1.阅读理解

There is such a thing as a free lunch, it turns out, as long as you don't mind too much what it is. Tamara Wilson found hers a few streets away from her west London home -and as well as picking up some unwanted bread and fruit that would otherwise be thrown away, she made a new friend.

Wilson is one of 3.4 million people around the world using an app designed to encourage people to give away rather than throw away surplus (剩余的) food. "It's such a small thing but it makes me feel good and my neighbour feel good. And a lot of small acts can end up making a big difference," she said.

The last few years have seen an explosion in creative ways to tackle food waste by inking supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and individual households to local communities. Olio, the app used by Wilson, saw a fivefold increase in listings during 2022, and the signs are that this rapid growth is continuing into 2023, said Tessa Clarke, its CEO and co-founder.

About a third of all food produced globally is wasted, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO) Almost 1.4 billion hectares of land t close to 30% of the world's agricultural land — is dedicated to producing food that is never eaten, and the carbon footprint of food wastage makes it the third contributor of CO2. Reducing food waste is one of the most effective ways of tackling the global climate crisis.

Olio, Clarke said, was an attempt to change this on a small, local scale. "The app connects people with others who have surplus food but don't have anyone to give it to because so many people are disconnected from their communities." Users of Olio post images of surplus food that others in the neighbourhood might want. Olio also has a network of 24,000 volunteers who collect surplus food from local supermarkets and stores for app users to claim.

Despite the success of the app, it was hard to make a difference to the huge scale of food waste, Clarke added. "Even though we're doing well, we've only scratched the surface (触及表面). But if everyone makes small changes in the world, we'd dramatically reduce the amount of food that ends up in bins (垃圾桶)."

(1) What does the author want to show by telling Wilson's story? A. People tend to use apps to order food. B. People prefer to make friends on apps C. People find a high-tech fix to food waste D. People show more concern for each other
(2) What's the consequence of food waste according to the text? A. Global warming. B. Loss of land. C. World hunger. D. Poverty and inequality.
(3) What does Olio do to help tackle food waste? A. It sells surplus food to those in need. B. It allows volunteers to stay connected C. It provides a platform for people to promote food. D. It fills the information gap between green communities
(4) What does Clarke think of the work on reducing food waste globally? A. It is a great success. B. It requires joint efforts. C. It is beyond human power D. It has won public support.
【考点】
推理判断题; 细节理解题; 科普环保类; 说明文;
【答案】

您现在未登录,无法查看试题答案与解析。 登录
阅读理解 未知 普通
能力提升
真题演练
换一批
1.阅读理解

As you walk around the UK in March, you might notice that some people are wearing a daffodil(水仙花) on their coats. The British wear these yellow flowers to show they support one of this country's best-known charities: the Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The Marie Curie Cancer Care tries to ensure everyone diagnosed with cancer is cared for in the best possible way. It also helps fund research into possible cures through other organizations. Founded in 1948, it has been continuing with its goal ever since.

The charity was named after Marie Curie, a renowned scientist. She experimented with newly-discovered elements to create the theory of radioactivity. Unfortunately, over-exposure to the radioactive elements made her develop a disease and die in 1934. Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in two different fields. Because of her pioneering work which led to chemotherapy (化学疗法), the charity shared the name of Marie Curie.

The daffodil is one of the first plants to flower during spring in the UK, which marks the return of flowering plants to the ecosystem after winter. Because of this, the charity uses the daffodil as a metaphor for bringing life to other people through charitable giving.

Everyone you see wearing a daffodil has donated money to the charity, but each daffodil is worth only what you want to pay for it. The charity does ask that you stick to a minimum amount of £1.

The charity encourages people to start wearing their daffodils at the start of March, when the "Great Daffodil Appeal" kicks off. But that doesn't mean you can only wear them in March. People are sometimes seen walking around with daffodils on their clothes all year round.

(1) What does it mean when the British wear a daffodil on their coats? A. They support a charity. B. They are recovering from cancer. C. They've been helped by a charity. D. They've been diagnosed with cancer.
(2) What does the underlined word "renowned" in paragraph 3 mean? A. Beautiful. B. Modest. C. Famous. D. Humorous.
(3) Why was the charity named after Marie Curie? A. Because patients required that. B. Because it was launched by her. C. Because she greatly supported it. D. Because it could show respect for her.
(4) What can we learn about the daffodil from the text? A. It can be used as medicine. B. It's thought to stand for hope. C. It's widely worn worldwide. D. It's sold to the wearers at a high price.
阅读理解 未知 普通
2. 阅读理解

Towns across Italy have been racing to launch clever projects aimed at encouraging new residents to revive (复兴) their fortunes in recent years. From old homes selling for little more than a dollar to ready-to-occupy houses at knockdown prices, there's been a crazy competition.

The town of Presicce in the sunny region of Puglia is the latest to enter the game with a tantalizing offer. Officials say they'll pay people up to 30,000 euros to buy an empty dwelling (住宅) and take up residency.

Even better, the houses for sale as part of the deal are priced from around 25,000 euros. Like other cheap properties on sale across Italy, they've been long abandoned by their original owners. There's an added bonus: they're surrounded by the nature of the Salento area and close to beautiful beaches and greenish-blue clear waters of Santa Maria di Leuca.

"There're many empty homes in the historical center built before 1991, which we'd like to see alive again with new residents," says local official Alfredo Palese. "It's a pity to witness how our old districts full of history, wonderful architecture and art are slowly emptying."

"We'll be offering up to 30,000 euros to people willing to move here and buy one of these abandoned dwellings," he adds. "The total funding will be split into two: it'll go partly into buying an old home and partly into restyling it, if needed."

A 2019 merger (合并) with a neighboring community to create the larger town of Presicce-Acquarica has left extra money to ensure the project can continue for years to come. "After the merger, our wider territory will be blessed with more public funds, roughly 1,000,000 euros per year for several years forward, which we intend to invest to revitalize the old district," says Palese.

Together, Presicce and Acquarica have 9,000 residents but only half of them live in the older part of the community. So the town hall has already launched other projects to attract more residents, including tax benefits to set up new business activities and baby bonuses for families with kids.

(1) What does the underlined word "tantalizing" in paragraph 2 mean? A. Attractive. B. Legal. C. Traditional. D. Worrying.
(2) What is another advantage of the abandoned houses besides the price? A. Their valuable furniture. B. Their incredible surroundings. C. Their interesting owners. D. Their friendly atmosphere.
(3) Why is the 2019 merger mentioned in the text? A. It draws attention to the town. B. It cuts the cost of the project. C. It provides more financial resources. D. It restyles abandoned dwellings.
(4) What about the old district bothers the Presicce-Acquarica government? A. Its forgotten history. B. Its low tax rates. C. Its declining population. D. Its polluted environment.
阅读理解 未知 普通
3.阅读理解

Imagine having the opportunity to sing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they perform alone on video. These videos are uploaded onto the Internet, and then they are put together into one video that you can see online—a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. A virtual choir enables people to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has proved to be a positive influence on the lives of many people.

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. He fell in love with Mozart's classical music when he sang for the university choir. Moved by this music, he said, "It was like seeing color for the first time." Over ten years after his graduation. Whitacre's original compositions began to become quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir.

In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works. Inspired, he asked his fans tomake videos, which he then joined together into one performance. His first virtual choir, "Lux Aurunque", had 198 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre's next effort was the virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which was first seen on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK. Altogether, 2,292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre's song "What If'".

The virtual choir is a wonderful way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a better place.

(1) Which of the following is a virtual choir? A. Many members performing on their own. B. Humndreds of people singing together on a stage. C. Many people singing online together at the same time. D. Individual singing videos combined into one on the Internet.
(2) What resulted in the appearance of the virtual choir? A. The popularity of Whitacre's composition. B. The encouragement of Whitacre's professor. C. Whitacre's desire of being a famous composer. D. Whitacre's love for communication with others.
(3) What can we learn about Whitacre's first virtual choir? A. He had thousands of his fans make videos. B. He joined nearly two hundred videos together. C. He made his first virtual choir on stage in the UK. D. He asked a girl to sing his work to make it popular.
(4) What is the purpose of the last paragraph? A. To advertise Whitacre's music composition. B. To introduce the influence of the victual choir. C. To persuade people to join Whitacre's choir team. D. To appeal to netizens to compose their own music.
阅读理解 未知 普通