Thirty-five years ago, with just one acre of land, a couple of seeds and a bucket of hope, one Nigerian-born scientist began his mission to defeat famine (饥荒) on his continent.
News of the drought across Africa in the early 1980s troubled Nzamujo. Equipped with a microbiology PhD and his faith, he travelled back to Africa. There, he found a continent ecologically rich, diverse and capable of producing food. He believes drought wasn’t the only reason for widespread hunger, and that sustainability had been left out.
Nzamujo began designing a “zero waste” agriculture system that would not only increase food security, but also help the environment and create jobs. In 1985, he started his sustainable farm “Songhai” in the West African country of Benin.
Nzamajo lives on the farm and constantly updates his techniques. He credits his degrees in science and engineering for Songhai’s success. But he also thanks his spiritual and cultural roots, and his father — a driving force in his life who encouraged him to pursue his studies to the highest degree and to use Songhai to share his knowledge.
Songhai has several “eco-literacy” development programs. They range from 18-month training courses for farmer-enterprisers, to shorter stays to learn techniques like weeding. People come from all over the world to study Nzamujo’s methods.
After seeing success on his first zero waste farm, he expanded throughout Benin and western Africa. Today, the Songhai model is applied across the continent, including Nigena. Uganda, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Nzamujo says they've trained more than 7.000 farmer-enterprisers and more than 30, 000 people in total since it began.
Nzamujo believes zero waste agriculture is now steadily tackling the issues he set out to defeat, hunger, unemployment and environmental declines. And he wants to see it go further.
1. Which factor related to famine was unnoticed in Nzamujo’s eyes?| A．Poor soil. | B．Water shortage. |
| C．Lack of resources. | D．Unsustainability. |
| A．Introduce a solution. | B．Give examples to the readers. |
| C．Add some background information. | D．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| A．By offering land. | B．By trading seeds. |
| C．By educating farmers. | D．By selling technology. |
| A．Critical and careful. | B．Learned and responsible. |
| C．Optimistic and generous. | D．Considerate and ambitious. |
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【推荐1】On my first job as a sports editor for the Montpelier Leader Enterprise (MLE), I didn’t get a lot of fan mail, so my attention was caught by a letter on my desk one morning. The envelope bore the logo of the closest big-city paper, the Toledo Blade.
When I opened it, I read, “ Sweet piece of writing on the Tigers. Keep up the good work.”
It was signed by Don Wolfe, the sports editor. Because I was a teenager (being paid the grand total of 15 cents a column inch), his words could not have been more exciting. I kept the letter in my desk drawer until it got rag-eared. Whenever I doubted I had the right stuff to be a writer, I would reread Don’s note and walk on air again.
Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a habit of writing a quick, encouraging word to people in all walks of life. “When I make others feel good about themselves,” he told me, “I feel good, too.”
Why are upbeat note writers in such short supply? My guess is that many who shy away from the practice are too self-conscious. They are afraid they will be misunderstood, sound old-fashioned or flattering. Also, writing takes time and it is far easier to pick up the phone. The drawback with phone calls, of course, is that they do not last. A note attaches more importance to our well-wishing. It is a matter of record, and our words can be read more than once, appreciated, and treasured.
What does it take to write notes that lift spirits and hearts? Perhaps just a desire and a willingness to express our appreciation. The most successful people write notes that are short on words and long on feeling, sincere, short, specific, and usually spontaneous (自发的) in nature.
It is difficult to be spontaneous, however, when you have to hunt for letter writing materials; so, keep paper, envelopes, and stamps close at hand, even when you travel. Fancy stationery (文具) is not necessary; it’s the thought that counts.
So, who around you deserves a note of thanks or approval? A neighbor, your librarian, a relative, your mate, a teacher, or your doctor? You do not need to be poetic. If you need a reason, look for a milestone, the anniversary of a special event you shared, a birthday, or holiday, and do not hold back your praise. Such words as “greatest” “smartest” “prettiest” make us all feel good. Even if your praises run a little ahead of reality, remember that expectations are often the parents of dreams fulfilled.
1. What kind of feeling did the author have after he read the letter from Don Wolfe？| A．Inspired. | B．Worry. | C．Shock. | D．Unhappy. |
| A．afraid of being out of date | B．too shy to flatter others |
| C．prepared to make phone calls | D．too concerned about what others think |
| A．praises often run ahead of reality | B．praises help in pursuing a dream |
| C．parents often write upbeat notes | D．parents expect children’s success |
| A．The Power of a Positive Note | B．Notes Help to Fulfill Dreams |
| C．The Necessity of Writing Notes | D．Note or Phone, Your Own Choice |
【推荐2】A German taxi-driver,Franz Bussman,recently found his brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.
While on a walking tour with his wife,he stopped to talk to a workman.After they had gone on,Mrs Bussman said that the workman was closely like her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.Franz laughed at the idea,pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war.Though Mrs Bussman knew this story quite well,she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.
A few days later,she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman.Needless to say,the man’s name was Hans Bussman.And he really was Franz’s long-lost brother.When the brothers were reunited,Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.
After having been wounded towards the end of the war,he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit(单位）.The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot.Meanwhile,his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed.Hans returned to his family house,but the house had been bombed.Guessing that his family had been killed during an air-raid (空袭),Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
1. Which of the following can be used as the best title of the passage?| A．A Chance in a Million | B．Living Not Far |
| C．Coming Back to Life | D．Back after the War |
| A．Mr Bussman recognized his brother at the first sight |
| B．Mrs Bussman thought of her long-lost brother |
| C．Mr and Mrs Bussman talked to a workman because he looked like his brother |
| D．Mr Bussman happened to meet a workman and talked to him |
| A．There were many chances for her to meet his brother again |
| B．It was impossible for her to be right. |
| C．There was a little possibility of what she suggested,though little. |
| D．She had no chance to meet his brother any more. |
a.He walked back to Western Germany.
b.He was wounded when the war was coming to the end.
c.The hospital was destroyed by bombs. d.He came back to his family house.
e.He was sent to hospital. f.His unit didn’t exist any longer.
| A．b,a,e,d,f,c | B．b,e,c,a,f,d |
| C．b,e,a,c,d,f | D．b,c,f,d,a,e |
【推荐3】Even though I’m no skater, I’ve always considered Rochester a perfect location for an outdoor skatepark. Being a place missing some pleasures in Chicago, Rochester fosters a do-it-yourself (DIY) attitude in the pursuit of having fun.
So, after I noticed a skatepark being built under the highway entrance, I had a strong desire to know about it, not because I wanted to learn to skate, but because it is a perfect setting to develop the DIY charm of Rochester. So, last Saturday, I visited the skatepark for the first time, not only to take a closer look at its physical design, but to take a look at the crowds it attracts. On arriving there, I was fascinated to notice all the skaters taking cover from the rain under the highway, concentrating on a small concrete (混凝土) ground with a ramp (斜坡) on the far end.
I began chatting with a Rochester skater named Angel Vazquez. “All you need is a slab of concrete and a ramp, and you can spend many hours learning countless skills,” Vazquez said. “Once you’ve learned them all, you can do it all over again with different gestures.”
He then pointed toward the other skaters. “Look at them. So many people from different walks of life come here to skate. Whatever their status, everyone is brought together here by skating.” He then specifically pointed out a young man doing tricks on a nearby rail, saying, “See him? He is my best friend. He is unable to hear me because he is deaf, but we love to skate here together. We communicate with each other through a notepad.”
Soon after my conversation with Vazquez, I thought about our conversation. It felt as though the ground under my feet had a pulse. Even during a rainy day, life’s heartbeat can be found at that park, pounding (怦怦地跳) to the rhythm of wheels rolling over concrete.
1. Which can replace the underlined word “fosters” in paragraph 1?| A．encourages | B．protects | C．changes | D．challenges |
| A．Confused. | B．Curious. | C．Shocked. | D．Anxious. |
| A．A place to meet famous people. | B．A bridge to connect with others. |
| C．A stage to show his countless skills. | D．A place to share learning experience. |
| A．The praise for the skatepark. | B．The comment on Vazquez. |
| C．The call for more skateparks. | D．The impression of the conversation. |
【推荐1】Famous Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping and his research team’s experiment of planting saltwater-tolerant rice in desert areas of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates proved to be a success, with one type of rice producing more than 7.5 tons per hectare, Xinhua reported.
Saltwater-tolerant rice is designed to grow in tidal flats or other areas with heavy salt content. It was the world’s first successful case of planting rice in a tropical desert area, standing as China’s contribution to improving the ability of people in desert areas to be self-sufficient in main foods, a move that can protect global food security and improve the desert ecological environment.
In January, the center chose dozens of types of hybrid rice and planted them on small places of desert areas near Dubai. After five months of growth, the center invited experts from India, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other countries for evaluation, and found three types of rice producing more than 6 tons per hectare. In June, a second evaluation will be carried out for middle-season rice.
The technology of saltwater-tolerant rice plays a key role in the success as the natural environment of the Dubai desert is terrible for rice growth. The daytime temperatures could be as high as over 50 ℃, and nighttime temperatures could drop by 30 ℃. Humidity stays below 20 percent and there are sandstorms from time to time. The biggest challenge is the desert soil, which is low in organic matter and unable to keep soil moisture as it is totally sand. To make it worse, sea water remains just 7.5 meters below the soil, which makes it easy to be full of salt.
With this success, the center and the private investment office of the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai plan to set up a 100-hectare experimental farmland in Dubai, to test the production costs and cultivation techniques(耕种技术) of the saltwater-tolerant rice and prepare for promotion. The two parties will construct a 100-hectare standard farmland in 2019 and speed up rice planting in 2020.
1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?| A．The tropical desert areas have done well in being self-sufficient. |
| B．Planting saltwater-tolerant rice can be easily achieved in many tropical desert-areas. |
| C．Chinese team play a great role in planting saltwater-tolerant rice in desert areas. |
| D．Saltwater-tolerant rice is designed to grow in areas with heavy salt content. |
| A．Its daytime temperature could be up to 50 ℃ and humidity stays below 20%. |
| B．It’s just 6.5 meters above the sea water and easy to be full of salt. |
| C．It is extremely expensive to conduct experiments in tropical desert areas. |
| D．Its soil is short of organic matter and hard to keep soil moisture. |
| A．The United Arab Emirates tries to improve the desert ecological environment. |
| B．Chinese team succeeds in planting saltwater-tolerant rice in Dubai’s desert. |
| C．The rice experiment is of great importance for the tropical desert-areas. |
| D．Chinese team help expand the farming of saltwater-tolerant rice. |
【推荐2】At 1:43 a.m. October 5, 2022, Stanford chemist Carolyn R. Bertozzi was awakened by a phone call from a Nobel committee representative who told her, “You have 50 minutes to collect yourself and wait until your life changes.” Instructed not to share the announcement outside of her tightest inner circle, the first person Bertozzi called was her father, a retired physics professor from MIT. “He’s 91 and, of course, he was just overjoyed,” said Bertozzi.
Carolyn Bertozzi, born October 10, 1966, Boston, was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for her development of bioorthogonal reactions, which allow scientists to explore cells and track biological processes without disturbing the normal chemistry of the cell. She shares the $10 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million USD) prize equally with Morten Meldal, professor at University of Copenhagen and K. Barry Sharpless, professor at Scripps Research “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”
Carolyn received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1988 and a doctorate in the same subject from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, from 1993 to 1995. She became an assistant professor at Berkeley in 1996 and a full professor of chemistry and molecular and cell biology in 2002. She also held an appointment as a professor of molecular and cellular pharmacology from 2000 to 2002 at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2015 she became a professor of chemistry at Stanford University.
“I could not be more delighted that Carolyn Bertozzi has won the Nobel Prize in chemistry,” said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. “In pioneering the field of bioorthogonal chemistry, Carolyn invented a new way of studying biomolecular processes, one that has helped scientists around the world gain a deeper understanding of chemical reactions in living systems. Her work has had remarkable real-world impact, providing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to treat disease. Carolyn is so deserving of this honor, and all of us at Stanford are too proud to call her one of our own.”
Carolyn’s bioorthogonal reactions have been used to study how cells build proteins and other molecules, to develop new cancer medicines, and to produce new materials for energy storage, among many other applications.
1. Why does the author mention the phone call Carolyn received in Paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the background information of Carolyn. |
| B．To reveal a conversation between two scientists. |
| C．To arouse the readers’ interest in the passage. |
| D．To show the urgency about the information. |
| A．Her education and success. | B．Her delight and pride. |
| C．Her kindness and devotion. | D．Her dream and ambition. |
| A．He wants to cooperate with Carolyn. |
| B．Carolyn has found a new cure for cancer. |
| C．He benefits greatly from Carolyn’s findings. |
| D．Carolyn’s findings are of great significance. |
| A．A profile. | B．A news report. |
| C．A journal. | D．A book review. |
【推荐3】Celebrating Space Week 2022
This week, from 4th to 10th October, is World Space Week 2022. Our academics, researchers, schoolmates and students are celebrating everything that the university is doing to help advance space research.
Here we have videos and written pieces from our university community sharing what the space industry means to them and why it is important for people to get involved.
Dr Maggie Lieu
Dr Maggie Lieu, from the Faculty of Science, is a Research Fellow in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham. Her research includes dark matter, clusters of galaxies and how these can develop our understanding of the contents of the Universe.
Dr Emma Chapman
Dr Emma Chapman, from the School of Physics and Astronomy, is a Research Fellow based at the University of Nottingham. She is a cosmologist (宇宙学家) based at the university and her research revolves around the first stars in the Universe and how we can use this to look back in time.
Jez Turner
Jez Turner is an Assistant Professor in Department for Foundation Engineering & Physical Sciences at the University of Nottingham. He has a particular passion for space and has increased the space engineering content in the modules (模块) he teaches.
Emily Seto
Emily Seto, a University of Nottingham schoolfellow, previously worked at NASA before now working alongside a team at Honeybee Robotics, a spacecraft technology company. She now works as a planetary protection and contamination control engineer, preventing pollution of planetary bodies. Her role sees her work across Martian Moon Explorations and the Artemis program.
If you would like any more information on the above, please contact Faith Pring, Media Officer. Faith Pring—Media Officer
Email: faith. pring@ nottingham.ac.uk
Phone: 0115 748 4411
Location: University of Nottingham, University Park
1. What is special about Emma Chapman?
| A．She researches into dark energy. |
| B．She works as a Martian Moon explorer. |
| C．She teaches students space engineering. |
| D．She helps us know about the stars' history. |
| A．Jez Turner. | B．Emily Seto. | C．Faith Pring. | D．Maggie Lieu. |
| A．To inform. | B．To instruct. | C．To entertain. | D．To persuade. |
