1 . Cancer-fighting genes in elephants could help tackle one of the biggest killers of people, according to research. Despite their large bodies and long lifespans, elephants are much less likely to die from cancer than humans, with death rates of less than 5 percent.
The paradox has puzzled scientists because more cells lead to greater replications (复制), which increases the possibility of the body failing to detect damaged DNA or a faulty cell that can result in tumors(肿瘤). Elephants live for almost as long as humans and weigh up to five tons.
However, a group of British and European scientists say they have taken a big step towards solving Peto’s paradox, named after the British epidemiologist Sir Richard Peto. Elephants, they say, carry a much larger more diverse group of tumor-fighting proteins.
The findings, published last week in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, raise hopes that the cancer fighting genes in elephants could be the key to tackling cancer, which kills about 167, 000 Britons yearly. Cells keep dividing throughout an organism’s life, each carrying the risk of producing a tumor. One of the body’s weapons is a gene called p53 known as the “guardian of the genome”, which hunts cells with faulty DNA. It encourages the cell to repair itself or self-destruct, keeping the cell from combining with others and producing tumors.
Humans have two versions of p53 but elephants have 40, said the researchers. Biochemical analysis and computer simulations also showed that an elephant’s p53 genes are structurally slightly different, providing a much larger anti-cancer toolkit. The researchers suspect that while faulty cells might be able to skirt two p53 versions, they cannot combine with other cells as easily in the face of dozens.
The findings will open the way for research on how p53 genes of elephants are activated and on medical treatment for humans.
1. What has puzzled scientists?| A．Few elephants end up dying from cancer. | B．Elephants live long and weigh enormously. |
| C．More cells lead to higher chances of tumors. | D．A larger body is less likely to discover faulty cells. |
| A．How many Britons die each year. | B．How the anti-cancer gene works. |
| C．How the research was carried out. | D．What the findings have been applied to. |
| A．Strengthen. | B．Detect. | C．Escaped. | D．Cure. |
| A．Scientists find elephants live longer than humans. | B．P53 genes play essential role in preventing cancer. |
| C．Elephant genes could be key to fighting cancer. | D．Groundbreaking treatment for cancer is on the way. |
2 . While many animal populations seem to dwindle, one species that is moving in the opposite direction of such loss is America’s native wildlife — wood stork.
The wood stork is the only stork that breeds in North America. In 1984, it was declared an endangered species after its population decreased sharply to just 5,000 mating pairs. At the time, scientists predicted that the bird would become completely extinct by 2000. Today, it numbers 10,000 mating pairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a delisting of the wood stork as an endangered species. So how did the population bounce back?
The success is in part down to the resourcefulness of the wood stork. The wood stork’s native home was in the Everglades in Florida, but it migrated north as the Everglades were being destroyed by development of mankind. Wetland preservation and restoration, protection of nesting areas, and management of water flows began with the approval of the wood stork’s first recovery plan in 1986. In the following year, former Savannah Coastal Refuges biologist John Robinette noticed stork nests in Georgia as stork populations moved to safer wetlands.
According to Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, the Endangered Species Act is also to thank for this recovery. She said, “The act saved the wood stork and it helped preserve and rebuild vital habitats throughout the southeast, which has improved water quality and benefited countless other species who call the area home.” “The Endangered Species Act has saved 99 per cent of the species that were on the list since 1973. A hundred types of plants and animals have been delisted as their populations become stable again.
If the wood stork is delisted, it will remain protected by other laws and a monitoring plan will be put in place to ensure the population remains stable.
1. What does the underlined word dwindle probably mean?| A．Boost. | B．Change. | C．Decline. | D．Explode. |
| A．Its population shows a rising trend. | B．It has become completely extinct. |
| C．It is widely distributed worldwide. | D．It is the most endangered species. |
| A．Climate change of Earth. | B．Popularity of water sports. |
| C．Impact of human activities. | D．Arrival of other wild animals. |
| A．People have safer water to drink. | B．A list of species have been saved. |
| C．The local economy has boomed. | D．The wood stock has flown away. |
3 . The most affectionate memory of my childhood is about a round table. When I was still little, my entire family would
The round table is a
The food on the table may
In less than two months before the Spring Festival, a(n)
| A．imagine | B．reunite | C．repeat | D．flee |
| A．strangers | B．teachers | C．adults | D．teenagers |
| A．symbol | B．schedule | C．decoration | D．ceremony |
| A．argument | B．occupation | C．operation | D．attachment |
| A．round | B．new | C．long | D．square |
| A．dreams | B．negotiations | C．secrets | D．experiments |
| A．Obviously | B．Moreover | C．Consequently | D．Instead |
| A．explore | B．expand | C．clarify | D．unfold |
| A．keep | B．change | C．sell | D．display |
| A．various | B．public | C．typical | D．temporary |
| A．switch | B．predict | C．forbid | D．accept |
| A．annual | B．innovative | C．unnecessary | D．modern |
| A．forces | B．assists | C．reminds | D．drives |
| A．caring about | B．looking for | C．figuring out | D．making up |
| A．adapt | B．apply | C．belong | D．turn |
4 . If you ask 100 people what subjects they wish they had been taught in school, there is a chance that the vast majority of them will complain about the lack of personal finance education. In my case, I did learn a bit about financing while in school — just not in the classroom. One of my earliest lessons on the basics of budgeting came from an unlikely source: the cafeteria.
My lunch budget was a set amount each week. Without a plan, it would be all too easy to blow through the budget long before meeting all expenses. Therefore, my very first budgeting lesson was to make a budget well. A bit of simple arithmetic (算术) helped me determine exactly how much money I could spend each day if I wanted to actually have lunch all week.
Besides, my school had relatively diverse lunch offerings. You could not only get the common hot school lunch but also find many other foods of varying attractions. As far as I was concerned, what attracted me most was the ice cream. Unfortunately, I couldn’t blow my daily lunch budget on ice cream. And I’d already figured out that splurging early in the week made for a rough time for the rest of the week. Hence, I learned my second important budgeting lesson: save for a goal. Because of this lesson, when Friday rolled around, I would have just enough left over for a wonderful lunch and the highly desirable ice cream.
Nowadays, my budget is a bit more complicated than the lunch budget in the past. Although I no longer have to save my pennies for a frozen treat, budgeting my money today uses the exact same skills I learned all those years ago. Actually, whether you’re budgeting for school lunches or credit card bills, the basics remain the same. And it’s never too early — or too late — to learn how to make a proper budget.
1. What can we learn about the author while she was in school?| A．She showed no interest in financial affairs. |
| B．She often complained about her school subjects. |
| C．She learned about financing from her own experience. |
| D．She eagerly expected to get personal finance education. |
| A．She should plan her lunch budget carefully. |
| B．Her health mattered more than anything else. |
| C．Her budget for lunch was far from reasonable. |
| D．She should improve her arithmetic as much as possible. |
| A．Trying to save money. | B．Making a plan for money. |
| C．Spending much money freely. | D．Being concerned about money. |
| A．To introduce some lessons about making a budget. |
| B．To encourage people to learn some budgeting skills. |
| C．To stress the significance of saving money in our life. |
| D．To remind people to pay attention to their lunch budget. |
5 . Four Good Body Language Courses
Body Language for Personal Development
This course teaches you how to improve your body language skills and make yourself much more confident at public meetings, discussions and group meetings.
Key Highlights
*Know how to recognise the 26 most common changes of 7 emotions
*Move and stand with confidence in every business situation
*Increase confidence in meetings, talks and presentations
How to Make a Great First Impression
This course will teach you how to use eye contact, smiles, handshakes and words to make a great first impression. It’s designed by David Hyner. David has interviewed over 250 top achievers from all walks of life. He has discovered how these people set and achieve great goals, and he writes and speaks on these findings.
Key Highlights
*Act more confidently in public
*How to master your own body language
*Understand how to give and hold eye contact
Free Digital Body Language Course
You have 0.05 seconds to make a good first impression online. In those 0.05 seconds, you have to attract someone and show who you are and why they should connect with you and build trust. It’s created by Vanessa Van Edwards, who is the lead researcher at the Science of People, a human behavior research lab.
Key Highlights
*Improve your online presence
*Learn the psychology of websites
*Use body language online
The Power of Body Language
In this course, the designer, body language expert Vanessa Van Edwards, explains how to use body language communication to become the most impressive person in any room.
Key Highlights
*Read people by guessing their visual cues
*Use body language to your advantage in meetings
*Understand how to tell if people are lying
1. Who might be interested in the first course?| A．People dealing with business situations. |
| B．People often using social networking sites. |
| C．People asking the questions in an interview. |
| D．People having difficulty controlling their feelings. |
| A．Its goal is to help people set their goals. |
| B．It teaches us to explore people and things. |
| C．It invites successful people from all walks of life. |
| D．It is created based on successful people’s experiences. |
| A．They are both popular among website users. |
| B．They both focus on how to read others’ mind. |
| C．They are both designed by the same researcher. |
| D．They both stress the importance of the first impression. |
6 . There was one minute left on Suzanne Horsley’s watch and the atmosphere remained thick with carbon dioxide, despite the efforts of her third graders to clear the air. Horsley, a wellness teacher, had directed the kids to throw balls representing carbon dioxide molecules to their classmates representing forests. “That was hard,” said Horsley after the round ended. “In this time period versus the 1700s, the way is more challenging, right?” “Yeah.” “In 2022, we got a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” said Horsley. “What’s the problem with it? What is it causing?” “Global warming,” volunteered one girl.
Two years ago, New Jersey became the first state in the country to adopt learning standards requiring teachers to instruct kids about climate change across grade levels and subjects. “There’s no way we can expect our children to have the solutions to these challenges if we’re not giving them the tools and resources needed here and now,” said Tammy Marphy. Kids need to understand the basics of climate change—the vocabulary, the logic behind it—before they can handle the climate crisis.
On a recent weekday, Cari Gallagher was reading to her students from No Sand in the House, which tells the story of a grandfather whose home is destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Later, the students sat down to write about what they’d heard, drawing connections between the book and their own lives, world events or other books they’d read. Then, they built structures—carports, walls and other barriers made of Legos, blocks and straws—that might protect against climate change calamities(灾难).
At Horsley’s class, students reflected on the lesson. Wes said adults could have done more to protect the environment. Abby said it was up to humans to drive less and recycle and protect other species from climate disasters. “When I first found out we were going to learn about climate change in the gym, I was like, that’s surprising, because normally we learn that in class,” Abby added. “But I’m glad we did it in the gym,” she continued. “It was really fun.”
1. What does Horsley’s class suggest?| A．Less carbon dioxide is absorbed by forests. |
| B．The air at the playing ground is polluted. |
| C．The amount of CO₂ is increasing sharply. |
| D．Playing games is challenging for some kids. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Tolerant. | C．Critical. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Education has a positive effect on our dealing with climate change. |
| B．Hurricanes usually have a destroying power. |
| C．Reading is a way to learn about natural disasters. |
| D．Any materials can be used to fight against climate change. |
| A．Their disappointment at learning climate change in the gym. |
| B．Their expectation to adopt environmentally friendly practices. |
| C．Their puzzlement about the behaviors of adults. |
| D．Their sympathy for severely endangered species. |
7 . Mawson was an Australian explorer and scientist who explored the Antarctic with a team of fellow adventurers in 1912. His travels in the frozen continent brought him worldwide
One of the men, a young British soldier named Belgrave Ninnis,
| A．praise | B．trust | C．worry | D．criticism |
| A．celebrities | B．explorers | C．athletes | D．astronomers |
| A．putting off | B．showing off | C．kicking off | D．letting off |
| A．Wonders | B．Bonuses | C．Fortunes | D．Disasters |
| A．took | B．fell | C．looked | D．wandered |
| A．adjusted | B．circulated | C．infected | D．confused |
| A．cures | B．disabilities | C．errors | D．illnesses |
| A．remaining | B．wild | C．fierce | D．hunting |
| A．Ultimately | B．Nevertheless | C．Temporarily | D．Meanwhile |
| A．Discouraged | B．Relieved | C．Determined | D．Frightened |
| A．combined | B．battled | C．contained | D．introduced |
| A．center | B．normal | C．base | D．campus |
| A．predict | B．discover | C．complain | D．explain |
| A．passengers | B．witnesses | C．rescuers | D．crew |
| A．achievements | B．references | C．services | D．subjects |
8 . Europeans got more of their electricity from renewable sources than fossil fuels for the first time last year, according to an annual report from Ember and Agora Energiewende.
The report, which has been tracking European Union’s power sector since 2015, found that renewables delivered 38% of electricity last year, compared to 37% delivered by fossil fuels.
The shift comes as other sources, such as wind and solar power, have risen in the European Union. Both sources have nearly doubled since 2015, and as of last year accounted for one-fifth of electricity generation in EU countries, the report found. It’s also the reason why coal power declined 20% last year, making up only 13% of electricity generated in Europe.
“Rapid growth in wind and solar has forced coal into decline, but this is just the beginning,” said Dave Jones, senior electricity analyst for Ember and lead author on the report, in a statement. “Europe is relying on wind and solar to ensure not only coal is phased out by 2030, but also to phase out gas generation, replace closing nuclear power plants, and to meet rising electricity demand from electric cars and heat pumps.”
Last year’s COVID-19 lockdown measures resulted in less demand for electricity across the globe. European demand decreased by 4% in 2020, according to the report, which said COVID trends had no effect on the growth of renewable energy sources. Since 2015, Europe’s electricity emissions recorded a historic decline, becoming 29% cleaner, the report noted.
The milestone follows commitments from EU leaders last month to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. In the United States, their counterparts (同身份的人) successfully developed renewable energy to overtake coal consumption in recent years. Last May, renewable energy sources were consumed more than coal for the first time since 1885.
“Post-pandemic economic recovery must not slow down climate action,” said Patrick Graichen, director of Agora Energiewende, in a statement. “We therefore need strong climate policies — such as in the Green Deal — to ensure steady progress.”
1. What happened in EU countries according to the first three paragraphs?| A．The use of renewables declined by 38% last year. |
| B．20% of electricity was generated by renewables last year. |
| C．Fossil fuels were no longer used to generate electricity. |
| D．Coal power made up just 13% of electricity generation last year. |
| A．Cutting greenhouse gas emissions forced coal into decline. |
| B．Coal consumption is phased out due to rapid growth in wind and solar. |
| C．More nuclear power plants should be built to meet electricity demand. |
| D．Fossil fuels will eventually be abandoned in European countries. |
| A．The demand for renewables decreased across the globe. |
| B．Electricity consumption dropped to a historic record. |
| C．The growth in wind and solar power was hardly influenced. |
| D．The economy was making steady progress. |
| A．To compare renewable sources with fossil fuels. |
| B．To report on electricity generation in Europe. |
| C．To emphasize recovery in post-pandemic era. |
| D．To advocate strong climate policies in Europe. |
9 . Getting rid of old tyres has long been a problem. Most are thrown into landfills or piled up in storage. Energy recovery is another common method. This involves burning tyres to generate electricity or heat for industries, but that produces planet warming pollution; or we use them to repair roads, but chemicals from them might pollute the ground.
Some firms, therefore, have begun exploring an alternative. One such firm is Wastefront, which owns a big tyre-recycling plant in north-east England. In a couple of years, it will be able to turn 8 million old tyres into new products, including a black liquid called TDO (轮胎衍生油).
The process works by deconstructing a tyre into steel, rubber, and carbon black (炭黑). After tearing down the steel, the remaining material is exposed to high temperatures in the absence of air to make the rubber change into a mix of hydrocarbon gases, and then they’re removed. What is left behind is pure carbon black. Once the removed gases cool down, a part of them liquefies into TDO. The remaining gases are to be burned to fuel the process. This creates a closed-cycle system that prevents emissions (排放).
The carbon black can be reused to make new tyres. That is of interest to tyre-makers because it helps efforts to become carbon neutral-achieving a balance between the amounts of carbon dioxide produced and the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Producing new carbon black requires burning heavy oil or coal, which lets off plenty of greenhouse gases
The recovered TDO is well-suited for making diesel (柴油). While not completely carbon-neutral, it does produce an 80-90% reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide, compared with the conventional fuel. The future market for such cleaner fuels will remain large, even though electric vehicles are on the rise. Fossil-fuelled vehicles will exist for decades, particularly the big burners of diesel-trucks, which are harder to electrify. The fuel is also needed by trains and ships. So, anything that helps clean up overall emissions is useful—especially if it also eases a mountainous waste problem.
1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To analyze causes. | B．To present problems |
| C．To reach solutions. | D．To make comparisons |
| A．Air boosts the burning of the old tyres. |
| B．The remaining gases are emitted into the air. |
| C．Pure carbon black is an unprocessed substance. |
| D．TDO comes from the removed hydrocarbon gases. |
| A．Diesel made from TDO. | B．Clean electric energy. |
| C．Carbon-neutral process | D．Recovered TDO from old tyres. |
| A．The Problems of Burning Old Tyres. |
| B．The Black Liquid Called TDO. |
| C．The System Preventing Emissions |
| D．The Alternative to Tyre-recycling. |
10 . Feeling hungry? Well, get your chopsticks ready! Ho Chi Minh City Food Tours are the tastiest way to travel around the city.
Big eat & Small seat
This afternoon food tour by motorbike is focused on family-run local restaurants. These places are often small and tight with little stools. This is a tour we recommend for travelers that want to be thrown into the city’s delicious street food. It lasts from 1 pm to 5 pm at $65 per person.
A taste of Vietnam
This tour is absolutely comfortable for everyone with indoor seating and atmosphere. The menu is diverse, featuring some hands-on cooking experience and a bowl of whole crab soup that you can only find in Ho Chi Minh City. It lasts from 6 pm to 10 pm at $73 per person.
Chef’s tour
The concept for Chef’s tour is simple: We will drive you from location to location to try some of our favorite street eats in the city while adjusting the menu as much as possible to meet your tastes and personality. It lasts from 5 pm to 10 pm at $123 per person.
Street food stroll
This tour will leave you happy, full, and filled with a new appreciation for our history and culture. We will eat delicious street food while exploring the French architecture and the unique culture in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City’s District Three. A bit different from other tours, we will not use any taxi or motorbike to get from place to place. The walk tour lasts from 5 pm to 9 pm at $38 per person.
Note: During all the above tours, prices take in all food and drinks and we will also take digital photos during the trip that we send to you the next day by email.
1. How much should a tourist pay for the tour with hands-on cooking experience?| A．$38. | B．$65. | C．$73. | D．$123. |
| A．The tourists have to walk all the way. |
| B．The tourists can have free digital photos. |
| C．The tourists will eat in big restaurants. |
| D．The tourists can try the whole crab soup. |
| A．Big eat & Small seat. | B．A taste of Vietnam. |
| C．Street food stroll. | D．Chef’s tour. |
