Did you know that the custom of turning our clocks an hour ahead during the year first originated in World War I? By making the days “longer” , the goal was for households to conserve electricity and other forms of energy like fuel. Recently, the US Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act. The bill must also go through the House of Representatives before it can be signed by the President. If passed, Daylight SavingTime(DST) could become the permanent system of the time.
Although the specific dates of the time change differ, many countries around the world observe a biannual system of the time. From mid-March to November in the US, most states practice DST by turning the time forward by an hour from the Standard Time(ST), the local time observed in an area.
Though the original purpose of DST was to encourage the conservation of energy, multiple studies suggest that the time shift has not made a significant impact on saving energy costs. While less money is spent on electricity, costs are still likely to rise with the usage of devices such as air conditioners and computers. Research conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has shown that DST time changes lead to a greater risk of car crashes.
According to researchers, ST is much more closely related to the body’s circadian rhythm(昼夜节律) which regulates our organs as well as our sleep-wake cycle. By permanently living in DST, children would have to get up and be in school long before the sun rises—which could be 9 am in Seattle and other western states!
Proponents argue that because DST maximizes daylight, it encourages safety by lowering crime rates and reducing seasonal depression. DST provides more waking time to enjoy with families and friends, or even to get more work done.
The bill is certainly a hot topic of discussion, but one thing is for sure: everyone is in favor of getting rid of the biannual time switch.
1. What do we know about DST according to researchers?| A．It can make schools start late. |
| B．It helps improve people’s sleeping quality. |
| C．It increases the possibility of traffic accidents. |
| D．It can reduce the usage of electronic devices. |
| A．People who are in favor of DST. |
| B．People who are efficient in working |
| C．People who have seasonal depression. |
| D．People who enjoy the company of friends. |
| A．Positive. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Negative. |
| A．The influence of ST | B．The significance of ST |
| C．The debate about DST | D．The histroy of DST |
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【推荐1】When asked what his father did for a living, Mike explained to his kindergarten teacher that “he steals things, but it’s OK, because he gets paid to do it. ”
He isn’t wrong. His father is a hacker(黑客), who is proud of his job, just like doctors are proud of the work they do. Thanks to security researchers’ hacking practices, leaks in a new version of the most common Wi-Fi code standard(WPA3)were found before criminals could use them to break into home and business networks. In another case, criminals found an unknown weakness in Google’s Android operating systems before security researchers did, giving the bad guys full control of more than a dozen phone models.
However, finding Mike’s father’s personalized plates for his car with the word ‘HACKING’, an employee of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles quickly took them away, claiming that a license plate displaying “HACKING” publicized criminal activity. While this reaction really isn’t the fault of the well-intentioned employee, it’s a sign of how a deeply rooted misrepresentation of his profession has created a fixed wrong image. It seems that the way that hackers are described in Hollywood has contributed to the word ‘hacker’ paralleling ‘criminal’, where hackers are often referred to as figures in dark rooms engaged in illegal activity while tapping at keyboards.
But actually, hacking is just an activity. What separates any activity from a crime is, very often, permission. People are free to drive, but they do not have permission to drive 150 miles per hour, which is a criminal offense. Since a driver is just a driver, why must a hacker be a criminal? Someone who engages in the illegal use of hacking should not be called a ‘bad hacker’ but a ‘cybercriminal’. Contrary to popular belief, most hackers like Mike’s father undoubtedly play an important role in keeping companies and people safe.
1. What did Mike’s son think of Mike’s job?| A．Admirable. | B．Amazing. | C．Acceptable. | D．Annoying. |
| A．Its weakness. | B．Its importance. | C．Its variety | D．Its security. |
| A．To entertain the renders. | B．To question the employee’s claim. |
| C．To clarify the concept of hacking. | D．To trace the wrong image of hackers. |
| A．Hacking mostly counts. | B．Hacking is actually a crime. |
| C．Hacking is popular with people. | D．Hacking needs licenses. |
Strength is controlled by a number of factors----the most studied by far is skeletal muscle. However, the nervous system is also an important, though not fully understood, determining factor of strength and weakness.
Brian C. Clark and colleagues set out to test how the system functions in strength development. They designed an experiment to measure changes in wrist (腕) muscle strength in three groups of healthy adults. Twenty-nine subjects wore a hard cast that extended from just below the elbow (肘) past the fingers, effectively preventing the hand and wrist from moving, for four weeks. Fifteen subjects who did not wear casts served as the control group.
Of the 29 people wearing a hard cast, half were asked to regularly perform an exercise, imagining they were strongly contracting their wrist for five seconds and then resting for five seconds. This was repeated four times in a row followed by a one-minute break for a total of 13 rounds per session and five sessions per week. The other half performed no imagination exercises.
At the end of the four-week experiment, both groups who wore casts had lost strength in their unmoving limbs (肢体) when compared to the control group. But the group that performed imagination exercises lost 50% less strength than the non-imagination group. The nervous system’s ability to fully make the muscle recover also returned more quickly in the imagination group compared to the non-imagination group.
1. What does the underlined word “critical” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Serious. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Significant. | D．Criticizing. |
| A．Scientists have partly understood the nervous system. |
| B．Whoever has worn a cast for long may have difficulty in muscle recovery. |
| C．Scientists have already spent a lot of time in studying skeletal muscle. |
| D．The number of the subjects in the experiment was 29 in all. |
| A．The control group lost 50% less strength than the non-imagination group. |
| B．The imagination group lost more strength than the non-imagination group. |
| C．The control group wore casts but didn’t perform the imagination exercise. |
| D．The speed of non-imagination group’s muscle recovery was slower. |
| A．In a science magazine. | B．In a storybook. |
| C．In a textbook . | D．In a book review. |
【推荐3】Humans are not the only ones that like gold. Australian scientists have discovered a new fungus(真菌) that decorates its long, thread-like tendrils(卷须) with gold collected from the soil. The experts desperately hope the “gold digger” will provide information on the locations of gold deposits(沉淀物) and make searching for the precious metal easier, and more environmentally friendly.
The gold-loving fungus was discovered accidentally by a team of researchers led by Dr. Tsing Bohu, a scientist at Australia national science agency, CSIRO, when they were examining the microbes (微生物) in the soil at Boddington, a tiny town home to Australia's largest gold mine.
A closer analysis suggested that the fungus uses chemical interactions with underground minerals to accumulate gold from its surroundings. Though fungi often interact with other things in nature, the reaction with gold was unexpected. “Fungi are well-known for playing an important role in the recycling of organic material, such as leaves and bark, as well as for the cycling of other metals,” Dr. Bohu explained. “But gold is so chemically inactive that this interaction is both unusual and surprising.”
The fungi are not wearing the gold for beauty. “There is a biological benefit from this reaction.” Dr. Bohu said, “Gold-loving fungi can grow faster and bigger relative to other fungi that don’t work with gold.”
The researchers still need to conduct further analysis to understand the relationship between the fungi and the precious metal. More importantly, they need to determine if its presence is a sure sign of the existence of large deposits of the metal underground. The scientists also believe the fungi could be used to detect the presence of gold in waste products and man-made electronics.
However, those hoping to get free gold from the fungi are in for a disappointment, for the delicate fungus is hard to see. Also, its gold can only be seen under a microscope.
1. What are the experts eager for?| A．Investigating the sites. | B．digging the gold mines. |
| C．Getting further informed. | D．Unearthing gold deposits. |
| A．Fungi’s interaction with gold is unexpected but beneficial. |
| B．Gold’s classification is biologically identified by fungi. |
| C．Fungi’s formation with gold is fairly natural and frequent. |
| D．Gold is chemically accumulated by fungi’s evolution. |
| A．It excites the gold diggers’ motivation. | B．It has a long way to go before confirmation. |
| C．It lays the foundation of geological studies. | D．It ensures the search of gold sites. |
| A．Beauty-loving Fungi Wrapped by Gold | B．Gold-loving Fungi Discovered in Australia |
| C．Boddington, Austria’s Largest Gold Mine | D．New Discovery of Gold with Fungi |
【推荐1】Pullman is a superb writer and Seagull is a brilliant communicator. They had a debate after Seagull posted a question on his social media platform: “When you were trying to create an environment for learning, what were your best pieces of classical music to listen to?” He received hundreds of suggestions — and one negative reply, from Pullman: “That’s not what classical music is for. Treat it with respect.”
That did it! Everyone — professional musicians, students, teachers — weighed into the argument, and the majority supported Seagull and were criticizing Pullman.
It’s easy to see why people are annoyed. We all want classical music to be as accessible as possible, especially to the young. If some of them are using Bach or Schubert as a tool to help them study, what’s the problem? They may also develop an attachment to classical music.
So is Pullman ridiculous and supercilious by objecting to classical music being used as background music? At first sight, his idea seems stuffy and extreme. By suggesting that classical music should be “treated with respect” and not used as background music, Pullman seems to be closing classical music of to millions of people.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that he isn’t the first to express concerns about classical music being devalued by becoming too commonplace in today’s technologically shaped world. In Benjamin Britten’s 1964 speech, the composer expressed exactly the same worries as Pullman. Britten suggested, “The true musical experience demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework perhaps”. In short, it demands as much effort from listeners as from composers and performers.
I don’t agree with such an extreme viewpoint, but I do think it touches on a reality. You will never fully grasp the beauty of classical music if you half-hear it only in the background. That doesn’t necessarily matter. Music can be enjoyed on many levels. What Pullman and Britten are really saying is that, in a drive for “accessibility”, we shouldn’t deny the emotional and intellectual complexity underpinning (构成) much classical music.
1. What did Seagull’s posting result in?| A．Great admiration for Seagull. |
| B．Public criticism of classical music. |
| C．A discussion about learning environments. |
| D．An argument over the role of classical music. |
| A．Self-important. | B．Open-minded. | C．Impatient. | D．Considerate. |
| A．To show his affection for classical music. |
| B．To introduce young people to classical music. |
| C．To demonstrate classical music is demanding. |
| D．To support Pullman’s idea over classical music. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Uninterested. |
【推荐2】Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for “sport”. Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching, and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction.
The number of gunners, however, grows rapidly. Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led a long way away by their gunning parents. They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and gun-carrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins. They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill. In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate a desire to own a gun.
Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wildland habitat. Habitatloss will continue with our increasing population, but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting? There doesn't seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved. Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone. Although most people do not shoot, they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it.
The only answer, then, is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people.
Now it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures. The gunners like to describe what they do as character-building, but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of mortality can make nobody happy. If, as they would have you believe, gun-carrying and killing improve human character, then perhaps we should encourage war.
1. According to the text, most people do not seem to be against hunting because ________.| A．they have little knowledge of it. |
| B．it helps to build human character. |
| C．it is too costly to stop killing wildlife. |
| D．they want to keep wildlife under control. |
| A．teach them how to deal with guns safely. |
| B．praise hunting as character building. |
| C．describe hunting as a physical exercise. |
| D．encourage them to have guns of their own. |
| A．difficulty. | B．stress. |
| C．pain. | D．sadness. |
| A．Hunting to build human character makes no sense. |
| B．War is the best way to improve human character. |
| C．We are on the edge of war against gunners. |
| D．Protecting wildlife from gunners is extremely difficult. |
【推荐3】Computer technology has changed the way we deal with the world, from allowing us to communicate with others more easily to entertaining us with video chatting. Newer generations are growing up with this technology, but we should know that the computer is a double-edged sword. It does have its benefits, primarily in education and gaining information, but it can also be harmful to children during a very important time of growth. Too much computer use can affect children's physical and mental health as well as social skills.
Using the computer is an activity much like watching television. You don't get very much exercise, simply sitting down. Computers cause other health problems as well. Too much use of a keyboard and a mouse can cause hand injuries, back problems and so on. At a time when children are growing physically, it's especially important to note the benefits of physical activity.
Too much computer use can affect a child's attention and focus（专注度）. Though some computer games have been shown to help a child develop certain cognitive（认知的）skills, there are still many games and other forms of computer entertainment doing nothing to develop a child's mind. Addiction（上瘾）to programs, games and videos makes it more difficult for children to focus on tasks for a long period of time, and this can affect a student's studies and grades. In more extreme cases, children with computer addiction will fail their classes completely. Computer addiction is a very troublesome thing, and once it starts, it's very difficult to stop.
Computer use is also an activity which most children enjoying doing alone, and it can go hand in hand with addiction. Children who spend more time on the computer than other people in general, may fail to develop necessary social skills. Social skills are important not only for communicating with others, but for developing self-respect and working in social environments, both of which are very important for children's growth.
1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word in Paragraph 2?| A．Know about. | B．Set down. |
| C．Pick out. | D．Depend on. |
| A．physical violence | B．cognitive disorder |
| C．shortage of entertainment | D．poor performance in study |
| A．they ignore social environments |
| B．they seldom communicate with others |
| C．they think social skills unnecessary |
| D．they find it hard to develop self-respect |
| A．Children's physical growth. |
| B．Children’s learning situation. |
| C．The influence of the computer on children. |
| D．The importance of computer technology to children. |
