1 . Every woman dreams of receiving a huge, sparkling and priceless diamond. Now scientists have discovered the largest diamond in the universe.
But it’s well beyond the reach of the most lovestruck men — 50 light years to be precise. Space scientists revealed that they had discovered a ten billion trillion trillion carat gem. Measuring 2,500 miles across and weighing five million trillion trillion pounds, the rock was found on Valentine's Day buried in the core of a white dwarf star in the constellation Centaurus.
“It’s the mother of all diamonds,” said Travis Metcalfe, who led the team of researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in America.
“You would need a jeweller’s loupe the size of the Sun to grade this diamond.” Named Lucy, after the Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the rock has sent a ripple of excitement through the scientific world.
The largest diamond found on earth was the 3,106-carat Cullinan. It was cut into nine major stones, including the 530-carat Star of Africa, now a part of the Crown Jewels. Diamonds were first discovered in India more than 2,800 years ago. The Ancient Romans believed that the stones were splinters of stars that had tumbled to earth.
In Ancient Egypt, diamonds were symbols of eternity and were used in funeral rites. In the Middle Ages, men wore them to symbolize their courage and virility. The tradition of giving them as love tokens dates from 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy.
1. The largest diamond in the universe________.| A．was found 50 years ago. | B．was in the centre of a white dwarf star. |
| C．was too large to measure. | D．could be graded by a common jeweller's loupe. |
| A．Diamonds have symbolized love since 1477. |
| B．The largest diamond on earth was found 2,800 years ago. |
| C．The Crown Jewels was totally made of the 530-carat Star of Africa. |
| D．At present, men wear diamonds to symbolize their courage and virility. |
| A．Diamond — a must on important occasions | B．Love — the symbolism of diamonds |
| C．Discovery — the largest diamond in the world | D．Diamond — the dream of women |
| A．a tour guide. | B．a poster. | C．an official document. | D．a magazine. |
2 . Ever wonder how your brain works when making decisions bigger than medium versus spicy salsa, like buying a car or accepting a job offer? Researchers from the University of Dundee in Scotland conducted a study that clarifies why you may want to have a small bite before making that big decision.
Benjamin Vincent from the University of Dundee’s Psychology department and his co-author Jordan Skyrnka tested 50 people two times: once when they followed their normal eating patterns and once when they did not eat anything during the day. Using three different types of rewards (food, money, and song downloads), the team discovered when presented with the choice of receiving the reward now versus double the award at some point in the future, participants would usually volunteer to wait for 35 days to earn a larger bounty, but when they were hungry, they said they would only wait three days.
“We wanted to know whether being in a state of hunger had a specific effect on how you make decisions only relating to food or if it had broader effects, and this research suggests decision-making gets more present-focused when people are hungry,” Vincent said in a story about the study on the university’s website. “You would predict that hunger would impact people’s preferences relating to food, but it is not yet clear why people get more present-focused for completely unrelated rewards. Hunger is so common that it is important to understand the non-obvious ways in which our preferences and decisions may be affected by it,” he said.
In an earlier study of the subject by a team at Cambridge University in England, the researchers noted that serotonin plays a major role in the decision-making process. “Since the raw material for making serotonin—an amino acid called tryptophan — only comes from diet, levels of the chemical decline between meals,” reports a piece in the Telegraph about the study. “This can lead to aggressiveness and impulsiveness,” say the team.
1. How did Benjamin Vincent and Jordan Skyrnka carry out their research?| A．By analyzing reasons. | B．By making comparison. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By filling questionnaires. |
| A．bonus. | B．quantity. | C．income. | D．fortune. |
| A．It’s common to make a wrong decision if you are hungry. |
| B．Make sure you are not hungry before making a big decision. |
| C．The more hungry you are, the quicker you will make a decision. |
| D．Being hungry drives you to make a decision connected with food. |
| A．What should be eaten to make a wise man. |
| B．How can we get enough serotonin from our diet. |
| C．What other factors will influence one’s decision-making. |
| D．How does a chemical function in the course of making a decision. |
3 . In this most unusual year, the gift of giving will feel especially good. These tips can help make the season merry and bright for everyone.
What’s Different This Year
Hot Ticket Items May Be Extra Hot: Some companies have scaled back their holiday ordering this year to trim inventory, so popular products might sell out fast — in stores and online. So if you see a good price for an item on your list, be sure to grab it. And plan to ship gifts at least two weeks before Christmas Eve.
Online Sales Will Start Early
This year, it maybe more like Cyber Season, with online promotions and sales starting right after Halloween. With concerns about crowds, retailers will likely save a lot of their inventory for online sales. To avoid parking lot chaos, try to pick up your purchases first thing in the morning or later in the evening, when wait times should be shorter.
Outlets Are Online Too
If one of your holiday shopping traditions is a trip to the outlets, you can still experience the thrill of the bargain hunt—from home. Shoppremiumoutlets.com is the virtual version of the country’s largest outlet company. In someways, it’s even better than an in-person trip because you can shop by item or category and immediately see what different retailers have in stock, rather than going store to store .
When to Shop
Not on Thanksgiving: Many stores that opened their doors on the holiday last year have announced that they will be closed this year. One upside for shoppers is rock-bottom prices as some stores liquidate (清仓). The downsides: They might not be around if you need to return something or use a gift card. In other words: Bankruptcy buyers beware.
1. Which is the best time to send gifts?| A．October 30. | B．December 9. | C．December 15. | D．December 24. |
| A．Shoppers can only buy items online. |
| B．Shopping on Thanksgiving is the best choice. |
| C．Popular products might sell out fast only in stores. |
| D．Shoppers may see a good price for an item right after Halloween. |
| A．People who are money-less. | B．People who like shopping at home. |
| C．People who are retailers. | D．People who are fond of bargains. |
4 . Some people must carefully pay attention to everything they put in their mouths in order to control their weight. By contrast, others can eat French fries to their hearts' content and achieve the same result. How do some people manage never to gain weight?
"Perception, one of the most important factors, has nothing to do with the body type because our personal feeling is always wrong. We often feel that some people who eat more don't put on weight. Actually? those who appear to eat whatever they like without gaining weight aren't eating more than the rest of us," said professor Kathleen Melanson. "For example, your friend who eats ice cream on a daily basis might eat less at another meal- or snack less throughout the rest of the day.”
“Physical activity can also make a difference, but it doesn't have to be a gym workout. There's little evidence to suggest that—without exercise-some people were born to burn significantly more calories than others," said Dr Ines Barroso, a researcher at the University of Cambridge. But there may be physical differences that allow some people to naturally control the number of calories they consume without exercising much self-regulation.
A lot of nervous system signals and hormones （激素）that circulate in our blood interact to tell us when we're hungry or full. This is called the appetite regulatory system, and it may be more sensitive in some people than others, Melanson said. One important hormone involved in this system is leptin （瘦素）.It helps regulate how much food we want to eat over longer periods of time, not just for our next meal. So a person with a more sensitive system might go back for seconds and thirds at a party, then feel full for the next few days and eat less.
Genetics can also play a role in a person's tendency to gain or lose weight. Researchers have identified over 250 different regions of DNA that are associated with obesity, according to a 2019 study published in PLOS Genetics.
1. What does the underlined word “Perception" in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Connection. | B．Sense. | C．Defense. | D．Reduction. |
| A．It makes people usually feel hungry. |
| B．It helps people have a better appetite. |
| C．It helps people regulate their food intake. |
| D．It makes people more sensitive to the flavour of food. |
| A．Weight problems can be avoided. |
| B．Losing weight is equally difficult for everyone. |
| C．Some people may be born to have weight problems. |
| D．Genes can be completely changed to avoid weight problems. |
| A．To share some ideas about how to lose weight. |
| B．To explain why some people never gain weight. |
| C．To advise people to control their daily diet strictly. |
| D．To call for people to pay attention to healthy eating. |
5 . What is the secret of happiness? A new study finds that happiness comes from exercise. People who exercise actively bring themselves happiness equal to earning an extra $ 25,000 a year.
Instead of recording extra hours at work in hopes of getting a raise, maybe you should hit the gym instead, as it could make you just as happy as that extra money. An interesting new study, published in the Lancet, found that people who are physically active have a greater sense of well—being than those who are inactive-and that active individuals feel as good as inactive people who earn $ 25,000 more per year.
Researchers from Oxford and Yale Universities used data gathered from more than 1.2milion Americans. They were asked, “How many times have you felt mentally unwell in the past30 days. for example, due to stress, depression, or emotional problems?” Participants were also asked about their exercise habits and were able to choose from 75 diverse physical activities, including doing housework and childcare, running, weightlifting, and cycling. The researchers found that people who exercise regularly feel bad for an average of 35 days per year, while inactive people feel bad for an additional 18 days.
All exercise types were associated with a lower mental health burden. Social physical activities （that is to say, team sports such as football, basketball, etc） had an even more positive effect, which can best help people relax mind.
It is possible for some to get too much exercise. From Business Insider's report on the study. “The mental health of those participants who exercised for longer than three hours a day suffered more than that of those who weren't particularly physically active.” The ideal amount seems to be three to five training sessions per week. lasting 30 to 60 minutes each.
But the conclusion should be that any amount helps, so don't stress about hitting that perfect balance: “All exercise types were associated with a lower mental health burden than not exercising.”
1. The question asked in Paragraph one is meant to ______.| A．introduce the researchers | B．tell the secret |
| C．draw a conclusion | D．lead to the topic |
| A．Running | B．Walking alone. | C．Playing football | D．Keeping fit in the gym. |
| A．people who exercise actively may feel bad for about 35 days per year. |
| B．The more exercise you take, the higher mental health burden you will get. |
| C．overdoing exercising will do harm to people's mental health. |
| D．doing exercise is better than not doing it. |
| A．Exercise can bring as much pleasure as an income rise. |
| B．The secret of happiness has nothing to do with wealth. |
| C．Choosing the right form of exercise is of vital importance. |
| D．The key to keep young is to exercise regularly. |
6 . Global fast-food giant McDonald's announced it would be phasing out (逐步淘汰) plastic straws in China. From June 30, nearly 1,000 stores in Beijing. Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen began to phase out plastic straws for both dine-in and take-out, expanding to all stores in China by the end of 2020. Diners would drink cold beverages directly through the new cup cover. The move is expected to reduce plastic waste by about 400 tons a year.
Zhang Jiayin, CEO of McDonald’s China, expressed that McDonald's is devoted to building a “beautiful China”. “We believe that taking advantage of McDonald's influence worldwide. reducing straws can be a huge step for sustainable development. In the past decade or so, we have continued to carry out the green packaging action.” Zhang said, “This movement is playing a positive role in the protection of the ecological environment.”
The move is in keeping with China’s national plan to phase out single-use plastics which came into effect in January of this year, in an effort to combat its growing trash problem.
Among other things, the government carries out a nationwide ban on plastic straws and disposable cutlery (一次性餐具) by the end of 2020, as well as a ban on plastic bags in major cities by the end of 2020, and nationwide by 2022.
Plastic has increasingly played a role in global solid waste, and has choked oceans and rivers as well as landfills. Both companies and volunteers in the past few years have taken it upon themselves to respond to this plastic problem in their own ways.
1. What happened to McDonald’s in 2020?| A．It started to gradually get rid of using plastic straws in China. |
| B．It banned using plastic package in all stores. |
| C．It became the first company to ban plastic straws in China. |
| D．It successfully dealt with China’s trash problem. |
| A．Protect. | B．Separate. | C．Arouse. | D．Fight. |
| A．It is a kind of poisonous material. | B．It has been solved completely so far. |
| C．It results in a growing waste problem | D．It should be banned in all fields. |
| A．McDonald’s green packaging action | B．Plastic a controversial material in daily use |
| C．How to control environmental pollution? | D．Devotion to building a beautiful China |
7 . Kleon Papadimitriou, a Greek student, had been stuck in Scotland, where he studies, with no way to return to Athens while flights were shut down. So he decided to take a bike.
He began researching what it would take to make the trip on two wheels. He once competed in a race in 2019 and was briefly trained for several weeks — but that was about all the biking experience he carried with him.
Initially, he thought the idea was more of a “dream”— an absolutely hard long journey. But soon he began purchasing the equipment he'd need. He purchased a bike, and told the news to his parents and friends.
Papadimiriou travelled anywhere between 35 and 75 miles per day, crossing initially through England and then onto the Netherlands. He biked along the Rhine in Germany for several days, passed through Austria and cycled down along the eastern coast of Italy before he took a boat to the Greek port of Patras.
Throughout his trip, he set up camp in fields and forests. He spent the last few moments of each day writing down his progress, tracking the next day's path and checking in with family and friends.
“It's just now dawning on me how big of an achievement this was.” Papadimitriou says of his 48-day journey. “And I did learn a lot of things about myself, about my limits, my strengths and my weaknesses. I really hope that the trip can inspire at least one more person to go out of their comfort zone and try something new, something big.”
1. What can we infer about Kleon Papadimitriou?| A．He was forced to leave for Scotland on bike. | B．He had a few biking experience before. |
| C．He was a famous cyclist in his hometown. | D．He cycled to the Greek port of Patras. |
| A．Because it seemed challenging to complete the journey. |
| B．Because he had no riding experience at all before. |
| C．Because his parents and friends didn't support his plan. |
| D．Because purchasing the equipment would cost too much. |
| A．2. | B．4. | C．6. | D．8. |
| A．Kleon Papadimitriou hardly communicated with his friends during the trip. |
| B．It took Kleon Papadimitriou 48 days to return to Greece. |
| C．Kleon Papadimitriou learned a lot of things about nature from the trip. |
| D．Many people have been inspired by Kleon Papadimiriou's story. |
8 . Many people wake up in the morning and watch their mobile phones first and then they watch their mobile phones last before they go to bed. Our mobile phones are never far away from us. Data show that we watch them every 12 minutes on average. Since we are bound to be inseparable from mobile phones, we should obey the relative “cell phone manners”. The following five things are best avoided.
● Talk on the phone at mealtimes
An absolute no-no for most (81%) of us. Yet half of us have been with others who've done it. And more than a quarter of young adults admit to it.
Even looking at the screen at the dinner table is not acceptable — for some. More than four in five people aged 55and over think it's unacceptable to check messages, compared with around half (46%) of 18 to 34-year-olds.
● Listen to loud music on public transport
Three-quarters (76%) of us object to watching videos and playing video games loudly on public transport, as well as listening to music, but it doesn't stop us doing it.
● Be on the phone when you should be listening
You’re at the cashiers but on the phone mid-conversation. Do you hang up, say a polite “hello” and pack away your bread and goods — or chat on regardless?
It's a source of frustration for many a shop worker, receptionist and waiter. One hotels checkout worker was so annoyed when a customer refused to end her call that she refused to serve her.
● Walk while looking at your phone
They are always getting their head down, eyes fixed on the screen — and they're right in your path. Twitter user @tiredhorizon has a public warning for them. Put away your phones in public buildings, hospitals and near reversing lorries.
● Play with devices while watching TV with others
Four 10 (41%) adults think is unacceptable to use a phone while seated with he family on the sofa in front of TV.
For the older generation (those over 55) it's more of an issue — 62% object to it — than for younger adults — only one in five are against it.
1. Which one of the following is unacceptable according to the text?| A．Play with cellphones while watching TV alone. | B．Talk on the phone at mealtimes. |
| C．Listen to loud music at home. | D．Talk with others while working |
| A．It's unacceptable for some to stare at the phone screen at the dinner table. |
| B．Watching videos and playing games loudly on the subway will annoy many people around. |
| C．Strict bans on playing phones while walking on the road have been made. |
| D．The old are more against playing a phone in a family get-together than the young. |
| A．Art & Movie. | B．Travel. | C．Business. | D．Health & Life. |
9 . Migrating terns(燕鸥)may change their flight plans based on a keen sense of coming typhoons, escaping the impact of the storms but still benefiting from feeding opportunities in their wakes.
Researchers examined data recorded by tracking devices on six terns from Okinawa, Japan, to learn more about the birds’ migrations over multiple years. The terns flew across part of the Philippine Sea’s “typhoon highway” to get to the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi and varied their leaving times—often apparently waiting to depart until a large typhoon was about to cross their projected path.
“They seem to be able to predict it,” says Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan and lead author of the new study, which was published in June in Marine Biology. The study offers few clues about how terns might do this, but other research suggests some migrating birds detect infrasonic(次声的)weather signals or observe changing clouds.
The terns Thiebot studied typically avoided the typhoons themselves. But these storms can churn（剧烈搅动）food to the ocean surface, so the immediate results may help the hungry travelers. They might actually use the typhoon to know when to leave for their migrations each year, Thiebot says. In the unusually quiet 2017 season, with no sign of a strong typhoon, the birds started their journeys later and flew without pit stops. Thiebot would like to see this pattern confirmed in a larger study. He also worries that increasing typhoon frequency could affect birds’ prediction accuracy, possibly getting them caught in dangerous weather.
Robert Gill, a retired research wildlife biologist, says that although the study’s sample size is small, it adds to scientists’ overall understanding of migration. “They are able to predict better than the best weather forecasters we have,” Gill says, “but they’ve also had tens of thousands, if not millions, of years to hone that skill.”
1. What did the terns do after getting to the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi?| A．They varied their projected path. |
| B．They stayed there for the exact time to leave. |
| C．They stayed awake to find feeding chances. |
| D．They churned food to the ocean surface. |
| A．They might not detect strong typhoon signals. | B．They didn’t find enough food. |
| C．They were caught in dangerous weather. | D．They wanted to fly without stops. |
| A．teach | B．develop | C．ignore | D．share |
| A．The impact of typhoons | B．A new approach to forecasting weather |
| C．The process of terns’ migrations | D．Terns’ ability to predict typhoon |
10 . The last few months have seen record numbers of us working from home, which begs the question: are offices still needed?
The likelihood is that you or a family member may have spent at least some time working from home since lockdown began. According to Finder.com, a huge percent of us were working from home, which has led commentators to dub the last few months a mass-work-from-home experiment.
Many people soon noticed positives such as increased productivity as a result of no office distractions, and more free time because there’s no need for commuting(上下班往返). For some, parents in particular, the ability to work from home with flexible hours has been a huge positive. Home working also cuts pollution levels due to fewer of us embarking on the daily commute and would save companies the costs of renting office space.
Some argue the shift to remote working is long overdue, with broadband technology now widely available and an ever-increasing number of people balancing working with childcare.
“Hopefully it will show employers who were resistant that it is possible to work effectively from home,” says Mandy Garner, managing editor of Workingmums.co.uk. Mandy adds that flexible working was regarded mainly as a bit of a favour done to mums. There was little research about it. Now we have countless studies showing the benefits.
A key concern, however, is loneliness, with Finder.com reporting 19 percent of remote workers were experiencing this. Even with video calls, it is difficult to recreate the buzzing dynamic of an office. Many people also have a daily battle with poor Wi-Fi. And there’s the challenge of switching off once the working day is over—an office creates a physical and mental line between work and home, which can be easily blurred(变得模糊) when working from home.
The future of offices is uncertain but with the benefits—to employees and employers—of remote working, it may be that a real shift has taken place and we won’t be going back to work in the same way again.
1. What do we know about working from home?| A．It was resisted by employees. | B．It can result in more distractions. |
| C．It brings about broadband technology. | D．It may lead to higher efficiency. |
| A．It will keep employees free from loneliness. |
| B．It can build a line between work and home. |
| C．It can balance working with childcare. |
| D．It may have the challenge of switching off. |
| A．Indifferent | B．Sympathetic | C．Disapproving | D．Positive |
| A．The benefits of remote working | B．A mass-work-from-home experiment |
| C．The End of the Office? | D．A real shift in employment? |
