1 . Thailand is to ban smoking on some of the country’s most popular tourist beaches, with the prospect of up to a year in prison for those caught lighting up, according to reports by local media. The move follows a recent survey of litter on Patong beach, Phuket — visited by millions of foreign tourists each year — which found an average of 0.76 cigarette butts (烟头) per square metre in a sample area, which would amount to 101,058 butts on the 2.5km-long stretch of sand.
The survey was undertaken by the country’s department of marine and coastal resources, which described it as a “serious problem”. Discarded cigarette butts accounted for a third of rubbish collected by the department.
“Cigarettes have a direct effect on the natural environment,” director general Jatuporn Buruspat told the Phuket Gazette. “The butts clog (淤积) the drains contributing to floods. When the cigarettes stay under the beach sand for a long time, it also negatively affects the eco-system. And then when the chemicals from the cigarette butts reach the water, it also releases cadmium, lead, arsenic and some acid from insecticide which are poison to the natural food chain.”
The ban, which will come into play in November, will affect 20 beaches including Patong, Koh Khai Nok, Koh Khai Nai (Phuket); Hua Hin, Cha-Am, Khao Takiab; Pattaya, Jomtien, Bangsaen and Samila.
After a trial period, the ban is expected to be enforced on all Thai beaches, as well as on passenger and tourist boats, to deal with the problem of butts damaging the underwater environment. Anyone found to be breaking the law will face one year in jail or a maximum 100,000 baht fine, or both.
1. The underlined word “Discarded” in paragraph 2 means “________”.| A．grown | B．lighted | C．thrown away | D．cared for |
| A．Cigarette butts may endanger natural food chain. |
| B．Cigarette butts will lead to floods directly. |
| C．Cigarettes positively affect the eco-system. |
| D．Foreign tourists may not visit beaches with cigarette butts. |
| A．face two years in jail | B．face a minimum 100,000 baht fine |
| C．be in prison or fined | D．be educated in a training center |
| A．Cigarette butts damage the underwater environment. |
| B．Thailand bans smoking on 20 popular tourist beaches. |
| C．Smoking is forbidden on all Thailand beaches. |
| D．Thailand local media pays attention to smoking problem. |
2 . After nearly a year of frantic (狂热的) lobbying and debate, the EPA has finalized strict new rules on vehicle emissions that will push the auto industry to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles (EV). The EPA expects that under the new rules, EVs could account for up to 56% of new passenger vehicles sold for model years 2030 through 2032, meeting a goal that President Biden set in 2021.
The regulations are a cornerstone of the Biden Administration’s efforts to fight climate change. Combined with investments the U.S. is making in battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, the auto regulations will help shift the U.S. away from relying on fossil fuels for transportation, a senior administration official said during a call with reporters. “Three years ago, I set an ambitious target that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission,” Biden said in a statement, adding that the country will meet that goal and “race forward in the years ahead”.
Biden added that U.S. workers “will lead the world on autos - making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America’.” The new rules require auto manufacturers to slash emissions of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide that are heating the planet, as well as air pollutants that contribute to soot and smog. The administration says the new standards will avoid more than seven billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions and deliver almost $100 billion in annual benefits, including $13 billion in health benefits as a result of less pollution.
“That’s going to have immediate benefits in improving air quality, but also improving people’s health,” Cara Cook, director of programs at the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, told reporters ahead of the EPA’s announcement. “So they’re not breathing in dirty air, especially for those who are living near major roadways and highways, heavy traffic [areas]. Those are the ones that are going to really experience a significant amount of benefits from these rules.”
1. What does the new rules aim to do?| A．To relieve heavy traffic. |
| B．To conserve the traffic regulations. |
| C．To hinder the transition to electric vehicles. |
| D．To achieve environmental friendly transportation. |
| A．Lift. | B．Shrink. | C．Enhance. | D．Accumulate. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Opposed. | C．Objective. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Fighting climate change. |
| B．Achieving zero-emission. |
| C．New rules on green vehicle benefit. |
| D．The acceleration of the auto revolution. |
3 . The first-ever fine for space junk was issued in early October in a case of off-planet environmental enforcement (执法). The television company, Dish Network, was hit with a $125,000 fine by the United States government for failing to remove a satellite in orbit that would have risked a collision (撞击) with other space equipment, a safety concern that will only grow with time as off-planet activities increase.
According to NASA, debris (碎片) orbiting in space can travel up to 15 kilometres per second, which is nearly 10 times faster than the velocity (速度) of a bullet. A huge amount of damage can be caused by something just a few centimetres in size, meaning that every effort must be taken to keep space as clear as possible. Collisions that take place in space have an effect back on Earth. Damaged satellites impact our ability to use the Internet and navigation (导航), leaving increasingly global critical infrastructure in an unstable state.
One solution for this may be to send autonomous space vehicles into orbit, which can then catch and effectively de-orbit space junk. By utilizing tools such as robotic arms, or nets, this approach will require very precise track and fine cooperation in order to be successful. Such measures are yet to catch up with the increase in space activity and pollution currently occurring. Therefore, fines and regulatory enforcement may presently be the only realistic method to hold organizations accountable.
The Dish Network satellite, fined $125,000 by the Federal Communications Commission, failed to de-orbit as a lack of fuel stopped the satellite from fully decommissioning (退役) a safe distance from Earth, falling short by around 75 miles (120 kilometres). It is hoped that significant fines like these will serve as a warning for companies, forcing them to make sure the safe decommissioning of their space operations.
1. Why was Dish Network fined?| A．It left space junk in orbit. | B．It increased off-planet activities. |
| C．It made collisions among space equipment. | D．It sent too much space equipment to space. |
| A．Space junk may turn into bullets. | B．Debris fragments are too tiny to track. |
| C．Debris may cause great damage in space. | D．A bad space environment will destroy the Earth. |
| A．The harm of space junk. | B．Ways to remove space junk. |
| C．Types of autonomous space vehicles. | D．Approaches to stopping satellites. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Negative. | D．Approving. |
4 . You wouldn’t steal a car. You would never rob a bank or pick someone’s pocket. But you may be another kind of thief.
If you have ever bought a disc for 15 yuan or less, then you have helped to rob artists or musicians of their intellectual properly rights (知识产权).
Last Thursday was World Intellectual Property Day. Activities to tell people about intellectual property rights were held around the country.
Intellectual property includes inventions, literary (文学的) and artistic works, names, and pictures. They are of little value if they are not read, seen and used.
While the cost of copying discs is very small, authors, singers and actors have to spend a lot of money and time making a new product. That’s why they have the right to make money from their work.
So buying pirated (盗版的) music of Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai is like stealing from them, paying them no respect for their hard work.
If Jay Chou cannot make money from his work, he may not make anything else. But those who make pirated goods are becoming rich without doing any hard work.
The authors should ask for a fair price for their work. Earlier this year there was much talk about how much KTV clubs should pay the music companies for using their songs.
The copyright fee also should be fair to the users. That’s good for the music’s popularity and society as well.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards protecting intellectual property rights?| A．He is for it. | B．He is against it. |
| C．He doesn’t care about it. | D．The article doesn’t tell us. |
| A．Inventions. | B．Literary and artistic works. |
| C．Names and pictures. | D．Pirated music. |
| A．Authors should ask for a high price for their work. |
| B．The copyright fee should be fair to users. |
| C．Authors, singers and actors have no right to make money from their work. |
| D．Buying pirated music by Jay Chou is very good. |
| A．Rob a Bank | B．Copyright Fees |
| C．Say No to pirated Music | D．World Intellectual Property Day |
1. Which of the following will have the strictest ban on smoking according to the text?
| A．Canada. | B．Finland. | C．Hong Kong. |
| A．It can’t ban smoking forever. |
| B．It wants to ban smoking now. |
| C．It wants to ban smoking thoroughly. |
| A．Restaurants. | B．Cars. | C．Shopping malls. |
| A．Smoking and Cancer | B．Smoking in Hong Kong | C．Anti-smoking Laws |
1. Who does the organization of Law Society represent?
| A．Native people. | B．Lawyers in Britain. |
| C．Non-humans. | D．Children in Wales. |
| A．They focus on better ways to tackle climate change. |
| B．They forbid other creatures to use trees for food or shelter. |
| C．They recognize the legal rights of the whole natural system. |
| D．They protect things humans find interesting like trees and pets. |
| A．Defending native cultures by law. |
| B．Using laws to protect nature. |
| C．Fighting the loss of biodiversity. |
| D．Using technology to protect the environment. |
7 . Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, recently signed two bills into law that strictly limit children’s use of social media platforms. Under the law, which takes effect next year, social media companies have to check the ages of all users in the state, and children under age 18 have to get agreement from their parents to have accounts. Parents will also be able to use their kids’ accounts, apps won’t be allowed to show children ads, and accounts for kids won’t be able to be used between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am without parental agreement.
While some people argue age limitation allows tech companies to collect even more data about users, let’s be real: These companies already have much private information about us. To solve this problem, we need a separate data privacy law. But until that happens, this concern shouldn’t stop us from protecting kids.
One of the key parts of the law is allowing parents to use their kids’ accounts. By doing this, the law begins to help address one of the biggest dangers kids face online: harmful content.
One huge challenge the law helps parents get over is the amount of time kids are spending on social media. A 2022 survey found that, on average, children aged 8 to 12 spend 5 hours and 33 minutes per day on social media while those aged 13 to 18 spend 8 hours and 39 minutes daily. It’s warned that lack of sleep is connected with serious harm to children — everything from injuries to depression (抑郁), fatness and diabetes. So, parents need to have a way to ensure their kids aren’t up on social media platforms all night.
Considering the experiences many kids are having on social media, this law will help Utah’s parents protect their kids. Parents in other states need the same support. Now, it’s time for the government to step up and ensure children throughout the country have the same protection as Utah’s kids.
1. Which is allowed according to the new bill?| A．Ads can be put on to children. |
| B．Children can use social media freely. |
| C．Parents can check their kids’ accounts. |
| D．Related companies protect users’ accounts. |
| A．Because children’s right to surf the Internet is limited. |
| B．Because more personal information may be given away. |
| C．Because it prevents the data privacy law from taking effect. |
| D．Because children may become too dependent on the Internet. |
| A．Higher learning efficiency. |
| B．Better personal eating habits. |
| C．Easier access to healthy media. |
| D．Improved physical and mental health. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Flexible. | D．Negative. |
8 . Beijing No 4 Intermediate People’s Court said on Thursday that it concluded 77 cases of smuggling (走私) precious animal products from the beginning of 2015 to June this year, with about 40 percent of defendants (被告) given prison terms of three or more years. The products were found to be frequently made of body parts of some endangered wild animals such as elephants, turtles, bears and wolves, Wang Jing, vice-president of the court, told a news conference.
“Most of the defendants were migrant workers, students and tourists coming back to China, “Wang said. “Some aimed to sell the products for profits or send to friends and family members as gifts, while they wanted to use them to help with diseases.”
Wang explained that some of the defendants received heavier penalties (惩罚), such as a long-term imprisonment and a high fine, because the animal parts they smuggled were from animals listed on the national key protection of wildlife or related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). For example, a defendant surnamed Yan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with 200,000 yuan ($27, 968) in fines, for smuggling 393 fish bladder products, the court said. Yan was caught while arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport from Mexico on March 21, 2018, and the suspected products were discovered by the customs staff members in Yan’s luggage. The products were later identified as being made of drum fish in Gulf of California, and the fish is listed on the CITES, the court said, adding that the products were worth of about 2.51 million yuan ($351,000).
To effectively fight the crime, the court has issued a guideline on the smuggling of precious animal products to help judges accurately apply laws and unify (统一) the standards of relevant case hearings.
On Thursday, the court also disclosed four other smuggling cases, showing its determination and effort to protect precious animals by rule of law.
1. What does Wang Jing mainly express in paragraph 2?| A．The diseases that the animal products can be used to cure people of. |
| B．The way the defendants managed to get the animal products abroad. |
| C．The reasons why the defendants brought the animal products from abroad. |
| D．The people who the defendants were supposed to sell the animal products to. |
| A．Yan was sentenced to one decade in prison without any fines. |
| B．Yan was caught when trying to make a deal with someone. |
| C．Yan’s products were made of a kind of endangered fish. |
| D．Yan was a migrant worker, who came from Europe. |
| A．Have some doubts about. | B．Feel a little upset about. |
| C．Try to hide the truth about. | D．Give people information about. |
| A．Beijing court handles 77 cases of smuggling animal products |
| B．Beijing court makes an effort to recognize wild animals products |
| C．Beijing court helps judges apply laws about smuggling animal products |
| D．Beijing court issues guideline on smuggling of precious animal products |
9 . Beijing No 4 Intermediate People’s Court said on Thursday that it concluded 77 cases of smuggling (走私) precious animal products from the beginning of 2015 to June this year, with about 40 percent of defendants (被告) given prison terms of three or more years. The products were found to be frequently made of body parts of some endangered wild animals such as elephants, turtles, bears and wolves, Wang Jing, vice-president of the court, told a news conference.
”Most of the defendants were migrant workers, students and tourists coming back to China,“ Wang said. ”Some aimed to sell the products for profits or send to friends and family members as gifts, while they wanted to use them to help with diseases.“
Wang explained that some of the defendants received heavier penalties (刑罚), such as a long-term imprisonment and a high fine, because the animal parts they smuggled were from animals listed on the national key protection of wildlife or related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES). For example, a defendant surnamed Yan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with 200,000 yuan($27,968)in fines, for smuggling 393 fish bladder products, the court said. Yan was caught while arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport from Mexico on March 21, 2018, and the suspected products were discovered by the customs staff members in Yan’s luggage, it said. The products were later identified as being made of drum fish in Gulf of California, and the fish is listed on the CITES, it said, adding that the products were worth of about 2.51 million yuan($351,000).
To effectively fight the crime, the court has issued a guideline on the smuggling of precious animal products to help judges accurately apply laws and unify (统一) the standards of relevant case hearings.
On Thursday, the court also disclosed four other smuggling cases, showing its determination and effort to protect precious animals by rule of law.
1. What did Wang Jing tell the news conference in paragraph 1?| A．Who the products would be sold to. | B．Where the wild animals came from. |
| C．What the products were made of. | D．How the wild animals were caught. |
| A．Five years. | B．Seven years. | C．Ten years. | D．Twelve years. |
| A．Have some doubt about. | B．Feel a little upset about. |
| C．Try to discover facts about. | D．Give people information about. |
| A．Beijing court handles 77 cases of smuggling animal products |
| B．Beijing court makes an effort to recognize wild animals products |
| C．Beijing court helps judges apply laws about smuggling animal products |
| D．Beijing court issues guideline on smuggling of precious animal products |
10 . ZHAO ZHIZHONG, a professor of geography at Hainan Normal University, recently proposed to make the law and forbid pupils below the age of 16 to use smartphones. Beijing Youth Daily comments:
With the prosperity of the economy, many families choose to buy a smartphone for their children at school to search for materials and assist in studying.
In and out of class, the pupils have smartphones in their hands.
It seems the heavy addiction to smartphones is affecting ever more pupils at young ages.
There are certain countries that limit pupils from using smartphones in class but allow them to use them after it.
| A．While walking, they hold them in their hands. |
| B．So a flexible ban can be considered to avoid the trouble. |
| C．They, just like their parents, have become enslaved by smartphones. |
| D．However, it remains doubtful whether a simple ban is proper. |
| E．Perhaps a child model for smartphones can also be introduced. |
| F．The actual effect remains to be seen. |
| G．In fact, when children get their smartphones, the situation is different. |
