1 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.

“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.

You can see the irony (讽刺) here.

Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.

The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.

So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.

1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To express the people’s love for all festivals.

B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals.

C．To appreciate the value of the festivals.

D．To bring out the topic of the passage.

2. Why did Kalle Lasn organize Buy Nothing Day?

A．To help people save money.	B．To cut the cost for daily life.
C．To prevent over-consumption.	D．To set up a new sales record.

3. What’s Nie Li’s attitude towards the shopping craze?

A．Opposed (反对的).	B．Supportive.
C．Unknown.	D．Neutral (中立的).

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Creating a New Lifestyle	B．Buy Nothing Day
C．Festivals Around the World	D．A Change in People’s Life

2 . Like most of us, I try to be mindful of food that goes to waste. The arugula (芝麻菜)was to make a nice green salad, rounding out a roast chicken dinner. But I ended up working late. Then friends called with a dinner invitation. I stuck the chicken in the freezer. But as days passed, the arugula went bad. Even worse, I had unthinkingly bought way too much; I could have made six salads with what I threw out.

In a world where nearly 800 million people a year go hungry, “food waste goes against the moral grain,” as Elizabeth Royte writes in this month’s cover story. It’s jaw-dropping how much perfectly good food is thrown away — from “ugly” (but quite eatable) vegetables rejected by grocers to large amounts of uneaten dishes thrown into restaurant garbage cans.

Producing food that no one eats wastes the water, fuel, and other resources used to grow it. That makes food waste an environmental problem. In fact, Royte writes, “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world.”

If that’s hard to understand, let’s keep it as simple as the arugula at the back of my refrigerator. Mike Curtin sees my arugula story all the time — but for him, it's more like 12 bones of donated strawberries nearing their last days. Curtin is CEO of DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., which recovers food and turns it into healthy meals. Last year it recovered more than 807,500 pounds of food by taking donations and collecting blemished (有瑕疵的) produce that otherwise would have rotted in fields. And the strawberries? Volunteers will wash, cut, and freeze or dry them for use in meals down the road.

Such methods seem obvious, yet so often we just don’t think. “Everyone can play a part in reducing waste, whether by not purchasing more food than necessary in your weekly shopping or by asking restaurants to not include the side dish you won’t eat,” Curtin says.

1. What does the author want to show by telling the arugula story?

A．We pay little attention to food waste.	B．We waste food unintentionally at times.
C．We waste more vegetables than meat.	D．We have good reasons for wasting food.

2. What is a consequence of food waste according to the test?

A．Moral decline.	B．Environmental harm.
C．Energy shortage.	D．Worldwide starvation.

3. What does Curtin’s company do?

A．It produces kitchen equipment.	B．It turns rotten arugula into clean fuel.
C．It helps local farmers grow fruits.	D．It makes meals out of unwanted food.

4. What does Curtin suggest people do?

A．Buy only what is needed.	B．Reduce food consumption.
C．Go shopping once a week.	D．Eat in restaurants less often.

3 . Twenty-five years ago, most young Britons wanted a career in law, to be a doctor, or, if they were creative enough, to take up singing. But today, things stand differently.

According to a survey by Tesco Mobile, a UK company, the “dream job” of young people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK is a video blogger (写博客的人), or “vlogger (视频博主)”．The survey, carried out among 1,002 people, found that as many as 40 percent of them put vloggers as their number one choice on a list of ideal careers.

This change is undoubtedly as a result of the Internet and social media.They have made it so much easier to reach the audience of the world, without having to enter a career in show business in the traditional way.

In the past, the biggest stars were trained by the Hollywood studios; now, anyone with a computer camera can become a star. Vloggers are the big stars of today because they are normal people interacting (交流) with their fans about everyday life.

However, what people see is only the bright side of being a vlogger and they fail to notice the fact that only those who are successful earn fame (名声) and fortune. For every success there are hundreds of others who never get off the starting line. There are the dreams that come true and the dreams that remain dreams forever.

Although being vloggers is popular, some young people choose to follow careers that don’t necessarily earn them fame, but allow them to make good use of the Internet to share their hobbies.Young Israeli David Leshaw, for example, runs a business called the Finishers Club.It’s an online platform for runners to keep a record of their races.His job allows him to express his enthusiasm, and is always a learning experience.And that’s enough for him．

1. Why do more and more young Britons choose to be vloggers?

A．Vloggers can earn little fame and money on the Internet.

B．There is too much competition in the traditional show business.

C．The Internet makes it convenient to become vloggers.

D．Anyone with a computer will surely become a star.

2. What can we infer from the fifth paragraph?

A．Only a few vloggers can be successful.	B．A vlogger can not earn fame or fortune.
C．Being a vlogger is not a good career.	D．Dreams will come true one day.

3. What do some young people like David do on the Internet?

A．Learn from others.	B．Become an online hit.
C．Hold running races.	D．Mix jobs with hobbies.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Most young Britons choose to be vloggers as their jobs.

B．The Internet is influencing young Britons’ career choice.

C．The Internet is taking the place of traditional studios.

D．Young Britons can not find jobs without the Internet.

4 . There are always times when your children get bored with studying. There are also moments when you are looking for something educational (教育的) yet funny and easy to do. With a few things and a little preparation, you can easily entertain (娱乐) and educate your children.

Do you read any magazines with pictures? Keep them. They can make a funny family game.

Sit with your children and look at the pictures. You can cut out interesting pictures and ask your children to lay (放置) them out. Use as many pictures as possible. For example, if it is a picture of a book, cut it out; even if it is an action, such as washing clothes, cut it out. Try to get as many different pictures as possible.

In this game, you are going to use the pictures to let your children make up their own stories. Then take any kind of table, even the kitchen table, and let your child lay out the pictures any way they wish. They don’t need to use all of them, just as many as they want.

After they have laid out the pictures, have them tell a story. If some pictures don’t fit in with their stories, don’t use them. If they find a different picture to add another part to their story, let them do it. The more pictures you have, the more creativity (创造力) will come from your children.

1. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．How to enjoy pictures with children at home.

B．How to entertain your children by drawing pictures.

C．How to educate children in an interesting and easy way at home.

D．How to tell stories to your children at home.

2. After the pictures are cut out, children should ______.

A．ask their parents questions

B．find a table to play the game

C．lay out the pictures

D．change the pictures

3. What does the underlined phrase “fit in with” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．match	B．cover
C．mean	D．Entertain

4. When playing this game, children _____.

A．cut out pictures from magazines or books

B．read magazines or wash clothes

C．make up stories about the pictures

D．make up stories with their parents

5 . 1970 was “World Conservation Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve(保护)nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can’t live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometers of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “No One’s Going to Change our World!” It was made by Seatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.

1. We shall destroy ourselves if we don’t ________.

A．improve our technology in planting trees

B．try our best to save the world

C．change the earth

D．hear about the record called “No One’s Going to Change our World!”

2. “No One’s Going to Change our World!” was ________.

A．a record calling on people to conserve nature

B．an important book published in 1970

C．an idea that nobody would accept

D．a rule worked out by the United States

3. What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world?

A．We should clean the banks of our rivers.

B．We should know what we should do and do it now.

C．We should know what will happen in the future.

D．We should plant more trees and flowers.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．1970 was ”World Conservation Year".

B．The United Nations wanted everybody to know that the world is in danger.

C．It is the young people who are helping to save our world.

D．Conservation is necessary.

9 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and pleasure. We use it to learn a new language. We find advice on it. We use it to connect with family and friends. We use it to stay in touch with events we care about.The list goes on and on.

As far as the Internet being a part of our lives, well, that train has left the station. There is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure in a young group: teenagers.

The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week only online may cause high blood pressure, which makes their hearts and blood vessels(血管) work too hard. Over time, this extra pressure increases the risk of a heart attack. High blood pressure can also cause heart and other diseases.

The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people, from 14 to 17 years old, took part in it. 134 of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users”. And researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers said the study was the first to connect heavy Web use with high blood pressure.

The lead researcher is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. She says, “Using the Internet is part of our daily life, but it shouldn’t ruin(毁坏) us.” Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to stop to have a rest regular from their computers or smartphones and do some kind of physical activity. She also suggests that parents shouldn’t let their children use the Internet for more than two hours a day, five days a week.

1. What does the underlined part “that train has left the station”mean in Paragraph 2?

A．The train has changed its course.

B．Life without the Internet is nowhere to be found.

C．The Internet brings great changes to people’s life.

D．The Internet has improved people’s life.

2. What can we know about the study according to Paragraph 4?

A．There was no similar study like it before.

B．Most of the young people had high blood pressure.

C．Adult people aged above 17 took part in the study.

D．Over half of the teens in the study were heavy Internet users.

3. Which of the following would Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow probably agree with?

A．That teenagers shouldn’t use the Internet.

B．That the Internet will ruin human life in the future.

C．That smartphones are more harmful than computers.

D．That regular breaks are necessary when using the Internet.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Heavy Internet users are mostly teenagers.

B．Every coin has two sides—so does the Internet.

C．Too much Internet use may be bad for teenagers.

D．How to prevent teenagers from using the Internet.

10 . Nowadays, it is more common for people to express their thoughts in an e-mail or text. In fact, more and more students use technology for written communication in their lives. Even so, research shows that teaching handwriting skills has its benefits. However, are the benefits worth spending valuable classroom time in teaching handwriting skills when students could be learning more about computer keyboarding（键盘输入）? However, are the benefits worth spending valuable classroom time in teaching handwriting skills when students could be learning more about computer keyboarding（键盘输入）?

States across the country have good reasons to require students to learn computer keyboarding skills. For one, students are learning a technology that will help them communicate faster with more people and in many different forms, such as e-mails, websites, blogs, and so on. Also, the better a student's computer keyboarding skills, the greater the chance that student has to become a better writer. Computer tools such as the grammar and spell check make correcting quick and easy, although not 100% accurate（准确的）. With these and many other tools students gain important computer skills. Furthermore, students no longer have to worry about their writing being graded poorly by teachers. All in all, computer keyboarding skills are a step in the right direction.

Still, the advantages of computer keyboarding skills may not be enough to leave handwriting instruction in the dust. Marlena Hamilton, professor of neurology at University of Pennsylvania, did an experiment with her co-workers to study what happens in students brains when writing. They found that many of the areas of the brain light up. These are the same areas that are used to learn to read. They then wondered if the same would be true when students looked at letters on a keyboard. "What we found, "she states, "is that brains are much less involved when we just view letters. When we actually use our hands to make things, the brain works much harder. "

Schools across the nation are looking at the evidence and deciding what to do. William McIntyre, a reading coach at Sunshine Elementary School in Albany, New York, says, "What we have learned from the research is that learning handwriting benefits students educationally. What we also know is that students need to be taught keyboarding skills "Now, it is up to each shool to make a decision.

1. How many advantages are mentioned in paragraph 2 about learning keyboarding skill?

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

2. Which statements may Marlens Hamilton agree with?

A．Keyboarding skills are very useful.

B．Keyboarding makes our brain more active.

C．Handwriting is helpful for learning.

D．Handwriting is more difficult than keyboarding.

3. What's the author's attitude towards learning keyboarding skills?

A．Opposed

B．Objective

C．Supportive

D．Positive

4. What's the text mainly about?

A．The advantages about learning keyboarding skills.

B．The differences between learning keyboarding skills and handwriting.

C．The importance of teaching handwriting.

D．Different opinions on learning keyboarding skills and handwriting.