【推荐2】Have you ever wondered what the food you eat every day can tell you about where you come from? Have you ever wondered why people from different parts of the world eat different types of food? Do you ever ask yourself why certain foods or cooking traditions are so important to your culture? There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think.

On a personal level, we grow up eating the food of our cultures. It becomes a part of who each of us is. Many of us connect food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us.

On a larger level, food is an important part of culture. Traditional food is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity (身份). Immigrants (移民) bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of keeping their culture when they move to new places.

In China, harmony (和谐) is an important quality in almost every part of life. This is mirrored in Chinese food, where almost every flavor is used in a balanced way creating delicious dishes with flavors that go well together. The food of the United States also mirrors its history. The European colonization (殖民) of the Americas brought European ingredients (原料) and cooking styles to the U.S.

As the world becomes more globalized (全球化), it is easier to get food from different cultures. We should hug our tradition through our culture’s food but we should also know more about other cultures by trying their foods. It’s important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it.

1. What does the author want to express in paragraph 1?

A．Different types of food in foreign countries.

B．Concerns about food and culture.

C．Connections between food and culture.

D．Relationship between culture and people.

2. How is paragraph 4 developed?

A．By giving examples.

B．By making comparison.

C．By describing a process.

D．By following time order.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Creating delicious food is a way of keeping culture.

B．European settlers liked cooking food in American styles.

C．Food mirrors all the changes in a country’s history.

D．Chinese people usually do things in a balanced way.

4. Which of the following statements will the author most probably agree?

A．Food reminds us of our families, only holding personal value for us.

B．We should value both our traditional food and other countries’ food.

C．In Chinese culture, harmony is of little meaning in daily life.

D．Globalized world makes it a challenge to get food from other countries.

【推荐3】Move Over, Selfish Gene

Evolution traditionally has a problem with nice people. If only the fittest individuals survive, then those who are nice to others at their own expense will surely be weeded out. Yet cooperation is widespread in nature, from plants alerting each other to danger to dolphins cooperating to round up fish.

A decades-old idea called kin selection can explain some of this: if organisms (生物) have enough DNA in common, then they can further their own selfish genes by helping one another. Bees and ants have a system of reproduction which leaves colony members so closely related that they act almost as a single super-organism. And among any sexually reproducing species, parental care helps individuals pass on their genes.

But kin selection cannot explain why humans are so nice to strangers. One idea is that we have evolved to be super-cooperative because, over time, more cooperative groups have outcompeted less cooperative ones. But there generally isn’t enough genetic variation between groups to allow natural selection to favor more cooperative ones.

Some researchers think the solution lies in an idea called cultural group selection. Forget shared genes, they argue. Selection can favor cooperative groups if the people within them share enough culture. The idea is controversial because to work it requires that groups remain culturally distinct. As critics point out, people tend to migrate (迁移) between groups, which should homogenize (使同质化) ideas and customs. Those who back the concept counter that groups have ways to maintain their distinct culture, including a process called norm (准则) enforcement. Put simply, if someone migrates into a new cultural group, they are pressured into following the local rules because failing to do so leads to punishment.

Earlier this year, Mathew and Handley at Arizona State University published a study testing the idea. They sampled 759 people from four ethnic groups in Kenya who compete intensively for land, water and livestock. The pair estimated that genetic differences between individuals from different groups was generally less than 15%. Cultural practices and beliefs varied much more, by 10% to 20%. People cooperated most with members of their own group, as cultural group selection predicts, and to a lesser extent with members of other groups whose norms most closely matched their own. That makes sense if culture rather than genetics is what matters. “I think this is one of the most explicit tests of cultural group selection theory so far,” says Mathew.

Not everyone is persuaded. Krasnow at Harvard University sees no theoretical flaw with the idea, but says that some of his research undermines it. He has found that people don’t just enforce the rules within their group, but also punish people from other groups who fail to follow their own group’s norms. Mathew counters that it is reasonable to enforce the norms on outsiders as a step towards incorporating (使并入) them into your cultural group. “This is often how empires expand,” she says.

1. The example of bees and ants is used to ________.

A．highlight the significant role of reproduction

B．demonstrate the efficiency of a super-organism

C．reveal why parents care about their selfish genes

D．explain the cause of organisms helping one another

2. For the idea of cultural group selection to work, a pre-condition is that ________.

A．cooperative groups have a larger chance of survival

B．genetic variations in the same cultural group are small

C．cultural differences are weakened with people migrating

D．cultural distinctiveness can be preserved with certain methods

3. The text is developed mainly through ________.

A．sorting information into different topics

B．narrating events in time order

C．presenting doubts and exploring answers

D．discussing similarities and differences

4. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．culture plays a more significant role in choosing cooperators

B．being selfish is of vital importance for an individual to survive

C．Mathew’s study result contradicts what cultural group selection predicts

D．people joining a new group will be punished for not keeping their own culture

【推荐2】Have you ever wondered if you see the same colours as other people? Most people know what blue is when they see it. They call it “blue” because they were taught the word and connected it with what they saw. But how do you know what you see as blue isn’t someone else’s red?

The ability to notice different colours is up to receptors (感受器) in our eyes. Light waves hit these receptors and they react depending on which colour the light is, sending signals to the brain. The brain then reads these signals to determine which colour light the eyes are receiving.

Some people’s receptors are more developed than others. The inability of the receptor to feel the light waves correctly means that some people cannot tell the differences between similar colours. Those with more developed receptors can see more colours. We sometimes hear people having an argument about whether something is dark blue or black. It might be because one person has stronger receptors to feel the light waves than another.

In the past, most scientists would argue that everyone saw colours in the same way. However, research was conducted on monkeys, in which their receptors were changed. This enabled them to see more colours than usual. Normally monkeys can only see blue and green, but the change allowed them to see red. Their brains automatically (自动地) got used to new colours. This suggests that our brains may find new colours of the things we see. Colours could be a very personal experience, unique to everyone.

So, the next time you talk about your favourite colour, just remember that if yours is blue and your friend says red, you two might actually be thinking about the same colour. What if everyone in the world has the same favourite colour, but just calls it different names?

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．How we see colours.

B．How the brain deals with signals.

C．The relation between the brain and signals.

D．The connection between receptors and light waves.

2. Which of the following might the author agree?

A．People with poor receptors usually have colour weakness.

B．People cannot feel colours with their developed receptors.

C．The more lights people feel, the weaker receptors they have.

D．People often cannot tell the difference between dark blue and black.

3. What’s the purpose of conducting the research on monkeys?

A．To develop the receptors of humans.

B．To enable monkeys to find more colours.

C．To test the monkeys for colour recognition.

D．To prove not everyone sees colours in the same way.

4. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A film review.	B．An art journal.
C．A science magazine.	D．A business newspaper.

【推荐3】The 3D-printing industry is accelerating its efforts to help fight the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

On Tuesday, HP announced it’s working with those who bought its 3D printers to make medical face shields, hands-free door openers and an adjuster for face masks for medical staff who often must wear them for hours. It’s also testing “hospital-grade” face masks meeting the higher-end FFP3 (过滤式面罩) standard and parts for simple emergency ventilators (呼吸机) and it’s looking into nasal swabs to test for COVID-19 infection. HP also is offering free downloads of its 3D-printed medical equipment designs.

Carbon, whose 3D printers are used to make everything from bicycle seats to teeth straighteners, said it plans to send face shield designs to its network of customers who’ve bought its 3D printers. Carbon co-founder and Executive Chairman Joseph DeSimone said on Monday the company expects to send the designs by early Tuesday.

3D-printcr makers typically sell their products to others that actually do the 3D printing. One such customer, Ford, said Tuesday that it’s made 1,000 face shields and shipped them to Michigan hospitals, with plans to make 100,000 face shields a week. It is also working with 3M and General Electric on respirator masks and ventilator designs.

The effort is one of several to apply 3D-printing technology to the fight against coronavirus. 3D printing isn’t as fast at churning out products as conventional mass production methods. But 3D printers are flexible and able to make many different parts anywhere there’s a printer and raw materials like the plastic resins Carbon printers use.

Some 3D-printing efforts have focused on ventilators, which expected to be in short supply with a surge of COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory (呼吸器官) problems. Also in short supply are N95 masks that can be useful in reducing the likelihood a wearer will spread COVID-19 to others.

Carbon’s DeSimone is cautious about the enthusiasm, though, saying that regulatory approval is important and that 3D-printcr enthusiasts shouldn’t be making components not intended for close human contact that might release unhealthy gases.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．An introduction about 3D-printing.

B．The 3D-printing industry’s efforts to help fight COVID-19.

C．The products that 3D-printing makers sell.

D．How 3D-printing makers produce medical equipment.

2. HP announced to help its customers to make the following products except for_____________.

A．medical face shields	B．hands-free door openers
C．an adjuster for face masks	D．emergency ventilators

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Carbon’s company will finish its design after Tuesday.

B．Ford has made 1,000 face shields end plans to make 10,000 more in a week.

C．3D printers are more flexible than traditional mass production methods.

D．Most 3D-printings focus on making ventilators and N95 because of their short supply.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．3D-printing may release unhealthy gases.

B．DeSimone is cautious about 3D-printing.

C．Carbon’s company didn’t gain regulatory approval of making medical equipment.

D．3D printers aren’t enthusiastic about making components designed for close human contact.

【推荐1】阅读理解。
Contrary to people's previous knowledge, it's food shortage not dietary preference that motivates birds to migrate thousands of miles back and forth between breeding and non­breeding areas each year, a new research shows.
“It's not whether you eat insects，fruits or candy bars or where you eat them that counts，but how reliable that day­to­day food source is，” said the study leader W．Alice Boyle of the University of Arizona.
To figure out the underlying pressure that drives some birds to leave home for the season，Boyle examined 379 related species of New World flycatchers(捕蝇鸟) and compared their sizes，food types, habitats, migratory behaviors and whether or not they fed in flocks.
To compare the birds，the researchers constructed a “supertree”   showing the exact evolutionary relationships among different species.
A computer analysis then determined whether a particular species was migratory because it ran in the “family” or whether something in the bird's environment was forcing it to leave each season.Boyle and her colleagues found that food shortage was the number one issue that predicted a species' migratory behavior. “Food availability is the underlying pressure, not diet and habitat，” Boyle said.
An alternative strategy that the birds use to handle food shortage is to hunt in flocks, since a group is more likely to find a new source of food than an individual.
“If you suffer from food shortage, you have two options，” Boyle said.“You can either hunt with other birds or you can migrate.”
1. Birds were thought to migrate in order to ________.

A．seek their favorite food in a new place

B．avoid being constantly hunted

C．breed more young in a new place

D．adjust themselves to the changes of weather

2. What is Paragraphs 3 and 4 mainly about?

A．The aim of the research.

B．The basis of the research.

C．The process of the research.

D．The findings of the research.

3. The passage implies that ________.

A．the birds' food sources are getting rare in the world

B．the living surroundings are severe for birds

C．birds search for food separately

D．birds can survive only by hunting in flocks

4. For what purpose does the author write the text?

A．Educating readers.

B．Informing readers.

C．Drawing people's attention.

D．Condemning the bad environment.

【推荐2】If you were like most children, you probably got upset when your mother called you by a brother’s or sister’s name. How could she not know you? Did it mean she loved you less?

Probably not. According to the first research to deal with this topic head-on, misnaming the most familiar people in our life is a common cognitive (认知的) error that has to do with how our memories classify and store familiar names.

The study, published online in April in the journal Memory and Cognition, found that the “wrong” name is not random but is always fished out from the same relationship pond: children, friends, brothers and sisters. The study did not examine the possibility of deep psychological significance to the mistake, says psychologist David Rubin, “but it does tell us who’s in and who’s out of the group.”

The study also found that within that group, misnamings occurred where the names shared initial or internal sounds, like Jimmy and Joanie or John and Bob. Physical resemblance between people was not a factor. Nor was gender.

The researchers conducted five separate surveys of more than 1,700 people. Some of the surveys included only college students; others were done with a mixed-age population. Some asked subjects about incidents where someone close to them – family or friend – had called them by another person’s name. The other surveys asked about times when subjects had themselves called someone close to them by the wrong name. All the surveys found that people mixed up names within relationship groups such as grandchildren, friends and brothers and sisters but hardly ever crossed these boundaries.

In general, the study found that undergraduates were almost as likely as old people to make this mistake and men as likely as women. Older people and women made the mistake slightly more often, but that may be because grandparents have more grandchildren to mix up than parents have children. Also, mothers may call on their children more often than fathers, given traditional gender norms. There was no evidence that errors occurred more when the misnamer was frustrated, tired or angry.

1. How might people often feel when they were misnamed?

A．Unwanted.

B．Unhappy.

C．Confused.

D．Indifferent.

2. What did David Rubin’s research find about misnaming?

A．It is related to the way our memories work.

B．It is a possible indicator of a faulty memory.

C．It occurs mostly between kids and their friends.

D．It often causes misunderstandings among people.

3. What did the surveys of more than 1,700 subjects find about misnaming?

A．It more often than not hurts relationships.

B．It hardly occurs across gender boundaries.

C．It is most frequently found in extended families.

D．It most often occurs within a relationship group.

4. Why do mothers misname their children more often than fathers?

A．They suffer more frustrations.

B．They become worn out more often.

C．They communicate more with their children.

D．They generally take on more work at home.

【推荐1】Six-year-old Stella Malpass is a first grader. She likes games, playing house and her favorite class is gym. But she has been learning to overcome some difficulties since she was born. Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) is a condition that limits her ability to fully extend(伸展) her arms and legs. She has had five operations.

"She can’t run but she can walk really fast, but there are just certain things she wishes she could do," said Stella's mother, Kim Malpass. One of those things is going to the restroom on her own." This is the one thing in school she needs help with," Kim said, "she can do just about everything on her own but she just isn't able to pull her pants up."

Jodi Carroll, Stella's doctor for two years had been trying to find a solution, but had no luck reaching out to clothing companies. "After many searches I realized we needed to invent something," Carroll said. She then got in touch with the Petoskey High School drafting team, and no doubt they were all in.

"As soon as I told the students about it they supported me and we went to work right away," Lauren Liebler, the school's engineering teacher, says. Students say it was the perfect project for the students, combining brainstorming, design thinking, problem-solving and tests.

Once Stella tried the device(装置), it was kind of a disappointment to find out that the first one didn't work, but then it was just the matter of coming up with the next idea or seeing how they could improve the first one to make it work. After three tests, the class's 3D-prinled tool worked.

Liebler says the class can use its 3D printing technology to continue to work and grow with Stella. They can even print different colors to match her dresses.

1. What caused Stella’s physical condition?

A．An illness from her birth.	B．An accident in an operation.
C．A serious traffic accident.	D．A fire she experienced at six.

2. What difficulty did Stella have at school?

A．Walking fast.	B．Learning math well.
C．Taking a gym class.	D．Going to the toilet by herself.

3. What can we know about Jodi Carroll?

A．She runs a clothing company on her own.

B．She is good at designing dresses for children.

C．She manages to help Stella recover completely.

D．She gets the idea of making something new to help Stella.

4. What did the students think of the project?

A．Hard and dangerous.	B．Easy but useful.
C．Useful and difficult.	D．Useless but funny.

【推荐2】For Matt and Dani Fontanesi, everything was going according to plan. The American newlyweds had just been married in February and were preparing for their honeymoon. They would leave their home in New Zealand to set off on a tour of the United States.

Matt developed a bit of a cold before leaving but didn't think much of it. During the first 14-hour leg of their flight, though, Matt's simple cold developed into a high fever. When they got to Idaho, he felt even worse. As three days passed and Matt stayed in bed, Dani took him to the hospital. When the doctor came back with the blood test results, his lighthearted attitude from earlier had noticeably changed. The patient's white blood cells were dangerously low. It was either AIDS or cancer.

Three days later, the news came: acute myeloid leukemia(急性骨髓性白血病). About 90 percent of Matt's blood was cancerous, so he'd have to start chemotherapy(化疗) right away. There was a catch—treatment would mean Matt could never have kids. Even knowing their chances of starting a family were gone, they had no choice but to continue.

Chemotherapy clearly was not enough, so Matt needed a bone marrow transplant(骨髓移植). His sister was the perfect match, and they flew to San Diego for the treatment. The bone marrow transplant destroyed what was left of Matt's immune system and got rid of the cancer.

In the middle of Matt's fight against cancer, they received all ﹩80, 000 they needed within about a week, much of it from complete strangers.

The treatment went better than expected, and a year later, Matt was already back at work in San Diego. But he and his wife have never stopped thinking about the unexpected generosity that came their way. “How do we responsibly accept this?” says Matt. “We recognized we needed to pay this forward and to help fight against leukemia.” The two have been volunteering with the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society, supporting other families going through similar struggles.

“We have a new appreciation for life. Our lives are richer now because of it,” says Dani.
1. What can we learn about Matt after he arrived at Idaho？

A．He started his honeymoon happily.	B．He prepared to go back home.
C．He was terribly weak.	D．He caught a cold.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "catch" in Paragraph 3？

A．Failure.

B．Chance.

C．Solution.

D．Disadvantage.

3. What can we infer about Matt's treatment？

A．It was successful.	B．It was impractical.
C．It was kept secret from his families.	D．It was mostly supported by an organization.

4. How did Matt' s experience influence him？

A．He managed to become a doctor.

B．He decided to help others in return.

C．He started to found a charity for poor patients.

D．He promised to give the money back to the strangers.

【推荐3】The entire global population of marbled crayfish (龙纹虾) has been traced to a single female held in a German aquarium (水族馆), which was born with the ability to reproduce without males. Every marbled crayfish is female, and every egg laid is an exact clone of its mother. The ability to reproduce quickly with such ease made them popular in the aquarium trade, but when they found their way into the wild, the crayfish got out of control.

The first known marbled crayfish appeared in 1995. Since then, they have spread into the wild and populated in freshwater ecosystems around the world. Scientists studying this animal have raised the alarm about its likely influence on local wildlife, ecosystems and agriculture as it spreads into new environments. Successful non-native species like the marbled crayfish often cause trouble when they arrive in new environments, as they can feed on local wildlife or compete with it for resources.

According to Dr Frank Lyko, a researcher at the German Cancer Research Centre, the first marbled crayfish appeared due to a sudden change in its parents’ cells. It was an animal that reproduces clonally and therefore represents a model of a central aspect in tumor (肿瘤) development.

“Tumor genomes (基因组) also develop clonally, because they go back to a single original cell,” he said. However, both crayfish and tumors are still able to adapt to their environments through a process termed “clonal evolution”, and in both cases this can be harmful. In crayfish, their ability to adapt means they can spread to a variety of different environments and climates, and in tumors this means they can develop resistance (抵抗) against cancer-targeting drugs.

At present, with the potential influence of the increasing marbled crayfish on local places, governments from different places are working on controlling their population.

1. What does the text say about marbled crayfish in the wild?

A．They prove popular.	B．They are under control.
C．They can be troublesome.	D．They are out of condition.

2. What does Dr Frank Lyko try to explain?

A．The reason for marbled crayfish’s clonal reproduction.

B．The similarities between marbled crayfish and tumors.

C．The way to stop marbled crayfish cloning themselves.

D．The harmful influence marbled crayfish have on health.

3. What are governments doing about marbled crayfish now?

A．Working on removing all of them.	B．Trying to limit the quantity of them.
C．Taking control of them with drugs.	D．Connecting them with harmful tumors.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Why Marbled Crayfish Reproduce Rapidly

B．The Population of Marbled Crayfish Is Huge

C．The Spread of Marbled Crayfish Is Worrying

D．How to Control the Number of Marbled Crayfish