Nearly a week after Stephen Hawking passed away, people even in remote parts of the globe showed up in memory of this great British scientist. Mr. Hawking, best known for his study of black holes, is respected for not allowing a physical disability to limit his mental brilliance. Yet in a sign of the state of humanity, he is also being held up as a hero for humble and intense curiosity, not just for the truth about the physical universe but for universal truths.
In 2017, a Texas-based data company called Global Language Monitor found “truth” to be the “word of the year” among English-speakers. A debate over the nature of truth “is currently quite fashionable,” the company’s analysis found. Besides, two runner-up words were “narrative” and “post-truth.” And in a January report about “truth decay (衰败)”, the RAND Corporation, a research organization, found the loss of trust in key institutions has left “people searching for new sources of credible and objective information.”
In countries with a free press, journalists have gathered to fact-check comments by politicians. Harvard University now offers a free one-hour online course to help people “better distinguish good information from bad” in hopes that they will not “share the bad.” Tech giants such as Facebook are being forced to fix truth filters (过滤器) on their online platforms. A report this month for the European Commission says that the online sites “are becoming increasingly important as both enablers and gatekeepers of information.” They should reveal how their algorithms (计算程序) select news items, the report stated.
Many nations have come to see honest information as strategic wealth. “Truth matters”, says Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State. “Relying on Twitter feeds and news reports will prove totally insufficient when policymakers have to make some of the most difficult decisions they face.”
Giants of scientific discovery such as Hawking have long been role models for seeking truth beyond their profession. “In recent years I realized that Hawking has become a symbol for mankind,” says physicist Bobby Acharya. “People looked to him for reason and truth.” The tribute rolling in for the man is actually a widespread desire for light over darkness, for truth over all the “black holes” of misinformation campaigns.
1. What does the “word of the year” in 2017 suggest?A.A large number of people want solid facts. | B.Stephen Hawking is a great British scientist. |
C.People are uninterested about the nature of truth. | D.Global Language Monitor is a popular company. |
A.Provide users with valuable information. | B.Check the comments made by politicians. |
C.Avoid false information on their platforms. | D.Cooperate with the European Commission. |
A.challenge | B.admiration | C.opportunity | D.unfairness |
A.Gatekeepers of information | B.Giants of scientific discovery |
C.The impact the “word of the year” has | D.The light Stephen Hawking leaves behind |
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【推荐1】The Philippines, a tropical island nation in the Pacific, will now require by law all graduating students from elementary school to college plant 10 trees each before they can graduate.
The law was supported in the House and is now sent to the Philippines Senate for action, Supporters of the law see this as an opportunity for the Filipino youth to help deal with climate change and air pollution and build a greener environment for their generation.
“To this end, the educational system shall be a centre of spreading continuous use of natural resources among the young to make them socially-responsible citizens, The House bill stated, which was authored by representative Gary Alejano.
Alejano estimates that over the course of one generation the bill will be responsible for 525 billion trees planted.This comes from over 12 million students graduating from elementary school each year, 5 million from high school and 500,000 from college, equaling 175 million new trees planted each year.
The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia.Across those islands,deforestation has been a primary environmental issue.Agriculture has led to a significant drop in forested areas across the Philippines. Through the 20th century, forested area in the Philippines decreased from 70 percent to 20 percent.It is estimated that 24.2 million acres of forests were cut down from 1934 to 1988, primarily from logging.
The performance of this new law could set off a situation, by which the Philippines switches from net loss to net gain of trees, a simple and powerful message to the Filipino youth with the potential for long term positive influence.
1. Why does the Philippines make the law to plant trees?A.To create a better environment to live in. |
B.To show the government is taking action. |
C.To make sure students can graduate easily. |
D.To raise people's awareness of education. |
A.Natural resources. | B.The future generation |
C.Powerful messages. | D.The educational system. |
A.5 million. | B.50 million. |
C.120 million. | D.175 million. |
A.A.loss of soil. | B.Agriculture. |
C.Climate change. | D.Air pollution. |
【推荐2】As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remembering less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder (文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory (交互记忆)”
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. What can we learn about the first experiment?A.Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer. |
B.The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
C.The first group did not try to remember the information. |
D.The second group did not understand the information. |
A.keep the information in mind |
B.change the quantity of information |
C.organize information like a computer |
D.remember how to find the information |
A.We are using memory differently. |
B.We are becoming more intelligent. |
C.We have poorer memories than before. |
D.We need a better way to access information. |
【推荐3】Why do men live a shorter life than women? The latest research indicates that men’s hearts going into a rapid decline when they reach middle age could be the cause.
The research of ageing on the heart has shown that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose much pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 20 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, Samantha of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells which make it beat.Between the ages of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men ,” said Samantha.“This is part of the ageing process.”
What amazes scientists is that the female heart suffers very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could work almost as perfectly as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender (性别) difference might give the reason why men live shorter than women,”said Samantha.They studied over 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 17 and 80, who are mainly healthy persons so as to reduce the influence of disease.“The team has yet to think about why ageing suffers a greater loss on the male heart,” said Samantha.
But there is also good news — men can enjoy the health of their hearts with regular exercise.Samantha stressed that women should also take regular exercise to stop their leg muscles getting weaker as they age.
1. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph means “________”.A.health | B.long life | C.ageing | D.effect |
A.men’s heart cells | B.women’s ageing process |
C.the gender difference | D.hearts and long life |
A.men have fewer cells than women when they are born |
B.women can produce the cells that make the heart beat |
C.the female heart suffers less loss of the cells with age |
D.women will never suffer the loss of pumping power with age |
A.enable your heart to beat much faster |
B.think about the reason for ageing |
C.take regular exercise to keep your heart healthy |
D.stop your cells from being lost |
【推荐1】“You do not need to be a rocket scientist.” Americans hear these words often. People say them in schools, offices and factories. Broadcasters on radio and television often use them.
How did the expression begin? No one seems to know it.
Not everyone would agree.
Moving pictures from before World War Ⅱ showed a man named Buck Rogers landing on the planet Mars.
When the work goes well, most rocket scientists enjoy their jobs. One scientist said, “As a child I loved to build the rockets. Now I am a grown-up. I still love to build rockets. And now I get paid for it.”
A.Onceagain,the launch was put off. |
B.Have you ever heard of the space travel? |
C.It’s dangerous for rocket scientists to build rockets. |
D.He was a hero who could withdraw any enemy from outer space. |
E.Rocket scientists, however, can have problems just like everyone else. |
F.Some people might be considered more intelligent than rocket scientists. |
G.But an official of the American space agency, NASA, says the expression just grew. |
【推荐2】Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek has been honored with this year’s Templeton Prize. The award recognizes individuals whose life’s work brings together science and spirituality.
Wilczek is known for his research into the laws of nature. In a statement, the John Templeton Foundation said his work changes “our understanding of the forces that govern our universe.” It said he used physics to address “the great questions of meaning and purpose pondered by generations of religious thinkers.”
John Templeton created the prize in 1972. It is one of the most highly valued prizes at more than $1.3 million. Past winners include Jane Goodall, Mother Teresa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Wilczek told The Associated Press, “It’s a company I’m very glad to join in.” He added, “It’s encouragement in a direction that I’ve really only taken up in a big way quite recently… which is thinking about not just what the world is and how it came to be this way but what we should do about it.”
Over a long career, Wilczek had many successes. He won the 2004 Nobel Prize along with David J. Gross, and H. David Politzer for their 1973 research explaining the unusual properties of the strong force. Wilczek is currently a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and Stockholm University. He is also the founding director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s T. D. Lee Institute. He has also written several books that are informed by science but look into spiritual and philosophical questions.
Heather Dill is the Templeton Foundation president. In a statement, she said, “Like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, he is a natural philosopher who unites a curiosity about the behavior of nature with a playful and profound philosophical mind.”
1. What is Frank Wilczek famous for?A.His long-time efforts in philosophy. | B.His study in natural science. |
C.His gains in the chemical awards. | D.His contribution in the field of art. |
A.Governed strictly. | B.Designed seriously. |
C.Considered carefully. | D.Abandoned completely. |
A.His hobbies. | B.His advantages. |
C.His expectations. | D.His achievements. |
A.To advertise a book. |
B.To introduce a great scientist. |
C.To explain the difference of two prizes. |
D.To stress the importance of science and philosophy. |
【推荐3】A Victory for Women in Economics
Economic history has long been documented through a male perspective, putting emphasis on the contributions of men and their viewpoints. For proof, just look to the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Not only are women insufficiently represented as economists, economics as a field has historically ignored the role women play in the economy.
Goldin has challenged the traditional male-centered world and turned the attention to women’s economic roles and challenges. Her Nobel recognition isn’t merely an honor for her individual achievements. It shows the world how inclusive, diverse and interconnected the field truly is.
A.Economics isn’t just the boring science — it’s a human science. |
B.Goldin’s research advocates the establishment of support systems for families to address the gender pay gap. |
C.Part of the problem is that economics is often identified with finance, banking and the stock market. |
D.It wasn’t a victory just for her but for women in the field. |
E.It’s been awarded to 90 men since 1969 — and just three women. |
F.Traditional models often oversimplified households’ decision-making processes and did not account for women’s contributions. |