When I was a boy we used to live across ...

    The world is a colorful landscape of different languages, skin colors, and different cultures. It's important to have a good understanding of different cultures in order to become a well-rounded person1.

One way is to read books written by authors from a particular culture. Reading works by authors who have a close relationship with a particular culture allows people to gain an authentic glimpse into the food, music, language, religion, and way of a life of a particular group of people.

2.

Another way to learn about different cultures is to try to learn a foreign language.3.A person can choose a language she has always wanted to learn and locate learning programs to help her master the language. Besides, one can enroll in a foreign language class in order to learn in a more formal setting. One can also try to visit areas of the city to establish social connection with native speakers of the language.

4.Seek out restaurants that feature authentic food from a variety of countries. Food is an important part of different cultures and allows people to gain deep understanding into a particular cultural group's way of life.

Communicating with people from other countries through email or snail mail is another useful way to become familiar with different cultures.5.Various websites offer pen pal services, offering to connect individuals with pen friends around the world.

A.Trying authentic food from a specific cultural group is also a great idea.

B.The Internet has made it possible to communicate with others from different countries.

C.Making contact with native speakers of the language allows one to gain firsthand knowledge.

D.There are several ways to become knowledgeable about different cultures.

E.Stories based on a local culture expose one to a different culture.

F.One way to develop this appreciation is to try to team about other cultures around the world.

G.A variety of language-learning books, software, and audio programs is available.

    Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless device (设备) may be turning friends away from your home. The elephant in your living room is your Internet-connected camera, a device people are increasingly using for peace of mind in their homes. But few stop to think about the effect these devices may have on house guests. Should you tell your friends, for instance, that they're being recorded while you all watch the big game together?

“It's certainly new territory, especially as home security cameras become easier to fix,” says Lizzie Post, president of the Emily Post Institute, America's distinguished manners advisors. “I think it will be very interesting to see what manners appear in terms of whether you tell people you have a camera or not, and whether guests have a right to ask that it be turned off, if it's not a security issue.” Post wants to make clear that she's not talking about legal rights, but rather personal preference.

When it comes to security cameras, Post says it's a host's responsibility to make sure guests feel comfortable within their home. If the host casually acknowledges that there is a camera in the room by telling a story about it, that may be enough to provide an opening for a guest to say if they are uncomfortable.

However, if a contractor (合约工) is working in your home, you don't need to tell them that there are cameras watching. Then again, the camera can also work in contractors' favor. “If anything does go wrong while they're in the house, they don't want to be blamed for it,” she says. “In fact, the camera could be the thing that proves that they didn't steal the $20, or knock the vase off the table.”

1.The visitors are concerned that the security camera may________.

A.threaten their health B.spoil their peace of mind

C.disturb their privacy D.affect their preference

2.How can the home security camera benefit contractors working in your home?

A.It can prevent the accidents happening. B.It can prove their innocence.

C.It can record their working progress. D.It can make their work more enjoyable.

3.What's the author's attitude towards the security camera?

A.Negative. B.Pessimistic. C.Favorable. D.Objective.

    Reducing plastic waste isn't easy because the cheap material is found in almost every household item. Now, a delicious and nutritious solution has come up to help reduce our dependence on this environmental hazard.

David Christian, the co-founder of Evoware, says the idea of creating the biodegradable (生物降解的) products came from concern at the country’s high pollution rate. Indonesia is home to four of the world's worst polluted rivers. Since single-use packaging is a large contributor to the problem, Evoware decided to deal with that first.

After investigating various materials, the company settled on seaweed. Unlike corn, commonly used for biodegradable containers, seaweed does not require resources like water or large amounts of space. Since Indonesian farmers already harvest more seaweed than they can sell, it's easy for the company to find the material.

Though they will not reveal their production process, Evoware says the seaweed packaging contains no chemicals and is safe to consume. The company has also invented single-use cups, which can break down 30 days after they're thrown away.

While replacing plastic with the seaweed products may seem appealing to most of us, it is a hard-sell in Indonesia. According to Christian, ''The awareness to reduce single-use plastic is still very low. This makes our bioplastic unnecessary.” Also a factor is the cost, which is higher than using plastic. Hopefully, Evoware will succeed in convincing Indonesians and people worldwide that switching to their products will be helpful to protecting our beautiful planet.

1.What problem did Evoware decide to deal with first?

A.Ways to clean the four worst polluted rivers.

B.What nutritious materials for people to use.

C.How to deal with single-use packaging.

D.Means to contribute to the country's economy.

2.Why did Evoware choose seaweed?

A.It didn't require much space and was easy to get.

B.It could be found everywhere in his country.

C.It was most commonly used for packaging.

D.It grew thickly in most of the polluted rivers.

3.What can we infer from Christian's words?

A.Their seaweed products have won government support.

B.Sometimes it's hard to get people to reduce the use of plastics.

C.Their new products have received worldwide popularity.

D.The cost of making seaweed products will be lowered soon.

4.What does the underlined word ''hard-sell'' in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A.Something lasting long. B.Something hard to accept.

C.Something easy to get. D.Something commonly seen.

    In many developed countries, people who have high degrees begin to work longer than those who don’t. About 65% of American men aged 62－74 with a professional degree are in the workforce (劳动人口), compared with 32% of men who only finish high school. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated wealthy and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound .

The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift (变化) will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling (渐增的) ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

Policies are partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap (获得) rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding (先前的) generation. Technological change may well reinforce (强化) that shift: the skills that complement (补充) computers, from management know-how to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.

1.What is the common phenomenon in the workforce in rich countries?

A.Younger people are replacing the elderly.

B.People with no college degree cannot find any job.

C.Well-educated people tend to work longer.

D.Unemployment rates are decreasing year after year.

2.In view of the experience of the 20th century, many observers predict that ________.

A.there will be more competition in the job market

B.government budgets will decrease

C.more people will try to receive higher education

D.economic growth will slow down

3.According to the text, what is the result of policy changes in European countries?

A.Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.

B.Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

C.People may be able to use computers to do more complicated work.

D.More and more people have to go abroad to hunt for jobs.

听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1.In which country is the speaker now?

A.America. B.England. C.Australia.

2.When was The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry published?

A.In 2007. B.In 2012. C.In 2014.

3.What award has the speaker won?

A.The Man Booker Prize.

B.The Commonwealth Book Prize.

C.The Tinniswood Award.

4.What will the speaker do next?

A.Introduce her works. B.Answer questions. C.Visit the library.