1 . 4 Really Strange Beaches
Sandy stretches of gray, brown or even white are the world’s norm. Even rocky beaches or those with sheer cliffs barring passage for everyone save the bravest adventurers are not rare. These unique beaches are some of the best treats nature has to offer.
Papakolea Beach, Hawaii, USA
Papakōlea Beach is a green sand beach located near South Point, in the Ka’ū district of the island of Hawai ’i. One of only two green sand beaches in the World, the other being in Galapagos Islands.
Papakōlea Beach is associated with the southwest rift (裂谷) of Mauna Loa. Since its last eruption, the cinder cone has partially collapsed and been partially swallowed by the ocean.
San Alfonso del Mar Beach, Chile
This beach is located between the largest artificial pool. San Alfonso del Mar Beach is an essential part of the luxurious resort of the same name.
It seems a strange spot for the world’s largest swimming pool. But the pool’s remarkable spaciousness (宽敞) complements the ocean beyond rather effortlessly, and jumping in the pool’s 79℉(26℃) water is a much more attractive prospect than venturing into the 63℉(17℃) seawater nearby.
Maho Beach, Sint Maarten
Maho Beach is a beach on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, in the country of Sint Maarten. It is famous for the Princess Juliana International Airport next to the beach.
Arriving aircraft must touch down as close as possible to the beginning of Runway 10 due to the short runway length of 380 metres, resulting in aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at minimal altitude.
Ocean Dome, Japan
This is an artificial beach constructed in the Seagaia re son along the coastal highway outside the city of Myazaki in Japan it has a fully controlled indoor climate throughout the year.
The Ocean Dome, which was a popular part of the Sheraton Seagaia Resort, measures 300 meters in length and 100 meters in width.
1. What has Papakōlea Beach experienced in Hawaii?A.One mineral. | B.One connection. |
C.One fierce rift. | D.One severe outbreak. |
A.Jumping into the pool’s water |
B.Learning to jump water in the pool |
C.Building a spacious swimming pool |
D.Taking a risk of swimming in the pool |
A.They lie beside good places built. | B.They both lie on an island. |
C.They are both artificial beaches. | D.They are both well-known. |
2 . Some of our planet’s power pollinators (传粉昆虫) may have originated tens of millions of years earlier than scientists once believed. In a study published July 27 in the journal Current Biology, a team of researchers traced bee family back over 120 million years to the ancient supercontinent Gondwana (冈瓦纳大陆). While looking deeper into bee history, the team found evidence that bees originated earlier, diversified faster, and spread wider than previously suspected, putting together pieces of a puzzle on the origin of these pollinators.
In the study, an international team of scientists would be in sequence and compared genes from over 200 bee species. They then compared these bees with the traits from 185 different bee fossils and extinct fossils to develop an evolutionary history and genealogical model for how bees have historically been spread around the world. The team was able to analyze hundreds of thousands of genes at a time to make sure that the relationships they inferred were correct.
“This is the first time we have broad genome-scale data for all seven bee families,” study co-author and Washington State University entomologist Elizabeth Murray confidently said in a statement. Earlier studies established that the first bees potentially evolved from wasps (黄蜂), transitioning from predators up to collectors of pollen and nectar (花蜜). According to this study, bees arose in the dry regions of western Gondwana during the early Cretaceous period, between 145 million years ago to 100.5 million years ago.
“There’s been a long-time puzzle about the origin of bees,” study co-author and Washington State University entomologist Silas Bossert said in a statement. “For the first time, we have statistical evidence that bees originated on Gondwana. We now know that bees are originally southern hemisphere insects.” The team found evidence that as new continents formed, the bees moved northward. They continued to diversify and spread in parallel partnership with flowering plants called angiosperms. The bees later moved into India and Australia and all major bee families appear to have split off from one another before the beginning of the Tertiary period (65million years ago).
1. What’s the purpose of bee history researchers do research on?A.To discover the origin of these pollinators. |
B.To find out some reasonable proofs. |
C.To know much about our planet. |
D.To study the life of bee species. |
A.in danger. | B.in need. | C.in order | D.in favor. |
A.Unbelievable. | B.Reliable. | C.Positive. | D.Negative. |
A.The earliest home of bees may be in Gondwana. |
B.The world’s earliest bees were found in India and Australia. |
C.The researchers are going on doing research on bee families. |
D.The researchers get a lot evidence to prove their research. |
3 . Seven-year-old Everett Botwright is a bright, imaginative kid. Like many children on the autism spectrum (自闭症), he also
There was only one
The
Kraft Heinz Canada donated $10,000 to autism charities,
The
A.starts | B.deals | C.struggles | D.agrees |
A.thrilled | B.annoyed | C.satisfied | D.worried |
A.engaged | B.interested | C.disappointed | D.involved |
A.food | B.idea | C.book | D.movie |
A.goal | B.reason | C.solution | D.problem |
A.toys | B.boxes | C.cards | D.packages |
A.still | B.obviously | C.actually | D.probably |
A.denied | B.received | C.answered | D.issued |
A.help | B.treatment | C.advice | D.permission |
A.advertisement | B.photo | C.request | D.video |
A.local | B.traditional | C.social | D.technical |
A.broke in | B.took off | C.came off | D.flooded in |
A.sharing | B.broadcasting | C.composing | D.printing |
A.sold | B.packed | C.collected | D.delivered |
A.next | B.classical | C.regular | D.special |
A.bought | B.designed | C.chose | D.released |
A.heavy | B.other | C.limited | D.beautiful |
A.daily | B.final | C.monthly | D.official |
A.paying | B.translating | C.printing | D.signing |
A.luck | B.Internet | C.good | D.dream |
4 . Sometimes science advances at a snail’s pace, but in this case that’s a good thing: researchers have created a soft material that combines polymers with liquid metal, demonstrated in a snail-like robot. Developers say this electrically conductive gel(凝胶) could be used to make self-healing electronic circuits and biological monitors for measuring heart and muscle activity-and maybe even lead to robot nervous systems.
The complex substance can stretch and is soft like living tissue. If it breaks or tears, the edges can be touched together, and the material’s molecular bonds quickly re-form without any additional heat or chemical treatment. And crucially its developers say, it is the first such material that also conducts electricity.
These abilities could lead to wire-free medical monitors as well as fully soft robots. “For my research, one thing that’s really big is, ‘How do you put multiple functions into a single material?’” says Lillian Chin, who develops soft robotic components as part of her own research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Existing soft-bodied robots, she says, often require at least some rigid metals and silicon(硅)components. But soft, flexible living tissues can perform multiple tasks; muscles, Chin notes, both move our bodies and provide electrical feedback about that movement to our brains.
For a recent study in Nature Electronics, the researchers used their new material to connect motors to power sources in two basic machines: a snail-like soft robot and a toy car. The material’s self-healing ability helped these simple circuits(电路) be easily reequipped. For example, the team cut the car’s power-carrying gel “wires” and shifted their connections to power both movement and a small light fixed in the bottom.
1. What’s the function of the conductive gel?A.To make a soft material. |
B.To connect material and metal. |
C.To restore robot nervous systems. |
D.To produce electronic and biological monitors. |
A.Being connected. | B.Providing heat. |
C.Conducting electricity. | D.Handling chemical. |
A.The good benefits of the single material in her study. |
B.Multiple functions of the single material. |
C.The movement from human bodies in her study. |
D.The massive tasks done in her study. |
A.Its soft ability. | B.Its helpful ability |
C.Its wireless ability. | D.Its self-healing ability. |
5 . Chris Kyle is an entrepreneur(企业家), so he’s always looking for ways to support his fellow small business owners. Chris says he feels fortunate that his work allows him to spend a lot of time at home, so he can be fully present for each stage of his daughter Ava’s life. He was skeptical when his wife purchased Ava a toy kitchen set, but his daughter adores it and has now become a “small business owner” in her very own living room!
“When my wife made the purchase, I was hesitant about spending a few hundred dollars on it,” Chris explained. “It has been worth every penny. Ava is the star of her own little world when she is ready to play.” Chris paid a visit to his daughter’s at-home restaurant and shared his frank but funny “review” on his Instagram page. “So I tried to support another Black Owned Business for lunch today,” he wrote. “It’s called Ava’s Kitchen, just opened the end of April. It’s a very clean kitchenware, but let me tell you about this owner.”
“First of all, I asked why there are balloons on my chair, and it’s not my birthday?” Chris continued. “She said those are Mommy’s.” But Chris didn’t stop there. In addition to the questionable choice of balloons as a decoration, he said the service at Ava’s Kitchen was not exactly putting the establishment anywhere near the Zagat scale. “I have been waiting on my order to get done for 45minutes, and I’m the only customer here,” wrote Chris. “She was making good progress at first, then she stopped for 20 minutes to go to watch Paw Patrol. Overall the customer service could be better, but the cook is lovely. So I’ll give her another chance.”
Chris and Ava are thrilled that their post went viral. I’m glad to see our post shine bright in the lives or people around the world, said the proud dad.
1. Why does Chris mainly think he is lucky?A.Because he has enough time to work at home. |
B.Because he has been looking for some ways. |
C.Because he can accompany his daughter. |
D.Because he suspects Ava’s mother. |
A.Buying a toy kitchen set. | B.Living in a small room. |
C.Supporting another business. | D.Spending too much money. |
A.On the Internet. | B.In the newspaper. |
C.On a travel magazine. | D.In a notice. |
A.Dad Leaves His Review After Visiting Ava’s Kitchen |
B.Dad Is Honest And Funny After Talking With His Daughter |
C.Dad Helps Ava Get a Good Chance to Surf the Internet |
D.Dad Builds a Kitchen For His Own Daughter Happily |
6 . Dublin is one of Europe’s smaller capital cities, but it has an outsized number of places to see. Here’s a decent sampling of the great attractions that await when you come to Dublin to play.
National Gallery of Ireland
Ireland is a country known for its literary contributions, but don’t overlook its contributions to the artistic world. It houses a number of works by Rembrandt, Goya and Monet. The collection’s 15,000 Irish and European works date from the 13th to mid-20th centuries and include paintings, prints and national portraits (肖像). Particularly prized is the Yeats Collection, consisting of works and other materials related to Irish painter Jack B. Yeats, brother of poet and playwright W. B. Yeats.
Ha’penny Bridge
This modest cast-iron bridge over the River Liffey has become the symbol of Dublin, with its wonderful design and old-fashioned lampposts. Before it became a tourist attraction,
Ha’Penny Bridge was a welcome addition for local people. Before its construction, most of them had to ferry (摆渡) across the river. When it was built in 1816, Ha’penny Bridge was the first iron bridge across the Liffey.
Dublin Castle
You’re in Europe. It’s hard to resist a good castle. And you have one right in the heart of Dublin. And like all good castles, it has a storied history—from its start in the 1200s on the site of a Viking settlement to 1922, when it was handed over to the new Irish government after independence from the United Kingdom. A fire in 1684 damaged a good bit of the castle, and in reconstruction, parts of it took on the look of a Georgian palace, making for an interesting mix of styles today.
St. Stephen’s Green
As a treasured part of the city for centuries, the park, which is in the heart of Dublin, has important sculptures of major figures in Irish history and well-maintained Victorian grounds in the center. A variety of trees line the perimeter (周边) to help block city noise, and it’s a haven for birds as well as people.
1. What can visitors see in National Gallery of Ireland?A.W. B. Yeats’ collection of poems. |
B.Works about painter Jack B. Yeats. |
C.Over 15,000 European literary works. |
D.Irish paintings dating from the 11th century. |
A.Attracting foreign visitors. | B.Offering shelter to ferrymen. |
C.Replacing a cast-iron bridge. | D.Helping people cross a river. |
A.They feature a variety of rare birds. |
B.They are not well-maintained at present. |
C.They are located in the center of Dublin. |
D.They take on the look of a Georgian palace. |
7 . “But I want that blue car!”
The blue car didn’t make it through our checkout line. The tears
A car accident in my teens left me paralysed (瘫痪) from the chest down. From sixteen on I was
It wasn’t until having children that my abandon to independence was forced to
Kneeling down, I tried my hardest to
Becoming a
So, I tried again with a smile. I touched my now
A.broke | B.welled | C.went | D.joined |
A.embarrassment | B.disappointment | C.fright | D.amusement |
A.hand over | B.hold on to | C.pick up | D.throw away |
A.nursery | B.office | C.store | D.hospital |
A.permitted | B.recommended | C.expected | D.forced |
A.repeatedly | B.casually | C.cautiously | D.independently |
A.panic-stricken | B.able-bodied | C.carefree | D.misshaped |
A.refer to | B.conflict with | C.keep away from | D.make room for |
A.consequences | B.availabilities | C.courses | D.intentions |
A.approach | B.apologize | C.adapt | D.follow |
A.reflect | B.explain | C.admit | D.contradict |
A.in detail | B.on demand | C.on agreement | D.in vain |
A.win | B.take | C.watch | D.get |
A.worked | B.continued | C.faded | D.returned |
A.mom | B.babysitter | C.shopper | D.victim |
A.Meanwhile | B.Moreover | C.However | D.Otherwise |
A.experience | B.example | C.partner | D.leader |
A.aggressive | B.lovely | C.sweaty | D.cheerful |
A.most desperate | B.most caring | C.greatest | D.worst |
A.promised | B.struggled | C.prepared | D.managed |
8 . Ask any business leader what big challenges they face and it’s likely that skills and labor shortages will be high on their list. They’re concerned about how to develop the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow. According to the World Economic Forum’s latest Future of Jobs Report 2023, organizations across all industries identify skills gaps and an inability to attract talent as the key barriers preventing industry transformation.
There’s a potential solution to all of this: a “skills-first” approach. The new report, Putting Skills First: A Framework for Action, launched during the World Economic Forum’s Growth Summit, finds that switching to a skills-first mindset can directly benefit over 100 million people globally who’re currently under-utilizing their existing skills, because they’re under-employed in their current job or because they’re unemployed. The analysis, which covers 18 economies, finds workforce under-utilization ranges from 4% of the working population in Thailand, to 7% in the US, 13% in France, 27% in Brazil and 43% in South Africa.
A skills-first approach focuses on a person’s skills and competencies rather than on their qualifications or job history, so that what someone can do becomes far more important than which university they went to. Crucially, this focus on skills continues long after the worker has been hired, with an emphasis on continually developing their abilities right through their career.
Making skills a priority is fairly advantageous. For businesses, taking a skills-first approach dramatically increases the potential pool of talent from which they can draw on. For individuals, it provides access to good jobs that offer skills building, career progression and higher earning potential which they’d otherwise have been excluded from without the right qualifications.
Delivering such ground-breaking change requires more than simply the involvement of HR teams. It’ll require the commitment of CEOs and policy-makers at the highest level to drive it through. So far a company in UK has introduced a range of degree apprenticeship (学徒制) programs which enable applicants without a degree to gain one while working at the firm. The organization is also developing new career paths to ensure it has the right skills to meet the changing needs of the economy.
1. What plays a key role in industry transformation?A.Working environment. | B.Employees’ job history. |
C.Employees’ competence. | D.Business leaders’ management. |
A.It was launched by 18 economies. |
B.It focuses on a skills-first mindset. |
C.It shows the decline of global economy. |
D.It points out employment trends. |
A.Further research needs to be done. |
B.It depends on global cooperation. |
C.Some measures are already underway. |
D.It is well accepted around the world. |
A.A skills-first approach. |
B.A more inclusive society. |
C.Developing new career paths. |
D.Creating a framework for job markets. |
9 . Heart in your throat. Butterflies in your stomach. Bad courage feeling. These are all phrases many people use to describe fear and anxiety.
You have likely felt anxiety inside your chest or stomach, and your brain usually doesn’t hurt when you’re scared. Many cultures tie weakness and bravery more to the heart or the guts than to the brain. But science has traditionally seen the brain as the birthplace and processing site of fear and anxiety. Then why and how do you feel these emotions in other parts of your body? Research confirms that while emotions do begin originally in your brain, it’s your body that carries out the orders. While your brain gradually changed and developed to save you from a falling rock or speeding man-eating animals, the anxieties of modern life are often a lot more abstract. Fifty-thousand years ago, being rejected by your tribe could mean death, but not doing a great job on a public speech at school or at work doesn’t have the same consequences. Your brain, however, might not know the difference.
There are a few key areas of the brain that are heavily involved in processing fear. Amygdala (杏仁体) is a small area of the brain located near your ears which detects obvious features, or the emotional connection of a situation and how to react to it. Threat search is a vital part of this process, and it has to be fast.
The hippocampus (海马体) is near and tightly connected to the amygdala. It’s involved in memorizing what is safe and what is dangerous, especially in relation to the environment — it puts fear in conditions.
The prefrontal cortex (前额叶皮质), located above your eyes, is mostly involved in the realization and social aspects of fear processing. For example, you might be scared of a snake until you read a sign that the snake is not poisonous or the owner tells you it’s his friendly pet.
As is described by a singer in his song “Lose Yourself”, the reason his hands sweated, his knees got weak and his arms became heavy was that his brain was nervous.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?A.Emotions can lead to reactions in the body. |
B.The brain keeps up with the pace of modern life. |
C.Fear and anxiety do much damage to the brain. |
D.Nowadays people have more anxieties than before. |
A.Receiving outside information. |
B.Storing memories. |
C.Identifying different features. |
D.Adjusting emotions. |
A.To show the singer’s love for music. |
B.To present a common phenomenon. |
C.To illustrate the singer’s physical condition. |
D.To explain physical discomfort originates from brain. |
A.The response to fear and anxiety |
B.A study about sense of fear |
C.What negative emotions affect your body |
D.What is the root of fear and anxiety |
10 . I grew up in Florida, surrounded by my extended family, but we can trace our ancestry back to Texas when it still belonged to Mexico. Our language, customs and even the names my ancestors called themselves have since largely been lost to forced assimilation (同化). Yet our oral traditions, expressed through storytelling, poetry and jokes, persist.
My grandmother and mother taught me, a lovely girl, that the natural world around us has stories to tell if you listen closely. After all, language is not unique to humans. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandmother’s cracked concrete porch watching one of the many doves she had nursed back to health land in her raised hand after she called out to it. When dark storm clouds gathered over the half-finished roof, my mother would take a steak knife from the kitchen to the outside of the house, pointing it to the sky to cut the rain away. My friends thought it was magical how nature seemed to bend to my mother’s will.
It makes sense that I became an author. My life is built around stories. When I lived in New York and Los Angeles, I’d have to hike very far to find a piece of nature to be in—the rare tree in downtown Los Angeles, or the ginkgoes near Inwood Hill Park in New York City. Now in East Tennessee, I walk a few steps past my porch, into my garden—two small pieces of land that borders my two-story white and greenish-blue farmhouse. When I first moved here, non-native European grass blanketed the thirsty clay, red as dried blood. I dug up eight garden beds in the middle of that grass, filling them with plants native to my region: cone flowers and aromatic aster, bee balm and Virginia blue bells. I tried growing squash peppers, yellow watermelon and white eggplant but the plants languished. My land seems to want nothing but flowers. So I am trying my hand at planting zinnias, cosmos and dahlias instead.
If I am creatively blocked, I walk barefoot on the earth, no matter what the season, allowing stories to feed the roots of my entire body. If I have a plot hole I need to fix, I visit my lemon and lime basil, keeping my fingers with their sweet scents (气味).
1. What plays a role in keeping traditions alive in the author’s view?A.A close family relationship. | B.The practice of storytelling. |
C.The values of society members. | D.An atmosphere of growth. |
A.How the author became a gardening expert. |
B.How the author fed himself with stories. |
C.How the author connected with nature. |
D.How the author was inspired by stories. |
A.Stood out. | B.Survived. | C.Developed. | D.Faded away. |
A.She’s a very responsible person. |
B.She’s a nature-loving writer. |
C.She’s a passionate traveller. |
D.She’s a professional gardener. |