Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place. The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard. Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example. But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
1.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
A．Using too much packaging.
B．Recycling too many wastes.
C．Making more products than necessary.
D．Having more material than is needed.
2.The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
A．the tendency of cutting household waste
B．the increase of packaging recycling
C．the rapid growth of super markets
D．the fact of packaging overuse
3.According to the text, recycling ______.
A．helps control the greenhouse effect
B．means burning packaging for energy
C．is the solution to gas shortage
D．leads to a waste of land
4.What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality.
B．Supermarkets care more about packaging.
C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging.
D．Other products are better packaged than food.
5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult.
B．Needless material is mostly recycled.
C．People like collecting recyclable waste.
D．The author is proud of their consumer culture.
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance. After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar , and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.
Jason Swencki?s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone." Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity慈善机构, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."
1.Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
A．He needs to go to the doctor every day.
B．He studies the leading cause of diabetes
C．He has a positive attitude to this disease.
D．He encourages diabetics by writing articles.
2.Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.
A．diabetics to communicate B．volunteers to find jobs
C．children to amuse themselves D．rock stars to share resources.
3.According to the text, Kody ______.
A．feel lonely because of his illness
B．benefits from diabeticrockstar.com
C．helps create the online kid’s forums
D．writes children’s stories online
4.What can we learn about Fight It?
A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties.
B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year.
C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics.
D．It owns a well-known medical website.
5.The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.
A．works full-time in a diabetes charity
B．employs 22 people for his website
C．helps diabetics in his own way
D．ties to find a cure for diabetes
When Alice started to cycle home from Jenny’s house, she wasn’t nervous. She was certainly not afraid of the dark.36, it was only a 15-minute ride home. But halfway there, she began to wish that she hadn’t been so 37. As she rounded a sharp bend, it suddenly 38 cold — very cold. Alice’s breath became puffs of white cloud and her legs were so cold that it became hard to ride. With her heart beating fast, she struggled so hard to move 39 that she didn’t hear the car which suddenly appeared beside her. She stopped by the road. The big black car also 40. Slowly, the passenger-window began to slide down. Alice held her breath. In the soft light inside the car, something 41. Then, the light brightened and Alice was staring at a sweet, grey-haired old lady. “Hello, dear,” said the old lady. “I need 42. I’m afraid I’m lost. I need to find the nearest airport. I must be there in the next five minutes.” “Airport? You 43 are lost,” Alice said. “You need to go back five kilometers 44 you reach the T-junction. Turn left and 45 for about another 10 kilometers to the main highway. From there, just follow the 46 to the airport. But I’m afraid there’s no 47 you’ll get there in five minutes!” “Thank you very much, dear,” replied the old lady. “Don’t worry — I’ll 48 in time.” The 49 moved up and the car started off. A little way ahead, it 50 and with headlights flashing, it drove past Alice. But then, something 51 happened. The car began changing. First, its color 52 from black to silvery-grey. Then, the wheels began disappearing, but the car continued to move forward, 53 just above the ground. As the car 54 into the dark sky, the big red tail-lights grew larger and larger and glowed more and more brightly. With a faint whistling 55, the car was gone in seconds, leaving Alice shaking her head in disbelief…
1. A．However B．Besides C．Therefore D．Otherwise
2. A．brave B．excited C．curious D．stubborn
3. A．fell B．seemed C．proved D．grew
4. A．aside B．around C．forward D．backward
5. A．arrived B．stopped C．stayed D．started
6. A．gathered B．existed C．dropped D．moved
7. A．help B．gas C．rest D．water
8. A．necessarily B．normally C．basically D．certainly
9. A．if B．until C．unless D．as
10. A．drive B．walk C．follow D．march
11. A．address B．signs C．notices D．guidance
12. A．doubt B．room C．time D．way
13. A．have it B．get it C．make it D．finish it
14. A．door B．window C．headlight D．wheel
15. A．passed B．rushed C．turned D．continued
16. A．strange B．sensitive C．imaginable D．horrible
17. A．developed B．appeared C．spread D．faded
18. A．rolling B．floating C．drawing D．flashing
19. A．pointed B．returned C．broke D．rose
20. A．tune B．voice C．sound D．ton
our manage objects to Tom's joining the club, we shall accept him as a member.
A．Until B．Unless C．If D．After
Wind power is an ancient source of energy we may return in the near future.
A．on which B．by which C．to which D．from which
When changing lanes, a driver should use his turning signal to let other drivers know .
A．he is entering which lane B．which lane he is entering
C．is he entering which lane D．which lane is he entering
