1 . In battling the timber poachers who enter the thick Sierra Madre forests near his home, Larry Garaes has found a new support: solar panels.
With solar chargers, the radios he and other forest rangers (护林人) rely on no longer run out of power on multi-day operations in the mountains.
“Communication between rangers is a lot better. Now, we can catch the poachers while they are in the act because we can coordinate (使协调) our moves quietly without turning to shout at the next ranger — unlike before,” Garaes said.
Access to clean energy is bringing a range of unexpected benefits around the world. On the longest mountain range in the Philippines, those benefits include better forest protection — and power for tribal people who once lacked it.
More than 2 million households — or about 10 percent of all households — in the Philippines lack electricity, according to a 2017 report by the country’s Department of Energy.About three quarters are in remote rural locations, in a country spread over thousands of islands, according to the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG), which is trying to get them connected.Because bringing the national grid (网格) power to many of those people is not cost effective, the state National Power Corporation has charged SPUG with setting up and running small power plants in these areas. So far 327 such plants have been established. Government plans to call for 100 percent electrification of the country by 2022.
“Government has to do its work to connect all those areas that are not yet connected to the grid,” said Edmundo Veloso Jr. “But all but one of the new generation plants use diesel fuel, he said — even though transport of fuel can be a big problem in remote areas. Diesel is the fastest and the only technology available at the moment for off-grid areas. Diesel is still the cheapest in terms of capital outlay (开支).”
1. What do Garaes’ words suggest?| A．Fewer poachers come there. |
| B．They used to move loudly. |
| C．Their conditions improved. |
| D．They were tired of shouting. |
| A．People are unwilling to use clean energy. |
| B．Using clean energy benefits people there. |
| C．Forest protection turns out to be serious. |
| D．People in the area require more attention. |
| A．The serious shortage of electricity. |
| B．The poor conditions in rural areas. |
| C．The improvement of power supply. |
| D．The popularity of power plants. |
| A．Lacking funds. | B．Shipping fuel. |
| C．Technology. | D．Shortage of attention. |
2 . What’s your baby doing right now? I hope he or she is not rolling on the floor. Such behaviour might seem natural and age-appropriate but this laid-back environment could come back to haunt you at a later date.
Eventually you may be forced to reflect upon those wasted opportunities. In allowing your baby to unproductively behave just like, well, a baby, you may be failing to foster his or her personal growth. Are you denying your child the chance to achieve his or her full potential as a well-rounded baby?
You see, some parents are hot-housing their infants as we speak. While your baby’s programme revolves around the traditional routines of sleeping, eating and playing, other people’s offspring are on the fast-track to certain giftedness. And Baby Einstein DVDs, which were all the rage when I was a new mother, are really the least of your problems.
Ever eager to exploit our perceived inadequacies, smart marketers have found something else for parents to feel guilty about. There’s a manufactured fear that we’re squandering those valuable moments when a baby’s brain is said to be like a sponge, ready and willing to soak up new information at an alarming rate.
I’ve never seen the point of deliberately setting up your little one to be more advanced than his or her peers. I like the idea of babies just being babies and children just being children. Anyway, if they can read at the age of three then what will they learn in their first year of school?
One thing’s for sure: for some people parenting has taken on the proportions of a competitive sport. Some children wrestle with after-school activities every day of the week. Others are enrolled in extra tuition — sometimes simply to reach an acceptable standard and other times in order to be top of the class. There are tennis camps, swim academies and dancing schools. Some households even speak English downstairs and French upstairs. What? That’s not how you run your home? Oh dear. I see bilingualism passing your child by, for sure.
1. What does the author imply in paragraph 2?| A．The author likes raising baby at home. |
| B．Many parents don’t realize their babies’ potentials. |
| C．We don’t have enough time or money to raise babies. |
| D．Many parents foster their children’s personal growth by any chance. |
| A．They were good enough for mothers. |
| B．They were effective in teaching babies. |
| C．They were cheaper than other products. |
| D．They were popular with many mothers. |
| A．It’s a good way to build up potentials. |
| B．It’s not helpful to baby’s development. |
| C．It’s vital to develop baby’s brain. |
| D．It’s not so cheap to be invested by all parents. |
| A．Give children more sports. |
| B．Develop children more. |
| C．Let babies grow as they are. |
| D．Develop children’s bilingualism. |
3 . A new study shows that U.S. teens see more television commercials (广告) for alcohol than for jeans, sneakers, or other teen products, the New York Times reported Dec. 18.
For the study, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University studied the 208,909 alcohol commercials on television. They found that nearly 25 percent of the ads were viewed mainly by teenagers, rather than adults.
Furthermore, 12-to-20-year-olds viewed more commercials for beer and other alcoholic drinks than products marketed directly to young people, such as gum, snacks, and juice. “No one is watching what the industry is doing, and the industry is in denial (拒绝承认),” said David A. Kessler, dean of the School of Medicine at Yale and an adviser to CAMY.
The alcohol industry uses voluntary rules to reduce the number of ads seen by those under age 21. The rules say that ads should not air during programs where at least half of the audience is underage (未成年的).
“We do not forgive illegal underage drinking under any circumstances,” said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute. “This industry does not, and never has, targeted our advertising to people who can’t legally buy our products.”
However, the report found that alcohol ads ran during 13 of the 15 most popular shows for teenagers, including “Seventh Heaven,” “Gilmore Girls, ” “Dark Angel,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Friends,” “E.R.,” and sporting events.
Jim O’Hara, executive director of CAMY, said the industry rules are false. He added, “These standards do not protect youth from exposure and overexposure to alcohol advertising and marketing.”
1. What’s the result of the study conducted by CAMY?| A．Teenagers like alcohol than jeans and sneakers. |
| B．Alduts see more alcohol ads on TV than teenager. |
| C．Teenagers see ads for alcohol ads on TV more than adults. |
| D．The older teenagers are, the better they like ads for alcohol ads. |
| A．The alcohol industry is widely praised. |
| B．The alcohol industry is closely watched. |
| C．The underage will see less ads for alcoholic drinks in the near future. |
| D．Young people can easily buy such products as alcoholic drinks, snacks and juice. |
| A．Dark Angel and Seventh Heaven are shows for adults. |
| B．The industry rules protect youth from alcohol advertising. |
| C．Not all the most popular shows for teenagers air alcohol ads. |
| D．Teenagers can drink alcohol with the permission of their parents. |
| A．Alcohol commercials on TV. |
| B．Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. |
| C．Illegal underage drinking is not permitted. |
| D．Teenagers see more TV ads for alcohol than other products. |
4 . Doctors in the U. K. are warning children born in the age of tablets(平板)and touch screens are missing the fine motor skills needed to operate the simpler tools in life: pens and pencils.
After all, it’s easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks.
Certainly penmanship(书法)has been on the decline since the appearance of keyboard. Some Arizona educators are even considering dropping cursive(草书)writing entirely from classes. They think teaching a kid to use soon-to-be ancient tools like pens and pencils is a waste of time and money.
The thing is, there’s more than one point to penmanship. A pencil is what develops hand strength and dexterity(灵巧)that children will need throughout their lives. It’s a lifelong learning tool that helps the world produce its surgeons and pilots.
And the bad cursive writing opens the door for an all-important lesson on the virtues of practice. A keyboard, on the other hand, ticks off each letter with perfect precision from the very start. But it robs a kid not only of the joys of getting something right, but also developing a written identity.
Consider that if society stops teaching children how to push a pen, how long before we won’t be able to read it? Maybe the pen will someday be history. But we all need to know how to read history.
As blogger Starre Vartan puts it, “As an art lover, I visit as many museums as I can, and a major part of many exhibitions, original written documents are included, all of which requires the reader to be able to decipher(破译)handwriting from times past.”
And, in an age when people turn increasingly to the same old emoji(表情符号)to express themselves, those lines on paper may be one of the few remaining bastions(堡垒)of identity.
1. Which of the following may belong to hand muscle-building play according to the text?| A．Hide-and-seek. | B．High jumping. |
| C．Role playing. | D．Cutting and sticking. |
| A．It is a traditional art. | B．It is out of date. |
| C．It brings people joy. | D．It does harm to kids. |
| A．Penmanship is beneficial. | B．Penmanship needs practice. |
| C．The keyboard is also important. | D．Every kid needs a written identity. |
| A．Learning cursive is necessary. |
| B．Written documents are treasures. |
| C．Readers need to write much more. |
| D．Cursive writing can hide messages. |
5 . There is mounting evidence that the smartphone era is fading. Phone sales have been in gentle decline since 2016, as slower technological improvement has led to people upgrading less often.
The current big idea is virtual-reality (VR) headsets, promoted in part by pandemic lockdowns. More promising are glasses for experiencing augmented reality (AR), in which computer graphics are overlaid on the real world. Most of America’s big tech firms-among them Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft-as well as Asian giants like ByteDance (TikTok’s Chinese owner) and Sony, are developing or selling VR or AR headsets. What has so far been a niche (有利可图的) market is about to become very crowded.
What does seem to be under way, however, is a gradual movement by consumers towards a series of new wearable devices. These include voice-activated smart headphones, which can make calls, read messages and more, and smart watches, which handle scheduling, navigation and fitness. Many health-tech gadgets measure everything from blood sugar to sleep patterns. In some countries unit sales of these “wearables” are already close to sales of smart phones.
People are not about to ditch their phones, any more than they threw out their laptops a decade ago. But as they interact more often with earphones or, soon glasses, more of them will come to use their phone as a kind of back office, primarily there to provide processing muscle for other gadgets. As chips get even smaller, phones may not be needed even for that.
1. According to the passage, the reason for the fact that smartphones have been less popular is ________.| A．that the digital market is becoming crowded |
| B．that people are being locked down during the pandemic |
| C．that technology is improving slowly |
| D．that many USA’s tech companies are developing VR or AR headsets |
| A．smartphones | B．VR headsets | C．AR glasses | D．smart watches |
| A．Put away. | B．Cast away. | C．Keep away. | D．Interact with. |
| A．The popularity of AR and VR |
| B．The decrease in sales of smartphones and new alternatives |
| C．The “wearables” are more popular than smart phones. |
| D．Smartphones are not in demand any longer in the future. |
6 . Over-packaging refers to any product being covered in multiple unnecessary layers. Industries that over package are the food, cosmetic, medical, clothing, and so on. Some of these extra layers have a purpose, but some products, such as individually wrapped vegetables or fruits, tend to go overboard. Online shopping is another source of the over-packaging problem. Companies such as Amazon ship products in small boxes, then proceed to put that box into a bigger box, which is then filled with Styrofoam (泡沫塑料). At times the plastic in the shipment outweighs the product itself.
Over-packaging is a huge problem not only for the environment but for consumers and businesses alike. Apart from being harmful to the climate, over-packaging can be a pain to consumers and can lead to high costs for companies. Therefore, steps need to be taken to reduce over-packaging, which in return will bring many benefits all around.
While there are excesses (过度) that almost scream the absurdity of their existence from supermarket shelves, it is generally not simple to define a clear boundary between useful, legal packaging and unnecessary, harmful over-packaging. Erik Ciravegna, Professor of Packaging Design, says it is all relative. “First of all, we need context. Things that appear pointless to us today were praised as consumer experience and marketing innovations (创新) in the 1990s.” Anyway, the companies have to overcome the competition in ever more crowded markets.
In fact, packaging does perform some essential functions that cannot be avoided. Ciravegna explains that, firstly, it must protect and preserve its contents; secondly, it needs to present information about the product; finally, it needs to allow for brand recognition and attract buyers’ attention. Packaging is both a crucial logistical (物流的) tool and a powerful means of communication. “The secret is finding the balance between excess, which has an environmental impact, and lack of packaging, which can lead to other problems, such as food spoilage or pollution, or a lack of protection for particularly delicate foods.”
1. What does the author think of separately wrapped fruits?| A．They look terrible. | B．They look attractive. |
| C．They are reasonable. | D．They are overpackaged. |
| A．It will increase the product costs. | B．It will cause pollution. |
| C．They will bear higher product prices. | D．They will develop bad consumption habits. |
| A．Because of the difference of the times. | B．Because of the universality of packaging. |
| C．Because of the rapid social development. | D．Because of continuous marketing innovation. |
| A．Creating a brand. | B．Introducing the product. |
| C．Protecting the environment. | D．Improving the user experience. |
7 . Since its birth, the dollar has undergone many updates and changes, but nothing compares to the change being debated today: to adopt a digital dollar, which is one of the central bank digital currencies(CBDC)that can be stored in apps or “digital wallet” on our smartphones.
It’s a cashless future that other countries are already embracing. China, for example, has already adopted its digital cash, E-CNY, in many cities on a trial basis. India this week said it would do the same soon. Now the US is weighing whether it should accept a digital dollar with such enthusiasm.
Why do we need a digital dollar when we have such cashless payments such as Alipay and Apple Pay?
Reducing fees is one clear benefit. When we make a payment on our smartphones today, it may seem immediate, but a lot happens behind the scenes. The cashless payment systems, such as Alipay and Apple Pay, have to inform a whole series of banks, to confirm who we are and how much money is in our bank accounts, before any payment is actually made. At each step of the way, there are fees. In 2021, they added up to more than $110 billion, which was generally shouldered by businesses. With a digital dollar, we can avoid those middlemen in theory. If we want to buy a sandwich, for example, we can pay from a “digital wallet” directly to a cashier.
Another argument for creating a digital dollar is to help Americans who don’t have bank accounts. According to a survey, more than 5% of US families are “unbanked”. Providing them with a digital wallet would allow people to participate in our increasingly cashless financial system.
What are the challenges?
Without question, the biggest concern is privacy, because the central bank could collect a vast amount of data. That could be useful to regulators who want to fight against money laundering(洗钱), for example, but it would also raise serious privacy concerns.
Security is another important problem. To adopt a digital dollar, the US government would need to modernize the country’s financial systems to avoid online attacks.
“So I think it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast,” the central bank leader Powell told reporters. “It might take five to ten years to introduce a digital dollar in the US.”
1. What does the underlined word “embracing” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Discussing. | B．Refusing. | C．Welcoming. | D．Losing. |
| A．It can be considered as a bank account. | B．It has to be used on Alipay and Apple Pay. |
| C．It just charges big companies for payments. | D．It is a digital cash created by a central bank. |
| A．Acceptance. | B．Security. | C．Cost. | D．Privacy. |
| A．It is not necessary at present. | B．It takes time to be introduced. |
| C．The US has to adopt it faster. | D．Americans will not accept it. |
8 . In Australia, like many places around the world, about 95% of the people use Google when they search the Internet for new and recently changed web pages. Because so many people turn to Google’s site first before ever going to a news website, news is a big money-maker for the company.
Australia is considering a bill that will charge Google for showing links to Australian news web-sites which are upset that Google is making money by showing links to articles on their own sites. In recent years, as large technology companies have gotten richer, many news sites have lost money. One way Google makes money is by showing ads on these search pages.
Many people were shocked at the idea. That’s because the Internet is built on links. Since the Internet began, links have always been free. When it comes to copyright(版权), it’s against the law to use someone else’s articles or pictures without their permission. But it has always been legal for anyone, including big companies, to link to any other web page on the Internet, without paying anything.
Tim Bermers Lee is the man who developed the ideas that led to the Internet. He says Australia’s bill ruins the free linking that is so important to the Internet. He thinks the bill should be rewritten.
Google agrees. The company says it wants to work out an agreement that’s fairer to Australian news sites, but that it can’t pay for links. Google points out that it has about 450 agreements in different parts of the world where it pays for the right to show the results of its searches.
Google says if the bill isn’t changed, it will have to stop its work in Australia. Many people worry that once some groups are forced to pay for links in one part of the world, other governments will create similar laws. They’re concerned that in the end, the Internet will be less free, open, and useful for everyone.
1. What will the bill make Google do to Australian news websites?| A．Provide web pages for them. | B．Reduce its ads on them. |
| C．Share its business with them. | D．Pay for its links to them. |
| A．People’s question on the bill. | B．Different opinions of the copyright. |
| C．The Internet copyright protection. | D．The history of Internet links. |
| A．Signing the bill with others. | B．Offering a fairer agreement. |
| C．Showing its search results. | D．Printing out the news sites. |
| A．Technology. | B．Business. | C．Lifestyle. | D．Culture. |
The pandemic(疫情) pushed instant noodles to become the main food for many people during the COVID 19 crisis.
In 2021, the global instant noodles industry was worth just $44 billion. The instant noodle was invented in Japan around the 1950s and over time it became a true global food. It is most popular in South Asian countries. Presently, it is produced in over 90 countries and China is said to have the biggest demand when it comes to instant noodles.
When the pandemic came, the demand for instant foods increased. People’s stockpiling(囤积) habits boosted the sales. The instant noodles’ easy-to cook formula, long shelf life and cheap prices are the key contributing factors to the rise in their demand.
Asia Pacific nations held a market share of nearly 80% in the pandemic year. More than 116 billion servings(份) of instant noodles were consumed(消费). That is about 320 million servings a single day. The World Instant Noodles Association reported that China had consumed 46, 000 million servings in 2021 alone, followed by Indonesia with over 12,000 million servings in 2021.
South Korea took the lead with its consumption per person standing at 79 servings. Then there was Vietnam with 72 servings at the second position and finally Nepal at the third position with nearly 53 servings in 2021.
Nongshim is a South Korean food company. It recorded sales of instant noodles worth $1.85 billion in 2021, which was a 16% jump from the previous year. The global instant noodles market is said to climb to $ 72 billion by the end of 2027.
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?| A．Show the author’s attitude. | B．Add some background information. |
| C．Introduce the main topic of the text. | D．Explain the influence of the pandemic. |
| A．The popularity of instant noodles. |
| B．The convenience of instant noodles. |
| C．The reasons for the rise of instant noodles. |
| D．The problems with eating instant noodles. |
| A．China. | B．Vietnam. | C．Indonesia. | D．South Korea. |
| A．Instant noodles become the main food for many people. |
| B．Instant noodles are the most popular in Asia Pacific nations. |
| C．The instant noodles industry experiences ups and downs. |
| D．The instant noodles market sees a big growth during the pandemic. |
10 . There has been an obvious drop nationwide in the rate of high school graduates enrolling (注册) in college in the fall after they finish high school—from a high of 70 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2020, the most recent year for which the figure is available, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Many observers have suggested three main explanations for the fall: COVID-19, the smaller number of Americans under 18 and a strong labor market attracting young people straight into the workforce. But while COVID-19 made things worse, the enrollment downturn took hold well before it started. Demographics (人口结构) alone cannot explain the size of this drop. And data show that workforce participation for 16- to 24-year olds is actually lower than it was before COVID-19 hit.
Many surveys point to other reasons for the downward trend (趋势). These include widespread and fast-growing doubt about the value of a degree, impatience with the time it takes to get one and costs that have finally gone beyond many people’s ability or willingness to pay. Fewer than one in three adults now say a degree is worth the cost.
On top of all that is growing dissatisfaction among recent university and college graduates with the value of the education they received. More than four in ten bachelor’s degree (学士学位) holders under 45 did not agree that the benefits of their educations are more than the costs, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, months of discussion about whether the Biden administration will forgive all or some student loan debt(助学贷款) has had an unintended result: It has reminded potential learners just how much people before them had to borrow to pay for college and many of their parents are still paying back their student loans.
In fact, workers with bachelor’s degrees earn 67 percent more than people who have only finished high school. More than half of “good jobs”—meaning those with pay of at least $35,000 for workers under age 45 and $45,000 for people between 45 and 64—call for bachelor’s degrees.
1. Which has the greatest influence on college enrollment?| A．The wide spread of COVID-19. |
| B．Too long time the college education takes. |
| C．The doubt about the value of a college degree. |
| D．The labor market needing more young people. |
| A．To persuade parents to focus on education. |
| B．To advise the government to change education laws. |
| C．To describe the importance of college education. |
| D．To show the heavy stress of college education. |
| A．Bachelor’s degrees cost too much. | B．A college degree does pay off. |
| C．College degrees ensure absolute success in career. | D．Those without college degrees don’t earn less. |
| A．The Difficulty of Entering College |
| B．Two Generations of Education Efforts |
| C．Reasons Why Higher Education Lost Its Shine |
| D．A Strong Labor Market Attracting Young People |
