Mexico sites on an island plateau (高原) surrounded by volcanic peaks, which makes air quality a constant concern for people who live there.
In April, the country took a decisive step toward improving air quality by enacting a temporary ban on private and Federal vehicles in the city. The rule forbids people from driving in the city one day each week and one Saturday each month. Electric vehicles, government service vehicles, public transport options and school buses are not included in the ban.
Mexico City isn’t the first urban center to be involved in car-free living. But the ban is more than an awareness-raiser. It was enacted with the direct aim of solving air pollution. In March, the city sank into a deep brown haze of smog when the pollution levels passed the 200 mark. The city ordered some 1.1m of the area’s 4.7m cars off the streets and also offered free bus and subway rides.
Mexico City’s temporary vehicle ban raises questions about the best ways to improve urban air quality. India, whose citizens breathe some of the world’s dirtiest air, has tried a variety of solutions. Earlier this year, the Indian government started a 4% sales tax on new-car purchases.
Beijing also has experience with cleaning the air. The city introduced alternate-day rules in advance of the 2008 Olympic Games, which produced good results. And then there is the London congestion (拥挤) charge, introduced in 2003. The charge has had a measurable effect on air quality.
For now, Mexico City — named by the United Nations as the most polluted city on the planet in 1992 — can look forward to the start of the region’s rainy season, when daily showers will help lo clean the air.
1.How did Mexico ban vehicles in the city?
A. By banning private and Federal vehicles one day a week.
B. By forbidding private and public vehicles every Saturday.
C. By limiting the number of new cars.
D. By prohibiting the vehicles except public ones.
2.What did the government of Mexico do when carrying out the ban on vehicles?
A. Raised the number of public vehicles.
B. Offered free bus and subway rides.
C. Introduced more travel options.
D. Encouraged citizens to leave the city.
3.What may contribute to improving the air quality in Mexico?
A. Alternate-day rules.
B. Tax rises.
C. Congestion charge.
D. The rainy season.
4.What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Mexico —an Island Plateau
B. A Variety of Bans on Vehicles in Mexico
C. Should Cities Be Car-free Zones
D. How to Improve Air Quality
Years ago, students applying to colleges and universities had to have their applications and personal essays printed out and then “snail-mailed”. Flash forward to today’s world of Facebook, Instagram and WeChat, where photos, videos and mobile phones rule. Fortunately, several new tools are making it easier for college applicants to use technology to show off their personalities, skills and creativity.
ZEEMEE
One of the more popular innovations in college applications is ZeeMee, a free mobile app that allows students to upload personal profiles and videos to create visual resumes. More than 220 colleges and universities offer a ZeeMee option as part of the application process. The video can show the unique creative aspects of the applicants.
THE COALITION LOCKER
Another relatively new tool comes from the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, now used by more than 110 member colleges and universities. Among the group’s stated goals are getting students engaged in college prep early and using technology to create a supportive application process that encourages reflection and self-discovery.
Students who sign up for the free platform get access to a digital “locker”, which they can use all through high school to save class papers, artwork, newspaper stories, videos and photos to share with colleges when they eventually apply.
VIDEO — CHAT INTERVIEWS
At some schools, an interview with an admission officer is an important part of the application process. To make it easier, several virtual interviewing tools have popped up, such as a video-based platform from Kira. More than 140 universities worldwide use Kira’s video assessment tool to conduct real-time interviews with prospective students. During the interview, candidates are shown the questions prerecorded by the particular school and must respond in real time by talking into the camera on their laptop or phone. In addition to showing their ability, to speak fluently in English and think on their feet, it helps admission officers determine the “motivation, commitment and drive” of applicants.
UNIQUE SCHOOL TOOLS
Some universities have come up with their own ways to allow students to show their skills and personalities. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, encourages applicants to display their technical abilities and creativity by submitting a “Maker Portfolio” —a written or videotaped description of a project that shows creative and problem-solving skills. While a new app would fit the bill, the project could be anything from an origami design to a potato cannon.
1.Which of the apps give students more guidance from their high school?
A. ZEEMEE. B. THE COALITION LOCKER.
C. VIDEO — CHAT INTERVIEWS. D. UNIQUE SCHOOL TOOLS.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in the fourth part of the passage refer to?
A. The video interview. B. The description.
C. The application. D. The student’s ability.
3.What is the common feature required by colleges and universities according to the passage?
A. Creativity. B. Braveness.
C. Willingness to share. D. Technical ability.
Just a few years out of law school, I decided that I wanted to write fictions. The only thing I had ever published before was a law-review article. I had made great efforts to write when I came home at night after work, but I was too tired. I decided to quit my job.
I began my new life on a February morning. I sat down at my kitchen table at 7:30 am and made a resolution. Every day I would write until lunchtime. Then I would lie down on the floor for 20 minutes to rest my mind. After that, I would return to work for a few more hours.
In my first year, I sold two stories. Then I wrote a novel, but I thought it wasn’t good enough, so I ended up putting it in a drawer. My second novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, was published to glowing reviews and received the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.
My success sounds like a familiar story, but actually it was far from sudden. I quit my job, and for every story I published in those years, I had at least 30 rejections. The novel that I put away in the drawer took my four years. My breakthrough came in 2006, 18 years after I first sat down to write at my kitchen table.
Sometimes genius (天才) is just the thing that comes out after 20 years of working at your kitchen. Also, doing something truly creative requires the energy of youth. Orson Welles made his masterpiece, Citizen Kan, at 25. T. S. Eliot wrote The Love Song of J. Afred Prufrock at 23.
1.When did the author decide to devote himself to writing fictions?
A. When he was tired from his work.
B. Straight after graduation from law school.
C. On being informed his law-review article came out.
D. When his hobby was disturbed by his work.
2.We can infer from the second paragraph that the author .
A. led a wealthy life
B. arranged his life reasonably
C. was too diligent to relax himself
D. remained single
3.What does the author mainly intend to tell us in this passage?
A. Failure is the mother of success.
B. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
C. It is never too old to learn.
D. It is the first step that costs troublesome.
4.Why did the author give the example of Orson Welles and T. S. Eliot?
A. To make a comparison between them and himself.
B. To show creativity needs energy and efforts.
C. To persuade the readers of their great talents.
D. To recommend their two masterpieces.
假如你是李华，决定和Ala一起去乡村度假，时间为一周。Alan 打算住旅馆，而你更希望自带物品露宿。请给Alan 写一封e-mail, 说服他和你一起露营。
Dear Alan,
I’m looking forward to staying in the countryside with you for one week this summer vacation.
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Yours truly
Li Hua
假如英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的以下作文，文中共有10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\) 划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Many people are fond of Chinese cuisine. In China, cooking regarded not only as a skill, but also as an art. All well-preparing Chinese dishes are all tasty and good-looking. The cooking skills vary in different region of China. Therefore, good Chinese cuisines always share nothing in common, that is, color, fragrance and taste. As for food is important to one’s health, a good chef is always try to seek a balance among grain, meat and vegetables. That’s because Chinese cuisine is tasty and health.
What might life be like if you looked very different from others? Most of us are lucky to be born with “normal” faces. 1., the movie Wonder shows us that there is no such thing as being normal and that beauty is more than skin-deep.
2. (base) on a bestselling novel, the movie is about a boy named Auggie. He has a facial deformity (畸形) and has spent most of his life being home schooled. But as he enters middle school, his parents decide to send him to a private school. There, Auggie must deal with judgmental classmates and learn to accept 3.(he) as he is.
In the US, most kids 4. (teach) that it is OK to be different. Most people in the US celebrate being unique.
But some kids have difficulty 5.(accept) uniqueness. It’s easy to pick on someone who’s different, 6.(especial) if you have your own problems to deal with. This is another 7. (center) theme from the movie—even the kids 8. pick on Auggie have their own personal struggles.
As Auggie’s classmates get to know him better, they come to find that he’s a nice kid 9. a great sense of humor. They start to change their attitude toward him. In real life, it may take longer to see such changes happen. But if we give people10.chance, their hearts and minds may change in the end.
