We may think we're a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.

To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life — from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation. Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.

As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones. "The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids' room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house," said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We're not just keeping these old devices — we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions（排放）more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.

So what's the solution（解决方案）? The team's data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.

Plastic﹣Eating Worms

    Humans produce more than 300 million tons of plastic every year． Almost half of that winds up in landfills（垃圾填埋场）， and up to 12 million tons pollute the oceans． So far there is no effective way to get rid of it， but a new study suggests an answer may lie in the stomachs of some hungry worms．

    Researchers in Spain and England recently found that the worms of the greater wax moth can break down polyethylene， which accounts for 40% of plastics． The team left 100 wax worms on a commercial polyethylene shopping bag for 12 hours， and the worms consumed and broke down about 92 milligrams， or almost 3% of it． To confirm that the worms' chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown， the researchers made some worms into paste（糊状物） and applied it to plastic films． 14 hours later the films had lost 13% of their mass﹣﹣apparently broken down by enzymes（酶）from the worms' stomachs． Their findings were published in Current Biology in 2017．

    Federica Bertocchini， co﹣author of the study， says the worms' ability to break down their everyday food﹣beeswax﹣also allows them to break down plastic． "Wax is a complex mixture， but the basic bond in polyethylene， the carbon﹣carbon bond， is there as well， "she explains． "The wax worm evolved a method or system to break this bond． "

    Jennifer DeBruyn， a microbiologist at the University of Tennessee， who was not involved in the study， says it is not surprising that such worms can break down polyethylene． But compared with previous studies， she finds the speed of breaking down in this one exciting． The next step， DeBruyn says， will be to identify the cause of the breakdown． Is it an enzyme produced by the worm itself or by its gut microbes（肠道微生物）？

    Bertocchini agrees and hopes her team's findings might one day help employ the enzyme to break down plastics in landfills． But she expects using the chemical in some kind of industrial process﹣not simply "millions of worms thrown on top of the plastic．"

Preparing Cities for Robot Cars

    The possibility of self﹣driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream， years away from materializing in the real world． Well， the future is apparently now． The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self﹣driving cars on public roads． The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self﹣driving cars， and for companies to operate driverless taxi services． California， it should be noted， isn't leading the way here． Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country． It's hard to predict when  driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads． But however long it takes， the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities， for better or for worse， depending on how the transformation is regulated．

    While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars（and rightfully so），policymakers also should be talking about how self﹣driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams， cut emissions（排放） and offer more convenient， affordable  mobility options． The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared．

    Do we want to copy﹣ or even worsen﹣ the traffic of today with driverless cars？ Imagine a future where most adults own individual self﹣driving vehicles． They tolerate long， slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work， entertain themselves or sleep on the ride， which encourages urban spread． They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking． Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning， they send the self﹣driving minibus． The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport﹣﹣an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride﹣ hailing（叫车） services．

    A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol﹣powered private cars worldwide with electric， self﹣driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure  （基础设施） and operations 40% by 2050． Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing． The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride﹣hailing services， considering the cost of self﹣driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues（责任与维护问题）．But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology．

    Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn't extend the worst aspects of the car﹣controlled transportation system we have today． The coming technological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people，and more affordably． The car of the future is coming． We just have to plan for it．

    A buld-it-yourself solar still(蒸流器) is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U. S. Department of Agriculture, it's an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it's all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5' x 5' sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container-perhaps just a drinking cup-to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.

    To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher's productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up-and out the side of the hole.

    Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet's center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.

    The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material, and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment out through the tube, and won't have to break down the still every time you need a drink.

In the 1960s，Douglas McGregor，one of the key thinkers in the art of management，developed the mow famous Theory X and Theory Y．Theory X is the idea that people instinctively (1)work and will do anything to avoid it．Theory Y is the view that everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work．

In any case，despite so much evidence to the (2)，many managers still agree to Theory X．They believe，(3)，that their employees need constant supervision if they are to work effectively，or that decisions must be imposed from (4)without consultation．This，of course，makes for authoritarian（专制的）managers．

Different cultures have different ways of (5)people．Unlike authoritarian management，some cultures，particularly in Asia，are well known for the consultative nature of decision﹣making﹣all members of the department or work group are asked to (6) to this process．This is management by the collective opinion．Many western companies have tried to imitate such Asian ways of doing things，which are based on general (7)．Some experts say that women will become more effective managers than men because they have the power to reach common goals in a way that traditional(8) managers cannot．

A recent trend has been to encourage employees to use their own initiative，to make decisions on their own without(9) managers first．This empowerment（授权）has been part of the trend towards downsizing：(10)the number of management layers in companies．After de﹣layering in this way，a company may be (11) with just a top level of senior managers，front﹣line managers and employees with direct contact with the public．Empowerment takes the idea of delegation（委托）much further than has (12) been the case．Empowerment and delegation mean new forms of management control to (13) that the overall business plan is being followed，and that operations become more profitable under the new organization，rather than less．

Another trend is off﹣site or (14) management，where teams of people linked by e﹣mail and the Internet work on projects from their own houses．Project managers evaluate the (15) of the team members in terms of what they produce for projects，rather than the amount of time they spend on them．

California Condor’s Shocking Recovery

California condors are North America’s largest birds，with wind﹣length of up to 3 meters．In the 1980s，electrical lines and lead poisoning（铅中毒） nearly drove them to dying out．Now，electric shock training and medical treatment are helping to rescue these big birds．

In the late 1980s，the last few condors were taken from the wild，and there are now more than 150flying over California and nearby Arizona，Utah and Baja in Mexico．

Electrical lines have been killing them off．“As they go in to rest for the night，they just don’t see the power lines，”says Bruce Ride out of San Diego Zoo．Their wings can bridge the gap between lines，resulting in electrocution（电死） if they touch two lines at once．

So scientists have come up with a shocking idea．Tall poles，placed in large training areas，teach the birds to stay clear of electrical lines by giving them a painful but undeadly electric shock．Before the training was introduced，66% of set﹣freed condors died of electrocution．This has now dropped to 18%．

Lead poisonous has proved more difficult to deal with．When condors eat dead bodies of other animals containing lead，they absorb large quantities of lead．This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds，and can lead to kidney（肾） failures and death．So condors with high levels of lead are sent to Los Angeles Zoo，where they are treated with calcium EDTA，a chemical that removes lead from the blood over several days．This work is starting to pay off．The annual death rate for adult condors has dropped from 38% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2011．

Ride out’s team thinks that the California condors’ average survival time in the wild is now just under eight years．“Although these measures are not effective forever，they are vital for now，”he says．“They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them．”

California condors attract researchers’ interest because they 　　．

Researchers have found electrical lines are 　　．

According to Paragraph 5，lead poisoning 　　．

The passage shows that 　　．

A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night’s sleep．But now a study has found it really does help people nod off﹣if it is milked from a cow at night．

Researchers have discovered that “night milk” contains more melatonin（褪黑激素），which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety．

The study，by researchers from Seoul，South Korea，involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night．

Those given night milk，which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin，were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime，according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food．

Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer．

While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now，taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night．

Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content，which helps people to relax．

Milk is also sugar﹣free and additive﹣free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening．The more fat you take in before bedtime，the greater burden you will put on your body at night．

According to the text，the mice fed with daytime milk 　　．

Which of the following is true of melatonin according to the text？

What can be a suitable title for the text？

How does the author support the theme of the text？

If you are a fruit grower﹣or would like to become one﹣take advantage of Apple Day to see what’s around．It’s called Apple Day but in practice it’s more like Apple Month．The day itself is on October 21，but since it has caught on，events now spread out over most of October around Britain．

Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see，and often taste，a wide variety of apples．To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets，it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence，such as Decio which was grown by the Romans．Although it doesn’t taste of anything special，it’s still worth a try，as is the knobbly（多疙瘩的） Cat’s Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else．

There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions．One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette，but you’ll need a warm，sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it，so it’s a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it．

At the events，you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions，and because these are family affairs，children are well catered for with apple﹣themed fun and games．

Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit，including stately gardens and commercial orchards（果园）．If you want to have a real orchard experience，try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale，near Faversham in Kent．

What can people do at the apple events？

What can we learn about Decio？

What does the underlined phrase “a pipe dream” in Paragraph 3 mean？

What is the author’s purpose in writing the text？

In the laboratory，chimps don’t naturally share food either．If a chimp is put in a cage where he can pull in one plate of food for himself or，with no great effort，a plate that also provides food for a neighbor to the next cage，he will pull at random﹣he just doesn’t care whether his neighbor gets fed or not．Chimps are truly selfish．

Human children，on the other hand are extremely corporative．From the earliest ages，they decide to help others，to share information and to participate a achieving common goals．The psychologist Michael Tomasello has studied this cooperativeness in a series of expensive with very young children．He finds that if babies aged 18months see an worried adult with hands full trying to open a door，almost all will immediately try to help．

There are several reasons to believe that the urges to help，inform and share are not taught．but naturally possessed in young children．One is that these instincts appear at a very young age before most parents have started to train children to behave socially．Another is that the helping behaviors are not improved if the children are remanded．A third reason is that social intelligence．Develops in children before their general cognitive（认知的）skills，at least when compared with chimps. In tests conducted by Tomasello，the children did no better than the chimps on the physical world tests，but were considerably better at understanding the social world

The cure of what children’s minds have and chimps’ don’t in what Tomasello calls what．Part of this ability is that they can infer what others know or are thinking．But that，even very young children want to be part of a shared purpose．They actively seek to be part of a “we”，a group that intends to work toward a shared goal．