1 . Despite an ever-higher bar to grab the attention of students in large lecture hall, Tatiana Erukhimova, who teaches physics at Texas A&M University, has managed to get her students, as well as future generations, excited about the science.
Known as “Dr. Tatiana”, the professor performs physics tricks with boundless energy and enthusiasm in her videos. A range of everyday objects are used in her experiments, from pingpong balls and toilet paper to marshmallows, bicycle wheels and hair dryers. Videos of her dramatic demonstrations have received hundreds of millions of views across social media platforms.
However, things aren’t always easy. When she first started teaching college freshman classes two decades ago, she also struggled to grab the attention of her students. “I did not grab their attention on the first day-that was my mistake.” she says. “I missed this opportunity to bond with them from the very beginning, and then it took me a while to find my voice.”
By the second semester, she found her footing, adjusting her approach to get her students engaged. The key, she says, has been to make herself approachable and her instruction personal. And, of course, add showy demonstrations. “These demonstrations often help students to connect these abstract concepts with real life.” she says.
Physics department head Grigory Rogachev says Erukhimova’s work has helped bring visibility to the department, with about 2. 5 million subscribers on its department’s YouTube page, which has translated to a boost in research funds and physics major applicants.
As a leader in a STEM field in which women are underrepresented, she’s become a role model for some. Afiya Dhanani attended Texas A&M University after seeing Erukhimova’s videos online. “Watching Dr. Tatiana do the experiments online, especially since she was a female leader. Was more inspiring for me to even go into physics.” Dhanani said in an interview with CBS Mornings. That’s all Erakhimova says she can hope for -making physics less forbidding and more exciting.
1. What does Erukhimova’s online videos feature?| A．Rare materials. | B．Energetic presentation. |
| C．Plain demonstration. | D．Professional explanation. |
| A．All that glitters is not gold. |
| B．Sharp tools make good work. |
| C．First impressions are make or break. |
| D．A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. |
| A．It leads more students to change their majors. |
| B．It makes more people to know about the department. |
| C．It helps the department translate more research papers. |
| D．It attracts more physics professors to join the department. |
| A．Inspirational. | B．Underestimated. | C．Cooperative. | D．Ambitious. |
2 . Species (物种) can actually go extinct (灭绝的) more than once. In a biological sense, species become extinct when the last animal of a species stops breathing. But when the species disappears from our shared memory and cultural knowledge, it becomes extinct in a different way — society (与社会有关的) extinction.
The researchers looked at dozens of previous studies to look into how societal extinction happens, finding out contributing factors such as symbolic or cultural importance, how long ago a species was last alive, and how much of a connection it had to humans.
Societal extinction usually but not always happens after biological extinction. Sometimes, both extinctions can happen at the same time, depending on how well and widely known a particular species is.
Most species — such as those far removed from culture, or those too small to be noticed except through a microscope (显微镜) — never have a societal presence to begin with. Meanwhile, for other species, the societal presence can break with reality after a biological extinction.
“Species can remain widely known after they become extinct, or even become more popular,” says conservation biologist Uri Roll. “However, our awareness and memory of such species gradually becomes transformed, and often becomes incorrect, or disassociated from the actual species.”
Take the Spix’s macaw(金刚鹦鹉) for example, currently extinct in the wild: A 2013 conservation report from Brazil surveyed 242 children from the bird’s former habitat, and almost all of them incorrectly believed the species originated from Rio de Janeiro, because of its appearance in the 2011 cartoon movie Rio.
Finally, the researchers found various links between societal extinction and a lack of support for biodiversity protection. So, ifs important to keep the memories and the records of extinct species in order to realize what’s been lost.
1. When does a species most probably become societal extinct?| A．When it has difficulty in breathing. |
| B．When it faces some biological changes. |
| C．When it disappears unexpectedly in nature. |
| D．When it no longer exists in our memory and culture. |
| A．Relationship with humans. | B．Average length of life. |
| C．Biological importance. | D．Shape of the body. |
| A．They are not big enough to be seen. |
| B．They are closely linked to a specific culture. |
| C．They are in the process of societal extinction. |
| D．They are cleared away from scientific studies. |
| A．To draw a conclusion. | B．To prove an opinion. |
| C．To introduce a topic. | D．To make a prediction. |
3 . National Parks, Wyoming
A bike tour is a great way to access busy national parks. This six-day trip is a big loop out of Jackson 5s Rustic Inn Creekside Resort and Spa, with stops along the way to check out hot springs, moose (驼鹿) and the grizzly bear. Available June to September 2022; $3,095, vbt.com
Death Valley, California
This three-day trip starts with a meet and greet in Las Vegas before exploring a ghost town, on foot. Then the biking starts through the desert, heading to a hotel in time to catch a Death Valley sunset. The next day ifs a nearly 50-mile ride to the edge of a crater (火山口). Available October 2021 through December 2022; $1,649, rei.com
Finger Lakes, New York
This 121-mile bike tour snakes its way around Canandaigua lakes and rolling hills over five days. It starts with a wine tasting, then lunch and a ride through farmland. With only about 30 miles a day of riding, there’s plenty of time to try local wines and have a spa. Available June to July 2022;$5,499, trek travel. com
Florida Keys
Unless you book a custom trip, tours that include teens and kids can be difficult to find. Keep younger travelers engaged by mixing bike rides with other activities, like kayaking (独木舟), snorkeling, hiking and stand-up paddle boarding. This five-day trip heads south from Miami, through the Everglades National Park, and out to Key West. Along the way kids can learn to fish like the locals while parents can relax in excellent accommodations. Available December 2021 and December 2022;from $3,999, backroads. com
1. Which tour is the most suitable for families?| A．National Parks, Wyoming | B．Death Valley, California |
| C．Finger Lakes, New York | D．Florida Keys |
| A．Learning to fish. | B．Seeing wild animals. |
| C．Appreciating the sunset. | D．Trying local wines. |
| A．Seeing the world from a bike seat. | B．Having a taste of farm life. |
| C．Exploring local food on a bike trip. | D．Getting the most out of national parks. |
4 . The green and red watermelon is a sweet, refreshing summer snack. But it wasn’t always so sugary or brightly colored. So what did watermelons originally taste and look like, and from where did they come?
The fruit isn’t from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, as so many other domesticated (家养的) crops are, research shows. Susanne Renner, a scientist, and her colleagues carried out comprehensive genetic sequencing (基因测序) of the domesticated watermelons — the kind you might find on supermarket shelves — along with six wild watermelon species.
“We found the modern genomes (基因组) of the domesticated watermelon are more closely related to the Sudanese wild type than any other that we analyzed,” she said. The Sudanese wild watermelon has some obvious differences from the domesticated version. “The flesh is white and not very sweet, and it’s mainly used as animal feed,” Renner said. Nevertheless, the genetic similarity between the two species led the researchers to conclude that the Sudanese fruit is probably a precursor (前身) to the red and sweet domesticated watermelon.
It’s likely that ancient farmers grew non-bitter varieties of the wild watermelon and thus increased its sweetness over many generations through the domestication process. The red color is probably also thanks to artificial selection, in which farmers likely favored and selectively bred red fruit.
We already knew that the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun was buried with watermelon seeds 3,300 years ago, yet that isn’t sufficient proof of a domesticated, sweet watermelon. But then, Renner found an image of a watermelon-like fruit on an ancient Egyptian tomb painting, thought to be more than 4,300 years old. In a separate tomb, another image showed the watermelon cut up in a dish alongside other sweet fruits. This realization, coupled with Renner’s genetic findings, suggests that the watermelon was most likely domesticated around that time either in Egypt or within trading distance of the ancient empire.
“Historically speaking, that’s a very significant finding,” said Hanno Schaefer, a professor of plant biodiversity. “It’s becoming clearer that we’ve greatly neglected the North African region. We’ve focused too much on the Fertile Crescent and we need to invest more resources into studying the agriculture of North Africa.”
1. What can we learn about the Sudanese wild watermelon?| A．It is brightly colored and sugary. |
| B．It is consumed mainly by animals. |
| C．It has no connection with the domesticated type. |
| D．It has more differences than similarities to the domesticated type. |
| A．More resources will be devoted to agriculture research in South Africa. |
| B．The domesticated watermelon has a history of at least four thousand years. |
| C．The domesticated watermelon probably developed from the Sudanese type. |
| D．Few domesticated crops are from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia. |
| A．The history of the Sudanese wild watermelon. |
| B．Where wild watermelons actually come from. |
| C．The characteristics of domesticated watermelons. |
| D．How domesticated watermelons came into being. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Tolerant. |
5 . Inakadate, a Japanese village of around 7, 000 people, is considered the home of a rice field art form. In the early 1990s, local authorities realized that youths were moving to big urban centers in large numbers, and started brainstorming for ways of breathing new life into the village. One of the proposed ideas was an art form inspired by the local’s traditional rice planting, done by hand for hundreds of years. Called Tanbo Art, it involved the use of different rice varieties to turn local rice fields into giant canvases (画布).
The first rice field artwork was displayed in 1993, when purple and yellow rice plants were used to create a detailed picture of Mt. Iwaki. The project was such a huge success that Inakadate authorities decided to turn it into a yearly event. Nowadays, a viewing platform is often set up somewhere above the rice field, from which people can admire the unique artwork.
To create the impressively massive field artworks, the locals use a technique unique to Japan, which involves surveying the rice fields, perspective drawing, and the planting of various types of rice plants to create the desired visual effect. Tanbo Art has come a long way in the last three decades, with designs gradually becoming larger and more complex.
Some of the most elaborate (精心制作的) rice field artworks created in Inakadate have required the use of no less than 10 rice plants in color. The process starts in the spring months, and by early summer, the fruits of this labor become clearly visible. July and August are the best months to visit this famous Japanese village.
There are many locals who say that rice field art has saved Inakadate, bringing in impressive numbers of tourists from all over the world every year, and boosting the local economy. The success of Inakadate inspired other rice cultivating communities to borrow the Tanbo Art concept, and today you can find this sort of impressive rice field artworks all across Japan.
1. The rice field art was originally built to ______.| A．promote its traditional rice planting | B．turn local rice fields into giant canvases |
| C．promote the tourist industry of the village | D．make the village more lively and energetic |
| A．farming | B．population | C．tourist industry | D．rice consumption |
| A．early spring is the best months to visit Inakadate |
| B．many countries also follow the example of Inakadate |
| C．a viewing platform can help tourists enjoy the rice field artworks |
| D．no less than 10 rice plants were used to create the first rice field artwork |
| A．Travel. | B．Economy. | C．Technology. | D．Local news. |
6 . Shrinkflation has made British shoppers unhappy. For years, producers have quietly shrunk product sizes rather than rise prices. A multipack(合装包)of Fazzles, used to cost £1 ($1.36) and contain eight bags. Now it contains six. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs used to come by the half-dozen; now they come in fives. Quality Street, a chocolate box, weighed 1.2kg in 2009; today, just 650g.
The logic of Shrinkflation is that consumers are less likely to notice it than its alternative: higher prices. For years, the government has worked on the same principle. Taxpayers paid roughly the same, but government services became worse. Now an era of price increases in the form of tax rises has begun. In a nasty combination of inflation and shrinkflation, voters will be expected to pay more for less.
It will be an awkward shift. Since coming to power in 2010, the Conservatives (保守党) have used shrinkflation just as retailers do. In the early austerity (财政紧缩) years, the government shrank (收缩，减少), but its cost did not. As a percentage of GDP, it fell from a peak after the financial crisis of 46% of GDP to 39%. Taxes stayed around their historic norm of about 32% of GDP. But citizens received fewer services.
And, as when shoppers fail to notice the missing packet of Frazzles, voters did not care much at first. Weekly bin collections became fortnightly or monthly. Once-generous legal aid became mean; in-work benefits fell; police solved fewer crimes. But eventually voters and shoppers start to feel confused. Was a box of Quality Street always so small? Were the police always so used to fraud (诈骗)? Moreover, shrinkflation cannot continue forever. Just as people will not buy an empty packet of Frazzles, taxpayers will not pay for government services that are not provided at all. Eventually prices must rise — as the Conservatives are discovering. By 2026 the tax burden will be 36% of GDP, the highest since the post-war era, under Clement Atlee. This will cause several problems such as one of expectations. Atlee’s government promised a new Jerusalem (耶路撒冷): voters accepted higher taxes in return for a welfare(福利)state. Similarly, when New Labour governments raised taxes in the 2000s, they provided more in return. They increased national insurance, in order to bring heath care spending in line with other European countries. Schools were rebuilt and repaired; civic art, though sometimes of questionable quality, appeared in town squares.
Unfortunately, this time higher spending will at best stop things getting worse. Sajid Javi, the health secretary, admits that the health-and social-care systems will struggle even after a 2.5 percentage-point rise in national insurance,
“Is that all we get for £12bn” asked the Daily Mail, a newspaper that lends to see eye-to-eye with the Conservatives, when the plan to cut hospital waiting-lists was announced. British voters are often said to want American taxes and a European welfare government. Instead, they face paying European taxes for services as insufficient as those in American.
1. Shrinkflation refers to the process of items ______.| A．shrinking in size or quantity while their prices remain the same |
| B．shrinking in size or quantity while their prices become higher |
| C．expanding in sire or quantity while their prices remain the same |
| D．expanding in size or quantity while their prices become lower |
| A．Consumers will pay higher taxes for government services. |
| B．Consumers are more sensitive to price increases in products. |
| C．Consumers can hardly notice the changes in government services. |
| D．Consumers are unwilling to pay for government services. |
| A．Critical. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Supportive. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Both inflation and shrinkflation exist in Britain. |
| B．The Americans pay high taxes for poor services. |
| C．The British government will be costlier with fewer services. |
| D．The Daily Mail is in favor of the current economic policy. |
7 . Have you ever felt nervous or afraid to take time off from work to look after your mental health?
Marisa Kabas, a writer and political strategist, recently posed a similar question on Twitter (推特网), inspired by Simone Biles, who stopped taking part in Olympic events this week to protect her mental health.
“It was so shocking to so many people,” Ms. Kabas said on Wednesday in an interview. “Because the whole mentality (心态， 思维方式) is to be strong, and push through the pain.”
If you’re unlikely to use sick days for mental health reasons or are scared of being punished for doing so, I experts say it’s time to start thinking about how to protect your mental well-being. You should take a “sad day”.
There’s no official definition for a “sad day,” also known as a mental health day. Typically, it is paid time off drawn from sick days(or personal days) to help employees who aren’t feeling like their usual selves, offering an opportunity to refresh their minds, do something meaningful; or simply take a break from daily stressors. The “sad day” is only a temporary (暂时的) fix, and not meant to address deeper problems, but sometimes a little time away can make a big difference.
In most situations, just say that you need to take a sick day, and leave it at that, the experts advised. “I think the safe advice is not to be honest and frank,” said Andrew Kuller, a clinical psychologist. Not everybody values mental health, he added, and “unless you’re close with your boss, it is a risk. But say you work at the type of organization where you can tell the truth without fear of being punished. In that case, you still don’t need to reveal why you want to take a sick day.”
Whatever you do, don t spend the mental health day feeling guilty. So instead of thinking, “I should be at work right now, try to reframe your thinking in a more positive way. For example, try saying: “It would be great; if I could be at work right now. But today is a day that I need to take care of myself, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
1. Why were so many people shocked in the eyes of Ms. Kabas?| A．Simone Biles posed questions on Twitter. |
| B．Simone Biles was interviewed by Ms. Kabas. |
| C．Simone Biles inspired sports fans greatly in the Olympics. |
| D．Simone Biles pulled out of Olympic events due to mental health. |
| A．It is only short-term relief. |
| B．It has an official definition. |
| C．It is of no value in reducing stress. |
| D．It is a perfect solution to big problems. |
| A．Face punishment bravely. |
| B．Try your best to please your boss. |
| C．Ask for a sick day without much explanation. |
| D．Tell your boss about the importance of mental health. |
| A．Don’t be too serious about a “sad day” |
| B．When work weighs you down, take a “sad day” |
| C．Don’t be afraid to talk about your mental health |
| D．When you feel burnt out, tell your manager openly |
8 . Our lives are measured by the passing years and shaped by major milestones such as graduating from school, getting jobs, getting married and having children. Sometimes, however, it’s the little things that we find play an important role. Often we don’t even notice them until they change or we suddenly don’t have them anymore.
My wife and I live on the top floor of an apartment. Looking out of the bedroom window, there were no buildings as high as ours and, as a result, we never had to close our curtains at night. If I was awake in bed at night, I could look up and see the stars. I would wonder if there were planets revolving around them, and were any of those planets like ours. I’ll probably never know the answers but the questions themselves intrigue me.
Last summer, the neighbors sold the little house next door and it was bought by a developer to build a new apartment building. It will be four floors tall, the same as ours. When the new building is ready for new residents, we have to start closing our curtains at night.
Perhaps I will be able to wait until everyone else is likely to be sleeping and reopen my curtains. That’s one possible course but I really doubt we’ll do this. More likely we will close the curtains before going to bed and not reopen them until morning. That means that when I wake up in the middle of the night as usual, the room will be dark and there will be nothing to see, no view out the window of the beautiful night sky and no interesting questions to think about.
I’m sure the night sky is filled with wonders we may never actually see and probably can’t even imagine. With that mind-set I have enjoyed lying in bed in the small hours of the night and looking at the heavens and wondering. Our little town is growing as it unavoidably would but I’m going to miss the stars.
Sometimes, it’s the little things.
1. What does the underlined word “intrigue” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Trick. | B．Interest. | C．Shock. | D．Escape. |
| A．Plan to move out of the town. |
| B．Communicate with neighbors. |
| C．Keep the curtains closed when sleeping. |
| D．Appreciate the appealing night sky as usual. |
| A．Destructive. | B．Understandable. | C．Beneficial. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．To arouse readers’ interest in the star observation. |
| B．To state the inconvenience of living on the top floor. |
| C．To remind the readers of the significance of little things. |
| D．To complain about the damage of building construction. |
9 . When I was fifteen, I wrote an essay about how excited all my friends were to be getting driver’s licenses. I was full of
I have a condition called dry-eye syndrome (综合症).
There are many things I cannot do. I can’t drive or read a book. But there are far more things I can
Do I wish I could
There are many different ways to look at life. This is how I see it.
1.| A．energy | B．envy | C．hope | D．life |
| A．teach | B．inform | C．raise | D．drive |
| A．While | B．Since | C．Before | D．If |
| A．throw up | B．give up | C．wake up | D．turn up |
| A．evidence | B．reason | C．price | D．need |
| A．silently | B．differently | C．comfortably | D．gently |
| A．promises | B．tests | C．arguments | D．signals |
| A．lost | B．presented | C．earned | D．refused |
| A．sing | B．talk | C．see | D．think |
| A．limited | B．helped | C．stimulated | D．amazed |
| A．in all | B．at least | C．on purpose | D．by far |
| A．time | B．sight | C．confidence | D．support |
| A．ignore | B．destroy | C．appreciate | D．determine |
| A．develop | B．waste | C．admire | D．doubt |
| A．changed | B．failed | C．hurt | D．worked |
10 . A winner of the highest honor in the field of translation, Xu Yuanchong was best known for his translations of ancient Chinese poems into English and French. Xu
His academic
Throughout his academic research, Xu
| A．occupied | B．addicted | C．exposed | D．committed |
| A．art | B．dream | C．guideline | D．tradition |
| A．search | B．career | C．performance | D．procedure |
| A．transferred to | B．adapted to | C．returned to | D．traveled to |
| A．turn | B．introduce | C．separate | D．force |
| A．recommended | B．denied | C．called | D．awarded |
| A．accept | B．acquire | C．access | D．abandon |
| A．rewards | B．qualifications | C．honors | D．standards |
| A．worldwide | B．national | C．everlasting | D．lifelong |
| A．shared | B．pictured | C．enhanced | D．pursued |
| A．composed | B．absorbed | C．glued | D．stuck |
| A．in | B．with | C．as | D．for |
| A．enables | B．persuades | C．urges | D．makes |
| A．courage | B．poetry | C．discipline | D．wisdom |
| A．however | B．meanwhile | C．anyway | D．though |
