The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2020. The Nobel Committee (委员会) is recognizing the group for its efforts to fight hunger and improve conditions for peace in areas affected by wars. The World Food Program has long been offering help to some of the world’s most troubled places. For example, the WFP created a special service that successfully kept providing help all over the world after the outbreak of COVID-19 stopped nearly all international flights.
Berit, chairwoman of the Nobel Committee, said on Friday, “With this year’s award, the committee wishes to turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the problem of hunger.” In announcing the award, the Nobel committee said “At present, food is the best vaccine (疫苗) against COVID-19.” And it added, “There will be 265 million people going hungry within a year, so of course this is also a call to the international community to offer enough fund to the World Food Program.”
Dan Smith, a director, said the Nobel committee had wanted to send a message of both hope and support for worldwide group work among countries “Hunger, just like climate change and the present COVID-19, is a world problem that can only be properly addressed by all countries working together,” he told Reuters, a British news agency.
The award comes with a gold medal and $1.1 million——a small amount compared to the money the WFP needs for its work. So far in 2020, the WFP has received almost $6. 4 billion in money or goods from all over the world.
1. Why does the committee decide to award the prize to the WFP?a. To encourage giving money to the WFP.
b. To attract worldwide attention to global hunger.
c. To honor the WFP’s hard work to cure COVID-19.
d. To recognize the WFP’s efforts to fight global hunger.
| A．abc | B．abd | C．acd | D．bcd |
| A．Viewed. | B．Worked. | C．Solved. | D．Encouraged. |
| A．The problem of climate change will soon end. |
| B．The worldwide food problem is still very serious. |
| C．People have lost hope in face of the food problem. |
| D．Worldwide group work has always focused on the food problem. |
| A．It’s still too little for the WFP’s programs. |
| B．It will all be given to each WFP member. |
| C．It can help solve many of the WFP’s problems. |
| D．It’s enough to support the WFP’s work for a long time. |
| A．The WFP’s Great Efforts Are Made. |
| B．The WFP Provides International Medical Help. |
| C．The WFP Wins the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. |
| D．The Nobel Peace Prize Comes with a Gold Medal and $1. 1 Million. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】We humans are comparison creatures.
It used to be that our primary reference of comparison was our local communities, primarily neighbors and co-workers. Because we tend to gather around those similar to ourselves in terms of educational level, work income, and shared interests, the range of differences when we compared ourselves to others was fairly small. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Internet, we can now compare ourselves to literally anyone in the world.
These harmful comparisons also damage our emotional lives. When we feel lacking, we experience a variety of unpleasant and unhealthy emotions. We feel jealousy and envy for what others have and what we lack.
It’s one thing to realize that you compare yourself to others. It’s another thing to recognize that social comparison is often corrosive (逐步侵蚀的) to you in so many ways psychologically and emotionally. It’s an entirely other thing to stop yourself from comparing yourself to others.
| A．We are constantly measuring ourselves against other people. |
| B．Yet it is possible, and it is worth the effort for your mental health. |
| C．Thus, we are now exposed to groups that are quite different from us. |
| D．We believe that there is something wrong with us compared to others. |
| E．We can even feel bitterness and anger at others for the unfairness of it all. |
| F．Comparing ourselves to others has the potential to increase our life experience. |
| G．This new level of comparison has huge implications for our psychological lives. |
【推荐2】For me, one of the greatest pleasures in life is going to watch a great film at the cinema.
Whether at an art house cinema or a huge multiplex(多厅影院), someone usually decides to treat the auditorium like their own home! To start with, some people always turn up late, causing you to rise from your seat to allow them to get past. Then, when you want to enjoy the digital projection someone decides to slurp on their drink and munch their popcorn.
The best option for anyone wanting to break the rules of cinema etiquette is to get a DVD and watch it at home. But we all know that the best way to appreciate the art of cinematography is on the big screen. It’s your choice!
What about you? What annoys you about other people at the cinema?
| A．It’s a chance for escapism. |
| B．I have the same difficulty as you. |
| C．I’m not alone in this complaint. |
| D．But we should go to the cinema on time. |
| E．But we mustn’t forget our fellow moviegoers. |
| F．And my worst worry is people who chat to their friends. |
| G．He has helped to create a code of conduct for moviegoers. |
【推荐3】Kim Jae-geun, a softly-spoken 59-year-old man in South Korea, had spent many years in advertising before he no longer had the strength for it. So during the past seven years, instead of spending his days writing copy, Mr. Kimhas spent his evenings behind the counter of his bar, Seochon Blues, near Seoul’s government district. The place is also home to thousands of vinyl records (黑胶唱片) that he began collecting as a teenager. Customers can request their favourite songs there. The bar is often full of tired office workers, and 20-something people and local artists at weekends. “There’s a special wave,” Mr. Kim observed. “All the young people ask for very old songs.” he said.
Mr. Kim’s Seochon Blues is one of the dozens of “LP bars” in South Korea’s capital, many of which are run by men with similar stories. South Korean companies offer few opportunities to middle-aged workers who haven’t climbed through the ranks. Leaving their jobs in their fifties, with music collections becoming too large for their living rooms, a few who haven’t taken up work as taxi drivers or security guards began to make a living by opening such bars.
The first LP bars opened in the 1990s, possibly inspired by the “listening bars” that originated in mid-20th century Japan. Music enthusiasts would come to these bars to listen to imported records that were otherwise hard to come by. The LP bars have proliferated in recent years with more and more people loving going there, thus greatly benefiting the middle-aged owners.
All LP bars encourage nostalgia (怀旧). “I don’t like digitization or the isolated way people have now,” said Lee Jae-jun, who left his job and also opened such a bar. He likes recalling the eighties and nineties and playing songs from people’s youth. “On the best days, regulars arrive for just one drink, and then I play old songs they like. And before you know it, it’s midnight and everyone goes home, drunk and happy,” said Lee Jae-jun.
1. What appears unusual for Mr. Kim in Seochon Blues?| A．Teenagers collect different types of vinyl records. |
| B．The youth enjoy listening to old songs. |
| C．Artists try to get inspiration for writing songs. |
| D．People show off their success in advertisements. |
| A．Middle-aged workers are welcomed by small companies. |
| B．South Koreans prefer to live a quite relaxed life. |
| C．South Koreans tend to change their jobs constantly. |
| D．LP bars offer career opportunities to middle-aged workers. |
| A．Sprung up | B．Survived. | C．Died down. | D．Returned. |
| A．Amazing and professional. | B．Romantic and enjoyable. |
| C．Nostalgic and relaxed. | D．Mysterious and encouraging. |
| A．The stories behind Kim Jae-geun | B．The rise of LP bars in South Korea |
| C．The popularity of music bands | D．The influence of old records |
The Times Higher Education magazine has listed 200 top universities all over the world based on how they are regarded by a group of international college teachers. That is to say the list measures how universities are regarded, rather than how they actually performed.
A subjective, word-of-mouth（口碑的）quality such as "reputation" has genuine economic value for universities, said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
"Reputation is not just an impression, though it might be not as reliable as performance by objective indicators（客观指标）," said Prof Marginson.
Based on the views of 13,000 college teachers around the world, it confirms the power of the big US universities, which dominate this list. Seven of the top 10 are US universities, headed by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Furthermore, 14 of the top 20 are from the US. Cambridge is the highest ranking UK university in the list, in third place, with Oxford ranked as sixth.
For students applying to university, reputation might be hard to quantify, but was an important part of the attractiveness, said the president of Cambridge University's students' union, Rahul Mansigani.
"Reputation makes a huge difference. If there is an idea that somewhere is great, it will get lots of good people applying whether it's true or not. Factors such as a sense of history and the presence of outstanding college teachers were part of the reputation of Cambridge," he said.
1. The underlined word “dominate” in Paragraph 5 probably means __________.
| A．affect | B．decide |
| C．control | D．improve |
| A．No Asian universities are among the Top 10. |
| B．At least five UK universities are among Top 20. |
| C．The Times Higher Education magazine is from the US. |
| D．Reputation affects students’ decisions when choosing universities. |
| A．Turning ideas into reputation |
| B．World’s best universities ranked in order of reputation |
| C．The top 200 universities in the USA |
| D．Reputable Universities attractive to more students |
【推荐2】Coca-Cola, which reportedly produced more than 3 million tons of plastic packaging in 2017, announced Thursday it wants to “help fix the world’s plastic waste problem one community at a time.”
The soda giant is doing so by providing $ 5.4 million for recycling programs in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Denver and Houston. In these cities, partners, like the Green Blue Institute and the Recycling Partnership, which receive the money, will work together to improve recycling rates.
“We focus on areas where we have the ability to make the biggest influence on communities through the funding and expert skills of Coca-Cola employees,” Carlos Pagoagoa, Coca-Cola’s group director of community partnerships, said in a statement. “In each city, local partners will work together to identify barriers to recycling on a local level and test a range of solutions,” he added. “We hope the learnings from these ‘model markets’ can offer solutions to other cities facing similar challenges.”
As part of the effort, the Recycling Partnership and the city of Atlanta, where the cola company’s headquarters are based, will send street teams out to open recycling carts and leave citizens cards informing them what they can and can’t recycle, and let them know how their efforts work.
“Two of the most urgent problems with recycling in the U.S. today are lack of access, followed by pollution in recycling,” Keefe Harrison, CEO of the Recycling Partnership, said in a statement. “We know from the success of Atlanta in 2017 that the citizens want to recycle, and that communicating with them in the street works.”
Last year, Coca-Cola announced its task to collect and reuse a bottle or can for each one it sells, and increase the amount of its products out of recycled materials to 50% by 2030. The brand also aims to make all its packaging fully recyclable by 2025.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?| A．Coca-Cola decides to produce less plastic packaging. |
| B．Coca-Cola will build a plant to recycle plastic waste in different cities. |
| C．A soda giant intends to help deal with plastic waste in communities. |
| D．A soda giant announces its marketing goals. |
| A．By offering funds and techniques. | B．By providing experts and employees. |
| C．By building recycling plants. | D．By advertising on TV. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Successful. | C．Discouraging. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Coca-Cola produces more than 3 million tons of plastic packaging every year. |
| B．Coca-Cola chooses cities like Atlanta, Boston and Denver according to the size. |
| C．Street teams will be sent out to tell local people what to recycle. |
| D．Coca-Cola intends to increase its products to 50% by 2030. |
【推荐3】Theme parks? I just love them. In a month or so, the UK’s finest will throw their gates open for the new season to thrill us with their engineered delights. As usual, I will be the first person inside. Yes, I may be a digital enthusiast, but to me there is nothing as irresistible or as thrilling as the full-on experience of spending a day in someone else’s imagination.
Dr. Carissa Baker, assistant professor in theme parks and storytelling at the University of Central Florida, argued in 2018 that theme parks are gatherers and tellers of stories. Their distinct narratives start before you enter the park, are played out in what you experience there, and continue after you’ve left. How do they do it? Some believe it’s down to creative direction and narrative system design. But I call it like I see it: they use all the psychological tricks in my social psychology textbooks to get us to feel and act in the way that the people behind the scenes foretell.
Everything in theme parks is manipulated (操纵). Everything is accounted for. Whereas in the digital world, designers infer what we feel, these theme parks digest these emotions. A famous example is Disneyland’s Main Street USA, which you walk down on first entering the park: the sets have been designed with forced perspective so the buildings appear taller and grander than they really are. Techniques like this are everywhere to be seen in the squares of Renaissance Italy and Georgian England to make the buildings seem bigger than they were. The mythical Main Street is made to feel larger and more impressive, which gets visitors excited when they enter the park—we are the hero of Disneyland’s narrative. Now that’s a powerful trick.
The digital world is nowhere near as magical as these places are. Yes, digital designers can create something out of nothing with mathematics and electricity, but their best attempts are only shortcuts in two-dimensional space. All they have in their toolboxes are sight and sound. But in theme parks, digital is out of place. Yes, behind the scenes there are data machines that are trying to track us to make our experiences better and more personal. Except for one or two notable examples, digital tech isn’t being used to enhance our time at the park in any practical way. It just gets in the way. And perhaps that is why I love theme parks. Because when I’m there, I want to be propelled (推动) by someone else’s vision, and give over to the feeling.
The next killer app isn’t on your device. It’s in the places that thrill us and compel us to keep our phones in our pockets so we can truly experience them.
1. The writer fancies going to theme parks in that______.| A．the experience in theme parks helps him to let out emotions |
| B．they provide a designed setting in which he is easily absorbed |
| C．the digital effect makes theme parks a wonderland full of magic |
| D．the psychological tricks they use make him feel manipulated |
| A．It is advisable to put down your phone and get a taste of what theme parks bring you. |
| B．Nowhere else can you find a place as magical as the digital world. |
| C．The huge constructions in theme parks are designed to appeal to more visitors. |
| D．Digital tech plays an irreplaceable role in keeping theme parks running smoothly. |
| A．The distinct properties that theme parks and digital devices have. |
| B．The thrilling and irresistible experiences the writer has in theme parks. |
| C．Digital devices meant to create a magic world with simple techniques. |
| D．Clever techniques used by theme parks to make your visit memorable. |
【推荐1】Rescuers in Jersey said Sunday after an all-night search that there was no hope of survivors from an explosion that flattened a three-story apartment block. At least three people were confirmed killed in the accident early Saturday in the Channel island’s port capital St Helier, following a suspected gas leak. “We have three confirmed deaths and it’s fair to say we expect to find more,” police chief Robin Smith told a news conference, saying that around 12 residents remained unaccounted for. “It is with sadness that I am confirming that the search-and-rescue operation has been moved to a recovery operation,” he said.
The phase involved a “painstaking search of the debris” which could take weeks, Smith said, adding that a gas leak was the ‘likely” cause. Aided by sniffer dogs and experts from southern England, Jersey emergency workers had searched the rubble (瓦砾)overnight.
Fire chief Paul Brown confirmed that firefighters were called out to investigate the smell of gas on Friday evening, more than seven hours before the explosion. But in vain. He admitted that something had gone “horribly wrong”, considering the subsequent disaster, but insisted that Jersey islanders could still have confidence in his service. Jersey’s gas supplier, Island Energy, said it was working with the fire service to understand what happened.
Like many others in St Helier, Jersey’s Chief Minister Kristina Moore said she was awoken by the explosion. “Across the island you could hear this extraordinary sound,” she told the BBC. “It’s unthinkable news, so we’re all absolutely shocked and really worried about the people who are involved and about those whose lives have been lost.”
The incident caps a tragic week for Jersey, a British Crown dependency not part of the United Kingdom, whose economy relies on banking, tourism and fishing. “We must call on the collective strength of the island community,” Moore said.
1. What’s the possible cause of the accident?| A．The gas leak. | B．The gas supplier. |
| C．The recovery operation. | D．The unexpected explosion. |
| A．Rescuing the dead. | B．Searching the rubble. |
| C．Searching for the debris. | D．Working with fire service. |
| A．He had predicted the explosion hours before it. |
| B．The fire service was investigating the explosion. |
| C．People lost confidence in the island’s fire service. |
| D．The fire service was partly responsible for the accident. |
| A．Panicked and frightened. | B．Relieved and hopeful. |
| C．Astonished and concerned. | D．Fearful and sorrowful. |
【推荐2】When you say the word donkey, what things come to your mind? A few people might say they’re cute, but the majority think they’re stubborn, dumb and all-round less capable than their horse relatives.
However, this wasn’t the case for a recently unearthed ancient Chinese noblewoman who was unexpectedly found buried with her donkeys. Published in the journal Antiquity in March, Chinese archaeologists (考古学家) first discovered the tomb in Xi’an, Shaanxi, in 2012. The team examined the remains and identified the body as Cui Shi, a Tang Dynasty high-born lady who died in 878 AD.
Speaking to Science Magazine in 2012, the study’s co-author, Fiona Marshall, said the finding caused confusion as “donkeys … are not associated with high-status people”.
However, following years of further research, the team discovered artworks and artifacts that showed a sport known as “Lvju”. This was similar to modern-day polo (马球) and was popular among noble (高贵的) women at the time. They preferred to use donkeys instead of full-sized horses for safety reasons, due to their smaller size and slower speed.
Speaking to CNN, Marshall later said, “Historical documents also showed that ladies of the late Tang court loved to play donkey polo.”
At that time in Chinese history, animals were often placed in tombs so that they could be used for a specific purpose in the afterlife. The study determined that Cui Shi likely requested that her beloved donkeys be buried with her, so that she could continue her favorite sport after death. In total, three donkeys were found inside her tomb with riding gear (装备), including stirrups (马镫). “This context provides evidence that the donkeys in her tomb were for polo, not transport,” lead author Hu Songmei of the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology told Science Magazine.
Before the study, it was believed that donkeys were only used to carry loads, but now it may be time to see them as a sign of achieving high social status(地位), well, in ancient times.
1. What do most people think of donkeys, according to the text?| A．They are as adorable(可爱的) as horses. | B．They are stubborn and not so capable. |
| C．They were necessary in ancient sports. | D．They were a sign of high social status. |
| A．She didn’t connect donkeys with nobles. |
| B．She hadn’t seen donkeys in ancient tombs before. |
| C．She didn’t expect to find donkeys in a woman’s tomb. |
| D．She didn’t understand why animals were in human tombs. |
| A．Horses were preferred in Lvju. |
| B．Lvju was similar to modern-day soccer. |
| C．Lvju was popular among common people. |
| D．Donkeys were preferred in the sport for safety. |
| A．she intended to use them for transport after death |
| B．her family didn’t want her to be lonely after death |
| C．she wanted to continue to play Lvju after death |
| D．noble women needed donkeys to maintain their dignity |
【推荐3】For years, the U.S. has experienced a shortage of registered nurses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that while the number of nurses will increase by 19 percent by 2022, demand will grow faster than supply, and that there will be over one million unfilled nursing jobs by then.
So what's the solution? Robots.
Japan is ahead of the curve when it comes to this trend. Toyohashi University of Technology has developed Terapio, a robotic medical cart that can make hospital rounds, deliver medications and other items. It follows a specific individual, such as a doctor or nurse, who can use it to record and access patient data. This type of robot will likely to be one of the first to be implemented in hospitals because it has fairly minimal patient contact.
A robot's appearance affects its ability to successfully interact with humans, which is why the RIKEN-TRI Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research decided to develop a robotic nurse called Acntroid F. It is so human-like that some patients may not know the difference. This conversational robot companion has cameras in its eyes, which allow it to track patients and use appropriate facial expressions and body language in its interactions. During a month-long hospital trial, researchers asked 70 patients how they felt being around the robot and “only three or four said they didn't like having it around”.
It's important to note that robotic nurses don't decide courses of treatment or make diagnoses. Instead, they perform routine and laborious tasks, freeing nurses up to attend to patients with immediate needs. This is one industry where it seems the interaction of robots will lead to collaboration, not replacement.
1. What does the author say about Japan?| A．It ranks top in future robotics technology. |
| B．It takes the lead in offering robotic nursing. |
| C．It is in desperate need of registered nurses. |
| D．It provides the best medication for the elderly. |
| A．cancelled. | B．constructed. | C．improved. | D．applied. |
| A．It has no difference from a human nurse. |
| B．It gets favorable remarks from all the patients. |
| C．It interacts with patients like a human companion. |
| D．It uses body language even more effectively than words. |
| A．Skeptical | B．Positive | C．Critical | D．Indifferent |
