1 . A team from Northwestern University has developed a soft, skin-interfaced sensor that can analyze the molecular (分子的) composition of sweat for things like cortisol, blood sugar, and vitamin C, sending the data to the wearer's smartphone. This data, the researchers hope, will allow people to better control their stress levels throughout the day.
Cortisol, also called the stress hormone, can be measured in a person's sweat. Released from the adrenal glands (肾上腺) under periods of physical and mental stress, it can be a powerful performance enhancer—increasing energy production and glucose (葡萄糖) availability for the muscles during a "fight or flight" situation, for instance being attacked by a lion. However, cortisol can also be released because of modern stressors such as money problems, issues at work, and other day-to-day worries that if built up over time, create the chronic anxiety and can lead to an increased risk for diabetes, depression, high blood pressure and obesity.
When someone wears the chip sweats, the liquid runs through small channels into a series of chemical test sensors that look for different biological signals which could suggest a rise in cortisol.
Previous attempts in years past at creating devices like this were limited by the need to take sweat samples to laboratories for analysis, removing any ability for the individual to act on the data in a way that might prevent buildup of stressful feelings, or even an anxiety attack.
Such a device could be paramount in helping people relieve depressive or stressful feelings (not least because exercising hard enough to cause sweating helps with anxiety on its own).
Furthermore, the percent of the population of American adults with regular feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety is around 11.2%, while there are nearly 60 million doctors' visits where mental or behavioral health is the chief concern. Putting power into patients' hands—in the form of a detailed diagnosis of cortisol levels, could help significantly to lower those numbers.
1. What's the function of the newly developed sensor?| A．To examine the component of sweat. |
| B．To show when one lacks vitamin. |
| C．To connect wearable devices to smartphones. |
| D．To control people's stress levels the whole day. |
| A．What may create the profile of chronic anxiety. |
| B．What may cause the release of the stress hormone. |
| C．How cortisol can enhance one's energy production. |
| D．How cortisol can be measured in a person's sweat. |
| A．Significant. | B．Useless. |
| C．Accessible. | D．Weak. |
| A．A product review. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A science fiction. |
2 . A four-year-old girl sees three biscuits divided between a stuffed crocodile and a teddy bear. The crocodile gets two; the bear one. “Is that fair?” asks the experimenter. The girl judges that it is not. “How about now?” asks the experimenter, breaking the bear’s single biscuit in half. The girl cheers up: “Oh yes, now it’s fair. They both have two.” Strangely, children feel very strongly about fairness, even when they hardly understand it.
Adults care about fairness too---but how much? One way to find out is by using the ultimatum（最后通牒）game, created by economist Werner Guth. Jack is given a pile of money and proposes how it should be divided with Jill. Jill can accept Jack’s “ultimatum”, otherwise the deal is off, and neither gets anything.
Suppose Jack and Jill don’t care about fairness, just about accumulating cash. Then Jack can offer Jill as little as he likes and Jill will still accept. After all, a little money is more than no money. But imagine, instead, that Jack and Jill both care only about fairness and that the fairest outcome is equality. Then Jack would offer Jill half the money; and Jill wouldn’t accept otherwise.
What happens when we ask people to play this game for real? It turns out that people value fairness a lot. Anyone offered less than 20-30% of the money is likely to reject it. Receiving an unfair offers makes us feel sick. Happily, most offers are pretty equitable; indeed, by far the most common is a 50-50 split.
But children, and adults, also care about a very different sort of （un）fairness, namely cheating. Think how many games of snakes and ladders have ended in arguments when one child “accidentally” miscounts her moves and another child objects. But this sense of fairness isn’t about equality of outcome: games inevitably have winners and losers. Here, fairness is about playing by the rules.
Both fairness-as-equality and fairness-as-no-cheating matter. Which is more important: equality or no-cheating? I think the answer is neither. The national lottery（彩票）, like other lotteries, certainly doesn’t make the world more equal: a few people get rich and most people get nothing. Nevertheless, we hope, it is fair---but what does this mean? The fairness-as-no-cheating viewpoint has a ready answer: a lottery is fair if it is conducted according to the “rules”. But which rules? None of us has the slightest idea, I suspect. Suppose that buried in the small print at lottery HQ is a rule that forbids people with a particular surname （let’s say, Moriarty）. So a Ms Moriarty could buy a ticket each week for years without any chance of success.
How would she react if she found out? Surely with anger: how dare the organizers let her play, week after week, without mentioning that she couldn’t possibly win! She’d reasonably feel unfairly treated because ___________________.
To protest（抗议）against unfairness, then, is to make an accusation of bad faith. From this viewpoint, an equal split between the crocodile and the bear seems fair because （normally, at least）, it is the only split they would both agree to. But were the girl to learn that the crocodile doesn’t like biscuits or that the bear isn’t hungry, I suspect she’d think it perfectly fair for one toy to take the whole. Inequality of biscuits （or anything else） isn’t necessarily unfair, if both parties are happy. And the unfairness of cheating comes from the same source: we’d never accept that someone else can unilaterally（单方面地）violate agreements that we have all signed up to.
So perhaps the four-year-old’s intuitions（直觉）about fairness is the beginnings of an understanding of negotiation. With a sense of fairness, people will have to make us acceptable offers（or we’ll reject their ultimatums） and stick by the（reasonable）rules, or we’ll be on the warpath. So a sense of fairness is crucial to effective negotiation; and negotiation, over toys, treats etc, is part of life.
1. From Paragraph 2 to 4, we can conclude______.| A．a 30-70 split is acceptable to the majority |
| B．fairness means as much to adults as to children |
| C．something is better than nothing after all |
| D．people will sacrifice money to avoid unfairness |
| A．divisions of housework | B．favoritism between children |
| C．banned drugs in sport | D．schooling opportunities |
| A．the lottery didn’t follow the rules | B．she was cheated out of the money |
| C．the lottery wasn’t equal at all | D．she would never have agreed to those rules |
| A．establish rules | B．observe agreements |
| C．strengthen morality | D．understand negotiation |
3 . In the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest fear was that the human race, and possibly all advanced life forms on the planet, could be wiped out by nuclear missiles. Today, however, environmental problems have taken over as the greatest risk to life on Earth. Scientists are thinking of ways to lower this risk, such as replacing coal and oil with forms of renewable energy. But they are also preparing for the worst: what can we do if the terrifying scenes in films such as The Day After Tomorrow happen in real life? What is our plan B for Earth?
One option is to explore other planets to see if we could live on them. The most likely choice is Mars, which is relatively close to Earth and has an environment less hostile than that of other planets. Mars has fascinated people since ancient times, and today our interest in Martian exploration is greater than ever before. Besides, more governments are making efforts to educate the public on the Red Planet.
There is no doubt that humankind is drawn towards Mars. However, sending people there will require all the skill, courage and intelligence. While the Moon can be reached within days, it would take months to reach Mars, travelling through dangerous solar radiation. And even if the first settlers do reach Mars safely, they may not be able to return to Earth — ever. Staying alive will be a daily challenge, but as proved by the Biosphere 2 experiment, not impossible. As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert, consisting of a closed space in which people, animals and plants could live together. Although the two-year experiment was not a success, it did provide us with a better understanding of how humans might be able to live on another planet.
For now, human settlement of Mars is still decades away. Until we are finally able to live on another planet, we need to take much better care of our own. Right now, it's the only one we have!
1. What was the biggest threat to humans in the 1960s and 1970s?| A．Human race themselves. | B．All advanced life forms. |
| C．Nuclear missiles. | D．Environmental problems. |
| A．It's closest to the earth. |
| B．It has relatively appropriate living conditions. |
| C．It has drawn the public's attention in recent years. |
| D．It has a more hostile environment. |
| A．Humans have visited Mars. |
| B．The Biosphere 2 experiment proved to be valueless. |
| C．Humans will have to go and live on another planet. |
| D．Our Plan A includes developing renewable energy resources. |
| A．The Traveler. | B．Environmental Concerns. |
| C．All About Space. | D．Biology for Fun, |
4 . If you visit Uluwatu temple in Bali, be cautious. The long-tailed temple monkeys there are well-known thieves. Since a long time ago, they have made a living by robbing visitors of their possessions and then holding those objects until a ransom in the form of food is paid. But Jean-Baptiste Leca of the University of Lethbridge, in Canada, wondered whether these monkeys are cleverer still. Sometimes, they do not accept the first offer and hold out for more. He therefore asked himself whether they are able to assess how valuable an object is to its owner, and factor that into their negotiations.
Dr. Leca and his colleagues conducted their experiment by wandering around the temple with video cameras, recording the activities of the monkeys. Every time they saw a monkey show interest in a particular tourist? they recorded the interaction. To work out what was going on, they had first to establish the relative values of food rewards to monkeys, and of stealable objects to people.
To confirm which stealable objects are most valued by people, they divided them into six classes: empty containers, such as phone cases and plastic bottles; accessories (搭配物) such as hairpins and key rings; hats and shoes; spectacles and sunglasses; and electronics and wallets. They then observed how often victims bothered to bargain with the thief for the return of property belonging to different classes, and thus classified objects into low value, medium value and high value.
They found that monkeys do, indeed, have a complicated sense of what they are doing — at least, adults and sub-adults do. These animals have a preference for stealing high-value items, and will often hold out either for more rewards, or for better ones, if they are in possession of such items. But this is something that they have to learn how to do as they grow up. Young monkeys make no such distinctions, and sub-adults are less good at doing so than adults.
1. What is the purpose of Leca's research?| A．To prove monkeys are cleverer than men. |
| B．To find out what is valuable for monkeys. |
| C．To record the negotiations between monkeys. |
| D．To make sure monkeys can judge item values. |
| A．Bilk. | B．Reward. | C．Tax. | D．Rent. |
| A．By the material of objects. | B．By the preference of victims. |
| C．By the buying price of objects, | D．By the frequency of bargaining. |
| A．Young monkeys can evaluate items. | B．All monkeys prefer high-value items, |
| C．Monkeys have a simple sense of acts. | D．Monkeys' stealing is an acquired skill. |
5 . Welcome to Fresh Start February! This week Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that I would transition to the private sector. Today, my last official day as the Director of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs. After serving 6 years in the Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser and 2 of those years as Director, of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs, I am very excited and look forward to starting this next phase in my career.
I am humbled and grateful to Mayor Bowser for trusting in me to be a leader in her administration and to serve as the primary liaison between you-the members of the community, and 13 community affairs offices to foster relationships across all 8 Wards. What can I say, other than it has been an amazing journey and I am grateful!
This journey has been the very foundation of our work in partnership and collaboration between District of Columbia residents and the Executive Office of the Mayor. We have established partnerships with communities, conducted and coordinated several events, town halls, forums, and projects in support of carrying forward mayoral initiatives at the community level.
We have built stronger ties between the Mayor and community organizations civic groups, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) while attending to the intersectional needs of the community.
Also, thank you to the 90+ MOCA staff members that have helped me up to provide support to our office directors and District residents throughout the years. Interacting with you all and having the opportunity to work with such dedicared individuals is something I have and will never take for granted. I have often been inspired by the creativity and innovation that they bring to the respective offices. Our work has left a lasting impression on my life.
Again, thank you to our first female two-term Mayor, Muriel Bowser for her leadership and for allowing me to be a part of this great work! I want to thank you for your support throughout this journey, and I am excited about the great work that will continue to go forward. I leave with fond memories of my 8 years total in the John A. Wilson Building.
2 years in the office or Councilmember Anita Bonds and with memories that I will forever cherish. I also know that MOCA is well-positioned to go to the NEXT LEVEL! It has been one of my greatest privileges to serve with you. Until we meet again.
1. А_______________ is a person whose job is to make sure there is a good relationship between two groups or organizations.| A．mayor | B．resident | C．director | D．liaison |
| A．2 | B．6. | C．8. | D．10. |
| A．Muriel Bowser. | B．The private sector. |
| C．Local residents. | D．MOCA staff members. |
6 . Portraits as Art
According to a dictionary, portraiture is “a representation (描绘) of a person, especially of the face by drawing or painting a likeness.” However, this definition neglects the complexities of portraiture. Portraits are works of art that engage with ideas of identity rather than just a likeness. These concepts of identity involve social rank, gender, age, profession, character of the subject, etc. It is impossible to copy all the aspects of identity. Therefore, portraits reflect only certain qualities of subjects. Portrait art has also undergone significant shifts in artistic practice. The majority of portraits are the outcome of current artistic fashions and favored styles. Therefore, portrait art is an art category providing various engagement with social, psychological, and artistic practices and expectations.
Since portraits are different from other art categories, they are worthy of separate study. During their production, portraits require the presence of a specific person, or an image of the individual. In many instances, the production of portraiture has required sittings, which result in interaction between the subject(s) and the artist throughout the creation of the work. In certain instances, portrait artists depended on a combination of different involvement with their subjects. If the sitter can’t sit in the studio regularly, portraitists could use his or her photographs. In Europe, during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the sitting time was sometimes decreased by focusing only on the head. Theoretically, portraitists could work from impressions or memories when creating a painting, but this rarely occurred according to documented records. Nonetheless, whether the work is based on model sittings, copying a photograph, or using memory, the process of painting a portrait is linked with the model’s attendance.
Furthermore, portrait painting can be distinguished from other artistic categories by its connection with appearance, or likeness. As such, the art of portrait painting got a reputation for imitation instead of for artistic innovation. Based on Renaissance art theory, portraiture was related to the level of a mechanical exercise as opposed to a fine art. Michelangelo’s well-known protest against portraits is only one example. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the attitude to portraiture was critical. Even so, artists from around the globe persisted in painting portraits despite their theoretical objections. Picasso, for example, became widely-known for cubist still-life painting (立体派静物画) early in his career, but some of his early experiments in this new style were his portraits of art dealers.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly tell us?| A．The changing definition of portraiture reflects shifting attitudes to it. |
| B．Most portraits reflect artistic fashions and favored styles when created. |
| C．Portraiture is a more complex art form than is defined in a dictionary. |
| D．Portrait art shouldn’t be seen as a distinct art category for its complexity. |
| A．Portraiture typically takes much less time than other art forms. |
| B．Portraiture often requires frequent cooperation between artists. |
| C．Portraits show models in a more accurate way than other art forms. |
| D．Portraits generally involve interaction between subjects and artists. |
| A．based their work on the subjects’ attendance |
| B．preferred models’ photographs to their presence |
| C．were more willing to use impressions or memories |
| D．reduced sitting time to concentrate on a sitter’s head |
| A．altered the way other artists felt about portrait art |
| B．created portraits in spite of his objection to portrait art |
| C．depended on portrait art to establish a higher reputation |
| D．had fewer theoretical objections to portraitures than others |
7 . It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable(不自在) when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don’t understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are too serious and too strict with their children; and that they seldom give their children a free hand.
It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. They show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset(扰乱) by something unexpected.
When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.
Young people often make their parents angry with their choices in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble; it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world, into which they have not yet been accepted. That’s why young people want to make a new culture(文化) of their own. And if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say “yes” to what you do. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parents’ control.
If you plan to control your life, you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility(责任), they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.
1. This article is particularly written for_____ .| A．parents | B．both parents and their children |
| C．young people | D．teachers |
| A．ask for advice before they really start to do anything |
| B．do things without thinking carefully ahead |
| C．be very strict with themselves |
| D．think in the same way as their parents do |
| A．they want to show they have grown up |
| B．they do not want to get into trouble |
| C．they feel they are cleverer than the older people |
| D．they don’t feel they belong to the world of the older people |
| A．do everything according to his own wish |
| B．do everything the way his parents do |
| C．do everything under his parents’ control |
| D．do everything with a high sense of responsibility |
8 . At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable (易受伤害的), later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigor and resistance which, though unnoticeable at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.
This decline in vigor with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually “die of old age”, and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer—on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.
Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that ma ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigor with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things “wear out”.
Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous (类似的)to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself —it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could, at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power, an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.
1. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?| A．Our first twelve years represent the peak of human development. |
| B．People usually are unhappy when reminded of ageing. |
| C．Normally only a few of us can live to the eighties and nineties. |
| D．People are usually less likely to die at twelve years old. |
| A．remaining alive until 65 | B．remaining alive after 80 |
| C．dying before 65 or after 80 | D．dying between 65 and 80 |
| A．It is usually a phenomenon of dying at an old age. |
| B．It is a fact that people cannot live any longer. |
| C．It is a gradual loss of vigor and resistance. |
| D．It is a phase when people are easily attacked by illness. |
| A．Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process. |
| B．All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process. |
| C．The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process. |
| D．Human’s ageing process is different from that of mechanisms. |
9 . Renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind and solar farms, have so far been subsidized (资助) by government support schemes. This has led to some to complain that clean energy is pushing up bills.
However, the most recently approved offshore wind projects will most likely operate with ‘negative subsidies’ -- paying money back to the government. The money will go towards reducing household energy bills as the offshore wind farms start producing power in the mid-2020s.
This is the conclusion of an analysis by an international team led by Imperial College London researchers published today in Nature Energy.
Lead researcher Dr Malte Jansen, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: “Offshore wind power will soon be so cheap to produce that it will undercut fossil-fueled power stations and may be the cheapest form of energy for the UK. Energy subsidies used to push up energy bills, but within a few years cheap renewable energy will see them brought down for the first time. This is an astonishing development.”
The analysis for five countries in Europe, including the UK, focused on a series of government auctions (拍卖) for offshore wind farms between February 2015 and September 2019. Companies that want to build wind farms bid in the auctions by stating the price at which they will sell the energy they produce to the government.
These are known as ‘contracts for difference’ or CfDs. If a company’s bid is higher than the wholesale electricity price on the UK market once the wind farm is up and running, then the company will receive a subsidy from the government to top up the price.
However, if the stated price (规定价格) is less than the wholesale price, then the company will pay the government back the difference. This payback is then passed through to consumer’s energy bills, reducing the amount that homes and businesses will pay for electricity.
The winning companies said they could build new offshore wind farms for around £40 per megawatt hour (MWh) of power. This was a new record set by these wind farms with bids 30 percent lower than just two years earlier.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．Offshore wind farms to be built in the UK could reduce household energy bills by producing electricity very cheaply. |
| B．Offshore wind farms will not be subsidized by government in the near future. |
| C．The importance of CfDs. |
| D．The operation of negative subsidies. |
| A．will stop producing power in the mid-2020s |
| B．are paying money back to the government |
| C．will help reduce household energy bills |
| D．will all operate with ‘negative subsidies’ |
| A．make up |
| B．take up |
| C．cover |
| D．fill up |
| A．The renewable energy projects will lead to some to complain that clean energy is pushing up bills. |
| B．The company whose bid is less than the wholesale electricity price will receive a subsidy. |
| C．The stated electricity price is now higher than the wholesale electricity price. |
| D．Fossil-fueled power will be soon produced cheaply. |
| A．Curious. |
| B．Pessimistic. |
| C．Indifferent. |
| D．Optimistic. |
| A．A science fiction. |
| B．A financial magazine. |
| C．An advertisement. |
| D．A science report. |
10 . Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie — all without other people hearing the sound and without headphones.
That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming”, a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday, the company introduced a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver.
Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its introduction. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie.The sound seems so close that it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.
Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.
The device uses a 3-D sensing module that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves (超声波) to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener, therefore the listeners feel completely transported into the scene.
By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when he moves his head. It is also possible to move out of the sound beam's path and hear nothing at all.
While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology.
According to the chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein, a “smaller” version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.
1. What does the underlined word “possibility” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The listener may put on music to block out other sounds. |
| B．The listener may hear sound only for him or her without using headphones. |
| C．The listener may enjoy songs or movies without being interrupted by others. |
| D．The listener may have the ability to pick up some special sounds. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Impossible. |
| C．Strange. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．It places the listener on the scene to hear the sound. |
| B．It fixes a sound beam’s path which can not be changed. |
| C．It follows the listeners around to send and receive sounds. |
| D．With 3-D tracking technology, it sends ultrasonic waves to the target listener. |
| A．To promote the SoundBeamer. | B．To introduce a new sound device. |
| C．To recommend new headphones. | D．To explain a technical phenomenon. |
