1 . Israeli researchers say they have created the world's first three-dimensional, or 3D-printed heart using a patient's own cells. They described the experiment as "a major medical breakthrough." Tal Dvir, the lead researcher on the project, said in a statement that it was the first time that human cells had been used with 3D printing technology to successfully create a whole heart. Dvir added that the "printed" heart contains blood vessels which are needed to pump blood. The development marks a step forward for 3D printing in the medical field.
The researchers took samples of fatty tissue from patients. This material was then used to develop “ink” for the 3D printing process. First, the researchers created patches of tissue from the patient’s own cells. Later, they used that same process to create a small version of a whole heart. Using the patient’s own cells is important to reduce the risk that the body’s system to fight infection will reject a transplanted organ.
The goal, the researchers said, is to treat heart disease. The World Health Organization reports that heart disease is by far the leading cause of death worldwide. For patients with severe heart disease, a heart transplant is currently the main treatment available. The researchers hope their invention can help ease the demand for heart transplant donors.
Dvir says that the newly-created heart represents great progress. However, more research and development is needed to produce a fully operating, transplantable organ. One of the biggest challenges for the engineering team will be finding a way to create a human-sized heart.
Dvir said his team planned to transplant heart models designed for animals, possibly within the next year. He added that, for human use, “simpler organs” will likely be produced before hearts. “Maybe, in ten years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world,” Dvir said. He hopes such methods will be used “routinely” to produce organs in the future.
1. Why should patients’ own cells be used to create a 3D heart?| A．To avoid being rejected. | B．To make it suitable to print. |
| C．To fight infection. | D．To build up immune system. |
| A．To adopt printing technology. | B．To create human organs. |
| C．To treat heart disease. | D．To develop organ printers. |
| A．They will be developed to create organs routinely. |
| B．They will be widely used to treat different diseases. |
| C．They will be used to transplant organs for animals. |
| D．They will be applied to various fields in the world. |
| A．An artificial heart. | B．A major medical breakthrough |
| C．A scientific project | D．A great research team. |
2 . As a boy, I wanted to go to the South Pole. As a teenager, I decided I'd like to go to the North Pole too. And yet, I haven't done either. It had taken me 31 years to just make it to the Arctic.
I was traveling with a film crew from Northern Ireland, following the footsteps of Lord Dufferin who, in the 1850s, sailed from Scotland to the Arctic. As an early adventure tourist, he was driven by the desire to see what lay at the ends of the world.
As we sailed north, icebergs of the size of buses floated past our small boat. Finally, we reached our destination—English Bay, where Dufferin landed- and stepped off onto the horseshoe-shaped beach.
This was what I'd dreamt of: standing somewhere so pure and primitive. However, for many early polar explorers, the results were far less pleasant. The south, in particular, was source of extreme danger.
My childhood interest in the South Pole was fueled by the unsuccessful yet heroic adventures of Emest Shackleton. He died in 1922 while preparing for his fourth adventure. The stories of Robert Falcon Scott are also well-known: he and four companions died on their way back from the South Pole.
So why do explorers put themselves at such risk?
Much of it seems to lie in the purity of the challenge. Scott talked of the appeal of a place that had been “unreached and unseen by humans.” “With a view over shining lands covered by ice-sheets of inconceivable extent, you have the feeling of living over the control of death,” said Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer.
On the homeward journey the weather turned and we were left for a few days at the mercy of a storm. We experienced a small taste of helplessness when faced with the raw power of nature. We should be grateful for the great explorers’ spirit and stories. I know I am.
1. Why did the author begin his adventure tour?| A．To assist a film crew | B．To realize a childhood dream |
| C．To memorize Lord Dufferin | D．To challenge a world record |
| A．Hard to control | B．Too far to reach |
| C．Hard to imagine | D．Too bright to view |
| A．They were trapped in icebergs | B．They were kept off the destination |
| C．They were attacked by a storm | D．They were rescued by explorers |
| A．The Appeal of the Ends of the World | B．The Dream of Traveling to the Arctic |
| C．The Victory over the Control of Death | D．The Gratitude to Great Explorers Spirit |
3 . Sleep, considered a luxury by many, is essential for a person’s health and happiness. Researchers have found that inadequate sleep and tiredness increase a person’s risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, high blood sugar levels, and heart disease. Now, a new study has found that getting enough sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.
Jeffrey Gross, the university science professor who led the research, was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smart watches to the 100 students in his chemistry class. Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worn devices (装置), which track a person’s physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievement.
While Gross’s data showed no relationship between these two factors (因素), the study found something surprising. As the researchers were analyzing their data, they noticed that there was a straight-line relationship between the average amount of sleep a student got and their results in the course’s 11 quizzes, three midterm tests, and the final exam.
Even more interesting, it was not enough for students to just head to bed early the night before a test. Instead, it’s the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.
The time students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those who went to bed in early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as a higher- performing student. “When you go to bed matters,” Gross says, “If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for seven hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours. So, quantity isn’t everything. ”
Perhaps the most interesting was the huge effect that small differences in sleep patterns had on the students’ grades. The entire course grades for students averaging six and a half hours of sleep each night were 25% lower than students who averaged just one hour more sleep. Similarly, students who changed their bedtime by even one hour each night had grades that dropped 45% below those with more regular bedtimes.
Who knew getting A’s just required some extra ZZZ’s?
1. Based on his original goals, which best describes Professor Gross’s research findings?| A．Complete. | B．Accidental. |
| C．Convincing. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．University student athletes. | B．Professor Gross’s own students. |
| C．Middle school chemistry students. | D．Volunteers from different universities. |
| A．Making the students wear a special watch. |
| B．Giving the students regular after-class quizzes. |
| C．Using students’ university entrance test results. |
| D．Using the students’ normal test and quiz grades. |
| A．A person who sleeps for a total of 7 hours each night. |
| B．A person who sleeps from 11 p. m. to 6 a. m. each day. |
| C．A person whose normal bedtime changes between 9 p. m. and 12 p. m. |
| D．A person who has a good night’s sleep the night before an important test. |
4 . STUDYTRIP:
EXPLORATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY
Bonjour!
Program Structure:
Dates: June 4 4 – – July 4 4, 9 2019 (Subject to change)
| 2 weeks in Bordeaux | French Courses: primary or intermediate level Cultural activities: a wine tasting course; a French cooking class Weekend activities: visits to Arcachon & Dordogne |
| 1 week in Paris | Cultural and historical visits to various world-famous museums Musée du louvre, Musée d’Orsay, the Pompidou center, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris & the Chateau de Versailles… |
Partnering Institute: Alliance Francaise Bordeaux
Pre-trip preparations（Mar. —— Jun.）: Attend all briefings & Group presentation on a given topic
Post-trip assignment: Individual reflective & Photo album
Target Students:
●have knowledge in French
●show interest in French culture
●have GPA 2.5 or above
●be self-motivated in cultural exploration
●be a good team member
●be in year 3 or above (If admitted in 2017/2018 and onwards)
Cost (subsidy: HK $10,000 — HK $12,000)
HK $28, 000 (Full fee) (including tuition, round-trip air ticket, accommodation and local transportation expenses, but excluding meals and expenses during free time)
Plus Deposit: HK $3,000 (refund upon full attendance of all scheduled briefings & activities and submission of quality post-trip assignments)
(Remarks: Students who meet the requirements may apply for extra financial support from the College Scholarships Awards and Financial-aid Committee or the HKSAR Reaching Out Award)
Important Dates:
Feb 2 Deadline for applications
Feb 9-13 Selection interviews
Feb 27 Announcement of application results
March — June Pre-trip briefing sessions
Remarks:
●Past participants are NOT allowed to apply
●NO early departure or staying behind is allowed
Enquiry: 39436994/tammy chow @ cuhk. edu. HK
1. What activities can students join in the program?| A．They can learn to make wine on their own. |
| B．They can have French courses at college level. |
| C．They can visit Arcachon & Dordogne at weekdays. |
| D．They can visit some world-known museums in Paris. |
| A．have GPA 3 or above | B．have a good command of English |
| C．get along well with team members | D．show interest in outdoor exploration |
| A．The College Scholarships Awards may offer financial support. |
| B．It’ll cost an applicant at most HK $28,000 for the study trip. |
| C．Applicants can apply for staying behind after the study trip. |
| D．Feb 27 will be the deadline for applications. |
5 . If you stop a random person on the street in China, there’s a pretty good chance that their surname would be either Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu or Chen.That’s because those are the five most common surnamesin China — shared by 30% of the population. And the vast majority of the population share just 100 of those surnames. In comparison, the United States reported 6.3 million surnames in its 2010 census.
There are a few reasons for this: China is less racially diverse than countries such as the US, where a wealth of minority groups increase surname diversity (多样性). It also has to do with language; you can’t just add a random stroke (音节) to a Chinese character and create a new surname.
But there’s also another factor at play: technology. With China roaring into the digital age, nearly everything has moved online — from making appointments to buying train tickets.
The main problem is that not all Chinese characters have been coded into computer systems. That meant a world of trouble if you happened to have a rare character in your name. As of 2017, up to 60 million Chinese citizens faced this problem, according to Xinhua.
People with rare characters in their names, which aren’t compatible(兼容的) with existing computer systems, can get left behind— pushing many to change their names for the sake of convenience, even if it means abandoning centuries of heritage and languages.
To try to address this, experts have increased the database from 32,000 characters to 70,000 characters, according to the government. They’re still working to expand it to include more than 90,000 characters, said Chen Jiawei, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University.
1. What can be learned from the comparison according to Paragraph 1?| A．There are fewer common surnames in China. |
| B．Chinese people like sharing the same surname. |
| C．The United States owns the most surnames in the world. |
| D．6.3 million surnames in China have been shared until now. |
| A．New Chinese surnames are easy to create. |
| B．Surname diversity totally depends on technology. |
| C．Minority groups can increase surname diversity. |
| D．Surnames in computer systems are regularly changed. |
| A．They will lose their heritage. |
| B．They have to change their names. |
| C．They should expand the database. |
| D．They may upgrade computer systems. |
| A．To save heritage and languages. |
| B．To keep Chinese traditional culture. |
| C．To give people more choices when naming. |
| D．To let us know more Chinese characters. |
6 . Online Bachelor's Degrees and Programs
The overview
Colleges offer online degrees in a range of fields. Click on a degree program to explore what courses you take, how long the program takes to complete, career options and average salary. For example, to earn an online health science bachelor's degree, you would take courses in public health, health communications and epidemiology(流行病学).
The benefits
Pursuing an accredited(官方认可的)online bachelor's degree can help you take the next step in your career. Through your program, you'll attend online lectures, study from home manage a busy schedule and interact virtually with professors and classmates.
The applicants
An online college degree may appeal to those who want more flexibility in completing their education, or who want to take classes while working full time or parenting. Choosing where to register online will likely be challenging, but below you'll find tools, advice and other resources to make your search easier.
Best online bachelor's programs
U. S. News evaluated several factors to rank the best online bachelor's degree programs, including graduation rates and support services available remotely.
| School name | Tuition per credit | Application deadline | Financial aid available |
| University of Georgia | $ 326 | May 1 | Yes |
| Georgia Washington University | $ 615 | June 10 | No |
| University of Arizona | $ 525 | July 12 | Yes |
| North Carolina University | $ 900 | February 15 | Yes |
To see the full ranking list, please click here.
1. What will you do after attending online degree programs?| A．Get a degree for free. | B．Attend lectures in a hall. |
| C．Take some related courses | D．Talk with teachers face to face. |
| A．Georgia Washington University. | B．University of Georgia. |
| C．North Carolina University. | D．University of Arizona. |
| A．On the Internet. | B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a textbook. | D．In a newspaper. |
7 . Maeve Higgins once set herself a task. The Irish-born comedian wanted to see what life would be like if she stopped laughing at things that weren’t funny. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as she thought. “It was so hard,” she says. “ Laughter is a lubricant (润滑油) and is expected, and it’s really hard not to do it.”
Higgins suggests there’s something particularly special about being part of the shared experience that is live comedy — that curious magic that occurs when people come together specifically to laugh.
Comedy is more than just a pleasant way to pass an evening, humour more than something to amuse. They’re interwoven into our everyday existence. Whether you’re sharing an amusing story at a party or telling a dark joke at a funeral, humour is everywhere. But what is it for? And can humour, as comedy, change how we feel, what we think or even what we do?
As an essential part of human interaction, humour has been on the minds of thinkers for centuries. One of the most enduring theories of humour was put forward by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. It asserts that humour appears to make fun of the weak and exert superiority. While this is clearly the function of some comedy, it’s far from a complete explanation for the overall purpose of humour.
For some comedians, it’s not just about getting laughs — it’s about changing what we think and maybe even what we do. If there’s one comic who is really typical of this, it’s Josie Long. A social justice activist and a comedian, Long has a reputation for delightful, optimistic humour and storytelling.
As her career has evolved, she has consciously put social and political topics at the heart of her act. She believes that comedians have a role to play in challenging some of the most pressing issues of the day.
British comic Stephen K Amos sells out venues seating thousands, year in, year out. Amos firmly believes that when comics consciously deal with pressing or controversial （有争议的）social issues like racism, they can reach people on a much more meaningful level than that achieved by briefly lifting someone’s mood. And while it may be difficult to quantify, he says, the social and psychological impact of comedy deserves much greater recognition.
The research backs this up. Although the role of comedy is to be entertaining first and foremost, Sharon Lockyer, a sociologist who studies humour, has identified a number of possible other functions. These include challenging stereotypes (刻板印象).
Amos’s work frequently settles the issues of race by challenging stereotypes.”I don’t do things for shock value,” he says. “ I do stuff that matters to me. In the old days it was just about doing jokes. We’ve moved on — people are talking about things that matter. ”
1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?| A．The benefits of laughing. |
| B．What a comedian’s daily work is about. |
| C．Why Maeve Higgins chose to be a comedian. |
| D．Maeve Higgins’ understanding of the appeal of comedy. |
| A．Protect the weak from the evil. |
| B．Encourage people to be stronger. |
| C．Be determined to improve oneself. |
| D．Show you are better than other people. |
| A．By gradually influencing people’s attitudes. |
| B．By urging politicians to try and solve the issues. |
| C．By quickly yet thoroughly changing people’s thinking. |
| D．By calling on the whole society to pay attention to the issues. |
| A．getting people to laugh |
| B．promoting social progress |
| C．influencing people’s ideas |
| D．making people more productive |
8 . Training for Saving
First Aid at Work 3 days £279
Suitable for people aged 16+ who might need to provide first aid by responding to a wide range of accidents, injuries and illnesses that they could encounter in their workplace. Ideal for organizations whose needs assessment has identified a requirement for additional first aid training, especially, having employees with a disability or a medical condition.
Lunch break. Classroom setting. Certificate to issue.
AED with Life Support 2 days £107
Right choice for people, over 16, who want to learn how to use an automated external defibrillator （AED）. First aid for unresponsive adults in addition. Currently available at our London, Edinburgh and Reading venues; however, you can organize a training session for a group of up to 15 people at your workplace by requesting a group booking.
Certificate valid for three years.
First Aid for Teachers Training 1 day £50
Specially designed for those working in a school environment and wishing to have the first aid skills to act in an emergency. Ideal for teachers and other school staff over 16. First aid skills to help a child who is unresponsive and breathing or not breathing, choking, having an allergic reaction or a head injury.
Not qualify the learner to act as a first aider.
Fire Marshal Training 4 days £364
Take this if you are over 16 and responsible for fire safety or appointed fire marshals in the workplace. Come to understand how a fire starts and spreads; how to assess and manage these risks; and how to use firefighting equipment. You must be physically able to carry out the practical elements of the course.
Role play. Classroom environment. Certificate.
1. What can be learnt in the course AED with Life Support?| A．Steps to deal with massive injuries. |
| B．Process of preventing a terrible fire. |
| C．Operation of certain medical equipment. |
| D．Treatment for an adult's mental problems. |
| A．First Aid at Work. | B．AED with Life Support. |
| C．First Aid for Teachers Training. | D．Fire Marshal Training. |
| A．Providing certificates for trainees. |
| B．Having the same requirement for age. |
| C．Offering discount for group booking. |
| D．Taking more than one day to complete. |
9 . Gray wolves will no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act in most of the US, federal officials announced this week.
“After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has reached all conservation goals for recovery,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said.
This move was criticized by wildlife advocacy groups and environmentalists who decided to challenge the decision.
“Abolishing protections for gray wolves is irresponsible,” said Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO, Jamie Rappaport Clark. “Gray wolves occupy only a small part of their former range and need continued federal protection to fully recover. We will be taking the US Fish and Wildlife Service to court to defend this species.”
The new rule will officially publish next week, and go into effect 60 days after that. Then, states will assume control of gray wolves and accept for Mexican wolves, a subspecies that will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Over the years, there has been a back-and-forth between conservation groups and the Fish and Wildlife Service over whether the gray wolf should be delisted (除名) as an endangered species. The last attempt was under the Obama administration, but was met with fierce opposition and was later withdrawn.
There was also a lot of opposition to the recent delisting of the gray wolf, with more than 837,000 comments noted online. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the organization submitted more than 1. 8 million comments opposing the rule.
While the federal government is removing protections, at least one state is hoping to add them. There is currently a question on the vote in Colorado about a gray wolf recovery program, which would reintroduce the animal in the state. The proposal would reintroduce and manage gray wolves by the end of 2023.
"Wolves remain absent from about 70% of currently suitable habitat in the lower 48 states, and this rule could have terrible consequences for their future,” Amanda Wight, Program Manager of Wildlife Protection said.
1. How does Bernhardt feel about the gray wolf recovery?| A．Urgent. | B．Worrying. | C．Successful. | D．Impossible. |
| A．Set more protection rules. |
| B．Call on environmentalists to donate. |
| C．Ask the government to set up more reserves. |
| D．Accuse the US Fish and Wildlife Service. |
| A．The related rule has been in effect. |
| B．It has been under debate for years. |
| C．Many people vote to support it. |
| D．Colorado will be the first to carry it out. |
| A．The Endangered Species Act is going into effect |
| B．The number of gray wolves is largely increasing |
| C．Gray wolves will lose Endangered Species Act protection |
| D．The Endangered Species Act will meet great change |
10 . Saving Mr. Banks (2013) ★★★
BBC One, 10:30 p.m.
John Lee Hancock’s film unapologetically tells the Disney side of the twisted making of Mary Poppins. It presents Walt Disney’s (by Tom Hanks) struggle with PL Travers (by Emma Thompson), who wrote the original books, as a kind of Norman Conquest of charm over a brilliant but unhappy writer. The sugar-to-medicine rate is 15 parts to one, but there’s nothing wrong with true sweetness.
The Dark Mirror (1946, b/w) ★ ★ ★
BBC Two, 8:05 p. m.
Olivia de Havilland, one of the last surviving stars of golden-age Hollywood cinema, died last month, so this film makes for a sad rewatch. It’s an old-fashioned thriller in which psychiatrist (精神病医生) Lew Ayres has to decide which identical twin ( both played by de Havilland) has committed a murder. The entire story is somewhat unrealistic but de Havilland fully shows her acting skills. Robert Siodmak directs.
Jonathan Edwards: One Giant Leap ★ ★ ★ ★
BBC Two, 8:30 p.m.
Twenty-five years ago, medals for British athletes were very rare indeed. The 1995 World Athletics Championships brought just one gold for the UK, for triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards, whose world record leap (跳) of 18. 29 m stood for two decades. This film tells a story of pressure, faith and positive thinking.
The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) ★ ★ ★ ★
ITV4, 9:55 p.m.
In the famous college experiment of the title, a psychology professor set up a make-believe prison and randomly assigned students to be either prisoners or guards to study the effects of unearned authority. The frightening results are captured (捕获) in Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s recreation. Ezra Miller plays a prisoner abused by the guards, while Billy Crudup is excellent as the unknowable professor.
1. Who is Olivia de Havilland?| A．A detective. | B．A murder. | C．An actor. | D．A psychiatrist. |
| A．Saving Mr. Banks. | B．The Dark Mirror. |
| C．The Stanford Prison Experiment. | D．Jonathan Edwards: One Giant Leap. |
| A．They are night programs. | B．They are all rated 4-star films. |
| C．They are films by the same director. | D．They are shown on the same channel. |
