Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.
Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.
Among the bag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.
The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.
Environmentalists don’t dispute(质疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.
1.What has Steven Stein been hired to do?
A.Help increase grocery sales.
B.Recycle the waste material.
C.Stop things falling off trucks.
D.Argue for the use of plastic bags.
2.What does the word “headwinds” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Bans on plastic bags.
B.Effects of city development.
C.Headaches caused by garbage.
D.Plastic bags hung in trees.
3.What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic-bag makers?
A.They are quite expensive.
B.Replacing them can be difficult.
C.They are less strong than plastic bags.
D.Producing them requires more energy.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Plastic, Paper or Neither
B.Industry, Pollution and Environment
C.Recycle or Throw Away
D.Garbage Collection and Waste Control
When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously（同时的）about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents respond to the brain bias of their children. Since a girl’s brain is better organized to send and receive speech，we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply.
1.While watching TV with others, women Usually talk a lot because they
A.are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends
B.can both talk and watch the screen at the Same time
C.think they can have a good time and develop relationships
D.have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands
2.After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to .
A.experience the happy time again B.keep a close tie with her
C.recommend her a new scenic spot D.remind her of something forgotten
3.What does the author want to tell us most?
A.Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication
B.Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.
C.Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.
D.Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Women Are Socially Trained to Talk B.Talking Maintains Relationships
C.Women Love to Talk D.Men Talk Differently from Women
When milk arrived on the doorstep
When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch （门廊）. Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1.Mr Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer____.
A.to show his magical power. B.to pay for the delivery
C.to satisfy his curiosity. D.to please his mother.
2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?
A.He wanted to have tea there.
B.He was a respectable person.
C.He was treated as a family member.
D.He was fully trusted by the family.
3.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?
A.Nobody wants to be a milkman now.
B.It has been driven out of the market.
C.Its service is getting poor.
D.It is forbidden by law.
4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?
A.He missed the good old days.
B.He wanted to tell interesting stories.
C.He missed it for his milk bottles.
D.He planted flowers in it.
Name： Off the Beaten Path
Cover price： $30.00
Our price： $19.80
The best-selling Reader's Digest travel book has 40% new content including over 200 new sites， over 200 new full-color photographs， and all-new， up-to-date maps. It focuses on more than 1,000 of the United State’s most overlooked must-see destinations.
Name： Container Gardens by Number
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A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs. Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display， with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information， The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden.
Name： Best Weekend Projects
Cover price： $17.95
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Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space. The projects are practical， as well as attractive， and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend. These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear， easy-to follow style that addresses readers in an accessible， user-friendly tone.
Name：1801 Home remedies(治疗方案)
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Plenty of health complaints can be handled at home. Each and every remedy will be tested by a doctor to make sure it is safe and sound. Dozens of conditions are covered， from headaches， sunburn bad breath and blisters(起泡；起疮) to allergies， and hiccups(打嗝).
1.You can most probably read the passage in a
A.travel guide B.medicine booklet
C.textbook D.newspaper
2.How much money could you save if you want to buy a travel book
A.$10.20. B.$6.46.
C.$13.96. D.$19.80.
3.Which of the following could help you to deal with common diseases without a doctor?
A.Off the Beaten path.
B.Container gardens by Number.
C.1801 Home remedies.
D.Best Weekend Projects.
现在许多中学生想到国外学习, 假设你是一名来自加拿大的老师, 某学校请你给学生做一场到国外学习的报告, 请根据如下的内容要点写一篇演讲稿。
1. 做好计划;
2. 选择住的地方;
3. 可以申请奖学金(scholarship)或在校园内打工;
4. 应对文化冲击。(culture shock)
要求: 1. 词数100个左右;
2. 不要逐条翻译;
3. 为使行文流畅, 可适当增加细节。
Hi, boys and girls,
It is a pleasure to meet all of you here. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That’s all. Thank you for listening
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（
）,并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
My name is Ann. I've been in China in a few years. With the help of Li Hua, a good friend of mine, I’ve been used to live in China. Li Hua, like many girls, are beautiful and lively. We became friends after we meet each other a few years ago. Although her English isn't easy to understand, but we enjoy chatting and we usually talk a lot about our favorite books. All of us are surprised that Chinese culture and American culture are so differently. Now we are planning nice party for next Sunday. There, I will introduce Li Hua to my friends, one of who has been to China several time
