Growing up on the shores of Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario, Robert Berdan was never far from water. When he was in sixth grade, he received a toy microscope for Christmas. Some of the first things he saw through its lens were tiny creatures inside droplets he’d gathered from a local pond. He was fascinated with the microorganisms.
After eighth grade, Berdan upgraded to a more sophisticated model and realized it was a portal to another world. “The new microscope changed my life,” he says. “I could see so much more.” He begar studying photography and buying cameras to fit on his microscope. He captured images of ferns, mushrooms, and trees, and learned how to develop film. He also developed his microscopy skills so much so that he earned a doctoral degree in cellular biology and spent five years running a lab at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
But Berdan never forgot his two early passions - being immersed in nature and photographing its tiny details - and he decided to return to them. His subjects range from snowflakes to spruce trees. To see the latter under a microscope, Berdan collects a small branch and wields specialized tools to shave off paper-thin slices, which he dyes red or blue. For the final images, he often uses a process called focus stacking, in which similar photos with different focal planes are mixed together to achieve a more profound depth of field, and he sometimes sews photos together to create views.
“I investigate anything that might have possibilities,” he says. And he encourages others to do the same with a microscope. “Any tool that amplifies our ability to see will enhance our creativity,” he notes “Our observations can potentially lead to new discoveries and solutions.”
1. What inspired Berdan to pursue his passion for microscopic photography?| A．Working in a cellular biology lab. |
| B．Earning a doctoral degree in cellular biology. |
| C．Tiny microscopes from a local pond. |
| D．Childhood experiences near Lake Huron. |
| A．Berdan’s childhood experience with microscopes. |
| B．Berdan’s reason for studying for a doctoral degree. |
| C．Berdan’s transition from amateur to professional. |
| D．Berdan’s hard work of running a lab in Edmonton. |
| A．Expands. | B．Decreases. | C．Mixes. | D．Changes. |
| A．He has received formal training in photography and microscopy. |
| B．He mainly focuses on capturing images of various microscopes. . |
| C．He experiments with different ways to enhance the depth of field. |
| D．He is the most skilled biologist in capturing mushrooms and trees. |
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【推荐1】Historical heritages are human beings’ wisdom. Cultural relics, however, as time goes by, suffer different degrees of erosion (侵蚀). People used to protect cultural relics by hand work combing photographing and rubbing techniques. Although this method can keep the basic information, many important details are still ignored.
3D scanning technology features in fast measurement speed and accurate catching capacity. It’s good at collecting enough and accurate 3D data from different angles, which is beneficial to the restoration of cultural relics when coming into accidental damage. Experts can also virtually restore the heritages through the computer, and finish assistant researches via accurate 3D models.
For cultural relics’ protection, 3D printing contributes to displaying cultural relics. It provides people with more chances to get to know cultural relics and better understand human beings’ history.
Yucheng Museum has dug out a new collection of cultural relics in April 2019. One of the most important issues for archaeologists is data storage. Invited by Quimbaya ArtxTech, ScanTech conducted 3D scanning immediately on these relics by the 3D scanner. This handheld 3D ray scanner carries a big weight in acquiring very accurate 3D data and brings great convenience for further restorations and researches.
To avoid any damage, Yucheng Museum combined with 3D printing technology based on 3D data to reproduce 1:1 3D model of cultural relics for exhibition, which aims to make more people get close to history and pass on these precious cultural heritages.
Time flies and many thousand-year cultural treasures have gradually disappeared from our sight due to technical problems. However, 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies put forward very effective 3D solutions for cultural relic display and protection.
1. What is the disadvantage of the method people used to protect cultural relics?| A．It eroded cultural relics in a degree. |
| B．It made the research of cultural relics inconvenient. |
| C．It damaged the restoration of cultural relics. |
| D．It took no notice of many important information. |
| A．Gather the data of cultural relics efficiently. |
| B．Restore a damaged cultural relic on a computer. |
| C．Evaluate the original looks of cultural relics. |
| D．Restore cultural relics in the real world. |
| A．To emphasize the value of cultural relics. |
| B．To compare the two 3D technologies. |
| C．To show the application of 3D digitalization. |
| D．To draw more attention to cultural museums. |
| A．Scientifle ways of restoring cultural relics. |
| B．The rapid development of3D technologies. |
| C．3D technologies for protecting cultural relics. |
| D．Many effective functions of 3D technologies |
【推荐2】Facial recognition technology is mostly connected with uses such as the identification of human faces, but scientists believe they’ve found a new use for it — conserving seals (海豹).
A research team at Colgate University has developed SealNet, a database of seal faces created by taking pictures of seals in Maine’s Casco Bay. The team found the tool’s accuracy in identifying the ocean animals is close to 100%, which is a great achievement in an ecosystem home to thousands of seals.
Krista Ingram, a biology professor at Colgate, said the researchers are working on expanding their database to make it available to other scientists. She also said broadening the database to include rare species, such as the Hawaiian seal, could help save those species. And categorizing (分类) seal faces and using machine learning to identify them can also help scientists know clearly where in the ocean seals are. “Understanding their patterns really helps,” she said. “For moving ocean animals that move around a lot and are hard to photograph in the water, we need to be able to tell them apart,” she said.
SealNet is designed to detect the face in a picture, collect it and recognize it based on facial patterns such as eyes and nose shape. The Colgate team published its paper in April in the scientific journal. The paper said that the “image data that can be dealt with using SealNet software offers an important tool for ecological and behavioral studies of ocean animals in the developing field of conservation technology.”
Tjomme Dooper, head of partnerships and growth from IT company FruitPunch, said he was getting a few scientists to work on a challenge to make SealNet simpler. “What this does is help the biologists study the behavior of seals, and also population changes,” Dooper said. “Seals are an important indicator species for the ecosystem around them.”
1. What is the new application of facial recognition technology?| A．Protecting seals. | B．Operating machines. | C．Cleaning up oceans. | D．Identifying human faces. |
| A．The process of categorizing seal faces. | B．The ways of locating the ocean animals. |
| C．The challenge of recognizing rare species. | D．The benefits of broadening seal database. |
| A．It is used to publish papers. | B．It is still in need of improvement. |
| C．It is designed to picture seal faces. | D．It is causing seals’ population changes. |
| A．To voice his views on SealNet. |
| B．To present a scientific research paper. |
| C．To introduce a new use of facial recognition. |
| D．To show the importance of developing technology. |
【推荐3】On Saturday evening, CCTV showed a computer-generated image of the Chang’e 3 lander’s path as it approached the surface of the moon, saying that during the landing period it needed to have no contact with Earth. As it was just hundreds of meters away the lander’s camera broadcast images of the moon’s surface.
The Chang’e 3’s solar panels, which are used to absorb sunlight to generate power, opened soon after the landing. The mission blasted off (发射) from southwest China on Dec. 2 on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It is named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon and the “Yutu” rover vehicle, or “Jade Rabbit” in English, afternoon the goddess’ pet.
China’s military-backed space program has made much progress in a relatively short time, although it is behind the United States and Russia in technology and experience. China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently. In 2006, it sent its first probe (探测器) to the moon. China plans to open a space station around 2020 and send an astronaut to the moon after that.
“They are taking their time with getting to know about how to fly humans into space, how to build space stations. how to explore the solar system, especially the moon and Mars. They are making big advancements, and I think over the next 10-20 years they’ll certainly be matching Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas.”
1. What is this text mainly about?| A．An unknown flying object. |
| B．China is making progress in the space exploration. |
| C．China’s intention of taking over the space. |
| D．How will Chang’e 3 be sent into space? |
| A．Someone pet. |
| B．A goddess in China’s myth. |
| C．The name of the carrier rocket. |
| D．The name of the rover vehicle of Chang’e 3. |
| A．China | B．Russia |
| C．the United States | D．the space station |
| A．To discuss other countries’ progress in space exploration |
| B．To tell readers more about why we should explore the space |
| C．To argue whether China is going to benefit from space programme. |
| D．To explain that China will succeed in the field of space exploration. |
【推荐1】From the top of Mount Qomolangma to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, plastic continues to pollute the environment, and it creates a significant threat to all life forms on Earth. Despite knowing the effects of plastic pollution, we have not been able to ban the use of plastic products. Now, thanks to the invention of a 17-year-old girl, Arora, we finally have a better choice. This plastic-like material is made from prawn shells, and it breaks down 1.5 million times faster than most of the commercial plastic products we use today.
The Australian teen first became aware of the impact of plastic waste on the environment when shopping with her mother. She wondered why her mother had to pay for the plastic bags. When asked, the cashier informed her how plastic hurts the planet and that the additional charge was there to encourage people not to use it. This inspired Arora to create a kind of plastic that would break down faster than the conventional one.
But the journey of inventing “eco-friendly plastic” was not easy. She experimented with a number of organic materials such as cornflour and banana peels, both of which had to be ruled out because of their solubility. One night, while having dinner, she noticed that the shells of prawns look plasticky. She immediately went to the lab to research. Later, she would describe that dinner as her “Eureka” moment.
She extracted the material called “chitin” from the shells and then mixed it with an insoluble protein called “fibroin”, which is found in silk cocoons. Using the combination of these two organic materials, Arora created a plastic-like material that breaks down completely within just 33 days. Moreover, this plastic releases nitrogen when breaking down, which is why it can be used as plant fertilizer.
Arora’s invention has caused a stir, and she has won a number of awards. As an inspiring young woman, Arora wants to make a difference in the world, and she wants to encourage other young people to follow their passion and make a positive difference however they can.
1. What inspired Arora to create a kind of special plastic?| A．A cashier’s words about paid plastic bags. | B．Her determination to protect the prawns. |
| C．A class about plastic’s impact on the planet. | D．Her plan to save money on plastic products. |
| A．A moment of needing reflection. | B．A moment of finding the truth. |
| C．A moment of having sudden inspiration. | D．A moment of enjoying the celebration. |
| A．It is made from non-organic materials. | B．It can break down totally in a month. |
| C．It can be used to help plants to grow. | D．It is extracted from an insoluble protein. |
| A．Brave and clever. | B．Creative and inspiring. |
| C．Active and considerate. | D．Humorous and friendly. |
I was leading an expedition （探险） attempting to reach the south pole．The team was made up of ordinary women from all around the world, from Jamaica, India, Singapore and Cyprus, many of whom had never seen snow, or spent a night in a tent before we set off．Our aim was to be the most international all-female team to reach the South Pole．
As I watched, the rest of the team marched on, unaware that I was not with them．By the time I realized that my sledge was firmly trapped, the team were already a long way ahead of me．I called out to Era, my teammate, " Era! Stop !"
Getting no response I called again, but my shouts were carried away in the opposite direction by the wind．Seconds passed．Nothing．I was gradually being left alone, completely defenseless against the low temperatures of Antarctica．
My strength increased when I thought of a cold lonely death．I pulled again my sledge, which moved a little. I removed the ice with my ski-pole and boot, desperately trying to break the sledge free．The sledge shot forward, knocking me off balance．I struggled to my feet and set off after the team．
I caught up just as Reena, my teammate from India, looked behind her and noticed there was one person missing．She swung around on her skis in shock and spotted me in the near distance．
As we continued, my panic slowly faded．For the rest of the day, each of the team was glancing over their shoulder every few minutes．They were not going to risk losing me again．
1. From the first paragraph we can safely infer that the author ．
| A．disliked her team | B．got seriously ill |
| C．was in panic | D．lost her way |
| A．They were all female． |
| B．They were all professional． |
| C．They made the longest expedition． |
| D．They had been strictly trained． |
| A．the shouts from her teammates |
| B．her strong desire to live |
| C．the sudden change in wind direction |
| D．the natural beauty ahead |
| A．to avoid being attacked from behind |
| B．to make sure that none fell behind |
| C．to check the distance they had covered |
| D．to keep a record of the route they took |
| A．How to survive in Antarctic． |
| B．A mysterious trip to the South Pole． |
| C．A female expedition team． |
| D．Being left behind in the snow． |
【推荐3】Jayce Crowder began noticing when he was in kindergarten that he looked different from his classmates. They had two hands. He had one.
It started when one boy teased him, said his mother, Cortney Lewis. He'd return to their home in Des Moines, Iowa with questions:Why am I different? Why me? Why? How could she provide answers to her son's questions when she had never found those answers herself?
A few weeks later, Lewis came home and turned on the TV. There was a news story about an eighth grader from Washington, Iowa. Trashaun Willis, then 14, had become an Internet sensation after posting videos of his slam dunks, and, like Jayce, most of his left arm was missing. Lewis called Jayce in. He was amazed, watching dunk after dunk.
At the time, it seemed that watching Trashaun would simply be an inspiring moment for Jayce. But little did Lewis know that a family friend had already reached out to The Des Moines Register, asking the newspaper to help set up a meeting with Trashaun to build up Jayce's confidence. The day was not spent on self-pity. They rode bikes around the schools hall ways, took photos, played hide-and-seek, and shot baskets.
At one point, Trashaun did get serious with Jayce. He talked about their left arms. He told Jayce he was perfect the way life made him. He asked Jayce not to let anyone drag him down and not let words shake his confidence. "It reassured me," said Lewis. "I know in my heart that everything's going to be OK. Trashaun has grown up to be a wonderful kid. And I know Jayce is too. As a parent, that's all you want to know：Everything's going to be OK. "
Since that meeting, Lewis has seen a pronounced difference in her son. He recently started wrestling and loved it. Lewis pointed to Trashaun's influence. Meeting him, she said, made Jayce understand that there were others like him.
As for Trashaun, his relationship with Jayce made him look forward to helping more kids, perhaps as a youth coach in NubAbility, a non-profit organization dedicated to coaching kids with limb differences.
1. What was Lewis' reaction to her son’s questions?| A．She was in shock. | B．She felt lost. |
| C．She felt embarrassed, | D．She was in pain. |
| A．Jayce called a newspaper. |
| B．A family friend helped a lot. |
| C．Lewis made efforts to do that. |
| D．Trashaun met Jayce by chance. |
| A．He had been a role model for Jayce. |
| B．He was a hit on the Internet for his kindness. |
| C．He was a volunteer for children with disabilities. |
| D．His good performance in basketball made Jayce down. |
| A．Jayce and Trashaun set up a non-profit organization. |
| B．Jayce and Trashaun became best friends. |
| C．What Trashaun did to Jayce made him a young coach. |
| D．Trashaun tended to devote more to kids with disabilities. |
【推荐1】For the past year or so, my family and I have been enjoying the meal at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. Consistently ranking among the top burger places by fans and publications alike, 5 Guys is growing like mad by offering delicious, affordable handmade patties (小馅饼) and a very generous part of fries.
While everything is delicious, it’s the fries that I want to talk about for a moment. Customers appreciate getting extra value for the same price. 5 Guys does such an amazing thing, such a cool little business trick, that I didn’t catch on until I really thought about it recently.
Here’s what they do: When you order some fries from the counter, the server takes their little paper fries bucket, fills it up, and then puts it in a paper bag. Then they take an even bigger scoop (勺) of fries and put it into the bag, on top of the regular order. I always think, and my kids always say, “I can’t believe how many extra fries we get!”
And then it finally dawned on me. We don’t really get any extra fries at all, do we? The genius of this little show is that for all purposes, it looks and feels like we get extra fries, but the truth is that they planned on giving that amount of fries out anyway, and budget for that. But they package it in such a clever way that you think you’re getting this great deal, this something for nothing.
People love getting a deal. We love saving money. And we like to think we’re that special customer worthy of the extra fries. Does it cost 5 Guys anything extra? No way. Does it build goodwill? You bet.
1. According to Paragraph 1, the author likes 5 Guys because ______.| A．it grows very fast | B．it offers excellent food |
| C．it ranks among the top | D．it is popular among publications |
| A．5 Guys’s delicious fries. | B．5 Guys’s attractive price. |
| C．5 Guys’s way of doing business. | D．5 Guys’s large number of customers. |
| A．The fries outside the fries bucket. | B．The little paper fries bucket. |
| C．The even bigger scoop. | D．The good design of the bag. |
| A．psychology | B．chemistry | C．biology | D．physics |
【推荐2】I’m sure you have noticed that I’m fat. I am the capital F-A-T kind of fat. I am the elephant in the room.
When I was six years old, my sister taught ballet to us little girls. I was about a foot taller and a foot wider than most of the group. When it came to doing our first performance, I was so excited about wearing a pretty pink tutu (短裙) and shining on stage. As the other girls slipped easily into their tutus, none was big enough to fit me. I was determined not to be excluded from the performance, so I turned to my mother and loudly said, “Mom, I don’t need a tutu. I need a fourfour.
Although I didn’t recognize it at the time, claiming space for myself in that glorious fourfour was the first step towards becoming a fat activist. I’m not saying that this has been an easy skip along a glittering path of self-acceptance since that day in class. Far from it. I soon learned that living outside what the mainstream considers normal can be a frustrating place. I’ve been openly laughed at and been told that I’m day-dreaming. I also receive smiles from strangers who recognize what it takes to walk down the street with your head held high.
Through it all, that fierce little six-year-old has stayed with me, and she has helped me stand before you today as a person that simply refuses to subscribe to the dominant concept about how I should move through the world in this body of mine.
And I’m not alone. I am part of an international community of people who choose to flourish in these bodies as they are today. We value mental health, self-worth and how we feel in our bodies as vital aspects to our overall well-being. We are the people who refuse to believe that living in these fat bodies is a barrier to anything.
1. What can we learn about the author at the age of six?| A．She was ashamed of her body. | B．She was eager to perform. |
| C．She was laughed at by others. | D．She was praised by her sister. |
| A．Returned. | B．Hidden. | C．Prevented. | D．Protected. |
| A．Smooth. | B．Heart-breaking. | C．Lonely. | D．Bitter-sweet. |
| A．Fat people should try to lose weight. |
| B．People shouldn’t care about how they look. |
| C．Slim people have better control of their bodies. |
| D．Being fat can’t stop people doing what they like. |
【推荐3】I hate being overweight. My husband said he didn’t mind. But I knew he still hoped I had a beautiful body. Everything from my waist to legs was overweight. When I looked in the mirror, I had to comfort myself that I looked better in full clothes. I was never in the mood to go out. I’d spread my clothes out all over my bed, knowing that I wouldn’t fit into most of them. And when I finally left the house, I’d feel too embarrassed to enjoy myself.
Finally, just after Christmas last year, I decided that something had to be done. I was at my fattest ever after all those big meals and desserts.
I met Dr. Wallace and she was great. She told me I had to stop eating fast food. It was very hard for me because I was eating them three or four times a week: pizza, hamburgers, whatever I could get. But I made a promise to myself at the start that I would try my best to do it—and I did. I even cut down the booze—something I thought I could never do because I used to have two glasses of wine with dinner.
My best friend, Rachel Waterman, said I had to walk 10,000 steps every day. That, too, was very hard for me at the start. I was used to driving everywhere, including the supermarket, which was about three hundred metres from my house!
But I began to walk everywhere instead. I walked in the morning before work, and after work my husband and I took a walk in the park together. Now I never go to bed until I’ve done my 10,000 steps. Last month, my husband bought me an iPod, which keeps me going.
Losing the weight is wonderful—I feel like a different person now, and can finally buy what I want in the shops. I am so proud of myself because everyone thought I wouldn’t be able to do it—including myself.
I love my new body, and I’ll never let myself go back into my old ways.
1. Why didn’t the author like to go out much?| A．She had no beautiful clothes. | B．She was overweight. |
| C．She hated social life. | D．Her husband didn’t like her to. |
| A．Stopping eating junk food. | B．Cutting down the booze. |
| C．Giving up drinking wine. | D．Promising to be on a diet. |
| A．To protect her from injuries. | B．To help her to relax herself. |
| C．To encourage her to keep on. | D．To stop her walking too much. |
| A．Her strong willpower. | B．A balanced diet. |
| C．Exercising regularly. | D．Friends’ encouragement. |
