How did nearsighted people manage in the pre-glasses past? Have you ever thought about this? Aristotle may have written the first observations of myopia around 350 B.C. Because their eyeballs are too long, people with this condition can see objects that are close by, but distant objects tend to look blurry.
Neil Handley, a museum curator, said not much is known about how people dealt with myopia before the first lenses for nearsighted people were invented in the 15th century in Europe. And he noted that “even in the history of the invention of spectacles, that is a late development.”
There are 13th-century European examples of handheld convex lenses that were used to treat age-related vision loss known as presbyopia. But the technology wasn’t applied to treat nearsightedness for another 200 years.
“Because of the way that lens is held, you can see through it, and the artist has captured the effect that the glass has,” Handley said. Myopia could be something of a modern condition. Rates of myopia have risen sharply in recent decades, and researchers have projected that half the world will be myopic by 2050.
Doctors are still trying to figure out the cause behind this trend. Some have blamed genetic causes or an increase in studying and screen time.
It’s likely that myopia didn’t affect as many people in the past as it does now. Handley said the late creation of nearsighted glasses suggests that treating the small number of people with myopia wasn’t regarded as a priority and that people could have gotten by with this condition by making some adaptations in their lifestyle. Or, maybe there was more of an emphasis on putting people in jobs that were suited to their ability to see, he said.
For example, people with myopia were historically valued in artisan contexts, such as medieval European monasteries, where illuminating manuscripts and painting required making tiny, precise skills.
1. What can be learned about the first myopia glasses?| A．They came into people’s view around 350 B.C. |
| B．They could help shorten people’s eyeballs. |
| C．They didn’t come out until the 15th century. |
| D．They were initially designed for old people. |
| A．Noticed. | B．Predicted. | C．Doubted. | D．Conducted. |
| A．People in the past didn’t develop myopia. |
| B．My opia could be cured by changing one’s lifestyle. |
| C．People with myopia could also lead a normal life. |
| D．Most art-related jobs favored near sighted people. |
| A．Glasses for nearsighted people have developed a lot. |
| B．Nearsightedness is increasing at an alarming rate. |
| C．Various reasons contribute to modern myopia. |
| D．Myopia was not so disturbing in the past. |
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【推荐1】As we know it, it’s not unusual to find such private message on Facebook: “Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group-we’ll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”
It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.
But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how much “likes” it had got. His question was a wake-up call.
“Likes” are signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.
Before Facebook, surfing the Internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.
To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example for my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.
I’d been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting. I started taking yoga classes.
I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I’m in trouble, and I’ll help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.
I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt completely present in the moment.
The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.
After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends’ kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family far and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.
1. The underlined word“deactivate”in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to___________.| A．update | B．quit |
| C．label | D．close |
| A．She went to the gym as often as she could. |
| B．She got into some healthy habits. |
| C．She tried to make money for her holidays. |
| D．She traveled around a lot for a year. |
| A．It gave her time to find beauty in life. |
| B．It distanced her from her friends. |
| C．It stopped her using social media. |
| D．It left her space to educate herself. |
| A．doubtful about | B．supportive of |
| C．cautious about | D．indifferent to |
【推荐2】It’s easy to let your life be consumed by a cell phone. People use their phones for pretty much everything these days, which can result in your feeling like you’re limited by technology.
Monitor how often you’re using your phone. The first step to reducing your cell phone is being honest with yourself about how much time you spend on your phone. You can monitor your cell phone usage on a notebook.
Use a real alarm clock over your phone. Many people use their phones as an alarm clock.
Calm your fears about not knowing what is going on. Some people have a hard time putting their phones down because they worry that they will miss out on important news or updates on social media.
| A．Block time to respond to messages. |
| B．Communicate openly about online safety. |
| C．This can lead you to check your websites first thing in the morning. |
| D．There are many ways to lessen the use of your phone. |
| E．However, having the news or updates an hour sooner will not make a difference. |
| F．You can also use a phone APP to see how many times you’re on the phone. |
| G．Therefore, they should not post anything they do not want someone to see. |
【推荐3】A quick look at Instagram will show you thousands of girls sharing their clothing of the day. Many of these girls are sharing completely new clothes every day. And they’re feeling the pressure to never repeat clothes. This attitude of not being able to wear something again after sharing it on Instagram is far too common. It is a sad thing when some girls feel sorry for appearing in the same clothes more than once on Instagram.
Clothes businesses push new “must-haves” every week, which adds to the pressure to keep up. Clothes have been so cheap because of the competition between clothes businesses that it’s shockingly easy to buy new clothes every day. These clothes businesses have made it possible for a normal person to never be seen in the same clothes twice. Often the quality of these clothes is so low that they don’t even survive the wash so there is no chance of that second wear.
Consider everything that goes into making a single piece of clothing—for example: plenty of water, energy and petrochemicals, finishing and labor of each worker throughout making it. It’s shocking to think after all this, a piece of clothing might be worn once, maybe twice, and then thrown away so that they can follow fast fashion.
The fashion of throwing clothes away after use needs to change. Proudly post the same clothes you’ve worn before online. Get creative with mixing and matching, and borrow from friends for special times. The possibilities are endless so there’s no need to shop frequently.
1. What is a sad thing according to the first paragraph?| A．Some girls like showing off on the Internet. |
| B．Some girls spend too much time on social media. |
| C．Some girls care too little about their appearances. |
| D．Some girls think posting the same clothes online again wrong. |
| A．Online shopping. | B．Parents’ pressure. |
| C．Clothes businesses. | D．Laziness to wash clothes. |
| A．To tell us we should treasure clothes. |
| B．To show fast fashion’s great influence. |
| C．To show the development of the clothes industry. |
| D．To tell us we should have our own dressing styles. |
| A．Offer reasons. | B．Give suggestions. |
| C．Give encouragement. | D．Offer more information. |
【推荐1】The lack of clues left behind by ancient Americans has made it difficult for researchers to determine precisely when humans first arrived on the continent. However, it has always been believed to be about 13,000 years ago. Now, evidence from the Chiquihuite Cave in Zacatecas, Central Mexico, seems to suggest that prehistoric humans may have been living in North America as early as 30,000 years ago.
Dr. Ciprian Ardelean, of the Autonomous University of Zacatecas who led the groundbreaking research, first became aware of the cave in May 2010.Getting to the cave located 2,750 meters above sea level required a 45-minute truck ride to the base and an uphill climb over a rough terrain (地形). However, Dr. Ardelean and his team found enough clues to make the difficult journey three additional times—in 2012, 2016, and 2017.
The archeologists’ efforts revealed many artifacts (文物) including over 1,900 stone tools from multiple layers of the cave. The scientists found that most of the tools were between 16,000 and 13,000 years old. However, 239 artifacts unearthed from the deepest layer of the cave dated back an astonishing 30,000 years!
While the genetic material gained in the cave was only plant and animal DNA, the team did find evidence of sulfur, potassium and zinc elements that could indicate human activities such as killing animals. Dr. Ardelean says the absence of human DNA confirms that the early people visited the cave for short periods of time.
The researchers are unsure of the ancient humans’ origins or the path they took to get to America. They guess the groups were tribes who moved from place to place and went extinct at some point during their migrations. Dr. Ardelean says, “We don’t know who they were, where they came from or where they went. They’re a complete enigma. We falsely assume that the native populations in the Americas today are direct descendants (后代) from the earliest Americans, but now we don’t think that is the case.”
Archeologist Loren Davis, from Oregon State University, is unsure that the artifacts recovered are tools. The researcher says, “If it’s true that people were in Zacatecas 32,000 years ago, that changes everything—it more than doubles the time people have been in the Americas. I’m not going to say it’s impossible, but if all they found are broken rocks without any hard evidence, it’s natural for people to challenge the conclusion.”
1. What did Dr. Ciprian Ardelean do?| A．He sold hundreds of artifacts. | B．He explored the cave four times. |
| C．He made the cave world-known. | D．He collected artifacts from the cave. |
| A．Metal elements unearthed from the cave. |
| B．Plant and animal DNA discovered in the cave. |
| C．The stone tools from the cave’s deepest layer. |
| D．The artifacts from the upper layers of the cave. |
| A．Problem. | B．Breakthrough. |
| C．Appeal. | D．Mystery. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Ambiguous. |
【推荐2】The USA，New York—Whales and dolphins are facing increasing threats from climate change，according to a new report published by WWF(World Wildlife Fund)and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society(WDCS)．
The report“Whales in hot water？”draws attention to the growing impacts of climate change on whales.They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls，to a sea level rise，loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of krill populations in key areas. Krill，a tiny shrimp that is dependent on sea ice，is the main source of food for many of the great whales.
The speeding up of climate change adds greatly to trouble from other human activities，such as chemical and noise pollution，which kills some 1，000 whales every day.
“Whales and dolphins have an ability to adapt to their changing environment，”said Mark Simmonds，International Director of Science at WDCS.“But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust.”
Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic.According to the report，whales that rely on polar，icy water for their home and food resources are likely to be greatly affected by the reduction of sea ice cover.
WDCS and WWF are urging governments to cut global production of CO2 by at least 50 percent by the middle of this century. The latest report of the Intergovern－mental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world's emissions start to decline before 2015.
1. What is the literary type of this passage?| A．Story. | B．Announcement. |
| C．News. | D．Novel. |
| A．dolphins | B．krill |
| C．sea horses | D．sharks |
| A．The Pacific Ocean. | B．Asia. |
| C．Two polar areas. | D．Equator. |
| A．Climate change will lead to the changes in sea temperature. |
| B．Climate change will result in the freshening of the sea water. |
| C．Climate change will have a bad effect on human activities and whales. |
| D．Human beings will forever have no ability to stop global warming |
【推荐3】Have you ever wondered what the food you eat every day can tell you about where you come from? Have you ever wondered why people from different parts of the world eat different types of food? Do you ever ask yourself why certain foods or cooking traditions are so important to your culture? There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think.
On a personal level, we grow up eating the food of our cultures. It becomes a part of who each of us is. Many of us connect food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us.
On a larger level, food is an important part of culture. Traditional food is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity (身份). Immigrants (移民) bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of keeping their culture when they move to new places.
In China, harmony (和谐) is an important quality in almost every part of life. This is mirrored in Chinese food, where almost every flavor is used in a balanced way creating delicious dishes with flavors that go well together. The food of the United States also mirrors its history. The European colonization (殖民) of the Americas brought European ingredients (原料) and cooking styles to the U.S.
As the world becomes more globalized (全球化), it is easier to get food from different cultures. We should hug our tradition through our culture’s food but we should also know more about other cultures by trying their foods. It’s important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it.
1. What does the author want to express in paragraph 1?| A．Different types of food in foreign countries. |
| B．Concerns about food and culture. |
| C．Connections between food and culture. |
| D．Relationship between culture and people. |
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By making comparison. |
| C．By describing a process. |
| D．By following time order. |
| A．Creating delicious food is a way of keeping culture. |
| B．European settlers liked cooking food in American styles. |
| C．Food mirrors all the changes in a country’s history. |
| D．Chinese people usually do things in a balanced way. |
| A．Food reminds us of our families, only holding personal value for us. |
| B．We should value both our traditional food and other countries’ food. |
| C．In Chinese culture, harmony is of little meaning in daily life. |
| D．Globalized world makes it a challenge to get food from other countries. |
