On Sunday, April 23, almost 50,000 athletes took to the streets to compete in the 37th London Marathon. While few were able to get even close to Daniel Wanjiru’s 2:05:48 winning time, none were as slow as Tom Harrison,who crawled (爬) to the finish line, six days later, on April 30.
However, the Metropolitan Police Officer, who was dressed in a gorilla (大猩猩) suit, had a good reason for his slowness. He had completed the 26.2 miles on all fours to raise funds to help gorilla conservation efforts in Africa. The 41-year-old who spent 8—10 hours on his hands and knees, covered about 4.5 miles each day before crashing at a friend’s house for the night. To prevent his knees from blistering, he swapped between hands and knees into loping (大步走) along on hands and feet and took breaks every 100 to 200 meters. But the arduous crawl was well worth it.
Harrison, who crossed the finish line at 11:45 am, has raised over £37,000 ($47,800), far more than his original goal of £1,790 ($2,300), for the Gorilla Organization, whose efforts are mainly spent in Rwanda, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The much-needed funds will help train the communities near gorilla habitats to support themselves and make them rely less on selling wildlife meat for a living. The money will also help pay for ranger services to monitor excess hunting of the Great Apes. More importantly, Harrison hopes his six-day crawl will highlight the bad situation of the gorillas, whose numbers are decreasing at alarming rates, and encourage more people to help protect them.
While thrilled at the outcome, Harrison, Mr. Gorilla, is not done yet. He intends to continue his fundraising efforts at the annual Ride London cycling festival scheduled for the weekend of July 28-30, 2022.
1. Why did Tom Harrison crawl to the finish line?| A．To improve his physical and mental health. |
| B．To collect money for the Gorilla Organization. |
| C．To win the title of the slowest Marathon runner. |
| D．To advertise policies for Metropolitan Police. |
| A．Tough. | B．Funny. |
| C．Harmful. | D．Attractive. |
| A．To help protect habitats for endangered gorillas. |
| B．To protect gorillas in some African countries. |
| C．To monitor and punish illegal hunting for gorillas. |
| D．To make people aware of the bad situation of gorillas. |
| A．Strong. | B．Hard-working. |
| C．Caring. | D．Smart. |
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【推荐1】Growing up in rural Alabama, Lisa Jones often helped her parents with repairs around their house. Though her memories of days spent repairing walls and replacing handrails（扶手）are special, they don't end up with picture-perfect makeover（翻新）. "My dad was the ultimate handyman, but he was 60 when I was born, already a senior, " says Lisa, "and some projects were too hard for him and my mom while others were just too costly." Then the repairs went undone. "I know what it feels like to live in such a house.”
Today Lisa lives in Atlanta, where an increasing number of elderly homeowners are in the same situation. As executive director of the nonprofit HouseProud Atlanta, she's now fully equipped to help them solve it.
Billions of dollars in building development have caused property values in some areas, and tax bills, to skyrocket. "Folks who have lived in their homes for decades can't save enough money to maintain them,” Lisa, 43, explains. "It's a scary time for those who want to stay in the place they love.” HouseProud Atlanta makes that possible. "We help them be a part of the changes in their neighborhood, not pushed out by them.”
Since 2004, HouseProud Atlanta has served more than 1, 000 clients. It's no surprise that many of them have become extended family to the mom of three boys----her middle son, Khalil, 7, is even named after a beloved client's favorite poet. "Lisa's like a daughter to me, "says Tinnie Baugh, a 63-year-old woman whose hot water had been out for months when she heard about HouseProud Atlanta. "Lisa sent people to take care of the pipes, and they've painted my house and still help me out when I need it.”
It's a role that Lisa has been comfortable with from the time she was playing apprentice（学徒）to her dad. "These seniors just need someone to show them that everything can be better if they have support,” she says.
1. What can be learned about Lisa's family?| A．They made living by selling houses. |
| B．They lived in a self-built house in Atlanta. |
| C．They used to repair their house on their own. |
| D．They had their house painted from time to time. |
| A．Paying tax bills. | B．Living a life of ease. |
| C．Saving enough money. | D．Getting free houses to live in. |
| A．Sympathy. | B．Appreciation. | C．Curiosity. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Love makes the world go around. |
| B．Learning from the elderly is necessary. |
| C．Helping others is easier said than done. |
| D．A winner is one with a great effort of will. |
【推荐2】For the past 15years, factory owner Kamal Parmar has been running an after-school program for slum kids in Ahmedabad, India, helping them with basic skills like reading and writing and even preparing for their school tests.
Parmar’s story began one afternoon 15 years ago. He stopped a few kids returning home from the local school and took their exam paper and asked them a few questions. Shockingly, he made a shocking discovery--the students, even the older ones, knew nothing about reading except the alphabet. And that left him thinking that something should be done for these children.
So he invited the kids to visit his workshop every evening, where he set up a temporary classroom with metal desks. The shabby school started off with 10 students. Today, the Footpath School has a total of 155 students and many of the kids that Parmar has taught in the past 15yearshav e gone to attend college and build successful careers.
Despite having studied only till the seventh grade, he has been able to teach the kids by inventing creative techniques. He asks them to read first and then to form questions on their own and read them out. In this way, many kids learn all seven subjects in six months.
Parmar’s family are very supportive of his project and are proud to see how much of an impact he has had on the kids. His students love him. Ten of his ex-students are currently serving as teachers at the school and he doesn’t have to employ any teachers.
For those who are inspired by his story, but can’t actually volunteer at school, Parmar has a simple piece of ads ice: “Try to educate just one child a year, and see the difference it makes to the society.”
1. Why did Parmar start the school?| A．To earn some extra money. |
| B．To become a good teacher. |
| C．To help the poor kids with their education. |
| D．To make himself famous. |
| A．The students’ poor reading ability. |
| B．The students’ bad living conditions. |
| C．The students’ terrible school exam result. |
| D．The students’ lack of basic life skills. |
| A．Diligent and intelligent |
| B．Selflessly and imaginative |
| C．Modest and patient |
| D．Humorous and rich |
| A．teach poor kids |
| B．work in his own factory |
| C．contribute more money to schools |
| D．listen to his stories |
【推荐3】In many ways, Alma Deutscher is like other 11-year-olds. She loves to climb trees, dance, read, and draw. But Alma, who lives in Dorking, England, has made one very special achievement. She has composed a full opera and brought it to the stage. Her opera, a retelling of Cinderella (灰姑娘), premiered (首次演出) in December 2016, in Vienna, Austria.
“I’ve loved Cinderella since I was 3,” Alma said. But she felt the story needed an improvement. “I didn’t like the thing about the shoe,” she says. “Why should the prince find her because of her feet?”
In Alma’s version (版本), Cinderella is a composer. She creates a melody (旋律) that she sings to the prince before fleeing the ball. “He remembers the beginning but not how it went on,” Alma says. The prince realizes that only Cinderella would know how the melody continues. He uses that knowledge to find her.
Alma began writing the opera when she was 8. It premiered on December 29, 2016, and the audience stood up and cheered. Alma played the piano and violin and performed in the show. “It was something that was completely inside my head, in my imagination, and then it came to life,” Alma says.
Alma says she is sure that music will remain a major part of her life. “I have lots of things that I want to compose,” she says. “The first one is a piano concerto (协奏曲). Then I’m writing a novel, and I want to write a movie based on it, and the music for that.”
She also has advice for kids who want to achieve their big dreams. “It’s a lot of work to reach a high level,” Alma says. “But if you love what you are doing, it doesn’t feel like hard work. Don’t let anyone stop you from doing it.”
1. What does the author mostly want to tell us about Alma Deutscher in Paragraph 1?| A．She is a cute girl. | B．She lives in Vienna Austria. |
| C．She has a special music talent. | D．She is always ready to help others. |
| A．The prince knows how the melody continues. |
| B．The prince finds Cinderella because of a melody. |
| C．The prince finds Cinderella because of her shoes. |
| D．The prince sings a melody to Cinderella before her fleeing the ball. |
| A．It was a great success. | B．It disappointed the audience. |
| C．It set a good example for other kids. | D．It was something in Alma’s imagination. |
| A．Knowledge is power. | B．A good beginning is half done. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. | D．Nothing is difficult if you’re enthusiastic. |
【推荐1】The idea of biting into a hamburger made from insets may take a little getting used to. But even if the thought of eating insects turns your stomach now, they could and should form an important part of our diet.
“Insects are a rally important missing piece of the food system,” says Peter Alexander, a senior researcher in food security at the University of Edinburgh. “They are undoubtedly a superfood - a whole lot of nutrition in a really small package.” Because of this, farmed insects could help deal with two of the world's biggest problems at once: food insecurity and the climate change.
Agriculture is the biggest driver of global biodiversity loss and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions （排放）. Raising animals accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Insect farming uses a small part of the land, energy and water required for traditional farming, and has a significantly lower carbon footprint.
Then there's the fact that insects are 12 to 25 times more productive at changing their food into protein （蛋白质） than animals. They need six times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep and two times less than pigs. One of the main reasons is that insects are cold-blooded and therefore waste less energy keeping their body heat.
As well as saving energy, insects can live off food that would otherwise be thrown away, contributing to the recycling industry. Insects can be fed agricultural waste. To complete the recycling chain, their excrement can be used to make crops grow fast and large and improve soil.
“At the end of the day, you might have the healthiest, most nutritional, and most sustainable（可持续的） product, but unless it tastes nice so that people are willing to accept it, it may be a lot more difficult to get that across,” says Peter.
1. What could be an immediate benefit of farmed insects?| A．Reducing traditional farming. | B．Helping fight climate change. |
| C．Getting rid of food insecurity. | D．Improving global biodiversity. |
| A．They eat food with high protein. | B．They have a special type of blood. |
| C．They digest food better than animals. | D．They require less energy to stay warm. |
| A．Waste. | B．Food. |
| C．Meat. | D．Nutrition. |
| A．A Solution to World Food Insecurity |
| B．What to Do to Solve Climate Change |
| C．Why We Should Quit Animal Raising |
| D．An Overlooked Protein-Rich Superfood |
【推荐2】While inventions like the wheel and the Internet have changed the way the world works today, there are some creations that never quite got off the ground. Let’s look at the strangest inventions from across the globe.
THE TOMATO-FEEDING ROBOT
Japanese juice seller, Kagome, invented a robot that will feed you tomatoes with its long metal arms extended on either side of your face while you run. Originally created for the Tokyo Marathon, the robot even has a timer so that tomato-eating runners won’t use up their supply too quickly.
THE ROLLING BENCH
It’s lunchtime and many people may be looking for a park bench to sit on, but the rain has made every surface humid. This is when the rolling bench comes in. When one side is too wet, a handle on the side can roll up another dry side for better sitting conditions. The inventions come from designer Sung Woo Park, from Seoul in South Korea.
THE LED SLIPPERS(拖鞋)
We all hate hurting our toes in the dark, but a revolutionary footwear design can prevent this from happening again. The slightly strange LED slippers are designed to be comfortable, yet shine your path at night. With two in-built LED lights at the top of each slipper, the users can direct their toes at any area that needs light.
THE FOOT-POWERED BICYCLE
It’s the unusual invention of German designers Tom Hambrock and Juri Spetter. Besides an unusual appearance, its function is also slightly strange, as the user must run to get the bicycle moving. As soon as the riders have enough momentum(动力), they’re able to rest their feet on the back wheel and use the handlebars to control its direction.
1. What can we know about the tomato-feeding robot from the text?| A．It’s popular with lazy eaters. |
| B．It was the creation of a Korean. |
| C．It was designed for a sports event. |
| D．It has two plastic arms. |
| A．The LED slippers. |
| B．The rolling bench. |
| C．The foot-powered bicycle. |
| D．The tomato-feeding robot. |
| A．They bring us speed improvement. |
| B．Their inventors are all from Asia. |
| C．They are powered by electricity. |
| D．They can serve us in different ways. |
【推荐3】Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed new artificial intelligence software to recognize the faces of chimpanzees in the wild. The new software will allow researchers to significantly cut back on time and resources spent analyzing video footage.
“For species like chimpanzees, which have complex social lives and live for many years, recording their behavior from short-term field research can only tell us so much.” says Dan Schofield, researcher and DPhil student at Oxford University’s Primate Models Lab. “By using the power of machine learning to unlock large video footage, it makes it feasible to measure behavior over the long term. Observing how the social lives of a group change over several generations become possible as well.”
The computer model was trained using over 10 million images from Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute (PRI) video footage of wild chimpanzees in West Africa. The new software is the first to recognize individuals in a wide range of poses, performing with high accuracy in difficult conditions such as low lighting, poor image quality and movement blur (模糊).
“Access to this large video footage has allowed us to use cutting edge deep neural networks to train models at a scale that was previously not possible.” says Arsha Nagrani, co-author of the study and DPhil student in University of Oxford. “Additionally, our method differs from previous primate face recognition software in that it can be applied to raw video footage with limited manual intervention (人工干预) or pre-processing, saving hours of time and resources.”
The technology has potential for many uses, such as monitoring species for protection. Although the current application focused on chimpanzees, the software provided could be applied to other species, and help drive the adoption of artificial intelligence systems to solve a range of problems in the wildlife sciences.
“All our software is available open-source for the research community.” says Nagrani. “We hope that this will help researchers across other parts of the world apply the same cutting-edge techniques to their unique animal data sets. As a computer vision researcher, it is extremely satisfying to see these methods applied to solve real, challenging biodiversity (生物多样性) problems.”
“With an increasing biodiversity crisis and many of the world’s ecosystems under threat, the ability to closely monitor different species and populations using systems will be important for protection efforts, as well as animal behavior research.” adds Schofield. “Interdisciplinary cooperation like this have huge potential to make an impact, by finding solutions for old problems, and asking biological questions which were previously not available on a large scale.”
1. What’s the function of the new artificial intelligence software?| A．Analyzing video footage in difficult conditions. |
| B．Recognizing the faces of chimpanzees in the wild. |
| C．Cutting edge deep neural networks to train models at a scale. |
| D．Saving hours of time and resources without manual intervention. |
| A．possible | B．important |
| C．natural | D．official |
| A．recognize individuals but not clearly |
| B．save time and resources only |
| C．help to protect different species |
| D．hardly solve biodiversity problems |
| A．To introduce a new software. |
| B．To explain a measure. |
| C．To assess a project. |
| D．To describe a procedure. |
【推荐1】I was 11 years old when I asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010. We were in the economic crisis. She said a polite “no”.
That didn’t stop me. I searched the measurements of a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one—keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano. Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.
I still remember the first one. I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was. I sat my grade one after eight lessons. Once I started secondary school, we couldn’t afford lessons again. I passed grade three, and then grade five, practicing only on my piece of paper.
One evening, when I was about 13, my mom said she had a surprise for me; it was an electronic keyboard, bought with more borrowed money. It was the first time I’d played for her. She was in shock.
My school didn’t offer music A-level. I found the Purcell School for young musicians. But I had to pass a difficult test. Some of the questions involved an evaluation of the composer or when some piece was written. I felt overwhelmed. To my amazement, I was offered a place.
At the Purcell School. I spent two years working as hard as I could, performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.
When I left the Purcell School, I was awarded the senior piano prize and senior academic music prize. I am now at the Guildhall School in London. I feel proud—it’s been 10 years since I drew my paper piano, and I’m at one of the world’s leading music schools.
The irony is that I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano--what we call mental practice. The paper piano helped arouse my curiosity about how music works and the building blocks that form the pieces.
1. Why did the author’s mom buy him lessons at last?| A．She was shocked by his first performance. |
| B．She had no doubt about his talent for piano. |
| C．She realized he meant what he said. |
| D．She suddenly made a fortune. |
| A．Honest. | B．Determined |
| C．Humorous | D．Optimistic |
| A．The author felt surprised. | B．The author felt proud. |
| C．The author felt satisfied | D．The author felt disappointed. |
| A．To introduce the method of mental practice. |
| B．To share how he convinced his mom to buy a piano. |
| C．To describe how costly it is to learn an instrument. |
| D．To encourage people to stick to their dreams. |
【推荐2】Most people choose to take it easy after they retire, but Wang Guilan, an old lady from Liaoning Province, is definitely not one of them. She only started running at the age of 50, as a way to keep in shape, but soon realized it was her passion. She ran her first marathon in 2004 and hasn’t stopped since. From 2005 to 2017 she completed the annual Beijing Marathon thirteen times, and this year she set a new record, becoming the oldest person to ever complete the 168-kilometer marathon.
So, how does a 70-year-old stay in good-enough shape to complete a marathon while many people cannot? As a matter of fact, Wang runs at least 20 kilometers every day from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday she runs some more alongside the members of her long-distance running club. She prefers running on mountain roads in her hometown, but in winter, when the weather doesn’t allow it, she runs on ordinary roads.
Wang is also a fan of mountaineering, and participated in the International Mount Taishan Climbing Festival, where she managed to rank 27th out of thousands of participants. She once participated in an extreme challenge, where she had to run 208 track laps while staying awake for 48 hours.
Remarkably, Wang has suffered almost no injuries to her knees or ankles over the years, which she attributes to her difficult childhood — that hardened both her body and spirit. The only serious problem is the cataracts (白内障) affecting eyes, which is why she completed some of the marathons with the help of a headlamp.
Wang is a firm believer that age is just a number, and plans to continue running marathons and enjoying the sunset of her life as long as her health allows.
1. Why did Wang Guilan get down to running initially?| A．Because she wanted to keep fit. | B．Because she had a passion for it. |
| C．Because she decided to set a record. | D．Because she desired for a life full of challenge. |
| A．Adventurous and intelligent. | B．Ambitious and generous. |
| C．Enthusiastic and determined. | D．Diligent and modest. |
| A．commits | B．contributes | C．leads | D．owes |
| A．She enjoys admiring the sunset while running. |
| B．Her plan to continue running will never be given up. |
| C．She believes her age matters a lot if keeping running. |
| D．Nothing but her physical condition can affect her running. |
【推荐3】In 1880, fourteen-year-old Matthew Henson loved to hear sailor tell tales of their exciting lives at sea. The travel, the adventure, the danger, and the steady pay were all attractive to young Henson. One day he made up his mind. Baltimore was the nearest large seaport. The next morning he set out on the forty-mile journey to seek work on a sailing ship.
In Baltimore, Henson found a job as a cabin boy on a beautiful ship called the Katie Hinds. For the next five years, Henson sailed around the world. By the time he left the Katie Hinds in 1885, Henson was well educated and had become an excellent seaman.
Unable to find work anywhere else, Henson took a job in a hat shop in Washington, D.C. One day in 1887, a man came in to buy a hat. The man, Lieutenant Robert Peary, asked the owner if he knew anyone with experience at sea. Peary would soon travel to South America for U.S. government. He needed experienced men to accompany him. The shop owner knew about his young employee's skills and experience on ocean voyages, so he introduced Peary to Henson. Henson and Peary soon found they had a great deal in common, including their love of the sea.
Using his map-reading and sailing skills, Henson proved himself to be a worthy and intelligent seaman. One day Peary told Henson about his real dream: to be the first man to stand on "the top of the world" at the North Pole. He asked Henson to help him make his dream come true.
Over the next five years, the two explorers made two trips together to the Arctic. However, they were not able to reach the pole either time.
In 1908,Peary and Henson were ready to make their final attempt at reaching the North Pole. Both men were over forty years old. The years of hardship and suffering in the arctic cold had taken their toll on both men. This would be their last chance.
In April 1909, Henson's instruments showed they were standing at the North Pole. Together Henson and Peary planted the American flag in snow.
In later years, Robert Peary and Henson were greatly honored for their achievement. Today, the two friends and fellow explorers lie in heroes' graves not far apart in the Arlington National Cemetery.
1. Paragraph 3 states that________.| A．why Matthew Henson went to the hat shop |
| B．how Matthew Henson met Robert Peary |
| C．why Matthew Henson stopped working on the Katie Hinds |
| D．how the shop owner knew that Matthew Henson had sea experience |
| A．helped them | B．satisfied them |
| C．weakened them | D．enlightened them |
| A．by comparing and contrasting | B．in time order |
| C．by cause and effect | D．with main ideas and support examples |
| A．tell about Henson's interesting life | B．encourage readers to explore |
| C．describe the beauty of the Arctic | D．show the effects of terrible weather |
