【推荐2】It is a question people have been asking for ages. Is there a way to turn back the aging process?

For centuries, people have been looking for a “fountain of youth”. The idea is that if you find a magical fountain, and drink from its waters, you will not age.

Researchers in New York did not find an actual fountain of youth, but they may have found a way to turn back the aging process. It appears the answer may be hidden right between your eyes, in an area called the hypothalamus (下丘脑). The hypothalamus is part of your brain. It controls important activities within the body.

Researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that hypothalamus neural (神经的) stem cells also influence how fast aging takes place in the body.

What are stem cells(干细胞)? They are simple cells that can develop into specialized cells, like blood or skin cells. Stem cells can also repair damaged tissues and organs.

Dongsheng Cai is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was the lead researcher in a study on aging in mice. He and his team reported their findings in the journal Nature, Cai explained when hypothalamus function is in decline, particularly the loss of hypothalamus stem cells, and this protection against the aging development is lost. it eventually leads to aging.

Using this information, the researchers began trying to activate, or energize, the hypothalamus laboratory mice. They did this by injecting the animals with stem cells, Later, the researchers examined tissues and tested for changes in behavior. They looked for changes in the strength and coordination (协调) of the animals muscles. They also studied the social behavior and cognitive ability of the mice. The researchers say the results show that the treatment slowed aging in the animals, Cai says injecting middle-aged mice with stem cells from younger mice helped the older animals live longer.

But these results were just from studying mice in a laboratory. If the mice can live longer, does that mean people could have longer lives? The next step is to see if the anti-aging effects also work in.

1. In Paragraph 2 a “fountain of youth” is mentioned to ________.

A．introduce the main topic

B．show a hidden secret.

C．describe scientists research

D．recommend a way to stay young

2. Aging takes place in the body when _______.

A．stem cells develop into specialized cells

B．there are important activities within the body

C．hypothalamus neural stem cells fail to protect against aging

D．the hypothalamus fails to repair damaged tissues and organs

3. What do we know about the researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine from the text?

A．They did experiments to see how stem cells work.

B．They studied mice to find their connection with humans.

C．They have found a possible way to slow the aging progress.

D．They have found no changes in mice s behavior during the experiment

4. What will the researchers probably do next?

A．They will help some animals live longer.

B．They will announce the fountain of youth doesn’t exist

C．They will develop products to help people live a longer life immediately

D．They will do research to see if what they have found in mice will apply to humans.

【推荐3】It is becoming more and more important for researchers to closely observe our sea life, with climate change and overfishing damaging our oceans. However, this is almost impossible since human presence scares the animals. Now, thanks to The Soft Robotic Fish, also called SoFi, researchers may not only be able to keep a close eye on the creatures, but also uncover undersea secrets that have been confusing us for centuries.

Built by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the snow-white remote-controlled robot closely emulates real fish, complete with a flexible tail and two "fins". Though not the first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) created to observe the oceans, SoFi solves many of the issues that have hindered (妨碍)the usefulness of previous robots.

AUVs traditionally have had to be tied to a boat because radio frequency communications do not work well underwater. To solve the problem, CSAIL director Daniela Rus and her team used sound waves which can travel greater distances, allowing drivers using a waterproofed Super Nintendo controller to pilot SoFi from up to 50 feet away. To ensure SoFi can freely move around the ocean, a pump moves water from one balloon-like structure to the other through its soft rubber tail, while a controller fitted with a battery powers the robot through the ocean, unhindered by propellers (螺旋桨).

During test dives in Fiji's Rainbow Reef, SoFi moved alongside the sea life at depths of 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at a time, taking high-resolution photos and videos. Even more importantly, it was able to do so without causing any disturbance. The researchers say sometimes the fish would swim alongside the strange-looking robo- fish out of curiosity, while at other times they appeared completely unaware of its existence.

While SoFi currently only records videos, future versions will include sensors. "For us, this fish is magical," says Rus. “We imagine someday it might help us uncover more mysteries from the amazing underwater world that we know so little about."

1. Why was SoFi created?

A．To protect fish from being caught.

B．To stop oceans from being polluted.

C．To learn about the underwater world

D．To solve the issues AUVs have found.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “emulates” in Paragraph2?

A．Feeds.	B．Catches.
C．Protects.	D．Imitates.

3. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The development of AUVs.

B．Working principles of SoFi.

C．How AUVs are used underwater.

D．SoFi's contribution to fish protection.

4. What is the main advantage of SoFi?

A．It will not scare real fish.	B．It can record videos.
C．It is equipped with sensors.	D．It cannot be seen by real fish.

【推荐1】Four years ago, more than 700 computer scientists competed in a contest to build an artificial intelligence (AI) that could pass an 8th-grade science exam. They all flunked. Even the most developed system couldn’t score higher than 60 points on the test. AI can’t match the language and logic (逻辑) skills that students are expected to have when they enter middle school.

Later, a system named Aristo was developed by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a lab in the US. It recently passed an 8-grade science exam taken by many US students, the New York Times reported. It correctly answered more than 90% of the questions. Then it was given a 12th-grade exam and it scored more than 80 points.

Aristo was able to pass the exam because it can not only understand language but also use logical thinking to solve difficult problems. For example, it can understand what a forest fire is and how it could affect animals like rabbits. The Aristo system used Bert, a kind of technology developed by Google, to answer the questions. Bert has “read” thousands of Wikipedia articles and books. If it looks at a sentence with a missing word, it can correctly guess what the word is. With the help of Bert, Aristo has “read” a lot of science questions and answers. Over time, it was able to find logical patterns (模式) on its own.

Aristo’s success means that AI systems are getting better at understanding language and even respond to language. However, we can’t compare this technology to real human students and their logical ability, said Jingjing Liu, a Microsoft researcher, who has been working on similar technologies.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “flunked” in the first paragraph?

A．Failed.

B．Passed.

C．Missed.

D．Improved.

2. Why was Aristo developed?

A．To help students do well in exams.

B．To improve the logical skills of AI.

C．To help make school tests more scientific.

D．To show ATS ability to solve science problems.

3. What is the purpose of the third paragraph?

A．To show what else Aristo can do.

B．To tell what Aristo can learn on its own.

C．To explain how Aristo learns to solve problems.

D．To introduce another achievement in technology.

4. What do Jingjing Liu’s words show?

A．AI is not as developed as it might seem.

B．Humans can’t live without AI in the future.

C．AI will soon replace humans in many tasks.

D．Aristo’s logical ability still needs improving.

【推荐3】3D printing is becoming more and more popular. We are now able to create things we need very quickly and easily using 3D printers. But can you imagine printing food?

Some scientists are trying to change the dining experience by doing this. They hope that having a 3D printer in the kitchen will be as common as the microwave oven (微波炉).

Scientists say that it’ll be quite easy: you simply have to select a recipe (食谱) and put the raw (生的) food ‘inks’ into the printer. You can also read the instructions to make the food exactly how you want it. This means that it would be very quick and easy to create tasty and nutritious meals.

Printing food could also help people who suffer from dysphasia (a swallowing disorder). They could program the printer to print softer versions of their favorite foods so that they would not have trouble in swallowing them.

However, some people think that a future of 3D food printing would be a disaster. It could take away many jobs, including those from growing, transporting and packaging food. Imagine a world where there was no need for farming or growing crops and the same tastes could be printed from a raw “food ink”. Likewise, traditional cafes and restaurants might lose business. Also, there are concerns about the nutritional value of printed food: is it really possible to be get the nutrients we need from food –based inks and gels (凝胶)?

What’s more , cooking and eating together with family and friends has long been a traditional and enjoyable activity. It is hard to imagine a world where the pleasure of cooking is dead and meals can be created at the touch of a button.

1. Why do some think that 3D food printing would be a disaster?

A．Traditional food would disappear.	B．We could all eat the same food.
C．It would affect the people’s health.	D．Many people could lose their jobs.

2. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．3D food printing will replace traditional cooking.

B．The future of 3D food printing is uncertain.

C．3D food printing would be a failure.

D．It would hurt our tradition of food culture.

3. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Can 3D printing create everything?	B．3D food “printing”: coming to the kitchen
C．3D—printing food will be in fashion!	D．The disadvantage of 3D food printing

【推荐1】Take a quick alcohol and you could find yourself speaking a second tongue more naturally, according to a new research.

The foreign language skills of participants in the study were found to be improved after a drink of alcohol, which suggests the way alcohol can put us at ease outweighs the negative effects on our brain — at least for the first drink, anyway. The international team of researchers states it could reveal some interesting insights into the anxiety associated with speaking another language, and how alcohol can help us overcome it. “Our study shows that acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who recently learned that language,” says one of the team, Inge Kersbergen from the University of Liverpool in the UK.

The study involved 50 native German speakers studying Dutch at a Dutch university, who had recently learned to speak, read, and write in the new language. Based on random selections, participants were either given alcohol or water as a control beverage. The amount of alcohol varied based on body size, but was equal to just under a pint (460 millilitres) of 5 percent beer for a 70kg male. They then chatted to a researcher for five minutes, before an audio recording was assessed by two native Dutch speakers who weren’t told whether alcohol had been consumed or not. The participants were also asked to rate their own Dutch language skills over the course of the chat.

While the alcohol didn’t affect how the students rated themselves, those people who had been given the alcoholic drink were given better ratings by the observers, especially for their pronunciation. With only 50 people involved in the research, we should be cautious of making too many summaries on this study alone, but it’s an interesting pointer towards how a little bit of drink could oil the wheels as far as talking in a foreign language is concerned.

“It is important to point out that participants in this study consumed a low dose of alcohol,” adds one of the team. “Higher levels of alcohol consumption might not have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language.”

1. From Paragraphs 1 and 2, we can learn that ______.

A．there are advantages and disadvantages of alcohol consumption

B．alcohol consumption might have good effects on speaking a foreign language

C．there’s relationship between alcohol and a foreign language

D．it is important to consume alcohol

2. The underlined word “outweighs” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.

A．has access to

B．falls behind

C．is superior to

D．is second to

3. The article is most probably taken from ______.

A．a science and technology journal	B．a fashion magazine
C．a public service advertisement	D．a life journal

4. What can we infer from the study?

A．Drink a lot, and you will find yourself speaking a second tongue more naturally.

B．The alcohol doesn’t affect how the students rate themselves.

C．Consuming too much alcohol is not advocated.

D．The result of the study is satisfactory and perfect.

【推荐2】Charles Darwin found inspiration for his theory of evolution in birds’ beaks, giant tortoise shells — and language. “The survival of certain favored words in the struggle for existence is natural selection,” he wrote in The Descent of Man in 1871．

Language gradually shifts over time. Much research examines how social and environmental factors influence language change, but ignores the forces of human cognitive selection that fix certain words into the lexicon (词汇表). For an extensive new study published recently, scientists investigated just that.

In an experiment like a game of telephone, thousands of participants read English-language stories and rewrote them to be read by other participants, who then rewrote them for others. Only certain words from the first stories survived in the final versions. Researchers analyzed the word types speakers consistently favored, theorizing that such preferences drive language change over time. The scientists also separately analyzed two large collections of English historical texts from the past two centuries, containing more than 40 billion words — again seeing only certain types survive.

The end result shows three properties that give words an “evolutionary advantage” by helping them stick in the brain: First, words typically acquired at an early age (such as “hand,” “uncle”or “today”) are stabler. Next, concrete words linger (逗留) better than abstract ones: “dog” persists longer than “animal,” which persists longer than “organism.” Lastly, emotionally exciting words — whether negative or positive — tend to endure.

Early language-evolution models assumed that language becomes increasingly complex over time. But Fritz Breithaupt, a cognitive scientist, says the new study supports a more recent theory that language ultimately gets more efficient and easier to understand. Still, as the study notes, “the English language is not baby talk.” Breithaupt explains: “Yes, we shift toward simple language, but then we also grab complex language that we need.” New words that address the complexities of modern life may somewhat balance out this shift.

Columbia University linguist McWhorter more or less agrees with the study’s results about evolutionary advantages within language. He questions, however, implications regarding the overall efficiency of English — a language which contains things like “needlessly complex” grammatical traces.

1. What does the new study concentrate on?

A．The impact of cognitive selection.

B．The perspective of Charles Darwin.

C．The effectiveness of preserved words.

D．The importance of natural environment.

2. What may make a word gain evolutionary advantage?

A．Its stability in word-building.	B．Its more abstract meaning.
C．Its strong emotional information.	D．Its simple grammatical structure.

3. What phenomenon does the underlined “this shift” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Communication gets more complex.

B．Humans prefer to use simpler language.

C．Language is getting less understandable.

D．New words can interpret modern life easily.

4. What does McWhorter imply about English?

A．It has an evolutionary advantage.

B．It keeps the grammatical traces.

C．It should be simplified sometimes.

D．People should embrace its changes.

【推荐3】I can’t think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Some festivals are celebrated by an entire country, while others many be unique to a single city. Festivals play an important role in a certain culture. Just enjoy them!
Batalla del Vino—Haro, Spain
For many years, June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. Bring a bottle of wine and prepare to be washed in red wine in the heart of Spain’s grape-growing area. After a church ceremony, crowds flock（集结）to the hills for the battle, where white shirts will be made bright purple by the end of the morning.
Bay to Breakers—San Francisco, California
Created after the terrible 1906 earthquake as a way of encouraging people, the race has become one of the region’s most important events. Held every year on the third Sunday of May, the race runs through the city from the Bay to the Pacific Breakers. The real highlight, however, is the thousands of people dressed up in a show.
Pillow Fight Day—Worldwide
These events are organized mainly through the Internet. Tens of thousands of people participated in the 4th annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 2,2013. From London to Vancouver to many other cities, the festivals were held in more than 100 countries. So just bring a soft pillow in early April, and watch feathers flying.
Koninginnedag— The Netherlands
Although their Queen’s birthday is really during the winter, she celebrates it on April 30th — the country’s official “Queen’s Day” since 1949.
Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of shining wigs（假发）and body paints, as crowds gather in the squares and on boats in the canals. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.
1. People celebrated Batalla del Vino by ____.

A．wearing bright purple shirts

B．pouring wine onto others’ white shirts

C．flocking to the hills after a ceremony

D．holding a drinking wine competition

2. The underlined word “highlight” in the passage means ____.

A．the most exciting part	B．the brightest part
C．the highest part	D．the hardest part

3. Which of the festivals has the shortest history?

A．Batalla del Vino.	B．Bay to Breakers.
C．Pillow Fight Day.	D．Koninginnedag.

4. Which of the statements is NOT true?

A．June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain.

B．The race is held every year to encourage people.

C．Pillow Fight Day is held in more than 100 countries.

D．The Queen of the Netherlands was born on April 30th.

【推荐1】The United States space agency, NASA, says its Mars exploration vehicle recently recorded a high level of methane (甲烷) gas on the planet. The discovery is exciting because the presence of methane gas could support the case for life on Mars.

NASA’s Curiosity vehicle recently recorded the largest level of methane ever measured during its seven-year Mars mission.

Methane has no color or smell. A special instrument on Curiosity’s Mars Science Laboratory recorded the increased gas level. In addition to methane, the instrument can record levels of water and carbon dioxide.

Nearly all the methane gas found in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by biological activity. It usually comes from animal and plant life. But it can also be formed by geological processes, such as interactions between rocks and water.

It was not the first time Curiosity has found methane gas in the Martian atmosphere. About a year ago, NASA announced that Curiosity had discovered sharp seasonal increases in the gas. This time, NASA said the measured methane gas level was clearly larger than any others observed in the past. NASA officials even temporarily stopped Curiosity’s other activities to investigate further.

However, Curiosity’s team carried out a follow-up methane experiment that showed a sharp drop in levels of the gas. The rise and fall of the methane gas levels left NASA scientists with more questions than answers. The scientists are continuing to study possible causes for the sudden increase.

Curiosity does not have instruments that can exactly identify whether the source of the methane is biological or geological. One leading theory is that methane is being released from underground areas created by possible life forms that disappeared long ago, Even though Mars has no active volcanoes, scientists believe it is also possible that methane is being produced by reactions involving carbon materials and water.

1. Why is the discovery of high level of methane on Mars exciting?

A．It is a very rare gas on Mars.	B．It’s evidence of life existence.
C．It can be used in further study.	D．It proves the existence of water.

2. What do we know about methane gas on the earth?

A．It is different from that on Mars.

B．It is mainly created by rocks and water.

C．It is mainly coming from living things.

D．It is as important as water and carbon dioxide.

3. What brought more puzzles to NASA scientists?

A．Sharp changes of methane amount on Mars.

B．The first time to find methane gas on mars.

C．Methane gas discovered several times on Mars.

D．The sharp drop in levels of methane gas on Mars.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Volcanoes erupting on Mars.

B．Instruments equipped on Curiosity.

C．Possible life forms on Mars long ago.

D．Possible sources of methane on Mars.

【推荐2】Find Your Chicago Architecture Tour

Chicago is known around the world for its architecture. Whether you tour downtown or a neighborhood, our guides will tell you the stories behind the buildings.

Must-see Chicago

Must-see Chicago is a fast-paced, 90-minute tour to Chicago featuring(以…为特色) some of its most famous buildings, including the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower and more! Get a brief overview of more than a dozen buildings—as well as Chicago landmarks like Millennium Park, the Loop and the Chicago River.

Duration: 1.5 hours

Price: $ 26 public, free for CAC members

Architecture Highlights

Discover the exciting diversity(多样性) of Chicago architecture, which traces the city’s development from its founding through present day. We cover about 30 miles of Chicago design, passing through the Loop and the Gold Coast, as well as Hyde Park and other areas of the South Side. We’ll see two university campuses and several parks.

Duration: 3.5 hours

Price: $ 55 public, free for CAC members

Historic Treasures of Chicago’s Golden Age

Learn about the great architectural landmarks of Michigan Avenue and State Street, with views inside beautiful buildings from the 1890s〜1930s. The most memorable parts include the amazing interiors(内部) of the Palmer House Hotel and the Chicago Cultural Center.

Duration: 2 hours

Price: $ 26 public, free for CAC members

Elevated Architecture: Downtown “L” Train

Explore Chicago’s amazing architecture from the unique view of elevated trains and station platforms. Learn the history behind the famous “L” system and hear how it has shaped the development of buildings within the Loop. The city’s first elevated train started making trips in 1892. Now considered one of Chicago’s most wonderful features, the “L” offers impressive views of downtown.

Duration: 2 hours

Price: $ 26 public, free for CAC members

1. Which tour can you choose if you want to see Millennium Park?

A．Must-see Chicago.

B．Historic Treasures of Chicago’s Golden Age

C．Architecture Highlights.

D．Elevated Architecture： Downtown “L” Train.

2. When visiting Architecture Highlights, a couple should pay ______.

A．$55

B．$ 110

C．$ 165

D．$ 220

3. What can you see on the third tour?

A．The Chicago River.	B．The Gold Coast.
C．The elevated trains.	D．The Palmer House Hotel.

【推荐3】A global group of scientists have reduced the time it takes to find and introduce disease-resistance genes from wild plants into domestic crops such as rice, wheat and potato, a research revealed on Tuesday.

Scientists from the John Innes Center in Britain, along with colleagues from Australia and the United States, have created a database known as AgRenSeq, where researchers can easily search for resistance genes already discovered in wild relatives of modern crops.

The study was co-authored by a global expert Professor HarbansBariana from the University of Sydney, who said that this technology will support the discovery and characterization of new sources of disease resistance in plants. Once researchers have identified resistance genes using AgRenSeq, they can clone them and introduce them to domestic crops to protect against diseases and pests,

“We have found a way to scan the genome(基因组)of a wild relative of a crop plant and pick out the resistance genes we need and we can do it in record time,” Dr. Brande Wulff, a project leader from the John Innes Centre, said.

“This used to be a process that took l0 Or 15 years and was like searching for a needle in a haystack(干草堆),” Wulff said. “We have perfected the method so that we can clone these genes in a matter of months and for just thousands of dollars instead of millions.”

The team are highly optimistic about their work, predicting it to be utilized in protecting many crops with wild relatives including soybeans, pea, cotton, potato, wheat, rice, banana and cocoa. “Using speed cloning and speed breeding we could deliver resistance genes into the best varieties within a couple of years, like a phoenix(凤凰) rising from the ashes,” Wulff added.

1. How have the researchers developed the resistance genes?

A．By reducing the research time.

B．By introducing them to wild plants.

C．By cloning them from domestic crops.

D．By getting resistance genes from wild plants.

2. What will be the use of the study in the future?

A．It will protect crops from being damaged by pests.

B．It will create a database for researchers to search.

C．It will protect domestic crops for 10 to 15 years.

D．It will contribute to reducing the wild plants.

3. Which of the following best explains “utilized” underlined in Paragraph 6?

A．Produced.	B．Made.
C．Used.	D．Studied.

4. What can we infer from what Brande Wulff said?

A．The resistance genes cost millions of dollars.

B．The resistance genes were found in a haystack.

C．It took the researchers ten years to find the resistance genes.

D．Disease-resistance genes will be put into practice soon.