2 . From toilet paper to yogurt, and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s called “shrinkflation(缩水式通胀)”, and it’s accelerating worldwide. In the U. S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams.

Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it multiplies in times of high inflation(通货膨胀) as companies struggle with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor, and transportation. Global consumer price inflation was up an estimated 7% in May, a pace that will likely continue through September, according to S&P Global.

“It comes in waves. We happen to be in a tidal wave now because of inflation,” said Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who has documented shrinkflation on his Consumer World website for decades.

Mr. Dworsky said shrinkflation appeals to manufacturers because they know customers will notice price increases but won’t keep track of net weights or small details, like the number of sheets on a roll of toilet paper. Companies can also employ tricks to draw attention away from downsizing, like marking smaller packages with bright new labels that draw shoppers’ eyes.

Some customers who have noticed the downsizing are sharing examples on social media. Others say shrinkflation is causing them to change their shopping habits. Alex Aspacher does a lot of grocery shopping for his family. He noticed when the one-pound package of sliced Swiss cheese he used to buy shrank to 12 ounces but kept its $9.99 price tag. Now, he hunts for deals or buys a block of cheese and slices it himself. “I was prepared for the change to a degree, but there hasn’t been a limit to it so far,” Mr. Aspacher said. “I hope we find that ceiling pretty soon.”

Sometimes the trend can reverse. As inflation eases, competition might force manufacturers to lower their prices or reintroduce larger packages. But Mr. Dworsky says once a product has gotten smaller, it often stays that way.

1. According to the passage, what can we learn about shrinkflation?

A．It attracts customers by adjusting the prices.

B．It newly emerges in the period of high inflation.

C．It saves manufacturing cost by reducing package sizes.

D．It is a good way for manufacturers to expand their business.

2. The example of Alex Aspacher is mentioned to ________.

A．show customers’ support for shrinkflation.

B．share customers’ current shopping experiences.

C．explain the inconvenience shrinkflation has brought.

D．illustrate the impact of shrinkflation on buying habits.

3. What does the underlined word “reverse” mean?

A．Change to the opposite	B．Spread like wildfire
C．Become unpredictable	D．Come to a stop

3 . My four-and eight-year-olds are closer now than they were before the pandemic. I can hear the sounds of giggling from their bedroom several times a night. But the more time my girls spend together, the more they fight, too. The most common battlegrounds for my kids are injustices and fighting for position.

On days when we are trapped in the house together and their screaming matches reach operatic levels, their dad and I worry we did something horribly wrong as parents to encourage this volume of conflict. But according to Jeanine Vivona, a professor of psychology at the College of New Jersey who studies sibling rivalry (较量), “competition with siblings is just a fact of life. And we can just try to manage it as best we can.”

Studies have shown that sibling conflicts may occur up to eight times an hour. “Conflict does decrease into adolescence; it’s sort of levels off,” said Mark Ethan Feinberg, a research professor at Pennsylvania State University. “Early and middle childhood are particularly difficult times for sibling aggression.”

While most siblings aren’t fighting for actual quarrels, psychologically, sibling rivalry serves a developmental purpose: it helps children figure out what is unique and special about themselves, known as “differentiation”. Children want to be seen as the most special by their parents, so they’re always going to push for preferential treatment over their siblings. But they may also shape their interests and personalities around their siblings’ skills and desires.

For example, let’s say the older son is a soccer star. The younger child or children may then avoid soccer altogether, either because they are afraid they won’t be as good or because they fear they might be better—and they don’t want to take that risk either.

1. Why is there conflict between the author’s daughters?

A．Because they play the screaming matches.

B．Because they always compete for priority.

C．Because they can’t stand living with each other.

D．Because they receive obviously unfair treatment.

2. What can we infer from the text?

A．Sibling rivalry could be useful as motivation for children.

B．Parents should intervene sibling rivalry as much as they can.

C．Most sibling conflicts begin to fall when children become adults.

D．Life throughout childhood will be miserable due to sibling rivalry.

3. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Kids’ struggle with sibling rivalry

B．Parenting solutions to sibling rivalry

C．The psychology behind sibling rivalry

D．An unintended upside of sibling rivalry

5 . Whether you're a citizen, consumer or investor, it is fast becoming a key life skill to make out greenwashing, a word meaning a company claims that its products are environmentally friendly but actually not green at all. Misleading or not proved claims about benefits to climate can make it harder for people to make informed decisions. They can also weaken real efforts by companies to clean up their act and deal with the climate crisis.

The basic problem is a lack of clarity. Indeed, when it comes to spotting greenwashing, it can actually be more helpful to focus on the color grey—because it is the many grey areas that have helped make greenwashing appear in particular places. These grey areas might be around measurements, definitions, best practice, standards or regulations. Even the language we use is very imprecise, leaving lots of room for vagueness, confusion or complete cheating. For instance, what do words such as “green”, “sustainable” and “eco” even mean? You have no standards, measurements or definitions to judge by.

These problems are increasingly important when it comes to the greenwashing of investment products, such as pensions and investment funds. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in consumer demand for funds that invest according to environmental, social and governance criteria, often referred to as ESG funds. According to the financial data provider Morningstar, the value of assets(资产) held in UK funds grew from £29bn at the beginning of 2017 to £71bn by the end of 2020.

With that much money at risk for high profits, misleading claims can effectively hamper the flow of money and resources into really green new plans and businesses, preventing global efforts from dealing with the climate emergency. “I describe it as the 'teenage years' of responsible investing, with a lot of experimentation, and a lot of people trying out new things.” says Ashley Hamilton Claxton.

1. Which of the following can be called greenwashing?

A．A product that is claimed to benefit the climate.

B．A product that can been washed in a green way.

C．A product that is absolutely environmentally friendly.

D．A product that is claimed to be green while not the case.

2. What's the major cause of the problem of greenwashing?

A．The product's description is not clear.

B．The language isn't grammatically right.

C．There are no such words as “sustainable”.

D．The company doesn't say it's “green” and “eco”.

3. What does the underlined word “hamper” probably mean?

A．put

B．clarify

C．stop

D．divide

4. What can you infer from the last paragraph?

A．Much money enables high profits

B．Responsible investing is still at its early stage.

C．More money is invested in real green businesses.

D．A lot of people are unwilling to try out new things.

6 . September is upon us, which means one thing for parents and children alike: term time after the lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic(疫情). No Isolation collected responses from 1,005 parents and carers of 1,477 children of primary and secondary school.     1    

Loneliness is difficult to describe and talk about for adults.     2     To help children understand that their feelings are normal and acceptable, parents need to open up a dialogue around what loneliness is, explaining that feeling lonely is completely normal and a topic that is safe to talk about.

Another way that we can deal with social isolation(孤独) is through the use of technology, especially video calls. Video calls have been common during the pandemic.     3     Because it can be hard to know how or when to speak up or interact. As a result, having a talk over a video conference can be very difficult for some children, making the feelings of loneliness more serious.

Are you worried about how your child might be struggling, or concerned that a more digital life could be leaving them isolated     4     Now, more than ever, we should be listening to children and helping to make sure they are heard in these difficult times. They are facing the same pandemic that we are.     5    

A．They need help and support.

B．The first thing to do is talk with them.

C．Children especially can struggle with this.

D．The school and teachers should be responsible for it.

E．Sadly, more than 3/4 of these children felt lonely during the lockdown.

F．However, they are not necessarily the answer for those studying from home.

G．Actually, they are quite useful and effective for all the children studying from home.

8 . The China State Council issued a document in early August, suggesting employers across the country make flexible working arrangements and give their workers Friday afternoons off during hot summer days in order to boost tourism and consumption.

Online surveys have shown that most correspondents are in favor of the State Council’s proposal for longer weekends, as two and a half days are enough even for one to plan a short journey. People will have more time to be together with their families.     1    

However, there are doubts as to whether this well-intentioned initiative can be put into practice.     2     While the regular two-day weekend is still a dream for a large number of working people in various industries, a two-and-half-day weekend is really a luxury many people can barely afford.

    3     If staff workers of government departments and public institutions no longer work on Friday afternoons, local residents will have nowhere to go if they have urgent issues to solve through these establishments.

Obviously, the only way out is to implement policies concerning paid annual leave in a realistic manner so that the working people can make arrangements for their days off work. As a result, holidaymakers don’t need to all rush to the same scenic spots during the same period of time, which would be beneficial to the protection and operation of these spots.     4     Thus it serves the initial purpose of boosting economic growth through developing tourism.

    5     The government is supposed to pay more attention to the protection of labor rights and employ all possible means to ensure their holidays as well as the functions of government institutions, instead of just making economically motivated policies.

A．Also, this is an effective way to increase consumer spending.

B．The right of workers to rest and paid annual leave are protected under the law.

C．A larger number of workers, if not all, will benefit from official holiday arrangements.

D．Most people think that they will actually not be able to enjoy the benefits of such a scheme.

E．After rest and relaxation, employees will become more energetic when they come back to work.

F．Another worry is that this measure will finally be exclusively (专有地) enjoyed by a limited number of employees.

G．As long as paid annual leave remains unrealistic in most industrial sectors, the two-and-half-day weekend seems pointless.

9 . Before you worry about bacon and how much it may cost when new animal welfare laws go into effect next year, let’s talk about the pigs that gave their lives for it.

California has been on the forefront of protecting animals who live short lives on factory farms either to produce food for us or to be slaughtered and sold as food. The latest advance came in November 2018, when 62.7% of the state’s voters supported Proposition 12, the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act. The law began going into effect last year, requiring hens and veal calves to be given more space to live in. Starting on Jan. 1st, the law will require that all eggs sold in California come from cage-free hens and that pork sold in the state come from breeding pigs that are not held in cages. These are humane steps designed to lift these animals out of structures that barely allow them to move.

Pork producers have had the longest time to comply (遵守). Some big companies like Hormel Foods have pledged to do so fully, but others have spent the last few years fighting the law rather than figuring out how to put it into practice. They say that the law will significantly raise the price of pork and that it violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress sole power over interstate business activity. So far, that fight has been a waste of time that pork producers could have better spent figuring out how to retrofit (翻新)their farms.

They also complain that the regulations on the law are not set. But the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which has yet to finalize the regulations, says that the delay should not have prevented producers from retrofitting their housing for breeding pigs. The agency has publicly posted draft regulations, which mostly concern record-keeping, certification and definitions of terms.

For fans of bacon and other pork, any rise in cost is the price of not having a pig suffer before it’s killed for food. It’s a price the animals shouldn’t have to pay.

1. What do we know about Proposition 12?

A．The law will come into force next year.

B．More space is required for raising hens and pigs.

C．Raising hens and pigs in limited space is humane.

D．Half of the state’s voters subscribed to Proposition 12.

2. What does the underlined word “pledged” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Suspect.

B．Refuse.

C．Promise.

D．Hesitate.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to paragraph 3?

A．Some pork producers have raised the price of pork.

B．All the pork producers don’t comply with the law.

C．Pork producers have wasted a lot of time retrofitting their farms.

D．Pork producers resist the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

4. Which word can best describe the author's attitude to the new animal welfare laws?

A．Skeptical.

B．Conservative

C．Tolerant.

D．Favorable.