1. When was the new law passed?
A.Last year. | B.Three months ago. | C.Last month. |
A.A dog was killed. |
B.A man suffered a head injury. |
C.A woman’s legs were broken. |
A.You will go to prison. |
B.You will be ticketed. |
C.You could receive a warning. |
A.By using road blocks. |
B.By standing at crossings. |
C.By collecting reports from other drivers. |
2 . LONDON—England will join the growing list of places that don’t allow smoking in public buildings, taxis and other places that includes even Buckingham Palace with a strong law.
Pubs, clubs and restaurants will all be smoke-free places. Taxi drivers have been warned that they could be fined(罚款) 50 pounds, or about $100, if they are caught lighting up inside work taxis.
Experts say the bans have become unchangeable because of increasing health costs and public worry over second-hand smoke. Some of the strictest smoking bans are in some of the United States’ states, such as New York and Florida, which include bars and restaurants as smoke-free places.
Spain, Italy, Iran, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Uruguay and New Zealand have made laws to limit smoking. France banned smoking in many public places in February and cafes and restaurants will become non-smoking places next year. Finland will introduce a ban, too.
Bans are spreading among countries, and the World Health Organization supports them, but it said that by 2030 there will be “at least another two billion smokers in the world” and an expected decrease in male smokers “will be offset(抵消) by an increase in female smoking rates, especially in developing countries.”
In advance of the English ban, anti-smoking ads have coated bus stops and the government prepares to pay some money to help people give up smoking. The rest of Britain—Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—already have smoking bans ready.
1. England does the following to ban smoking EXCEPT________.A.introduce a ban | B.pay some money |
C.reduce the health costs | D.put up anti-smoking ads |
A.More places in Britain forbid smoking. |
B.Taxis are smoking-free places in England. |
C.People will be fined for smoking in public places. |
D.A smoking ban must be put into use in England. |
A.the smoking situation is still serious around the world |
B.the number of smokers in Finland is not large at all |
C.ads didn’t appear in England until the ban was started |
D.Scotland will be one of the strictest anti-smoking places |
A.doubtful | B.supportive |
C.negative | D.indifferent (漠不关心的) |
The word justice is usually associated with courts of law. There is no doubt
There are rare instances when justice almost ceases to be an abstract concept. Reward or punishment are given quite independent
When a thief was caught in a large jewellery store one morning, the shop assistants must have found it impossible to resist the temptation to say “it serves him right”. The shop was an old house with many large, disused fireplaces and tall, narrow chimneys. Towards midday, a girl heard a muffled (捂住) cry coming from behind one of the walls. As the cry
4 . My generation — people born after 1990 — are accustomed to “all-in-platform” life, where we use mobile apps of different platforms to do almost everything in life.
For instance, I ordered a cup of coffee on Monday using an online delivery app. Then, I called a taxi by tapping on the app of a ride-booking service. Next, I bought some necessities on shopping platform Taobao. That done, I moved on to various other online destinations to get my daily fix of music, reading, social networking and so forth.
Platforms now play an increasingly important role in almost all aspects of day-to-day life, not just in economic and political processes. Consumption and social interaction are closely linked to platforms now.
But, I began to get confused recently. I thought I was being treated differently. My friend and I called a taxi at the same time on a ride-hailing platform (打车平台) and found that for the same destination, the prices were different. The price indicated on my phone was higher. One of the potential reasons could have been that I regularly use the ride-hailing platform and have a higher ranking while my friend doesn’t use it that often. So, the ride-hailing platform offers discounts to newbies like her, to attract and have such customers.
China’s latest efforts in regulating monopolistic or improper market behavior are of great significance in protecting consumers’ lawful rights.
“The essence of platform-based monopoly (垄断) is that a large number of users are gathered on only a select few platform companies, leading to uneven data gathering different platforms. But in China some platforms use their own data and traffic (流量) to expand capital in a disorderly way,” said Wang Yong, deputy director of the Institute of Economics at Tinghua University.
Data monopoly also brought another inconvenience for comumers — platforms block links to each other. For instance, link to WeChat Pay of Tencent is not available on Alibuba’s Taobao while there is no Alipay link on JD app’s payment options.
Last year, Meituan was charged with preventing customers from using Alipay as a payment option on Meituan apps and platforms.
In July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a six-month special rectification (专项治理) for the internet industry, asking platform operators to stop blocking each other’s link.
“More efforts should also be made to strike a good balance between personal information protection and interconnectivity between platforms Companies are being encouraged to further develop data encryption (加密) technology so that the data are available but not visible.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing Para.2?A.To offer some tips on using apps on mobile phone. |
B.To share his experience with mobile apps. |
C.To further explain what is “all-in-platform” life. |
D.To help readers familiarize themselves with mobile apps. |
A.The author encountered so called “big data price discrimination”. |
B.The author and his friend were treated differently by taxi drivers. |
C.Due to the author's higher ranking, the platform offered him a cheaper price. |
D.The ride-hailing platform offers discounts to regular customers. |
A.to gather personal information |
B.to expand capital |
C.to protect consumers' rights |
D.to use their data and traffic wisely |
A.Sympathetic. | B.Approving. |
C.Critical. | D.Grateful. |
A.Data monopolies and the inconvenience they bring to mobile app life. |
B.Mobile apps have greatly changed our lives. |
C.How to protect personal information on mobile apps. |
D.Platforms have impacted every aspect of our daily lives. |
5 . 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. |
6 . We’ve all been there, trying our best to do our bit to help save the planet, when a really essential item that you had to order online arrives in such an unbelievable amount of packaging that it makes you feel like it’s an unprepared game of passing the parcel.
It’s made even worse by the fact that some of the packaging can’t be recycled. In fact, 10 million tonnes of packaging waste are produced in the UK every year. A lot of this ends up in landfill, two-thirds of which could have instead been recovered.
The good news, however, is that how packaging waste is managed is in for a BIG shake-up in line with the “polluter pays principle”. By placing the main point of duty to pay on brand owners, they will be encouraged to choose more sustainable packaging options which are recyclable and reusable as much as possible. Otherwise, they will have to pay higher fees.
This is a system known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) — meaning that those who have control over packaging design decisions will be encouraged to do the right thing for the planet at the beginning and consider what happens at the end of the packaging’s life from the start.
What this means is that instead of local authorities picking up the bill for household waste management, companies will have instead to pay for managing your household packaging waste as well as the form businesses, and they will be met with the associated little costs too.
And, as an added bonus, the new EPR laws on packaging will also mean that producers are required to put clear mandatory (强制性的) labelling on packaging, for example, this could be “RECYCLE” or “DO NOT RECYCLE”. Of course, we hope that the “DO NOT RECYCLE” category labelling is the minority. It is aimed that by 2030, 78% of packaging will be recycled in the UK.
1. What can we know from the first two paragraphs?A.Two-thirds of packaging waste is recycled. |
B.Over-packaging is often the case in life. |
C.The quality of goods cannot be guaranteed. |
D.Online shopping is getting less popular. |
A.Designers. | B.Producers. | C.Customers. | D.Local authorities. |
A.Pay higher taxes and recycle the packaging waste. |
B.Put clear labelling on packaging and promote sales. |
C.Cut packaging waste and improve packaging recycling. |
D.Follow the packaging design trend and to right things. |
A.Their labelling on packaging will be simple and generous. |
B.The majority of their packaging needn’t be recycled. |
C.They will be of high quality and inexpensive. |
D.They’ll arrive in the right amount of recyclable packaging. |
7 . More than 20,000 drivers and front seat passengers are killed or seriously injured each year. At a speed of only 30 miles per hour it is the same as falling from a third floor window. Wearing a seat belt saves lives; it reduces your chance of death or serious injury by more than half.
Therefore drivers or front seat passengers over 14 most vehicles must wear a seat belt. If you do not, you could be fined up to $50. It will not be up to the drivers to make sure you wear your belt. But it will be the driver’s responsibility to make sure that children under 14 do not ride in the front unless they are wearing a seat belt of some kind.
However, you do not have to wear a seat belt if you are reversing(倒退) your vehicle; or you are making a local delivery or collection using a special vehicle; or if you have a valid(正当的) medical certificate(证书) which excuses you from wearing it. Make sure these cases supply to you before you decide not to wear your seat belt. Remember you may be taken to court for not doing so, and you may be fined if you cannot prove to the court you have been excused from wearing.
1. This passage is probably taken from ______.A.medical magazine | B.a legal document |
C.a textbook | D.a government information booklet |
A.reduces road accidents by more than half |
B.reduces the death rate in traffic accidents |
C.saves lives while driving at a speed up to 30 miles per hour |
D.saves more than 16,000 lives each year |
A.make the front seat passenger wear a seat belt |
B.make the front seat children under 14 wear a seat belt |
C.stop children from riding in the front seat |
D.wear a seat belt each time he drives |
A.to pay a fine rather than wear a seat belt |
B.to wear a seat belt for health reasons |
C.not to wear seat belt for health reasons |
D.to get a valid medical certificate before wearing a seat belt |
1. What is the speaker?
A.A policewoman. | B.A school teacher. | C.A guide. |
A.3. | B.4. | C.5. |
A.Over 18. | B.Under 16. | C.Over 16. |
A.There are so many traffic accidents. |
B.The traffic moves on the left side of the road. |
C.We should not move on the left side of the road. |
9 . Too many deaths and injuries occur while mobile phones are being held. Tougher new laws will come into force in a further severe action on using a mobile phone behind the wheel from next year.
It is already illegal to text or make a phone call, other than in an emergency, using a hand-held device while driving. From 2022, laws will go further to ban drivers from using their phones to take photos or videos, or play games. This will mean anyone caught using their hand-held device while driving will face a fixed penalty notice and six points on their license. Drivers will still be able to continue using a device “hands-free” while driving, if it’s secured in a cradle (支架).
The government will also revise The Highway Code to explain the new measures. It will also be more precise about some facts, making it clear that hand-held mobile phone use at traffic lights or in motorway jams is illegal except in very limited circumstances.
There will be an exemption (豁免) to the new law for drivers making a contactless payment using their mobile phone. This will cover, for example, places like a drive-through restaurant or a road toll, and will only apply when payment is being made with a card reader. Anyway, it will not allow drivers to make general online payments while driving.
Mary Williams, chief executive of Brake — the road safety charity, said, “If drivers take their attention away from driving, this can be deadly. Using a hand-held phone at the wheel is never worth the risk. This important road safety decision by government, along with Road Safety Week, is very welcomed. The theme for Road Safety Week is road safety heroes — we can all be road safety heroes by giving driving our full attention.”
1. The purpose of the passage is mainly to ________.A.present some new findings about using a mobile phone behind the wheel |
B.describe the relationship between road safety and driving with full attention |
C.report new problems caused by drivers who use mobile phones while driving |
D.introduce new laws that will go further to ban drivers from using mobile phones |
A.Hand-held mobile phone use at traffic lights is always illegal. |
B.Those using their hand-held devices while driving will be fined. |
C.Younger drivers are more likely to use hand-held devices at the wheel. |
D.Using phones to take photos or videos while driving will not be allowed. |
A.Positive. | B.Negative. | C.Uninterested. | D.Objective. |
10 . New Zealand has announced it will outlaw smoking for the next generation, so that those who are aged 14 and under today will never be legally able to buy tobacco.
New legislation (法规) means the legal smoking age will increase every year, to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders, associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said on Thursday. “This is a historic day for the health of our people,” she said.
The government announced the rising age alongside other measures to make smoking unaffordable and inaccessible, to try to reach its goal of making the country entirely smoke-free within the next four years. Other measures include reducing the legal amount of nicotine in tobacco products to very low levels, cutting down the shops where cigarettes could legally be sold, and increasing funding to addiction services. The new laws will not restrict vape (电子烟) sales.
New Zealand's daily smoking rates have been dropping over time - down to 11.65% in 2018, from 18% a decade earlier. But smoking rates for Maori and Pacifika were far higher - 29% for Maori and 18% for Pasifika. “If nothing changes, it would be decades till Maori smoking rates fall below 5%,” Verrall said. She said to end smoking in the next four years was within reach: “I believe it is. The issue is, though, if we don't change what we’re doing, we won’t make it for Maori - and that’s what the plan is really focused on”.
Smoking has already been widely replaced by vaping among teenage New Zealanders, which is also attracting many young people who would never have taken up smoking - according to surveying of 19,000 high school students this year, nearly 20% were vaping daily or several times a day, the majority with high nicotine doses. That’s compared to 3% of those aged 15-17 who smoked daily in 2018, or 13% who smoked a decade earlier.
Verrall said the legislation would be introduced in 2022, with the age limits coming in in 2023.
1. What’s the final goal of the new legislation?A.To forbid the people aged 14 and under to buy tobacco. |
B.To make the country entirely smoke-free within years. |
C.To make buying tobacco hard. |
D.To increase the legal smoking age. |
A.Everyone is allowed to purchase tobacco with permit. |
B.Purchase of smoking becomes easier and less pricy. |
C.The vape sales will be greatly influenced. |
D.It benefits the building of a smoke-free generation. |
A.New Zealand’s daily smoking rate is quite low. |
B.It has taken a long time to decrease the rate of smoking. |
C.Smoking rates are not equal among different parts in New Zealand. |
D.The smoking rate will be higher over the years. |
A.A Historic Day of Smoking |
B.Decreasing Smoking Rate of New Zealand |
C.Vape-replacement of Tobacco |
D.New Zealand to Ban Smoking for Next Generation |