wanted to learn Chinese, as she believed that it would help her land a good job.
She has just completed the hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) 3 exam. HSK is a test of Chinese language level for non-native speakers, organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters.
However, this level isn’t enough for Wanjiku, who plans to pass HSK 6. She wanted to increase her level of Chinese and improve her spoken Chinese. And Wanjiku isn’t alone. The number of people taking the HSK reached 6.8 million in 2018 and went up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Education said on May 31.
Chinese is becoming an increasingly popular choice of language to study around the world. Currently, middle school students in Russia can take Chinese as an elective language test in the country’s national college entrance exam, Sputnik News reported.
In May, Zambia became the fourth country in Africa-after Kenya, Uganda and South Africa—to introduce Chinese language to its schools.
And many English-speaking countries have shown an interest in allowing their students to learn Chinese. The US government announced the launch of “1 Million Strong” in 2015, a plan that aims to bring the total number of learners of Chinese to l million by 2020.
Behind the growing popularity of Chinese language learning is the international community’s positive attitude toward Chinas future development, as well as the people’s longing to learn about Chinese civilization and culture.
Indeed, it’s as the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela put it, “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
1. What did Wanjiku do after graduating from university?| A．She went abroad. | B．She learned Chinese. |
| C．She found a job. | D．She travelled to China. |
| A．non-native speakers | B．native speakers |
| C．middle school students | D．college students |
| A．Wangjiku has lots of friends. |
| B．Lots of people want to pass HSK6 exam. |
| C．Wangjiku has passed HSK3 exam. |
| D．Many people want to live in China. |
| A．Chinese Language Study Takes Off |
| B．Chinese Play an Important Role in Economy |
| C．People Share the Experience of Learning Chinese |
| D．Different Opinions about the Function of Chinese |
3 . Scientists blame greenhouse gases for being a major cause of climate change around the world. This is because greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and make the planet warmer.
Now, a team of researchers has announced a successful experiment that turned carbon dioxide into useful liquid fuel. The researchers created a device, called a reactor, which changes bon dioxide into a pure form of formic acid(甲酸). Formic acid is a substance (物质) found in ants and some other insects, as well as in many plants. It is used as an antibacterial material and in the processing of some kinds of clothing.
Haotian Wang led the research team. He said in a statement that the results of the experiment were important because formic acid is a major carrier of energy. So, the substance can provide a way to reuse carbon dioxide and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere. “It’s a fuel-cell fuel that can generate electricity and send out carbon dioxide which you can grab and recycle again,” Wang said.
“Other methods for turning carbon dioxide into formic acid require intense purification processes,” Wang said. Such methods are very costly and require a lot of energy. The Rice University team said it was able to reduce the number of steps in the traditional process to create a low-cost, energy-saving method.
The researchers reported the reactor device performed with a conversion rate (转化率) of 42 percent. This means that nearly half of the electrical energy can be stored in formic acid as liquid fuel. The team said the reactor was able to create formic acid continuously for 100 hours with little degradation (退化) of the device’s parts.
Wang said the reactor could easily be used to produce other high-value products, including alcohol-based fuels. The researchers noted that the technology could also be a big help in solving another major energy problem—how to store large amounts of power in small places.
1. What factor is the main cause of climate change?| A．Greenhouse gases. | B．Chemistry waste. |
| C．Formic acid. | D．Liquid fuel. |
| A．It is a large amount of power. | B．It can be found in ants. |
| C．It is high- value equipment. | D．It is a substance in clothing. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Aggressive. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．A travel magazine. | B．A sports magazine. |
| C．A music magazine. | D．A science magazine. |
