1 . A new study by scientists at Utrecht University concludes that about half of global wastewater is treated, rather than the previous estimate of 20%. Despite this promising finding, the authors warn that treatment rates in developing countries are still very low.
Humans and factories produce vast quantities of wastewater per day. If not properly collected and treated, wastewater may severely threaten human health and pollute the environment.
The authors use national statistics to estimate volumes of wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. “Globally, about 359 billion cubic metres of wastewater is produced each year, equivalent to 144 million Olympic-sized swimming pools,” says Edward Jones, PhD researcher at Utrecht University. “About 48 percent of that water is currently released untreated. This is much lower than the frequently announced figure of 80%.”
While the results show a more optimistic outlook, the authors stress that many challenges still exist. “We see that particularly in the developing world, where most of the future population growth will likely occur, treatment rates are falling behind,” Jones explains. “In these countries, wastewater production is likely to rise at a faster pace than the current development of collection and treatment basic facilities. This poses serious threats to both human health and the environment.”
The main problem, especially in the developing world, is the lack of financial resources to build basic facilities to collect and treat wastewater. This is particularly the case for advanced treatment technologies, which can be extremely expensive. However, the authors highlight potential opportunities for creative reuse of wastewater streams that could help to finance improved wastewater treatment practices.
“The most obvious reuse of treated wastewater is to increase freshwater water supplies,” Jones states. Treated wastewater reuse is already an important source of irrigation water in many dry countries. However, only 11% of the wastewater produced globally is currently being reused, which shows large opportunities for expansion.
“But freshwater increasing is not the only opportunity,” says Jones. “Wastewater also has large potential as a source of nutrients and energy. Recognition of wastewater as a resource, opposed to as ‘waste’, will be the key to driving improved treatment going forward.”
However, the authors stress the importance of proper monitoring of wastewater treatment factories, accompanied by strong legislation (法律) and regulations, to ensure that the reuse of wastewater is safe. The authors also acknowledge public acceptance as another key barrier towards increasing wastewater reuse.
1. According to the author, the meaning of treating wastewater lies in ________.A.encouraging new scientific findings |
B.estimating volumes of wastewater production |
C.ensuring human health and protecting the environment |
D.measuring how much wastewater is produced globally per day |
A.equal | B.harmful | C.useful | D.friendly |
A.treated wastewater can’t be used as irrigation water |
B.wastewater production in developing countries is falling |
C.the treatment of wastewater is more serious than estimated |
D.public recognition plays an important role in wastewater reuse |
2 . How to Deal with FOMO in Your Life
FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” is becoming increasingly common and can cause significant stress in your life. It applies to anything from a party to a promotion at work and affects just about anyone. It always involves a sense of helplessness that you are missing out on something big.
With social media becoming popular, FOMO has become more obvious. As more research on FOMO is conducted, we are getting a clearer picture of how it affects us.
Moreover, one study found that the fear of missing out was linked to a greater smartphone and social media usage.
Rather than trying to connect more with people on social media, why not arrange to meet up with someone in person? Making plans with a good friend, or doing anything social that gets you out with friends can be a nice change of pace.
A.It can help you to shake that feeling that you are missing out. |
B.The idea that you might be missing out on a good time is not new. |
C.Rather than focusing on what you lack, try noticing what you have. |
D.The picture is not pretty, as there are many negative effects of FOMO. |
E.Smartphone usage was related to fears of negative evaluations by others. |
F.Smartphone and social media have made the FOMO phenomenon worse. |
G.Understanding where the problem lies can be a great first step in overcoming it. |
The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise. However, its role in learning
4 . The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution(内卷),” joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
“Instead of always following the ‘virtues’ of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment,” said a scholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?A.Warned. | B.Punished. | C.Amused. | D.Touched. |
A.Improvements in living conditions. |
B.Growing pressure from family and social life. |
C.Increasing material possessions from families. |
D.Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions. |
A.Understanding. | B.Intolerant. | C.Supportive. | D.Unclear. |
A.They never really drop their responsibilities. |
B.They really enjoy the “lying down” lifestyle. |
C.They find their dreams far beyond their reach. |
D.They would rather escape than take challenges. |
5 . You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860-1935)Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community (社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness(意识) of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-present)When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and in 1981, the first woman to join the U. S. Supreme Court (最高法院). O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks(1913-2005)On December 1,1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott (抵制). It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.
1. What is Jane Addams famous for in history?A.Her social work. | B.Her teaching skills. |
C.Her efforts to win a prize. | D.Her community background. |
A.Not having training in law. | B.Her little work experience in court. |
C.Her identity as a woman. | D.Her poor financial conditions. |
A.Jane Addams. | B.Rachel Carson. |
C.Sandra Day O’Connor. | D.Rosa Parks. |
A.They are highly educated. | B.They are truly creative. |
C.They are pioneers. | D.They are peace-lovers. |
Quite contrary to general belief, it is not only bad guys that commit crimes, “good” guys do that too. Sadly enough, unlike in the movies, we can’t actually divide the world into good and bad guys. Real life is never as simple as that. Just as diseases range from the common cold to serious forms of cancer, crimes also vary in degree. For example, smoking in an elevator will trouble people, but much less than endangering them with a gun.
Besides breaking the law themselves, people tolerate various levels of crime. Why? It may be that, by seeing others do something, we accept it more easily. For example, most people will find it easier to speed on a highway when everybody else is driving over the speed limit. So the people around us influence how much law-breaking we can tolerate.
We must also wonder whether seeing violence on television or reading about it in the newspapers makes us tolerate crime more than we should. We become used to seeing blood on the media. Because we see thousands of dead people on TV, maybe we just try to ignore the situation behind the violence.
If so many citizens tolerate violence and crime, or even commit crimes themselves, it may simply be because of the human mind. Our minds may not care about specific laws. Instead, we may have a system of values that usually prevents us from hurting other people to improve our own lives. Yet, when it comes to respecting the rights of a mass of unknown individuals, we might not be so responsible. While most people would not steal a wallet containing $50, they may not mind cheating on taxes, because cheating on taxes does not hurt any single person. It hurts society, but “society” remains an abstract idea that is not as real as a certain person.
When we realize that many people have mistaken belief about law-breaking, we could think it isn’t surprising that so many people have a criminal record. How could we improve the level of honesty in our society? Would strict laws help make our society better? Probably not. Honesty will have to come from social pressure: in the family, at school, on the job, each and every one of us can encourage honesty by showing which behaviors are unacceptable.
1. What is the general belief about committing crimes?2. What does the writer think of the violence on social media?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Some people do not mind cheating on taxes because they believe cheating on taxes is not a crime by nature.
4. How can we improve the level of honesty in our society? (about 40 words)
7 . Mindfulness—in basic terms, the practice of being “present” in the moment and paying attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings—has seen something of a boom over the last few years. While it certainly has its benefits, some argue that it encourages blind acceptance of the status quo, taking us so far into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world. In a new preprint on PsyArxiv, Michael Poulin and colleagues from New York’s University at Buffalo also find that mindfulness can decrease prosocial behaviours (亲社会行为).
The first study was designed to look at the impact of mindfulness on prosocial activity, and in particular, whether this depends on a person’s “self-construal”. In short, if someone has an independent self-construal they see the self as separate from others, rather than thinking more collectively and conceptualizing themselves as part of a wider group.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, one oriented around mindfulness meditation, and the other focusing on a control meditation in the form of mind wandering. Those in the mindfulness condition listened to a tape designed to inspire mindfulness through mindful breathing, while those in the mind wandering condition were instructed to “let your mind wander and think freely”.
After listening to the tapes, participants read about a local poverty and homelessness charity, before being asked whether or not they wanted to stuff envelopes in support of the organisation. Participants who decided to take part were left to do so for as long as they wanted. The team also measured participants’ self-construal by asking them to indicate how much they identified with friends, family, and wider groups compared to how much they thought of themselves as independent.
Most participants (84%) stuffed at least some envelopes after the task. People who participated in the mindfulness meditation stuffed 15% more envelopes than those who did the control mediation—if they had an interdependent self-construal. But for those with independent self-construals, mindfulness decreased the number of envelopes stuffed by 15%.
As the second study took place online, participants were not asked to stuff envelopes, but instead to sign up (or not) to chat online with alumni donors to request financial support for the same charity. And similar to the results of the first study, those in the interdependent condition saw an increased likelihood of volunteering after the mindfulness task, while those with independent self-construal were less likely to volunteer after listening to the mindfulness exercise.
Mindfulness has often been positioned as a panacea (灵丹妙药), not only for anxiety or other mental health conditions but in other areas, too: productivity, creativity, personal relationships, and particular traits or habits. Rather than treating it as a wholesale good, however, it may be better to understand when mindfulness might be truly beneficial—and, importantly, for whom.
1. What does the underlined word “stuff envelopes” in Para. 4 mean?A.To employ people. | B.To write letters. | C.To donate money. | D.To open envelopes. |
A.people less value charity work |
B.people more willing to volunteer |
C.interdependent people more independent |
D.independent-minded people less prosocial |
A.closely related to charity | B.not as popular as it used to be |
C.useful under certain circumstances | D.effective in solving social problems |
A.Supportive. | B.Disapproving. | C.Neutral. | D.Critical. |
8 . The “laugh out loud” face is officially the world’s most popular emoji, according to researchers from Adobe (ADBE) who surveyed 7,000 users across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.
The “thumbs up” emoji came in second, followed by the “red heart” emoji. The flirtatious “wink and kiss” and “sad face with a tear” emojis respectively rounded out the top five.
The software maker on Thursday released the findings from its 2021 Global Emoji Trend Report ahead of World Emoji Day on Saturday.
Adobe’s latest Emoji Trend report also examined the three most misunderstood emojis in the world. The “eggplant” symbol edged out the “peach” and the “clown” emojis respectively as the most confusing for users.
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The vast majority of emoji users (90%) believe the modern —day hieroglyphs make it easier for them to express themselves. Eighty — nine percent of respondents said emojis simplify communicating across language barriers. And 67% said they think people who use emojis are friendlier, funnier and cooler than those who don’t. A slight majority of respondents said they are more comfortable expressing emotions through emojis than talking on the phone or in —person. More than half of global emoji users (55%) said using emojis in communications has positively impacted their mental health. Seventy — six percent of those surveyed said emojis are an important communication tool for creating unity, respect and understanding. And 88% said they feel more empathetic toward people who use emojis.
1. What are the three most popular emojis according to the passage?A.clown thumbs up laugh out loud |
B.laugh out loud thumbs up wink and kiss |
C.laugh out loud thumbs up red heart |
D.thumbs up red heart sad face with a tear |
A.Peach. | B.Eggplant. | C.Clown. | D.Wink and kiss. |
A.Favorable. | B.Passive. | C.Indifferent. | D.Doubtful. |
9 . What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a shop? The products displayed at the entrance? Or the soft background music?
But have you ever noticed the smell? Unless it is bad,the answer is likely to be no. But while a shop’s scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds, it is certainly there. And it is providing to be an increasing powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.
A brand store has become famous for its distinctive scent which floats through the fairly dark hall and out to the entrance via scent machines. A smell may be attractive but it may not just be used for freshening air. One sports goods company once reported that when it first introduced scent into its stores, customers’ intention to purchase increased by 80 percent.
When it comes to the best shopping streets in Pairs, scent is just as important to a brand’s success as the quality of its window displays and goods on sales. That is mainly because shopping is a very different experience to what it used to be.
Some years ago, the focus for brand name shopping was on a few people with sales assistants’ disproving attitude and don’t-touch-what-you-can’t-afford displays. Now the rise of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has opened up famous brands to a wider audience. But while e-shops can use sights and sounds, only bricks-and-mortar stores can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave. Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.
Now a famous store uses complex man-made smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut scent in the swimsuit section. A department store has even opened a new lab, inviting customers on a journey into the store’s windows to smell books, pots and drawers, in search of their perfect scent.
1. The main purpose of the passage is to ________.A.argue and discuss | B.examine and assess |
C.inform and explain | D.compare and evaluate |
A.Friendly assistant. | B.Unique scents. |
C.Soft background music. | D.Attractive window display. |
A.introduce the rise of e-commerce | B.push stores to use sights and sounds |
C.urge shop assistants to change their attitude | D.show the advantages of brick-and-mortar stores |
A.a platform that exhibits goods | B.a spot where travelers like to stay |
C.a place where customers love to go | D.a target that a store expects to meet |
10 . How much food do you buy each week? Are you someone who stuffs your fridge and cupboards full of foods so that you’ll always have something to eat? Or maybe, you’ re more efficient with your shopping, only buying what you need and using up your leftovers so that you keep food waste to a minimum.
Throwing away unwanted food has become a big issue in the developed world. While some of us throw away unwanted items, people in other parts of world face food shortages and are starving. It’s a shocking fact that a third of the world’s food is wasted each year. The actual figure is 1.3 billion tons of food, which is enough to feed a billion hungry people.
You may think supermarkets are the main contributors to this mountain of food. After all, they do get rid of stuff that’s past its sell-by-date and they often refuse to sell vegetables and fruit that are the wrong shape or look damaged. They’ve also been criticized for encouraging customers to buy more than they need through promotions such as “buy one and get one free”.
But we ourselves are mainly responsible for creating food waste. In Europe an incredible 53% of food waste comes from households, which results in 88 million tonnes of food waste a year. The food waste is buried and left to rot. Unfortunately, this causes greenhouse gases which eventually lead to global warming and climate change.
In Denmark, a woman called Selina Juul has been working hard to solve this problem. She convinced some supermarkets to stop selling their items in bulk (批量) so that people bought only what they needed. She produced a leftovers cookbook and she's set up an education programme in schools. This has helped create a significant 25% reduction in food waste, which shows that something can be done.
Clearly, we need to think twice when we put something in our shopping trolley, and when we’re at home, we should make the most of the food we have—using recipes that use up our leftovers or even sharing our food with our friends and neighbors.
1. What does the author intend to show in paragraph 2?A.The world hunger. | B.The impact of wasting food. |
C.The solutions to food shortages. | D.The severe food waste. |
A.They often change the prices of food. |
B.They focus more on food's looks than qualities. |
C.They make people buy more food than they need. |
D.They often put up false advertisements for food. |
A.She established an education programme in neighborhoods. |
B.She persuaded supermarkets to change their ways of sale. |
C.She convinced supermarkets to sell her leftovers cookbook. |
D.She encouraged people to share food in communities. |
A.To advocate healthy eating habits. |
B.To raise the public’s awareness of saving. |
C.To draw people's attention to food security. |
D.To blame the marketing methods of some supermarkets. |