Electronic heroes
As an internet influencer, there seems to be nothing special about Miquela Sousa. The 19-year-old lives in Los Angeles, US, posts pictures of herself sporting fashionable looks, and has just made her way into the March edition of Vogue magazine. But Miquela isn't real – she is a computer-generated character.
Her fans don't seem to mind – she has 855,000 followers on US social networking platform Instagram. And her first single Not Mine – yes, she ''sings'' too – also reached No. 8 on music streaming (流媒体) platform Spotify last August.
It's kind of curious that in a time when authenticity (真实性) and ''being real'' are valued more than ever, ''fake'' celebrities like Miquela are appreciated and seen as icons (偶像).
Perhaps the reason for Miquela's popularity lies behind the fame of a similar star, Hatsune Miku. This 16-year-old animated singer from Japan has held singing concerts not only in her home country but also in the US and China.
Even though Hatsune's no more than a 3-D figure projected (投射) onto the stage, her fans are more than willing to pay to actually see her ''in person'', because to them, she's better than human singers. ''She's rather more like a goddess: She has human parts, but she transcends (超越) human limitations. She's the great post-human pop star, '' wrote reporter James Verini on Wired magazine.
Critics may say that 3-D stars could never replace the authenticity of humans, but when it comes to being authentic, are humans really the best example of how to do it? Most of us edit our photos before posting them online, and we tend to create a fantasy that we're living a perfect life by letting people only see the brighter side of it.
''Miquela is no less real to me than any other internet stranger with whom I've interacted (互动), '' wrote reporter Leora Yashari on the website Nylon. “Her existence in itself represents a new breed (种类) of influencer – someone who is breaking the boundaries (界限) of what is real and what is fake. ''
1. Who is Miquela Sousa?| A．She's a life-like character with musical talents. |
| B．She's a new sports star with fashionable looks. |
| C．She's an experienced singer with thousands of fans. |
| D．She's an animated figure created by a Japanese company. |
| A．To show the similarities 3-D stars share. |
| B．To make a comparison with Miquela Sousa. |
| C．To explain why 3-D stars are well received. |
| D．To stress how 3-D stars go beyond human limitations. |
| A．3-D stars could match the authenticity of humans one day. |
| B．Animated celebrities are not as real as human celebrities. |
| C．Human celebrities have greater influence than animated ones. |
| D．3-D stars' public personalities may be just as authentic as humans'. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】When it comes to poverty relief efforts in the developing world, small is the new big. Consider juncao, a group of wild grasses that have become one of China’s most significant contributions to the world’s sustainable development, with multiple uses being shared by people in 105 countries to help tackle food issues and desertification (沙漠化).
Juncao, which literally means “the herbal plant for growing edible (食用的) mushrooms”, has worked miracles for Chinese scientists who are cultivating it as a substrate (培养基) for growing edible and medicinal mushrooms or as food for livestock, as well as using it as green barrier to stop sand hills from advancing.
China introduced the grass and its cultivation technology to Papua New Guinea more than 20 years ago to help local formers raise livestock and grow edible mushrooms. “We hope we will help double the agricultural production capacity and farmers’ incomes in Papua New Guinea,” said Lin Zhanxi, a 79-year-old professor with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and the chief scientist for grass development.
It’s been 35 years since Lin selected the grass species to replace wood as a substrate for growing mushrooms in East China’s Fujian province, and this has saved a vast coverage of natural forest there. Through the years, Lin has developed 45 varieties of juncao, which can be used to cultivate 55 mushroom species.
Despite his age, Lin has often traveled afar to help people in developing countries learn about the benefits of this agricultural technology. "The first time I went to Papua New Guinea in 1997, I realized how people there were struggling with extreme poverty," Lin said. At that time, a tribe chief knelt down before Lin to thank him for bringing the technique to save them from starvation. To his astonishment, the tribe people celebrated the whole night. Members of the team were so touched that they decided to stay and help the people shake off poverty. In a land without electricity or modern devices, the team members worked there for eight years to teach locals how to cultivate and use the grass.
1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?| A．The promotion of juncao. | B．The appearance of juncao. |
| C．The application of juncao. | D．The evolution of juncao. |
| A．To feed livestock. | B．To fight against sandstorm. |
| C．To grow mushrooms. | D．To relieve its poverty. |
| A．People cut down trees to use the wood as a substrate. |
| B．People covered mushrooms with leaves. |
| C．People grew mushrooms in the natural forest. |
| D．People relied on wild grass to grow mushrooms. |
| A．A tribe chief knelt down before him. |
| B．Locals celebrated for his technology all night. |
| C．Natives lack electricity and modern devices. |
| D．The team worked there for eight years. |
【推荐2】Anyone eager to view from high the cityscapes of Guangdong, a province in southern China, may soon be able to do so from the cabin of a flying taxi. On October 13th the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)awarded a “type certificate”, a crucial piece of aviation paperwork, to the world’s first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) taxi. And in case that does not sound futuristic enough, the small two-seater, called the EH216-s, was also cleared to fly without a pilot on board.
The EH216-S is made by EHang, a company based in Guangdong. It looks like a scaled-up consumer drone (无人机) with a passenger bubble mounted on top. Propulsion (动力) is provided by 16 small rotors (转子), mounted on the tips of eight arms that fold away when the vehicle is not in use, allowing it to park in small spaces.
The CAAC gave its approval after EHang had conducted more than 40,000 test flights, including with volunteer passengers in 18 cities across China. It also subjected the EH216-S to structural analysis and crash tests, and checked its ability to keep flying if one of its rotors fails. Regulators also inspected the wireless network which EHang uses to link its flying taxis to a control centre on the ground. That allows backup pilots to land an aircraft by remote control if there is a problem.
EHang says its pilotless eVTOLs will be quieter than helicopters, their closest cousins, and much cheaper to operate, thanks in part to the ability to swap (交换) out an expensive pilot, for a second paying passenger. Performance, though, will be limited, at least at first. The EH216-S has a range of about 30 km, and a speed of up to 130 kph. The firm thinks that doing away with pilots will make things safer too. A computer’s attention never wavers (动摇). And flying is, in many ways, much easier to automate than driving, for there are fewer obstacles and unexpected situations to navigate.
EHang has ambitions beyond China, too. The firm’s closest competitors are Volocopter, a German company, and a pair of Californian firms, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. All three are conducting test flights of piloted eVTOLs of various designs.
1. What does the underlined word “cleared” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Produced. | B．Approved. | C．Removed. | D．Tested. |
| A．What features EH216-S possesses. |
| B．How strict the standard of EHang is. |
| C．What benefits pilotless eVTOLs have. |
| D．How EH216-S gets its approval. |
| A．EVTOLs will definitely bring in a huge profit. |
| B．EVTOLs are popular worldwide. |
| C．EHang may face challenges in expanding future market. |
| D．EHang will improve its design to defeat competitors. |
| A．An ad in a magazine. | B．A review of a bestseller. |
| C．A column in a newspaper. | D．A chapter of a science book. |
【推荐3】The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating that the world is quickly running out of time to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. To get there, the world would have to cut current emissions by 45 percent by 2030. That sounds absurdly unlikely.
But before we give in to despair, we should remember that the technology to address climate change is going along at a high speed. The largest source of U. S. carbon emissions is transportation, and a Green New Deal for motor vehicles would be quite straightforward.
The reason is simple: with some subsidies(补贴), electric cars and buses are now cost-competitive with fossil-fuel vehicles. Electric buses have made the greatest speed into the market, because they are a logical choice for electrification. By the end of 2018, electric vehicles were displacing about 280.000 barrels of oil demand per day——about 84 percent of which was due to buses.
But the electric car market is also reaching maturity(成熟), with appealing designs, longer range, and a quickly-expanding rapid charging network in many countries. It’s worth emphasizing that most of the infrastructure(基础设施) necessary to recharge electric vehicles already exists. People often tend to assume that we would need to replace every gas station, but virtually all homes and businesses already have an electrical connection which can be easily improved for fast charging. All that is needed to go fully electric is enough battery capacity and fast charging stations to deal with long trips.
Now America would have to repair its electricity production, freight rail, shipping, and so on to fully decarbonizes(脱碳)the transportation sector, which taken together will be considerably more difficult than simply extirpating fossil fuel vehicles from the market.
But greening America’s vehicle would be straightforward, relatively cheap, and a huge stride forward on climate. The politics of climate change are so fearful that despair can seem logical, but the first step to achieving a tough goal is the confident belief that it can be done. And this particular step wouldn't even be that tough.
1. How's the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius according to Paragraph 1?| A．Reasonable. | B．Safe. | C．Realistic. | D．Impossible. |
| A．By getting financial support from government. | B．By running at the greatest speed. |
| C．By changing the way of transportation. | D．By making consumers make logical choices. |
| A．Replace as many as gas stations. | B．Solve the problem of long trips. |
| C．Build more infrastructures for recharging. | D．Make businesses have electrical connections. |
| A．Repairing. | B．Producing. | C．Moving. | D．Forbidding. |
【推荐1】Facebook is to allow users to clean up their profiles by hiding posts and photographs dating from when they were teenagers or at university in fears it could hinder their future job prospects. It said it had added the feature because “we know things change in people's lives” and that it wished to make it easier for people to “accurately reflect” who they were in the present. It said the public would be able to use the “Manage Activity” tool to search their posts by year or person, and delete or save those posts in bulk.
If users save posts, they will not just be hidden from timelines, as they are with the current "Hide" feature, but from across Facebook as a whole, regardless of where it was posted or who was tagged in it. Such tools could prove useful to those looking to clean up their social media presence ahead of job interviews by making it impossible to find old posts of parties, nights out or fancy dress that could show them in a negative light.
However, the move may cause some concern that Facebook is allowing people to whitewash their history, making it more difficult for people to search through posts for evidence of damaging comments.
Over the past few years, it has become relatively easy to search through old posts, with the company in 2015 introducing a new indexing tool, by which users could search for terms such as “posts about drunk'' and bring up lists of someone's historic posts. This has led to revelations over a number of high-profile figures, who have faced criticism over comments they had made on Facebook in the past.
In November, Conservative election candidate Antony Calvert stepped down from campaigning in Wakefield after historic Facebook posts emerged from 2010 and 2011 in which he made racist and sexist remarks. Mr. Calvert, who had once referred to the capital as “Londonistan”, said the entries were more than 10 years old, were not meant to be taken seriously and did not represent his views.
1. What does Facebook allow people to do?| A．Hide negative files. | B．Whitewash their work. |
| C．Delete new features. | D．Search historic posts. |
| A．To spread a new indexing tool. | B．To ensure a bright future. |
| C．To respect high-profile figures. | D．To focus on present conduct. |
| A．Raise. | B．Adjust. | C．Destroy. | D．Interrupt. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Understandable. | C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
【推荐2】The study by University of Arizona researchers, published in the Creativity Research Journal, finds that creative people are more likely to fruitfully use idle (空闲的) time by letting one idea lead to another.
“In psychology and neuroscience, most studies on human thoughts either prompt (提示) participants to think in a certain way or ask them to report on thoughts they experienced, but less is known about how thoughts naturally arise and unfold over time in unprompted contexts,” said Jessica Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and senior author of the paper. “This is where our study comes in.”
The researchers divided the study into two parts. For the first experiment, the researchers asked each participant to sit alone in a room for 10 minutes without any access to digital devices. In the absence of any particular prompt, the participants were asked to voice their thoughts aloud in real time. The recorded files from 81 participants were then transcribed (转录) and analyzed.
The first experiment found that creative people were more engaged in their thoughts when they were left alone without distractions, such as cell phones and the Internet. “Creative people rated themselves as being less bored, even over those 10 minutes. They also spoke more words overall, which indicated that their thoughts were more likely to move freely,” said Andrews-Hanna.
For the second experiment, over 2,600 adults answered questions through a smartphone app called Mind Window, developed by Andrews-Hanna and her graduate student Eric Andrews. Participants who self-identified as being creative reported being less bored during the idle time.
The researchers are continuing this line of work using their Mind Window app. They encourage people to download and use the app to help scientists understand how people across the world think in their everyday lives. “Understanding why different people think the way they do may lead to promising interventions to improve health and well-being,” said Andrews-Hanna.
1. What do Andrews-Hanna’s words in paragraph 2 focus on?| A．The necessity of the study. | B．The value of former studies. |
| C．The participants of the study. | D．The process of former studies. |
| A．They spoke out what they thought. | B．They recorded their own voices. |
| C．They remembered some prompts. | D．They finished a number of reports. |
| A．They made better use of digital devices. |
| B．They enjoyed idle time more than others. |
| C．They were more likely to understand others. |
| D．They were more willing to share their thoughts. |
| A．Educational. | B．Fashionable. | C．Expensive. | D．Beneficial. |
【推荐3】Would you like your water running from the tap or coming out of the river in the remote village? For supporters of the new drinking trend known as "raw water" , the latter choice is as clear as a Poland Spring.
According to a New York Times article published recently, a growing number of American experts are turning off their taps and switching to untreated water from natural sources, whose prices rise up to $36. 99 for 2.5-gallon jug.
Why? Isn't raw water just water - only less regulated ? According to the Times, part of the movement's success may come from that very "off the grid(滤网)" appeal: Raw water passes through no federal pipes and contains no additives, ensuring every bottle remains as mineral-rich as Mother Nature intended.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature sometimes intends to give you an unpleasant kind of disease instead. Without an exact knowledge of where your water comes from, it's hard to say what's in it and who handles it on its journey from spring to bottle - this is why water gets filtered (过 滤)in the first place，Hill, chief of the Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch in Atlanta， said, and why the Environmental Protection Agency enforces strict quality guidelines on public water providers.
According to the WHO, polluted drinking water is one of the most dangerous preventable health risks the world faces. For this reason, the authority recommends that all backcountry water ( sourced from a spring or otherwise) should be properly filtered or boiled before being drunk.
1. According to the passage, what's the new drinking trend?| A．Spring water. | B．Tap water. | C．Untreated water. | D．Bottled water. |
| A．It is as clear as spring water. |
| B．It is coming without the grid. |
| C．It is passing through federal pipes, |
| D．It contains mineral and additives. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Supportive. | C．Suspicious. | D．Critical. |
| A．Do You Dare to Drink "Raw" Water |
| B．Please Drink Clean and Natural Water |
| C．Look for Springs and Sell Them |
| D．Drinking "Raw" Water Is Trendy |
【推荐1】Every autumn and winter, a large number of migratory birds look for shelter in the area around Fan Yunting’s home village of Daxinzhuang in Kaifeng, Henan province. It is always the busiest time of the year for the 66-year-old farmer.
Braving bitterly cold winds and occasional heavy snow, he often patrols(巡逻)more than 10 kilometers a day by bike along the banks of the Yellow River. Fan has been doing this unpaid work for more than 20 years. To date, he has helped over 500 wild birds that have been trapped, injured or even poisoned, and prevented illegal(非法的) hunting more than 200 times. His devotion has seen him wear out five bikes.
His love for birds dates back to his childhood. As a small boy, he often fed wild birds with whatever food he could get. In early adulthood, he not only kept the habit, but also sold crops for money to treat any injured or sick birds he came across. He even sometimes bought meat to feed wild eagles.
At then, when few people were aware of the need to protect birds, his actions won him the nickname “Idiot”. However, he just smiled when he was called the name and continued his protection work without complaint.
Later, the officials invited him to work as a volunteer for wildlife protection. He accepted it with pleasure. Since then, from October to March, when many migratory birds arrive to overwinter, Fan usually gets up at about 5 am to patrol the shores of the Yellow River near his village.
The freezing temperatures are not the only challenge he has had to face. In 2001, he even argued with hunters. “I tried to persuade a group to stop hunting. But they refused and together they started to beat me,” he recalled.
Fan’s strong will has brought him many honorary titles. He became a model worker of China in 2020. In 2021, he was selected as one of the country’s top 100 model volunteers in the field of environmental protection.
1. What makes every autumn and winter the busiest time for Fan Yunting?| A．Protecting migratory birds. | B．Doing a lot of paid work. |
| C．Hunting migratory birds. | D．Building shelters for migratory birds. |
| A．His neighbors’ encouragement. | B．Receiving many honorary titles. |
| C．His deep love for birds. | D．The officials’ invitation |
| A．A hero. | B．A fool. | C．A guide. | D．A fan. |
| A．Boring. | B．Dangerous. | C．Meaningful. | D．Relaxing. |
【推荐2】Queen Elizabeth is known for her devotion to her country, her close relationships with her family and, most importantly, her corgis.
Unfortunately, over the weekend she lost the last of her royal corgis, Willow. According to The Daily Mail, the 15-year-old dog had to be put to death after suffering a cancer-related illness. This marks the first time that the 91-year-old Queen is without a corgi in the royal household since World War Ⅱ.
In 2015, Monty Roberts, the Queen’s dog trainer, shared some details with Vanity Fair about her pets. Roberts encouraged Queen Elizabeth to continue breeding (繁殖) corgis, but, in her old age, she didn’t want to leave any young dog behind. She did, however, adopt a full-grown Corgi named Whisper in 2017, after its owner, who was a gatekeeper at the palace, died.
It was also said that Queen Elizabeth was worried she’d trip over the dogs playing at her feet. It was a pretty real fear. Former royal staff Paul Burrell claimed that he was once tripped by nine corgis while walking them down the steps at the palace.
Willow was a dog with equally blue blood, although she never found social media stardom. It was a 14th-generation child of Susan, the corgi who was gifted to Elizabeth on her 18th birthday by her father, King George Ⅵ.
One of Willow’s most memorable moments was posing with James Bond at the 2012 London Olympics. Holly, Queen’s another corgi, also starred in the video, but she passed away more than a year ago, at the age of 13.
This is truly the end of an era, as Queen Elizabeth has owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life. At one point, she had 13 at once.
“She was sad for each loss of her corgis over the years, but she has been particularly upset about Willow’s death,” a Buckingham Palace source told The Daily Mail. “It is probably because Willow was the last link to her parents and a pastime that goes back to her own childhood.”
1. What happened to Willow over the weekend according to The Daily Mail?| A．It was killed in a car accident. | B．It was put to death. |
| C．It had an unsuccessful operation. | D．It was found to have cancer. |
| A．She was too weak to take care of the dogs. |
| B．She became tired of those crazy little dogs. |
| C．She was afraid that she’d trip over the dogs. |
| D．She was worried about the dogs after her death. |
| A．Noble ancestor. | B．Bad mood. |
| C．Cold heart. | D．Terrible disease. |
| A．The end of an era. | B．Her control over the country. |
| C．A tie with her parents. | D．The hardship in her childhood. |
【推荐3】After decades of work trying to save the giant panda, Chinese officials have announced the species is no longer endangered. The pandas have been reclassified in the country from endangered to vulnerable (易危的) after efforts to increase the population. Now the number has risen to 1,800 in the wild.
“China has established a relatively complete nature reserves system,” Cui Shuhong, director of the Department of Natural Ecological Protection of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said on Wednesday. “Large areas of natural ecosystems have been systematically and completely protected, and wildlife habitats have been effectively improved.” The latest classification upgrade reflects their improved living conditions and China’s efforts in keeping their habitats integrated, Cui added.
Bamboo makes up 90% of pandas’ diets, and the animals would likely starve without the shoots (竹笋). Experts believe China’s efforts to replant bamboo forests have been the key to the increase in the population of pandas. Generally speaking, a panda has to eat at least 26 pounds of bamboo every day to maintain its energy, so large areas of bamboo forests are primary to their survival.
Planting bamboo also has advantages for the planet, as the bamboo is grass, not a tree, and is incredibly efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide, as well as emitting (排放) 35% more oxygen than trees.
“The Chinese have done a great job in investing in panda habitats, expanding and setting up new reserves,” Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of conservation at the World Wildlife Fund, told the media. “They are a wonderful example of what can happen when a government is committed to conservation.”
Continuing China’s success will be dependent on the country protecting land from agricultural and urban development. As land becomes rarer, measures will need to be extended to protect more land, to ensure bamboo forests can thrive and as a result, protect the future of the world’s most lovable, lazy, and monochrome (black and white) creature.
1. What do we know about the giant panda according to paragraph 1?| A．It is an endangered species. | B．It increases by 1,800 each year. |
| C．It has seen a decline in population. | D．It has got a classification upgrade. |
| A．Social media makes a difference. | B．Panda habitats are getting smaller. |
| C．Government’s commitment is crucial. | D．Setting up new reserves is impossible. |
| A．Lazy and monochrome animals. |
| B．Lack of support from the World Wildlife Fund. |
| C．The emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. |
| D．The influence of agricultural and urban development. |
| A．A news report. | B．A educational journal. |
| C．A travel magazine. | D．A biology textbook. |
【推荐1】A group of 75 female volunteers from India’s Odisha state has spent every day of the last 20 years patrolling(巡逻) a 75-hectare forest to protect it from illegal woodcutters.
In 1999, the eastern state of Odisha was hit by a supercyclone (超级飓风). “Our homes and standing crops were destroyed. There was no food or clothing for days,” 52-year-old Charulata Biswal, a volunteer forest protector, told Mongabay-India. “But we realized it was because of the surviving forest that many people in Gundalba, a small village, were still alive. We promised we would protect the forest in return and restore the biodiversity.”
Groups of women patrol the forest at least twice a day. As they walk among the trees, they blow their whistles and bang wooden sticks against tree trunks. “We beat our sticks and patrol in groups of 10,” Biswal said. “We spread out inside the forest and blow whistles. Anyone with the intention to harm the local biodiversity will flee on hearing our whistle and the banging of our sticks on tree trunks.”
In 2001, over 70 women from Gundalba came together to form the Women’s Forest Protection Committee. Apart from their daily patrols, they also approached neighboring villages that also depend on the forest for firewood about setting up a system for sustainability (可持续性). For example, every village is allowed to gather firewood from the forest on a set day of the month, usually a few days after another settlement has finished the gathering process.
Over the years, they have caught several people cutting trees illegally in the forest. Asked if they have ever been afraid of patrolling the large forest they said no. “The forest is an extension of our home,” Biswal said. “Won’t it hurt to see your children suffer? This is how a mother feels and we are doing something that comes to us naturally.”
Thanks to the women’s efforts, the forest gradually came back to life. Birds started nesting in trees again and the animals returned.
1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?| A．To introduce the natural disaster in India. |
| B．To show what people in Gundalba did to survive. |
| C．To explain why the women decided to patrol the forest. |
| D．To describe the poor situation in eastern state of Odisha. |
| A．To attract more birds and animal. |
| B．To relax themselves during their work. |
| C．To make themselves brave to go among the forest. |
| D．To warn people meaning to damage the forest to leave. |
| A．They gathered firewood from other forests. |
| B．They reduced the time for patrolling the forest. |
| C．They adopted environment-friendly woodcutting methods. |
| D．They stopped neighboring villages from cutting their trees. |
| A．It is like her family. | B．It will take long to recover. |
| C．It has lost some natural functions. | D．It suffers a lot from illegal cutting. |
【推荐2】 Wildlife Crossing Bridges
The Wildlife Bridge
In 2018, Utah built a wildlife bridge over the busy highway 1-80. A 4.8-kilometer fence was created to help guide animals to the bridge. Normally, animals take a long time to discover and begin using wildlife bridges, so experts didn’t expect the bridge to get much traffic for several years. But recently, they’ve discovered many different kinds of animals are beginning to move by using the bridge.
The Rope Bridge
On China’s Hainan Island in 2015, scientists created a bridge for Hainan gibbons that are the world’s most endangered primates and normally cross the forest by swinging high in the trees. But after a 2014 typhoon, landslides caused huge gaps in the forest, which were forcing the gibbons to make dangerous jumps. Scientists created a simple and cheap rope bridge, which settled the problem.
The Eco-Bridge
In Uttarakhand state in India, the forest department has built a special "eco-bridge" , made from all-natural materials. It’s 27.5 meters long and runs over one of the busiest highways in the area. Though the bridge is high in the trees, forest department workers hope the bridge will help smaller animals on the ground, too. Already, the bridge has gotten a lot of attention on the Internet, with many people taking photos in front of it every day.
The Park Bridge
The Phil Hardberger Park lies in San Antonio, Texas, and recently it has opened what they say is the largest wildlife bridge in the US. This bridge, unlike the others mentioned here, was built for use by both animals and humans. The park says they have already seen deer using the bridge.
1. What has made experts feel unexpected about the Wildlife Bridge?| A．It’s been completed within 2 years. | B．It’s being used by animals already. |
| C．It’s become an Internet-famous site. | D．It’s America’s biggest wildlife bridge. |
| A．The Wildlife Bridge and the Eco-Bridge. | B．The Wildlife Bridge and the Rope Bridge. |
| C．The Eco-Bridge and the Park Bridge. | D．The Rope Bridge and the Park Bridge. |
| A．To attract more tourists. | B．To reduce traffic accidents. |
| C．To save endangered animals. | D．To create wildlife passageways. |
【推荐3】We know that our smartphones are expertly-designed distraction devices that weaken our efforts to resist. But, we also know that resistance is important if we’re ever going to find a workable middle ground with our phones – and a recent study has served up another reason to strengthen our resolve.
Here it is: when you pick up your phone while doing anything mentally challenging, you're handicapping your brain’s ability to recharge and performance predictably decreases.
That’s the conclusion of a study that put roughly 400 college students to task solving challenging word puzzles. When they were about halfway through, the researchers allowed most of the students to take a break either using their phones, using a computer or reading a print circular. Other students were told to just keep on working without any sort of break.
The results showed that the students who took a break with their phones were the worst performers of all the groups. They took 19% longer to finish the tasks and they solved 22% fewer word-problems than all the other groups combined. In fact, the cell-phone group’s efficiency and processing speed was about the same as the group that took no break.
The reason offered by the researchers isn’t merely because digital devices are inherently engaging(迷人的), but because our smartphones are attention gates into so many other attention-catching areas, each pulling our mental energy in different directions.
This research stresses that we ignored the energy reduction from using our smartphones, and that we were over-confident about what our brains can handle. We also overlooked the emotional connection we'd developed with our phones. It's no longer just a device. It's a companion.
“It is important to know the costs associated with reaching for this device during every spare minute,” Kurtzberg added. “We assume it’s no different from any other break – but the phone may carry increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks.”
1. What does “resolve” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Finding a workable phone. | B．Resisting using phones. |
| C．Making full use of phones. | D．Upgrading personal phones. |
| A．strengthening | B．performing |
| C．weakening | D．changing |
| A．There are two groups of students in the research. |
| B．All the students can not take a break in the research. |
| C．The cell-phone group did best in solving the puzzles. |
| D．Students have to complete word puzzles before the break. |
| A．The phone is no longer favored by people. |
| B．The phone is not as powerful as expected. |
| C．People cannot connect emotionally with phones. |
| D．People didn’t fully understand the effect of phones. |
