1 . The local government killed more than 34,000 stray dogs (流浪狗) several months ago because those officials were afraid that the dogs would spread rabies (狂犬病).
This caused a debate across the country. Some people said that it was very cruel to dogs. There might be a better way to prevent the disease.
In the future, killing stray dogs might be seen as a crime. Last month, the Chinese government published a draft of animal rights laws. It says that a person who kills a stray dog without one good reason will be put in prison.
The draft also says that animal abuse and abandoning animals will be considered crimes under the criminal law.
The government published the draft so that the public could read it and discuss their thoughts. People have different reactions. Some think the law is good. They say other countries like Britain and Japan have similar laws. They say we will do better at protecting animals if there is one. But others say it’s not crucial to fight animal abuse with a new law. Criticism and fines can do the job.
Some people also say that the draft doesn’t deal with the biggest issues facing the country’s development. The country should make progress to give all people equal rights, they say, before turning attention to animals.
Another part of the draft is causing discussion. It says that people should not force animals to do something dangerous, like jumping through a ring of fire. But many people enjoy watching this kind of performance at the circus, especially kids. They say that if the animal does it properly, it will not get hurt.
1. Why did the local government kill many dogs?| A．The dogs were dirty. | B．Those officials wanted to prevent rabies. |
| C．The dogs were homeless. | D．Those officials wanted to eat the dogs. |
| A．Killing a dog with rabies. | B．Beating an animal for fun. |
| C．Abandoning a blind pet dog. | D．Forcing a cat to jump through a ring of fire. |
| A．All people agree with the law. |
| B．Criticism and fines can protect animals. |
| C．Protecting animals is the biggest issue in China. |
| D．People have different opinions on the law. |
| A．People can’t kill stray dogs any longer. |
| B．The country won’t have human right problems. |
| C．Kids may not be able to watch animals’ performances in a circus. |
| D．Animals will not be killed. |
2 . Smoking in your own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime, if the smoke is considered harmful to other people in the house.
The new law, Family Protection and Development Promotion Act, aiming at controlling smoking at home which might be hazardous for others’ health living under the same roof, was initiated by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22, 2019. It came into force on August 20.
According to the centre for research and knowledge management for tobacco control, at the Faculty of Medical Science of Mahidol University, there are about 4.9 million households where one or more family members smoke. An average of 10.3 million people have unwittingly (不知不觉地) become passive smokers because they’ve been breathing smoke at home. Scientific studies show that passive smokers are at greater risk of being affected by cancer. Of 75 child patients from houses where smoking is practiced, 76% of them were found to have nicotine traces in their urine (尿液), with 43% of them having nicotine content exceeding (超过) permissible levels.
Smoking at home also “may lead to physical or emotional violence” because of aggressiveness when there is a lack of smoking, and might as well ruin relationships between smokers and non-smoker family members.
According to the new law, anyone who thinks they are affected by domestic smoking can report to government departments concerned so that officials will be sent to investigate and take legal action against the smokers. Once convicted (证明有罪的), the court may order a person to receive treatment to quit smoking in an attempt to protect the person’s family.
1. According to the new law, .| A．anybody must report to the officials once they are affected |
| B．officials will take legal action against all the people concerned |
| C．smoking in one’s own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime |
| D．the court may order a smoker to stop smoking to protect all non-smokers |
| A．Risky. | B．Beneficial. |
| C．Influential. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．By listing figures. |
| B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing the differences. |
| D．By explaining the reasons. |
| A．smoking anywhere in Thailand is considered a crime |
| B．passive smokers are more likely to have lung cancer |
| C．76% of the children in Thailand have nicotine traces in their urine |
| D．smoking at home may hurt other family members both physically and emotionally |
3 . In Chinese cities, food deliverymen are often seen riding at full speed through busy traffic. They rushed from restaurants to different destinations, even under bad weather conditions.
The article The Food Deliverymen Are Trapped in the App pointed out that on food delivery service platforms, Eleme and Meituan, the time limit and the route for each delivery order is calculated by an algorithm（算法）.But the algorithm doesn't consider real-life situations, such as red lights, speed limits and fully occupied elevators.
The time limit for a delivery order within 2 kilometers is 30 minutes, even shorter in recent years. Delay could mean a fine. So deliverymen rev up, often breaking traffic rules, putting their own lives at risk.
Many people asked the platforms to improve the regulations imposed(强加) on the deliverymen. In response to this demand, Eleme announced it would add a button to the app, which allowed customers to extend the time limits for their orders, and encouraged customers to show more respect for deliverymen. But some people felt that the company was staying away from the problem and changing people’s attention. Some held the view that the company was putting the responsibility on the customers rather than solving the problem itself.
As to delivery delays, solutions are far from enough. As a matter of fact, when a delivery delay happens and the company can’t reach an agreement with the customer on the responsibility, the deliveryman is usually the final one responsible for the delay. The Shanghai Customer Council commented that it was unfair for the deliveryman to be the only side responsible for a delay and problems should be solved between the companies and their employees. Besides, market regulatory departments should stop companies from setting tight schedules for their deliverymen and keep them safe on the roads.
1. What does the underlined expression “rev up” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Run away. | B．Speed up. |
| C．Wander around. | D．Slow down. |
| A．The Customer Council. | B．The customer. |
| C．The company. | D．The deliveryman. |
| A．Set tight schedules for more orders. |
| B．Solve the problems of delivery delays with the customers. |
| C．Stop companies from setting tight schedules for their employees. |
| D．Employ more deliverymen for the delivery companies. |
| A．The customers’ rights should be protected. |
| B．Food delivery regulations need improvement. |
| C．Food deliverymen take risks on their way. |
| D．Delivery platforms earn more than before. |
4 . In China, 2020 was bid farewell with a series of fireworks and the scratching off of 200 million metric tons of plastic straws from the nation’s pollution stocks.
The ban comes into effect first with two items, plastic straws and single-use shopping bags, with other single-use plastics to follow. China is one of fewer than 10 nations to ban plastic straws completely.
The ban was announced in the Party's new Five-Year Plan in January 2021, and aims to reduce plastic pollution while moving to biodegradable alternatives, starting with plastic straws.
But there is something unique that makes a plastic straw ban in China have more effect than other countries, and it isn't the fact that it is the most populous nation. It’s that paper and polylactic acid compound straws will replace plastic ones in the people’s favorite drink — tapioca pearl tea, also known as milk or bubble tea.
Chinese consumers love milk tea. These treats, often taking the place of the West‘s morning coffee, are drunk through plastic straws larger and thicker than those we would recognize from a McDonald‘s as they must be able to adapt to the movement of the “bubbles” of tapioca pudding.
Milk tea chains like Nayuki in Shanghai have already been using paper straws for most of the year ahead of the first stage of the plastic ban scheduled to start in 2021. One Chinese news agency reports that while prices for biodegradable alternatives to straws and bags are more expensive, the ban has seen the market share for bio-plastics increase to an expected $7.3 billion in 2025, and a further doubling to $ 13.9 billion by 2030, suggesting the cost will rapidly decrease as more companies enter the market with new technologies.
1. What do we know about the ban?| A．It aims to improve plastic straws and single-use shopping bags. |
| B．It was put forward in the Party's last Five-Year Plan. |
| C．It begins with plastic straws and single-use shopping bags. |
| D．It will solve plastic pollution completely. |
| A．China has the largest population in the world. |
| B．Chinese people prefer plastic straws. |
| C．A large quantity of plastic straws are being used in Chinese people's favorite drink. |
| D．Milk tea will no longer be loved by Chinese consumers. |
| A．It will be worrying. | B．It will be promising. |
| C．It will be hopeless. | D．It will be uncertain. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Environment. |
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
While many of us go to sleep before midnight, some teenagers choose to stay up much later. They are not driven by the burning desire to write a better essay or achieve a higher grade. Instead, they are busy playing online games. Known as young Internet addicts (有瘾的人), they have long been a problem in China. A report released (发行) in 2016 by the China Youth Association for Network Development showed that there were over 24 million young Internet addicts among China’s young urban Internet users. The report also said that over 18 million youths had a tendency to develop Internet addiction.
To deal with the problem of Internet addiction among teenagers, the Cyberspace Administration of China has released draft (草案) regulations which carried out a ban on online gaming. If the regulations are adopted under-18s would be banned from playing online games between midnight and 8 am.
As soon as the government’s draft law surfaced, it drew great attention from the public. Some support the law as a way to better protect teenagers, saying that too much overnight gaming is harmful to teenagers’ health and believing the period between midnight and 8 am to be important to human physical functions. However, others wondered whether it would be practical if it came into effect, as teenagers could just borrow their parents’ IDs to register (注册) accounts to play online games. The Guangming Daily suggested that parents should help their teenagers find a balance between the cyber world and the real world.
China is by no means the only one trying to fight against teenager gaming addiction. Germany introduced a regulation in 2002 in an attempt to stop teens from playing online games from 10 pm to 6 am. Meanwhile, the UK, the US and Australia have forced a rating system on computer games to make sure that teenagers cannot access “adult” content such as violence, sex or bad language.
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7 . France, which prides itself as the global innovator of fashion, has decided its fashion industry has lost an absolute right to define physical beauty for women. Its lawmakers gave approval last week to a law that would make it a crime to employ ultra (过分的)-thin models on runways.
The parliament also agreed to ban websites that “ encourage unreasonable thinness” by promoting extreme dieting.
Such measures ;have a couple of uplifting motives. They suggest beauty should not be defined by looks that end up impinging on health. That’s a start. And the ban on ultrathin models seems to go beyond protecting models from starving themselves to death - as some have done.
The bans, if fully carried out, would suggest to women (and many men) that they should not let others be arbiters (仲裁人) of their beauty. And perhaps faintly, they hint that people should look to qualities like character and intellect rather than dieting their way to size zero.
The French measures, however, rely too much on severe punishment to change a culture that still regards beauty as skin-deep and bone-showing. Under the law, using a fashion model that does not meet a government-defined index of body mass could result in a $85,000 fine and six months in prison.
In contrast to France’s actions, Denmark’s fashion industry agreed last month on rules regarding the age, health, and. other characteristics of models. The newly revised Danish Fashion Ethical Charter clearly states: “We are aware of and take responsibility for the impact the fashion industry has on body ideals, especially on young people.” The charter’s main tool of enforcement (执行) is to deny access for designers and modeling agencies to Copenhagen Fashion Week, which is run by the Danish Fashion Institute.
Relying on moral persuasion rather than law to address the misuse of body ideals may be the best step. Even better would be to help uplift notions (观念) of beauty beyond the material standards of a particular industry.
1. According to the first paragraph, what would happen in France?| A．Physical beauty would be redefined. |
| B．New runways would be constructed. |
| C．Websites about dieting would develop. |
| D．The fashion industry would decline. |
| A．heightening the value of | B．indicating the state of | C．losing faith in | D．doing harm to |
| A．using extravagant material |
| B．caring too much about models’ character. |
| C．showing little concern for models’ health |
| D．pursuing the perfect physical conditions of models |
| A．The Great Threats to the Fashion Industry |
| B．Beauty Is Skin-deep |
| C．A Campaign for Promoting True Beauty in France |
| D．A Challenge to the Fashion Industry’s Body Ideals |
8 . You will read about how you are a citizen (市民)in your school,community and nation.
Citizens Have Rights
As a citizen,you have rights that the government protects.A right is something you may do.As a citizen,you have a right to speak freely and to practice your religion.
Citizens Have Responsibilities
Along with rights,citizens have responsibilities.A responsibility is something that you should do.For example,you should follow the laws.
Good citizens care about people’s rights.They try to make things fair and safe for everyone.Good citizens work together to solve problems.Children can be good citizens by solving problems together in their school or community.
| A．A law is a rule that everyone in a community,state or country must follow. |
| B．They may follow proper steps to deal with problems. |
| C．You also have the right of privacy. |
| D．How to be a good citizen? |
| E．Being a Good Citizen |
| F．A citizen is a person who belongs to a place. |
| G．We are all good citizens. |
Xia’s death is warning to other students. A new rule went into effect on January 1, 2006. Teens are not allowed to buy or drink alcohol. Shops are not allowed to sell it to them.
A 1999 Chinese law forbade (禁止) shops to sell alcohol to youths under 18. But it is not taken seriously by shopkeepers because it doesn’t have specific rules. People hope the new rule will work.
I tasted alcohol when having the dinner of the last New Years Eve, said Lian Yuqi, a 16-year-old girl in Xiamen. She believes that the new rule will stop teens from drinking and help them grow in a healthy way.
Although it may be a little disappointing not to have beer at parties, I think we can have soft drinks instead, she said.
1. Xia Min died from alcohol at the age of ______.
| A．15 | B．16 | C．17 | D．18 |
| A．a warning sing | B．a shopkeeper |
| C．the new rule | D．a 1999 Chinese law |
| A．it is against the new rule for youths under 18 to drink alcohol |
| B．shops can sell alcohol to a 16 years old youth. |
| C．without an ID card, young people cant buy alcohol |
| D．it seems that the young girl, Liang Yuqi, likes to drink alcohol |
| A．The new rule has worked very well. |
| B．Shopkeepers can sell alcohol to teens above 18. |
| C．Chinas legal drinking age is clearly under18. |
| D．Many teens drink alcohol to show theyve grown up. |
