1 . Those days of sucking (吮吸) up the sides of your rapidly melting (融化) ice cream may soon be over. Researchers have discovered a natural protein that could be added to everyone’s favorite summertime snack to keep it solid for longer, according to a press release from the University of Edinburg in Scotland.
Most people know that, at its most basic, ice cream is made of milk and sugar. But it has other ingredients that give it a solid consistency (黏稠度) — a fat (often oil), air bubbles, and ice crystals. The protein that the researchers discovered, called BsIA, coats all three of them to slow down the rate at which the ice melts and the air escapes. In one study of the protein, published earlier this year, the researchers call BsIA a “raincoat” that can act as a film to keep everything inside it for just a little longer. That same quality prevents big pieces of ice crystals from forming, which can happen if you leave ice cream in the fridge for too long.
BsIA is found in bacteria called Bacillus subtilis that is common in soil, and is already present in some foods. So adding the protein to ice cream wouldn’t bring the same sorts of long-term health concerns as would artificial ingredients (人造添加剂). The researchers note that producers could also add BsIA to ice cream to reduce their fat and sugar content.
Though the researchers have published two papers about BsIA and have tested it in the lab, they are staying quiet on the most recent data they collected, as the Washington Post notes. Importantly, the researchers make no mention about how the new ingredient might affect ice cream’s taste or how much we might enjoy eating it. What’s the good of long-lasting ice cream if you don’t even like it? But it might not be too long before you can try it out for yourself; ice cream with BsIA might be available within three to five years.
1. According to the passage, what is BsIA?| A．A group of ice crystals. | B．A sort of natural protein. |
| C．A kind of man-made bacteria. | D．A type of artificial film. |
| A．Covers. | B．Produces. | C．Melts. | D．Changes |
| A．It exists widely in food. |
| B．It has the same function as sugar. |
| C．It can speed up the freezing of ice crystals. |
| D．It can slow down the melting rate of ice cream. |
| A．They can add extra flavor to food. |
| B．They are more costly than BsIA. |
| C．They may do harm to people’s health. |
| D．They can’t be mass-produced like BsIA. |
| A．There is still uncertainty in BsIA. |
| B．BsIA faces an unpromising future. |
| C．BsIA won’t affect the taste of ice cream. |
| D．Everyone likes the ice cream with BsIA. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A magazine. | C．A novel. | D．A diary. |
2 . Interschool Sports Programme
Interschool Sports Programme is coming. It will start on 30th April and end on 15th June.
Students in our school will join the boys' basketball games. Each Wednesday the players will travel by bus to Sports Centre, Erinvale Street, Corinda. They will leave school at 12: 20 p.m. It will take them about 20 minutes to get there. The games will begin at 1:00 p.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. Players must wear their school clothes and sports shoes. It will be great if they can bring large water bottles.
If you are good at playing basketball and want to join the games, please go to Mr. David's office (Room503) before 15th April to fill in form. We will choose 15 players.
Volunteers are also needed. Anyone who wants to be a volunteer needs to send an email to Mr David (davidss@qq.edu.au) to introduce yourself before 20th April.
For more information, please call Mr David (6783-5682) or visit his office.
1. Interschool Sports Programme is about long.| A．half a month | B．one month | C．one and a half months | D．two months |
| A．12:20 p.m. | B．12:40 p.m. | C．1:00 p.m. | D．2:30 p.m. |
| A．practise every Tuesday | B．buy new sports clothes | C．call Mr David | D．fill in a form |
| A．know something about basketball | B．send an email to Mr David |
| C．bring a large water bottle | D．wear sports shoes |
| A．school notice | B．news report | C．teacher' email | D．students' entail |
3 . Why do we dream? It’s a question researchers have been studying for years. Now new research suggests that some dreams may result from the brain’s effort to keep learning, even as we sleep.
In a study in Boston, 100 volunteers were trained for an hour on a maze (迷宫). They tried to find their way through the difficult puzzle as quickly as possible. Then half of the volunteers were allowed to sleep for 90 minutes. The other half stayed awake, reading or relaxing. The ones who slept were asked to describe their dreams when they woke up.
After the rest, the volunteers were asked again to solve the maze. Those who hadn’t slept showed no improvement or did even worse after the break. Sleepers who didn’t report any maze-related dreams did better but showed only a little improvement. However, 4 nap-takers who reported dreaming about maze showed a surprising improvement. They scored 10 times higher after sleeping and dreaming about the maze.
Even though the number of dreamers was small, the researchers noted that the gap in learning between the dreamers and the non-dreamers was so wide that the finding was significant.
The dreamers had all performed poorly on the test before dreaming about it. That suggests that struggling with a task might be the trigger that leads the sleeping brain to focus on it and work on how to deal with it.
“It’s almost as if your brain is going through everything that happened today,” Dr. Stickgold, a scientist at Harvard Medical School, said, “The things you are obsessed (着迷的) with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to do with. ”
1. What’s the best title of the passage?| A．Learning while you dream. | B．What dreams stand for. |
| C．Dream a good dream. | D．Dreams and health. |
| A．To work on a new maze. |
| B．To continue to do the maze. |
| C．To talk with each other about their dreams. |
| D．To tell what they thought about the maze. |
| A．Those who didn’t sleep. |
| B．Those who slept but didn’t dream. |
| C．Those who dreamed about the maze while sleeping. |
| D．Those who thought about the maze before falling asleep. |
| A．chance | B．idea |
| C．way | D．cause |
| A．Business | B．Science |
| C．Education | D．Life |
