1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . 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.

2. What will happen to social media companies if they don’t follow the code?

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.

3. What can we learn from Denham’s words?

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.

4. What does the underlined word “fulfill” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Praise.

B．Define.

C．Meet.

D．Find.

4 . Suppose your permanent residence, or hukou, was in Chongqing, you worked in Beijing and you needed to get a passport for a business trip abroad. What should you do?

You have to go back to Chongqing, which is 1,500km away, and apply to local public security authorities for the passport, because in China public services are closely linked to hukou. But a new regulation, which is part of the hukou reform, will make this annoying experience a thing of the past.

The regulation targets China’s newly introduced residence permit system, which will take effect on Jan 1, 2016. It allows people who don’t have local hukou to receive more access to basic public services in the cities where they are living. These include education, basic employment services, automobile registration, and passport and ID card application processing.

You can apply for a residence permit at the local police station, which has jurisdiction (管辖权) over the area where you live. The documents needed for the permit application include your ID card, photos and materials that prove that you have a job, a place to live, or that you are studying at an education institution.

To certify that you have a place to live, a house rental contract or property ownership certificate will do. For employment, a business license, job contract, or employment certificate can do the trick. If you are a student applying for the permit, show your student card or other documentation issued by your school.

Despite all this, maybe you are still not happy about not having a local hukou. Don’t worry. People will have a chance, as the country is reforming the hukou system further.

1. What is the purpose of the first 2 paragraphs?

A．To introduce the topic of the passage.	B．To emphasize the focus of the passage.
C．To summarize the main idea of the passage.	D．To arouse the readers’ interest of reading

2. People who want to apply for a residence permit should ________.

A．receive more access to basic public services

B．provide proofs of identification

C．present a house rental contract

D．show your student card or other documentation

3. What does the underlined word “certify” in para 5 mean?

A．apply

B．prove

C．permit

D．test

4. What will the writer tell us in the following paragraph?

A．China plans to create a new hukou system

B．Getting a hukou may be easier with new policies

C．Other reforms that will bring people more happiness

D．People will not need hukou in China soon.

5 . Vegetable gardens may not be as visually pleasing as the variety of flowers, but Floridians looking to save some green by growing their own salad fixings can soon do so without fear. Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed a law that bans local governments from carrying orders against homeowners from raising veggies in their yards.

The law, which takes effect July 1, puts an end to that particular power of towns and cities across the state to prohibit vegetable gardens for “aesthetic（审美的）purposes”.

The issue became a cause after a couple living in Miami Shores Village opposed the decision of a $ 50 a day fine for growing vegetables in their front yard, as they’d done for years.

Hermine Ricketts and her husband Tom Carroll fought City Hall in a case that wound its way up the state’s court system, with judges consistently ruling against their money-saving and health-conscious project.

After the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of Miami Shores’ right to control design and landscaping standards, the couple replaced their vegetables with pink flamingos (红鹳花) .

Their cause was not lost, however. State lawmakers proposed and passed a law that effectively voids the court rulings, with Rob Bradley, who sponsored the bill, reportedly calling the village’s action a “vast overreach”.

The lawmaker noted the difficulty that many families experience getting fresh and affordable food, calling bans against vegetable and fruit gardens ridiculous.

About a third of all households in the U. S. grow some of their own food, according to the National Gardening Association. The group says a 600-square-foot garden that costs around $ 70 a year to keep can grow 300 pounds of fresh produce worth about $ 600 annually.

1. Why will some Floridians plant salad fixings?

A．To protect the environment.	B．To beautify their home.
C．To build their own gardens.	D．To cut daily expenses.

2. What can be known about the couple from the passage?

A．They started a public health-conscious campaign.

B．They never gave in to the Miami Shores’ demand.

C．They paid a $50 daily fine to Miami Shores Village.

D．They were not backed by the Florida Supreme Court.

3. What does Rob Bradley think of the couple’s action probably?

A．It’s sensible.	B．It’s ridiculous.
C．It’s ambitious.	D．It’s costly.

6 . Hundreds of new drivers have been given bans (禁令) for using their mobile phones at the wheel, as part of stricter new laws introduced. In March, the punishment for driving while on the phone was doubled to six points — meaning drivers with less than two years’ experience faced a ban.

New laws meant the punishment for being caught on a mobile phone at the wheel was increased to six points. The new rules were introduced in England, Scotland and Wales. Drivers who get six points within two years of passing their test will lose their licence, creating a one-strike rule for mobile phone users. To get back behind the wheel, new drivers have to retake both the theory and practical parts of the driving test.

Mr Williams in the RAC said, “These people have spent hours and hours and hundreds of pounds learning to drive to gain their personal freedom only to throw it all away through this foolish behaviour. The only comfort is that they won’t be drawn into some terrible crashes caused by the distraction (使人分心的事物) of a hand-held mobile phone.”

When the new laws were introduced, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said they would act as a strong warning to mobile phone users. However, the numbers suggested a total of 15,752 drivers received the punishment of six points for using a mobile phone between March and August. This is an increase from 15, 237 drivers in the same period of last year.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead on roads Policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, said the police took the offence (违法行为) seriously. “This is not a small offence and is never a risk worth taking because a moment’s distraction behind the wheel can change lives forever.” “Our message is simple — don’t do it,” he added.

1. What can we infer from Paragraph1?

A．The new laws have not been passed.

B．The new laws are not strict enough.

C．Drivers with less than two years’ experience won’t be affected.

D．Punishment for driving while phoning used to be three points.

2. What will happen if a Welsh citizen who got a licence last year gets six points?

A．He will be fined a lot.

B．He must learn the new rules.

C．He will lose his driving licence.

D．He will be given a warning.

3. When the new laws were first introduced, _________.

A．traffic accidents were cut down

B．there were still many drivers who broke them

C．drivers thought the laws were unfair to them

D．fewer people broke them compared

4. What does Anthony Bangham mean?

A．The police didn’t take the new rules seriously.

B．The roads policy should be improved for safety.

C．A moment of carelessness may cause big accidents.

D．The laws need to be improved a lot and retested.

7 . “What kind of rubbish are you?” This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has brought about complains over the past week. On July 1st, the city introduced strict trash-sorting regulations(垃圾分类制度) that are expected to be used as a model for our country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate categories and throw it into specific public bins at scheduled times.

Violators(违规者) face the possibility of fines and worse. They could be hit with fines of up to 200 yuan($29)。 For repeat violators, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to obtain bank loans or even buy train tickets.

Shanghai authorities are responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tons of garbage a year, more than London's annual output and rising quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to examine carefully through the waste, plucking out whatever can be reused. This has limits. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up.

Many residents appear to support the idea of recycling in general but are frustrated by the details Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or hazardous, which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules surrounding food waste. They must put it straight in the required public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and throw it by hand. Most annoying are the short windows for dumping trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors(监控) at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out. After all, no one wants to look bad.

1. Why does the author mention the question “What kind of rubbish are you?” in the first paragraph?

A．To blame the new rules.

B．To advocate a good rule.

C．To lead in the topic of the text.

D．To tell us people’s complains in Shanghai.

2. What is the main direct environmental problem in Shanghai?

A．The massive traffic.	B．The increasing garbage.
C．Lack of a recycling system.	D．Lack of trash pickers

3. What makes the residents upset most about the rules?

A．Short scheduled time for throwing the trash.

B．Being fined when blamed due to improper behavior.

C．Being observed by monitors when throwing the garbage.

D．Complex distinction among the four categories of trash.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How To Sort Out Trash In Our Life.

B．People In Shanghai Meet New Challenge.

C．Shanghai Authorities Solved An Environmental Problem.

D．Different Attitudes Towards The Trash-sorting Regulations.

8 . If you look Chinese and speak Mandarin, you can call for a ride in Vancouver via WeChat, a Chinese app. The drivers normally call back to________the order, says Daniel Merkin, who lives in the Canadian city. “Sometimes they’ll ________ on me when they realize I don’t speak Mandarin,” he says. But he keeps ________, because popular ride-hailing (网约车) services, like Uber(优步) , are not available. The Chinese service is not legal, but it is ________. Mr. Merkin hopes that his ________ will soon expand.

In July the province of British Columbia, which licenses drivers, said it would allow the big ride-hailing services ________. But British Columbia has made their entry ________ by requiring drivers to hold commercial licenses. The government has reason to be ________. In many cities where ride-hailing has __________, traffic jam has worsened and use of public transport has ________.

However, Andrew Curran, head of policy at TransLink, the city’s public-transport system, believes ride-hailing could ________ use of public transport by ferrying people from their houses to a bus or train stop. It could also improve transport for people with ________. Currently, Trans-Link hires taxis to give door-to-door rides to some disabled people. He says the commercial-license rule will   slow down the services’ growth and ________ taxi-drivers, ride-hailing’s fiercest ________.

But the commercial-license requirement could have the ________ effect. Analysts think it will ________ most drivers and reduce the number of drivers ________ to pick up passengers in distant suburbs. ________, they will gather in the center. Some of Uber’s future competitors say they are not ________. A driver, who offers rides in his Mercedes SUV to people who hire him via Wechat, thinks his customers will stay ________. He predicts ride-hailing will just slow their journeys down.

1.

A．cancel

B．confirm

C．place

D．accept

2.

A．put in

B．turn up

C．hang up

D．pick out

3.

A．trying

B．shouting

C．complaining

D．driving

4.

A．forbidden

B．tolerated

C．advocated

D．recommended

5.

A．wishes

B．ideas

C．suggestions

D．options

6.

A．out

B．away

C．up

D．in

7.

A．unusual

B．difficult

C．easy

D．particular

8.

A．eager

B．anxious

C．cautious

D．negative

9.

A．taken off

B．put up

C．broken down

D．laid off

10.

A．risen

B．doubled

C．dropped

D．stopped

11.

A．lessen

B．increase

C．lower

D．decrease

12.

A．disabilities

B．luggage

C．children

D．friends

13.

A．protect

B．ignore

C．investigate

D．inquire

14.

A．coworkers

B．partners

C．competitors

D．supporters

15.

A．similar

B．opposite

C．positive

D．different

16.

A．discourage

B．encourage

C．benefit

D．comfort

17.

A．acceptable

B．accessible

C．affordable

D．available

18.

A．Furthermore

B．Instead

C．Though

D．Otherwise

19.

A．excited

B．jealous

C．amazed

D．worried

20.

A．reliable

B．responsible

C．loyal

D．delightful

9 . 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。

A new bill has been     1    (official) passed in the Philippines that requires students to plant 10 trees each before graduation. According to the details outlined in the bill, the rule applies     2     all students who are to graduate from primary school, high school, and college. Trees can be planted in either forests, reserves, urban areas,     3    (abandon) mining sites, or in communities.

Over the past decades, the Philippines     4    (lose) more than 30% of its forest cover due to illegal logging (伐木), but the new bill means that the younger generation can help to address     5     problem. Under the new rule, 175 million new trees could be planted by students each year. If only 10% of them     6    (survival), that means that 525 billion trees can grow up over the course of one generation.

In fact, this isn’t the only positive rule     7    concerns the younger generation. One school in India made its students pay their school fees by collecting, bringing to school, and     8    (recycle) plastic waste that was lying across the town. This helped raise     9    (aware) of plastic waste in Asian     10    (country). It also allowed more students to seek education and even helped the students to earn some money so they wouldn’t have to rely on child labour for a living.

10 . Directions: Complete the following paragraphs 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 Bad Idea

Think you can walk, dive, take phone calls, e-mail and listen to music at the same time? Well, New York's new law says you can't. And you'll be     1     $S100 if you do it on a New York City street.

The law went into force last month, following research and a(n)     2    number of accidents that involved people using electronic gadgets when crossing the street.

Who's to    3     ? Scientists say that our multitasking abilities are limited.

"We are under the impression that our brain can do more than it often can," says Rene Marois, a neuroscientist in Tennessee. “But a major limitation is the inability to    4    on two things at once".

The young people are often considered the great multitaskers. However, an Oxford University research suggests this idea is open to question. A group of 18-to 21-year-olds and a group of 35-to 39-year-olds were given 90 seconds to translate    5    into numbers, using a simple code. The younger group did 10 percent better when not interrupted. But when both groups were interrupted by a phone call or a(n)     6    message, the older group matched the younger group in speed and     7    .

It is difficult to measure the productivity    8    by multitaskers. But it is probably a lot. Jonathan Spire, chief analyst at Basex. a business-research firm, estimates the cost of interruptions to the American economy at nearly $650 billion a year.

The    9    is based on surveys with office workers. The surveys conclude that 28 percent of the workers' time was spent on interruptions and    10    time before they returned to their main tasks.