【推荐2】Hummingbirds(蜂鸟) are one of nature’s most energetic fliers and the only birds to hover(盘旋) in the air by relying on their strength alone.
Now scientists have found that it is the ratio(比值) of the bird’s wing length to its width that makes them so efficient. The discovery is helping experts compete with 42 million years of natural selection to build helicopters that are increasingly efficient.
David Lentink, an assistant professor at Stanford University in California, tested wings from 12 different species of hummingbirds, which he sourced from museums. He placed them on a machine used to test the aerodynamics(气力学) of the helicopter blades(桨叶). Professor Lentink’s team used the same machine to test the blades from an advanced micro-helicopter used by the UK’s army. They found that the micro-helicopter’s blades are as efficient at hovering as the average hummingbirds.
But while the micro-helicopter’s blades kept pace with the average hummingbird wings, they could not keep up with the most efficient hummingbird’s wing. The wings of Anna’s hummingbird were found to be about 27 percent more efficient than the man-made micro- helicopter’s blades.
While Professor Lentink wasn’t surprised at nature’s superiority, he said that helicopter blades have come a long way. “The technology is at the level of an average hummingbird,” he said. “A helicopter is really the most efficient hovering device that we can build. The best hummingbirds are still better, but I think it’s amazing that we’re getting closer. It’s not easy to match their performance, but if we build better wings with better shapes, we might match hummingbirds.”
Professor Lentink said that we don’t know how hummingbirds maintain their flight in a strong wind, how they navigate(确定方向) through branches, or how they change direction so quickly. He thinks that great steps could be made by studying wing aspect ratios-the ratio of wing length to wing width. Understanding these abilities and characteristics could be a benefit for robotics and will be the focus of future experiments.
1. What did the scientists find about hummingbirds?

A．Their wings are long and wide

B．They can hover in the air for a long time

C．The ratio of their wing length to wing width is very important

D．They are the most energetic flier in nature

2. Which is the right order of Professor Lentink’s research?
①Tested wings from different species of hummingbirds
②Got resources from museums
③Analyzed the results and drew a conclusion
④Tested the blades from a micro-helicopter

A．①②③④	B．②①③④
C．②④①③	D．②①④③

3. According to Professor Lentink, what will be the focus of future experiments?

A．To know how hummingbirds can fly in a strong wind

B．To know how hummingbirds change direction so quickly

C．To develop a new kind of helicopter

D．To study the secrets of hummingbirds

【推荐3】WE COMBAT ANIMAL DISEASES TOGETHER!

We want to prevent serious animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever and African swine fever from spreading to Finland. These and other animal diseases can be transmitted from one country to another by animals or by meat and dairy products even if they are packed for personal consumption or intended as gifts. Travelers like you play an important role in preventing the spread of animal diseases.

Don’t bring meat, meat products, milk and dairy products from non-EU countries to Finland!

A ban on personal imports applies to meat and dairy products brought into Finland by travelers or ordered and sent through the post. The ban applies to food stuffs intended for personal consumption or as gifts and to pet food. If you have food products of animal origin with you, throw them in a waste container in the point of entry or contact Customs!

Bringing meat-containing products as presents and for personal use from an EU country to Finland

At the moment, there are EU countries with cases of African swine fever. In those countries there are restriction areas and, as a rule, pork and wild bear meat or products containing these meats may not be imported from these areas into Finland. Import is allowed only under very strict criteria controlled by local authorities. However, the sales of these meat products within the country may be allowed. In the EU, the disease has been detected in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Belgium and Italy (Sardinia), for instance. It is difficult for travelers to know and prove from which area meat products originate and whether the products on sale meet all criteria. This is the reason why we recommend that people avoid importing any meat products containing pork or wild bear meat as presents or for personal use from countries with African swine fever.

PLEASE NOTE! Never leave any food waste or leftover in the environment or places where they may be eaten by wildlife. Never give food waste or leftover to production animals or to pet pigs.

Thank you for helping us to prevent the spread of animal diseases. We wish you a pleasant journey!

1. Whom is this notice intended for?

A．Food importers in Finland.	B．Travelers to Finland.
C．Citizens in EU countries.	D．Medical staff from non-EU countries.

2. Why does the Finnish Food Authority issue the notice?

A．To protect endangered wildlife.	B．To secure the domestic economy.
C．To promote vegetarian lifestyle.	D．To prevent the infectious diseases.

3. Which of the following behaviors is IMPROPER, according to the notice?

A．A Russian official threw a beef burger in a dustbin at the Finnish airport.

B．A Finnish girl fed milk to pigeon at the park in her neighborhood.

C．A Japanese traveler bought some Hungarian homemade sausages in Finland.

D．A German brought German cheeses to his Finnish girlfriend as a gift.

【推荐1】We are interested in the preservation of the biodiversity on Earth. What I’ve been working on is rats. Just looking at rats, you can understand continental drift and climate change. We’ve actually rediscovered rats that were thought to be extinct. Darwin was the last one to document them on the Galapagos Islands. People have gone there for hundreds of years and not seen one. In 1997, I went there with my mentor(导师) and another graduate student. Everyone thought I was crazy, why look for something that doesn’t exist? They wouldn’t even give us permits. Our plan was to stop on a beach for a day and then hike up to the top of an extinct volcano where very few people had been:We were on a picturesque, isolated beach. We set out the traps just to see what we might find. The next morning, I checked my traps! I immediately ran back to my mentor. When he looked in the mental trap—I will never forget his face--- It looked like he’d seen a ghost.

I certainly understand the argument: “ Who cares about an extinct rat?” but you have no idea what role that rat plays in that functioning ecosystem. People can appreciate beauty, so that’s why people love pandas and want to keep them around. You never hear, “What good is panda?” Ecologically, these rats are much more important to their ecosystem than those pandas--- not that I don’t love pandas but we have to look beyond the big and beautiful.

I teach conservation biology and evolution. In both you have to appeal to people asking “ Why is this important to me?” Some scientists refuse to do that. That’s my entire approach. I’ll ask “How many of you had a family member who was in a tornado, hurricane or flood?” .And almost every hand goes up. Climate change is suddenly very personal, and now they want to hear what you are saying. You are not looking for sympathy for the rats but for a greater understanding of the system.

1. When the author went to the Galapagos Island with his team in 1997,________.

A．they were led to an extinct volcano.

B．they were driven away from the islands

C．they were offered some useful information

D．they couldn’t be understood by other people

2. Seeing the rat in the trap, the author’s mentor felt____.

A．delighted	B．astonished
C．satisfied	D．frightened.

3. The author mentions pandas in Paragraph 2 to show______.

A．it is no use protecting pandas

B．it’s important to research on rats

C．it’s time we cared about ecosystems

D．it’s worthwhile to bring extinct rats back to life.

4. How does the author make his students focus on his lectures?

A．By letting them know the courses are closely related to them.

B．By informing them of the harm of climate change.

C．By telling them the influence of natural disasters.

D．By making them feel sorry for the rats.

【推荐2】The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that one in every 12 kids is living in homes where no one has worked for at least a year. That may be due to unemployment or issues such as sickness or disability that mean they can’t work, and aren’t required to. This is known as being in a “long term workless” family.

The issues faced by children in workless families have very bad influence on their development and education, limiting their future employment prospects, and reducing their opportunities to succeed throughout their lives.

Not only does worklessness reduce family income, it can also damage families’ health and stability, and thus destroy children’s development. This is because many workless families are held back by disadvantages such as debt, drug and alcohol dependency, and by homelessness. Suffering from the family problems, many children face a greater and greater possibility of repeating the poor outcomes of their parents. Government research has shown that children in workless families are almost twice as likely not to reach the expected level at all stages of their education. For example, three-quarters of children from families where no one works failed to reach the expected level at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), compared to around half of children in lower-income working families.

So attention should be paid to children in out-of-work homes. Having working parents means a child is more likely to do better at school, to have better health, education and development, and also means they are less likely to fall into crime.

But for some families, worklessness, or not employment, is the norm. They just choose not to work. These families often face huge barriers to getting on with their lives but they take the opportunities offered by the society. Parents’ ability to work is frustrated by issues like low skills or poor mental or physical health, or drug and alcohol dependency, leaving children without the stability they need.

We all want to help workless families with complex problems so that their children can take advantage of the opportunities in Britain. We all want parents to have the chance to go out to earn a living and to enjoy the pleasure of work, so that their children can benefit from the good examples of working parents. In doing so, we should know the need to understand the complex issues that some families face and to develop a new approach to deal with poverty. Because the root causes are not financial. It is about helping families overcome the problems they face so that they can go as far as their talents and hard work will take them. We shouldn’t retreat from acting to deal with disadvantages, because we know the costs of inaction to individuals, communities and society.

1. According to the author, children in workless families may _______.

A．have better performance at school

B．take chances to go out to earn a living

C．be more able to deal with their problems

D．live the same lifestyles that their parents had

2. The underlined word “norm” in the fifth paragraph probably means _______.

A．a huge barrier	B．a turning point
C．a typical standard	D．an unusual event

3. In the last paragraph the author mainly talked about _______.

A．raising of social welfare

B．solutions to the problems

C．development of the society

D．reforming of the government

4. The main purpose of the passage is to _______.

A．introduce a study on children in workless families

B．appeal to the readers to help children in workless families

C．present a new approach to deal with poverty of workless families

D．compare children’s performances in workless families and low-income ones

【推荐3】It's rare that you see the words "shyness" and "leader" in the same sentence. After all, the common viewpoint is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent net-workers and that those shy people are not. A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of executives who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy—they're just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few "innies".

Unlike their outgoing counterparts who are more sensitive to rewards and risk-taking, shy people take a cautious approach to chance. Rather than the flashy chit-chat that defines social gathering, shy people listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They're not thinking about what to say while the other person is still talking, but rather listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically（内在地） motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.

Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence: they "own" the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.

Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers aren't modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to acknowledge mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.

Since shy people have a lower sensitivity to outside rewards than outgoing ones, they're more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren't primarily apparent. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Albert Einstein, who once said, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer." Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.

The myth that shy people are less effective leaders than their outgoing fellows is just a misunderstanding. Make wise use of your personality strengths to lead your business no matter what side of the range you fall on.

1. We can learn from Paragraph 2 that ___________.

A．shy people are sensitive to rewards

B．shy people care more about content

C．outgoing people are more careful about chances

D．outgoing people consider what to learn while listening

2. The example of Johnny shows ____________.

A．shy people are likely to be modest

B．hardworking students speak little in public

C．some students keep silent on purpose at school

D．shy people may have an advantage in discussion

3. We can learn from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 that ____________.

A．success results from devotion	B．shyness contributes to popularity
C．outside reward leads to insistence	D．uncertainty counts more than certainty

4. The author supports his ideas mainly by ____________.

A．giving definitions and presenting research results

B．explaining problems and providing solutions

C．quoting authorities and making evaluations

D．making contrasts and giving examples

【推荐1】As heat waves continue to ravage the planet, air conditioners are becoming more and more common. However, these "active" cooling devices are posing problems because the electricity consumption which most people are concerned about and the release of ozone-damaging chemicals worsen the greenhouse gas effect, resulting in the creation of heat islands and further thermal pollution. Therefore, "passive" cooling, which doesn't have such effects, has attracted considerable attention from both scientists and ordinary people in recent years.

In a recent study, a team of researchers from China and US presented an eco-friendly, low-cost smart coating to keep buildings cooler while consuming zero electricity. Infrared radiation-based passive cooling has been investigated since 2014, but challenges, mainly the expensive and unsustainable design, have greatly limited their large-scale and widespread application. Besides, the imbalance in cooling ability of these coatings during the day and night tends to lead to great day-night temperature differences as more heat is lost than gained at night.

The solution therefore requires a "smart" mechanism that can both enhance daytime cooling and minimize nighttime heat loss. To do this, the researchers created a new smart coating comprised of conventional building materials, including titanium dioxide nanoparticles, fluorescent microparticles, and glass microspheres that were engineered to reflect most of the sunlight. Specifically, the titanium dioxide particles effectively reflect sunlight through light scattering（撒播）while the fluorescent particles increase the amount of reflection by changing the absorbed sunlight into fluorescence emissions, which drive more heat away from the building. Meanwhile, the glass microspheres re-send mid-infrared broadband radiation, allowing not only heat loss, but allowing heat exchange to take place between the building and the sky.

The coating was tested on a model concrete building. Through this efficient heat exchange with the sky, daytime cooling was strengthened while nighttime cooling was reduced. The building's inside temperature was always maintained at around 26℃, even when the out-side temperature varied from 24℃ to 37℃ during the day. We believe this new coating will make it to commercialization soon, enabling a sustainable, passive cooling technology that could help to fight climate change and the global energy crisis.

1. What is the virtue of passive cooling?

A．It is simple to design.	B．It uses no chemicals.
C．It is smart.	D．It uses no power.

2. Why couldn't the former coating be applied commercially?

A．It was hard to design.

B．Its material was hard to produce.

C．Its heat loss and cooling are imbalanced.

D．It wasn't tested on a model concrete building.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "mechanism" in paragraph 3?

A．Metal.

B．System.

C．Platform.

D．Building.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The principle of air-conditioning.

B．The differences between active and passive cooling.

C．A new coating to keep buildings cool without electricity.

D．A new building to maintain its inside temperature without electricity.

【推荐2】Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.

This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy (幻想) literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make­believe. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?

Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife.   Without modern technology small pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction (交互) with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen.

The world of make­believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet (出路) for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough, we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own.

1. The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves________.

A．the close connection between man and the fantasy world

B．the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature

C．the fine taste of moviegoers around the world

D．the general existence of the sense of curiosity

2. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?

A．People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy.

B．The world around us could serve as a source of wonder.

C．The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond.

D．Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder.

3. If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make­believe, we will________.

A．fail to appreciate the joy in our lives

B．be confused by the world of make­believe

C．miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world

D．be trapped by other worlds existing all around us

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To show us the hidden beauty in our world.

B．To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world.

C．To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder.

D．To discuss the influence of the world of make­believe.

【推荐1】The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphone, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (怀旧的）skill. However，while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful---both in school and in life.

Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.

Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.

In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to know well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.

Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(转换）“those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct then over time.

“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won't have knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”

1. What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?

A．The absence of blackboard in classroom.

B．The use of new technologies in teaching.

C．The lack of practice in handwriting.

D．The popular use of smartphones.

2. Berninger’s study published in 2009 .

A．focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer.

B．indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper.

C．found that good essays are made up of long sentences.

D．discussed the importance of writing speed.

3. Which of the following best shows the role of spelling?

A．Spelling improves one’s memory of words.

B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability.

C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas.

D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas.

4. What does “mind’s eye” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Window.	B．Soul
C．Picture.	D．Imagination.

5. What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．Computers can help people with their choice of words.

B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.

C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.

D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade.

【推荐2】The Alpha Go program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.

But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically—can they be honest and fair?

One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, no to the passengers?

Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelliger beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.

About the same time as AlphaGo’s victory, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.

Alpha Go’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.

Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which own AlphaGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”

1. What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?

A．Computers will win human beings.

B．Computers have unmatched potential.

C．Computers are man’s potential opponents (对手).

D．Computers can become highly intelligent.

2. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?

A．How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.

B．How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.

C．How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.

D．How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.

3. What do we learn about Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ Taylor?

A．She could not distinguish good from bad.

B．She could turn herself off when necessary.

C．She was not made to handle strange situations.

D．She was good at performing routine tasks.

4. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?

A．It will be far superior to human beings.

B．It will keep improving as time goes by.

C．It will prove to be valuable to human beings.

D．It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.

【推荐3】For some people, running outdoors is a great way to exercise. What may not be so great is seeing trash all over the ground. Well, some people are doing something about it. They are plogging! Plogging began in Sweden in 2016. A Swedish man named Erik Ahlstrom became concerned about the amount of trash and litter he saw each day on his way to work and he began picking up the trash. That is how plogging was born!

Plogging, by that term，may have officially begun in Sweden. But many people who exercise outdoors have been doing this for years. Take Jeff Horowitz for example. He is a personal trainer in Washington，D. C. He would often pick up trash while running outside. He even turned it into a game; he would try to pick up the trash without stopping.

Today, plogging is an official activity, one that is becoming increasingly popular. Plogging can build closer social connections in a community, and it can also be fun. When Dana Allen goes plogging around D. C., she invites her friends, and they make a day of it. Although Allen enjoys plogging，she doesn’t do it all the time. When she is training for a serious marathon race，the trash has to wait.

Cities around the world now hold plogging events. The goal is to spread the idea that littering is not acceptable. Along with cleaning up the environment, there may be another reason to choose plogging. One fitness app，Lifesum，records one hour of plogging as burning 288 calories. Usual jogging burns about 235 calories.

Getting ready to plog is similar to getting ready to jog. Ploggers do some deep knee bends as well as some balancing exercises and then they put on protective gloves. There are other safety rules for plogging. The main one is to plog in areas where there are not too many people. Stopping quickly in front of someone. to pick up an empty bag of potato chips, for example, could cause a crash.

1. What do we know about Jeff Horowitz from the text?

A．He was the first person to plog.	B．He has been actually plogging.
C．He is in support of eco-travelling.	D．He is an expert in picking up trash.

2. What is so special about Dana Allen’s plogging?

A．She doesn’t always do it with her friends.

B．She always finds it interesting to do it.

C．She nearly does it in a park every day.

D．She doesn’t insist doing it every day.

3. What do the numbers in Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?

A．Picking up trash is important.	B．Plogging events are of little use.
C．Plogging is a better workout.	D．The idea of plogging is strange.

4. Why should ploggers choose to plog in less crowded areas?

A．To avoid a crash.	B．To save energy.
C．To pick up more trash.	D．To make it unknown.