In the United States alone,over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year.Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants.The electronic waste stream is increasing three times taster than traditional garbage as a whole.
Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver.A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste,the concentration（含量）of gold and other precious metals was higher in So-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals.
Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals.Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed,the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries,in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment.
Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material,up to 100 times more,than the material contained in the finished products.Consider again the cell-phone,and imagine the mines that produced those metals,the factories needed to make the box and packaging（包装）it came in.Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that"the production, distribution,and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas release." Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start-for instance,buying reusable products and recycling.
In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive（动机）for reducing waste.If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products,would they reduce the packaging in the first place?
Governments' incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money.Why,they ask,should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap（气泡垫）that encased your television?
From the governments' point of view,a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers.
1.By mentioning the Swiss study,the author intends to tell us that .
A.the weight of e-goods is rather small
B.natural minerals contain more precious metals
C.E-waste deserves to be made good use of
D.the percentage of precious metals is heavy in e-waste
2.The responsibility of e-waste treatment should be extended .
A.from producers to governments
B.from governments to producers
C.from individuals to distributors
D.from distributors to governments
3.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The increase in e-waste. B.The creation of e-waste.
C.The seriousness of e-waste. D.The management of e-waste.
D
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies , one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1.What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Countries where their people need help.
B.Powerful states with higher civilization.
C.Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.
D.Governments ruled with absolute power.
2.People believing in freedom are those who________ .
A.regard their life as their own business
B.seek gains as their primary object
C.behave within the laws and value systems
D.treat others with kindness and pity
3.What change in attitude took place in Athens?
A.The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.
B.The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.
C.The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.
D.The Athenians looked on the government as a business.
4.What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Athens would continue to be free.
B.Athens would cease to have freedom.
C.Freedom would come from responsibility.
D.Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.
5.Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?
A.The author is hopeful about freedom.
B.The author is cautious about self-government.
C.The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.
D.The author is proud of man’s capacity.
6.What is the author’s understanding of freedom?
A.Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.
B.Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.
C.Freedom should have priority over responsibility.
D.Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.
Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM), which makes the BlackBerry, says it’s back. The company is _______to reclaim a market it once dominated by _______two new devices. The last few years have been a painful time for the company as customers deserted its platform in _______of newer and more _______devices. This may be the company’s last chance to _______a vital player in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Two brand new devices are perhaps a fresh _______for a company that has seen its global market share _______from 20 percent three years ago to just over 3 percent today.
For BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, it’s another chance to remake a faded _______. “We have _______been on a journey of transformation, not only a journey to transform our business and our brand, ________one that I truly ________transforms mobile communications into true mobile computing,” he said.
The company promises the same ________level of network security the BlackBerry is known for, ________a fast new browser and a more intuitive operating system. The Z10 ________much like the touch-screen phones popularized by its competitors (竞争者), but the Z 10 maintains the “qwerty” keyboard that has become BlackBerry’s trademark.
Besides the technical and cosmetic (外观上的) updates, Heins says the company will no longer be called RIM or Research In Motion.
“Our customers use a BlackBerry, our ________work for BlackBerry and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry ________in the world,” he said.
Shareholders will be watching if customers ________the new devices. The company’s stock has dropped as much as 90 percent in the last four years as it lost ________to competitors. But company shares have doubled in the last four months as anticipation (预期) ________for the new models.
Analysts say the new devices could make or ________a company, which many people praise for starting the technological revolution in smart-phones.
1.A.refusing B.trying C.urging D.pretending
2.A.introducing B.reviewing C.rejecting D.discovering
3.A.favor B.charge C.honor D.defense
4.A.popular B.expensive C.complicated D.familiar
5.A.replace B.react C.remain D.reset
6.A.record B.dilemma C.end D.start
7.A.lose B.increase C.rise D.fall
8.A.brand B.trade C.technique D.phone
9.A.specially B.definitely C.doubtfully D.essentially
10.A.and B.or C.but D.so
11.A.agree B.believe C.suspect D.deny
12.A.high B.average C.backward D.normal
13.A.except for B.regardless of C.apart from D.along with
14.A.sounds B.smells C.looks D.finds
15.A.employees B.consumers C.relatives D.competitors
16.A.however B.whenever C.nowhere D.everywhere
17.A.adapt B.adjust C.adopt D.advocate
18.A.land B.ground C.soil D.earth
19.A.dropped B.changed C.remained D.grew
20.A.desert B.abandon C.break D.deny
Try not to cough more than you can _______ since it may cause problems to your lungs.
A.check B.allow C.stop D.help
Tony can hardly boil an egg，still ________ cook dinner.
A.less B.little
C.much D.more
It was a real race________time to get the project done. Luckily, we made it.
A.over B.by C.for D.against
