1 . 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. |
2 . Picture this: It’s 2003 and your family has just finished arguing over which Netflix movie video tapes to rent that week. Movies come in the mail and the family watch them throughout the week. Then, fast forward to 2008, and you have started to watch TV shows on Netflix’s new platform.
Now, let’s come to the present. You sit down and open up Netflix on your TV and scroll （滚屏） for a while. Then check HBO GO. Finally, check Disney+. Then realize that you’re paying for three different streaming services, maybe more.
Let’s return to Netflix. More generally, streaming. There are over 100 video streaming services available, as well as quite a few music streaming, including YouTube Music, Google Play, and etc. The streaming world, at least to some, is on its way to getting out of control, with each service requiring its own monthly entertainment subscription. We haven’t even taken into account subscriptions like Microsoft Office and email newsletters. Subscriptions started out as a service of convenience, but now, the oversaturation may have become burdensome. The services believe customers will pay more to get the content they want. However, statistics show a growing frustration among consumers. With so many options, they find it harder than ever to make a decision on what to pick.
Not only does the oversaturation of streaming result in confusing navigation, it also creates a financial burden for the consumers. Let’s say if you want to watch The Handmaid’s Tale and Game of Thrones, which belong to two different services, you would have to pay nearly $50 a month to access both services, meaning it’s potentially more expensive, than cable.
People cut their cords （细绳） and went the streaming route because it was simpler and cheaper. Now, it’s just as inconvenient and difficult as cable was, if not more so, and unless you’re limiting yourself to one service, it’s not cheaper. Streaming will survive because we’re in a Golden Age of Media and because each service is able to create high-quality originals. But Golden Ages don’t last, and bubbles tend to burst. Until the unavoidable day when some product or service proves streaming out of date, we must suffer the choices in front of us. The next time you are scrolling through Netflix, Hulu, or whatever, and the over-choice is killing you, maybe you should just go pick up a book instead.
1. What is mainly talked about in the first two paragraphs?| A．Social progress has promoted the quality of life in the past decade. |
| B．Technology innovation results in different ways of relaxation. |
| C．Changes in home entertainment have brought us more options. |
| D．Netflix has been developing its service patterns. |
| A．The large number of subscriptions. |
| B．The frustration caused by poor service. |
| C．The rapidly developing entertainment market. |
| D．The confusing navigation resulting from streaming. |
| A．improve user satisfaction | B．raise entertainment costs |
| C．diversify entertainment forms | D．realize the resource sharing |
| A．the streaming service will have a bright future |
| B．reading has an advantage over streaming service |
| C．there will be some better service to replace streaming |
| D．nothing can end streaming services as long as media exists |
3 . What happens when you cross stem cells from a frog heart and frog skin? Not much-that is, until you program those cells to move. In that case, you've created a xenobot, a new type of organism that's part robot, part living thing.
Now a team of scientists has used living cells from frog embryos and assembled them into entirely new life-forms. These millimeter-wide xenobots can move toward a specific target and pull themselves through after being cut.
These are novel living machines," says Joshua Bongarch a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont who co-led the new research. "They're neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It's a new living, programmable organism.
Xenobots borrow their name from Xenopus laevis, the name for the African clawed frog from which the researchers harvested the stem cells. They combined together well two different kinds of cells-heart and skin cells. The heart cells are competent in expanding and contracting, which aids the xenobot in locomotion, and the skin cells administer structure. Besides, they can't accomplish tasks without the help of computers.
By studying these curious organisms, researchers hope to learn more about the mysterious world of cellular communication. Plus, these kinds of robo-organisms could possibly be the key to drug transmission in the body or greener environmental clean-up techniques.
“Most technologies are made from steel, concrete, chemicals, and plastics, which degrade(降解)over time and can generate harmful ecological and health side effects the authors note in a research paper. "When these xenobots finally do stop working, they fall apart harmlessly.
“Promising as these organisms are, when we start to mess around with complex systems that we don't understand, we're going to get unintended consequences Michael Levin, a biophysicist and co-author of the study, says in a press statement.
1. What do we know about the xenobot?| A．It is not easy to degrade over time. |
| B．It can recover itself after being cut. |
| C．It will never die with a computer inside. |
| D．It is named after a kind of American frog. |
| A．Appearance. | B．Position. |
| C．Application. | D．Movement. |
| A．recycle waste in nature. |
| B．replace certain damaged organs. |
| C．deliver medicine inside patients. |
| D．improve communication technology. |
| A．Xenobots can be put into the market soon. |
| B．Xenobots are created totally by accident. |
| C．More research should be done on xenobots. |
| D．It is hard for people to understand xenobots. |
4 . Female journalists who changed the world
Helen Thomas
Helen was a White House reporter who had a front row seat of history as she interviewed ten American presidents across her career. She was praised for her cruel drive, with one White House press secretary describing her questioning as torture(拷问). Her refusal to hide her strong opinions, even when asking questions to a president, made her one of the best-known journalists in Washington and a rule in her field.
Marie Colvin
The passionate and award-winning American journalist Marie Colvin worked as a foreign reporter at The Sunday Times from 1985 until she died in February 2012, while covering the Siege of Homs(霍姆斯的围攻) in Syria. Marie crossed into Syria on the back of a motorcycle, ignoring the Syrian government’s attempt to prevent foreign journalists from entering the country.
Mary Garber
In 1946, sports journalism was a man's job where female sports writers weren't allowed to enter press boxes. Mary Garber changed that by paving the way for female sports writers. She first covered high school sports and then reported on college athletics. In June 2005, she became the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors' Red Smith Award, presented annually since 1981 for major contributions to sports journalism.
Ann Leslie
Few reporters have filed stories from more than 70 countries, but British journalist Ann Leslie is considered a unique force in journalism. Because the 73-year-old woman has witnessed and reported on some of the most significant events of the late 20th century. She was there when the Berlin Wall came down, and she lost her shoes in the crush waiting for Nelson Mandela's release.
1. What do we know about Helen from Paragraph 1?| A．She made friends with ten American presidents. |
| B．She liked to make her strong opinions known. |
| C．She often got into trouble due to her questions. |
| D．She was regarded as the best journalist in America. |
| A．was a very brave woman |
| B．enjoyed riding a motorcycle |
| C．was awarded by the Syrian government |
| D．was killed by the Syrian government |
| A．Helen Thomas. | B．Marie Colvin. | C．Mary Garber. | D．Ann Leslie. |
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas This book takes you through waves of emotion as you start to undcrstdad the main character, the 9-year-old son Bruno of the Auschwitz commandant(（司令官）. The plot taking place during the Holocaust（大屠杀）,we witness the horror from the boys viewpoint . who just wants friends. You 11 be shocked by some of the more surprising aspects of the book as the boy befriends one of the boys on the other side of the fence. | The Book Thief The story is about a young girl named Liesel who has to live with foster parents(养父母）during World WarⅡ. On the way to her new home. her bother dies, setting the sad tone for the story. There is hope, however, when Liesel discovers her love for reading and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing at tacks as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. |
The Fault in Our Stars This is probably the most likely book to make you cry, as it records the experiences of teens who are dying from cancer and living their last days in love. Their life is tragic and jarring at the same time as we watch their health deteriorate （恶化）. The real tragedy is the love between the main characters, who know that it is certain to "die". | A Child Called " It" Easily one of the saddest stories of abuse in recent decades. A hild Called " It" is based on the true story of Dave Pelzer, a boy from C alifornia who suffered at the hands of his sadistic(施虐癖的)family, the tears will conic from both sadness and the inspiration lied to Dave's fight for survival in an environment where he is considered worthless. |
| A．The Book Thief. | B．A Child Called “it” |
| C．The Fault in Our Stars. | D．The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. |
| A．Liesel's brother | B．The 9-year-old son Bruno. |
| C．A young girl named Liesel. | D．Have Pelzer, a boy from California. |
| A．They all expose the dark side of society. | B．They are all emotionally powerful. |
| C．They are all connected with wars. | D．They all have a sad ending. |
6 . A build-it-yourself solar still(蒸馏器) is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it’s an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it’s all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5＇×5＇ sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.
To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher’s productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.
Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.
The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment out through the tube, and won’t have to break down the still every time you need a drink.
1. What do we know about the solar still equipment from the first paragraph?| A．It’s delicate. | B．It’s expensive. |
| C．It’s complex. | D．It’s portable. |
| A．The tube. | B．The still. |
| C．The hole. | D．The cup. |
| A．Dig a hole of a certain size. | B．Put the cup in place. |
| C．Weight the sheet’s center down. | D．Cover the hole with the plastic sheet. |
| A．the plastic tube | B．outside the hole |
| C．the open air | D．beneath the sheet |
