【推荐1】About 97% of the world’s water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can’t drink sea water, how can it be important?

Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae (海藻) drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important sea water is!

Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in tur consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately (微妙地) balanced.

The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn’t matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop.

Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most counties have introduced fishing restrictions (限制) to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important sea water is!

1. From the passage, we learn that _________.

A．most fish and sea animals live at the surface of the seas

B．it is very difficult to break the balance of a food chain

C．over-fishing has caused the decrease in fish stock

D．it won’t be long before the problems concerning oceans will be solved

2. What does the underlined phrase “cope with” mean in Chinese?

A．处理

B．保护

C．增加

D．检验

3. Which of the following is NOT a way being used to protect oceans?

A．The use of international agreements.

B．Forbidding fishing to protect fish socks.

C．The use of new techniques.

D．Raising people’s awareness of the need to protect oceans.

4. What would be the best title of the passage?

A．The Importance of Sea Water

B．Life in the Oceans

C．How to Protect Food Chains

D．How to Deal with Seawater Pollution

【推荐2】A new report from University of East Anglia(UEA)shows that exposure to green space reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stress, and high blood pressure. Populations with higher levels of green space exposure are also more likely to report good overall health.

Lead author Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett, from UEA’S Norwich Medical School, said, “Spending time in nature certainly makes us feel healthier, but until now the impact on our long-term wellbeing hasn’t been fully understood. We gathered evidence from over 140 studies involving more than 290 million people to see whether nature really does provide a health boost.”

The research team studied data from 20 countries including the UK, the US, Spain, France, Germany, Australia and Japan—where “forest bathing” is already a popular practice. “Green space” was defined as open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation including urban green space, which included parks and street greenery. The team analyzed how the health of people with little access to green space compared to that of people with the highest amounts of exposure.

“We found that spending time in or living close to natural green space is associated with diverse and significant health benefits. It reduces the risk of type TT diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, and preterm birth, and increases sleep duration. People living closer to nature also had reduced diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and stress. In fact, one of the really interesting things we found is that exposure to green space significantly reduces people’s levels of salivary cortisol—a physiological marker of stress. This is really important because in the UK, 11.7 million working days are lost annually due to stress, depression or anxiety.”

“Forest bathing is really popular as a therapy in Japan, with participants spending time in the forest either sitting or lying down, or just walking around. Our study shows that perhaps they have the right idea! Although we have looked at a large body of research on the relationship between green space and health, we don’t know exactly what it is that causes this relationship. People living near green space likely have more opportunities for physical activity and socializing. Meanwhile, exposure to a wide variety of bacteria present in natural areas may also have benefits for the immune system and reduce inflammation (炎症),” Twohig-Bennett stated.

Study co-author Prof Andy Jones, also from UEA, said, “We often reach for medical treatment when we’re unwell but exposure to health-promoting environments is increasingly recognized as both preventing and helping treat disease. Our study shows that the size of these benefits can be enough to have a meaningful clinical(临床的) impact.”

The research team hopes that their findings will prompt doctors and other healthcare professionals to advise patients to spend more time in green space and natural areas.

1. What do we know about exposure to green space from the first two paragraphs?

A．290 million people will see its effectiveness.

B．People have been cured of several diseases by this way.

C．People seeing less green space can’t report good health.

D．People haven’t realized its value completely.

2. From the research team’s definition of “green space”, we can infer that          .

A．green space often exists in places with small populations

B．space in the countryside is certainly green space

C．an urban green belt is a kind of green space

D．green space in the cities usually has little effects on people’s health

3. What does the author do in Paragraph 4?

A．Analyze the research process.

B．Introduce the research findings.

C．Show his concern about people’s health.

D．Explain why green space is good for patients.

4. Prof Andy Jones holds the view that            .

A．their study will improve the professionalism of doctors

B．exposure to green space can help treat disease effectively

C．one should see a doctor immediately when unwell

D．people are increasingly going to health-promoting spaces

【推荐3】Famous people have a lot of influence on cultural trends, like it or not. When Amal Clooney wears a Stella McCarney dress, sales go way up. However, one trend that seems harmless—but is actually damaging—is the pressure on stars to have their photos taken with rare animals.

Famous people who are asked to have photos taken with wild animals for a magazine spread or who do so while on vacation always have good intentions and even love animals. This makes them easy targets for the often greedy amusement parks and fake animal centers. These businesspeople love the thought of sharing pictures of a star hugging a baby tiger or a whale. Kind people are naturally drawn to places that claim to offer rare animals safety and are eager to see elephants paint, to hug baby bear or to swim with dolphins. However, it has shown that many of these businessmen are breeders, dealers or exhibitors that are using Hollywood’s goodwill for their own ends.

At the recently closed Tiger Temple in Thailand, 40 dead tiger cubs(幼崽) were found in a freezer, secretly killed to make tiger wine and other folk medicine for sale on the black market. But it isn’t just the “tiger temples” that are being closed down. The number of tourist traps using word like “rescue” in their names has increased greatly in recent years.

Many businessmen continually breed the animals just so they’ll have a constant supply of young animals in order to charge money for photos to people. Of course the babies are cute but they grow fast, and within a few weeks they are too big to handle. They’ll spend the rest of their lives, sometimes decades, in small and empty cages — or even be killed.

In some Asian countries, elephants are kept in camps. A few camps are working to help elephants in trouble, but the vast majority are not, and training methods are cruel. As soon as the cameras are gone after someone like Prince William takes 0a photo with an elephant, the chains go back on.

Fans, tell the stars: Stay away from rare animal photos, and the animals will be grateful. Of course, you don’t have to be famous to make a difference. Whether right here at home or at a place abroad, every one of us must fight the temptation to take a photo with an elephant or hug a baby tiger.

1. The author intends to make an appeal that ________.

A．all people including stars should refuse to take photos with rare animals

B．measures should be taken to protect the rare animals

C．bans should be issued to limit celebrities’ behavior

D．warns of wild animals should be given to the public

2. It can be inferred that ________.

A．tiger wine and folk medicine made from tiger babies are sold in the supermarket

B．most of the elephants in Asia are treated well in camps

C．people are attracted to amusement parks and fake animal centers where celebrities share photos

D．when the baby animals that take photos with tourists grow up, they will be set free

3. Businessmen use the following tricks to make profits EXCEPT ________.

A．in the name of rescuing rare animals

B．take advantage of famous people to take photos with animals

C．claim to offer rare animals safety

D．protection of rare animals

4. Which of the following do you think is the best title?

A．Tell stars to stop!

B．Be careful when sharing photos on media!

C．No sale, no killing!

D．Rescue the endangered animals!

【推荐2】People often plan to receive medical exam but don’t, resulting in increasing health care cost. A surprising number of citizens mean to complete tax forms in time but forget to, forcing them to pay unnecessary fines. Many families miss the government deadline to complete financial aid forms, losing out on aid available for child care.

How can policymakers help people follow through on important tasks? They use carrots and sticks: bonuses, late fees, or regulations. These methods can be clumsy, and often aren’t effective for the situation at hand. Reminding people to form simple plans. however, provides a low-cost, simple, and powerful tool.

Evidence is growing that providing prompts (提示), which push people at key times to think through how and when they will follow through, make people more likely to act on tasks of importance. In one early randomized(随机的) study on vaccination(预防接种) rates, for example, a team of social psychologists showed that 28% of Oxford University seniors got the shot after being encouraged to review their weekly schedules and to select a possible time to stop by the health center. They were also given a list of times when shots were available and a map showing the health center’s location. Only 3% of the seniors got the shot when simply informed about how effective the shots were.

People who make a plan gain an advantage from their psychological forces. Specifically, they can overcome the tendency to put off as well as the tendency to be overly optimistic about the time it will take to accomplish a task.

People mistakenly believe that their strong intentions are enough to push them to perform desired behaviors. These psychological research results stress the need for policy decisions that encourage plan making and improve social welfare.

1. What phenomenon is described in paragraph 1?

A．Heavy burden of daily chores.	B．Lack of task management skills.
C．Disappointment of over-ambitions.	D．Failure to achieve original intentions.

2. What does the randomized vaccination study show?

A．People need to think deeply before they act.

B．Specific reminders help people accomplish plans.

C．Awareness of task significance matters in planning.

D．Seniors need encouragement to have vaccination shots.

3. What psychological benefit can people get from making a plan?

A．They are realistic in the time required.	B．They are optimistic about the outcome.
C．They are confident to overcome hardship.	D．They are careful with task arrangements.

4. Who may be the intended readers of this text?

A．Medical staff.	B．Government officials.
C．Ordinary people.	D．Social psychologists.

【推荐2】For some climate challenges, there are relatively straightforward fixes. For example, renewable energy sources can already replace much of the energy needed to power buildings, cars and more.

There’s no substitute for food, but shifting what we eat is possible. If everyone on the planet ate vegetables, greenhouse gas emissions from the food system could be cut by more than half; a planet of vegetarians would reduce food emissions by two thirds. If we stopped consuming conventional food and relied on a lab-grown nutritional food instead of soil or water-produced food, we could prevent about 1 degree centigrade of future warming, according to a recent paper that considered the unique thought experiment.

“What this work says is: Hey, look, we can still get pretty big wins even if we’re not making these really big changes in dietary composition,” says Clark. “I think that’s really powerful, because a lot of people just don’t want to make those really big dietary changes, for many reasons. While vegetarian diets are becoming more common in America and some European countries, it’s absolutely ridiculous to assume that everyone will be eating a vegetarian diet 30 years from now,” he says.

Food choices are personal, deeply connected to cultural, religious, emotional, economic concerns and so much more. “Rather than dictate how to do it, it’s much better to try to give choices,” says Naglaa, a food, nutrition and environment researcher at Tufts University. This approach aims to inform people so that they can make choices that correspond with their needs and values instead of waiting for the authority’s rules and orders. As a whole, those choices can benefit both human health and the planet. For that to happen, it is necessary to work alongside large-scale efforts to reshape industrial food production.

“But what people choose to eat daily is far from insignificant,” says Clark. “We don’t all have to become vegetarians overnight. Small changes can make a big difference.”

1. How does the author show the effects of dietary changes in paragraph 2?

A．By analyzing the reasons.	B．By using a quotation.
C．By answering questions.	D．By listing data.

2. What is Clark’s attitude towards small dietary changes?

A．Indifferent.

B．Skeptical.

C．Favorable.

D．Negative.

3. What does the underlined word “dictate” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Command.

B．Persuade.

C．Perceive.

D．Describe.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How small changes to our diets can benefit the planet

B．Small changes in life choices can make a big difference

C．Why renewable energy sources can reduce gas emissions

D．Lab-grown nutritional food could prevent future warming

【推荐3】A review of 100 years of fossil evidence reveals that 100 million years ago part of the Sahara Desert was arguably the riskiest place on our planet,wih a concentration of large predatory(食肉的）dinosaurs unmatched in any comparable modern ecosystem on land. The analysis of fossils from theso-called Kem Kem beds shows the presence in the area of large-scale predatory dinosaurs,reptiles and other hunters, all living together in what was at the time a river system full of very large fish, rather than a desert.

Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim, lead author of the study, said that the Kem Kem ecosystem was a highly enigmatic place,ecologically speaking, since typically ecosystems present a larger number of plant-eating animals than predators, and predators themselves will come in a variety of sizes,with one larger predator being dominant. In the Kem Kem beds,fossils of predators outnumber those of plant-eating dinosaurs, and several of the predators living together in the area, such as the Carcharodontosaurus, the Spinosaurus,the Abelisaur and the Deltadromeus, were as big as a Tyrannosaurus rex (T.rex) - one of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived. This is strange “even by dinosaur standards,” according to Ibrahim, since the T. rex, which was present in North America tens of millions of years later, was “the unarguable ruler of its ancient ecosystem.”

It is unlikely that the large predators in the Kem Kem ecosystem ate one another. What's more realistic, according to Ibrahim, is that they ate the abundant and supersized fish present in the area - fish like coelacanths"the size of a car” and sawfish that could reach 25 feet in length.

The study of the Kem Kem beds carried out by Ibrahim and a group of international researchers across the U.S., Europe and Africa draws attention to the importance of learning more about Africa,which remains paleontology's forgotten continent.It shows that African ecosystems"do not simply copy the ones we know from North America,Europe or other better-known places,"and it also reveals clues about what happens to life when dramatic changes in climate come into play.

1. What does the underlined word “enigmatic" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Dangerous.

B．Peaceful.

C．Puzzling.

D．Remote.

2. What can be learned about the Kem Kem ecosystem?

A．The T.rex was the real ruler of the ecosystem.

B．There once lived dangerous supersized dinosaurs.

C．There was an underground river instead of a desert.

D．The number of plant-eating dinosaurs went beyond that of predators.

3. Which of the following would Ibrahim agree with?

A．Sawfish once completely dominated North America.

B．Coelacanths were much larger than the Deltadromeus.

C．The Carcharodontosaurus and the Spinosaurus lived on fish.

D．The Abelisaur and the T. rex became extinct at the same time.

4. What does the study of the Kem Kem beds reveal?

A．African ecosystems have their uniqueness.

B．Humans have caused great changes in climate.

C．Fossils of predators proved to be alien species.

D．The Sahara Desert was formed 100 million years ago.

【推荐1】American Anai Espinoza is in the eighth grade. This summer, she took part in a summer dance program called AileyCamp. Each morning, she and other campers would say several phrases together. Her favorite is this: "I am in control." Espinoza said, "It makes me believe I have the power to choose the right thing."

AileyCamp was created in 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri by world-famous dancer and director Alvin Ailey. About 1,000 students in 10 U. S. states take part in AileyCamp every year. It is a free, six-week program, especially aimed at young people in financial need or who have school, social or family difficulties.

In addition to dance, the camp introduces students to visual arts, creative writing and other communication skills. It also teaches them how to eat well, solve conflicts and become leaders, notes the camp's website. Dianne Caroll Sales directs the AileyCamp in Atlanta, Georgia. When the camp is over, the city's professional ballet company offers 10 students a full-tuition scholarship for a year of training. The scholarship can be renewed.

Kameron Davis received one of those scholarships when he was a young man. He trained with the Atlanta Ballet for three years. Then he became a dance teacher. Davis said he does not think his mother could have paid for dance classes without the scholarship. Davis said children at school made fun of him when he began dancing. AileyCamp, he said, offered him a safe place and increased his confidence. Today, he enjoys giving back to the program by helping new campers build their confidence, too. "It's an open door to finding new things, doing new things," Davis said. "When I got to AileyCamp, it just reassured me that, 'Hey, it's okay. Everybody is different. You shouldn't be judged by what you do just because not a lot of people do it.'"

1. What is special about AileyCamp?

A．It was set up in Missouri.

B．Its founder was a famous dancer and director.

C．It was free of charge.

D．It was intended for the poor young people who had troubles in life.

2. Which of the following word can replace the underlined word in paragraph four?

A．comfort	B．warn
C．teach	D．persuade

3. What can be inferred according to Kameron Davis?

A．He got the scholarship because he was good at the Atlanta Ballet.

B．He believed his mother would pay for his dance class from the very beginning.

C．He was grateful for AileyCamp.

D．He often played jokes on his students when teaching them to dance.

【推荐2】Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.
But holidays are expensive and, for those on low wages or living on benefits, they are often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet.
For working parents, the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks, there is a need to spread this across the year. Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some, this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.
The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment. The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in sofeguaiding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays, much of this is missed.
While teachers are holidaying in the UK, many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.
In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委员会)is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real “down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.
We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.
1. The passage is probably written by .

A．an experienced teacher	B．a working parent
C．an inspired student	D．a city council member

2. The underlined word "they" in the second paragraph refers to " ’.

A．environments

B．holidays

C．wages

D．benefits

3. It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to.

A．2 weeks

B．4.5 weeks

C．5 weeks

D．6 weeks

4. The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students_____ .

A．obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs

B．get a chance to spend six weeks a term with teachers in school

C．benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment

D．have more school days to receive free school meals

5. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children

B．the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out

C．the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real "down time"

D．some school staff will say “ No" to the plans for a shorter summer holiday

【推荐3】A study has shown that severe stress lasting weeks or months can damage cell communications in the brain’s memory areas. Recently, researchers from University of California, Irvine, have provided the first evidence that short-term stress lasting for a few hours has the same effect.

“Stress does exist in our lives and cannot be avoided,” said Dr. Baram, leader of the UC Irvine School. “Our findings can play an important role in the present development of medicine that might prevent these undesirable effects and offer understanding of why some people are forgetful or have difficulty keeping the memories.”

In their study, Baram and her UC Irvine colleagues identified a novel process in which stress caused these effects. They found that, severe stress activated(激活) Corticotropin Releasing Hormones(CRH), which prevented the brain from keeping memory.

Memory takes place at synapses, where there are connections through which brain cells communicate. These synapses lie on dendritic spines(神经元). In rat and mouse studies, Baram’s group saw that the release(释放) of CRH in the brain’s primary memory center led to the rapid breakup of these dendritic spines, which in turn limited the ability of synapses to collect and store memories.

In addition, the researchers reproduced the effects of stress on dendritic spines by keeping low levels of CRH, and watching how the spines ruptured over minutes. “Fortunately, once we removed the CRH, the spines seemed to grow back again, ” Baram said. “And this study can play a role in the creation of treatments to address stress-related memory loss.”

1. According to the text, short-term stress can lead to ________.

A．memory loss	B．cell decrease
C．head damage	D．thought disorder

2. The underlined word “ruptured” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．came into being	B．built up
C．broke apart	D．died away

3. What is the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To discuss the main stages of stress.

B．To show the primary cause of stress.

C．To introduce a new finding about stress.

D．To promote an effective treatment for stress.