1 . How You Can Save Money on Rail Fares
Save 33% with a railcard
Everyone knows about the young person’s railcard —or, to give it its proper name, the 16-25 railcard—but are you aware of the 26-30 railcard’s existence, or that senior railcard is available to all those aged 60 and over?
There are now nine to choose from, and about the only group that doesn’t have one aimed specifically at them, are single people aged 31 to 59.
And even they have the option to buy a Network card for use across the southern half of England, including in and out of London.
The most popular railcards cost £30 a year (or, in many cases, £70 for three years) and typically give a 33% discount on the ticket price.
Users of some of the cards (including 16-25 and 26-30) can use them at peak times—albeit (尽管) with a £ 12 minimum fare. Others, such as senior users, have to travel off-peak, which generally means after 9:30 a.m. or, annoyingly, 10 a.m. in the case of the Network card.
In some cases you will save the card’s purchase price in one or two trips. They are now available digitally (to be kept on a mobile) or in paper form. So don’t forget to keep your phone charged.
Try to commute off-peak
In response to more people working part of their week at home, the rail industry has started offering flexible season tickets that typically allow users to travel on any eight days in a 28-day period.
The problem is that in many cases the discounts are not sufficient to make them worthwhile.
When Money Saving Expert crunched the numbers, it found part-time season tickets offered the best value to those travelling two days a week, but, even then, not in all cases.
If you go into the office for a few days, you are likely to be better off buying daily tickets, or the full season ticket, it concluded.
One of the biggest ways to save while commuting is to shift your travel to off-peak—assuming your boss will allow it. This makes particular sense if you can add a railcard, too.
For others, Carnet tickets offer a 10% discount on certain routes, but again only off-peak.
1. We can learn from the passage that the railcard is available to all the following EXCEPT ___.| A．a 55-year-old professor | B．a 28-year-old office lady |
| C．a retired postman aged 65 | D．a university student aged 20 |
| A．A senior railcard holder can save 33% if he travels at 8 a.m. on Monday. |
| B．Carnet tickets offer a 10% discount on most routes in and out of London. |
| C．Those commuting three days a week are advised to buy part time season tickets. |
| D．Network cards are proper choices for single visitors across the southern half of England. |
| A．drew the outlines | B．updated the statistics |
| C．followed the directions | D．did a lot of calculations |
2 . About 50 years ago, the famous British band The Beatles sang that “money can’t buy me love”. Today, British economists are saying that it perhaps can’t buy you happiness either. This is showed by the happy planet index (HPI, 快乐指数) published recently by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in London.
The index is about how well countries are using their resources. It shows how well they provide people with better health and longer and happier lives, and at what cost to their environment.
It would seem to be common sense that people in richer countries live happier lives, while those in developing countries are having a harder time of it. But the results are surprising, even shocking. The numbers show that some of the so-called developed countries are performing very badly. The United States, for example, comes in at an unbelievable 150th. On the other hand, some little-known developing countries are doing a much better job. A tiny island in the Pacific, Vanuatu, comes in first. There are 178 countries and areas in the index. China ranks 31.
Countries are graded on the basis of information supplied in response to the following questions. How do people feel about their lives? How long does the average person live? How greatly does a country need to use its natural resources—such as oil, land and water—to maintain standards? This is what the index calls the “ecological footprint”.
The NEF found that the people of island nations enjoy the highest HPI rankings. Their populations live happier and longer lives, and use fewer resources.
The results also seem to show that it is possible to live longer, happier lives with a much smaller environmental impact. The index points out that people in the US and Germany enjoy similar lives.
“However, Germany’s ecological footprint is only about half that of the US. This means that Germany is around twice as efficient as the US at producing happy lives,” says Nic Marks, head of NEF’s Center for well-being.
So the happy planet index (HPl) tells us a brand-new concept of understanding “being happy”. HPI figures out different countries or individuals’ HPI through their “Ecological Footprint” and “Life Satisfaction Level” or “Life Expectancy”. Clearly, people’s HPI is related to their consumption of the resources on the earth.
You can find out your own HPI by visiting http://www.happyplanetindex.org
1. The passage is mainly about ______________.| A．why money can’t buy you happiness |
| B．in which country people feel the happiest |
| C．the happy planet index published recently |
| D．what index can influence people's happiness |
| A．wealth, education, resources and health |
| B．lives, health, resources and the environment |
| C．pressure, accommodation, resources and health |
| D．education, money, the environment and resources |
| A．have far fewer happy people | B．are only developing countries |
| C．do not enjoy plenty of resources | D．have a greater impact on the environment |
| A．history and culture play an important role in people’s lives |
| B．not all the people in developed countries enjoy happy lives |
| C．it is possible to live happier and longer lives with fewer resources |
| D．some of the so-called developed countries are performing very badly |
3 . Journal editors decide what gets published and what doesn’t, affecting the careers of other academics and influencing the direction that a field takes. You’d hope, then, that journals would do everything they can to establish a diverse editorial board, reflecting a variety of voices, experiences, and identities.
Unfortunately a new study in Nature Neuroscience makes for disheartening reading. The team finds that the majority of editors in top psychology and neuroscience journals are male and based in the United States: a situation that may be amplifying existing gender inequalities in the field and influencing the kind of research that gets published.
Men were found to account for 60% of the editors of psychology journals. There were significantly more male than female editors at each level of seniority, and men made up the majority of editors in over three quarters of the journals. Crucially, the proportion of female editors was significantly lower than the overall proportion of women psychology researchers.
The differences were even starker in the neuroscience journals: 70% of editors were male, and men held the majority of editorial positions in 88% of journals. In this case, the proportion of female editors was not significantly lower than the proportion of female researchers working in neuroscience—a finding that reveals enduring gender disparities in the field more broadly.
Based on their results, the team concludes that “the ideas, values and decision-making biases of men are overrepresented in the editorial positions of the most recognized academic journals in psychology and neuroscience.”
Gender inequality in science is often attributed to the fact that senior academics are more likely to be male, because historically science was male-dominated: it’s argued that as time goes on and more women rise to senior roles, the field will become more equal. Yet this study showed that even the junior roles in psychology journals tended to be held disproportionately by men, despite the fact that there are actually more female than male junior psychology faculty.
This implies that a lack of female academics is not the problem. Instead, there are structural reasons that women are disadvantaged in science. Women receive lower salaries and face greater childcare demands, for instance, which can result in fewer publications and grants—the kinds of things that journals look for when deciding who to appoint. Rather than simply blaming the inequality of editorial boards on tradition, we should be actively breaking down these existing barriers.
A lack of diversity among journal editors also likely contributes to psychology’s WEIRD problem. If journal editors are largely men from the United States, then they will probably place higher value on papers that are relevant to Western, male populations, whether consciously or not.
1. What would we expect an editorial board of an academic journal to exhibit in view of its important responsibilities?| A．Insight | B．Diversity |
| C．Expertise | D．Integrity |
| A．The majority of top psychology and neuroscience journals reflect a variety of voices, experiences and identities. |
| B．The editorial boards of most psychology and neuroscience journals do influence the direction their field takes. |
| C．The majority of editors in top psychology and neuroscience journals have relevant backgrounds. |
| D．The editorial boards of the most important journals in psychology and neuroscience are male-dominated. |
| A．Male researchers have enough representation in the editorial boards to ensure their publications. |
| B．Male editors of top psychology and neuroscience journals tend to be biased against their female colleagues. |
| C．Women’s views are underrepresented in the editorial boards of top psychology and neuroscience journals. |
| D．Female editors have to struggle to get women’s research articles published in academic journals. |
| A．Strike a balance between male and female editors | B．Implement overall structural reforms |
| C．Increase women’s employment in senior positions | D．Enlarge the body of female academics |
4 . Genetic testing companies have a long history of creative attempts to reach the mainstream. An early example was the sequencing of rock star Ozzy Osbourne’s genes in 2010, with accompanying guess about how they might have influenced his drug habits.
Lately, such projects have taken on a new, highly commercialized tendency. In 2017, we got the “Marmite (马麦酱) gene project,” run by London-based genetic testing start-up DNAfit. It claims to show that love or hate for Marmite was in our genes. The project turned into a full-blown marketing campaign, and even sold Marmite-branded DNA testing tools.
DNAfit is now working with Mercedes-Benz to find out whether specific genetic traits are associated with business wisdom. AncestryDNA, the world’s largest consumer genetic testing company, last year teamed up with Spotify to promote “music tailored to your DNA.” Just a few weeks ago, 23andMe, the second largest, announced a partnership with Airbnb to provide genetically tailored travel experiences, also inspired by ancestral DNA.
I have skin in this game. I run a genetic-testing start-up that connects people who want their genome sequenced with researchers who want data to improve their understanding of genetic disease. I believe that broadening access to DNA testing can be a powerful force for good, providing safer, more effective medicines and giving people more power over their healthcare. But these campaigns risk discrediting the industry, by giving a misleading impression of what genetics can and can't say and its role in determining behaviours and personal preferences.
Take the Marmite study. It covered 261 people — tiny, by the standards of the field. It was published not in a journal, but online on bioRxiv, a server where scientists typically put results before peer-review. Shortly after, researchers looked at the genetic data of more than 500 times as many people in the UK Biobank and found no such correlation. A large peer-reviewed study in 2013 found no significant link between genes and business common sense.
We need to inform the public about what this is all about: that is, the gathering of large amounts of genetic data. We need better regulation to ensure that consumers are clear that this may happen with this sensitive personal information. A checkbox on a 20-page web document full of legal terms should not be enough.
Scientists too, need to start asking hard questions about whether the information they are using has been sourced ethically. DNA testing has a great future, but we can't build this future with data acquired by any means.
1. The author mentions DNAfit, AncestryDNA and 23andMe in order to __________.| A．highlight the problems facing genetic testing |
| B．illustrate the commercial applications of DNA |
| C．compare what progress the companies have made |
| D．reveal the link between DNA and a person's character |
| A．is challenging the available treatment for skin disease |
| B．has a personal investment in the genetic-testing business |
| C．hopes to remove people's misunderstanding of the game rules |
| D．believes that every individual should have access to DNA testing |
| A．The disadvantages of genetic testing. | B．The scientific value of genetic testing. |
| C．The legal system genetic testing needs. | D．The essentials for proper genetic testing. |
| A．DNA Is Anything but a Marketing Tool | B．Genetic Testing Campaigns Aren't Legal |
| C．Creative Marketing Is Key to Genetic Testing | D．DNA Testing Has Become a Booming Industry |
5 . AI, or deep learning, takes in massive amounts of data from a single domain and automatically learns from the data to make specific decisions within that domain. It can automatically optimize (优化) human-given goals with
The potential applications for AI are extremely exciting, but the rise of AI also brings many
First, let’s talk about job displacement. Because AI can
But not every job will be replaced by AI.
As well as job displacement. AI has the potential to
The technology also poses serious challenges in terms of
Finally, there are the issues of privacy, worsened prejudices and manipulation (操纵). Sadly we’ve already seen
All of these risks require governments, businesses and technologists to
| A．deep | B．specific | C．unlimited | D．accurate |
| A．doubts | B．possibilities | C．decisions | D．challenges |
| A．misunderstanding | B．underestimates | C．controversies | D．arguments |
| A．dismiss | B．outperform | C．reject | D．enroll |
| A．In fact | B．By comparison | C．In addition | D．As a result |
| A．job | B．goal | C．risk | D．topic |
| A．research | B．learn | C．serve | D．invent |
| A．automation | B．displacement | C．limitation | D．complication |
| A．easier | B．larger | C．smarter | D．quicker |
| A．maintain | B．remove | C．multiply | D．conceal |
| A．destabilize | B．enhance | C．relieve | D．preserve |
| A．security | B．control | C．severity | D．advancement |
| A．prejudices | B．issues | C．temptations | D．failures |
| A．hold on | B．work together | C．take off | D．back up |
| A．competition | B．application | C．rules | D．good |
6 . When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.
After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.
The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First, he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.
He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.
Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse — like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.
“Ecological design” is the name John gives to what he does. “Life on Earth is kind of a box of spare parts for the inventor,” he says. “You put organisms in new relationships and observe what’s happening. Then you let these new systems develop their own ways to self-repair.”
1. What can we learn about John from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was fond of traveling. | B．He enjoyed being alone. |
| C．He had an inquiring mind. | D．He longed to be a doctor. |
| A．To feed the animals. | B．To build an ecosystem. |
| C．To protect the plants. | D．To test the eco-machine. |
| A．To review John’s research plans. | B．To show an application of John’s idea. |
| C．To compare John’s different jobs. | D．To erase doubts about John’s invention. |
| A．Nature can repair itself. | B．Organisms need water to survive. |
| C．Life on Earth is diverse. | D．Most tiny creatures live in groups. |
7 . One of the presents in my house this Christmas was a late 18th-century volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (大英百科全书). It is a window into the discoveries and thinking of the time. The encyclopaedia is an entertaining reminder of how
Our confusion is the theme of Spoon-Fed, a book by one of Britain’s leading nutrition researchers, Tim Spector of King’s College London. Its subtitle is: “Why almost everything we’ve been told about food is wrong.” It is a call for us to
One by one Spector offers answers to recent food
Spector also offers more than a set of currently
Some combination of food choices, genes, environment and the chemical reactions generated by our microbiome — the unique microbe (微生物的) combinations in our body ― yes different
| A．well-known | B．aim-oriented | C．ill-founded | D．long-lived |
| A．certain about | B．ignorant of | C．capable of | D．worried about |
| A．decisions | B．courses | C．focuses | D．suggestions |
| A．facts | B．chances | C．reasons | D．features |
| A．investigate | B．demand | C．concentrate | D．spend |
| A．supplies | B．shortages | C．standards | D．myths |
| A．culture | B．history | C．economy | D．health |
| A．equally | B．practically | C．socially | D．impossibly |
| A．effectiveness | B．consciousness | C．competitiveness | D．emptiness |
| A．serves | B．shares | C．recognizes | D．dismisses |
| A．pointless | B．topical | C．defensible | D．additional |
| A．emotional | B．significant | C．questionable | D．forgivable |
| A．individual | B．unpredictable | C．important | D．available |
| A．changes | B．outcomes | C．profits | D．addicts |
| A．start | B．analyze | C．stop | D．reflect |
8 . We should all have at least one fire extinguisher somewhere in our home, but it’s not enough to simply keep one under the kitchen sink. If there is a fire, your safety — and the safety of your home — depends on knowing how to use that fire extinguisher correctly. In case your fire extinguisher has been sitting around collecting dust, here’s everything you need to know before brushing it off and fighting a fire in your home the right way.
Choose the right fire extinguisher
The first thing you need to know is the different classifications of fires. Most household fires fall into one of the following categories:
Class A: Fires fueled by solid combustibles like wood, paper, and cloth.
Class B: Fires fueled by flammable liquids such as oil and gasoline.
Class C: Fires started or fueled by faulty wiring and appliances.
Class D: Fires started or fueled by cooking oils, animal facts, and vegetable fats.
All fire extinguishers are labeled to indicate which classes of fire they are designed to combat. Most household fire extinguishers are considered multipurpose and labeled for use in A, B, and C classes. Class K extinguishers are heavier duty and will need to be bought separately. Household fire extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire that they can safely handle. The higher the rating, the larger the fire the extinguisher can put out. Higher-rated extinguishers are often heavier.
Steps for proper extinguisher use
Once you understand the different types of fire extinguishers and their uses, you need to be able to properly operate one.
Step 1: Identify a clear exit/escape routeBefore operating the fire extinguisher, make sure you have a clear evacuation path. If you cannot put out the fire, you’ll need to make a safe exit. Also, make sure everyone else is being evacuated from the building.
Step 2: Call the fire departmentEven if the fire appears manageable, you should always have the fire department on the way. Once firefighters arrive, they can double-check whether the fire has been completely extinguished.
Step 3: Stand backFace the fire and keep your back to the clear exit. You should stay between 1.8 and 2.5 meters away from the flames as you prepare to operate the fire extinguisher.
Step 4: Operate the extinguisherIt can be difficult to think clearly during an emergency. Thankfully, there is a long-standing acronym(首字母缩略词)— PASS — to help you recall the steps involved in operating your fire extinguisher.
P: Pull the pin (保险销) on the fire extinguisher.
A: Aim low. Point the nozzle at the base of the fire instead of the flames.
S: Squeeze the handle or lever to discharge the extinguisher.
S: Sweep the nozzle back and forth until the flames are extinguished.
Step 5: Keep an eye on thingsAfter the flames appear to be out, continue to watch the fire area to make sure it doesn’t reignite. If the fire does start up again, repeat the “PASS” process.
Step 6: Get to a safe placeOnce the fire is out, or if you are unable to put it out, leave the scene. Find a place out of reach of the fire.
1. According to the passage, what is the top priority in a fire emergency?| A．Find out how to escape. | B．Operate a fire extinguisher. |
| C．Call the fire department. | D．Escape and leave everything behind. |
| A．③②④① | B．④②③① |
| C．③④①② | D．④③①② |
| A．leave the fire area at once | B．repeat the “PASS” process |
| C．inspect the fire area carefully | D．have the fire department on the way |
