1 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

What Is Zero Waste?

The goal of the “zero waste” movement is to get rid of all waste from products. “Zero waste” means using every part of a product. Today, the zero waste idea can be found everywhere from food to fashion.

Creating a zero waste restaurant is a challenge. It is very difficult to use every part of produce and leave nothing behind. Creating a soup from unused ingredients is a popular way to use up extra food items. Other ways are more advanced. Some restaurants use coffee grounds（咖啡渣）to flavor dishes. Some cooks also crush shrimp shells and reuse them in sauces. While it’s challenging, zero waste restaurants appear to be on the rise.

In the fashion industry, zero waste isn’t a new idea. But in today’s world of fast fashion, zero waste is growing more popular. Usually, cutting cloth creates lots of waste. In zero waste fashion, designers try to avoid this. One way to do so is by adding these extra pieces of cloth to the final design. Another way is to design clothing without wasteful cuts.

Beyond restaurants and fashion, there are many other possibilities for zero waste products. All restaurants need utensils（器皿）. Bakey’s is a company that is developing edible（可食用的）utensils. After using them, you can eat them! Their spoons are made of flour and come in all kinds of flavors. While these spoons are not hard enough to cut meat, they are perfect for rice dishes. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand is experimenting with edible coffee cups that are made by the company Twice. They have already introduced a line of flavored cups. After you finish your coffee, you eat the cup, just like a cookie!

Whether products are made to be edible or reusable, hopefully the movement will help reduce waste all over the world.

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2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. suitable       B. unfortunately       C. worsen       D. afford       E. risk       F. expensive G. ideally       H. provide       I. solution       J. remain       K. concern

In recent weeks, many parents have realized the difficult truth about school this fall because of COVID-19. Hoping for a better     1    , parents around U.S. have started organizing “pandemic (流行病) pods”, or home schooling pods, for the fall, in which groups of 3 to 10 students learn together in homes under the guidance of the children’s parents or a hired teacher.

For parents who can organize and     2     them, pods seem like an easy choice. “I don’t believe that the online courses for that age group are     3    . Kids at this age really need that multimodal sensory learning (多模式感官学习).” one parent said.

These pods could     4     families with a schooling choice that feels safe—yet also allows kids to have fun and build social skills. However, it also has unavoidable shortcomings.

Depending on how the pods are set up, they may offer parents break. But given that pods can be     5    , complicated to organize and self-selecting, it is possible that they are most popular among wealthy families, experts say, and may     6     educational inequality.

Another     7     about pods is that families may not know how to minimize Covid risks. Pods shouldn’t have more than five kids     8    , said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention expert. When you add together the teacher and all of the kids’ family members, a seemingly small pod ends up including dozens of people, and the more people in it, the greater the     9     for coronavirus exposure (接触). Furthermore, families in learning pods shouldn’t socialize with people outside the pod unless they wear masks and     10     socially distant, Dr. Popescu said. Pods should have clear rules on wearing masks and washing hands.

3 . Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given behind. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Living off grid

When you need electricity, you just plug in the machine and switch it on. If you need water, you turn on the tap.     1     For many people, these facilities are the basics of civilized society and the idea of living without them seems risky. Yet for a growing number of people, the idea of living off grid — without electricity, water or sewage — is an increasingly attractive lifestyle.

Off-gridders do not have to give up electricity or a modern lifestyle — some choose to, but most use small hydroelectric power systems, solar panels or windmills to generate enough power for their needs. Heating and cooking needs are met by solar energy or wood burning systems, and toilet facilities range from non-water toilets to outside compost toilets.     2     It ranges from traditional yurts (a type of tent) to luxury house with high-speed internet and central heating. Whether they live in simple homes or luxury houses, what they all have in common is that their lifestyles do not create any pollution or carbon emissions — the ultimate goal for off-gridders.

Around 100,000 people are thought to be living off grid in the UK now.     3     They grow their own food, home-school their children and provide their own medical care. They are people who have been priced out of the housing market or who have grown disillusioned with what modern society can offer and who decides that an alternative lifestyle isn’t a pipe dream, but a viable option.

A part from living an alternative lifestyle, cost is a big factor in choosing to live off-grid. Off-grid houses are far cheaper to build than ordinary homes since they don’t need to be connected to the electricity or water supplies and even road access is not necessary. Materials tend to be cheaper, too. Popular options include straw or old tyres and cement.

Surprisingly, the biggest problem off-gridders face is not building their homes or becoming self-sufficient but getting permission to build. Rural areas away from town are the perfect choice but these are often protected by law from construction of any kind or have building restrictions. There are now several websites dedicated to land-sharing so that the costs of buying land and getting permission can be shared, and there are increasing numbers of off-grid communities.     4     Off-gridding could soon be common all over Europe and America.

A．Many are self-sufficient, not just providing their own electricity, water and sewage systems, but in all aspects.

B．After you use the toilet, you flush it and the waste disappears.

C．This shift from individual to group off-gridding reflects the fact that the trend is growing noticeably.

D．They live in a huge variety of types of accommodation.

E．Living off-grid still has a long way to go before it becomes a mainstream way of living.

F．Rather than building permanent homes, vans or mobile homes or even old shipping containers are other options.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Time to fight gaming problem

If you’re a gamer constantly     1     (glue) to your phone, it could be time to ask for medical help. On June 18, the WHO officially listed “gaming disorder”     2     a mental illness, like drug or gambling addiction.

Video gaming is like a non-financial kind of gambling from a psychological point of view. Gamblers use money as a way of keeping score,     3     gamers use points.

However, playing your favorite game every now and then is no reason to be worried. People need to understand this doesn’t mean every child who spends hours playing games     4     (be) an addict, otherwise doctors     5    (flood) with requests for help.

But according to the WHO,     6     you lose control over your gaming habits and put gaming above everything else in life, you should be prepared to face serious problems. According to a study published by China Youth Day in July, about one in five young Chinese play online video games for at least four to five hours per day.

Thankfully, measures have been taken     7     (address) the problem. In April, the Ministry of Education issued a notice asking Chinese schools and parents to prevent students from becoming addicted to the Internet and games.

Other countries have also taken action. In 2011, South Korea passed a “shutdown law” to stop children under the age of 16 from playing video games between the hours of midnight and 6 am. Meanwhile, in Japan, some mobile phones have a special mode for children     8     lets their parents control what games they can download and     9     they can play them for. In the United States, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a nonprofit organization, puts age restrictions on most games,     10    (mean) the children under a certain age are unable to buy them.