1 . 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. |
China’s top legislature (立法机构) passed the Yellow River Protection Law on Sunday. Due
The Yellow River, the second
The law
The Yellow River basin is home
3 . A measure in the House’s $ 2 trillion economic bill would require states to cut greenhouse gas emissions (排放) promising rewards for transportation departments that post reductions and “consequences” for those that don’t.
Peter A. DeFazio, chairman of the Transportation Committee, said the proposal is designed to push states to act. “We’re going to give them very large motivation to actually make those meaningful targets and deliver on those targets,” he said. According to the proposal, states that cut emissions could get a $ 1 billion pot of money and potentially receive other bonus funding from the federal government. The bill doesn’t spell out potential consequences for not reducing emissions, leaving the decision to national transportation officials. Experts say they could include barriers to accessing highly prized grant funds (拨款).
Much of the attention on cutting emissions from the transport industry-the nation’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases-has focused on the adoption of electric vehicles by putting money in charging factories and supporting battery-powered cars. The new measure sides with environmental advocates who argue the nation can’t battle a changing climate without changing how Americans move around. Environmentalists say the nation’s changing to electric vehicles probably won’t happen quickly enough to limit temperature rises unless Americans can be convinced to drive less, and that would mean building new networks focused on walking, cycling and transit (运输).
Opposition to the emission measure is deep-seated. The heads of five western state transportation departments wrote a letter to Capitol’s committee last month saying the proposal would harm rural areas because options such as heavy-traffic pricing are not well-suited to places which are populated in few people, and it doesn’t make sense to target those state agencies when there are multiple reasons that influence emissions, including fuel economy standards for cars and local decisions about where to build stores and homes.
Kevin DeGood, a transportation researcher, said basic construction shape how people can get around. “It is funny that the state transportation departments suggest in the letter that they do not deeply influence greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation industry,” he said.
1. How does the government provide motivation?A.By praising. | B.By punishing. |
C.By financing. | D.By restricting. |
A.Greatly changed climate. | B.More convenient stores. |
C.Stable fuel economy standards. | D.Eco-friendly transport system. |
A.To oppose the emission measure. | B.To introduce solutions to emission. |
C.To call for attention to rural areas. | D.To list several reasons for emission. |
A.Supportive. | B.Disapproving. |
C.Shocked. | D.Confident. |
1. What are the new laws about?
A.Asking people to recycle. | B.Raising the price of coffee | C.Forbidding littering. |
A.Useless. | B.Fair. | C.Temporary. |
5 . Among the constant adjustive education standards and requirements, it’s important to ask a question: exactly what do we want in a high school graduate?
Some people think the goal is to enter college and earn a bachelor’s degree. Others find that interpretation too narrow, preferring that young people leave school with the skills to move into living-wage jobs. But one thing many people can embrace is that high school graduates are skilled in basic math and English.
A proposed law, House Bill 1308,could ruin that goal. Students must do the following things to get a diploma: earn 24 credits of coursework; complete a High School and Beyond Plan matching those courses; meet one requirement of a series of “graduation pathways”. The problem is that these pathways don’t work for all kids.
In large part, that’s because they guide students toward college standards. Last year, after surveying nearly 1,000 students, researchers discovered that 18% of students said they were “not good” at math, and 33% said they were poor test-takers. For them, the current pathways are a barrier because of their emphasis on these skills.
The new pathway is instead focused on performance. It would allow kids to create a presentation—say an exhibit or report — demonstrating mastery of two core subjects, but not necessarily math or English. When the bill came up for discussion, over 350 people showed their support, because it’s possible that through the performance pathway, a student could create a project emphasizing mastery in “fine arts” and “health and fitness”. Rep. Sharon favors the proposal. In a hearing, she spoke of her granddaughter, who wrote and self-published a novel while still in school, to illustrate the kind of project is workable. While Tafona Ervin worries that the lack of emphasis on math and English could lead students to graduate without solid skills.
If the purpose of education is to ensure that young people are prepared to pursue a fulfilling life, finishing school uncertain of one’s abilities in math and English weakens education’s goal.
1. Why is the question mentioned in the first paragraph?A.To make an argument. | B.To introduce the topic. |
C.To raise an education problem. | D.To clarify a concept. |
A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
A.By making comparisons. | B.By offering statistics. |
C.By providing suggestions. | D.By doing experiments. |
A.Workable. | B.Effective. | C.Awful. | D.Reasonable. |
6 . The Big Debate
Are road tests necessary for teen drivers?
Some say new drivers should be able to get a license without taking a road test.
What you need to know ● The minimum age to get a driver’s license in most states is 16. Teens must complete a driver’s education course, pass a written test, and take a road test. ● Since the pandemic, Wisconsin has waived (放弃) road tests for drivers ages 16 and 17. The state is considering making this change permanent. Iowa and Nebraska have similar waivers. ● Studies show that teens ages 16-19 are at the highest risk of any age group to be in a motor vehicle crash. | |
Yes - of course teen drivers need a test Even after taking a driving course and practicing for hours, teens do not have enough real-world experience to start driving on their own. It’s important to test a teen’s knowledge of the rules of the road—and not just with a written test. Plus, a road test ensures that every driver who passes has a certain level of knowledge. Nothing can substitute for a road test. | No - it’s not necessary for safe driving After 50 hours of supervised driving plus a driver’s education course, teens are more than prepared to get a license. And think of the time that will be saved. It lets busy motor vehicle departments complete work that piled up during the pandemic. Experts agree that practice is the best way to reduce car accidents. Skipping the road test and letting teens drive earlier gives them time to get better. |
What do you think? What do you think? Are road tests necessary for teen drivers? Now that you’ve read more of the issue, have a parent or guardian visit the week junior.com/polls with you so you can vote in our debate. Vote YES if you think road tests are necessary for teen drivers or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. |
A.Being older than 19. | B.Having driving experience. |
C.Passing required tests. | D.Completing all school courses. |
A.It gets teens prepared. | B.It reduces car accidents. |
C.It saves time and effort. | D.It promotes driving education. |
A.Teens. | B.Parents. | C.Drivers. | D.Experts. |
7 . 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. |
1. 骑行者缺乏安全意识;
2. 说明佩戴头盔的好处;
3. 呼吁同学们在骑电动车时佩戴头盔。
注意:1. 词数100左右,可以适当增加细节,行文连贯;
2. 开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear fellow students,
A regulation has been issued recently that all citizens shall wear a helmet while riding an electric bicycle.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you!
The Student Union
Although tobacco use among Chinese middle school students has decreased in recent years, the number of electronic cigarette smokers
Despite being called
The newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors (未成年人),
The new law
LEGAL NOTICE If you purchased Hill's Prescription Diet or Science Diet Canned Dog Food Between September 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019, Your Rights May Be Affected by a Class Action Settlement. | |
WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT? The lawsuit claims that Hill's Prescription Diet(HPD) and Science Diet(SD) canned dog food products had high levels of Vitamin D. The lawsuit states that purchasers of these products lost money by purchasing dog food products that were not manufactured as represented and/or paid for services as a result of injuries to their dogs. The Court will hold a hearing on July 27, 2021, at 10:00 a. m. by Zoom Video, which may be moved to a different location, time or date. The Zoom Video link will be posted on www.PetFoodSettlement.com. WHO IS INCLUDED? You are included in the Settlement if you purchased HPD and/or SD canned dog food products in the U. S. between September 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. | WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE? Consumer Food Purchase: If you purchased HPD and/or SD canned dog food products between September 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019, you could get a full refund with Proof of Purchase or up to 。20 total without Proof of Purchase. You must submit a valid Claim Form by July 2, 2021. Dog Injury: If your dog suffered injuries consistent with the consumption of excess Vitamin D as a result of your dog eating HPD and/or SD canned dog food products, you could receive money. You must submit a valid Claim Form with proper documentation by July 2, 2021. You can find more details on how to submit a claim by visiting www.PetFoodSettlement.com or calling 1-833-537-1191. |
www.PetFoodSettlement.com 1-833-537-1191 |
1. When will the hearing be held according to the notice?
A.July 27, 2021. | B.July 2, 2021. |
C.May 31, 2019. | D.Sept. 1, 2018. |
A.One provided some proof of purchasing related products. |
B.One purchased HPD canned dog food on Sept. 11, 2018. |
C.One submitted a valid claim application form on July 3, 2021. |
D.One purchased some SD canned dog food products, costing $20. |
A.1. | B.2. |
C.3. | D.4. |