1 . As we all know, insects can be remarkably agile (灵活的) in flight. This is really hard to build into flying robots, but MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Yufeng Chen has developed an insect-sized drone (无人机) that approaches insects’ agility.
Typically, drones require wide open spaces. “If we look at most drones today, they’re usually quite big,” says Chen. “Most of their applications involve flying outdoors. The question is: Can you create an insect-sized drone that can move around in very crowded and complex spaces?”
According to Chen, he overcame many problems when building the drone. The insect-sized drone requires a fundamentally different construction from a larger one. The large drone is usually powered by a motor, but the motor loses efficiency as you shrink it. So, Chen says, “For an insect-sized drone, you need to look for alternatives.” The principal alternative until now has been employing a small, rigid actuator (执行器) built from new materials. Chen designed a more agile tiny drone using soft actuators instead of hard ones.
......
1. What can we know about the actuator designed by Chen?| A．It weighs about six grams. |
| B．It drives the insect-sized drone. |
| C．It loses efficiency too much. |
| D．It employs conventional materials. |
2 . People believe that having pets is overall a good thing for children. But does this belief hold up to
Ten years ago, when psychologist Joan Smith reviewed the literature on child-animal relationships, she reported that interacting with animals led young children to better understand biology than pet-less children. Kindergartners who had cared for goldfish were more
The past ten years have seen some advances, but literature on the topic is still rather
She turned to a data-set that includes information from 7, 000 kids, ranging in
She found that adolescents with animal experience were more likely to see themselves as important
Brown is aware of the limitations of her study. It can’t reach any conclusions about the causal role of animals in kids’ lives, and it’s limited to
| A．common sense | B．scientific evidence | C．universal assumptions | D．natural tendencies |
| A．enthusiastic | B．curious | C．accurate | D．serious |
| A．transferred | B．collected | C．judged | D．spread |
| A．cautious | B．decent | C．ambitious | D．anxious |
| A．limited | B．reliable | C．varied | D．fascinating |
| A．owes | B．adds | C．restricts | D．adapts |
| A．status | B．age | C．height | D．performance |
| A．animal-watching | B．animal-led | C．animal-friendly | D．animal-related |
| A．donors | B．representatives | C．contributors | D．witnesses |
| A．difference | B．isolation | C．attachment | D．disapproval |
| A．possible | B．questionable | C．misleading | D．uncertain |
| A．block | B．stress | C．involve | D．promote |
| A．teenagers | B．researchers | C．pet-less children | D．pet owners |
| A．do away with | B．throw light on | C．take advantage of | D．make up for |
| A．needs | B．tests | C．explanations | D．disorders |
3 . The true test of an effective team is one where the members operate as a self-managing team. The
I followed up with one of our customers to see first-hand what a very successful team looked and felt like. Here is their story on what they do to
This team
The reason why I know this information is that when you have the opportunity to see how a team really works, you want to
As I stayed and communicated with the team members to find out how they worked together, they described to me their requirements for team development.
They said, “Each member has a good time, and we are in tune (协调) with each other, and we have a great
Their hard work and effort paid off as they became known as “the stars” of the company. They were described as “
It is clear that this team developed to compete for the goal instead of against each other. This team has stayed
| A．leader | B．learner | C．waiter | D．customer |
| A．defend against | B．look into | C．leave out | D．serve as |
| A．set out | B．stand out | C．work out | D．run out |
| A．accounts for | B．concentrates on | C．consists of | D．cares about |
| A．conditions | B．habits | C．states | D．attitudes |
| A．bothered | B．reminded | C．trained | D．observed |
| A．far from | B．in return for | C．apart from | D．in case of |
| A．pay | B．mood | C．diet | D．rent |
| A．delivery | B．smell | C．quality | D．shape |
| A．compare | B．uncover | C．adjust | D．keep |
| A．taste | B．bite | C．review | D．sense |
| A．limitation | B．prejudice | C．purpose | D．complaint |
| A．special | B．normal | C．hesitant | D．ridiculous |
| A．pity | B．security | C．pride | D．tense |
| A．self-centered | B．self-employed | C．self-funded | D．self-driven |
4 . Business innovation is an organization’s process for introducing new ideas, workflows methodologies, services or products. Like IT innovation, which calls for using technology in new ways to create a more efficient and agile organization, business innovation should enable the achievement of goals across the entire organization, with sights set on accomplishing core business aims and initiatives. Innovation often begins with idea generation, wherein ideas are narrowed down during brainstorming sessions, after which leaders consider the business viability, feasibility and desirability of each idea. Business innovation should improve one existing products, services or processes; or it should solve a problem; or it should reach new customers. Recent examples of business innovation include the introduction of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, whose creator and namesake James Dyson declared in advertisements that he set out to build a better product by applying industrial cyclone technologies to the household appliance.
The purpose of the business innovation process is to create value for the organization. That value can come from creating new revenue opportunities or driving more revenue through existing channels; from creating efficiencies that save time, money or both; or from improvements to productivity or performance. In short, innovation should lead to higher profits. Additionally, the results of an organization’s innovation process should yield a competitive advantage; it should help the organization to grow and reach — or, better still, exceed — strategic objectives.
Innovation and invention are closely linked, but the two terms are not interchangeable. An invention is an entirely new creation. The process of business innovation can produce an invention, but the term is broader in scope and includes the application of an existing concept or practice in a new way, or applying new technology to an existing product or process to improve upon it. To better understand the difference, consider this: The telephone is an invention, but the smartphone is an innovation.
Business innovation can also be classified as either revolutionary or evolutionary. Revolutionary business innovation yields a drastic change in a product, service, process, etc., which often destroys or supplants an existing business model. This is also known as radical Evolutionary or incremental innovation involves smaller, more continuous innovation, improvements that, while important, are not drastic enough to shift a company or market into a new paradigm. Disruptive innovation is a category that emphasizes the destructive aspect of revolutionary innovation; this term applies to business innovation that leads to the creation of a new market that displaces an existing one or, similarly, a significant upheaval in a category of products or services.
Business innovation, like most business initiatives, has both benefits and risks. Organizations should recognize on the negative side that the business innovation process can be a costly undertaking that does not always produce a return on investment (ROI); that idea considered likely to succeed could still fail; and that stakeholders could fight the changes required to be successful. On the other hand, organizations need to weigh those risks against the benefits of business innovation.
1. What does the underlined word in the first paragraph mean?| A．Persuasibility. | B．Scarcity. | C．Generality. | D．Practicability. |
| A．Create value benefits for the enterprise. |
| B．Reform the management structure of enterprises. |
| C．Encourage staff to make more inventions. |
| D．Upgrade the product performance. |
| A．They are essentially the same concept. |
| B．They can replace each other in the context. |
| C．They can bring huge commercial benefits. |
| D．They are closely related but have different conceptual scopes. |
| A．The precautions for brainstorming meetings. |
| B．The considerations for business innovation. |
| C．The difference between innovation and invention. |
| D．The revolutionary change in business innovation. |
5 . The misery of my bike commute in Calgary, Alberta, is the river valley hill. It’s not particularly steep, but at about a mile long, I rarely climbed up without arriving with sweat. Studies have shown the prospect of arriving at work sweaty is one of the biggest
“Pedelec”, or pedal electric-assisted bikes like the one I rode, can end that worry. They look and act like traditional bicycles, but their motors make pedaling much easier when required. Sometimes called the most energy-efficient motorized mode of transportation ever built, they’re also incredibly green. The biggest barrier may be the outdated attitude that sees bikes only as a recreational athletic opportunity rather than a practical
At a time when cities across North America are struggling to combat crippling traffic and reduce climate emissions, e-bikes have the
Many of the barriers to e-bike
Few places on the continent,
Amid these legislative
| A．advantages | B．processes | C．barriers | D．complements |
| A．riders | B．builders | C．customers | D．volunteers |
| A．production | B．communication | C．facilities | D．transportation |
| A．routine | B．potential | C．temporary | D．major |
| A．make of | B．carry on | C．bring up | D．take off |
| A．adaptation | B．adoption | C．adjustment | D．justification |
| A．proved | B．alerted | C．banned | D．authorized |
| A．however | B．unless | C．meanwhile | D．anyway |
| A．originate | B．combine | C．separate | D．satisfy |
| A．factors | B．benefits | C．limits | D．damages |
| A．proper | B．critical | C．sensational | D．difficult |
| A．expensive | B．distinctive | C．sensitive | D．intensive |
| A．trouble | B．concern | C．power | D．scale |
| A．favored | B．folded | C．referred | D．gifted |
| A．appeal | B．address | C．amount | D．advocate |
6 . Jackdaws (寒鸦) are the smallest member of the crow family. They often live in a crowd. Indeed, when cold weather comes, they gather in the hundreds (and sometimes thousands) every evening so that they can sleep in the same place. If you’ve ever heard jackdaws during their evening gatherings and morning departures, you’ll know they are not quiet birds. Despite being fairly low-volume during the day, they are really loud on either side of their night-time get-togethers. Why might this be?
A team of the Cornish Jackdaw Project set out to determine why jackdaws are so noisy before they depart from their sleeping spot. The team’s theory was that the morning calls might be a jackdaw version of “voting”. The researchers suspected that each individual’s call might count as an “I’m in!”. When a certain amount of “I’m in!”s are called —and so a certain volume of noise is reached -the group might then depart as a unit.
To test this idea, the researchers artificially increased the level of calls during the jackdaws’ natural morning calls. Their expectation was that, if jackdaws really are “voting with their voice” to decide when to depart the sleeping site, artificially adding calls would make them leave earlier than they naturally would have done. Subsequent experiments confirmed their expectation. The team therefore showed that jackdaws use their calls as a sort of voting system.
You might wonder why this happens. The researchers suggest that individual jackdaws benefit from the voting system because they are less at risk of being killed and they can get more access to social information — such as where to find food.
So the loud calls of jackdaws in the morning are therefore not the pure chaos it sounds like. If you are ever being driven mad by the sound in the morning, you can find comfort in the fact that the louder they get, the sooner they will leave you in peace.
1. What aspect of jackdaws confused scientists?| A．Their strong team spirit. | B．Their preference for noisy habitats. |
| C．Their collective sleeping habit. | D．Their unusual calling behavior. |
| A．They stopped calling together. | B．They left their sleeping spot earlier. |
| C．They became noisier and more active. | D．They changed their sleeping location. |
| A．A signal of seeking food. | B．A strategy for better survival. |
| C．A way to attract potential partners. | D．A method of displaying social skills. |
| A．Jackdaws are Noise Makers. |
| B．Jackdaws Have a Complex Voting System. |
| C．Jackdaws ‘Vote’ to Make a Group Decision. |
| D．Jackdaws ‘Vote’ to Choose Their Group Leaders. |
7 . xMAP Technology allows users to perform a wide range of protein-and nucleic acid-based multiplex assays, which can simultaneously detect up to 500 targets in a single run.
Key Advantages of xMAP Technology:
Test for more biomarkers.
Develop custom assays.
Use less sample.
Save time and reagents.
Gain a better understanding of complex biological systems.
Order from thousands of redesigned kits from our Partners
xMAP Technology: The Science
What is multiplexing? Multiplexing is a method for high-volume biomarker testing — or testing multiple analytes simultaneously within a single run-using a single sample volume. xMAP Technology is best-suited for testing 3-500 targets.
How does xMAP Technology work? xMAP Technology uses labeled micro-spheres or beads, allowing for the simultaneous capture of multiple analytes from a single reaction.Because of their small size and low density, xMAP micro-sphere-based assays exhibit virtual solution-phase kinetics during the reaction. The beads are individually read using an xMAP instrument.
What does xMAP mean? Multi-Analyte Profiling, where the “x” represents the biomarkers (such as proteins, nucleic acids, or polyacrylamides) that are being tested.
xMAP Beads
xMAP beads come in a variety of formats, including magnetic (MagPlex) and nonmagnetic ( MicroPlex) beads.
xMAp beads puss through a red laser, or LED, which excites the internal dyes to distinguish the microsphere set. Then, a green laser or LED excites the fluorescent reporter dye to determine the result of the assay.
xMApDApplications
xMAP in Action
Explore xMAPW Technology and discover some of the many applications used by multiplexing research experts across the globe:
xMAP Assny Automation: Automation can boost productivity, minimize errors, and save on reagents.
Immunogenicity: By using xMAP Technology, researchers can consolidate multiple essays into one for more efficient immune response studies.
Bend-Based Multiplexing vs Electrochemiluminescence: Bead-based multiplexing offers significantly higher plex capacity, requires less hands-on time, and delivers superior results compared to traditional methods.
Generate more data while saving sample, time , and reagents
xMAp beads come in a variety of formats. The MagPlex Microspheres-6.5 micronsuperparamagnetic beads that are dyed with three red and infrared fluorescent dyes, resulting in 500 distinctly colored bead sets are our most versatile and efficient microspheres for high-plex applications. Approximately 10* surface carboxyl groups (COOH) cover the surface of the bead and serve as covalent attachments for capture ligands. A fluorescent reporter is coupled to a target molecule, which allows its detection after specific capture on the microsphere surface.
1. According to the passage, what is xMAP?| A．A mind map. | B．A lest method. | C．A navigation map. | D．An application. |
| A．developing custom analysis | B．forming a network structure |
| C．generating more data | D．saving samples and reagents |
| A．The xMAP beads distinguish groups of microspheres by a blue laser. |
| B．xMAP allows for the capture of a single analyte from multiple reactions. |
| C．MAP technology is used more in the experimental phase. |
| D．The “x” in xMAP represents the biomarkers being tested. |
8 . Hiring processes can be thought of as a battle between integrity and dishonesty. You might imagine this is a simple fight between truth-seeking firms and self-promoting candidates, and to a certain extent it is. But companies themselves are prone (有倾向的) to bend reality out of shape in ways that are self-defeating.
Start with the obvious wrongdoers: job applicants. When it comes to writing the resume (简历), they tend to massage (美化) reality into the most appealing shape possible. Everyone beyond a certain level of experience is a transformational leader personally responsible for generating millions income; the world economy would be about 15 times bigger than it actually is if all such claims were true. The average British spends four and a half hours a day watching TV and online videos. But each average job candidate is an enthusiast for public welfare, using their spare time only for worthy purposes, like volunteering in soup kitchens.
But the tendency to stretch the truth infects companies as well as applicants. The typical firm will write a job description that invariably describes the work environment as fast-paced and innovative, and then lays out a set of improbable requirements for the “ideal candidate”, someone who almost by definition does not exist. Sometimes, the requirements include an ability to go back and change the course of history.
Too few firms offer an accurate account of what a position actually involves in their job previews, which are supposed to give prospective employees a genuine sense of the negatives and positives of the job, as well as a clear idea of the company’s corporate culture. One effective strategy is to lay out in text or video, what a typical day in the role would look like.
Such honesty can be its own reward. Research has long suggested that realistic job previews lead to lower turnover and higher employee satisfaction. A paper in 2011 by David Eamest of Towson University and his co-authors concluded that favourable perceptions of the organisation’s honesty are the best explanation for why. So a process designed to uncover the truth about job applicants would run a lot more smoothly if firms were also honest about themselves.
1. Why are “leader” and “enthusiast” mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．To present a rule. | B．To clarify a fact. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To explain a phenomenon. |
| A．Overstate. | B．Overturn. | C．Overlook. | D．Overestimate. |
| A．They show a position as it is. | B．They are made either in text or video. |
| C．They are favorable for bigger firms. | D．They mainly contain negatives of a job. |
| A．Pains and gains of employees. | B．How to get the lying out of hiring. |
| C．How to be more appealing in hiring. | D．A wrestle between applicants and companies. |
9 . After accidentally sliding down the face of a steep rock wall, two tourists found themselves trapped by the edge of a deep pool in a British park. They knew they were in a(n)
Fortunately for them, five Sikh hikers who happened to be on the scene and
After carefully
Once the two hikers were pulled to
Kinda and his four comrades, while more than pleased with their day’s work, were
| A．familiar | B．serious | C．imaginary | D．impressive |
| A．recalled | B．predicted | C．witnessed | D．recorded |
| A．generally | B．completely | C．briefly | D．specifically |
| A．rescue | B．project | C．match | D．celebration |
| A．describing | B．following | C．concluding | D．examining |
| A．ruled out | B．got around | C．came to | D．looked into |
| A．force | B．invite | C．scare | D．fish |
| A．safety | B．hospital | C．balance | D．normal |
| A．prove | B．assess | C．review | D．improve |
| A．comforted | B．greeted | C．informed | D．released |
| A．mind | B．report | C．mark | D．remain |
| A．curious | B．anxious | C．humble | D．ambitious |
| A．matter | B．reminder | C．ability | D．policy |
| A．mood | B．means | C．energy | D．prospect |
| A．require | B．possess | C．deserve | D．design |
10 . A fallacy is an error in reasoning based on opinion, misunderstanding, or intentional misdirection that makes an argument invalid. Common causation (因果关系) fallacies include those of oversimplification and exaggeration, which occur when actual ‘causes of an event are reduced to the point where connections between causes and effects are blurred or buried.
Oversimplification is common, which means reducing multiple causes to just one or a few. Well-intentioned writers and speakers can fall into the trap of oversimplification if not careful.
One motivation for simplification is the basic advice given to writers: Don’t get stuck in details. In the process, however, a writer can leave out too many details, even critical information. Another contributing factor to oversimplification is the overuse of an important tool in critical thinking called Oceam’s Razor, a principle that states that the simplest explanation that fits the data is the preferable one. The problem is that the simplest explanation might not always be the right-one.
A writer creating an argument can assume that based on Occam’s Razor, the simplest explanation is likely true, but they must not assume that is always the case. They must look at all angles and complexities of an issue before settling on the simplest explanation.
Here is an example of oversimplification:
School violence has gone up and academic performance has gone down since video games featuring violence were introduced. Therefore, video games with violence should be banned, resulting in school improvement.
This argument exhibits oversimplification because it assumes problems in schools (increasing violence, decreasing academic performance can be attributed to a single cause: the time young people spend playing video games that feature violence). Various other factors, including social and economic conditions that may contribute to a child’s mental health, are ignored.
Related to the fallacy of oversimplification is the fallacy of exaggeration-multiplying a couple of causes into many.
1. What does paragraph 3 mainly focus on?| A．The causes of oversimplification. |
| B．The impact of oversimplification. |
| C．The definition of oversimplification. |
| D．The characteristics of oversimplification. |
| A．They consider an issue to be complicated. |
| B．They look at an issue from different angles. |
| C．They believe the simplest explanation is likely true. |
| D．They have absolute trust in the simplest explanation. |
| A．The nation’s lack of moral standards is caused by multiple factors. |
| B．The latest currency policy takes full blame for the declining economy. |
| C．She was saved because of the seal belt as well as doctors’ timely saving. |
| D．The problem of education not just lies in teachers’ failure of doing their jobs. |
| A．Ways to avoid oversimplification. |
| B．More examples of oversimplification. |
| C．Causes and examples of exaggeration. |
| D．The distinction between exaggeration and oversimplification. |
