A lot of manufactured glass today made from sand and sodium carbonate (碳酸钠) can be reused or melted down and recycled into new items, but it doesn’t break down in the environment and will sit in landfills for thousands of years. A team of Chinese scientists aimed to deal with this environmental concern by developing an eco-conscious alternative.
In a study published recently in the journal Science Advances, a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Process Engineering describe how they engineered biodegradable glass made from amino acids (氨基酸). That glass would have a smaller impact on the environment and can break down in a few weeks or in several months.
In a test, glass beads made out of amino acids were placed under the skin of mice, and the breakdown of the bead and the skin healing process were observed for 30 days. A diagram from the study shows how the mice’s bodies broke down the beads. In that month, the glass implant degraded beneath the skin, the wound site healed, and fur grew back. “Throughout the experimental period, no mice exhibited any pain-related behavior that may have been caused by the glass implantation, and none of them experienced obvious weight loss,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
Although amino acids do degrade over time in the environment, this biodegradable glass is not as durable as traditional glass, because amino acids can break down quickly in heat. To overcome this problem, the researchers chemically modified amino acids using the heating-cooling process tailored for manufacturing the new glass. This is when materials for the glass are heated to become soft and then rapidly cooled so as to make the glass tougher.
“It’s important to point out that this biodegradable glass is currently in the lab stage, and far from large-scale commercialization,” emphasized Yan Xuehai, a professor involved in the study, in a press release.
1. What has been found after researchers implanted glass beads inside mice?| A．The gradual degradation of the beads. | B．The recycling process of the beads. |
| C．Swollen wound sites of the mice. | D．Apparent weight losses of the mice. |
| A．The enhanced durability through chemical adjustment. |
| B．The adoption of traditional glass manufacturing procedures. |
| C．The prolonged exposure to heat during glass production. |
| D．The rapid degradation of amino acids in the environment. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Dismissive. |
| A．Amino acids make eco-friendly glass durable. |
| B．Biodegradable glass gains popularity in the market. |
| C．Biodegradable glass offers a solution to ecological sustainability. |
| D．Amino acids provide inspiration in glass manufacturing. |
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【推荐1】To persist, life must reproduce. Scientists at the University of Vermont, Tufts University, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have discovered an entirely new form of biological reproduction and applied their discovery to create the first-ever, self-replicating (自我复制的) living robots.
Named Xenobots after the African clawed frog from which scientists take their stem cells, the machines are less than 0.04 inches wide——small enough to travel inside human bodies. They can walk and swim, survive for weeks without food, and work together in groups. They even have regenerative capabilities; when the scientists sliced into one robot, it healed by itself and kept moving.
The Xenobots could potentially be used toward a host of tasks. Xenobots could be used to clean up radioactive waste and collect microplastics in the oceans. Some Xenobots had holes in their center, which could potentially be used to transport drugs or medicines. Traditional robots “degrade (降解) over time and can produce harmful ecological and health side effects," researchers said in the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As biological machines, Xenobots are more environmentally friendly and safer for human health. Aside from these immediate practical tasks, Xenobots could also help researchers to learn more about cell biology——opening the doors to future advancement in human health and longevity.
While the prospect of self-replicating biotechnology could spark concern, the researchers said that the living machines were entirely contained in a lab and easily destroyed, as they are biodegradable and regulated by experts."There are many things that are possible if we take advantage of this kind of plasticity (可塑性) and ability of cells to solve problems,”said Joshua Bongard, one of the lead researchers at the university of Vermont.
1. Which of the following best explains “regenerative” underlined in paragraph 2?| A．Fighting disease. | B．Recovering and growing again. |
| C．Self-cleaning regularly | D．Replacing old cells |
| A．They can be widely applied to cure diseases. |
| B．They are harmless to the environment by degrading plastics. |
| C．They are specially designed to collect radioactive waste. |
| D．They can serve well the research on human health. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Indifferent. | C．Positive. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．The invention of the first self-reproduction robots. |
| B．An application of a machine in medicine. |
| C．The trend of developing biotechnology. |
| D．An experiment on African clawed frogs. |
【推荐2】Faced with changing product prices and pressure to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, farmer Jumie Butler is trying out a new worker on his 450-acre farm in England’s Hampshire countryside.
Carefully inspecting Butler’s winter crops for weeds (杂草) and pests, the laborer doesn’t complain or even sweat. That’s because it’s a four-wheeled robot named “Tom” that uses GPS, artificial intelligence (AI) and smartphone technology to digitally map the field.
Tom’s creator is the Small Robot Company. It works to transform production in an industry that is under economic stress. due to market pressures to keep. food. cheap, a rising global population and the uncertainties of climate change. Most robots are still only being tested, but they give an idea how automation (自动化) will spread into rural areas.
“If we can keep our costs to an absolute minimum by being on the leading edge of technologies as one method of doing that, then that’s a really, really good thing,” said Butler, one of the 20 British farmers that are enlisted in a year-long trial.
This year, the economy will start trials for two more robots, Dick and Harry. Dick will deliver fertilizer directly to soil around roots, instead of wasteful spraying (喷洒). Harry will put seeds into the earth at the same depth and spacing.
The aim is to cut down a great deal on fertilizer and pesticide (杀虫剂) use to lower costs and increase profits for struggling farmers. As such, it not only helps economically, but it also lowers the environmental effect of farming.
“What we’re doing is something that people can’t do,” said Ben Scott-Robinson, co-founder of the Small Robot Company. “It’s not physically possible for a farmer to go round and check each individual plant and then treat that plant individually. That’s only possible when you have something as tireless as a robot and as focused and accurate as AI to be able to achieve that.”
1. What does the robot Tom do on Jamie Butler’s farm?| A．It puts seeds into the earth. | B．It makes a map of the field digitally. |
| C．It delivers fertilizer to soil around roots. | D．It tells the difference between wheat and weeds. |
| A．focused | B．interested | C．investing | D．participating |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Favorable. | C．Cautious. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．The exact appearance of the robot Tom. | B．The work of the Small Robot Company. |
| C．The advantages of using robots in farming | D．The reasons for increasing automation in farming. |
【推荐3】Gas emissions (排放物) are a sign of activity occurring beneath the surface of a volcano. Measuring them lets researchers see what can't be seen from the surface. It is vital for risk monitoring and the prediction of future eruptions. Since the mid-2000s, ultraviolet (紫外线的) SO2 cameras have become important tools to measure emissions.
The measurement campaigns, however, must be accompanied by a user, making SO2 cameras unsuitable for acquiring long-term datasets. Building and operating this type of camera can cost upwards of $20,000, resulting in very few cameras being installed permanently.
To get better long-term monitoring data, an international team of researchers has developed a kind of SO2 camera to continually measure emission rates from volcanoes. “Our instrument uses a sensor similar to smartphone camera sensors. It is improved to make it sensitive to ultraviolet light, therefore enabling SO2 detection,” said Dr. Thomas Wilkes, a researcher at the University of Sheffield.
Compared to previous models, the researchers’ SO2 camera is significantly cheaper and uses less power. The new design reduces the cost of parts needed to build the camera down to approximately a fourth of previous models.
“Wherever possible we can 3D-print parts too, to keep costs as low as we can,” Wilkes explained. “We also introduce user-friendly, freely available software for controlling the instrument and processing the acquired data in an effective manner.” The affordability and user-friendliness make the camera accessible to more volcanologists who otherwise might not have access to datasets containing accurate gas emission rates.
Additionally, the power consumption of the system is low, with an average of 3.75 Watts. This is about half of what was needed to power systems presented previously. On sites where there is little solar power to be harnessed, this will be especially beneficial, the researchers wrote. Their camera runs on fewer or smaller solar panels or batteries, reducing the overall cost further.
While there are other instruments to measure volcanic emissions, “the SO2 camera can provide higher time-and spatial-resolution data which could facilitate new volcanological research when installed permanently,” said Wilkes.
1. Why are few SO2 cameras permanently fixed to measure gas emissions?| A．Because of a lack of professional guidance. |
| B．Because of the high cost of the cameras. |
| C．Because of the shortage of camera sensors. |
| D．Because of the complex operating system. |
| A．By improving the camera's sensitivity. | B．By controlling the camera remotely. |
| C．By bringing in suitable software. | D．By sharing datasets from volcanologists. |
| A．Used. | B．Developed. | C．Generated. | D．Stored. |
| A．Ways to Reduce the Cost of SO2 Cameras |
| B．Comparisons Between Two Kinds of Cameras |
| C．Methods of Preventing Volcano Eruptions |
| D．New Cameras to Help Forecast Volcano Eruptions |
【推荐1】Open an app at your smart phone and scan the code bar on the garbage can. When you throw garbage into the garbage can, it will show the weight of the garbage and the points you can get from doing so.
In some cities, a variety of multifunctional smart garbage cans are being put into use. In Beijing, for example, a smart garbage can is equipped with an LED screen, which not only shows national policies on garbage classification but also shows the correct steps for garbage sorting. It can also calculate the weight of the garbage and the accumulated points one can get. They can be traded for some articles of daily use.
Garbage disposal is a small issue that involves everybody each day. However, it is also a big issue.
| A．Garbage sorting has been a new fashion. |
| B．Another kind of garbage can is even smarter. |
| C．It is no wonder that residents cheered for their presence. |
| D．Such a way of handling garbage has appeared in some cities. |
| E．It will affect China’s transformation towards green development. |
| F．Over 200 million tons of garbage is produced each year in some cities. |
| G．The good habit of garbage classification can improve the living environment. |
【推荐2】Compared with the other environmental issues, littering often takes a backseat — but it’s more pressing than we may think.
If you were to throw, for example, a banana peel out of your car while driving along the road, that would be a completely harmless action, because it’s part of a fruit — right? Actually, no. A banana peel can take up to two years to break down, and with a third of drivers admitting to littering while driving, that’s a whole lot of banana peel garbage mountain. An orange peel and a cigarette end have a similar biodegrading (降解) term to that of a banana, but tin and aluminium cans last up to 100 years; and plastic bottles last forever, as do glass bottles.
In spite of the fact that longer-lasting materials will serve to damage (破坏) the environment and its animals for longer, we can’t measure the harm of a certain type of rubbish only by its lifetime. For example, even with a fairly short biodegrading time, more than 120 tons of cigarette-related litter can be found in the UK every day. Similarly, our regular littering here and there has caused the UK s mouse population to increase by 60 million.
It’s not a cheap habit either: UK pays £500 million to keep our streets clean, and when you include our green spaces, that goes up to £1 billion. So, it’s not surprising that if caught fly-tipping (倾倒垃圾) you could face a £20,000 fine or even jail time. In spite of how heavy these punishments might seem, however, among the reported cases only 2,000 were convicted (定罪) out of 825,000, so we still have some way to go.
1. It can be ________ for a cigarette end to break down.| A．2 years | B．50 years | C．100 years | D．forever |
| A．Because rubbish has damaged the environment. | B．Because most rubbish has a long time to break down. |
| C．Because there are too much cigarette related rubbish. | D．Because mouses can feed on much food rubbish. |
| A．2,000 people were put into jail for littering | B．UK spent £1 billion in building green spaces |
| C．many people who littered escaped punishment | D．you form the habit of littering easily in the UK |
| A．Sharp climate change in recent years. | B．Increase of mouse and pest population. |
| C．High cost to keep the environment clean. | D．Garbage along the roads and streets. |
【推荐3】One spring day, once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you’re thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.
A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, she’ll fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50,000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4,000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.
The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally—I never go bad.
Unfortunately, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit. I’d appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild. My future depends on all of us protecting nature’s wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much—to you, to me—without ever asking for anything in return.
1. What does “me” in the passage refer to?| A．The flower. | B．The bee. | C．Garden | D．Honey. |
| A．Bees’ special talent. | B．Bees’ hard work. |
| C．Bees’ living environment. | D．Bees’ social behavior. |
| A．A bee will surely attack picnickers |
| B．A bee will generally live a long life. |
| C．American consumers can’t go without “me”. |
| D．The drying process of “me” can take a few nights. |
| A．To appeal for help for honeybees. | B．To talk about the history of a treasure. |
| C．To put forward techniques for gardeners. | D．To argue against the control of chemicals. |
【推荐1】China-chic is a term that describes the trend of China-centric design. It demonstrates the rise of Chinese brands. Before we discuss whether or not the term is accurate, and reasons thereof, it is important to first figure out who are the main consumers of these Chinese brands.
Generation Z, the young consumers born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, have been raised on the Internet and social media. They are gradually moving toward maturity. They have naturally become the main force that drives China’s consumer market.
Most young people earn their own incomes. Even if they don’t, their parents and family members will support them financially. So their purchasing power is stronger than prior generations of youth.
Besides, today’s young people have had access to various domestic and foreign brands since they were born. For them, global brands such as KFC. McDonald’s, L’Oreal and Nike are just everyday consumer goods. Unlike the previous generations in China, they do not look up to global brands with admiration.
As members of Generation Z are taking the center stage in the consumer market, full of confidence, personalities and awareness of investing in themselves, they almost determine its present and the future. This factor plays a key role in the global economy. That is to say, whichever brand, domestic or global, that pays attention to Generation Z first and satisfies the group’s needs will get a head start.
It is the Chinese companies more than others that truly respect the uniqueness of Generation Z’s demands. A typical example is Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning. Although the domestic sportswear market is still dominated by global brands like Nike and Adidas, Li-Ning has succeeded in using “China-chic” as a way to show self-confidence of the Chinese young people. By wearing Li-Ning’s products, a consumer is telling others: “I’m different from you. I have my own personality traits.”
Inspired by Li-Ning, other Chinese brands including Anta and Feiyue also launched products to satisfy the demands of the new generation of consumers.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ______.| A．introduce the topic | B．present an argument |
| C．reach a conclusion | D．propose a definition |
| A．Generation Z make money all by themselves. |
| B．Generation Z have more buying power than their parents. |
| C．Generation Z treat brands at home and abroad equally. |
| D．Generation Z consume global brands every day. |
| A．dominate Chinese sportswear market | B．meet the needs of Generation Z |
| C．learn from Generation Z | D．determine their own future |
| A．It’s a typical Chinese company. |
| B．It is confident of success. |
| C．Chinese brands are starting to respect the unusual needs of Generation Z’s. |
| D．Chinese brands have ruled the domestic sportswear market. |
| A．Why do Chinese brands impress Generation Z? | B．The uniqueness of Generation Z. |
| C．The choice of Generation Z. | D．Sportswear brands and their future. |
【推荐2】An earthquake happens when two plates rub together. The earth plates travel in different directions and at a different speed. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other，pressure(压力)builds up until the plates break apart. This process(过程)causes the ground to move. It is an earth-quake. In other words，earthquakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released(释放).
The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and when it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property(财产). If it hits a large city，there may be many injuries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.
Actually, there are several million small earthquakes every year. Large earthquakes, such as the 1964 Alaska earthquake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, caused millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earthquakes around the world-including over 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.
A60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor. In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.
The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path.
1. Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．An earthquake comes from the inside of the earth. |
| B．The earth has great energy in storage. |
| C．How the earth plates move. |
| D．How an earthquake happens. |
| A．Causing too much heat and great damage. |
| B．Causing many injuries and much destruction. |
| C．Happening as a result of another event. |
| D．Happening suddenly and unexpectedly. |
| A．an earthquake doesn’t last long | B．the damage can last long |
| C．people in Managua suffered too much | D．Nicaragua is still a poor country |
【推荐3】Do you prefer to watch TV or listen to the radio? There was a time when some people thought moving pictures beamed live into our houses would spell the end of tuning in to the radio for entertainment and information. But radio survived and flourished. And now, despite the growth in sophisticated smartphones offering high-definition pictures, the popularity of podcasts (播客) is booming.
Perhaps the growth in podcasting is not surprising — it offers a digital audio file that can be downloaded and stored for listening at any time. It can also be streamed from the Internet and played on a computer or MP3 player. And it’s not just broadcasters, like the BBC, who are producing podcasts: now commercial broadcasters, individuals and companies with no connection to broadcasting are making them. In fact, anyone with something to say, and a few pounds to spend on the equipment, can get involved.
But where did this trend for making portable audio programmers begin? Journalist Ben Hammersley told the BBC that “two changes transformed the market — one cultural and one technical”. Apple launched the iPhone podcast app, recording and editing equipment became cheaper, and 4G mobile phone connections and Wi-Fi became widespread.
Technological development has driven many changes in our media consumption habits. But however good the tech may be, there still needs to be something worth watching or listening to. The BBC’s Jamie Robertson writes that for podcasts, Serial — a piece of non-fiction investigative journalism — captured people’s imagination. It was a piece of high-quality audio with a gripping story. To date, the first and second seasons of the show have had more than 340 million downloads. Advertisers soon realized the money-making potential of this and other successful podcasts.
Now there are podcasts about anything and everything — even the educational content that BBC Learning English offers! And these aural treats are available on a wide range of platforms. Audiences are very specific, which can help advertisers target what they want to promote.
1. What can be done with a digital audio file?| A．It can be played without power. |
| B．It can be used to make phone calls. |
| C．It can offer high-definition pictures. |
| D．It can be downloaded and stored for listening at any time. |
| A．The cost of making a blog is low. |
| B．It can be streamed from the Internet. |
| C．It can be played on a computer or MP3 player. |
| D．Making a podcast doesn’t require any technology. |
| A．Dull. | B．Attractive. | C．Ordinary. | D．Horrible. |
| A．It’s uncertain. | B．It will be promising. |
| C．It will be miserable. | D．It won’t be outstanding. |
