【推荐2】Some people state they never forget a face. But what does that saying mean? Is there really no limit to the number of faces a person can remember?

A new study has found that, on average, people can remember as many as 5,000 faces. That number comes from a group of researchers at the University of York in England, There have been many studies recently on facial recognition. But the authors of this study say theirs is the first time that scientists have been able to put a number to the abilities of humans to recognize faces.

During the study, people spent one hour writing down as many faces from their personal lives as possible, Then, they wrote down famous faces they know, such as actors, politicians and other public people. The results showed that the participants knew between 1,000 and 10,000 faces, which is very shocking to the researchers. Rob Jenkins, coauthor of the study, said one explanation about it may be that some people have a natural ability for remembering faces. He also said it could be because of different social environments. Some people may have grown up in more populated places. So they may have had more social contact throughout their lives.

The ability to tell individual people apart is “clearly important.” In today’s modern world of big cities, televisions and social media, we meet thousands of people. Our facial recognition abilities help us to deal with the many different faces we see on the screens, as well as those we know.

The people in the study included 25 men and women. They are between 18 and 61 years old. “It would be interesting to see whether there is a peak age for the number of faces we know”, Jenkins said it is possible that we gather more faces throughout our lifetime. But, he added, there also may be an age at which we start to find it harder to remember all of those faces.

1. How is the study different from the previous ones?

A．It is the first study on facial recognition.

B．The study includes participants of all ages.

C．It lists the number of faces people can recognize.

D．Participants could only recognize faces from personal lives.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The difference of social environments.

B．People’s natural ability to learn.

C．The wide range of the numbers.

D．The necessity of facial recognition.

3. What will the researchers probably focus on after this study?

A．Why older people remember more faces.

B．When people can remember the most faces.

C．Whether people’s ability to remember faces is necessary.

D．How our ability to remember faces vary at different ages.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Human Beings Never Forget a Face

B．Face Recognition Benefits Humans

C．The Key to Remembering More Faces

D．The Brain Remembers Thousands of Faces

【推荐3】Children who spend more time playing adventurously have lower symptoms of anxiety and depression and were happier over the first Covid-19 lockdown, according to a new study led by the University of Exeter. Today’s children have fewer opportunities for adventurous play, such as climbing trees, riding bikes, or jumping from high surfaces. The study sought to test theories that adventurous play offers learning opportunities that help build resilience(适应力)in children, thereby helping to prevent mental health problems.

The research team surveyed nearly 2500 parents of children aged 5-1 1 years. Parents completed questions about their child’s play, their general mental health pre-Covid and their mood during the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Researchers found that children who spent more time playing outside had fewer “internalizing problems,” characterized as anxiety and depression. Those children were also more positive during the first lockdown. Results were consistent even after researchers factored in a wide range of demographic variables(人口统计学变量)including child sex, age, parent employment status and parent mental health. They also found that the effect was clear in children from lower income families than those growing up in higher income homes.

“This is positive because play is free, natural, and rewarding for children, available to everyone, and doesn’t require special skills. We now urgently need to invest in and protect natural spaces, well-designed parks, and adventure playgrounds, to support the mental health of our children,” Helen Dodd, who led the study, said.

“The rewards of allowing children to self-regulate and manage challenge in their play are widespread and far-reaching. Adventurous play helps children to build the resilience needed to deal with, and manage stress in challenging situations,” said Jacqueline O’Loughlin, Chief Executive of PlayBoard NI. “Children and young people need freedom and opportunities to encounter challenge and risk in their everyday playful adventures.”

1. What does the new study focus on?

A．The influence of adventurous play on children.

B．Children’s social needs during the Covid-19 lockdown.

C．Ways of improving children’s resilience.

D．Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The significance of the research.	B．The process of the research.
C．The limitations of the research.	D．The results of the research.

3. What does Helen Dodd advise people to do?

A．Allow children to use natural spaces for free.

B．Reward children for attending adventurous play.

C．Create opportunities for children to adventure.

D．Encourage children to learn special skills for adventures.

4. What is O’Loughlin’s attitude towards adventurous play?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Disapproving.

D．Uncaring.

【推荐1】A 23-year-old British woman has invented a product she hopes will one day replace single-use plastic.

The new product is made by combining fishing waste and algae (水藻).It could be used to replace plastic bags or containers that people use once and throw away. Lucy Hughes created the material, called MarinaTex, for her final year project at the University.

MarinaTex is edible, to put it in another way, it can be tasted without danger. Hughes says it is also strong and stable. But unlike plastic, MarinaTex biodegrades (生物降解)in four to six weeks under normal conditions and does not pollute the soil. The inventor said she is concerned about the growing amounts of plastics in ocean waters. She noted one report that there would be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans by the year 2050. The United Nations estimates that 100 million tons of plastic waste has already been left in the oceans. Hughes also was investigating ways to reduce the amount of waste from the fishing industry. The industry produces an estimated 50 million tons of waste worldwide each year, UN officials say.

Examining fish parts left over from processing helped to give her the idea for a material that was useful and did no harm to the environment. “Why do we need to have hundreds of man-made polymers (聚合体)when nature has so many already available?" she asked. After months of testing, Hughes produced a strong, flexible sheet that forms at temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius. Inventor James Dyson said that MarinaTex is “stronger, safer and much more sustainable (可持续的)”than plastic. It is also easier to break down. Hughes will receive about $ 41,000 prize money as the first place winner of the James Dyson Award. She plans to use the money to further develop the product and ways to mass produce it. "Further research and development will ensure that MarinaTex evolves further, and becomes part of a global answer to the abundance of single use plastic waste," Dyson said.

1. What do we know about MarinaTex?

A．It is a safe seafood.

B．It is a kind of waste.

C．It is a new kind of plastic.

D．It is a safe material that can replace plastic.

2. What does the underlined word “edible" in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Useful.	B．Eatable.
C．Replaceable.	D．Delicious.

3. What gets Hughes to creat MarinaTex?

A．Her concern about the growing amount of plastic in ocean.

B．Her occupational habit of trying out new things.

C．Her hope to help develop the fishing industry.

D．Her desire to win the prize money.

4. What can we infer from the last paragrach?

A．We need to have hundreds of MarinaTex available.

B．Hughes produced MarinaTex without much effort.

C．MarinaTex will be a good solution to plastic waste.

D．Hughes is the first winner of the James Dyson Award.

【推荐3】Running on the beach is completely different from running on the pavement, a track or trails with soft surfaces.

For starters, sand can be a challenge because it has an uneven(不平的) surface and constantly moves under your feet. As you push off, you’re going to lose some of your push as the sand moves, so you’re not going to be able to push yourself forward as you would on a track or pavement! But this unevenness has an upside: it gives your body an extra workout, forcing you to exercise the muscles that don’t get as much use as runs on firm surfaces.

You also might feel painful afterward because beaches tend to slope(倾斜) downward, toward the water. If you’re going for a long run on the beach, you might notice that one side of your body including your ankle, leg or knee might feel more painful because you’re putting more pressure on it due to the slope.

Some beach runners tend to run barefoot. However, if you’re not used to barefoot running, start slowly and run short distances at first. That’s because running barefoot uses different muscles than running with shoes does, and it’s important to strengthen these muscles and adapt your feet.

Despite these challenges, running on sand can be a smart choice for athletes because running on it can decrease the bad influence on your body during high-intensity workouts. This could potentially lead to less muscle damage and less pain. Women had less myoglobin (肌红蛋白), which can cause muscle pain, in their blood after running on the sand than they did after running on grass. This suggests running on softer ground surfaces, such as sand, may reduce muscle damage.

1. Why do the starters feel hard while running on sand?

A．Because the surface is even.	B．Because the beach is near water.
C．Because the runners lack muscles.	D．Because the surface of the sand is soft.

2. Which of the following best explains “an upside” underlined in Paragraph 2?

A．A positive aspect.	B．A wide roadside.
C．An extra workout.	D．A bad influence.

3. What should runners pay attention to when trying barefoot running?

A．Starting quickly.	B．Not running too long.
C．Using the same muscles.	D．Increasing their paces.

4. How does the author explain the benefit of beach running to female runners?

A．By listing data.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making comparison.	D．By offering facts.