1 . An Urban Farmer’s Garden of Eden
Ivy Lawrence-Walls didn’t set out to choose farming. But it chose her. She grew up on a five-acre farm in Houston and credits many
She didn’t know then that many of those childhood lessons would be
The garden grows carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, peppers, and delivers for free to local residents. It also hosts various plant pop-up events at local schools to
“Starting the farm in the early stages of the pandemic was a leap of
Lawrence-Walls said her biggest challenge
A.distinct | B.essential | C.internal | D.enormous |
A.patience | B.obligation | C.devotion | D.passion |
A.committed | B.exposed | C.employed | D.adapted |
A.linked | B.persuaded | C.integrated | D.expanded |
A.engaged in | B.comprised of | C.gifted in | D.combined with |
A.tailor | B.motivate | C.pursue | D.encounter |
A.intention | B.hesitation | C.resistance | D.security |
A.operation | B.routine | C.exercise | D.supply |
A.Therefore | B.Afterwards | C.Nevertheless | D.Otherwise |
A.occupied | B.involved | C.permitted | D.stuck |
A.tackle | B.detect | C.clarify | D.distinguish |
A.ceasing | B.expanding | C.fleeing | D.switching |
A.distracting | B.evaluating | C.breaking | D.citing |
A.assumption | B.conclusion | C.forecast | D.assessment |
A.amusing | B.secure | C.rewarding | D.intense |
2 . This question has fascinated behavioural scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?
The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruisic (利他的)— I donate because I value the social good done by the charity. The “impurely” altruistic— I donate because I extract value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the not-at-all altruistic— I donate because I want to show off to potential mates how rich I am.
But are these motives strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we struggle to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes.
Many people are also aware that they should donate to the causes that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable pleas that feature a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often ruled by our hearts and not our heads.
The good news is that charitable giving is contagious—seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give and gentle encouragement from an important person in your life can also make a big difference to your donation decisions— more than quadrupling them in our recent study. Habit also plays a part— in three recent experiments those who volunteered before were more likely to do donate their time than those who had not volunteered before.
In summary, behavioural science identifies a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.
1. What can we learn about people who do charitable giving?A.Most people support charity as often as they think they should. |
B.Some people don’t want to leave a gift to charity until the time comes. |
C.Those who donate because they can gain an advantage are purely altruistic. |
D.Some people send money to charity simply to tell others they are wealthy. |
A.Not revealing the names of the donors. |
B.Showing figures about the seriousness of the problem. |
C.Telling stories that feature a single, recognizable beneficiary. |
D.Reminding people to write down what to donate in the will in advance. |
A.People will learn from others and follow the suit. |
B.Many people are familiar with charitable giving. |
C.Charitable giving helps the beneficiary in all aspects. |
D.Charitable giving can bring a lot of benefits to donors. |
A.To persuade more people to donate. |
B.To explain the science behind why people donate. |
C.To criticize some false charitable giving behaviours. |
D.To explore approaches to making people donate more. |
3 . The pandemic has affected nearly all aspects of modern life, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. There is one thing, however, that has remained almost unchanged: the emojis we send.
According to data from the Unicode Consortium (统一码联盟), nine of the 10 most-used emojis from 2019 also ranked among the top 10 this year. The tears of joy emoji ranked No.1, despite members of Gen Z deeming it uncool.
“It speaks to how many people use emojis. If emojis were a purely Gen Z thing, then you wouldn’t see it so highly ranked,” said Alexander Robertson, an emoji researcher at Google. “Because of the large number of people using emojis, even if one group thinks something is lame, they have to be a really big group to affect these statistics.”
And it makes sense that Gen Z would think that certain emojis aren’t fashionable. It’s part of the “teenager experience of creating a sense of subculture where there’s a right way and a wrong way of behaving.” Plus, there is a range of laughter that can be expressed: There’s light chuckling. There’s acknowledgement laughter, which is just a marker of empathy. Using emojis, such as the skull face (“I’m dead”) or crying face ( uncontrollable tears of laughter), can help to illustrate that range.
“It basically indicates that we have what we need to communicate a broad range of expression, or even very specific concepts,” Mr Robertson said. “You don’t necessarily need a Covid emoji.”
“We did see a rise in the use of the virus emoji. But it wasn’t made remotely into the most-commonly used ones because we still had plenty to laugh about and plenty to cry about, whether it was because of the pandemic or not,” said Lauren Gawne, a senior lecturer in linguistic at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
“Even in the midst of this massive global pandemic that preoccupied so much of our time,” She added. “We still spent a lot of time wishing each other happy birthday or checking or laughing about some new and unexpected elements of this slow-burning weirdness.”
1. Why does the tears of joy emoji ranked No.1 despite the dislike from the Z generation?A.The emoji is a purely Z generation thing. |
B.The Z generation are too young to influence the rank. |
C.Though they dislike it, the Z generation vote for it ultimately. |
D.The Z generation take up a very small portion in emoji users. |
A.the virus emoji | B.a Covid emoji |
C.the use of the virus emoji | D.the rise in the use of the virus emoji |
A.The massive global pandemic has come to an end. |
B.The pandemic has little influence on people’s daily life. |
C.We have a broad range of expression for communication. |
D.Some new and useful emojis are created to replace the virus emoji. |
A.The Pandemic and the Emoji. |
B.Gen Z, the Emoji Generation. |
C.The Emoji of the Year. |
D.The Rise of Virus Emoji |
4 . A project called “I Am A Scientist” is giving middle and high school students the opportunity to interact with modern-day researchers. Below are stories from some of the scientists who are involved in the program.
Noor Al-Alusi, Epidemiologist (流行病学家)“I have a black belt in Taekwondo (跆拳道). I am driven by a deep desire to help others. I believe that all people have a fundamental right to health care.”
Her work: During the Zika epidemic, Al-Alusi met with the communities that had been hardest hit by the virus, using data and mathematical models to keep them safe and healthy.
Background: Al-Alusi was born in California but her parents emigrated from Iraq. This experience provided her with an understanding of the health needs of the immigrant community.
Ryoji Amamoto, Neurobiologist (神经生物学家)“I’m a huge sports fan. I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries. I’m a licensed scuba diver but a terrible swimmer. I hated science in high school.”
His work: Amamoto studies the tiny but amazing brains of animals that have a superpower — the ability to regenerate. He learns what factors help these special brains regrow, so that we can try to treat diseases like Parkinson’s.
Background: Amamoto lived in Japan until the age of eight, when his family moved to Chicago. He had to overcome major language barriers which saw him shift between speaking English at school and Japanese at home.
Yamicia Connor, Physician Scientist“I once competed in a robot competition. I love Beyonce. I love cooking. I’m a doctor who studies ways to improve women’s health.”
Her work: Connor is a doctor at a hospital in Boston where she studies cancer cells in a lab using microscopes and computers, but she also works directly with patients who are undergoing tests for new cancer treatments.
Background: Growing up in Florida, Connor was a serious kid who stressed about the little things. She was into her schoolwork and loved to put on plays with her friends in which she would organize the whole thing and assign everyone a role.
1. What can the students know about the scientists through the program?A.Their education experience. | B.Their gender and religion. |
C.Their personal interests. | D.Their career planning. |
A.Studying amazing brains which can regrow. |
B.Using data and mathematical models to fight against viruses. |
C.Understanding the health needs of the immigrant community. |
D.Working with patients who are undergoing tests for new cancer treatments. |
A.A magazine. | B.Award words. |
C.A science paper. | D.A health website. |
5 . In today’s digital era, social media users are increasingly coming across fake news online. This leads to the pressing issue: What causes people to fall for misinformation on the Internet?
According to researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, users can easily fall into an echo chamber (回声室)—a sort of virtual space where users consume only one-sided news, eventually distrusting any opposing views. “We all tend to agree with the group opinion. Hence, people naturally get together with others who hold the same opinion,” said Dongwon Lee, one of the researchers. “But if you’re not cautious, there is a high risk of falling into an echo chamber.”
To prevent this phenomenon, the researchers have crafted a novel tool, a game named ChamberBreaker, to help players resist echo chambers and reduce the rate of fake news spread. The fundamental approach employed by ChamberBreaker centers around a decision-making procedure that mirrors the creation of echo chambers. In ChamberBreaker, a player is tasked with trying to have community members fall into an echo chamber. To begin, the player is randomly assigned a situation that focuses on a health, political or environmental issue, and is presented with six pieces of news on that topic. Then, the player selects news that could cause the other members to fall into an echo chamber while at the same time maintaining their trust. If successful, the community members will fall into an echo chamber and the player will witness the resulting negative effects on the community.
After developing ChamberBreaker, researchers tested it with over 800 subjects to see if it raised awareness of echo chambers and changed news consumption behaviors. The researchers found that those who played ChamberBreaker were significantly more likely to state their intention to observe online information from more diverse perspectives and showed an increased awareness of the echo chamber phenomenon.
Ultimately, the researchers hope that their methodology can excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study related to information consumption. The application of tools like ChamberBreaker, which focuses on fostering analytical reasoning, may lead us towards a more informed online community.
1. What can be learned about an online echo chamber?A.It encourages well-judged views. |
B.It gathers like-minded individuals. |
C.It functions as a virtual reality platform. |
D.It serves as a tool for identifying fake information. |
A.Assignment of situations. | B.Trust-building exercises. |
C.News selection strategy. | D.Community impact assessment. |
A.The results of scientific testing. |
B.The theoretical framework of the game. |
C.The description of the game procedures. |
D.The common challenges faced during gameplay. |
A.Reducing news inquiry. | B.Encouraging passive reading. |
C.Strengthening prejudiced views. | D.Enhancing critical thinking. |
6 . It is difficult to name a female architect more iconic than Zaha Hadid, whose name can be translated from Arabic as glorious. She passed away five years ago at the age of 65, but the impact she has left on the world of architecture is profound.
Hadid was born into an upper-class Iraqi family in 1950. At the very beginning, she wanted to become a mathematician and studied science at the American University of Beirut, But at some point she realized that she preferred shapes to numbers. And she turned her concentration to architecture and went to London where she met the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
“There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?” Hadid once said. Despite her abundance of amazing ideas, before the beginning of the 90s, not a single building based on her blueprints had been built. Her highly expressive style, while initially criticized and believed to be crazy, is now regarded as pioneering work. Her striking contemporary architecture, inspired by natural landforms, has graced the skylines of major metropolitan cities.
“Women are always being told, ‘you’re not going to make it; It’s too difficult. You can’t do that Don’t enter this competition; You’ll never win it’,” Hadid said. “They need confidence in themselves and people around them for support.”
Never one to be boxed in by conventions, Hadid proved society wrong. She received her first prize, the “Gold Medal Architectural Design” for her British Architecture in 1982. From then on, the awards kept rolling in. But the true triumph for Hadid came in 2004. Her project for the London Olympics Aquatic Center won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She became the first woman and first Muslim to earn the award, making a name for herself and paving the way for female architects.
Hadid’s genius lives on in the array of many other spectacular buildings she has left behind in the world. Among them are the Guangzhou Opera House, the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as well as the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held.
Hadid may be gone, but her global influence on a new generation of female architects is here to stay.
1. What made Hadid quit science to learn architecture?A.Her talent in architecture. |
B.Her interest in architecture. |
C.Her difficulty in learning science. |
D.Her encounter with Rem Koolhaas. |
A.Her architecture was inspired by mathematics |
B.Her British Architecture won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. |
C.Her architecture style was too bold to be accepted at the very beginning. |
D.Her works can only be found in European countries and the Middle East. |
A.The talk between Hadid and her colleague. |
B.The reason why women fail to be architects. |
C.The prejudice from society against women. |
D.The difficulty Hadid faced being an architect. |
A.She formed a unique style. |
B.She broke away from the convention. |
C.She received various architecture awards |
D.She encouraged other women architects. |
7 . Andy Kong has worked very hard to get to where he is today. He credits becoming a millionaire by 20 to his strict Asian parents who tutored him at a young age by working for the family.
Kong, of Danville, Virginia, started working when he was only nine. English wasn’t a strong suit for Andy’s parents, and that’s where he was able to assist his family the most. After school and on weekends he would help out at their family-owned restaurant and nail salons. Not only did he do the labor work, but he was also involved in creating online ads. This was his introduction to the world of online business.
Andy started his Amazon business in the eighth grade. When he learned about Amazon Dropshipping (代发货模式) from a kid he saw on Instagram, he got inspired and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the store eventually got shut down because he was impatient with the growth. Instead of considering it a failure, he viewed this experience as a life lesson and learned from his mistakes. Meanwhile, his parents never stopped trying to talk him into focusing on school and their retail business.
“The biggest challenge when starting a business is getting someone to believe in you,” Andy says. He pushed through and did things for himself even when his loved ones discouraged it.
In 2019, Andy met his now business partners, and together, they created an Amazon management company called Project WiFi. This Project has proven to be extremely successful. They currently help over 55 clients run their online businesses, and plan to help many more in the future.
When asked about the secret to his success, Andy says, “Learning to sacrifice whether that’s family, friends, or soccer game for a single goal is the only way to succeed, rather than attempting multiple things. If it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing well with no shortcuts.”
1. Why did Andy work in his parents’ shops at a young age?A.Because he could earn some pocket money. |
B.Because his parents weren’t fluent in English. |
C.Because his parents could help with his study. |
D.Because he could get access to the Internet. |
A.A new online business model. | B.Results of working impatiently. |
C.Difficulties in Andy’s career. | D.Andy’s tense family relationship. |
A.His early working experiences. | B.Lessons learned from his failures. |
C.Gaining other people’s trust. | D.Focusing on the thing you choose. |
A.Committed and generous. | B.Open-minded and motivated. |
C.Creative and faithful. | D.Hard-working and sociable. |
8 . A recent study has discovered that gentle sound stimulation, referred to as pink noise, could enhance deep sleep among older adults and strengthen their word recall abilities.
Deep sleep is critical for memory consolidation. But beginning in middle age, it decreases considerably, contributing to memory loss in aging. The sound stimulation significantly enhanced deep sleep in participants and their scores on a memory test. This innovative approach offers a simple and safe means to potentially enhance memory among older individuals and mitigate the natural age-related memory decline.
A team of researchers from the Northwestern University in the US gathered 13 adults aged 60 and above, monitoring their sleep in a lab for two nights. On both nights, the participants underwent a memory test, went to bed while wearing headphones and a special cap, and took the memory test again in the morning. But without the participants’ awareness, researchers only played pink noise into the headphones on one night. More specifically, they timed the sounds to match the participants’ slow-wave oscillations. During deep sleep, brain waves slow to approximately one oscillation per second, compared to about ten oscillations per second during wakefulness. The system they employed in the study allowed the team to deliver a low burst of pink noise at the “precise moment” when the participants’ slow waves rose — a pattern that is unique to each person.
The study found that participants’ slow waves increased after the night of sound stimulation, suggesting a potential enhancement in their deep sleep quality. And in the morning after hearing pink noise, they performed three times better on memory tests than they did after sleeping without any sound stimulation.
The study was a relatively small one and Northwestern has taken steps to confirm its findings and to study how longer-term use of pink noise affects sleep. The team aims to develop an affordable device that people can use at home, from the comfort of their beds.
1. What did the study reveal about the impact of pink noise?A.It disturbs overall sleep quality. | B.It weakens word recall abilities. |
C.It increases the length of sleep. | D.It boosts memory performance. |
A.decrease | B.notice | C.worsen | D.describe |
A.It adjusted participants’ slow-wave oscillations precisely. |
B.It employed a sound system to match slow-wave oscillations. |
C.It compared different sound effects on the elderly and the youth. |
D.It played various sorts of pink noises into participants’ headphones. |
A.pose a long-term risk for older adults. |
B.requires an innovative and affordable device |
C.has the potential to be put into practice. |
D.lacks researchers’ interest in confirming findings. |
9 . My fiancé (未婚夫) and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were
One agent recommended a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was
We finally did and it was
Days later, we made a(n)
The next day, we got a
“Sold!” said the owner. Then he explained: He’d seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we’d
That’s how we found our home and how I learned that when people are
A.needed | B.limited | C.enough | D.large |
A.below | B.within | C.beyond | D.between |
A.at least | B.at most | C.at times | D.at hand |
A.relief | B.concern | C.love | D.curiosity |
A.pride | B.happiness | C.challenge | D.desire |
A.effort | B.offer | C.promise | D.profit |
A.come across | B.look after | C.depend on | D.laugh at |
A.worse | B.better | C.less | D.higher |
A.relaxing | B.disappointing | C.pleasant | D.regular |
A.agents | B.buyers | C.managers | D.owners |
A.already | B.still | C.generally | D.ever |
A.so | B.or | C.for | D.but |
A.check | B.analyze | C.appreciate | D.ignore |
A.increase | B.difference | C.interest | D.average |
A.kind | B.polite | C.smart | D.energetic |
10 . Obese people experience discrimination (歧视) in many parts of their lives, and the workplace is no exception. Studies have long shown that obese workers, defined as those with a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, earn significantly less than their slimmer co-workers.
Yet the costs of weight discrimination may be even greater than previously thought. “The overwhelming evidence,” wrote the Institute for employment Studies, “is that it is only women living with obesity who experience the obesity wage penalty (薪资损失).” They were expressing a view that is widely aired in academic papers. To test it, The Economist has analyzed data concerning 23,000 workers from the American Time Use Survey, conducted by the Bureau of Labour Statistics. Our number-processing suggests that, in fact, being obese hurts the earnings of both women and men.
The data we analyzed cover men and women aged between 25 and 54 and in full-time employment. At a general level, it is true that men’s BMIs are unrelated to their wages. But that changes for men with university degrees. For them, obesity is associated with a wage penalty of nearly 8%, even after accounting for the separate effects of age, race, graduate education and marital status.
The conclusion — that well-educated workers in particular are penalized for their weight — holds for both sexes. Moreover, the higher your level of education, the greater the penalty. We found that obese men with a Bachelor’s degree (学士学位) earn 5% less than their thinner colleagues, while those with a Master’s degree earn 14% less. Obese women, it is true, still have it worse: for them, the equivalent figures are 12% and 19%, respectively (分别地).
Your line of work makes a difference, too. When we dealt with the numbers for individual occupations and industries, we found the greatest differences in high-skilled jobs. Obese workers in health care, for example, make 11% less than their slimmer colleagues; those in management roles make roughly 9% less, on average. In sectors such as construction and agriculture, meanwhile, obesity is actually associated with higher wages.
These results suggest that the total costs of wage discrimination borne by overweight workers in America are greater than expected. Now, it’s time for our governments to take it seriously.
1. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in paragraph 2?A.Obese men earn less salary. |
B.Only obese women earn less salary. |
C.Both obese men and women earn less salary. |
D.Weight discrimination may be greater than previously thought. |
A.A fat woman office director. |
B.An obese construction worker. |
C.An obese man with a bachelor’s degree. |
D.A heavier female doctor with a Doctor’s degree. |
A.Supportive | B.Objective | C.Subjective | D.indifferent |
A.Overweight discrimination in other countries. |
B.The reason of discriminating obese people in their lives. |
C.American people’s attitude towards overweight discrimination. |
D.Actions taken against overweight discrimination in workplaces. |