四、议论文

Task 1

A worrying rise in social media posts， suggesting that people leave their Halloweenpumpkins in the woods to feed wildlife after October 31， has made wildlife experts con⁃cerned. Thousands of pumpkins are discarded in woods across Britain. While well⁃meaningpumpkin carvers might think they are doing the local animals a kindness， leaving your left⁃over jack⁃o⁃lantern in the woodland is actually doing more harm than good.

“A myth seems to have built up that leaving pumpkins in woods helps wildlife， but be⁃hind it are many hidden issues，” said Paul Bunton， engagement and communication officerat the Woodland Trust， according to The Telegraph.

One of the main issues is that the leftover of the Halloween pumpkins are often eatenby already struggling hedgehogs （刺猬）. In early November， hedgehogs are looking to gainas much weight as possible to survive their winter hibernation. However， eating pumpkin isharmful to their little stomachs， leading to diarrhea and dehydration. This means they maystruggle to put on weight， and in some cases can even be fatal.

Moreover， leftover Halloween pumpkins can contain candles and plastic decorationswhich can also be fatal to wildlife if mistakenly eaten. The rotting leftover can also attractless popular wildlife， such as rats， to an area. According to the Woodland Trust， the addi⁃tional nutrients in the pumpkins can negatively affect the soil balance as well.“ Pumpkinflesh can have a really harmful effect on woodland soils， plants， and fungi （真菌），” Buntonpointed out.

So what should you do with your beautifully carved pumpkin creation after October31？ Most experts recommend composting （堆肥） it yourself at home if you can， or asking ifa local farm will accept it as a donation. You could even try some scientific experiments toproduce more energy from the throwaway wasted.

1. What does the underlined word“ discarded” mean in paragraph 1？

A. Processed. B. Recycled. C. Deserted. D. Preserved.

2. Why do hedgehogs try to eat so many pumpkins in early November？

A. To enjoy the sweet food. B. To fill their stomachs.

C. To prepare for the winter. D. To improve their health.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about？

A. The additional nutrients in the leftover pumpkins.

B. The damage of candles and plastic to the pumpkins.

C. The attraction of the rotting leftovers to some wildlife.

D. Further explanation for the effect of leftover pumpkins.

4. What are you advised to do with the leftover pumpkins after Halloween？

A. Stop leaving your pumpkins in the woods.

B. Keep your beautiful pumpkin creations at home.

C. Feed the hedgehogs with the leftover pumpkins.

D. Bury the leftover pumpkins deep under the ground.

Task 2

It's unlikely that you come home from a trip and stand on top of your bed still wearingyour street shoes. For some travelers， putting their suitcase on their bed is just disgusting（令人反感的）. The wheels of our luggage paced the same soiled path as our shoes， rollingthrough airport bathrooms， sidewalks and public transportation.

While it might sound terrible to put a worldly bag on your bed， is it actually harmful toyour health？ According to Phyllis Kozarsky， an expert travel health consultant， most publichealth professionals don't consider luggage a major transmitter （传播者） of disease.

“We have not identified outbreaks related to dirty luggage，” Kozarsky says. Travelersmay benefit from cleaning their luggage if they suspect that their hotel rooms are overrunwith bedbugs.“ Then they certainly would benefit by cleaning it after they returned home，”Kozarsky says.

Even if your luggage touching your bed won't hurt you， you might still be disgusted.After all， travel is an experience full of bacteria.“ You have people...carrying all types ofdifferent bacteria. Some of them are sick， and you now have them populating these publictravel places，” says Colleen Costello， CEO of Vital Vio， a company that makes antibacterialLED lights.“ Your fellow travelers have to touch all the same things you have to touch， fromthe TSA checkpoint to the airplane， the train ticketing machine to the handrail in your traincar.”

For peace of mind， Costello recommends giving your bag quick disinfection or storingit on a luggage shelf. Of course， you could go beyond disinfecting your luggage wheels andclean thoroughly the rest of your travel experience—the airplane tray table， hotel room doorand remote control.

But Kozarsky doesn't guarantee that lifestyle.“ It's hard to keep up with every door⁃handle and every railing，” Kozarsky says.“ You can become a little neurotic （神经质的）that way.

1. What's the function of paragraph 1？

A. To predict a conclusion. B. To present an argument.

C. To introduce a topic. D. To describe a phenomenon.

2. What does Kozarsky convey by explaining the luggage⁃cleaning case？