1 . Tears well up in people's eyes for a lot of reasons. A teardrop running down the cheek is the ultimate symbol of sadness, but people may also cry because they just cut an onion, or maybe they're trying to blink out an eyelash.
For the most part, tears help maintain healthy eyes. When you blink, basal (基底的) tears clean and smooth the eyes, which helps you to see clearly, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Moreover, reflex (反射性的) tears, or those that happen unconsciously, help clear the eyes of irritants (刺激物), including dust and the gas that's produced when a knife slices a raw onion, said Andre Silva, a doctoral student of psychology at the University of Minho in Portugal.
Emotions can also bring about tears in humans. These emotional tears can serve as a means of nonverbal communication. Silva said, “Babies cry to signal to their mothers that something's up. It's a pure attention call. Some people think that babies are capable of controlling adults by crying, but that idea is false and misleading, as a baby is not conscious of being tricky: In a way, we can consider these tears as being somewhere between basal tears and emotional tears.”
As people grow older, they begin to use their tears to express emotions, such as happiness or sadness. These tears may promote compassion and empathy in others. But beware of people who may use their tears to control others. “Some sensitive people may be easily controlled through the crying of others, and may easily shed tears that can also be used by others to control them,” he said.
So, emotional tears have both advantages and disadvantages. “They are a powerful communication device and a powerful manipulative (操纵别人的) device,” Silva said. Crying also makes it hard for some people to mask their feelings when they're in the middle of an extreme emotional state.
1. What's the function of reflex tears?| A．Reflecting our feelings. |
| B．Being used to affect others. |
| C．Serving as a means of interaction. |
| D．Clearing away harmful matters in the eyes. |
| A．Tears are usually used to pity others. |
| B．Babies burst into tears without tricks. |
| C．People mask their feelings when crying. |
| D．Blinking out an eyelash makes it easy to cry. |
| A．We ought to identify tears. |
| B．We should control babies, crying. |
| C．We need to smooth our eyes by emotional tears. |
| D．We can hardly fan others' sympathy by tears. |
| A．Why do people cry? |
| B．Why can tears control others? |
| C．How do people express emotions? |
| D．How can people make use of tears? |
2 . Those who want to set up office in the garden as temperatures rise should think twice or put a hat on. A new study shows that sunshine could diminish brain power, making it harder to make the right judgments.
Working in hot temperatures is already known to cause hyperthermia — a rise in body temperature — which can cause physical exhaustion. But now scientists say prolonged exposure of the head to the sun also affects the brain's ability to function properly.
The study by university teams in Denmark and Greece said workers could be damaging their brains by working in hot, sunny conditions. Eight healthy, active males aged between 27 and 41 took part in the research. The brain function test consisted of four different computer-based maths and logic tasks that relied on precise calculations. Four heat lamps were positioned to radiate either on the lower body or the back, side and top of their heads. Professor Lars Nybo of the department of nutrition, exercise and sports at the University of Copenhagen, said, “This study provides evidence that direct exposure to sunlight — especially to the head — impairs motor and cognitive performance.”
The decline in motor and cognitive performance was observed at 38. 5 degrees. Researchers said those exposed to sunlight for long periods should cover their heads. Professor Andtreas Flouis, of the FAME Laboratory in Greece, said: “It is of great importance that people working or undertaking daily activities outside should protect their head against sunlight.”
Drops in mental performance caused by sunshine could also mean drivers were more likely to make mistakes on the road, Andtreas Flouis suggested.
1. What does the underlined word “diminish” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Weaken. | B．Improve. |
| C．Achieve. | D．Change. |
| A．To light up the night. |
| B．To give off heat. |
| C．To warm the offices. |
| D．To increase the difficulty of tasks. |
| A．Useless. | B．Doubtful. | C．Narrow. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．Wearing a hat. |
| B．Reducing workload. |
| C．Having a medical examination. |
| D．Doing exercises regularly. |
3 . A new study shows that underwater seagrass may be trapping millions of pieces of tiny marine plastic in natural balls of fiber in what is known as Neptune balls. Huge masses of seagrass make up most of the coastal waters around the world and when there are storms these balls are washed to the shores.
There are 70 different species of seagrass around the globe, which provide important ecosystem benefits including improving water quality, absorbing CO2, reducing climate change, as well as providing a habitat for many species. Now ocean pollution cleanup can be added to the list.
The fact that these grasses contained plastic particles was discovered by Anna Sanchez-Vidal, leading author and a marine biologist at the University of Barcelona in Spain and her team who have been measuring the amount of plastic that was collected from seagrass from four beaches in Mallorca, Spain between 2018 and 2019.
The researchers studied just one species, Posidonia Oceanica, and found plastic debris(碎片) in half of the 42 Neptune balls they examined and it amounted to 613 microplastic items per kilogram of leaves. They estimated that up to 867 million plastic items may be trapped in the seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea every year, according to the research that was published in the January 2021 issue of the journal Scientific Reports.
“It shows that plastic debris in the seafloor can be trapped in seagrass remains, eventually leaving the marine environment through beaching,” Sanchez-Vidal, told the Agence France-Presse. This plastic cleanup, “represents a continuous cleaning of plastic debris out of the sea,” she said.
Around 8 million tons of plastic pollution end up in the world’s oceans yearly and make up 80 percent of all marine debris. Plastic pollution is threatening food safety, health, tourism, and contributes to climate change.
“This is why we need to protect and preserve these vulnerable ecosystems. However, the best environmental protection strategy to keep oceans free of plastic is to reduce landfills, an action that requires to limit its use by the population,” the researchers concluded in the study.
1. What do we know from the second paragraph?| A．Underwater seagrass is planted to clean up seawater. |
| B．Underwater seagrass has contributed to climate change. |
| C．Underwater seagrass benefits ecosystem in different ways. |
| D．Underwater seagrass has been used to fight against pollution. |
| A．By collecting the data of plastic debris found on the beach. |
| B．By analyzing the amount of plastic contained in the seagrass. |
| C．By showing the distribution of Posidonia Oceanica in the ocean. |
| D．By counting the number of Neptune balls in the Mediterranean Sea. |
| A．To call readers’ attention to the environment. |
| B．To prove a lot of research has been done. |
| C．To stress the worsening situation of seagrass. |
| D．To show how serious plastic pollution is getting. |
| A．Reducing the use of plastic products. |
| B．Recycling as much plastic as possible. |
| C．Burying the plastic debris in the earth. |
| D．Developing environmentally friendly materials. |
4 . Selah Thompson shares her love of reading and even creates her own stories.
Books have the power to transport you to another place and make you feel like you are part of the story. A love of reading should be developed at a young age so children can benefit a lot. That’s a gift 8-year-old Selah Thompson from Atlanta, Georgia, received from her parents and wants to pass on to other children.
When Selah was five, she came home from her first day at kindergarten and told her parents that a lot of her new friends at school didn’t know their ABCs, which really bothered Selah and she wanted to do something about it.
She then asked her parents to give away 20 hundred thousand books. Her parents began to do research and found that there is a huge amount of illiteracy (文盲) in America and that two-thirds of students who cannot read skillfully by the end of the fourth grade will end up in prison or on welfare.
After understanding the need for books and establishing a love for reading, Selah’s parents were on board. In 2018, they created the nonprofit Empowered Readers Literacy Project. This organization promotes families to create solid reading habits so children see books as something positive.
More than 2,400 kids and their parents participated in the reading activities in Atlanta in the first year. They also run an adventure time readers club and the 500 books project to get books into children’s hands.
Over the past two years, the literacy project has donated 8,000 books, including Selah’s own series. Although her goal of “20 hundred thousand books” is still quite far, Selah is on the right track. She is ambitious and a true role model for children and adults. Hopefully her love for books is contagious and children will be more willing to read when the main character actually looks like them.
1. How did Selah feel when knowing some kids were illiterate?| A．Surprised. | B．Relieved. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．Selah’s parents have the habit of researching literature. |
| B．Poor reading skills might cause one to fail in life. |
| C．Only a small number of parents teach kids at home. |
| D．Two-thirds of kids receive good school education. |
| A．Deeply moved. | B．Ready to take action. |
| C．In a group as a member. | D．Riding on or in a ship, train, airplane. |
| A．What they have done to help local schools. |
| B．How kids have formed the habit of reading. |
| C．How Selah has turned her dream into reality. |
| D．The influence Selah and her parents have brought. |
5 . 3 ways to make Halloween fun this year for kids at home
It’s time to get the house ready for Halloween. Even though things might be different this year, that doesn’t mean you can’t turn your house into the funhouse of horrors. Here are 3 great ways you can celebrate Halloween at home this year.
Don’t be mean on the outdoor decoration
Turn your backyard into a Halloween fun feast with festive decoration, like the inflatable Beetlejuice Sandworm, or the 12-foot Giant-Sized Skeleton with LifeEyes. These decorations will turn your backyard into the ghostly scene that your kids will enjoy.
Make DIY costumes
No need to spend a lot of money on costumes for your growing kids. You can turn regular clothes into funny pop culture references. The best part is that these Halloween outfits can also be part of your kids’ wardrobes(衣橱) after Halloween which means you will save money.
Carve a pumpkin together
There’s no better family activity on Halloween than pumpkin carving. We think the pumpkin carving tool set is the best you can buy, as it’s easy to use. Get a few pumpkins and have fun watching your kids create their own designs and play with fruity insides.
1. Where can you decorate the 12-foot Giant-Sized Skeleton with LifeEyes?| A．Bathroom. | B．Wardrobe. |
| C．Backyard. | D．Living room. |
| A．It will cost a lot to make children satisfied. |
| B．It must be suitable for your growing children. |
| C．It must be part of your kid’s wardrobe. |
| D．It can be transformed from regular clothes. |
| A．Decorating the outdoor space. | B．Carving a pumpkin together. |
| C．Having a photo shoot and playing dress-up. | D．Making DIY costumes. |
6 . Many black-footed ferrets (雪貂) once lived in the American West. They live mainly on prairie dogs (土拨鼠). But when farmers began killing off prairie dogs, lots of them died, too. Additionally, the environment in which they lived was destroyed. By the 1970s, most experts believed that black-footed ferrets no longer existed. Then, in 1981, a group of them were found in Wyoming, but they were suddenly hit by an unknown disease in the mid-1980s, and their population decreased to just 18. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) caught all of them and tried to protect them. All but seven died.
Currently, there’re between 400 and 500 ferrets remaining. But all of them are related to the seven animals rescued from Wyoming except Elizabeth Ann.
Normally, the DNA of the animals gets mixed up when different pairs of animals have babies. The small differences in their DNA can help protect the group as a whole. Because all living black-footed ferrets are closely related, they all have similar weaknesses. But Elizabeth Ann is cloned from an animal that died in the 1980s, so her DNA is very different. When this DNA is mixed back in, future black-footed ferrets will be healthier in general.
In the 1980s, the DNA from a ferret named Willa was stored in the “Frozen Zoo” run by San Diego Zoo Global. Hopefully, cloning would allow black-footed ferrets to return to the wild. The idea of cloning was understood, but it was hard to carry out for many animals. The matter was left hanging in the air. But in 1996, a scientist cloned a sheep, called “Dolly”. Since then, many other animals have also been cloned. The USFWS has been talking about cloning black-footed ferrets since 2013. In 2018, they finally gave a group called Revive & Restore permission to try it.
On December 10, 2020, Elizabeth Ann was born. Blood tests have proven her to be 100% black-footed ferret.
1. What was the main cause of black-footed ferrets’ almost dying out by the 1970s?| A．They were short of food. | B．They were killed by farmers. |
| C．They lost their living places. | D．They suffered from a bad disease. |
| A．The effective method. | B．The great significance. |
| C．The different types. | D．The potential risk. |
| A．Unexpected. | B．Unconcerned. |
| C．Unresolved. | D．Unexposed. |
| A．It is the start of the cloning age. | B．It’s an inspiration of Dolly. |
| C．It’s not accepted by the USFWS. | D．It is a long and hard process. |
7 . To help you plan your trip, here are my favorite hotels in Chicago.
Freehand Chicago
It’s housed in a historic building from 1927. Its design with tons of character of its own attracts tourists greatly. Freehand is worth the price if you feel like treating yourself. The common areas are laid back. Like other hotels mentioned here, it’s located in the center of the city.
●Female-only dorms for added privacy and security
●Bed for $45 USD a night, room for $173.
Wrigley Hotel
It’s for any traveler looking to enjoy the city’s nightlife. There’s an outdoor place with a BBQ, where you can grill burgers with friends, and the hotel organizes paid walking tours. Here it’s easy to learn about the local culture from friendly locals and it offers many latest books, too. The staff are awesome.
●Free breakfast
●Bed for $36 USD a night, room for $141.
HI Chicago
HI Hotels know exactly what the travelers whose money is tight want: affordable accommodations. HI Chicago is no exception. It organizes a free walking tour, the common areas are spacious, and there’s a fully equipped kitchen. It offers free breakfast.
●Social atmosphere makes it easy to meet local people
●Bed for $32 USD a night, room for $85.
Parthenon Hotel
It has a large common room with a huge TV and lots of books. The staff can help you organize tours, and there’s free breakfast. The dorms aren’t huge, and the beds aren’t anything special, but they’re clean and safe. It has all the makings of your classic backpacker hotel.
●Female-only dorms for added privacy and security
●Bed for $34 USD a night, room for $90.
1. What is special about Freehand Chicago?| A．It has the oldest history of the four. | B．It lies in the center of Chicago. |
| C．It only caters to female travelers. | D．It is uniquely designed. |
| A．A barbecue party. | B．A reading discussion. |
| C．A free walking tour. | D．A fellowship party with locals. |
| A．Parthenon Hotel. | B．Wrigley Hotel. | C．HI Chicago. | D．Freehand Chicago. |
8 . Hikers, soldiers and school children all know the burden of a heavy backpack. But now, researchers from three Chinese institutes have developed a prototype(雏形) that not only makes loads feel about 20% lighter, but also harvests energy from human movements to power small electronics.
The new backpack, reported in ACS Nano, could be especially useful for athletes, explorers and disaster rescuers who work in remote areas without electricity, the researchers say.
Backpacks are widely used in everyday life for the hands-free carrying of loads. Over time, however, walking or running with a heavy bag can cause back and neck pain. Also, backpackers in wilderness areas or even those in cities who don’t have ready access to a charger might wish for a bag that could harvest the mechanical energy of walking to power portable electronics or health-monitoring sensors.
Previously, researchers have used triboelectric nanogenerators(TENG) –– small devices that convert mechanical energy into electricity –– to make energy-harvesting backpacks, but those bags had relatively low power outputs and they didn’t provide added benefits, such as load lightening or shock absorption. Zhong Lin Wang, Jia Cheng and their colleagues wanted to design a prototype that overcame these limitations.
To save labor and absorb shock, the researchers installed two elastomers(弹性体) into the backpack that stretched and shrank, keeping the bag steady as the wearer walked. This resulted in about a 20% reduced force on the wearer. Meanwhile, the movement between the frame of the backpack and its load during walking drove a TENG to convert mechanical energy into electricity, with 14% efficiency.
“The researchers showed that the bag could power LEDs, an electric watch and fluorescent tubes. Once some challenges, such as improving the energy conversion efficiency, are overcome, the backpack has promising potential as a power source for small-scale wearable and portable electronics, GPSs and health care sensors,” the researchers say.
1. Who will be the most probable users of the new backpack?| A．Doctors in the hospital. | B．Workers in the factory. |
| C．Researchers in the science lab. | D．People traveling to unknown places. |
| A．Provide some background information. |
| B．Make comments about the new invention. |
| C．List the disadvantages of the new backpack. |
| D．Compare TENG and the new backpack. |
| A．TENG. | B．Two elastomers. |
| C．Fluorescent tubes. | D．Health care sensors. |
| A．The new backpack could hit the market soon. |
| B．The new backpack needs further improvement. |
| C．Consumers are in need of chargeable backpacks. |
| D．The researchers have difficulty meeting challenges. |
9 . Many black-footed ferrets(雪貂) once lived in the American West. They live mainly on the prairie dogs(土拨鼠). But when farmers began killing off prairie dogs, lots of them died, too. Additionally, the environment in which they lived was destroyed. By the 1970s, most experts believed that black-footed ferrets no longer existed. Then, in 1981, a group of them were found in Wyoming, but they were suddenly hit by an unknown disease in the mid-1980s, and their population decreased to just 18. The US Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS) caught all of them and tried to protect them. All but seven died.
Currently, there’re between 400 and 500 ferrets remaining. But all of them are related to the seven animals rescued from Wyoming except Elizabeth Ann.
Normally, the DNA of the animals gets mixed up when different pairs of animals have babies. The small differences in their DNA can help protect the group as a whole. Because all living black-footed ferrets are closely related, they all have similar weaknesses. But Elizabeth Ann is cloned from an animal that died in the 1980s, so her DNA is very different. When this DNA is mixed back in, future black-footed ferrets will be healthier in general.
In the 1980s, the DNA from a ferret named Willa was stored in the “Frozen Zoo” run by San Diego Zoo Global. Hopefully, cloning would allow black-footed ferrets to return to the wild. The idea of cloning was understood, but it was hard to carry out for many animals. The matter was left hanging in the air. But in 1996, a scientist cloned a sheep, called “Dolly”. Since then, many other animals have also been cloned. The USFWS has been talking about cloning black-footed ferrets since 2013. In 2018, they finally gave a group called Revive & Restore permission to try it.
On December 10, 2020, Elizabeth Ann was born. Blood tests have proven her to be 100% black-footed ferret.
1. What was the main cause of black-footed ferrets’ almost dying out by the 1970s?| A．They were short of food. | B．They were killed by farmers. |
| C．They lost their living places. | D．They suffered from a bad disease. |
| A．The effective method. | B．The great significance. |
| C．The different types. | D．The potential risk. |
| A．Unexpected. | B．Unconcerned. |
| C．Unresolved. | D．Unexposed. |
| A．A new cloning age is coming. |
| B．An endangered species survived by cloning. |
| C．The research of ferrets’ DNA was conducted. |
| D．The truth of the extinction of the ferrets was revealed. |
10 . Today, Mars is a frozen desert with a thin atmosphere, too cold for liquid water to remain on the surface. Overwhelming evidence exists that Mars had liquid water oceans roughly 4 billion years ago. The question that drives our interests isn’t whether there’s life on present-day Mars. We are driven instead by asking whether there was life on Mars billions of years ago, which seems significantly more likely.
But if water existed on the Marian surface before, how was it possible? Mars is further away from the sun than Earth, and billions of years ago, the sun didn’t throw off as much heat as it does now.
The planet’s protective magnetic field mysteriously disappeared around 4.2 billion years ago as Mars cooled after forming. The sun’s solar wind then blew away the Martian atmosphere. leaving behind the thin one the planet has today.
Scientists believe the atmosphere was a key component for a warm, wet Mars that may have once hosted life. To have made the planet warm enough for liquid surface water, its atmosphere would likely have needed a large amount of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide specifically.
Currently, we don’t know the carbon dioxide content of Mars ancient atmosphere. So the researchers turned to the Nordlinger Ries crater（陨石坑）in southern Germany. It was created by a meteorite（陨石）impact 15 million years ago. That geology and the chemistry of the site act as a good similar for the Martian surface.
Researchers will study the pH and nitrogen that might have been in ancient Martian water, which will show the carbon dioxide content in its ancient atmosphere. That will throw light on whether Mars was once warm enough to support life.
The Mars 2020 rover（探测器）will land in a similar crater next year, collecting samples that will be returned to Earth in a future mission. It could be 10 to 20 years before Mars samples are brought back to Earth. We might know the answer to one of the first questions once these samples are distributed to labs in the US and throughout the world.
1. What are people more interested in about Mars?| A．Whether there was ever life on Mars. | B．Whether there is life on Mars now. |
| C．Whether there was ever water on Mars. | D．Whether it is possible for life on Mars. |
| A．was too cold | B．had no water on it |
| C．lost its magnetic field | D．was too far from the sun |
| A．How this crater was formed. |
| B．Why Mars is not suitable for life. |
| C．Whether there is any life sign on Mars. |
| D．How much carbon dioxide is in Mars’ ancient atmosphere. |
| A．Mars samples will be brought back to earth in 2021. |
| B．Many countries take part in the research of Mars. |
| C．It takes at least ten years for people to reach Mars. |
| D．Mars samples will help discover all the secrets of Mars. |
