Debates over the benefits of recycling started in 1996 when a writer called John Tierney said “recycling is garbage”. According to him, “Recycling programs offer mainly short-term benefits to a few related groups while diverting money from real social and environmental problems. It doubles energy consumption and pollution while costing taxpayers more money than dealing with old garbage. Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America.”
Environmental groups were quick to respond to Tierney by issuing reports detailing the benefits of recycling and showing how municipal (市政的) recycling programs reduce pollution and the use of resources while decreasing the amount of garbage and the need for landfill space — all for less, not more, than the cost of regular garbage collection and disposal(处置).
But in 2002, New York City, an early municipal recycling pioneer, found that its much-praised recycling program was losing money, so it eliminated glass and plastic recycling. According to the Mayor, the benefits of recycling plastic and glass were outweighed by the price—-recycling cost twice as much as disposal. Meanwhile, low demand for the materials meant that much of it was ending up in landfills anyway. NYC closed its last landfill and brought in a more efficient system, with more famous service providers than it had used previously.
The lessons learned by New York are applicable everywhere. Some early recycling programs waste resources and lead to new trash. But the situation has improved as cities have gained experience. If managed correctly, recycling programs should cost cities and taxpayers less than garbage disposal for any given amount of material. Even though the benefits of recycling over disposal are various, individuals should keep in mind that it better serves the environment to reduce and reuse materials before recycling even becomes an option.
1.John Tierney thought that recycling ___________.
A.is a waste of money
B.leads to a lack of employers
C.is beneficial to the environment
D.will become popular in the future
2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “eliminated” in Paragraph 3?
A.Required. B.Forgot.
C.Encouraged. D.Cancelled.
3.What does the last paragraph imply?
A.We should make recycling an option.
B.Public recycling programs are in a bad situation.
C.We should develop the awareness of resource saving.
D.Cost-saving should be considered first in recycling work.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A.The harm of recycling
B.Is recycling really beneficial?
C.The recycling work in New York City
D.Is environmental protection making progress?
It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb comes from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself!
1.“I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means .
A.it was a firm arrangement
B.he prefers a pencil to a pen
C.the arrangement should be written as a diary
D.it was an uncertain arrangement
2.A website address can be easily found if it has been______.
A.favorited B.messaged C.emailed D.texted
3.Which of the following has not been used as a verb yet?
A.message B.mobile C.email D.page
4.The best title for this passage is____.
A.Technology and Language.
B.Development of the English language
C.New Technology and New words
D.New Verbs from Nouns
Today different online exercise programs are challenging the concept of traditional fitness models. Gyms and health clubs are no longer limited to “the four walls”. Digital extensions of traditional fitness are appearing, and to reach as many people as possible, the fitness industry is expanding its boundaries through virtual (虚拟的) fitness and accepting the latest scientific findings and technological advancements in health, technology.
Exergames (运动游戏) are a combination of physical exercise and digital games. Now fun and fitness are combined in various digital gaming products, products like Wii Fit Plus, Fitness Evolved, and Kinect Sports. What’s more, health technology is often built using principles of neuroscience, a science focused on studying the brain, Fitness Evolved, for example, focuses on stress and how you react to different stressors. This program helps you feel less threatened (受到威胁的) by targeting your specific stressors and then adjusts based on your interaction with the app.
Now there are a lot of smart exergames, one of which is BurnAlong. This online video platform combines the advantages of having a human instructor with the perks of practicing in the comfort of your own homer The platform lets users connect with whoever makes them feel most motivated—be it their favorite gym instructors, or friends who might he living on the opposite side of the country, A wide variety of programs are offered through the platform, as well as different effort levels, so everyone can find something that suits their level of fitness.
Another example is Zwift, an online multiplayer video game besed on indoor cycling. It allows you to join an online cycling group that includes members from over 150 countries. BitGym is also a smart virtual fitness app. As you train, you’re given beautiful virtual scenery to look at, complete with natural sounds and location-specific facts.. For this app, all you need to do is place your smartphone or tablet no your sports machine.
1.What is the purpose of mentioning Fitness Evolved m Paragraph 2?
A.To show how health technology is built.
B.To explain what exergames actually are.
C.To prove the popularity of digital products.
D.To give a skill of managing stress in sporty.
2.What does the underlined word “perks” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Ways. B.Benefits.
C.Chances. D.Problems.
3.In which exergame you are exposed to virtual natural beauty?
A.Kinect Sports. B.BurnAloog.
C.Zwift. D.BitGym.
4.What does the author think of digital gaming products?
A.They are the best in improving health.
B.They cast users a great deal of money.
C.They bring certain convenience to users.
D.They suit people of various age groups.
Concert night of Christian Ehwald
German conductor Christian Ehwald’s Friday concert will feature Mozart and Mendelssohn. The repertoire(节目)will include Mozart’s overture to “Don Giovanni,” and Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64.” The concert will be given by the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. Violinist Zhang Le will perform.
Time: 8 p.m., July 11
Tickets: 50-200 yuan
Reservations(预定): 11185, 8981-2344
Venue: Shenzhen Grand Theater, 5018 Shennan Road East, Luohu District
Buses: 7, 10, 23, 24, 30, 33, 62, 63, 302, 311, 352, 353, 377, 378
Metro(地铁): Da Ju Yuan Station (Grand Theater Station), Exit B
Free Sunday concert
The Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra will give a free concert Sunday afternoon. The repertoire will include Glinka’s overture to “Russian and Ludmilla,” Suppe’s overture to “The Poet and the Peasant,” and Chinese violin concerto(协奏曲) “Butterfly Lovers.”
Time: 3 p.m., July 13
Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, at the intersection of Hongli Road and Fuzhong Road 1,Futian District
Metro: Shao Nian Gong Station (Children’s Palace Station), Exit C or D
Feng Jiting’s violin concert
Feng Jitong, the first Shenzhen violin student to enter an international competition, will give a concert at the Shenzhen Concert Hall this Sunday night as a warm-up for his tour to Moscow for the David Oistrakh International Violin Competition in September. Sunday’s program will include Paganini’s Caprices, works of Bach, Mozart and Sarasati’s “Gypsy Airs.”
Time: 8 p.m., July 13
Tickets: 20 yuan
Venue: Theater studio, Shenzhen Concert Hall, at the intersection of Hongli Road and Fuzhong Road 1, Futian District
Metro: Shao Nian Gong Station (Children’s Palace Station), Exit C or D
1.Which of the following can be enjoyed free?
A.Don Giovanni B.Butterfly Lovers
C.Gypsy Airs D.Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64.
2.If a tourist arrives at Shenzhen at 4:00 p.m., July 13, which of the following can he enjoy?
A.Don Giovanni B.Russian and Ludmilla
C.The Poet and the Peasant D.Gypsy Airs
3.What’s the main purpose of this advertisement ?
A.to attract more tourists to Shenzhen.
B.to attract more people to attend the concerts.
C.to inform people of some musical events.
D.to promise a happy weekend if people attend the concerts.
Word came __________ Napoleon would come to inspect them.
A.when B.why C.how D.that
Mary __________ up the toy car and let it run across the room.
A.worked B.walked C.washed D.wound
