1. What percentage of the Indian youth are hopeful for the future?
| A．53%. | B．49%. | C．20%. |
| A．Energy. | B．Technology. | C．Environment. |
| A．Giving a lesson. | B．Hosting a show. | C．Broadcasting news. |
2 . Josefa Marin went to New York from Mexico in 1987, supporting her daughter back home with the $140 a week she earned at a sweater factory. With that small income, she had to collect recyclables, trading in cans for five cents each.
When the clothing factory closed down in the late 2000s, she became a full-time recycler, picking up cans and bottles to make ends meet.
Marin’s story is not unique. Millions around the world make a living from picking through waste and reselling it — a vital role that keeps waste manageable. In New York City, the administrative department collects only about 28 percent of the cans that could be recycled. Rubbish collectors, however, keep millions of additional recyclables out of landfills every year.
Yet collectors are ruled out by government policies. The United States Supreme Court in 1988 stated that household garbage is public property once it’s on the street. That enables police to search rubbish for evidence, but that protection hasn’t always been extended to recyclers. And in places like New York City, which is testing city-owned locked containers to hide garbage from rats, containers are made clearly inaccessible for collectors.
“There’s value in the waste, and we feel that value should belong to the people, not the city or the corporations”, says Ryan Castalia, director of a nonprofit recycling and community center in Brooklyn.
Recognized or not, waste pickers have long been treated with disrespect. Marin recalls an occasion when someone living next to a building where she was collecting cans threw water at her. “Because I recycle doesn’t mean I am less of a person than anyone else,” she says. It’s a pity to see that the government doesn’t stand by the garbage collector’s side, either.
Fortunately, some governments are starting to realize that protecting the environment and humanity go hand in hand. Brazil classified waste picking as an official occupation in 2001. In 2009, Colombia’s government granted the right to collect valuable garbage. The U.S. is slowly catching on too. After all, to the government, the garbage is garbage, but to the collectors, it’s something they make a living on.
1. What is the author’s purpose of telling about Marin?| A．To highlight waste collectors’ role. |
| B．To reflect the unemployed’s hardship. |
| C．To praise her devotion to her daughter. |
| D．To show the seriousness of unemployment. |
| A．By citing reference. | B．By contrasting. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By cause-effect analysis. |
| A．No job is noble or humble. | B．Business is business. |
| C．The early birds catches worms. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
| A．Who owns our garbage? | B．How can we end poverty? |
| C．Who takes blame for waste? | D．How should we recycle rubbish? |
In today’s world, technology has become a necessary part of our lives. However, with the increasing
One of the concerns that technology poses (造成)
Another concern comes from balancing our virtual and real relationships. We can
Navigating responsible technology use is
1. How many factors of car accidents are mentioned?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. |
| A．Improved highway design. |
| B．Stricter traffic management. |
| C．Strengthened training for drivers. |
| A．Poor traffic control. | B．Some driver-less cars. | C．Drivers’ carelessness. |
5 . If you live on this planet, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen the classic Star TrekEpisode, in which captain Kirk and several members find themselves in what appears to be another universe.
These days, it seems the idea of the multiverse—many worlds—is having its Hollywood moment. Its appeal as a storytelling device is obvious—characters explore a multi-world with varying degrees of similarity to our own, as well as different versions of themselves. Hence, it has been fully established in mainstream pop culture.
While Hollywood can’t seem to get enough of the multiverse, it remains deeply controversial (有争议的) among scientists. Advocates on the two sides show no mercy toward each other in their books, on their blogs. But physicists didn’t pull the idea out of thin air—rather, several distinct lines of reasoning seem to point to the multiverse’s existence. However, critics warn that making the multiverse legal could make it harder for the public to distinguish speculative (推测性的) theories from established fact, making it more difficult to keep pseudo-science (伪科学) at bay. Giving credit to such speculation risks “turning fundamental physics into pseudo-science”.
The multiverse controversy is rooted in the idea of test ability. If we can’t interact with these other universes, or detect them in any way, some experts insist that reduces them to mere philosophical speculation. But Carroll, an advocate for “many worlds”, argues that mathematics is the language describing our physical theories. Since Schrdinger’s equation (方程), on which Quanturr (量子) mechanic rests, predicts the existence of many worlds, so be it.
Could a more expansive view of the universe itself be the next breakthrough? As Siegfried puts it: “Every time in the past that we’ve thought, ‘We’ve got it; this is what the whole universe is’—the people who’ve said, ‘Maybe there’s more than one of those’ have always turned out to be right.”
1. Why is Hollywood so occupied with the multiverse?| A．It makes for engaging plots. |
| B．It is a much-talked-about topic. |
| C．It is helpful to popularize science. |
| D．It dominates the mainstream pop culture. |
| A．Out of date. | B．Out of place. | C．Out of nowhere. | D．Out of question. |
| A．it can be detected somehow |
| B．it can be reasoned logically |
| C．it can be interpreted philosophically |
| D．it can be predicted by mathematics equation |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Dismissive. | C．Unclear. | D．Approving. |
6 . A community canteen at the Zhanongkou Community in Shangcheng, Hangzhou recently launched “happiness blind boxes”, which cost just 6 yuan per box. Sales start at 7 p. m. each evening.
The dishes are packaged in transparent (透明的) containers, but to maintain an element of surprise, stickers are placed over the lid (盖子) of the “main dish” section of each box. The “blind boxes” have become popular since being introduced, and on some nights they sell out by about 8 p. m.
A meal assistance program introduced in Zhanongkou subdistrict ensures the elderly can access meals within a 10-minute walk of their homes or have them delivered within five minutes. The service has also been welcomed by younger people living and working in the area.
Yan Xuyang, a professor at Beijing Union University’s Tourism College, predicts that by 2035, those born from the 1970s to the 2000s will comprise the main group of customers for such canteens. “This generation has a reasonable level of disposable (可自由支配的) income, and many of its members may also lack the willingness to prepare meals for themselves,” Yan said.
The successful operation of community canteens depends on their ability to integrate into the daily lives and culture of local residents. In addition to serving dishes to suit local tastes and fostering a welcoming environment for diners, it is important to widen the functions of these canteens. They have been used for cultural activities and other events, which helps raise awareness and foster a positive perspective on these canteens among local communities.
In the latter part of last year, the Weikang community canteen in Ziyang subdistrict, Hangzhou, experienced a significant transformation from being a canteen for seniors to catering for the whole community. Its services have been broadened beyond regular operations to include services for hospitals and businesses, complete with home delivery options. Some other community canteens have also made efforts to appeal to more residents.
1. What can we know about the “happiness blind boxes” from the passage?| A．They are sold out every night before 8 p. m. |
| B．They are beautifully decorated with stickers. |
| C．They offer a sense of mystery with the unknown main dishes. |
| D．They are only offered to the residents in the Zhanongkou Community. |
| A．Promising. | B．Cautious. | C．Unclear. | D．Objective. |
| A．Reasonable prices. | B．Fast delivery service. | C．Various functions. | D．Unexpected surprises. |
| A．To highlight the popularity of community canteens. |
| B．To emphasize the importance of community canteens. |
| C．To discuss the wide functions of community canteens. |
| D．To show the innovative reform of community canteens. |
7 . Since Zhao Hongshan’s dermal filler injection (皮肤填充注射) four years ago—he has spent around 80,000 yuan on his face. “Getting plastic surgeries is just as normal as body building. Both make men more handsome and confident,” says the 33-year-old, who owns a gym in Beijing.
Zhao is among a growing number of Chinese men using plastic surgeries to change their physical appearance to increase their self-confidence. In 2021, the market for beauty medicine in China was worth more than 495 billion yuan, with males accounting for around 15 percent of customers, according to a report by plastic surgery social networking app Gengmei.
There is a rising trend of young men turning to plastic surgeries; most male customers are in their teens or 20s. “Some men just want to please themselves, while others hope to improve their possibility in job hunting or dating,” says Wang Jun, vice-president of marketing for Gengmei. “Men are under the same social pressures as women and their confidence and competitiveness would be more or less weakened by facial and body weaknesses.”
However, experts point out the risks of plastic surgeries. Fan Jufeng, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, does not encourage people, no matter men or women, to “blindly” go under the knife.
According to the National Health Commission, a total of 2,772 cases related to illegal (非法的) plastic surgeries were handled by China's health departments during a year long attack that started in May 2017.
Fan also warned the public of the negative influences of live streaming celebrities (流量明星) who promote the misunderstanding that being pretty goes above all else. “Whether to have plastic surgeries is a personal choice, but people should not be addicted (上瘾) to it,” Fan says. “Think twice on it. After all, a rich and beautiful inside world is far more important than a pretty face.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic of plastic surgeries?| A．By giving an example. | B．By providing data |
| C．By raising a question. | D．By making suggestions. |
| A．The huge cost of men’s beauty market in China. |
| B．The growing beauty market for the Chinese men. |
| C．The rising trend of young men turning to plastic surgeries. |
| D．The reason for the increasing popularity of plastic surgeries. |
| A．The benefits of men’s plastic surgeries. |
| B．The great social pressure for Chinese men. |
| C．The reasons for men’s plastic surgeries. |
| D．The misunderstanding of the short cut to success. |
| A．They’re unsafe in health. | B．They’re expensive in price. |
| C．They’re wrong in beliefs. | D．They’re useless in job hunting. |
| A．Plastic Surgeries—Male vs Female | B．Women’s Plastic Surgeries—Yes or No |
| C．Plastic Surgeries—Price vs Result | D．Plastic Surgeries—Blind or Not |
8 . In the past five years, a revolution (革命) has gathered pace in the transport sector. Electric cars have hit the mainstream.
The latest figures released on 26 April by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest almost one-in-five new cars sold worldwide this year will be either a full-battery or plug-in hybrid (插电式混合动力) models. In total, 14 million of these kinds of vehicles are expected to be sold this year, up from around a million in 2017.
This explosive growth is a testament to industry innovation and government interventions (干预). Falling battery costs have delivered longer-range cars, boosting their consumer appeal. Meanwhile, government policies, including upcoming restrictions on the sale of new petrol and diesel (柴油) cars in some countries, have caused people to choose zero-emission driving.
But although electrification of the global vehicle fleet brings climate benefits, there is also cause for concern. SUVs have been growing in popularity in recent years, accounting for 42% of all car sales in 2020. At the same time, electric SUVs have also gained ground, representing roughly 35% of electric passenger car sales in 2022.
Electric SUVs are still greener than their petrol and diesel counterparts, but their size and weight erase some of the climate gains from moving to electric vehicles. Their larger batteries also require more raw minerals, putting extra pressure on already stretched global supplies. “The trend towards larger cars is definitely not desirable at all,” says Christian Brand from the University of Oxford.
Air pollution is another worry. “The benefit of moving to an electric vehicle, from an exhaust (废气) emission point of view is pretty small,” says Frank Kelly from Imperial College London. And since electric vehicles still produce pollution from their tyres, brakes and road wear, air pollution won’t fully go away. “We’re still going to have a pretty big problem in our cities,” says Kelly.
As such, governments must do more to reduce car dependency, particularly in urban areas, says Kelly. “Clean public transport is the solution to our air pollution problem in urban areas.” he says.
1. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?| A．How the car industry transformed. |
| B．Why people turn to electric vehicles. |
| C．A prediction of the car industry’s future. |
| D．A comparison between electric vehicles and traditional ones. |
| A．Met with opposition. | B．Control the market. |
| C．Made significant progress. | D．Gone into gradual decline (下降). |
| A．Use public transport. | B．Share cars with others. |
| C．Stop using petrol vehicles. | D．Choose smaller electric vehicles. |
| A．Electric vehicles are rapidly taking off — but is that a good thing? |
| B．The future of electric vehicles and material resources? |
| C．How green are electric vehicles? Well, that depends. |
| D．Did SUVs just win the electric vehicle market? |
Located on cliffs above a river, Hongyadong is a stilted house complex (吊脚楼建筑群) in the traditional style in the city of Chongqing. Its bars, restaurants and golden lights
Instead of having fun, some people now make their way to remote strawberry farms or bays to take photos to impress their friends on social media. Douyin has 230 million monthly active users and its fans
Since Japan began releasing nuclear-contaminated(核污染) wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on last Thursday despite strong opposition and
According to the spokesperson, the actions of the Japanese government are
“The Chinese government will take necessary measures to firmly protect the marine environment
