News 1

A woman was charged with allegedly violating a Rhode Island city law against feeding wildanimals. The 55-year-old woman's neighbors blamed her for making the areas rat problem worseNewly installed cameras captured several rats active in the middle of the day. Neighbors say thatit's even worse during the night.The woman and her parents who owned the home told reportersthat she's being charged for feeding birds, who would have known just loving animals gets youthat much trouble, she said. It is prohibited to feed any wild animals, including birds in RhodeIsland City. Nevertheless, while the woman's intention was to feed birds, it is clear that rats werealso benefiting. Anthony Moretti, director of the City Administration said he saw more than 20rats near the woman's home. He said it will take months to get the problem under control.

Q1. What do we learn from the report about the 55-year-old woman?

Q2. What did the director of the city administration say at the end of the news report!

News 2

To prepare for eventually sending astronauts to Mars. NASA began taking applications Friday fotfour people to live a year in Mars, June Alpha. That's a 1,700 direction, two square foot Martianhabitat inside of building in Houston. The paid volunteers will work in an environment similar toMars. They will have limited communications with family, restricted food and resources. NASA isplanning three experiments with the first one starting in the four Next year, food will all be readyto eat space food. Some plants will be grown, but not potatoes like in the movie in The MartianWe want to understand how humans perform in them, said lead scientists, grace Douglass. We'relooking at Mar's realistic siuations. The application process open Friday, and they're not seekingjust anybody. The requirements are strict, including a master's degree in a science, engineering, ormath field or pilot experience. Only a American citizens or permanent US residents are acceptableApplicants must be between 30 and 55 and in good physical health. Attitude is key, Said formerCanadian astronaut Chris Hatfield. He said that participants need to be super competentresourceful, and not rely on other people to feel comfortable.

03. What does NASA require the paid volunteers to do?

04. What will the participants in the project eat?

News 3

Japanese mayor apologized Thursday for biting the Olympic gold medal of a softball playerNagoya Mayor Tekashi Kawamura had praised athlete Mio GoTo during a public media eventHe asked her to put the metal around his neck, Kawamura then bit into it.Biting a medal in front of journalists and photographers has become a common pose for Olympicedalists

However, it is only for the winners themselves, not others.

Im really sorry that I hurt the treasure of the gold medalist ca Kawamura told reporters ThursdayThe mayor said the medal was undamaged, though he offered to pay for the cost of a new one.GoTo, however, has accepted the International Olympic Committee's offer of a replacement.

According to Japanese media reports, the scene broadcast on television prompted thousands ofcomplaints to City Hal1.Some Olympians said they treat their medals as treasures, and that it was disrespectful andunacceptable for Kawamura to bite one.

I would cry if that happened to me. Said another athleteNow he said, GoTo. I handle my own gold medal so gently that I would not scratch it.

Q5：What does the news report say about the Japanese Mayor Tekashi Kawamura?

Q6：What did Mayor Tekashi Kawamura offer to do?

Q7：What did some Olympians say fhey would do with their medals?

Convo 1

M: What's that orange thing on your computer screen? It's something I bought yesterday.

M: It's a plastic sheet that blocks blue light. I have one that I use to cover my phone screen too.

M: What do you mean by blue light?

W: Blue light includes natural light, but it also includes light that isn't natural. For example, fromcomputers, phones, televisions, and other electronic devices.M: So blue light is harmful and that's why you want to block it?W: It isn't that simple. Blue light isn't necessarily bad for us. In fact, we need blue light during theday to be healthy, but too much blue light, especially from electronic devices, can harm our healthby weakening our vision and making it harder for us to fall asleep and poor sleep can cause allsorts of health problems

M: Im not so sure that sleep is nearly as important as people always say it is. I haven't sleptenough in months because I have too much work to do and I feel fine, and it's the same for most ofmy friends. Poor sleep might be a problem for older people, but surely young people can handlelate nights.

W: Well, the research I've read shows that sleep is probably even more important than we thought.and that not having enough sleep can contribute to serious health problems like obesity and heartdisease. And all the artificial blue light from electronic devices means we have to try harder tosleep wel1.

M: Maybe youre right.I'm on my computer very late most nights, and that's probably why I don'tsleep enough.

Q8:What did the woman do to her computer?

Q9:What does the woman say about blue light?

Q10.：Why does the man say he hasn't slept enough for months?

Q11：What has the woman learned fro m the research she has read?

Convo 2W: As a kid, did you know what job you wanted to do when you grew up?M: No, I didn't and I got sick every time adult ask me what I wanted to to be when I grew up.W: It's the same with me. And Im tired of people asking that question of my 10 year olddaughter.My daughter's stock answers are basketball player, pop singer, mechanical engineer.Adults love that last one as it's the perfect mix of the sensible and the ambitious. When she wasmuch younger, my daughter used to say she wanted to be queen of the clouds, which I lovedThat's the kind of goal setting I like to see in children springing from their boundless imaginations

M: Yes, we grownups can be tedious and limiting in our need for reality. And we teach a verygloomy image of adulthood that whatever our children's future holds, it must be seen within thecontext of a job.

W: How utterly over whelming and dull

M: When people ask my son what he wants to be when he grows up, I have to swallow the urge tosay, Hey, back off my kids' dreamns.

W: We can't dismiss the idea that teenagers have to plan to do something after they finish schooland parents are entitled to hope. It's more than simply spending 10 hours a day playing computergammes,

M: But asking, what do you want to be? Isn't going to lead a child to fulfilled life rather at leastthe false expectations and a high chance of disappointrment.

W: Exactly. We should be helping our kids understand who they are. Even if that means letting goof who we think they should be.

Q12. What question were both speakers fed up with when they were kids?

Q13. What occupation do adults see as both sensible and ambitious according to the womman?

Q14. What kind of goal setting does the woman like to see in children?

Q15. What does the woman suggest silults should do ?

Passage 1Greater internet access correlates directly with improved healthcare education and economicdevelopment. People living in rural areas, however, lag behind in online use, which limits theiraccess to government services, banking, and job opportunities. Nowhere is this challenge clearerthan in Africa. Most Africans live in rural areas that are tough to wire for internet access. Nowsome phone companies are trying to introduce internet ready phones into African markets. Certaincompanies have started selling simple smartphones for only $20. Previously, the lowest price hadbeen around $40. Well out of reach for many people. These devices are powered by software fromthe Giant Electronics company, KaiOS technologies limited. Most companies are trying to makephones ever more powerful and capable, but KaiOS went the other way. It made every effort tokeep the essential capabilities of smartphones, but strip out costs and preserve battery life forpeople who likely have inadequate access to electricity. The KaiOS devices offer an alternative tothe more expensive models that remain out of reach of many Africans and contribute to the digitaldivide. The body of KaiOS phones is as basic as it gets. Instead of a touchscreen, theyrecontrolled with an old school keypad. Theyre designed for 3G networks because 4G coveragedoesn't reach two thirds of Africa's customers. In total. KaiOS phones are made fromm about $15worth of parts while Apple's top of the line iPhone has $390 worth of stuff.Q16:What are a number of phone companies trying to do in Africa?
Q17: How do KaiOS smartphones differ from smartphones of most other companies?Q18: What are KaiOS smartphones eclipped with?Passage 2For years, using recycled plastic to make plastic products was cheap. By contrast, fossil fuelplastic was more expensive. Thus the sustainable option was an economic option too. But now it ischeaper for major manufacturers to use new plastic. According to one recent business reportrecycled plastic now costs an extra $72 a ton compared with newly made plastic.This may be because of consumer demands. They are pushing for more recycled plastics in newproducts. Meanwhile, new plastic is becoming cheaper. This is because of a boom in petroleumchemical production from the us. the price increase of recycled plastic. Could cost sustainablemanufacturers an extra 250 million dollars a year.Smaller manufacturers may also be forced to use new plastic to reduce costs. Makers of clearplastic bottles may also opt for new fossil fuel-based plastic to save money. Plastic packagingmakers are being pressured to use more recycled plastic. This is done in hopes of reducing theenormous amount of plastic pollution in the oceans.The UK government plans to tax companies which don't use at least 30% recycled plastic in theirproducts. Additionally, the government is planning to increase the quantity of recycled plastic inthe market. This could mean incentives for new recycling plants. Additionally, recycling facilitiesmay be improved at a local council level and recycled plastic could be imported.This would help increase the amount ofrecycled plastic in circulation.Q19: What is said about using recycled plastic to make plastic products in the past?Q20:. What has led to a more competitive price for new plastic?Q21: What does the Uk governmen* plan to de about plastic?Passage 3At the Dao You A business in Manhattan. Naps are for sale.A 45-minute session in a darkened enclosure with peace and quiet costs $25.To be clear, this institution is no hotel.Ihis is a nap joint. It sells the idea of the nap as uch as the nap itself. Is a nap worth $25? Theanswer is obviously yes.Here at this point in the argumentit's traditional for me to bring up all the studies that show the benefits of napping.but do you really need experts to tell you that? Just look at the world around you at 2:30 in theafternoon.Ive been working from home for more than 10 years now. And the quality and quantity of work lcan do emerges directly from my ability to concentrate.I don't understand how people have creative careers without napping.Every day at about 1:00 PM everyone faces the same choice. Sleep until 2:00 PM and then workuntil five or daydream and drift around social media and attend pointless meetings until 7:00 PMThe friends I have who still work in offices inform me that bosses insist that they take the secondoption and that napping is associated with laziness.genuinely find it odd for if you nap properly, it's like waking up from a full night's sleep and youcan double your day's worth of concentration.Q22:What do we learn about the YouDao. a business in Manhattan?
Q23.:Why does the speaker ask us to look at the world around us at 2:30 in the afternoon?
Q24: What do we learn about the quantity and quality of the speaker's work?
Q25.:What does the speaker say he itrls edd.