【推荐1】Are Coral Reefs(珊瑚礁) Adapting to Climate Change?

Scientists reported that climate change might actually be helping ancient trees thrive(长得健壮). Now there seems to be more positive news—this time about the coral in our oceans whose population has been severely affected in last few decades by rising temperatures, disease and human carelessness.

Coral reefs as you probably know are not just colorful calcium carbonate(钙碳酸盐)structures that provide shelter to a wonderful number of fish, but also a close relationship or partnership between coral polyps(珊瑚虫) and single celled living things called zooxanthellae(虫黄藻). The coral polyps give the zooxanthellae a home and in return the later provide the coral polyps with their vivid color and food. They support each other in a fantastic balance, one that is getting severely damaged by the rising temperatures which are causing the coral polyps to reject their zooxanthellae friends, removing their color and food source.

Scientists estimate the phenomenon of rising temperatures combined with disease has destroyed the coral reef population by more than 80%. It is therefore no wonder that scientists all over the world are looking for solutions to try to restore this all important link to sea life. However, while human efforts like planting the coral again have been somewhat successful, they are not   enough to replace all the coral that has been dying due to climate change. That is probably why reports by various researchers about certain types of coral being able to not only survive the changing ocean conditions, but also thrive in it, are being met with such enthusiasm. The most recent findings show that despite higher temperatures the coral reefs seem to be thriving.

These findings are consistent with the lab research conducted by the scientists who tried growing different varieties of coral in waters with higher temperature to see how they would react. They were surprised to discover that most of them survived and some seemed to adapt and grow normally. Encouraged by these and other similar findings, more energetic species have been introduced to see if coral reefs can be restored to their former glory. A program is busy analyzing the world's oceans to find more varieties that can be used for this same purpose．

However, we are not out of the woods yet! Scientists are still not sure how they would introduce these varieties to areas where they are not abundant and more importantly what the consequences would be on the surrounding sea life. Hopefully, the combination of new scientific research and fewer human mistakes will allow our beautiful coral to thrive again!

1. Which word can be used to complete the following relationship?
Coral reefs are a bridge between coral polyps and zooxanthellae.
→Coral polyps and zooxanthellae depend on one another.
→The ________ between coral polyps and zooxanthellae is suffering from severe damage.

A．home	B．structure
C．balance	D．color

2. The underlined words in Paragraph 4 mean ________.

A．to allow coral reefs to thrive again

B．to find more varieties of coral

C．to survive the changing ocean conditions

D．to see how coral reacts in higher temperature

3. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．climate change has the same effect on both ancient trees and coral

B．re­planting the coral can solve the problem of coral reefs' decrease

C．various researchers are interested in the reports on the changing ocean conditions

D．the lab research has encouraged scientists to restore coral reefs to their former glory

【推荐3】The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2020

The 2010s made one thing clear:     1    It is in our homes with thermostats that heat up our rooms before we walk through the door.It is in our cars with safety features that warn us about vehicles in nearby lanes.We even wear it on ourselves in the form of watches that monitor our health.Here's what to watch in tech this year.

    2    

In the last few years,Amazon,Apple and Google have battled to become the center of our homes.Now,they are working together on a standard to help make smart home products work well with one another.For example,if you open your door,then the door can say to the lights to turn them on.

5G rises steadily.

One important benefit of the technology is its ability to greatly make everything faster.     3    That will be important for the compatibility(兼容性）of next-generation devices like robots. sell-driving cars and drones.For example,if your car has 5G and another car has 5G,the two cars can talk to each other.    4    

The wearables market heats up.

It is a time of intense competition in wearable computers.    5    Computer chips are making their way into other electronic products like earphones,which means that companies are likely to introduce innovations in wearable equipment,That whole area of improving our hearing and hearing the way other people hear us is really interesting.

A．Home becomes smarter.

B．Tech is everywhere in life,

C．Door upgrades intelligently,

D．The biggest thing is connected everything.

E．And the competition is set to lead to more creativity and innovation.

F．The other is the time it takes for devices to communicate with one another.

G．And they can also signal to each other when they are braking and changing lanes.

【推荐1】In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter's end. So it's no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.

Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others elevate the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered "eggs" that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.

One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.

"There's something about their delicate nature that appeals to me," says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. "I've broken eggs at every stage of the process—from the very beginning to the very, very end. "

But there's an appeal in that vulnerability. "There's part of this sickening horror of knowing you're walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second" Chast's designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.

Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The elaborate patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.

"There's an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not prevail in the world," says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.

The tradition, dating back to 300 B. C., was later incorporated into the Christian church. The old symbols, however, still endure. A decorated egg with a bird on it, given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into the field would be a wish for a good harvest.

1. Why do people in many cultures prize the egg?

A．It is a welcome sign of the coming of spring.

B．It is their major source of protein in winter.

C．It can easily be made into a work of art.

D．It can bring wealth and honor to them.

2. What do we learn about the decorated "eggs" in Russia?

A．They are shaped like jewel cases.

B．They are cherished by the rich.

C．They are heavily painted in red.

D．They are favored as a form of art.

3. Why have contemporary artists continued the egg art tradition?

A．Eggs serve as an enduring symbol of new life.

B．Eggs have an oval shape appealing to artists.

C．Eggs reflect the anxieties of people today.

D．Eggs provide a unique surface to paint on.

4. Why does Chast enjoy the process of decorating eggs?

A．She never knows if the egg will break before the design is completed.

B．She can add multiple details to the design to communicate her idea.

C．She always derives great pleasure from designing something new.

D．She is never sure what the final design will look like until the end.

【推荐3】A good gift is one that is more valuable for the receiver than it is for the giver. But most gifts destroy value rather than create it. Think of the Christmas-tree-shaped cookie jar that cost your aunt $89 but is worthless than zero to you, posing a difficult question: Do you throw it right into the bin or wait a couple of months? The economist Joel Waldfogel calls this discrepancy (差异) the “dead weight loss” of gifts, and estimates that, on average, it is from 10 percent to a third of a gift’s price.

One explanation for the dead weightloss is a mismatch between desirablity and feasibility(可行性). Consider a gadget that is useful(high desirability) but difficult to set up and time-consuming to use(low feasibility). Researchers have found that givers usually focus on desirability, and receivers are more aware of feasibility. Your friend who bought you a fancy wearable fitness tracker probably thought it was a really cool and helpful gift; to you, it seems like a major headache to figure out, requires an app download and a monthly cost, and offers data that will very likely make you feel terrible about yourself. That’s why it is still sitting in your drawer in its original package.

Another happiness-killing mismatch can be between the receiver’s first reaction (反应) and their long-term satisfaction. As Anna Goldfarb noted in The Atlantic a few weeks ago, givers tend to look for “reaction-maximizing (最大化) gifts” (such as the wife’s over-the-top reaction to the car) as opposed to “satisfaction-maximizing gifts.” Once the giver is not present to see the receiver’s reaction, the receiver might not actually be that excited about socks with her best friend’s face on them.

Someone looking for a big reaction might want to buy a wildly expensive gift, which causes its own emotional problems. In the worst cases, they may even be trying to control you, or trick you into doing them a favor later. Either way, receiving a gift that’s too nice might make you feel guilty (愧疚的). According to one 2019 survey from Compare Cards, 46 percent of respondents felt guilty for being unable to give a gift worth as much as the one they received.

In truth, the biggest benefit to most gift giving is to the giver herself. Generosity is truly away to buy happiness. As my colleague Michael Norton and his co-authors showed in the journal Science in 2008, although spending money on oneself is weakly related to happiness, spending money on others significantly raises the giver’s well-being (幸福). Neuroscientists have shown that charitable giving to others provides pleasure in one of the same ways that alcohol and certain drugs do. (Maybe this is the real reason Santa is so joyful.)

1. What does “deadweight loss” of gifts in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．The value the gift creates rather than destroys.

B．The money the giver spends on a meaningful gift

C．The good-will and thoughtfulness of the gift giver.

D．The loss of the gift value in the eyes of the receiver.

2. How would the receiver describe the “fancy wearable fitness tracker” as a gift?

A．Fashionable and practical	B．Inexpensive and worthless.
C．Desirable and satisfactory.	D．Unfriendly and troublesome.

3. When might the receiver give the over-the-top reaction?

A．When the receiver gets something wildly expensive.

B．When the giver gives something he himself truly likes.

C．When the giver is present to see the receiver’s reaction.

D．When the receiver gets socks with the best friend’s face on them.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A．Presents are generally terrible.

B．It is in giving that givers receive.

C．Gift-giving is in most case saw in-win situation.

D．The greatest gift you can give is your time and attention.