1 . People use laughter to communicate with others. It’s how we tell friends that we find their jokes funny, or how kids in a park show that they are having fun. Humans laugh to express many kinds of feelings, from happy to sad, from like to hate and so on. But how about animals? Do they also laugh? If they do laugh, is there a connection between animals’ laughing and playing?
A study shows that not only humans but also some animals enjoy good laughter. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA, suggested that a number of animals can laugh. Through their research, they found that 65 kinds or groups of animals laugh while playing. The animals that laugh the most include monkeys, rats and dolphins.
Animal sound sometimes is like a short laughter, but scientists said that not all of these are connected to playing. After all, animals sometimes make sound as if they are laughing but in fact, they are in danger, or perhaps they are using it to fight with animals that may eat them.
Sasha Winkler, a scientist studying animal behavior, noticed that the small monkeys she worked with liked to play together by catching each other. While having fun together, they made panting sounds, almost like they were out of breath, which reminded Winkler of quiet laughter. In that sense, researchers pointed out very interesting ideas of laughter and panting. They believe that laughter comes from heavy breathing during play.
Study suggests that many animals laugh so that their playing partner knows they are having fun. This is important because animal play can sometimes look like fighting. Laughter becomes a way for animals to stop harmful act when communicating with others. Some animals also make a “play face” like a smile to show that they are happy and not angry.
One big difference between human laughter and animal laughter is that humans laugh much more loudly. Most sounds animals make during play are very quiet so they can only be heard by the animal they are playing with. But for humans, loud laughter is a sign that we’re part of a group. “It’s really amazing that so many animals have a similar function of sound during play,” said Winkler. “These special parts of animal laughter will also be an important area for future study.”
1. Animals sometimes make sound as if they are laughing when they want to _______.| A．hide their true feelings |
| B．play tricks on their partners |
| C．interest more partners to join in |
| D．warn animals that may eat them |
| A．loud | B．quiet | C．breathless |
| A．All kinds of animals laugh when they are playing. |
| B．It can be a way for animals to stop harmful act. |
| C．Animals make sound of laugh louder than humans. |
| D．It usually shows they are happy and not angry. |
| A．To lead to the topic of future research on laughter. |
| B．To show the function of animal laugh during play. |
| C．To explain that loud laughter is a sign for people to be in a group. |
| D．To suggest that human should train animals to laugh while playing. |
2 . Participation trophies (参与奖) appeared in children’s sports competitions about a century ago. They have been used to encourage and reward children for participating in funny and healthy activities. The trophies recognize students’ attendance (到场) and effort rather than their ability and the competition results.
Since the 1990s, though, there has been an increasingly strong voice that participation trophies are making the kids “soft”. They ruin kids’ competitive spirit and make children too lazy to work hard to get things they want. The thinking often goes, “Every kid will think they are winners, so they will always feel that they are born to win, even if they don’t deserve (值得) to win.”
However, this idea is worthy of much more thinking. Does anyone really think that kids are fooled into thinking their participation trophy is a gold medal? Kids are always smarter than that and always more aware of their social surroundings. They know that a participation trophy just says it was good for them to be here having fun. It doesn’t say everyone wins the first place.
Kids are learning about their abilities and strengths every day. The idea that participation trophies keep kids from experiencing the “real world” is, in my view, one-sided. Participation trophies recognize that kids’ skill sets are wildly different and that we put kids in organized sports at young ages when their skills are still very much in development. Participation trophies celebrate every kid for being a part of the team or the activity, instead of their skill levels.
And different from the idea that participation trophies keep kids from trying hard things, my opinion is the exact opposite. They send a message that there’s great value in trying something that you don’t love or that you may not succeed in. Encouraging kids to try and fail at things is the key to building their confidence by teaching them that failing is necessary for growth and learning. These trophies are a drop in the bucket (桶) for now, but their effects may be seen after the kids step into the grown-up world. As kids get older, their strengths and interests develop more clearly. At that time, they will join in more competitive activities in their professional fields, and they will know the world of, winning and losing.
Participation trophies are protective of children’s mental health, by giving them soft places to land in the rocky journey of childhood. Kids need kindness from the adults in their lives. They need to know that they have inherent (与生俱来的) value and worth no matter what they achieve or produce. This view keeps children’s physical and mental well-being front and center right from the start, which couldn’t be more important if we are to raise mentally healthy children.
1. According to the passage, the participation trophies have been used to ________.| A．celebrate kids’ ability and their competition results |
| B．educate kids that everyone deserves to be a winner |
| C．encourage kids to work hard to get things they want |
| D．reward kids for joining the fun and healthy activities |
| A．participation trophies recognize that kids are born with value |
| B．kids having participation trophies believe that they are winners |
| C．kids having participation trophies will become mentally healthy |
| D．participation trophies stop kids from experiencing the real world |
| A．The power of participation trophies. |
| B．The pressure of participation trophies. |
| C．The enjoyment of participation trophies. |
| D．The development of participation trophies. |
3 . 3D Printing Will Improve Our Food Choices
In early summer 2016, Londoners were treated to a new trend in dining. Food Ink, the world’s first 3D printing restaurant, opened to a special group of customers who dined on a nine-course meal prepared right before their eyes using 3D printers. Even the restaurant’s tables and chairs, lamps, cups, and plates were created with 3D technology. With London just the beginning, Food Ink plans to bring its restaurant form to other cities around the world.
Like other 3D applications, printing food is a process that builds layers (层) upon layers of material on top of each other. Each layer is pushed through a print head to form an object with a desired shape, texture, size, and so on. Unlike other 3D printing, which uses spool (绕线轮) to create objects out of plastic, food materials (材料) in 3D printing are put into a syringe—like container (注射器形状的容器) which are then pressed into the shape required. Any food materials that can be pureed (煮成糊状) or turned into a paste can be used in 3D food printing.
Fine dining is only one aspect of the food industry about to be improved by 3D printing. Researchers have been exploring ways to use 3D printing to deal with world hunger. Mass production of food using powdered (粉末状的) nutritional ingredients could help feed a growing population. The 3D-printed food would have the advantage of being produced cheaply and having a long shelf life. This is especially important with the world population projected to be 8.5 billion by 2030.
The technology will also enable consumers to quickly make meals with ingredients to suit their special health needs. Take the example of feeding elderly people, who often need to have their food pureed because they have problems with swallowing and chewing (咀嚼). Many elderly people did not like their food like pureed food and they don’t eat it. The Netherlands Organization for applied scientific research is turning to 3D printing to mash up peas, cabbages, and carrots to produce 3D-printed versions of the vegetables. These are easier to chew but keep their shape because of the addition of a gelling agent (胶凝剂). The 3D-printed vegetables are being served throughout nursing homes in Germany.
It seems that there is no end to the potential (潜力) of 3D printing. In 2013, NASA offered a large amount of money to develop a functional 3D food printer. The printer aims to create nutritional food to feed astronauts on long space missions. From creating special restaurant meals, to improving nutrition, to potentially feeding the world, 3D food printing is creating exciting new possibilities for food.
1. What can we learn about 3D food printing?| A．3D food printing is developing for astronauts on space missions. |
| B．3D food printing ends world hunger with its cheaply-produced food. |
| C．3D food printing is being widely applied in fine dining restaurants. |
| D．3D food printing differs from other 3D printing in the process of building layers. |
| A．3D food printing solves the elders’ eating problems with pureed food. |
| B．Consumers can use 3D food printing quickly to make healthy meals. |
| C．The Netherlands Organization is doing research on 3D food printing. |
| D．3D food printing technology will meet people’s special health needs. |
| A．To explain how 3D food printing works. |
| B．To discuss what 3D food printing has brought us. |
| C．To show the possibilities created by 3D food printing. |
| D．To stress the importance of 3D food printing to the world. |
4 . 
On Christmas Eve, a team of reindeer (驯鹿) will help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children all around the world. The reindeer, led by their fearless leader Rudolph, won’t be the only ones doing something special. Back in the highest Arctic, their cousins have an extraordinary ability—changing their eye color.
During the summer months, when the days are long and the sun is bright, reindeer’s tapetum lucidum (荧光膜), a mirror-like layer at the back of their eye, appears golden, which helps bounce most of light off the eyes, effectively acting like a pair of natural sunglasses. As winter comes, and the days become shorter and darker, the tapetum lucidum turns blue to absorb more light, allowing reindeer to improve their night vision and see clearly in low light conditions.
With these adaptations, reindeer can get used and live in one of the most terrible environments on Earth. Unlike humans, reindeer can see well into the shorter Ultra Violet (UV紫外线) range. This UV vision enables them to locate food and enemies more effectively in the snow. Lichens (地衣), a key part of their winter diet, absorb UV, so they show up dark against UV-reflecting white snow. Wolf and polar bear fur also absorb UV, so instead of disappearing against snow, they pop out in high contrast, allowing reindeer to see possible threats from a distance.
Reindeer change their eyes by adjusting their tapetum lucidum, which is made of collagen fibers (胶原纤维). In winter, the collagen fibers become packed tighter. This change happens when reindeer widen their pupils (瞳孔). In summer, the reindeer’s pupils return to a smaller size, which helps reindeer reduce the amount of light entering the eyes.
Today, the increasing use of artificial lighting, especially during the winter months, is harmful to their sensitive eyes. It can make reindeer lose their way. So it is important for us to be careful of our use of electricity and make efforts to reduce light pollution to ensure the well-being and survival of these wonderful creatures.
1. What do we know from Paragraph 2?| A．The shape of reindeer’s eyes changes with seasons. |
| B．It is difficult for reindeer to live in low light conditions. |
| C．Reindeer’s eyes appear golden in winter while blue in summer. |
| D．The tapetum lucidum helps reindeer get used to seasonal changes. |
| A．To help them see clearly on dark nights. |
| B．To tell food of different colors apart quickly. |
| C．To better locate food and enemies during snowy days. |
| D．To protect their eyes from harmful sunlight in summer. |
| A．To show the reasons for the drop in reindeer population. |
| B．To call on people to protect reindeer from light pollution. |
| C．To present humans’ great efforts to reduce artificial lighting. |
| D．To prove reindeer’s ability to get used to terrible environments. |
5 . The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally done by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat (甜食), selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to get a second treat and various forms of success.
As adults, in fact, we face “the marshmallow test” every day. We’re not tempted (诱惑) by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers.
We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed an ability to respond to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, greatly reducing the cost and effort involved in getting calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist (抑制) tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat.
A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative (发展的) environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a system that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now constantly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our intake of calories, we also need to be more thoughtful about our intake of information, and refuse to accept the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively.
1. According to paragraph 3, there is a mismatch between ________.| A．the calorie-poor world and our own desire for food |
| B．the shortage of sugar and our nutritional needs |
| C．the world with rich food and our unchanged brains |
| D．the attractive foods and our efforts to keep fit |
| A．valued | B．got | C．gave | D．processed |
| A．Use diverse information sources. |
| B．Be selective information consumers. |
| C．Absorb new information readily. |
| D．Protect the information environment. |
| A．The Later, the Better | B．The Sad Truth about Early Humans |
| C．Eat Less, Read More | D．The Marshmallow Test for Adults |
6 . We live in a world where good health is usually related to a certain kind of appearance. But it doesn’t mean it is necessary for good health. How can you tell if you are healthy? Here are some to look out for.
You eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. This simple behavior is a symbol of healthy eating. “It sounds really silly, but many of us can’t do it,” said Geyer. Besides, you should eat a varied diet rich in whole foods. Natural food is much better than processed food. What’s more, eating enough is very important.
Experts suggest 150 minutes’ proper activities every week is good for our health, like quick walking. “Going quickly up two flights of stairs without stopping and feeling good suggests that your body can perform high intensity (高强度的) activity!”
You can face different kinds of emotions. Emotional health is as important as physical heat, and Geyer has a simple way of measuring (测量) it. “I think emotional well-being is facing various emotions and understanding that they’re all normal,” Geyer said. “And remember that no one of them is going to be permanent (长久的).”
You can wake up without an alarm clock. It is not surprising that no enough sleeping is terrible for your health. Lack of (缺乏) sleep increases the risk of illness. That’s why it’s important to sleep for eight hours a night.
You have the energy to do the things you want to do. Geyer said that there was one word that kept coming to her mind when she thought of good heath—energy. “Having the energy to do the things you want to do is usually a very good sign of good health,” she said.
Anyhow, remember that heath is individualized (因人而异的). If you’re worried you’re not healthy or you’re just curious about where you stand, you can go to see your doctor.
1. How many health signs are mentioned in the passage?7 . Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on the planet Earth. What many people don’t know is that rubbish has become a problem in outer space too.
According to BBC News, there are more than 22, 000 pieces of space rubbish around the Earth. And these are just the things that we can see from the Earth. There are also millions of smaller pieces of rubbish that we can’t see.
Things, like bits of old spaceships or satellites (卫星), move around the planet so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to astronauts. If the smallest piece of rubbish crashed (碰撞) a spaceship, something would go wrong.
To make things worse, when two things in space crash, they break into many smaller pieces. For example, when a US satellite crashed an old Russian rocket in 2009, it broke into more than 2, 000 pieces, increasing the amount of space rubbish.
To make space rubbish less, countries have agreed that all new spaceships can only stay in space for 25 years at most. Each spaceship must be built to fall safely into the Earth’s atmosphere (大气层) after that time. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
Many scientists also suggest different ways to clean up space rubbish. In England, scientists are testing a special net that can be sent into space. The net catches the rubbish and then pulls it into the Earth’s atmosphere to burn up. The Germans are building robots that can collect pieces of space rubbish and bring them back to the Earth to make it safe.
“The problem is becoming more difficult because we’re sending more things into space to help people use their mobile phones and computers,” says Marco Castronuovo, an Italian space researcher.
“The time to act is now. The longer we leave the problem, the bigger it will become.” he says.
1. The writer mentions BBC news in Paragraph 2 to ________.| A．teach readers the causes of space rubbish |
| B．provide more information about space travel |
| C．show that we can just see a few things from the Earth |
| D．prove that space rubbish has become a serious problem |
| A．there is more space rubbish because of crashes |
| B．space rubbish is dangerous because of its small size |
| C．old spaceships were unable to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere |
| D．scientists are building robots to collect and burn up pieces of space rubbish |
| A．It has nothing to do with people’s everyday life. |
| B．Scientists will deal with the problem so there’s no need to worry. |
| C．Countries around the world should take it seriously and act right now. |
| D．There will be difficult problems for the use of mobile phones and computers. |
8 . Today, young people spend about six hours a day in front of a TV or a computer and less than four minutes playing outdoors. It is not healthy for people’s mind and body when they spend more time on technology but not outdoors.
Some health experts (专家) call green time “vitamin G”. Kids who don’t get outdoors much seem to have trouble in school. Doctors believe that is because being outdoors excites the mind more than sitting around indoors. Even those who usually spend a lot of time outdoors find a difference when they don’t get green time. Madelyne P., 14, says, “I feel more tired when I don’t get outdoors.”
Researchers believe the advantages of green tine come from the outdoor activity in the free time such as jogging or boating. Exercise makes something special in brain that can improve learning, mood (情绪), and sleep. It also develops learning by increasing connections between nerve cells (神经细胞) that are important in learning and memory. Some schools hold classes outside for those reasons. Student Hannah Smith, 18, says she believes the outdoors helps her think and gets her to learn carefully. Learning in a forest sparked her interest in art and photography, too,
Even doctors are helping give their patients some vitamin G. Miller writes “park prescriptions (处方)” for her patients because, she says, “being outdoors is good for health.” She finds that when she gives patients park prescriptions they seem to continue with them.
Getting outdoors can be simple, just like calling together your family for a picnic lunch. All it takes is five minutes or more of green time: Get outside, and get your vitamin G!
1. Which of the following activities is NOT an example of “vitamin G”?| A．Watching TV. | B．Going hiking. | C．Taking a boat tour. | D．Having a picnic. |
| A．influence | B．harm | C．change | D．develop |
| A．kids without green time are likely to have trouble in school |
| B．people who get outdoors a lot may feel the same indoors |
| C．exercise improves learning by increasing the number of cells |
| D．vitamin G may help patients get into the habit of being outdoors |
| A．The discovery of a new vitamin. |
| B．The advantages of green time. |
| C．The influence of technology. |
| D．A different way of learning. |
9 .
Social media allows people to keep in touch with friends, family and the people around the world with like-minded interests, and share their own thoughts, personal updates, and opinions online. However, using social media too much and posting many selfies (自拍) have caused a rise in narcissism, according to a new study. Narcissism is when someone becomes very selfish and believes they are very talented and beautiful. They need attention from other people and think they are better than everyone else.
Researchers at universities in Swansea and Milan found that heavy users of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter showed a 25 percent rise in narcissism in just four months. The researchers studied how 74 people aged 18 to 34 used social media and looked at how their personality changed. They said that posting selfies seemed to increase levels of narcissism in a way that text messaging does not. Those who used social media too much, through posting pictures, showed an average 25 percent increase in such narcissistic personality over the four months of the study. Only one of them in the study didn’t use social media, and others’ average use was around three hours a day, not including usage for work. Some said that they used social media for as much as eight hours a day for non-working reasons.
More than two-thirds of the participants at the beginning used social media for posting pictures. Professor Phil Reed, from the Department of Psychology at Swansea University, said, “There have been suggestions of links between narcissism and the use of selfies on social media, such as Facebook, but until this study, it was not known if using such social media is related with the growth in narcissism.”
The results of this study suggest that posting selfies can increase narcissism. Professor Read said that about 20 percent of people may be at risk of developing narcissism. This is because they want attention and likes from other people after they post a selfie. They also want to show others how their life is better or how they are more beautiful or attractive. They might feel good at the moment, but in the long term, it only serves to drive good people away from them, have negative effects on their success, and leave them weak and at risk.
1. The word “narcissism” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.| A．self-improvement | B．self-confidence |
| C．self-respect | D．self-love |
| A．confidence and disagreement. | B．confidence and knowledge. |
| C．attention and praise. | D．attention and argument. |
| A．Texting makes people more narcissistic than posting selfies. |
| B．Posting too many selfies on social media may lead to narcissism. |
| C．Most participants use social media for work instead of taking selfies. |
| D．Psychologists found the reason of being narcissistic before the research. |
| A．To stress the importance of keeping away from narcissism. |
| B．To tell people why social media can be a way to enjoy life. |
| C．To show how people communicate with others on social media. |
| D．To advise people not to post too many selfies on social media. |
10 . Parkinson’s disease (帕金森病) is the second most common neurodegenerative (神经退行性) disease worldwide. It affects about 1% to 2% of people aged 65 and over. As the global population ages, the prevalence (流行率) of Parkinson’s disease will increase greatly. Nowadays, more than 6 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s disease, and there are about 60,000 new patients each year.
A recent study was carried out by Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The study monitored the health of hundreds of Parkinson’s patients for up to five years. They studied two groups of people. One group of 147 people practised regular (有规律的) tai chi, aided by training class to improve their technique. The traditional Chinese exercise combines slow gentle movements with deep breathing and relaxation. The other group of 187 patients continued with their common care, but didn’t practise tai chi.
After five years of study, the researchers found that Parkinson’s disease progressed more slowly in the tai chi group. This group also saw fewer falls, less back pain and fewer memory problems than the other group. At the same time, sleep and quality of life continuously improved. An earlier test of people with Parkinson’s who practised tai chi for six months found greater improvements in walking, posture (姿态) and balance than those not on the programme. Experts say the findings support earlier studies on the benefits of exercise for those with Parkinson’s.
Writing in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, researchers say their study shows that tai chi has the long-term beneficial effects on Parkinson’s disease, which include making quality of life last longer, reducing the task on nursing care and drug (药物) use, while still helping to keep patients active. Tai chi has a potential improvement effect on both motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients. They also find that tai chi training is safe for patients with early primary Parkinson’s disease.
This was an observational (观察性的) study, so the relationship between tai chi and improvement in Parkinson’s disease could not be sure. But the researchers will continue to study it.
1. The second paragraph mainly talks about ________.| A．the background of the study | B．the purpose of the study |
| C．the process of the study | D．the result of the study |
| A．Parkinson’s disease progressed quickly for the tai chi group. |
| B．Tai chi can take the place of drug use for Parkinson’s patients. |
| C．Parkinson’s patients can benefit a lot from doing tai chi regularly. |
| D．It’s unsafe for early primary Parkinson’s patients to practice tai chi. |
| A．To explain how Parkinson’s patients practice tai chi. |
| B．To discuss about the importance of studying Parkinson’s disease. |
| C．To suggest some proper ways of improving people’s quality of life. |
| D．To introduce a study about the influence of tai chi on Parkinson’s disease. |
