Many of us know that eating late
The researchers looked at the eating habits of five women and eleven men between the
2 . Imagine being able to pop to your local park and pick some tomatoes, potatoes or even bananas to take home for dinner. Sounds too good to be true, right? For residents (居民) of Andernach, German, it’s not just a dream — it’s their reality.
In 2010, Andernach began its edible (可食用的) city project that hadn’t been carried out before, planting 101 varieties of tomatoes in public green spaces around the city center. Its 30,000 residents are free to help themselves to whatever grows, as are any other visitors. The town’s motto of sorts is “Picking is encouraged — help yourself!” Every year a new type of plant is highlighted. In 2011, 100 types of beans were planted, while 2012 saw the introduction of 20 onion varieties. And it has become the phenomenon of the city.
It’s a community effort, as local citizens are encouraged to help plant and maintain the gardens. This offers an opportunity to socialize as well as to learn about planting, cultivating and harvesting food.
An Andernach resident spoke to DW,“I often drop by to pick some herbs that I’m missing at home. Everything is easily accessible. There aren’t any fences. You just take what you need. The only thing is that you have to be quick once the fruits are ripe or they’ll all be gone!”
Andernach may have been the first in German, but it isn’t the only edible city. It’s part of the Edible Cities Network, a project funded by European Union to connect green urban foot initiatives (方案) around the world. Other cities include Carthage in Tunisia, Havana in Cuba and Sempeter-Vrtojba in Slovenia. In February 2022, the first Edible Cities Network Conference took place. Dr Ina Saumel, principal investigator of the Edible Cities Network, called it “a unique opportunity to invite researchers of edible city solutions and practitioners all together.”
Ultimately, the Edible Cities Network aims to give people “greener, more edible and, above all, more livable cities.” It is a response to the pressures of global climate change, and a significant cause full of hope.
1. What can residents do in public green spaces according to the edible city project?| A．Sell the produce they grow there. | B．Learn something about dealing with people and planting. |
| C．Cook whatever plant as they like. | D．Pay to pick some vegetables and fruits there. |
| A．Creative and popular. | B．Conventional and costly. |
| C．Common and fundamental. | D．Rare and unacceptable. |
| A．Andernach is the only city to carry it out. | B．European Union originally established it. |
| C．It helps combine theories with practices. | D．It invites people to share meals together. |
| A．To help residents relieve their pressure. | B．To involve residents in urban planting. |
| C．To increase the produce supply in cities. | D．To create environmentally friendly cities. |
3 . “While extroverts (性格外向者) often make great first impressions with their outgoing manner and lively personalities in interviews, that value and reputation at work diminish (削减) over time.” says Corinne Bender, an associate professor of management.
“Extroverts disappoint us over time when they’re part of a team,” Bender says. “On a team you’re expected to work hard and contribute a lot. But they’re often poor listeners, and they don’t cooperate.”
“On the other hand, introverts (性格内向者) work hard on a team because they care what others think of them. They don’t want to be seen as not pulling their weight or contributing 100%,” Bender says.
So while companies may be attracted to hiring extroverts because they impress managers greatly in job interviews, bosses also may want to consider whether the extrovert they are considering will be a valuable team player, Bender says.
Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins, two writers, agree and say managers should recognize the strengths of introverted employees, such as their ability to put themselves in others’ shoes.
“These team members are often easygoing, which can make them exceptional mentors (良师益友) to more junior staff or particularly good sounding boards when you interact with them in one-on-one situations,” Su says.
“Managers must try to help introverts find their voice,” Wilkins says. “Help them see that speaking up is not about self-promotion or being in conflict but rather about offering the team key insights, making better decisions or increasing the efficiency for all.”
What about those extroverts who never seem to be at a loss for words? Should managers cut them off? Managers definitely should weigh in on how an extrovert is affecting others. Wilkins suggests saying something in private to make adjustments.
1. What do we know about outgoing people according to Bender?| A．They are often good listeners. |
| B．They tend to perform well in interviews. |
| C．They often make great contributions. |
| D．They are often good at cooperating. |
| A．Doing their full share of work. |
| B．Making good choices. |
| C．Trusting others. |
| D．Trying to share their thoughts. |
| A．Critical. | B．Approving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Promote more introverts. |
| B．Learn to work more efficiently. |
| C．Avoid conflict among employees. |
| D．Encourage introverts to speak up. |
4 . ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot (聊天机器人) programme that responds to user prompts, has gone viral in social networks in recent weeks. Its
There’s nothing
Using ChatGPT too much raises the question of whether content produced by it can be truly trusted. A human author is
No one knows what will happen to such technologies if the software engineers of the future will themselves be software programs. “Human supervision (监督) and
| A．attempt | B．popularity | C．purpose | D．solution |
| A．level | B．quality | C．focus | D．goal |
| A．harmful | B．positive | C．new | D．obvious |
| A．creative | B．general | C．simple | D．incredible |
| A．transformed | B．impressed | C．increased | D．limited |
| A．In brief | B．As a result | C．Even so | D．Generally speaking |
| A．fact | B．routine | C．law | D．details |
| A．have | B．lack | C．expect | D．improve |
| A．answer | B．provide | C．handle | D．collect |
| A．experimental | B．risky | C．unnecessary | D．reliable |
| A．scared of | B．open to | C．pleased with | D．responsible for |
| A．awareness | B．innovation | C．emotion | D．curiosity |
| A．fitting in | B．hanging on | C．making sense | D．achieving goals |
| A．refused | B．blamed | C．ignored | D．contributed |
| A．civilization | B．control | C．loss | D．pressure |
5 . You know the feeling — your ears start to warm up, your tongue goes numb (麻木的), and you start sweating and taking deep breaths. You’ve just eaten something spicy, knowing it would be painful, but you chose to do it anyway. Are humans just masochistic (自讨苦吃的), or is there something else going on?
Spicy isn’t actually a taste like salty, sweet, sour and bitten — it’s a sensation.
This is what is happening chemically, but there is also a conscious side to choosing spicy food. Dr Tamara Rosenbaum, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, explains in an interview with the BBC that this is
Humans, one of the few mammals on Earth that developed a taste for capsaicin, started cultivating chilli peppers about six thousand years ago. Human intervention changed the chilli pepper to suit human tastes and needs — including the pepper’s colour, size and capsaicin content-helping to explain the many different types of chilli peppers now available.
| A．It lies in both science and history |
| B．where we get pleasure from a seemingly negative sensation |
| C．This is caused by a chemical compound called ‘capsaicin’ |
| D．It has something to do with human nature and body composition |
| E．why Steamed Fish Head with Chillies enjoys great popularity among Hunanese |
| F．Fast-forward to today, and our love affair with the chilli pepper is going strong |
| G．because we know that the burning sensation of chilli does not physically harm us |
6 . Winning a remarkable science award is really a big deal, especially if you are 12 years old. But Shanya Gill, a middle schooler from San Jose, California, won the top award in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge for designing a fire detection system that is superior to existing ones, as stated in the press release.
“The top winners have exhibited boundless curiosity,” Maya Ajmera president and CEO of Society for Science, said in the press release. “Their remarkable research not only reflects their talent but also paves the way for an exciting new future.”
Shanya’s inspiration came after a fire destroyed a restaurant in her neighborhood during the summer of 2022, reported The Washington Post. “I had never really experienced something like that before,” she told The Washington Post about the early morning fire at Holder’s Country Inn, which started in the kitchen. “They had smoke detectors, and yet it still burned down,” she added.
After she studied fire statistics, Shaya spent over a year developing a fire detection system that she believes could have prevented the fire. Unlike traditional smoke detectors that sense active fires from the smoke in the air, Shanya’s thermal (热的) imaging device is designed to stop fires from occurring.
With a thermal camera and a tiny computer, the device detects when a heat source has been left unattended for ten minutes and sends a text message warning. Shanya wants to bring the costs down to make it even more common than hardwired smoke detectors.
“Shanya saw a problem, went after it and tried to solve it, and that’s what we need to encourage with all young people,” said Ajmera. She also highlighted the significance of supporting individuals, especially girls and kids of color, in STEM fields.
1. What can we learn about Shanya from the first two paragraphs?| A．She gained a lot of money in the award. |
| B．She showed a curious nature as a schooler. |
| C．She set a big stage for young people her age. |
| D．She was junior to other winners in performance. |
| A．Her desire to win the science award. |
| B．Her experience of a destructive fire |
| C．Her interest in computer programming. |
| D．Her goal to improve STEM education for girls. |
| A．It can send out a warning against a potential fire. |
| B．It consists of two parts that are easier to conduct. |
| C．It can detect active fires from the smoke in the air. |
| D．It functions when a fire breaks out within 10 minutes. |
| A．Reliable. | B．Cooperative. | C．Innovative. | D．Generous. |
7 . The scientists who re-engineered the plastic-eating enzyme (酶) PETase have now created a new enzyme called “cocktail”, which can digest plastic up to six times faster.
PETase breaks down PET back into its building blocks, creating an opportunity to recycle plastic and reduce plastic pollution. PET is the most common thermoplastic (热塑性塑料) used to make single use drinks bottles, which takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment, but PETase can shorten this time to days. The initial discovery set up the prospect of a revolution in plastic recycling, creating a potential low-energy solution to tackle plastic waste.
Now, the same trans Atlantic team have combined PETase and its “partner”, a second enzyme called MHETase, to generate much bigger improvements: simply mixing PETase with MHETase doubled the speed of PET breakdown, and engineering a connection between the two enzymes to create a “super-enzyme” increased this activity by a further three times.
The team was co-led by the scientists who engineered PETase, Professor John McGeehan and Dr Gregg Beckham. Professor McGeehan said: “Gregg and I were chatting about how PETase attacks the surface of the plastics and MHETase chops things up further, so it seemed natural to see if we could use them together. Our first experiments showed that they did work better together, so we decided to physically link them. It took a great deal of work, but it was worth the effort—we were delighted to see that our new enzyme is up to three times faster than the separate enzymes.”
The original PETase enzyme discovery indicated the first hope that a solution to the global plastic pollution problem might be within grasp, though PETase alone is not yet fast enough to handle the tons of PET bottles. Combining it with a second enzyme and finding they work even faster together means another leap forward has been taken towards finding a solution to plastic waste. PETase and the new combined MHETase-PETase both work by digesting PET plastic. This allows for plastics to be made and reused endlessly, reducing our reliance on fossil (化石) resources.
1. What can we learn about “cocktail” from the text?| A．It doubles the breakdown of plastics. | B．It takes hundreds of years to break down. |
| C．It deals with the plastic waste three times faster. | D．It contributes to breaking down plastic quickly. |
| A．A new study of PET. | B．The breakdown of PET. |
| C．The functions of PETase. | D．The discovery of PETase. |
| A．Combining PETase and MHETase. | B．Co-leading the trans Atlantic team. |
| C．Attacking the surface of the plastics. | D．Conducting experiments. |
| A．Plastic eating enzyme “cocktail” promises new hope for plastic waste. |
| B．MHETase-PETase makes the world free from plastic pollution. |
| C．New enzyme is speeding up our reliance on fossil resources. |
| D．PET pollution is no longer a difficult problem to deal with. |
8 . Scientists train AI to read human thoughts
Scientists have created a new tool that can turn people’s thoughts into words. It works by using an AI program called GPT-1 to translate brain activity words. In order to achieve this, scientists did a lot.
First, scientists got everything ready before the tests. They invited some volunteers. Each spent sixteen hours listening to stories in a scanner (扫描仪). They imagined the stories as they heard them, and the scanner recorded their brain activity. GPT-1 made connections between the ideas in the stories and the recordings of the listeners’ brain activity.
Then came the tests. The scientists did them in three different ways.
Test 1
The researchers played a new story. GPT-1 was only given recordings of the volunteers’ brain activity. But the words that GPT-1 predicted were very similar to the words in the story that they were listening to. The words weren’t exactly the same, but they often carried the same meaning. For example, when a volunteer was listening to a story about a woman who didn’t have a driver’s license, the program came up with this: “She hasn’t even started to learn to drive yet.”
Test 2
The scientists also carried out the test when volunteers imagined their own stories. “It really works at the level of ideas. The ideas are the same but expressed in different words,” says Alexander Huth, one of the scientists behind the study.
Test 3
The researchers showed the volunteers silent movies, with no spoken words at all. GPT-1 could still figure out the basic ideas.
After the tests, the scientists say that GPT-1 is the first AI program to turn what people are thinking into words without brain surgery (外科手术). The tool isn’t something that can be easily used today, mainly because of the size and the cost of the scanner. In the future, they believe, a similar but cheaper tool could help people who have lost the ability to speak because of an injury or disease.
The scientists say their tool can’t be used to “read people’s minds” without permission. The tool only works if the person wants to share their thoughts.
1. What was the scanner used to do?| A．Record brain activity. | B．Read the volunteers’ ideas. |
| C．Catch the ideas of stories. | D．Work out the ideas. |
| A．Receive sounds. | B．Test the scanner. |
| C．Produce silent movies. | D．Turn recordings of brain activity into words. |
| A．Listening. | B．Imagining. | C．Watching. | D．Reading. |
| A．People who can’t speak. | B．People who can’t hear. |
| C．People who can’t read. | D．People who can’t drive. |
9 . When you hear the word “shapeshifting (变身)”, you may think of magic in some movies and not the climate. But that’s what animals are doing to go on living in the world.
A new study shows that some animals are slowly growing larger beaks, legs and ears. In this way they can cool themselves down more easily as the Earth gets warmer. When we talk about the climate change, we often ask “What can humans do with this?” “How can we live in the future?” “But we should know that animals also have to face these changes,” said Sara Ryding, from Deakin University, Australia. If animals do nothing to keep their normal body temperature, they will die.
In one example, the beaks of some kinds of Australian parrots have grown 4 to 10 percent larger. The study says it has a lot to do with the hotter summer over the years. There are other similar examples. Wood mice have longer tails and bats in warm climates have bigger wings.
Although the changes are still small, they could be common as the weather becomes hotter. “Body parts like ears may become bigger, so we might be able to see a real Dumbo (big-eared elephant from a Disney cartoon) in the near future,” Ryding told the reporters.
1. Why do animals grow bigger body parts?| A．To become stronger. | B．To enjoy a better life. |
| C．To find food easily. | D．To keep normal body temperature. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Changes. | B．Tails. | C．Wings. | D．Examples. |
| A．Why climate changes so much. | B．When the climate starts to change. |
| C．How animals deal with hotter weather. | D．What the weather will be like in the future. |
10 . A sense of humour, God’s greatest gift to mankind, is universally considered the most valuable personality. It is born within every person’s heart, but has to be cultivated (培养). A person without humour is just like a spring without flowers, or like a dish without seasoning (调味品). In a sense, your personality lies in your sense of humour.
Humour can improve physical as well as mental well-being. It helps us bear our burdens, reduce our tension, overcome our frustration. With a piece of joke, all our worries and sadness disappear like smoke, and we are all full of energy once again.
Humour helps us live in harmony with others. It is unavoidable to have misunderstanding and tension with others during work and study. But humour can help us solve these problems more quickly than angry words or quarrels. With it you can always keep on good terms with others.
A sense of humour is really one of the keys to happiness. It gives fun and interest to life to make it worth living.
Here are five ways to improve your sense of humour.
1. Begin to cultivate an atmosphere of humour and laughter in your relationships.
2. Start association with humourous, fun loving people.
3. Learn to laugh at yourself.
4. Collect cartoons and jokes and share them with others.
5. Use humour to deal with conflict in your relationships:
Remember that a sense of humour is learned, not inherited (遗传). You can sharpen your sense of humour if you really want to.
1. What would be the best title for this passage?| A．A Sense of Humour—a Great Personality | B．A Sense of Humour—the Secret to Success |
| C．How to. Improve Your Sense, of Humour. | D．Humour Helps to Improve Our Health |
| A．a person without humour is dull | B．humour can make us happy. |
| C．humour can help us deal with worries | D．humour can help us solve all the problems |
| A．pleasing | B．interest | C．friendship | D．eager |
| A．learned | B．cultivated | C．inherited | D．improved |
