Following efforts to limit plastic bags, the push by environmentalists against straws (吸管), has gained attention in recent months, partly because they're seen as unnecessary for most. Companies including Starbucks and Disney are promising to get rid of plastic straws which can be difficult to recycle because of their size and often end up as trash in the ocean. A handful of U.S. cities recently passed or are considering bans. And the push may bring attention to other items people may not have considered — like festive balloons.
“The issue of balloons has really broadened the marine debris (海洋垃圾) issue,” says Emma Tonge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “People might not realize balloons are a danger”, she says, “because of their ‘light’ image”. Balloons are not among the top 10 kinds of debris found in coastal cleanups, but Tonge says they're common and especially dangerous to marine animals.
Already, a few states restrict balloon releases to some extent, according to the Balloon Council, which represents the industry and advocates for the responsible handling of its products. That means never releasing them into the air, and ensuring the strings have a weight tied to them so the balloons don't accidentally float away. Lorna O'Hara, executive director of the Balloon Council, agrees that marine creatures might mistake balloons for jellyfish and eat them. But she says that doesn't mean balloons are necessarily causing their deaths.
Some states such as California ban balloon releases for other reasons. Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves northern and central California, says metallic balloons often get caught in power lines and have caused 203 power cuts in the first five months of this year, up 22 percent from a year ago.
1. Why does the author mention plastic bags and straws in Paragraph 1?| A．To investigate the cause of plastic pollution. |
| B．To bring up the topic of balloon pollution. |
| C．To call on people to use less plastic products. |
| D．To make a comparison between balloons and straws. |
| A．They are a threat to land animals. |
| B．They are too light-colored to be noticed. |
| C．They can be a cause of coastal pollution. |
| D．They rank among the top 10 kinds of marine debris. |
| A．Balloons do little harm to fishes. |
| B．Balloons should be made stronger. |
| C．The sale of balloons should be banned. |
| D．It is irresponsible to release balloons into the air. |
| A．Balloons waste electric power. |
| B．Balloons contribute to air pollution. |
| C．Balloons affect people's normal lives. |
| D．Balloons do more harm than plastic bags. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Researchers from London’s Queen Mary University studied how participants were affected by pollution based on where they live. In the journal Circulation on Friday, the scientists revealed that air pollution can harm the heart to the point where it resembles (类似) the early stages of heart failure.
According to Emory Healthcare, deaths have decreased around 12 percent per decade on average over the past 50 years, but 287,000 people die frorn heart failure each year. There are more hospitalizations from heart failure each year than all cancers combined.
In this study, the scientists examined information from 4,000 participants that were in the UK Biobank study. Volunteers had blood tests, health scans and heart MRIs, which measured the function, size and weight of their hearts. They also recorded their lifestyle, health record and where they’ve lived.
The team found participants had larger right and left ventricles (心室) in the heart when they lived closer to busy roads and were exposed to nitrogen dioxide(NOz), which enters the air when fuel is burned. The right and left ventricles are crucial for pumping blood. They were healthy but resembled the ventricles in early-stage heart failure. The scientists found that the higher the exposure to the pollutants, the greater the changes in the heart.
“Air pollution should be seen as a modifiable risk factor,” Dr. Nay Aung, who led the data analysis of the study, said in a statemnent from Queen Mary University. “The public all need to be aware of their exposure when they think about their heart health, just like they think about their blood pressure and their weight.”
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation said in the statement from Queen Mary University, “We can’t expect people to move home to avoid air pollution, so government and public bodies must act right now to make all areas safe and protect the population from these harm.”
1. What is the finding of the study?| A．Air pollution causes many people to die. |
| B．People have big problems of heart health. |
| C．People’s houses have a great effect on the heart. |
| D．Air pollution makes our hearts at risk of heart failure. |
| A．It can be cured easily. | B．It remains a serious threat. |
| C．It’s the most common illness. | D．It causes people to suffer cancers. |
| A．They had many health problems. | B．Their ventricles worked better. |
| C．Their hearts were out of danger. | D．The size of their hearts was bigger. |
| A．Moving to safer areas. | B．Living far away from crowds. |
| C．Taking notice of air pollution. | D．Taking blood pressure regularly. |
【推荐2】Many of us might not give a second thought to dropping a small piece of litter. After all, if it is so small, it cannot possibly be that harmful, can it? In today’s world, the answer is certainly “Yes, it can! “With the growing use of plastic bags and the rising number of smokers, there is more litter being produced than ever before.
Although cigarette butts are small, they are bad for the environment. Worldwide, about 4. 3 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year. As well as spoiling the beauty of the environment, they contain poisonous chemicals. These find their way into the water supply where they affect water quality and endanger plants and animals. Cigarette butts can take up to 25 years to break down, and the poisonous chemicals add up to a large amount with so many littered. So, if people want to smoke, they should dispose of the butts properly in a rubbish bin.
Plastic bags are another common form of litter that is dangerous to the environment. They are easily blown by wind and float in water, so they can travel long distances. They find their way to rivers, parks, beaches and oceans, killing many birds, mammals, fish, and sea animals each year worldwide. They can last for hundreds of years in the environment. We should not let plastic bags become litter. We should use fewer plastic bags, and reuse and recycle what we have already used.
One way to reduce the use of plastic bags is to charge for them. Shops used to give plastic bags for free. But in some countries, including China, customers are now charged for each bag. Some shops also have a “bag -for-life “ scheme. They sell strong bags that can be reused, and they replaced them for free if the bags ever break.
Waste is a big problem for the environment, so we need to do something. Not littering at all or cleaning up “small waste” saves money spent on coping with litter properly. However, it would be better not to smoke or use plastic bags at all.
1. Small pieces of litter can be harmful because_________| A．Litter from smokers and plastic bags have greatly increased. |
| B．Plastic bags and litter are easily blown by wind and float in water. |
| C．Plastic bags and cigarette butts spoil the beauty of the environment. |
| D．Plastic bags and cigarette butts definitely contain poisonous chemicals. |
| A．set off | B．deal with | C．figure out | D．bring about |
| A．People recycle the used plastic bags and smoke less. |
| B．Shops offer the customers plastic bags free of charge. |
| C．Smokers leave cigarette butts regularly in a rubbish bin. |
| D．We all save money spent on disposing of litter properly. |
| A．More charge, less litter. |
| B．Strict control, little litter |
| C．Small waste, big problem |
| D．Small butts, bad environment |
【推荐3】The loud noise of the cars or the sound of a plane can force its way into the deepest forest, yet it’s not only humans that are bothered by the noise.
Bioacoustician Bernie Krause has been studying the effect of noise pollution on wildlife, and has come across some interesting behaviors, especially among animals that communicate by sound, like humans. Birds use sound to communicate, but in noisy places, these animals have to shout over the natural noise to be heard.
Krause mentions a study of nightingales(夜莺) to explain what he means. The birds responded to（回应） traffic noise by singing louder and louder until they actually went beyond noise pollution standards in the city. To belt out (sing loudly) their songs, they increased their lung pressure fivefold, but scientists say that this is not dangerous for the birds themselves.
Studies show that sudden noise can cause certain birds to leave their nests, leaving the young to their enemies. One study also showed that songbirds that nested close to busy motorways were much less productive than those that nested farther away. Mammals（哺乳动物）too are affected(影响). A recent study showed that nursing caribou（驯鹿） responded to plane noise by not producing enough milk to feed their young.
In some cases noise pollution can actually help some animals while harming others. Toads（蟾蜍）and frogs are known to sing in union（同步发声）so that no predator (their enemies) can catch them. Krause found that when planes flew overhead and disturbed the toad’s song, they lost their union, and it took them 45 minutes to get it back again. That gave their natural enemies plenty of time to find and catch individual toads by sound.
According to Kruse, “Not only will noise pollution bother wildlife, but it won’t help our lives either.”
1. How do young caribou suffer from aircraft noise?| A．.They can’t hear their mothers. | B．They can’t sleep at night. |
| C．They are often displaced. | D．They receive less food. |
| A．They would soon regain their rhythm. |
| B．They would stop communicating. |
| C．They might not be able to protect themselves. |
| D．They might ne unable to hunt in groups. |
| A．The ways animals communicate with each other. |
| B．The causes of noise pollution. |
| C．Animals’ reaction to noises. |
| D．The effects of noise pollution on wildlife. |
【推荐1】You may have read that light coming into your eyes sets the body’s clock. Similarly, food changes the clocks in tissues in your liver, muscles, and fat. Human beings developed to eat only during daylight, which lasted 12 hours. That meant we didn’t eat for 12 hours a day. Sticking to that plan may help you stay healthier as well as thinner. However, it’s a surprisingly bad idea to ignore breakfast, eat lunch or dinner late, eat a big bedtime snack, or eat in the middle of the night.
In a study with 776 participants, people who ignored breakfast were 80 percent more likely to have obesity (肥胖症). People who ate lunch after 12: 30 (or dinner after 21: 00) were 60 percent more likely to have those extra pounds. That was true for both men and women at different ages and regardless of other factors that affect weight including your diet and exercise habits.
Odd hours seem to contribute to uncontrollable eating. When you eat late at night, you tend to eat more. Perhaps driven by hormone (荷尔蒙) increases, we long for sweeter, saltier food at night, research suggests. In one study, night eaters ate about 300 more calories each day.
“Eating late in the day aggravates reflux, writes Jamie A.Koufman, who specializes in voice disorders and acid reflux (胃酸倒流). Many of my patients find that eating late makes them suffer more from their allergies and diabetes symptoms,” he says. “Give your stomach at least three hours to digest before sleeping,” advises Jonathan Aviv, another specialist in acid reflux.
Eating breakfast late may also increase your breast cancer risk by about 17 percent for every hour you delay, according to a study of nearly 1,200 women with breast cancer in Spain, compared to more than 1,300 women who didn’t develop breast cancer. If you eat late at night, another research suggests, you may up the chance of breast cancer occurrence. While researchers work out the details of how our body clocks affect digestion and their downstream effects, one point is clear: Early is better.
1. What can be learned from the first paragraph?| A．Not eating for a half day may do good to your health. |
| B．What you eat makes no difference to your clocks. |
| C．Eating late may be more harmful than ignoring breakfast. |
| D．People gain weight because of their diet and exercise habits. |
| A．Comforts. | B．Worsens. | C．Weakens | D．Improves. |
| A．By concluding from some researches concerning eating habits. |
| B．By summarizing the data from only one survey. |
| C．By comparing the studies about the eating disorder. |
| D．By experimenting on people of different ages. |
| A．Ignore Breakfast to Lose Weight. | B．Night Eaters Are Much Healthier. |
| C．Eating More Damages Body Clock. | D．Eating Late Is Really Bad for You. |
【推荐2】National lawmakers are calling for more effective environmental protection of the Qilian Mountains, a vast natural habitat in western China.
The mountains stand across the border between Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The nature reserve became a national protected site in 1988, but hundreds of mines in the area and various construction projects took a toll on the environment.
Thanks to the recovery of the mountains’ environment and greater efforts to protect wildlife, many protected and rare wild animals have been sighted very often in recent years.
The city has also moved away all farmers, herdsmen and one-third of its people who were living in the mountains to a new zone and helped them find jobs in an effort to reduce the pressure on the environment.
Scientific research and advanced technology are key to the restoration (重建) of the mountains’ ecology (生态), said Wang Tao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources.
Wang said a research center led by the institute was set up last year to focus on ecosystem recovery and the ecological management of the mountains under the influence of global climate change.
The center has begun research to carry out environmental observation and assessment (评估), providing support for the creation of a Qilian Mountains national park, he added.
To better protect the mountains, Wang said, it’s necessary to promote large-scale, rapid observation approach and build a great ecological assessment system in the reserve.
A data-sharing (数据共享) management system should be pushed forward to create a database (数据库) of the mountains, environment, which would support its protection in a scientific way, he added.
1. What does the underlined phrase “took a toll” in the second paragraph mean?| A．protected | B．ignored | C．harmed | D．controlled |
| A．To create a national park |
| B．To found a research center. |
| C．To increase the number of wildlife. |
| D．To reduce the pressure on the environment. |
| A．Rare wild animals can be seen everywhere in the reserve. |
| B．A research center was established for ecosystem restoration. |
| C．Since 1988, the Qilian Mountains have been well protected. |
| D．Many effective laws have been made to protect the environment. |
| A．An ecological assessment system should be set up. |
| B．Scientific research plays the biggest part in restoring ecology. |
| C．Global climate change influences the research on ecological assessment. |
| D．A data-sharing management system has been widely applied in the reserve. |
【推荐3】Mars on Earth
Devon Island has always been a cold and uninhabited(无人居住的) place in the Canadian Arctic. Day after day there are high winds and the temperature is below freezing. But for the first time, despite the terrible weather conditions, Devon Island is the new home for a group of explorers from NASA. They are living here for a few months in order to train and learn how to live and work on Mars. The group’s members come from various backgrounds and nationalities, but they all have the same purpose: to find out how people can live on Mars in the future.
They have chosen Devon Island because the environment and landscape is similar in many ways to Mars. The surface is freezing cold and the ground is rough. However, there are some differences on Mars, where the atmosphere is poisonous to breathe. Devon Island is easier to travel to and it has its own dangers that you won’t find on Mars. For example, you might meet a hungry polar bear on Devon Island!
One thing the team wants to develop is suitable clothing for Mars. This includes a space suit. The suit they are testing at the moment is strong enough but it’s too difficult to put on and take off. It’s very big and bulky, which means that just walking around is very difficult and tiring. In addition, people will need to do experiments on Mars while wearing the suit so they have to be able to move around easily. One team member, Andy Overbeeke, specializes in space suit engineering. He explains, “You have to think about what they’re really going to operate in.”
Another part of daily life on Mars will be meals and food. Creating a new home on Mars requires a lot of food. So the big question is: can you grow plants in order to survive? Scientists believe that growing plants on Mars might be possible. Mars and Earth have many similarities. They both have about the same amount of dry land and a 24-hour day. However, the atmosphere on Mars is totally different, so Canadian scientist Alain Berinstain is attempting to grow plants in a special greenhouse that you could also build on Mars. The greenhouse needs to run 365 days a year, so it uses a combination of solar energy and wind power.
People living on Mars will also want their own transportation. For this, the team on Devon Island have built the “Martian Rover”. It’s a huge heavy vehicle that can travel over rocks and rough terrain. This kind of testing takes many days but so far the work has been valuable and effective. As a result, the whole team now believes their work is crucial and that it’s possible for humans to land on the planet Mars and create a home there. Addy Overbeeke adds: “We know that it’s man’s destiny to go out and do space exploration. It’s always time to think about what you want to do in the future.”
1. The explorers are living on Devon Island to ________.| A．receive a training in astronomy |
| B．set up an advanced research lab |
| C．learn how to live and work on Mars |
| D．make a living in an uninhabited land |
| A．create a new home |
| B．improve the atmosphere |
| C．build special greenhouses |
| D．reduce the area of dry land |
| A．man may live on Mars in the future |
| B．Martian Rover has failed to stand the test |
| C．Mars and Devon Island have the same soil condition |
| D．scientists have mastered the method to grow plants on Mars |
【推荐1】Yi So-yeon, an engineer from Seoul, returned to Earth on Saturday after 11 days aboard the International Space Station(ISS)along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Peggy Whitson.
A technical problem turned a routine(常规)return to Earth into a sharper than usual descent(下降)that tested the group members' energy and courage. They landed in the Kazakh steppes(大草原)about420km(260 miles)wide of their target.
''During the descent there was some kind of fire outside the Soyuz capsule because we were going through the atmosphere, '' Yi said.
''At first, I was afraid but the two other guys looked okay so I tried to look okay too. ''
Yi smiled and joked her way through a 10-minute news briefing at Star City the wooded Soviet era cosmonaut training centre on the edge of Moscow. However Malenchenko and Whitson looked tired and thin after nearly six months in space. Their answers were short and Whitson needed support to balance when she walked. The 29-year-old Yi has become famous in R.O. Korea since the take-off but she brushed this aside and said she has had little contact with friends or family since returning.
''In fact they are the heroes right now, '' Yi said referring to Malenchenko and Whitson. ''I'm just a beginner and a little ashamed to say that I am a hero. '' She did though relate a more light-hearted incident on the ISS.
''I sang Fly Me to the Moon'' Yi said about the 1950s pop song. ''It's my favourite song from university although at that time I didn’t know I would be an astronaut. ''
The capsule's so-called ''ballistic'' re-entering made the group members face twice the usual pull from the centre of the earth. The flames Yi described may have been caused by friction(摩擦)heating the capsule as it fell through the atmosphere.
Whitson told reporters that Saturday's, ballistic landing was irregular but not an emergency.
''The Soyuz has been through its history very reliable and there has obviously been some issue in the last couple of descents which went ballistic but I'm sure the engineers will determine what the problems are and get them fixed, '' she said.
In October a Soyuz capsule carrying Malaysia's first space tourist touched down about 200 km(125 miles)off course in a similar ballistic landing caused by a technical problem.
The Soyuz is the world’s longest-serving manned space capsule. An early version of the craft the Vostok carried the first person into space in 1961.
Whitson, 48, has become the American with the longest amount of time in space with 377 days.
1. What's the main idea of the passage?| A．Flight in space is very dangerous. |
| B．Not everybody can go into space. |
| C．Fearful landing tests the Korean astronaut |
| D．Yi didn't know she would be an astronaut when she was our young. |
| A．a fire was caused by the friction |
| B．she had no such experience before |
| C．she was not brave enough |
| D．the other two didn't help her |
| A．Yi So-yeon, a space tourist came from R.O. Korea |
| B．Whitson became energetic when they landed on earth |
| C．the two other guys were not afraid during the descent |
| D．the Soyuz, an unmanned space capsule, had a long history |
| A．experience is very important for astronauts to ensure safety |
| B．Yi So-yeon will never return to the space station |
| C．people are not willing to experience the space flight |
| D．we should draw a lesson from the accident |
【推荐2】Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption (消费) on the interest of celebrity related to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don’t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential (潜力), moving from advertising for others’ products to developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren’t a completely new phenomenon (现象), but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they’re started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale (规模) rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there’s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer attraction. No matter how famous the product’s origin is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities it begins to look like an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the attention dies down, consumer interest might decrease, loyalty returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face even more serious embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity’s shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame (名声) has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego’s (自我的) potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion-like celebrity-has always been temporary.
1. Fashion magazines today ____________.| A．totally refuse to put models on the cover |
| B．rarely put models on the cover |
| C．need not worry about celebrities’ market potential |
| D．judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly |
| A．price rather than brand name is more concerned |
| B．producers prefer models to celebrities for advertisements |
| C．producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements |
| D．quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned |
| A．shorten the artistic career of a celebrity in show business |
| B．damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public |
| C．decrease the popularity of a celebrity and the sales of his products |
| D．influence the price of a celebrity’s products |
| A．celebrity and personal style | B．celebrity and market potential |
| C．celebrity and fashion design | D．celebrity and clothing industry |
【推荐3】Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.
The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate (确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification (通知) on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there’s your food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.
The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs ￡1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the ￡3 to ￡6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.
An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.
Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a pass code provided to the customer via a notification. “It’s much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.
1. According to the text, the Starship robot ________.| A．opens up upon hearing the code |
| B．travels 10 miles per hour at most |
| C．finds its way by means of GPS and cameras |
| D．sends a message to the customer upon arrival |
| A．they are easy to operate |
| B．the robot delivery is appreciated in big cities |
| C．the robot delivery is cheaper than human delivery |
| D．they can travel for 10 hours continuously |
| A．People’s indifference to the robots |
| B．Safety of the robot delivery |
| C．Accuracy of the robot delivery _ |
| D．People’s concern about public traffic |
| A．describe the great improvement of Just Eat |
| B．tell about the global trend of Food Companies |
| C．show new robots are to move on the road |
| D．show delivery robots are to replace takeaway drivers |
【推荐1】Having a microchip implanted in a man’s brain may be common in sci-fi movie plots, but it may soon become an actual possibility.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and co-founder of electric car maker Tesla — has been working on this technology. On Aug 28, Musk gave a livestream demonstration of the chip, which was implanted into the head of a pig named Gertrude.
The chip, developed by Musk’s company, is the size of a coin. But don’t let its size fool you. The tiny chip has over 3,000 electrodes (电极) attached to flexible threads, which can monitor about 1,000 neurons (神经元). It collects neural signals from an area of the brain, and then transmits those signals wirelessly to nearby computers. In the livestream, Gertrude could be seen walking around her pen sniffing the ground while a monitor showed her brain activity.
Though the technology is still in its early stage, it is encouraging for humans. This technology “would solve a lot of brain injuries”, which allows the human brain to combine with an artificial intelligence, Musk said.
When the device can be applied to humans, its main goal will be to help those who have mobility(移动的) issues, such as those suffering from paralysis. Musk hopes this technology could also be used to help those with hearing and eyesight issues and one day lead to a cure for epilepsy (癫痫).
Although such a device could, in principle, repair those problems, putting it into practice is by no means a piece of cake. Currently, the device can transmit signals from about 500 neurons in the pig’s brain. Compared to 80 billion neurons in a human brain, this number is tiny. And to cover the whole human brain also means the electrodes have to be much smaller.
Also, implanting the chip into the brain poses a potential danger. There is a risk of the immune system attacking this foreign body.
Right now, the hope of controlling the brain via controlling a few neurons seems overly optimistic. “There are many technological challenges … to overcome before Neuralink can put its devices to the purposes,” Yuan Lanfeng, an associate professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, told China Daily.
1. What do we know about Elon Musk’s microchip according to the first three paragraphs?| A．It is able to collect wireless signals. |
| B．It was inspired by sci-fi movie plots. |
| C．It has no more than 1,000 electrodes. |
| D．It is tiny in size but powerful in function. |
| A．To develop a cure for epilepsy. |
| B．To monitor animals’ brain activity. |
| C．To help people with difficulty in moving freely. |
| D．To contribute to the research in AI technologies. |
| A．Potential problems in applying the chip to humans. |
| B．Key differences between pigs’ and humans’ brains. |
| C．The amount of time and money implanting the chip could cost. |
| D．How the immune system is the major obstacle to the implant. |
| A．Excited. | B．Optimistic. | C．Cautious. | D．Worried. |
【推荐2】I’m now living in the south of France with my husband Keith and three small children, and I feel like a fish out of water everywhere but one place — the Saturday street market. It’s been operating in our small town of Sommieres since the 13th century, but we’ve only lived here for three months.
From Monday to Friday, life is all about the kids. I’m busy helping my children deal with life in a French school. It’s not easy, and their stress is the whole family’s stress, as Keith and I are occupied with the daily school runs, piles of homework and school notes in French.
But on Saturday, the market is for me. I feel so peaceful as I walk along the quiet street toward the busy town square. The knife-sharpening man is there, operating a machine that looks like it dates from the Industrial Revolution. There’re street musicians with guitars and microphones, and the sound of beautiful songs fills the air. And the food, of course, is delicious. The cheese man doesn’t speak — he just points and cuts, offering a piece from his knife. Lines come out of the door for fresh bread at the bakery. Organic vegetables, herbs and desserts are a feast for the eyes, before being put into the bag to be enjoyed later for lunch. The noises and smells of the market are unfamiliar and thrilling, but their procedures are clear to me. This is part of why I love the place so much: Unlike during the week, when I’m constantly faced with my own difficulties, I know how this place works. My terrible French isn’t the barrier to communication that it is in other circumstances.
At school and in the village, I can’t joke or join a conversation, and although the other parents at the school are kind, I’m an outsider. But at the market, I’m just another customer with a basket. Surrounded by day trippers, I feel like a local — greeting people I know and petting dogs.
My Saturday experiences allow me to hope that in the near future I’ll feel equally confident in my everyday life. Until then, Saturdays prepare me for the coming week of school runs.
1. What does the author mean by saying “I feel like a fish out of water”?| A．She feels lonely without her children. |
| B．She feels free out of her daily housework. |
| C．She feels uncomfortable in new surroundings. |
| D．She feels unable to make a living in another country. |
| A．She learns French together with her children. |
| B．She tries to balance her job and the housework. |
| C．She runs to school every day to help her children. |
| D．She devotes herself to her children in a French school. |
| A．She feels relaxed and comfortable there. |
| B．She can talk with other customers freely there. |
| C．She wants to get away from her family’s stress. |
| D．She tries to gain confidence in the busy atmosphere. |
| A．Objective. |
| B．Satisfied. |
| C．Optimistic. |
| D．Worried. |
【推荐3】The more curious we are about a topic, the easier it is to remember not only information about that topic, but also other unrelated information shown at the same time. A study published in 2014 in Neuron shows what happens inside our brains when our curiosity is sparked.
Participants in the study were asked to rate how curious they were to find out the answer to a specific question, such as: “What does the term ‘dinosaur’ actually mean?” They were then placed in a magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) machine that measures brain activity, based on changes in blood flow when the brain is performing certain tasks. They saw the question again followed by the image of a person’s face and were asked to make a specific decision about the person. Finally, they were shown the answer to the question. After the MRI scan, they completed a surprise test on the answers to the questions and also on their ability to recognize the faces shown during the scan.
The research revealed three key findings. Firstly, when curious to learn the answer to a question people are better at learning that information. Most surprising though was that participants had greater recall of the completely irrelevant information—such as the face - shown at the same time. Secondly, when curiosity is stimulated, the research found that there is increased activity in the region of the brain associated with memory. And lastly, there is increased activity in the regions of the brain associated with reward when curiosity is stimulated.
Behavioral neuroscientist Jee Hyun Kim said more could be done to see whether the different levels of curiosity and different motivations from person to person have an impact on memory and learning.
Amy Reichelt, a psychology expert, said both that “stimulating curiosity is really important across all ages, from schools to the workplace and to elderly care and that curiosity is especially helpful to children who struggle at school. ”
1. According to Paragraph 2, how did scientists learn about curiosity and the human brain?| A．Showing people a picture of a dinosaur while in an MRI machine. |
| B．Asking people to remember important events while in an MRI machine. |
| C．Giving people quizzes and used an MRI machine to score each of the tests. |
| D．Asking people questions while an MRI machine measured their brain activity. |
| A．important | B．unrelated | C．detailed | D．obvious |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Cautious. | C．Positive. | D．Passive. |
| A．The effect curiosity has on memory and learning. |
| B．The relationship between curiosity and motivation. |
| C．Motivation and rewards are more important than curiosity. |
| D．How rewards stimulate curiosity across all ages in learning. |
