You Won’t Want to Miss a Word

13 Days By Michael Robinson
www. authorhouse. co. uk
Hardback £23. 99 | Paperback 12. 95 | E-book £2. 99

In his novel 13 days, author Michael Robinson takes readers on a roller coaster of human emotions and changing values, which will ultimately leave them with more questions than answers. It is a narrative (叙述) of triumph and hope over stagnation (萧条) and anger.

Mouse and the Flood By Marion Heffernan
www. authorhouse. co. uk
Paperback £9. 95 | E-book 2. 99 | Audio book £9. 99

As the rain pours, the water sweeps a little mouse’s coconut shell bed. Will his journey keep him safe? Will he return to the farm? Travel with the mouse on his adventurous journey.

Heirs of Deceits By Elizabeth Reinach
www. xlibrispublishing. co. uk
Hardback £23. 99 | Paperback £13. 99 | E-book £2. 99

A late Victorian period novel that concerns conflicts in attitude to social. class, poverty and religion. Murder and chaos will follow caused by the past actions of a young politician.

Pull the Wool over Your Eyes By Associate Professor Ralf Sundberg
www. authorhouse. co. uk
Hardback £27. 95 | Paperback £13. 95 1 E-book £2. 99

This book illuminates both the dark and light sides of medical progress, providing examples of intentional misrepresentation and abuse of results obtained through scientific research.

1. In which book is the hero an animal?

A．13 Days.	B．Heirs of Deceits.
C．Mouse and the Flood.	D．Pull the Wool over Your Eyes.

2. Who tells a story of the late Victorian period?

A．Michael Robinson.	B．Elizabeth Reinach.
C．Marion Heffernan.	D．Ralf Sundberg.

3. In which country may the books be published?

A．Japan.	B．France.
C．Germany.	D．The UK.

As the government encourages “social distancing” in the fight against coronavirus, people are facing the prospect of being told to stay at home for weeks. But what if a parent or older person in your life doesn’t already have access to video calling tech?

“You might want to consider getting a specialized device to make video calls to your loved ones,” says Kate Bevan, an editor of a consumer magazine. “Once they’re set up, they’re very simple to use but you do have to dig through settings in their apps to connect them and that’s not always as easy as it might be.”

Age   UK,   the   charity   for   older   people, says that the choice of technology should be “as user-friendly as possible” for those unaccustomed to controlling video-chat software. “Something integrated like a video call app on a smartphone, tablet or a laptop with a built-in camera, for example, will often be easier,” says Caroline Abrahams, the charity director. “Older people may also prefer physical interfaces (界面) like a mouse rather than a touchscreen.”

“To protect people’s privacy, it will be important to ensure that any new devices are secure and not likely to be hacked (非法入侵), and that anyone using a new device has access to ongoing support to help them learn how to use it and deal with any issues or problems,” she adds.

An   integrated   kit   can   be   the   easiest solution. Amazon, Google, and Facebook all have smart devices with screens for video calls. One problem with all these devices is their expense and another is their need to be on a stable wi-fi connection at all times. Sometimes, a smartphone might be the better option.

But a new smartphone, even a mid-range one, can be much more expensive. And Bevan warns against hand-me-downs past a certain age. Apart from lower camera quality, there can be security concerns. “If you’re considering passing old smartphones and tablets on to a relative, do be careful that they’re still getting security updates,” she says.

4. What difficulty might older people face during the fight against coronavirus?

A．They cannot use video calling tech.

B．They are not interested in video calling.

C．They fail to afford to buy video devices.

D．They have to stay at home for several weeks.

5. What kind of device should we choose for older people?

A．The device which is user-friendly and portable.

B．The device which employs physical connection.

C．The device which is equipped with special apps.

D．The device which has a camera and touchscreen.

6. Which of the following can explain the underlined “these devices”?

A．Mid-range devices with a built-in camera.

B．Expensive smartphones sold by Amazon.

C．Smart devices with screens for video calls.

D．Integrated gadgets with a stable wi-fi connection.

7. What advice does Bevan give to us when we give a smartphone to the elderly?

A．We have to buy the elderly an expensive one.

B．We should help the elderly set up proper apps.

C．We can give a high-quality phone to the elderly.

D．We must ensure the smartphone gets security updates.

Like the rest of us, scientists have long suspected the healing capacity (修复能力) of a good hug. Unlike the rest of us, they’ve gone about trying to prove it.

“Laboratory studies suggest that things like hugs help us feel safer. They can also make us less sensitive to physical pain and less reactive when we’re faced with threatening experiences,” says Michael Murphy. He is a research professor in the department of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University. “This lab work has shown that hugs and other touch behavior are related to stress. The more stress we have, the more our heart rates and blood pressure go up. At this time, hugs and other forms of personal touch may give off all sorts of feel-good chemicals, so that stress can be reduced.”

“There’s a lot that we still need to learn, and there’s a lot we don’t know,” Murphy says. “However, what seems to be rising up is that hugs, as well as other forms of loving and gentle touch, are really powerful. They remind people that they’ re cared about and that they have someone in their corner.”

We expect touch. When we were born, we were placed in our mothers’ arms almost immediately. In that first year of our life, we spend a lot of time being held by other people. And as we grow up, we seek out hugs and touch as a way of connection. I think what we have lost in the past few years are these really easy opportunities to be reminded of connection.”

While he was at Carnegie Mellon, Murphy was the lead author of a hug-centered 2018 article in the scientific journal PLOS One. In a series of interviews with 404 adults over a two-week period, the researchers found that receiving a hug is associated with the attenuation of negative emotions that occur on days with interpersonal conflicts. That is to say, generally, hugs help to reduce the negative impacts that personal conflicts may cause in our daily lives.

8. What can we infer about hugs from the laboratory studies?

A．They show people’s good social relationships.

B．They can cure us of our mental disease.

C．They can put much pressure on people.

D．They make us feel calm and at ease.

9. Why do people seek out hugs and touch as they grow up?

A．To recall childhood memories.

B．To keep connected with others.

C．To solve relationship problems.

D．To express their social politeness.

10. What does the underlined word “attenuation” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Expression.	B．Influence.
C．Suffering.	D．Reduction.

11. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Power of Hugs

B．How to Reduce Stress

C．How to Care for Others

D．The Importance of Interpersonal Relations

The terms “global warming” and “climate change” are used by many, seemingly interchangeably. But do they really mean the same thing?

Scientists shaped the history of the terms while attempting to accurately describe how humans continue to alter the planet. Later, political strategists adopted the terms to influence public opinion.

In 1975, geochemist Wallace Broecker introduced the term “climate change” in an article published by Science. In 1979, a National Academy of Sciences report used the term “global warming” to define increases in the Earth’s average surface temperature, while “climate change” more broadly referred to the numerous effects of this increase, such as sea-level rise and ocean acidification (酸化).

During the following decades, some industrialists and politicians launched a campaign to sow doubt in the minds of the American public about the ability of fossil-fuel use, deforestation and other human activities to influence the planet’s climate.

Word use played a critical role in developing that doubt. For example, the language and polls expert Frank Luntz wrote a memo encouraging the use of “climate change” because the phrase sounded less scary than “global warming,” reported the Guardian.

However, Luntz’s recommendation wasn’t necessary. A Google Ngram Viewer chart shows that by 1993 climate change was already more commonly used in books than global warming. By the end of the next decade both words were used more frequently, and climate change was used nearly twice as often as global warming.            

NASA used the term “climate change” because it more accurately reflects the wide range of changes to the planet caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The debate isn’t new. A century ago, chemist Svante Arrhenius started one of the first debates over the potential for humans to influence the planet’s climate. Arrhenius calculated the capability of carbon dioxide to trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, but other chemists disagreed. Some argued that humans weren’t producing enough greenhouse gases, while others claimed the effects would be tiny. Now, of course, we know that whatever you call it, human behavior is warming the planet, with grave consequences ahead.

12. Why did politicians use the two terms “global warming” and “climate change”?

A．To sway public opinion of the impact of human activities on Earth.

B．To more accurately describe the consequences of human activities.

C．To win more popular votes in their campaign activities.

D．To assure the public of the safety of existing industries.

13. As used in a National Academy of Sciences report, the term “climate change” differs from “global warming” in that________

A．it sounds less vague	B．it looks more scientific
C．it covers more phenomena	D．it is much closer to reality

14. What did industrialists of the late 20th century resort to in order to mislead Americans?

A．Made-up survey results.

B．Hired climate experts.

C．False research findings.

D．Deliberate choice of words.

15. What is the author’s final conclusion?

A．Global warming is the more accurate term.

B．Accuracy of terminology matters in science.

C．Human activities have serious effects on Earth.

D．Politics interferes with serious scientific debate.