1 . If history doesn't quite repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. With demand for bicycles rocketing, and nations preparing to spend billions of dollars to redesign their cities with a new focus on cycling and walking, it's worth remembering how the invention of the bicycle in the late 19th century transformed societies the world over. It was a hugely revolutionary technology, easily equal to the smartphone today. For a few heady years in the 1890s, the bicycle was the best must-have—swift, affordable, stylish transportation that could take you anywhere you cared to go, anytime you liked, for free.
Almost anyone could learn to ride, and almost everyone did. The sultan of Zanzibar(a former Muslim country)took up cycling. So did the king of Russia. But it was the middle and working classes around the globe that truly made the bicycle their own. For the first time in history, the masses were mobile, able to come and go as they pleased. No more need for expensive horses and carriages.
Society was transformed. Women were especially enthusiastic, abandoning their burden some Victorian skirts, adopting reasonable clothes, and taking to the road in groups. “I think bicycling has done more to liberate women than anything else in the world,” Susan B. Anthony, the American champion of women's suffrage(选举权)said in an interview with The New York Sunday World in 1896. “I stand and feel thrilled every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of unrestricted womanhood.”
By 1898 cycling had become such a popular activity in the United States that The New York Journal of Commerce claimed it was costing restaurants and theaters more than $ 100 million a year in lost business. Bicycle manufacturing became one of America's biggest and most advanced industries. A third of all patent applications were bicycle-related—so many that the US patent office had to build a separate building to deal with them all.
The arrival of the bicycle touched virtually every aspect of life—art, music, literature, fashion, and even the human gene pool. English songwriter Henry Dacre scored a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1892 with Daisy Bell and its famous refrain(副歌)A Bicycle Built for Two.
1. Why did the author consider the bicycle as a revolutionary technology?A.It cost its owner too much money. | B.It harmed the cyclists' health at first. |
C.It had a huge influence on the society. | D.It made people redesign their city buildings. |
A.It changed public morals. | B.It made women more united. |
C.It offered women more freedom. | D.It made Victorian skirts more popular. |
A.Bicycle-related patent applications. | B.Interviews with cyclists. |
C.Bicycle management charges. | D.Broken restaurants and theaters. |
A.Business and economy. | B.Environment and energy. |
C.Entertainment and sports. | D.History and culture. |
2 . Black Valley, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing, is one of the best preserved natural wonders around the municipality. The national 5A-level scenic spot is a popular summer resort for sightseeing, forest adventures, outdoor camping, hunting and angling.
Located in Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, the scenic spot spans over 103 square kilometers, 97 percent of which are covered by primitive forests. With over 110,000 negative oxygen ions in each cubic centimeter of air, it is dubbed as a natural oxygen bar and “the most beautiful healthcare-themed valley.”
Black Valley is also known as “the natural gene bank of Chongqing and Guizhou regions” for the diversity of its rare plants and wildlife, including Cathaya argyrophylla, Davidia involucrata, Trachypithecus francoisi and clouded leopards.
Scenic spot level: AAAAA
Address: Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing Opening hours: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (peak season from November to February), 9:00 am-3:00 pm (off season from March to October)
Ideal sightseeing season: from May to September
Ticket price: 60 yuan ($8.72) during off season and 100 yuan during peak season, sightseeing bus and cable not included.
Notes:
1. It is recommended that tourists start from the higher southern area for a downward journey.
2. The average temperature is 18.1 degrees.
3. It’s a good idea to experience the local folk culture of the Miao ethnic group, especially when you choose to visit in May when the traditional Caishan Festival of Miao ethnic group is celebrated.
1. What can we know about Black Valley?A.It lies in downtown Chongqing. |
B.Plants and wildlife are rarely seen there. |
C.A visit there costs at most 100 yuan. |
D.The air is very high in negative oxygen ions there. |
A.January. | B.March. | C.May. | D.July. |
A.Culture. | B.Travel. | C.Nature. | D.Wildlife. |
3 . When Earth was just a tiny young thing,it birthed many new continents - then it swallowed them all up, leaving just a few traces behind, a new study shows.
These first continents had a special skill for living fast and dying young, but in doing so, they paved the way for solid continents that eventually led to the emergence of plate tectonics(版块运动), the new study suggests.
For hundreds of millions of years, the current continents have been more or less stable. But very little is known about the continents that existed early on in Earth's history.
To learn more about that early history, the researchers used computers to model the interactions of rock and magma(岩浆) in the Earth’s crust(地壳) and below. The modeling showed that the earliest continents, known as the Hadean (4.6 to 4.0 billion years ago), were weak and likely to destruction. Modern continents have a comprehensive high tensile strength, meaning it’s hard to tear them apart by stretching.
By the time the Archean (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) began ending the Hadean, the crust which had first formed was almost entirely replaced by the seeds of the modern continents.
In a sense, the researchers found, those lost Hadean continents made the later, more stable continents possible.
The emergence of continents at the close of the Hadean also contributed fertilizer that would later help seed life on Earth, the researchers wrote. Bits of them broke off and entered the atmosphere and oceans, providing necessary nutrients for the life forms that soon emerged.
1. Compared with the modern continents, the Hadean was________.A.younger | B.firmer | C.weaker | D.bigger |
A.It existed 4.0 million years ago. | B.It disappeared before the Archean began. |
C.It helped make more stable continents. | D.It provided all the necessary nutrients. |
A.By listing researchers’ findings. | B.By giving a lot of examples. |
C.By making comparisons. | D.By listing a lot of numbers. |
A.A science fiction. | B.A science magazine. |
C.A travel brochure. | D.An encyclopedia. |
4 . Best Diabetes Diets
U.S. News has ranked four leading diets based on input from a panel of health experts. Browse our diet profiles by narrowing down your results until you find the ones that are right for you.
The Flexitarian Diet in Best Diabetes Diets The Flexitarian Diet, which emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains and plant-based protein, is a smart and healthy choice. One panelist noted that this diet is “a nice approach that could work for the whole family.” READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.1/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3.6/5 HEALTHY 4.7/5 |
Mediterranean Diet in Best Diabetes Diets With its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish and other healthy fare, the Mediterranean diet is extremely sensible. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.2/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3/5 HEALTHY 4.8/5 |
DASH Diet in Best Diabetes Diets DASH fights high blood pressure and was praised for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to prevent or control diabetes, and role in supporting heart health. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 4.1/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3.2/5 HEALTHY 4.8/5 |
Mayo Clinic Diet in Best Diabetes Diets The Mayo Clinic Diet aims to make healthy eating a lifelong habit, and earned praise for its nutrition and safety. READ MORE → | OVERALL SCORE 3. 8/5 WEIGHT LOSS 3. 3/5 HEALTHY 4. 4/5 |
1. If you got diabetes and wanted to lose weight, which food would meet your needs?
A.Mayo Clinic Diet | B.Dash Diet |
C.Mediterranean Diet | D.The Flexitarian Diet |
A.Novel | B.Magazine | C.Website | D.Newspaper |
A.Dash Diet can benefit your heart health. |
B.All diabetic diets can fight high blood pressure. |
C.All the diabetic diets emphasize their complete nutrition. |
D.The Mayo Clinic Diet has developed a lifelong healthy eating habit. |
5 . TRAVEL ADVISORY
Here are a few things you should know before you take off on your next trip.
Frontier Airlines Face Covering Requirement
As required by federal law, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Order and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Directive, all passengers and employees must wear a face covering over nose and mouth throughout the Frontier travel experience including at ticket counters, gate areas, baggage claim and onboard all flights. Face coverings are not required for children under the age of 2. Face coverings must fit snugly(紧密地) over your nose and mouth and be secured under the chin. Not wearing an approved face covering is a violation of federal law and you may lose future travel privileges on Frontier.
* Persons with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, because of that disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act can apply for a face mask exemption(豁免). To learn about pre-travel exemption requirements, click here.
Temperature Screening Requirement
Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher will not be able to board the plane. If time allows, we will give customers the opportunity to rest before receiving a second check. If the second temperature screening is 100.4 degrees or higher, our team will help the customer to rebook travel on a later date when they are feeling better.
Know Your Travel Policy
CDC issued an Order on January 12, 2021(effective since January, 26, 2021) requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country to the US.
1. Who can legally board a Frontier Airlines flight without wearing a face covering?A.A senior manager of Frontier Airlines. | B.A blind man in a wheelchair. |
C.A one-year-old baby. | D.A high school student. |
A.Passengers without proper face coverings may be banned from flying with Frontier Airlines in the future. |
B.Passengers can take off their face coverings when they pick up their checked baggage. |
C.Passengers with a high fever will have their flights rescheduled. |
D.Passengers without proof of a negative COVID-19 test can’t enter the US on January 20, 2021. |
A.A website. | B.A brochure. |
C.A guidebook. | D.A newspaper. |
6 . For most of us, the world’s southern-most point seems like a pretty place, but for Hannah, Hannalore, Sophie and Julia, it’s home. Each year they spend five months living and working in Port welcoming visiting ships and, best of all, watching over the native colony of penguins(企鹅).
They live on a tiny island the size of a football pitch, but share it with about 2000 gentoo penguins and their chicks, as well as other birds. Life here is different every day and depends on weather and ice conditions, as well as the visiting ships’ schedules. Port Lockroy is one of the most visited places in Antarctica, with one to three ships visiting a day. Between ship visits we have other duties to attend to. These include maintenance jobs, sending postcards from the post office, checking conditions on the historical items in the museum and monitoring the penguin colonies and other wildlife.
Hannah spends much time stamping people’s postcard, which makes her happy to think of the joy over 70,000 people per year get when they receive a postcard from Antarctica, and the most southerly post office in the world! For Sophie, the most amazing thing about my job is being able to live and work with my feathery friends, the penguins. Sophie says they have to make sure the penguins are not disturbed when they are resting or waddling their way back to their nests. They mark specific routes for visitors to walk on so that they don’t use the penguins’ highways. Part of their job is also to count the penguin colony when after they've laid their eggs, then again when the chicks are born and when the chicks are old enough to venture beyond the nest. The information collected will help scientists know if the breeding season has been a successful one or not.
1. What can we learn from the passage?A.How to live and work in Antarctica. |
B.What the real life is like in Antarctica. |
C.What the four women do in Antarctica. |
D.How to explore the beauty of Antarctica. |
A.posting wildlife to people around the world. |
B.changing the weather to preserve historical items. |
C.recording the data of the ice conditions in Port Lockroy. |
D.collecting information about the breeding season of penguins. |
A.Postcards from Port Lockroy are free of charge. |
B.Port Lockroy welcomes the most tourists in Antarctica. |
C.Weather is a factor to consider if people are to visit Port Lockroy. |
D.When visiting Port Lockroy, tourists can travel wherever as they like. |
A.Book review. | B.People in the news. |
C.Economics and business. | D.Sports and events. |
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1. Where do you think we can see this passage?
A.An Internet page. | B.A fashion magazine. |
C.A promotional leaflet. | D.A national newspaper. |
A.People who want to relieve their tired painful feet. |
B.People who get their feet injured during the sports. |
C.People who have to keep running around everyday. |
D.People who desire to recover from a foot operation. |
A.It can cure various feet diseases. |
B.It can improve blood circulation. |
C.It can slow the aging process of feet. |
D.It can be worn under regular socks. |
8 . Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua have made medical history as the first cloned primates (灵长目动物),with the efforts of a team of Chinese scientists.
According to the journal Cell , it is a milestone for biomedical research. It could potentially lead to the development of new treatments for human disease. But it also makes ethicists (伦理学者) about where this all might lead. Do Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua suggest the coming of human cloning?
Born in 1996, Dolly the sheep was the first cloned mammal, and was followed by many more, including dogs, rabbits and pigs. But researchers were unable to clone primates because the genes involved didn’t react well to the procedure. Over the years, a handful of research institutions have tried and failed to birth a live monkey clone.
The successful team, at Shanghai’s Chinese Academy of Sciences, used the same basic method that created Dolly but had failed in subsequent(随后的) primate cloning attempts. It’s called somatic(躯体)cell nuclear transfer and involves transferring DNA from adult cells into eggs that have had their own DNA removed. Without the addition of sperm(精子), the eggs are stimulated (刺激)chemically to develop into an embryo that’s a clone of the DNA donor(提供者). The embryo is then placed into a substitue(替代) for gestation(妊娠).
The researchers modified the approach in two important ways, however. Rather than use adult cells in the DNA transfer, they used fetal (胎儿)cells, which react better to chemical stimuli(刺激)for embryo development, says Mu-ming Poo, director of the academy’s Institute of Neuroscience and a co-autho of the paper. They also fine-tuned the cell transfer process to minimize damage to the eggs
As for creating human clones, Poo says the research shows it can be done, but he and his team have no interest. “Besides many technical dificulties that remain to be overcome, we see no justifiable reason to do human cloning,” says Poo, “nor would the societies around the world permit such an attempt.”
While human cells may be cloned experimentally, for example to research tissue regeneration, the cloning of an entire human is illegal in more than 70 countries, according to the Center for Genetics and Society. U.S. law does not ban it, but over a dozen states do. (Discover 2019J&F,P60.)
1. About somatic cell nuclear transfer, which of the following statements is true?A.It needs the combination of sperm and eggs. |
B.The eggs keep their own DNA in the process. |
C.The embryo has the DNA of the adult donor. |
D.The embryo gestates in the eggs donor’s body. |
A.acceptable. | B.incredible. | C.valuable. | D.reliable. |
A.The right donor cells. | B.The fine-tuned transfer process. |
C.The united team. | D.The reduced damage to the eggs. |
A.Nature Exploration | B.Science Magazine |
C.Medicine World | D.World Wonders |
9 . Many visitors to the UK go straight to London and never explore outside the capital, which is a pity, for there is various landscape only a few hours away, in any one of Britain’s largest areas of protected countryside, its national parks.
The Cairngorms
The biggest is the Cairngorms in northern Scotland, with some of the country’s highest mountains and the best place for skiing. Ponytrekking, climbing and fishing are also popular, along with Scotland’s national game, golf. Wildlife enthusiasts are well rewarded—this is the home of the red deer, red squirrel and golden eagle.
The Lake District
Over the border in England is the Lake District, originally made famous by local Romantic poet William Wordsworth two hundred years ago. People have been travelling here in large numbers since 1847 when a railway was built to its biggest lake, Windermere. Children’s writers have found inspiration here too, and the mountains make for excellent walking, with breathtaking views.
Snowdonia
Wales also has its fair share of impressive landscape — Snowdonia was one of the first national parks to be created in 1951. You will find the road signs in two languages and hear Welsh spoken in the local shops. If mountain climbing is not your thing, try visiting a castle built by a 13th-century prince, or check out the nearby beaches.
The Giant’s Causeway
For the strangest coastal scenery of all, cross the Irish Sea to the Giant’s Causeway, a set of basalt (玄武岩)columns formed by volcanic activity sixty million years ago — or, as legend (传说)has it, built by warrior giant Finn McCool to walk from Northern Ireland to fight his enemy in Scotland. The stone “steps” are not complete because the giant fell asleep — something you’ll probably want to do yourself at the end of an exciting day in the great British outdoors.
1. Which of the following can offer you wonderful snow scenery?A.The Giant’s Causeway. | B.Snowdonia. | C.The Lake District. | D.The Cairngorms. |
A.All of these national parks can be reached in several hours. |
B.Snowdonia was the first national park to be created in the UK. |
C.The Giant’s Causeway was built by warrior giant Finn McCool. |
D.The Lake District attracts large numbers of people in that people can find inspiration there. |
A.Discovery. | B.News Weekly. |
C.National Geographic. | D.Space Exploration. |
10 . When tragedy strikes, some people fall into deep depression (抑郁) sometimes losing hope and even the will to carry on. They may worry continuously about the disaster and suffer nightmares. Other people, however, react differently. Instead of becoming depressed and unable to cope, they are able to deal with painful experiences and move on.
Boris Cyrulnik is interested in this difference of reaction. To find out why some people are so deeply affected, while others are seemingly able to recover, he has devoted his career to the study of psychological resilience (复原力).
Cyrulnik found resilience is a quality that builds through a natural process. He says that alone, a child has no resilience. We build resilience from developing relationships.
Positive emotions and humour are key factors in resilience. Cyrulnik's research has shown that people who are better able to deal with life's difficulties or traumas (创伤)are able to find meaning in hardship, seeing it as a useful and inspiring experience, and even to find ways to laugh. Resilient people always remain able to see how things may turn out for the better in the future, even if the present is painful.
It had previously been thought that people who show more resilience are less emotional in general, but Cyrulnik believed that the pain is no less for resilient people than it is for others; it is a matter of how they choose to use it. The pain may continue, even over a whole lifetime, but for these people it raises a challenge that they decide to meet. The challenge is to overcome what has happened, to find strength in the experience instead of letting it defeat them, and to use the strength to move forward. Given the right support, children are especially able to complete recovery from trauma. Cyrulnik has shown that the human brain is easily influenced and will recover if allowed. If a child is well supported and loved after the trauma, his brain is able to return to normal within a year.
Cyrulnik thinks it important not to label (贴标) children who have suffered a trauma, misleading them to a hopeless future. Trauma consists of two things: the injury and the repeated description of that injury. Often the most damaging post-traumatic experience for children is experiencing embarrassing adult descriptions of events. Labels, he says, can be more damaging than the experience.
1. According to Cyrulnik's research, resilient people are________A.patient and forgiving. | B.sensitive and controlling. |
C.optimistic and humorous. | D.considerate and committed. |
A.They should be treated differently. | B.They should be labeled as poor little ones. |
C.They should be given the right support. | D.They should be helped to accept the reality. |
A.Resilience is a person's ability to grow in the face of terrible problems. |
B.Resilience is found in less emotional people in general. |
C.Resilience is built either by being alone or communicating with others. |
D.Resilience is a person's power to avoid painful experiences. |
A.A biology textbook. | B.A travel guidebook. |
C.A psychology book. | D.A sports magazine. |