This past month saw one of the most devastating storms in history brings death and destruction on the Philippines. The number of lives lost is still being calculated, but it is already sitting above five thousand. In the flurryof news about the storm and its after－math, the cries of “I told you so” from environmentalists rang out loud and clear.
These scientists were especially vocal during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which just wrapped up in Warsaw, Poland. The timing of the conference and Typhoon Haiyan was an eerie coincidence, but perhaps the concurrence offered a wakeup call for all.
Christiana Figures, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said, “We are witnessing ever more frequent extreme weather events, and the poor and vulnerable are already paying the price.”
Scientists claim that storms like Typhoon Haiyan are an inevitable result of the effect greenhouse gases are having on our environment. Environmental analysts claim that rising temperatures around the globe and changing weather patterns are all part of the same problem.
This isn’t breaking news. We’ve heard the warnings for years. The UN has been hosting the Climate Change Conference since1995.But the changes that need to be made are huge. Added to this, the developed nations and developing countries have competing interests that are difficult to settle. The issue of who takes responsibility becomes difficult to resolve.
We may feel far away from Poland and resolving conflicts between countries, but we mustn’t feel far away from the issue. When we watch neighboring countries suffer in severe weather, when we hear reports of increasing global temperatures, when we walk outside and find it difficult to breathe the Shanghai air, we know we have a very real problem. So what are we going to do about it? Are we making every-day choices that can have a positive impact? Are we reducing our carbon footprint? Are we choosing to walk, ride a bicycle or take public transportation instead of a car? Are we recycling? Are we turning off the lights and electronics whenever possible?
The problem is complex, but saving our earth starts with each of us taking simple steps.
1.What is the most terrible typhoon in 2013? It is _________.
A. Haiyan B. Bebinca C. Danas D.Cimaron
2.Warsaw isn’t in Poland，is it?
A. Yes, it is B. No, it isn’t C. Yes, it isn’t D. No, it is
3.How many years have we heard the warnings? For nearly ______years.
A. 21 B. 18 C. 19 D. 20
4.Which of the following is NOT FALSE?
A. The environment is worse and worse and we have no ideas about it.
B. The environment is worse and we needn’t do anything about it.
C. Saving our environment is not so complex.
D. The environment is a big problem and we must take simple steps
In 2013, China chose “中国梦,”which means “Chinese dream,” as the Character of the Year to symbolize the overall feeling of the past 366 days. It’s easy to see why the word “dream” would be chosen as so many Chinese dreams have been recently realized: space exploration, a China-made aircraft carrier and a Nobel Prize-winning author.
Finishing national dreams makes us proud, but realizing personal dreams makes us worthy in our own eyes. Though the media would try to convince you, there is no set of “approved” dreams that we should all go after. Some may strive for money, fame and power, but others have more humble dreams that are just as important: learn English, study abroad, achieve inner peace, and be of service to humanity. It’s normal for people to create lofty New Year’s resolutions and just as normal to start strong and give up a few weeks later on our goals. How do we make sure that we achieve our dreams? Make your resolutions SMART and they’ll come true.
S — specific, detailed goals are easier to accomplish.
M— measurable goals enable you to complete a fixed amount of something.
A— achievable goals are possible, not ones that would take magic or miracles to accomplish.
R— relevant goals are meaningful to you.
T— time bound goals have an ending date. They’re not infinite. You know when you’re done.
Trip Bethel, a local college professor suggests that all goals should be positive and future-focused. “You can’t make a goal about being perfect. You’ ll always disappoint yourself. But you can make a goal about perfecting your process. Then, you’re always on the way to a better life.”
Trip says many people write endless lists, but he just writes his resolutions once. He states them simply on a piece of paper and then puts the paper away for a year. “Often, when I look at the paper a year later, I’ve accomplished everything, or gotten close. There is something about writing things down that makes goals real and the opportunities to achieve them will come into your life.”
1.In 2013, China chose “__________” as the Character of the Year?
A. dream B. smart
C. future D. Chinese dream
2.What if you finish our national dreams? We will feel___________.
A. worried B. proud C. worthy D. excited
3.What does “SMART” means? It means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and ____.
A. Together B. Today C. Time D. Tomorrow
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Dreaming in 2013 B. Dreaming Big in 2013
C. Dreaming Big in 2012 D. Dreaming in 2012
The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system, known as the "iPhone OS" until mid-2010, shortly after the release of the iPad. The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, the most recent iPhone, the seventh-generation iPhone 5S, on September 20, 2013. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity (2G, 3G, 4G, and LTE).
An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send and receive emails, look through the web, send texts, and receive visual voicemail. Other functions—games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc.— can be enabled by downloading apps; as of 2012[update], the App Store offered more than 775,000 apps by Apple and third parties.
There are six generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the six major releases of iOS. The original 1st generation iPhone was a GSM phone, and established design precedents, such as a button placement that has persisted through all models and a screen size maintained until the launch of the iPhone 5 in 2012. The iPhone 3G added 3G cellular network capabilities and A-GPS location. The iPhone 3GS added a faster processor and a higher-resolution camera that could record video at 480p. The iPhone 4 featured a higher-resolution 960 × 640 "retina display", a VGA front-facing camera for video calling and other apps, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video capture. The iPhone 4S upgrades to an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, a dual-core processor, and a natural language voice control system called Siri. IPhone 5 features the new A6 processor, increases the size of the Retina display to 4 inches, and replaces the 30-pin connector with an all-digital Lightning connector.
The resounding sales of the iPhone have been credited with reshaping the smart phone industry and helping make Apple one of the world's most valuable publicly trading companies in 2011–12. However, there has been criticism of the company's outsourcing and move of jobs from the US to China. Apple and its manufacturing contractor Foxconn have received criticism due to poor working conditions at the assembly plant in China.
1.An iphone is from __________.
A. the USA B. South Korean
C. the UK D. Australia
2.What is the newest kind of iphone at present?
A. iphone 4 B. iphone 4S C. iphone 5 D. iphone 5S
3.How many generations of iphone models are there now?
A. Five B. Six C. Seven D. Eight
4.What are the features of iphone 5?
A. The new A6 processor
B. increases the size of the Retina display to 4 inches
C. replaces the 30-pin connector with an all-digital Lightning connector
D. A, B and C
1.The 2014 World Cup will be held in __________.
A. England B. Brazil C. the USA D. Shanghai, China
2.Who is the premier in our country now?
A. Wen Jiabao. B. Hu Jintao. C. Li Keqiang D. Xi Jinping.
3.China Railway Corporation was set up on_____________of 2013.
A. January 24 B. February 14 C. March 14 D. April 24
The common Chinese greeting of “Ni chi le ma?” may soon be replaced by a new greeting: “Have you cleaned your plate?”
Over the Spring Festival holiday there was a big effort to get to curb their habit of ordering too much food in restaurants because a lot of that food ended up being wasted. Holiday eaters were urged to “clean their plates “and ______ to take leftover food home in “doggy bags.”
The impetus behind the campaign was the surprising government statistic that over 200 billion Yuan is spent every year food that ends up in the garbage bin. And in the middle of all this waste, statistics show that 128 people are living below the poor line and going hungry.
The “clean your plate” campaign is part of a worldwide effort to stop delicious food from being wasted. The United Nations discover $1 trillion (yes, that’s a very big number) worth of food is wasted each year. of that is lost during food production and transportation, ___ an important percentage is attributed to waste by people. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has started a campaign called “Think. Eat. Save.” people aware of the problem.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is an ambassador for UNEP and she encouraged people to upload of their “clean plates “to show their support for the program. Thousands of people replied and showed that they had a clear conscience to their full stomachs.
Xi Jinping, the new Chinese president, is urging people to be less wasteful and he told Party members to cut back on extra vagant holiday dinners and to be when spending the people’s money.
For some, though, Xi Jinping’s and Fan Bingbing’s advice don’t go far enough. Yuan Longping, a farming , caused a movement by saying that wasting food should be treated a crime.
If not a crime, food is certainly a sin and it goes against what Xi Jinping calls, “the Chinese tradition of being hard-working and saving.”Having a “clean plate” is just a traditional and responsible thing to do. Have you cleaned your plate?
1.A. people B. person C. man D. woman
2.A. are asked B. asked C. were asked D. ask
3.A. in B. on C. at D. for
4.A. millions B. millions of C. million of D. million
5.A. who B. which C. that D. what
6.A. Most B. More C. Many D. Much
7.A. and B. but C. or D. so
8.A. make B. making C. made D. to make
9.A. information B. message C. pictures D. news
10.A. go along with B. go out with C. go on with D. go across with
11.A. too B. also C. either D. as well
12.A. careful B. carefully C. more careful D. more carefully
13.A. artist B. pianist C. violinist D. scientist
14.A. as B. like C. for D. by
15.A. resting B. saving C. wasting D. leaving
—Hello, your English is very good.
—_______________________.
A. No, that’s not good B. With pleasure
C. Thanks a lot D. Yes, it is my pleasure
