1 . With 60 miles of canals and nearly 7,000 buildings dating from the 18th century or earlier, Amsterdam is one of Europe’s best preserved cities. Here are some of our favorites.
The Concertgebouw
A free classical concert in one of the world’s greatest concert halls? Sounds too good to be true, but every Wednesday at lunchtime that’s exactly what’s on offer at the Concertgebouw. The latest series just started up again this month and will run through June. You can pick up a free ticket (one per person) on the day of the show starting at 11:30 a.m.; the concert takes place from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Rijksmuseum Gardens
Take a walk in the beautiful formal gardens of the Rijksmuseum, which are dotted with fascinating artworks. There’s a life-size chessboard, a fountain by contemporary Danish artist Jeppe Hein, and post-war climbing frames by architect Aldo van Eyck. The gardens also host sculpture exhibitions — currently there are 21 sculptures on show by the Spanish artist Joan Miró until October 11.
The Muziektheater
This important opera, dance and music venue has free weekly lunchtime concerts by top performers on Tuesdays from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the entrance hall, from September to May. Once or twice a month, the concert is followed by a free tour of the theatre — check the website for details.
Central Library
At the Netherlands’ biggest library, the Centrale Bibliotheek, you can read the international papers for free, and while Wi-Fi isn’t completely free, you can purchase 30 minutes for little more than a dollar by using one of the ticket machines. Upstairs on the 7th floor there is a café with a balcony that boasts wonderful city views.
1. Which one would you prefer if you have a taste for artworks?| A．The Concertgebouw. | B．The Muziektheater. |
| C．Rijksmuseum Gardens. | D．Central Library. |
| A．Enjoy classical music at Concertgebouw. |
| B．Attend the free weekly lunchtime concert. |
| C．Visit sculpture exhibitions of Joan Miró. |
| D．Take a walk in the Rijksmuseum Gardens. |
| A．Wi-Fi in it is free to use. |
| B．You can get a fantastic view of the city. |
| C．It is the biggest library in the world. |
| D．Newspapers at home and abroad are free to read. |
2 . 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. |
3 . Have you ever noticed little specks (斑点) in the iris (the colored part) of your eyes? The specks, which occur in about 60% of the population, are clusters (组,族) of abnormal melanocytes (黑素细胞).Experts suspect that, like skin freckles, they may develop in response to sun exposure."We think that the pathway involved in iris freckles formation could be quite similar." Christoph Schwab, MD, wrote in an email to Health.
To investigate this theory, Dr.Schwab teamed up with other ophthalmologists (眼科医生) and dermatologists (皮肤病专家) to examine the skin and eyes of more than 600 people.Seventy-six percent of the participants possessed at least one eye freckle.They tended to be older than folks who had no eye freckles.And they were also more likely to report a high number of sunburns during their lifetime, and have sun-damaged skin and age spots.The researchers also noted that the participants were recruited（招募） from public swimming pools.They may have led outdoorsy lifestyles, with greater exposure to UV light than the average person.
While eye freckles themselves are usually not dangerous to health, they may serve as a warning sign for sun-related health problems, the researchers concluded."The presence of iris freckles also indicates sun damage to the skin, a risk factor for several different kinds of skin cancer.Within this context, there is certainly a need for further studies investigating the association between skin cancer and iris freckles, they wrote.
"The investigation of iris freckles in several eye diseases could lead to new knowledge regarding their pathogenesis (病原)," says Dr.Schwab.
For now, Dr.Schwab urges caution: If someone exhibits iris freckles, especially at a young age, I would reconsider current sun protection strategies."To keep your skin safe and your eyes freckle-free, remember to apply plenty of SPF even when it's cloudy, and wear shades or a hat to protect your eyes from the sun.
1. What is to blame for eye freckles?| A．Skin freckles. | B．Sun exposure. | C．Personal lifestyles. | D．Abnormal melanocytes. |
| A．prove more population owns them | B．find out the reasons for them |
| C．prevent people from skin cancer | D．find the link between skin and eyes |
| A．Take more exercises. | B．Apply plenty of SPF. |
| C．Work in public swimming pool. | D．Wear shades or a hat outdoors. |
| A．Health. | B．Society. | C．Education. | D．Technology |
4 . In an economy where data is changing how companies create value — and compete — experts predict that using artificial intelligence (Al) at a larger scale will add as much as $I5.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. As Al is changing how companies work, many believe that who does this work will change, too — and that organizations will begin to replace human employees with intelligent machines. This is already happening: intelligent systems are displacing humans in manufacturing, service delivery, recruitment, and the financial industry, consequently moving human workers towards lower-paid jobs or making them unemployed. This trend has led some to conclude that in 2040 our workforce may be totally unrecognizable.
Are humans and machine really in competition with each other though? The history of work—particularly since the Industrial Revolution—is the history of people transferring their labor to machines. While that began with rote, repetitive physical tasks like weaving, machines have evolved to the point where they can now do what we might think of as complex cognitive work, such as math equations, recognizing language and speech, and writing. Machines thus seem ready to reproduce the work of our minds, and not just our bodies. In the 21st century, Al is evolving to be superior to humans in many tasks, which makes that we seem ready to transfer our intelligence to technology. With this latest trend, it seems like there's nothing that can't soon be automated, meaning that no job is safe from being offloaded to machines.
This vision of the future of work has taken the shape of a zero-sum game, in which there can only be one winner.
We believe, however, that this view of the role Al will play in the workplace is wrong. The question of whether Al will replace human workers assumes that Al and humans have the same qualities and abilities — but, in reality, they don't. Al — based machines are fast, more accurate, and consistently rational, but they aren't intuitive, emotional, or culturally sensitive. And, it's exactly these abilities that humans possess and which make us effective.
1. How does Al influence human life according to Paragraph 1?| A．It increases huge economic costs. | B．It dominates company's future. |
| C．It makes workforce totally unnecessary. | D．It changes traditional working ways. |
| A．Doing repetitive work. | B．Doing physical tasks. |
| C．Doing translation work. | D．Doing reproducing tasks. |
| A．Al-based machine and humans. | B．Minds and bodies. |
| C．Future and past. | D．Imagination and Reality. |
| A．Al plays a vital role in the workplace. | B．Human has its own advantages over Al. |
| C．Al and humans have the same qualities. | D．Al is sure to replace humans one day. |
5 . Have you ever had the feeling that you can't think when there is too much noise around? Did you ever think a fish could experience that feeling too? A recent paper published in Science titled “Soundscape(声景)of the Anthropocene Oceans”, combined over 10,000 scientific papers, confirming that undersea life knows that exact same feeling, more often than not. Anthropogenic(人为的)ocean noise, also known as underwater noise pollution, has created a dramatic impact on marine life due to “human-caused” activity within and neighboring our oceans.
Disney Pixar's animated film Finding Nemo educated us about the ocean, and specifically within the ordinary world of a clown fish. A fact many may not know is that clown fish spend the first part of their lives as larvae(幼体), drifting with the current(洋流)of the ocean until they become strong enough to swim against it. Once they are powerful and strong, they head home in sheltered coral reefs. There is only one disadvantage-the fish can't physically see the reef, but they can hear it. The only problem is, if they can't hear it, will they ever make it home?
Our anthropogenic ocean noise, such as cargo ships, ship and boat propellers, surfing, deep sea mining. etc. are causing destruction of marine life. According to Time, sound is the sensory signal that travels the farthest through the ocean. Anthropogenic noise drowns out the natural soundscapes, putting marine life under immense stress. Altogether, this stress then affects their general health, disturbs their behavior, physiology. reproduction and, in extreme cases, causes death. Marine life can adapt to noise pollution, however, only if they can escape it. This only renders further complications(困难, 问题)of straying(使偏离)species from their traditional breeding regions or separating them from their families.
Now, what if we told you there is already a solution? Multiple remedies, ideas and designs are currently in the works or already exist to get rid of and change the damage of anthropogenic ocean noise. As Time explains, from wind-powered ships to noise-reducing propellers(螺旋桨)，floating wind turbines(风力发电机)and “bubble curtains” that muffle construction noise, the solutions are already available and in some cases, cost-effective(划算的). The authors of the paper hope it will catch the attention of policymakers, who historically speaking, have ignored the mater still to this day.
Of all the challenges ocean creatures are battling, luckily sound pollution is the easiest compromise humans can make. Once the noise has decreased, marine life will be able to better manage everything else it is up against.
1. What do we know about “Soundscape of the Anthropocene Oceans”?| A．It analyses how sound travels in the ocean. |
| B．It discusses different types of ocean pollution. |
| C．It explores the effects of noise pollution on sea life. |
| D．It studies how sea animals communicate with each other. |
| A．To present their life cycles. |
| B．To show how terrible their living conditions are. |
| C．To introduce a famous animation about the ocean world. |
| D．To stress the importance of natural soundscapes to sea life. |
| A．Causes. | B．Reduces. |
| C．Reveals. | D．Prevents. |
| A．The management of ship traffic. |
| B．The restriction of human activities. |
| C．The adoption of noise control techniques. |
| D．The application of relevant laws. |
6 . 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. |
7 . 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 |
8 . Tropical rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate, and according to a new report by Rainforest Foundation Norway, humans are to blame. The world's dependence on coal, farming. soy. palm oil and mining has resulted in two-thirds of Earth's tropical rainforests being completely destroyed, and the remaining ecosystems being put closer to a tipping point.
Tropical rainforests once covered 14.5 million square kilometers of Earth's surface, but now, just one-third of that remains intact. Of the original area tropical rainforests once occupied, 34% is completely gone and 30%is suffering from degradation. All that remains is roughly 9.5 million square kilometers, and45% of that is in a degraded state, the report says.
Researchers blame human consumption for the loss. While agriculture has always been a driving factor of rainforest loss, the report said that energy consumption, international trade and the production of soy and palm oil, logging and mining have been the largest threats over the past century. A significant number of U. S. commodities rely on resources from tropical rainforests. The country heavily relies on palm oil, rubber and cocoa, all of which come from forests around the world. Oftentimes, these resources are harvested from illegally deforested lands.
Tropical rainforests are home to more than half of the Earth's biodiversity and have more carbon in living organisms than any other ecosystem. Along with supporting significant animal life, tropical rainforests are also essential to slowing down global warming. “These highly specialized ecosystems are suffering from constant abuse, through our bottomless appetite for land and resources,” said Anders Krogh, who authored the report. “We expect that upcoming UN climate and biodiversity summits provide specific targets and measures to protect intact tropical rainforests.”
The rescarchers also believe that the loss of tropical rainforests puts the whole world at risk of future pandemics. “Massive deforestation is violating nature's natural virus protection systems.” Krogh said. “The aftermath of COVID-19 should bring rainforest protection to the top of the agenda of all policy makers and world leaders concerned about preventing the outbreak of new pandemics.”
1. What is the purpose of the numbers in paragraph 2?| A．To point out the threat to the current ecosystem. |
| B．To exhibit the forest coverage rate on Earth. |
| C．To present the process of rainforest degradation. |
| D．To highlight the severe destruction of rainforests. |
| A．It displayed the richness of rainforest resources. |
| B．It stressed the effects of farming on tropical rainforests. |
| C．It explained the relationship between humans and nature. |
| D．It showed human's excessive consumption of rainforest resources. |
| A．Human diet. | B．Social structure. |
| C．Global climate. | D．Economic development. |
| A．Rainforest protection demands immediate attention. |
| B．Deforestation will affect the future generations. |
| C．Rainforest loss has brought about new pandemics. |
| D．Deforestation has accelerated the spread of the virus. |
9 . Soccer legend: They told me girls couldn't play this game
Note: Michelle Akers was a player on the US Women's National Teams who won World Cup titles in 1991 (where she won the Golden Hoot as top scorer) and 1999.
(CNN) — In third grade, I shared my dream along with my favorite football with the class, and as I proudly finished my speech, my teacher responded, "Michelle, girls cannot play football" to which I answered, "Yes, I can." I wouldn’t let it go, landing myself in the principal's office, trying not to cry. Soon, my mom arrived. “God help me now,” I thought ... until I heard her say to both my teacher and the principal, “How dare you tell my daughter what she can or cannot do.”
On Wednesday, all the world (myself included) will watch the 2019 US Women's National Team — Women's World Cup champions. I'm also thinking about how they — like I — got to the place where they lifted that trophy. To me, the 2019 World Cup and above all, this team, has taken the stories and dreams of the USWNT full circle.
It goes like this: First, you dream. Next, you play. Then, you inspire a legacy.
So many years ago, I dreamed of being a Pittsburgh Steeler. But many of the players on this 2019 World Champion USA Team sat in stadiums or watched games on TV in 1999 and dreamed of playing for the USWNT. No one could tell them they couldn't — they could see for themselves that it was possible.
They have now not only won a World Cup, but have turned their dreams into action. Dreams of being the best in the world. Dreams of equality and equal opportunity. And the actions to back them up and make them real for the people who come after them. They are demanding respect and equality from the powers that be because they know what it is to achieve more than just a trophy.
That, for me, is so very powerful. What this 2019 World Champion team demands for themselves — and put first in their lives — will be their biggest message of change: Respect. Equal opportunity. Team and family. Individual choice. Excellence. Into a new era.
And I am grateful to be celebrating them in their much deserved ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes in NYC.
1. What's the attitude of Michelle's mom towards her dream?| A．Funny. | B．Supportive. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Carefree. |
| A．Michelle is coaching and encouraging the team. | B．Michelle together with her team won the trophy. |
| C．The team carries the same dreams as Michelle's | D．The team didn't fail Michelle's great expectation. |
| A．She set an example to women football players. |
| B．She won the Golden Boot in 1999. |
| C．She retired from her team in 2019. |
| D．She recognized inequality to women in football. |
| A．Dream, Play and Inspire | B．Woman Football Develops |
| C．Football Counts More than Ever | D．Equal Playing Field Is More than Men's |
10 . A few years ago. four female mountain gorillas （大猩猩）left home, abandoning not only their mate — a sick alpha silverback — but their infants （幼崽），which were barely old enough to Iced themselves. Most mammals abandoned by their mothers risk an early death, and researchers worried about the young gorillas.
Instead, the scientists got a heartwarming surprise. The young gorillas’ uncle, a male gorilla named Kubaha, began to take care of them. He let them sleep in his nest and climb all over him like a jungle gym.
Kubaha’s willingness to be a foster dad turns out to be surprisingly common in mountain gorillas. An analysis on mountain gorillas at the Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda has revealed that when young mountain gorillas lose their mothers, they do not have a greater risk of dying or losing their place in the social hierarchy because the rest of the group buffers them from the loss. The social group has evolved to protect the infants from the ill effects of losing their mothers.
The researchers confirmed this assumption by focusing on data on 59 gorillas between the ages of 2 and 8 who lost their mothers or were orphaned （成为孤儿）before they were fully mature. They then compared the survival of these animals across their lifetimes with the survival of 139 nonorphaned gorillas. They also compared their reproductive success and social rank as adults — and tracked who the infants spent the most time with.
Not only were the orphaned and motherless gorillas at no greater risk of dying, they also suffered no long-term effect on their ability to reproduce or on their social rank, the team reports today in eLife.
The findings suggest such altruistic behavior is not unique to humans — and that dads play an important role in primate youngsters' lives, says Duke behavioral ecologist Susan Alberts, "Nonhuman primates often are really good dads," she says. 'This shows that paternal care goes very deep in our primate lineage."
1. What moved the scientists according to the first two paragraphs?| A．Young gorillas’ being abandoned. |
| B．Kubaha's caring for the infants. |
| C．Young gorillas’ sleeping in uncle's nest. |
| D．Young gorillas’ climbing over their uncle. |
| A．Little trouble of survival. | B．Risk of dying young. |
| C．Loss of social status. | D．Inability to reproduce. |
| A．They focused on adult gorillas’ data. |
| B．They collected online information. |
| C．They tracked their companions. |
| D．They lived with them. |
| A．careless | B．fearless | C．harmless | D．selfless |
