True happiness lies in rewarding relationships, not material wealth, according to new research. Scientists have said that a close circle of friends and family is most important for happiness, and that owning things such as iPhones, computers, being wealthy and owning a sports car do not provide the same level of satisfaction.
The study was done by psychologists at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University, in Sweden. The experts analyzed(分析) articles in Swedish newspapers published in 2010 and recorded which words most often occurred in the same articles as the Swedish word for happiness. In this way, they could know our common happiness.
Co-author Dr Danilo Garcia, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health, said, “It’s relationships that are most important, not material things that we possess, and this is in line with other findings in happiness research.”
The study, which contained more than 10 million words, showed that terms such as “grandmother” and personal pronouns such as “you”, “me”, “us” and “them” often emerge in the same article as the Swedish word for happiness. Researchers found that words such as “iPhone”, “millions” and “Google” almost never appear with the word “happiness”.
The study is a part of a larger research project on how people describe both positive and negative events in their lives. The researchers believe that the word analysis reflects a common perception among the members of our society as to what should make us happy.
Dr Danilo Garcia said, “Just as the Beatles sang, most people understand that money can’t buy you happiness or love. But even if we can understand the importance of close and warm relationships at a social level, it isn’t certain that everyone is aware that such relationships are actually necessary for our own personal happiness.”
1. New research mainly shows that .| A．various things can lead to happiness in people |
| B．having some close friends is very important to us |
| C．owning expensive things can actually make us unhappy |
| D．rewarding relationships make us happy instead of material wealth |
| A．explain something new |
| B．are unbelievable to many people |
| C．prove material things are unimportant |
| D．confirm previous findings in happiness research |
| A．money really buys us happiness or love |
| B．rewarding relationships really lead to personal happiness |
| C．close and warm relationships are important at a social level |
| D．all people know rewarding relationships lead to personal happiness |
| A．By doing surveys. |
| B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By analyzing printed articles. |
| D．By referring to previous studies. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Sleep is a necessary biological(生物的)function that has long interested scientists.
As we all know, most animals sleep. Scientists have studied everything from mice to fruit flies in the lab to get a better understanding of what happens when animals sleep—and why so many do it. However, gathering data on how animals sleep in their natural habitat has always been tricky and hard to do.
But scientists did just that with wild chinstrap penguins(帽带企鹅)in Antarctica. In doing so, researchers found birds in the nesting colony took over 10,000 microsleeps throughout the day-amounting to 1l hours of sleep. The microsleep last only seconds. Researchers think that microsleeps might help the animals avoid enemies that might be more likely to strike if the penguins are asleep for longer—especially when one parent goes out feeding in the ocean for days, leaving the other parent to protect the eggs.
Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, a sleep scientist who was not involved in the study, is excited about this new data. “Most of what we know about the fundamental biology of sleep was obtained in laboratory conditions, which were completely different from conditions where sleep evolved. Context matters,” says Vyazovskiy.
Microsleeps are much shorter than the minutes-long micronaps that have been shown to benefit humans. And study co-author Paul-Antoine Libourel is careful to not mix this insight about the success of microsleeps in penguins with that in humans. “This is not related to human physiology, and won’t tell us more about the function of human sleep.”
To study the penguins, scientists implanted devices into a small group of penguins’ brain and neck muscles. These brainwave and location data coupled with filming these birds in the nest gave sleep data about them. But the equipment had never been used before, so this data collection was only supposed to be a test.
The study is an early insight into a relatively large amount of scientific knowledge about sleep. “Pretty much every study on sleeping birds discovers something new, something we didn’t know before,” says Libourel.
1. What is the penguins’ taking microsleeps aimed at?| A．Surviving the severe cold. |
| B．Ensuring enough rest for growth. |
| C．Securing themselves from attackers. |
| D．Building up energy to hunt for food. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Tolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Micronaps are of great benefit to humans. |
| B．Animal microsleeps differ from human micronaps. |
| C．The function of human sleep has yet to be figured out. |
| D．The research contributes to the understanding of human micronaps. |
| A．Most animals need to take microsleeps |
| B．Micronaps are important for human health |
| C．The penguins take over 10,000 microsleeps a day |
| D．Scientists show interest in animals’ sleep quality |
【推荐2】For many people, it is hard to imagine what it is like to lose their sense of smell. Known as “anosmia”, loss of smell can have a substantial effect on our overall wellbeing and quality of life. But while a sudden respiratory infection (呼吸道感染) might lead to a temporary loss of this important sense, your sense of smell may well have been gradually eroding away for years due to something else- air pollution.
Exposure to PM2. 5 has previously been linked with smell loss, but typically only in occupational or industrial settings. But new research is now starting to reveal the true scale and the potential damage caused by the pollution we breathe in every day. On the underside of our brains lies the olfactory bulb (嗅球). This sensitive bit of tissue is essential for the enormously varied picture of the world we get from our sense of smell. It’s also our first line of defense against viruses and pollutants entering the brain. But, with repeated exposure to PM2. 5, these defenses slowly get worn down.
“Our data show there’s a 1.6 to 1.7-fold increased risk of developing anosmia with sustained particulate pollution (粒状物污染),” says Murugappan Ramanathan, a rhinologist. One Mexican study in 2006, which used strong coffee and orange odors showed that residents of Mexico City which often struggles with air pollution — tended to have a poorer sense of smell on average than people living in rural areas of the country.
So, should we care that air pollution to which we are all exposed -is damaging our sense of smell and causing anosmia? Clearly, the answer is yes. Ramanathan says, “Air quality matters. I think we need tight regulations and control. Many people may not even realize the pollution they are exposed to. But even the everyday, low level air pollution we are exposed to should be taken more seriously.”
1. What do the underlined words “eroding away” mean in paragraph 1?| A．Evolving. | B．Becoming weak. |
| C．Becoming sharp. | D．Appearing. |
| A．Exposure to PM2. 5 has nothing to do with smell loss. |
| B．The pollution we breathe in on a daily basis may cause harm. |
| C．Our nose stops viruses and pollutants from entering the brain. |
| D．Our defenses will disappear quickly with air pollution exposure. |
| A．They have developed anosmia with air pollution. |
| B．Their sense of smell is poorer than rural people’s. |
| C．They often consume strong coffee. |
| D．They tend to have a good sense of smell. |
| A．How we should react to air pollution. |
| B．What we should do to protect the environment. |
| C．What steps we can take to recover from anosmia. |
| D．How we can improve our life quality. |
【推荐3】A new study shows that a positive atitude about ageing can help recover mild memory loss. People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are 30 per cent more likely to make symptoms (症状) disappear if they think positively about ageing, according to a study carried out by the Yale School of Public Health. The study was conducted over twelve years and involved 1,716 participants aged 65 and above.
MCI is usually considered a one-way process, but according to Professor Becca Levy, lead author of the study, that’s not the case at all, ”Most people assume there is no recovery from MCI, but in fact half of those who have it do recover.”
Mild cognitive impairment is a condition which causes memory loss and difficulty in thinking clearly. Symptoms might include forgetting events, or often losing things. Other more physical symptoms such as a loss of smell or spatial perception have also been connected with MCI.
It is mostly found in people over 60，and often leads to Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. The study was conducted over a twelve - year period between 2008 - 2020, with seven data collection waves performed every two years.
Results showed that those who came to the study with MCI were 30 per cent more likely to make a full recovery if they were upbeat about ageing. They were also likely to recover two years faster than those with more negative age beliefs (such as “The older I get, the more useless I feel”). Those who came to the study without MCI were also far less likely to develop it if they felt more age - positive, no matter of what their physical health or age is.
Factors (因素) such as age, race and gender have previously been examined for connections with recovery, but this is the first study to look at cultural factors — in this case, beliefs about ageing.
While the study definitely provided positive results, it’s still not known exactly why. “A limitation is that we did not examine the mechanism of positive age beliefs in cognitive (认知) recovery”, says Levy.
Given how well this research has gone, hopefully future studies will show the “why”, as well as looking at other cultural factors.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The introduction of MCI. | B．The causes of MCI. |
| C．The treatment of MCI. | D．The recovery of MCI. |
| A．Careful. | B．Serious. |
| C．Worried. | D．Positive. |
| A．The thought of cultural aspects. | B．The length of study time. |
| C．The way of collecting data. | D．The age of participants. |
| A．The reason why physical symptoms of MCI will appear. |
| B．The way that positive age beliefs affect recovery of MCL. |
| C．The reason why positive age beliefs produce good results. |
| D．The factors that contribute to cognitive recovery of MCL. |
【推荐1】The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is still setting records. Zeta was a late-season hurricane that hit Cocodrie, Louisiana, on October 28, 2020, highlighting a season that already made southern Louisiana suffer. The National Hurricane Center (NHC),that week, published a report for Hurricane Zeta. After analyzing the data in the report, experts have upgraded Zeta from a Category 2 to a “major” Category 3 hurricane.
The experts said Zeta’s force was more difficult to forecast(预测) than for atypical Atlantic hurricane. Because it grew strong rapidly and interacted(互相作用) with land closely. The plane gathering data from Zeta did the last complete flight through the hurricane two hours before landfall. The NHC said, “Because of the fast-moving and rapidly growing nature of the hurricane, by the time the plane returned to the storm, Zeta’s northern eyewall already made landfall.”
After analyzing the data, the experts said Zeta’s winds were 115 mph at landfall, upgrading it to Category 3 and making it the season’s seventh major hurricane. That matches the record set in 2005 for the most major hurricanes Category 3 and higher) in a single season. It also sets a record for the latest U.S. landfall of a major hurricane. The previous one was the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1921.
2020 was the most active Atlantic hurricane year. There were 30 named storms. There were so many of them that the list of 21 traditional names was exhausted and the Greek alphabet(字母表) was used for only the second time.
The NHC said Zeta’s 115 mph winds were experienced over a small area and that upgrading the hurricane to Category 3 “is of little practical significance in terms of the impacts related to the storm”. Zeta caused $4.4 billion in damage in the U.S., mostly in Louisiana.
1. What does the NHC report indicate?| A．Zeta was a late-season hurricane. | B．Southern Louisiana suffered a lot in 2020. |
| C．The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is over. | D．Zeta is more powerful than previously expected. |
| A．Why it is hard to forecast the power of Zeta. |
| B．How experts gather data from Zeta before landfall. |
| C．What could impact the power of Atlantic hurricanes. |
| D．What experts do to organize a meeting after every storm. |
| A．Forgotten. | B．Ignored. | C．Used up. | D．Put forward. |
| A．It is the most powerful hurricane in history. |
| B．It is the 21st named storms in America in 2020. |
| C．It caused more damage to Louisiana than other states. |
| D．A large area of the U.S. experienced its 115mph winds. |
【推荐2】Modern day robots may not be as entertaining as R2D2 or the robot from Lost in Space, but robots are very important to space exploration and are being used in a variety of different ways for several important reasons.
Robots make great explorers on planets, moons, and other landing areas.Aside from the earth, just about every surface in the solar system is unsafe for humans to explore. The air on most other planets is insufficient for humans to breathe, making it necessary to wear a space suit and oxygen equipment. The temperatures on these surfaces are much too hot or much too cold for any humans to withstand. Plus there would be complications with radiation, weather, and a lack of gravity. Robots have much less limitation in these areas and can survive much longer under these conditions.
Robots are designed for collecting scientific data. Robots are also able to perform many tasks at one time and can process information much quicker and more efficiently. Important scientific projects from detecting minerals, analyzing ground samples, to finding water are all performed much quicker and accurately by robots.
The use of robots has made the cost of space exploration much less expensive than it would cost for humans to do the work. In order to successfully send humans into space we would need to build a vehicle that can not only carry humans, but also enough food and water to keep them alive for the duration of the trip. Moreover, robots have no problems working for hours on end.Robots never complain, they don’t require food or water, and they never need a bathroom break.
Over the past 30 years or so there have been many different types of robots used successfully in the exploration of space. Perhaps the most famous and successful robots are Spirit and Opportunity who have both been exploring the surface of Mars. They have both been very successful with experiments on soil and rocks and have even found evidence of water in Mars’ history.
1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?| A．The Development of Robots |
| B．The Discovery of Space Exploration |
| C．No Robots, No Space Exploration |
| D．Robots Are Used in Space Exploration |
| A．remain | B．bear |
| C．defeat | D．develop |
| A．The use of robots in space exploration costs more than the use of humans. |
| B．It is dangerous for humans to explore other surfaces in the solar system except the earth. |
| C．Both Spirit and Opportunity have found the evidence of water on Mars. |
| D．Many different types of robots have explored the space successfully. |
| A．Negative. | B．Persuasive. |
| C．Subjective. | D．Objective. |
【推荐3】You may have been told in the past that reading to your children can help their development. Now an organization is trying to stress it even more.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now having doctors encourage parents to read aloud to their children, even at the earliest stages. They say it is an important part of the brain’s development in the first three years of a child’s life.
“Although reading to our children can be a simple thing, it has a huge effect on our children. It can encourage our children to read later on in life and give a good start to their education. It can enhance the vocabulary and other communication skills. We can continue to do something that doesn’t take a lot of time and energy to tell the children that love of reading is so important when they are babies,” said Dr Heidi Stoltenberg at Mayo Clinic Health System.
Reading to your children is very important. Stoltenberg said it is never too early to start. “It may seem kind of unusual because we don’t necessarily think babies are at an age when you would read to them, but immediately when you come home from the delivery (分娩) of your baby is a great time to start that,” Stoltenberg said.
Studies have shown that the poverty level plays a major role in parents who read to their children. Many times, that is simply because the families cannot afford books or other things to read. There are many resources (资源) in our area to help those families get reading materials. The United Way of Freeborn County, and many others across the region, have teamed up with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Many local hospitals, including Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, also take part in Reach Out and Read.
1. What does the underlined word “enhance” in the third paragraph mean?| A．Choose. | B．Receive. | C．Increase. | D．Prevent. |
| A．She thinks it is completely meaningless. |
| B．She believes babies may get hurt if you do that. |
| C．She insists that the parents turn to some experts. |
| D．She holds that reading to babies should start as early as possible. |
| A．Being short of time. |
| B．Being short of money. |
| C．The bad family environment. |
| D．The poor education background. |
| A．The importance of reading to children. |
| B．New ways to develop children’s reading ability. |
| C．Reasons that influence children’s reading habits. |
| D．Necessity of paying attention to children’s brain development. |
【推荐1】Clothing rental is a hot new industry and retailers (零售商) are demanding to get on board in hopes of attracting green shopper.
But is renting fashion actually more environmentally-friendly than buying it, and if so, how much more? Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline investigated (调查) this question and concluded that it's not as sustainable as it seems.
Take shipping, for example, which has to go two ways if an item is rented — receiving and returning. Cline writes that consumer transportation has the second largest carbon footprint of our collective fashion habit after manufacturing.
She writes, ''An item ordered online and then returned can send out 20 kilograms of carbon each way, and increases up to 50 kilograms for rush shipping. By comparison, the carbon impact of a pair of jeans purchased from a physical store and washed and worn at home is 33.4 kilograms, according to a 2015 study by Levi's.''
Then there's the burden of washing, which has to happen for every item when it's returned, regardless of whether or not it was worn. For most rental services, this usually means dry cleaning, a high impact and polluting process. All the rental services that Cline looked into have replaced perchloroethylene (氯乙烯), a carcinogenic (致癌的) air pollutant, still used by 70 percent of US dry cleaners, with alternatives, although these aren't great either.
Lastly, Cline fears that rental services will increase our appetite for fast fashion, simply because it's so easily accessible. There's something called ''share washing'' that makes people waste more precisely because a product or service is shared and thus is regarded as more eco-friendly. Uber is one example of this, advertised as ''a way to share rides and limit ear ownership.'' and yet ''it has been proven to discourage walking,bicycling, and public transportation use.''
Renting clothes is still preferable to buying them cheap and throwing them in the dustbin after a few wears, but we shouldn't let the availability of these services make us too satisfied. There's an even better step — that's wearing what is already in the closet.
1. What is Elizabeth Cline's attitude toward clothing rental?| A．Approving. | B．Unfavorable. |
| C．Objective. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．rental services are on the rise |
| B．clothing rental will be as successful as Uber |
| C．renting clothes might waste more than expected |
| D．renting clothes might make people lose interest in fast fashion |
| A．give up renting any clothing |
| B．purchase inexpensive clothes |
| C．rent clothes rather than buy them |
| D．make full use of clothes we've possessed |
| A．Clothing rental is a new fashion. |
| B．Clothing rental is retailers' preference. |
| C．Renting clothes is not that eco-friendly. |
| D．Renting-clothes business is in a dilemma. |
【推荐2】A radio report caught my attention the other day, as it spoke straight to my heart: Cadets(学员) at the US Naval Academy are now required to revisit and potentially revive the ancient skill of steering a ship by the stars.
By the stars – imagine that: looking up at the sky, not down at a screen, so many years after the heavens’ critical role in guiding mariners has fallen by the wayside, first replaced by radio waves, then by modern GPS. Much is gained – but something also lost – in such progress, I think.
It reminded me of my love of 18th and 19th century seafaring(航海的) tales (reading them is one of my coping mechanisms for uneventful life in the landlocked Midwest), when sailors had only celestial(天空的) maps for navigation and still miraculously managed to sail the planet’s vast oceans and even circumnavigate the globe.
Recent cybersecurity concerns have triggered renewed interest in backup navigational strategies such as stargazing, and simple hand-held technologies like the sextant(六分仪), so often mentioned in Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast, a tale that chronicles a mid-19th-century merchant ship’s endlessly adventurous voyage from Boston to California and back.
I wouldn’t wish the harsh conditions of that trip on modern sailors, but I am all for anything that help people find their compass bearings(方位) and travel routes without high-tech and often mindless guidance.
“Is that north or south of here?” I’ve asked motel clerks and gas station attendants about a particular address I’m seeking in my GPS-less travels.
“Well, it’s that way,” comes the most frequent reply, accompanied by a pointed finger, and I realize that north, south, east, and west are not familiar coordinates(坐标) to many people.
To be fair, I haven’t always been used to compass points either. In fact it was not until I was a young adult, lying on a float in my parents’ pool on a late summer’s visit home, and watching the sun set below the roofline, that I first realized that my childhood home faced due west. I was shocked that I’d been oblivious to this simple fact, especially since I’d begun to be schooled in geology and in compass work. But like so many, I’d grown up thinking and navigating using other coordinates, based on familiar streets, rights and lefts, and reference points such as my school, the homes of friends, the nearest playground, and the local shopping plaza.
I’ve going since become accustomed to finding my bearings on travels in unfamiliar territory by the sun’s position. And now I’d love to sit in on a class at the academy to learn to navigate by the moon and stars. It’s a skill I’ll probably never need to draw upon. Yet it feels good to know how it would connect me, in a new and profound way, to the historical trace of human experience on this planet.
As for modern sailors, it might just bring them safely home one day, if all else fails.
1. What kind of role do 18th and 19th century seafaring tales play in the author’s life?| A．Enriching his dull inland life. |
| B．Triggering his concern for cyber security. |
| C．Arousing his interest in modern navigational strategies. |
| D．Strengthening his resolve to revive an ancient skill. |
| A．the importance of modern technology such as GPS in travels |
| B．that it’s essential to learn geography and compass work well at school |
| C．that many people don’t navigate in terms of coordinates such as north and south |
| D．the convenience of navigating based on familiar streets, rights and lefts and reference points |
| A．obvious to | B．familiar with | C．unconcerned about | D．unaware of |
| A．Because he expects to experience the harsh conditions on the voyage in the past. |
| B．Because he is required to revisit this ancient skill as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy. |
| C．Because the skill can make him feel connected to the historical heritage of human beings. |
| D．Because the skill can bring sailors home, safe and sound, if modern technology fails. |
【推荐3】Men have long been puzzled by the amount women pack, when they go on holiday. They despair (绝望)as they watch their beloved spend much money on extra baggage charge. Nearly half of these women admitted to lying about the weight of their case to their partner before leaving for the airport, in fear of being made to unload some unnecessary items.
But it's a fact that women pack more than they need. On average, a woman needs around 57 items in suitcase for a two-week holiday, yet most women pack nearer to 150 items, ranging from skirts, tops, underwear and high heels. In addition, women pack more sun cream, make-up and hair appliances than they are likely to need. They all take up space in the suitcase, only a third of them will see the light of day once at the holiday place.
79 percent of women admitted to taking extra items with them, with the reason for this being ''just in case''. Women plan their holiday wardrobe months in advance. Packing enough clothes and other items to last a month is not enough for some women. They'd take a chance to shop for new items while holidaying abroad. So they'll return with even more luggage in their cases.
Professor Karen Pine said, ''Women are tempted to take familiar items with them on holiday, often everything except the kitchen sink. Some people find traveling stressful, particularly when they'e unsure about the home comforts available at their holiday place. They over- pack to help cope with those feelings of stress and reduce the uncertainty. ''
This will come as no surprise to some men, who are used to trying to squeeze their partner's luggage into the boot of the car with their own, smaller case. On the other hand, men pack very lightly, with only an average of 40 items for a two-week holiday.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?| A．Women are good at picking holiday suitcase. |
| B．Women over-pack by two third when on holiday. |
| C．Women will go shopping every time they go on holiday. |
| D．Women take good care of themselves while holidaying. |
| A．About 57 items. | B．About 79 items. |
| C．About 97 items. | D．About 150 items. |
| A．they want to show off their items |
| B．they prefer a more comfortable holiday |
| C．they are afraid they'll need them during the holiday |
| D．they would like to clean their clothes wardrobe very much |
| A．Opposed. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Positive. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Going on holiday will cost a lot. |
| B．Women don't prefer to go on a holiday. |
| C．People tend to feel tired and stressed on holiday. |
| D．It's understandable that women over-pack in a sense. |
【推荐1】Most credit cards today use magnetic strips(磁条) that hold the encrypted(加密)data about the owner's bank account and personal identification number called a PIN. Other credit cards hold the data in memory chips that communicate wirelessly with card readers. Both systems are easy to be attacked. Criminals can secretly find a way to enter the computer systems of the banks or retailers(零售商), and steal the data illegally or,as in the case of Target,disturb the card readers in stores by implanting virus.
Now, scientists in Britain say they are developing a way to make encrypted data more secure by storing it in the plastic itself. Gordon Smith, a retired professor at Warwick Manufacturing Group, at the University of Warwick, says researchers are using a plastic molding(模具) machine to encrypt data with the colors of the card. "As it's making that plastic from a molten plastic into a solid component, we are moving the pigments(颜料) so that they form specific images.The way the pigment is arranged in a particular way inside the plastic ensures the security of the data.When the card is passed through a special scanner,similar to magnetic strip readers,the software reads the fixed image containing the data."When we first developed the images within the plastic,it looked as though it would just be an artistic aspect to it,but then we've realized that once we could make it covert,we could color the plastic so that the image was hidden,then it became something a lot more special.
Smith admits the system could be compromised if someone discovers how the card was made, but says that's unlikely. The counterfeiter would need to have access to an injection molding machine that costs more than $300,000.
The patent for this new method is not yet officially recognized,and it has not been used commercially at all. But Smith says some credit card companies have already indicated they are interested in the technology.
1. How do criminals threaten today's credit cards?| A．By robbing the users and damaging their cards. |
| B．By stealing the cards from banks or supermarkets. |
| C．By copying the card readers and using them in stores. |
| D．By programming the computer with virus to damage the data. |
| A．The data is not stored in the computer. | B．The data is secured by the colors of the card. |
| C．The data is invisible to criminals. | D．The data is hidden in a complex chip. |
| A．The card is made of plastics. |
| B．The system is secured with memory chips. |
| C．The injection molding machine is expensive. |
| D．Credit card companies will produce the cards secretly. |
| A．Criminal. | B．Inventor. | C．Discoverer. | D．Banker. |
【推荐2】The idea of billions of people going through a few masks a week during this pandemic definitely rings alarm bells, but a team of researchers in Melbourne may have the solution.
They’ve discovered that adding millions of discarded face masks to road-paving (铺路) mixtures would actually lower the cost of the road, while preventing billions of them from landfills. Just one kilometer of road would need three million masks, and the polypropylene (聚丙烯) plastic used to make single-use surgical face masks also increased the flexibility and durability of the road.
The new material is a mixture of about 2% torn masks, with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA)—a material obtained from waste concrete and other minerals from destroyed buildings. This recycled material was found in the study to be ideal for two of the four layers generally required to create roadways. Paving a kilometer of two-way road with the RCA and three million face masks would result in a change of 93 tons of waste from landfills.
The final product then is more resistant to wear than asphalt (沥青), as well as being cheaper too, provided there was a method for collecting masks. The research team did a cost-analysis and found that, at $26 per ton, the RCA was about half the cost of mining raw materials, and as much as a third of the cost of shipping the used masks to a landfill.
The widespread application would be ideal for large infrastructure (基础设施) projects. For example, Washington has the 11th worst roads in terms of unaddressed repairs in the U.S. If the damaged roads in Washington state were repaired with the RCA/mask mixture, it would reuse nearly 10 billion masks, sparing American landfills hundreds of millions of tons of trash.
It’s said that the team is looking for private industry partners or governments willing to give their plastic mask road an opportunity for a large-scale test.
1. What does the underlined word “discarded” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Recycled. | B．Produced. |
| C．Mixed. | D．Abandoned. |
| A．2% torn masks, concrete and tons of trash. |
| B．Polypropylene plastic and building materials. |
| C．Single-use surgical masks and recycled concrete aggregate. |
| D．Waste concrete and other minerals from destroyed buildings. |
| A．To tell us what the team has found. |
| B．To prove this material is cost-effective in paving roads. |
| C．To explain repairing roads costs a lot of materials. |
| D．To praise the hard work the team has done. |
| A．The material used to pave roads is made of masks. |
| B．Generally speaking, it requires two layers to create roadways. |
| C．It remains to be tested whether the solution is practical. |
| D．The damaged roads in Washington were repaired with the RCA. |
【推荐3】Gertrude was just an average kid with an average life. She lived in an average sized house in an average neighborhood. At home, she helped out just enough to get by. At school, she did just enough homework to stay out of trouble. She had straight Cs in all of her classes.
One day Gertrude’s teacher, Mr. Mister, stopped her after class. “Gertrude” he said, “I know that you can do better. I’ve seen the work you do in class, and some of it is amazing…Way better than C work.” Gertrude knew that there were moments when she tried a little harder than what everyone expected. But she just didn't have confidence in herself. She didn’t really believe that she could change; in fact, she was scared by the thought of having the power to become whatever she wanted. She stopped listening to Mr. Mister about half way through his speech and just nodded her head until he stopped.
That night, Gertrude had a dream. It was ten years into the future and she was still living with her mom in her average neighborhood. A voice spoke in the dream: “The present is nothing more than the outcome of the choices made in the past. The future will be the results of the choices we make today.” Gertrude started crying average sized tears, because she knew that she helped shape the world in which she lived, and the choices she made produced the options she had. She woke up with her pillow wet.
Gertrude was relieved to be back in middle school. She took a little more care in getting herself ready that morning, and she felt better than normal. She tried harder in school, and she felt smarter than usual. She helped more around the house and it looked better. Sure, there were still lots of things that Gertrude struggled with, but just trying her best made her feel better when she didn’t succeed. Gertrude even became great at failing by learning from her mistakes.
1. Which of the following words can best describe Gertrude in Paragraph 1?| A．Popular. | B．Optimistic. | C．Common. | D．Aggressive. |
| A．In herself. | B．In her family. | C．In her teacher. | D．In her studies. |
| A．It is shameful to be an average kid with an average life. |
| B．The choices she makes at present will shape her future. |
| C．The present is not the result of the choices made in the past. |
| D．She could hardly do anything for the world in which she lived. |
| A．She suffered more. | B．She failed in her attempts. |
| C．She changed her attitude. | D．She was glad about failures. |
