A recent study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has found that living close to spaces with trees may be better than grassy or paved (铺砌的) areas for children ‘s long-term development.
Many previous studies have argued that exposure to green spaces is associated with better memory and attention in early childhood, higher academic achievement, and fewer behavioral and emotional problems. However, this is the first study to explore whether the type of vegetation makes a difference in these positive associations.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 27,500 children in the Vancouver area, who were followed from birth to five years of age (between 2000 and 2005). By the time they were five, the participant’s kindergarten teachers reported on their physical health, mental well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, communication skills, language development, and general knowledge. By looking at maps of where the children lived, the researchers were able to compare their social competence developmental outcomes to their residential aresa.
While children with the greatest exposure to vegetation ( either trees or grass ) had the highest developmental scores, those exposed mainly to paved surfaces had the lowest ones. However, the study revealed that living close to tree-filled areas in early childhood led to better developmental scores than being exposed to grass-covered environments. This may be due to the fact that tree-filled areas are better in reducing air pollution, noise and heat than more open green spaces, while also contributing to a higher degree to support restoration from mental tiredness. Grassy spaces, however, are more likely to encourage group activities, benefiting children’s social well-being, according to the research.
Although more research is needed, these findings may be useful to urban planners. “Taken together, our findings suggest that transforming paved surfaces into green spaces and, in particular, increasing the amount of trees in neighborhoods may positively affect early childhood health and development,” concluded study senior author Matilda van den Bosch at ISGlobal.
1. What does the recent study focus on?| A．How kids adapt to the environment. |
| B．Whether previous studies are correct. |
| C．The benefits of green spaces to children. |
| D．The effect of various vegetation types on kids. |
| A．The research process. | B．The research subjects. |
| C．The research outcomes. | D．The research application. |
| A．Paved surfaces. | B．Open green spaces. |
| C．Areas with tree cover. | D．Grass-covered areas. |
| A．A major limitation of the study. | B．A suggestion for city planers. |
| C．A possible plan for tree planting. | D．An explanation of the study findings. |
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【推荐1】When consumers see a food, what they expect makes the palate (味觉) taste certain flavors. The strong associations between color and flavor are well established in the scientific community. Research on the subject dates back to the 1970s. For example, consumers expect yellow foods to be sour and black foods to be bitter.
Branding, packaging and color quality of the product itself play a big part in creating and maintaining expectations. Food brands have long understood this and worked to establish standards. Federal regulations grade the color of orange juice. Businesses provide color- matching services for companies to select the right color for a particular product. In some cases, color can overpower other senses and convince people they taste flavors that aren't there.
The Penn State researchers set out to confirm long-standing research into the relationship between color and taste. And they found what consumers see when they eat matters as much as- if not more than- what they taste, and the links could be more flexible than many thought in some cases.
“This might have potential impacts in the food industry if a company were to launch a new flavoured product with a color. Some consumers might not learn or accept a new color and flavor pairing (配对) as well as others," Penn State Food Science doctoral candidate Molly J. Higgins said in a written statement.
But while today's consumers have expectations of flavors of items with different colors, they also have expectations that natural materials are used. While these materials are often preferable, they present a challenge. General Mills changed artificial dyes (染料) to natural ones in Trix cereal. Consumer anger followed. Many found the earthier tones (土黄色) depressing, despite no change in flavor. Chemicals and all, they wanted the original back. The company eventually switched back, choosing to treat color as being more important than other things.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as for creating and maintaining expectations for products?| A．Color quality. | B．Branding. | C．Shape. | D．Packaging. |
| A．An expected food color attracts consumers more. |
| B．Most people choose foods based on their colors. |
| C．Not all consumers welcome a new color-taste pairing. |
| D．Companies should release new products regularly. |
| A．To stress the importance of color in food selection. |
| B．To stress the possibilities facing food companies. |
| C．To stress the difficulty in using artificial materials. |
| D．To stress the difference between color and taste. |
| A．Why do foods have different colors? | B．How deep are color-taste associations? |
| C．What factors affect the flavors of food? | D．Do different colors mean different responses? |
【推荐2】A large team of researchers cooperated with multiple institutions across Europe, has found evidence backing up work by Persi Diaconis in 2007 in which he suggested tossed (掷) coins are more likely to land on the same side they started on, rather than on the reverse. The team conducted experiments designed to test the randomness of coin tossing and posted their results on the Arxiv Preprint Server.
For many years, the coin toss has represented a fair way to choose between two options—which side of a team goes first, for example, who wins a tied election, or gets to eat the last cookie. Over the years, many people have tested the randomness of coin tossing and most have found it to be as fair as expected—provided a fair coin is used. But, Persi Diaconis noted, such tests have only tested the possibility that a fair coin, once tossed, has an equal chance of landing on heads or tails. They have not tested the likelihood of a fair coin landing with the same side up as that when it was. He suggested that a coin tossed into the air spends more time there with its initial side facing up making it more likely to end up that way, as well. He suggested that the difference would be slight, however — just 1%. In this new effort, the research team tested Diaconis’ ideas.
The experiment involved 48 people tossing coins made in 46 countries to prevent design bias (偏见) for a total of 350,757 coin tosses. Each time, the participants noted whether the coin landed with the same side up as when it was launched. The researchers found that Diaconis was right — there was a slight bias. They found the coin landed with the same side up as when it was launched 50.8% of the time. They also found there was some slight change in percentages between different individuals tossing coins.
The team concludes that while the bias they found is slight, it could be meaningful if multiple coin tosses are used to determine an outcome — for example, flipping a quarter 1,000 times and betting $1 each time (with winning of 0 or 2$ each round) should result in an average overall win of $19.
1. Why is the coin toss often used to make decisions?| A．It can help people win an election. |
| B．It gives each side an equal chance of winning. |
| C．It seems the quickest and easiest way to reach a decision. |
| D．It provides a sense of mystery and excitement for those involved. |
| A．The coin toss is a fair process. | B．The coin toss is a biased process. |
| C．The coin toss is a random process. | D．The coin toss is an unpredictable process. |
| A．By analyzing collected data. | B．By comparing different factors. |
| C．By tracking experimental process. | D．By monitoring different participants. |
| A．The research team did not use real coins in their experiment. |
| B．Coin tossing has been used for many years to settle disputes. |
| C．The research team found the coin toss is fairer than previously thought. |
| D．The author does not believe the coin toss is a fair way to make decisions. |
【推荐3】Twelve grams of moon arrived at Ferl’s laboratory in an undecorated delivery box. Ferl, a gardening expert at the University of Florida, had waited more than a decade for that moment. The small box of dirt held some of the last remaining unopened samples of moon dust, called regolith, collected by astronauts on the lunar missions. Despite months of practice, he lifted the sample with trembling hands. “It’s freaky, scary stuff,” he says, “mean, what happens if you drop that?” Ferland his team were about to become the first researchers to grow plants in actual lunar soil.
The experiment was part of a lunar research which aims to send humans back to the moon later this decade in a more sustainable way. Longer duration stays require astronauts to have a source of food. “All of human exploration has been driven by the ability to keep crews fed,” says Gil, a researcher not involved in the study. And Ferl’s experiment offers a significant first step in this journey.
To test the moon soil, Ferl’s team divided the samples into 12 pots of 900 milligrams a piece and planted seeds in them. The seeds developed successfully, but the plants had trouble growing healthy roots. The moon soil lacks important microbes, which play a significant role in regulating plant growth hormones (激素), reducing environmental stress, and absorbing essential nutrients. Without natural microbes, the plants struggled to absorb nutrients and manage stress. Additionally, the lack of water can cause the soil to become difficult to work with.
The seedlings failed to grow strongly in regolith alone, but Ferl hopes to continue studying how life might take hold in otherwise low-yield soil, with an eye toward both boosting humanity’s prospects off the planet and improving agriculture in low-yield soils here at home. “Most of us are not going to go to space,” he says, “But if we can engineer a way to produce these kinds of crops in such an unforgiving environment — like the lunar surface — we can apply that to meet our food challenges in areas that just can’t grow food anymore.”
1. How did Ferl feel when receiving the box?| A．moved and surprised. | B．scared but curious. |
| C．worried but relieved. | D．cautious and nervous. |
| A．To feed the crew of his research team. |
| B．To ensure food supply for space exploration. |
| C．To provide sustainable energy for lunar missions. |
| D．To send the astronauts back to the moon in a shorter time. |
| A．Adding microbes and watering it properly. |
| B．Dividing regolith equally and managing stress. |
| C．Growing healthy roots and making regolith dry. |
| D．Choosing suitable seeds and regulating hormones. |
| A．The original goal of the study. | B．The limitation of space farming |
| C．The application of the experiment result. | D．The factors causing the experiment failure. |
【推荐1】For some people, there’s no better companion than man’s best friend — a dog. This four-legged canine can bring comfort and joy and provide much-needed exercise for you when it needs walkies! This probably explains why dog ownership increased last year because people spent more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
It was demand for puppies in particular that saw the biggest increase. Who couldn’t resist their playful personalities, adorable eyes, and super-soft coats?
However, as demand for a new pooch increased, so did the price tag. Popular breeds, such as Cockapoos and Cocker Spaniels, saw even sharper price increases, and puppies have been selling for £3,000 or more.
Animal welfare charities fear that high prices could encourage puppy farming, smuggling (贩卖) or dog theft. And a BBC investigation found some breeders have been selling puppies (幼犬) and kittens on social media sites — something charities have called “extremely irresponsible”.
But despite some new owners purchasing a dog legally, maybe from a rescue centre or registered breeder, they’ve proved to be ill-prepared for life with a new pet, and the pet itself has found it hard to come to terms with life in a new home. Animal behaviourists in the UK have reported a surge in requests to help dogs suffering from fear-aggression (害怕攻击) after their lives have been turned upside down.
Looking to the future, there are concerns about the welfare (幸福安康) of these much-loved pets. Ian Atkin, manager of the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary in the UK, told the BBC: “At the moment, the dogs are having a great time, but separation anxiety could still surface when people go back to work.” And Claire Calder from the UK’s Dogs Trust rescue charity says “the economic situation also means that some people may find they can’t afford to look after a dog.” The message is not to buy a puppy in haste and to pick one that fits into your lifestyle.
1. Why did dog ownership increase during the coronavirus pandemic?| A．Because people were looking for companionship and exercise. |
| B．Because dogs were also locked down together with people. |
| C．Because dogs became more playful, lovely and likeable. |
| D．Because the price of dogs increased at the same time. |
| A．Rescue. | B．Regret. | C．Access. | D．Accept. |
| A．Its price would be increased sharply. | B．It might be sold on social media. |
| C．It can be smuggled and stolen. | D．It could suffer from separation anxiety. |
| A．some concerns about the welfare of pet dogs |
| B．some bad behaviors people do to pet dog |
| C．why people should raise a pet dog at home |
| D．why dogs are becoming more and more expensive |
【推荐2】Fine, crisp and clear or transparent. Many years ago, a dance between clay and fire gave rise to a tangible piece of art: porcelain (瓷器) .
Flames in kilns (窑) around China have been burning since the Xia and Shang dynasties (21st century-11th century BC). Along the way, porcelain was born.
Porcelain is generally made by heating raw materials, often a mix between China stone and kaolin clay, in a kiln at a temperature as high as 1,200 degree Celsius. Temperature is key to making porcelain. Going through the fire of reinvention at a high temperature gives porcelain greater strength, more transparency and a feast of colors.
Celadon (青瓷) produced in Longquan, Zhejiang province, a heritage passed down for more than 1,600 years, is a great example of craftsmen’s dream of the perfect green glint. It takes 72 steps to produce Longquan celadon’s jade-like green. Plum green and light green, or tianqing (the color of the sky after a rain), are two colors of the best quality.
Porcelain has also been a carrier for cultural exchanges. Along with China’s silk and tea, porcelain was one of the first commodities to receive worldwide trade.
As it travelled around the globe through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, porcelain was well received among royal families and upper classes in Europe, who were impressed by these beautiful vessels they named after China, a product that could be produced only in the far East.
1. Which of the following can NOT be used to describe porcelain?| A．Transparent. | B．Tangible. | C．Unfashionable. | D．Colorful. |
| A．To tell the materials used in making porcelain. |
| B．To explain the the process of making porcelain. |
| C．To stress the high temperature is key to making porcelain. |
| D．To present the history and brief ways of making porcelain. |
| A．Goods. | B．Exchanges. | C．Gifts. | D．Donations. |
| A．A Carrier for Cultural Exchanges | B．A Living Heritage: Porcelain |
| C．A Piece of Colourful Art: Porcelain | D．A Vessel Popular among Upper Classes in Europe |
【推荐3】A world-famous Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, has created the world's first long-distance signing device(装置), the LongPen.
After many tiring book-signing tours from city to city, Atwood thought there must be a better way to do them. She hired some technical experts and started her own company in 2004. Together they designed the LongPen. Here's how it works: The author writes a personal message and signature on a computer tablet (手写板) using a special pen. On the receiving end, in another city, a robotic arm fitted with a regular pen signs the book. The author and fan can talk with each other via webcams（网络摄像机）and computer screens.
Work on the LongPen began in Atwood's basement (地下室). At first, they had no idea it would as hard as it turned out to be. The device went through several versions, including one that actually had smoke coming out of it. The invention finally completed, test runs were made in Ottawa, and the LongPen was officially launched at the 2006 London Book Fair. From here, Atwood conducted two transatlantic book signings of her latest book for fans in Toronto and New York City.
The LongPen produces a unique signature each time because it copies the movement of the author in real time. It has several other potential applications. It could increase credit card security and allow people to sign contracts from another province. The video exchange between signer and receiver can be recorded on DVD for proof when legal documents are used．
“It's really fun, ” said an owner of a bookstore, who was present in one of the test runs. “Obviously you can't shake hands with the author, but there are chances for a connection that you don't get from a regular book signing.”
The response to the invention hasn't been all favorable. Atwood has received criticism from authors who think she's trying to end book tours. But she said, “It will be possible to go to places that you never got sent to before because the publishers couldn't afford it.”
1. Why did Atwood decide to invent the LongPen?| A．To set up her own company. | B．To win herself greater popularity. |
| C．To write her books in a new way. | D．To make book signings less tiring. |
| A．It has been completed but not put into use. |
| B．Some versions failed before its test run. |
| C．The basement caught fire by accident. |
| D．The designers were well-prepared for the difficulty. |
| A．To draft legal documents. |
| B．To keep a record of the author's ideas. |
| C．To improve credit card security. |
| D．To allow author and fan to exchange videos. |
| A．Atwood doesn't mean to end book tours. |
| B．Critics think the LongPen is of little use. |
| C．Bookstore owners don't support the LongPen. |
| D．Publishers dislike the LongPen for high cost. |
