1 . I did an experiment last week. No, nothing involving test tubes or beakers (烧杯). Instead, I experimented with not watching the news right before I went to bed.
This is a long-time habit of mine so it’s probably not surprising that the first couple of nights I got a little twitchy when news time rolled around and I wasn’t watching. To distract myself, I went to bed a little earlier and read. Wow, what a treat that was! I love to read but I don’t always make the time for it so this felt quite luxurious. On the nights I didn’t read, I spent a little extra time petting my dog, Henry. He loved it. There’s never enough ear scratching for him. The compromise nights were when I had a book in one hand and was petting the dog with the other. Happy all around!
The funny thing about happiness is that it’s a whole lot easier to feel when you’re not being bombarded (轰炸) by images of bad news. It’s not like skipping the late news means that I don’t know what’s going on in the world. I still do read, listen to, and watch news stories. Just not right before I go to bed. That makes it easier to fall asleep and then stay asleep without dreaming about crime, wars, or natural disasters. (Although that dream I had about going to the prom might count as a natural disaster!) It’s definitely a much gentler way to end the day. I like it so much that I’m going to not only continue the no news before bed practice, but I’m also going to experiment with turning off other electronics earlier in the evening, things like the computer and smart phone.
Do you have any experience with turning off your electronics early in the evening? Does setting a particular time, like digital Quiet Hours, work? Please share any tips you have. Something tells me that this could be a little more challenging for me than no news.
1. What does the underlined word “twitchy” mean?| A．Angry. | B．Sad. | C．Anxious. | D．Pleased. |
| A．To treat himself with snacks. |
| B．To read to his dog. |
| C．To turn off the TV. |
| D．To read in bed. |
| A．He had more time to walk his dog. |
| B．He was less exposed to images of bad news. |
| C．He was cut off from the current world. |
| D．He had nightmares. |
| A．To encourage the readers to cut down time on electronics. |
| B．To gather the readers’advice in watching TV. |
| C．To share the effect of watching news. |
| D．To tell the readers the importance of reading. |
2 . Albert Einstein’s 1915 masterpiece “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” is the first and still the best introduction to the subject, and I recommend it as such to students. But it probably wouldn’t be publishable in a scientific journal today.
Why not? After all, it would pass with flying colours the tests of correctness and significance. And while popular belief holds that the paper was incomprehensible to its first readers, in fact many papers in theoretical physics are much more difficult.
As the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “There was a time when the newspapers said that only 12 men understood the theory of relativity. I do believe there might have been a time when only one man did, because he was the only guy who caught on, before he wrote his paper. But after people read the paper a lot understood the theory of relativity in some way or other, certainly more than 12.”
No, the problem is its style. It starts with a leisurely philosophical discussion of space and time and then continues with an exposition of known mathematics. Those two sections, which would be considered extraneous today, take up half the paper. Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features might make a paper not even get past the first editors.
A similar process of professionalization has transformed other parts of the scientific landscape. Requests for research time at major observatories or national laboratories are more rigidly structured. And anything involving work with human subjects, or putting instruments in space, involves piles of paperwork.
We see it also in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Nobel Prize of high school science competitions. In the early decades of its 78-year history, the winning projects were usually the sort of clever but naive, amateurish efforts one might expect of talented beginners working on their own. Today, polished work coming out of internships(实习) at established laboratories is the norm.
These professionalizing tendencies are a natural consequence of the explosive growth of modern science. Standardization and system make it easier to manage the rapid flow of papers, applications and people. But there are serious downsides. A lot of unproductive effort goes into jumping through bureaucratic hoops(繁文缛节), and outsiders face entry barriers at every turn.
Of course, Einstein would have found his way to meeting modern standards and publishing his results. Its scientific core wouldn’t have changed, but the paper might not be the same taste to read.
1. According to Richard Feynman, Einstein’s 1915 paper ________.| A．was a classic in theoretical physics |
| B．turned out to be comprehensible |
| C．needed further improvement |
| D．attracted few professionals |
| A．Unrealistic. | B．Irrelevant. |
| C．Unattractive. | D．Imprecise. |
| A．The application of research findings. |
| B．The principle of scientific research. |
| C．The selection of young talents. |
| D．The evaluation of laboratories. |
| A．What makes Einstein great? |
| B．Will science be professionalized? |
| C．Could Einstein get published today? |
| D．How will modern science make advances? |
3 . You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It's the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age is, there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart's music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase "the Mozart effect" was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it, we'll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart's music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them produce better milk.
I'll leave the debate on the impact on milk yield (产量) to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn't make us more intelligent.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Mozart composed many musical pieces for children. |
| B．There is little scientific evidence to support the Mozart effect. |
| C．There are few products on the Internet about Mozart's music. |
| D．Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent. |
| A．people were strongly against the idea |
| B．Mozart played an important part in people's life |
| C．the idea was accepted by many people |
| D．the US government helped promote the idea |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
| A．What Music Is Beneficial? |
| B．Listening to Mozart, Necessary? |
| C．What Is the Mozart Effect? |
| D．To Be or Not to Be？ |
4 . The preventive measures for forest fires include some pre-emptive ( 抢先的 ) methods that can help reduce the risks of fires and control their severity and spread, and thus, maintain ecological balance and protect natural resources. Close monitoring of forest fires caused by natural factors can help prevent their spread to a large extent. To contain forest fires, fire departments usually use water and chemical fire retardants ( 抑制剂 ) that can be dropped from planes and helicopters. To control the spread of a wildfire, firefighters usually create a control line by removing all fuel from an area so that the fire cannot travel across it.
Controlled burns are often employed by government authorities to reduce fuel build-up, and clean up the fallen leaves, and thus, prevent the spread of forest fires to a vast area. Regular controlled burns can also help maintain biodiversity ( 生物多样性 ), as the smoke and heat produced in the process can facilitate ( 促进 ) the growth of seeds of certain plant species. Apart from these, responsible human behaviour can help reduce the number of forest fires to a great extent. In fact, we can reduce the number of wildfires dramatically by not leaving behind any source of fire in the forest.
Forest fires can affect climate and weather to a great extent, besides causing severe damage to valuable trees. Wildfires can increase the level of greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, etc), and therefore increase pollution and global warming. However, they are also an important part of the ecosystem, and many plants depend on the heat and smoke generated by wildfires for their growth and reproduction. But large wildfires can cause extensive damage to the ecosystem，which again highlights the importance of effective control and prevention of forest fires.
1. Firefighters get rid of all fuel in all area in order to________.| A．keep close monitoring of forest fires |
| B．prevent the forest fire from occurring |
| C．stop the wildfire from spreading |
| D．protect the animals there |
| A．burn the rubbish and keep the forest clean |
| B．help keep the ecological balance of nature |
| C．provide reasonable conditions for some animals’ growth |
| D．reduce fuel build-up and limit forest fires’ spreading area |
| A．it promotes the development of some seeds |
| B．a new forest will appear soon |
| C．nature keeps its balance only by wildfires |
| D．it makes the trees grow faster than before |
| A．the greenhouse gases are caused mainly by wildfires |
| B．wildfires have both positive and negative effects |
| C．people should be aware of the necessity of wildfires |
| D．all the valuable trees disappear owing to wildfires |
5 . The summer before my 10th birthday my father and mother moved our family of nine children to a farm! We had always lived in a small city, in the house my dad bought from my grandparents. But he wanted fresh air, healthy food and lots of room for his children to play. He'd worked multiple jobs at a time and saved for many years…and could finally afford a place in the countryside. Now a minor concern: the house had no running water or electricity. But there were 150 acres to run around in, walk through the woods in, swim a stream in, and otherwise yell, sing and laugh in every day!
That first year my dad put in electricity, because my mom simply announced, “I won't have kerosene lamps with children running around!” Indoor plumbing had to wait another year(an outhouse came with the property). Different friends, who my dad knew from work, asked if he'd take their large dogs who couldn't run free in the city. So we all now played with a big orange-brown boxer and a sporty German Shorthaired Pointer, who we simply named Billy and Molly. Absolutely all our clothes were hand-me-downs, bananas and oranges were “exotic” fruit that we'd see at holidays, and there was ONE birthday party a year! We'd take turns once every 10 years a child would have his/ her own party!
We thought we were rich. My mother was always singing, yelling hugging, or praying. And she told us we were blessed with plenty! To this day, each of my brothers and sisters remember those years as an abundance of chores, laughter, arguing, making peace, and playing together! Every challenge was a game aimed to outwit, and any failure was chance to learn. Money was so scarce, but joy was everywhere.
1. Why did the author's family move to a farm?| A．They had to work on the 150-acre farm. |
| B．They couldn't afford the house in the city. |
| C．They succeeded to a house from grandparents. |
| D．They believed living there was beneficial to them. |
| A．Their life was more comfortable. | B．Their house was short of space. |
| C．Their dogs are quieter than the author's. | D．They greatly envied the author’s father. |
| A．Prepare. | B．Win. | C．Manage. | D．Avoid. |
| A．Simple but happy. | B．Wealthy and cheerful. |
| C．Poor and misery. | D．Rich but disappointed. |
6 . For the past decade, Noutsady has been working with the Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA) and grown into an experienced and reliable staff member of its Laos' branch company.
Noutsady, born in 1986 in central Laos' hilly Hin Heup District, went to the capital Vientiane alone at the age of 21 to look for a job and go on with her study. In 2009, with sound knowledge of accounting and favorable English communication skills, she stood out from many applicants and became an employee of POWERCHINA's Lao Cement Industry Co., Lid. Noutsady showed her talent and ability soon in the accounting position, completing nearly 200 payments for more than 50 downstream carriers every month, timely and accurately.
Working and spending time together has brought Noutsady and her Chinese colleagues closer. "I feel great with POWERCHINA, and I will try to achieve the same like POWERCHINA to 'keep promises and make promises valuable' and start a new life here," Noutsady told reporters.
When talking about the cement products of the company, Noutsady is full of pride. "We are one of the earliest cement producers in Laos," she said. "From the many hydropower plants around the country to the broad 450th Anniversary Avenue in the capital and the splendid Lao National Convention Center, even many house buildings in my hometown, our cement is used."
In the last decade, the Lao lady has not only seen the development of the cement company, but also set up her own small family. Now, Noutsady lives with her daughter in a comfortable apartment provided by the company. At the end of 2019, she was honored as an outstanding foreign employee of POWERCHINA. "Another new decade has begun and I will value it even more, loving my daughter, loving my life and loving my POWERCHINA," said Noutsady.
1. What does Noutsady do in the company?| A．An interpreter. | B．An accountant. | C．A salesperson. | D．A reporter, |
| A．Worthwhile. | B．Competitive. | C．Challenging. | D．Unique. |
| A．Many power plants have been built in Laos. | B．Laos has changed a lot in the past ten years. |
| C．Noutsady is satisfied with her achievements. | D．Cement of POWERCHINA is popular in Laos. |
| A．A Successful Lao Woman Living in China |
| B．POWERCHINA's Significant Influence on Laos |
| C．Valuable Memories of a Lao Lady Working in China |
| D．Noutsady's 10-year Experience in a Chinese Company |
7 . With over 4. 1 billion people, or around 55 percent of the world’s population, living in urban areas, cities and towns worldwide are getting increasingly congested. In addition to spending many hours stuck in traffic, residents are also exposed to high air pollution levels caused by transportation emissions. Now, Saudi Arabia hopes to revolutionize urban living with “The Line”— a city designed around nature, without cars and roads!
“The Line” is designed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Located in NEOM — a 10,000-square-mile high-tech planned development on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabu — The Line will be the cornerstone of MBS s Saudi Vision 2030. The plan aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy into other sectors, like tourism, and create exciting job opportunities for its citizens.
The 105-mile-long city, expected to cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, will be built along a straight line and is made up of several self-sustaining communities. To ensure all services are within a short, five-minute walk, each community will feature a three-layer infrastructure (基础设施).
The top “pedestrian layer” will be void of cars and roads, allowing residents to freely walk and bike in the surrounding green spaces. The second “service layer”, will include all essential daily services, such as schools, leisure facilities and grocery stores. The third “spine layer” will house high-speed subway and autonomous vehicles capable of transporting residents across communities in less than 20 minutes. The entire city will be powered with renewable clean energy sources such as solar and wind, and possibly even hydrogen.
If all goes according to plan t construction of this complex project will start before the 1st quarter of 2021. In addition to providing up to a million residents with a clean and stress-free living environment, The Line is expected to create 380,000 new jobs, start economic diversification, and contribute an astounding $ 48 billion to Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030. More importantly, MBS believes it will provide governments worldwide a “blueprint for how people and planet can co-exist in harmony.”
1. We can infer that “The Line” will be_________.| A．temporary | B．primitive | C．eco-friendly | D．conventional |
| A．Low crime rates. | B．High unemployment. |
| C．Super communities. | D．Diverse economic sectors. |
| A．Medical clinics. | B．Bus stops. |
| C．Underground trains. | D．Cycling lanes. |
| A．Saudi Arabia Has Created A Green City With No Cars Or Streets |
| B．“The Line” Will Be The Cornerstone Of MBS's Saudi Vision 2030 |
| C．“The Line”— Blueprint Of People And Animals Co-existing In Harmony |
| D．Saudi Arabia Announces “The Line”— A Low Carbon City Without Cars |
8 . COVID-19 Campus Rules Of UBC Okanagan
The rules apply to all students, faculty and staff at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Travel in BC
A Public Health Order for all health regions in British Columbia calls on all individuals, places of work and businesses in BC to significantly reduce social interactions and travel. The current order is in effect until February 1, 2021.
As many are currently making plans for the upcoming Winter Break, all members of the campus community are reminded all non-essential travel should be avoided. The current orders suspend all events and social gatherings to significantly reduce COVID-19 transmission related to social interactions. The order allows for university students to join family for the holidays as this is not considered a social gathering, but it is important to maintain a narrow household bubble.
International travel
If you plan to travel out of Canada during the Winter Break, make sure you are aware of current travel restrictions and are prepared for your trip. Carefully review the updated Travelling to Canada Guide for important information on who is eligible to travel, documents to prepare, ensuring you have health insurance, making a quarantine (self-isolation) plan, and more.
Measurement of body temperature and daily self-assessment when coining to campus
UBC's COVID-19 Campus Rules require that all students, faculty and staff must have their temperatures taken and assess themselves daily for COVID-19 symptoms prior to attending UBC premises. Please use the BC self-assessment tool at https：//bc. thrive, health/. Anyone experiencing symptoms should follow the guidance provided in the self-assessment tool.
Maintaining physical distancing and wearing non-medical masks
Public Health Orders require all members of our community maintain physical distance and wear non-medical masks. As a reminder, UBC (University of British Columbia) students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear non-medical masks, when indoors on our campuses.
Be well, be safe and thank you for following public health and campus rule guidance.
1. According to the current orders, a university student is allowed to________.| A．attend a concert | B．host a party |
| C．organize a football match | D．get together with his family |
| A．To stand in line. | B．To wear medical masks. |
| C．To have temperatures taken. | D．To show health insurance. |
| A．in December | B．in February | C．in August | D．in September |
9 . A study, led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, tracked the same 875 mother-child pairs in Chile for 16 years, conducting assessments at ages 1, 5, 10 and 16. At each visit researchers screened the mother for signs of depression and used cognitive (认知的) development tests on the child. They also asked questions to assess the home life, characterizing the level of engagement (密切联系) between the mother and child.
Researchers found that signs of depression in moms when the child is one are associated with lower scores on cognitive function tests for the child at age 16. “We found that mothers who were highly depressed didn’t invest (投入) emotionally or in providing learning materials to support their child, such as toys and books, as much as mothers who were not depressed. This, in turn, impacted the child’s IQ at ages 5, 10 and 16,” Patricia East, PhD, research scientist with the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and one of the lead authors on the study, said in a statement.
The authors found the relationship in reverse to be true, as well — lower development scores early in the childlife promoted less engagement from mom and that only increased signs of maternal (母亲的) depression as the child entered into adolescence.
Children who had severely depressed mothers were found to have an average verbal IQ score of 7. 30 compared to a score of 7. 78 in children without depressed mothers.
Although seemingly small, differences in IQ from 7. 78 to 7. 30 are highly meaningful in terms of children’s verbal skills and vocabulary, said East. “Our study results show the long-term consequences that a child can experience due to long-term maternal depression.”
However, the authors recognize these families in Chile can be very different from mothers and children of other cultural backgrounds or nationalities. Besides, all the families studied were from a similar cultural background and socioeconomic status and had a similar level of education.
1. What did the researchers do in the study?| A．They screened the child for signs of depression. |
| B．They tested the cognitive abilities of the mother. |
| C．They evaluated the mother-child pairs’ relationship. |
| D．They ignored the mother’s educational background. |
| A．A kid’s IQ scores were decided by the mother’s. |
| B．A kid’s IQ scores were different at different ages. |
| C．Depressed mothers gave birth to kids with low IQ scores. |
| D．Mothers’ depression might negatively impact their kids’ IQ. |
| A．a mother’s depression might lead to her kid’s depression |
| B．a kid’s lower IQ prevented him from succeeding at school |
| C．a mother’s depression prevented her engagement with her kid |
| D．an adolescent with lower IQ worsened the mother’s depression |
| A．They don’t sound controversial. |
| B．They may encourage public debate. |
| C．They may not be very representative. |
| D．They have been confirmed in a large scale. |
10 . When was the last time you thought about breathing? Most people usually do not. When we are healthy, breathing happens naturally and easily. Without much effect on our part, the human respiratory system（呼吸系统）works hard. Experts say we take about 20,000 breaths every day.
One such expert is James Hoyt, a doctor at the University of Colorado’s Health Pulmonology Clinic. He notes our “respiratory muscles are working every minute of the day, every day of our lives.” A muscle called the diaphragm（横膈膜）separates the chest and abdominal cavities（腹腔）. As we breathe in, the diaphragm tightens. The chest cavity opens, and the lungs expand. When we breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, pushing air out.
When you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and the lower belly（腹部）rises. On its website, Harvard Medical School notes that deep breathing may slow the heartbeat, lower blood pressure and lower stress. Deep breaths help your body fully exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide. However, many people do the opposite of deep breathing. They take short breaths and have shallow breathing. Shallow breathing makes you feel short of breath and worried, or anxious.
The American Lung Association notes that shallow breathing, over time, leaves old, stale air in the lungs. This leaves less room for the diaphragm to bring in fresh oxygen. And that means lower oxygen levels and less oxygen for exercise and activity.
Several health websites explain an easy deep breathing exercise. Find a place to sit or lie down Place one hand just below your ribs（肋骨）. Take a slow, deep breath-or inhale-through your nose. Feel your hand go up. Your stomach should rise and expand. Now breathe out slowly through your mouth. Make sure to breathe out-or exhale-all the way. Feel your hand and stomach go down.
1. How can we breathe air out?| A．By the diaphragm’s tightening. | B．By the chest cavity’s opening. |
| C．By the lungs’expanding. | D．By the diaphragm’s moving upward. |
| A．It’s harmful. | B．It can cause anxiety. |
| C．It can reduce stress. | D．It’s bad for the heart. |
| A．No longer new. | B．Not beneficial. | C．Poisonous. | D．Available. |
| A．Special News. | B．Health Report. |
| C．The Making of a Nation. | D．People in America. |
