Several studies in recent years have suggested that ride-sharing services like Uber can     1     (worse) traffic problems in cities,     2     continue to have high rates of private vehicle ownership.

The new study,     3     (conduct) by the not-for-profit group Union of Concerned Scientists, represents     4     attempt to center on how ride-sharing services affect pollution. The research examined the effects of ride-sharing services     5     the environment of seven American cities.

Overall, the researchers reported that ride-sharing trips now result in an estimate 69% more climate pollution on average than the     6     (replace) trips. The study explains that the same passengers could have chosen to travel by bus, train, bike or on foot.

One of the big reasons they give for this result is that usually ride-sharing vehicles     7     (drive) with no passengers in the car. This happens     8     drivers are either waiting for rider requests, are on the way to pick up passengers,     9     are driving in between pickups.

The study urges services like Uber     10     (work) to increase the number of pooled rides and electric vehicles on the road, and to improve connections to public transportation centers.

2 . Thailand has somtam, India has bhel puri and South Africa has a snack of bunny chow. They are some of the most famous street foods in these countries. Around 2.5 billion people eat street food around the world. The significance of street food culture is obvious in the following areas.

●Cultural identity

Street food identifies community and tradition, keeping alive one of the most important aspects of local culture — the eating habits of the people.     1     Street food makes a community lively. It catches the attention of local people, no matter what social class they come from.     2     Food stalls (摊位) are often owned and run by a family. This makes current generations able to learn about where they have come from.

●Employment and business opportunities

    3     In Tanzania, for example, the industry provides jobs for more than 1 million people. Since street food stalls are micro-businesses, it is possible for poor people to own their own stalls with only a small amount of money.     4     It prevents these vulnerable (脆弱的) social groups from falling further into poverty.

●Food accessibility

The significance of street food culture also includes improved access to food across countries, including their poor communities. Since the cooks have low operation costs, street foods are low in price.     5    

In a word, support for street food businesses could help to preserve culturally significant recipes, provide employment opportunities and supply low-cost food options.

4 . Almost half a billion small, cheap electrical everyday items from headphones to handheld fans ended up in landfill in the UK in the past year, according to research.

The not-for-profit organization Material Focus, which conducted the research, said the scale of the issue was huge and they wanted to encourage more recycling.

More than half a billion cheaply priced electronic goods were bought in the UK in the past year alone - 16 per second. Material Focus findings showed that of these items, 471m were thrown away. This included 260m disposable vapes, 26m cables, 29m LED, solar and decorative lights, 9.8m USB sticks, and 4.8m miniature fans.

Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, described it as “fast tech“. He said, “People should think carefully about buying some of the more frivolous items in the first place.” He said the items people bought were often “cheap and small”, and that consumers may not realize they contain valuable materials that could be salvaged if recycled.

Small electricals can contain precious materials including copper, lithium and stainless steel. These components can be recycled and used in wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. Material Focus said that while people were used to the idea of recycling larger electrical items such as fridges, lots of smaller devices were left unused in houses.

Butler said, “We want to get the message across that anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled and there’s somewhere near you to do it. The scale of the issue is huge, but there’s an easy solution-just as the trend for recycling and repurposing fashion has grown and grown, we want to encourage the nation to recycle fast tech, guilt-free and fuss-free.”

Material Focus said that when consumers bought a cheap item, they saw it as disposable. They estimate that UK citizens spent more than f2.8bn on these cheap products in the past year. The non-profit group described it as“the tip of the iceberg”when it comes to the growing issue of wasted electricals in the UK. More than 100,000 tonnes of waste electricals are thrown away every year, and there are 880m electrical items of all kinds lying unused in UK homes.

7 . Placed before you are two pots. Each contains 100 balls. You are given a clear description of the first pot’s contents, in which there are 50 red balls and 50 black balls. The economist running the experiment is tight-lipped about the second, saying only that there are 100 balls divided between red and black in some percentage. Then you are offered a choice. Pick a red ball from a pot and you will get a million dollars. Which pot would you like to pull from? Now try again, but select a black ball. Which pot this time? Most people choose the first pot both times, despite such a choice implying that there are both more and fewer red balls than in the second pot.

This fact is known as the Ellsberg paradox after Daniel Ellsberg, who called the behaviour hate uncertainty. It reveals a deeper problem facing the world as it struggles with climate change.            

Ignorance of the future carries a cost today: uncertainty makes risks uninsurable, or at the very least expensive. The less insurers know about risks, the more capital they need to protect their balance-sheets against possible losses.

Insurance is a tool of climate adaptation. Indeed, insurance calculators have as big a role to play as activists in the fight against climate change. Without insurance, those whose homes burn in a wildfire or are destroyed by a flood will lose everything. Insurance can also be a motive for corrective action. Higher insurance expenses, which accurately reflect risk, stimulate people to adapt sooner, whether by discouraging building in risky areas or encouraging people to move away from high fire risk land. If prices are wrong, society will be more hurt by a hotter world than otherwise would be the case. Politicians considering financial aid for home insurance on flood plains ought to note.

8 . Halloween candy could be in for a California big change. State lawmakers last month passed the California Food Safety Act, which bans four materials found in popular snacks and packaged foods - including candy corm and other Halloween treats. Set to take effect in 2027, the ban will lead candy and food producers to change their formulas for products sold both in California and elsewhere around the country.

The law bans the production and sale of some materials, which are used in processed foods including kinds of instant potatoes and sodas, as well as candies. The additives (添加剂) have been linked to increased risks of cancer and nervous system problems, according to the Environmental Working Group, which started the act, and are already banned in many other countries.

Food producers and their lobbyists (说客) opposed the law, arguing the conclusion that the four additives are unhealthy should be made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They thought that evaluating the safety of food materials and additives should rely on the scientific accuracy of the FDA. But food safety advocates say the FDA has moved far too slowly in regulating food chemicals. It’s unacceptable that the U.S. is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to food safety.

California’s act made headlines this year as a “Skittles (彩虹糖) ban” that would wipe popular candies off California shelves. But supporters of the act said the intention is simply to require changes in the materials, as has already happened in Europe. Perhaps the most standing-out material on California’s banned list is red dye No. 3. It is allowed only in candied and cocktail cherries in the European Union but more than 3,000 products contain the chemical in the U. S. The list includes items like frosted pretzels and scores of brand-name candies such as Peeps and Pez. It also includes items like fruit cocktail cups, protein drinks, and yogurts.

9 . How cuteness has taken over the world?

Scroll through any social-media feed, and before long a cute video will appear.     1    . The supply of these adorable clips is huge. On TikTok, there are 65 million videos tagged# cute.

    2    . Japanese artists in the Edo period (between 1603 and 1868) painted puppies or fashioned them out of ivory. Joshua Paul Dale, the author of “Irresistible”, argues that the popularity of Cupids in Renaissance and Rococo art made winged babies “the major expression of cuteness in Western art for three centuries”.     3    . People could watch and share amusing content of their children or favourite animals at any time. In2022, more than 90,000 videos of cats were uploaded to YouTube every day.

Cute things are everywhere, not just online. In America, a puppy has advertised beer, and a cute gecko helps company Geico sell around $39billion in car insurance a year. In Britain a cartoon koala helps peddle toilet paper.     4    . However, a study from 2015 found that participants felt more energetic and positive, and less annoyed, anxious or sad, after watching cat videos.

Cuteness has real-world uses. Lovot, a companion robot with big eyes and a button nose, is covered in sensors and responds positively when hugged. Such innovations may help fight with loneliness among the elderly. Policymakers, too, might take advantage of the power of cute to guide people’s behaviour.     5    .

An appreciation for cute things is a joy in and of itself, but it also has the potential to change the world. How’s that for a cute idea?

10 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。