Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
【小題1】The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.

How do successful people think? What drives them? Interviews and investigations indicate that there are several keys to success that successful people share．   
First of all，successful people never blame someone or something outside of themselves for their failure to go ahead．They realize that their future lies in their own hands．They understand that
they cannot control things in life，such as nature，the past and other people．But in the meantime，
they are well aware that they can control their own thoughts and actions．They take responsibility for their life and regard this as one of the most empowering things they can do．Perhaps what most
separate successful people from others is that they live life “on purpose”——they are doing what they believe they are put here to do．In their opinion，having a purpose in their life is the most important element that enables them to become fully functioning people．They hold that when they live their life on purpose，their main concern is to do the job right．They love what they do—and it shows．People want to do business with them because of their commitment(投身；獻身)．To live their life on purpose，successful people find a cause they believe in and create a business around it．Besides，they never easily give up．Once they have set up goals in their life，they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals．Rather than seeing it negative or depressing they use the knowledge to spur themselves on and go after what they want energetically and passionately．
45．Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A．How People Live Their Life on, Purpose         
B．How People Can Be Successful -
C．How People Can Do Their Own Things           
D．How People Do Business  
46．By living life “on purpose”，successful people can __________.
A．do a lot of work                            
B．concentrate on their jobs
C．do business with many people                  
D．do all of the above mentioned
47．The underlined word “it’’ in the second paragraph refers to __________.
A．the main concern of successful people             
B．the job that successful people do
C．the commitment with which successful people do their job
D．the business that successful people do with other people
48．The underlined word “spur” in the last sentence most probably means“
A．encourage           B．excite                 C．relieve          D．force

B
You're in a bit of a dilemma standing in front of the produce section of your local supermarket. In one hand, you're holding a conventionally grown Granny Smith apple.In your other hand, you have one that's been organically grown. Both apples are firm,shiny and green. Both provide vitamins and fiber, and both are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol.
The conventionally grown apple costs less and is a proven family favorite. But the organic apple has a label that says "USDA Organic". Does that mean it's better? Safer? More nutritious? Several differences between organic and non-organic foods exist. Become a better informed consumer for your next trip to the supermarket.
The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution.Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease.
Here are other differences between conventional fanning and organic farming:

* Organic or not? Check the label.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established an organic certification program that requires all organic foods to meet strict government standards. These standards regulate how such foods are grown, handled and processed.Any farmer or food manufacturer who labels and sells a product as organic must be USDA certified as meeting these standards. Only producers who sell less than $5,000 a year in organic foods are exempt (免除) from this certification.
If a food bears a USDA Organic label, it means it's produced and processed according to the USDA standards. The seal is voluntary, but many organic producers
use it.
46. The main purpose of the passage is_________.
A. to promote the sales of organic food
B. to inform people organic food is better for their health
C. to persuade people to become informed consumers
D. to compare conventional and organic foods
47. According to the passage, organic farming is intended to_________.
A. improve the quality of the soil and water
B. take the place of the traditional agriculture entirely
C. adopt eco-friendly methods to grow plants and feed animals
D. prevent livestock from getting disease more effectively
48. According to the passage, the conventionally grown apple_________.
A. costs less but tastes worse than an organic one
B. doesn't look the same as an organic one
C. has proven itself acceptable by the family
D. contains more fat, sodium and cholesterol
49. Which of the following methods belongs to organic farming?
A. Using chemicals to kill insects and prevent disease.
B. Using rotted plants as fertilizer to promote plant growth.
C. Using growth hormones to speed up animals' growth.
D. Using pests to reduce insects and disease.
50. From the passage we know the organic certification program________.
A. is not meant for all producers of produce
B. makes it compulsory to attach a USDA Organic label
C. sets restrictions on the sales of organic produce
D. requires all foods to satisfy the strict government standards

Eating a diet high in processed（經(jīng)過加工的） food increases the risk of depression（抑郁）, research suggests. What's more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found.
Data on diet among 3,500 middle-aged civil servants were compared with their emotional state five years later, a British journal reported. They split the participants（參與者） into two types of diet--those who ate a diet largely based on whole food，which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and fish，and those who ate a mainly processed food diet, such as sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat，refined（精制的） grains and high fat dairy products After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic(慢性的) diseases, they found a significant difference in the future depression risk with the different diets.
Those who ate the most wholefood（全天然食物） had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who ate the least wholefood. By contrast, people with a diet high in processed food had a 58％ higher risk of depression than those who ate a diet low in processed foods.
Study author Dr. Archana Singh Manoux pointed out there was a chance that the finding could be explained by lifestyle factor they had not accounted for.（解釋原因） He also pointed in a paper that a Mediterranean(地中海) diet was associated（有關） with a lower risk of depression, but the problem with that is if you live in Britain, the likelihood （可能）of you eating a Mediterranean diet is not very high.
Dr．Andrew McCulloeh, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said, this study adds to an existing body of solid research that shows the strong links between what we eat and our mental health.
He added people's diets were becoming increasingly unhealthy. The UK population is consuming （消費）less nutritious, fresh produce and more saturated（飽和） fats and sugars.
【小題1】The text is mainly about______.

Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative(創(chuàng)新的), high quality cultural activities.
We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.
The program launched with a visit by the Festival’s patron(贊助人), the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition “Palace and Mosque” in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition“Beyond the Palace Walls” at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations(協(xié)作) and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit against Humanity”.
For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who’s Who.
【小題1】The best title of this passage would be _______.