1 . In Japan, some workers who regularly drink beer at the end of the day are giving their livers a rest by turning to beer that is free, or nearly free of alcohol.The liver is the organ that works to remove alcohol from the body. Masuda, one of beer lovers, said he is paying more attention to his health now that he is older.
Asahi is a large beverage company in Japan, which made 20 percent more money from low-alcohol beer in 2020 compared to the year before. Kirin is another company that makes things to drink. It saw sales grow by 10 percent last year and expects another increase this year.
The increase in sales of non-alcoholic beer might be the result of many Japanese people spending more time at home. In the past, they would order beers together while going out. More people are trying to stay healthy as well. Also, fewer people are drinking beer, as wine and other alcoholic drinks become more popular. But the new interest in low-alcohol beer has helped the beverage industry in Japan.
In recent years, many companies started making non-alcoholic beers. They caught on in places like Australia and Germany but not in Japan – until this year.
The chief of Suntory, another large beverage company in Japan, said people only responded to non-alcoholic beer advertising when the product started to taste better. Many people agree that today's non-alcoholic beers taste better than they used to. Asahi's "Beery" has very little alcohol. But it is supposed to have more taste than earlier versions of low-alcohol beer because of a new way of removing the alcohol. The company plans to offer more low-alcohol beers in coming years.
Kazuo Matsuyama is marketing chief for Asahi, who said most beer companies used to advertise to people who had a drink every day. That was about 20 million people. But there are about 80 million people in Japan between the ages of 20 and 60." But now we need to look at others." Matsuyama said.
1. Why do some Japanese workers turn to beers free of alcohol nowadays?| A．To appreciate a tasty flavor. | B．To ensure a healthier lifestyle. |
| C．To get rid of liver cancer. | D．To relieve stress in their life. |
| A．Beverage company traditions. |
| B．Financial reports. |
| C．Published statistics. |
| D．Public opinions. |
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．New lifestyles in Japan. |
| B．The development of Asahi. |
| C．Introductions of different beers. |
| D．Popularity of alcohol free beers. |
2 . Most solar panels acquire sunlight from only one side, meaning they can acquire more or less of it depending on where the sun is in the sky. In recent years, they’ve become far more effective typically turning around 22 percent of the light they acquire into energy. In a new study published in the journal Joule on Tuesday, scientists put forth a way to increase that percentage even higher: double-sided solar panels that can move to follow the sun.
Basically, these panels can acquire sun from not only their sun-facing side but also from the light reflected off the ground onto their dark undersides. At the same time, a GPS allows them to move on an axis from east to west in order to always be pointed at a best angle to acquire the sun’s rays. Though double-sided solar panels and sun-following solar panels are both in use currently, models that combine the two technologies aren’t widely available for commercial use, Solar experts predict explosive growth in the market soon, though.
The study authors determined that these two-sided sun-tracking panels produce an average of 35 percent more energy than immobile single-panel systems, and are 16 percent more cost-efficient. That holds true even when accounting for changes in weather conditions.
“This means that investing in double-sided and tracking systems should be a safe bet for the foreseeable future, Carlos Rodriguez-Gallegos,” the study’s lead author said.
The same warnings for solar panels and their effect on the local environment apply to the double-sided, moving systems as well, if not more so. Lead used in solar panels can be one source of local pollution, and Dustin Mulvaney, an associate professor of environmental studies, told Earther in an email double-sided panels could mean “twice as much lead” as traditional solar systems.
Since these new panels are more energy efficient, they could save not only money but also land. That would require restructuring how solar contracts currently work.
1. What does most solar panels rely on to acquire sunlight?| A．The amount of sunlight. | B．The location of the sun. |
| C．The quality of solar panels. | D．The size of solar panels. |
| A．The sun’s rays. | B．The panels’ undersides. |
| C．The double-sided panels | D．The panels’ sun-facing sides. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Subjective. |
| A．Double-Sided Solar Panels that Follow the Sun | B．Advantages of the Double-Sided Solar Panels |
| C．Application of the Double-Sided Solar Panels | D．New Trends of Double-Sided Solar Panels |
3 . Have you ever loved a destination but couldn’t figure out why — or even a way ——to express your feelings? That’s my dilemma with Morocco.
In August, I traveled in a country that had long been, on my wish list. I rode a camel, got lost in Medinas, and ate more couscous (粗麦粉) than was humanly possible.
I loved the trip. Our friendly guide introduced us to the helpful locals. I made friends with my tour mates and my roommate (which, on a tour, is a huge blessing). I loved being lost in the smell of different spices, and the chaos of millions of people and the dark red of the Sahara were all I wanted them to be.
There were many moments when I felt like a fish out of water and things didn’t go my way. But I take pleasure in those moments because it’s when you are pushed out of your comfort zone that you grow. Morocco lived up to all my expectations, but for some reason, my experience has been hard to express. Why?
One constant in my travels is that of a touchstone, one defining point where the trip all comes together and acts as a prism (三棱镜) for everything the journey represented . In Costa Rica，it was getting lost in a jungle. In Thailand, it was meeting those five people who changed my life.
I’m so inconsistent about Morocco because I lack that touchstone. There’s no “whoa” moment. But I have thousands of little ones - staring at a million stars in the blackness of the desert, discovering new foods with some amazing Australians on my tour, and befriending the fish sellers.
1. What does the author regard as a huge blessing?| A．Going on a guided trip. |
| B．Having a helpful guide. |
| C．Being warmly received by the local people. |
| D．Getting along well with the fellow travelers. |
| A．To prove Morocco lacks the touchstone. |
| B．To show his reliance on the touchstone. |
| C．To compare Morocco with Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| D．To share his experience in Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| A．The lack of big moments. |
| B．The little “whoa” moments. |
| C．Meeting with five Thai people. |
| D．Making friends with Australians. |
| A．Unpleasant travel in Morocco. |
| B．Finding a touchstone on travel. |
| C．Reflection on traveling in Morocco. |
| D．Lack of special moments in Morocco. |
4 . An 85-year-old primary school constructed in 1935 in Shanghai has been lifted off the ground in its entirety and relocated using new technology called the “walking machine.” The project marks the first time this “walking machine” method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historical building.
Urbanization（都市化）has continued to significantly threaten architectural heritage. In the capital Beijing, for instance, more than 1,000 acres of its historic hutongs and traditional courtyard homes were destroyed between 1990 and 2010.
In the early 2000s, cities including Nanjing and Bejjing-due to the critics’ protest about the loss of old neighborhoods-drew up long-term plans to preserve what was left of their historic sites, with protections introduced to safeguard buildings and restrict developers.
These conservation efforts have taken different forms. In Beijing, a near-ruined temple was transformed into a restaurant and gallery, while in Nanjing, a cinema from the 1930s was restored to its original form, with some additions providing it for modern use. In 2019, Shanghai welcomed Tank Shanghai, an arts center built in renovated（重修的）oil tanks.
“Relocation is not the first choice, but better than destroying,” said Lan, the Shanghai primary school’s project supervisor. “I’d rather not touch the historical buildings at all.” Building relocations he said however, are “a workable option.” “The central government is putting more emphasis on the protection of historical buildings. I’m happy to see that progress in recent years.”
Shanghai has arguably been China’s most progressive city when it comes to heritage preservation. The survival of a number of 1930s buildings and 19th-century “shikumen” （or “stone gate”） house have offered examples of how to give old buildings new life.
“We have to preserve the historical building no matter what, ” Lan said. “The relocation has challenges, but in general, it is cheaper than destroying and then rebuilding something in a new location.”
1. How did cities respond to the loss of historical sites?| A．They criticized the developers. | B．They rebuilt the historic hutongs. |
| C．They ended the significant threat. | D．They proposed the protection project. |
| A．All original form. | B．A new addition. | C．A cinema. | D．A temple. |
| A．Provide strong evidence. | B．Introduce different opinions. |
| C．Summarize previous paragraphs. | D．Add some background information. |
| A．Walking Machine: a New Technology | B．Rebuilding: a New Option for Relics |
| C．Old Building Torn down for Modern Use | D．Historical Site “Walks” to New Life |
5 . The winners of The Cultural City of East Asia in 2021 have been chosen, with four cities in China, Japan and South Korea winning the title, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Sunday.
Shaoxing of East China’s Zhejiang Province, Dunhuang in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, Suncheon in South Korea and Kitakyushu in Japan were selected through votes held in their respective countries in 2020. Choosing Dunhuang and Shaoxing at the same time marks the first time that one country has selected two cities in the program.
These four cities are major cultural landmarks in their respective countries. Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for its nearby Mogao Grottoes, which contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art from a period extending 1, 000 years. Suncheon is an eco－city in South Korea that is a major agricultural and industrial center and also known for Suncheon Bay. Kitakyushu city was formed in 1963 through a combination of five big cities centered around the ancient city of Kokura. It is also where the already delayed 12th meeting of the three countries’ culture ministers will be held in 2021. Suncheon and Kitakyushu also won The Cultural City of East Asia in 2020.
These four cities are active centers for art and cultural communication. According to the announcement, the four cities will work closely together to promote cultural development and prosperity in East Asia through sustained cultural cooperation and close exchanges, and will jointly support the preparation and hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2022.
The “The Cultural City of East Asia” program was created based on an agreement reached at a meeting of ministers of culture from Japan, China, and South Korea in 2013. Every year one or two cities in each country are selected with the aim to develop their ties through culture and arts; those cities host a variety of cultural and artistic events to introduce traditional and modern arts and culture as well as different lifestyles to visitors.
1. What’s special about the selection of The Cultural City of East Asia in 2021?| A．All the cities were on the list for the first time. |
| B．All the cities are well－known all over the world. |
| C．Two cities of one country were selected in a year. |
| D．Three countries work together to make the selection. |
| A．Shaoxing. | B．Dunhuang. | C．Suncheon. | D．Kitakyushu. |
| A．The culture of the four cities. | B．The mission of the four cities. |
| C．The history of the four cities. | D．The comparison of the four cities. |
| A．To preserve local traditional arts, culture and lifestyles. |
| B．To support the preparation and hosting of the Olympics. |
| C．To strengthen the city relationship through culture and arts. |
| D．To host various cultural and artistic events to attract visitors. |
6 . “Human activity has wiped out two-thirds of the world’s wildlife since 1970,” CNN reported on September 10, 2020. Later that month, the Guardian reported that “40 percent of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction”. Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich and his colleagues argued that “the ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization”. Around the same time, the Daily Mail warned that “human civilization stands a 90 percent chance of collapse within decades due to deforestation”.
These horrible calculations and projections come from authoritative-sounding reports issued by international agencies, conservation groups, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. But is the future of wild nature and human civilization really so poor?
Data from uncontroversial mainstream sources strongly indicate that both humanity and the natural world are likely to be flourishing rather than collapsing at the end of this century. Humanity is becoming an urban species, and that’s good for the environment, since urban dwellers generally use less electricity, produce less globe-warming carbon dioxide, and have smaller land footprints than people living in the countryside. By 2100, it is estimated that 85 percent of people will be city dwellers, which would leave only 1.2 billion still living in the countryside. That means more space for the wildlife and less pollution from the agriculture.
The global tree-covering area increased by 865,000 square miles between 1982 and 2016. The researchers found that gains in forest area in the mild, subtropical and northern climatic zones are offsetting declines in the tropics. The Maryland researchers owe much of that increase to “natural afforestation on abandoned agricultural land”. “Furthermore, forests in mountainous regions are expanding as climate warming enables trees to grow at higher altitudes,” they added.
Humanity does face big environmental challenges in the coming century. But the scientific and economic evidence shows that most of the trends are positive or can be turned in positive direction by human wisdom. Rather than an age of extinction, the 21st century promises to be an era of environmental renewal.
1. Why does the author mention the reports in Paragraph 1?| A．To give examples. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To make a contrast. | D．To support his opinion. |
| A．No one will choose to live in the countryside. |
| B．More space will be available for the wildlife. |
| C．Neither humanity nor the natural world will develop quickly. |
| D．Urban residents will do more walking than those in the countryside. |
| A．The expanding and disappearance in forest area aren’t evenly matched. |
| B．The forest area in the mild, tropic and northern zones is increasing. |
| C．There are more forests in mountainous regions due to the climate warming. |
| D．The plan of “natural afforestation on abandoned agricultural land” is unfavorable. |
| A．The Bright Future of Humanity |
| B．The Challenges in the Coming Century |
| C．Better Environment, Better Future of Human |
| D．21st Century: An Era of Environmental Renewal |
7 . The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear's famous warning: “Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires”. However, that's not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles and amphibians such as the pine (松树） snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, “One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine forests. Within a few years most forests choke up with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被） and can no longer support birds dependent on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover.”
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind-all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the 'fuel load' can lead to fires catastrophic to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smokey Bear even has an updated warning: “Only You can Prevent Wildfires,” as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include prescribed fire as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
1. Why did the author mention Smoky the Bear's warning?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To clarify a misunderstood concept. |
| C．To show the significance of fire prevention. |
| D．To raise people's awareness of forest protection. |
| A．Forest bushes. |
| B．Fuel sources. |
| C．Pine forests. |
| D．Periodic burning. |
| A．To put out wildfires. |
| B．To keep the forest balance. |
| C．To remove tree and plant species. |
| D．To keep the fuel rich in the forest. |
| A．One Match Can Start A Forest Fire |
| B．Where There Is Smoke There Is A Fire |
| C．Not All Forest Fires Are Created Equal |
| D．Why Not Keep The Forest Fire Burning |
8 . It’s time for bed, the lights are out, and yet you’re wide awake. You do eventually manage to fall asleep, but even then, it’s a very shallow, restless sort of sleep.
Now more research suggests you needn’t look further than outside your window and at the moon for the cause of this sleeplessness. However, in a surprising twist, the findings weren’t entirely what the researchers expected. While we know that humans are a species ruled by light, the “lunar phase effect” (月相效应) affects sleep even when artificial sources of light are accounted for.
Rather than people staying up later and sleeping less during the full moon, it was just before the full moon that sleep was shorter and lighter. “It turns out that the nights before the full moon are the ones that have most of the moonlight during the first half of the night,” said Horacio Iglesia, a professor of biology at the University of Washington in The Guardian. The opposite was true just before the new moon — people tended to sleep more and go to bed earlier.
Ninety-eight participants across three Indigenous communities in Argentina wore wrist monitors tracking sleep patterns over the course of one to two months. While one community had no access to electricity, the second community had limited access, and the third community was located in an urban setting with full access to electricity.
The study also found that this lunar phase effect on sleep also appeared to have greater impact on people who had more limited access to electricity. In every community, participants’ peak (高峰) sleepless period occurred in the three to five days leading up to the full moon night, while the opposite was true for the new moon, the study authors found.
Wanting further insight, the researchers compared their data to the results of a similar study of 464 Seattle-based students at the University of Washington. The findings proved consistent.
This research supports the view that try as we may, we can’t ever fully get away from some forces of nature.
1. What makes it hard for people to fall asleep?| A．Visual distance. | B．Faded light. |
| C．Artificial light. | D．Bright moonlight. |
| A．Before the full moon. | B．During the full moon. |
| C．Before the new moon. | D．During the new moon. |
| A．The third community slept least during the new moon. |
| B．Lunar phase effect affected the first community more. |
| C．Peak sleepless period often happened at the same night |
| D．The result of the research differed from previous ones. |
| A．Shallow Sleep Does Harm to Health | B．The Moon Affects Our Sleep Cycles |
| C．People Live in Harmony with Nature | D．Sleep Patterns Differ from Each Other |
9 . Every day, it seems that some new algorithm (算法) enables computers to diagnose a disease with unprecedented accuracy, renewing predictions that computer's will soon replace doctors. What if computers could replace patients as well? If virtual humans could have replaced real people in some stages of a coronavirus vaccine trial, it could have sped development of a preventive tool and slowed down the pandemic. Similarly, potential vaccines that weren't likely to work could have been identified early, reducing trial costs and avoiding testing poor vaccine candidates on living volunteers. These are some of the benefits of “in silico medicine”, or the testing of drugs and treatments on virtual organs or body systems to predict how a real person will respond to the therapies.
The modeling begins by feeding anatomical data drawn from noninvasive (非侵入式) high- resolution imaging of an individual's actual organ into a complex mathematical model of the mechanisms that govern that organ's function. Algorithms running on powerful computers resolve the resulting equations and unknowns, generating a virtual organ that looks and behaves like the real thing.
In silico clinical trials are already underway to an extent. Heart Flow Analysis, for instance, enables clinicians to identify CAD (冠心病) based on CT images of a patient's heart. The Heart Flow system uses these images to construct a fluid dynamic model of the blood running through the coronary blood vessels, thereby identifying abnormal conditions and their severity. Without this technology, doctors would need to perform an invasive operation to decide whether and how to intervene. Experimenting on digital models of individual patients can also help personalize therapy for any number of conditions and is already used in diabetes care.
The philosophy behind in silico medicine is not new. The ability to create and simulate the performance of an object under hundreds of operating conditions has been a cornerstone of engineering for decades, such as for designing electronic circuits, airplanes and buildings. Various obstacles remain to its widespread implementation in medical research and development.
The predictive power and reliability of this technology must be confirmed, and that will require several advances. Those include the generation of high quality medical databases from a large, ethnically diverse patient base that has both women and men; improvement of mathematical models to account for the many interacting processes in the body; and further modification of Al methods that were developed mainly for computer-based speech and image recognition and need to be extended to provide biological insights.
In recent years American and European regulators have approved some commercial uses of computer-based diagnostics, but meeting regulatory demands requires considerable time and money. Creating demand for these computer-based diagnostic tools is challenging as well. In silico medicine must be able to deliver cost-effective value for patients, clinicians and health care organizations to accelerate their adoption of the technology.
1. According to the text, “in silico medicine” might help ________.| A．discover the cause of an illness |
| B．quicken the creation of new medicine |
| C．recognize the symptoms of a disease earlier |
| D．avoid including unhealthy volunteers in trials |
| A．works effectively in CAD treatment |
| B．offers personalized therapies to patients |
| C．reduces the chances of invasive operations |
| D．builds models after identifying abnormal conditions |
| A．money and time from the regulators |
| B．replacement of old mathematical models |
| C．more proof of its effectiveness and dependability |
| D．progress in speech and image recognition technology |
| A．Looking to Al to End Experimental Study |
| B．In Silico Medicine Saved Millions of Lives |
| C．Exploring the Future of Algorithm in Medicine |
| D．Virtual Patients Could Revolutionize Medicine |
10 . What defines (定义) a generation? Often, experts say, members of a generation are defined by the events that shaped their lives as young adults.
“World events like wars, pandemics (大流行病) and racial unrest can be especially formative,” says Meg Jay, a psychologist and author of “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter — and How to Make the Most of Them Now”. Because our 20s are often when we have our first jobs and first relationships and first moves and first real-world experiences, these big events become important parts of our life stories.
In 2020, it was a pandemic.
For the last three months of 2020, the Monitor followed twelve 2l-year-olds from around the world. We wanted to understand how this global health crisis is encoding itself in the cultural DNA of a generation coming of age in its shadow. Their lives and circumstances as they rolled into 2021 varied wildly. But the lives of the 2l-year-olds we met had many obvious similarities. Separately, for instance, the internet was their collective lifeline to the world. In Mexico, an art student isolating in her family home posted a daily piece of art to Instagram to remind herself that time had not stopped altogether. In Germany, a labor organizer negotiated contracts and planned strikes via Zoom.
By the end of 2020, many of the world’s 21-year-olds had lost jobs; others wondered if they’d ever find one. In the U. S, youth unemployment doubled between July 2019 and July 2020. Also, the pandemic opened fault lines, and stressed old ones. In India, Jordan, and South Africa, our 21-year-olds wondered how they’d collect enough money for mobile data for online studies. In Mexico, Canada, and Germany, 21-year-olds reflected on loneliness as a privilege — that they were alone because they could isolate, their lives not dependent on doing otherwise.
We found a generation suspended (悬停) between the world they’d grown up in and uncertain arrival of their future.
1. According to Meg Jay, what determines the future of the people in their twenties?| A．Their fundamental changes of working circumstances. |
| B．Their great efforts of coping with uncertainties in life. |
| C．Their first experiences of the major events then. |
| D．Their deep reflections on the attitudes to life. |
| A．Significant employment challenges. | B．Potential social problems. |
| C．Special individual privileges. | D．Global health crises. |
| A．Approving. | B．Negative. | C．Critical. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The World Children Have Grown up in Defines a Generation |
| B．A Young Generation Was Suspended But Ready to Start |
| C．A Great Pandemic Has Brought Various Global Crises |
| D．World Events Changed the Lives of Young Adults |
