Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost mention recycling, which is the process (过程) of treating used things, such as paper or steel so that they can be used again. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more things than we need. We are now dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the possible greenest way, but it would be far better if we did not bring so many things home in the first place.
Here is an example. In the UK, the total of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a household’s waste. In many supermarkets, foods are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging causes serious environmental problems. The UK is running out of different kinds of ways for dealing with this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect (效果). Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The best way of avoiding this problem is to stop producing such unnecessary things in the first place. Food waste is another serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers (消费者) to buy more than they need. They seldom encourage customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to connect packaging with quality (质量). We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. Is it true for all the products? In fact, more and more companies realized the importance of protecting the environment. They try to package what really should be packaged, including products in good quality.
As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize how many unnecessary things are being collected. We need to face the waste of our daily life. Although many people have taken action to recycle, we have a high mountain to climb.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “over-consumption” mean?

I like to get up late, so my ideal school starts at 9 a.m. It finished at 3 P.m., so we will have lots of time for after-school activities. There is a big dining hall.

We have an hour for lunch. We eat lunch and chat there. We can also listen to pop music in the hall. We eat fruit and vegetables every day.

We have Maths every day because I think Maths is very interesting to us. I love computers, so we have Computer Studies every day. We wear school uniforms, but we do not wear ties. The classes are quite small. There are 15 students in each class.

There is a park on one side of our school and a shopping mall on the other. We have a big library with lots of useful books. We also have a tennis court and a swimming pool.

There are lots of clubs and after-school activities. We only have half an hour of homework every day, and we do not do homework at weekends. Every month, we go on a school trip to a museum or a theater.

36. How many hours for lessons are there in my school?

A. Five hours.　 　　　　　　 B. Six hours.　　 C. Four hours.　　　　　　　　　　 D. Three hours.

37. How many hours for lunch are there in my school?

　 A. Half an hours.　　　　 B. One hours. 　　C. One and a half hours. 　 D. Two hours.

38. Why do we have Maths every day?

A. Because it is useful.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Because it is the main subject.　

C. Because we’re interested in it.　　 D. Because I’m going to be a Maths teacher.

39. How many students are there in my class?

　 A. Ten.　　　　　　　　　B. Sixteen.　　　　　 C. Fourteen.　 　　　　　　　　　 D. Fifteen.

40. The underlined word “with” means_______.　

A. 用　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. 在……下　 C. 和……一起　　　　　　　　　 D. 有

41. How often do we go on a school trip to a museum or a theater?

A. Every week.　　　 B. Every day.　 C. Every month.　　　　　　　　 D. Every two months.

42. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. My school.　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. My ideal subject.　

C. My ideal school.　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. My ideal park.

完形填空
The telephone rings and Sue answers it. “  1  I speak to Mrs Potts, please?” a man asks.
“I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong  2 ,” Sue says.
“I’m sorry,” the man says.
A few minutes later the telephone rings  3 . Sue  4  it. It is the same man. He makes a mistake again. Three minutes   5  the telephone rings once more, but she   6  answer it this time, It rings and rings. Her mother hears the  7 . “Why   8  you answer the phone, Sue? she calls.
“Oh, all right,” Sue says. “I’m sure it’s that man again.” But she is   9 . It is her father and he is very   10  . Sue keeps him waiting.