1 . In recent years, people have been focusing on the quality of food that children are fed in schools. Former First Lady Michelle Obama worked hard to make school lunches healthier, resulting in new menus that featured less fat and salt, more fruits and vegetables.

But high-quality nutrients count for little when there is no time to eat them. Amy Ettinger reports, "There is no national standard on how much time kids get to eat that meal. " And with schools being occupied with test scores, teachers are using every available minute for lesson time, which often leaves kids without enough eating time.

This is a problem because the length of the school lunch period is a key factor (因素) in how much nutrition children actually gel. Research has found that having less than 20 minutes for lunch results in children consuming much less of their lunch than those with more than 20 minutes.

This is really terrible. For many low-income kids, that cafeteria lunch can represent half their daily energy intake. There's also another terrible message that it's acceptable to wolf down food as fast as possible before rushing off to your next class. Cafeteria time should be a chance to interact with friends, to learn important social skills, to observe and share varieties of food. It should be a break in day, a chance to relax before heading into the afternoon.

As Ettinger explains, some parents are hoping the National Parent Teacher Association will address this issue. This, in turn, would help parents push their kids' schools for better lunch time standards. Meanwhile, if you have a kid in this situation, you can help by packing a healthy lunch to spare them the cafeteria lineup. Make the foods easy to eat, provide non-messy snacks that can be eaten in class, put great effort into serving a hearty breakfast, and sit down as a family for dinner whenever possible.

1. What did Michelle Obama make efforts to improve?

A．The quality of school lunches.	B．The performance of school kids.
C．The school lunch time kids have.	D．The eating habits of school kids.

2. What happens to children in American schools?

A．They are occupied with many tests.	B．They fail to get along with each other.
C．They consume more meat than before.	D．They have less lunch time than before.

3. How are low-income kids influenced by the problem at school?

A．They can't go to classes on time.

B．They can't have enough energy.

C．They can't share different kinds of food.

D．They can't hold a positive attitude toward life.

4. What can parents do to solve the problem?

A．Prepare a better lunch for their kids.

B．Stop their kids going to the cafeteria.

C．Force schools to make adjustments to lunch.

D．Guide their kids on how to pack their own lunch.

2 . Masks that helped save lives are proving a deadly danger for wildlife, with birds and sea creatures trapped in the shocking number of thrown-away facial coverings. Single-use masks have been found around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide. Worn once, the thin protective materials can take hundreds of years to decompose. “Face masks aren't going away any time soon—but when we throw them away, these items can harm the environment and the animals,” Ashley Fruno of animal rights group PETA said.

In Britain, a gull was rescued by the RSPCA after its legs became tangled in the straps of a mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.

The biggest impact may be in the water. More than 1.5 billion masks made their way into the world's oceans last year, accounting for around 6,200 extra tonnes of ocean plastic pollution, according to environmental group Oceans Asia.

Conservationists in Brazil found one mask inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami. French campaigners found a dead crab trapped in a mask near the Mediterranean. Masks and gloves are “particularly problematic” for sea creatures, says George Leonard, chief scientist from NGO Ocean Conservancy. “When those plastics break down in the environment, they then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems.” he added.

There has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on, but many are still using the lighter single-use varieties. Campaigners have urged people to bin them properly and cut the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.

1. What's Paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The problem of littering masks.	B．The long time to break down masks.
C．The threat of masks to wildlife.	D．The protective use of masks to people.

2. What did the animal welfare charity do to the gull?

A．They gave first aid to the bird.	B．They released the bird at once.
C．They kept the bird for about a week.	D．They sent the bird to hospital.

3. How is Paragraph 4 developed?

A．By providing examples.	B．By giving explanations.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By analyzing causes.

4. Which measure has been taken to help solve the problem?

A．Forbidding the use of single-use masks.	B．Wearing reusable cloth masks.
C．Cutting the masks up before throwing.	D．Increasing fines for binning masks.

3 . I was driving home with my son Giacomo, 15, on the A40 when I suddenly saw a small plane coining down. Out of nowhere, it _______ some 200 yards away from where we were_________, overturning and bursting into flames.

We were going 70 miles an hour and I managed to_______；otherwise we would have crashed into it ourselves. I jumped out, _________ Giacomo in the car. I remember shouting at him to stay there _________we really didn't have time to mess around.

Flames were coming out of the cockpit（驾驶舱）and I could hear screaming, so I climbed under the wing and tried to_____________the windows in but failed, and with the heat of the_________coming over the top of the plane, I _______ I might have to give up or I'd be in great danger myself. I found the small windows at the back of the plane had cracked, so my best bet was to kick those through. It ___________ and, looking back, we were unbelievably ____________; otherwise, it would have been a completely different____________.

I pulled a teenage girl and boy out.____________another guy, Joel Snarr, arrived on the scene to________________at just the right time. I don't think I would have been able to get the______________out—he was a big guy.____________, Joel seized him by the arms and got him out just in time. I could____________straight away Joel had a military background by how he conducted himself. We'd just got all three of them, Stuart Moore, who’d flown the plane, and his nephew and niece, to a safe ____________when the plane exploded.

The emergency services ____________ pretty quickly, and then they did their duty. When I got back to my__________, Giacomo and I stared at each other, almost laughing in __________. It was a very strange moment—things like this only happen in films.

1.

A．exploded

B．landed

C．disappeared

D．crashed

2.

A．living

B．driving

C．standing

D．flying

3.

A．roll

B．speed

C．stop

D．pass

4.

A．leaving

B．saving

C．blaming

D．greeting

5.

A．if

B．though

C．until

D．since

6.

A．fix

B．kick

C．clean

D．shut

7.

A．fire

B．steam

C．water

D．engine

8.

A．expected

B．imagined

C．admitted

D．sensed

9.

A．lasted

B．counted

C．worked

D．ended

10.

A．afraid

B．lucky

C．cautious

D．brave

11.

A．story

B．adventure

C．challenge

D．lesson

12.

A．Yet

B．Thus

C．Then

D．Indeed

13.

A．help

B．climb

C．explain

D．deliver

14.

A．steward

B．driver

C．rescuer

D．pilot

15.

A．Instead

B．However

C．Strangely

D．Secretly

16.

A．argue

B．tell

C．describe

D．agree

17.

A．return

B．room

C．distance

D．journey

18.

A．went away

B．set out

C．shut down

D．turned up

19.

A．car

B．house

C．plane

D．cinema

20.

A．surprise

B．sorrow

C．relief

D．confusion