填空题How technology pushes down price 1. Prices have fallen in the food business because of advances in food production and distribution technology. Consumers have benefited greatly from those advances. People who predicted that the world would run out of food were wrong. We are producing more and more food with less and less capital. Food is therefore more plentiful and cheaper than it has ever been. Spending on food compared with other goods has fallen for many years, and continues to drop. 2. Supermarkets have helped push down prices mainly because of their scale. Like any big business, they can invest in IT systems that make them efficient. And their size allows them to buy in bulk. As supermarkets get bigger, the prices get lower. 3. Huge retail companies such as Wal-Mart have tremendous power and they can put pressure on producers to cut their margins. As a result, some producers have had to make cuts. In recent years, Unilever has cut its workforce by 33,000 to 245,000 and dropped lots of its minor brands as part of its "path to growth" strategy. Cadbury has shut nearly 20 percent of its 133 factories and cut 10 percent of its 55,000 global workforce. These cuts help keep costs down, and the price of food stays low. 4. Does cheap food make people unhealthy? Cheap food may encourage people to eat more. Food companies certainly think that giving people more food for their money makes them buy more. Giving people bigger portions is an easy way of making them feel they have got a better deal. That is why portions have got larger and larger. In America, soft drinks came in 80z (225g) cans in the past, then 120z (350g), and now come in 200z (550g) cans. If a company can sell you an 80z portion for $7, they can sell you a 120z portion for $8. The only extra cost to the company is the food, which probably costs 25 cents. 5. Now companies are under pressure to stop selling bigger portions for less money. But it is hard to change the trend. A. Huge retailers force producers to cut costs B. Consumers like supermarkets C. Technology helps reduce food prices D. Food comes cheaper in larger portions E. Chain stores provide better service F. Bigger supermarkets offer lower prices

填空题Successful Language Learners 1 Some people seem to have a knack for learning languages. They can pick up new vocabulary, master rules or grammar, and learn to write in the new language more quickly than others. They do not seem to be any more intelligent than others, so what makes language learning so much easier for them ? Perhaps if we take a close look at these successful language learners, we may discover a few of the techniques which make language learning easier for them. 2 First of all, successful language learners are independent learners. They do not depend on the book or the teacher; they discover their own way to learn the language. Instead of waiting for the teacher to explain, they try to find the patterns and the rules for themselves. They are good guessers who look for clues and form their own conclusions. When they guess wrong, they guess again. They try to learn from mistakes. 3 Successful language learning is active learning. Therefore, successful learners do not wait for a chance to use the language; they look for such a chance. They find people who speak the language and they ask these people to correct them when they make a mistake. They will try anything to communicate. They are not afraid to repeat what they hear or to say strange things; they are willing to make mistakes and try again. When communication is difficult, they can accept information that is inexact or incomplete. It is more important for them to learn to think in the language than to know the meaning of every word. 4 Finally, successful language learners are learners with a purpose. They want to learn the language because they are interested in the language and the people who speak it. It is necessary for them to learn the language in order to communicate with these people and to learn from them. They find it easy to practice using the language regularly because they want to learn with it. 5 What kind of language learner are you? If you are a successful language learner, you have probably been learning independently, actively, and purposefully. On the other hand, if your language learning has been less than successful, you might as well try some of the techniques outlined above.A. Talents to Learn a Language SuccessfullyB. Learning a Language PurposefullyC. Learning a Language ActivelyD. Learning a Language IndependentlyE. Learning from MistakesF. Learning to Think in the Target Language

填空题 A. you can remind your friend of it via E-mail B. you can lend more money to him or her C. you must get to know why he or she needs that money D. if you should lend money to your friend E. you can call the police to settle the issue F. there is no need to maintain a friendly relation with him or her

填空题The Magic of Sound Music is one of the most beautiful forms of artistic expressions ever invented. In movies and plays, music has an added function: it not only moves people but also can shock people. Is it true that an ordinary musical instrument can be so powerful? Our eardrums can withstand sound within 20 to 80 decibels. Once sound exceeds this limit, even beautiful music will become ear-splitting noise and harm health. A strong blast of high sound can twist and break a solid iron sheet. 1 The noise from a plane"s engine is over 140 decibels. However, the sound of a flute is at most a few decibels. 2 It has been proven that people who have worked in an environment with a high sound intensity for a long time suffer varying degrees of heart disease or altered brain waves. In movies, sometimes the hero can produce a sound that ordinary people can"t hear and only those who have the same ability can feel. In nature, there is actually sound that is beyond our hearing. In physics, the sound that exceeds 20,000 Hz is called ultrasonic. 3 It does no harm to health. Sound less than 20 Hz is called infrasonic waves. When we move, the air will vibrate. 4 As the frequency of infrasonic waves is close to that of people"s internal organs, infrasonic wave may cause resonance in human bodies. As a result, people"s vision may weaken and internal organs may rupture. However, whether an infrasonic wave can be used as a weapon depends on its intensity. If its intensity is very low, it won"t damage internal organs or a person"s health. 5 When wind blows at a force of 3 or 4 over the sea, it will produce infrasonic waves of several decibels. Only typhoons can produce infrasonic waves of over 100 decibels. At present, scientists can only produce infrasonic weapons in the lab with the help of advanced scientific tools and powerful electric power. A. High sound of 150 decibels can kill a healthy rat. B. The vibration of air can produce infrasonic waves. C. We cannot play high-pitched music with ordinary musical instruments. D. If the intensity of infrasonic wave exceeds 160 decibels, it is extremely harmful. E. Dolphins, whales and bats can make such high-frequency sound. F. Therefore, the sound of ordinary musical instruments cannot harm your health.

填空题Operatunity 1. Operatunity is a TV talent show for amateur opera singers. The winners get the chance to sing with the English National Opera. When two housewives, Denise Leigh and Jane Gilchrist won in 2002, their lives changed forever. As they sang Verdi"s Rigoletto at the coliseum (音乐厅) in Rome, they were transformed from working mothers into opera celebrities (名人). 2. "I live in the village I was born in," says Denise, who is blind, "Lots of my neighbors are family, and my life is all about my three children." Jane, who worked as a cleaner and a shop assistant, was in a similar situation. She says, "All I had to look forward to was seeing my four children grow up, and I love that, but...you think "there must be more to life". Winning Operatunity has opened up avenues I never knew existed." 3. "This last year has been amazing," Denise continues, "Last month was Paris, before that we were recording at Abbey Road, in London, and recently we had our album launch at the Royal Opera House." "We"ve been treated like princesses," laughs Jane, "...champagne, chocolates, five-star hotels..." 4. But it wasn"t all so easy. For Denise, the worst part was waiting at the beginning. "After I"d sent in my application form I worried for a month. Then I had to wait ten days after my first audition (试唱). That was awful." Even when they won the competition they were allowed to tell their close family but they weren"t allowed to tell anyone else until later. Denise and Jane also found the travelling difficult. They couldn"t take their children with them while they were away singing, so they had to organize childcare. However, there"s been no problem with the physical side of singing. "We didn"t have to worry about that as we"ve had not lost of help and wonderful voice training." says Jane. They also had to learn to deal with the media. "The kids loved the fact that they could stay up and watch us on TV, but I just couldn"t understand why some newspapers were more interested in the fact I divorced, rather than the fact I had just sung at the Coliseum." says Denise.

填空题 Searching for Smiles 1. Ask most people anywhere in the world what they want out of life and the reply will probably be: "To be happy." Ed Deiner, an American psychology professor, has spent his whole professional life studying what makes people happy, comparing levels of happiness between cultures and trying to find out exactly why we enjoy ourselves. 2. Many people would say that this question does not need an answer. But Professor Deiner has one anyway. "If you're a cheerful, happy person, your marriage is more likely to last, and you're more likely to make money and be successful at your job. On average, happy people have stronger immune (免疫的) systems, and there is some evidence that they live longer." 3. So who are the world's happiest people? It depends on how the word is defined. There is individual happiness, the sense of joy we get when we do something we like. But there is also the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that others respect us and approve of how we behave. According to Professor Deiner, the Western world pursues individual happiness while Asia prefers mutual satisfaction. 4. "In the West, the individualistic (个人主义的) culture means that your mood matters much more than it does in the East. People ask themselves, what can I do that's fun or interesting? They become unhappy when they can't do any of these things. If you ask people from Japan or China if they are happy, they tend to look at what has gone wrong in their lives. If not much has gone wrong, then they are satisfied." 5. People from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries had the happiest culture, Professor Deiner found. "The biggest cultural difference is to do with pride and shame. Hispanic (西班牙语言的) cultures report much more pride and much less shame than others." 6. Income also made a big difference to people's happiness, but only at the lowest levels. Average income earners in the US were much happier than people in poverty. But millionaires were only a little bit happier than people on average incomes. It seems that money makes us happy when we have enough to feel secure. 7. But can we be too happy? "You get people who are actually happy, but they think happiness is so important that they try to be even happier. This desire to be always happy is a product of individualism, where the emphasis is on you individually, your emotions and feeling good. People can end up feeling unhappy because ordinary happiness is not good enough for them. " A. Happiest Culture B. An Unhappy Person C. Definition of Happiness D. Cultural Differences in Happiness E. Reasons to Be Happy F. Individual and Ordinary Happiness

填空题Education When a teacher finds a way to make a real difference in the students' lives that's what education is all about. Let me tell you a story. Back in 1944 we had a new student named Roger, he was the first black student in our school, and everyone (46) . The other kids weren't bad children; they were just copying their parents, and well, I'm afraid most of their parents (47) . But as you know, when you're twelve years old, you're just starting to have your own opinions about things, and I knew this could be a very important moment in their education. I knew I could make a real difference, (48) , but to all the other kids, too, if I just handled it the right way. I decided I had to try to make Roger into someone special. Not like a teacher's pet, i wanted the other children to (49) , not just a dark shape in the back of the room. So I went after him with questions in every class. He was a bright little boy, so it was easy enough for me to establish him as a smart person with real value. I was pretty pleased, because I could see Roger becoming more confident, and although the other kids were still not very friendly, at least they stopped being so nasty to him. But you know what really changed everything? One day i could see Roger's mind was wandering, and without thinking I threw an eraser in his direction, i only meant to get his attention, but the eraser hit his hand and sent his pencil flying. The whole class roared! And afterwards, of course, (50) . That's how he became an individual, someone special, to talk to and make friends with and that's how I became "Dead-Eye Bean".A. was giving him a hard timeB. had some pretty ignorant views on the subject of black peopleC. while they were enjoying the same classD. not only to little RogerE. start seeing him as a human beingF. all the kids went up to Roger to laugh with him about it

填空题阅读下面这篇短文，短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23～26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2～5段每段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)第27～30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项，分别完成每个句子。 {{B}} How to Get along Well with Your Boss{{/B}} 1．Before you argue with your boss, check with the boss's secretary to determine his mood. If he ate nails for breakfast, it is not a good idea to ask him for something. Even without the boss's secretary, there are keys to timing don't approach the boss when he's on deadllne, don't go in right before lunch, when he is apt to be distracted and rushed, don't go in just before or after he has token a vacation. 2．If you're mad, that will only make your boss mad. Calm clown first. And don't let a particular concern open the floodgates for all your accumulated frustration. The boss will feel that you think negatively about the company and it is hopeless trying to change your mind. Then maybe he will dismiss you. 3．Terrible disputes can result when neither the employer nor the employee knows what is the problem the other wants to discuss. Sometimes the fight will go away when the issues are made clear. The employee has to get his point across clearly in order to make the boss understand it.4．Your boss has enough on his mind without your adding more. If you can't put forward an immediate solution, at least suggest how to approach the problem, People who frequently present problems without solutions to their bosses may soon find they can't get past the secretary. 5．To deal effectively with a boss, it's important to consider his goals and pressures. If you can put yourself in the position of being a partner to the boss, then he will be naturally more inclined to work with you to achieve your goals.

填空题How to Learn Language Successfully 1 Some people seem to have a knack for learning languages. They can pick up new vocabulary, master rules or grammar, and learn to write in the new language more quickly than others. They do not seem to be any more intelligent than others, so what makes language learning so much easier for them? Perhaps if we take a close look at these successful language learners, we may discover a few of the techniques which make language learning easier for them. 2 First of all, successful language learners are independent learners. They do not depend on the book or the teacher; they discover their own way to learn the language. Instead of waiting for the teacher to explain, they try to find the patterns and the rules for themselves. They are good guesters who look for clues and form their own conclusions. When they guess wrong, they guess again. They try to learn from mistakes. 3 Successful language learning is active learning. Therefore, successful learners do not wait for a chance to use the language; they look for such a chance. They find people who speak the language and they ask these people to correct them when they make a mistake. They will try anything to communicate. They are not afraid to repeat what they hear or to say strange things; they are willing to make mistakes and try again. When communication is difficult, they can accept information that is inexact or incomplete. It is more important for them to learn to think in the language than to know the meaning of every world. 4 Finally, successful language learners are learners with a purpose. They want to learn the language because they are interested in the language and the people who speak it. It is necessary for them to learn the language in order to communicate with these people and to learn from them. They find it easy to practice using the language regularly because they want to learn with it. 5 What kind of language learner are you? If you are a successful language learner, you have probably been learning independently, actively, and purposefully. On the other hand, if your language learning has been less than successful, you might as well try some of the techniques outlined above. A Ways to Learn a Language Successfully B Learning a Language Purposefully C Learning a Language Actively D Learning a Language Independently E Learning from Mistakes F Learning to Think in the Target Language

填空题Learning Disabilities Learning disabilities are very common. They affect perhaps 10 percent of all children. Four times as many boys as girls have learning disabilities. Since about 1970, new research has helped brain scientists understand these problems better. Scientists now know there are many different kinds of learning disabilities and that they are caused by many different things. 1 You cannot look at a child and tell if he or she has a learning disability. There is no outward sign of the disorder. 2 In one study, researchers examined the brain of a learning-disabled person who had died in an accident. They found two unusual things. One involved cells in the left side of the brain, which control language. These cells normally are white. 3 The researchers also found that many of the nerve cells were not in a line the way they should have been. The nerve cells were mixed together. The study was carried out under the guidance of Norman Geschwind, an early expert on learning disabilities. Doctor Geschwind proposed that learning disabilities resulted mainly from problems in the left side of the brain. He believed this side of the brain failed to develop normally. "Probably", he said," nerve cells there did not connect as they should. " So the brain was like an electrical device in which the wires were crossed. Other researchers did not examine brain tissue. 4 Frank Duffy experimented with this technique at Children"s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. Doctor Duffy found large differences in the brain activity of normal children and those with reading problems. 5 Doctor Duffy said his research is evidence that reading disabilities involve damage to a wide area of the brain, not just the left side. A. In the learning-disabled person, however, these cells were gray. B. So some researchers began looking at the brain itself to learn what might be wrong. C. The differences appeared throughout the brain. D. Researchers tried to improve the intelligence of learning-disabled in different ways. E. There is no longer any question that all learning disabilities result from differences in the way the brain is organized. F. Instead, they measured the brain"s electrical activity and made a map of the electrical signals.

填空题下面短文有5处空白，短文后有6个句子，其中5个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原位置，发恢复文章原貌。 Did you ever see the movie Honey, I shrunk the kids? It's about a wacky(乖僻的) dad (who's also a scientist) who accidentally(偶然的) shrinks his kids with his homemade miniaturizing (使小型化) invention . Oops! The kids spend the rest of the movie as tiny people who are barely visible while trying to get back to their normal size. {{U}} (46) {{/U}}It takes place over years and may add up to only one inch or so off of their adult height (maybe a little more, maybe less), and this kind of shrinking can't be magically reversed, although there are things that can be done to stop it or slow it down. But why does shrinking happen at all? {{U}} (47) {{/U}}As people get older, they generally lose some muscle and fat from their bodies as part of the natural aging process. Gravity (the force that keeps your feet on the ground) take hold, and the bones in the spine, called vertebrae(椎骨) , may break down or degenerate, and start to collapse into one another.{{U}} (48) {{/U}}But perhaps the most common reason why some older people shrink is because of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis(骨质叔松症) occurs when too much spongy(海绵) bone tissue (which is found inside of most bones) is broken down and not enough new bone material is made.{{U}} (49) {{/U}}Bones become smaller and weaker and can easily break if someone with osteoporosis is injured. Older people — especially women, who generally have smaller and lighter bones to begin with — are more likely to develop osteoporosis. As years go by, a person with osteoporosis shrinks a little bit. Did you know that every day you do a shrinking act? You aren't as tall at the end of the day as you are at the beginning.{{U}} (50) {{/U}}Don't worry, though. Once you get a good night's rest, your body recovers, and the next morning, you're standing tall again. A. They end up pressing closer together, which makes a person lose a little height and become shorter. B. That's because as the day goes on, water in the disks of the spine gets compressed (squeezed) due to gravity, making you just a tiny bit shorter. C. Over time, bone is said to be lost because it's not being replaced. D. Luckily, there are things that people can do to prevent shrinking. E. For older people, shrinking isn't that dramatic or sudden at all. F. There are a few reasons.

填空题How We Form First Impression. 1 We all have first impression of someone we just met. But why do we form an opinion about someone without really knowing anything about him or her, aside perhaps from a few remarks or readily observable traits. 2 The answer is related to how your brain allows you to be aware of the world. Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person's eyes, ears, nose, or mouth are placed in relation to each other make you sea him or her as different. In fact, your brain continuously processes incoming sensory information the sights and sounds of your world. These incoming "signals" are compared against a host of "memories" stored in the brain areas called the cortex system to determine what these new signals "mean." 3 If you see someone you know and like at school, your brain says "familiar and safe." If you see someone new, it says, "new potentially threatening." Then your brain starts match features of this stranger with other "known" memories. The height, weight, dress, ethnicity, gestures, and tone of voice are all matched up. The more unfamiliar the characteristics, the more your brain may say, "This is new. I don't like this person." Or else, 'Tm intrigued." Or your brain may perceive a new face but familiar clothes, ethnicity, gestures like your other friends; so your brain says: "I like this person." But these preliminary "impressions" can be dead wrong. 4 When we stereotype people, we use a less mature form of thinking (not unlike the immature thinking of a very young child) that makes simplistic and categorical impressions of others. Rather than learn about the depth and breadth of people--their history, interest, values, strengths, and true character, we categorize them as jocks, geeks, or freaks. 5 However, if we resist initial stereotypical impressions, we have a chance to be aware of what a person is truly like. If we spend -time with a person, hear about his or her life, hopes, dreams, and become aware of the person's character, we use a different, more mature style of thinking and the most complex areas of our cortex, which allow us to be humane. A Ways of Departure from Immature and Simplistic Impressions B Comment on First impression C Illustration of First Impression D Comparing Incoming Sensory Information Against Memories E Threatening Aspect of First Impressions F Differences Among Jocks, Geeks and Freaks

填空题A. the carelessness of the driversB. increase in the number of cars stolenC. non-professional thievesD. lack of parking spaceE. safe parking spotsF. professional thieves

填空题 The Magic Io Personal Digital Pen 1. Check out the io Personal Digital Pen launched by Logitech: It's a magic pen that can store everything you write and transfer it to your computer. And you don't have to lug a hand held device along with you for it to work. 2. Logitech's technology works like this: The pen writes normally, using normal ballpoint pen ink. But while you are writing, a tiny camera inside the pen is also taking 100 snapshots per second of what you are doing, mapping your writing via a patchwork of minute dots printed on the paper. All this information—the movement of your pen on the paper, basically—is then stored digitally inside the pen, whether you are writing notes or drawing complex diagrams. You can store up to 40 pages worth of doodles in the pen's memory. As far as you are concerned, you are just using a normal pen. 3. It is only when you drop the pen into its PC-connected cradle that the fun begins. Special software on your PC will figure out what you have done, and begin to download any documents you have written since the last time it was there. Depending on whether you have ticked certain boxes on the special notepad, it can also tell whether the document is destined to be an e-mail, a "to do" task, or a diagram to be inserted into a word processing document. Once the documents are downloaded you can view them, print them out or convert them to other formats. 4. The io Personal Digital Pen is a neat and simple solution to the problem of storing, sharing and retrieving handwritten notes, as well as for handling diagrams, pictures and other non-text doodling. You don't have to carry a laptop along with you. All you have to do is just whip out the pen and the special paper and you are off. 5. It is a great product because it does not force you to work differently—walking around with a screen strapped to your arm, or carrying with you extra bits and pieces. The pen is light and works like a normal pen if you need it to, while the special notepads look and feel like notepads. The only strange looks will be from people who are curious why you are writing with a cigar. 6. The io Personal Digital Pen also has potential elsewhere. FedEx, for example, is introducing a version of the pen so that customers can fill out forms by hand—instead of punching letters into cumbersome devices. Once that data is digital more or less anything can be done with it—transferring it wirelessly to a central computer, for example, or via a hand phone. Doctors could transmit their prescriptions directly to pharmacies, reducing fraud: policemen could send their reports back to the station, reducing paperwork. A. Friendly and Convenient Device B. Ways to Download the Stored Information C. Examples of Other Potential Applications of the Io Pen D. Customers' Passion for the Io Pen E. FedEx the First User of the Io Pen F. Working Principle of the Io Personal Digital Pen

填空题阅读下面的短文，文章有5处空白，文章后面有6组文字，请根据文章的内容选择5组文字，将其分别放回文章原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。 Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. {{U}}(46) {{/U}}. Quite the contrary, just as the cook has to undergo an intensive training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose school work, matters of business, or purely social communication. {{U}}(47) {{/U}}. There are still some remote places in the world where you might find someone to do your business or social writing for you, for a fee. There are a few mangers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. {{U}}(48) {{/U}}. We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to paper. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put to the mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figure must be enormous. {{U}}(49) {{/U}}. We want to arouse and hold the interest of readers. We want whatever we write to be read, from first word to last, not thrown into some "letters-to-be-read" file or into a wastepaper basket. {{U}}(50) {{/U}}. A. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves B. However, the managers may sometimes cause the writers a lot of trouble C. Any good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown (成熟的) D. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes, that his writing will be read E. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing F. You may be sure that the greater the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding

填空题How We Form First Impression 1. We all have first impression of someone we just met. But why? Why do we form an opinion about someone without really knowing anything about him or her—aside perhaps from a few remarks or readily observable traits. 2. The answer is related to how your brain allows you to be aware of the world. Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person"s eyes, ears, nose or mouth are placed in relation to each other makes you see him or her as different. In fact, your brain continuously processes incoming sensory information—the sights and sounds of your world. These incoming "signals" are compared against a host of "memories" stored in the brain areas called the cortex system to determine what these new signals mean. 3. If you see someone you know and like at school, your brain says "familiar and safe". If you see someone new, it says, "new-potentially threatening". Then your brain starts to match features of this stranger with other "known" memories. The height, weight, dress, ethnicity, gestures, and tone of voice are all matched up. The more unfamiliar the characteristics, the more your brain may say, "This is new. I don"t like this person". Or else, "I"m intrigued". Or your brain may perceive a new face but familiar clothes, ethnicity, gestures—like your other friends; so your brain says: "I like this person". But these preliminary "impressions" can be dead wrong. 4. When we stereotype people, we use a less mature form of thinking (not unlike the immature thinking of a very young child) that makes simplistic and categorical impressions of others. Rather than learn about the depth and breadth of people—their history, interest, values, strengths, and true character—we categorize them as jocks, geeks, or freaks. 5. However, if we resist initial stereotypical impressions, we have a chance to be aware of what a person is truly like. If we spend time with a person, hear about his or her life, hopes, dreams, and become aware of the person"s character, we use a different, more mature style of thinking—and the most complex areas of our cortex, which allow us to be humane.

填空题Reduce Packaging Pressure increased recently on British supermarkets and retailers to reduce packaging as part of an anti-waste campaign. 1 Britain generates 4.6 million tons of household waste every year by packaging. Dozens of people have expressed anger at the excess of plastic wrapping. Campaigners have called on Britain to learn from other European countries. 2 When returned bottles are put in a vending machine (自动售货机), the deposit is refunded. Environmentalists warn that Britain lags behind in this. There were reports of growing unease among consumers over the amount of packaging they have to deal with. Trade standards officers also object to excessive packaging. 3 In response to a campaign by Britain"s The Independent newspaper, leading supermarkets have pointed to various initiatives to win the public confidence. 4 But campaigners said retailers and the government could learn much from anti-waste practices on the Continent. In Sweden, non-recyclable batteries have been taxed since 1991 to encourage a switch to alternatives. 5 In Germany, plastic bags are unheard of in supermarkets and deposits are paid for reusable plastic and glass beverage bottles. A. In Belgium, when you buy something in a plastic or glass container, you make a deposit. B. This is because too much padding can give buyers a false impression of what they are buying. C. This has resulted in a 74 percent reduction in sales. D. Tesco said it was saving 112,000 tons of cardboard a year by switching to reusable plastic crates (装货箱) for transporting its fresh produce. E. The campaign was initiated by The Independent newspaper. F. If a product is over-packaged, don"t buy it.

填空题UV Light Causes Skin Cancer Don"t laugh if you hear about kids hiding in their basement this summer. They might have been frightened by a recent report from Europe that liquid sunscreens don"t protect people from the sun"s harmful rays. Researchers kept track of 631 children, some of whom used sunscreen and 1 . The researchers found that the kids who used sunscreen got more sun-caused moles than did the kids who didn"t use sunscreen. Kids with sun-caused moles are more likely to develop skin cancer later in life. Did sunscreen harm the children? Probably not, the researchers concluded. They believe that the children relied too much on their sunscreen and stayed in the sun too long. Sunscreen is still safe to use, say skin experts, as long as it is used sensibly. Solar Cares Using sunscreen sensibly is more important than ever. Why? Skin experts like Martin Weinstock believe that 2 . Earth"s ozone layer appears to be getting thinner. Ozone is a gas. In the upper atmosphere, ozone blocks much of the sun"s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Polluting chemicals are thought to be destroying the ozone in some places. Even though the world"s wealthy countries agreed to stop making polluting chemicals a few years ago, ozone is still disappearing. And that"s bad news, skin experts say, because UV light causes skin cancer, and skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer in the United States. More than a million new cases of skin cancer are showing up in the United States every year. Scientists are looking at kids to reverse that trend. Why? Because getting too much sun when you"re a kid seems to set the stage for getting skin cancer when 3 . According to Weinstock, three-quarters of all skin cancers might never develop if people under the age of 18 avoided overexposure to the sun. Glaring Facts What happens when skin meets sun? Light rays, which come in varying wavelengths, strike the skin. Visible light consists of wavelengths 4 . Ultraviolet light consists of waves too short to be seen. UV light comes in several varieties, among them UVB and UVA. UVB wavelengths are slightly shorter than UVA wavelengths. Scientists once thought that UVB light was harmful and that UVA light produced a healthful tan. But opinions have changed. Scientists still agree that UVB light causes sunburns. But now they suspect that both kinds of UV light damage the DNA of cells. Moreover, scientists believe that either UVA light or UVB light or both weaken the body"s disease-fighting immune system. The body becomes less capable of repairing damaged cells, and such cells may go on to divide uncontrollably. In other words, 5 . Three Little Words To help people avoid getting harmed by the sun, the American Cancer Society has summed up its advice in three words-Slip, Slop and Slap. The words are short for "Slip on a shirt! Slop on the sunscreen! Slap on a hat!" A. they may become cancerous B. people can see C. you"re older D. UVA is different from UVB E. sunlight is growing more hazardous F. some of whom didn"t

填空题A few simple facts will help you keep cut flowers ______.

填空题 The Paper Chase 1. "Running a house is a lot like running a business." says Stephanie Denton, a professional organizer based in Cincinnati, Ohio, who specializes in both residential and commercial paperwork and record keeping. To get a successful grip on organizing documents, bills, and other materials, Denton suggests the following tips: 2. Create a space in which you can always do your paperwork. This is perhaps the most important element of a successful system. If you can't devote an entire desk to the task, at least invest in a rolling file cart to store active paperwork and a two-drawer file cabinet for family records. Store the rolling file cart wherever it is most convenient and comfortable to do your work, whether that is the kitchen, office, or family room. 3. When in doubt, throw it out. The first step to implementing a workable filing system is to eliminate paper you don't use, don't need, or that you could easily access again elsewhere. Throw out duplicate statements, old catalogs, and all of the coupons, mailings, or offerings you'll never have an opportunity to use or even read. 4. Set aside two days a month to pay bills. If a monthly due date doesn't fit into your cycle, call up the creditor and suggest a more convenient date. Keep two manila folders at the front of your system for current bills—one to correspond with each bill-paying day—and file all incoming bills. Keep a list in the front of each folder of what needs to be paid in case the invoice never arrives or gets misplaced. 5. Think of your filing system not as a rigid tool, but as a living, breathing system that can accommodate your changing needs. A good filing system is both mentally and physically flexible. Everyone's needs are different, says Denton, but when devising a filling system, ask yourself: "Where would I look for this?" Create main headings for your filing system, such as Investments, Taxes, Children, and so forth, and file individual folders under the main headings. Never overstuff your files. A. Find a Place to Work on B. Implementing a Workable Filing System C. What Is a Good Filing System D. How to Invest in a Rolling File Cart E. Get Rid of Unimportant Things F. Dealing with Bills