The next time you fly, your drink cup might just look and taste a little bit different.
As we all know, air travel is not eco-friendly. In fact, each flight leaves a pretty big carbon footprint. According to the United Nations, emissions of carbon dioxide from airplanes is expected to have tripled by the year 2050. This is a big problem. In 2018 alone, over 900 million metric tons of emissions were created from air travel. While that issue is going to require a lot of attention, one airline is trying to find more immediate ways to reduce its own footprint, at least within the interior of its airplanes.
Air New Zealand is testing out an edible coffee cup aboard its flights. The cups are vanilla-flavored and leak-proof.
The cups are being produced by the New Zealand company Twiice. Currently, they are Twiice's only edible products, but the company says it expects to launch other edible items soon. According to its website, the coffee cups are made from wheat flour, sugar, egg and vanilla essence.
Air New Zealand currently uses eco-friendly cups on all of its flights. The edible cups may push its efforts to go green even further.
What are the passengers who've received their drinks in edible cups saying about them?
“The cups have been welcomed by our customers. We’ve also been using the cups as dessert bowls,” says Niki Chave, Air New Zealand's manager of customer experience.
The airline is also encouraging its customers to bring their own reusable bottles on flights. "It's great to see that more and more customers are bringing their own reusable drink bottles and are keeping cups on board,”says Air New Zealand. “Our cabin crew team is happy to fill these.”
1. What does the underlined word “edible” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?| A．Eatable. | B．Beautiful. | C．Unbreakable. | D．Green. |
| A．A new way to use cups on flights. |
| B．A new way to make air travel eco-friendly. |
| C．Air New Zealand’s good service. |
| D．Air New Zealand’s popularity among travelers. |
| A．Food waste is the main reason of pollution from air travel. |
| B．Twiice will lose more money due to its environmental efforts. |
| C．More and more air travelers are willing to protect environment. |
| D．Twiice will ask its customers to bring their own drinks in the future. |
| A．Tourism Economy. | B．Food Industry. |
| C．Environmental Protection. | D．Exclusive Interview. |
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【推荐1】Video calls are a common occurrence, but have you imagined being able to touch the person on the other end of the line? Scientists are making this a reality.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales Australia, have invented a soft skin stretch device (SSD), a haptic device that can recreate the sense of touch. Haptic technology imitates the experience of touch by stimulating localized areas of the skin in ways that are similar to what is felt in the real worlds through force, vibration or motion.
Vibration is the most common haptic technology today and has been built into many electronic devices, such as one attached to the back of a trackpad in laptops, which simulates a button clicking. However, haptic feedback with vibration becomes less sensitive when used continuously. The existing technology also has great difficulty recreating the sense of touch with objects in virtual environments or located remotely according to Mai Thanh Thai, lead author of the study.
The new technology overcomes issues with existing haptic devices. The research team introduced a novel method to recreate the sense of touch through soft, artificial “muscles”.
“Our three-way directional skin stretch device, built into the fingertips of the wearable haptic glove we also created, is like wearing a second skin—it’s soil, stretchable and mimics the sense of touch—and will enable new forms of haptic communication to enhance everyday activities, ” said Thanh Nho Do, senior author of the study.
It works like this: Imagine you are at home and you call your friend who is in Australia. You wear a haptic glove with the SSDs and your friend also wears a glove with integrated 3D force sensors. If your friend picks up an object, it will physically press against your friend’s lingers. And the glove with 3D force sensors will measure these interactions. The force signals can be sent to your glove so your device will generate the same 3D forces, making you experience the same sense of touch as your friend.
The haptic devices could be applied in various scenes, allowing users to feel objects inside a virtual world or at a distance. This could be especially beneficial during such times like the COVID-19 pandemic when people rely on video calls to stay connected with loved ones. Or it could be used in medical practices. Doctors can feel a patient’s organ tissues with surgical（手术的）tools without touching them.
1. What can we learn about the SSD?| A．It imitates the sense of touch through animal skin. |
| B．It mainly uses vibration technology. |
| C．It makes virtual haptic communication possible. |
| D．It takes the shape of a glove. |
| A．The advantages of the new haptic glove. |
| B．An explanation of how the haptic device works. |
| C．The applications of the new haptic technology. |
| D．A personal experience of using SSDs during a video call. |
| A．Interviewing someone face to face. |
| B．Recreating organ tissues. |
| C．Evaluating surgeries from a distance. |
| D．Feeling a silk scarf being sold online. |
| A．To encourage the use of a new product. |
| B．To introduce the development of haptic technology. |
| C．To compare different haptic devices. |
| D．To inform readers of a new invention. |
【推荐2】The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir (水库) to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project could help unlock America’s clean energy future.
Perhaps ten years from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this lake to a new reservoir, a much smaller one, built in a nearby valley about 1100 feet higher. When the sun is high in the sky, California’s abundant solar power will pump water into that upper reservoir. It’s a way to store the electricity. When the sun goes down and solar power disappears, operators would open a valve (阀门) and the force of 8 million tons of water, falling back downhill through those same pipes, would drive machines capable of producing 500 megawatts of electricity for up to eight hours. That’s enough to power 130, 000 typical homes.
“It’s a water battery!” says Neena Kuzmich, Deputy Director of Engineering for the water authority. She says energy storage facilities like these will be increasingly important as California starts to rely more on energy from wind and solar, which produce electricity on their own schedules, without considering the demands of consumers.
Californians learned this during a heat wave this past summer. “Everybody in the state of California got a text message at 5:30 in the evening to turn off their appliances,” Kuzmich says. The sun was going down, solar generation was disappearing, and the remaining power plants, many of them burning gas, couldn’t keep up with demand. The reminder worked:People stopped using so much power, and the grid (电网) survived.
Yet earlier on that same day, there was so much solar power available that the grid couldn’t take it all. Grid operators turned away more than 2000 megawatt hours of electricity that solar generators could have delivered, enough to power a small city. That electricity was wasted. There was no way to store it for later, when operators desperately needed it.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 2?| A．To present the importance of a reservoir. | B．To recall a situation in recent ten years. |
| C．To introduce the usage of solar energy. | D．To explain a way to store electricity. |
| A．The reservoir serves to store energy. | B．Californians need little solar energy. |
| C．People used to waste too much energy. | D．New storage ways are environmentally friendly. |
| A．To stop people working. | B．To warn people of danger. |
| C．To tell people the sunset time. | D．To remind people of lack of energy. |
| A．Scenic San Vicente Reservoir | B．San Diego County Energy Plan |
| C．Water Batteries to Store Solar Power | D．Machines to Store Water in California |
【推荐3】The artificial-intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has shaken educators since its November release. New York City public schools have banned it from their networks and school devices. There is, perhaps surprisingly, one subject area that doesn’t seem threatened, It turns out ChatGPT is quite bad at maths.
“I’m not hearing maths instructors express concern about ChatGPT,” said Paul von Hippel, a professor at the University of Texas who studies data science and statistics. “I’m not sure it’s useful for maths at all, which feels strange because maths was the first-use case for the artificial-intelligence devices.”
ChatGPT’s struggle with maths is inherent in this type of AI, known as a large language model. It scans a large amount of text from across the web and develops a model that might be extremely effective for writing grammatically correct responses to essay requirement, but not for solving a maths problem.
In an email, I asked Debarghya Das, a search-engine engineer, why ChatGPT gets some simple questions right but others completely wrong. “Maybe the right analogy (类比) is if you ask a room of people, who have no idea what maths is but have read many hieroglyphics (象形文字), ‘What comes after 2+2,’ they might say, ‘Usually, we see a 4,’ That’s what ChatGPT is doing.” But, he adds, “Maths isn’t just a series of hieroglyphics. It’s the process of calculating.”
It isn’t great for pretending you know it through a maths class because you only recognize the mistakes if you know the maths. Another reason that maths instructors are less anxious about this innovation is that they have been here before. The field was upended for the first time decades ago with the general availability of computers and calculators.
“Maths has had the biggest revolution based on machinery of any mainstream subject,” said Conrad Wolfram, the strategic director of Wolfram Research. “In the real world, since computers came along, have maths, science and engineering gotten conceptually simpler? No, completely the opposite. We’re asking harder and harder questions, going up a level.”
Eventually, AI will probably get to the point where its maths answers are not only confident but correct. A pure large language model might not be up for the job, but the technology will improve. In general, however, AI, like computers, will likely ultimately be most useful for those who already know a field well. They know the questions to ask, how to identify the shortcomings and what to do with the answer. A tool, in other words, is for those who know the most maths, not the least.
1. What does the underlined word “inherent” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?| A．Stable. | B．Practical. | C．Limited. | D．Natural. |
| A．Calculating requires some knowledge of hieroglyphics. |
| B．ChatGPT is good at solving mathematical questions by analogy. |
| C．Reading hieroglyphics prevents ChatGPT solving maths questions. |
| D．ChatGPT’s response is based on language models instead of calculations. |
| A．ChatGPT is useful to identify maths mistakes. |
| B．Technical revolution made maths easier to understand. |
| C．New technology will end up pushing the boundaries of maths. |
| D．ChatGPT has been banned from networks and school devices. |
| A．It will play the largest role for professionals in a field. |
| B．It will become confident to solve all the maths problems. |
| C．It will turn the maths field over again just like computers. |
| D．It will take the jobs from humans as the technology improves. |
【推荐1】Your own backyard may be a fun place to play. You may have trees to climb, and insects to study.
Every part of the world has food chains, including the oceans and the deserts (沙漠).
Do not pollute the environment. Recycle (回收) any material you can.
Keep learning about and respecting (尊重) plants, animals, and the environment.
| A．Share your space |
| B．If you ever want to see it |
| C．But if one part is taken away |
| D．We depend on each other for food and survival |
| E．Ride your bike or walk to places that you need to go |
| F．You can then pass this information on to your parents and friends |
| G．Maybe you hear birds singing or see your pet cat sleeping in the sun |
【推荐2】“The sun isn’t even out. You get up, button your uniform, tie your boot laces, and kiss your family goodbye. You close your eyes and take a moment to make peace with the reality that you may never see them again.” This is the daily routine of a ranger (护林员).
Globally, about 150 rangers die each year protecting parks and wildlife, according to the Thin Green Line Foundation. In recent years, the number of rangers lost is likely to increase as the COVID-19 pandemic has a bad effect — both in terms of rangers catching the disease and in carrying out their duties.
On July 31, World Ranger Day, the Global Wildlife Program (GWP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), would like to honor the bravery and determination of all rangers by sharing their stories.
Patience Tsitsi Shumbayaonda has been a ranger with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) for several years. She and her colleagues patrol (巡逻) in conservation areas to strengthen biodiversity and ecosystems management in the Mid- and Lower Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe.
“Being a ranger is physically demanding,” with a typical day involving patrolling protected areas, watching and checking for illegal activities, tracking poachers (偷猎者), keeping track of available water in water bodies, fire management, looking for animals in trouble, and helping communities address human-wildlife conflict.
“Our job is not only to protect the animals from the people, but also the people from animals,” she said, “We do come face to face with dangerous animals but if we keep our distance from them, they will go away. I think somehow, they feel our positive energy and do not attack us.”
“It’s not our duty only as rangers to look after wildlife, but it is everyone’s task — as communities, as nations, and globally. I hope that the illegal trade of endangered species is stopped and that people value wildlife as we rangers do, such that we live in harmony with nature.”
1. What is the major function of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To arouse readers’ interest. |
| C．To state the author’s viewpoint. | D．To provide a brief summary of the whole passage. |
| A．To raise the awareness of environmental protection. |
| B．To encourage the common people to look after wildlife. |
| C．To let people know the troubles the rangers meet with. |
| D．To show respect for the courage and willpower of the rangers. |
| A．keeping track of hunters | B．preventing forest fires |
| C．protecting wild animals | D．dealing with conflicts among people |
| A．poaching is allowed in some countries | B．wild animals are likely to attack rangers |
| C．we all have a responsibility to protect wildlife | D．it’s only rangers’ duty to protect endangered species |
Since the 1980s eco-tourism has grown and grown. It is the fastest growing type of tourism.
If done well, eco-tourism has several advantages. It is kinder to the environment.
However, there are some disadvantages of eco-tourism. It is felt by some environmentalists that any human activity will cause disorder in the routine of animals.
Another problem for local people is that they are expected to pose for cameras and dance etc. for money.
Eco-tourism tries to go to the places far away from other communities.
It seems that the disadvantages often outweigh the advantages of eco-tourism. It might be better to take pictures of animals rather than kill animals, but given the choice the animals would sooner not have people around. It seems whether eco-tourism should be allowed should be judged case-by-case, and that the local people must be considered.
| A．These places are often not well policed. |
| B．People walking through the forest may do much harm. |
| C．And these activities will also damage the eco-system. |
| D．It seldom ends people to untouched parts of the world. |
| E．This is good for both parties: they both can better understand each other. |
| F．And it encourages developers to consider the natural environment more. |
| G．It discourages the local people from pursuing their traditional life styles. |
【推荐1】Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.
1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?| A．Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression. |
| B．The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids. |
| C．Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running. |
| D．The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood. |
| A．To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms. |
| B．To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high. |
| C．To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high. |
| D．To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released. |
| A．Effect. | B．Goal. | C．Opinion. | D．Question |
| A．They can help ease depression symptoms. |
| B．They are the best way to treat depression. |
| C．They only work for those with serious depression. |
| D．They can help people completely recover from depression. |
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking. It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected. When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble: it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture of their own, and if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say, “Yes” to what you do. All you want is to be felt alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control. If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.
1. ____are to blame for the quarrels between parents and their children according to this passage.| A．Parents |
| B．Young people |
| C．Both parents and their children |
| D．Neither parents nor their children |
| A．do things without thinking carefully ahead |
| B．ask for advice before they really start to do anything |
| C．think in the same way as their parents do |
| D．be very strict with themselves |
| A．they don’t feel they belong to the world of the older people |
| B．they do not want to get into trouble |
| C．they feel they are as clever as old people |
| D．they want to show they have grown up |
| A．the young people’s choice |
| B．their being accepted by their parents |
| C．developing a new culture of their own |
| D．their parents’ dislike of their choice |
| A．do everything according to his own wish. |
| B．be responsible for what he does |
| C．do everything beyond his parents’ control |
| D．do everything the way his parents do. |
【推荐3】The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir (水库) to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project could help unlock America’s clean energy future.
Perhaps ten years from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this lake to a new reservoir, a much smaller one, built in a nearby valley about 1100 feet higher. When the sun is high in the sky, California’s abundant solar power will pump water into that upper reservoir. It’s a way to store the electricity. When the sun goes down and solar power disappears, operators would open a valve (阀门) and the force of 8 million tons of water, falling back downhill through those same pipes, would drive machines capable of producing 500 megawatts of electricity for up to eight hours. That’s enough to power 130, 000 typical homes.
“It’s a water battery!” says Neena Kuzmich, Deputy Director of Engineering for the water authority. She says energy storage facilities like these will be increasingly important as California starts to rely more on energy from wind and solar, which produce electricity on their own schedules, without considering the demands of consumers.
Californians learned this during a heat wave this past summer. “Everybody in the state of California got a text message at 5:30 in the evening to turn off their appliances,” Kuzmich says. The sun was going down, solar generation was disappearing, and the remaining power plants, many of them burning gas, couldn’t keep up with demand. The reminder worked:People stopped using so much power, and the grid (电网) survived.
Yet earlier on that same day, there was so much solar power available that the grid couldn’t take it all. Grid operators turned away more than 2000 megawatt hours of electricity that solar generators could have delivered, enough to power a small city. That electricity was wasted. There was no way to store it for later, when operators desperately needed it.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 2?| A．To present the importance of a reservoir. | B．To recall a situation in recent ten years. |
| C．To introduce the usage of solar energy. | D．To explain a way to store electricity. |
| A．The reservoir serves to store energy. | B．Californians need little solar energy. |
| C．People used to waste too much energy. | D．New storage ways are environmentally friendly. |
| A．To stop people working. | B．To warn people of danger. |
| C．To tell people the sunset time. | D．To remind people of lack of energy. |
| A．Scenic San Vicente Reservoir | B．San Diego County Energy Plan |
| C．Water Batteries to Store Solar Power | D．Machines to Store Water in California |
