Every day is Earth Day — probably you’ve heard it before. Nearly all Americans have access to a plastic recycling program. You may be surprised to learn how many types of plastic packaging can be recycled into new, useful products!
Ford Motor Company has been helping to promote the use of environmentally-friendly auto parts — and one way they’re doing that is by using recycled plastic bottles for underbody shields (底盘保护罩) and other auto parts on cars.
“The underbody shield is a large part, and for a part that big, if we use solid plastic, it would likely weigh three times as much,” said Thomas Sweder, a design engineer of Ford Motor Company. “We look for the most durable and highest performing materials to work with to make our parts, and in this case, we are also creating many environmental benefits.”
In the past decade, the global use of plastics in vehicle parts has grown quickly. Ford alone uses about 1.2 billion recycled plastic bottles per year, about 250 bottles per vehicle on average.
When plastic bottles are thrown into a recycling bin, they are collected with thousands of others and cut into small pieces. These pieces are typically sold to suppliers who turn them into fibers, by melting and pressing them. Then they are mixed together with other various types of fiber in a process and used to make a sheet of material which is formed into the auto parts.
Due to its light weight, recycled plastic is ideal for the manufacturing of underbody shields. These shields reportedly also help create a significantly quieter environment on the new 2020 Ford Escape.
This is not the only way that Ford has been committed to environmental protection; the automotive company recently partnered with McDonald’s coffee suppliers to recycle all of their coffee roasting biowaste into headlights.
“Ford is among the leaders when it comes to using recycled materials such as this,” Sweder said. “This material meets all of our requirements for durability and performance.”
1.Why does Ford choose recycled plastic as environmentally-friendly materials for vehicle parts?
A.Because it’s new and useful. B.Because it’s cheap and easy to get.
C.Because it’s durable and light. D.Because it’s portable and well-performed.
2.What does Paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
A.The global use of plastics. B.The mixing process of fibers.
C.The advantages of plastic bottles. D.The formation of the new auto material.
3.What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
A.Recycling coffee roasting biowaste. B.Improving vehicle parts.
C.Recycling plastic bottles into auto parts. D.Creating a quieter environment.
4.What can be the best title of the passage?
A.Every Day is Earth Day
B.Ford Takes the Lead in Plastic Recycling
C.Ecological Auto Underbody Shields
D.A Pioneer in Promoting Environmental Protection
The Australian state of New South Wales rolled out “high definition detection cameras" on Sunday, designed to catch drivers using cell phones behind the wheel.
Andrew Constance, New South Wales' minister for roads, said the "world-fist" technology would target illegal cell phone use through "fixed and mobile cameras". The cameras will use artificial intelligence to review images and detect illegal use of cell phones, according to Transport for NSW.
Images identified as being likely to contain a driver illegally using a cell phone would then be verified by traffic police. Those images would be securely stored and managed.
Over the next three years, 45 portable cameras would be set up across the state, in unknown locations, and without warning signs, CNN branch Sky News Australia reported.
For the first three months, drivers caught out by the technology would receive a warning letter, Transport for New South Wales said in a statement, after which the drivers would face a fine of up to $344, or $457 in a school zone, and loss of points on their drivers' license.
“The NSW Government is serious about reducing our state's road deaths and launching mobile phone detection cameras is another way we will do this." Con stance said in a statement.
Officials said that a trial of the technology earlier in the year had caught more than 100,000 drivers illegally using a phone behind the wheel. Some 329 people died this year on New South Wales' roads, Reuters news agency reported, compared with 354 people for 2018, according to official statistics.
1.Why does the NSW Government set up detection cameras?
A.To get some real-time information about the traffic.
B.To monitor people crossing the street casually.
C.To catch drivers using cell phones illegally.
D.To improve the work efficiency of the police.
2.What docs the underlined word "verified” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Described. B.Restored.
C.Edited. D.Confirmed.
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Locations of the cameras will be informed in advance.
B.Illegal driving in school zones is punished more severely.
C.Illegal drivers will be fined once cameras are set up.
D.Cameras are the first attempt for the government to cut road deaths.
4.What's the officials, attitude towards the trial of the technology?
A.Supportive. B.Disapproving.
C.Doubtful. D.Unconcerned.
In 2003, Mary Marggraff was a 47-year-old California mother, devoted to school committees and car pool schedules. But after losing her trusty notebook and buying a new one, she had an inspiration.
“It was blank," says Marggraff, now 64. “What else could I fill it with?" Soon she was thinking about her childhood love of flying, and next thing she knew, she determined to register in flight school. “In my first class, all the students were single men half my age. I felt like a housemother attending a fraternity （兄弟会）,but I loved it too much to walk away." she says.
Marggraff earned her first pilot's license in 2005. Six years and four additional licenses later, her addiction to being in the air changed into something grander: a desire to go to space. To move closer to her starry dreams, Marggraff got a part-time job as a mission support representative at Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's commercial space line. In that role, she attended space related gatherings where she educated people about the future of universe voyages. Though space tourism isn't quite a reality yet, Marggraff has already begun space training in expectation of being on one of Virgin's early flights. "I've completed acceleration force exercises, she says, "which require getting inside a machine, spinning around at 2,500 miles per hour, and trying not to black out."
Marggraff^ training has meant more than getting her wings --- it's expanded her sense of what the future may hold. "It turns out I'm capable of much more than I imagined," she says. "I used to think it'd be a miracle if I got my first license. Now I've completed nearly 1,000 hours of flight! I'm rotten in the kitchen and I burn anything I iron, but if you need someone to land a plane, call me."
1.Why did Marggraff register in flight school?
A.To break away from car pool schedules.
B.To fill her new blank notebook.
C.To prove women are equal to men in flying.
D.To pursue her childhood dream of flying.
2.What did Marggraff do after earning 5 licenses?
A.She got into space on one of Virgin's early flights.
B.She instructed people in how to make universe voyages.
C.She received space training in preparation for space tourism.
D.She tried in vain to overcome faintness from high speed.
3.What does Marggraff benefit from her space training besides getting a license?
A.It proves her a miracle. B.It increases her self-confidence.
C.It wins her a qualification. D.It improves her imagination.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Marggraff?
A.Aggressive and hopeful. B.Creative and fragile.
C.Energetic and sensitive. D.Considerate and persistent.
The Ig Nobel Prize, a spoof （滑稽模仿）of the actual Nobel Prize, exists to award the 10 strangest research projects of the year that bring you fun and make you think. The following are three of them in 2019.
Medicine Prize: Pizza
It's one of the world's most popular foods. According to the Ig Nobel Medicine Prize winner, eating more pizzas can lower the risk of cancer and heart disease — if your pizza is loaded with fruits and veggies. These provide flavonoids （类黄酮）to fight against certain diseases. So, if you're a pizza enthusiast, you now have one more reason to love it!
Economics Prize: Dirty Money
Paper money, the most frequently passed items on the planet, is known to pick up all kinds of bacteria. Which country's currency is the dirtiest? An international team compared seven countries, paper money. The Romanian Leu was the only one to carry all three types of bacteria tested. And the US Dollar was also a finalist. Perhaps this will make cashless payments more popular.
Biology Prize: Cockroach
Cockroaches (（蟑螂）)）are well known for their survival abilities, but few folks know they can sense magnetic fields. More surprisingly, an international team found that dead cockroaches have more magnetic properties （磁性）than live ones. That's because magnetic properties decrease when the temperature gets higher. So if you can stand cockroaches, they may be good magnetic sensors （传感器）.
1.What do the three prizes have in common?
A.They are beneficial to our health.
B.They are entertaining and unusual.
C.They've gained the recognition of the Nobel Prize.
D.They are stranger than any other project in previous years.
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A.People with heart disease should eat more pizzas.
B.US Dollar is relatively dirtier than Romanian Leu.
C.Dirty paper money leads to cashless payments.
D.Dead cockroaches are better magnetic sensors than live ones.
3.In which column can you find this passage in a newspaper?
A.Discovery. B.Sports.
C.Health. D.Business.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
My husband Andrew, a wise father, teaches our kids how to balance risk with freedom.
We have four chickens: Pecky, Buckbeak, Mayonnaise and Cornflake. My husband made their coop (笼子). It’s beautifully made.
Actually he made it with our sons and daughter. The kids and their father spent several weekends in the garage. He gave them tools because he believed it was important that they could actually make something. He slowly helped them and together, they made the coop. They also made the mistakes of learning-a board cut too short, nails smashed (打碎) by hammers — but in the end, Andrew did some tricks and the coop looked perfect.
The chickens loved their perfectly imperfect home and we also gave them free range in the yard. Andrew encouraged our kids to provide the chickens with quite a big area and explained that to take risks is part of life, and by giving chickens the freedom to wander around and dig for bugs, it is a better experience for them than the confines (限制) of the coop.
Yesterday, they ran around the lawn (草地). We needed to go downtown, knowing that chickens wouldn’t go very far. When we got back, my son, Gordon, ran to check on them. There were Mayonnaise, Cornflake and Buckbeak, looking a mess but still alive. Yet Pecky was nowhere to be seen.
With Andrew, we searched the yard and found some feathers by the trees. Then, we saw more feathers littering the yard. By this time. Gordon started to worry; Pecky was his favorite chicken and his eyes got watery.
Andrew picked Gordon up and held him. As we stood there, beginning to accept that we were now a three-chicken family, we heard it-a soft clucking (咯咯声) sound under a bush.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应该为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Andrew put Gordon down and they looked under the bush.
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Paragraph 2:
The next day Andrew had a discussion with the kids about what to do with the chickens.
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假设你是红星中学的李华，你校将在下周五举办“校园文化节（Campus Culture Festival）”系列活动。请给你班留学生Jim写封邮件，邀请他参加其中的一个活动。邮件的内容包括：
1. 介绍你推荐的活动；
2. 说明你推荐的理由；
3. 询问对方的意向。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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