Text 3

　　American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years now. Given a multi-year decline in illegal immigration, and a similarly sustained pickup in the U.S. job market, the complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.

　　Efforts to create a more straightforward agricultural-workers visa that would enable foreign workers to stay longer in the U.S. and change jobs within the industry have so far failed in Congress. If this doesn’t change, American businesses, communities and consumers will be the losers.

　　Perhaps half of U.S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants. As fewer such workers enter the U.S., the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing. Today’s farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled, rather than migrating, and more likely to be married than single. They are also aging. At the start of this century, about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35. Now, more than half are. And crop picking is hard on older bodies.One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it has been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm.

　　Mechanization is not the answer either — not yet at least. Production of corn, cotton, rice, soybeans and wheat have been largely mechanized, but many high-value, labor-intensive crops, such as strawberries, need labor. Even dairy farms, where robots currently do only a small share of milking, have a long way to go before they are automated.

　　As a result, farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the agricultural workforce. Starting around 2012, requests for the visas rose sharply; from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

　　The H-2A visa has no numerical cap, unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work, which is limited to 66,000 annually. Even so, employers frequently complain that they aren’t allotted all the workers they need. The process is cumbersome, expensive and unreliable. One survey found that bureaucratic delays led H-2A workers to arrive on the job an average of 22 days late. And the shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids, which remove some workers and drive others underground.

　　In a 2012 survey ，71 percent of tree-fruit growers and nearly 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor. Some western growers have responded by moving operations to Mexico. From 1998-2000, 14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported. Little more than a decade later, the share of imported fruit had increased to 25.8 percent.

　　In effect, the U.S. can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.

　　31.What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?

　　A.Discrimination against foreign workers in the U.S.

　　B.Biased laws in favor of some American businesses.

　　C.Flaws in U.S. immigration rules for farm workers.

　　D. Decline of job opportunities in U.S. agriculture.

　　32. One trouble with U.S. agricultural workforce is_______.

　　A.the rising number of illegal immigrants

　　B.the high mobility of crop workers

　　C.the lack of experienced laborers

　　D.the aging of immigrant farm workers

　　33. What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U.S. farming?

　　A. To attract younger laborers to farm work.

　　B. To get native U.S. workers back to farming.

　　C. To use more robots to grow high-value crops.

　　D. To strengthen financial support for farmers.

　　34. Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its ___.

　　A. slow granting procedures

　　B. limit on duration of stay

　　C. tightened requirements

　　D. control of annual admissions

　　35.Which of the following could be the best title for this text?

　　A. U.S. Agriculture in Decline?

　　B. Import Food or Labor?

　　C. America Saved by Mexico?

　　D. Manpower vs. Automation?

　　Text 4

　　Amold Schwarzenegger, Dia Mirza and Adrian Grenier have a message for you: It's easy to beat plastic. They're part of a bunch of celebrities starring in a new video for World Environment Day — encouraging you, the consumer, to swap out your single-use plastic staples like straws and cutlery to combat the plastics crisis.

　　The key messages that have been put together for World Environment Day do include a call for governments to enact legislation to curb single-use plastics. But the overarching message is directed at individuals.

　　My concern with leaving it up to the individual, however, is our limited sense of what needs to be achieved. On their own, taking our own bags to the grocery store or quitting plastic straws, for example, will accomplish little and require very little of us. They could even be detrimental, satisfying a need to have "done our bit" without ever progressing onto bigger, bolder, more effective actions — a kind of "moral licensing" that allays our concerns and stops us doing more and asking more of those in charge.

　　While the conversation around our environment and our responsibility toward it remains centered on shopping bags and straws, we're ignoring the balance of power that implies that as "consumers" we must shop sustainably, rather than as "citizens" hold our governments and industries to account to push for real systemic change.

　　It's important to acknowledge that the environment isn't everyone's priority – or even most people's. We shouldn't expect it to be. In her latest book, Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things, Wellesley College professor Elizabeth R. DeSombre argues that the best way to collectively change the behavior of large numbers of people is for the change to be structural.

　　This might mean implementing policy such as a plastic tax that adds a cost to environmentally problematic action, or banning single-use plastics altogether. India has just announced it will "eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022." There are also incentive-based ways of making better environmental choices easier, such as ensuring recycling is at least as easy as trash disposal.

　　DeSombre isn't saying people should stop caring about the environment. It's just that individual actions are too slow, she says, for that to be the only, or even primary, approach to changing widespread behavior.

　　None of this is about writing off the individual. It's just about putting things into perspective. We don't have time to wait. We need progressive policies that shape collective action (and rein in polluting businesses), alongside engaged citizens pushing for change.

　　36. Some celebrities star in a new video to

　　A. demand new laws on the use of plastics

　　B. urge consumers to cut the use of plastics

　　C. invite public opinion on the plastics crisis

　　D. disclose the causes of the plastics crisis

　　37. The author is concerned that “moral licensing” may

　　A. mislead us into doing worthless things

　　B. prevent us from making further efforts

　　C. weaken our sense of accomplishment

　　D. suppress our desire for success

　　38. By pointing out our identity as “citizens,”,the author indicates that

　　A: our focus should be shifted to community welfare

　　B: our relationship with local industries is improving

　　C: We have been actively exercising our civil rights

　　D: We should press our government to lead the combat

　　39. DeSombre argues that the best way for a collective change should be

　　A: a win-win arrangement

　　B: a self-driven mechanism

　　C: a cost-effective approach

　　D: a top down process

　　40. The author concludes that individual efforts

　　A: can be too aggressive

　　B: can be too inconsistent

　　C: are far from sufficient

　　D: are far from rational

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　You are going to read a list of headings and a text. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-G for each numbered paragraph (41-45). Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)

　　Five ways to make conversation with anyone

　　In choosing a new home, Camille McClain’s kids have a single demand: a backyard.

　　McClain’s little ones aren’t the only kids who have an opinion when it comes to housing, and in many cases youngsters’ views weigh heavily on parents’ real estate decisions, according to a 2018 Harris Poll survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults.

　　While more families buck an older-generation proclivity to leave kids in the dark about real estate decisions, realty agents and psychologists have mixed views about the financial, personal and long-term effects kids’ opinions may have.

　　The idea of involving children in a big decision is a great idea because it can help them feel a sense of control and ownership in what can be an overwhelming process, said Ryan Hooper, a clinical psychologist in Chicago.

　　“Children may face serious difficulties in coping with significant moves, especially if it removes them from their current school or support system,” he said.

　　Greg Jaroszewski, a real estate brokers with Gagliardo Realty Associates, said he’s not convinced that kids should be involved in selecting a home --- but their opinions should be considered in regards to proximity to friends and social activities, if possible.

　　Younger children should feel like they’re choosing their home --- without actually getting a choice in the matter, said Adam Bailey, a real estate attorney based in New York.

　　Asking them questions about what they like about the backyard of a potential home will make them feel like they’re being included in the decision-making process, Bailey said.

　　Many of the aspects of homebuying aren’t a consideration for children, said Tracey Hampson, a real estate agent based in Santa Clarita, Calif. And placing too much emphasis on their opinions can ruin a fantastic home purchase.

　　“Speaking with your children before you make a real estate decision is wise, but I wouldn’t base the purchasing decision solely on their opinions.” Hampson said.

　　The other issue is that many children - especially older ones - may base their real estate knowledge on HGTV shows, said Aaron Norris of The Norris Group in Riverside ,Calif .

　　“They love Chip and Joanna Gaines just as much as the rest of us,” he said. “HGTV has seriously changed how people view real estate. It’s not shelter , it’s a lifestyle. With that mindset change come some serious money consequences.”

　　Kids tend to get stuck in the features and the immediate benefits to them personally, Norris said.

　　Parents need to remind their children that their needs and desires may change over time, said Julie Gurner, a real estate analyst with FitSmallBusiness.com.

　　“Their opinions can change tomorrow,” Gurner said. “Harsh as it may be to say, that decision should likely not be made contingent on a child’s opinions, but rather made for them with great consideration into what home can meet their needs best - and give them an opportunity to customize it a bit and make it their own.”

　　This advice is more relevant now than ever before, even as more parents want to embrace the ideas of their children, despite the current housing crunch.

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