1 . 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 |
2 . Until now, scientists haven’t been able to study the new rock on the moon.The new samples from Chang’e 5 will change this. They’re from near Mons Rümker, a volcanic mountain where the rock is thought to be much younger-- about 1 billion years old.
There are a lot of reasons scientists are eager to study this younger rock, one of which is that it could help us more precisely date not only the moon, but many rocky planets and other objects.
Here’s how that works: Scientists date lunar rock by using something called a chronology curve（年代学曲线）, says Jollliff, a scientists at Washington University in St. Louis. Basically, they estimate the age of the rock by counting the number of craters（火山口） in the area the rock comes from; those increase as objects strike the rock over time. To make this estimation, scientists need to match the number of craters to a precise age. Right now, they only have data points for lunar rock that is 3 to billion years old. Modern techniques can date the new sample extremely accurately, and once scientists know its precise age, they can add a valuable data point to their chronology curve. The dating system will also help us more accurately estimate the age of all sorts of objects in space, like rocky planets and other moons.
Another reason scientists are keen to study this young volcanic rock is to find out more about how volcanism works on the moon. Jollliff says that it’s unclear why there was volcanic activity on the moon for such a long period of time. Most of the moon; s volcanic activity, he says, is thought to have occurred 3 or 4 billion years ago, when the moon was still pretty young. But since the moon does not have plate structure, which drives volcanism on Earth, it’s unclear what could have caused much later volcanic activity. “That’s something that you can find out of the samples by studying them in the lab,” Jollliff says.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The fact of being unable to study the new rock. |
| B．The new rock from near Mons Rümker. |
| C．One of the reasons to study the moon;s new rock. |
| D．The study of the moon’s younger rock. |
| A．ensure there was volcanic activity on the moon. |
| B．more precisely date only the moon. |
| C．date lunar rock by using a chronology curve. |
| D．explore how volcanism works on the moon. |
| A．Scientistsare keen to study this young volcanic rock. |
| B．Scientists can’t know why volcanic activity exists on the moon. |
| C．The moon’s volcanic activity occurred 3 or 4 billion years ago. |
| D．It’s clear what could have caused much later volcanic activity. |
| A．How scientists study the younger rock. |
| B．Why the research is important. |
| C．Why the younger rock is worth studying. |
| D．What scientists do to study the younger rock. |
3 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U. S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their Phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
On average found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
"The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use," Twenge said. "Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness."
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it's easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U. S. teens. Specifically, young peopled life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That's the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens' lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge's team use for the study?| A．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
4 . Ian McKenna was in third grade when he learned that many kids at his Austin school weren't getting enough to eat at home. He wanted to help, but local volunteer organizations turned him away, saying he was too young. So he decided to find his own solution. For years, he had been gardening with his mother, and they often distributed their extra vegetables to the neighbors. “Why not give the produce to a soup kitchen? Then I thought, I'm good at gardening," says McKenna, now 16. “Why not plant a garden at school, so that kids in need could take food home?"
McKenna persuaded his school to set aside space for a garden; then he asked the community for donations of seeds and equipment. Other students donated their time. Within months, McKenna's garden was producing lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash for students and their families. Now, seven years later, McKenna's Giving Garden project has expanded to five area schools in addition to his own backyard garden, and he has provided organic produce, enough for 25,000 meals, for Austin families.
For most of his gardening activities, McKenna wears the same T-shirt in different colors, with his personal motto on it: BE A GOOD HUMAN. To him, that means helping in any way you can, no matter what your age. "Even a smile might change someone's life," he says. “It lets them know that they are important. It can make their day."
When COVID-19 hit the U.S., McKenna redoubled his efforts, cooking up to 100 meals to distribute to the hungry on the weekends. When social distancing meant that volunteers couldn't work on community garden plots, he started offering online classes and a gardening hotline so families could grow at home. While gardening is his core focus, McKenna says he is always looking for new ways to help the hungry.
1. What caused Ian's decision to help the kids in his own way?| A．Being rejected by volunteer groups. | B．Being good at gardening. |
| C．A soup kitchen's support. | D．His mother's suggestions. |
| A．It helps students only. | B．It was started with joint efforts. |
| C．It is funded by schools. | D．It earns great profits every year. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. | B．A small gesture makes a difference. |
| C．One good turn deserves another. | D．Love can break all the barriers. |
| A．Ian McKenna, Growing a Food Bank |
| B．Ian Mckenna, an Experienced Gardener |
| C．Giving Garden Project, an Impossible Mission |
| D．Giving Garden Project, a Universal Solution |
5 . Think about all those successful people in your life that you know. How many of them build their success overnight? How many of them didn’t care about their goals? How many of them gave up after the first failure?
Most of the people we know to be successful were very persistent and devoted to their dreams. In other words, they work hard towards their dreams and keep trying, even if their goals aren’t easy to achieve. They didn’t give up just because they faced barriers and problems. They might even get encouraged by them.
Persistence really matters. It can help build your character. Nothing builds your character more than overcoming failures and problems in life. You get tougher and can handle anything life might throw at you. Each time you win your urge to give up, you make your mind and personality a bit stronger. Each of those wins will build your character to be healthier and to handle more stress.
When you are committed to something, you are willing to learn what it takes to be successful. You will be required to learn new skills and solve new kinds of problems. When you are persistent about your goals, you will have to learn new ways of doing things. Sometimes you might notice that to solve a particular problem, you need to learn more about it. When you study more about the topic, you discover new exciting subtopics to know about. As you think more in-depth into that problem, you will be exposed to new ideas and thoughts. Persistence is the driver behind your ability to learn what you need to know.
When you keep building your persistence and willpower, you will face many failures. Things don’t always end up as you have planned. With persistence, you will learn how to solve those problems and get back up after a failure. You will learn that failure is not the end of the world. Life goes on, and so can you. Each time you decide to overcome your failure, you will learn something new, and you will be a bit stronger than before. Those changes won’t show daily, but slowly they will start to stack up. If you look back and analyze your process, you will discover that you handle the stressful situation more efficiently, and after failures, you won’t go into despair. You rather know how to handle each failure as you have accumulated experiences from them and handle challenging situations.
Persistence is a basic quality to develop in life because it is closely related to personal development and improvement. As you already know, it is not easy, but it is worthy of your effort.
1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph refers to________.| A．dreams | B．successful men | C．most of the people | D．barriers and problems |
| A．Persistence builds your character. |
| B．Persistence teaches you how to manage failures. |
| C．Persistence improves your skills and abilities. |
| D．Persistence helps you handle a stressful situation. |
| A．People with persistence seldom suffer from failures. |
| B．Learning new skills will make you more persistent. |
| C．Persistent people are easier to get out of a bad mood. |
| D．Successful people usually have stronger personalities. |
| A．explain the importance of being persistent | B．analyze the character of successful people |
| C．offer some suggestions about being persistent | D．show how to deal with problems and face failures |
6 . As COVID-19 hit and the world went into varying levels of lockdown (封锁), it became difficult for researchers to know what was happening in the ocean. But now, you can join the eOceans platform to help researchers gather data on oceans and ocean ecosystems in real-time.
Downloading the eOceans app on your smartphone and logging what you see when you are on the coast or in the ocean, including any animals, people, pollution or even an empty beach, you can help researchers monitor the world’s oceans. The app lets you note your observations as well as upload photos. This information is then linked to your geographical location and is made accessible to scientists studying that region. Using eOceans data, researchers can remotely monitor how oceans and coastal communities worldwide are happening, including in the context of the pandemic (疫情).
In reality, observations recorded through eOceans are already providing valuable insights. During Australia’s lockdown, for example, the largest group of turtles in the country’s history was spotted by researchers using eOceans data. And in Hawaii, data from the app suggests that clearer waters are associated with a reduction in tourists during the pandemic.
Negative impacts of the pandemic on the ocean have also been picked up through the app, including an increase in pollution from personal protective equipment, as well as pandemic-related interruptions to marine (海洋的) recovery following a 2019 oil leak in Brazilian waters. In future, data from eOceans could help enable early detection of hazards (危害), such as oil leaks, so that they can be dealt with sooner, says Christine Ward-Paige, founder and chief scientist at eOceans.
“Till now, more than 1,000 people have already joined the eOceans platform,” says Ward-Paige. “But more data on wild life spotted along coastlines, as well as information on how people are using these spaces, are still needed.”
1. How can people help researchers monitor the ocean through the eOceans platform?| A．By downloading and observing some data of hazards. |
| B．By spotting and marking the previous marine recovery. |
| C．By collecting and uploading timely oceanic information. |
| D．By detecting and reporting your present geographical location. |
| A．An oil leak occurring in Australian waters. |
| B．The largest turtle found in Australia’s history. |
| C．A factor contributing to clearer waters in Hawaii. |
| D．A boom of tourism appearing during the pandemic. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Anxious. |
| A．Keeping an eye on the ocean. | B．Caring about the ocean pollution. |
| C．Showing love to coastal creatures. | D．Monitoring the quality of seawater. |
7 . 
A group of researchers led by Patrick Yu-Wai-Man. an ophthalmologist (眼科医师) at Cambridge University, investigated a new genetic therapy for a form of blindness. Officially, their study was a failure. But it was also a great success, for 29 of the 37 participants reported big improvements in their vision.
The disease in question is Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON)(遗传性视神经病变) .A defective gene leads to sudden and rapid loss of sight, with many sufferers becoming legally blind within a year. It affects between one in 30,000 and one in 50,000 people. Men in their 20s and 30s are particularly at high risk. Since most cases are caused by a mutation (突变) in a single gene, LHON is a good candidate for gene therapy, a form of genetic engineering which aims to replace the defective gene with a working one.
With that in mind. Dr Yu-Wai-Man and his colleagues loaded up a changed virus with a corrected copy of the gene and injected it into their patients' eyes. The researchers controlled the experiment by injecting only one of each patient's eyes--chosen at random--with the virus. The other eye was given a fake injection. Using two eyes in the same patient makes for a perfect control.
The surprise came several months later. The researchers had hoped to see a big improvement in the treated eyes, compared with the untreated ones. They did not, for which the study failed in its primary objective. Instead, in more than three quarters of their patients, they saw significant improvements in both eyes.
On the face of it, that was odd. Only one eye had received the treatment, after all. Follow-up studies in monkeys confirmed what the researchers had suspected. The virus, it seemed, had found a way to travel from one eye to the other, probably via the optic nerve. Tissues and fluids samples from monkeys given the same treatment as the human patients showed viral DNA in both eyes, not just one.
Although it had a happy outcome in this case, the prospect of a gene-therapy virus travelling to places it is not intended to go to might worry regulators. Fortunately, the researchers found no trace of the virus elsewhere in the monkeys’ bodies. And. though the study was technically a failure, its practical success means that an effective treatment for LHON may at last be in reach.
1. LHON is chosen in this study because it________| A．can be easily cured |
| B．affects young males mostly |
| C．is a common disease among people |
| D．results from a mutation in a single gene |
| A．Some participants suffered loss of sight |
| B．The vision of both eyes improved greatly |
| C．All the participants gave positive feedback |
| D．The virus didn’t replace the damaged gene |
| A．confirm the virus travels across eyes |
| B．prove the virus can affect other body parts |
| C．show the effect of the treatment on animals |
| D．highlight regulators' worry about gene-therapy |
| A．The Future of Gene Therapy |
| B．The Blessing for Eye Patients |
| C．Gene Therapy: Eyeball to Eyeball |
| D．Virus Treatment: From Humans to Monkeys |
8 . 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 |
9 . Israeli researchers say they have created the world's first three-dimensional, or 3D-printed heart using a patient's own cells. They described the experiment as "a major medical breakthrough." Tal Dvir, the lead researcher on the project, said in a statement that it was the first time that human cells had been used with 3D printing technology to successfully create a whole heart. Dvir added that the "printed" heart contains blood vessels which are needed to pump blood. The development marks a step forward for 3D printing in the medical field.
The researchers took samples of fatty tissue from patients. This material was then used to develop “ink” for the 3D printing process. First, the researchers created patches of tissue from the patient’s own cells. Later, they used that same process to create a small version of a whole heart. Using the patient’s own cells is important to reduce the risk that the body’s system to fight infection will reject a transplanted organ.
The goal, the researchers said, is to treat heart disease. The World Health Organization reports that heart disease is by far the leading cause of death worldwide. For patients with severe heart disease, a heart transplant is currently the main treatment available. The researchers hope their invention can help ease the demand for heart transplant donors.
Dvir says that the newly-created heart represents great progress. However, more research and development is needed to produce a fully operating, transplantable organ. One of the biggest challenges for the engineering team will be finding a way to create a human-sized heart.
Dvir said his team planned to transplant heart models designed for animals, possibly within the next year. He added that, for human use, “simpler organs” will likely be produced before hearts. “Maybe, in ten years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world,” Dvir said. He hopes such methods will be used “routinely” to produce organs in the future.
1. Why should patients’ own cells be used to create a 3D heart?| A．To avoid being rejected. | B．To make it suitable to print. |
| C．To fight infection. | D．To build up immune system. |
| A．To adopt printing technology. | B．To create human organs. |
| C．To treat heart disease. | D．To develop organ printers. |
| A．They will be developed to create organs routinely. |
| B．They will be widely used to treat different diseases. |
| C．They will be used to transplant organs for animals. |
| D．They will be applied to various fields in the world. |
| A．An artificial heart. | B．A major medical breakthrough |
| C．A scientific project | D．A great research team. |
10 . Although the vast majority of people have admitted to considering having an emergency fund to fall back on in case of a financial disaster, once their paycheck comes through, they have many duties higher on their list of importance that need paying off. However, one Australian financial advisor has given clear and important reasons why an emergency fund should always be at the top of your priorities.
Canna Campbell explains how to create this fund and how it differs from your other savings accounts. She said, “Your emergency fund should be treated differently to your current account and savings.” Campbell went on to explain that the money put into this account should be decided according to how much you are paid in your job and if you were to lose it, the money you would need to keep yourself out of the minus.
In addition, people need to consider situations where they might have housing damage or a medical emergency arising, resulting them in requiring immediate assistance that insurance will not cover. For this reason, Campbell added that there is no “ ‘one size fits all,’ everyone is different.” She insisted that it“boils down to your situation, lifestyle, responsibilities and what helps you sleep well at night. "
As for how to do it, Canna gave instructions too,“Work out how you can start setting money aside in a separate account, and build this separate savings account as quickly as possible, without cutting your living expenses.”
She finally added, “So keep it simple. However, it can be worth temporarily going without a few luxuries in order to find the extra cash flow to put into your emergency fund account. Going without a few items in the short term definitely outweighs the stress as it gives you peace of mind knowing that you have a safety net to protect you.”
1. Which of the following shows what most people do about creating an emergency fund?| A．Prevention is better than cure. | B．Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. |
| C．Time and tide waits for no man. | D．To say is one thing and to do is just another. |
| A．The benefits of an emergency fund. | B．The size of an emergency fund. |
| C．The types of an emergency fund. | D．The necessity of an emergency fund. |
| A．The emergency fund can replace insurance. | B．The emergency fund brings more fun. |
| C．The emergency fund is really very simple. | D．The emergency fund can lessen stress. |
| A．What Just Goes at the Very Top of Your Priorities? |
| B．How Does Emergency Fund Obtain the Peace of Mind? |
| C．Emergency Fund for Financial Security and Stability |
| D．Canna's Advice on Reducing a Financial Disaster |
