1 . New research links outdoor air pollution — even at levels considered safe — to an increased risk of diabetes (糖尿病) globally, according to a study from the VA St. Louis Health Care System. The findings raise the possibility that reducing pollution may lead to a drop in diabetes cases in heavily polluted countries such as India and less polluted ones such as the United States.

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases, affecting more than 500 million people worldwide. The main drivers of diabetes include eating an unhealthy diet, having a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, but the new research indicates the extent to which outdoor air pollution plays a role.

“Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes globally,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “We found an increased risk, even at low levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This is important because many industry lobbying (游说) groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened.”

While growing evidence has suggested a link between air pollution and diabetes, researchers have not attempted to quantify that burden until now. “Over the past two decades, there have been bits of research about diabetes and pollution,” said Al-Aly. “We wanted to thread together the pieces for a broader, more solid understanding.”

The researchers also found that the overall risk of pollution-related diabetes tilted (倾斜) more toward lower-income countries such as India that lack the resources for environmental mitigation systems and clean-air policies. For instance, poverty-stricken countries facing a higher diabetes-pollution risk include Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Guyana, while richer countries such as France, Finland and Iceland experience a lower risk. The US experiences a medium risk of pollution-related diabetes.

What’s the purpose of Al-Aly’s team?

A．To identify the causes of diabetes.

B．To make better air pollution control policies.

C．To lead the study of diabetes and air pollution.

D．To figure out the link between pollution and diabetes.

2 . The other day, my sister and I were sitting in a restaurant, trying to have a conversation, but her children, four-year-old Willow and seven-year-old Luca, would not stop fighting. The arguments-over a fork, or who had more water in a glass-never stopped.

Then my sister reached into her handbag, produced two shiny iPads, and handed one to each child. Suddenly, the two were quiet. They sat playing games and watching videos, and we continued with our conversation.

After our meal, as my sister stuffed the iPads back into her bag, she said, “I don’t want to give them the iPads at the dinner table, but if they keep them occupied for an hour so we can eat in peace, I often just hand them over. I’m afraid it’s bad for them. I do worry that it makes them think it’s OK to use electronics at the dinner table in the future.”

Dr. Gary Small, director of the Longevity Center at the University of California, Los Angeles says that the brain is highly sensitive to stimuli (刺激物), like iPads and smartphone screens, and if people spend too much time on one technology, and less time interacting with people like parents at the dinner table, that could prevent the development of certain communication skills.

“Conversations with each other are the way children learn to have conversations with themselves, and learn how to be alone,” said Sherry Turkle, a professor of science, technology and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She fears that children who do not learn real interactions, which often have imperfections, will come to know a world where perfect, shiny screens give them a false sense of intimacy (亲密) without risk. However, they need to be able to gather themselves and know who they are. So someday they can form a relationship with another person without a panic of being alone. “If you don’t teach your children to be alone, they’ll only know how to be lonely,” she said.

1. According to Dr. Small, what should parents do?

A．Provide their children with various technologies.

B．Teach their children communication skills.

C．Talk to their children at the dinner table.

D．Limit their children’s screen time.

2. What is Sherry Turkle worried?

A．Children are afraid of taking risks.

B．Children try to escape from the real world.

C．Children can’t live without electronic devices.

D．Children can’t deal with companion-less situations.

3. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To tell a true story.	B．To discuss a phenomenon.
C．To give practical suggestions.	D．To compare different opinions.

3 . Not all fat is created equal. The fat most people picture is known as white fat, since it looks white or white-yellow when you see it under the skin. But you’re also born with brown fat, which, unsurprisingly, looks brown.

Brown fat — found in the neck and shoulders of newborns — is metabolically (新陈代谢地) efficient, in that it burns lots of calories, which serves the purpose of keeping you warm (important for newborns). We lose most of our brown fat as we age. By age six, we have less than five percent of the brown fat we were born with; the fat we gain over time is almost all white fat. One of the major causes of shortened lifetime and illnesses like type 2 diabetes and many cancers is the increasing level of white fat. So scientists have long tried to find ways to activate that fat or turn white fat into brown fat.

However, one roadblock to using brown fat is that all the good stuff that brown fat does has to be programmed into the previously white fat, but that has proved doable. A group in Delaware has activated brown fat in a few women with an already approved medication. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) have put white fat in test tubes and turned it into brown fat. They then injected the brown fat into fat sheep. As hoped, the sheep with more brown fat got thin and lost their metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

The timetable for this game-changing ability to turn white fat to brown fat is predicted to be less than five years away after human studies start. If scientists find a way to replace white fat with brown fat, it will likely mitigate risks of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and brain disorder greatly and provide increased energy levels. That is, you become operationally younger. Bring it on!

What can we learn about brown fat from the research of UCPH?

A．It originates from white fat.	B．It can be activated by medication.
C．It may be the key to weight loss.	D．It has to work with white fat.

4 . Cheerleading squads (啦啦队) are known for their energy and athleticism, and always add fun and excitement to any event. Most cheerleading groups have young members, so this Arizona cheerleading squad certainly stands out. Sun City Poms, which only recruits (招募) members who are over 55, has distinguished itself as a cheerleading squad that brings joy to seniors and audiences of all ages.

Established in 1979, the team consists of women aged over 55 who live in Sun City, a retirement community in Arizona. This community of active seniors women are passionate about dancing, performing and staying active, and prove that there is no age limit to what you love to do. The team has become increasingly popular, and the members are known for their energetic performances at parades, festivals and events throughout the state.

Despite the demanding schedule, the women remain committed to the team. This cheerleading squad brings joy to seniors by keeping members physically fit, building friendships, and fostering a sense of community. The Sun City Poms currently has 30members and a handful of trainees, who can join after completing a three-month class, learning two routines, and proving they have what it takes.

On March 25, the group successfully held the “Celebrate the Poms” show, which drew a crowd of over 700 people. It even included a special number from “The Flops”, who count the husbands, friends and lovers of the Poms as members.

Zirbel, in her eighties, already has a lot of memories with the group and is ready to make more. She shared that in one event alone. She estimated that she walked about three miles. Despite the tiring schedule and off days, Zirbel is not about to leave the team anytime soon.

1. Why did Zirbel mention “three miles” in her sharing?

A．To prove her energetic daily life.	B．To indicate her tiredness of the work.
C．To show the effort involved in the event.	D．To complain about the stress of the training.

2. Which of the following sayings best suits the story?

A．No young or old learner is a teacher.

B．When is life enough to be idle and idle?

C．One year older, one more point of responsibility.

D．Although the violin is old, it can still play a good tune.

5 . Have you ever put off a project until the last minute even though you knew it would only take a few hours to complete? Studies suggest that when given a task, we think of how much time is available to complete the task instead of how much time we actually need. This mindset, or Parkinson’s Law as psychologists put it, results in wasted time and inefficient workflows.

One reason why this phenomenon happens lies in how people tend to approach tasks. By focusing on how much time we have to do something, we assume that the task will require that much time. Parkinson’s Law isn’t a magic formula (公式) or a fixed rule. But it is an observation you can use to help you become more productive. Let’s look at a few ways you can apply Parkinson’s Law to your life, get your to-do list checked off quicker, and spend less of the workday filling in time just to look busy.

As you get started, make a list of your tasks, and determine the amount of time it takes to complete them. If you can give yourself half that time to complete each task, you can avoid falling into the procrastination (拖延) trap.

Get better at judging time. Some tasks may be accurate to begin with, and some may be inflated if you are not used to using Parkinson’s Law. A timer is going to be very useful when you start doing this.

Avoid setting arbitrary deadlines and instead think about how long a task will realistically take to complete. While this might not be clear, consider past experiences as a guide.

While Parkinson’s Law is a phenomenon that can lead to wasted time and incompetence, it doesn’t have to be a problem if you’re aware of it. Using some of the strategies above, you can avoid falling victim to Parkinson’s Law and make the most of your time.

1. What can be inferred about Parkinson’s Law?

A．It improves productivity.	B．It leads to procrastination.
C．It results from a magic rule.	D．It contradicts personal judgment.

2. What would be the intention of the text?

A．To promote more efficient task management.

B．To criticize some wrong practice.

C．To define Parkinson’s Law.

D．To suggest a self-disciplined lifestyle.

7 . Languages like Italian or Finnish can be spelled more easily because each letter of the alphabet matches to one sound. Students studying these languages can have 90 percent reading accuracy after the first year. However, students even after years of learning English are still far below Italian or Finnish students in reading accuracy.

English started as a Germanic language. It is most closely connected to German and Dutch, especially in grammar and basic vocabulary. During the Norman invasion in the 12th century, Old English was spoken but French was used in government and legal documents. And Latin was used in religious and educational activities. As a result, more French and Latin words entered the English language. The printing press invented in the late 1400s helped to establish English spelling. The English of today is how the language was written at the time. However, the spoken language started to change in the 1500s with the pronunciation of all long vowels (元音). For example, “bite” was pronounced closer to “beet” in the 1400s, before changing through the years to its current sound. The effect was that the English language had old spellings, but new sounds.

......

How does the author lead to the topic of this text?

A．By making a classification.	B．By comparison.
C．By the calculation of an example.	D．By describing a process.

10 . ......

Under some circumstances, the researchers found significant emissions reductions. But each case required what they considered an unrealistically high portion of the wood going towards construction, as well as rapid growth only seen in warmer places, like Brazil. In general, they found a large increase in global demand for wood would probably lead to rising emissions for decades. Accounting for emissions in this way, the researchers reported in a related paper that increasing forest harvests between 2010 and 2050 would add emissions equal to roughly 10 percent of total annual emissions.

Ali Amiri at Aalto University in Finland says the report’s conclusions about emissions from rising demand are probably correct, but the story is different for wood we already harvest. “Boosting the efficiency of current harvests and using more wood for longer lived purposes than paper would cut emissions,” he says. “We cannot just say we should stop using wood.”

What is Ali Amiri’s attitude toward the new result?

A．Favorable.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Objective.