We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.
1.Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.
A. he found a new kind of microorganism
B. he contributed much to environmental protection
C. he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time
D. he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way
2.Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ________.
A. make the live bacteria work better
B. test how effective his method was
C. know which bacteria worked faster
D. control the temperature in the process
3.Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ________.
A. plastics can get hot easily
B. microbes can produce heat themselves
C. much carbon dioxide is produced
D. the temperature can be controlled
4.Daniel Burd got his idea from ________.
A. his school textbook B. the failure of researchers
C. his everyday work D. the practice of other people
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family,and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And,in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time,time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success,you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent,but thinking that way does you no good,and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.
1.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
A.the reasons for success B.the meaning of success
C.the standards of success D.the importance of success
2.In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “that “refers to ______.
A.being good at something B.setting a practical goal
C.putting in more time D.succeeding in life
3.What is the main theme of the passage?
A.Having a goal is vital to success.
B.Being good is different from being great.
C.One cannot succeed without time and practice.
D.Luck,talent and family help to achieve success.
A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”However, that’s not really true.Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves--the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.
We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be, because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.
This“ self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down.Be aware, though, that as much as 77%of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves.We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back ,The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying“ Good job!”
Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effects they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses to others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.
Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.
Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things.Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.
1.The author argues in the first paragraph that __________.
A. words will never hurt us at all
B. words have lasting effects on us
C. inspiring words give us confidence.
D. negative words may let us down
2.Why should not we feel embarrassed when it comes to talking to ourselves?
A. Talking to ourselves is believed to be good for our health.
B. Almost everybody has the habit of talking to oneself.
C. Talking to ourselves helps us to solve all the problems.
D. It is harmful to have “self-talk” when we are alone.
3.The underlined phrase “give ourselves a pat on the back” in Paragraph three means “ _________”.
A. blame ourselves B. punish ourselves
C. talk to ourselves D. praise ourselves
4.Which of the following statements would the author agree to?
A. Unkind words are unlikely to be forgotten.
B. Positive words may destroy all the good relations.
C. It is better to think twice before talking to others.
D. Kind words are sure to cause unfavorable response.
5.Why should we talk in a friendly way when returning an item to a store?
A. Because kind words destroy true relationships.
B. Because the clerk in a store is hard to deal with.
C. Because critical language may hurt your feelings.
D. Because friendly words cause positive responses.
How often do you change your hairstyle or ask for new dresses? You may be __ to follow trends in Western countries, but young people in the United States don’t care as much about__ as you do.
A recent survey among high school __ in China, Japan, South Korea and the US found that __ teenagers care more about their appearance than young people in the US.
This survey was held in 156 high schools in the four countries. More than 7,000 teenagers were__ about their views on life and the world. South Koreans, at 83 percent, cared most about their looks. They were __ by the Chinese and Japanese, while US students showed the least interest in fashion at only 33 percent.
“The different results show __ of cultural background,” said Sun Yunxiao from the China Youth and Children Research Centre. He explained that in the US there are many different of beauty, so teens are more __ to be confident about their appearance.
US teenagers’ high self-confidence is displayed in the __. About 85 percent are happy with themselves. The percentage of self-confident Chinese students stands at only 30 percent.
What’s , US students showed more individuality, with 88 percent___ that “people should follow their own interests rather than of others”. This is much than South Korea’s 69 percent, China’s 49 and Japan’s 48.
Japanese students, at 52 percent, are most dissatisfied with modern society. Chinese and Koreans follow at second and_ most dissatisfied.
“ to the survey, Chinese students are happy and disciplined. They have a strong wish to make a difference. __ Chinese students need to be more independent and learn how to relax,” said Sun.
The students have different __ backgrounds. But home and places where friends gather are the favorite places all teens seek happiness.
Exams and worries about life after graduation cause much _ _ among most of the teens ___ for the survey.
1.A. absorbed B. willing C. careless D. unhappy
2.A. hairstyle B. dresses C. fashion D. culture
3.A. teachers B. students C. citizens D. colleagues
4.A. Asian B. American C. African D. Western
5.A. answered B. requested C. persuaded D. questioned
6.A. followed B. decreased C. reduced D. compared
7.A. relations B. barriers C. customs D. differences
8.A. awareness B. standards C. consciences D. expenses
9.A. admirable B. confused C. likely D. unbelievable
10.A. survey B. setting C. reference D. paper
11.A. worse B. better C. less D. more
12.A. disagreeing B. observing C. agreeing D. puzzling
13.A. those B. that C. it D. one
14.A. lower B. larger C. smaller D. higher
15.A. first B. third C. fourth D. last
16.A. leading B. devoting C. appealing D. According
17.A. But B. And C. So D. Or
18.A. political B. cultural C. economical D. commercial
19.A. expectation B. hesitation C. concern D. ambition
20.A. interviewed B. advised C. overlooked D. invested
The Summer Palace is really beautiful. In fact, I doubt whether China has _________ park.
A. a more beautiful B. a most beautiful
C. the most beautiful D. a beautiful
－Who are you waiting for?
－___________ us a lecture this afternoon.
A. The professor wants to give B. The professor will give
C. The professor about to give D. The professor to give
