1 . One thing we always remember from our childhood is our favourite teddy bear. This soft ragged toy was our comfort and companion. As we grow up, we normally give up our childish ways, and our furry friend often ends up in storage or at a yard sale. But that’s not the case for everyone.
It seems that some grown-ups continue to need their cuddly (让人想抱的) toy by their sides. And for some adults, soft toys remain an essential presence—they take them wherever they go.
A cuddly toy can come in many forms —animals, strange shapes or just a piece of stuffed material. But it’s the teddy bear in particular that seems to have a lasting appeal —it gives us a nostalgic(怀旧的) feeling and a reminder of our younger days. David Cannadine, a historian, says, “Perhaps it’s that bears represent the happy security of a childhood friend who never changes or lets you down. For whatever reason, teddies appeal to both children and adults of all ages.”
The teddy bear is much celebrated these days, and they’ve become something that we don’t just grow up with —people buy them as adults too. There are shops which sell only teddy bears, there are teddy bear museums in many countries, and teddy bear festivals regularly take place around the world.
While our soft toys offer us a kind of comfort blanket, some experts say it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s sometimes good to let go of the restrictions of adult life and be a big kid again. Many adults purchase playthings they enjoyed as children because they bring back happy memories. Colouring books, cuddly toys and board games were top of the list. So, if you’re still keeping your teddy a secret, don’t worry —you’re not alone!
1. What are teddy bears usually used for?| A．Keeping people company. |
| B．Making adults stay young. |
| C．Being sold for pocket money. |
| D．Being collected for appreciation. |
| A．They come in various shapes and colors. |
| B．They are made of strange furry materials. |
| C．They help to ensure children’s safety. |
| D．They carry with them true friendship. |
| A．Take less notice of shame. | B．Try to act like a child. |
| C．Follow social rules strictly. | D．Buy toys if necessary. |
| A．No More Teddy Bears | B．A Teddy Bear for Life |
| C．Childish Teddy Bears | D．Adults in Need of Toys |
2 . Thousands of tons of Long Island recyclables are ending up as trash compared to last years because of sharply dropping prices caused by restrictions issued this year by China, the world’s largest importer of recycled cardboard and plastics, recycling operators said. The restrictions could lead to changes in the way many Long Islanders dispose(处理) of paper and other material—particularly in towns that switched to the “single stream” recycling programs that allowed residents to combine paper, plastic, aluminum and glass in one container, officials said.
The problem reached a flash point last week when Green Stream Recycling told Brookhaven officials it could no longer run the town’s recycling facility. Green Stream is expected to fold, and Brookhaven on Thursday expects to name a new operator to temporarily run the recycling system while town officials weigh their long-term options. Brookhaven plans to continue the single-stream program.
Though changeable prices are considered normal in the waste industry, Brookhaven and Green Stream previously had touted(吹捧) the town’s single-stream program since it began in 2014. In its first year using single stream, the town saw a 25 percent increase in the number of homes that recycled. Similar increases were reported by towns such as Smithtown, Huntington and Southold that agreed to transport their recyclables to the Brookhaven plant. But this year, nearly 22 percent of recyclable paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum brought to the Brookhaven facility has gone to incinerators(焚化炉) or landfills, double the rates of 2016and 2017, according to figures provided by Green Stream.
1. How did Long Islanders usually deal with waste cardboard and paper?| A．They exported them to China. | B．They recycled the items. |
| C．They adopted “single stream” program. | D．They buried them under the ground. |
| A．By explaining the reason. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By comparing options. | D．By stating the fact. |
| A．The town. | B．Changeable price. |
| C．Brookhaven and Green Stream. | D．The town’s single-stream program. |
| A．Booming. | B．Criticized. | C．Tricky. | D．Changeable. |
3 . Marks &Spencer(M&S) is planning to remove “best before” labels from 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables in its stores to cut food waste. The change will rely on customers using their judgment to determine whether goods are still fine to eat.
The measure, to be rolled out this week, will affect 85% of the supermarket’s fresh pro-duce offering. “Best before” labels differ from “use by” dates, with the former often merely a measure of aesthetics(美学), while the latter tending to indicate a safety risk if ignored. “Best before” labels were meant to help consumers, but instead were blamed for creating mountains of waste from perfectly eatable food.
Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, had already announced the end of best before dates on its own-brand fruit and vegetables as far back as 2018, while the German supermarket Lidl also says it does not include best before information to reduce food waste. Now M&S is doing the same, with the aim to halve(减半) food waste from its products by 2030 com-pared with 2018. Achieving those targets would put it in line with the UK’s commitment to meet the United Nations’ goal of halving food waste by 2030 compared with 2007.
Reducing food waste is a vital part of tackling carbon emissions associated with farming and food distribution(分配). WRAP, a food waste charity, estimates that as much 45%of global greenhouse gas emissions can only be tackled by changing the way we make and consume products and food. It said that removing dates on fresh fruit and vegetables can save the equal of 7 million shopping baskets of food a year.
Catherine David, a director at WRAP, said, “We’re thrilled to see this move from M&S, which will reduce food waste and help tackle the climate crisis. We urge more supermarkets to get ahead on food waste by cutting date labels from fresh produce, allowing people to use their own judgment.”
1. What does Marks &Spencer intend to do?| A．Maintain the safety of their products. |
| B．Ask customers to pick out eatable produce. |
| C．Sell its own-brand fruit and vegetables. |
| D．Remove “use by” labels from its fresh produce. |
| A．Denied. | B．Canceled. | C．Introduced. | D．Examined. |
| A．Meet government regulations. |
| B．Improve food safety standards. |
| C．Increase sales of fresh produce. |
| D．Get rid of dates labels on fresh produce. |
| A．M&S’s new move to reduce food waste. |
| B．Tesco follows M&S’s lead on food labels. |
| C．M&S calls for a fight against climate crisis. |
| D．Effective methods to protect the environment. |
American teens are seen as “in a state of
Nearly 1
1.度假方式；
2.你的观点。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.题目和首句已为你写好。
Last week, the school English newspaper interviewed 200 students to find out their ways of spending a vacation.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . In the long history of pipe-assisted drinking—beginning with the gold beer-sipping tubes of the Sumerians —Starbucks’s plastic straws(吸管)knew they had some advantages over the rest. Their tight white wrapping carried not only English words but a French style. They stood straight and tall as a stalk (秆)of wheat, with no ugly appearance. And their colour was beautiful. It was darker than the leaves of spring, and lighter than the Washington forests and the logo of the company. But despite all that, they were to disappear by 2020, for not being green enough.
Of course, the straws played an important part in daily life. You could build a cottage with them, or make a hat. At best, they might compose a mat. Their nearest relatives were not delicate grasses, but single-use plastic tubes.
Yet this did not concern them, because they had a higher calling:to refresh human beings.Rather than pumping up the customer with hot highly-effective Americanos, they cooled him with less caffeine and more play. People, especially teenagers and children, needed them to socialize, and amuse themselves. All these folk could have drunk their Frappuccino or their iced teas directly from the plastic cup, of course. Some did, ignoring the eager straws standing ready.
Fun was why green straws had been put into use at all. They began their service not when Starbucks was founded, in 1971, but when it introduced the Frappuccino almost three decades later. Green straws marched in, along with whipped cream. They meant happiness. Yet for each of those straws, the Frappuccino and its followers faced a serious challenging. Through the flat plastic lids of iced coffees, now sharply scored with a cross, they were expected to do the same.
However, the straws were thrown to the bin, either in-store or in the street after being used. They lay where they were thrown in woods, or fields, or among the hills. They would never be dust. They had eternal(永久的)life. That’s the reason why they would disappear.
1. Why would Starbucks’s plastic straws disappear?| A．They were not environmentally friendly. |
| B．They were not widely used in everyday life. |
| C．They took on an ugly look in appearance. |
| D．They were uncomfortable for followers to use. |
| A．Calming. | B．Uplifting. | C．Disturbing. | D．Depressing. |
| A．Humans. | B．Straws. | C．Iced teas. | D．Plastic tubes. |
| A．Why Are the Green Straws So Popular? |
| B．Protecting the Environment İs Our Duty |
| C．Don’t Drink Iced Frappuccino Any More |
| D．Say Goodbye to Starbucks’s Green Straws |
7 . City farms are gaining popularity in cities and towns around the United States.
Eco City Farm in Edmonston, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community. People do not have very much money, and they have limited access to fresh food in markets. Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers from the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farm for a lesson. Alston Clark thinks his experience very valuable. “I like coming out here.” he says, “You know, you connect with the Earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”
Margaret Morgan Hubbard started Eco City Farm. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community and showing that you can have farms even in the city is helpful to strengthen the relationship in that community and brings people together,” she says. “Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration to show people everything about how to have a sustainable community.” From the Eco City Farm people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost made from food waste. Sixteen wooden bins are filled with worms. Their job is to eat the food waste and help make it into compost.
Eco City Farm is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks but from the sun with solar panels. In winter, the greenhouses are heated using a geothermal system. Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bicycle to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.
1. Where is Eco City Farm in Edmonston located?| A．It is close to the community. | B．It is far in the countryside. |
| C．It lies inside the neighborhood. | D．It is opposite to shopping centers. |
| A．Working-class people. | B．School-aged children. |
| C．People with high pay. | D．People without a job. |
| A．It demonstrates how to use green power in the city life. |
| B．It teaches children to value the food made by themselves. |
| C．It improves the relationship between people in a community. |
| D．It enables people to live in a safe and harmonious community. |
| A．The history of city farms. | B．The popularity of city farms. |
| C．City farms are an experiment. | D．City farms save a lot of energy. |
8 . American students had been learning at home for more than a year during the pandemic (流行病). When they returned to in-person learning, teachers began to see more behavioral problems.
Sarah Potpinka is an art teacher at Putnam High School in Connecticut. She said she saw more fights and arguments among students online and in person. Some refused to wear the required face coverings. Other students broke school rules by leaving in the middle of class to meet up with friends. Obviously throughout this pandemic, the students spent a lot of time at home and because of that they lack in those social skills.
Bad behavior among students is part of what experts are calling a mental health crisis among children. Even before the pandemic, research found that bad behavior in the classroom was increasing.
A group of mental health organizations say in a recent Hopeful Futures Campaign report that one in three students reported feeling lonely or hopeless. Half of all mental illnesses are present by the age of 14 but few students get the services they need. The report, released last month, also warns that suicide is the second leading cause of death among those aged 14 to 18 in 2019.
Richard Douglas is a school psychologist at Putnam High School with over 30 years of experience.Douglas said that during the pandemic there have been many things that disrupt (破坏) families. More time at home could lead to more arguments with family members. Douglas feels school officials provide enough support to deal with the mental health crisis at Putnam. For the school of around just 250students, there is also a counselor, a social worker, and two recently hired interventionists (干预者). Interventionists help identify learning and behavioral problems among students.
Despite behavioral problems among students after returning to in-person classes, Potpinka said the change has been better for the students. She said it is easier to keep students engaged in schoolwork face to face. It is also easier to seek help for them when there is trouble.
1. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Bad behavior. | B．Staying at home. | C．The pandemic. | D．Breaking school rules, |
| A．The absence of mental health services. | B．The importance of the mental health report. |
| C．The development of depression in children. | D．The seriousness of students’ mental problems. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Worried. | C．Optimistic. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．US Schools Struggle With Bad Behavior but See Opportunities |
| B．Hopeful Futures Campaign Released a New Report |
| C．Students Face Learning Challenges During the Pandemic |
| D．A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions of Students |
9 . It is never easy to cope with all the unwanted bullying (恐吓) even when you have done nothing wrong.
Ask them to stop. If walking away doesn't work, tell the bully to stop in a calm, unemotíonal voice. Sometimes when we do not speak up for ourselves, the bullies may think of us as easy targets and continue with their behavior.
Be accompanied. If you are with your friends, or if you are in the company of someone, it is least likely that the bully will disturb you.
Talk to someone you trust about the bullying.
| A．Be calm and avoid reacting, |
| B．Know what to say to the bully. |
| C．Bullies usually hunt for people who are alone. |
| D．Keeping the bullying in secret is what the bully wants. |
| E．Furthermore, there is no point in talking openly about bullying. |
| F．But doing nothing in return will only result in more intense bullying. |
| G．However, raising our voice or responding angrily can make things worse. |
10 . E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that allow users to breathe in nicotine (尼古丁) without lighting a cigarette. They come in many shapes and sizes like regular cigarettes, pens, USB sticks and other everyday items.
Though e-cigarettes may be less harmful than regular cigarettes, their effect on health can still be serious. Using e-cigarettes, or vaping, has been associated with a higher risk of lung injury. E-cigarette exposure may be particularly harmful to young adults — it can harm their brain development and cause a lifelong addiction to nicotine. According to Food and Drug Administration(FDA), an increasing number of students are using e-cigarettes every year and FDA is trying to work out how to regulate using e-cigarettes.
One way to cut e-cigarette consumption is to impose a tax. A study by the Centre for Health Economics &Policy Studies at San Diego State University found that a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes is associated with a 14% — 26% decrease in vaping among high-school students. Young people tend to be strapped, so even a small tax increase could discourage their vaping. Unexpectedly, the tax increase seems also to decrease teenage alcohol consumption. According to the study, a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes is associated with a 10%-11%reduction in teenage excessive alcohol use. Smoking and drinking tend to go together.
Teenagers who drink are twice as likely as others to light up. In turn, raising taxes on cigarettes has been found to reduce teenage drinking.
So should lawmakers surely rush to carry out an e-cigarette tax? The answer is not so simple. Catherine Maclean, one of the study's authors, warned, “Despite the potential of a tax increase on e-cigarettes to restrict young adults' using cigarettes, it may lead to some others switching to regular cigarettes or illegal vaping products.”
Many other ways are put forward. Some believe requiring a prescription (处方) for e-cigarettes could help as well. Another tighter regulation is also a possible answer — Britain and the Euro-pean Union regulate the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes.
1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text?| A．By giving an example. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By giving a definition. | D．By making an assumption. |
| A．It is hardly addictive to new smokers. | B．It can help develop teenagers' thinking. |
| C．It is increasingly accepted by teenagers. | D．It can deepen regular smokers 'addiction. |
| A．Feeling grateful. | B．Lacking confidence. |
| C．Showing strong passion. | D．Having little money. |
| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Favorable. | D．Critical. |
