hands to try to rescue people trapped under the debris．The collapsed bridge is in a busy commercial area of Kolkata．Its location has made it difficult for rescue operations．Access to the area is blocked on both sides by buildings，and the streets are blocked with heavy traffic．

Reuters(路透社)reports that the Chief Minister of West Bengal，Mamata Banerjee，rushed to the scene of the collapse．She said that rescuing those trapped is her“top priority．”Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster will be punished．Yet she faces questions about the safety of the construction project．The Telegraph newspaper reported last November that Banerjee wanted the bridge—already five years overdue—to be completed by February．Project engineers said they were concerned over whether this would be possible，the newspaper said at the time．Construction workers had been on a strict schedule to complete the bridge．The disaster could affect the West Bengal election next month．An Indian company，IVRCL，was building the 2-kilometer bridge，its website said．IVRCL's director of operations said the company was not sure of the cause of the disaster． 24．Why were so many people killed or injured in the accident? A．The rescue work responded too slowly． B．Many people were under or Hear the bridge． C．The bridge was under construction．

D．Construction workers had set up camps there．

25．What does the underlined word“debris”probably mean? A．Buildings． C．Vehicles．

B．Disasters． D．Ruins．

26．According to Bnerjee，what was her most important work at the moment? A．Rushing to the scene of the collapse． B．Saving the trapped people． C．Punishing those responsible．

D．Questioning the safety of the bridge． 27．What can we learn about the bridge?

A．It should have been completed five years ago．

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B．Project engineers wore unwilling to cooperate． C．It was designed by a company called IVRCL． D．The cause of the disaster has been discovered．

C

How do you pay for your coffee? Is it with change? I use my tap-and-go card．I don’t even need to enter my PIN number or a signature to authorize payment，It’s quicker and everybody in the queue is happy．

Contactless payments are gaining popularity．Those concerned about security will be pleased to know that the amount of money you can spend in one go is limited—in the UK it's currently ￡30．But if the card is used a few times in a row, a PIN number will be needed．If a thief gets hold of your card and goes on a spending spree (狂欢)，your bank covers you against fraud．However, if someone steals your banknotes，that’s your bad luck!

For those who are always forgetting where they put their cards，there’s a new solution：wearable tech：clothing and accessories that have been combined with electronic technology．Kenneth Cukier , an economist and technology expert，says：“When you want to make a payment just wave your arm in front of the terminal and leave the coffee shop with your latte．They don’t have to take their card out of their wallet，use their phone or their watch．”

And new ways of spending money are not stopping there．The future is all about biometrics．Very convenient if you are at the beach or a festival—there’s a new system in development which will make it possible to read the unique maps of veins under the surface of your finger and use them to authenticate payments—or prove that it’s you making the payments．

So spending money is becoming easier all the time．And the temptation to buy more stuff increases．But it's worth bearing in mind that earning the money in the first place will still require the same effort．Back to work then! 28．What is the main point of Paragraph 2? A．The security of contactless payments． B．The responsibility of the lost money．

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C．The popularity of modern payments． D．The procedure of contactless payments．

29．According to Kenneth Cukier, wearable tech___________． A．is intended for buying coffee B．makes people lazier and forgetful C．makes buying more convenient D．will be connected with our phones

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30. What can we learn about biometrics? A．It is already in use in some fields． B．It will be safer than other ways． C．It tooks more like a rare map． D．It depends on your fingerprints．

31．What is the a intended tone of the author m the last paragraph? A． Anxious． B．Relieved． C．Concerned D．Humorous．

D

There will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050．That is what a new report from the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation wams．If the current trend continues，the report said，oceans will contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in 2025．By 2050，plastics will weigh more than fish．The problem is that each year at least 8 million tons of plastics end up in oceans around the world．This is the same as dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute．

Not all plastic ends up in the ocean because someone throws a plastic bottle into the water．Plastic containers and other trash thrown onto streets and sidewalks often are swept into oceans，Unlike other types of trash in the ocean，the plastic never bio-degrades．There is a way to slow the amount of plastics going into the oceans—people can recycle more．Currently only about 14 percent of plastics are recycled．Research in Europe shows as much as 53 percent of plastics could be recycled using available technology．The report says that another solution is using less plastic for packaging products．But that is not likely to happen．

“Given plastic packaging’s many benefits，both the possibility and desirability of a sharp reduction in the volume of plastic packaging used is clearly low；”the report said．But the authors note reducing the use of plastics should be tried“where possible．”For decades，scientists warned that plastics are killing fish．Research shows that fish are dying from choking after eating plastics．Another cause of death is that plastics cause“intestinal blockage and

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