1 . According to a research, more than 130 billion pounds of uneaten food go to waste in Laura’s county each year. That is about 30% of the yearly food supply (供应). It is a sad fact, especially when you consider how many families and homeless people are in hunger.
When Laura saw her school dining hall throw away food that was not eaten at all every day, she came up with an idea. She started a project to help her school dining hall to give away uneaten food to homeless shelters (避难所) in her community. In the past three years, the same protect has spread to other schools and some fast food restaurants throughout the city. The project is called Feed & Find, which has already fed thousands of people in her city.
How does it work? Through an app, Feed & Find matches local homeless shelters with school dining halls and restaurants that have uneaten food to provide. When dining halls or restaurants have uneaten food left, they can use the app to share the information about the food. A truck driver working for the project is then sent to pick it up and take it to a shelter.
Pretty cool, right? It’s not surprising that people in other cities have got in touch with Laura, to hoping that she could help develop similar projects for their communities.
Some people, however, dread the safety of the uneaten food. They think such food may not be clean enough. Still, this project is a clever way to help solve the problem of food waste and it helps those in need.
1. The numbers in Paragraph 1 tell us ________.| A．some people are poor | B．food waste is serious |
| C．the population is large | D．the research is interesting |
| A．her school dining hall | B．her family |
| C．a fast food restaurant | D．a homeless shelter |
| A．find a truck driver | B．visit their communities |
| C．give away food to them | D．help develop projects like hers |
| A．ways | B．secrets | C．worries | D．decisions |
2 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.
“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.
You can see the irony (讽刺) here.
Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.
The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.
So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.
1. What’s the authors purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To express the people’s love for all festivals. |
| B．To talk about the meaning of the festivals. |
| C．To appreciate the value of the festivals. |
| D．To bring out the topic of the passage. |
| A．To help people save money. | B．To cut the cost for daily life. |
| C．To prevent over-consumption. | D．To set up a new sales record. |
| A．Opposed (反对的). | B．Supportive. |
| C．Unknown. | D．Neutral (中立的). |
| A．Creating a New Lifestyle | B．Buy Nothing Day |
| C．Festivals Around the World | D．A Change in People’s Life |
3 . While teenagers who are at risk of depression with risky behaviors — drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and cutting classes often alert parents and teachers that serious problems are brewing, a new study finds that there’s another group of adolescents who are in nearly as much danger of experiencing the same mental symptoms.
These teens use tons of media, get insufficient sleep and have a sedentary (不爱活动的) lifestyle. Of course, that may sound like a description of every teenager on the planet. But the study wars that it is teenagers who engage in all three of these practices in the extreme that are truly in a dangerous position. Because their behaviors are not usually seen as a red flag, these young people have been called the “invisible risk” group by the study’s authors.
The study’s authors surveyed 15,395 students and analyzed nine risk behaviors, including excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking and high media use. Their aim was to determine the relationship between these risk behaviors and mental health issues in teenagers. The group that scored high on all nine of the risk behaviors was most likely to show symptoms of depression; in all, nearly 15% of this group reported being depressed, compared with just 4% of the low-risk group. But the invisible group wasn’t far behind the high-risk set, with more than 13% of them exhibiting depression.
The findings caught Carli off guard. “We didn’t expect that,” he says. “The high-risk group and low-risk group are obvious, but this third group was not only unexpected. It was so distinct and so larger — nearly one third of our sample — that it became a key finding of the study.”
Carli says that one of the most significant things about his study is that it provides new early warning signs for parents, teachers and mental health-care providers. And early identifications, support and treatment for mental health issues, he says, are the best ways to keep them from turning into full-blown disorders.
1. Which teenager probably belongs to the “invisible group”?| A．A teenager who drinks frequently. | B．A teenager who exercises regularly. |
| C．A teenager who skips school. | D．A teenager who suffers from a lack of sleep. |
| A．It was conducted by analyzing and comparing the previous data. |
| B．It was intended to dig into the reasons for depression. |
| C．It revealed an alarming rate of the invisible group suffering depression. |
| D．Its findings were under expectation of the research team. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．introduce a new therapy for teens’ mental disorder |
| B．war about the unobserved signals for teens’ mental problems |
| C．share a novel psychological experiment with teens |
| D．caution teens against developing unhealthy habits |
4 . Does the happiness of parents play a role in shaping the overall happiness of their children? Scientific studies have shed light on the far-reaching connection between parental happiness and the positive development of kids. It seems that parental happiness has an important influence on the emotional, social, and cognitive (认知的) development of children.
Another great idea is sharing experiences and creating many memories together. The idea is twofold.
One of the main aspects of being happy parents is feeling comfortable, confident and able to be themselves, despite their new status and huge responsibility. Honestly, when parents prioritize their own happiness, it has positive effects on the overall happiness of the family.
When parents put their own happiness first, they become role models for their kids. They see the importance of self-care, pursuing passions and maintaining healthy relationships.
| A．However, part of being responsible is being honest. |
| B．They are passing on some major life skills and attitudes. |
| C．They may lose a bit of their sense of self when caring for children. |
| D．Parents can adopt practical ways to enhance their own happiness. |
| E．A joyful and harmonious family environment benefits everyone involved. |
| F．This can happen when parents prioritize their own happiness according to Inc. |
| G．Firstly, the parents continue to be themselves and do something they love. |
5 . Terence Crowster started the Hot—Spot Library, after appealing for donations on Facebook, in Scottsville, South Africa in 2017. Based out of two aging metal shipping containers, it may not look like your conventional library. On winter days, rain leaks through holes in the roof and drips down onto the tables and bookshelves. But for the residents of Scottsville, a neighborhood torn apart by drug abuse and gang violence, it offers a safe space to escape the severe realities of daily life and to explore different worlds in the pages of thousands of donated second-hand books.
What eventually inspired Crowster to launch his project, he says, was visiting schools and witnessing firsthand South Africa’s problem with literacy. While according to UNESCO, nearly 90% of South Africans can read and write, this statistic masks a worrying trend—the percentage of children who can “read for meaning”, instead of simply being able to recognize words, is extremely low. A recent study found that just 22% of Grade 4 students could effectively read for meaning.
At the Hot-Spot Library, Crowster has carried out a system of book reviews to ensure that his young members are indeed reading for meaning. A borrower who returns a volume must fill out a review form, which the librarians store in folders. “I like that Peter saves the people,”wrote one reviewer after returning a copy of Peter Pan. “I don’t like Captain Hook because he is rude with people.”Such are the morals that Crowster hopes his young readers will internalize.
With only a membership of 30 in its first year, today the library has over 700 members. “It takes me to a place in my mind where I can just relax and live in the book,”says Abigail Cloete, who joined in a month ago, “Right now I’m in Hawaii,”she jokes, pulling a small red copy of Heartbeat in Hawaii out of her bag.
1. What's the Hot-Spot Library like?| A．Well-furnished. | B．Poorly-equipped. |
| C．Specially-decorated. | D．Traditionally-designed. |
| A．Severe violence in the schools. | B．UNESCO's inspiring statistics. |
| C．Donations from local communities. | D．The children's problem with literacy. |
| A．To help librarians arrange the folders. | B．To collect the borrowers’ information. |
| C．To lead the readers to read for meaning. | D．To let people know what a book review is. |
| A．She finds relief in reading. | B．She is very sociable. |
| C．She enjoys travelling abroad. | D．She is quite adventurous. |
6 . There are a lot of wild camels in Australia. Although they don’t appear to be as destructive as other introduced species because they eat trees and plants that our native Australian animals don’t eat, in the last few years the Australian Camel population has been increasing at a fairly alarming rate and becoming a bit of a problem.
We didn’t see them that often where we grew up unless we went further into Queensland or South Australia. When we did see them it was always a bit of a thrill for us kids because it was somewhat of a novelty.
The suggestion of bringing camels to Australia was first made in 1837, 49 years after Europeans arrived in Australia. The importing of camels into Australia began in the mid 1800s to open up the desert areas of Central and Western Australia. They were handled and cared for by Muslim cameleers that came from countries like Egypt, Turkey and northern India. The cameleers were called Afghans or “Ghans” even though most of them were not Afghans. The name stuck to a part of the railroad track that links Port Augusta in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory.
In a famous 176-kilometre race, between Bourke and Wanaaring in New South Wales a camel was beaten by a horse but the horse died the next day while the camel was ridden back to the starting point.
By the 1920s there were about 20, 000 domesticated camels in Australia, but with the arrival of motor and rail transport in the 1930s people no longer needed their camels and a lot of them were abandoned in the bush.
Australian Camels are now exported live to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries where disease-free camels are considered a delicacy. Australian Camels are also exported to Arab Camel racing stables as breeding stock. The United States also imports them to use in tourist attractions. There are over 40 farms providing rides in Australia now.
1. What problem with camels in Australia is mentioned?| A．They carry disease. |
| B．They hurt people sometimes. |
| C．The number of them is growing rapidly. |
| D．Some native animals are threatened by them. |
| A．To keep the balance of nature. |
| B．To develop the desert areas. |
| C．To satisfy kids’ curiosity. |
| D．To create new jobs. |
| A．The disappearance of bushes. |
| B．The spread of a serious disease. |
| C．The introduction of other animals. |
| D．The availability of modern vehicles. |
| A．The history of Australian Camels. |
| B．What Australian Camels are used for. |
| C．The advantages of Australian Camels. |
| D．Why Australian Camels are popular abroad. |
7 . Last weekend I made a journey from New York to London, with my daughter to see my mother. To my relief, the travel was far easier than I expected: the airports were empty, the plane was half-full and the airline staff kindly provided food and wine, which I drank greedily with a straw while wearing the required face mask. What I did not expect was to be hit with a culture shock on arrival in London.
In New York, face masks are now an inseparable part of life. Street signs declare “OUTSIDE WITH NO MASK? FORGET ABOUT IT!” Buildings carry more polite notices warning that anyone without a mask is banned. And even without them, almost everyone I see on the streets in my corner of Manhattan has their face covered. Strangers sometimes shout angrily at people who do not.
Indeed, there is such a strong sense of social pressure that in recent months I have worn a mask even when cycling alone, along Manhattan’s East river. And my daughter has taken to shopping online for “fashion masks”.
But not so in London. A new report issued by the Royal Society and the British Academy shows that, at the end of April, just 25 percent of Brits wore face masks in public places compared with 66 percent of Americans. We saw this for ourselves: in London, we appeared to be almost the only people wearing masks on the streets or in shops; even on public transport some seem to reject them.
Simon Roberts explains powerfully in a timely new book the Power of not Thinking. Habits matter deeply, but we rarely notice them — unless we travel. After a few days in London, I have started to “forget” my mask when I go outside. When I return to New York, I will have to relearn my habits all over again.
1. What does the underlined phrase “culture shock” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?| A．The loss of culture. | B．Confusion and unfamiliarity. |
| C．The face mask. | D．A huge welcome. |
| A．Serious. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Ambitious |
| A．Londoners think mask wearing is only necessary on public transport. |
| B．None of the Londoners likes the idea of mask wearing. |
| C．New Yorkers should wear masks even if alone. |
| D．New Yorkers would react strongly to people without masks. |
| A．To stress the importance of realizing one’s habits with environmental changes. |
| B．To help people understand that each country has its own unique culture. |
| C．To encourage people to travel and explore the world. |
| D．To explain why there’s a culture shock. |
| 大多数学生的观点 | 部分老师及家长的观点 |
| 1.便于和父母及朋友联系 2. 增加乐趣， 丰富学生的生活 | 1.分散注意力， 不能集中精力学习 2. 花费高 |
| 你的观点…… | |
1. in favour of
2.keep in touch
3. concentrate on
4.spend too much money on ...
注意：1.词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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9 . Exploration is about how we experience the geography. A geography education without actively learning how to explore places is as frustrating as teaching music lessons without sound. Besides that, exploration has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things we humans will ever do. It can be good for developing problem-solving, teamwork, social and other vital skills. Therefore, we should be given the opportunities to learn properly how to do it.
The sad reality is that millions of children are socially and geographically deprived(剥夺) of the opportunities. Their learning environments lack the diversity of places and experience-based opportunities that they need to develop well and as a result, they will not reach their full potential.
There is plenty of research showing that many children have little time and space to explore, play and learn outdoors. Perhaps most shockingly, Dirt is Good conducted a survey which found that three-quarters of UK children spend less time outside than prisoners, that the amount of time children spend playing in natural places has decreased and that a fifth of children do not play outside on an average day.
There are a large number of good and complex reasons why parents do not let their children play (and so learn) outdoors and not overcoming these barriers comes with its own risks. Changing the parenting cultures that are overly limiting many children’s freedom will potentially need efforts of generation after generation.
Partially as a response to this situation, an increasing number of doctors are providing social prescriptions(处方). Instead of being offered medicine for mental or physical illness, young patients are being prescribed time with nature, volunteering, doing sports or some other activities instead.
Teachers are, in many ways, in a better position to provide time and space for children to benefit from experiences that help them not only to learn, but also to be well. Teachers can spare both formal and informal time and space for exploration that helps not only children who are ill, but also those who are well.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly talk about?| A．The way to reach full potential. |
| B．The methods of doing exploration. |
| C．The different attitudes to exploration. |
| D．The importance of doing exploration. |
| A．Prisoners in the UK are treated very well. |
| B．Children are badly in need of outdoor time. |
| C．Children are becoming less outgoing nowadays. |
| D．There aren’t enough natural places in many countries. |
| A．It’s interesting but tiring. |
| B．It’s complex and risky. |
| C．It’s challenging but worthwhile. |
| D．It’s troublesome and demanding. |
| A．Playing outside can promote people’s health. |
| B．Traditional medicines may have side effects. |
| C．Experienced doctors are in short supply. |
| D．Mental illness needs special treatment. |
10 . Parents who want their kids to succeed more than anything are now being sold a high-tech solution. Class 120 is $199-a-year smartphone app that tracks teenagers and alerts parents if the kid isn’t in his or her scheduled class.
Is it a good idea for parents to track whether their young adults are in class? In short: No. This is a terrible idea.
One of the fundamental purposes of a college is learning to be an independent person. That means learning how to do what needs to be done, whether one particularly feels like doing it or not.
It’s easy to see why parents are keen on tracking their kids. A student is admitted to college by a process that focuses mainly on grades and scores. Monitoring grades and scores is easy. The parents may think that:
“Our child is succeeding. We are good parents. We are happy.” But grades and scores can’t tell everything.
They don’t take into account whether their kids have the strength of self-discipline (自律) and the skill needed to care for himself or herself.
Monitoring the development of character is much harder for parents. Character growth happens through encountering (遇到) and learning to deal with disappointments and failure. You never know which problem will be the point for growth.
However, letting kids fail can be really difficult for anxious parents. They believe that success means being perfect and never failing. The truth is that kids need to learn to fail.
College is an ideal place to practice adults’ responsibility and independence. Students need to make their own decisions about whether to get out of bed and go to work in the morning.
Maybe your child hasn’t learned this lesson by now, but he or she has to learn it sometime. An alarm clock’s job is to wake you up, but it does not provide a reason.
1. What’s author’s attitude toward tracking teenagers?| A．Supportive. | B．Opposed. | C．Indifferent. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Avoiding failure. | B．Keeping healthy. |
| C．Professional knowledge. | D．Living independently. |
| A．Failure means that a kid is not good enough. |
| B．Failure may be the key part of kid’s development. |
| C．Everyone should manage to avoid failure at any time. |
| D．Failure will bring many negative influences to children. |
| A．An alarm clock is necessary for a kid. |
| B．A kid should buy a talking alarm clock. |
| C．A kid should get up early for learning without any reason. |
| D．A kid should always maintain a sense of responsibility and independence. |
