In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The ___ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of ___ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.
How did we ___ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to ___ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. ___ modern manufacturing(制造业)and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and ___.
Another cause is our ___of disposable(一次性的)products. As ___ people, we are always looking for ___ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies ____ thousands of different kinds of disposable products:paper plates, plastic cups, and cameras, to name a few.
Our appetite for new products also ____ to the problem. We are ____ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that ____ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we ____ useful possessions to make room for new ones.
All around the world, we can see the ____ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To ____ the amount of rubbish and to protect the ____, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. ____, this is not enough to solve(解决)our problem.
Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions ____ throwing them away. We also need to rethink our attitudes about ____. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.
1.A. key B. reason C. project D. problem
2.A. gifts B. rubbish C. debt D. products
3.A. face B. become C. observe D. change
4.A. hide B. control C. replace D. withdraw
5.A. Thanks to B. As to C. Except for D. Regardless of
6.A. safe B. funny C. cheap D. powerful
7.A. love B. lack C. prevention D. division
8.A. sensitive B. kind C. brave D. busy
9.A. ways B. places C. jobs D. friends
10.A. donate B. receive C. produce D. preserve
11.A. adapts B. returns C. responds D. contributes
12.A. tired of B. addicted to C. worried about D. ashamed for
13.A. newer B. stronger C. higher D. larger
14.A. pick up B. pay for C. hold onto D. throw away
15.A. advantages B. purposes C. functions D. consequences
16.A. show B. record C. decrease D. measure
17.A. technology B. environment C. consumers D. brands
18.A. However B. Otherwise C. Therefore D. Meanwhile
19.A. by B. in favour of C. after D. instead of
20.A. spending B. collecting C. repairing D. advertising
You're growing up． That means you're probably experiencing lots of changes， all at once． Your body is changing． It might even seem as if your entire self is changing． It can be confusing and even scary．1.And it's good!
Growing up means that you can do more， learn more， and start to make your mark on the world． In order for that to happen， your body produces chemicals called hormones that help both body and mind grow． Hormone levels change constantly， rising and falling．2.But it's partly to blame for intense emotions， surprising reactions， and mood swings．
Because of the way your brain develops， it is somewhat ruled by emotion now and through your teen years． As a result， growing up can seem like an emotional roller coaster!3.
◆Take care of yourself． If you eat right， sleep enough， and get good exercise， your brain will be much more able to deal with the stress．
◆4.When you feel your moods swinging or you're upset， or confused， some quiet time will allow you to gather your thoughts and get calmer．
◆Practice relaxing your body and deep breathing when you wake up and when you go to bed．5.Plus， when stuff happens during the day， you'll be able to calm yourself quickly with a deep breath or two before you react．Your body is changing．
A．Take a time-out．
B．But the truth is， it happens to every teen．
C．Work out regularly to keep physically fit．
D．This changing is needed for your body's development．
E．It will help you fall asleep-and start the morning right．
F．Here are a few things you can do to make the ride smoother．
G．Usually， these feelings settle down when you realize what is going on．
The end of the school year is in sight - Christmas cards， candy canes and of course， end of year reports．
While most parents welcome an assessment of their kids' performance， they do not expect their own input to be evaluated． But a school in the UK is changing that． As well as assessing their students， they are dishing out grades to mums and dads． Parents that are really involved in their kids' education are rewarded with an A， and parents that haven't done their bit get a disappointing D．
The school， Greasley Beauvale Primary in Nottinghamshire， uses standard such as whether mums and dads have attended school events such as plays and parent teacher evenings to decide on the grade． The school's principal， Donna Chambers， said that the scheme had been well received．
"There were some critics． In spite of it， between 15 percent and 20 percent of parents started out in the lower categories but now that has been reduced to just two per cent，" she explained．
Chambers hopes that the scheme will help motivate parental involvement． "The system is important because you have got to get the parents on board from day one． That one hour initial conversation saying they could improve will make a difference to the rest of that child's academic life"， she said．
But while the scheme may be well intentioned， it is likely to be connected with parent shaming． There are lots of reasons why some mums and dads might not be involved in school activities such as work commitments， looking after younger children or caring for elderly relatives．
And of course， being involved in your kid's education doesn't begin and end at school． There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes from helping with homework to keeping uniforms freshly laundered． And what about all the parents who stayed up sewing special costumes at the last minute？ Surely that earns a gold star instead of a grade!
1.What do schools usually do at the end of the school year？ ______
A. Evaluating kids' performances．
B. Making Christmas cards．
C. Dividing candies．
D. Grading parents．
2.What does the school's principal Chambers say about the scheme？ ______
A. It uses a new way to evaluate kids．
B. It has gained much acceptance．
C. It gives parents further education．
D. It improves kids' motivation for learning．
3.What does the author think of parents being involved in kids' education？ ______
A. It adds to parents' burden．
B. It brings shame to parents．
C. It means far more than being graded．
D. It increases parents' commitment to education．
4.What is the passage mainly about？ ______
A. There is too much stress for parents about their children's academic life．
B. Parents as well as their children are on the list of the year school report．
C. Parents should be involved in children's school life．
D. Whether a parent is excellent depends on the grade he gets．
At some point in life， many people suffer a mental problem． While most people get over it， for others it doesn't go away easily．
The World Health Organization （WHO） says that about 20 percent of children and teenagers across the globe suffer from mental illness． It's thought that the number of children and teenagers with mental illness around the world will increase by half by 2020． It will become one of the main causes of disease， disabilities and even death．
The reason for mental problems among young people may be the increasing pressure in life． Study and relationships have always caused huge stresses for school children． For instance， they experience school bullying（欺凌）and academic pressure．
In China， the picture isn't bright， either． About 30 million Chinese children and teenagers under the age of 17， or 10 percent of children and teenagers in China， have a mental health challenge， reported China Daily．
Also， according to China Daily， Chinese people don't seek help with their mental problems． They fear that others will think less of them if they admit that they are in trouble． Many Chinese people are ashamed of their mental problems and mental illness is taboo（禁忌）in any Chinese families．
In the UK， over three-quarters of young people believe their mental health problems have a social shame and a quarter of young UK people wouldn't ask for help if they developed a mental problem．
Young people who don't seek help for their condition may be creating problems for themselves in the future． If you feel something is wrong within you - seek help．
Feeling down？ Here are three things to try if you feel low．
●Go to a psychology teacher． The teacher will listen to you and offer help - for free!
●Call 800-800-1100． It's the number of a hotline run by the Mental Health Research and Prevention Center． The line is open 24 hours a day．
● Tell your parents and visit the hospital if the situation gets out of control．
1.According to the WHO， about ______ of children and teenagers worldwide experience mental illness．
A. 10 percent B. one fifth
C. 30 percent D. three quarters
2.Chinese people don't ask for help with their mental health probably because ______ ．
A. they think less of their mental problems
B. they fear that they may get into trouble
C. they are ashamed to admit having mental problems
D. they are unwilling to avoid their mental illness
3.School children with mental health should try the following three things EXCEPT ______ ．
A. consulting their teacher
B. calling a hotline for advice
C. communicating with their parents
D. hiding their mental illness from others
4.What is the purpose in writing this article？ ______
A. To analyze the major causes of young people's mental illness．
B. To describe the current situation of young people's mental health．
C. To encourage young people to deal with their mental problems properly．
D. To introduce mental problems to Chinese young people．
We all think best when we're well rested． A clear， alert brain allows us to focus， learn and remember information， and to be creative． On the other hand， when we're sleepy， we make more mistakes and are less productive in school and at work． In a report from Psychological Science， researchers at the University of Paris report sleeping between two learning sessions improve your learning．
In this study， 60 French adults were randomly divided into a "sleep" or "wake" group． They all were given 16 French-Swahili words in pairs in random order． After studying a pair for seven seconds ， the Swahili word appeared on a screen and the participants were asked to type the French translation． If they made a mistake， the words appeared again until every word-pair was correctly translated． Twelve hours later， they did it again． The wake group did their tests first in the morning and then in the evening so they had no time to sleep in between． The sleep group members did their first session in the evening and the second came the next morning， after a good night's sleep．
The sleep group members did much better at recalling the correct translations and were quicker to learn when they make a mistake． Both groups were eventually able to learn all the word-pairs but getting some sleep allowed the sleep group to learn in less time and with less effort， A follow-up showed that the sleep group still did better than the wake group a week later and even six months later，
So， if you have to learn something， study and then get a good night's sleep．
1.What is the difference of the two groups' tasks？ ______
A. Who to learn． B. What to learn．
C. How to learn the words． D. When to learn the words．
2.How did the participants deal with a typing mistake they made？ ______
A. Translating the same word again．
B. Leaving the wrong word alone．
C. Asking for a correct answer．
D. Redoing the typing twelve hours later．
3.What does the underlined word it in Para． 2 refer to？ ______
A. Correcting the mistakes．
B. Typing the French translation．
C. Typing the Swahili words．
D. Showing the Swahili word on the screen．
4.Compared to the wake group ， those in the sleep group ______ ．
A. typed more quickly
B. made fewer translation mistakes．
C. learned with more effort．
D. learned all the word- pairs．
◆Electric Underground
7：30 pm-1：00 am Free at the Cyclops Theatre
Do you know who's playing in your area？ We're bringing you an evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands． Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract（合同）？ If so， come early to the talk at 7：30 pm by Jules Skye， a successful record producer． He's going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce your music．
◆Gee Whizz
8：30 pm-10：30 pm Comedy at Kaleidoscope
Come and see Gee Whizz perform． He's the funniest stand-up comedian（喜剧演员） on the comedy scene． This joyful show will please everyone， from the youngest to the oldest． Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7：00 pm for drinks and snacks（快餐）．
◆Simon's Workshop
5：00 pm-7：30 pm Wednesdays at Victoria Stage
This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy（喜剧）． The workshop looks at every kind of comedy， and practices many different ways of making people laugh． Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years' experience of teaching comedy． His workshops are exciting and fun． An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny．
◆Charlotte Stone
8：00 pm-11：00 pm Pizza World
Fine food with beautiful jazz music； this is a great evening out． Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD， with James Pickering on the piano． The menu is Italian， with excellent meat and fresh fish， pizzas and pasta（面食）． Book early to get a table． Our bar is open all day， and serves cocktails， coffee， beer， and white wine．
1.Who can help you if you want to have your music produced？ ______
A. Jules Skye． B. Gee Whizz．
C. Charlotte Stone． D. James Pickering．
2.What do we know about Simon's Workshop？ ______
A. It requires membership status．
B. It lasts three hours each time．
C. It is run by a comedy club．
D. It is held every Wednesday．
3.When will Charlotte Stone perform her songs？ ______
A. 5：00 pm-7：30 pm． B. 7：30 pm-1：00 am．
C. 8：00 pm-11：00 pm． D. 8：30 pm-10：30 pm．
