Some 128 baby squids from Hawaii are in space for a study. The baby Hawaiian squids come from the University of Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory. They are about 7.6 centimeters long. There are plenty of these tiny animals in Hawaiian waters. The squids will come back to Earth in July. They rode on a SpaceX spacecraft along with thousands of kilos of supplies for the International Space Station on June 3.
Jamie Foster is conducting the study as a researcher at the University of Hawaii with the help of Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspapers reported that she studies how spaceflight affects the squids. The research, started in 1989, can help scientists learn about human health during long trips in space.
Squids have a relationship with natural bacteria that help them control their giving off light. Margaret said, “When astronauts are in low gravity, their bodies' relationship with bacteria changes. Bacteria are very important to the human body and health. The relationship of humans with bacteria is disturbed in low gravity, and Jamie has shown that it is true in squids," said Margaret. "And, because it's a simple system, she can get to the bottom of what happens."
“As astronauts spend more and more time in space, their immune systems don't function well,” Jamie said. "Their immune systems don't recognize bacteria easily. They sometimes get sick. Understanding what happens to the squids in space could help solve health problems that astronauts face."
She said, "The immune system does not work properly on long spaceflights. If humans want to spend time on the moon or Mars, we have to solve health problems to get them there safely.”
1. What's the purpose of the research?| A．To know the situation in space. | B．To study squids' living conditions. |
| C．To check astronauts' immune systems. | D．To help solve astronauts' health problems. |
| A．They have a relationship with space. |
| B．T hey can control their giving off light. |
| C．They have something in common with people. |
| D．They can solve the problems of natural bacteria. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Positive. | C．Uncertain. | D．Curious. |
| A．In a novel. | B．In a history book. | C．In a travel brochure. | D．In a science magazine. |
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【推荐1】It all started in 2018. While taking a midnight walk, Mahendra came across a very weak dog on the street, whose bones were visible under its skin. Mahendra decided to feed it and for the next couple of days it became the centre of his life, until the night when he found it dead.
After that, Mahendra started providing treatment for all wounded and sick dogs he came across. Some time later, someone told Mahendra about PFA, India’s largest animal welfare organization, chaired by Mrs Maneka Gandhi. Mahendra contacted her and she was impressed by the work he was doing. Mrs Gandhi asked him to start a PFA shelter in Ahmedbad.
Thus, in 2020, he started the shelter. It took a long time for Mahendra to find the land where the shelter could be set up. Finally, Ramesh Bhai Patel, a native farmer from a village named Jundal, agreed to give his land for nothing. Along with a team of four doctors and many volunteers, the shelter now has 25 dogs that were unable to walk at all when they were brought in. Today, they’re slowly healing. Dogs that have healed with proper treatment are sent back to where they came from if the environment there is safe. However, the shelter will be home to the blind dogs for all their lives, says Mahendra.
The shelter runs on money coming from Mahendra’s own pension of $ 45,000. There have been some financial crunches now and then, but Mahendra is determined that no matter what challenge comes his way, he’ll fight through.
1. What made Mahendra decide to do something for disabled and sick dogs?| A．His contact with PFA. |
| B．The encouragement of Gandhi. |
| C．The death of a homeless sick dog. |
| D．A walk with a sick dog of Gandhi. |
| A．He secured government funds. |
| B．He got a land from a local farmer for free. |
| C．He learned medical knowledge from doctors. |
| D．He met with much difficulty in finding volunteers. |
| A．Services. | B．Advantages. | C．Crisis. | D．Details. |
| A．Kind-hearted. | B．Humorous. | C．Open-minded. | D．Modest. |
【推荐2】Humans are not the only fashionistas in the animal kingdom. Titmice can be fashion-victims, too, apparently. A study by Sonja Wild and Lucy Aplin shows that, given the chance, titmice decorate their nests with this season’s must-have color.
Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin were following up the work published in 1934 by Henry Smith Williams, an American naturalist. He noticed that when he put various colored balls of yarn(纱) out in his garden, almost always one and only one became popular that season for incorporation into local birds’ nests. But which particular hue(颜色) was favored varied from season to season. This suggested that the color chosen by one of the early birds was spotted and copied by others.
Williams’s work was, however, forgotten until Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin came across it while following upon a different study. This group noted that, during any given breeding season, the blue titmice they were investigating tended to incorporate the same plants into their nests regardless of how abundant those herbs actually were. This, too, suggested fashion-following—and it likewise led Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin to speculate that birds were studying the nests of others and copying them. They therefore set out to re-run Williams’s experiment.
According to the study, of 68 titmice nests built that season in the experimental areas, 26 included wool from a dispenser(分配器). Of these, 18 we reconstructed after both colors had become available from all dispensers. Even so, 10 of that 18 included only the color of wool first chosen by a nestbuilder. By contrast, all eight wool-bearing nests in the control zone contained a mixture of colors-a statistically significant difference.
Titmice, then, do seem to be “on trend” when it comes to nest-building materials. Why that should happen remains unclear. Dr Wild and Dr. Aplin suspect the trendsetters are older birds, and that evolution favors younger ones copying their elders since those elders have evidently survived what fortune throws at a titmouse. Williams’s original work, though, suggested such initial choices were arbitrary(任意的), a bit like those of the leaders of human fashions.
1. What proved titmice’s fashion-following in Williams’s study?| A．They tended to make their nests colorful. |
| B．They had their favorite color all the year round. |
| C．They decorated their nests in the breeding season. |
| D．They chose the same colored materials for their nests. |
| A．By analyzing the shapes of titmice’s nests. |
| B．By recording the sound of titmice carefully. |
| C．By collecting some actual numbers about titmice. |
| D．By observing the course of titmice’s building nests. |
| A．It came mainly from their habit. | B．It was based on random choices. |
| C．It was basically out of their nature. | D．It reflected the power of elder birds. |
| A．Birds can make their nests colorful.no | B．Birds can learn fashionable lifestyles. |
| C．Birds can follow the fashion of humans. | D．Birds can be just as fashion-conscious as people. |
【推荐3】Owls are so famous for their nighttime activities that the phrase “night owl” is used to describe people who stay up late.
As the northern hawk owl’s name implies, it looks quite hawkish.
However, nocturnal owls certainly get advantages from their nighttime activities.
Whether owls are nocturnal or diurnal, experts credit their success to the birds’ flexibility and adaptability. “Some hunt specific prey at a specific time, day or night.
| A．Owls have excellent vision and hearing |
| B．But the saying is actually a bit misleading |
| C．Those species are well-equipped for nightlife |
| D．That’s because owls and hawks are closely related |
| E．Others are more general and more able to adapt to what’s needed |
| F．Owls don’t quite as clearly fall into nocturnal and diurnal as other animals |
| G．The reason behind these varying sleep schedules largely has to do with prey availability |
【推荐1】A study following nearly 30,000 older adults for more than 10 years has found six key healthy lifestyle factors can significantly reduce memory loss and those adults engaging in between four and six of the healthy lifestyle behaviors could dramatically reduce their risks of developing dementia (痴呆), even when carrying genes that increase their risks of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Six healthy lifestyle aspects were assessed: a healthy diet, regular physical exercise, active social contact, active cognitive (认知的) activity, never smoking, and never drinking alcohol,” the researchers explained in the new study. Participants were classified (分类) into the favorable group if they had four to six healthy lifestyle factors, into the average group for two to three factors, and into the unfavorable group for zero to one factor.
The study found that people with four to six healthy habits had a much slower loss of memory than those with fewer healthy habits. People with these good habits were also much less likely to get dementia than those with one or no healthy habits. Those who had two or three good habits were 30% less likely to get dementia.
The study didn’t figure out which of the six healthy habits is the best for stopping dementia or which combination is the best. However, the information did show that eating healthy seemed to help prevent memory loss the most, with brain exercise and regular physical exercise also very helpful.
About 20% of the people in the study had a gene that makes Alzheimer’s disease more likely. Even so, having several good health habits helped slow down memory loss. This shows that changing how we live can really help.
Even though each health habit helped in a different way, overall, the study found that people with more good health habits had much less memory loss than those with fewer good habits. This suggests that the choices we make in how we live can help protect our memory. The study adds to the evidence that we might be able to change our risk of memory loss.
1. What were the groups categorized based on?| A．The participants’ age. | B．What hobbies the participants got rid of. |
| C．The healthy lifestyles the participants had. | D．What the participants’ attitudes to factors were. |
| A．The favorable group was happier than the other two. |
| B．More healthy lifestyles were of more benefit to health. |
| C．Healthy habits had little impact on memory or dementia. |
| D．People with a healthy diet wouldn’t suffer a loss of memory. |
| A．A healthy diet. | B．Active social contact. |
| C．Active cognitive activities. | D．Never drinking alcohol. |
| A．Healthy Lifestyles Slowing Memory Loss | B．A Study Making A Great Breakthrough |
| C．A Healthy Diet Being The Best Lifestyle | D．Old Adults Suffering From Health Problems |
【推荐2】New research helps to explain why screaming is disturbing and useful.
Screams, like those we hear in horror movies, have a special quality that separates them from other noises we make and hear. These screams are recognized by people all over the world.
David Poeppel is a neuroscientist at New York University. He wondered why screams were recognized the same way by people all around the world. So, he and his colleagues set up an experiment.
They recorded screams from movies and from volunteers who took part in the research.
When the volume of a sound changes that quickly it has a quality called roughness. "
The scientists then studied how this "roughness" changed brain activity. They asked the volunteers to listen to different types of screams and alarms in an MRI scanner, The researchers found that the greater "roughness" of a sound. the more it activates the amygdala.
Screams, it turns out, are a direct link to the part of our brain that tells us whether we should be afraid or not.
Now, we know why a scream.. gets so much attention, So quickly.
| A．People who hear these rough sounds are also more likely to react to them very quickly. |
| B．People of all cultures and languages hear the same thing in a scream: fear. |
| C．A scream is to say ‘I’m in trouble and I need help.’ |
| D．The amygdala is an area deep in the brain that answers to fear. |
| E．The more roughness a sound has, the more worrying it is |
| F．Screams played a very important evolutionary role in our survival |
| G．The scientists, however, did not measure the screams for loudness or pitch |
Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling (兄弟姐妹) or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.
New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching (拉伸) careers.
The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is static by the age of about 18. Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilize (稳定).
But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can “upgrade” their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation (刺激) from others is crucial as the “brain seems to be rather like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets”. However, the opposite is also true – so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels fall as a result.
He found the “understanding quality” of a family changes the IQs of all members, especially children. It can “lift” or hold back, depending on the “gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents”. A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage, compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings. However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up.
Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. Therefore, the best way to boost IQ level is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.
1. We can learn from the passage that ____.
| A．as the age grows, you will become smarter |
| B．a 35-year-old man is surely smarter than himself at the age of 18 |
| C．you will be smarter if you have a partner, a friend or a sibling |
| D．after 18, you still have the possibility to become smarter |
| A．unstable | B．fixed |
| C．varied | D．repeated |
| A．intellectual stimulation from others makes the brain work better |
| B．people should avoid working with those intellectually challenged |
| C．one’s IQ could be held back if he has bright brothers or sisters |
| D．the IQ of children is least influenced by the understanding level of a family |
| A．Genetics Determines Intelligence. |
| B．Watch Out for Intelligence Falling. |
| C．Bright Siblings Make You Smarter. |
| D．Brain Is Like Muscle. |
【推荐1】Jason had trouble making out what his friend was saying in noisy bars, but when he got a hearing test, the result was normal. Recent research may have found an explanation for problems like his, something called “hidden hearing loss”.
Scientists have been finding evidence that loud noise damages our hearing in a formerly ignored way. It may not be immediately noticeable, and it does not show up in standard hearing tests. But over time, Harvard researcher Charles Liberman says, “it can rob our ability to understand conversation in a noisy setting. It may also help explain why people have more trouble doing that as they age. And it may lead to constant ringing in the ears.”
To understand Liberman’s research, we should know just how we hear. When sound enters our ears, it’s picked up by so-called hair cells. They change sound waves to signals that are carried by nerves to the brain. People can lose hair cells for a number of reasons—loud noise, some drugs or aging—and our hearing degrades(退化) as these hair cells are lost. That loss is what is picked up by a standard test called an audiogram that measures how soft a noise we can hear in a quiet environment.
Liberman’s work suggests there’s another kind of damage that doesn’t kill off hair cells, but leads to experiences like Jason’s. The connections between hair cells are called synapses(突触)，and a given hair cell has many of them. Animal studies suggest you could lose more than half of your synapses without any effect on how you score on an audiogram. “But it turns out,” Liberman says, “that losing enough synapses damages the message the nerves send to the brain, removing details that are important for selecting conversation out from background noise.” “It’s as if there’s a big screen showing a picture,” he says, “but as more and more of its bulbs go black, it gets harder and harder to realize what the picture shows.”
One encouraging indication from animal studies is that a drug might be able to stimulate nerves to regrow the lost synapses, according to Liberman, who holds a stock in a company that is trying to develop such a treatment.
1. Why is the problem called “hidden hearing loss”?| A．Because the problem is difficult to notice in a noisy setting. |
| B．Because no causes of the problem have been found. |
| C．Because something deep in the brain causes the problem. |
| D．Because the problem was hardly mentioned before. |
| A．Audiograms. | B．Synapses. | C．Hair cells. | D．Nerves. |
| A．Most aged people have ringing in their ears. |
| B．Loud noise can damage a person’s brain. |
| C．Loud noise affects people’s memory. |
| D．Hidden hearing loss can be treated. |
| A．loud sound may affect our hearing in a more unobservable way |
| B．the number of people with hidden hearing loss is increasing |
| C．researchers have found a way to test hidden hearing loss |
| D．people are advised not to work in a noisy environment |
【推荐2】The Great Library of Alexandria was a marvel of ancient Egypt. Founded during the Hellenistic period, sometime between 324 and 246 BCE, the Library was reportedly an architectural wonder. More importantly, the Library housed a vast collection of works from all across the ancient world and was a major center of scholarship. The Library shouldered the mission of collecting all of the world’s books, and employed numerous methods to acquire (获得) new works. A well-funded acquisitions department searched the book fairs of Rhodes and Athens, buying individual texts or even whole libraries. Ships that landed at the harbor of Alexandria were searched for books to add to the Library’s collection. The Library also employed a number of scholars who produced original works on subjects such as astronomy, mathematics, and physics.
In addition to collecting books and conducting research, the writers and scholars of the Great Library translated texts from around the world into Greek and collected authoritative versions from different translations. Some of the first translations of Biblical (《圣经》中的) texts into Greek may have occurred at the Library in the time of Ptolemy I. Much work was done to compile (编写) and edit authoritative versions of the Homeric myths for which the Greeks are so well known today, and these were only a few of the great works of translation and editing that took place in Alexandria in the Hellenistic period.
It is ironic that the fate of the Great Library—an institution committed to the collection and preservation of knowledge—is hidden in myth and mystery. Many sources say the Library burned down, but the date is uncertain. It may have burned down more than once, either by accident, or intentionally. Smaller sister institutions may have survived the original library, to be destroyed later.
The Great Library, or some version of it, could have survived for anywhere from 300 to 1, 000 years. However it ended, there can be little doubt that the scholarship of The Great Library had a great and lasting impact on history, and the works that were kept, translated, or created there have had a profound influence on our culture even to the present day.
1. How did they get so many books for the library?| A．By sending the ships to search for books. |
| B．By translating Greek books into English. |
| C．By searching book fairs around the world. |
| D．By writing books related to certain topics. |
| A．Wonderful. | B．Typical. | C．Strange. | D．Intentional. |
| A．It survived for 1,000 years. | B．It had a hidden collection of works. |
| C．It burned down on many occasions. | D．It has had a great cultural influence. |
| A．To introduce some information about a historic library. |
| B．To report the role of great libraries throughout history. |
| C．To compare versions of the Great Library’s destruction. |
| D．To explain the importance of rebuilding the Great Library. |
【推荐3】It’s not easy being a teenager-nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving, consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he’ll clam up. Instead, let him attempt to solve things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy (隐私). Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversions.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for 15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation(节制). Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job.
1. The main purpose of the text is to tell parents _______.| A．how to play with a teenager |
| B．how to help a teenager grow up |
| C．how to understand a teenager |
| D．how to respect a teenager |
| A．become excited | B．show respect |
| C．refuse to talk | D．seek help |
| A．to use the phone in a sensible way |
| B．to pay for his own telephone |
| C．to share the phone quickly |
| D．to answer the phone quickly |
| A．Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs. |
| B．Not talk about personal things with him. |
| C．Give him advice only when necessary. |
| D．Let him have his own telephone. |
