2 . France is fighting food waste with firm determination. A new law has been passed in the country that will ban grocery stores from throwing away unsold food. If it’s still safe to eat, the food must be donated to charity; if not, it goes to farmers for use as animal feed.

Supermarkets will no longer be allowed to destroy unsold food by intention in order to prevent people from eating it. There are many people who forage for food in dumpsters behind stores, wanting to take advantage of the perfectly safe food that gets thrown away on a daily basis. Food waste is a global problem. It is reported that the average French person throws out 20 to 30 kilograms of food a year — 7 kg of which is still in its wrapping.

Not everyone is happy about the new legislation.

A group of food foragers stated their concerns in an open letter: “Food waste is a deep problem.” They are worried that it creates the illusion of doing one’s part — a “false and dangerous idea of a magic solution” — while failing to address the deeper reasons for such waste.

“The fight against food waste is everyone’s business, but we can’t win it unless we completely change the structures within our food system that are responsible for this waste.”

The supermarkets aren’t pleased because their food waste represents only 5 to 10 percent of the 7.1 million tons of food wasted annually in France. By contrast, restaurants waste 15 percent and consumers 67 percent. “The law is wrong in both target and intent,” argues Jacques Creyssel, head of the distribution organization for big supermarkets. “Big stores are already the major food donors.”

Despite the naysayers, France’s new law is a move in the right direction. Wasting food absolutely needs to become a socially abhorrent thing to do. If legislation is what’s needed to get people thinking about conservation, then it’s not a bad thing.

1. What should we do about unsafe food that is unsold in grocery stores?

A．Sell it at a discount.	B．Donate it to charity.
C．Use it as animal feed.	D．Destroy it on purpose.

2. What do we know about the food foragers?

A．They are greatly concerned about the law.

B．They have addressed the main cause of such waste.

C．They want to change the structures of our food system.

D．They think fighting against food waste is their business.

3. How much food is wasted by restaurants every year in France?

A．About 1 million tons.	B．About 4 million tons.
C．About 5 million tons.	D．About 7.1 million tons.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards the law on forbidding food waste?

A．Critical.

B．Indifferent.

C．Supportive.

D．Disappointed.

3 . Bringing goods into the UK

You are allowed to bring some goods for personal use without paying tax or duty.

Arrivals from EU countries

You can bring goods from EU countries without being charged tax or duty if they are:

● transported by yourself; ● a gift or for personal use; ● bought with tax and duty included.

You can bring alcohol and tobacco from EU countries without restriction but an inquiry(调查) might be required depending on the amount of your goods.

Arrivals from outside the EU

You will be free of duty or tax on certain amounts of goods brought from outside the EU, as long as they are for your own use. Any goods that are beyond your allowance should be declared.

Alcohol & tobacco allowance:

Type of goods	Cigarettes	Cigars	Tobacco	Beer	Wine(not sparkling wine)	Spirits	Alcoholic drinks
Amount	200	50	250 grams	16 litres	4 litres	1 litre	2 litres

Allowance for other goods:

The maximum value of other goods you can bring is £390. Any single item that is worth more than the allowance will be charged duty or tax on its full value.

The rate of duty or tax on items above the allowance is:

● 2.5% for goods worth up to £630;

● decided by the type of goods worth above £630 — check by calling the VAT, Customs.

Banned and restricted goods

Goods banned include:

● illegal drugs; ● offensive weapons; ● endangered animal and plant species;

● meat and dairy(乳制的) products from most non-EU countries.

Food and plant products restricted include:

● products containing pests and diseases; ● products grown outside the EU;

● products not for your own use.

1. Which of the following products from outside the EU has the largest duty-free allowance?

A．Beer.

B．Wine (not sparkling wine).

C．Spirits.

D．Alcoholic drinks.

2. How much tax shall one coming from China pay for a ring bought in America worth £500?

A．£ 2.75

B．£ 12.5

C．£ 110

D．£ 130

3. Which of the following items shall be banned or restricted?

A．A set of Russian dolls.

B．A bottle of French wine.

C．A brick of Japanese cheese.

D．A package of Spanish cigarettes.

4 . When your alarm clock rings and you drag yourself out of bed, you probably wonder： Why on earth does school have to start so early?

Fortunately, there is a new law to support—or better still, science.

A law in California, passed on Oct 13, requires that public middle schools begin classes no earlier than 8：00 am and that high schools start no earlier than 8：30 am. The law will go into effect by July 1, 2022.

Starting school at 8：00 or 8：30 in the morning may not sound like too big of a change, but it could mean one more hour of sleep for students who used to start school at 7:30 or even earlier.

"The effect of that one hour is something they will be feeling as 40-year-old adults," Sumit Bhargava, a sleep expert at Stanford University, told The New York Times. He said that not having enough sleep can affect students' mental health and increase the risk of being overweight and diabetes （糖尿病）.

In the short run, students' school performances should improve almost immediately. Kyla Wahlstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota's College of Education, found that students who have enough sleep are alert in class and get much more satisfying grades.

Some might say that asking students to go to bed earlier could have been a much easier solution than changing the school timetable across an entire state. But according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teenagers go through biological changes when they enter puberty （青春期）,which makes it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11：00 pm. So when school starts at 8：00 or earlier, they can hardly get the ideal 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep that experts suggest they need to do their best in the daytime.

This is why when the new law came out, its author, Anthony Portantino, said, "Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our governor for taking action."

1. Which of the following is TRUE about the law?

A．The law has not been put into practice.

B．The law requires schools to start later than 8：30am.

C．The law will be passed by July 1, 2022.

D．The law is made by a university in California.

2. What does the underlined word alert in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Friendly.	B．Sharp.
C．Calm.	D．Honest.

3. For a better academic performance in the daytime, how long do teenagers probably need to sleep?

A．About 8 hours.	B．About 9 hours.
C．At least 10 hours.	D．At most 8. 5 hours.

4. What's the main idea of the text?

A．Lack of sleep could lead to health problems.

B．The amount of sleep people need changes with age.

C．A new law lets students sleep longer.

D．Sleeping problems are leading problems for teenagers.