Have you ever wished you could snuggle down under your blankets and stay there for the whole winter? Well, it turns out that humans may be able to hibernate (冬眠) like bears and other animals after all — and it could be good for us.
Hibernation is when animals go into a cave, tree hollow, or other cozy location and turn down some of the functions in their body. This helps them save energy when it's cold and there isn't much food to be found. When an animal is hibernating, its heart becomes less active and its body temperature drops. Grizzly and black bears don't eat, drink, or go to the bathroom when they're hibernating, while animals like bats and hedgehogs sometimes wake up to find food or move to another spot.
Although humans don't hibernate, scientists think we might have the ability to. Sandy Martin of the University of Colorado, says it is likely that the common ancestor of all mammals, including humans, was a hibernator. This means our bodies could still have the tools to allow us to hibernate.
One of those tools could be a natural chemical in our bodies called adenosine (腺苷), which sends messages to the brain to make mammals feel sleepy. Domenico Tupone from Oregon Health and Science University discovered that after boosting adenosine in rats' brains, their core body temperature fell — just like it falls in a hibernating animal. As Tupone pointed out, “Rats are similar to humans in terms of the internal circuitry（回路）of the brain. What we suspect is that this circuit is also present in humans, but we have lost the ability to trigger it.”
Researchers are trying to determine how to harness (利用) the power of hibernation to help humans. It's possible that hibernating could protect people from conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and strokes. Doctors already deliberately lower people's body temperature to treat heart attacks. Hibernation could also help us lengthen life. A recent study of bats and marmots shows that when they hibernate, they age more slowly. Hibernation might even help astronauts travel further into space because they wouldn't need so much food on very long journeys.
1. What are animals like when they enter hibernation?| A．Their heartbeat slows down. | B．Their bodies function as normal. |
| C．Their body temperature rises. | D．Their breathing rate speeds up. |
| A．It stimulates the rat’s growth. | B．It helps mammals sleep. |
| C．It damages the circuitry of the brain. | D．It increases after a man gets sleepy. |
| A．Living a longer life. | B．Predicting heart disease. |
| C．Improving mental health. | D．Getting high-quality sleep. |
| A．Humans Were Hibernators Too | B．Adenosine: Secret of Hibernation |
| C．Hibernation: Solution to Human Diseases | D．Hibernating Could Be Good for Humans Too |
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【推荐1】It was a very hot August day in 2019. Entomology graduate student Skye Harnsberger and her research team parked their car and walked into the tall grass. As they entered a narrow path, the team looked for the milkweed among other plants. When spotted, it was examined and recorded. They repeated this simple process all summer long.
Milkweed is key to monarch butterflies(黑麦金斑蝶). It’s the only plant on which they’ll lay their eggs and the only one that their caterpillars(幼虫)will eat. But in the past decades, urban development and overuse of weed killers have severely ruined this habitat. Today, the number of adult monarchs may be not enough to ensure that the species multiplies. “Monarchs connect many people to nature, and without these connections, people are less likely to be concerned enough about other species,” says Karen Oberhauser who serves as the researcher advisor.
This is why Harnsberger is studying how and where to plant milkweed to attract the greatest number of monarchs. “There’s been some modeling on which type would be better for the monarch but no real boots-on-the-ground research yet.” Harnsberger and her team have put their boots on the prairie where 30 sites have been divided into four types. Their data show that monarchs prefer fields with higher densities(密集)of milkweed and flowering plants. The size of the prairie, however, does not matter much.
Harnsberger points out that anyone can take small steps to help monarchs. Their population is quickly declining, so any action is better than none at all. “The number one thing the public can do for monarchs is to plant milkweed,” Harnsberger says. “As much as you can, wherever you can. The more plants, the better for monarchs.”
1. What can we say about the work in Paragraph 1?| A．Laborious. | B．Rewarding |
| C．Dangerous. | D．Creative. |
| A．Little attention from the public. | B．Great damage to the habitat. |
| C．Low survival rate of caterpillars. | D．Limited options for food. |
| A．Find a problem. | B．Think of a method. |
| C．Do field research. | D．Draw a conclusion. |
| A．Strike the iron while it’s hot. | B．Easier said than done. |
| C．Many a little make a mickle. | D．More haste, less speed. |
【推荐2】Move towards nature when feeling down. Miracles do happen if you try. According to studies, walking among trees makes us relaxed.
For the study, researchers worked with 206 children between the ages of 5 and 15. To measure how connected they were to nature, the kids were asked how much they enjoy activities like seeing wildflowers and wild animals, hearing sounds of nature and touching animals and plants.
So, exposure to nature is related to active behaviors and happiness of children. What does that mean to adults? As we all know, children usually tend to follow adults’, especially their parents’ behaviors. That’s to say, when adults are outside and appreciate nature, kids learn by example.
Researchers say that children need role models who can gently guide them to nature with excitement and an attitude of a lifelong learner.
| A．It’s so adventurous going for a walk around trees. |
| B．Researchers will study more about the connection between children’s performance and nature. |
| C．And if parents enjoy being close to nature, so will their children. |
| D．Parents don’t have to be experts in environmental science or nature studies. |
| E．They found that the kids connected to nature were more likely to behave properly. |
| F．In a new study, researchers wanted to see if kids get the same benefits from being outdoors. |
| G．Even just smelling the trees helps reduce anxiety. |
【推荐3】People flood into cities for understandable reasons: more job opportunities, more cultural diversity and larger communities. Yet living in a concrete-walled, green-poor, urban environment takes away from our-very essence our fundamental need to be close to nature. We can’t quite break the link with our evolutionary (进化的) past and part ways with our origins. Surrounding ourselves with walls and ‘screens, we tend to pay a price, often with our health and quality of life.
In Japan, a populous country with vast expanses of green forests, an ancient tradition, known as shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, tries to balance out the pressure from urban living. It’s the practice of spending prolonged periods of time with trees to gain from their many health benefits. In a book hitting shelves this month, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, Dr. Qing Li, the world’s foremost expert in forest medicine, introduces readers to the valuable practice of forest bathing. The book features more than 100 color photographs of forests around the world. One may reject this kind of book as yet less convincing, but the point is that Li has not just practiced forest bathing, but has also studied its impact on people’s health through numerous scientific studies. He has data to support his claims, collected in a long list of expert-reviewed articles at the end of the book.
The book lists studies that consistently show-a substantial, reduction of stress hormones (应激激素). Essential tree oils found in forest air increase energy levels by more than 30 percent and improve a general state of well-being, including improvement in sleep.
Scientific results apart, the, concept of forest bathing shouldn’t be so surprising. Who hasn’t felt an inner sense of well-being when walking along a quiet forest path? Stepping into a forest, away from the artificial sounds and smells of urban life, does feel like pushing a life reset button, reestablishing a connection with our deepest needs.
To celebrate this wonderful book and. what seems to be a rediscovery of forest bathing in our life, I’m going to go now—to take: my forest bath.
1. What is stressed in paragraph 1?| A．The harm of electronics. |
| B．The downside of city life. |
| C．The consequences of lack of workout. |
| D．The reasons for pursuit of urban living. |
| A．Promoting a lifestyle. |
| B．Presenting research results. |
| C．Stating the significance of walks. |
| D．Appealing for forest conservation. |
| A．One-sided. | B．Sharply worded. |
| C．Evidence-based. | D．Widely recognized. |
| A．Through clinical cases. |
| B．Through practical experience. |
| C．Through official statistics. |
| D．Through Japanese experts’ studies. |
【推荐1】Germs(细菌) are everywhere. You can’t see them, but they are on your desk, on your computer, and even in the air!
Like people, germs move around the world. They fly with us on planes. When food, clothes, and other things travel around the world, germs travel, too. Some germs are safe, but some are dangerous. Germs cause illnesses like colds and the flu.
Warmer Weather Brings Germs
The world’s weather is changing. Cooler countries are getting warmer, so insects from hot countries can move there. Some of these insects, like mosquitoes, carry dangerous germs. These germs cause headaches, fever, and can even kill people.
Under Your Skin
Your skin protects you from germs. It stops some germs, but not all. They can enter your body when you eat, or when you have a cut. Germs are on your hands, too. They enter your body when you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Fighting Germs
Your immune system(免疫系统) protects you, too. When germs get inside your body, your immune system finds and kills them. Special cells(细胞) move around your body and fight germs. They help you stay healthy. Other cells make antibodies. Antibodies help your body find and stop germs.
What can you do to fight germs? You should wash your hands with soap and water. Soap kills many germs, and water washes them away.
1. According to the text, insects ______.| A．kill germs | B．carry germs | C．protect germs | D．love germs |
| A．cooler countries | B．hot countries | C．everywhere | D．the world |
| A．All germs are dangerous. | B．There are more germs in cold places. |
| C．Soap can kill all germs. | D．Germs can get into your body. |
| A．They kill germs and wash them away. | B．They find and develop germs. |
| C．They help protect us from germs. | D．They carry dangerous germs. |
| A．Germs Are Everywhere | B．Weather Is Changing |
| C．Skin Stops Germs | D．Germs Are Developed |
【推荐2】Ever since you were born, you’ve probably celebrated the anniversary of that day once each year. Would you believe that some people actually celebrate TWICE each year? Not only do they celebrate the anniversary of the day they were born, they also celebrate six months later on their half birthday!
First let’s take a look at how half birthdays are calculated. The first --- and earliest --- is simply to keep the same number of the birth date and add six months to it. For example, if your birthday is January 13, then your half birthday would be on July 13.
Of course, this easy method doesn’t always work, because not all months have the same number of days. For example, an August 30 birthday would become Febr
uary 30 --- a day that doesn’t exist!
If you want to be really precise, you need to add half the number of days in a year to your birth date. For example, in a normal year, this means adding 182.5 days. In a leap year, you would add 183 days. If this sounds too complicated, don’t worry. There are plenty of websites that will do the work for you!
For starters, consider kids. As they grow, six months can mean huge milestones. It can be a special time to celebrate with them as they grow up, because they grow up all too fast!
Half birthday celebrations can also be great for those people whose regular birthday might be overshadowed by a nearby holiday, such as Christmas. Likewise, kids whose birthdays fall in the summer might enjoy celebrating their half birthday, so that they can share their joy with their friends at school.
Half birthdays aren’t the only special “birthdays” that some people celebrate, though. Adopted children sometimes celebrate both their actual birthday (the day they were actually born) and the day they were adopted. Do you have any other special “birthdays” that you and your family celebrate?
1. The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to tell us ________.| A．what birthday means |
| B．what half birthday is |
| C．the kinds of birthdays |
| D．the history of birthday |
| A．offering some practical examples |
| B．making a list of different numbers |
| C．comparing a normal year and a leap one |
| D．telling the difference between birthdays and half birthdays |
| A．People who are not young any longer. |
| B．People whose half birthday falls in summer. |
| C．People whose birthday falls near a holiday. |
| D．People who don’t like their birthdays at all. |
| A．Science. | B．Politics. |
| C．Hobby. | D．Culture. |
【推荐3】Science is finally beginning to embrace animals who were, for a long time, considered second-class citizens.
As Annie Potts of Canterbury University has noted, chickens distinguish among one hundred chicken faces and recognize familiar individuals even after months of separation. When given problems to solve, they reason: hens trained to pick colored buttons sometimes choose to give up an immediate food reward for a slightly later (and better) one. Healthy hens may aid friends, and mourn when those friends die.
Pigs respond to human symbols. When a research team led by Candace Croney at Penn State University carried wooden blocks marked with X and O symbols around pigs, only the O carriers offered food to the animals. The pigs soon ignored the X carriers in favor of the O’s. Then the team switched from real-life objects to T-shirts printed with X or O symbols. Still, the pigs walked only toward the O-shirted people: they had transferred their knowledge to a two-dimensional format, a not inconsiderable feat of reasoning.
I’ve been guilty of prejudiced expectations, myself. At the start of my career almost four decades ago, I was firmly convinced that monkeys and apes out-think other animals. They’re other primates（灵长目动物）, after all, animals from our own mammalian class. Fairly soon, I came to see that along with our closest living relatives, whales too are masters of cultural learning, and that elephants express profound joy and mourning with their social companions. Long-term studies on these mammals helped to fuel a viewpoint shift in our society: the public no longer so easily accepts monkeys made to undergo painful procedure in laboratories, elephants forced to perform in circuses, and dolphins kept in small tanks at theme parks.
Over time, though, as I began to broaden out even further and explore the inner lives of fish, chickens, pigs, goats, and cows, 1 started to wonder: Will the new science of “food animals” bring an ethical (伦理的) revolution in terms of who we eat? In other words, will our ethics start to catch up with the development of our science?
1. According to Annie Potts, hens’ choice of a later and better reward indicates their ability of ______.| A．interaction | B．analysis | C．creation | D．abstraction |
| A．learn letter quickly | B．have good eyesight |
| C．can build up a good relationship | D．can apply knowledge to new situations |
| A．The similarities between mammals and humans. |
| B．The necessity of long-term studies on mammals. |
| C．A change in people’s attitudes towards animals. |
| D．A discovery of how mammals express themselves. |
| A．The Lifestyles of Food Animals | B．Science Reports on Food Animals |
| C．The Inner Lives of Food Animals | D．A Revolution in Food Animals |
【推荐1】How do you turn “dumb” headphones into smart ones? Rutgers engineers have invented a cheap and easy way by transforming headphones into sensors that can be plugged into (插入) smartphones, identify their users monitor their heart rates and perform other services.
Their invention, called HeadFi, is based on a small plug-in headphone adapter that turns a regular headphone into a sensing device (装置). Unlike smart headphones, regular headphones lack sensors. HeadFi would allow users to avoid having to buy a new pair of smart headphones with sensors to enjoy sensing features.
“HeadFi could turn hundreds of millions of existing, regular headphones worldwide into intelligent ones with a simple upgrade (升级),” said Xiaoran Fan, a HeadFi primary inventor.
A Rutgers-led paper on the invention, which results in "earable intelligence", will be formally published in October at MobiCom 2021, the top international conference on mobile computing and mobile and wireless networking.
Headphones are among the most popular wearable devices worldwide and they continue to become; more intelligent as new functions appear, such as touch-based gesture control, the paper notes. Such functions usually rely on aiding sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones that are available on many smart headphones.
HeadFi turns the two drivers already inside all headphones into a versatile (多功能的) sensor, and it works by connecting headphones to a pairing device, such as a smartphone. It doesn't require adding aiding sensors and avoids changes to headphone hardware or the need to customize headphones, both of which may increase their weight and size. By plugging into HeadFi, a converted headphone can perform sensing tasks and play music at the same time.
The engineers conducted experiments with 53 volunteers using 54 pairs of headphones with prices ranging from $2. 99 to $15 ,000. HeadFi can achieve 97. 2 percent to 99. 5 percent accuracy on user identification , 96. 8 percent to 99. 2 percent on heart rate monitoring and 97. 7 percent to 99. 3 percent on gesture recognition.
1. What does Xiaoran Fan think of HeadFi?| A．Secure to operate. | B．Simple to use. |
| C．Easy to substitute. | D．Convenient to store. |
| A．It can't work with headphones alone. |
| B．It actually functions as a versatile sensor. |
| C．It makes headphones larger and heavier than usual. |
| D．It doesn't work when headphones are playing music. |
| A．the various functions of HeadFi | B．the wide popularity of headphones |
| C．the great complexity of headphones | D．the excellent performance of HeadFi |
| A．How to Use Headphones Appropriately |
| B．Headphones Can Be Upgraded Instantly |
| C．How to Make Regular Headphones Intelligent |
| D．New Uses Have Been Found in Headphones |
【推荐2】A growing number of Chinese online users are willing to idle their time away (消磨时间), watching live 24-hour internet broadcasts. These vary in content from how iconic pandas live in their natural habitats to how a hospital is constructed.
More than 90 percent of Chinese netizens said they had aimlessly viewed such livestreaming(直播) videos and 87.8 percent of them said they like the slower-paced broadcasts as it gives them a psychological break from their stressful and busy routines, according to a survey released by China Youth Daily.
Among the 2,005 interviewees, the post-1980’s generation accounted for 43.9 percent, followed by the post-1990’s generation (38.6 percent) and the post-1970’s generation at 9.1 percent.
“It is a source of pleasure and comfort to aimlessly watch slow, relaxing content on livestream,” Fang Lu, a college student from Shanghai, was quoted as saying, recollecting her experience of watching a vlogger practice Chinese calligraphy with soothing background music.
Liu Chen, an employee from Beijing, is another livestream watcher. She recently viewed live online broadcasts showing a Chinese survey team reach the summit of Mount Qomolangma on a mission to remeasure the height of the world’s highest peak.
“Reaching the summit of Mount Qomolangma is a dream that many people have aspired to for a long time but have had no opportunity to realize,” said Liu. “Without post-editing, the original live broadcast, which truly represents the scene, has the audience fully absorbed in its reality.”
1. Why does the author mention watching broadcasts in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce watching broadcasts. |
| B．To explain what they are. |
| C．To stress the importance of watching broadcasts. |
| D．To encourage netizens to share broadcasts. |
| A．Because they can have a rest while watching. |
| B．Because they are aimless. |
| C．Because they like the slower-paced broadcasts. |
| D．Because they are not stressful or busy. |
| A．It is uncomfortable. |
| B．It is with background music. |
| C．It is time-consuming. |
| D．It can help realize the dream that cannot come ture in reality. |
| A．Livestreaming new source of leisure among Chinese |
| B．Broadcasting the news |
| C．Realizing your dream |
| D．Idling your time away |
【推荐3】"Your husband, wife, or sweetheart probably doesn't come to work with you every day," says Brittany Solomon. But his or her influence clearly does.
Solomon, a Ph. D. candidate in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, recently led a study analyzing the careers and personalities of about 5,000 married people, aged 19 to 89, over a five-year period. About 75% were in two-career couples.
The conclusion: Employees of both sexes who scored highest on three measures of occupational success — salary increases, promotions, and job satisfaction — all went home at night to mates with the personality type known as "conscientious." These are people who are reliable, consistent, detail-oriented, and organized. The study result will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Note to singles: If you're aiming high at work, you might want to settle down with someone conscientious. Psychologists often sort out people according to four other broad measures: openness, outgoingness, agreeableness, and neuroticism (神经质). Although previous studies show that "people tend to look for a potential mate with a high degree of agreeableness and low neuroticism, our findings suggest that anyone with ambitious career goals would be better off looking for a supportive partner with a highly conscientious personality," Solomon notes.
A mate's conscientiousness boosts career success in three ways, the study found. First is what the researchers call "outsourcing," which means it's a lot easier to concentrate on your next brilliant idea at work if someone else can be counted on to make sure the dog has all his shots, the car gets inspected on time, and the kids are fed. Also, the ability to depend on a significant other cuts down on overall stress and makes work-life balance easier to manage, for men and women alike.
But beyond the day-to-day being practical, a conscientious partner can have a subtler, more pervasive influence. "Conscientious people tend to be resilient in the face of setbacks, and they're thorough. They finish what they start," says Solomon. Over time, those features can rub off on a spouse. People often unconsciously try to equal those they live with — and the qualities we associate with 'conscientious' types are the same ones that lead to success in a career.
1. Which of the following qualities is what you can't find on a conscientious person?| A．Trustworthy. | B．Orderly. | C．Careful. | D．Neurotic. |
| A．To give examples of what a conscientious mate should be like. |
| B．To explain how one's mate's conscientiousness promotes one's career. |
| C．To describe what qualities can make a conscientious mate. |
| D．To stress the reliability of the final conclusion drawn from this study. |
| A．Erase off. | B．Wipe out. | C．Get influence. | D．Have effect. |
| A．conscientiousness is a must for career success |
| B．one's mate's personality influences one's career success |
| C．one's mate's personality promotes one's occupational success |
| D．conscientious persons are more suitable for ambitious ones |
