Did you know that the color of uniforms can influence the performance of an athlete? It may sound strange, but a study suggests this might be true.
Two British scientists studied the results of four sports in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where the athletes had been given either a red or a blue uniform. They discovered that when there was a big difference in the score, color had no influence on the result. But if it was a close match, the athlete in a red uniform was more likely to win. Then they looked at the uniforms of the soccer teams at the Euro 2004 tournament. Again, teams wearing red won more games.
The two scientists got their idea from earlier studies of wild animals. It had been discovered that when a male show red on its body, it sends a signal of its power and strength. For example, in many kinds of monkey, the more the male shows off its red scars, the more females it can attract.
Based on this fact, the British scientists thought that the idea might work for humans, too. According to them, when an athlete sees a competitor in a red uniform, he gets a feeling that his competitor could be stronger than him. And that kind of feeling may have a bad influence on the player’s performance in the actual game.
Although the idea is Interesting, most people don’t accept that color signals in the animals world can really be useful to humans in sports. They think that it is unreasonable to develop an idea based on such a small number of examples. Much more research has to be done to prove the influence of uniform colors on the performance of athletes.
1. What did the scientists find out about the 2004 Athens Olympic Games?| A．Athletes played equally well in four sports. |
| B．Game results had a big influence on the athletes. |
| C．Athletes dressed in red scored more in a close match. |
| D．There was a big difference in red and blue team’s scores. |
| A．It is quite strong. | B．It is a failure. |
| C．It has power over other males. | D．It has attracted a lot of females. |
| A．weakness | B．pride | C．danger | D．shame |
| A．Interested. | B．Satisfied. | C．Doubtful. | D．Thankful. |
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【推荐1】Brooklyn is home to an encouraging handcycling (手摇自行车运动) team, whose members are all athletes with disabilities.
You can hear the happiness in Maurice Evans’ voice as he moves through the hills and paths of Prospect Park. He is part of a handcycle team called Prevailers Sports, an organization founded in 2018 out of a love for adaptive sports. At 55 years old, Evans is hoping to win 12 medals by his 60th birthday. “When I cross that finish line, I feel like I’ve really achieved something very few people can do,” he said.
Peneliope Richards is the captain of the team. She says, “There’s no other team like us here in Brooklyn. We want to make sure that handcycling is present in the community that we love, and people get to know more about us as they quickly pass by us in the park.”
The Prevailers take part in a variety of races, and most have been accepted to the New YorkCity Marathon. “It’s like a family. We get along; we support each other. Some of us make it in some races. Some of us don’t, but we still cheer each other on,” says team member Trisa Harris.
One of the biggest challenges, team members say, is finding a place to store their handcycles and getting them to the places they need. That’s when a local company stepped in to help. Roadway Moving, founded in the Bronx, is supporting the storage and transportation of the equipment to make their training and racing possible.
Their other difficulty is finding able-bodied volunteers to help on the big days. Still, despite the difficulty, the team is doing what it was created to do — growing, training, and finally succeeding.
“I think everyone should get out and run a marathon, walk a marathon, and crawl (爬) a marathon,” says Evans with a smile. “Just get your marathon done!”
1. Which of the following can best describe Evans?| A．He is selfless and open-minded. |
| B．He is humorous and easy-going. |
| C．He is encouraging and dreams big. |
| D．He is honest and strict with himself. |
| A．She promises to be a good captain. |
| B．She hopes the team will get attention. |
| C．She plans to play a match in Brooklyn. |
| D．She has high expectations of her team. |
| A．Proud. | B．Sorry. | C．Anxious. | D．Surprised. |
| A．It buys sports equipment for them. |
| B．It starts a company to support them. |
| C．It stores and transports their handcycles. |
| D．It trains them to use handcycles correctly. |
【推荐2】It’s time for people to pick up their boom boxes and dust off their sneakers. Breaking, or competitive break dancing, is going for the gold.
On Dec 7, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that breaking would be an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. It will be the latest modern sport to be added to the Games. IOC President Thomas Bach said that the new addition of breaking could help the Olympics event be “more youthful”. “We had a clear priority, and this was to introduce sports particularly popular among the younger generation,” Bach said. “And also to take into consideration the urbanization of sport.”
Breaking was originally part of early hip-hop culture in New York in the 1970s. In the decades since, it has spread globally, enjoying huge popularity beyond the US and particularly across Europe and Asia. Though breaking is often categorized as a style of street dance, it more easily lends itself to the field of sports than other styles for the competitive nature.
“Back in the Bronx in New York, when it first started, it was always neighborhoods of kids just battling each other,” 26-year-old break-dancer Victor Montalvo told USA Today. “That’s how they did it back in the day.” “Breaking competitions typically consist of one-on-one battles in which one competitor challenges his or her rival with different moves and the other responds. It’s a sport/art just as physically demanding as high-intensity dancing and acrobatics”, Montalvo added.
But as an art, breaking also features coordination and creativity. Some combinations of moves can be practiced, but much of a round is improvised. Combining vitality and creativity, breaking is accepted by young dancers across the world who are motivated by the prospect of representing their countries at the world’s biggest sporting event.
1. What does the underlined words “the gold” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．golden color. | B．the gold medal. |
| C．big wealth. | D．great importance. |
| A．To show breaking is loved by neighborhoods’ kids. |
| B．To explain why breaking is more like a sport. |
| C．To prove breaking has a long history. |
| D．To show Bronx is the birthplace of breaking. |
| A．without any preparation. | B．physically challenging. |
| C．popular among the youth. | D．fierce and competitive. |
| A．To stress the importance of breaking. |
| B．To introduce a new Olympic event — breaking. |
| C．To throw light on the rules of breaking. |
| D．To make a brief historical review of breaking. |
Senior Business Editor
You must:
(1) Assist the business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them;
(2) Be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively and be able to rewrite totally if needed;
(3) Ideally have been working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership intends;
(4) Have had at least five years’ editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software.
Senior Copy Editor
You must:
(1) Work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
(2) Edit or rewrite copy and give smart headlines and captions;
(3) Have had at least two years.’ editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software.
Copy Editor
You must:
(1) Be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing smart headlines and captions;
(2) Be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
(3) Have two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software.
Graphic Designer
You must:
(1) Have excellent skills in information graphics;
(2) Be good at illustrations and freehand drawings;
(3) Be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts;
(4) Have a good sense of typography(活版印刷术);
(5) Have good new judgment;
(6)Be fluent in English.
For enquiries or to apply, write to job @chinadaily.com.cn.
1. What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To describe the positions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| B．To tell you how to become part of this group. |
| C．To describe the working conditions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| D．To advertise for employing some good employees. |
| A．Be expert in Photoshop. |
| B．Writing smart headlines and captions. |
| C．Have excellent skills in information graphics. |
| D．Having a good sense of typography. |
| A．Two. | B．One. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．China Daily: New Employees Wanted |
| B．China Daily: Newspaper |
| C．China Daily: An International Team |
| D．China Daily: The Best Working Condition |
| A．The employees have the right to enjoy eleven-day public holidays. |
| B．The workers there can enjoy a seven day-leave without pay. |
| C．Free accommodations are available to the workers. |
| D．The senior business editor’s only job is to help the business editor to set goals. |
【推荐1】A new study has found that animals feign（假装）death for long periods of time in order to escape capture from their predators. How long they are motionless depends on the circumstances, but they can wait out their predators for quite a long time when their lives are in danger.
Animals stay still to avoid capture for different lengths of time. “Most intriguingly, Charles Darwin recorded a beetle that remained motionless for 23 minutes. Antlions, our favorite study creature in this regard, set a record of 61 minutes,” says lead author Nigel R. Franks from the University of Bristol.
Antlions are members of large group of insects. Antlion larvae（幼虫）dig pits in loose soil and then aggressively attack ants and other small insects that fall into the sandy pits. In another study, researchers dug sandpits to understand the physics of how antlion larvae build their pits. As part of their research they needed to weigh the individual larvae. When they put them onto the microbalance scale to weigh them, they noticed that the larvae remained motionless for long periods of time. “This made it ‘piece of cake’ to weigh them but it aroused researchers’ curiosity, ‘What on earth were they playing at?’” Franks says.
The researchers found that the amount of time the antlions remained stationary after being disturbed was unpredictable and was often quite lengthy. In researching other animals, they found that how long they wait to move again can depend on factors such as hunger and temperature, but it always varies.
This unpredictability is absolutely crucial for their survival, Franks says. For example, if a bird visits these antlion pits and the larvae “play dead”. the birds will fly around the antlions to see if they move. “Imagine if antlions always remained immobile for 5 minutes. In such case, the predator could look for alternate prey（猎物）and then return to its original one when the time is up,” he says. “If that happened, it would be a short life for the predictable death-feigner.” But because the time is unpredictable, the birds leave and go find something else to eat. The predators turn their attention from the unmoving prey that no longer catches their eye to something nearby that is a better alternative.
1. What is the new study about?| A．Animals’ hunting skills. |
| B．Animals’ living conditions. |
| C．Animals’ self-protecting behavior. |
| D．Animals’ means of communication. |
| A．To introduce a new topic for discussion. |
| B．To offer supporting data for the discovery. |
| C．To make a comparison between the two studies. |
| D．To provide some background information on the study. |
| A．Unmoving. | B．Alarmed. | C．Energetic. | D．Peaceful. |
| A．By scaring away predators. |
| B．By distracting predators’ attention. |
| C．By staying still for an uncertain amount of time. |
| D．By waiting for predators to eat something else |
【推荐2】When you swim in the sea, have you ever accidentally drunk the seawater? How did it feel? It must have tasted salty. So, why is the seawater salty?
Seawater is water that comes from the ocean. Seawater is salty because it contains an average salt content of 2.5%. So the ocean is a place for the salt farmers to produce cooking salt and other salt.
Some theories explain that seawater comes from rainwater that falls and flows through rivers and estuaries (河口) and then the seawater fully fills the sea and again forms clouds because of evaporation (蒸发). When we talk about this, we talk about the rainwater cycle. But when the rainwater cycle occurs, the water that passes through the river carries mineral salts. These mineral salts are obtained from various places of the land starting from rocks and soils that the rainwater flows through. These mineral salts make seawater salty, so the salinity of seawater is different in each part of the world. But it is certain that seawater is salty or has high salinity.
The saltiest sea in the world is the Red Sea. There the temperature is extremely high so that evaporation happens frequently. High evaporation coupled with little rainfall and little input of water from the river causes its highest level of salinity. There is also the Dead Sea, which is about nine times saltier than the Red Sea. Due to the high salinity, when you swim there, you can float. However, the Dead Sea is not a sea at all, which is a lake geographically.
1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To draw a conclusion. |
| B．To bring in the topic. |
| C．To introduce a famous sea. |
| D．To make the article interesting. |
| A．Land. | B．Ocean. |
| C．Rain. | D．Cloud. |
| A．Its salinity is higher than that of the Dead Sea. |
| B．The climate there causes the highest salt level. |
| C．People are in danger when swimming there. |
| D．The land around it contains the most salt. |
| A．The reason why the seawater tastes salty |
| B．The reason why the Dead Sea is not a sea |
| C．The reason why the rainwater cycle occurs |
| D．The reason why the sea looks blue and green |
【推荐3】A recent paper describes bees rolling tiny wooden balls, not for a reward, but apparently just for fun. This discovery emphasizes a long-standing conflict in our view of animals. On the one hand, we want to find the features that distinguish humans from other animals: tools, language and a theory of mind. On the other hand, we delight in finding animals that break those boundaries: chimps, crows and now bees that use tools, dolphins with signature whistles. But what do those boundaries mean?
As a biologist who studies animal behaviour, I am puzzled by this effort to rank animals by their capabilities. I applaud the desire to show that animals are like us, but we can recognize animals for what they are, and be amazed at their abilities, without having to make their behaviour mirror that of humans.
Once we get out from the assumption that animals have to be like people with human motivations and feelings, we are freed up to consider the mechanisms (机理) behind the behaviours. For example, the same serotonin (血清素) influences anxiety in humans and maze (迷宫) exploration in crayfish. In a tank divided into well-lit and shadowy areas, crayfish explore both, but prefer the darker areas, consistent with their night lifestyle.
Does this mean crayfish experience anxiety? No. In the bees’ case, they might be exhibiting some very interesting behaviour that has nothing to do with wanting to “have fun”—but we will never examine it if we simply assume they are playing just like people. I am not disparaging the bee researchers’ conclusions, and I am not trying to be a killjoy, but there is something about all this humanizing that prevent exploration, instead of encouraging it.
1. What’s the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To list out facts. | B．To raise an argument. |
| C．To arouse readers’ interest. | D．To explain a concept. |
| A．Behaviour mechanisms work. | B．Crayfish prefer the light sections. |
| C．The assumption proves reasonable. | D．Animals are similar to human in mind. |
| A．Criticizing. | B．Explaining. |
| C．Confirming. | D．Acknowledging. |
| A．Feelings: Guiding Human Being | B．Boundaries: Making No Sense |
| C．Humanizing: Covering the Truth | D．Animals: Mirroring Human Behaviours |
【推荐1】I am drawn to the peace and pure beauty of primitive nature. Being in it heightens my perceptions and narrows my focus. As I concentrate on the surroundings, an inner stillness fills me and helps me capture a sense of place.
This was the case when I packed my camera equipment and adventured into some of Europe’s old-growth forests to highlight these unique environments that have remained complete for centuries, despite frequent threats of human disturbance.
The visits were often challenging because of unfavorable weather conditions and the distances I had to cover while going multiple times to the most photogenic (适于摄影的) locations. But the joy of the experience always won. Hiking off the trail through the foggy laurel forests of Madeira, I was enveloped by trees that may have been up to 800 years old and whose trunks provided me with shelter when clouds released a sudden downpour. It felt like entering a holy (神圣的) space.
Wandering through the intact Scots pine forests of northern Sweden and the mountain tree lines of southern Norway rewarded me with the sense of freedom I always get in the Scandinavian wilderness. The beech trees that stand on the steep slopes of Italy have left me in awe of the power of an uncut forest. I feel honored that I have been allowed to explore and photograph these wonderlands.
Except Russia, only about 2 percent of the forest areas in Europe are primary, or have never been cleared, reflecting an impressive richness of life that once filled vast wooded ecosystems. Most of the areas are now protected, but as the human population continues to grow—with destructive impacts on the planet and its living creatures—the future of these forests is far from certain. I, for one, hope that they will still be standing for many centuries more.
1. What does the author find so appealing about primitive nature?| A．The sense of peace and pure beauty it provides. | B．The unique ecosystems it preserves |
| C．The opportunities for photography it offers. | D．The challenges to adventures it presents. |
| A．To escape the troubles of life. |
| B．To enrich his personal experiences. |
| C．To explore the treasures hidden in the forest. |
| D．To photograph the unique forests preserved for centuries. |
| A．The author’s sufferings in the forest. | B．The way to protect the primitive forest. |
| C．The author’s wonderful experience in the foggy forests. | D．Climate conditions and photogenic locations of forests. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Uncertain. | C．Indifferent. | D．Pessimistic. |
【推荐2】The shadow play is a typical traditional entertainment that has survived and thrived over the centuries. It is taken as an earliest ancestor of modern cinema.
Legend has it that more than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Wu of Han was very depressed about the death of his favorite concubine (妃子). To help him get over his sadness, a minister made a puppet out of cotton and silk in the likeness of the concubine and projected its shadow on a curtain for the emperor to see. The show brought the emperor some comfort. He somehow believed the shadow was his lover's spirit. This is thought to be the beginning of the shadow play.
One mouth tells stories of thousands of years; a pair of hands operate millions of soldiers. This is how the shadow puppeteer works. Nicknamed “the business of the five”, a shadow play group is made up of five people. One operates the puppets, one plays a suona and a yueqin, one plays the banhu, one is in charge of percussion instruments (打击乐器), and one sings.
During performances, “actors” are held close to a white curtain with their colored shadows cast on it by a strong light from behind. The operator plays five puppets at the same time, each of which has three threads. Ten fingers handle fifteen threads. Moved by guiding sticks, the puppets play roles with musical accompaniment, The popularity of the shadow play in some way lies in the equipment being light and easy to carry, the small number of people needed for a performance, and the flexible requirements for performance places. The plays can be quite dramatic and, when it comes to myths or kung fu stories, the “actors” may be made to ride on clouds or perform unusual feats, to the great enjoyment of the audience, especially children. The audience can tell a figure's character by seeing his mask. Like the masks in Beijing opera, a red mask represents loyalty and bravery.
Nowadays, the shadow play has been industrialized and developed a series of tourist products for the promotion of Chinese culture and tourism.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．A love story of Emperor Wu of Han. | B．How to please an emperor. |
| C．The origin of the shadow play. | D．How to make a cotton puppet. |
| A．when roles are played without music |
| B．because the equipment is light to carry |
| C．when the puppets give lively performances |
| D．became the number of the operators is small |
| A．Dutiful. | B．Friendly. | C．Positive. | D．Ambitious. |
| A．To promote the shadow play. |
| B．To explain the art of shadow play. |
| C．To teach people to operate the shadow puppetry. |
| D．To enjoy the traditional characters and masks in Beijing Opera. |
【推荐3】You know the feeling — you have left your phone at home and feel anxious, as if you have lost your connection to the world. “Nomophobia” (无手机恐惧症) affects teenagers and adults alike. You can even do an online test to see if you have it. Last week, researchers from Hong Kong warned that nomophobia is infecting everyone. Their study found that people who use their phones to store, share and access personal memories suffer most. When users were asked to describe how they felt about their phones, words such as “hurt” (neck pain was often reported) and “alone” predicted higher levels of nomophobia.
“The findings of our study suggest that users regard smartphones as their extended selves and get attached to the devices,” said Dr Kim Ki Joon. “People experience feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness when separated from their phones.” Meanwhile, an American study shows that smartphone separation can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
So can being without your phone really give you separation anxiety? Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, says it is what is on the phone that counts — the social networking that creates Fomo (fear of missing out).
“We are talking about an Internet-connected device that allows people to deal with lots of aspects of their lives,” says Griffiths. “You would have to surgically remove a phone from a teenager because their whole life is ingrained in this device.”
Griffiths thinks attachment theory, where we develop emotional dependency on the phone because it holds details of our lives, is a small part of nomophobia. For “screenagers”, it is Fomo that creates the most separation anxiety. If they can’t see what’s happening on WeChat or Weibo, they become panic-stricken about not knowing what’s going on socially. “But they adapt very quickly if you take them on holiday and there’s no Internet,” says Griffiths.
1. Which of the following may Dr Kim Ki Joon agree with?| A．We waste too much time on phones. |
| B．Phones have become part of some users. |
| C．Addiction to phones makes memories suffer. |
| D．Phones and blood pressure are closely linked. |
| A．We worry we may miss out what our friends are doing |
| B．We fear without phones we will run into a lot of trouble |
| C．We are accustomed to having a phone on us |
| D．We need our phones to help us store information |
| A．Approved of. | B．Relied on. | C．Opposed to. | D．Determined by. |
| A．In a research report. |
| B．In a science textbook. |
| C．In a popular science magazine. |
| D．In a fashion brochure. |
