★ #ChefsChallenge!
Love cooking? Join famous chefs with this online challenge—cook, have fun and share your best healthy recipes!
When it comes to food, it’s difficult to match East Asia & Pacific in terms of variety and tastiness. From wontons to dumplings, from spicy fish to noodle soups, East Asia & Pacific’s amazing food culture is a central part of life for millions of people and indeed tourists from across the world.
However, changes in diet and lifestyle in recent years have sadly destroyed traditional food cultures, and the health of millions of people. Cheap “fast food” and unhealthy snacks that are high in sugar, salt and fat are now all too common but offer little nutrition.
★A new challenge
Today, there are more than 25 million of malnourished children living in the region, but the picture is changing. While the number of stunted (发育不良) children is slowly falling in many countries, overweight and obesity are growing, and at a much faster rate.
In many countries, three forms of malnutrition—undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight-co-exist. A family may have an overweight mother and a stunted child. Or a child may be both stunted or too short and overweight. Unhealthy diets are a major cause of all forms of malnutrition.
★Join us!
One way to slow this tide is to reconnect families and young people with food. That’s why chefs from across the region are taking part in the #ChefsChallenge, asking you to show off your cooking skills. Get involved today by sharing your recipes with videos, photos or any other creative ways on social media using #ChefsChallenge and tagging UNICEF East Asia Pacific on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
1. What has badly affected the traditional food culture in East Asia & Pacific?| A．Western cooks’ arriving. |
| B．People’s turning to unhealthy food. |
| C．Tourists’ bringing new recipes. |
| D．Overweight children’s growing in number. |
| A．He is in a poor state of health. |
| B．He is shorter than other kids. |
| C．He has an overweight parent. |
| D．He prefers eating at home. |
| A．To introduce excellent Asian cooks online. |
| B．To help ordinary people challenge professional cooks. |
| C．To reconnect people with tasty and nutritious food. |
| D．To encourage family and friends to get together online. |
2 . On a break from his studies in the MIT Media Lab,Anirudh Sharma traveled home to Mumbai, India. While there, he noticed that throughout the day his T-shirts were gradually gathering something that looked like dirt."I realized this was air pollution，or sooty（像煤一样）particulate matter (PM)，made of black particles released from exhaust（尾气）of vehicles，" Sharma says. "This is a major health issue."Soot consists of tiny black particles, about 2.5 micrometers or smaller, made carbon produced by incomplete burning of fossil fuels.
Back at MIT,Sharma set out to help solve this air-pollution issue. After years of research and development, Sharma’s startup Graviky Labs has developed technology that attaches to exhaust systems of diesel generators（柴油发电机）to collect particulate matter.Scientists at Graviky then turn it into ink, called Air-Ink, for artists around the world. So far, the startup has collected I.6 billion micrograms of particulate matter.More than 200 gallons of Air-Ink have been harvested for a growing community of more than 1,000 artists, from Bangalore to Boston, Shanghai,and London.
Posted all over Graviky Lab's Facebook page today are photos of art made from the Air-Ink and pant, including street wall paintings, body art and clothing prints.At first, there was still no specific application for the ink. Then the startup decided to find new ways to further spread its mission.It chose to do so through art."Art helps us raise awareness about where the ink and paint comes from. Air pollution knows no borders. Our ink sends a message that pollution is one of the resources in our world that's the hardest to collect and use.But it can be done,"Sharma says.
1. What struck Sharma most during his break in India?| A．Dirt on his T-shirts. | B．Health issue of the locals. |
| C．Coal industry in Mumbai. | D．Incomplete burning of fossil fuels. |
| A．a cleaner of outdoor air | B．a product made from PM |
| C．a newly-founded company | D．a printing technology |
| A．It improves artistic effect. | B．It makes pollution acceptable. |
| C．It helps Sharma make a profit. | D．It raises environmental awareness. |
| A．Arts know no borders | B．Waste has no price |
| C．Less pollution, more art | D．Creative thinking, effective painting |
3 . Having worked for more than a decade in finance in the oil industry in Canada, Tori Fahey found herself wanting more from life. But it wasn't through desperation that her circumstances changed: “I didn't get fed up and storm off, nothing like that; it was curiosity about other interests and wanting to experience something new.”
Fahey left her job and completed an MBA before setting up a move to New York to begin a degree. However, the opportunity of an open year between the MBA and the degree came up, and as a keen touring cyclist, Fahey realised that a much dreamed-about adventure was now becoming a possibility: "The ride in Africa had been on my fantasy list. It was a moment when I realised that I could do anything, so I should."
Fahey rode across Africa, a 7,500-mile trip that took four months. The whole experience had a life-changing impact. Fahey said: “Bicycles provide a literal freedom. You don't allow yourself to feel like that in everyday life because there are so many distractions. But when you' re out on the bike and there's nothing else, you' re really free to experience what life is.”
Post-degree, Fahey worked on projects with the UNDP(United Nations Development Project) in Montenegro with the aim of bringing investment to rural communities.
It was while working on these projects that the seeds were sown for the next new investment. “It was through my trip across Africa that I discovered pannier and rack systems inconvenient and I was never going to use them again.” Little did she know this would lead her to start up her own company.
In 2013, Apidura was born, producing storage solutions for people looking to travel the world by bike, race across continents and carry all they need to do so. It's now a successful global brand, but Fahey remains reflective about what else the company can do for people.
1. Why did Fahey leave her job in Canada?| A．She was bored with the job. | B．She was disappointed with life. |
| C．She wanted to add new dimensions to her life. | D．She found it hard to adjust to the circumstances. |
| A．Demanding. | B．Liberating. | C．Eventful. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．To encourage bicycle traveling. | B．To make her investment profitable. |
| C．To help cyclists carry traveling stuff. | D．To increase the pleasure of riding bikes. |
| A．A tough path to fame. | B．An adventure across Africa. |
| C．The benefits of green travelling. | D．The story behind the birth of Apidura. |
4 . Seal Island is a 200-meter-long island in South Africa, which is surrounded by 55 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit waters and covered with over 60,000 seals and some birds. This island has been home to many birds and seals. You may think this island is a paradise. In fact, the island is not famous for the seals or birds. However, the real stars are the great white sharks that leap out of the water to catch the seals they are hunting.
You may think that there is no way for a 15-foot long, 3,000-pound shark to hurl its body out of the water and catch a seal in midair. Actually, these sharks are called “Air Jaws”.
Over the years, the seals have gotten smarter. Now, they go out in groups of seven and eight to feed. They swim down on the sea floor, which gives them extra camouflage (掩饰). When they have to swim near the water surface, they swim in a zigzag (之字形的) pattern. But with all these tricks, they can still be outwitted (以智取胜) by the sharks. Usually, the sharks will take one seal away from its group and force it to swim on the surface, where it is easy to hunt. Sometimes, the seal is lucky and gets away, but most of them die in the process of trying to survive.
Every year, tourists go to see these amazing animals leap out of the water, sometimes flinging (抛) their whole bodies into the air when they want to catch the seals. Some people even want to go into shark cages to see the action from below! This is the reason why this island attracts thousands of tourists around the world every year.
1. What probably makes Seal Island famous?| A．The large number of seals in the water. |
| B．The way the great white sharks hunt. |
| C．The beautiful scenery of the island. |
| D．The special position of the island. |
| A．To save energy. |
| B．To warm themselves. |
| C．To look for food. |
| D．To avoid the white sharks. |
| A．White sharks are dangerous animals. |
| B．The seals are cleverer than the white sharks. |
| C．The sharks are successful in hunting the seals. |
| D．It is easier for the sharks to hunt the seals on the sea floor. |
| A．To explain why Seal Island is famous. |
| B．To show how white sharks hunt seals. |
| C．To advise us to visit Seal Island. |
| D．To ask us to protect animals. |
5 . Killer whales, or orcas, are known for their severe attacks on sea animals but they have never posed a threat to humans. However, since late July, the normally social animals have been intentionally attacking sailboats off the coasts of Spain and Portugal.
The strange behavior first surfaced on July 29, 2020, when a 46-foot boat was repeatedly attacked for almost an hour by nine orcas, causing the boat to rotate(旋转) 180 degrees and having its engine switched off. Since then, over 30 more similar incidents have been reported. On September 23, 2020, Spain's government banned boats of less than 50 feet in length from sailing in the 60-mile stretch of the Atlantic coastline between Ferrol and the Estaca de Bares Cape, where the attacks have been occurring.
Researchers across the world are trying to explain the orcas' behavior. Some believe it could be a result of the overfishing of the bluefish tuna - the orcas' primary food source -which has left the area's killer whales starving and unable to feed their babies. "I saw them look at boats carrying fish. I think they know humans are somehow related to food shortages, "says Ken Balcomb, senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research in Washington, USA. The environmentalists believe the sudden increase in boat traffic and fishing activities, after months of absence due to restrictions on human activity last spring, could also be contributing to the agitation.
However, Alfredo López, a biology professor in Galicia, Spain, thinks the attacks are defensive measures the orcas adopted to protect themselves against boat injuries. The researcher came to this conclusion after looking at the of the videos of a few incidents and noticing that two of the young killer whales involved had serious injuries. Hopefully, the experts will be able to find a way to restore the harmony between the animals and the humans soon.
1. What do we know about orcas in paragraph 1?| A．They are friendly to humans. | B．They have changed their behavior. |
| C．They are famous for hunting skills | D．They have met tough living conditions. |
| A．Ken Balcomb. | B．The environmentalists. |
| C．Alfredo López. | D．Spain's government. |
| A．The attacks. | B．Food shortages. | C．The overfishing. | D．Human activities. |
| A．How do killer whales attack humans? |
| B．Why Are Killer Whales attacking Boats? |
| C．How can we live in harmony with animals? |
| D．Why are boats banned from sailing on the sea? |
6 . We have to admit that reading is not a pleasant thing at school. Reading is not based on a child's interests, but to cope with tests. When children are little we make them read aloud, before the teacher and other children, so that we can be sure they "know" all the words they are reading. This means that when they don't know a word, they are going to make a mistake, right in front of everyone. After having taught fifth-grade classes for four years, I decided to try at all costs to rid them of their fear and dislike of books, and to get them to read oftener and more adventurously.
One day, I said to them, "Now, I would like you to read a lot of books this year, but I want you to read them only for fun. I am not going to ask you questions to find out whether you understand the books or not to ask you what words mean. If you understand enough of a book to enjoy it and want to go on reading it, that's enough for me."
The children sat shocked and silent. Was this a teacher talking? One girl, who had just come to us from a school where she had had a very hard time, looked at me steadily for a long time after I had finished. Then, still looking at me, she said slowly and seriously, "Mr. Holt, do you really mean that?" I said just as seriously, "I mean every word of it."
Later, she really astonished me. One day, she was reading at her desk. From a glimpse of the illustrations I thought she was reading Moby Dick(白鲸).I said, "Don't you find parts of it rather heavy going?" She answered, "Oh, sure, but I just skip over those parts and go on to the next good part.”
This is exactly what reading should be. Let the students make their own decisions, find something, dive into it, take the good parts, skip the bad parts, get what you can out of it and go on to something else.
1. What did the teacher tell his students to read for?| A．For pleasure. | B．For knowledge. |
| C．For a larger vocabulary. | D．For higher scores in exams. |
| A．Stupid. | B．Unreasonable. |
| C．Understandable. | D．Too good to be true. |
| A．She skipped over those easy parts while reading. |
| B．She turned out to be a top student through reading. |
| C．She had a hard time finishing the required reading tasks. |
| D．She learned to appreciate some parts of the difficult books. |
| A．Reading requires teachers' guidance. |
| B．Reading helps students do well in school. |
| C．Children should be left to decide what to read. |
| D．Children can not tell good parts from bad ones. |
7 . Even though they're not the most exciting things in the world, plants have attracted us ever since the days of early humans. They may not do any tricks or greet us when we come home at night like a dog would, but that doesn't mean they're any less interesting than animals.
However, just when we thought we knew everything we could about them, a recent study found that plants may have a secret ability that has gone unnoticed all this time.
According to the study by Australian biologist Monica Gagliano, published in the journal Oecologia, plants may be able to "hear” sounds . To come to this conclusion, Gagliano and her team planted pea seedlings （幼苗）in a pair of different Y-shaped pots with two arms. The first pot's arms led to fresh water, while the other's led to either dry soil or a sealed （密封的）plastic tube containing flowing water. Naturally, the first pot's seedlings grew toward the water. What's surprising, however, is that the second pot's seedlings grew toward the sealed water supply but not the soil.
"They just knew the water was there even if the only thing to discover was the sound of it flowing inside the pipe, ” Gagliano told Scientific American . She believes that plants are able to use their leaves to discover sound waves, which make tiny vibrations （振动）as they're produced. This could explain why so many people believe that singing or playing music to their plants helps them grow. “ I had a plant that I used to wash the leaves of once a week and sing to," plant lover Heather Goodall told BBC News. "It grew from being about 2 feet tall to 7 feet tall in just a couple of years."
So, does this mean we should start treating our plants like pets? Not necessarily, although perhaps it does mean we should give them more respect. "I would like to see plants accepted more as the amazing and interesting living beings, and less as just a source of human nutrition," Fatima Cvrckova, a scientist at Charles University in the Czech Republic, told BBC News.
1. What did Gagliano find in their study?| A．Plants can recognize the sound of water. |
| B．Sound can change the direction plants grow toward. |
| C．Plants can tell the difference between various sounds. |
| D．Different plants can discover sounds in different ways. |
| A．Their roots | B．Their flowers |
| C．Their fruits | D．Their leaves |
| A．To show a different way of growing plants. |
| B．To inspire people to sing to their plants often. |
| C．To prove that music plays a role in plant growth. |
| D．To stress the importance of treating plants like pets. |
| A．Plants are just a source of human nutrition. |
| B．There is still a lot we do not know about plants. |
| C．Plants are unbelievable and deserve more respect. |
| D．Most people do not care enough about their plants. |
8 . We are the products of evolution, and not just evolution that occurred billions of years ago. As scientists look deeper into our genes (基因), they are finding examples of human evolution in just the past few thousand years. People in Ethiopian highlands have adapted to living at high altitudes. Cattle -raising people in East Africa and northern Europe have gained a mutation (突变) that helps them digest milk as adults.
On Thursday in an article published in Cell, a team of researchers reported a new kind of adaptation - not to air or to food, but to the ocean. A group of sea-dwelling people in Southeast Asia have evolved into better divers. The Bajau, as these people are known, number in the hundreds of thousands in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. They have traditionally lived on houseboats; in recent times, they’ve also built houses on stilts (支柱) in coastal waters. “They are simply a stranger to the land,” said Redney C. Jubilado, a University of Hawaii researcher who studies the Bajau.
Dr. Jubilado first met the Bajau while growing up on Samal Island in the Philippines. They made a living as divers, spearfishing or harvesting shellfish. “We were so amazed that they could stay underwater much longer than us local islanders,” Dr. Jubilado said. “I could see them actually walking under the sea.”
In2015, Melissa Ilardo, then a graduate student in genetics at the University of Copenhagen, heard about the Bajau. She wondered if centuries of diving could have led to the evolution of physical characteristics that made the task easier for them. “it seemed like the perfect chance for natural selection to act on a population,” said Dr. Ilardo. She also said there were likely a number of other genes that help the Bajau dive.
1. What does the author want to tell us by the examples in paragraph 1?| A．Environmental adaptation of cattle raisers. | B．New knowledge of human evolution. |
| C．Recent findings of human origin. | D．Significance of food selection. |
| A．In valleys. | B．Near rivers. | C．On the beach. | D．Off the coast. |
| A．They could walk on stilts all day. | B．They had a superb way of fishing. |
| C．They could stay long underwater. | D．They lived on both land and water. |
| A．Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea | B．Highlanders’ Survival Skills |
| C．Basic Methods of Genetic Research | D．The World’s Best Divers |
9 . Journey Back in Time with Scholars
Classical Provence(13days)Journey through the beautiful countryside of Provence，France，with Prof. Ori Z. Soltes. We will visit some of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the world. Our tour also includes a chance to walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Fields of flowers, tile-roofed(瓦屋顶)villages and tasty meals enrich this wonderful experience.
Southern Spain(15days)
Spain has lovely white towns and the scent(芳香)of oranges，but it is also a treasury of ancient remains including the cities left by the Greeks，Romans and Arabs. As we travel south from Madrid with Prof. Ronald Messier to historic Toledo，Roman Merida and into Andalucia, we explore historical monuments and architecture.
China’s Sacred Landscapes(21days)
Discover the China of “past ages,” its walled cities，temples and mountain scenery with Prof. Robert Thorp. Highlights(精彩之处)include China’s most sacred peaks at Mount Tai and Hangzbou’s rolling hills，waterways and peaceful temples. We will wander in traditional small towns and end our tour with an exceptional museum in Shanghai.
Tunisia(17days)
Join Prof. Pedar Foss on our in-depth Tunisian tour. Tour highlights include the Roman city of Dougga，the underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia, Roman Sbeitla and the remote areas around Tataouine and Matmata，uique for underground cities. Our journey takes us to picturesque Berber villages and lovely beaches.
1. What can visitors see in both Classical Provence and Southern Spain？
| A．Historical monuments. | B．Fields of flowers. |
| C．Van Gogh’s paintings. | D．Greek buildings. |
| A．France. | B．Spain. | C．China. | D．Tunisia. |
| A．White towns. | B．Underground cities. | C．Tile-roofed villages. | D．Rolling hills. |
10 . My mother always told me, “You should explore your own country before stepping out into the world. ”However, it seems like a tough mission to travel all across its expansive surfaces. But luckily for me, Via Rail Canada offered youths between the ages of 18 and 25 the chance to ride the train across Canada for the month of July. The ticket was a bargain $150. My best friends Trevor, Joel and Jeremy and I immediately jumped at the opportunity and secured four tickets on the great Canadian railroad.
For a group of 20-year-olds, this was like the first flight of young birds from the nest. When we approached the train station in the morning, our 22-day adventure from Sudbury to Vancouver was to begin. Eyes baggy from lack of sleep, we jumped on board as if it was the train to Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Although the thought of three full days on those tracks covering close to 3, 000 kilometres crushed our spirits a little, what happened next caught us by surprise.
The three days on board turned into a summer camp on rails. At night, we would climb up the glass-domed train car, which gave us a scenic view of the starry night sky, untouched by the harmful light pollution. Before we knew it, the warm sun rays beating down on our faces woke us up for another day on the rails. To my surprise, a sea of golden grain fields dominated the landscape we were in the Canadian Prairies.
Another day slipped away and we set up for another night in the dome. And this time we were greeted by night sky painted by a fantastic thunderstorm. Lightning was striking at an incredible rate. The spectacular and memorable light show left everyone in the glass bubble in complete disbelief.
Arriving in the Rocky Mountains was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Before the train adventure, if I could have skipped the travel and arrived at the destination, I would have. That is no longer true. I’ve learned that the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination.
1. What has made the author’s train adventure across Canada a reality?| A．The encouragement given by his mother. | B．The appeal of the scenic views in the country. |
| C．The discount ticket offered by Via Rail Canada. | D．His great courage to challenge a tough mission. |
| A．They were excited about the coming train journey. |
| B．They left their parents for the first time in their life. |
| C．They never thought of having a train adventure. |
| D．They were hooked by the magic story of Harry Potter. |
| A．A brain in lack of imagination. | B．The glass-domed train car. |
| C．A summer camp on the train. | D．The sightseeing bus. |
| A．Opportunities are hard to get. | B．Enjoying a journey counts a lot. |
| C．Splendid scenery attracts young people. | D．The traveling experience is not real to him. |
