1 . We talk a lot about air pollution. Here in Hong Kong we always complain about light pollution as well. Then, there is noise pollution. It’s the same in many cities around the world. In Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, people have been complaining about/the noise made by drivers who continually sound their car horns (喇). That is until recently, when something was finally done about it.

‘The Chief District Officer of Kathmandu had received many. complaints about horn pollution. He said that everyone felt the use of the car horn in recent years had become excessive. Researchers in Kathmandu found that for about 80 percent of the time, it really was not necessary for drivers to use their car horns. Sounding the horn to make a noise had become more of a habit. It was no longer being used as it was supposed to be used: to warn people of danger.

At the beginning of the Nepali New Year in 2017, the local government passed a law to ban the use of car horns unless used correctly.

Within six months, 11,000 fines (罚款) had been collected by the local traffic police. The fine was about HK S360. A taxi driver in Kathmandu can make about HK S1,000 per day, so he could lose about one-third of his money it he broke the law.

As usual, there were many complaints from drivers. They said that cows and dogs were free to walk on the roads. They always caused danger. Sounding a car horn was the only way to get them to move out of the way. And although there were quite a few traffic lights in the streets of Kathmandu, very few of them worked. This meant there was often a traffic mess.

The ban on using a car horn went ahead, and within a few weeks the streets of Nepal’s capital were quieter-even though they were still just as busy. Because of the ban, drivers are a little more careful when they drive. Fewer accidents have been reported. The local government says the horn ban will now be copied in other areas of Nepal.

1. What do Hong Kong and Kathmandu have in common?

A．Both have been troubled by factory pollution.

B．Both have succeeded in fighting air pollution.

C．Both have been faced with the problem of noise pollution.

D．Both have received many complaints about horn pollution.

2. What do the Researchers in Kathmandu found?

A．Car drivers usually use car horns unnecessarily.	B．The cars are becoming more and more.
C．Care drivers use car horns as a warning.	D．Everyone complain about the horn pollution.

3. When was the law on the use of car horns passed?

A．In 2016.

B．In 2017.

C．In 2018.

D．In 2019.

4. What will you find if you go to Kathmandu?

A．No traffic lights in the streets can work.	B．The traffic on the roads is not very smooth.
C．Animals are not allowed to walk on the streets.	D．Drivers are required to drive on one-way streets.

5. What can we guess about Kathmandu’s horn ban?

A．It is useful.

B．It is worrying.

C．It is interesting.

D．It is embarrassing.

5 . When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources. Millions of waterfowl (水禽) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres (英亩) of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.

In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Act), an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of migratory (迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, Iowa, who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.

About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System — a fact that ensures this land will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934, better than half a billion dollars has gone into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.

1. What was a cause of the waterfowl population decrease in North America?

A．Loss of wetlands.	B．Popularity of water sports.
C．Pollution of rivers.	D．Arrival of other wild animals.

2. What does the underlined word “decimate” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Achieve.	B．Protect.
C．Destroy.	D．Divide.

3. What is a direct result of the Act passed in 1934?

A．The stamp price has gone down.

B．The hunters have stopped hunting.

C．The migratory birds have flown away.

D．The government has collected money.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Federal Duck Stamp Story

B．The National Wildlife Refuge System

C．The Benefits of Saving Waterfowl

D．The History of Migratory Bird Hunting

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Do you know the UK government has     1     (successful) passed a law banning branding on packs of cigarettes? That means tobacco makers will be forced to pack     2    (they) cigarettes in plain packets.

The motivation behind this     3     (decide) is to make smoking less appealing to people, especially children.

A similar law     4     was passed in Australia in 2012 has resulted     5     a fall in smoking rates from 15.1% to 12.8% for people aged 14.

As of January 2015, 22% of adult men and 17% of adult women smoke in Great Britain. The possibility of smoking in the UK increases with age so that by 15 years of age 8% of school children     6    (be) regular smokers. Children, it is thought, will be less attracted to cigarettes     7     (sell) in unbranded boxes.

Smoking is one of     8     biggest causes of preventable deaths in England. Every year about 80,000 die and over 450,000 people     9     (send) to hospital due to smoking. This places a large stress on the health service and is also a factor in why the government would like to prevent people     10     (take) up smoking or help them quit.

8 . Home to 8.2 million people, 36 percent of whom were born outside the United State, New York, known as the Big Apple, is the biggest city in America. Nearly twenty times bigger than the capital, Washington DC, you might expect New York to be twenty times more dangerous, actually, it’s safer. Recent figures show that New York now has fewer crimes per 100,000 people than 193 other US cities. It's also healthier than it used to be. For example, the smoking rate has gone down from 21.5 percent a few years ago, to 16.9 percent today.

New Yorkers should be delighted, shouldn't they? In fact, many feel that New York is losing its identity. It used to be the city that never sleeps. These days it's the city that never smokes, drinks or does anything naughty (at least, not in public). The Big Apple is quickly turning into the Forbidden Apple.

If you decided to have a picnic in Central Park, you'd need to be careful—if you decided to feed the birds with your sandwich, you could be arrested. It's banned. In many countries a mobile phone going off in the cinema is annoying. In New York it's illegal. So is putting your bag on an empty seat in the subway. If you went to a bar for a drink and a cigarette, that would be OK, wouldn't it? Er ... no. You can't smoke in public in New York City. In fact, you can't smoke outdoors on the street or in parks either. The angry editor of Vanity Fair magazine, Gray don Carter, says, “Under New York City law it is acceptable to keep a gun in your place of work, but not an empty ashtray.” He should know. The police came to his office and took away his ashtray.

But not all of New York's citizens are complaining. Marcia Dugarry, seventy-two, said, "The city has changed for the better. If more cities had these laws, America would be a better place to live."

The new laws have helped turn the city into one of the healthiest—and most pleasant places to live in America—very different from its old image of a dirty and dangerous city. Its pavements are almost litter-free, its bars clean and its streets among America's safest. Not putting your bag on subway seats might be a small price to pay.

1. The author writes Paragraph 1 mainly to tell the reader that New York is________.

A．bigger than Washington D.C.	B．the best place in the world
C．safer and healthier	D．the most dangerous city

2. What does the underlined word "banned" in paragraph 3 possibly mean?

A．quite popular

B．not allowed in law

C．very impolite

D．quite common

3. What does Gray don Carter believe?

A．Some of New York's new laws are not reasonable.

B．A gun is much easier to get than an ashtray.

C．The police had no right to take away his ashtray

D．there should be a law to keep guns away from people.

4. What is the writer's attitude towards New York's new laws?

A．The writer supports them.	B．The writer is against them.
C．The writer is not interested in them.	D．The writer's attitude is not clear.

9 . 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.

2. Why must advertisements not include gender stereotypes？

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.

3. How does the author explain the gender stereotypes in ads？

A．By making a comparison.	B．By providing statistics.
C．By presenting research findings.	D．By using examples.

4. Where would this passage most probably appear？

A．An advertisement.	B．A legal document.
C．A business newspaper.	D．A medical magazine.

10 . 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.

2. What can we learn from Bhargava’s words?

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.

3. What is the passage mainly talking about?

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.