Some people are so rude. Who sends an e-mail or a text message that just says “Thank you?” Who leaves a voice mail message rather than texts you? Who asks for a fact easily found on the Internet? 1.
Maybe I’m the rude one for not appreciating life’s little courtesies(礼节). But many social norms(规范) just don’t make sense to people drowning in digital communication.
Take the thank-you note. Daniel Post Senning, a coauthor of Emily Post’s Etiquette，asked, “At what point does showing appreciation outweigh the cost?”
2. Think of how long it takes to listen to one of those messages. In texts, you don’t have to declare who you are or even say hello. E-mail, too, is slower than a text. The worst are those who leave a voice mail and then send an e-mail message to tell you they left a voice mail.
This isn’t the first time technology has changed our manners, 3. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, suggested that people say, " Ahoy! "Finally, hello won out, and the victory sped up the greeting's use in face-to-face communications.
In the age of the smart phone, there is no reason to ask once-acceptable questions about:the weather forecast, a business’s phone number, or directions to a house, a restaurant, or an office, which can be easily found on a digital map. 4. And when you answer, they respond with a thank-you e-mail.
How to handle these differing standards? Easy: Consider your audience. Some people,especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message. 5. In traditional societies, the young learn from the old. But in modern societies, the old can also learn from the young. Here's hoping that politeness never goes out of fashion but that time-wasting forms of communication do.
A. Then there is voice mail.
B. Others, like me, want no reply.
C. But people still ask these things.
D. Don’t these people realize that they’re wasting your time?
E. Won't new technology bring about changes in our daily life?
F. Face-to-face communication makes comprehension much easier.
G. When the telephone was invented, people didn't know how to greet a caller.
As the world’s population continues to increase, so does the amount of global waste people produce. According to data collected by the World Bank Group, nations will generate 4 billion tons of waste annually by the year 2100. The pollution from trash is not only ruining the world’s oceans, air and soil but endangering all living creatures.
For years government agencies have been telling citizens to live a zero-waste lifestyle. Traditionally, manufacturers would make a product to be used and thrown by consumers. This linear model of production offered no help in the fight against global waste. Alternatively, a circular economy has been introduced. This is a system which aims to minimize waste and restore used materials. Once a product’s value is exhausted, the materials are recycled and returned to manufactures. The outcome is less waste.
In 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported on the Taiwan island’s recycling success rate in an article titled The World’s Geniuses of Garbage Disposal. In 1997, Taiwan established its signature 4-in-l Recycling Program, consisting of communities, recycling enterprises, government cleaning teams and the Recycling Fund. Residents separate their recyclable waste and bring it to their community’s recycling locations. The local government collection teams and private collectors collect it. Recycling companies buy waste materials from them to generate profits. Importers and manufacturers who are responsible for the recyclable products pay a fee into the Recycling Fund. The Recycling Fund is an essential aspect of the program used to subsidize (资助) the recycling disposal system, support education and research and development as well as finance recycling efforts in the future.
By following a circular system, more products than ever are being manufactured using recycled materials. For example, used tires can be recovered to pave roads, while plastic is reused to make new plastic products. And it also helps to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, save landfill space and even create new job opportunities.
1.Why has a circular economy been introduced?
A.The population is on the rise.
B.It can help handle global waste.
C.The living creatures on earth are getting less diverse.
D.Traditional products are not environmentally friendly.
2.What can we learn about 4-in-l Recycle Program?
A.The recyclable materials can be collected officially or privately.
B.The importers and manufactures cover the costs of the program.
C.Recycling companies buy waste materials from the residents.
D.The government invests money as the recycling fund.
3.What’s the effect of the circular system?
A.It will cause no waste or pollution. B.It reduces the costs of the products.
C.It helps lower the unemployment rate. D.All the materials can be recycled again.
4.Which of the following does the text suggest?
A.Do nothing by halves. B.All that glisters isn’t gold.
C.Actions speak louder than words. D.One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Does it matter if a language dies out? The traditional answer is yes, because every language is a repository (智囊) of ideas and culture and represents a unique way of looking at the world. The planet only has about 7,000 languages; the extinction of even one decreases the sum total of human knowledge.
But in some cases, extinction can be seen in a more positive light. Take Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language（ABSL）for example, restricted to about 1,000 users in a small Israeli village with a high level of born deafness, the language seems to be bound to die by the spread of Israeli sign language.
The natural reaction to the loss of ABSL is regret. It is a fascinating language that has kept linguists busy since it came to their attention around 15 years ago. But for the deaf villagers, Israeli sign language is an upgrade: it allows them to speak to tens of thousands of people rather than a few hundred, and enables them to work and marry outside the village. It is hard to see that as anything other than progress. Similarly, other endangered languages die out because people abandon them in favor of ones that serve their needs better.
Technology also softens the blow, as endangered languages can now be captured in detail — which also means they could eventually be brought back from the dead, much as the Hebrew language was in the 19th century. It is now the first language of 9 million people.
Linguists naturally condemn the loss of language much as conservationists (环保主义者) once mourned the loss of every single species. But they are moving towards acceptance that not all species can be saved, that invasive species are not always bad and that human-engineered ecosystems are not necessarily inferior to natural ones. Perhaps our attitudes to language extinction are due for a similar change.
1.What can we infer about ABSL?
A.Another language replaced it. B.It is an endangered language.
C.Deaf villagers prefer to use it. D.It has been studied for over 15 years.
2.What does the underlined word “upgrade” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Recovery. B.Opportunity.
C.Improvement. D.Update.
3.How does technology affect languages?
A.Technology can remove people’s regret.
B.Languages may be rescued from the extinction.
C.Technology increases the number of endangered languages.
D.Endangered languages might be abandoned because of technology.
4.What’s the main idea of the text?
A.More and more languages are dying out.
B.Technology creates some new languages.
C.People feel ashamed of language extinction.
D.Language extinction is not necessarily a bad thing.
For decades, television networks have produced no shortage of entertaining shows featuring food. The success of these shows is a clear indication of the strong appeal of the cookery experience to people. Whether it’s recipe instructions, review of a restaurant or coverage (专访) of a chef, people are hungry to find out more about the food they eat.
One of the latest entries among the food programs is the Emmy-nominated Award Netflix series, Chef’s Table, which features more than just ways to prepare fine food. Viewers tune in to each episode (一集) to hear a personal story from a distinguished chef. Each chef’s tale is heart-touching with their own unique life experience. Take American chef Grant Achatz for example. The journey to operating one of the highest ranked restaurants in North America took a very personal turn. In 2007, Achatz was diagnosed with mouth cancer and lost his sense of taste. Amazingly, he regained it, and has gone on to pioneer a new “progressive American” style of cooking.
Each chef has his own fascinating story, and the series highlights an important common thread among them: culture. Because food is so connected with the culture it comes from, each chef represents whatever traditions and cooking techniques they’ve come out of. They combine their culture’s traditional cooking with new tastes. In fact, many chefs work tirelessly at redefining an entire culture’s expectation for eating.
Despite having a number of unconventional elements associated with their cooking, one thing is clear: Cooking is an incredibly meaningful experience for each chef. One guest described his time at one chef’s restaurant by saying “Eating there is like looking at someone who has put his soul into the food”.
1.What does the success of the food programs show?
A.More and more chefs are in demand.
B.These programs are a new fashion trend.
C.People are hungry to find out what they eat.
D.People are interested in the cookery experience.
2.What do we know about Chef’s Table?
A.It is the latest entry among the food programs.
B.It is an award-winning TV series featuring unique chefs.
C.People watch it just to hear the heart-touching stories.
D.Grant Achatz is the most famous chef in the program.
3.What does the author intend to tell readers in Paragraph 3?
A.Culture counts a lot in cooking and eating.
B.The chefs are trying to change the eating culture.
C.A good chef should highlight traditional cooking.
D.Each chef has his own attractive story about culture.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Chef’s Story B.Food and Culture
C.A Popular Entertaining Program D.Chef’s Table: Food with a Story
Here are four fantastic experiences for you to enjoy wonderful countryside spots, breath-taking scenery and clean, fresh air. Pack your bags and get outside!
Horse-riding
Here’s a novel way of chasing the Northern Lights — on horseback, which is a back-to-nature experience hunting for the aurora borealis. You’ll saddle up (给马备鞍) at dusk and head deeper into the wilds near the Pallas Yllas National Park.
GO: Three-night full-board guided trip, including two nights in a cottage and one night glamping, from £965 per person. See aurora zone. com.
Mountain-biking
You can choose from guided downhill or cross-country mountain biking to road cycling and families can enjoy peaceful, slower paths and farm trails.
Extra activities include hiking, water park.
GO: Five-night B&B packages including transfers and guided biking, from £374 per person. Bike hire from around £15 a day. See wizzair. com.
Camping
Get back to basics on a campsite with none of that fancy glamping. The pitches are large so you can light your own campfire at night. Walkers are in heaven here, hiking among the limestone hills filled with traditional stone walls.
Also a great destination for fishing, sailing and windsurfing on nearby Lake Semerwater.
GO: Non-electric grass tent pitches from £20 a night. Tipi already pitched from £70 a night. See pitchup. com.
Whale-watching
Scotland’s west coast, one of Europe’s best places to catch sight of whales, has launched a new whale trail. It features 30 top places offering opportunities to see the wildlife and showcases whale heritage sites.
GO: Accommodation along the trail is reasonable including B&B in a double room at Torran in Ullapool from £70 a night. See bandbullapool. co. uk.
1.How much might you pay for two days’ bike-hiring in Mountain-biking?
A.£15. B.£20.
C.£30. D.£374.
2.What will you do in Camping?
A.Hunt for animals. B.Enjoy challenging camping.
C.Visit traditional stone walls. D.Climb an across-country mountain.
3.Where can you find coastal B&Bs?
A.At bandbullapool. co. uk. B.At aurora zone. com.
C.At pitchup. com. D.At wizzair. com.
假定你是李华，英国高中生Peter在中国研学时曾暂住你家。他回国后给你寄来礼物感谢你的招待，并在信中委婉表示对你家三世同堂感到惊讶。请你写一封回信，内容包括：
（1）感谢对方赠送的礼物；
（2）简要介绍中国人三世同堂的现象。
注意：1.词数120左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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