Problem-solving is part of everyone’s daily life. If you’re facing a tough problem at work, you truly are better off getting a good night’s sleep before making any decisions, as findings from a study at Northwestern University suggest.
Because many tricky problems are solved by thinking of them in a fresh way, Sanders and cognitive researchers Samuel Osburn, Ken A. Paller, and Mark Beeman assumed that processing unsolved problems during sleep would help people purify their memories of the problems, and improve their chances of solving them the next day.
To test that assumption, they used a technique known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR) with 61 study participants. In two evening laboratory sessions, the participants attempted to solve verbal, space, and other puzzles one at a time with the experimenters randomly pairing each puzzle with a musical sound. If the participants failed to solve a puzzle within 2 minutes, the corresponding sound played one more time. After failing to solve six puzzles each evening, they replayed the puzzle-sound pairings until they had them down.
After those sessions, participants took home technology that provided the sound cues while they slept.
Across the two mornings, they solved more cued puzzles than uncued puzzles. In fact, they solved 55 percent more puzzles when the corresponding sound had been played while they slept.
“While we use tricky puzzles in our study, the underlying cognitive processes could relate to solving any problem on which someone is stuck or blocked by an incorrect approach,” Sanders explains. “They advised, however, that the effect may only apply to situations in which an individual already has some background information to help solve a problem.” Beeman says.
Still, the study reveals important information about sleep, memory, and incubation (潜伏期) for problem-solving. The team plans to further study these processes, to further pin down the mechanisms and to see how it occurs in real-life problem-solving.
1. What is the assumption mainly about?| A．Sleep’s effect on problem-solving. | B．Solving problems during sleep. |
| C．Memory’s impact on problem-solving. | D．Improper ways of solving problems. |
| A．they set six puzzles for each participant. | B．they had the puzzles solved in the evenings. |
| C．they applied matching sounds to puzzle-solving. | D．they met with disapproval. |
| A．Subjective. | B．Objective. | C．Indifferent | D．Pessimistic |
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【推荐1】Insects are a rich source of protein and part of the natural diet for pigs, chickens and fish. Feeding insects to farm animals could be the environmental change that the farming industry has been waiting for.
It takes around 2.5 acres of land to produce a metric ton (公吨) of soya beans each year, but the same area could grow nearly 140 metric tons of insects. Cutting back on beans for animal feed can also reduce the act of cutting down the trees, especially in areas like the Amazon rainforest, where trees are cut down to increase farmland.
Farm animals eat around one-third of global grain production, some of which could be used to feed people instead. Reducing land use and the crops fed to farm animals can change the global food system and makes it more sustainable (可持续的)，according to a United Nations report.
Besides, insects can be fed on food waste. And because they do not need much space, they can be raised on farms in small-scale units like small containers. A British company Better Origin packs its containers with food waste and insects, and then they grow up to 5,000 times their original body mass in just two weeks. Researchers have forecast that the amount of food going to waste will hit two billion metric tons globally by 2030. If that can be changed into insect feed for animals, it will make livestock (家畜) production cheaper and more sustainable.
Startup companies like Better Origin are joining a fast- growing market. US food giant Cargill has entered the sustainable insect feed market by partnering with InnovaFeed to supply fish farms with black soldier fly larvae (a kind of insect).
“It is time to think about alternative (可供替代的) sources of food in view of a growing world population,” said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Chairman of the Spanish Board of Foresters. “Insects alone will not solve the world’s food security challenges but it would be absurd not to make use of their full potential in the fight against hunger.”
1. Why does the author list the figures in Paragraph 2?| A．To stress the high cost of insect feed. |
| B．To illustrate the importance of increasing farmland. |
| C．To present the situation of the Amazon rainforest. |
| D．To show the benefits of using insects as animal feed. |
| A．Many trees are cut down to feed insects. |
| B．Only insects will solve the world’s food security challenges. |
| C．The growth of insects requires strict environmental conditions. |
| D．Feeding insects to farm animals does good to the global food system. |
| A．Possible. | B．Unwise. | C．Selfish. | D．Intelligent. |
| A．Let’s make full use of farmland |
| B．How to reduce the amount of food waste |
| C．Insect feed can change the farming industry |
| D．How to improve the quality of livestock production |
【推荐2】The holiday season is a joyful time — packed with parties and traditions. But for millions of Americans living with depression, anxiety, addiction or other mental illnesses, the season can be especially challenging. According to a survey by National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 64% of those with mental illness say that the holidays make things worse. Therefore, it's imperative that we look out for friends, family and community members who struggle with mental health to assist them.
As a neuroscientist studying the brain biology of depression and anxiety, I am encouraged by the new tools and available behavioral treatments, but these treatments are only helpful if
people access them. Too often, fear of judgment and pressures from peers, employers, or family members cause many to avoid mental health services.
The holiday season is actually a perfect time to fight mental health problems. We can all watch out for signs of mental illness and depression in friends and loved ones — including feelings of worry or sadness, and extreme changes in mood.
All of us can play a role in relieving mental health problems, caring for one another, and encouraging each other to seek out professional help. In addition to one-on-one support, we can go a step further to build support networks.
People who recently attended a conversation shared personal stories about their mental health journeys. Attendees received input from mental health professionals and local resource groups. Many said they had waited for years to talk about these topics but had no place to discuss them. And they felt better informed about resources for addressing mental health challenges, hoping this kind of respectful, honest and informative conversation can take place in communities across the country.
1. What does the underlined word "imperative'' in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Essential. | B．Sensitive. |
| C．Improper. | D．Unnecessary. |
| A．The features of mental illness. |
| B．The categories of mental illness. |
| C．The reasons for people's refusal of treatment. |
| D．The importance of the new tools and treatments. |
| A．A private diary. | B．A health magazine. |
| C．A popular novel. | D．A travel guidebook. |
| A．Be the Best 一 You Can Make It. |
| B．People in need of health services. |
| C．My experience in dealing with mental illness. |
| D．A challenging season for those with mental illness. |
【推荐3】When you think back to the blackboard from your school days, what color is it? Chances are that it's green. So what's up with the name? Originally, blackboards were really black. Before wall-sized blackboards existed, late 18th-century students used their own mini boards made of slate(石板)or painted wood, according to Concordia University, Those first boards were, in fact. black, and they paved the way for the larger ones.
In 1800 when a Scottish headmaster named James Pillans wanted his students to draw maps, the students couldn't draw the maps their teacher wanted on their tiny boards, so Pillans put several slates together to create a large board. Problem solved! From there, the idea spread quickly as teachers could finally show a concept to the whole class at one time. By 1815, the massive writing spaces were common enough to earn their own name: blackboard.
The color change came in the 1960s when companies sold, steel plates, coated with green enamel(漆) instead of the traditional dark slate. The new material was lighter and less fragile than the first blackboards, so they were cheaper to ship and more likely to survive the journey. Teachers weren't complaining either. After all, the new “greenboards”made the chalk powder easier to erase. Plus, the enamel left less of a glare and the color was nicer to look at. At that point, people started using the word “chalkboard ”as a more accurate descriptor, but “ blackboard” still stuck around.
1. What did the late 18th-century students use in class?| A．Blackboard. | B．Chalkboard |
| C．Greenboard | D．Mini board. |
| A．To make a comparison. | B．To make enough space |
| C．To draw students’ attention | D．To arouse students’ interest |
| A．They're lighter in weight. | B．They're more convenient to transport |
| C．They’re easier to erase the powder. | D．They’re more useful than the traditional ones |
| A．Introduction of the blackboard | B．Origin of the blackboard. |
| C．Color of the blackboard. | D．Function of the blackboard. |
【推荐1】The great outdoors: it’s the place to head for when you’re in need of peace and quiet, open spaces, beautiful scenery and exercise. Whether a huge mountain range or a local country park, these natural areas are perfect for us to refresh from our stressed-out lives, and their therapeutic (治疗的) effect is being used more and more to treat mental health.
As an example, in the foothills of the Snowdonia National Park in the UK, specialist therapy sessions are held to help people who suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. Outdoor art-related activities are held for patients, but the setting alone has been credited with improving the mood of patients. Art psychotherapist Pamela Stanley told the BBC that there was a “growing body of evidence” to support eco-therapy.
It’s true that for most of us connecting with the natural world definitely lifts our spirits. But the mental health charity Mind says eco-therapy has been recognized as a formal type of treatment that can sometimes be prescribed to someone by a doctor. It doesn’t involve taking medication, but instead it just develops a person’s relationship with nature. This natural remedy can take on many forms, including doing yoga in a forest, gardening or even hugging a tree.
Evidence has shown there are many benefits of this “green” therapy, including improving social contact, social and work skills and coping abilities. It’s what Dr. Rachel Bragg from the University of Essex calls “psychological recovery”. She told the BBC’s All in the Mind programme that nature-based therapies should be part of a “toolkit” of care for patients.
Of course, eco-therapy won’t cure everything, but it is an option for therapists to use. And as we become more aware of the causes and effects of mental health, it’s good to know that help might lie outside our towns and cities, and that nature can give us a helping hand.
1. In what way does nature work in the therapeutic effect?| A．It helps people get much relieved. | B．It helps people do bodybuilding. |
| C．It is doctor’s preference for treatments. | D．It can help us fully recover from the illness. |
| A．Option. | B．Contact. | C．Treatment. | D．Effect. |
| A．Looking after a garden. | B．Taking medicine. |
| C．Reading at home. | D．Gathering with friends. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Negative. | C．Neutral. | D．Positive. |
【推荐2】From writing Shakespeare-style poetry to making music, ChatGPT has amazed the world since its launch in late 2022 by the US-based company Open AI. It even passed several law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota, US, according to CNN.
The AI program can answer questions on a whole host of topics, and write essays, stories and any other written texts you can think of. It does this by drawing on information collected from a large corpus (语料库) of text data.
What makes ChatGPT so impressive? As Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI said in an interview with Forbes, “it’s not actually fundamentally new technology that made this (ChatGPT) have a moment.”
According to MIT Technology Review, ChatGPT is based on GPT-3, a large language model. Because texts are more complicated than the meaning of every word combined, language models require a type of neural network (神经网络) that can make sense of texts.
One breakthrough behind today’s model is a network called Transformer, which was invented by Google researchers in 2017. The neural network can infer word meanings by tracking where the word appears in a sentence. Transformer can therefore capture the meaning of texts more accurately.
The GPT models built by OpenAI combined Transformer with unsupervised learning, meaning that the models can learn by themselves without being told what to look at. ChatGPT can now generate human-like responses instantly due to the large scale (规模) of texts it learned from.
“One of the biggest problems with ChatGPT is that it comes back, very confidently, with falsities,” Michael Wooldridge at the Alan Turing Institute in London, UK, told The Guardian. This means that ChatGPT doesn’t know the truth about the world — it learns information from various resources but it cannot decide what is true or false.
Some argue that ChatGPT will be used to generate fake news, spread falsities, or be used for ill purposes. As for education, many US schools recently banned students from using ChatGPT on school networks because students began to use it as a shortcut for essays.
1. How does ChatGPT work?| A．By making use of its large collection of texts. |
| B．By gathering different information. |
| C．By categorizing information by theme. |
| D．By simplifying complicated texts. |
| A．Its neural network can capture texts quickly. |
| B．Its Transformer can produce human-like responses instantly. |
| C．Its language model can track words accurately. |
| D．Its model combines Transformer with unsupervised learning. |
| A．It processes information slowly. | B．It learns from limited resources. |
| C．It can generate false answers. | D．It can be used for ill purposes. |
| A．ChatGPT writes miracles | B．ChatGPT meets challenges |
| C．An AI language model assists human | D．ChatGPT — a bridge to future |
【推荐3】Self-driving cars are hitting city streets like never before. In August the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted (授予) two companies, Cruise and Waymo, permits to run driverless robo-taxis 24/7 in San Francisco and to charge passengers for those rides. This was just the latest in a series of green lights that have allowed progressively more freedom for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the city in recent years.
Almost immediately, Cruise was criticized for its vehicles behaving unpredictably. One blocked the road outside a large music festival, and another got stuck in wet concrete. The incidents have brought renewed attention to the potential difficulties of integrating self-driving cars into the urban environment.
Yet despite some ongoing opposition, self-driving car companies have continued to expand testing and operations to more US cities. Many supporters say these vehicles could offer a safer alternative to human drivers, make transportation accessible to more people, improve traffic flows around cities and decrease the environmental impact of cars. So far, though, most of those promised benefits remain squarely in a possible future. Meanwhile, here in the present, complications have become plainly apparent.
AVs, such as those operated by Cruise and Waymo, shouldn’t be confused with commercially available cars, such as electric cars, which come with some driver-assistance features. Unlike those vehicles, which require a human driver to oversee control at all times, robo-taxis run on the road without a person monitoring and managing each movement from behind a steering wheel (方向盘). This is made possible by a very detailed internal map.
Waymo and Cruise maintain that their AVs are safer than human drivers. Both companies have released data that they claim support this, yet some researchers have their doubts. “I actually think there is not yet enough data available to the public, including researchers like me, to be able to judge relative safety,” says Steven Shladover, an engineer at the University of California.
1. What is the CPUC’s main purpose of issuing the permits?| A．To promote autonomous vehicles. | B．To advocate sustainable practices. |
| C．To upgrade public transportation. | D．To reduce traffic at peak periods. |
| A．They have charged passengers too much. |
| B．They occupy private parking spaces. |
| C．They badly affect the urban environment. |
| D．They consume large amounts of fuel. |
| A．They require more qualified human drivers. |
| B．They are more dependent on the internal map. |
| C．They will meet customers at a lower price. |
| D．They are smarter to handle a difficult situation. |
| A．We should give freedom to car producers. |
| B．Driverless cars will improve city planning. |
| C．All researchers support driverless robo-taxis. |
| D．It’s too early to declare AVs are safe enough. |
【推荐1】When I tell people I wrote a book with my dad, they usually say, “It must be nice to think of the legacy (留下来的东西) you created with someone who means so much to you.”
This was a beautiful idea, but it was not the way I, or my dad, ever thought about the cooperation. Though we created something we’re proud of, “nice” is not the word either of us uses to describe the process.
“It was more confrontation (对抗) than cooperation,” my dad likes to say. I agree.
When we landed a book deal, we began a writing journey that was more difficult than either of us had anticipated, but also far more rewarding.
For almost three years, we met once or twice a week at my parents’ house and talked daily to plan and outline each chapter. After these meetings, one of us would write a rough draft that the other would build on. I wanted the book to focus on positive vices (不良习惯): such as moderate (适度的) chocolate. However, my dad felt the book should include chapters dealing with things like walking and spending time with family. Ultimately , I saw it his way. He said the book was about more than just good vices. It was about encouraging people to enjoy life in healthy ways.
Writing this book was a reminder that our family members share not only our faults but also our strengths. My dad is smart, funny, critical and caring. He has a strong passion for the truth. I hope I share these great qualities. For this book, he researched each topic with an enthusiasm I’d never seen from him, and he insisted that we constantly question and critically analyze every piece of information – even our own conclusions. He was determined to cooperate with me on a book, not because he couldn’t write one on his own, but because he believed that we could create something better together than we could alone.
I’m not sure if our cooperation led to better writing, but I’m sure it led to a better writing experience. Writing this book was difficult, sometimes more difficult than past projects, but it was never lonely.
1. How would the author describe the writing process according to the first 3 paragraphs?| A．Nice. | B．Struggling. |
| C．Relaxing. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．A healthy lifestyle. |
| B．The theme of the book. |
| C．How the author and his father worked together. |
| D．Why the author wanted to write the book. |
| A．He is not good at writing. |
| B．He lacks confidence in himself. |
| C．He likes to criticize others’ works. |
| D．He likes to get to the bottom of things. |
| A．It’s important to make a plan before work. |
| B．Their cooperation resulted in a better book than the author expected. |
| C．It’s worthwhile to work with someone close to you. |
| D．Communicate more when there is an argument. |
【推荐2】The chicken-loving dog spent last month guarding the island’s penguin colony, with great success.
A SOUTH-WEST Victorian chicken farmer known as Swampy and his dog Oddball may have found a way to save some of Australia’s endangered wildlife from enemies. After Warrnambool’s once flourishing penguin population was killed in large numbers by foxes and dogs until only 27 remained, Allan Swampy Marsh hatched an effective plan to save the birds. His four sheepdogs had been protecting his chickens against enemies for a decade. He figured they could do the same for the penguins. “The difficulty was trying to convince all the wildlife wallies to think outside the square,” Mr Marsh said. “It’s not an unselfish view of penguins or chicks but the sense of territory (领地) that makes the dogs work, and it is far stronger in these dogs than any other trained breed.”
Oddball’s work as guardian of Middle Island’s colony last month was a success. At the end of the month, 70 pairs of happy feet were counted returning to the island. About 2,000 penguins occupied the island in the 1990s. “Oddy is really protective of the chicks, so to her the penguins were only chicks in dinner suits,” Mr Marsh said. Highly territorial dogs have been bred in Italy to guard livestock for 2,000 years. They manage to keep off trouble makers such as foxes and dogs. The trial’s success has generated interest from overseas. The use of guard animals such as dogs — and even alpacas, which also stop foxes — is now being considered to save other endangered species such as the eastern barred bandicoot.
1. What had happened to most of Middle Island’s penguins?| A．They had been killed by other animals. |
| B．They had been scared away by people. |
| C．They had stopped breeding for no obvious reason. |
| D．They had been taken to another island for protection. |
| A．27. | B．70. |
| C．1990. | D．2000. |
| A．Dogs’ interest. |
| B．Dogs guarding chicks. |
| C．Dogs’ believable strength. |
| D．Dogs’ training in protecting animals. |
| A．They come from Italy. | B．They are very territorial. |
| C．They are an ancient breed. | D．They are large with messy fur. |
| A．people should think globally but act locally |
| B．Allan ‘Swampy’ Marsh is a typical Australian |
| C．it may be possible to use this local idea more widely |
| D．every environmental problem needs a unique solution |
【推荐3】Peter Damon produces about 30 paintings a year and sells them for between US$250 and US$1,500. That’s not enough to make ends meet, but it has made him whole again. He lost both arms in an accident.
“Having this skill that even normal people find difficult was something that really helped me and made me feel like I fit in more in the world,” Damon said.
He was a worker in a car factory. One day when he was working, there was a gas explosion (爆炸), killing one worker and injuring him.
“I lost my right arm above the elbow, about three inches above the elbow, and my left about six inches below,” he explained.
“How am I going to make a living and take care of my family? I had always worked with my hands,” he said.
Then with a simple little drawing, a new future opened up for him.
“I thought it was wonderful in a way,” Damon said. “Something was telling me to focus on this and everything will be alright.” Damon doesn’t have a perfect prosthetic arm (假肢)—just a hook (钩子), which he finds works best.
He and his wife Jen run True Grit Art Gallery in Middleboro, Massachusetts, where he shows the works of local artists. With his disability check from the government, he can afford to be an artist. He is a man doing what he wants with his life, and doesn’t look at his situation as a hard time.
“I don’t see it that way,” Damon said. “Suffering an injury like this has a way of making you focus on what’s important in life.”
He believes his best work is still ahead of him. But with his pictures of simple American scenes, Damon has already produced his best work.
1. How did Damon lose his arms?| A．A gas explosion injured his arms. |
| B．He was attacked when he was driving a car. |
| C．His arms were trapped by a worker by accident. |
| D．He was knocked down by a car when he was working. |
| A．His hope for life was brought back. |
| B．He felt a lot of pressure at the beginning. |
| C．He didn’t earn enough to support his family. |
| D．His paintings were so expensive that few people wanted to buy them. |
| A．Wonderful. | B．Positive. |
| C．Pitiful. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Winners do what losers don’t want to do. |
| B．Nothing is impossible if you try your best. |
| C．God closes a door and another will open for you. |
| D．Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. |
【推荐1】Scientists think they have the answer to a puzzle that confused even Charles Darwin： How flowers evolved and spread to become the most important plants on earth．
Flowering plants, or angiosperms (被子植物), make up about 90% of all living plant species,but how they did this has been a mystery. New research suggests it is due to genome (基因组) size．
Hundreds of millions of years ago,the earth was dominated by ferns (蕨类)and conifers(针叶树) - they were the main plants on the earth． Then, about 150 million years ago， the first flowering plants appeared on earth. They quickly spread to all parts of the world．
Why angiosperms were successful and diverse on earth has been debated for centuries.Charles Darwin himself called it a "mystery", fearing this apparent sudden change might challenge his theory of evolution．
Kevin Simonin from San Francisco State University in California US and other researchers analyzed data held by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew， on the genome size of hundreds of plants, including flowering plants, gymnosperms (a group of plants including conifers) and ferns. They then compared genome size with anatomical (结构上的) features. This provides "strong evidence" that the success and rapid spread of flowering plants around the world is due to "genome downsizing"．
By reducing the size of the genome, which is contained within the nucleus (核) of the cell, plants can build smaller cells. The researchers say genome-downsizing happened only in the angiosperms, and this was "a necessary condition for rapid growth rates among land plants"．
1. What do we know about angiosperms？ ______| A．They are superior in number among all living plant species． |
| B．They controlled the earth for hundreds of millions of years． |
| C．They challenge Charles Darwin's theory． |
| D．They are extinct plants in the world． |
| A．Simonin works in the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew |
| B．Simonin is probably an American biologist |
| C．Darwin was confident of his theory of evolution |
| D．Darwin succeeded in figuring out the flower evolution |
| A．The weaker ferns and conifer． |
| B．The larger nucleus． |
| C．The stronger cell． |
| D．The smaller genome． |
| A．Why were gymnosperms successful on earth？ |
| B．What puzzle confused even Charles Darwin？ |
| C．Why angiosperms dominated the earth？ |
| D．When angiosperms outnumbered conifers and Ferns？ |
【推荐2】For two centuries, the famous University of Cambridge debating society has hosted many prominent figures, from world leaders to scientists to comedians.
On Nov 21, the Cambridge Union hosted its first-ever non-human guest. Designed by IBM, Project Debater is a machine that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to form a spoken argument. It can even listen and answer to opposing statements, much like a real person.
Speaking with a voice similar to Siri, Project Debater uses AI to search journals, newspapers and other information sources. It then filters out(过滤) useless information, picks the strongest arguments, and arranges them into a persuasive argument.
“In the Cambridge test debate, it argued the topic: AI will ultimately do more harm than good. According to IBM, it is the first machine that can debate complicated topics with humans.
Before the debate, more than 1,100 arguments for the positives and negatives of AI were submitted to the IBM website. The machine then analyzed these sources and formed the basis of its arguments in minutes. Project Debater then showed off its AI by arguing for both sides of the debate.
Over a four-minute speech, it argued first that, “AI can only make decisions that it has been programmed to solve, while humans can be programmed for all plots, possible events.”
In support of AI, it then argued that AI would create new jobs and “bring a lot more efficiency” to the workplace.
This isn’t the first test for Project Debater. In June 2018, the machine went back-and-forth for 20 minutes against champion debater Harish Natarajan.
According to New Scientist, on both occasions, Project Debater repeated points and didn’t always sufficiently support them.
Speaking to Cambridge Independent, Noam Slonim, the project’s lead engineer, said, “The AI is not perfect, but it’s going in the right direction.” The team hopes to improve the AI by researching why humans find certain arguments more persuasive than others.
1. In which way does Project Debater behave like a real person?| A．It can listen and answer to opposing statements. |
| B．It can speak with a voice similar to Siri. |
| C．It can create various useful sources. |
| D．It can deal with any situation. |
| A．Analyzed sources. |
| B．Useless messages. |
| C．Materials for arguments. |
| D．Items about human debaters. |
| A．AI did better than humans in arguments |
| B．the machine had rich ideas to support its points |
| C．the machine beat Harish Natarajan in the first test |
| D．AI needs more persuasive arguments in debates |
| A．Supportive. | B．Unconfident. |
| C．Negative. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐3】In Ghana, hundreds of schoolchildren are excited to go back to school, on their bamboo bikes. But these hikes aren’t just a green way of getting to classes; they are making a world of difference to students who may have not reached their schools.
Ghana Bamboo Bikes, based in Kumasi in southern Ghana, makes and sells bikes with frames (框架)made from local bamboo. The result is an eco-friendly mix that helps both children and adults avoid a long walk.
Ghana Bamboo Bikes was founded in 2009 by Dapaah and classmate Winnifred Selby after completion of her degree. “When I was in college, I decided to see how best I can do something to give back, especially using our local raw materials,” Dapaah said. Each year, the company donates hundreds of bikes free of charge to kids who face difficulty when going to school.
The project was inspired by Dapaah’s childhood experiences. Raised by her grandfather in a rural village with limited transportation choices, she grew up traveling long distances on foot to get to her school.The company has also created an important source of employment in Kumasi.
Ghana Bamboo Bikes trains and employs men and women as professional craftsmen(手艺人)who harvest the bamboo,shave and sand down the raw materials,assemble(组装)the bikes,and paint them.
This incredible action has grown well over the last decade, with bamboo bikes being purchased by buyers in Europe and the US.And since ten trees are planted with every purchase, the bamboo forests in Ghana are thriving(旺盛的)as well!
1. What is the characteristic of the products of Ghana Bamboo Bikes?| A．They’re free of charge. | B．They’re very fashionable. |
| C．They’re environment-friendly. | D．They’re intended for adults. |
| A．A professor. | B．A high school student. |
| C．Dapaah’s manager. | D．A founder of a company. |
| A．She led a tough life. | B．She was lacking in love. |
| C．She was almost starved. | D．She formed the habit of running. |
| A．Teens in the US love bamboo bikes. |
| B．Volunteers are badly in need of in Ghana. |
| C．Sales of bamboo bikes are as important as bamboo forests. |
| D．The coverage of hamboo bikes is widening beyond Ghana. |
