1 . My name is Alice. Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that crippled ( 削弱 ) my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me. For almost a year I struggled on, constantly staring at this wall that faced me. My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.
One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. I joined a pre-presentation dinner with him and that smaller setting allowed me to slowly build up my courage to speak one-on-one with him—an idea that had seemed completely impossible. This first contact was where my story began.
A month later, Brown invited me to attend the World Youth Wildlife Conference. Looking back, I now see that this would be the first in a series of timely opportunities that my old self would have let pass, but that this new and more confident Alice enthusiastically seized. Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.
I am writing this just six months since my journey began and I’ve realised that my biggest obstacle ( 障碍 ) this whole time was myself. It was that voice in the back of my head telling me that one phrase that has stopped so many people from reaching their potential: I can’t. They say good things come to those who wait; I say: grab every opportunity with everything you have and be impatient. After all, nature does not require our patience, but our action.
1. What was the main cause for Alice’s anxiety?| A．Her inability to act her age. | B．Her habit of consumption. |
| C．Her desire to be perfect. | D．Her lack of inspiration. |
| A．She decided to do something for nature. |
| B．She tasted the sweetness of friendship. |
| C．She learned about the harm of desire. |
| D．She built up her courage to speak up. |
2 . My name is Alice. Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that crippled ( 削弱 ) my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me. For almost a year I struggled on, constantly staring at this wall that faced me. My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.
One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. I joined a pre-presentation dinner with him and that smaller setting allowed me to slowly build up my courage to speak one-on-one with him—an idea that had seemed completely impossible. This first contact was where my story began.
A month later, Brown invited me to attend the World Youth Wildlife Conference. Looking back, I now see that this would be the first in a series of timely opportunities that my old self would have let pass, but that this new and more confident Alice enthusiastically seized. Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.
I am writing this just six months since my journey began and I’ve realised that my biggest obstacle ( 障碍 ) this whole time was myself. It was that voice in the back of my head telling me that one phrase that has stopped so many people from reaching their potential: I can’t. They say good things come to those who wait; I say: grab every opportunity with everything you have and be impatient. After all, nature does not require our patience, but our action.
The activities Alice joined in helped her to become more ________.
| A．intelligent | B．confident | C．innovative | D．critical |
3 . The US scientists who created the first living robots say the life forms, known as xenobots, can now reproduce—and in a way not seen in plants and animals. Xenobots are formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), from which it takes its name.
“Frogs have a way of reproducing that they normally use, but when you liberate the stem cells from the embryo(胚胎) and you give them a chance to figure out how to be in a new environment, not only do they figure out a new way to move, but they also figure out apparently a new way to reproduce,” said Michael Levin, a professor of biology at Tufts University, who was co-lead author of the new research.
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to develop into different cell types. To make the xenobots, the researchers removed living stem cells from frog embryos and left them to develop.
“Most people think of robots as being made of metal, but it’s not so much what a robot is made from but what it does, which is act on its own on behalf of people,” said Josh Bongard, a computer science professor and robotics expert at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study. “In that way, it’s a robot, but it’s also clearly an organism made from frog cells.”
The researchers found that the xenobots could replicate(自我复制). But it happened rarely and only in specific circumstances. The xenobots used “kinetic replication”—a process that is known to occur at the molecular(分子) level.
With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers then tested billions of body shapes to make the xenobots more effective at this type of replication. The supercomputer came up with a C-shape that looked like Pac-Man, the 1980s video game. They found it was able to find tiny stem cells, gather hundreds of them inside its mouth, and a few days later the pack of cells became new xenobots.
“The AI didn’t program these machines in the way we usually think about writing code. It shaped and sculpted and came up with this Pac-Man shape,” Bongard said. “The shape is, in essence, the program. The shape influences how the xenobots behave to speed up this incredibly surprising process.”
The xenobots are very early technology-think of a 1940s computer—and don’t yet have any practical applications. However, this combination of molecular biology and artificial intelligence could potentially be used in many tasks in the body and the environment. This may include things like collecting microplastics in the oceans, inspecting root systems and regenerative medicine. “There are many things that are possible if we take advantage of this kind of plasticity and ability of cells to solve problems,” Bongard said.
1. According to Josh Bongard, a robot should be defined in terms of ________.| A．its function |
| B．its reliability |
| C．its appearance |
| D．its material |
| A．Xenobots have copied stem cells using computer programs. |
| B．Specialized cells play a key role in the replication of xenobots. |
| C．AI makes it possible for xenobots to replicate more effectively. |
| D．The shape of xenobots was inspired from a video game in the 1980s. |
4 . 1. One question every coach has beard in their coaching career is this.
“Why isn’t my kid playing?”
The stupidity of many “win-at-all-cost” coaches in youth sports is neatly matched by that of “play-my-kid-or-else” parents at the high-school level.
When the games start to count, the main reason why your kid isn’t playing is simple:
“They’re just not good enough.”
“He/she just isn’t fast enough.”
“He/she just isn’t strong enough.”
Good coaches, however, are not usually that blunt. They are very skillful in not telling what you and I would consider the “truth”. The thing is that many kids know what they’re good at, and what they’re not good at. When it comes to football, for instance, most of the middle-schoolers or freshmen already know the one or two kids who are good enough to play on the varsity team or to catch the eye of a college admissions officer. Their parents do not.
The rest play because they enjoy it, need the discipline, want to belong to a team, have dreamed of it since they were five or six, are trying to make their parents happy, need a varsity sport on their college application, or some combination of the factors above. Some of them don’t possess much athletic skill, but make up for it by practicing, by getting stronger and quicker, and with on-field effort.
Far too many children today are living in a world where they never learn “no”. They don’t know how to handle disappointment and failure. Nor do they know how to react and move on when they don’t get their own way.
It’s awful when your kid isn't playing. Been there, done that. No reasonable parent wants to see their child hurt. But no one escapes this life unhurt, emotionally if not physically. When these kids move on in life, they are going to get rejected when they apply for college, fail to get the job they want, and taste failure and disappointment on multiple fronts.
Coaches should try to make sure everyone gets some playing time. But that should never come at the expense of other kids who are more talented, try harder or spend more time practicing. No child should ever go out for any team thinking they’re going to be guaranteed a spot or playing time, no matter how loudly their parents complain.
In that sense, sports are a true mirror of life. No one is guaranteed “playing” time in life. For the most part, hard work, effort, planning and desire is rewarded. The benefits can be wonderful. But it’s good to be prepared when it doesn't work out that way.
The author believes that ________.
| A．kids should learn how to face rejection in their life |
| B．people can live a life without being emotionally hurt |
| C．parents must help kids escape disappointment and failure |
| D．coaches need to ensure every student gets enough playing time |
5 .
Making use of the wind, the water or, for more than half of all plant species, animals, plants disperse (散播) seeds far and wide. Frugivores — animals such as gibbons that feed on the fleshy fruits of plants — eat and then excrete (排泄) seeds away from the original tree. The African savanna elephant can carry seeds up to a record-breaking distance of 65 kilometres. This ability to shift geographical ranges will be crucial to plants when it comes to surviving climate change. However, just like all gibbon species, the African savanna elephant is endangered, its population down by 60 percent over the past 50 years.
Researchers in Denmark and the USA have published a new study into how the loss of seed-dispersing animals could affect the resilience (恢复力) of forests and other natural ecosystems. According to their research, this loss has already reduced the ability of plants to move in pace with climate change by 60 percent, and in some areas by as much as 95 percent.
Evan Fricke, lead author of the study, explains that in order to reach these results, they pulled together existing data from all previous studies and used machine learning to develop models that could estimate the seed dispersal potential of any animal, even ones that are now extinct.
The researchers found that, historically, the decline of seed-dispersing animals has had the greatest influence on plants across the temperate (温带的) regions of North and South America, Europe and southern Australia. “Our temperate ecosystems have lost a lot of the natural seed-dispersal function that they would have had.” explains Fricke, referring to large mammals that were once widespread in these regions.
Nevertheless, the poor conservation status of many seed-dispersing tropical animals puts plants in regions such as Southeast Asia and Madagascar most at risk today. Without the preservation of such animals, global seed dispersal could decline by a further 15 percent. “The direct implication of this decline is that many plant species will be unable to keep pace with a changing climate,” says Fricke. “That means the potential loss not only of plant biodiversity but of the ecosystem functions that those plants provide.”
As wildlife is lost, plants can no longer adapt and survive and forests become less sustainable, which reduces the amount of carbon they can store. They also lose their ability to support wildlife. Whole ecosystems are disrupted. The conclusion, Fricke says, is clear: we must conserve currently endangered species and restore the populations of important seed dispersers. “Independent of climate change, rewilding has the potential to benefit our ecosystems, but in a changing climate, it has the added benefit of increasing the climate resilience of those ecosystems,” he says.
What does Fricke conclude from the study?
| A．Plants disperse seeds by way of animals excreting them. |
| B．Rewilding can promote the climate resilience of our ecosystems. |
| C．Seed-dispersing animals could hardly affect the natural ecosystems. |
| D．The loss of seed-dispersing animals has little influence on temperate regions. |
6 . It was the day of the big cross-country run. Students from seven different elementary schools in and around the small town of 100-Mile House, British Columbia, were warming up and walking the route through thick evergreen forest.
I looked around and finally saw David standing by himself off to the side by a fence. He was small for ten years old, with messy red hair. But his usual big toothy grin was absent today. I walked over and asked him why he wasn’t with the other children. The only response he gave me was he had decided not to run. What was wrong? He had worked so hard for this event! David’s cerebral palsy (脑瘫) prevented him from walking or running like other children, but at school his peers thought of him as a regular kid. He always participated to the best of his ability in whatever they were doing. It just took him longer. He had stubbornly run a total of twenty three kilometres in practice runs to prepare for that day’s two-and-a-half-kilometre run, and he had asked me to come and watch. We sat down together on some steps, but David wouldn’t look at me.
I quietly said, “David, if you don’t want to run today, no one is going to make you. But if you’re not running because you’re afraid someone is going to laugh, that’s not a good enough reason. There will always be someone who will laugh and say mean things. Are you going to let them get in your way? If you really want to run, David, then you run!” I held my breath as David took this in. Then he looked at the field and said, “I’m gonna run.”
The starter’s gun sounded. But he had only gone a few metres before he tripped and fell flat on the ground. My heart sank. As I started to shout encouragement, David picked himself up and started again. All the other runners had disappeared over the hill. But it didn’t matter. He had worked for it, and he wouldn’t give up!
I waited anxiously by the finish line as the most runners completed and another race had begun. Still no David! I started to feel sick. Had I done the wrong thing? Could he have become lost? Finally, a small figure emerged from the forest. David raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line to wild cheers and applause. He caught my eye, flashed me a toothy grin and said, “That was easy!”
What made David unable to run like other children?
| A．His mental problem. |
| B．His physical condition. |
| C．His laziness. |
| D．His hesitation. |
7 . GREAT BOOKS TO TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
Here is a shortened list of books sponsored by the magazines TIME and TIME for Kids that are suitable for primary schoolers. To make the list, we considered how age-appropriate the material was, and whether the tone and story line left the reader feeling engaged and empowered rather than anxious or confused.
Experts recommend the youngest kids to read books that explore the beauty and fragility (脆弱) of nature. When developing an appreciation for the world around them, they can switch to books that show the cause and effect of how humans treat our planet, and why it’s important to respect the environment. For older primary school kids, picture books can illustrate how our use of fossil (化石) fuels contributes to global warming. Most of the books on the list also offer lessons about how children, families, schools, and communities can make a difference.
 THANK YOU, EARTH: A LOVE LETTER TO OUR PLANET By April Pulley Sayre This photography book shows to us plants, animals and landscapes in vivid colors and descriptions. From up-close images of insects to pictures of mountain ranges, the pages introduce children to the planets’ diversity in a simple but effective way. |  THE LORAX By Dr. Seuss Thanks to its rhyme, and whimsical illustration, this classic tale is suitable for young children who can grasp the scarcity of natural resources, and also older kids who can see a danger in valuing profits over long-term environmental harm. |
 WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS By Carole Lindstrom A tribute to native tribes that are protecting the planet, this book vividly shows the harms of oil pipelines. Kids will see the value of community action, while adults will recognize the story of the native tribes Standing Rock Sioux’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. |  POLAR BEAR, WHY IS YOUR WORLD MELTING? By Robert E. Wells This book introduces the greenhouse effect with illustrations showing how sunlight gets trapped. It then explains fossil-fuel energy, and our reliance on it for electricity and transportation. The pages are full of science. |
| A．THE LORAX |
| B．WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS |
| C．POLAR BEAR, WHY IS YOUR WORLD MELTING? |
| D．THANK YOU, EARTH: A LOVE LETTER TO OUR PLANET |
8 . GREAT BOOKS TO TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
Here is a shortened list of books sponsored by the magazines TIME and TIME for Kids that are suitable for primary schoolers. To make the list, we considered how age-appropriate the material was, and whether the tone and story line left the reader feeling engaged and empowered rather than anxious or confused.
Experts recommend the youngest kids to read books that explore the beauty and fragility (脆弱) of nature. When developing an appreciation for the world around them, they can switch to books that show the cause and effect of how humans treat our planet, and why it’s important to respect the environment. For older primary school kids, picture books can illustrate how our use of fossil (化石) fuels contributes to global warming. Most of the books on the list also offer lessons about how children, families, schools, and communities can make a difference.
 THANK YOU, EARTH: A LOVE LETTER TO OUR PLANET By April Pulley Sayre This photography book shows to us plants, animals and landscapes in vivid colors and descriptions. From up-close images of insects to pictures of mountain ranges, the pages introduce children to the planets’ diversity in a simple but effective way. |  THE LORAX By Dr. Seuss Thanks to its rhyme, and whimsical illustration, this classic tale is suitable for young children who can grasp the scarcity of natural resources, and also older kids who can see a danger in valuing profits over long-term environmental harm. |
 WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS By Carole Lindstrom A tribute to native tribes that are protecting the planet, this book vividly shows the harms of oil pipelines. Kids will see the value of community action, while adults will recognize the story of the native tribes Standing Rock Sioux’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. |  POLAR BEAR, WHY IS YOUR WORLD MELTING? By Robert E. Wells This book introduces the greenhouse effect with illustrations showing how sunlight gets trapped. It then explains fossil-fuel energy, and our reliance on it for electricity and transportation. The pages are full of science. |
| A．Confusing story line. |
| B．The tone of anxiety. |
| C．The books sponsorship. |
| D．Age-appropriate content. |
| A．They can see the value of community action. |
| B．They can know how to protect the native tribes. |
| C．They can recognize the story of the native tribes. |
| D．They can understand the importance of oil pipelines. |
9 . When special occasions such as birthdays or other big holiday events come around, parents often look for that special toy for their children. But there is a growing understanding that gifts of time and bonding, such as vacations and other experiences, make better and more lasting gifts for children.
Experts agree that gifting children with memorable trips and fun experiences is better for their body and mind, and has corresponding positive impacts on the rest of the family!
In a 2017 study that surveyed about 500 women between 18 and 93 years old, Dr. Oravecz, a human development and family studies professor at Pennsylvania State University, asked, “Most people feel loved when...” The study showed that the most popular answers had nothing to do with any material item. Dr. Oravecz said, “Our research found that micro-moments of positivity, like a kind word, a hug with a child or a sympathetic expression, make people feel most loved.”
Clinical psychologist Oliver James agrees. He stated that as opposed to toys, details from a trip are more likely to “stick with them for long after the vacation ends.” When families interact in a stress-free environment, this creates warm, generous feelings towards one another, which are likely to be remembered with fondness. Vacations create strong emotional responses that don’t often come with material possessions.
In addition, British child psychologist Dr. Margot Sunderland believes that vacations make children smarter. “What is less widely known is that vacations can also advance brain development in children. This is because on a family vacation, you are exercising two genetically ingrained systems deep in the brain’s limbic (边缘的) area, which can all too easily be ‘unexercised’ in the home.” Citing the work of neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp, Dr. Sunderland said, “These are the PLAY system and the SEEKING system.” “The brain’s PLAY system is exercised every time you bury your child’s feet in the sand or take them for a ride on your back. The SEEKING system is exercised each time you go exploring together: the beach, a cave, a hidden village...” She continued, “So when you take your child on a vacation, you are supporting their explorative urge (SEEKING system)—a vital resource for living life well, and their capacity to play (PLAY system). In adulthood, this translates into the ability to play with ideas—essential, for example, to the successful entrepreneur(企业家).”
In a busy household, perhaps the fun of having the latest toy may not last, but the space it occupies in the house could be there and gather dust. So for the next round of gift-giving with the children, consider an experiential gift instead. The return is definitely priceless.
From Dr. Oravecz’s study, we know that ________.
| A．hearing kind words can make a person feel most loved |
| B．a special toy for a birthday is more lasting for children |
| C．women at the age of 18 and 93 years old feel more loved |
| D．the feeling of being loved is closely related to material gifts |
10 . Born with severe hearing loss, Li has found her way to communicate with the world—through painting.
Before learning to paint, Li always felt lonely in a silent world. She knew she was different from her peers because she could not hear. But a painting class in primary school opened for her a door to creativity and a way of expression.
“I still remember my first mural, which was to help a kindergarten to design and paint its wall,” Li says. “The project made me realize how happy I was immersing myself into painting.”
To pursue her passion for art, Li went to study advertising design at a vocational and technical school. “Painting brushes can help me create a colorful world in my imagination, telling my thoughts on paper, instead of through voices,” Li said.
Graduating from college in 2005, Li got a job as a typist at a public institute. But she could not communicate well with her other colleagues. Her husband understood how she felt because he lost his hearing due to medication when he was 1 year old. He is also an art lover. In March 2016, under her husband’s suggestion, Li quit her job and joined her husband’s company, which specializes in 3D wall and ground paintings.
Wall painting is a demanding job because it requires people to work outdoors, whether in extremely cold or hot weather. As all the people are hearing-impaired in their company, communication with clients is the most common challenge that the team faces.
Now in many parks and scenic spots, the couple have created large-scale murals and interactive pavement painting that make onlookers a part of the drawings.
“My husband and I want to introduce painting to more people like us and help them find their own way to make a living,” Li says. Now Li has an apprentice who just graduated from college. While coaching the newcomer, Li is exploring her own style and hopes to become an illustrator and open her own exhibition one day.
“They’re energetic young people with a passion to create new things, and you can feel that in their paintings,” one of their clients said. “They’re also a professional, dedicated team, often working late into the night on the designs for us.”
Li hopes that their stories can encourage more hearing-impaired people to build their own careers and achieve their goals, regardless of how tough it may be.
What can we know from this passage?
| A．Li can communicate with her clients easily. |
| B．Li lost her hearing when she was I year old. |
| C．Li and her husband have created many wonderful paintings. |
| D．Li and her husband hope to become illustrators in the future. |
