【推荐2】A new research finds that these beloved pets might hurt the pet-owners’ sleeping. According to the study, though pets have many positive effects on health, pet ownership was linked with poorer sleep.

The researchers adjusted for factors that could affect sleep, including race and income, as well as age, gender and BMI, and focused on whether a person had a sleep disorder and whether a person had a cat or a dog. The findings showed that having a dog was associated with a greater chance of having a sleep disorder and overall having trouble sleeping, while having a cat was associated with having a higher chance of leg jerks(抽搐) at night.

“One of the factors is the age of the pet. It has a big influence on whether or not they keep you up at night,” Van Egmond, a researcher said. “If you have multiple pets, they can egg each other on.” So more pets, more noise, more difficult to fall asleep.

So, what should we do to guarantee the sleep quality with pets hanging around?

With dogs, it depends a lot on the breed and the activity level it needs. Making sure a pet dog gets plenty of physical activities and mental stimulation during the day can help animals — and their owners — get a better rest.

Unlike dogs, cats tend to have bursts of energy at night. To deal with this, such suggestions are worth considering. If you play with your cat before it was ready for bed, you would activate the cat’s hunting instinct(本能). By being fed after that, your cat would feel that it has successfully hunted its food and was rewarded with a nice meal in return. Its natural instinct after that was to groom(梳洗) itself and go to sleep.

The new study indicates that pets can influence your sleep, but we have to really take into account that pets are much more than a facilitator or inhibitor of sleep, they are part of our family.

1. The study shows ____.

A．pets have no positive effect.

B．pets might affect owners’ sleep.

C．dog owners have no sleeping disorder.

D．cat’s legs are easily hurt at night.

2. The underlined phrase “egg each other on” means____.

A．living on eggs only

B．sleeping on eggs with each other

C．making each other more excited

D．breaking eggs on purpose

3. In paragraph 5 and 6, the author mainly discusses_____.

A．physical activities suitable for dogs.

B．reasons why cats have bursts of energy at night.

C．ways to feed pets food.

D．suggestions for pet owners to get a better sleep.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Pets and Sleep

B．Pets Prefer Nights

C．Good Pets or Evil Pets

D．Healthy Pets, Healthy Owners

【推荐1】For Jaskirat Batra, the desire to take teaching as his career began in his childhood. As a child of teachers, he was often immersed (沉浸在) in the world of classrooms, chalkboards and textbooks. While deeply inspired by his parents, Batra’s desire was always to go beyond traditional teaching methods. As a graduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, he has established a unique style of teaching that might affect how engineering courses are taught in classrooms.

During his time at Texas A&M University, Batra joined the materials science program there. “I thought that it was the perfect place for me to combine my academic training in engineering science and electrical engineering with my research interest,” Batra said. “I couldn’t wait to jump in and begin my own research project.”

Batra began working on his research project, attending classes and taking exams. However, the turning point came when he was hired to teach an introductory engineering course to undergraduate students. During this time, he grew increasingly dissatisfied with the standard slides (幻灯具) based method, particularly because slides, which are 2D surfaces, were used to display complex 3D concepts.

“I knew there has to be a better way to help students visualize in 3D,” Batra said. “I want to develop an instructional strategy that would really help my students to learn and enjoy the process while they are in it.” He started to use 3D cardboard goggles (a kind of glasses) to study students’ motivation when materials science concepts were being taught: He found that when a slides-based lecture was combined with virtual reality, the students’ motivation increased by 77%.

“I always remember what my parents taught me about the power of a pen in shaping society, and the influence of a teacher on the future generations of teachers, scientists, engineers, etc.,” Batra said. “In addition to being an educator, in the future I would love to have my own research lab where I can work with future generations of scientists to make discoveries and solve problems.”

1. What can we know about Jaskirat Batra?

A．He felt bored with school life as a child.

B．He set a goal of being a teacher in college.

C．He taught 3D technology at Texas A&M University.

D．He devoted himself to improving traditional teaching methods.

2. What did Jaskirat Batra think of the materials science program?

A．It was boring.	B．It was creative.
C．It was attractive.	D．It was promising.

3. Why did Jaskirat Batra introduce the 3D-assisted teaching method?

A．To meet practical needs in his teaching.

B．To respond to his students’ advice.

C．To collect data for his research.

D．To improve his teaching skills.

4. What happened after Jaskirat Batra applied the 3D-assisted teaching method to his class?

A．His students’ academic performances were improved.

B．He no longer needed the standard slides-based method.

C．His students’ enthusiasm for his class was increased.

D．He popularized his teaching methods among his colleagues.

【推荐2】At the end of the 1985 film “Back to the Future.” Doc Brown swoops in from the future to pick up his partner in a De-Lorean fueled by trash. In 2022 trash-powered vehicles still sound like science fiction, but a technology revolution may be turning them into a reality.

Hidden among the carefully striated (条纹) layers of waste at the local landfill is a potent energy source: methane gas. When it isn’t transformed into something else, methane is an extremely strong pollutant, 82 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. In a lesson about how the energy transition is likely to play out, landfill operators’ ability to make use of excess gas has exploded in recent years. New facilities are being created to convert (转化) trash into renewable natural gas (RNG).

The potential has spurred (刺激) major sanitation and energy companies to break into this new market. In October the British company BP agreed to acquire Archaea Energy, a company that designs, builds and operates RNG plants in the U. S. to convert waste emissions. Archaea produces 6, 000 oil-equivalent barrels (油桶当量) a day through 13 RNG facilities with plans to construct 88 more to serve rising demand. Our only input is trash.

Archaea sells largely to voluntary buyers who wish to lock in clean gas at fair prices. RNG still comes at a high price compared with other fuel sources, but reducing the cost of producing RNG will mean more of it is available to buyers on attractive terms. We are working to lower the price of RNG by creating standardized and modular (模块化的) production facilities with decreased operating costs, higher processing efficiency, and uptime rates that start above 90%. Small-scale breakthroughs in gas processing enabled us to improve the portion of usable natural gas recovered from landfills to 95%, up from an industry standard of 75%.

Some of the predictions in “Back to the Future” proved too far-fetched. Flying cars seem as distant today as they were in the 1980s. But power from trash? Today trash represents a permanent carbon-negative source of natural gas. Voluntary transactions in RNG and the micro-scale process improvements that have boosted this market suggest a far more circular economy on the horizon.

1. According to the passage, which one of the following is true?

A．There are high concentrations of carbon methane gas in the waste of landfills.

B．The burning efficiency of methane is 82 times that of carbon dioxide.

C．In recent years, landfill operators have abused excess gas and caused explosions.

D．People are building new facilities to convert garbage into renewable energy.

2. What is the industry standard for the proportion of natural gas recovered from landfills?

A．70%

B．75%

C．90%

D．95%

3. It can be inferred about Archaea Energy from the text that ________.

A．the company closed down in October unluckily

B．if there are 88 RNG facilities, Archaea will be able to produce more than 6000 barrels of oil per day

C．Archaea produces renewable natural gas by importing garbage and some chemical additives

D．the company is committed to enabling buyers to get more RNG on attractive terms

4. What is the author’s attitude towards flying cars fueled by garbage?

A．Optimistic.

B．Objective.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Neutral.

【推荐3】Anastasiya and Sergey Lutsenko, a couple of talented artists from the Russian City of Krasnoyarsk, are famous, among doll collectors all around the globe as two of the world’s most careful doll makers. They can spend several months on a single piece, but it is this attention to details that makes the final product so impressive.

To say that the Lutsenkos’ dolls look like tiny human beings is not that much of an exaggeration(夸张). With their shiny, little eyes, perfectly proportionate faces and carefully painted details like freckles and moles, these dolls often look like mini-sized people. To add to the realism, no two dolls are the same. They are all hand-made and hand-painted. Plus they are customizable, with the owners being able to change their clothes, accessories(配饰), and hair.

Anastasiya and Sergey are both professional artists, graduates of the Krasnodar Art College and the Kuban State University of Culture and Arts. However, they never trained in doll making. During her last year at university, Anastasiya had started experimenting with jewelry made from polymer clay(软陶)and decided to use the material to create a doll for one of her teachers, as a birthday gift. It took her two weeks, during which she struggled with many problems, but the process also interested her.

Over the next few years, the artistic couple uncovered all the secrets of human-like dolls, from the right combination of materials to the right way to bake the dolls and paint them. They started making dolls in 2011 and they’re still learning, but their skill has definitely been attracting a lot of attention from doll collectors.

The Lutsenkos’ dolls sell for tens of thousands of rubles, but the price tag has never scared away enthusiasts. Collectors in Russia as well as foreign countries like Germany and the UK are willing to pay extra money for these incredible masterpieces.

The Lutsenkos’ dolls are some of the most wanted among private collectors, but getting your hands on one is easier said than done, because they’re so rare.

1. What probably impressed customers most about the Lutsenkos’ dolls?

A．Their body shapes.

B．Their materials.

C．Their details.

D．Their prices.

2. What does the author think of the Lutsenkos’ dolls?

A．Similar.

B．Lifelike.

C．Perfect.

D．Exaggerated.

3. What does Paragraph 3 imply?

A．The couple have never trained in art.

B．Anastasiya created her first doll for Sergey.

C．One of Anastasiya’s teachers was an excellent doll maker.

D．Anastasiya became a doll maker quite by chance.

4. In the eyes of doll collectors, the Lutsenkos’ dolls are ______.

A．beautiful but too costly

B．masterpieces worth higher prices

C．products made from a rare material

D．available anytime with enough money

【推荐1】You may not realize that your brain is consuming energy almost all the time. Paying attention, decision-making, empathy, even meditation consume mental resources. You can’t think much at all-or laugh, or respond to danger, or dream about the future, or even remember where you put the car keys-without mental energy.

Despite its essential status, mental energy is a missing factor in most accounts of psychic(心理的)operations. It’s not even clear what mental energy is. One model sees it as one part mood state, one part cognition, and one part motivation. There’s no agreed-upon measure of or method for assessing mental energy.

Whatever mental energy turns out to be, one thing is clear: it’s something people want more of. Perhaps because we live in disquieting times that we struggle to make sense of even decisions about what to put in the garbage bring us face-to-face with existential threats-there are continuous demands on mental energy. Or maybe it’s just the price of having a big cerebral cortex(大脑皮层)in a time of information overload.

There are known ways of maintaining mental energy. Most accessible, perhaps, is the careful use of whatever mental energy individuals already have. Habits help conserve mental energy. They obviate the need to make any number of decisions so as to maintain mental energy. Good habits are even better; they additionally prevent the need to expend energy on mopping up the damage done by bad habits.

It’s also possible to generate mental energy from within by a technique known as mental contrasting. New York University psychologist Gabriele Oettingen developed mental contrasting as a way to use the energy necessary to turn goals into achievements. The technique requires imagining a future you want to attain-writing a book, say-and the best outcome of that desired goal-feelings of accomplishment and pride. The critical part is then avoiding pure fantasy by contrasting your wishes with the reality of the work necessary to attain them. The judgments people then make about how likely they are to attain the desired future are starting working, and the energy mobilization(能量调动)can be measured physically in tests of hand-grip strength(握力). Further,Oettingen finds，mental contrasting gives rise to a universal arousal state in which energy is transferrable to mental tasks wholly unrelated to the fantasy that birthed it.

1. What do we know about mental energy?

A．It’s clear that people desire more of mental energy.

B．Most threats and struggles can be addressed with mental energy.

C．It is a model with parts including mood state, cognition, and motivation.

D．Most accounts of psychic operations describe mental energy as a main factor.

2. What does the underlined word “obviate” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Meet.

B．Remove.

C．Increase.

D．Provide.

3. How does mental contrasting help generate mental energy?

A．By turning goals into achievements.

B．By transferring your energy to mental tasks.

C．By picturing your desired goal and its outcome.

D．By fantasizing about your accomplishments.

4. Which would be the best title for the text?

A．The making of mental energy.

B．The functions of mental energy.

C．Habits, good keepers of mental energy.

D．Mental contrasts, sources of mental energy.

【推荐2】The memory of elephants is the stuff of lore (传说), and now it seems they can recall the smell of a relative even after a decade apart.

When Franziska Hörner at the University of Wuppertal in Germany and her colleagues heard about planned reunions between two mother-daughter pairs at zoos in Germany, the took advantage of the chance to test the elephants’ memories. One pair had been separated for two years, while the other had spent 12 years apart.

Hörner collected faecal (排泄物的) samples from these African elephants and others at German zoos, hauling the stinking 10-to-15-kilogram samples around in her tiny car.

Her team presented these samples one at a time to the four elephants in advance of their reunions with family members. When they encountered faeces from unrelated elephants, cither those in the same zoo or unfamiliar animals, they sniffed and walked away.

But when presented with a sample from the mother or daughter they were due to be reunited with, the female elephants repeatedly sniffed the samples and showed a variety of reactions, from making sounds to flapping their ears.

Such reactions may be linked to positive emotions, the researchers say. “That was amazing and really intense,” says Hörner. “We were sure they do remember, and they know exactly what they are smelling there.”

The sample size was small, but it would be cruel to do similar tests on elephants that weren’t being reunited, says Hörner.

“I am not surprised that elephants have memories, especially in social contexts, that last a long time,” says Joshua Plotnik at Hunter College in New York, who wasn’t involved with the work. Elephants live in groups that split up and come back together over long periods of time.

But Plotnik says the experiment may not be a true test of memory. There may be scent cues (线索，提示) common to all relatives that can trigger recognition not linked to memory, he says, and presenting the elephants with other smells would help make sense of their responses.

1. Why did Hörner collect faecal samples from elephants at German zoos?

A．To figure out mother and daughter elephants.

B．To haul samples in the tiny car.

C．To help elephants reunite with their family.

D．To test elephants’ memories.

2. How did the elephants react when presented with samples from family members?

A．They sniffed and walked away.

B．They responded actively.

C．They recognized their family members.

D．They showed no reactions.

3. What’s the shortcoming of this experiment according to Hörner?

A．There is no experimental preparation.

B．Samples are of different age level.

C．The experiment is immoral.

D．There are only four samples.

4. What does Plotnik suggest?

A．Drawing a conclusion according to the findings.

B．Making use of the findings.

C．Conducting further research.

D．Clarifying the purpose of the study.

【推荐1】Ever since he was nine years old, Daniel Arundel has been helping his mother Elizabeth in the kitchen. He learnt to bake cakes and savouries (咸味小吃) at home. On Saturdays, he helped fill the rolls at the sandwich shop his mum ran. Now Daniel, who is only 19, has turned his enjoyment of making food into a successful business.

“I’ve always loved making things for people to eat and I realized I wasn’t too bad at it.” says Daniel, who started selling his cakes while at secondary schoo1. “For two years every Sunday, I would sell cakes I had baked at home with Mum on a market stand.”

His plan to open a bakery in his hometown impressed his teachers and they encouraged him to submit his idea to a national competition for ambitious business people. Although he didn’t win, Daniel was awarded an award of €1,000 to help his project.

Arundel Bakery opened on an industrial site in Oldham surrounded by offices full of staff looking for somewhere for their lunch. So he opened a sandwich shop at the front of the Bakery. He now employs three staff, including his mum, who make food for various customers. And they also help the community later by making fresh hot meals for the elderly.

Last year Daniel was runner-up in another competition to recognize entrepreneurial (创业的) talent. The competition was organized by the Edge Foundation, an education charity, which encourages career routes to young people who can’t be admitted by a university.

Daniel said, “I have been crazy in the past few years. I'm so busy and I don’t have much of a social life at the moment. I want to expand our range of dairy-free cakes for those who have an allergy (过敏反应) to food like me. I’ve put my heart and soul into my baking and getting where I am today. I know I'm still very young and I'm learning all the time. But I love what I'm doing and want to take every opportunity that comes to make my bakery a success.”

1. What did Daniel do on Sundays when he was at secondary school?

A．He made cakes at schoo1.

B．He sold food at the market.

C．He helped his mum run the shop.

D．He 1earnt to cook meals for his family.

2. What did Daniel’s teachers do about his business plan?

A．They offered him a job.

B．They raised money for his project.

C．They encouraged him to study business.

D．They advised him to participate in a contest.

3. Why did Daniel open a sandwich shop?

A．To start his first business.

B．To help the local community.

C．To satisfy consumers’ needs.

D．To learn a new cooking method.

4. What can we infer about Daniel from the last paragraph?

A．He’ll research and develop special food.

B．He’ll spare more time to make friends.

C．He’ll enter for another competition.

D．He’ll go to university.