【推荐2】Most schools ban chewing gum, but in a few years they might consider changing that rule. Why? Scientists are finding evidence that gum chewing may be good for your health. It may even help boost your test scores.

This exciting research is just beginning. And in the meantime, companies are also experimenting with adding vitamins, minerals, medicines, and other substances that could give gum the power to cure headaches and fight everything from serious diseases to bad breath. Many studies have shown that chewing gum after meals can stimulate the production of saliva (唾液). Saliva helps wash away bacteria (细菌) that damage our teeth.

Nutritionist Gil Leveille, executive director of the Wrigley Science Institute, says that chewing gum might also be good for your brain. One Japanese study of nine participants, found that chewing gum boosted the flow of blood to participants’ brains by up to 40 percent. Blood carries oxygen, which fuels brain cells.

Other small studies have found that people perform better on memory tests while chewing gum. And a study in the United Kingdom found that people who chewed gum while memorizing a list of words did about 25 percent better at recalling those words than people who didn’t chew gum.

“It certainly makes sense,” Leveille says, “that increased blood flow would be related to increased alertness.”

“Additional studies, with longer follow-up, are needed to confirm that chewing gum has benefits, ”he adds. So far, results of studies about memory have been mixed. What’s more, many of the studies that show gum’s benefits are funded by gum companies. “Too much chewing can damage the jaw joint,” warns Gayl Canfield, a researcher at the Pritikin Longevity Centre. “What’s more, no matter how healthy gum chewing proves to be,” she adds, “it will never be a match for a healthy lifestyle.”

1. What is the new finding of chewing gums?

A．It is beneficial to our teeth.	B．It can boost our test scores rapidly.
C．It can cure various diseases.	D．It may benefit people’s health.

2. What is Leveille’s attitude to the benefits of chewing gums?

A．Negative.

B．Uncertain.

C．Objective.

D．Supportive.

3. How may chewing gums benefit brain?

A．Gums contain vitamins good for brain.

B．Chewing gums promotes blood flow in brain.

C．Chewing gums may improve people’s memory.

D．Gums may kill bacteria that damage brain cells.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．New Findings in Health	B．Chewing for Your Health
C．Protecting Teeth with Gums	D．Gums Boosting Test Scores

【推荐3】Cork is a light brown material harvested from the cork oak tree. Cork is lightweight, strong and resistant to water.     1     For thousands of years, people have used pieces of cork as closures for bottles because cork is made of small cells filled with air. It is said that no technology has been able to copy this unusual material exactly.

The cork oak tree is native to the western Mediterranean coast of Europe.     2     In fact, Portugal produces more than half of the world’s cork supply. Cork oak trees have to be at least twenty-five years old before they are ready for harvest.     3     Cork is gathered by skillfully cutting off the outer layer of the tree with special knives. The harvest weakens the tree temporarily, but it soon starts to grow a new layer of bark. Next, the cork harvest is set out in the open for six months. Then, the cork is boiled in order to clean it and make it softer.     4    

Because cork oak trees are not killed during harvest, they can live for as long as 200 years. Also, used cork products can be recycled and used again. This makes cork a valuable renewable resource.     5    Wine makers say cork stoppers in their bottles let the wine be aged and improve over time. But now some wine producers are changing to plastic or metal closures. Some environmentalists worry that if cork starts to lose its value, the cork oak forests in Europe will no longer be protected.

A．After drying, the cork is ready to be cut.

B．Harvests only happen once every nine years.

C．Cork has even found a use in making rockets.

D．It is best known for keeping liquids from spilling.

E．Cork can be shined and used to cover floors and walls.

F．The largest cork oak forests in the world are in Portugal.

G．The wine industry has been a major supporter of cork production.

【推荐1】How many friends do you have? Not counting the hundreds on Facebook or the names gathering dust in your address book. But real friends, the ones cast in stone. The kind who would lend you $100 without asking why, or put you up if you were kicked out of your house.

Anthropologist Prof Robin Dunbar feels he can put a number on it: five. No matter how much of a social butterfly you are, you can count your real pals on one hand, he says. To that he says you can add an ideal number of 15 “good friends”, the kind of people you would see in a group and would join for a drink if you bumped into them in the pub, and up to 150 “meaningful contacts”.

Prof Dunbar’s latest research is an exact formula(公式) for friendship: new friendships take 34 hours of one-on-one time to form, in which you’d spend an ideal duration of three hours and four minutes per interaction together over the course of six months. Note that this is to turn an acquaintance into a friend, not one of the close friends that makes up your inner circle of five—to do that, you’d have to devote 90 hours, according to a 2018 University of Kansas study.

According to the experts, the pandemic years have changed the number and nature of our friendship. It gave people more grounds for disagreement: over adherence(遵守) to social-distancing rules, for example. Plenty of people lost relationships in the cracks. “We are always on the outlook for new and better friends, but lockdown has had a big effect in making people reevaluate,” says Dunbar. “Perhaps they’ve decided the time has come to part with some and therefore there’s an empty space to fill.”

The forecast for British friendship was already gloomy before the pandemic. Three million people said they feel lonely “often or always”, according to the Government’s 2019 community life survey. But the average British adult lost four friends over the course of the pandemic, according to the poll.

1. What does the underlined expression “cast in stone” probably mean?

A．Firmly connected.	B．Interested in stones.
C．Living nearby.	D．Extremely generous.

2. How long does it take to form close friendships according to the formula?

A．34 hours of one-on-one time.

B．90 hours of interaction.

C．Six months of one-on-one time.

D．Three hours and four minutes of interaction.

3. Which of the following might Prof Dunbar agree with?

A．The more sociable you are, the more real friends you can make.

B．It’s much easier for people to make friends online.

C．The more friends you make, the happier your life will be.

D．There is a limit to the number of real friends in your life.

4. What might people argue about during the pandemic?

A．Whether to part with some old friends.

B．How to make better friends.

C．Whether to obey social distancing.

D．How to limit the number of friends.

【推荐2】Children with strong family connections are associated with a high likelihood of flourishing in life, a study found. “What is different about this study is that it shows that family connection is associated with thriving and not just surviving or avoiding harm,” said lead study author Dr. Robert Whitaker.

Researchers surveyed over 37,000 children in 26 countries. In the study, family connection was determined by a mean score of five categories: care, support, safety, respect, and participation. Flourishing was determined by a mean score of six categories: self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, environmental mastery and autonomy. The essence of family connection is children feeling that they are accepted and cared for at home, which allows them to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are in a safe environment as they are building their identity,Whitaker said.

Children with the greatest level of family connection were over 49% more likely to flourish compared with those with the lowest level of family connection, according to the study. The highest scores in both family connection and flourishing came from children who said they lived with both parents, had enough food or never had their family worrying about finances. Researchers then controlled the data for families’ poverty levels to remove the effect they might have had on the numbers. After controlling the data, the strength of family connection still impacted how much children flourished.

According to Whitaker, adults have a very powerful influence on the emotional climate in the home, so it’s important to create a space where children feel seen and heard. A great opportunity to strengthen family bonds is around the dinner table. Adults should create an environment where children feel comfortable speaking freely. While they are talking,grown-ups should show that they have a genuine interest in what their children are saying. Silence is also another powerful form of communication, Whitaker said. Children and parents spending time together in silence or even doing chores can create a connection.

1. What is the study mainly about?

A．The importance of family connection to children’s survival.

B．The relationship between family connection and children’s success.

C．The factors affecting children’ self-acceptance.

D．The impact of poverty on children’s development.

2. Who are more likely to achieve high scores in both family connection and flourishing?

A．Children who live with a single parent.

B．Children who have enough food and money.

C．Children who know of their strengths and weaknesses.

D．Children who have a whole family and economic security.

3. Which of the following might be an influencing factor in the result?

A．Family income.	B．Parents’ educational level.
C．Children’s age and gender.	D．The number of people in the family.

4. How can adults strengthen family bonds during mealtime?

A．By showing respect when children are talking.	B．By talking about their own problems.
C．By keeping silent when disagreements arise.	D．By backing children’s opinions forever.

【推荐3】There are some unusual wonders of our world places that most people haven’t heard about and probably don’t want to visit. But it’s good to take a step away from everything else we’ve known and see something new!

Library of Celsus, Türkiye

The Library of Celsus was a public library built by Tiberius Julius Acquila in ancient Ephesus, now in modern-day Türkiye. It was built on the Mount Koressos and its construction began in 114 AD and ended in 117 AD. It is one of the best-preserved ancient buildings due to its Roman-time structures, which were built using marble, a type of hard, decorative stone.

Meteora, Greece

Meteora is a group of monasteries (修道院) in Greece located on top of tall rock pillars (柱子). Meteora contains 24 monasteries built on natural sandstone rock pillars between the 11th and 15th century AD. Meteora is one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations and has been a World Heritage Site since 1988.

Tower of Hercules, Spain

The Tower of Hercules is a Roman lighthouse built in 14 BC on the coast of Spain. You may be wondering how a place that was built much earlier than some of the other wonders of the world can still be considered a wonder today. Well, it was, once one of lighthouses in Europe. The tower has been rebuilt several times, but it still stands today.

Toruń, Poland

Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland and is the capital of the province of Kujawsko-Pomorskie. Toruń was founded by Teutonic Order in the mid-13th century as an important city on the trade route between Kraków and Gdańsk. The name “Toruń” comes from two German words — “tor” means gate or tower and “tun” means settlement; therefore, “Tower settlement”.

1. What makes Library of Celsus one of the best-preserved ancient buildings?

A．Its special purpose.	B．Its geographic position.
C．Its preservation skills.	D．Its construction materials.

2. Which one has the longest history?

A．Library of Celsus.	B．Meteora.
C．Tower of Hercules.	D．Toruń.

3. What is special about Toruá?

A．The origin of its name.	B．The theory of its design.
C．The time of its visit.	D．The ways of its construction.