1 . Families will be rewarded for the first time for putting out less rubbish under new plans to significantly promote recycling, especially of valuable materials like glass.
The new plan for collecting waste in England will scrap fines (罚款) for putting plastic in the wrong recycling bin. Instead, families will be offered rewards for recycling more rubbish measured by a microchip (芯片) in the rubbish bin. Caroline Spelman, an Environment Secretary, said, “It is better to use a plan that offers people rewards, rather than punishing them. We want to help those people who want to do the right thing by reducing waste and recycling at home. This means making sure communities are getting the collection services they want and not punishing hard-working families who make mistakes by putting bins out on the wrong day or leaving the waste in the wrong recycling bin.”
Though the punishment for putting waste in the wrong recycling bin has been given up, plans to try and remove the unpopular twice-a-week bin collections have largely failed despite the efforts of Eric Pickles, a Communities Secretary. Although Mrs. Spelman made it clear that communities will be supported in efforts to increase the times of collections, and the Conservative Party will not force local authorities to return to weekly collections. Most communities expect the introduction of weekly rubbish collections, as this will solve some of the problems about environment.
“We will continue to help local communities develop local solutions to collecting and dealing with family waste and will work with communities to meet families’ reasonable expectations for weekly collections, particularly of smelly waste.” said Mrs. Spelman.
1. What will families be rewarded for in future?| A．Producing less rubbish. | B．Putting bins out on the right day. |
| C．Throwing rubbish into the bin. | D．Leaving rubbish in the wrong recycling bin. |
| A．reduce | B．remove | C．increase | D．pay |
| A．The Conservative Party refuses the weekly collection. |
| B．Both Rewards and punishment should be carried out. |
| C．Local solutions to collecting family waste will be stopped. |
| D．People will not be punished for putting rubbish wrongly. |
| A．Travel. | B．Literature. | C．Environment. | D．Medicine. |
2 . E-cigarettes Ban:Good news for Tobacco?
The proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes may drive many Americans back to cigarettes,said Christopher Palmeri and Jeff Green in the Los Ange Times.
Responding to an outbreak of hundreds of serious lung illnesses from vapes(电子烟)that killed a seventh person this week, FDA(食物药品监管局)will outlaw everything but tobacco-flavored-cigarettes, as Michigan and New York state recently did. Flavors like buttered popcorn and mango helped create "an explosion" in teen vaping. But hundreds of thousands of teens already addicted to nicotine-and 9 million adults who vape--may simply replace vaping with tobacco products. By banning favored vapes the government may be "closing the shed door after the horse has gotten out."
Nobody vapes "because the flavor is so amazing," said David Marcus in The Federalist com. That's why the ban is so clueless."If kids want to taste bubble gum,they can buy,you know,bubble gum." Vaping giants like Juul need to be honest about the fact that they’re in the nicotine business, and monitor themselves accordingly. They should spend billions ensuring that stores don’t sell to minors instead of touting the "scientific conclusion"that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking. The burning involved in smoking cigarettes creates tar and a bunch of chemicals not present in e-cigarettes' watery vapor. True, but nicotine is also a dangerous and addictive drug and vaping liquid itself contains chemicals that damage blood vessels(血管)."The idea of safe smoking" is"a lie," and the vaping industry's fruit- and candy-flavored pods" are proof of evil intent."
"The massive increase in teen vapers" is a reasonable concern, said Robert Gebelhoff in Washington Post.com.But the evidence suggests that the lung illnesses that led the government to act were caused by black-market products cut with dangerous substance.Banning favored vapes will only drive more nicotine addicts and teens to the black market,which will be happy to provide fruity pods. Instead of banning flavors, the government "should empower the FDA to fully regulate the industry." That would let science,"not panic,guide our policy."
1. What led to the proposed ban on e-cigarettes?| A．Popular flavors like mango led to teen nicotine addiction. |
| B．The lack of proper legal supervision in the vaping industry. |
| C．An increased number of deaths resulting from lung diseases. |
| D．The sharp increase in the sale of unhealthy tobacco products. |
| A．FDA would regulate the tobacco industry more effectively. |
| B．The vaping industry would be more strictly monitored. |
| C．The evil intent of the vaping industry would be revealed. |
| D．The tobacco industry might regain its previous glory. |
| A．Promoting | B．challenging | C．assuming | D．tolerating |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving | C．Uninterested | D．Impartial. |
3 . Who cleans the dishes in an advertisement for dish soap? Maybe you automatically imagine a woman doing the job. Similarly, men are usually the owners and drivers in promotions（广告宣传） for cars. It seems that advertisements have created gender stereotypes （关于性别的刻板印象） for audiences.
Some people think that needs to change. In June, Advertising Standards Authority（ASA）in the UK set out a new rule, which states, “Ads must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence.”
“The evidence we published last year showed that harmful gender stereotypes in ads contribute to how people see themselves and their role in society. ” Ella Smillie, the ASA's project leader on gender stereotyping, told the BBC.
In the ASA's list of ads，a German milk powder manufacturer（制造商）, for example, wanted to stress that their product helps children develop. Its poster featured a baby girl as a ballet dancer and a baby boy as an engineer.
These stereotypical roles in advertisements may mislead people as to what they can do with their lives. “It may hold some people back from fulfilling their potentials, or from aspiring（渴望） to certain jobs and industries, bringing costs for individuals and the economy,” Smillie told the Guardian.
Some may say that advertising is only a small reason that gender stereotypes exist，and regulating （规范） them won't solve the real problem.
But it can be a start. “While advertising is only one of many factors that contribute to unequal gender outcomes, tougher advertising standards can play an important role in tackling（处理） inequalities and improving outcomes for individuals, the economy and society as a whole,” Guy Parker, chief executive of the ASA, said in a news release.
1. For what purpose did the author write the first paragraph？| A．To entertain readers. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To inform the bad news. | D．To stress the importance of ads. |
| A．Because they can have a negative influence on the audience. |
| B．Because they can increase the costs of many manufacturers. |
| C．Because they can discourage people from making money. |
| D．Because they can help advertisers to promote their products. |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By providing statistics. |
| C．By presenting research findings. | D．By using examples. |
| A．An advertisement. | B．A legal document. |
| C．A business newspaper. | D．A medical magazine. |
Celebrities like Olivia Munn are among those
The ban is aimed to send
As we know, West Hollywood became the first city in the United States
It
5 . Beijing's transportation commission released a new regulation on Wednesday banning passengers from eating or drinking on the subway in a move intended to create a more comfortable space for travelers. Uncivilized behavior, such as selling products or playing loud music, are also prohibited under the regulation.
It will be included in the passenger's credit record that if a passenger disobeys the rules, and the he could be forbidden from taking the subway in the future, the commission said. The commission also assigned special inspectors and supervisors to identify improper behavior on subway trains. Prohibitions against smoking electronic cigarettes and using fake tickets were also added to the rules.
Liu Daizong, China transport program director at the World Resources Institute, applauded the new measure and said that as an enclosed space, a subway car will be filled with odors if passengers are allowed to have food. "These easily cause arguments between passengers, but there was no basis for law enforcement（实施） officers to get involved before," he said.
In January, a woman named Wang caused heated discussion online after she was filmed eating snacks and spitting out the food debris onto the floor of a car on Beijing's Line 13.She was later found by netizens to be the same woman previously filmed eating chicken claws and spitting out bones in a Shanghai subway car. Netizens had dubbed her "chicken feet lady". Other passengers asked Wang to clean up her mess but she refused, leaving the food packages in the subway car when she got off.She was later controlled by police in Beijing on suspicion of disrupting public transport.
Han Yanni, a 26-year-old white collar worker in the finance industry in Beijing, said drinking water and bread is her daily routine on the subway, especially in the morning rush. "Except for onions or sunflower seeds, I can put up with most of the eating behaviors," she said. "Especially if they take a garbage bag for their trash."
1. Which statement is true according to the passage?| A．It is not prohibited that a man smokes electronic cigarettes on the subway. |
| B．If a person breaks the rule, he may lose the chance of taking the subway now. |
| C．A passenger may be supervised by someone when taking the subway in Beijing. |
| D．One can eat bread if he or she brings a garbage bag in Beijing subway. |
| A．an awful smell of food | B．food remains | C．used napkins | D．food package |
| A．She had spitted out all she had eaten in a Shanghai subway car. |
| B．She got away with what she had done in Shanghai. |
| C．She called herself “chicken feet lady”. |
| D．She had cleaned up the mess she had caused on Beijing’s line 13. |
A patent is an official document
Inventions are the result of hard work. It may only take a moment of inspiration to think of a good idea but it takes a lot of research and experimentation to turn it into a(n)
Patents also benefit the society
7 . 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 back you up—or better still, science. A law in California 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 a big 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 fatness and diabetes.
In the short run, students’ school performances should improve almost immediately. Kyla Wahlstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development, found that students who have enough sleep are more active in class and get better grades.
Some might say that urging 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 adolescence, 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 bold action.”
1. What does the first paragraph serve as?| A．A background. | B．An explanation. | C．An introduction. | D．A definition. |
| A．The new law is of lasting benefit to students. |
| B．Lack of sleep affects adults more than children. |
| C．Enough sleep guarantees students’ mental health. |
| D．The amount of sleep people need changes with age. |
| A．Less sleep easily makes for health problems. |
| B．California is pushing back school start times. |
| C．A law to start the school day later takes effect. |
| D．Teenagers’ biological changes affect their sleep patterns. |
8 . Facebook and other social media companies should make children aware that their online activity is monitored by their parent or carer, under a code to improve child Internet safety in the UK.
Turning off the “like” function, and limiting data collection and geolocation tools on popular platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, are among a 16-point list of recommendations for age-appropriate design released by the Information Commisioner’s Office (ICO).
It said some techniques, which platforms employ to encourage users to use them, including Facebook “likes”, should not be used to try to keep under-18s online for longer. Other recommendations under the ICO’s code of practice for Internet companies, which platforms would be responsible for carrying out, include:
*Limiting how children’s personal data is collected, used and shared by social media companies.
*Making “high privacy” the default (默认) setting for children using social media platforms unless there is a convincing reason not to.
*Requiring social media companies to show that all staff involved in the design and development of services likely to be used by children obey the code of practice.
*Introducing age checks on platforms or treating all users as if they were children.
Companies that do not stick to the code could face fines of up to 4% of their global turnover, around $1.6 bn for Facebook. The consultation ended at the end of May, and the final version of the code of practice, regarded as a new international standard is expected to come into effect by 2020.
Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, said, “This is the connected generation. The Internet and all its wonders have been a part of their everyday lives. We shouldn’t have to prevent our children from being able to use it, but we must demand that they should be protected when they do. This code does that.”
The ICO sought views from parents and children while developing the code of practice, as well as those of designers, app developers and academics.
The NSPCC children’s charity said social networks had “continually failed to put child safety first in their design”, resulting in “bad consequences”. “That’s why it is vital this code requires children to be given the highest privacy settings by default and forces companies to act in the best interests of children,” the NSPCC’s associate head of child safety online Andy Burrows said.
Lady Beeban Kidron, the chair of the 5Rights Foundation and who led the debate about the creation of the recommendations, said, “For too long we have failed to recognize children’s rights and needs online. I firmly believe in the power of technology to transform lives, be a force for good and rise to the challenge of promoting the rights and safety of our children. But in order to fulfill that role, it must consider the best interests of children, not simply its own commercial interests.”
1. Why did the ICO create the code?| A．To protect social media companies. |
| B．To ensure children’s safety on the Internet. |
| C．To prevent under-18s from staying online. |
| D．To reduce the functions of popular platforms. |
| A．They’ll be fined. |
| B．They’ll receive warnings. |
| C．They’ll be required to apologize. |
| D．They’ll have to stop their platforms. |
| A．She has a low opinion of popular platforms. |
| B．She considers the code to be quite necessary. |
| C．She fails to recognize children’s needs online. |
| D．She expects children to avoid using the Internet. |
| A．Praise. | B．Define. | C．Meet. | D．Find. |
1、上海率先实施； 2、垃圾须分四类（干、湿、可循环、有害）； 3、社会反响。
参考词汇：垃圾分类 trash sorting
注意：词数 120 左右；可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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10 . Texas has been one of the most restrictive gun-rights states in America.Thanks to a new law,however,the state will be one of the most relaxed,to the degree that police are discouraged from even asking about someone's guns. And if they do, they may not have much power to do anything if the person refuses to show a license.
To be sure, the law is strict in its own way,offering a model for regulation. Under the law, open-carry citizens have to be licensed, a process that includes safety and shooting tests. They also have to show no prior psychological problems, and they have to be at least 21 years old.
It is true that gun violence dropped sharply after restrictive laws were put in place in countries like Great Britain and Australia. However,the US public seems more interested than ever in weapons and the power they convey,despite gun control groups' concern over the increase of violence. Most states in America have steadily expanded gun rights since the end of a 10-year assault(攻击)weapons ban in 2004. Black Friday this year saw the biggest gun cache(贮存)ever purchased in one day.
Considering those trends,there's a heated debate about whether the new Texas law is a model piece of legislation(立法)for a changing America,or a walking disaster just begging for trouble. As the law doesn't provide any punishment for those who refuse to show a license to a police officer, critics fear that officers may find it tough to handle potentially deadly situations. After all, armed citizens will no longer be considered suspicious, even though a lot of people might be alarmed by the sight. Most police in Texas have been told to not engage gun carriers unless they are doing something questionable or appear drunk.
For sure,New Year's Day will be an exciting one for Texas gun owners. What's not yet known is how the rest of Texas will respond.
1. All of the following are required in the new Texas law for open carry EXCEPT| A．age limit |
| B．mental condition |
| C．online registration |
| D．gun-operating skills |
| A．The reason for putting forward the new Texas law. |
| B．The present situation of gun possession in America. |
| C．The impact of the assault weapons ban in 2004. |
| D．The inaction of the US government as to gun control. |
| A．Heavier workload for policemen. |
| B．Disrespect for officers. |
| C．Lack of trust among citizens. |
| D．Difficulty in crime prevention. |
| A．Negative. |
| B．Cautious. |
| C．Indifferent. |
| D．Approving. |
