Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support for others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study

from Berlin, Germany.‘Having no contact with grandchildren at all can negatively impact grandparents’ health. This link could be deeply rooted in our evolutionary past when help with childcare was important for the survival of the human species,” said Sonja Hilbrand, one of the researchers. However, having full-time custody of grandchildren may harm their health.

The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin aging Study. The participants completed interviews and medical tests every two years. Overall after considering grandparents age and general state of health, the risk of dying was one-third lower for grandparents who cared for their grandchildren, compared with grandparents who didn’t provide any childcare.

Half of the grandparents who cared for grandchildren were still alive ten years after the initial interview. The same was true for participants who did not have grandchildren but supported their adult children in some way, such as helping with housework. In contrast about half of the participants who did not help others died within five years after the start of the study.

“Caregiving may be thought also as an activity that keeps caregivers physically and mentally active, said Professor Arpino, adding that previous studies suggest that caregiving may improve cognitive functioning, mental and physical health.

Arpino noted, however, that caregiving is not the only activity that can improve health, and too many caring responsibilities can take away benefits from other activities like working, being in social clubs, or volunteering.

“Children should take into account their parents' needs, willingness, and desires and agree with them on the timing and amount of childcare," Arpino suggested.

1. What is the caregiving study based on?

A．Data on elderly people.

B．Medical tests on children.

C．Human evolutionary history.

D．Interviews on local community.

2. What does the underline word“ participants”in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Researchers	B．Attendants
C．Care-givers	D．Specialists

3. Which statement about childcare may Arpino agree with?

A．Childcare is bound to be beneficial to grandparents.

B．Grandparenting is meant to become a growing trend.

C．Proper amounts of childcare make grandparents live longer.

D．More childcare can provide grandparents with more health.

On a clear night in 1994,an earthquake hit Los Angeles and caused a city-wide power cut just before dawn. Awake in surprise, some residents who had escaped outside called various emergency centers to report a mysterious cloud overhead.

That unusual object turned out to be the band of the Milky Way, which had long been unclear

from view by the city's lights.

Arguably, the light bulb (电灯泡} is the most transformative invention humans have introduced to this planet. By pressing a switch or pushing a button, we can lift the veil (面纱)that would naturally cover our lives each, night. Now, we work long after the sun sinks below the horizon. We play games outside far into the night. We more safely wander around city streets after dark.

But if light bulbs have a dark side, it's that they have stolen the night. The extra light brightening our environments is endangering ecosystems by harming animals whose life cycles depend on the dark. We're endangering ourselves by changing the biochemical rhythms (节律)   that normally go out and flow with natural light levels. And in a basic sense, we're lost our connection to nighttime skies, on the basis of which our ancestors made up their star-related stories, timed the planting and harvesting of crops, and inferred the physical laws governing the universe.

“The disappearance of the night sky is tied up with our ever more fast-paced world, says Amanda Gormley of the Tucson-based International Dark-Sky Association.“ We lose something vital; we lose a part of ourselves when we lose access to the night sky. We lose that sense of stillness that should be right over our heads every night.

Now, as the consequences of light pollution arise out of the shadows and into the spotlight, cities, regulatory agencies, and conservation groups are seeking solutions. And in some areas, lots of improvements are already in place, powered by a new wave of cheaper, more energy-seving light.

4. Why is the earthquake hitting Los Angeles mentioned?

A．To witness its serious damage.

B．To lead in the topic of the text.

C．To state its influence on the city.

D．To tell backgrounds of the text.

5. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．Dark nights.	B．Endangered ecosystems.
C．Light pollution.	D．Brightened environments.

6. How does the author sound in the last paragraph?

A．Hopeful.	B．Concerned.
C．Doubtful.	D．Academic.

If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you’ve probably seen crowds of birds following it, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.

Researchers attached data loggers to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in Indian oceans. Weighing only 42 grams, the devices included a GPS, which enabled them to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals emitting from boats. That information was then sent by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds—and thus the radar-emitting boats—in real time.

The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, collected from a system boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And noticeable differences appeared frequently.

More than a third of the times the birds “loggers” detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, but no such boat appeared in the official log—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their AIS—something that probably happens in illegal fishing operations.

The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds.

Fortunately, such a task would be difficult. Around fishing boats, you can find hundreds of birds at any one time that are flying around. And the birds with loggers are not marked in any way. So it’s not really possible for fishermen to pick out a specific bird.

But what concerns researchers is that albatrosses often get caught by some fishing boats. Though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations.

7. What characteristic of albatrosses do scientists take advantage of in their research?

A．Their feeding patterns.

B．Their sense of direction.

C．Their greedy behaviors.

D．Their habit of following fishing boats.

8. For what purpose does a boat shut off its AIS?

A．To seek more fishes.

B．To have it mistaken for another.

C．To avoid being detected.

D．To save the trouble of declaring itself.

9. What does “such a task” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A．Identifying birds with loggers.

B．Monitoring illegal boats.

C．Tracking radar signals automatically.

D．Fishing illegally.

10. What could be the best title for the text?

A．AIS: an Effective System to Locate Boats

B．Humans Are Good at Discovering Birds’ Nature

C．Data Loggers Help Fishermen Get a Good Harvest

D．Scientists Use Birds to Track Illegal Fishing Operations

Experienced⁃Based Education

Everyone is familiar with traditional education. You sit in a class and a teacher teaches.   This is an important part of development. But at some point, every individual has to take charge of their own education. To do this, one must look at the root of learning.    11    

Basically, unfamiliar experiences usually add more value than experiences that are familiar.

    12     And we are in a better state to learn something new. Honestly, someone who never experiences the same thing twice will never have a chance to benefit from anything learned. However, new experiences are generally what make people interesting and push them to grow.

High school is a new experience. College is a new experience. However, at some point traditional education becomes repetitive. It is not that you won’t learn anything else, but that the environment is so familiar.    13    

To solve this, an individual needs to introduce new experiences into their life. You may spend a summer in a different part of the country or learn a new language through trial and error. You can also go to a drive⁃in movie（or some other entertainment event that is new to you）.    14    

These types of experiences often result in very little“book knowledge”.   Instead, they will often provide you with a better understanding of yourself as you experience your reaction to different situations.    15     It can be invaluable for you to work effectively with others. Becoming a well ⁃ rounded human isn’t something that happens by accident. You can spend your entire lifetime developing your potential.

A．Has education changed so much in the last decade?

B．They will also provide you with a better understanding of others.

C．Those new experiences may not lead to great personal development.

D．These are all things that can stretch and expand your experience in life.

E．This is because unfamiliar experiences require much more of our attention.

F．As a result, you can easily become less aware of your experience and not learn as much.

G．What makes some experiences add great value to our lives while other experiences do not?