Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
1.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
A. Using too much packaging. B. Recycling too many wastes.
C. Making more products than necessary. D. Having more material than is needed.
2.The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
A. the tendency of cutting household waste B. the fact of packaging overuse
C. the rapid growth of super markets D. the increase of packaging recycling
3.According to the text, recycling ______.
A. helps control the greenhouse effect B. means burning packaging for energy
C. is the solution to gas shortage D. leads to a waste of land
4.What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A. Unpackaged products are of bad quality. B. Supermarkets care more about packaging.
C. It is improper to judge quality by packaging. D. Other products are better packaged than food.
5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Fighting wastefulness is difficult. B. Needless material is mostly recycled.
C. People like collecting recyclable waste. D. The author is proud of their consumer culture.
The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological（生态的） disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine（带状矿）. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer（层） of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
1.What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To seek help for Nauru’s problems. B. To give a warning to other countries.
C. To show the importance of money. D. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.
2.What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?
A. Rich and powerful. B. Modern and open.
C. Peaceful and attractive. D. Greedy and aggressive.
3.The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from .
A. soil pollution B. phosphate over mining
C. farming activity D. whale hunting
4.Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem?
A. Its leaders misused the money. B. It spent too much repairing the island.
C. Its phosphate mining cost much money. D. It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.
5.What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?
A. The phosphate mines were destroyed. B. The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously.
C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans. D. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.
In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story” is often told. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life. Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”
1.This passage deals with two sides of failure. In paragraph 1, the author talks mainly about ___ .
A. the value of failure B. how people would fail
C. famous failures D. the cause of failure
2.The underlined phrase“made it” means .
A. failed B. succeeded C. gave D. got
3.The lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce seems .
A. interesting B. difficult C. deep D. sorrowful
4.The author tells you to do all the things EXCEPT ___.
A. to think about the cause of your failure
B. to check out whether your goals are right for you
C. to consider failure as a part of life
D. to bear in mind that you will never fail in your life
5.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Bruce and Edison were successful examples.
B. Failure may be regarded as a way toward success.
C. Edison learned a lot from the lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce.
D. One may often raise a question whether his goals are worth attempting.
Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost £169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost £118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just £62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, available for £420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around £1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or £5 per day). (358 words)
1. The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may __________.
A. help travelers pass time
B. attract lots of travelers to the UK
C. allow travelers to make flexible plans
D. cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
2.“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably __________.
A. a hotel away from the train station
B. the tube line to Covent Garden
C. an ideal holiday destination
D. the name of a travel agency
3.The passage shows that the O’Neill Flat __________.
A. lies on the ground floor
B. is located in central London
C. provides cooking facilities for tourists
D. costs over £100 on average per day in late September
4.Cardiff’s program allows a free bike for a maximum period of __________.
A. half an hour B. one hour C. one hour and a half D. two hours
5.The main purpose of the passage is __________.
A. to tell visitors how to book in advance
B. to supply visitors with hotel information
C. to show visitors the importance of self-help
D. to offer visitors some money-saving tips
Whenever we hear about “the homeless”, most of us think of the Developing world. But the 31 is that homelessness is everywhere. For example, how many of us would expect to see people living on the streets of a 32 country like Germany?
Kurt Muller and his wife Rita have spent eleven years making 33 for the homeless of Berlin, Germany’s capital. They first 34 one long hot summer when most Germans were 35 on holiday. Kurt and his wife stayed at home, made sandwiches, 36 a table in the street and gave food to the homeless.
The Mullers soon realized that food and clothing weren’t 37 . “What these people also need is warmth and 38 ,” says Rita. The Mullers didn’t 39 to give their phone number to the street people and told them to phone anytime. Rita 40 there was somebody at home to answer the phone and their home was always 41 to anyone who couldn’t face another night on the street.
The couple were soon 42 all their time and money, so Kurt visited food and clothing companies to 43 donations. Today, over thirty companies 44 donate food and other goods to the cause and volunteers help to 45 them to the homeless. The public also give clothes and money and a shoe producer 46 new shoes.
Kurt and Rita receive no 47 for their hard work. “ We feel like parents,” says Rita, “and parents shouldn’t 48 money for helping their children. The love we get on the streets is our salary.” Though Rita admits she often gets 49 , she says she will continue with her work because she likes the feeling of having made a 50 in the world.
1.A. result B. truth C. reason D. idea
2.A. traditional B. developing C. typical D. wealthy
3.A. preparations B. houses C. meals D. suggestions
4.A. began B. met C. called D. left
5.A. asleep B. alone C. across D. away
6.A. brought up B. set up C. put aside D. gave away
7.A. enough B. necessary C. helpful D. expensive
8.A. fame B. freedom C. courage D. caring
9.A. hesitate B. agree C. pretend D. intend
10.A. made sense B. found out C. made sure D. worked out
11.A. open B. crowded C. noisy D. near
12.A. costing B. wasting C. taking D. spending
13.A. pay for B. ask for C. look into D. carry out
14.A. completely B. calmly C. regularly D. roughly
15.A. advertise B. sell C. deliver D. lend
16.A. donates B. produces C. designs D. collects
17.A. permission B. payment C. direction D. support
18.A. borrow B. raise C. save D. expect
19.A. surprised B. excited C. tired D. amused
20.A. profit B. difference C. decision D. rule
The young actress looked so charming in her beautiful dress that we took pictures with her.
A. a great many of B. a good many C. the number of D. a large amount of
