To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.
In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due to the practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn’t admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.
On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn’t even stand seeing them in a film.
Bosom says years of hearing constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.
She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to 10 decibels (分贝) higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.
The court hasn’t made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.
1.Bosom wants to send Martin to prison because _______.
A. Martin’s playing the piano damaged her health
B. Bosom suffered from heart attack
C. Martin refused to take regular classes in other towns
D. Martin flew a jet over her head
2.How did Laia Martin respond to the complaints?
A. She stopped playing the piano.
B. She soundproofed the room.
C. She didn’t admit she played at home.
D. She took her neighbor to court.
3.Which of the following may probably be the best title for the passage?
A. A 7-year Sentence Caused by the Piano
B. Pianist Charged with Noise Pollution
C. Health Problems of a Spanish Woman
D. Actions Against Noise by Local Authority
假如你叫李华, 你发现你的英国网友Alice的生活方式不太健康。你想给她提些建议。 请你用英语给写封电子邮件，内容包括:
• 用水果代替零食；
• 用水代替可乐；
• 减少使用电子产品的时间;
• 多运动；
注意：1. 词数120左右，短文的开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数；
2. 可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯；
3. 短文中不能出现与本人相关的信息。
Dear Alice,
Hope everything goes well with you.
Yours Sincerely,
Li Hua
Flying out of an airport in the United States is not always easy. You will need to complete the ticketing process, baggage check, and security clearance procedures before boarding the plane.
If you are flying on an international flight, you'd better arrive two hours before your plane is scheduled to leave. You might need more time in a busy airport in a large city. If you are traveling on a domestic (国内的) flight, you may only need to arrive at the airport 90 minutes before your plane takes off.
Every airport in the States is now moving its ticketing procedure to electronic ticketing device. By using a ticketing machine, you have the chance to choose a seat you like on the plane. If you use it to check-in your bags, you will only have to talk to the ticketing agent when you turn in your luggage to be tagged (加标签). At the same time a real person will be nearby to help you if you need it.
After you have checked in, you will have to pass through airport security. Have your ID card or passport and boarding pass ready to show the security officer when entering the security checkpoint line. Airport security is getting tight in the States today. You're not allowed to travel with any prohibited things like knifes or fireworks.
After the security staff has checked your travel documents, you shall put all of your belongings through a scanning machine and then walk through a metal detector (探测器) or a full body scanner. You need to take off your coat, belt, and sometimes your shoes to go through one of these scanners. Be sure not to have any metal in your pockets. If you do not understand a question you are asked at a security checkpoint, ask the person to repeat their question until you are able to respond with an accurate answer.
Title | 1.___ on air travel in the US |
Time of 2.___ | ■ Arrive two hours before 3.___, and even more time in a busy airport, traveling on an international flight. ■ Arrive 90 minutes before your plane 4.___ for a domestic flight. |
Check-in | ■ Choose your seat on a ticketing machine. ■ Get the ticketing agent 5.___ when turning in your luggage to be tagged. ■6.___ to the airport staff for help if necessary. |
Airport security | ■7.___ the security officer your travel documents. ■8.___ taking those that are prohibited. ■ Be sure not to take any metal with you when9.___ through a scanner. ■ Respond 10.___ when questioned at a security checkpoint. |
Why do people feel so rushed? Part of this is a perception (认知) problem. Generally, people in rich countries have more free time than they used to. This is particularly true in Europe, but even in America free time has been inching up. Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning, has fallen even more significantly, thanks in part to dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves, and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to.
The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified (量化), people worry more about wasting, but tend to save or use them more profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone's time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the rarer it seems.
Once seeing their time in terms of money, people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter. Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working.
The relationship between time, money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years. "If anything, time is used more carefully today than a century ago," he noted in 1965. He found that when people are paid more to work, they tend to work longer hours, because working becomes a more profitable use of time. So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time. Leisure time starts to seem more stressful, as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all.
1. Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly because ______.
A. men's ability to support a family has been improved
B. men's involvement in housework has increased
C. women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework
D. women become more skilled at household equipment
2. From the second paragraph, we learn that ______.
A. labor hours were recorded with a clock
B. people haven't realized the value of time
C. more work hours bring in more money
D. The rise of incomes makes time less valuable
3.The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by "______".
A. refuses to delay B. intend to kill
C. try to accumulate D. hesitate to spend
4.According to Gary Becker, what causes people feel anxious about time?
A. The wrong way of time being spent.
B. People's willingness to work hard.
C. The increasing value of work time.
D. More and more leisure time.
Personal money-management website Mint.com suggests recently that responsible parents should give their kids credit cards—possibly starting as young as middle school. The website says a credit card will help children master responsible spending habits and give parents the chance to teach them some valuable lessons.
It’s absolutely true that kids should learn about how a credit card works and how to use it responsibly. But the idea that they need a card of their own to practise this is questionable.
Yes, credit cards are a teaching tool, but it’s the time you spend educating them about money management that does the teaching, not the piece of plastic. Sit down with your child—here we are referring to teens and walk them through your credit card statements. Point out important things like the due date, late fee warning, and APR (年贷款利率).
If you have good credit, adding a child as an authorized user onto one of your credit cards also provides teachable moments. Allow kids to use the card to make specific purchases and require their participation in payment.
Since the card is still in your name, you can take them off it at any point and cut off their access if they're not able to handle the responsibility.
Another option is to set them up with an account at a local bank that offers free use of a debit card (借记卡). Unlike credit card, the debit card has no overdraft (透支) function.
Children can only use the card to pay for things and the money is taken directly from their bank account. If the account is empty, the worst that will happen is the card being declined at a cash register.
1.Why does Mint.com advise parents to give middle school kids credit cards?
A. To leave their kids financially independent.
B. To help their kids form good spending habits.
C. To teach their kids' how to save pocket money.
D. To strengthen the relationship with their kids.
2.The author considers a credit card as a teaching tool because ______.
A. it motivates teens to ask their parents for less financial support
B. it helps teenagers to know some basic knowledge of credit cards
C. it contains detailed financial information on the card surface
D. it offers parents the chance to teach kids to manage money
3.What is the purpose of adding kids as credit card authorized users?
A. To avoid extremely high overdraft fees.
B. To encourage them to share household expenses.
C. To teach them to be responsible credit card users.
D. To help them pay close attention to their bank account.
4.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
A. Further information about the debit card.
B. The overdraft functions of a debit card.
C. More disadvantages of credit cards.
D. The kids' attitude towards a credit card.
Whenever someone begins to talk to me about how horrible it is to eat meat and suggests that a nice piece of tofu would be just as good, I just smile and show them those nice pointy teeth we all have in the corners of our mouths. They are called canines (犬牙), and they are there only for the purpose of eating meat.
When it comes to satisfying this kind of desire, soy (豆类) food can never match a well-prepared tri-tip (also know as triangle beef steak ). Just the thought of the beef, burning on the grill (烤架) with the smell of wood smoke gets the mouth watering and brings back memories of summer barbecues. When the knife cuts through the tri- tip, exposing the red meat bursting with juices, it's more than just cooking. It's a cultural event, showing we are at the top of the food chain, like no other food can.
Nutritionally speaking, the tri-tip is one of the better cuts of beef. It is lower in fat than many other cuts, and the proteins (蛋白质) you get from eating meat are more complete than those that come from vegetables, making meat a better choice for building and keeping up your muscle tissue healthy.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one thing to be aware of with soy products in general is that while they are high in iron, a necessary mineral for the body, they also contain something that blocks the body's absorption of iron. We can cook them in various ways to make them tasty. Anyway, the tri-tip goes a lot better with ice-cold beer than a large piece of bean-curd cheese would, no matter how you cook it.
I guess I should say at least
e good thing about tofu. If you cook it just right, you can make it taste a little like the tri-tip, but only a little.
1.What's the author's attitude towards eating meat?
A. Uncaring. B. Approving.
C. Ambiguous. D. Cautious.
2.From the second paragraph, we learn that a well-prepared tri-tip ______.
A. can be delicious and unforgettable
B. can be served only for barbecues
C. should be eaten with soy food
D. should be cooked longer on the grill
3. Compared with tofu, the tri-tip is ______.
A. more nutritious but poorer in proteins
B. higher in iron and other useful minerals
C. more beneficial for muscle development
D. harder for eaters to take in its iron
4.The best title of the passage is ______.
A. The tri-tip, your right choice
B. Differences between tri-tip and tofu
C. Tofu, a nutritious soy food
D. Best food partner — Tri-tip and tofu
