Looking for a fun Earth Day activity? You may want to try plogging, or picking up litter while jogging. Strange as it may sound, the new “sport" is becoming popular with runners worldwide? many of whom are posting photos of themselves and friends holding bags of trash on social media.
Plogging is the idea of Erik Alstrom. In 2016, after moving to Stockholm in northern Sweden, Alstrom showed concern over the amount of trash on the road during his daily bike ride to work. Thus, he began plogging during his daily runs.
Other joggers soon joined Alstrom, and the activity became so popular that official “plogging" events started all across Sweden. As plogging became popular on social media, the new “sport" began to spread beyond Sweden, first to other European countries and then worldwide.
The official online “Plogga" group now includes members from over 40 countries, all the way from United States cities like Ohio to Thailand and Ecuador. Many school running clubs are also getting in on the action to encourage people, staging competitions that reward the runners with the heaviest trash bags.
As it turns out, plogging is not only good for the environment but also a healthy way to exercise. According to Swedish fitness app Lifesun, an average person burns about 288 calories while plogging for half an hour. This is about 50 calories more than he/she would burn when just jogging. Additionally, the constant squatting(蹲) to pick up litter increases the plogger's flexibility, while lugging(费力地拖) around the increasingly heavy garbage bags helps strengthen his/her arm muscles.
On this Earth Day, be sure to put on your running shoes, carry a trash bag or two, and go plogging. Or better still, start a plogging team at school, or around your neighborhood, and make every day Earth Day!
1.Why did Erik Alstrom decide to pick up litter while running?
A.He wanted to clear out a path to ride his bike.
B.He was concerned about the trash on the road.
C.He was fond of exercising on his way to work.
D.He dreamed to become popular across Sweden.
2.How do school running clubs support the new “sport”？
A.They post photos of official events online.
B.They explain what plogging means on stage.
C.They compete with one another for members.
D.They hold competitions to attract people to plog.
3.Why is Swedish fitness app Lifesun mentioned in paragraph 5?
A.To show that plogging is of benefit to health.
B.To say that plogging is environment-friendly.
C.To offer the approaches to exercising properly.
D.To tell joggers to carry heavy bags to work out.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Plogging: A Strange But New “Sport" for Runners
B.What We Should Do to Reduce the Amount of Litter
C.Running Is Really Helpful to Environmental Protection
D.Plogging: A Fun Activity for Earth Day and Every Day
If you expect to work in the future in the travel industry, you should begin learning Chinese.
That’s because Chinese people spent nearly$258 billion in total on international travel last year. That’s more than twice the combined amount spent on international travel by people from the United States and Germany, the next two biggest-spending nations. The Chinese are relative(相对的)newcomers when it comes to traveling beyond their nation’s borders and only a small percentage of them travel outside of China each year. Given the size of that nation’s population. even that small percentage represents well over 100 million Chinese travelers to foreign destinations.
Yet Chinese citizens flew, on average, just 65 miles last year versus(与……相对)the 227 miles flown on average by US residents(居民), the 285 miles flown on average by Germans, the 271 miles flown on average by those from the United Kingdom, and the 632 miles flown by the average Canadian last year.
China’s high total spending on international travel and its low average number of miles flown on international travel may show that while only a small percentage of China’s residents actually travel outside their homeland, and those who do spend a lot of money don’t go that far. But there are reasons for China’s low average of miles travel on international trips. A small percentage of Chinese now have enough money to travel internationally, though the number of people who do travel outside of China is growing fast every year. Besides, a large percentage of Chinese people traveling abroad stay close to home.
However, as more and more Chinese gain the financial ability to travel internationally and as Chinese become more and more interested in visiting destinations farther and farther away from home, their spending on international travel and the average distances flown will both rise rapidly.
1.Why does the author suggest learning Chinese for the future work in travel industry?
A.Being good at Chinese is a must for future work.
B.Chinese is most commonly used in travel industry.
C.Travel industry requires employees to learn Chinese.
D.China is a big-spending nation in international travel
2.What can we infer from paragraph 3?
A.People from different countries have different preferred destinations.
B.China has a relatively low average number of miles flown on travel.
C.Chinese people are more willing to travel abroad compared with Canadians.
D.People going on a journey around the world hate taking international planes.
3.What are many Chinese people who travel abroad likely to do?
A.Try to save their money. B.Improve their ability to travel.
C.Choose to stay close to home. D.Travel in America and Germany.
4.What does the last paragraph say about the future of Chinese people’s traveling abroad?
A.It’s bright. B.It’s confusing.
C.It’s hopeless. D.It’s unclear.
Jerome Karie and Isabella Lugoski met in their first physical chemistry class at the University of Michigan in 1940. Jerome Karie was in his first year of doctoral work, Isabella Lugoski was in her last year as an undergraduate(大学本科生), and they were laboratory partners. However, they didn't get along well at first.
Isabella Lugoski looked back on the past, “I walked into the physical chemistry laboratory and there's a young man in the desk next to mine with his equipment all set up running his experiment. I don't think I was very polite about my question. I asked him how he got there early and had everything all set up. He didn't like that. So we didn't talk to each other for a while.
Their relationship got going as they competed for the top grade in that course and they started to build connection because both of them were interested in chemistry. They married in 1942. By 1946, both of the Karies had earned doctorates in physical chemistry, and, after a period of time at the University of Chicago working on the Manhattan Project, moved to Washington DC to join the US Naval Research Laboratory.
Each specialized in a different aspect of X-ray crystallography(晶体学): Jerome focused on developing equations(方程式) that could determine how atoms(原子) were arranged inside complex molecules, while Isabella ran practical experiments to test how well the equations worked. Working together, they created what is now called the direct method for determining molecular structures(分子结构), which has allowed scientists to effectively study and copy complex organic molecules to continue further study.
Jerome Karie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1985. Although he was disappointed that the Nobel committee had ignored Isabella's contribution to that work, she was unfazed. At that point, she had already won more awards and prize money for her experimental work than he had.
1.What did Isabella Lugoski do when she first met Jerome Karie?
A.She blamed him for his being late. B.She set up all his equipment for him.
C.She asked him a question impolitely. D.She observed his experiment silently.
2.What made Jerome Karie and Isabella Lugoski become connected?
A.Their common interest in chemistry. B.Their wonderful marriage since 1940.
C.Their pleasant first talk in a laboratory. D.Their successful cooperation in courses.
3.What is paragraph 4 mainly intended to show?
A.The Karies' encouraging further study. B.The Karies' good teamwork in science.
C.How the Karies worked with others. D.Why the Karies won the Nobel Prize.
4.Which of the following best explains “unfazed" underlined in the last paragraph?
A.Generous. B.Touched. C.Shocked. D.Calm.
Shakespeare once wrote that all the world is a stage, but these days it's more like a movie set. Get to know some films to find fantastic film locations(地点) you should check out on your travels.
The Sound of Music
Austria's hills are certainly alive with the sound of music and tourists. Mozart may have been born in Salzburg, but The Sound of Music really put it on the map and now about 70 percent of people visit it because of the movie. Cross Residenzplatz Square and visit the Palace of Leopoldskron where the children in the film fell into the lake.
Troy
Although the Palace of Troy was filmed on sets built at Shepperton Studios in the UK, most of the 2004 movie was shot in Malta and Baja California, Mexico. Malta with historic sites and beautiful blue waters was a good choice to replace Greece. Troy was shot at a host of locations, including Golden Bay, Hal Far as well as Fort Ricasoli(where the city of Troy was constructed). The Trojan horse from the film is now lying on the waterfront in Canakkale, Turkey.
Bridget Joneses Diary
Bridget Jones is brought to life as we watch the work and romance in London. Her special corner flat is above the Globe Tavern by Borough Market, one of the city's oldest and biggest food markets. According to The Telegraph, it would be highly unlikely that she could afford to buy a place like that today since it has risen in value by more than 240 percent.
Harry Potter
J. K. Rowling started writing the Harry Potter books while she was living in Edinburgh, Scotland, so it's no surprise that she set most of the story there. The Hogwarts Express travels through the Scottish Highlands and along the 31 meters high Glenfinnan Viaduct. The second highest waterfall in the UK, Steall Falls can be seen during Quidditch matches.
1.Which of the following films makes Salzburg famous?
A.The Sound of Music. B.Troy.
C.Bridget Jones's Diary. D.Harry Potter.
2.Where was the city of Troy built?
A.In Hal Far. B.In Fort Ricasoli. C.In Canakkale. D.In Golden Bay.
3.What is the similarity of the last two films?
A.Their theme is mainly about romance. B.Their authors lived in the same house.
C.Most of their stories were set in the UK. D.They cause the prices of houses to rise.
Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given.
1.这份报纸决不是专门服务于年轻人的。（intend）
2.我本打算去看那场足球赛的，但是一票难求。（available）
3.既然他的价值观存在问题，再和他争论就没有任何意义了。（exist）
4.他设计了一个项目来培养员工的创造力，但是否能达到预期的目标仍拭目以待。（remain）
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make them coherent and grammatically correct. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word if there is any. For the other blanks, use once word that best fits each blank.
Bigger isn’t always better. People who are doubtful about this argument just need to look at smart-phones and personal computer, which have served as the technological driving force of the past century. It is the continual shrinkage of components (成分) that have caused the explosion of computing power and enabled these gadgets 1.(be) accessible to people across the world.
2.(inspire) by this, researchers and scientists have been working on areas 3. making things small may mean big results. And this year, the Nobel Prize has broken the tradition of celebrating big by presenting the biggest prizes to discoveries on the smallest scales.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a cellular-level experiment. The committee gave the award to Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, for his research on “autophagy”, which is a “self-eating” process 4.(see) in cells.
What’s more, in recognition of their working on the strange properties of matter in extreme states and 5.(take) their research all the way down to an atomic scale, the Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to three British-born scientists who currently work in the U. S.
Another exceptional new field is 6.of nano-technology. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to a scientists who managed to build the world’s 7. (tiny) machines out of molecules. These devices, including a nano-sized car, are so small 8.they are invisible to the human eye.
Small 9. the subjects are, the benefits of the scientists’ research are set of be huge. More importantly, their invention may even eventually be turned into products that benefit mankind.
The ground-breaking discoveries in physics, have started a firestorm of research, and it will only be some time 10. their research leads to advances as unimaginable to us now as lasers and computer chips were a hundred years ago,” Laura H. Greene, president-elect of the American Physical Society told The New York Times.
