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 . Justice in society must include both a fair trial to the accused and the selection of an appropriate punishment for those proven guilty. Because justice is regarded as one form of equality, we find in its earlier expression the idea of a punishment equal to the crime. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is such an example. This conception of retributive justice (报应正义) is reflected in many parts of the legal codes and procedures of modern times, especially when the death penalty is demanded for a person who has committed murder. This philosophy of punishment was supported by the German idealist Hegel. He believed that the criminal had by his own actions denied (否定) his true self and it is necessary to do something that will counteract (抵制) the denial and restore the self that has been denied. To the murderer nothing less than giving up his own life will pay his debt.
Modern jurists (法学家) have tried to replace retributive justice with the idea of corrective justice. The aim of the latter is not to abandon the concept of equality but to find a more adequate way to express it. It tries to preserve the idea of equal opportunity for each person to realize the best that is in him. The criminal is regarded as being socially ill and in need of treatment that will enable him to become a normal member. Only those criminals who are incurable should be permanently separated from the rest of society. This does not mean that criminals will escape punishment. It means that the goal of justice is to cure the person, not simply to get even with him. If severe punishment is the only adequate means of accomplishing this, it should be administered. However, the person should be given every opportunity to assume a normal place in society. His crime must not deprive him of the opportunity to make his way in the society of which he is a part.
1. Why is “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” presented?| A．To give moral support to retributive justice. |
| B．To prove that equality demands just punishment. |
| C．To justify the need for punishment as a part of law. |
| D．To prove that man has long been interested in justice. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Disapproving. | C．Supportive. | D．Cautious. |
| A．The type of crime that was proven. | B．The severity of the punishment. |
| C．The reason for the sentence. | D．The outcome of the trial. |
| A．Fitting the punishment to the crime | B．Approaches to just punishment |
| C．Attaining justice in the courts | D．Improvements in legal justice |
3 . Traveling by subway can sometimes be quite an adventure, especially during rush hour. There are the times when you have to avoid cups of coffee that could spill (溅) on you. The smells of some passengers’ food are very strong, too. According to the Beijing subway passenger regulations, which went into effect on May 15th, passengers except babies and the sick are no longer allowed to eat or drink on the subway. Violators (违反者) who do not stop after being asked to will be asked to get off. The violation will also be recorded in the violators’ credit record.
Some support the rule. The reason is that the smell of food and drink can annoy other passengers. “The smell of food fills the carriage, causing people discomfort, especially in the hot summer, Besides, eating on the subway produces rubbish. And on subway trains, people often spill their drinks,” said Zheng Yiou, 17, a student from Hefei.
However, others question this rule. “Some citizens live so far from their work places that they have limited time to have breakfast before they go to work. Eating while they travel saves them time and decreases the chance that they will be late for work,” He Songlin, a 17-year-old student from Chengdu said, “And some people, like those with low- blood sugar levels, get sick if they can’t eat when they must.”
Other Chinese cities like Nanjing and Chengdu have similar regulations. Some foreign cities also ban eating and drinking on the subway. For example, eating and drinking have long been banned on the subway in Washington DC. Singapore fines people who eat or drink on the subway up to 500 Singapore dollars, which is RMB 2,417 yuan.
Chen Yanyan, a professor from Beijing University of Technology, believed we should consider the need of some people to eat or drink on the subway. “Commuters (上班族) and travelers are sometimes too busy to eat. Maybe we could learn from Tokyo, where there are many subway stations equipped with services, allowing passengers to eat and drink,” she said.
1. In which city was subway passenger regulations carried out on May 15th?| A．Chengdu. | B．Nanjing. |
| C．Washington DC. | D．Beijing. |
| A．Eating on the subway. | B．Drinking on the subway. |
| C．Being fined up to 2417 yuan. | D．Being asked to get off the train. |
| A．Worried. | B．Sympathetic. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Uninterested |
| A．Food and Drink Banned on Subway. |
| B．The Adventure of Subway Traveling |
| C．Ways to Eat and Drink on Subway. |
| D．The Services on Subway Stations |
4 . Foreign drivers will have a pay on-the-spot fines of up to ￡900 for breaking the traffic law to be carried out next month.
If they do not have enough cash or a working credit card, their vehicles will clamped(扣留) until they pay—and they will face an additional fee of ￡80 for getting back their vehicles.
The law will also apply to British citizens. The fines will be described officially as “deposits” when the traffic law takes effect, because the money would be returned if the driver went to court and was found not guilty. In practice, very few foreign drivers are likely to return to Britain to deal with their cases.
Foreign drivers are rarely charged because police cannot take action against them if they fail to appear in court. Instead, officers often merely give warnings.
Three million foreign-registered vehicles enter Britain each year. Polish vehicles make up 36 percent, French vehicles 10 percent and German vehicles 9 percent.
Foreign vehicles are 30 percent more likely to be in a crash than British-registered vehicles. The number of crashes caused by foreign vehicles rose by 47 percent between 2003 and 2008. There were almost 400 deaths and serious injuries and 3,000 slight injuries from accidents caused by foreign vehicles in 2008.
The new law is partly intended to settle the problem of foreign lorry drivers ignoring limits on weight and hours at the wheel. Foreign lorries are three times more likely to be in a crash than British lorries. Recent spot checks found that three quarters of lorries that failed safety tests were registered overseas.
The standard deposit for a careless driving offence —such as driving too close to the vehicle in front or reading a map at the wheel—will be ￡300. Deposits for speeding offences and using mobile phones will be ￡60. Foreign drivers will not get points as punishment added to their licenses, while British drivers will.
1. The first paragraph serves as a(n) ________.| A．explanation | B．introduction |
| C．comment | D．background |
| A．￡60 | B．￡300 |
| C．￡900 | D．￡980 |
| A．many foreign drivers have been fined by Britain police |
| B．300,000 German vehicles enter Britain every year |
| C．25 percent of foreign vehicles entering Britain have failed safety tests |
| D．British drivers will be punished with points and fines for breaking the traffic law |
| A．limit the number of foreign vehicles entering Britain |
| B．increase the Britain government’s additional income |
| C．reduce the rate of traffic accidents and injuries |
| D．get foreign drivers to appear in court |
Shanghai introduced similar rules a year ago, but people do not seem to take much notice of them. Often you find people smoking at the next table while you are eating your meal or having a drink in a bar. The problem is that the rules do not include punishments for businesses or individuals who ignore them.
It appears that many Chinese people are unaware of the dangers of smoking. Research suggests that only one in four knows the harm cigarettes of second-hand smoke can cause. Officials say they have to try to persuade people not to smoke to reduce the numbers dying from smoking-related diseases. But it is hard to deal with the problem and there is still a long way to go.
1. The number of smokers in China makes up about ______ of the world’s smokers.
| A．66% | B．44% | C．33% | D．55% |
| A．Because those people don’t want to be punished. |
| B．Because they do not include punishments for those who ignore the rules. |
| C．Because the rules are ignored by all the people who smoke. |
| D．Because nobody takes notice of the rules. |
| A．How to punish those who ignore the ban. |
| B．What the dangers of smoking are. |
| C．Why it’s hard to ban smoking. |
| D．How the non-smokers suffer from second-hand smoke. |
Almost every bit of information can be cut and pasted (粘贴) with a few clicks of a mouse. Many art forms such as writings, films, and music need new protection to ensure that people do not simply transfer them for free. Online illegal copying has been blamed for a huge reduction in the sales of many records because it is hard to convince people to buy something that they can get for free. Even the ideas behind traditional games, such as Scrabble, have been used without the owners’ permission.
Old laws have been struggling to keep up. While music companies have been successful in persuading courts that action should be taken against people who illegally download music, the law is difficult to carry out. Furthermore, intellectual property rights vary widely from country to country, so it’s up for debate which laws apply. Finally, there is the fact that many people simply do not see the act as theft (盗窃), since once the work has been digitized there is no clear physical object to steal in the first place.
All of these issues mean that companies involved with intellectual property — ideas or easily digitized information — are fighting desperately to get people to pay for the information they use, rather than paying for an object like a CD that they use. While the companies have sometimes been successful, the practical barriers to full protection seem insurmountable.
Finally, all that concerned parties can do is hope that their few successes scare off others and try to find new ways of making money.
1. Why do writings, films, and music need protection？
| A．They are very expensive. |
| B．They are impossible to copy. |
| C．It is easy to make CDs, books, and movies. |
| D．They are easily able to be transferred when in digital form. |
| A．Laws are not the same in all countries. |
| B．People do not see copying information as theft. |
| C．It is very hard to catch people who are breaking the law. |
| D．Internet service providers do not want to cooperate with the police. |
| A．extremely expensive | B．impossible to overcome |
| C．against the law | D．hard to prove |
| A．Music and films will be unnecessary in the future. |
| B．New laws are necessary but difficult to put into practice. |
| C．The Internet is likely to become more important in the future. |
| D．Laws are just a way for greedy companies to control their products. |
