With fifteen years prefix = st1 /Britainand other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste . The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything which goes into the dumps would be made into something useful . Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else . The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out . The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city . This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel , lead and copper , but also paper and rubber as well . Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish . When this project is complete , the rubbish will be processed like this : First , it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed ; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids ; after that founders and rollers will break up everything that can be broken . Finally , the rubbish will pass under magnets , which will remove the bits of iron and steel ; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage . The first full-scale giant recycling plants are perhaps fifteen years away . Indeed , with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps , some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long . What's the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants ? A) To deal with wastes in a better way . B) To protect the environment from pollution . C) To get raw materials locally . D) To get big profits from those plants .
A
Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life. New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds.They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies,which could harm their vocal cords .Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of during the day.This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhaustion. "The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate.This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene poo1."said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the.University of St Andrews. According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small gene pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out. A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels louder than those in the forest.The birds sang loudest on weekday mornings. "By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds ale rising vocal injury,"said Zollinger."All this puts the same strain on a bird's vocal cords as when a human need to shout to be heard--except that the birds are doing it all day,every day,"she said. "Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce.Their songs may lose quality and become more rough--sounding."said Zollinger.This could make them appear less attractive to female birds. Mark Constantine,author of The Sound Approach to Birding,said:"Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure.When we live in the centre of large,urban areas,we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us.The impact on humans of birdsong is massive.It harms us,as well as the birds,if their songs become louder and simpler. According to the passage,urban and rural birds might not be able to _ . A) recognize each other B) communicate with each other C) 1ive with each other D) compete against each other
B
Q: I have been very lucky to have won the Nobel Prize twice. It is, of course, very exciting to have such an important recognition of my work, but the real pleasure was in the work itself. Scientific research is like an exploration of a voyage of discovery. You are continually trying out new things that have not been done before. Many of them will lead nowhere and you have to try something different, but sometimes an experiment does work and tells you something new and that is really exciting. However small the new finding may be, it is great to think " I am the only person who knows this" and then you will have the fun of thinking what this finding will lead to and deciding what will be the next experiment. One of the best things about scientific research is that you are always doing something different and it is never boring. There are good times when things go well and bad times when they don't. Some people get discouraged at the difficult times but when I have a failure, my policy has always been not to worry but to start planning the next experiment, which is always fun. It is very exciting to make a new discovery. Some people will do the strangest things for this excitement, such as going round the world in a balloon or walking to the North Pole. There are not many new places to explore but there is a lot of new information to be discovered in science and a journey into this unknown area can be much more worthwhile and just as exciting. I am sometimes asked, "What do you have to do to win a Nobel Prize?" My answer is: "I don't know. I have never tried." But I know of one way not to win one. There are some people whose main reason for doing science is to win prizes and they are always thinking about how to do it. Such people don't succeed. To do good science you must be interested in it and enjoy doing experiments and thinking out problems. And, of course, you must be prepared to work hard and not to be too discouraged by failure. Why did the writer think scientific research to be one of the best things? A) You will be able to win the Nobel Prize through the scientific research B) You can make as much money as possible by doing the scientific research. C) You may continue doing with something different and exciting, so you can never be tired of doing the scientific research. D) You can get much more chances of promotion by making the scientific research.
A: C
(Question)
Computer games have been criticised for quite some time over a whole range of issues. Some people say they are overly violent and encourage violent behaviour particularly in children. Others say that they make children unsociable and are bad for their eyes. Some have even attributed falling standards of literacy and a lack of interest in reading on them. Now, however, it seems that computer games have also become a feminist issue. Game manufacturers have, for some time, been looking to increase the number of female game players. The vast majority of computer games still sell to a mainly male market. Perhaps this is because the violent nature of many of the games appeals more to males or perhaps because many of the main characters in the games are male. Manufacturers' attempts to produce more female characters increase their share of the female gaming market which has met with serious criticism from many women's groups. While heroines such as Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider game are seen as providing positive role models of strong women, many believe that the character's unrealistic Barbies are subconsciously setting unattainable standards in the minds of young women. Perhaps a stronger criticism is that although many games now include female characters, their role is often secondary and they support the main, male, action characters within the games. Of course the nature of many of the games remains violent and destructive and this in itself could well continue to put off female gamers. There are now, however, a number of web sites springing up on the World Wide Web to help women deal with this issue. Sites such as Game Girlz, Women Gamers and Game Gal offer game reviews, articles, discussion forums and even employment opportunities for women interested in becoming part of the rapidly expanding games industry. The games are reviewed by women from a very female perspective. Some rate the games from one to ten across a range of criteria which include the appearance of the female characters, the degree of... Manufacturers want to produce more female characters in order to _ . A) increase sales in the male market B) help women learn how to play computer games C) encourage more women to buy computer games D) increase the number of male game players
(Answer)
C