1 . Daphne Soares, a biologist, makes an amazing discovery about alligators. The first time she got really close to an alligator (短吻鳄) was when she was helping to bold down an eight-foot American alligator. It was then that she noticed is face was covered with little black spots. This led to the discovery of the little black dots.
She started her study of the black dots. When she read the books and scientific journals, she learned that people had noticed the dots, but no one really knew what the dots were for.
To find out the secret she placed electrodes (电极) on nerves coming from some of the dots. When the nerves fired, they sent a message to the brain and created a tiny electric current. Just then she heard a small sound over a loudspeaker. She tired to see if the dots acted like eyes and temperature sensors, but nothing worked.
One day she was careless with dropping a tool into an alligator’s tank. When she put her hand in the tank to get the tool out, she made small waves in the water. When they reached the alligator’s face, she heard a noise over the speaker. She then realized that the dots must be sensitive to the changes in pressure when hit by waves of water.
After that, she is now studying blind cavefish. She is trying to learn whether they are blind from birth or lose their sight as they grow up. She is also doing more research on crocodilians (鳄目). She wants to find out how the genes of alligators with pressure sensors only on their faces differ from the genes of crocodilians that have pressure sensors all over their body.
1. Why did Daphne Soares first get close to the alligator?| A．To observe its black dots. | B．To find the secret of its dots. |
| C．To help others to hold it up. | D．To prevent it from moving. |
| A．A little noise was sent out. | B．An electric current created a message. |
| C．The nerves were on fire suddenly. | D．The nerves sensed temperature changes. |
| A．By experiment. | B．By reference. |
| C．By accident. | D．By comparison. |
| A．Cavefish lose sight as they grow up. |
| B．Daphne Soares devotes her energy to research work. |
| C．Alligator’s genes are the same as crocodilian’s. |
| D．Daphne Soares discovered a new species of alligator. |
2 . What it's like to live on Italy's Covid-free islands
There are very few places across the globe that have managed to escape the Covid-19 pandemic; even Antarctica has reported cases. But a lucky few remote locations in Italy remain coronavirus-free currently. So what it's like to live on Italy's most isolated (孤立的) and beautiful islands? Here several islanders share how the situation has impacted their lives.
Linosa
Positioned halfway between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean, this tiny atoll has no confirmed cases.
Fabio Tuccio, one of the 200 residents living here, says things have remained pretty much the same since the pandemic outbreak.
"A lockdown situation is regular here now," Tuccio says. "There's not much to do. Everything is shut except for a supermarket, a pharmacy, and a post office."
Although the island has been safe from Covid so far, all visitors are required to take a Covid test at the ferry port before they set foot here, for residents remain fearful that the virus may find its way to this safe shelter.
Filicudi
Filicudi island, one of the wildest and farthest out among the Aeolian islands, has also done well at keeping Covid at bay.
Ferries often find it difficult to dock here due to the rough sea conditions. While this was a frustration for locals in the past, the missing connection is now mostly viewed as a good thing. Islanders feel lucky to live in such seclusion, far from the chaos brought about by coronavirus. "It's an ugly moment for humanity but I am happy and privileged to live here, it's like being in another world. Social distancing is guaranteed." says Peppino Taranto, a resident of Filicudi.
Alicudi
Alicudi, Filicudi's sister isle, is the most secluded of the Aeolian isles. Here Covid is perceived as a very distant threat.
Aldo Di Nora, who moved to Alicudi years ago from northern Italy, is aware of how fortunate he is to live in such a secluded and protected place.
"Social distancing is not an issue. The only moment when little crowds can form is when people meet at Alicudi's harbor to jump on the ferry boats," Di Nora says.
"Following the tragic news happening in Italy and across the world, I am grateful to live in such a wonderful place, surrounded by peace and zero risk of contagion."
1. What do the three islands have in common?| A．Islanders are all happy and satisfied. | B．They are all wild and isolated islands. |
| C．No confirmed cases have been reported. | D．Visitors to these islands have to do strict tests. |
| A．There is no safety during the uncertain times. |
| B．They fear that outsiders may spread virus there. |
| C．Italy has one of the highest death rates in Europe. |
| D．Coronavirus-related diseases have reached many of them. |
| A．These islands are filled with amazing sights. |
| B．Linosa has reasonably warm temperatures all year. |
| C．People are adopting correct anti-covid rules in Alicudi. |
| D．Rough sea situations in Filicudi often discourages ferries to dock there. |
3 . While travelling the world and doing research for my new book, I realised something rather extraordinary. Nearly everyone understands the importance of brain health, but most people seem to believe this mysterious organ is a black box, untouchable and incapable of being improved.
However, the brain can be continuously enriched throughout life, no matter your age or access to resources. Our everyday experiences, including how much we exercise or with whom we socialize, factor into our brain health far more than we can imagine.
Prevention is the most powerful treatment of illness, and this is especially true of degenerative illnesses such as those in the brain . Few of us think about dementia (痴呆) at our best . The risk of dementia rises faster after the age of 65. However, knowing that damage could be starting in your brain offers you a remarkable opportunity to take action.
When I was able to travel the world, I was struck by the fact that the liveliest and most joyful, who seemed to be having a great time despite their advanced age, were always the ones who maintained high-quality friendships and an expansive social network.
It is difficult to say precisely why maintaining social connections plays powerful role in keeping the brain young. One reason could be that it provides a buffer (缓冲) against the harmful physical effects of stress.
Research by Memory and Aging Project has shown similarly that people with large social networks are well protected against the cognitive (认知的) declines related to dementia than those with a smaller group of friends.
1. How did the author find his discovery during the trip?| A．Reasonable. | B．Unexpected. | C．Common. | D．Interesting. |
| A．He loves travelling. | B．He’s a novelist. |
| C．He’s very ambitious. | D．He is a psychologist |
| A．The brain stops improvement when one is over 65. |
| B．No preventative measures can be taken about dementia. |
| C．The wider social circle is, the younger your brain will be. |
| D．Social connection plays an important role in preventing dementia. |
| A．Support the opinion of the author. | B．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C．Add some background information. | D．Introduce a new topic for discussion. |
4 . I loved watching comedians on television as a kid. I’d hear a joke and ask myself: why it got a laugh? What made it work? Could I ever make it as a comedian? But first I had to finish school and earn a living.
After graduation, I worked as an accountant, managing the petty cash in the drawer. It was in this area that I developed my own very odd theory of accounting: If you got a couple of dollars , everything was okay(The theory never really caught on). Every day I’d have to check what was in the drawer with the receipts. It never balanced. At first I’d be tearing my hair out until I found the balance. Finally, one day I pulled the amount I was short of from my pocket and called it a day. Mr. Hutchinson, head of accounting, discovered my shortcut to balancing petty cash. he lectured me: “These are not sound accounting principles.” I said: “I’m not cut out for accounting. Why would you pay me $6 an hour to spend four hours finding $1.40?”
Meanwhile, I often called my friend Ed Gallagher to kill boring afternoons, imitating things from my everyday world and identifying myself as plant manager of a yeast factory. “Sir”, it is Mr. Tomkins. We have a problem at your yeast factory. There’s a fire. I’d like you to hold on. Are you still there?”
Ed Gallagher heard the routines and offered to provide the money to record them and send them to radio stations. Three wrote back asking how much we wanted .Soon I was on the air.
Being a comedian is out of place with my intention, though. I left the world of accounting and took a series of part-time jobs to get me through, hoping for a big chance.
1. Why did he love watching comedians on television?| A．He just wanted to be a comedian as they were. | B．He wanted to make a living as a comedian. |
| C．He was curious about their way of humour. | D．He was good at thinking and raising questions. |
| A．He stole the receipts to balance the account. | B．He got enough dollars to keep everything okay. |
| C．He contributed his own money to the drawer. | D．He adopted a sensible and simple principle. |
| A．The head of accounting paid too much for his work. |
| B．The author loved being funny and was imaginative. |
| C．The author would patiently find the balance at the beginning. |
| D．The author’s record of the routines was a complete failure. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Critical. | C．Ridiculous. | D．Serious. |
5 . Chemical engineers at UNSW Sydney have found a way to make "green" ammonia (氨) from air, water and renewable electricity. In a paper published in Energy and Environmental Science, the authors say that ammonia synthesis (合成法) was one of the critical achievements of the 20th century. When used in fusiliers that significantly increase the output of food crops, it enabled agriculture to sustain an ever-expanding global population.
But since the beginning of the 1900s when it was first employed, production of ammonia has been energy intensive- requiring temperatures higher than 400℃ and pressures greater than 200 atm-and all powered by fossil fuels. Dr. Emma Lovell, a co author on the paper from UNSW, says the traditional way to make ammonia- known as the Haber- Bosch process- is only cost-effective when it is produced on a massive scale due to the huge amounts of energy and expensive materials required and it produces more CO2 than any other chemical-making reaction.
“In addition to the big carbon footprint left by the Haber Bosch process, having to produce millions of tons of ammonia in centralised locations means even more energy is required to transport it around the world, not to mention the risks that go with storing large amounts of it in the one place,” says Dr. Lovell. “And we saw tragically in Beirut recently how potentially dangerous storing ammonium nitrate (硝酸盐) can be. ”
Dr. Lovell and her colleagues therefore looked at how to produce it cheaply, on a smaller scale and using renewable energy. Their new production method does not rely on fossil fuel resources, nor give of CO2.
“And once it becomes available commercially, the technology could be used to produce ammonia directly on site and on demand- farmers could even do this on location using our technology to make fertilisers- which means we negate the need for storage and transport There's a huge benefit to society as well as the health of the planet,”Dr. Lovell says.
1. What do we know about the Haver-Bosch process?| A．It does harm to the earth. |
| B．It requires green materials. |
| C．It uses less energy and is cheap. |
| D．It transforms fossil fuels into ammonia. |
| A．To remind people to protect the environment. |
| B．To give an example of the risk in ammonia storage. |
| C．To convince farmers to transport ammonia elsewhere. |
| D．To stress the choice of a proper centralised location. |
| A．Inspect. | B．Avoid. | C．Suit. | D．Accept. |
| A．To solve a problem. | B．To explain a process. |
| C．To advocate a theory. | D．To introduce a method. |
6 . Range anxiety(里程焦虑), the fear of running out of power before being able to recharge an electric vehicle, may be a thing of the past, according to a team of Penn State engineers who are looking at lithium iron phosphate batteries(磷酸铁锂电池) that have a range of 250 miles with the ability to charge in 10 minutes.
“We developed a pretty clever battery for mass-market electric vehicles,” said Chao-Yang Wang, a professor and director of the Electrochemical Engine Center at Penn State. “There is no more range anxiety and this battery is affordable”. The researchers also say that the battery should be good for 2 million miles in its lifetime.
They report today in Nature Energy that the key to long-life and rapid recharging is the battery’s ability to quickly heat up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, for charge and discharge, and then cool down when the battery is not working.
The battery uses a self-heating approach previously developed in Wang’s center. The self-heating battery uses a thin nickel foil(镍箔) with one end attached to the negative terminal and the other extending outside the cell to create a third terminal. Once electrons flow it rapidly heats up the nickel foil through resistance heating and warm the inside of the battery. Once the battery’s internal temperature is 140 degrees F, the switch opens and the battery is ready for rapid charge or discharge.
“This battery has slenderized weight, volume and cost,” said Wang. “I am very happy that we finally found a battery that will benefit the mainstream consumer mass market.” According to Wang, these smaller batteries can produce a large amount of power upon heating—40 kilowatt hours and 300 kilowatts of power. An electric vehicle with this battery could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds and would drive like a Porsche, he said. “This is how we are going to change the environment and not contribute to just the luxury cars,” said Wang. “Let everyone afford electric vehicles.”
1. Which can best describe the battery in the text?| A．Cheap and heavy. | B．Costly but beneficial. |
| C．Expensive but small-sized. | D．Affordable and efficient. |
| A．It is environmentally friendly. | B．It heats up and cools down rapidly. |
| C．It helps speed up the car instantly. | D．It charges when it doesn’t work. |
| A．How the battery works. | B．Advantages of the battery. |
| C．How the battery is produced. | D．Applications of the battery. |
| A．promoted | B．gathered | C．combined | D．reduced |
7 . Linguist Nicholas Evans had heard the Kaiadilt people, an Aboriginal(澳洲土著的) group in Northern Australia, say “malji” on the beach many times. He knew the term meant “schools of mullet” and “holes of a fishing net”, but they would say it even when pointing at empty water. It wasn’t until he saw a local artist’s painting of malji that he realized the word also convey other meanings. This is never a rare occurrence in Australia.
The Kaiadilt’s native Kayardild vocabulary, as with many small remote cultures, got weakened by Europeans who conquered the area. Take Australia for example, as Kayardild and other Aboriginal tongues faded under British rule, the communities lost the ability to pass on their understanding of natural patterns and island ecology. In modern history, the tongue has never had more than a few hundred speakers. Today, according to UNESCO, approximately 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of disappearing in the next century or two. Losing them means letting go of ancient knowledge about little-known places reflected within the words. “Each language holds clues that help us understand all people, but you don’t know until you look,” says Evans.
From a global perspective, anthropologist(人类学家) can study the evolution of speech patterns to help fill in our history. They can see how people moved across islands and discover when technologies like “canoes” came out by tracking the appearance of sailing terms.
On the individual level, working to save tongues offers a way to get back identity and share cultural pride. That’s been the case in Hawaii, where immersion schools(沉浸式学校) run jointly by Native Hawaiians and the state government helped the number of olelo-fluent speakers jump from a few dozen to 24,000 between 1985 and 2010. Elsewhere, international groups like the Endangered Language Fund are helping Aboriginal scholars launch their own campaigns. Each word they save makes the human experience complete.
1. What can we infer about langunges in Kaiadilt?| A．They are poor in the number of words. |
| B．One word can give different descriptions. |
| C．The author knows them very well. |
| D．Their situation is unique in Australia. |
| A．They are too weak to develop. |
| B．They reflects little about locals. |
| C．They suffered from cultural aggression. |
| D．They are dying out at a tolerant speed. |
| A．To show the troubles ancient tongues face. |
| B．To stress the importance of ancient tongues. |
| C．To describe the efforts of saving ancient tongues. |
| D．To indicate the success of learning ancient tongues. |
| A．Experts write history to preserve ancient tongues. |
| B．Experts study speech patterns to find identity. |
| C．Preserving ancient tongues is a combined effort. |
| D．The native schools alone can make a success. |
8 . Fou Ts'ong, a Chinese-born pianist known for his sensitive interpretations of Chopin, Debussy and Mozart.died on Monday at a hospital in London, where he had lived for many years. He was 86.
A lover of classical music from a young age, Mr. Fou began taking piano lessons when he was 7. Mr. Fou made his first stage appearance in 1952. The concert caught the attention of officials in Beijing, who selected him to compete and tour in Eastern Europe. Mr. Fou soon moved to Poland, where he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory(音乐学校)on a scholarship. To prepare for the fifth Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1955.he practiced so diligently that he hurt his fingers and was nearly cut from the first round of the competition.
Mr. Fou was one of the first Chinese pianists to achieve global prominence when he took the third place in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955. He also won a special prize for his performance of Chopin's mazurkas(马祖卜舞曲). Almost overnight, he became a national hero. To China, Mr. Fou's recognition in a well-known international competition was proof that the country could stand on its own artistically in the West. Chinese reporters flocked to interview Mr. Fou, while many others sought out his father, Fu Lei, for advice on child-rearing.
In 1981, a volume of letters written by his father, primarily to Mr. Fou, was published in China. Full of advice, encouragement, life teachings and strict paternal love, the book Fu Lei's Family, Letters became a best-seller in China. Besides influencing a generation of Chinese, Mr. Fu's words resonated(共鸣)long after his death with the person for whom they were intended.
"My father had a saying that 'First you must be a person, then an artist, and then a musician, and only then can you be a pianist.'" Mr. Fou once recalled in an interview. "Even now, I believe in this order-that it should be this way and that I am this way."
1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?| A．Fou Ts'ong competed and toured in Beijing. |
| B．Fou Ts'ong first performed on the stage at 7. |
| C．Fou Ts'ong made great efforts for competitions. |
| D．Fou Ts'ong started learning music in Eastern Europe. |
| A．It earns Chinese art a place in the West. |
| B．It promotes the spread of Chinese culture. |
| C．It proves Chinese people's talent for music. |
| D．It enables Chinese art education to be recognized. |
| A．Mr. Fu's words. | B．Young Chinese. |
| C．Fou Ts'ong and his family. | D．Readers of Fu Lei's Family Letters. |
| A．Pursuing art is a long and painful process. |
| B．It requires various qualities to be a pianist. |
| C．Everyone should develop an interest in art. |
| D．Talent is of the greatest importance for a pianist. |
9 . It's no secret that inhaling(吸入)smoke is bad for your lungs. But now, scientists are suggesting smoke may also carry and spread infectious diseases. The theory, published in Science Magazine, is based on the research that found wildfire smoke is full of thousands of species of microorganisms(微生物).Some of these microorganisms, including bacteria and fungal spores(真菌抱子).are known to cause disease.
The new research suggests that when a wildfire burns plants or animal matter and disturbs soils, it exposes thousands of species of bacteria and fungi that otherwise might not easily become airborne. You might think the high heat from fire would kill these organisms, but one study mentioned in the article found that some bacteria even multiply after fires. Scientists say the organisms stick with smoke particulates(颗粒物), allowing them to travel thousands of miles across continents.
Dr. Peter Chen, director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is interested in the theory but somewhat skeptical that the microorganisms in smoke would actually cause infections. Many bacteria and fungi don't cause lung infections, says Chen, but it's certainly possible that a significant number could worsen symptoms in someone with a preexisting lung condition. "I always thought it was the particulates in smoke that were causing these issues," says Chen. "But when I read this, I started thinking, could it be the microorganisms that are also worsening existing illnesses?"
Whether the microorganisms in smoke actually cause infections or simply worsen potential respiratory(呼吸的)issues, the article raises a new health threat that is "certainly alarming", says Kelsey Jack, an associate professor of environmental and development economics. This is especially true for lower-income populations, Jack says, because people with fewer protective means are often more exposed to the environment. If smoke is affecting the air quality in a certain area, the people who work outside, or who have to go to the office on foot or by bike will inhale more smoke than those who drive.
But until more research is done, Chen says the best thing people can do is just follow existing recommendations when air quality is poor-including staying indoors, keeping windows and doors closed, using HEPA filters and running air conditioning.
1. What can we know about the microorganisms from Paragraph 2?| A．Some could reproduce after fires. |
| B．They could be killed by high heat. |
| C．They could possibly travel through air by themselves. |
| D．Some could copy the smoke particulates. |
| A．They will cause lung infection. | B．They might worsen lung diseases. |
| C．They will destroy living environments. | D．They might damage respiratory systems. |
| A．They live in poor areas. | B．They drive to and from work· |
| C．They have suffered from lung disease. | D．They are exposed to polluted air more frequently. |
| A．To wait for the results of more researches. |
| B．To ignore the air quality and to work out outdoors. |
| C．To follow previous suggestions on dealing with poor air quality. |
| D．To avoid using filters and air conditioning. |
10 . The Children’s Library is currently offering pick-up service. Customers may tell us your requests for any books or movies over the telephone by calling(561)655-2776, on Mondays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Customers can click here to browse our available titles. Limits on requests are 15 per family. Pick-up time is 10 a.m, to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays of the same week when requests are made. Please note some items listed as available may become unavailable before your order is filled.
Once a request is made, library staff will call you to confirm your request, and reserve pick-up time for Tuesday or Thursday between 10 a.m. and noon. When arriving for pick-up, customers are asked to “drive-through” the Rovensky staff parking lot, attached to the building which houses the Children’s Library. On arrival, call our Children’s Library to let them know you are here and a staff member will place your bag. Please remain in your vehicle. Please place all returns in our book drop.
The Children’s Library offers a variety of programs throughout the year, including Preschool Story Time, Family Story Time and special events. Programs for children in kindergarten and higher grades are offered during the season, November through April, on selected weekdays. Children are invited to borrow books, use iPads, play games, build with blocks and enjoy special programs at no charge.
Children of all ages, newborn through 17, must always be accompanied by an adult while in the Children’s Library. Likewise, all adults must be accompanied by a child.
1. When can customers make a call to tell their requests?| A．1: 00 a.m., Monday. |
| B．10: 30 a.m., Monday. |
| C．10: 30 a.m., Tuesday. |
| D．11: 30 a.m., Thursday. |
| A．Pay a fee to use an iPad. |
| B．Offer programs for children. |
| C．Take fewer than 15 family members. |
| D．Drive to the staff-only parking lot. |
| A．A notice. | B．brochure. | C．A newspaper. | D．A webpage. |
