3 . People who have kids live longer than those who remain childless, an academic study has suggested. Researchers believe it is because adults’ immune systems are “refreshed” when kids go to nursery and start picking up infections.

During the course of someone’s life, their immune system can become weaker. But when kids start bringing infections home, their parents’ immune systems get a workout. Non-parents — unless they are teachers or nurses perhaps — do not get the same exposure to infection.

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Miguel Portela said parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents and if they did, it was about five years later. He said that “a parent’s immune system is refreshed by a child’s infections at a time when their own protection starts wearing thin.” He added, “With this improved immune system, the parent has a better chance to defend whatever infections that might strike when old and weak and parenthood is rewarded in individual terms through an improved immunization against infections.” Naturally there are other reasons why some people live longer than others, but they may not be comparable with becoming a parent. The academics say that high income and house ownership are always associated with higher survival but less so than having children.

Mr. Portela admits the research is far from complete, saying that while the results “record a relationship between the presence of children and death rate, the specific transmission mechanisms remain unclear. He acknowledges the presence of other, perhaps behavioral factors in parents which result in changed death rate compared to individuals without children.” He adds, “While the relationships of lifestyle choices such as smoking, obesity, drinking and other behavioral factors with life expectancy and causes of death are well studied and understood, the same cannot be said for the individual decision to become a parent”.

1. Why did Mr. Portela say “parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents”?

A．Parents have healthier lifestyles.

B．Parents have less exposure to infection.

C．Parents have higher ability to fight against infections.

D．Parents have less experience to fight against infections.

2. How are parents protected against infections?

A．By being exposed to their kids’ infection.	B．By working out with their kids.
C．By refreshing their kids’ life.	D．By strengthening their kids’ infection.

3. What can we infer from the research?

A．Rich life benefits parents more than having children.

B．Lack of sleep has nothing to do with life expectancy.

C．The presence of children can improve parents’ health

D．Behavioral factors contribute to higher death rate than having no children.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Parents and Non-parents	B．How to Achieve Longer Life Expectancy?
C．How Is Parents’ Immune Systems Changed?	D．Children’s Effect on Parents’ Immune System

4 . As the effects of climate change become more disastrous, well-known research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea: artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

That strategy, called solar climate intervention (干预) or solar geoengineering, involves reflecting more of the sun’s energy back into space — abruptly reducing global temperatures in a way that imitates the effects of ash clouds flowing out from the volcanic eruptions. The idea has been considered as a dangerous and fancied solution, one that would encourage people to keep burning fossil fuels while exposing the planet to unexpected and potentially threatening side effects, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters.

But. as global warming continues, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters, some researchers and policy experts say that concerns about geoengineering should be outweighed by the imperative to better understand it, in case the consequence of climate change become so terrible that the world can’t wait for better solutions.

One way to cool the earth is by injecting aerosols (气溶胶) into the upper layer of the atmosphere. where those particles reflect sunlight away from the earth. That process works, according to Douglas MacMartin, a researcher at Cornell University.

“We know with 100% certainty that we can cool the planet,” he said in an interview. What’s still unclear, he added, is what happens next. Temperature, MacMartin said, is an indicator for a lot of climate effects. “What does it do to the strength of hurricanes?” he asked, “What does it do to agriculture production? What does it do to the risk of forest fires?”

Another institution funded by the National Science Foundation will analyze hundreds of simulations of aerosol injection, testing the effects on weather extremes around the world. One goal of the research is to look for a sweet spot: the amount of artificial cooling that can reduce extreme weather events without causing broader changes in regional rainfall patterns or similar impacts.

1. Why do researchers and government agencies work on cooling the earth?

A．To prevent natural disasters.	B．To win more time to reduce gas emissions.
C．To imitate volcanic eruptions.	D．To encourage more people to bur fossil fuels.

2. What are researchers worried about in terms of global warming?

A．More volcanoes will throw out.

B．More solar energy will go into space.

C．More disasters will endanger the future of the world.

D．People will keep burning fossil fuels to keep warm.

3. What can be inferred from Douglas’ words in an interview?

A．He thinks more research remains to be done.

B．He is optimistic about the effect of cooling the earth.

C．He is concerned about the reduction in agriculture production.

D．He disapproves of the practice of solar climate intervention.

4. What does the underlined words “sweet spot” in the last paragraph mean?

A．The rainfall pattern of a region.

B．The modest drop in temperature.

C．The number of extreme weather events.

D．The injection amount of aerosol.

5 . According to a survey, the waste of food on the dining table occupies 10% of the total grain output. Last week Meituan co-published a proposal with a number of business organizations, calling on restaurants to stop food waste and help develop new eating habits for customers. “Restaurants should use official accounts on social media and live-streaming to promote and advocate food-saving actions,” the proposal said.

Meituan and the organizations are advocating that merchants offer guidance for consumers, including reminding them during the ordering process about the taste of the ingredients, portion sizes and other information about the dishes, to help them avoid food waste due to misleading information.

Catering associations in more than 18 provinces have also joined the campaign to remove food waste. The Wuhan Catering Association proposed an “N-1” ordering code for restaurants in which a group of 10 diners would only order enough for nine people. More food is only brought to the table if required. It has inspired people to rethink their relationship with food and waste.

On Friday, the China Cuisine Association announced that it had teamed up with Ele. me, a food delivery platform, to launch a “ half-dish plan", encouraging restaurants to provide customers with the option to order smaller portions. Besides, customers are encouraged to take their leftovers home.

To reduce food waste on social media platforms, some popular video platforms have stepped up content reviews of food-related live streams and implemented regulation of online eating shows. Now, if users search certain keywords, such as “eating show" or “competitive eaters", a cautionary message pops up to remind them to cherish food and keep a reasonable diet.

1. What is the purpose of the proposal mentioned in the passage?

A．To monitor food sales on social media and live-streaming.

B．To expand the business and competitive ability of Meituan.

C．To encourage restaurants to take measures to reduce food waste.

D．To promote cooperation between Meituan and other organizations.

2. How is Paragraph 3 developed?

A．By doing a survey.	B．By offering analysis.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By giving an example.

3. What is the suggestion for consumers in the passage?

A．Purchasing their favorite food.	B．Buying proper amounts of food.
C．Following some competitive eaters.	D．Leaving their leftovers in the restaurant.

4. What does the underlined phrase “pops up” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Appears unexpectedly.	B．Spreads widely.
C．Moves quickly.	D．Fades slowly.

6 . The spine (脊柱) stands at the center of your health, providing your body with structure and support. It also contains a major collection of nerves that deliver electric signals from the rest of the body to your brain. Since your spine is so central to health, it’s important to take care of it.

Staying in a good position is one of the most important things you can do to keep your spine healthy. A proper position means standing or sitting while keeping your spine straight, except for its natural bending. Positions play a vital part even when you’re asleep. Stomach sleeping is far from a good idea. Many people prefer sleeping on their side, which is in the interests of their spine. Sleeping on your back has lots of benefits yet can cause lower back pain and put some pressure on your spine.

Staying still for too long — even if your position is good — can be hard on your back. Especially if you work at a task most of the day, it’s important to get up and stretch (伸展) periodically. Therefore, exercise is also a key part in the health of your spine. Stretches can help the muscles (肌肉) around your spine relax. Strength exercises with light weights or body weight exercises like push­ups can also help by strengthening the muscles. However, don’t overdo the exercise, as repeated movements can hurt the muscles around the spine, as trying to lift heavy weights with poor technique.

Your diet also affects the health of your spine because many vitamins are necessary for bones and nerves. In particular, vitamin B and omega­3 fatty acids help keep nerves healthy. Another important part is vitamin D, which is required for strong bones. Vitamin D can come from some foods, but it’s also absorbed from sunlight, so it may help to do some exercises outside. At last, many of the actions necessary to keep a spine healthy are similar to those used to protect your health in other ways. So protect your back, and the rest of the body will benefit.

1. Which sleep position is best for our spine according to the passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．

2. What is suggested in Paragraph 3?

A．Doing a proper amount of exercise.

B．Staying still in a good position.

C．Repeating a certain movement more.

D．Strengthening muscles of the whole body.

3. What can we infer about vitamins?

A．Vitamin B reacts with omega­3 fatty acids.

B．Abundant vitamin D guarantees strong bones.

C．Vitamin D can’t be absorbed without sunlight.

D．Doing push­ups outside increases vitamin D intake.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Good posture, good spine

B．Stay still, stay healthy

C．Healthy means, healthy spine

D．Proper exercise, proper weight

7 . You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place.“They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering.“They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around.Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing(内化)your victimization.The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.

Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently.They know there are individuals who might like to control their lives, but they don't let this get in the way.They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don't blame themselves when they fail.Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter.They believe their dance with each sacred(神圣的)moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth.

Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of life is worlds apart.Victims relish(沉溺)in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others--and even themselves---to feel like victims, too.Creators consciously choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but al1around them.Both victims and creators always have choice to determine the direction of their lives.

In reality, all of us play the victim or the creator at various points in our lives.One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime.Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the grief, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative force in his life.

In every moment and every circumstance, you can choose to have fuller, richer life by setting a clear intention to transform the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are.

1. What does the word “they” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?

A．People and things around you.	B．Opportunities and problems.
C．Creators and their choices.	D．Victims and their sufferings.

2. According to Paragraph 2, creators__________.

A．seem willing to experience failures in life	B．possess the ability to predict future life
C．handle ups and downs of life wisely	D．have potential to create something new

3. What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

A．To define victims and creators.

B．To evaluate victims against creators.

C．To explain the relationship between victims and creators.

D．To suggest the transformation from victims to creators.

4. The examples mentioned in Paragraph 4 show that_________.

A．strong attachment to sufferings in life pulls people into victims.

B．people need family support to deal with challengers in life.

C．it takes creators quite a long time to get rid of their pains.

D．one's experiences determine his attitude toward life.

8 . Researchers all over the world have been dreaming of “lab-grown” or “cultured” meat, for years. Today, their dream took one step closer to reality as the cultured chicken meat from the US company, Eat Just, has been allowed for sale in Singapore.

Lab-grown chicken is made of real chicken cells, but it's grown in a lab instead of growing in a live chicken.(Cultured meat is different from plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat or Quorn, which use plant proteins to create products that just taste very similar to the products made from real meat.)

To grow cultured chicken meat, cells are taken from a real chicken. These cells are then put in a special kind of water that encourages the cells to grow in the lab until they've produced chicken meat——without the chicken.

But many technical challenges of bringing lab-grown meat to the table are far from solved. No one has yet found out how to produce cultured meat even with the same texture and structure of real meat. Even replacing chicken products with lab-grown chicken products that are not very strict with such texture and structure would be a big success for the world.

The existing projects, like Eat Just's in Singapore, can only produce a very small amount of meat for special dishes, while the meat industry kills tens of billions of animals each year. Matching that will be a challenge.

The next challenge is cost. Lab-grown meat is much more expensive than factory farming. "Factory-farmed meat is unbelievably cheap," said Lewis Bollard, who researches animals at the Open Philanthropy Project. “The meat industry doesn't pay for the environmental and the public health problems they have caused. They have managed to produce a product that is just artificially cheap and hard to compete with.”

Although there are still many challenges ahead, today's success in Singapore is cause for celebration.

1. Which company's product is made of animal cells?

A．Quorn.

B．Eat Just.

C．Beyond Meat.

D．Impossible Burger.

2. What can we say about the cultured chicken meat?

A．It has been grown in a live chicken.	B．It has the same texture of real meat.
C．It still tastes different from real meat.	D．It has been produced in huge amounts.

3. What does Lewis Bollard mean?

A．Researchers have had a big success in Singapore.

B．There are many technical challenges to be solved.

C．Cultured meat still cannot compete with real meat.

D．Factory-farmed meat is very harmful to our health.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Cultured Meat Still Faces Too Many Problems

B．When Will Lab-grown Meat Become Reality?

C．How to Grow Cultured Chicken Meat in a Lab?

D．The First Lab-grown Meat to Be on Sale in Singapore

9 . My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s(老年痴呆症) last summer.Suddenly, it was difficult for me to accept that the roles were now reversed-my mother became my child, and I became her mother.I became impatient, argued with her, once I even yelled at her.Gradually, I was used to this kind of life.Now I am able to deal with her and the situation better.I have learned a lot of life lessons from the experience.

My mother reacts very sensitively to my feelings.That is typical of Alzheimer’s patients.When I visit her, feeling busy and tense, she reacts immediately, takes on my mood, and becomes nervous and negative.But when I appear cheerful and attentive, she is happy.This has taught me to pay more attention to my own feelings when I am with other people.

I was thought I was very tolerant( 容 忍 的 ), but in reality, my tolerance ran out as soon as someone turned away from what I considered “right”.With my mother I can now really be tolerant.Through her illness she has developed a childlike tactlessness(不得体).Eating out in restaurants, for example, is a bit embarrassing when she shouts at the waiter that the food is so bad or talks about people at the next table in a loud voice.Of course I make sure that my mother doesn’t offend(冒犯) anyone, but I’ve stopped complaining about others and have become more tolerant.

I have also learned that everything has special value.When my mother got sick, I didn’t want to burden my two daughters with it.They are young and have enough going on with their education and starting their careers.I felt that it was simply my job as my mother’s daughter.The most wonderful discovery I’ve made through my mother’s disease may be that my children not only offer to help me when they sense that I’m feeling overwhelmed, but that they take care of my mother on their own initiative(主动地).They visit her often, play cards with her, and look at photo albums together with her.It shows me that it’s all worth it.

1. Which of the following is common behavior of Alzheimer’s patients?

A．Curiosity about everything.	B．Sensitivity to other’s moods.
C．Fear of strange people.	D．Quick reaction.

2. The underlined word “overwhelmed” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to        .

A．concerned

B．scared

C．embarrassed

D．stressed

3. We can infer from the passage that        .

A．the writer accepted the role change immediately

B．the writer only paid attention to her mother’s feelings

C．the writer has a great sense of responsibility

D．the daughters took over the responsibility to look after their grandmother

4. This passage is mainly about        .

A．how I cared for my sick mother

B．how I became more tolerant

C．what I have learned from my mother’s illness

D．why I am feeling overwhelmed

10 . During my elementary school years, I used to compare（比较） my mom with my best friend Tiffany’s mom.     

Tiffany’s mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food. Her mom allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn’t give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave myself. I was annoyed with her.

Whenever I didn’t get what I wanted, I would complain to my mom, Tiffany’s mom would give her that! I wish she were my mom. Every time, my mom would calmly say “Poor Tiffany”. I couldn’t understand her. “She shouldn’t be feeling sorry for Tiffany!” I thought. “She should be feeling sorry for me.”

One day, I couldn’t help saying to Mom, “Poor Tiffany? Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her?” I burst out crying.

My mom sat down next to me and said softly. “Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught.”

I looked up at her. “What are you talking about?”       

Mom said with care, “One day she will really want something. Maybe she’ll find out that she can’t have it. Her mother won’t always be around to give her money, and what’s more, money can’t buy everything.”   

She continued, “I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You’ll know how to look for bargains（便宜货） and save money, but she won’t. You’ll understand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won’t. When Tiffany is a grown woman, she’ll wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you’ve got. Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food.”

It took some time, but I eventually understood my mom’s words. Now I am a happy and successful woman.

1. During the author’s elementary school years, she ______.

A．went to school with Tiffany every day

B．usually got lots of money from her mom

C．wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany’s

D．admired Tiffany because Tiffany was better at her lessons

2. The author’s mom always said “Poor Tiffany” because ______.

A．Tiffany’s family was really poor

B．she wanted to comfort the author

C．she wanted the author to help Tiffany

D．she thought Tiffany would be spoiled（宠坏）by her mother

3. What do we learn about the author’s mother?

A．She was strict and taught the author to be independent.

B．She cared for other people’s children more than her own.

C．She thought that life lessons were as important as money.

D．She was so poor that she couldn’t give the author much money.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．The author is grateful to her mother now.

B．The author was quite satisfied with her mother in the past.

C．Tiffany used to wish that she had a mom like the author’s.

D．Tiffany’s mother tried to teach her child to get things with hard work.