Gong Bao Chicken was originally a family dish of Ding Baozhen, an official of the Qing Dynasty. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular dishes in Chinese restaurants all over the world.
It’s hard for people to refuse the delicious dish. What’s more, it is easy to make. So, why not pick up some chicken and try this recipe out?
.....................................................................RECIPE.....................................................................
Ingredients Instructions
chicken breast.........................................300g 1. Heat the oil over a high heat.
roasted peanuts.........................................50g 2. When the oil is hot, add the chillies and stir them for about 30 seconds.
small pieces of dried to fu....................... .50g 3. Add the spring onions and stir them for about 30 seconds.
cooking oil..........................................2 spoons 4. Add the chicken and cook it through.
dried chillies............................................5 or 6 5. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.
spring onions.....................................a handful 6. Add the peanuts and dried tofu and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
soy sauce........................................1 teaspoon 7. Add some salt and serve.
vinegar.............................................1 teaspoon
sugar................................................2 teaspoon
salt...................................................1 teaspoon
1. According to the recipe, if you want to cook 600g of chicken, you need ________ of sugar.
| A．1 teaspoon | B．2 teaspoons | C．4 teaspoons | D．6 teaspoons |
| A．Heat the oil over a low heat. |
| B．Add the chillies before the oil is hot. |
| C．Cook the dish for about 1 to 2 minutes. |
| D．Add some salt after cooking the dried tofu. |
| A．novel | B．report | C．magazine | D．guidebook |
Birding, which actually started in the 19th century, is the practice of carefully watching and studying the appearance and behaviour of wild birds. It is a hobby for many and a sport for a few that gained a lot of popularity in the 20th century.
Learning to correctly identify birds is one of the hardest things when it comes to bird-watching. However, there are several methods and technologies that can be used to help you.
When it comes to birding, the first thing to learn is to reduce the range of the bird toa group by judging the shape of is body and head.if you can reduce the range of a bird down to at least its grouping, then you're already half way there. Next, pay attention to the shape of its mouth and tail. Almost no two species have the same shape, so this can really help you.
Keeping in mind that the habitat you're in will also help you out a lot.For instance, you might see a Red-eyed Vireo in a treetop but chances are that if you see one on the ground then it might just be a Horned Lark. These are just a few ways of identifying a bird.
If you are still having problems or want to take the easy way out, then this is where birding technology comes in. There is a very popular app called Merlin Bird ID. It will come up with a list of possible matches after you answer a few simple questions about the bird. You can also take a picture of the bird with the app and it will offer you some matches, including its appearance, colour, habit and habitat. It's been proved to be very easy to pick up with a list of possible matches most of the time.
While bird-watching is fun, it can be challenging, but if you remain focused on what you are doing, nothing can stop you from enjoying the experience to the fullest.
1. Birding is an activity to watch and find out ________.| A．when birds became popular | B．how birds behave in the wild |
| C．why bird lovers protect birds | D．what the wild birds eat and drink |
| A．show the living area of the bird |
| B．judge the correct species of the bird |
| C．match the right sound with the very bird |
| D．give matches by answering your questions |
| A．boring but meaningful | B．interesting but surprising |
| C．challenging but worthy | D．exciting but time-wasting |
| A．a new app to watch birds | B．a tool to use while birding |
| C．some ways to identify birds | D．some places to watch birds |
1. To make the dot disappear, we need to go through ________ steps.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
| A．move our head a bit | B．lift the wax paper up |
| C．can’t see the edges of the dot | D．cover the dot with wax paper |
| A．the dot becomes clear | B．our eyes make movements |
| C．we see the edge of paper | D．the brain can’t see its edges |
2021 two sessions have included several important topics, such as food waste and wildlife protection. Artificial intelligence (AI) which is influencing our lives in every way is in one of them.People are no longer unfamiliar with AI. It has already been used to do housework, develop medicine, recognize faces, and so on. Now a new painter is ready to join the list.
Next month, auction house Christie’s Prints and Multiples will make history by offering the first painting created by AI for sale. The painting is a picture of a man called Edmond de Belamy, and is expected to be sold for up to $10,000. The work was created by software developed by the French art group Obvious. It shows a man with a mysterious look on his face. Laugero-Lasserre, an art collector from France, called the work fantastic and amazing at the same time. This isn’t the first example of Al-produced artwork, as AI has already been used to write poems and songs. However, many people doubt whether it should be called art at all. “According to Russian writer Leo Tolstroy (1828～1910), art is about creating emotion. It’s a mean of joining people together in the same feelings,” he once said.
What is the emotion behind art? How to put the emotion into art? As we all know, the ability to create and use tools is what makes human beings different from other species. People always create works with all kinds of emotions, happy or upset, excited or disappointed. Several designers have made a lot of effort to create the paintings by the AI technology. Together, they “fed” the AI with a huge collection of paintings from the 14th to the 18th centuries, until it was able to work out how to make similar paintings of its own.
The introduction of AI art could be the beginning of a new artistic movement. However, not everyone is ready to welcome these high-tech artists yet.
1. In the first paragraph, the writer wants to ________.| A．lead in the two sessions of 2021 | B．provide some advice for the readers |
| C．show a well-known painter to us | D．introduce a new topic and cause interest |
| A．AI created artwork for the first time. |
| B．The work is Laugero-Lasserre’s look. |
| C．An art collector thought badly of the work. |
| D．AI hasn’t created paintings before the sale. |
| A．They let AI practice repeatedly. | B．They put a lot of paintings into AI. |
| C．They let AI watch famous paintings. | D．They invited an artist to operate AI. |
| A．Some examples supporting AI artworks. |
| B．Some different opinions about AI artworks. |
| C．Some famous artworks that AI has created. |
| D．Some new and interesting artistic activities. |
A Japanese company has created a “smart” mask to improve communication for people wearing face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The use of face masks has become the new normal in parts of the world still trying hard to reduce spread of the coronavirus. However, masks and other kinds of coverings can affect the quality of communication between wearers.
It can be more difficult to hear voices through the coverings. Many business and public spaces also have social distance barriers in place, which also make it harder for people to be heard and understood.
The wearable electronic device is designed to help improve speech interactions in such conditions. The Japanese startup company Donut Robotics calls its invention the “c-mask”. The device is worn over other common face masks.
The c-mask is made of soft plastic material. It has a built-in microphone and holes in the front to let air in. When it is turned on, the mask uses Bluetooth technology to connect to a mobile device. An app then helps users perform several actions, including turning speech into text, completing telephone calls and making the user’s voice louder. The device can also translate a person’s voice from Japanese into eight other languages.
If needed, when people speak, the voice speech transcription can also be displayed on a large computer screen, which makes modern online meetings possible. During a company meeting, minutes can be created and translated without typing.
Donut Robotics plans to create a world where people can connect with each other from a distance better. The c-mask will be equipped with a Wi-Fi router. And the company is planning to install AR function as well.
Ono, the head of Donut Robotics, said the company planned to ship its first 5,000 c-masks to buyers in Japan in September. He is also looking to sell the devices in China, the United States and Europe and says he has received strong interest in the product.
“We hope that our device will be useful in a society where people get used to keeping social distance,” the company states on its website.
1. The c-mask was invented in order to .| A．tell people to keep social distance |
| B．help people to be heard more clearly |
| C．change people’s ways of communication |
| D．improve the quality of the common mask |
| A．A mobile app | B．An hole in the front |
| C．A microphone | D．The plastic material |
| A．people will buy more c-masks instead of common ones |
| B．people will communicate more when c-masks are worn |
| C．c-masks will be sold in other countries besides in Japan |
| D．c-masks will take the place of lots of electronic devices |
| A．The C-mask and Its Future | B．Advantages of the C-mask |
| C．How to Use the C-mask Better | D．The Recent Plan of the C-mask |
In the open ocean, there’s nowhere to hide. Being visible isn’t safe for animals that live here. So many of them take up a remarkable form of camouflage: they’re transparent.
Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way it passes through a window. These animals usually live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet (1,000 m) — as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a light touch.
How does an animal become see-through? The objects around you are visible because they interact with light. But a transparent object doesn’t interact with light, at least not very much. To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. According to Sonke Johnsen, a marine biologist and professor at Duke University, avoiding absorption is actually easy. Living materials allow light to get through them if they don’t have pigments, which are chemicals that absorb specific colors of light. Pigments make your blood red and plant leaves green, but if an animal doesn’t have them, its tissues won’t absorb light.
__________ Light bends and scatters when it goes through different materials of an animal-skin, fat, muscle, and more. All that bending means light can’t pass straight through the animal, so the animal is visible. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are just very small without much tissue to scatter light. Others build a large, clear mass of non-living, jelly-like material and spread themselves over it. Actually the living tissue of the animal is pretty thin.
Eyes and stomachs are hard to hide. To keep enemies from seeing their eyes or their last meal, transparent animals use disguises. Eyes might be placed far away from the rest of the body. A stomach may be covered by something like a mirror which makes others only see the ocean around the animal. It may also take strange, needle-like shape that is difficult to see the edge.
1. The animals become transparent by ________.| A．absorbing or scattering light | B．living somewhere without light |
| C．bending light with special chemicals | D．letting light get straight through their bodies |
| A．How do large animals protect themselves? |
| B．The real challenge is to stop light from scattering. |
| C．Is it possible to make an animal body scatter light? |
| D．Transparent animals have to make themselves look large. |
| A．eat less | B．fight enemies | C．see further | D．change appearance |
| A．A large animal with small living parts. |
| B．A soft animal living at the bottom of the sea. |
| C．A light animal that absorbs colors of other animals. |
| D．A strong animal that can escape from most dangers. |
If you’ve always wanted to be a high flier, then skydiving is the right sport for you! Skydiving is the activity of jumping from a plane or other aircrafts at about 4000m and falling through the sky before opening a parachute.
The actual history of skydiving started with Frenchman Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who made successful parachute jumps in 1797 from a hot air balloon. Later, more people took it up and had regular competitions, which led to it becoming an international sport in 1952. For some people, skydiving has become a sport they enjoy doing for a lifetime through which they meet new friends, learn, progress and even compete.
The sport of skydiving has a whole range of training methods. Tandem skydiving is the most common way for beginners to get started in this exciting sport. During a tandem dive, the student is connected to an instructor. The student is able to enjoy the sensation of free fall, while the instructor takes control of vital activities such as opening the parachute and performing a safe landing. While falling through the sky, the “arch” position is the best body position for beginners. The shape of a banana is similar to the body position. To feel the sensation of the “arch” you can lie face down on the ground and extend your arms out while keeping them off the ground. Do the same thing with your legs — legs extended with knee bend and keeping them off the floor. This “arch” position allows for a smooth free fall.
Today, skydiving has become a popular activity around the world. Why not take the chance to skydive in your coming vacation?
1. According to the passage, skydiving ________.| A．helps us jump higher in the sky | B．was first practiced by an Englishman |
| C．has a history of over 500 years | D．is a lifetime hobby for some people |
| A．dive with a group of people | B．control the parachute before landing |
| C．experience free fall in the sky | D．land on the ground by themselves |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Come and Join Us in Skydiving | B．A True Story about Skydiving |
| C．Secrets Behind an Excellent Skydiver | D．Get Started with Tandem Skydiving |
A hungry fly speeds through a forest. It smells nectar and lands on a green leaf. It starts to drink the sweet liquid. Suddenly, the fly’s world turns green. The two sides of the leaf close against each other. Long green teeth lock together around it. The fly has been caught by a Venus flytrap. There is no escape.
Unlike most plants, the Venus flytrap is carnivorous, which means they eat meat. And it is perhaps the most famous killer plant. However, scientists have wondered for a long time how it hunts and eats. Only until recently did they start to figure it out. After years of study, plant scientist Alexander Volkov believes he now knows the Venus flytrap’s secret. "This." says Volko, "is an electrical plant."
There are three small hairs along each of the Venus flytrap’s two leaves. When an insect touches a hair, it creates an electrical sign in the leaf. The insect can keep on feeding—for now. But if it touches another hair within 20 seconds, the plant will take action, swinging its famous shut. The bristles on the edges of the leaves work like jail bars to prevent insects from making an escape. This system allows the plant to tell the difference between a drop of water, for example, and a living thing. And that probably keeps the plant from wasting time on raindrops or other things that aren’t its food.
Once caught, an insect has little chance of survival. The Venus flytrap now lets out a different liquid-one that slowly eats away at the insect. Ten days later, the plant’s leaves open again and the parts of the insect that couldn’t be digested fall out. The Venus flytrap is ready for its next meal.
This is just one of the interesting biological peculiarities of the Venus flytrap, scientists are still working hard to explore more about this mysterious plant.
1. The Venus flytrap is a kind of plants that ________.| A．contains electrical powers | B．mostly feeds on meat |
| C．we are familiar with | D．is famous for its leaves |
| A．why the Venus flytrap eats meat |
| B．when the Venus flytrap uses its hair |
| C．what the Venus flytrap is famous for |
| D．how the Venus flytrap hunts and eats |
| A．flies above a flytrap for a long period of time |
| B．tries its best to escape from a flytrap’s bristles |
| C．touches different hairs of a flytrap in 20 seconds |
| D．touches the edges of a flytrap’s leaves very gently |
| A．Carnivorous Plants: Magical Wonders |
| B．Carnivorous Plants: Attractive to Humans |
| C．The Venus Flytrap: A Famous Killer Plant |
| D．The Venus Flytrap: Dangerous for Humans |
Airships can fly because they are lighter than air, like balloons. But they also have engines, so they can fly long distances. In the 1920s and 1930s, airships flew with passengers in them. They could fly from Europe to the US in two days. That was much faster than traveling by ship. There were even restaurants and bedrooms in the biggest airships, which could carry up to 100 passengers.
However, the safety of airships during that time was surely a big problem. It was reported that many of airships crashed. In 1937, a famous airship called the Hindenburg crashed near New York and thirty-six people died. After that, passenger airships stopped flying. Planes became the most important kind of air transportation because they were faster and safer.
Now a number of companies around the world are making airships again. They are much safer than the airships of the 1920s and 1930s, but they are not for passengers. Instead, they carry cargo.
Why use airships instead of planes? There are four main reasons:
●They don’t need airports. They can land in places where planes can’t.
●They can carry much more cargo than planes can.
●They use much less fuel than planes, so they are better for the environment.
●They can stay in the air for a long time, so they are good for scientific work.
Today most cargo still travels on planes, ships, trains and trucks. But in the future, much more cargo could travel by airship because it’s cheaper and better for the environment. Maybe there will be airships for passengers again too.
1. During the 1920s and 1930s, airships ___________.| A．couldn’t carry people | B．could have restaurants |
| C．were safer than planes | D．were slower than ships |
| A．fall to pieces | B．fly into sky |
| C．take off safely | D．turn back fast |
| A．They can fly without fuel. |
| B．They can take more passengers. |
| C．They have to land in the airports. |
| D．They are more friendly to the environment. |
| A．Useful airships | B．Airships and planes |
| C．The history of airships | D．The story of a famous airship |
It’s hard to refuse hamburgers, French fries and all of the other junk food. However, eating too much junk food can harm your body, particularly if you’re between the ages of 10 and 19.
“Junk food shapes adolescent brains in ways that harm their ability to think, learn and remember. It can also make it harder to control impulsive behaviors,” said Amy Reichelt, at Western University, Canada. “It may even increase a teen’s risk of discouraging and anxious feelings.”
Reichelt and two other researchers reviewed more than 100 studies, about how poor food choices can affect adolescent brains. They found adolescents are more sensitive than any other age group to processed foods with a lot of fat and sugar as their brains are not yet fully formed.
Adolescent brains are still developing the ability to judge risks and control actions. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that tells us we shouldn’t eat chips all the time and helps us control that desire. However, this region doesn’t fully develop until we are in our early 20s.
Meanwhile, teen brains get more excited from rewards. The parts of the brain that make us feel good when we do something enjoyable—like eating tasty foods—are fully developed by the teen years.
In fact, these regions are even more sensitive when we are young. That’s because dopamine, a natural chemical that lifts our mood when we experience something good, is especially active in adolescent brains.
Therefore, the teen brain has two attacks against it when it comes to saying no to junk food. “It has an increased drive for rewards and reduced self-control,” said Reichelt.
Reichelt and her team did their own study using mice, whose brains develop much like our own. They discovered that the “teenage” mice that had a high-fat diet performed worse on memory tests than those eating a normal diet. Researchers said the high-fat diet may make the mice’s prefrontal cortex work less effectively.
So, _________________? The answer is exercise. When we exercise, the brain’s reward system becomes less sensitive to food. Exercise also helps the body to make a protein that helps brain cells grow and boosts connections between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions. The prefrontal cortex thus can work better to help us make wise decisions and control our impulses.
1. What is the purpose of the first two paragraphs?| A．To explain the dangers of junk food. | B．To analyze why junk food is hard to refuse. |
| C．To figure out what junk food is. | D．To show the connection between food and brains. |
| A．Their desire to take risks. | B．Their overactive brains. |
| C．Their still-developing prefrontal cortex. | D．The low level of dopamine in their brains. |
| A．what is the result of the experiment on mice |
| B．how does junk food affect adolescent brains |
| C．why do we need sensitive prefrontal cortex |
| D．what’s the best way to say no to junk food |
| A．Food for Thought | B．Exercise: the Best for Brains |
| C．Adolescent Brains | D．Healthy Food for Teens |
