For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay about the impact of information explosion by referring to the saying “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." You can give examples to illustrate your point and then explain what you can do to avoid being distracted by irrelevant information. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.

    It’s difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling, where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. (1) ________ and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home, and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity. Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving (2) ________ in state-approved curricula.
    Supports of home education claim that it‟s less expensive and far more (3) ________ than mass public education. Moreover, they cite several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthened family relationships, lower (4) ________ rates, the fact that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased (5) ________, higher standardized test scores, and reduced (6) ________ problems.
    Critics of the home schooling movement (7) ________ that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools (8) ________ home schooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources (9) ________ than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way (10) ________ more highly structured classroom education.

　　Cell phones provide instant access to people. They are creating a maijor (1) ______ in the social experiences of both children and adolescents. In one recent U.S. survey, about half the teens polled said that their cell phone had (2) ______ their communication with friends. Almost all said that their cell phone was the way they stayed in touch with peers, one-third had used the cell phone to help a peer in need, and about 80% said the phone made them feel safer. Teenagers in Australia, (3) ______，said that their mobile phones provided numerous benefits and were an (4) ______ part of their lives; some were so (5) ______ to their phones that the researchers considered it an addiction. In Japan, too, researchers are concerned about cell phone addiction. Researchers in one study in Tokyo found that more than half of junior high school students used their phones to exchange e-mails with schoolmates more than 10 times a day.
　　Cell phones (6) ______ social connections with peers across time and space. They allow young people to exchange moment-by-moment experiences in their daily lives with special partners and thus to have a more (7) ______ sense of connection with friends. Cell phones also can (8) ______ social tolerance because they reduce children's interactions with others who are different from them. In addition to connecting peers, cell phones connect children and parents. Researchers studying teenagers in Israel concluded that, in that (9) ______ environment, mobile phones were regarded as "security objects" in parent-teen relationships-important because they provided the possibility of (10) ______ and communication at all times.

Waste Not, Want Not

Feeding the 9 Billion: The Tragedy of Waste
　　A) By 2075, the United Nations’ min-range projection for global population is about 9.5 billion. This means that there could be an extra three billion mouths to feed by the end of the century, a period in which substantial changes are anticipated in the wealth, calorie intake and dietary preferences of people in developing countries across the world. Such a projection presents mankind with wide-ranging social, economic, environmental and political issues that need to be addressed today to ensure a sustainable future for all. One key issue is how to produce more food in a world of finite resources.
　　B) Today, we produce about four billion metric tonnes of food per year. Yet due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage, it is estimated that 30-50% of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands.
Where Food Waste Happens
　　C) In 2010, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers identified three principal emerging population groups across the world, based on characteristics associated with their current and projected stage of economic development.
　　● Fully developed, mature, post-industrial societies, such as those in Europe, characterised by stable or declining populations which are increasing in age.
　　● Late-stage developing nations that are currently industrialising rapidly, for example China, which will experience declining rates of population growth, coupled with increasing affluence  (富裕）and age profile.
　　● Newly developing countries that are beginning to industrialise, primarily in Africa, with high to very high population growth rates, and characterised by a predominantly young age profile.
　　D) Each group over the coming decades will need to address different issues surrounding food production, storage and transportation, as well as consumer expectations, if we are to continue to feed all our people.
　　E) In less-developed countries, such as those of sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, wastage tends to occur primarily at the farmer-producer end of the supply chain. Inefficient harvesting,   inadequate local transportation and poor infrastructure (基础设施) mean that produce is frequently handled inappropriately and stored under unsuitable farm site conditions.
　　F) In mature, fully developed countries such as the UK, more-efficient farming practices and better transport, storage and processing facilities ensure that a larger proportion of the food produced reaches markets and consumers. However, characteristics associated with modem consumer culture mean produce is often wasted through retail and customer behaviour.
　　G) Major supermarkets, in meeting consumer expectations, will often reject entire crops of perfectly edible fruit and vegetables at the farm because they do not meet exacting marketing standards for their physical characteristics, such as size and appearance.
　　H) Of the produce that does appear in the supermarket, commonly used sales promotions frequently encourage customers to purchase excessive quantities which, in the case of perishable foodstuffs, inevitably generate wastage in the home. Overall between 30% and 50% of what has been bought in developed countries is thrown away by the purchaser.
Better Use of Our Finite Resources
　　I) Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources, including land, water and energy. As a global society, therefore, tackling food waste will help contribute towards addressing a number of key resource issues.
　　J) Land Usage: Over the last five decades, improved farming techniques and technologies have helped to significantly increase crop yields along with a 12% expansion of farmed land use.  However, a further increase in farming area without impacting unfavourably on what remains of the world's natural ecosystems appears unlikely. The challenge is that an increase in animal-based production will require more land and resources, as livestock （牲畜) farming demands extensive land use.
　　K) Water Usage: Over the past century, human use of fresh water has increased at more than double the rate of population growth. Currently about 3.8 trillion m³ of water is used by humans per year. About 70% of this is consumed by the global agriculture sector, and the level of use will continue to rise over the coming decades.
　　L) Better irrigation can dramatically improve crop yield and about 40% of the world's food supply is currently derived from irrigated land. However, water used in irrigation is often sourced unsustainably. In processing foods after the agricultural stage, there are large additional uses of water that need to be tackled in a world of growing demand. This is particularly crucial in the case of meat production, where beef uses about 50 times more water than vegetables. In the future, more effective washing techniques, management procedures, and recycling and purification of water will be needed to reduce wastage.
　　M) Energy Usage: Energy is an essential resource across the entire food production cycle, with estimates showing an average of 7-10 calories of input being required in the production of one calorie of food. This varies dramatically depending on crop, from three calories for plant crops to 35 calories in the production of beef. Since much of this energy comes from the utilisation of fossil fuels, wastage of food potentially contributes to unnecessary global warming as well as inefficient resource utilisation.
　　N) In the modem industrialised agricultural process-which developing nations are moving towards in order to increase future yields-energy usage in the making and application of fertilisers and pesticides represents the single biggest component. Wheat production takes 50% of its energy input for these two items alone. Indeed, on a global scale, fertiliser manufacturing consumes about 3-5% of the world's annual natural gas supply. With production anticipated to increase by 25% between now and 2030, sustainable energy sourcing will become an increasingly major issue. Energy to power machinery, both on the farm and in the storage and processing facilities, adds to the energy total, which currently represents about 3.1% of annual global energy consumption.
Recommendations
　　O) Rising population combined with improved nutrition standards and shifting dietary preferences will exert pressure for increases in global food supply. Engineers, scientists and agriculturalists have the knowledge, tools and systems that will assist in achieving productivity increases. However, pressure will grow on finite resources of land, energy and water. The potential to provide 60-100% more food by simply eliminating losses, while simultaneously freeing up land, energy and water resources for other uses, is an opportunity that should not be ignored. In order to begin tackling the challenge, the Institution recommends that:
　　● The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation work with the international engineering community to ensure governments of developed nations put in place programmes that transfer engineering knowledge, design know-how, and suitable technology to newly developing countries. This will help improve produce handling in the harvest, and immediate post-harvest stages of food production.
　　● Governments of rapidly developing countries incorporate waste minimisation thinking into the transport infrastructure and storage facilities currently being planned, engineered and built.
　　● Governments in developed nations devise and implement policy that changes consumer expectations. These should discourage retailers from wasteful practices that lead to the rejection of food on the basis of cosmetic characteristics, and losses in the home due to excessive purchasing by consumers.

　　Call it the "learning paradox": the more you struggle and even fail while you're trying to learn new information, the better you're likely to recall and apply that information later.
　　The learning paradox is at the heart of "productive failure," a phenomenon identified by researcher Manu Kapur. Kapur points out that while the model adopted by many teachers when introducing students to new knowledge-providing lots of structure and guidance early on, until the students show that they can do it on their own-makes intuitive sense, it may not be the best way to promote learning. Rather, it's better to let the learners wrestle (较劲) with the material on their own for a while, refraining from giving them any assistance at the start. In a paper published recently, Kapur applied the principle of productive failure to mathematical problem solving in three schools.
　　With one group of students, the teacher provided strong "scaffolding"-instructional support-and feedback. With the teacher's help, these pupils were able to find the answers to their set of problems. Meanwhile, a second group was directed to solve the same problems by collaborating with one another, without any prompts from their instructor. These students weren't, able to complete the problems correctly. But in the course of trying to do so, they generated a lot of ideas about the nature of the problems and about what potential solutions would look like. And when the two groups were tested on what they'd learned, the second group "significantly outperformed" the first.
　　The apparent struggles of the floundering(挣扎的) group have what Kapur calls a "hidden efficacy": they lead people to understand the deep structure of problems, not simply their correct solutions. When these students encounter a new problem of the same type on a test, they're able to transfer the knowledge they've gathered more effectively than those who were the passive recipients of someone else's expertise.
　　In the real world, problems rarely come neatly packaged, so being able to discern their deep structure is key. But, Kapur notes, none of us like to fail, no matter how often Silicon Valley entrepreneurs praise the beneficial effects of an idea that fails or a start-up company that crashes and bums. So we need to "design for productive failure" by building it into the learning process. Kapur has identified three conditions that promote this kind of beneficial struggle. First, choose problems to work on that "challenge but do not frustrate." Second, provide learners with opportunities to explain and elaborate on what they're doing. Third, give learners the chance to compare and contrast good and bad solutions to the problems. And to those students who protest: this tough-love teaching style: you'll thank me later.

　　Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old farmer from rural Indiana, did something that got him sued. He planted soybean（大豆） sold as cattle feed. But Monsanto, the agricultural giant, insists it has a patent on the kind of genetically modified seeds Bowman used-and that the patent continues to all of the progeny (后代) of those seeds.
　　Have we really gotten to the point that planting a seed can lead to a high-stakes Supreme Court patent lawsuit? We have, and that case is Bowman v. Monsanto, which is being argued on Tuesday. Monsanto's critics have attacked the company for its "merciless legal battles against small farmers," and they are hoping this will be the case that puts it in its place. They are also hoping the court’s ruling will rein in patent law, which is increasingly being used to claim new life forms as private property.
　　Monsanto and its supporters, not surprisingly, see the case very differently. They argue that when a company like Monsanto goes to great expense to create a valuable new genetically modified seed, it must be able to protect its property interests. If farmers like Bowman are able to use these seeds without paying the designated fee, it will remove the incentives for companies like Monsanto to innovate.
　　Monsanto accused Bowman of patent infringement and won an $84,456 damage award. Rather than pay up or work out a settlement, Bowman decided to appeal-all the way to the Supreme Court. He said "Monsanto should not be able, just because they've got billions of dollars to spend on legal fees, to try to terrify farmers into obeying their agreements by massive force and threats."
　　The central issue in the case is whether patent rights to living things extend to the progeny of those things. Monsanto argues that its patents extend to later generations. But Bowman's supporters argue that Monsanto is trying to expand the scope of patents in ways that would enrich big corporations and hurt small farmers. They say that if Monsanto wins, the impact will extend far beyond agriculture-locking up property rights in an array of important areas. Knowledge Ecology International contends that the Supreme Court’s ruling could have "profound effects" on other biotech industries.
　　If this were a Hollywood movie, the courageous old Indiana farmer would beat the profit-minded corporation before the credits rolled. But this is a real-life argument before a Supreme Court that has a well-earned reputation for looking out for the interests of large corporations. This case gives the court an opportunity to rein in the growing use of patents to protect genetically engineered crops and other life forms-but the court may well use it to give this trend a powerful new endorsement.

　　中国人自古以来就在中秋时节庆祝丰收。这与北美地区庆祝感恩节的习俗十分相似。过中秋节的习俗于唐代早期在中国各地开始流行。中秋节在农历八月十五，是人们拜月的节日。这天夜晚皓月当空，人们合家团聚，共赏明月。2006年，中秋节被列为中国的文化遗产，2008年又被定为公共假日。月饼被视为中秋节不可或缺的美食。人们将月饼作为礼物馈赠亲友或在家庭聚会上享用。传统的月饼上带有“麦（longevity）”、“福”或“和”等字样。