【推荐1】If you live in one of the 40 million American households with a gas stove, it could be leaking even when it’s turned off.

According to a new study from Stanford scientists, many stoves are constantly giving out gases that can warm the planet and pose serious health risks when breathed in. The research found methane missions from gas stoves across the United States are roughly equal to the carbon dioxide released by half a million gas-powered cars in a year.

To estimate the impact of these emissions, researchers measured three key gases from stoves in 53 homes across seven California counties. The team chose two gases — methane and carbon dioxide — because of their contribution to climate change, and selected nitrogen oxides because of their known risk to human health. The scientists set up plastic dividing walls between the kitchens and other rooms and used instruments that measure wavelengths of light to determine the concentration of certain gases.

The team estimated that stoves release between 0.8 and 1.3 percent of the natural gas they consume as unburned methane. To their surprise, they found that more than three-quarters of the methane emissions happened when both old and new gas stoves were turned off. “Over a 20-year time scale, the global warming potential of methane leaks is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide,” Stanford reports.

The most significant health risks happen when the stove is lit, the authors note, because the process creates nitrogen dioxide as a byproduct. Increasing airflow by using a range hood can help reduce the personal health risk of natural gas-burning appliances, but most individuals report rarely using their ventilation system.

In a small kitchen, it only took a few minutes of unventilated stove use to generate emissions levels above national health standards. According to a meta-analysis from 2013, children living in homes with gas stoves were 42 percent more likely to experience symptoms associated with asthma, and 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with lifetime asthma.

In addition to health risks, natural gas burning stoves also endanger the planet by releasing methane. The results of the study have furled efforts by scientists and activists to encourage Americans to switch to all-electric stoves and appliances.

1. Which gas leaking from stoves warms the earth most?

A．Methane.

B．Carbon dioxide.

C．Nitrogen oxide.

D．Nitrogen dioxide.

2. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The measuring instruments.	B．The American families.
C．The team members.	D．The gas stoves.

3. When does a gas stove present the greatest health risks?

A．When it is old.	B．When it is new.
C．When it is turned on.	D．When it is turned off.

4. What would the researchers urge people to do?

A．Equip kitchens.	B．Switch to clean fuels.
C．Use sustainable energy.	D．Purchase electric stoves.

【推荐2】It’s hard to imagine what Earth might look like in 2500. But a co-action between science and art is offering an unsetting window into how ongoing climate change might transform now — familiar land features into foreign landscapes over the following centuries.

These visualizations — of a dried-up Amazon rainforest and some other places — stress why researchers need to push climate predictions long past the habitual 2100, environmental social scientist Christopher Lyon and colleagues argued.

The effects of past and present greenhouse gas emissions will stay for centuries. To visualize what that future world might look like, researchers considered three possible levels — low, medium and high emissions as used in past reports — and predicted changes all the way to 2500.

For all but the lowest-mission assumption, which is roughly in line with limiting global warming to “well under” 2 degrees Celsius relative to preindustrial times as approved by the 2015 Paris Agreement, the average global temperature continues to increase until 2500, the team found. For the highest-emissions temperatures increase by about 2.2 degrees by 2100 and about 4.6 by 2500. That results in “major restructuring of the world’s eco-system”, they say.

The team then co-acted with James McKay, an artist and science communicator at the University of Leeds, to bring the data to life. Based on their predictions, McKay created a series of detailed paintings representing different global landscapes now and in 2500.

The goal of images is to visualize the future in such a way that it feels more urgent, real and close — and, perhaps, to offer a bit of hope that humans can still adapt. “To turn over the trend, we need to think about this problem as a global civilization,” Lyon says. “We wanted to show that, despite the climate people have moved into, people have figured out ways to exist in the climate.”

1. Why do they conduct the co-actions mentioned in Paragraph 1?

A．To visualize how climate change may shape the future world.

B．To prove the necessity to make climate predictions as far as 2100.

C．To predict the possible land features of the earth in the year of 2500.

D．To picture present effects greenhouse gas emissions have on the earth.

2. What do we know about Lyon and his team?

A．They abandoned some traditional levels of emissions.

B．They assumed high emissions may reshape the eco-system.

C．They mainly focused on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

D．They got tally different results from those approved by the Paris Agreement.

3. How did James McKay contribute to the project?

A．He argued for the prediction made by the team.

B．He travelled around to paint detailed global landscapes.

C．He put forward some measures to deal with climate change.

D．He helped to visualize the research results through detailed images.

4. What is the text?

A．News review.

B．A research paper.

C．Science news.

D．An interview journal.

【推荐3】British sculptor Taylor has made it his mission to protect our ecosystems (生态系统) by creating underwater museums. He's made over 850 artworks worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor presented his latest work — the Underwater Museum of Cannes.

Located half a mile off the coast of Cannes, France — the permanent museum is the artist's first attempt into the Mediterranean Sea. "The main goal is to draw more people underwater to see the fact that our oceans need our help," the sculptor said. "Ocean ecosystems have been badly damaged by human activity, and it's not obvious what is happening when observing the sea from apart."

The museum is made up of 6 huge face sculptures, featuring local residents of various ages, ranging from Maurice, an 80—year—old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9—year—old student." Being directly linked to the sculptures encourages communities to get involved in the protection of our oceans," explained Taylor. Each face sculpture is divided into two different—sized parts, showing the state of the world's oceans: powerful on the outside but weak below the surface.

To make the museum easily approachable to divers, the sculptures have been positioned at shallow depths of between 6 to 10 feet. They are placed in the pockets of white sand between the seagrass, preventing boats from stopping close.

Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes and other rubbish: when the project began four years ago. "This is happening every day in our surrounding waters but it largely goes unnoticed. I like the idea of replacing the rubbish with artworks and achieving two goals at the same time," Taylor said. He also wants to restore the area's seagrass: the lungs of the Mediterranean. Just one square meter of the seagrass can produce up to 10 liters of oxygen daily. At the same time, the folds (褶皱) of the sculptures can provide perfect places for fishes and other creatures to avoid attacks.

1. What is special about the sculptures in the Underwater Museum of Cannes?

A．Each of them has two different faces.

B．They are modeled on the local people.

C．They will be moved away before long.

D．They are Taylor's first underwater artworks.

2. Which is a function of the newly—built museum?

A．It serves as a warning mark for boats.

B．It breaks down the waste on the seabed.

C．It offers ideal shelter for the sea animals.

D．It makes the seagrass produce more oxygen.

3. What does the underlined part "two goals" refer to in the last paragraph?

A．To present unique artworks and to gain widespread recognition.

B．To show the artist's talent and to attract more tourists underwater.

C．To clean the surrounding waters and to criticize irresponsible human activity.

D．To entertain people with artworks and to raise their awareness of sea protection.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Environment.

B．Technology.

C．Geography.

D．Discovery.

【推荐1】Robert Sansone, the winner of the 2022 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award, is a natural born engineer. From robotic hands to high-speed running boots, Sansone has worked on at least sixty engineering projects to date in his spare time. And he’s only 17 years old.

A couple years ago, Sansone came across a video about the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars. It explains that most electric car engines use rare-earth elements, which are costly, both financially and environmentally. In fact, 1kg of the rare-earth materials in question can cost up to several hundred dollars. With that sustainability issue, he wanted to solve it, so he tried and designed a different motor (发动机). His new motor, on the other hand, uses copper, which costs around $8 for 1kg.

The highschooler had heard of a type of electric motor — the Synchronous Reluctance Motor (SRM同步磁阻电动机) — that doesn’t use these rare-earth materials. This kind of motor is currently used for pumps and fans, but it isn’t powerful enough by itself to be used in an electric vehicle. So, Sansone started brainstorming ways he could improve its performance.

For over a year Sansone worked on the motor. It needed to be more efficient and have more rotational (旋转) force. The new motor was made from 3-D printed plastic, copper wires and a steel rotor and tested using a variety of meters to measure power. Sansone is now working on version 16 of his motor, which he plans to build out of stronger materials so he can test it at higher revolutions per minute.

As a rising senior, Sansone has dreamed of attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His winnings from competitions will go toward college tuition. If his motor continues to perform with high speed and efficiency, he says he’ll move forward and cooperate with car companies. He hopes that one day his motor will be the design of choice for electric vehicles.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 2?

A．To explain the use of electric car engines.

B．To stress the cost of the rare-earth materials.

C．To introduce a video of previous electric cars.

D．To show Sansone’s inspiration for his new motor.

2. Which aspect does Sansone mainly want to improve in SRM?

A．Its cost.

B．Its size.

C．Its power.

D．Its weight.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．He is studying in the MIT.	B．He aims high for his motor.
C．He has started a motor company.	D．He will enter a new competition.

4. Which of the following best describes Robert Sansone?

A．Gifted and determined.	B．Caring and outgoing.
C．Humorous and energetic.	D．Generous and hard-working.

【推荐3】The development of artificial intelligence (AI，人工智能)is a hot topic these days. AI makes it possible for machines to learn from experience and perform human-like tasks. But what is the future of AI? Will it be a good thing? We asked students what they think.

I think AI will be more useful in our future lives. It’s now used in many fields like phones and medicine. No one really knows what will happen if machines become smarter than humans. However, I’m sure AI will help us solve problems. Tina

I am worried that people create something that can be better than themselves. In the near future, AI will develop at a high speed. Humans may be replaced because AI robots will do lots of human jobs. Bill

I really think that AI will change the way we work, the way we live, and the way we think. Imagine if we could. put a CPU (中央处理器)into our brains! Soon we’ll be able to improve our math and memory. How exciting! Mary

Think of what’s happening right now. Some robots are used to kill animals under human orders. So I think AI will be very dangerous for humans. We need to be careful about what we ask machines to do. John

1. Tina thinks that AI will be ______.

A．exciting

B．dangerous

C．helpful

D．surprising

2. Who believes AI will change the way we work, the way we live and the way we think?

A．Bill.

B．Mary.

C．Tina.

D．John.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A business magazine.	B．A travel guide.
C．A geography magazine.	D．A science magazine.