1 . China's historic 23-day Chang'e 5 mission has not only obtained precious rock and soil samples from the moon, but has also brought back a group of seeds that traveled the furthest in the nation's agricultural and forestry histories. More than 30 kinds of seeds, including that of rice, oats etc., were placed inside the multi-module Chang'e 5 spacecraft and orbited around the moon for about 15 days.
Scientists wished to check what would happen to the seeds after being exposed to extraterrestrial (地外的) forces in lunar orbit and also hoped that they could develop beneficial mutations (突变). This mission offered good opportunities to scientists, which enabled them to deepen their studies on the effect of cosmic rays on the growth and evolution of life on Earth.
Space-based mutation breeding refers to the process of exposing seeds to forces such as microgravity, vacuums and cosmic radiation during a spaceflight and then sending them back to Earth for further observation and planting. Researchers observe and examine several generations of plants grown from space-bred seeds and investigate their mutations-some are positive and desirable while others are negative. Those with positive mutations will be kept and analyzed, and will be introduced to farmers after their certification and approval.
Space breeding can generate mutations faster and more conveniently than ground-based experiments and can bring about some desirable traits that are otherwise hard to introduce. Compared with natural or conventionally bred types of plants, space-developed versions with positive mutations usually feature higher nutritional content, greater annual yields, shorter growth periods and better resistance to diseases and insect pests.
China conducted its first space breeding experiment in 1987, using a satellite to carry seeds into space. Since then, hundreds of kinds of seeds and seedlings have traveled with dozens of Chinese spaceships. Space breeding has helped to produce more than 200 new types of mutated plants in China that have been approved for large-scale cultivation, ranging from grains to vegetables and fruits. The Chang'e 5 robotic mission returned 1,731 grams of lunar rock and soil to Earth, marking a historic accomplishment 44 years after the last lunar substances were taken back.
1. Why were the seeds placed inside Chang'e 5?| A．To pick out the fittest for mutations. | B．To understand extraterrestrial forces. |
| C．To study the intensity of cosmic rays. | D．To expose them to a special environment. |
| A．It is not a time-consuming process. | B．Mutations develop in a random way. |
| C．It often brings about desirable effects. | D．Approval will be granted to mutated plants. |
| A．It is a custom to put seedlings on a spacecraft. |
| B．China was the first to do a space breeding experiment. |
| C．It is some time since seeds were last taken into space. |
| D．Space breeding has brought us commercial benefits. |
| A．Space-bred Seeds Offer Great Chances | B．Chang'e 5 Returns with a Big Package |
| C．Plant Mutations Result in a Better Life | D．Seeds from Space Mark a New History |
2 . Over the past two weeks, I've lost my passport, barked at a neighbor and published a picture of myself wearing a kid's superhero costume. Forgetfulness, anger and poor decision-making are all signs of sleep shortage.
And I'm not alone.
“I average around six hours a night,” admits Paul, who's lived in Shanghai for three years. “But how much of that is deep sleep, I don't know.”
Lisa works in a hotel. “I struggle to switch off,” she says, “a glass of red wine with dinner helps.”
March 21 is the World Sleep Day, an annual event in celebration of slumber, or sleep. When sleep problems become a global epidemic, it's time to ask: “Am I getting enough?”
The lack of sleep throughout industrialized nations is damaging our health, wellness and safety. We're dog-tired, the impact of which is enough to keep anyone up at night.
A global experiment is performed on 1.6 billion people across 70 countries twice a year: daylight savings. When one hour of sleep is lost in spring, there's a 24 percent increase in heart attacks, and in autumn, when the hour is regained, a 21 percent reduction.
Good sleep increases concentration, attention and decision-making. Creativity goes up, and our ability to find novel solutions to complex problems is hugely improved. Sleep reduces mood swings and stress levels. We drink less alcohol and make better food choices when rested.
Take sleep seriously. It's not a luxury, but a biological necessity. It's our life-support system and let it be our superpower.
1. Why does the author mention his own experiences in Paragraph 1?| A．To draw attention to his situation. | B．To complain about lacking sleep. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the text. | D．To raise a question about deep sleep. |
| A．Turn off. | B．Disinterest someone. | C．Stop talking. | D．Fall asleep. |
| A．The loss of sleep increases the risk of heart attacks. |
| B．Short sleep is linked to mental health problems. |
| C．Good sleep leads to better work performances. |
| D．Red wine is effective in treating sleeplessness. |
| A．Celebrating the World Sleep Day. | B．Paying attention to sleep problems. |
| C．Getting six hours' sleep every day. | D．Taking sleeping pills when necessary. |
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 . 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. |
5 . 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. |
6 . 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 |
7 . City Information Sheet
The city has several services and events each year that may interest you and are listed below:
•The city has an Animal Control Office that enforces laws for dogs and cats running at large in the city. All dogs and cats are required to be leashed (系住) unless they are kept inside your house. You can contact Dispatch to report animals running without the owner’s company.
•Each family is allowed two two-day yard sales per calendar year. You don’t have to get a permit before you hold a yard sale in the city limits.
•The city requires anyone doing business in the city to first obtain a business license. This license can be obtained from the City Hall.
Spring Cleanup — Held for one week in spring each year. Citizens may place unwanted furniture at the road edge in front of their location and the Spring Cleanup Crew (SCC) will remove them at the end of the event. If any nonresident is putting garbage at your address or in your neighborhood, please get the license plate number and description of the vehicles. Call City Council Center at 270-265-2501 to report it. The SCC is not authorized to take your garbage, so please place your daily garbage in the proper trash can.
Harvest Festival — Street festival with live music, children's activities, food stands, arts and crafts, fashion clothing and much, much more! The festival is sponsored by the Community Alliance and is held annually on the first Saturday in October.
Leaf Pickup — During the month of October, citizens may take the leaves to the road edge and the city will remove them. The machine will not vacuum(吸走)up sticks.
Elkton Bike Night — Every Thursday night, currently from May through September, the city welcomes cycle enthusiasts from around the region. Local food stands set up, restaurants have specials and the Todd County Community Alliance provides live entertainment such as live bands, karaoke or radio music. Even if you are not a cycle rider, everyone is welcome to join us for the free entertainment and food!
1. Which organization should you report to when spotting a dog running alone outside?| A．Dispatch. | B．Animal Control Office. |
| C．City Council Center. | D．The Community Alliance. |
| A．A couple preparing to hold a yard sale. |
| B．A retired man planning to open a bike shop. |
| C．A businessman organising a charity event. |
| D．A neighbor placing the unwanted furniture. |
| A．The city events cover all the seasons of a year. |
| B．Machines are used to collect the leaves and sticks. |
| C．The fun of Elkton Bike Night is not limited to cycling. |
| D．The SCC can take daily garbage away if properly placed. |
8 . One of Britain' s most outstanding scientists says the growth in the use of electronic tablets and smart phones is causing people to spend so much time indoors that they need to take regular vitamin D supplements to make up for the lack of sunlight they receive naturally.
Geneticist Steve Jones said he himself was a follower to the cause and urged others to follow. “I never thought I would be a person who would take vitamin supplements；I always thought it was absolute nonsense. But now I take vitamin D every day. Today, because I knew the sun wasn't going to shine, I took an extra one,” he said.
Exposure to the sun is the major source of vitamin D. However, people are spending less and less time outdoors in many areas. The problem is particularly serious in Scotland. "The Scots are the whitest people in the world because their entire body systems are crying out for vitamin D," he said, adding that life expectancy in Scotland is two years shorter than in England or Wales. Multiple sclerosis (多发性硬化症), a medical condition which is often seen in northern Europe, is also higher in Scotland than in England.
Vitamin D helps with the absorption of Ca, which helps keep bones strong. And Jones said the fact that rickets (佝偻病) was making a comeback in Britain after nearly 50 years was another sign of how changing behavior patterns were bringing physical harm.
Jones admitted that concerns over the damaging effects on skin of long-time exposure to the sun were reasonable, but said sunlight was healthy and necessary for the human body, and could help in lowering blood pressure. "If you lie on the beach for an hour, you will drop your blood pressure by about 10 points, because it relaxes your blood vessels (血管). So, get out in the sun while we still can," he said.
1. How are people affected by the rise of technology according to the text?| A．They are more sensitive to sunlight |
| B．They take more vitamin D supplements. |
| C．They get less vitamin D than before. |
| D．They become addicted to electronic games. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Worried. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Because they are in great need of sunlight. |
| B．Because their blood pressure is very low. |
| C．Because they enjoy a short period of sunshine. |
| D．Because they are easy to get multiple sclerosis. |
| A．Get out and gain more Vitamin D |
| B．Keep away from tablets and phones |
| C．Pay attention to the importance of sunlight |
| D．Take vitamin D supplements to keep healthy |
9 . Some time ago, in my class I was about to fail a student for his answer to a physics question when the student claimed he deserved a better score. The examination question sounded “safe”.
“Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer（压表）.” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building.”
I argued that a high grade should prove his competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try. Immediately, he worked out his answer: A second best way is to take the barometer to the top of the building. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula to calculate the height of the building.
I was shocked by his answer. His method gave me not only a broken barometer but a U-turn in my teaching philosophy. I gave him full marks.
On his leaving my office, I recalled that he suggested there could be a better answer. So I asked him what it was. “Oh, yes,” said the student, “There are many ways. Probably the best,” he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and ask the superintendent （楼管）. You speak to him as follows: Mr.Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of this building, I will give it to you.
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school instructors’ trying to teach him how to think, and to use the so-called “scientific method”. He just wanted to solve the problem in a practical manner, not just answer the question in an expected way. Hearing this, I really had nothing to do but give the boy a firm handshake, feeling thankful that I hadn’t failed him in the first place and even more thankful, neither had he.
1. Why did the author want to fail the student in the first place?| A．The student challenged his authority. |
| B．The student’s answer was not practical. |
| C．The student didn’t show his academic ability. |
| D．The student had a poor performance in physics class. |
| A．Without love, there is no education. |
| B．A man becomes learned by asking questions. |
| C．Teaching is to make two ideas grow where only one grew before. |
| D．You can lead your horse to the river, but you can’t make it drink. |
| A．Lack of physics-related knowledge. |
| B．Ignorance of the teacher’s expectation. |
| C．Intention to deeply impress his teacher. |
| D．Disapproval of existing teaching concepts. |
| A．The superintendent was a greedy person. |
| B．School education restricted this student’s thinking. |
| C．The teacher appreciated the student’s answers finally. |
| D．The examination question is a lough physics problem. |
10 . On a scale of 0 to 10, I’d say my happiness ranks at about 6. I’m glad to know I’m a 6, because, as a famous management saying puts it, “You can't manage what you don’t measure.” If you want to improve an aspect of your life, you need to be able to assess progress toward your goal-and that means measuring it.
The goal of this column is to help you manage and improve your happiness. A number of people have asked me whether quantitative happiness measures are really accurate and reliable-and it’s a reasonable question. So let’s take a look behind the curtain. But not just for intellectual curiosity; as you will see, understanding the measurement of happiness can itself make you better at improving your own well-being-and avoid some critical errors.
The best method scientists have to understand with confidence how something affects something else is a randomized, controlled trial. Think of the tests currently under way to find a vaccine for COvID-19. They take a long time because the drug companies with trial vaccines are conducting experiments that randomly assign people to a treatment group they get the vaccine and a control group (they get a placebo), and then waiting to seif the drug is effective and safe by comparing the two groups after enough time has passed.
In the research on happiness, this usually isn’t possible. Want to know if people are truly happiest in Denmark, as some studies suggest, and test it with a randomized experiment? You would need to randomly take two groups out of their homes, move one group to Copenhagen, and the other to, say, Dayton, Ohio- but make sure they think it might be Copenhagen and never get the truth. Follow up a few years later to see who is happiest. Obviously, that’s ridiculous. So with randomized controlled trials largely not available to them, happiness researchers instead rely on self-reported happiness surveys, where large groups of people anonymously report their levels of life satisfaction. Then, the researchers use fairly complex statistical techniques to mimic（模拟）a controlled experiment in order to show how different aspects of people’s lives affect-or at least are associated with-their happiness.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?| A．An aspect of life. | B．One's goal. | C．Happiness. | D．Progress. |
| A．To introduce a latest medical breakthrough. |
| B．To show the difficulty in finding the vaccine. |
| C．To illustrate the process of randomized experiments. |
| D．To prove the impossibility of randomized researches on happiness. |
| A．The experiment takes a long time. |
| B．It is difficult to analyze the data collected. |
| C．It is impossible to carry out the process strictly. |
| D．The subjects are unwilling to share their feelings. |
| A．A magazine. | B．A diary. | C．A science report. | D．A textbook. |
