The government is introducing congestion charges to reduce traffic jams in the city,

but many argue that such a measure only scratches the surface of the problem. The
real solution lies in making public transport available to more people. 措施只触及了
表面，没有涉及本质 (1)

Worries about climate change and air pollution are prompting authorities around the
world to consider phasing out new petrol and diesel engines in the coming decade.
Worries about the obesity epidemic are prompting authorities around the world to
limit fast food advertising and raise public awareness of the importance and active
lifestyle. 对...的担忧促使全球各地政府去.... (2)

Despite facing heavy fines, many factories still discharge industrial waste into the
river. It seems that the environmental laws would have to get even more stringent for
these factory owners to clean up their act. 看来...需要变得更加...才行呢呵呵 (3)

Due to poor air quality, the number of people suffering from lung disease has
increased rapidly in the past few years, prompting calls for stricter environmental
regulations. The crisis has prompted calls for....某事促使人们呼吁(3)

Although there are huge benefits to be had by improving time management skills,
prioritizing tasks and avoiding procrastination are easier said than done. 说起来容易
做起来难 (4)

Growing awareness among consumers of plastic pollution means that companies

should try to reduce product packaging, or they may face public backlash. 随着...一类
群体的意识不断增长，这意味着... (5)

Many new graduates find it difficult to land an ideal job for lack of job-related skills.
It doesn’t help that an increasing number of firms are laying off workers due to the
current economic downturn. =what makes the situation worse is that... 更糟糕的是丝
毫没有帮助的是(6)

The reason why so many people fail to make self-improvement is that they shy away
from real challenges in life. It is by rising to the occasion that people achieve personal
growth. 退缩；躲避；逃避 (7)
Although the past few decades have seen great economic development, today
humanity is faced with a multitude of environmental problems. In light of this, some
people argue that environmental protection should take precedence over economic
development; however, others believe that we can find a middle ground between the
two. (68)
I found myself have to do a balancing act between work and family. I face a difficult
balancing act: A...B... To find the right path... (41)

Worries about climate change and air pollution are prompting authorities around the
world to consider phasing out petrol and diesel engines. (2)
It seems that the environmental laws would have to get even more stringent for these
factory owners to clean up their act. (3)
The idea that as time passes, environmental problems will go away is just wishful
thinking. Improving the environment requires joint efforts from the government and
individuals. 痴心妄想=sth. Is just a pipe dream. (48)
To prevent the looming climate disaster, governments around the world need to put
net-zero emissions high on agenda, and individuals should also do their part by
reducing their carbon footprint. (13)
For individuals to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint, they would have to
travel more by public transport and stop using single-use plastics.
There is no time for half-measures when it comes to stopping global warming. To
prevent a climate disaster, governments around the world should join forces to
achieve net-zero emissions targets. (17)
Although there are huge benefits of improving time management skills, prioritizing
tasks and avoiding procrastination are easier said than done. (4)

The tourist destination has become a victim of its own success as the flux of tourists
puts local infrastructure under pressure and creates environmental and cultural site
damage. (49)
Promoting tourism is no solution to the country’s economic woes. The only way to
boost the economy is to attract foreign investment and develop local industries.(69)
Some people argue that foreign tourists to cultural places and historical sites should
be charged more than locals, as local people already pay to these sites through tax
system. However, close scrutiny of this claim reveals that such an approach is at best
short-sighted, at worst counterproductive.说好听点；说难听点...(72)
On the plus side, it is easier for young people today to go to university than previous
generations; on the minus side, the value of a university degree has fallen over the
past decades.好的方面；坏的方面 (9)

Growing awareness among consumers of plastic pollution means that companies

should try to reduce product packing. (5)
There is an increasing awareness that no single solution can solve urban traffic
problems. Rather, more approaches should be adopted, including improving bus
services and extending residents’ parking zones. 人们越来越意识到
Many new graduates find it difficult to land an ideal job for lack of job-related skills.
It doesn’t help that an increasing number of firms are laying off workers due to the
current economic downturn. (6)

Embracing new challenges is crucial for career advancement, because employees who
can rise to the occasion and motivate their colleagues are more likely to get
promotion.(31)
The reason why so many people are unwilling to make changes is that they are
following the path of least resistance. To make real changes, it is important that they
step out of their comfort zone and take on challenges. (40)
The reason why so many people fail to move up in their career is that they have no
stomach for difficult task at work, and in doing so, they miss out on the opportunity to
grow professionally. (14) 没勇气
The reason why so many people fail to make self-improvement is that they shy away
from real challenges in life. It is by rising to the occasion that people achieve personal
growth. (7)
In the face of difficulties, we should not pin our hopes on other people’s help; rather,
we should tackle them head-on. It is only by solving problems ourselves that we
achieve real growth. (36)
Although there are huge benefits of improving time management skills, prioritizing
tasks and avoiding procrastination are easier said than done. (4)
Step out of the comfort zone.

Even if limiting the number of cars on the road can reduce air pollution to some
extent, though, it is no cure-all. On the contrary, it may prove poisonous. Restricting
private car use is likely to cause considerable public inconvenience. They key to
tackling air pollution lies in improving public transport and investing in green
technologies.
There is no silver bullet for cutting unemployment rates. (8)
There is no panacea for youth unemployment. The only way to reduce the number of
jobless young people is to create more jobs and invest in higher education. (18)
There is no magic formula for cutting plastic pollution. To achieve this, we should
reduce our use of plastic bags and water bottles, and support legislation that makes
plastic producers responsible for the waste they generate. (55)
The environmental problems facing this country now hardly lend themselves to easy
answers, as the hazardous smog blanketing the country’s big cities can attest. Solving
them requires considerable time and effort. (67)
We can’t just wave a magic wand and make poverty go away. To reduce poverty, the
government need to attain higher, durable economic growth that involves and benefits
poor people. (19)
We think of college as a stepping-stone to success rather than a means to gain
knowledge. (9)

Under the banner of education, parents herd their children from ballet to basketball
and back again, making it difficult for them to truly enjoy what they learn. (20)
Add fuel to the fire/flames. (16) Icing on the cake.
An increasing number of parents are eager to enroll their children in after-school
training programs, believing that the high tuition fees are a small price to pay
compared to what children can learn. (21)
Parents should take a carrot-and-stick approach when it comes to children’s
education: Reward them if they shape up, and punish them if they misbehave. (22)
Some parents in big cities go so far as to sign their children up for five different after-
school tutoring classes in order to give them a competitive edge, but such practices
often backfire. (29)
Students who are an only child often feel stressful because the goals their parents set
for them are ambitious almost to the point of impossibility. 不是 impossible 甚至到
了。。。的程度 (65)

Children often learn by trial and error. (10)

Left to their own devices, children would probably play video games all night, so it is
necessary for parents to keep an eye on their screen time and help them use digital
devices responsibly. (30) 放任不管

These days more and more students are hard-pressed to concentrate to their study
because there are so many digital distractions. (11)

It is in children’s best interests to stay away from fast food that contains too much
sugar and salt. (12)

Faced with rising level of nearsightedness among children, schools should join forces
with parents to reduce children’s screen time and encourage them to have an active
lifestyle. (15)

Young consumers today have more products and services to choose from and are thus
pickier than previous generations. They often vote with their feet and stop buying
when businesses have bad publicity. (23)

Students who study abroad should make the most of the opportunity to improve their
English, which will stand them in good stead when it comes to finding a job. (24)
Become a boon to 对...来说是有益的/恩惠

It is high time we reduced waste in our everyday life. We should, for instance, use
reusable grocery bags, purchase wisely and avoid single-use items. it’s high time
(that) sb. did something. (25)
Many families are already under great financial stress, and the mass lay-offs brought
by the economic recession could be the last straw. (26) 最后一根稻草

For many young people, becoming a civil servant is just a means to an end. What they
really care about is the sense of security that comes with the job. (27) 只是一个手段，
并不是真的想要，不是最终目的。
Economic growth is just a means to an end, not en end in itself. The ultimate goal of
growth should be to spread the benefits of development to all levels of society,
achieving prosperity for all. (70)

...has only scratched the surface of a problem. (1)

Many environmentalists feel that the government has only made a token gesture on
environmental issues. (28) 只是做样子，没触及问题本质
One common complaint in the workplace is that managers pay lip service to the career
development of their employees without taking any measures to help them grow
professionally.(29) 口惠而不实= make empty promises 光说不做。
Although there are huge benefits of improving time management skills, prioritizing
tasks and avoiding procrastination are easier said than done. (4)
Reducing congestion in the city may be harder than government officials anticipate
for the simple reason that the number of private cars has been rising in recent years.
比预期困难(50)
Traffic congestion in big cities is easy to decry but hard to prevent. As household
income rises, a growing number of city dwellers are able to afford private cars, which
can cause more traffic problems in the foreseeable future. (71)
For individuals to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint, they would have to
travel more by public transport and stop using single-use plastics.

The government should take measures to redress the balance. (32)

I found myself have to do a balancing act between work and family. I face a difficult
balancing act: A...B... To find the right path... 平衡各方利益的行动(41)
In the face of serious pollution, most countries have to make a trade-off between
economic growth and environmental protection. 权衡(73)

Since the outbreak of covid-19, the government has gone to great lengths to contain
the virus and vaccinate the population, safeguarding the health of hundreds of
millions of people. (33) 不遗余力做某事
Given that childhood obesity rates keep rising, the government needs to go the extra
mile by taking effective measures to help the next generation stay healthy. (44)付出额
外努力做某事
The global temperature has been rising for the past century, disrupting the ecosystem
and wreaking havoc on people’s livelihood It is time for governments to roll up their
sleeves and curb global warming. (38) 卷起袖子加油干
More and more office workers feel that their long working hours have got in the way
of them living a healthy lifestyle, and that they have no time to develop leisure
interests. (34) 妨碍；阻止
Faced with rising house prices in the city center, many office workers have no option
but to live on the outskirts of the city, wasting a great deal of time on their daily
commute. (35)

Maintaining good health can be difficult, but if you stick to a healthy diet and lead an
active lifestyle, you are halfway there. (37)

It is true that women are at a disadvantage in the workplace because most of them
have to put their career on the back burner when they have children. 暂时搁置一旁/
推迟。 (42)

For many young people who wish to study abroad and widen their outlook, the
outbreak of Covid-19 and the ensuing border closures have put paid to their plans.
(43)

The importance of mental health services after natural disasters cannot be

underestimated, because they can help the victims come to term with their grief and
build a new life. 某人接受（不愉快的）事物；妥协 （45）

For students in poor mountains areas, getting into a prestigious university in the city is
an uphill struggle to say the least. An uphill struggle/battle/task (46)

A number of wildlife conservation programs have been introduced with much fanfare
in the past few years, but most of them prove to be a failure. One important reason is
that people are buying prosperity at the price of the environment. 大张旗鼓 （47）

To equate happiness with material possessions such as houses and cars is to miss the
true meaning of life. True happiness comes from within, not from the outside. (52)

One important thing in interpersonal relationship is that we should not make promises
that we cannot keep, or we may set ourselves up as a hostage to fortune./ or we may
become a hostage to fortune. 会引起麻烦，造成后患的事物（成为命运的人质）
(53)

It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with humanities, that yields the
results that make our heart sing. --Jobs
These days, designs that marry traditional elements with modern culture are gaining
in popularity among young consumers, who are more critical and informed than their
older counterparts.(54)
Teachers should encourage their students to tap into learning material on the internet
and use their phones responsibly. Tap into their stuffs’ full potential. (56)

Ask an economist how best to reduce pollution, and the chances are that they will
recommend taxing carbon emissions.
Ask a teacher how best to improve students’ academic performance, and the chances
are that they will recommend spending less time playing video games and more time
studying. (57)

To survive long-term competition, businesses should not satisfy themselves with low-
hanging fruits. Rather, they should plan ahead and be reform-minded. 低处的果实
(58)

Before the advent of modern communication technology, people had to jump through
hoops to keep in touch with their friends and families in faraway places. Take a leap
in faith. (60)

Many college students who have squandered the best part of the semester cram for the
final exams on the off-chance that they may be able to get through them, but in most
cases they fail. 怀着侥幸心理做某事 (61)

Sensible ideas about tackling teenagers’ addiction to mobile games have been around
for a long time, but many tech firms have been too greedy for profit to implement
them, fearing that doing so would hurt their revenue. (62)

The covid-19 pandemic wrought havoc with on this country’s economy last year, but
people can take comfort from the fact that the virus is now under control and that the
economy is on the rebound. 得到慰藉 (63) a silver lining of

Rising unemployment rate is a symptom of economic troubles to which some see

good financial policies as the answer. (66)

And he has this quote that I think really sheds light on what is going on here, which is,
he says, “An abundance of information creates a poverty of attention”, right?洒下启
蒙的光（使某事更清楚；容易了解）(74)