Nowadays, an increasing number of young Chinese spend money because they are “lazy”. According to a report issued in December by China’s e-commerce platform Taobao on China’s “lazy economy”, Chinese people spent 16 billion yuan on products and services online in 2018. The post-1995 generation was the “laziest” as its consumption increased by 82 percent, compared with that in 2017.
The so-called lazy economy refers to a new type of consumption of products and services which are designed to save time and labor. According to the report, many people of the post-1995 generation buy high-tech electronic devices such as floor mopping robots and automatic window cleaners, which save the trouble of doing household chores. Meanwhile, take-out food delivery services are also popular among people born after 1995.
Young people are willing to spend money on such products because they want to enjoy hard-earned leisure time after a busy and stressful day at work or school, reported Global Times. Because they need to focus on their studies or jobs, these so-called lazy people tend to use their leisure time more efficiently. For example, Wei Duo, a 21-year-old college student, is a frequent user of take-out food delivery services. “I once had a birthday cake delivered to my friend who lives far from my home. It cost me 50 yuan but it saved me almost half a day that would have been needed to deliver it myself My friend was also happy because she got to eat the cake instantly.” Wei told the Global Times.
While the “lazy economy” might be convenient for young people, it might also create problems. The lazy economy’ on campus is expressed in things like people buying food or other things without leaving the dormitory. As a result, they stay in their dormitories all day long, playing on computers and smart phones. According to Jinan Daily, this situation could lead to young people becoming less sociable and even developing problems of communicating with others. Young people should be alert (警觉的) to it.
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Prepare for Water Day Zero
Earlier this year alarming headlines blared that Cape Town, South Africa, was headed for Water Day Zero — the date when the city's taps would go dry because its reservoirs would become dangerously low on water. That day — originally expected in mid-April 2018 — has been postponed until at least 2019, thanks to water rationing and a welcome rainy season. But the conditions that led to this desperate situation will inevitably occur again, hitting cities all over the planet.
As the climate warms, extreme droughts and vanishing water supplies will likely become more common. But even without the added impact of climate change, normal rainfall variation plays an enormous role in year-to-year water availability. These ordinary patterns now have extraordinary effects because urban populations have had tremendous growth: by 2050 the United Nations projects that two thirds of the world's people will live in cities. Urban planners and engineers need to learn from past rainfall variability to improve their predictions and take future demand into account to build more resilient infrastructure.
How did Cape Town get into a Water Day Zero situation? The city gets its water from six reservoirs in Western Cape province, which usually fill up during the rainy season, from May through August. But since 2015 the region has been suffering from the worst drought in a century, and the water in those reservoirs dwindled (减少) dangerously. Compounding the problem, Cape Town's population has grown substantially, increasing demand. The city actually did a pretty good job of keeping demand low by reducing leaks in the system, a major cause of water waste, and has even won awards for its conservation policies. But the government of South Africa was slow to declare a national disaster in the areas hit hardest by the drought, paving the way for the recent crisis.
Fortunately, steps can be taken to avoid urban water crises. In general, a combination of approaches that relies on multiple water sources is probably most effective. Cape Town has already begun implementing a number of projects, including tapping groundwater and building water-recycling plants.
The global community has an opportunity right now to take action to prevent a series of Water Day Zero crises. If we don't act, many cities may soon face a time when there isn't a drop to drink.
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18-year-old Sadiya was born in Deora, a small village in eastern India, but moved to the city of Mumbai when she was 3．In 2020, when the pandemic(疫情)broke out, her father’s small business was forced to close temporarily and the family returned to her ancestral village to wait out the pandemic．
However, it greatly shocked her when she found that attending school was uncommon in Deora，where almost half of the villagers couldn’t read. Unable to afford textbooks, many families often withdrew their children from schools. They didn’t wish to educate their children，many of whom had to work in the fields with parents though some had the desire to read．
Sadiya, the college girl with a strong sense of social responsibility, has been trying to seize opportunities to open doors for others. Fluent in Hindi, Urdu, and English, she often speaks at inter-college events on the right to education and enjoys a high reputation among college students．
Used to taking on challenges, Sadiya was determined to do something for the children. One day last July, Sadiya sat down with her family elders and proposed the idea of setting up a library”. Many shook their heads in disagreement—this wasn’t how a young girl should spend her time.
After many discussions, Sadiya finally convinced them and gained access to her relative’s guesthouse，mending it with $67 that she’d won in public-speaking awards. She took the help of her uncle, Akbar, and cousin, Nawaz, and got to work. Walls were repainted，the bamboo roof was repaired and lights and bookshelves were fixed, and the room was filled with chairs and a long table．Vivid charts stuck on the walls—from anatomy(解剖)to transportation, lightened the space. Looking at the newly-decorated“library”, Sadiya couldn’t hold back her excitement while imagining the children reading books here by light.
All was ready except books. So what Sadiya was desperate to do next was fill the shelves with books. She drew on all her savings and purchased many books suitable for children online.
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
But these books were far from enough．
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With everything ready，the library finally opened．
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a hot and dry summer. The beach near the city was crowded with a lot of people, from little kids to the aged, who planned to beat the heat in the water. They enjoyed themselves leisurely. Some were playing beach volleyball, some were making sand castles, and some were doing sunbathing.
Among them, there was a group of 10 boys aged between 12 to 15 years old trying to take an adventure. At first, they intended to hire a yacht (游艇), but due to the wind and the waves, the yacht rides were forbidden on that day. After a while, the boys decided to challenge themselves to race in the sea. They made a deal that the one who swam the fastest would win the race and deserve a huge treat from the group. Most of the boys agreed, except for a few. A boy in the group warmed them of the danger, as the waves weren’t constant. Some boys began to hesitate, but some didn’t listen to him and started their race.
Everything went so well. Suddenly, waves from the sea rose a lot and most of the boys in that young group struggled to reach the beach. However, three boys who considered themselves very brave, decided to ignore the waves and swim further out to sea for more excitement and fun.
Although many people on the beach shouted at them and asked them to swim back immediately, they continued to swim further from the beach. The wind became stronger；all of a sudden, one boy was washed away by a rising wave and the other two boys were so scared that they shouted for help and swam as fast as they could to the beach. However, no one on the beach risked his life to save the boy as the waves were so alarming；and the crowd were asked to move to a safe place.
注意: 1.续写的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph l: From the crowd on the beach, a young man stood out.
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Paragraph 2 : The man stood silently for a few seconds.
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