A new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health finds air pollution may negatively impact standardized test scores. Using data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center, the researchers tracked 2.8 million public school students in North Carolina from 2001 to 2018 and measured their exposure to PM2.5 found in polluted air. While previous research has shown negative effects on academic performance, it has relied on relatively small or less representative samples. “The biggest strength of this study is that we tracked every student in North Carolina in those years, for the whole time period that they were in the public schools,” said Emma Zang, coauthor of the study.
The study also finds that test scores of ethnic minorities and girls are disproportionately (不成比例地) impacted by PM2.5 levels. “Females and ethnic minorities face sexism and racism,” said Zang. “There are a lot of policies that are not friendly towards them. So, when they’re exposed to the same level of air pollution, they don’t have the resources to lessen the negative influences.” More privileged populations, however, might have more resources that allow them to live in a better environment, such as in houses with air purifiers.
“The level of PM2.5 pollution in the US is relatively low, but students living in areas below the current air quality standard of annual PM2.5 concentration are still negatively impacted by air pollution when it comes to their test scores,” said Zang. “We should aim to strengthen the annual PM2.5 standard to better protect our children.”
Air pollution is known to contribute to disease and death, and it also negatively affects students’ academic performance even at low levels of pollution. The subsequent studies, the researchers said, would involve looking at whether the findings hold true in different areas, and also the reasons behind the ethnic and sexual differences.
1. What’s the greatest advantage of the study?| A．Tracking each student for 18 years. | B．Collecting more comprehensive data. |
| C．Measuring students’ PM2.5 exposure precisely. | D．Building links between air pollution and test scores. |
| A．benefit from current policies on PM2.5 pollution |
| B．have the lowest test scores due to their identities |
| C．lack resources to reduce the impact of air pollution |
| D．suffer from educational inequalities owing to their background |
| A．Offering a suggestion. | B．Raising a doubt. |
| C．Making a comparison. | D．Giving a prediction. |
| A．Applicability of the findings to other regions. | B．Ways to address racial and sexual differences. |
| C．Long-term impacts of air pollution on children. | D．Establishment of PM2.5 standard fit for children. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A study published recently shows that tomato fruits are able to transmit alerts to their mother plant when attacked by caterpillars.
Plants have a large number of chemical and hormonal signaling pathways, which are generally transmitted through the sap (树液). Given the fact that fruits just hang from the main plant before ultimately falling off and sap typically only runs from the plant to the fruit — not back and forth between the two — it has long been unclear whether or not fruits can transmit information to the plant.
To address that question, scientists at Brazil’s Federal University of Pelotas placed tomato plants in a Faraday cage. Electrodes (电极) were attached to the ends of the plants’ branches at the points where they connected to the fruits. Then they measured electrical responses within the branches before, during and after a 24-hour period in which the fruits were attacked by caterpillars. Machine-learning-based algorithms were used to identify patterns in the signals.
It was found that there was a “clear difference” between the signals before and after caterpillar attacks. Additionally. defensive biochemical responses were observed throughout the plants’ bodies, suggesting that they had been triggered by signals sent by the fruits. There searchers gave the following explanation. The tomato fruit, sensing a nearby insect, released electrical signals to reach the rest of the plant. These warnings impulses were received by the main plant and as a result, the rest of the plant got prepared to fight off the unwanted invaders. The tomato fruit made sure that the plant produced chemicals that were unpleasant to taste, so that hungry caterpillars stayed off the fruit.
The scientists now plan on investigating whether other fruiting plants behave in the same manner as tomatoes, and whether their fruits respond to threats other than insects. They believe understanding how the plant interacts with its fruits, and the fruits among themselves, may bring insights into how to make use of this communication for enhancing fruit quality, resistance to pests and shelf life after harvest.
1. Which of the following magazine is the text most likely selected from?| A．Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. |
| B．Extraordinary Architect. |
| C．National Geographic. |
| D．The Economist. |
| A．A medium that can transmit signals. |
| B．A firewall that can prevent attacks. |
| C．A shelter where information stores. |
| D．A pathway which water runs through. |
| A．It fought against the invaders. |
| B．It produced an unpleasant taste. |
| C．It released a stinky smell. |
| D．It emitted electrical signals. |
| A．Improve fruit output. |
| B．Decrease pest species. |
| C．Expand research fields. |
| D．Investigate other insects. |
【推荐2】The Royal Mint has announced plans for a new factory about where it will process electronic junk to extract (提炼) precious metals for coins and gold bars. The factory is scheduled to open at Llantrisant in South Wales next year. It will be the first of its kind in the world.
The Royal Mint is a government-owned company that makes coins for the UK and lots of other countries. Most of its coins are made from cheaper metals such as copper, tin and zinc, but the Mint sometimes makes coins and medals from precious metals like gold and silver. It also makes gold bars, known as bullion (金条). Countries and banks like to keep gold bars because they are very valuable and their price doesn’t tend to go up or down suddenly.
The precious metals used by the Mint are mostly mined (开采) from the ground but now it plans to make use of the large amounts of electronic waste (known as e-waste) that is thrown away in the UK each year. Many electronic devices use small quantities of precious metals such as gold and silver because they are good conductors (导体) of electricity. However, it is reported that just 20% of old electronics are recycled worldwide. This is not just a waste, but it can be dangerous, because when e-waste is buried in rubbish dumps, metals and chemicals can cause great damage to the environment.
At present, e-waste from the UK is sent abroad to be processed to gain precious metals. The new factory will use chemical reactions to do the same job much quicker and use far less energy. The process can extract 99% of the precious metals from plastic circuit boards (电路板) within a few seconds, and could provide the Mint with hundreds of kilograms of gold each year.
“Our new factory will see the Royal Mint become a leader in sustainably sourced (可持续来源的) metals,” said Anne Jessopp, the Mint’s chief executive. She added that the factory would also help the UK process its own e-waste, rather than sending it to other countries.
1. What does the Royal Mint’s new factory intend to do?| A．To get precious metals from e-waste. | B．To find new places to recycle e-waste. |
| C．To separate the garbage into groups. | D．To make coins from cheap metals. |
| A．Recycling it is challenging. | B．Most e-waste isn’t now recycled. |
| C．It does little harm to the environment. | D．Most e-waste is now fully used by people. |
| A．It uses no chemical reactions. | B．It can process all kinds of e-waste. |
| C．It is highly effective by using less energy. | D．It can extract 100% of the precious metals. |
| A．E-waste recycling—a new way to extract precious metals. |
| B．How to make full use of e-waste? |
| C．Is it right to send e-waste to other countries? |
| D．The Royal Mint—the coin-making factory. |
【推荐3】New study shows rapid decline in insect populations. A growing number of the Earth's insect population now can be seen only in collections on exhibitions. Nobody's seen those for 400 years. A new review of over 70 studies of insect populations suggests that human pressures are causing insect populations to plummet by as much as a quarter every decade. The loss of species is inevitably concerning because often we don’t know what those species are doing or we don’t know what other species are depending on them.
Insects make up the largest class of animals on earth and represent more than half of all known living creatures. They are incredibly diverse, and in many ways make life on Earth possible. But when we decrease the number of species, we're destroying ecosystem function. Why does that matter? It is because that it's ecosystems that support humans. But those life-support systems that keep us alive, even if we live in a city, are produced by healthy ecosystems. And none of these ecosystems will run well without insects. Bees and butterflies pollinate(授粉) our food, flowers and trees. They feed all kinds of larger animals, including humans. A large number of crops we eat and rely on are pollinated by insects, so we can’t imagine a world where that pollination process is not taking place.
And there are some cases already around the world where we are having to pollinate by hand, at huge cost, a huge economic cost, simply because the insects aren’t there to do the work that we would normally ask them to do for free. And in some cases, if you’re talking about food crops, just try to imagine the scale of what the world would look like if insects weren't doing that for us. One big warning, all of the studies come from industrialized countries in Europe and North America. In some areas, the decline is even more rapid. According to one recent study, the number of ground insects in Puerto Rico has fallen by 98% over the last 35 years. A growing body of research shows that insects are declining about twice as fast as vertebrates.
The researchers predict that all insect species could be gone in a century in these industrialized countries.
1. What does the underlined word “plummet” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Reduce. | B．Increase. |
| C．Disappear. | D．Raise. |
| A．we can make a big profit by pollinating by hand |
| B．insects have no impact on industrial development |
| C．pollinating by hand can replace pollinating by insects |
| D．insects account for the largest composition in the entire animal kingdom |
| A．Unclear. | B．Concerned. |
| C．Suspicious. | D．Critical. |
| A．using research results | B．making comparisons |
| C．giving some examples | D．telling personal stories |
【推荐1】Social media has completely taken over everyday life, affecting how society runs and changing individuals in ways that even they can feel. While social media can act as a platform for people to express themselves, it can also be overwhelming, especially for high school teens.
To teenager Bryson Lan, deleting social media helped eliminate a significant distraction in his routine and keep up with teachers. “I was scrolling (滚动) through social networking sites so much,” Lan said. “I was also starting to struggle since I entered my high school year. When school started, I was super overwhelmed (不知所措的), and I was just not ready for it.
Most teenagers fear that by eliminating these apps, they will miss out on connections with their peers and feel a significant loss to their social life. However, Lan found he didn’t miss anything during his time without social media.
Another problem with social media is the amount of “junk content” posted. People are regularly posting and updating on social media, and much of the content has no meaning to other viewers and is ultimately a time suck.
However, social media isn’t all negative. Social media can be a place to develop passions and boost creativity. For example, Lan found his interest in photography blossom after seeing works from other photographers on social media. “Social media is a good place where you can have a portfolio (作品集) or upload your works,” Lan said. “A lot of people have photography accounts or art accounts. In some ways, I think it actually furthers your hobby.”
The vast audience that social media can reach brings convenience and effectiveness in the spread of art. Although some people might be discouraged by other artists’ impressive works, Lan is inspired to produce better photographs.
“Thanks to this revolutionary development of social media, we can enjoy a world where everyone is closer than before,” Lan said. “But we also need to have the skills to make good use of social media, and that depends on each person’s efforts.”
1. What did getting rid of social media bring Lan?| A．More distractions. | B．Confusion about life. |
| C．A smaller social circle. | D．More attention on his studies. |
| A．A waste of time. | B．A timetable. | C．A lack of time. | D．A time switch. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Objective. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Most teenagers’ opinions on social media. | B．The effects social media has on teenagers. |
| C．Innovative development of social media. | D．The problems social media brings people. |
【推荐2】Despite the negative international headlines that have hit Huawei over the past few months, its consumer business continues to thrive. The Chinese technology giant replaced Apple as the secondlargest smartphone player by global market share last year. It's firmly the biggest vendor(销售商) in China.
Chinese consumers say they've been attracted to Huawei's newest features, the price points and the fact that it's a domestic brand.“Using Huawei's mobile phones is supporting domestic brands. We hope our brands can go international，” Vikey, a Guangzhoubased Huawei user, told CNBC. She added that Huawei phones are “costeffective” and have good features while iPhones are “more of a trend”. One of the key features that Huawei introduced was a triplelens camera on its P20 Pro, which was launched last year.
For the next 12 months, the iPhone lacks one of the most appealing features of current winners in the Chinese smartphone market, the triplelens camera. The Huawei P20 Pro led the march.
Retailers (零销售) are slashing (大幅消减) iPhone prices across China as consumers say the phones aren't worth the cost. Apple's latest iPhone models are facing huge discounts in China as retailers try to sell the struggling devices. That comes as the topoftheline Apple smartphones have posted poor China sales on what experts say are toohigh prices for the world's largest smartphone market and a lack of innovative features compared to local competitors like Huawei. The technology giant itself acknowledged earlier this month that unexpectedly low sales in the Chinese market would likely lead to worse than anticipated first quarter profits.
One of the most recent iPhone cost cuts in the country came from Suning, a large Chinese retailer, which changed the price of the 128GB version of the iPhone XR from 6,999 yuan to 5,799 yuan — a 1,200 yuan discount.
Other retailers in China are also putting their iPhones on sale. Sunion, an Apple reseller, was advertising 700 yuan off for both the 128GB and 256GB versions of the iPhone XR. Ecommerce site Pinduoduo, which allows thirdparties to sell products, also had hefty(很大的) discounts across all of the latest iPhone models.
1. What does the underlined word “thrive” probably mean in the first paragraph?| A．Reduce. | B．Remain. |
| C．Threaten. | D．Increase. |
| A．More of a trend. | B．Costeffective. |
| C．Toohigh prices. | D．A lack of innovative features. |
| A．Suning. | B．Sunion. |
| C．CNBC. | D．Pinduoduo. |
| A．Updating of technology counts. |
| B．Advertising of the products matters. |
| C．The sale strategy is invisible. |
| D．The iPhone still leads the trend in China. |
【推荐3】Fifteen people have come out of a cave (山洞) in southwest France after 40 days underground in an experiment to see how the absence of clocks, smartphones, daylight and communication would influence their sense of time.
Marina Lançon, one of the seven women taking part in the experiment, said, “I did not feel any rush to do anything and wished I could have stayed in the cave a few days longer, but I am happy to feel the wind and hear birdsong again. I won’t look at my smartphone for a few more days, hoping to avoid a return to real life.”
The group lived in and explored the cave as part of a project called Deep Time. The cave was cool inside -- about 10°C, and its air was very wet. The campers slept in tents (帐篷). If they wanted light, they had to make it themselves by riding a special bike. They had to get all of their water themselves by pulling it up from a well deep below the cave.
Scientists at the Human Adaption Institute, which is leading the ₤860,000 project, say the experiment will help them better understand how people get used to big changes in living conditions and environments.
The campers were told to sleep and eat whenever they wanted. Because there were no clocks, they counted the days depending on how many times they had slept. When the 40-day experiment was over, most people thought they’d been in the cave for about 30 days. One man thought that only 23 days had passed.
“Our future as humans on this planet will evolve (演变),” Clot, the project director, said. “We must learn to better understand how our brains are able to find new ways to settle problems, whatever the situation is.”
1. What do Marina Lançon’s words show?| A．She learned a lot from the experiment. |
| B．She thought smartphones were useless. |
| C．She felt unhappy to get out of the cave. |
| D．She will return to her daily life slowly. |
| A．Hard. | B．Lonely. | C．Happy. | D．Busy. |
| A．The people valued time more. | B．The people lost sense of time. |
| C．The people slept better than usual. | D．The people were healthier than before. |
| A．Fifteen people lived in a cave in France |
| B．A cave in France is used for an experiment |
| C．People left a cave after a 40-day experiment |
| D．Fifteen campers went to explore a cave in France |
【推荐1】This summer, daytime temperatures topped 100 degrees for a full month in northwest China. Southern Europe experienced waves of 100-plus degree days. Heat waves show a serious reality: human-driven climate change is making extreme heat worse worldwide. But health-threatening heat isn’t the only result of record-breaking weather: air pollution happens when the temperatures rise according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization.
The new report, which focuses on 2022, shows the growing risk of air pollution connected to wildfires. Hotter temperatures increase the risk of large the risk of large, hot-burning fires, which can pump enormous plumes of smoke into the air. That smoke causes health problems near the fire but also for people thousands of miles downwind.
Extreme heat, also drives up the likelihood of drought, which in turn makes big dust storms more likely. Great clouds of fine dust blew off major deserts last year, particularly affecting the Arabian Peninsula region. Southern Europe also got hit by a major dust storm after a heat wave baked the deserts of northern Africa in the summer.
“That’s a very bad combination of conditions,” says Julie Nicely, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Maryland, who worked on the report. That mix is particularly dangerous for elderly people, or people with breathing sensitivities. “That is very bad for the lungs and the cardiovascular (心血管),” she says.
Air pollution levels have dropped in the past few decades in response to environmental regulations like the Clean Air Act in the United States. Ozone pollution (臭氧污染), however, remains a problem. The report authors point out that the extra heat in the atmosphere driven by climate change overpowers even the gains made by strict environmental protections. The authors suggested focusing on the importance of slowing or changing human-caused climate change as quickly as possible.
“Climate change and air quality cannot be treated separately. They go hand in hand and must be solved together to break this cycle,” WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said in a press release.
1. Why is the extreme weather in northwest China and southern Europe mentioned in Para l?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To show the serious situation. |
| C．To warn people of the bad weather. |
| D．To compare two countries’ weather. |
| A．Air pollution is likely to be solved in the future. |
| B．Climate change and air quality are closely connected. |
| C．It’s no use slowing or changing human-caused climate change. |
| D．People’s efforts to protect the environment make no difference. |
| A．It deals with the air pollution completely. |
| B．It makes a big difference to the air problem. |
| C．It has made the problem of air pollution worse. |
| D．It is partly effective in dealing with air pollution. |
| A．A science magazine. |
| B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A research paper. |
| D．An encyclopedia. |
【推荐2】What Is Particulate Matter?
There are things floating around in the air. Most of them, you cannot even see. They are a kind of air pollution called particles or particulate matter. In fact, particulate matter may be the air pollutant that most commonly affects people’s health.
Have a Look.
Particles can come in almost any shape or size, and can be solid particles or liquid droplets.
BIG.
The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times thinner than a human hair). These particles are called PM 10 (we say “PM ten”, which stands for Particulate Matter up to 10 micrometers in size).
SMALL.
The small particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (100 times thinner than a human hair).
The smaller particles are lighter and they stay in the air longer and travel farther. PM 10 (big) particles can stay in the air for minutes or hours while PM 2.5 (small) particles can stay in the air for days or weeks. And travel?
Particulate Matter and Your Health.
Both PM 10 (big) and PM 2.5 (small) particles can cause health problems, specifically respiratory (呼吸的) health. When you breathe, you take in the air along with any particles that are in the air, like heavy metals and cancer-causing organic compounds.
| A．These particles are called PM 2.5. |
| B．We divide particles into two major groups. |
| C．These particles cause less severe health effects. |
| D．Air pollution is a growing problem in the whole world. |
| E．PM 2.5 can have worse health effects than the bigger PM 10. |
| F．PM 10 particles can travel as little as a hundred yards or as much as 30 miles. |
| G．Both visible and invisible air pollutants have great effects on our environment, our health, and the quality of our lives. |
【推荐3】Landscape paintings of the 19th century displayed in London’s Tate Britain museum looked rather familiar to Anna Lea Albright, a climate researcher. Artist William Turner’s unique way of painting objects in foggy weather let Albright recall her early research on air pollution.
“I started wondering if there was a connection,” says Albright, who visited the museum on a day off from work. Turner — an English Romantic painter — was painting as increasing industrial plants earned London the name “The Big Smoke”. Turner’s early works were done with sharp details while later works had a dreamier aesthetic (美感).
To figure out to what extent Impressionists were reflecting the environmental conditions of that time, Albright partnered with climatologist Peter Huybers. They analyzed the contrast of 60 works created by Turner from 1796 to 1850 and 38 paintings by Monet between 1864 and 1901. It turned out that as the release of sulfur dioxide (二氧化硫) increased over time, the amount of contrast in both Turner’s and Monet’s paintings decreased. However, works set in Paris by Monet between 1864 and 1872 showed relatively higher contrast compared with Turner’s London-based works created 20 years earlier. This, Albright and Huybers say, can be due to the much slower start of the Industrial Revolution in France.
The researchers also analyzed the paintings’ visibility, or the distance at which an object can be clearly seen. Before 1830, the visibility in Turner’s paintings averaged about 25 kilometers while paintings after 1830 had the average visibility of about 10 kilometers. To strengthen their argument, the researchers also analyzed 18 paintings from four other London-and Paris-based Impressionists. Again, as outdoor air pollution increased, the contrast and visibility in the paintings decreased.
The researchers calculate that air pollution can explain about 61 percent of contrast differences between the paintings. In that respect, “different painters will paint in a similar way when the environment is similar,” Albright says. “But I don’t want to overstep the line and say: Oh, we can explain all of Impressionism.”
1. Why is Albright’s visit to a museum mentioned?| A．To connect art with research. | B．To introduce previous foggy weather. |
| C．To show impacts of Turner’s painting. | D．To explain inspiration for her new study. |
| A．His personal habits. | B．His drawing techniques. |
| C．The higher level of industrialization. | D．The influence of Impressionists. |
| A．Painting styles vary with time and regions. | B．Air pollution needs to be controlled. |
| C．Lower visibility is more popular in works. | D．Changes in it may relate to air quality. |
| A．Objective. | B．Optimistic. | C．Enthusiastic. | D．Doubtful. |
