1 . If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping, I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insect bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me.
The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer.
I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.
| A．This time there was no tent. |
| B．Things are going to be improved. |
| C．The trip they took me on was a rough one. |
| D．I was to learn a lot about camping since then, however. |
| E．I must say that I have certainly come to enjoy camping. |
| F．After the trip, my family became quite interested in camping. |
| G．There was no shade as the trees were no more than 3 feet tall. |
2 . A huge crowd has gathered to watch China’s new scientific research ship enter the water for the first time. This ship, equipped with on-board labs and the latest scientific kit, will eventually explore the world’s oceans. But it is also going to help China plunge beneath the waves: it will serve as a launch-pad for submarines that can dive to the deepest parts of the ocean. “Humans know much less about the deep oceans than we know about the surface of the Moon and Mars. That’s why I want to develop the facility for ocean scientists to reach the deep seas,” says Prof. Cui Weicheng.
He is the dean of deep sea science at Shanghai Ocean University but he has also set up a private company called Rainbow Fish, which built the new research ship and is busy developing submersibles. One of its unmanned subs reached a depth of 4,000m (13,000ft) in its most recent trial. But Rainbow Fish’s ultimate goal is manned exploration and it plans to take humans to the very bottom of the ocean the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific, at a depth of nearly 11,000m (36,000ft). He shows me around a life-size model of the submarine and explains that there is room inside for a crew of three, who will be protected by a thick metal sphere.”At the moment, we are in the design stage, so we are testing several extremely high-strength materials for it.” It will have to bear immense pressures from the crushing weight of water above. If there are any weaknesses, the submarine will implode. The deepest ocean is a place few people have ever experienced first-hand. The first dive to the Mariana Trench was carried out in 1960 by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Picard. Their vessel, the Bathyscaphe Trieste, creaked and groaned as it made the descent, taking nearly five hours.
The only other manned expedition was carried out by Hollywood director James Cameron, who took a solo plunge in a bright green submarine in 2012. Rainbow Fish wants its sub to be next. The team insists its venture isn’t about politics and that it is looking to collaborate with American, Russian and European scientists. It is, though, a commercial operation. The company plans to charge people to use its research ship and submarines, and is targeting three groups, says managing director Dr. Wu Xin. “The first is definitely the scientists who are interested in studying deep-sea science and technology. The second group is offshore companies and oil companies. The last one is tourists and adventurers [who] want to go down themselves to have a look at what’s going on there,” he says. This kind of entrepreneurial approach may be a new model for science in China. Deep-sea research is a difficult, high-risk activity — and much of the ocean remains unexplored. But Cui, who hopes to be the first Chinese person to reach the Mariana Trench, believes that China could be the nation to truly open up this final frontier.
1. What function does the new scientific research ship serve?| A．As a deep-sea facility for tourist adventures |
| B．As a supply ship for scientific explorations. |
| C．As a station for observing giant squid. |
| D．As a launch-pad for submarines. |
| A．Testing high-strength materials for building submarines. |
| B．Designing a thick metal sphere for bearing space pressure. |
| C．Charting the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. |
| D．Making plans for his dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. |
| A．Prof. Cui doesn’t rely on government funding. Instead he runs a for-profit business. |
| B．Prof. Cui is bold in his submarine design. |
| C．Prof. Cui, who started the company, is a professor-turned entrepreneur. |
| D．Prof. Cui is the first to offer his ship for tourists. |
| A．Deep-sea science and technology | B．Ocean exploration |
| C．Race to the deep | D．The rising of Rainbow Fish |
3 . Daniel Brush, an astonishing worker in gold, jewels and steel died on November 2022, aged 75. Students from a jewellery school once came to Brush’s studio, a loft in mid-Manhattan, awed to be meeting a figure who, to them, was a worker of miracles.
For 45 years in that loft, he had pursued his calling. His wife Olivia was the only company. He produced hundreds of objects of all sorts, most of them exquisite and many astonishingly small. Rather than use electricity, he laboured alone in a forest of antique machines and when tools frustrated him he made his own, displaying them in cupboards as art in themselves.
Above all else, he worked in gold. His obsession took fire when at 13 he saw an Etruscan gold bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The ancient technique of applying gold beads as fine as sand-grains to a curved gold surface without solder (焊接), was stunning, but so was the lightness of spirit.
He resolved then that he would make such a bowl, and gold became the study of his life. Simply to watch it melt, turn to red-hot and white-hot, then glow purple, was magical. To hold pure gold grain and let it move slowly through his fingers restored his calm of spirit. His chief motivation, he said, was to understand the material and, through that, himself. He wondered why his heart had beaten so fast in the museum that day. Gold in particular had a message for him. His contact with this glorious metal might focus all his attention and help him to hear it.
He developed delicate craftsmanship, with each object virtually a museum piece. For Daniel Brush, he loved the idea that one might take a piece made by Brush out of a pocket, let its beauty pass from mind to mind, and smile. That too was what its maker was after.
1. What can we learn about Daniel Brush?| A．Students visited him regularly. |
| B．He began to live in his loft in 1975. |
| C．He tended to use ancient crafts to produce objects. |
| D．Most objects he produced were of a surprisingly small size. |
| A．He wanted to learn more about both gold and himself. |
| B．He wondered why his heart had beat fast in the museum. |
| C．His calm was restored when gold grain moved through fingers. |
| D．Gold had a particular message for him and he was eager to hear it. |
| A．Stubborn. | B．Wealthy. | C．Dedicated. | D．Lonely. |
| A．Brush’s valuable works. | B．The admirers Brush expected. |
| C．Brush’s desire for fame. | D．The artistic ideal Brush pursued. |
4 . Danone Portugal introduced a new yogurt named Juntos. For every pack of yogurt that a person bought, he would donate yogurt to a family in need. Danone had done its research. Increasingly, people say they want to buy from brands that give them a sense of purpose. Surely a yogurt that helped the needy would be appealing. But Juntos was a failure. Despite sinking millions into a marketing campaign, Danone pulled Juntos from the market only months after it was launched. Now the same product is simply marketed as a tasty yogurt.
What happened? To find the reason behind Juntos’ failure, Lawrence Williams and his colleagues did an experiment where they showed people some products and asked these people to pick one option. They reminded some to focus on the “purposeful and valuable” aspect while others were told to “enjoy themselves” and focus on “delight and pleasure.” They found that participants who prioritized meaning preferred the less expensive product when compared with people who put pleasure in the first place.
So why were meaning-seekers cheaping out? Lawrence Williams asked participants to explain their decision-making to find out. He learned that meaning-oriented people were not thinking about how the product they might buy could bring meaning to their lives. Instead, they were occupied with what else they could do with their money.
I am all for people making wise and strategic financial choices. But cheap products can create many problems. Inexpensive options often do not last as long as the higher-end ones. As a result, we shop more often, which is ultimately worse for our wallets. Plus, that spending pattern can do a greater damage to the environment. Thanks in part to fast fashion, people buy 60 percent more clothing today than they did 15 years ago. The fashion industry alone emits more greenhouse gases than international flights and maritime (海洋的) shipping combined.
So before you dive into your wallet for some deals, try not to fix only on what you are spending or saving. Think carefully about what you are buying, too.
1. What is the main reason for the failure of Juntos?| A．It ignored marketing strategies. | B．It priced itself relatively high. |
| C．It lacked a particularly good taste. | D．It focused on delight and pleasure. |
| A．They frequent high-end stores. | B．They think products extend their lives. |
| C．They hesitate to make decisions. | D．They make more purchases with money. |
| A．By giving some examples. | B．By listing numbers and data. |
| C．By explaining reasons. | D．By making some comparisons. |
| A．Innovation: a Product’s Life | B．To Buy or not to Buy |
| C．Meaning seekers or Quality-pursuers | D．Fast Fashion: a Hit to Your Wallet |
5 . A Chinese girl Tan Fanglin overcame a world-class mathematics problem and was invited again to attend the World Laureates Forum when she was 15. Communicating with 65 top scientists in the world, she became a rising star in this meeting of the world’s sharpest minds.
Her discovery has won her many prizes in youth innovation competitions in China. However, Tan is not a “genius” in the traditional sense. Tan was born in a scholarly family. Her father was a professor of mathematics. Tan showed a high interest in mathematics when she was very young. She likes to find questions on her own. The more difficult the problem is, the more potential she will unlock. In this process, her father will only give proper guidance.
Tan took part in many research projects. So devoted to the projects, she once made serious mistakes during the exam at school. Instead of severely rebuking her, her parents let her find the problem by herself and achieve a better balance between textbook study and research. It was because of the respect and trust of her parents that Tan began to plan her study time scientifically and applied the learning methods summarized in the process of mathematics research to the classroom. With her hard work, she made great achievements in mathematics.
Attending this meeting enabled Tan to get more inspiration from the world’s top scientists. She even got the opportunity to talk with germ Miesenböck, who is pioneering the field of Optogenetics (光遗传学). Miesenböc has encouraged her not to lose her passion and love for what she does and said accepting failure is important to researchers. He has stressed that people all know that even Thomas Edison went through hundreds of unsuccessful attempts before finally inventing the light bulb. Tan has met many difficulties in her research and often feels upset. The words have made her feel inspired.
1. What can we learn about Tan Fanglin?| A．She went to the meeting with her father. | B．She has a strong love for mathematics. |
| C．She never made mistakes in her school exams. | D．She was invited to attend the Forum for the first time. |
| A．Helping. | B．Challenging. | C．Criticizing. | D．Praising. |
| A．By correcting her mistakes. |
| B．By offering extra training for her research. |
| C．By stressing the importance of scientific research. |
| D．By respecting her and encouraging her in self-development. |
| A．All roads lead to Rome. | B．Nothing is impossible. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．Failure is the mother of success. |
6 . In 1975, a San Diego homemaker named Marjorie Rice came across a column in Scientific American about tiling (瓷砖). There is a problem which has interested mathematicians since ancient Greek times. After Rice’s chance encounter with tiling, family members often saw her in the kitchen constantly drawing shapes. “I thought she was just drawing casually (随意),” her daughter Kathy said. But Rice who took only one year of math in high school, was actually discovering never-before-seen patterns.
Born in Florida, she loved learning and particularly her brief exposure to math, but tight budget and social culture prevented her family from even considering that she might attend college. “For Rice, math was a pleasure,” her son David once said.
Rice gave one of her sons a subscription to Scientific American partly because she could read it carefully while the children were at school. When she read Gardner’s column about tiling as she later recalled in an interview: “I thought it must be wonderful that someone could discover these beautiful patterns which no one had seen before.” She also wrote in an essay, “My interest was engaged by the subject and I wanted to understand every detail of it. Lacking a mathematical background, I developed my own symbol system and in a few months discovered a new type.”
Astonished and delighted, she sent her work to Gardner, who sent it to Doris, a tiling expert at Moravian College. Doris confirmed that Rice’s finding was correct.
Later, Rice declined to lecture on her discoveries, citing shyness, but at Doris’s invitation, she attended a university mathematics meeting, where she was introduced to the audience. Rice still said nothing of her achievements to her children, but they eventually found out as the awards mounted.
1. Why did Rice often draw shapes in the kitchen?| A．To become a mathematician. | B．To explore the secret of tiling. |
| C．To fill her leisure time. | D．To show her passion for drawing. |
| A．She longed to start a column. | B．She was rejected from a college. |
| C．She was good at designing patterns. | D．She succeeded in developing a system. |
| A．The magic of math. | B．The efforts of Rice. |
| C．The humility of Rice. | D．The patterns of tiling. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing mind. | B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Every cloud has a silver lining. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
7 . Pacific Science Center Guide
◆Visit Pacific Science Center’s Store
Don’t forget to stop by Pacific Science Center’s Store while you are here to pick up a wonderful science activity or souvenir to remember your visit. The store is located(位于) upstairs in Building 3 right next to the Laser Dome.
◆Hungry
Our exhibits will feed your mind, but what about your body? Our café offers a complete menu of lunch and snack options, in addition to seasonal specials. The café is located upstairs in Building 1 and is open daily until one hour before Pacific Science Center closes.
◆Rental Information
Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located in Building 1 near the Information Desk and in Building 3. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk and Denny Way entrance. ID required.
◆Support Pacific Science Center
Since 1962, Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion(热情) for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today, Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. It’s an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Visit pacificsciencecenter.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.
1. Where can you buy a souvenir at Pacific Science Center?| A．In Building 1. |
| B．In Building 3. |
| C．At the the Laser Dome. |
| D．At the Denny Way entrance. |
| A．Train Science teachers. |
| B．Distribute science books. |
| C．Inspire scientific research. |
| D．Take science to the classroom. |
| A．To encourage donations. |
| B．To advertise coming events. |
| C．To introduce special exhibits. |
| D．To tell about the Center’s history. |
8 . African penguins live on the rocky coasts of South Africa, Namibia and nearby islands. Like other types of penguins, the birds have white feathers covering their chests and black feathers covering their backs. They form lifelong pair bonds with mates, but they nest in huge colonies — so, scientists wondered how the birds were able to identify their partners among the sea of black-and-white birds. They wondered if their chest spots had something to do with it. To test this theory, they studied 12 African penguins at a zoo and marine park near Rome called Zoomarine Italia.
In one test, they hung two life-size photographs of the African penguins. One showed a random member of the colony, while the other showed the test subject’s mate. The scientists recorded the birds’ interactions with the photos: How long did they spend looking at each one, as well as how much time did they spend standing near each photograph? The penguins spent more time gazing at the photo of their partners — about 23 seconds longer, on average — than looking at the other photo. They also stood next to the image of their beau s for twice as long. Then, the researchers covered up the heads of the birds in the photographs, leaving only their speckled bodies visible, and the penguins still lingered near their partners’ portraits.
In another experiment, the researchers hung up two photos of a bird’s mate — but, in one, they had digitally removed its spots. In this case, the penguin again spent more time looking at the photo with the dots.
Finally, the researchers posted two photographs of penguins with digitally removed spots — one of the test subject’s mate and the other of a random penguin from the colony. In this scenario, the penguins did not appear to recognize their partners. They spent roughly the same amount of time gazing at or standing near both photos.
Together, the results of these experiments suggest African penguins are zeroing in on their partners’ spots and using them like name tags, scientists say.
“Our results provide the first evidence of a specific visual cue responsible for spontaneous individual recognition by a bird and highlight the importance of considering all sensory modalities in the study of animal communication,” the researchers write in the paper.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．African penguins live on the rocky coasts of North Africa. |
| B．Scientists are curious about the African penguins. |
| C．African penguins have white feathers covering their backs. |
| D．Scientists studied 12 African penguins only at a zoo near Rome. |
| A．Their partners’ voice. | B．Their partners’ heads. |
| C．Their partners’ back feathers. | D．Their partners’ speckled bodies. |
| A．Losing sight of. | B．Taking delight in. |
| C．Paying attention to. | D．Speaking highly of. |
| A．In a science report. | B．In a travel brochure. |
| C．In a biology textbook. | D．In a fashion magazine. |
9 . Never had a lovely sunflower been absent to my house on my birthday, since I turned 13. No cards or notes in it. Calls to the flower shop were always
I never stopped
My mother even
When I was 17, I failed
One month before my graduation from high school, my father died of a heart attack. My feelings ranged from pain to
My mother didn’t. The day before the dance, I found that dress, in the right size,
Actually, my mother passed away one week after I got married, That year the adorable sunflower stopped
| A．in advance | B．in vain | C．in charge | D．in private |
| A．declaring | B．admiring | C．calculating | D．confirming |
| A．identity | B．proof | C．address | D．presence |
| A．subscribed to | B．referred to | C．objected to | D．contributed to |
| A．applause | B．account | C．appreciation | D．assistance |
| A．though | B．moreover | C．therefore | D．otherwise |
| A．particularly | B．unexpectedly | C．unavoidably | D．sincerely |
| A．applied | B．allowed | C．forced | D．devoted |
| A．wandering | B．rushing | C．pacing | D．moving |
| A．astonishment | B．annoyance | C．tiredness | D．abandonment |
| A．grasping | B．interrupting | C．accepting | D．skipping |
| A．awesome | B．original | C．ordinary | D．imaginative |
| A．awarded | B．thrown | C．delivered | D．paid |
| A．in response to | B．by means of | C．in terms of | D．in the face of |
| A．cheering up | B．showing up | C．lighting up | D．warming up |
10 . Online courses offer people abundant opportunities to learn. Try some of the Harvard online courses about humanities.
The Path to Happiness
From Confucianism to Daoism, the philosophies developed over two thousand years ago are among the most powerful in human history. This course brings voices from the past into modern contexts to explore the path to a good life today.
Duration: June 16, 2021—June 14, 2022
Fees: Free of charge
Pace: Self-paced
Difficulty: Introductory
Introduction to the Ancient Greek World
This course is about ancient Greece with its unique places, ways of life and historical changes. We survey the most important social institutions and cultural traditions. We also study everyday features such as food and dress.
Duration: June 21—August 6, 2021
Fees: $3400
Pace: Instructor-led
Difficulty: Introductory
Biotechnology and the Human Good
Biotechnology offers exciting and promising prospects for healing the sick and relieving the suffering. In this course we consider possible functions beyond common treatments like making people look younger, perform better and become perfect.
Duration: June 21—August 6, 2021
Fees: $ 3400
Pace: Instructor-led
Difficulty: Intermediate
Superheroes and Power
What makes superheroes popular? How can they help us think about super powers? In this course, we explore those questions in Marvel and DC favorites (especially the X-Men) as well as independent comics novels.
Duration: June 22 —August 6, 2021
Fees: $ 3400
Pace: Instructor-led
Difficulty: Intermediate
1. Which course can you take if you are free in Oct. 2021?| A．The Path to Happiness | B．Introduction to the Ancient Greek World |
| C．Biotechnology and the Human Good | D．Superheroes and Power |
| A．Powers of superheroes. | B．More uses of biotech. |
| C．Ways to increase happiness. | D．Clinical practices of biotech. |
| A．They are of the same level. | B．They are free of charge. |
| C．They belong to the same subject. | D．They are instructor-led. |
