Raina Jain's STS project started in science class. Her teacher challenged teen and her classmates to find global problems in the news that lacked solutions. Raina, 17, zeroed in on colony collapse disorder in bees. This happens when worker bees abandon their hive, eventually causing the hive to die.
Raina visited a beekeeper, a friend of her parents. She wanted to observe this problem up close. “Every year, he loses 60 percent of his hives,” she learned. “That shocked me.”
Parasites play a role in colony collapse disorder. A chemical called thymol can help rid bees of the parasites. Beekeepers often leave out a thymol containing substance. Bees can apply it to themselves while cleaning. But that substance doesn't work the same way at all temperatures, Raina notes. On hot days, for instance, it releases higher levels of thymol-amounts that might harm bees. The substance also might limit bees' ability to fly.
Raina wondered if there was a better way to protect bees. She developed her own thymol-containing substance. Then she designed a 3D- printed beehive entrance that would coat the bees. She tested how fast her substance would degrade in the sun and wind by applying the substance to bee models. Raina even kept a beehive in her backyard to test the substance's effectiveness.
Now, hundreds of beekeepers around the United States are helping Raina further test her invention. “Probably the hardest part of my project was to get people to actually use it”, Raina says. “It took time and thousands of emails. But now further data collection is underway.”
1. What does the underlined part in the first paragraph mean?| A．Avoided the field of. | B．Suffered from. | C．Knew nothing about. | D．Focused on. |
| A．To ask advice from him. | B．To do field observation of bees. |
| C．To ask for some bees for experiments. | D．To observe how a beekeeper raises bees. |
| A．artificial bees | B．bees raised by herself |
| C．the beehive in her backyard | D．the 3D-printed beehive entrance |
| A．Putting it into practical use. | B．Improving its effectiveness. |
| C．Finding out whether it works well. | D．Getting support for it from beekeepers. |
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【推荐1】Cetaceans(鲸目动物) are the longest-living animals in general, with some whale species surviving to over 200 years old. Given their size, their bodies contain much more cells than the human body. It’s a wonder how this is possible. “The more cells you have, the more likely one of those cells will become cancerous,” says Daniela Tejada-Martinez of Chile’s Austral University. “So, whether you’re huge or live a long time, you’ve got thousands and millions of cells that might be harmful.”
Despite being unbelievably huge, Cetaceans, on the other hand, have significantly lower cancer rates than most other animals, including humans.
Vincent Lynch, a professor from the University at Buffalo in New York, believes that there is a “super insignificant” reason for whales’ existence. He states, “They just developed improved cancer defense mechanisms(防御机制).” We need to know why and how they did so. The whole case is not as open-and-shut as many would assume. There is still so much to learn.
Tejada-Martinez and some colleagues have now looked at the evolution(进化) of 1,077 tumor suppressor genes(肿瘤抑制基因) (TSGs). They compared gene evolution in 15 other species and seven cetacean species in total. Positive selection was observed among the cetaceans for genes that control DNA damage, tumor spread, and the immune system(免疫系统). According to the researchers, cetaceans obtained and lost TSGs at a rate of 2.4 times faster than other species.
“It’s not like we’re going to take whale genes and implant them into humans and make them cancer resistant,” Lynch says. “However, if you can recognize the genes that play a part in tumor suppression in other species and find out what they’re doing, you may be able to produce a medicine that acts similarly in humans.”
1. What is the amazing fact about cetaceans?| A．They can grow to a large size. | B．They have an average life of 200 years. |
| C．They can live long with so many cells. | D．They have more harmful cells than humans. |
| A．Their genes. | B．Their body type. |
| C．Their immune system. | D．Their living conditions. |
| A．To tell how humans produce a medicine to treat cancer. |
| B．To show the findings could be useful to humans. |
| C．To explain why the researchers did the study. |
| D．To stress it is important to study our genes. |
| A．Learning about whales’ genes |
| B．Helping humans get rid of cancer |
| C．Learning about the unknown facts about whales |
| D．Finding the secret to whales’ cancer-free life |
【推荐2】Human voices cause considerably more fear in wild animals than the sound of lions, a study in South Africa has found.
The Kruger National Park is a popular safari (观兽旅行) destination and is known for its diverse wildlife. Scientists played recordings of people talking normally through speakers hidden at water holes in the Kruger National Park. About 95% of animals were extremely frightened and quickly ran away. Surprisingly, recordings of growling lions brought about significantly less alarm. Some elephants, in response to the big catcalls, even attempted to face the source of the sound.
The human speech they chose to play included local languages commonly spoken in the country. The study’s findings suggest that the animals, which include antelopes, elephants, giraffes, leopards and wild pigs, have learnt that contact with humans is extremely dangerous, due to hunting, gun use and the use of dogs to catch them.
Over the years, the encroachment (入侵) of human settlements into wildlife habitats and hunting have led to a deep-seated fear of humans among wildlife. The fear goes beyond the Kruger National Park, showing a global pattern where wildlife tends to fear humans more than any other enemies, according to the study. This fear of humans is a challenge for areas that rely on wildlife tourism, as the human visitors they want to attract are scaring off the animals they have come to see.
The study opens up the potential to protect weak species in these ecosystems. Human sounds, when used appropriately, could help protect wildlife against illegal hunting. This research also highlights the great importance of respectful and responsible wildlife tourism. One thing is clear: the need for a balanced approach to wildlife conservation and tourism has never been greater. As we step into their world, we must remember that we are visitors and that they are rightful inhabitants.
1. How was the study conducted in paragraph 2?| A．By making comparison. | B．By raising questions. |
| C．By studying the recordings. | D．By presenting previous researches. |
| A．The voice of human is scary. | B．Human presence threatens them. |
| C．Human beings are stronger than them. | D．They are sensitive to the sounds in nature. |
| A．Human visitors will be safer. | B．Animal species will be reduced. |
| C．Wildlife tourism will suffer loss. | D．Wild animals will be more dangerous. |
| A．Illegal hunting can be prevented. | B．Wildlife habitats will get enlarged. |
| C．A new way to protect wildlife is inspired. | D．The balance between human and nature is strengthened. |
【推荐3】The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is perhaps the earliest and most famous example of botanical gardens. Over decades and centuries, many incredible botanical gardens have been established. Here is a list of them.
Orto Botanico di Padova
The Orto Botanico di Padova in Padua, north-eastern Italy, is the oldest academic botanical garden still in its original location. It was founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic. It is spread across an area of 22,000 square meters. It is particularly known for its historical architecture, as well as the collection of 6000 kinds of plants. The astonishing botanical garden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
The Kirstenbosch National botanical Garden is located at the foot of Table Mountain in. Cape Town, South Africa. It is one of South Africa's nine national botanical gardens, which covers five out of six biomes (生物群落)，and the first of its kind in the world. It is famous for exhibiting native plants from different regions.
Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum
The Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum is located in Berlin, Germany. It has 22,000 different plant species. Among its different plants is a giant bamboo. This astonishing garden has a large scientific library attached to it. The complex has buildings and glasshouses.
Singapore Botanic Garden
The 74 hectare (公顷)Singapore Botanic Garden in Singapore is the only botanic garden that stays open from 5 am to 12 midnight, every day. Its attractions include Rainforest, Botany Centre, Tanglin Gate, Jacob Ballas Children's Garden and other gardens. It has the Tembusu tree, seen on the Singaporean five-dollar bill.
1. What is the special part of Orto Botanico di Padova?| A．It is in Europe. | B．It has the most plants. |
| C．It has a library. | D．It has some ancient items. |
| A．Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum. |
| B．Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. |
| C．Singapore Botanic Garden. |
| D．Orto Botanico di Padova. |
| A．Asia. | B．Europe. | C．America. | D．Africa. |
【推荐1】Werewolves (狼人) aren't the only creatures affected by the moon's cycles. A full moon subtly disrupts (打乱) people's sleep, reports a Swiss team of scientists. Even people dozing (打盹儿) in a lab without windows experienced a small shortfall in sleep once a month.
To test the moon's effect, 33 adult volunteers of both sexes and various ages spent several nights in a sleep lab. As they dozed , researchers monitored their brain activity , eye movements and hormone (荷尔蒙) levels. On nights closer to a full moon, the subjects took an average of five minutes longer to fall asleep, and slept for 20 minutes less. In addition, brain activity decreased by 30 percent during the sleep stage that the brain normally uses to recover from its daylight work. And levels of melatonin, the hormone that helps control sleep cycles , dropped. On these nights , the sleepers complained (抱怨) of poor sleep quality even though they were unaware of the lunar cycle. On the bright side , not a single participant turned into a werewolf.
These new data suggest the moon's cycles can subtly affect sleep cycles. These internal (内部的) cycles may be similar to the roughly 24-hour rhythms driven by the body's internal “clock”. One big difference :The body's clock is set by sunlight.
The Swiss team doesn't know how the moon affects sleep. The gravitational (引力的) attraction of the moon causes ocean tides (潮) to rise and fall. But that force is too weak to affect sleep, Cajochen says. He suspects (怀疑) some internal body clock may be tied to the moon cycles. Lunar cycles have been noted in sea animals that keep track of the tides. There may be another explanation , says David Dinges. This sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia says that the body clock is very sensitive to light at night. Volunteers' sleep could have been changed by exposure to extra moonlight before arriving at the lab.
1. The writer mentioned “ werewolves” in the first paragraph to ________ .| A．warn people of the danger of sleeping alone in a lab |
| B．draw people's attention to the finding of the research |
| C．give an example of the existence of the moon's cycle |
| D．find the similarity between werewolves and humans |
| A．Their brains never recovered from the daylight work. |
| B．Their brains were not so active as they normally were. |
| C．They slept for about five minutes longer than usual. |
| D．They complained that they were too tired to sleep. |
| A．examining differences | B．making comparisons |
| C．analyzing causes | D．following the time order |
| A．the possible reasons why sleep suffers once a month |
| B．the causes of people's sleeping problems |
| C．the moon and its effects on our sleeping habits |
| D．the ways to improve our sleep quality on a full moon |
【推荐2】Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply (突然地) after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older.
However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be connected to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being (幸福) related to age.
1. According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier ______.| A．when they are between the ages of 18 and 85 | B．when they come to their old age |
| C．when they are in their twenties | D．when they are 18 years old |
| A．20 | B．25 | C．35 | D．40 |
| A．Those who are worried about getting old | B．Those who are single and unemployed |
| C．Those who feel unhappy all the time | D．Those who suffer from mental stress |
| A．Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life | B．The Young Are Happier Than the Old |
| C．Getting Older Means Getting Happier | D．The Younger, the Happier |
【推荐3】Over the past half-century, scientists have settled on two reasonable theories related to baby talk. One states that a young child’s brain needs time to master language. The second theory states that a child’s vocabulary level is the key factor. According to this theory, some key steps have to occur in a logical sequence before sentence formation occurs.
In 2007, researchers at Harvard University, who were studying the two theories, found a clever way to test them. More than 20,000 internationally adopted children enter the U.S. each year. Many of them no longer hear their birth language after they arrive, and they must learn English more or less the same way infants(婴儿) do. International adoptees don’t take classes or use a dictionary when they are learning their new tongue. All of these factors make them an ideal population in which researchers could test these competing theories about how language is learned.
Neuroscientists Jesse Snedeker, Joy Geren and Carissa Shafto studied the language development of 27 children adopted from India between the ages of two and five years. These children began learning English at an older age than US natives and had more mature brains. Even so, just as American-born infants, their first English sentences consisted of single words. The adoptees then went through the same stages as typical American-born children, though at a faster clip. The adoptees and native children started combining words in sentences when their vocabulary reached the same sizes, further suggesting that what matters is not how old you are or how mature your brain is, but the number of words you know.
This finding—that having more mature brains did not help the adoptees avoid the baby talk stage—suggests that babies speak in baby talk not because they have baby brains, but because they have only just started learning and need time to gain enough vocabulary. Before long, the one-word stage will give way to the two-word stage and so on. Learning how to chat like an adult is a gradual process.
But this finding also raises an even older and more difficult question. Adult immigrants who learn a second language rarely achieve the same proficiency in a foreign language as the average child raised as a native speaker. Researchers have long suspected there is a “critical period” for language development, after which it cannot proceed with full success to fluency. Yet we still do not understand this critical period or know why it ends.
1. What is the writer’s main purpose in Paragraph 2?| A．To argue that culture affects the way children learn a language. |
| B．To give reasons why adopted children were used in the study. |
| C．To reject the view that adopted children need two languages. |
| D．To justify a particular approach to language learning. |
| A．Language learning takes place in ordered steps. |
| B．Some children need more conversation than others. |
| C．Children with more mature brains skip baby talk stage. |
| D．Vocabulary makes little difference to sentence formation. |
| A．children start to learn a second language |
| B．immigrants want to learn another language |
| C．adults need to be taught by native speakers |
| D．language learners may achieve native-like fluency |
| A．What is baby talk. |
| B．Why babies learn a second language easily. |
| C．What affects children’s language development. |
| D．How children expand their vocabulary gradually. |
【推荐1】Most of us probably cannot imagine modern life without social media, which has both the potential to negatively impact our mental and emotional heath if used blindly and the ability to connect us in many unexpected ways.
With social media, friendships go beyond geography. We are able to find friends old and new, thus maintaining old friendships and making new ones. Some would question the quality of these friendships, but perhaps what is important is that a link exists between you and that person. Then, we can possibly build friendship upon this link in the future.
Nevertheless, social media does consume our energy and lower our self-esteem (自尊) at times. A 2013 study by Ethan Kross and Philippe Verduyn, published by the Public Library of Science, found that the more a person uses Facebook, the more miserable he feels about his own life. An internet celebrity (名人) Essena O’Neill recently announced to quit social media, saying it is “not real life”, taking countless photos just to look great in a single post and seeking social approval from “likes” and “views” have left her feeling “empty”.
However, those affected are usually teenagers who possess shaky self-identities. It is only natural for teenagers to seek popularity and social recognition. However, for every teenager who feels jealous, envious or depressed online, there is another who chooses to feel energetic, inspired and accepted by positive social connections.
From what perspective do we wish to approach social media? Social media does not cause unhappiness; it simply provides an alternative platform for teenagers to experiment with as they grow up, something they have always done offline. Teen activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says, “What is interesting is the power and impact of social media... we must try to use social media in a good way.”
1. Which best describes the impact of social media on friendship?| A．Social media helps build friendships across distances. |
| B．Social media improves the quality of new friendships. |
| C．Social media only has a short-term impact on friendships. |
| D．Social media makes it harder to maintain old friendships. |
| A．To explain a rule. | B．To make a prediction. |
| C．To present a fact. | D．To prove an argument. |
| A．Positive. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Demand for advances in social media. |
| B．The wide applications of social media |
| C．Advice on using social media positively. |
| D．The possible harm of social media to users. |
【推荐2】Cellphone users in the United States have contributed more than $11 million to Haitian earthquake relief through text messages in what is being called as an unexpected mobile response to a natural disaster.
The Mobile Giving Foundation called it a “mobile-giving record” for funds raised for a single cause. Donations are rising swiftly, as former President Bill Clinton and other politicians urge the American people to give.
Jim Manis, chief officer of the organization helping to manage cellphone donations, said it was receiving up to 10,000 text messages per second. The foundation said more than $11 million has been donated.
Cellphone users can donate $5 to Haiti-born hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund by texting the word “Yele” to 501501, or they can donate $10 to other nonprofit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, by texting the word “Haiti” to a specified number, like 90999.
The donation is charged to a user’s cellphone bill.
The American Red Cross said it has received more than $ 9 million in donations from more than 900,000 mobile phone users.
“It’s beyond our imagination that we’ve received this amount,” said spokeswoman Nadia Pontif.
Jean’s fund had raised $2 million via text messages, according to Give on the Go, Yele’s mobile application service provider.
The giving is also being fueled by the popularity of websites like Facebook and Twitter, where users are urging one another to make donations using cellphones.
Wireless carriers Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc., Sprint and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, have waived fees for customers wishing to send mobile donations. Carriers are also letting users know they are not taking a cut of the donations.
“There are no text messaging fees and 100% of the $10 donation goes to the American Red Cross, and every carrier is working through a solution to push those funds out faster.” Verizon said in a statement.
1. A mobile phone user can donate some money to Haiti by texting the word _____ .| A．“Yele” to 501501 to donate $10 | B．“Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 |
| C．“Yele” or “Haiti” to 501501 to donate $ 5 | D．“Haiti” to the American Red Cross to donate $ 5 |
| A．protected | B．discouraged | C．inspired | D．reflected |
| A．Facebook and Twitter are two relief organizations from the USA. |
| B．Many American politicians force Americans to give donations to Haiti. |
| C．The American Red Cross expected to receive much more donations. |
| D．Carriers have promised not to take a share from the donation. |
| A．U.S. Texting Raises $11 Million for Haiti Earthquake |
| B．An Unexpected Terrible Earthquake Hit Haiti |
| C．The American Red Cross Offers Help to Haiti |
| D．Wireless Carriers Donate $11 Million to Haiti |
【推荐3】You’re chatting with friends on the phone, but you can’t help browsing through shopping websites in the meantime. You’re having lunch alone in the canteen, but it only feels right when you start playing a show on your phone – as if it’s a necessary “side dish”.
We’re now living in a world that bombards us with information. It seems unnatural to do only one thing at a time. It’s as if we’re all suffering from what a recent daily article called “multitasking OCD (多任务强迫症)”.
“With news reduced to 140 characters and communication increasingly by emojis (表情符号), we have developed the ability to focus our attention on several activities and devices at once,” Sabry Otmani, founder of Pulpix website, once wrote. “We need lots of stimuli to keep us interested and to fight off boredom.”
But perhaps “fighting off boredom” is not the only reason.
My own obsession with multitasking mainly comes from the fact that everyone around me seems to be constantly studying. Each minute I’m not taking in something new feels like a waste of time. So I always have my headphones on, whether I’m commuting, exercising or walking in the park. I’m forever listening to something – a course on classical music, or on new media management, and heaven knows what else – just so I can keep up with the world.
People who can’t stay away from social media are known by “FOMO” (fear of missing out): They have to be constantly updated about what their friends are doing and saying. But I’d guess that “FOFO” better describes me – “fear of falling out”.
No matter what reason you’re doing it for, “multitasking” is already a part of the modern lifestyle. Just make sure you make the most out of it.
1. With the examples in the first paragraph, the author intends to ______.| A．explain what “multitasking OCD” is like |
| B．show how busy today’s life is |
| C．show that people today often feel lost |
| D．tell readers that people like comparing themselves with each other |
| A．It can help them to communicate their ideas. |
| B．It can prevent them from being bored. |
| C．They lack the patience to finish one thing at a time. |
| D．They are more able than the past generations. |
| A．interest | B．knowledge |
| C．understanding | D．worry |
| A．She thinks it is boring to do one thing at a time. |
| B．She wants to stay ahead of her friends. |
| C．She wants to have something to show off. |
| D．She doesn’t want to get left behind by others. |
