Last year, Wolf Cukier, who is 17 years old, spent his summer vacation as few other rising seniors have：he helped discover a planet-TOI 1338b, the newly identified world orbiting two stars which are more than 1, 300 light years away.
Last July， just after he finished his junior year at Scarsdale High school in Scarsdale, New York, Wolf started an internship(实习期) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
During the first week of the internship, as be combed through data that had been flagged by citizen-scientists. he fixed attention on s system that included two orbiting stars. He identified a body in that system that was later proved as a planet about 6.9 times as large as Earth. while knowing this inspiring discovery, his colleagues immediately gave the system a name, TOI 1338b.
According to scientific research, any dip in the brightness of a single star is a good indication that a planet has crossed in front of it. However, TOI 1338b was particularly complicated because it involved two stars-a large star ere the planers track was easy to detect, and a smaller one where the planet's track was so small that it was not observable.
Many people think that wolf is a lucky dog, but as a matter of fact, it is not just a coincidence. When he studied in Junior High School, he had shown great passion on astronomy and was devoted to studying it. Wolf plans to study astrophysics(天体物理学) when he starts college in September. When it came to his contribution to the discovery of the new world. he emphasized it was the team work in the verification process rather than his own effort that counted.
1. What did Wolf do last year?| A．He was employed by NASA. |
| B．He finished his senior year in High School. |
| C．He spent his summer vacation like other seniors. |
| D．He helped find a new planet named TOI 1338b. |
| A．Modest and hardworking. | B．Ambitious and casual. |
| C．Considerate and lucky. | D．Optimistic and helpful. |
| A．The planet was named by Wolf. |
| B．The planet is the same size as the Earth. |
| C．The planet was easy to discover as there are two stars involved. |
| D．Team work in the verification process was highly valued by Wolf. |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A guidebook. | D．A scientific novel. |
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【推荐1】Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained rare and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her, and so tea-time was born.
1. Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?| A．The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
| B．Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
| C．The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
| D．It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
| A．How tea-time was born in Holland. |
| B．The history of tea drinking in Britain. |
| C．How tea became a popular drink in France. |
| D．How the Britons got the habit of drinking afternoon tea. |
| A．In the eighteenth century. | B．In the sixteenth century. |
| C．In the seventeenth century. | D．In the late seventeenth century. |
| A．It tasted like milk. |
| B．It was good for health. |
| C．It became a popular drink. |
| D．They tried to copy the way Madame de Sevigne drank tea. |
【推荐2】More cities, states and regions are committing to comprehensive climate plans to decarbonize (减少碳排放) transportation by 2040. The need for action is now, and we need to rise to the challenge quickly. Google technology is unlocking our ability to generate climate-related insights and impact on the globe.
The transportation sector is where global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are rising the quickest. In 2018, Google launched the Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE). Using AI, the systems analyze transportation trends in a city by mode， helping local governments assess their progress in tackling GHG emissions. GHG inventory processes (温室气体排放清单) traditionally take months and multiple data sources to collect, and are now highly efficient, allowing government staff to reduce the cost and personnel burden of reporting.
In pursuit of helping more cities take action against climate change, we will make transportation insights available in EIE for over 20,000 cities and regional governments by the end of the year, making it one of the largest ever collections of high-quality, globally consistent environmental data sources.
With EIE, cities have free access to Google’s unique mapping data and insights so they can decide on cleaner transport policies. As part of Google’s most ambitious decade of climate action, we’ve committed to helping more than 500 cities and local governments reduce a total sum of 1 billion tons of carbon emissions per year by 2030 and beyond.
As the window continues to narrow on carrying out policies and plans to reduce emissions, we’re collaborating with other associations, committed to addressing climate change. Our work with Cities. Climate Leadership Group(C 40) will help us better support the needs of cities. Together we can provide higher-quality transportation activity data to measure and track GHG emissions at a global scale, while also giving state and local governments resources to better understand what’s working at a local level.
1. What can we learn about EIE from paragraph 2?| A．It takes over government staff’s work. |
| B．It predicts transportation trends in a city. |
| C．It results in the rising of GHG emissions. |
| D．It deals with data collection and analysis. |
| A．To promote Google’s ambitious climate action. |
| B．To help cities make more sustainable decisions. |
| C．To provide environmental protection resources. |
| D．To partner with 40 countries for climate solutions. |
| A．Cooperating. | B．Compromising. |
| C．Competing | D．Corresponding. |
| A．Google helps calculate people’s carbon footprint with EIE. |
| B．Local governments benefit from environmental data sources. |
| C．Technology does its part in the action against climate change. |
| D．Technology can increase people’s environmental consciousness. |
【推荐3】In the late 1990s, a scientist named Mark Blumberg stood in a lab at the University of Iowa watching a few sleeping newlyborn rats. He found that the baby rats kept making small, sharp movements in their sleep, and that their closed eyes moved from side to side in a phenomenon known as rapid eye movement (REM). Blumberg knew that the rats were fine, because he knew people do the same during REM sleep. And scientists have long had an explanation for the twitches (抽动) and REM: They are dreaming about their waking life.
However, as he dug deeper, he wondered why adult rats spend only about two hours of each night in REM sleep, while baby rats spend an unusual amount of time in REM, often sleeping for sixteen hours a day and dreaming for eight.
“If dreams are hints of waking life, adult rats who have more experiences should spend more time in REM sleep. Why do baby rats, whose eyes are still shut, spend so much time in REM sleep when they have too little to dream about?” he wondered. “Why do their eyes, their legs, tails and whiskers move hundreds of thousands of times during their sleep?”
In the end, Blumberg concluded that it might be the other way around — perhaps the movements were sending signals to the brain to help it learn about the body.
“You wouldn’t think that the body is something a brain needs to learn,” he wrote in a paper. “But we aren’t born with maps of our bodies. We can’t be, because our bodies change by the day. But in waking life, we cannot move only a single muscle. Even the simplest act of swallowing (吞咽) employs more than thirty pairs of nerves and muscles working together. Our small and sharp movements in sleep, by contrast, are exact and precise: They involve muscles one at a time. In other words, such movements allow the muscles and nerves to form one-to-one connections that otherwise would be impossible. It’s a process that’s most important for the brain to learn about the body as we grow, suffer injuries and learn new skills.
1. What was the previous explanation for REM?| A．It was just an outward sign of dreams. |
| B．It showed the difficulty in sleeping. |
| C．It was an indicator of terrible dreams. |
| D．It only occured to sleeping baby rats. |
| A．Baby rats have to spend all night in REM sleep. |
| B．REM sleep just accounts for part of the sleeping time. |
| C．It is unnecessary for baby rats to sleep 16 hours a day. |
| D．It is not enough for adults to have two hours of REM sleep. |
| A．They teach the brain new skills and heal injuries. |
| B．Muscles have to work together to start the movements. |
| C．Each of them just involves a muscle and a nerve at a time. |
| D．They are less exact and precise than our daily movements. |
| A．The importance of REM sleep. |
| B．The latest discoveries about dreaming. |
| C．The relationship between dreams and waking life. |
| D．A different explanation for the twitches during sleep. |
【推荐1】One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty over-sixty-five-year-olds all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website.
Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews.
Let us now have a culture of peace.
—Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain
Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy (药学) from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director-General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays.
Writing is a discovery.
—Nadine Gordlmer, South Africa
Due to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Jazz is about the only form of art today.
—Dave Brubeck, USA
Dave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Two he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album (专辑). Brubeck’s 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
For more figures CLICK HERE.
1. Why did Andrew Zuckerman choose the fifty elders for his project?| A．Because their wisdom deserves to be passed on. | B．Because they are physically impressive. |
| C．Because their accomplishments inspired him. | D．Because they have similar experiences. |
| A．Andrew Zuckerman. | B．Federico Mayor Zaragoza. | C．Nadine Gordimer. | D．Dave Brubeck. |
| A．To show Zuckerman’s awards. | B．To advertise Zuckerman’s project. |
| C．To spread the wisdom of the three people. | D．To celebrate the achievements of the three people. |
Dr.Coren reviewed many studies to find out that dogs are as smart as 2 to 2.5 year olds. Forget about one word orders — according to Coren, the smartest dogs can learn up to 250 words. Most dogs understand an average of 165 words. “The upper limit of dogs” ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a Border Collie (博得牧羊犬) named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words, and ‘fast-track learning’, which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language-learning apes(猿)。
Dogs are also great at tricking. During play, they have the ability to trick humans and other dogs in order to get treats. “And they are nearly as successful in tricking humans as humans are in tricking dogs, saysCoren.
Dogs can also count to four or five, which might explain how they know when their toys are missing. Coren explains,“Their astonishing flashes of smartness and creativity are reminders that they may not be Ensteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought.”
Animals can do much to keep us happy, health, and protect us from harm. Stories of dog heroes can be found using a simple Internet search. Pets teach us sense of duty, keep us from loneliness, and can help with treatment of the disabled. Dogs are smarter than we thought — as smart as a two year old.
1. How do dogs bring happiness and health to humans according to the author?
| A．By doing funny tricks. |
| B．By keeping humans busy. |
| C．By serving their owners. |
| D．By playing with their owners. |
| A．He seldom uses one word orders. |
| B．He uses words like a 2.5 year old. |
| C．He is Corn’s favorite subject for study. |
| D．He shows a high level of language ability. |
| A．It is as good as an ape’s. |
| B．It is close to human’s. |
| C．It leaves a lot to be studied. |
| D．It helps them keep their toys. |
| A．train a dog |
| B．search the Internet |
| C．watch a two year old |
| D．visit a hospital for the disabled |
【推荐3】As the world’s population continues to increase, so does the amount of global waste people produce. According to data collected by the World Bank Group, nations will generate 4 billion tons of waste annually by the year 2100. The pollution from trash is not only ruining the world’s oceans, air and soil but endangering all living creatures.
For years government agencies have been telling citizens to live a zero-waste lifestyle. Traditionally, manufacturers would make a product to be used and thrown by consumers. This linear model of production offered no help in the fight against global waste. Alternatively, a circular economy has been introduced. This is a system which aims to minimize waste and restore used materials. Once a product’s value is exhausted, the materials are recycled and returned to manufactures. The outcome is less waste.
In 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported on the Taiwan island’s recycling success rate in an article titled The World’s Geniuses of Garbage Disposal. In 1997, Taiwan established its signature 4-in-l Recycling Program, consisting of communities, recycling enterprises, government cleaning teams and the Recycling Fund. Residents separate their recyclable waste and bring it to their community’s recycling locations. The local government collection teams and private collectors collect it. Recycling companies buy waste materials from them to generate profits. Importers and manufacturers who are responsible for the recyclable products pay a fee into the Recycling Fund. The Recycling Fund is an essential aspect of the program used to subsidize (资助) the recycling disposal system, support education and research and development as well as finance recycling efforts in the future.
By following a circular system, more products than ever are being manufactured using recycled materials. For example, used tires can be recovered to pave roads, while plastic is reused to make new plastic products. And it also helps to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, save landfill space and even create new job opportunities.
1. Why has a circular economy been introduced?| A．The population is on the rise. |
| B．It can help handle global waste. |
| C．The living creatures on earth are getting less diverse. |
| D．Traditional products are not environmentally friendly. |
| A．The recyclable materials can be collected officially or privately. |
| B．The importers and manufactures cover the costs of the program. |
| C．Recycling companies buy waste materials from the residents. |
| D．The government invests money as the recycling fund. |
| A．It will cause no waste or pollution. | B．It reduces the costs of the products. |
| C．It helps lower the unemployment rate. | D．All the materials can be recycled again. |
| A．Do nothing by halves. | B．All that glisters isn’t gold. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. | D．One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. |
【推荐1】BKLYN
House Hotel
This hotel features works by Brooklyn artists. The 116 rooms are good value and Manhattan is only 20 minutes away by taxi or subway. The immediate surroundings feel urban — the hotel is by a high-rise public housing project while the nearest commercial street is under elevated(高的) subway tracks — but Bushwick’s best bars and cafes / restaurants are nearby.
Doubles from $99, room only. Tel: 718 388 4433
Archer Hotel
Visitors eager to stay in the heart of Manhattan should try one of the bargain-priced rooms at this hotel. Rates vary from great value to expensive; some start from as low as $179 a night (if prepaying in full). Rooms are small but tasteful, with nice touches such as exposed brick. Some have close-up views of the Empire State Building.
Doubles from $199, room only. Tel: 212 719 4100
Pod 39 Hotel
In an elegant brick building in Manhattan’s Murray Hill, this excellent budget option opened following the success of its sister hotel, The Pod. The rooms are called pods given for their small size and may not suit everyone. But with prices among the most competitive in Manhattan, budgeters will be happy.
Doubles from $95, room only. Tel: 212 865 5700
CitizenM New York Times Square
This is the first US location for a Netherlands-based concept hotel chain — CitizenM. The hotel features self check-in at its 230 little but comfortable rooms via touch screen “MoodPads”. There’s a rooftop bar, a 24-hour grab-and-go cafeteria and an area with public iMac workspaces. Although New Yorkers avoid nearby Times Square, all the lights, cameras and action can make it a fun tourist experience.
Doubles from $170, room only. Tel: 212 319 7000
1. What can we know about BKLYN House Hotel?| A．It has the most rooms. | B．It is located in Manhattan. |
| C．It is Bushwick’s best hotel. | D．It is decorated with some art works. |
| A．Archer Hotel. | B．Pod 39 Hotel. |
| C．BKLYN House Hotel. | D．CitizenM New York Times Square. |
| A．Regulars can enjoy a certain dis count. |
| B．Visitors will get a “MoodPads” as a gift. |
| C．Visitors can enjoy themselves in a rooftop bar. |
| D．Visitors can have a good view of the Empire State Building. |
【推荐2】Today, Mars is a frozen desert with a thin atmosphere, too cold for liquid water to remain on the surface. Overwhelming evidence exists that Mars had liquid water oceans roughly 4 billion years ago. The question that drives our interests isn’t whether there’s life on present-day Mars. We are driven instead by asking whether there was life on Mars billions of years ago, which seems significantly more likely.
But if water existed on the Marian surface before, how was it possible? Mars is further away from the sun than Earth, and billions of years ago, the sun didn’t throw off as much heat as it does now.
The planet’s protective magnetic field mysteriously disappeared around 4.2 billion years ago as Mars cooled after forming. The sun’s solar wind then blew away the Martian atmosphere. leaving behind the thin one the planet has today.
Scientists believe the atmosphere was a key component for a warm, wet Mars that may have once hosted life. To have made the planet warm enough for liquid surface water, its atmosphere would likely have needed a large amount of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide specifically.
Currently, we don’t know the carbon dioxide content of Mars ancient atmosphere. So the researchers turned to the Nordlinger Ries crater（陨石坑）in southern Germany. It was created by a meteorite（陨石）impact 15 million years ago. That geology and the chemistry of the site act as a good similar for the Martian surface.
Researchers will study the pH and nitrogen that might have been in ancient Martian water, which will show the carbon dioxide content in its ancient atmosphere. That will throw light on whether Mars was once warm enough to support life.
The Mars 2020 rover（探测器）will land in a similar crater next year, collecting samples that will be returned to Earth in a future mission. It could be 10 to 20 years before Mars samples are brought back to Earth. We might know the answer to one of the first questions once these samples are distributed to labs in the US and throughout the world.
1. What are people more interested in about Mars?| A．Whether there was ever life on Mars. | B．Whether there is life on Mars now. |
| C．Whether there was ever water on Mars. | D．Whether it is possible for life on Mars. |
| A．was too cold | B．had no water on it |
| C．lost its magnetic field | D．was too far from the sun |
| A．How this crater was formed. |
| B．Why Mars is not suitable for life. |
| C．Whether there is any life sign on Mars. |
| D．How much carbon dioxide is in Mars’ ancient atmosphere. |
| A．Mars samples will be brought back to earth in 2021. |
| B．Many countries take part in the research of Mars. |
| C．It takes at least ten years for people to reach Mars. |
| D．Mars samples will help discover all the secrets of Mars. |
【推荐3】On the International Space Station, astronauts constantly “fall” around the earth as they orbit, so they don't feel the effects of gravity. While floating around for six months or a year in space sounds like a lot of fun, there is a serious side effect; once they get back to the earth, they're basically cripples (瘸子).If the worst happens, astronauts walking out of their spacecraft for the first time could slip and break a bone the moment they get back to the earth, because their bones and muscles have weakened over time in space.
NASA has made a lot of progress in this regard. It is clearly required that its astronauts spend about 90 minutes per day exercising in space, using a resistance machine as well as either a treadmill (跑步机)or an exercise bike. Although astronauts are burdened with a lot of things to do in space, that exercise time is sacred ——everyone makes sure the astronauts are not pressured to abandon their exercise time in favor of some experiment.
The doctors say that this time sweating it out is extremely important. "On muscles and bones, you have de — loading effects which can be reduced by extensive exercise," says NASA's Peter Norsk.
NASA is especially concerned with how a lack of gravity and increased space radiation(辐射)could hurt explorers on the way to the moon or Mars. On the earth, we are protected from most forms of radiation due to the atmosphere. While in space, explorers in the low-earth orbit still get a little less radiation than in deep space due to the earth's magnetic field (磁场)，which attracts some radiation from space. But on the way to Mars, that's not the case.
However, doctors still don't understand how radiation can affect astronauts' bones and muscles. It's hard to simulate (模仿)deep-space radiation on the earth, and we only sent a handful of astronauts to the moon back in the 1960s and 1970s.
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly focus on?| A．The role gravity plays in life. |
| B．The weakness of bones and muscles. |
| C．The side effects of a long stay in space. |
| D．The fun experience astronauts have in space. |
| A．By sleeping as long as possible. |
| B．By performing fewer spacewalks. |
| C．By relieving their mental pressures. |
| D．By doing exercise on a regular basis. |
| A．In deep space. | B．On the moon. |
| C．On the earth. | D．In a low-earth orbit. |
| A．More people are willing to step into space. |
| B．More research into radiation should be done. |
| C．The harm caused by radiation can be avoided. |
| D．Deep-space radiation has been copied in the lab. |
【推荐1】Tune in tonight at 6:00 p.m. to catch a science awards ceremony like no other. The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes celebrates unusual scientific research “that makes people laugh, then think,” according to the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), the magazine that organizes the annual event.
Now in its 30th year, the Ig Nobels ceremony is always officially described as the “First Annual” because “every year is a new beginning,” master of ceremonies and AIR editor Marc Abrahams told Live Science in 2016.
Former winners of Ig Nobel Prizes explored questions such as: Why do old men have big ears? Can you unboil a hard-boiled egg? And the eternal puzzle: Are cats a solid or a liquid?
Since 1991, the ceremony has unfolded in front of a packed house at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Nobel winners typically hand the winners their awards. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (新冠肺炎), the 2020 award ceremony has been prerecorded, but it will still offer a science-themed opera- a long-standing Ig Nobel tradition, performed by opera singers and scientists from the Boston area-as well as plenty of surprises, Abrahams told Live Science.
“Every part of the ceremony has been re-designed, because of the pandemic,” AIR representatives said in a statement. “The organizers even invented a new way for a Nobel winners on one continent to “physically” hand an Ig Nobel Prize to a new Ig Nobel Prize winner on a different continent.”
How is that even possible? You’ll have to watch the Ig Nobels to find out.
The ceremony will be broadcast live here on Live Science as well as on YouTube and AIR’s Facebook page as in previous years. Versions of the ceremony with translations in Japanese, Chinese and Spanish, will premiere at the same time as the U.S. version and will be accessible from the AIR website.
1. Why is the 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes called the “First Annual”?| A．Because every year is a new start. |
| B．Because the ceremony is brand new this year. |
| C．Because the ceremony is organized by the AIR for the first time. |
| D．Because the aim of the ceremony is to make people laugh and think. |
| A．The Ig Nobel ceremony is always recorded in advance. |
| B．The 2020 Ig Nobel ceremony has prepared many surprises. |
| C．Ig Noble competitors are addicted to strange but meaningful questions. |
| D．It’s an Ig Nobel tradition to invite scientists around the world to perform. |
| A．All details about the ceremony will be broadcast online. |
| B．It has been put off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| C．Nobelists cannot give awards to the Ig Nobel winners in person. |
| D．It will offer a science-themed opera performed by singers and scientists. |
| A．On a website | B．On a noticeboard. |
| C．In a science guidebook. | D．In a daily newspaper. |
【推荐2】EU members' states have agreed to ban a toxic substance widely found in clothing because it poses an ''acceptable risk'' to the environment. Countries voted in favor of extending existing restrictions on nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) to imports to clothing and other textile products.
The measure is intended to protect species in water. Use of NPE in textile manufacture in Europe was banned over 10 years ago but the substance is still released into the water environment through imported textiles being washed.
NPE degrades in the environment into substances including nonylphenol (NP), which accumulates in the bodies of fish and disturbs their hormones, harming fertility, growth and sexual development.
NPE is used in textile manufacture as a cleaning and dyeing agent. The EU decision notes that several studies have found NPE to be present in textile items.
A 2011 study by Greenpeace found NPE in two-thirds of clothes tested, including items sold by big-name brads such as Adidas, H&M, Lacoste, and Ralph Lauren. The NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) argued that although concentrations of NPE found in the clothes were low, the chemical’s existence in the environment posed a risk.
The new ban on textiles containing NPE in concentrations equal to or greater than 0.01% will enter into force five years after it is adopted by the European Commission, which is likely to happen in September.
In comments submitted to ECHA (European Chemicals Agency), clothing and textile firms have warned that obeying the restriction will be difficult because NPE ubiquitous in the supply chain and has numerous uses.
The new restriction will not apply to second-hand goods or recycled textiles because it is assumed that these will already have been washed several times so they contain negligible(微不足道的)amounts of NPE.
EU countries must eliminate pollution of water bodies by NP as it is a priority substance under the Water Framework Directive. A 2013 study by the UK environment agency warned that emissions from textiles could prevent progress towards this objective. It found 29% of imported cotton underwear contained NPE, which was released during the first two washes by the consumer.
1. The 2011 study by Greenpeace found _________.| A．29% of imported cotton underwear contained NPE |
| B．NPE had limited effects on aquatic species |
| C．NPE was widely present in textile products |
| D．clothes of good quality had no concentrations of NPE |
| A．is legally protected | B．is not easy to be found |
| C．seems to be every where | D．is uncommon |
| A．The original ban on use of NPE was very effective. |
| B．Recycled textile contain less NPE. |
| C．The new ban on imports of textile has come into force. |
| D．The UK environment agency is optimistic about the new ban. |
| A．lifestyle | B．technology. |
| C．Business. | D．Environment. |
【推荐3】Creating a new gene in a single day could soon be possible. The technology could one day let researchers speedily rewrite genes, enabling them to make new medicines and fuels on the fly. Researchers have been able to make DNA since the 1970s. The traditional approach takes DNA nucleotides(核苷酸）and adds them, one by one, to a growing chain called an oligo(寡核苷酸）。But the process is typically slow and error-prone, limiting oligos to about 200 letters-a tiny part of the thousands of letters that make up most genes.
Over the decades, most researchers have settled on one particular polymerase(聚合酶），called TdT,because unlike others, it can attach new nucleotides to an oligo strand without following a DNA template strand. Scientists have tried for years to make TdT add one nucleotide at a time and stop, before repeating the process with a different nucleotide. But TdT doesn't work well with these modified nucleotides. “TdT is very picky." says Sebastian Palluk, a Ph. D. student. One such system, for example, required about an hour to add each modified base, far too slow to be practical.
Ultimately, the approach should be cheap, because TdT is easy to manufacture in bacteria. It's also fast. Most new nucleotides attach to the growing oligo in 10 to 20 seconds. For now,the step still takes a minute. So synthesizing a whole gene will still likely take the better part of a day.
The new approach is not quite ready. So far, the group has made oligos only 10 bases long. And there are still a few writing problems,as the approach was only 98% accurate at writing DNA, below the 99% accuracy of the traditional approach. In order to write oligos up to 1000 bases long, the approach will likely need to be 99.9% accurate.
1. What is the drawback of the traditional way of making DNA?| A．It is too expensive. |
| B．It is too hard to be carried out. |
| C．It increases oligos to about 200 letters. |
| D．It is too slow and there may be mistakes. |
| A．Because it is cheap. |
| B．Because it is easy to get. |
| C．Because it is harmless to people. |
| D．Because it is easy to control. |
| A．Researchers have been able to make DNA recently. |
| B．The new approach is quite ready without any problem. |
| C．There is still some work to do before the new approach is practical. |
| D．To write oligos 1000 bases long, the approach needs to be 99% accurate. |
| A．A magazine. | B．A diary. |
| C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
