1 . The sea could be the food bowl of the future. In Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, seaweed, which is rich in fibre and omega 3, is grown and harvested.
Pia Winberg is a marine scientist who runs Australia's first food-grade fanned seaweed company. Her crop is grown alongside mussels (贻贝)and is used as an additive in pasta (意大利面)and other products.
Seaweed is also raised in large tanks, where it absorbs carbon dioxide waste from a wheat processing factory. The business is small, but could help to reduce the ecological footprint of traditional farming.
“We used ten percent of seaweed instead of wheat in breads and pastas, we've eliminated a million hectares of land, we've eliminated all of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with that, and we've also reduced the pressures on very precious fresh water.” said Pia Winberg.
Spiny sea urchins (多刺海胆虫)are another blue economy resource. They can destroy marine habitats, but a recent competition for environmental start-ups in Australia, saw them not as a pest but a delicacy (美味).
Martina Doblin, CEO of Sydney Institute of Marine Science, said, “By 2050 we will have some ten billion people on the planet, and about half the food they eat will come from the ocean. So, we really do need to pay attention to the way that we manage the blue economy-generating wealth from the ocean but in a sustainable (可持续的)way.”
Farming at sea has its challenges. Infrastructure (基础设施)has to be sound, as do supply chains and biosecurity. But get these things right, and the ocean might just be the next great economic frontier.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To lead to the main topic. |
| B．To describe a new kind of seaweed. |
| C．Tell how important the food safety is. |
| D．To explain the meaning of blue economy. |
| A．Ocean exploration has made little progress so far. |
| B．More and more people will die of hunger in the future. |
| C．More work is needed for a better use of the natural resources. |
| D．Sea farming will be a good way to solve the coming world food problem. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. | C．Tolerant. | D．Negative. |
| A．How to Protect the Marine Animals |
| B．Measures to Develop Blue Economy |
| C．Farming the Sea for the Future of Food |
| D．Traditional Farming is Gradually Disappearing |
2 . Several years ago, when someone used camera covers to protect against possible monitoring, it was not popular to talk about it. Today, people use various types of tapes to cover the web cameras and microphones.
There are many types of spyware that can dive into our devices and secretly spy on them, recording everything they do. Such programs may infect not only computers but also smartphones. Your data may be used by hackers who will try to request money for not exposing your private information or by companies like NSO Group who created the Pegasus spyware to “provide authorized governments with technology that helps struggle against terror and crime”.
In my opinion, the described protection technique is highly overestimated. Users tape cameras and microphones due to the lack of understanding of how their devices work and how malware(恶意软件)works. Hackers and even secret services do not have enough resources to monitor all victims using cameras or microphones. If they need to yet any information, they get it by sending a targeted malware to your device, which will not be stopped by the tapes. Such a virus will find what to steal -from personal photos and videos to passwords from social networks, browser history, bank accounts and much more.
It is unwise to believe that attackers will not be able to find a way to spy on you, even if the device, discharged to zero, can still deliver data about your location, using the smartphones of the surrounding people as signal repeaters. Let us face it. we live in an era when it is extremely difficult to hide something and a piece of tape is clearly not the most useful tool in the struggle for your privacy.
Again, to be able to spy on you, attackers need to plant malware in your device. To prevent malware from entering your device, do not click suspected links and email attachments. Use strong passwords for email, social media and online banking accounts.
1. What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Cameras. |
| B．Types. |
| C．Programs. |
| D．Devices. |
| A．group of hackers. |
| B．A company developing spyware. |
| C．A group of terrorists and criminals. |
| D．A company fighting against crime. |
| A．People know little about their devices. |
| B．Hackers have no access to others. |
| C．It hardly prevents malware from getting privacy. |
| D．It can't cover the cameras completely. |
| A．Protecting privacy on devices. |
| B．Rising trend of using tapes. |
| C．Monitoring devices via cameras. |
| D．Avoiding clicking distrustful links. |
3 . Electric cars with heavy batteries should face higher taxes due to harmful particles(小颗粒) released by their tyres and their impact on the road surface, experts have recommended.
It is known that switching to electric cars will remove pollutants from exhausts(废气). However, models with large batteries capable of travelling 300 miles between charges emit(排放）up to 8 percent more particles from tyres and road wear than petrol cars, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It says electric vehicles should also be charged tolls(过路费) aimed at reducing emissions.
Drivers could also be encouraged to buy lighter electric cars by linking vehicle taxes to weight, the Paris-based think tank(专家组) adds. It calls for a “reevaluation of the net environmental benefits” of electric cars and suggests that they should not be given “blanket support”. “Road traffic regulations should consider both exhaust and non - exhaust emissions from all vehicles and should take into account factors like vehicle weight and tyre composition, it says. “While exhaust emissions are heavily regulated, there are no limits on the pollution a car can cause from tyres, brakes and road surfaces. With strict controls on tailpipe emissions and rapid development of electric vehicles, non — exhaust emissions are quickly becoming the major source of particles from road transport,” the think tank says.
Electric cars are almost £90 cheaper to insure than petrol cars due to electric cars having fewer moving parts, which makes them less likely to break down, according to a study by Compare the market, the price comparison website.
1. Why should electric cars with heavy batteries face higher taxes?| A．Because they are more expensive. |
| B．Because they release more exhausts. |
| C．Because their tyres threaten the environment. |
| D．Because their batteries need charging frequently. |
| A．Their drivers don’t pay tolls at present. |
| B．They emit 8 percent less particles than petrol cars. |
| C．They can remove pollutants from exhausts and batteries. |
| D．Their power can be switched between electricity and petrol. |
| A．Electric vehicle taxes should be decided by its cost. |
| B．The pollution caused from car brakes can be ignored. |
| C．Tailpipe emissions are still the major source of particles. |
| D．The benefits of electric cars to the environment are over estimated. |
| A．Fewer vehicle failures. | B．Better tyre composition. |
| C．Lower vehicle weight. | D．More advanced functions. |
4 . Yao Ming was born in Shanghai in 1980. At 229 centimeters, he was the third tallest player in NBA history. Yao made his first appearance in the NBA during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He surprised many critics with his first games, and was fast becoming an international fan favorite, as he broke Michael Jordan’s record for votes (投票) received. In July 2011 Yao announced his retirement from the NBA due to frequent problems in his left foot.
He continuously works to raise awareness of endangered species and even went as far as to stop using shark fin soup at his wedding in 2007. Yao has been saying no to shark fin soup since 2006 when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador (亲善大使) for wildlife protection. “Shark’s are friends of human beings. They are not our food.” Since his retirement he has become a surprise international force in the field of wildlife protection, and he is using his fame to tell us the difficulties faced by sharks.
Most recently he went to Houston Zoo, as part of his continuing effort to educate young people about the importance of wildlife protection. He is part of a large campaign (运动) by the wildlife protection charity WildAid, and has traveled through Africa to see and document the difficulties facing elephants and rhinos in the wild. With elephant and rhinoceros poaching (偷猎) on the rise, Yao also said, “When the buying stops, the killing can too. Get rid of the demand for rhino horn and ivory right at the source. That’s what I want to do.”
Although Yao is not the first Chinese player in the NBA, it could be argued that he is the most important one, not just for his taking part in charity and wildlife protection work. He built a bridge between two completely different worlds and introduced millions to the Chinese way of life, and the American lifestyle separately.
1. The first paragraph mainly tells us ____________.| A．the history of MBA | B．how high Yao Ming is |
| C．the life of Michael Jordan | D．Yao Ming’s basketball life |
| A．Because shark fin soup is not food. |
| B．Because he wants to set a good example. |
| C．Because sharks are not endangered species |
| D．Because shark fin soup is too expensive for him. |
| A．The demand for wildlife leads to killing. |
| B．He wants to appeal to others to stop illegal selling. |
| C．WildAid plays an important role in wildlife protection. |
| D．Young people make a difference in wildlife protection. |
| A．The first Chinese player in the NBA |
| B．A super basketball star -- Yao Ming |
| C．Yao Ming and his wildlife protection |
| D．When the buying stops, the killing can too |
5 . China is one of the first countries to breed a medical culture. In comparison with Western methods, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) adopts a vastly different approach. For thousands of years, Chinese people have accumulated rich experience in fighting all sorts of diseases, therefore forming a unique medical theory under the guidance of ancient Chinese philosophies (哲学).
The core behind TCM is that the human body's life is the consequence (结果) of the balance between Yin and Yang. Yang functions to safeguard us against outer harm, and Yin is the inner base to store and provide energy. When the balance between the two aspects is disturbed, people fall ill.
One of the traditional techniques of TCM, acupuncture (针刺疗法) means insertion of needles into superficial (表面的) structures of the body—usually at acupoints (穴位)—to restore the Yin Yang balance. It is often accompanied by moxibustion (艾灸疗法), which involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupoint.
The first known text that clearly talks about something like acupuncture and moxibustion as it is practiced today is The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. It is the earliest and most important written work of TCM and is considered the fundamental and most representative medical text in China.
Acupuncture and moxibustion have aroused the interest of international medical science circles. And TCM is gradually gaining worldwide recognition. The WHO issued a document in 2002 that appealed to more than 180 countries to adopt TCM as an alternative in their medical policies. In 2010, acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine were added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. Presently, TCM has been back in the news for its effectiveness in improving the cure rate of the COVID-19 since its outbreak in January 2020.
1. What is the key feature of TCM?| A．It adopts different medical approaches. | B．It's based on ancient Chinese philosophies. |
| C．It helps to restore body's self-balance. | D．It's gained experience through rich practice. |
| A．It distinguishes acupuncture from moxibustion. |
| B．It's a foundation of world medical research. |
| C．it stresses the importance of using acupoints. |
| D．It greatly contributes to the development of TCM. |
| A．To review the development of TCM. | B．To introduce TCM to the world. |
| C．To tell TCM and Western medicine apart. | D．To argue for TCM in fighting COVID-19. |
| A．How TCM helps in the current situation. | B．Why TCM is gaining popularity. |
| C．Why TCM gets recognition from WHO. | D．How other countries adopt TCM. |
6 . One day, Amanda was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer of an early stage. During this time, she was admitted to a college. She planned to save money to meet the college expense and then seek medical treatment for the cancer.
Her father, Clint and her friends didn’t want her to put off her treatment due to the expense. They took matters into their own hands and started a GoFundMe campaign. A longtime friend of the family was cofounder of a group named Praynksters, known for random acts of kindness. The friend decided to use their own group to help the family. The group came up with the creative idea to spread the word and invite families, friends, and strangers who wanted to help to take part in a donation activity. The event induced the enormous assistance from the local community.
Clint and Amanda were moved as the crowd passed by and the donations poured in. The event brought the family over $13, 000 in donations to go towards her medical treatments. The generous act of kindness gave the family a comforting, and optimistic feeling during a time when all hope seemed lost. Clint said that Amanda struggled with the idea of asking for help. She felt guilty and undeserving compared to others who are also struggling. She is still humbled by it all.
After several months of treatment, life for the family has started getting back to their normal routine. Once Amanda got her strength back, she returned to school and completed her bachelor's degree. The family is now inspired to volunteer in their local neighborhood and contribute to crowdfunding (众筹) efforts. They are grateful for the opportunity to give back and help others as many have helped them.
1. Why did Amanda postpone her treatment of cancer?| A．She didn't care about her disease. |
| B．She had to take care of her family. |
| C．She was in a bad economic situation. |
| D．She couldn’t find an effective treatment. |
| A．Brought about. | B．Made up. |
| C．Gave away. | D．Set about. |
| A．Shameful but caring. |
| B．Kind-hearted and grateful. |
| C．Curious and warm-hearted. |
| D．Hard- working and humorous. |
| A．It's quite easy to cure Amanda’s cancer. |
| B．Praynksters is a nonprofit organization funded by Clint. |
| C．Volunteering is very popular in Amanda's community. |
| D．A GoFundMe campaign is actually a crowdfunding activity. |
7 . Most of us marry creativity to our concept of self either we're "creative" or we aren't, without much of a middle ground. "I'm just not a creative person!" a frustrated student might say in art class, while another might blame her talent at painting for her difficulties in math, giving a comment such as, "I'm very right-brained."
Dr. Pillay, a tech entrepreneur and an assistant professor at Harvard University, has been challenging these ideas. He believes that the key to unlocking your creative potential is to ignore the traditional advice that urges you to "believe in yourself." In fact, you should do the opposite: Believe you are someone else.
Dr. Pillay points to a 2016 study demonstrating the impact of stereotypes on one's behavior; The authors. educational psychologists Denis Dumas and Kevin Dunbar, divided their college student subjects into three groups, instructing the members of one to think of themselves as "romantic poets" and the members of another to imagine they were "serious librarians" (the third group was the control). The researchers then presented all the participants with ten ordinary objects, including a fork, a carrot, and a pair of pants, and asked them to come up with as many different uses as possible for each one. Those who were asked to imagine themselves as romantic poets came up with the widest range of ideas, whereas those in the serious-librarian group had the fewest. Meanwhile, the researchers found only small differences in students' creativity levels across academic majors.
These results suggest that creativity is not a fixed individual characteristic but a "malleable product of context and perspective, as long as he or she feels like a creative person. Dr. Pillay argues that, besides identifying yourself as creative, taking the bold, creative step of imagining you are somebody else is even more powerful. So, wish you were more creative? Just pretend!
1. According to the passage， who is more likely to unlock his creative potential?| A．An art major who always believes in himself. |
| B．A math major who has excellent academic performance |
| C．A physics major who likes to imagine himself as a poet. |
| D．A history major who works as a librarian on weekends. |
| A．The creativity of the college students. |
| B．The stereotypes of the college students. |
| C．The impact of stereotypes on one's behavior |
| D．The influence of creativity on one's behavior. |
| A．stable | B．sustainable | C．predicable | D．changeable |
| A．there is no doubt that we are either creative or not |
| B．a student who doesn't do well in art class is not creative |
| C．right brain determines whether a person is creative or not |
| D．if we pretend to be creative， then we might be really creative |
8 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it’s raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head—you’re fully aware of both things, and don’t require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfil, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.
Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it’s much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won’t find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.
Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person’s character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.
As more of a person’s character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to broach more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.
1. What is described in the first paragraph?| A．The first stage of human interaction. |
| B．Ridiculous human behavior in communication. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．The difficulty of having deep conversations. |
| A．Because they are fond of heavy subjects. |
| B．Because they are enthusiastic about politics. |
| C．Because they are too sensitive about topics. |
| D．Because they fail to manage interpersonal distance. |
| A．The length of the answer. | B．The quality of the voice. |
| C．The position of the head. | D．The distance between speakers. |
| A．Reputation of Small Talk | B．Ways of Understanding Personality |
| C．Significance of Small Talk | D．Challenges of Deep Conversation |
9 . Teachers say that the digital age has had a good influence and a not-so-good influence on American teenagers. More than 2,000 middle school teachers took an online survey. Researchers also spoke with teachers in some groups. Most teachers think the Internet and digital search tools have had a mostly positive (积极的) influence on their students’ research habits and skills. But at the same time, some teachers also point out some problems in teenagers’ using digital search tools.
The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the College Board and the National Writing Project. Judy Buchanan is the director of the National Writing Project and a co-writer of the report. She says digital search tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster. “Both teachers and students really welcome these tools because they make learning exciting. And the goal（目的）is to really help students become creators of something meaningful, and not just users of the online information.”
But one problem the survey found is that these technologies make teenagers have short attention spans (持续时间). As there is lots of information about different subjects on the Internet, teenagers’ attention is easily drawn away from their research.
Another problem the survey found is that many students trust the information they find on the Internet too much. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills to judge (判断) the online information. They need to learn a lot to tell if the information is believable. It’s something that really has to be paid attention to.
One more problem the survey found is something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able to quickly find information online. Many students think “doing research” now means just doing a quick search on Google. Teachers say the result is a drop in the wish and ability of their students to work hard to find answers. That is, they are depending too much on search engines and do not make enough use of printed books or research librarians.
Many teachers also say that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities.
1. The result of the survey shows ________.| A．digital search tools need to be greatly improved |
| B．digital search tools are generally good for teenagers |
| C．teenagers have difficulty in using digital search tools |
| D．American teachers enjoy using digital search tools |
| A．less trusting of online information |
| B．more independent in doing research |
| C．more willing to work hard to find answers |
| D．less able to pay full attention while searching |
| A．spend more time searching online |
| B．ask their teachers for more advice |
| C．make better use of printed materials |
| D．learn more knowledge of search tools |
| A．all the students like using digital tools |
| B．the Internet is playing an important role |
| C．teachers encourage their students to use digital tools |
| D．digital tools bring about something helpful and problems |
10 . The biggest and the smallest of the world’s animals are most at risk of dying out, according to a new analysis, with vertebrates (脊椎动物) in the so-called “Goldilocks zone”—not too big and not too small—winning out. Action is needed to protect animals at both ends of the scale, they say. The research adds to evidence that animals are dying out on such a scale that a sixth extinction is considered under way.
One clue is body size. Research on birds and mammals has shown that those with larger bodies are more likely to go extinct. Yet, when the researchers made a database of thousands of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles (爬行动物) at risk of extinction, they found disproportionate (不成比例的) losses at the large and small ends of the scale.
“Surprisingly, we found that not only the largest of all vertebrate animal species are most threatened, but the very tiniest ones are also highly threatened with extinction,” Prof. Ripple told BBC News.
Large animals, such as elephants, rhinos (犀牛) and lions have long been the target of protection efforts. However, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians that are the giants of their kind, such as the whale shark, Somali ostrich (鸵鸟) and the Chinese giant salamander (蝾螈), tend to be overlooked. Meanwhile, small species at risk--such as frogs and shrews (鼩鼱)--receive very little attention.
“I think, for the smallest species, first of all we need to bring higher awareness to them, because the larger ones get a lot of attention, but the smaller ones get very little,” said Prof. Ripple.
In the study, vertebrates with the smallest and the largest bodies were found to be most at risk of disappearing, whether they were on land or living in oceans, streams or rivers.
Heavyweights are threatened mainly by hunting, while featherweights are losing out to pollution and cutting down forests. “Ultimately, reducing global consumption of wild meat is a key step to reduce negative impacts of hunting, fishing, and trapping on the world’s vertebrates,” they write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
1. What made the researchers feel surprised?| A．A sixth of animals are dying out. |
| B．Small animals are in great danger. |
| C．Great losses of birds and mammals. |
| D．Big animals are at risk of disappearing. |
| A．Transform our habits. | B．Change our concepts. |
| C．Find ways to save small animals. | D．Take measures to stop pollution. |
| A．Loss of forests. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Human activities. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．Size Matters When It Comes to Extinction Risk |
| B．Large Animals Are Badly in Need of Protection |
| C．Why a Great Number of Animals Are Dying out |
| D．What We Should Do to Protect Endangered Species |
