1 . The first wave of a new class of anti-aging drugs have begun human testing. These drugs won't let you live longer but aim to treat specific illnesses by slowing a fundamental process of aging.
The drugs are called senolytics—they work by removing certain cells that accumulate as we age. Known as “senescent” cells, they can create low-level inflammation (炎症) that prevents normal systems of living cells repair and creates a poisonous environment for neighboring cells.
In June, San Francisco - based Unity Biotechnology reported initial results in patients with mild to severe osteoarthritis (关节炎) of the knee. Results from a larger clinical trial are expected in the second half of this year. The company is also developing similar drugs to treat age-related diseases of the eyes and lungs, among other conditions.
Senolytics are now in human tests, along with a number of other promising approaches targeting the biological processes that lie at the root of aging and various diseases.
A company called Alkahest injects patients with components found in young people's blood and says it hopes to stop conscious and functional decline in patients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The company also has drugs for Parkinson's and dementia in human testing.
And in December, researchers at Drexel University College of Medicine even tried to see if a cream including the immune-suppressing drug could slow aging in human skin.
The tests reflect researchers' expanding efforts to learn if the many diseases associated with getting older- such as heart diseases, arthritis, cancer, and dementia- can be dealt with to delay their outbreak.
1. Why do the researchers develop the drugs?| A．To rid inflammation. | B．To lengthen people's life. |
| C．To treat age-related diseases. | D．To remove cancer cells. |
| A．Repairing. | B．Cycling. | C．Aging. | D．Dividing. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By providing details. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By analyzing causes. |
| A．A diary. | B．A guidebook. | C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
2 . Skyscraper didn’t always mean a tall building. The earliest reference to the word dates back to 1788, when it was used to describe a really tall horse, according to The Oxford English Dictionary. By the 1790s, a Philadelphia doctor had used the term to describe the triangular sail at the very top of a ship.
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Home Insurance Company hired architect William Jenney to design a tall, fire-proof head office. Jenney was inspired to design the building’s steel framework (框架)after his wife placed a heavy book on a small birdcage and found that the cage supported the weight. Today, that revolutionary structure is widely considered to be the first skyscraper.
Since then, the competition to build the world’s tallest building has been as sharp as the top of the Empire State Building. In the late 1920s, Walter Chrysler and his architect arranged for the secret construction of a roof that added 125 feet of height to the new Chrysler Building, making it 1,046 feet tall. The plan allowed them to eclipse(使逊色)the 927-foot Bank of Manhattan Trust Building.
However, only 11 months after the Chrysler Building was ranked the world’s tallest, it was surpassed by a new neighbor — the Empire State Building. Yet when it opened in 1931, less than 25 percent of the building was occupied. New York jokers called it the “Empty State Building”.
The largest skyscraper in the world always seems to be under construction. Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia is the latest and it’s expected to stretch nearly one kilometer (3, 280 feet) into the sky.
1. What did the word “skyscraper” originally mean？| A．A triangular sail. | B．A high building. |
| C．A fire-proof head office. | D．An extremely tall horse. |
| A．given away | B．left behind | C．put off | D．taken up |
| A．It was ranked the world’s tallest. |
| B．Tourists were not allowed to visit it. |
| C．Its construction lasted eleven months. |
| D．Only a few people lived or worked in it. |
| A．In order of time. | B．In order of space. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By giving definitions. |
3 . On July 24, 2020, Mike Stout launched his kayak（皮筏艇）just before 8：30 a.m. About 56 miles and 16.5 hours later, he landed on the sandy Michigan shore. It was his second time crossing Lake Michigan.
By chance, Stout said, he gave kayaking a try in 2016. Already in good physical condition, he considered kayaking a weekend escape. Then he was challenged by a client of his firm to think bigger. He did go big quickly. Weekend kayak trips were 40, 50 and 60 miles long over the next few months. Then his goal was to cross Lake Michigan that year. On August 3, Stout completed his first crossing of Lake Michigan in 15.5 hours. Since then, he’s finished countless long-distance trips on Minnesota rivers and lakes.
In heading back to Lake Michigan last summer, Stout thought he could become the first kayaker to make a round-trip crossing of the Great Lake. He felt capable. He’d put in 800 miles since March 1, 2020-when ice was still on the Minnesota River.
Stout wanted to do with manageable winds. Possibilities rose, only to become worse, the lake showing its mercurial nature. Stout realized a single crossing was his best hope. With local police informed of his plans and plenty of food aboard, Stout launched. His plan was to land on the Michigan shore 12.5 hours later. The lake thought otherwise. The winds and waves were working against him, too. Still, he was resolute. Finally he could hear waves crashing on shore.
“Never did I have a sense of doubt or fear or worry,” Stout said. Despite the constant, forceful wind, he said the crossing was easier than his others because of his experience. But no less meaningful. The stars, the chance to speak to the heavens, and the hope that his adventure would inspire others-all were fuel to finish.
1. What can we infer about Stout from paragraph 2?| A．He challenged his client. |
| B．He intended to escape real life. |
| C．He was organized and determined. |
| D．He set a goal bigger than his capability. |
| A．His physical state. | B．The weather condition. |
| C．The freezing water. | D．Warning from local police. |
| A．Changeable. | B．Merciful. | C．Perfect. | D．Balanced. |
| A．Weather. | B．Adventure. | C．Geography. | D．Entertainment. |
4 . If a president and a philosopher owed their success to the same secret, would you try to follow it too? What if the secret was something you already knew how to do? In fact, you probably do it every day. Here's what Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth”. Thomas Jefferson: “Walking is the best possible exercise. Accustom yourself to walking very far.”
Are you still sitting there reading this? Get walking! It is not just the two great minds who made a case for it as a main creativity booster（推动）. Researchers have traced numerous connections between walking and novel ideas. A Standford University study found that participants were 81% more creative when walking as opposed to sitting. According to the study, walking outside—versus on a treadmill（跑步机）—produces the most novel and highest-quality ideas in participants who walked and then sat down to do creative work.
The movement aspect of walking is obviously key. You've probably heard the phrase “exercise your creativity”, which refers to the brain as muscle. Our creative thinking is triggered by physical movement, which is exactly why walking—with your dog, a friend or alone—feeds creative thinking.
But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. A survey reveals that Americans spend 87% of their time indoors. Being inside, you're more likely to have less energy. Without energy, you can't wonder or create. Interrupting your routine with a walk can be a catalyst（催化剂）for gaining fresh insights into problems or projects. Just by going outside，you are stepping out of your comfort zone which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities. You can walk through a tree-filled neighborhood or a park and observe people wandering or birds singing.
So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creative goal that starts with walking? Engage more closely with your surroundings. Walk just for exercise. Walk for wonder.
1. Why are the two great minds mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To suggest the way to exercise | B．To show the benefits of walking. |
| C．To give the definition of success | D．To stress the importance of creativity |
| A．Motivated. | B．Blocked. | C．Controlled. | D．Changed. |
| A．Americans spend most of their time enjoying it. |
| B．One can't wonder or create without it. |
| C．It can build a comfort zone for people. |
| D．It will expose people to new chances. |
| A．Scenery inspires new ideas. | B．Your creativity lies in sweat. |
| C．Exercise feeds creative thinking. | D．Your brain is made for walking. |
5 . The Arctic's permafrost is inciting— and fast. That's bad news, because these frozen soils store billions of tons of carbon, just waiting to be released. So is there a way to save the permafrost? One team of researchers thinks it may have found a possible solution: big animals, herbivores - animals that eat only plants.
Back in 1996 researchers started an experiment called Pleistocene Park. They fenced in about eight square miles of land in northeast Siberia. Then they introduced different types of herbivores: reindeer, horses, bison, sheep and other large creatures.
Since then, scientists have studied these animals' effects on the ecosystem. One outcome is that these large herbivores help keep the ground very cold — cooler than it would otherwise be.
“The snow in winter is important for soil temperature, because it acts as an insulating layer. So the air in winter, at the high latitudes, is much colder than the soil." Philipp Porada, a vegetation ecologist at the University of Hamburg. "So the idea of this experiment was to introduce large herbivores — and to quantify their effects on soil temperature to see if they can actually protect permafrost soils against melting. And this works because of the animals' trampling (践踏), and this leads to less insulation of the soil against cold air temperatures and results in a cooling effect.”
Freezing air reaches the soil more easily. Porada and his colleagues realized the significance of this effect, so they pulled data from Pleistocene Park and Sweden to model what effect herbivores could have on permafrost if they lived in large numbers in the Arctic.
They found that even in a worst-case situation, some four degrees Celsius of global wanning: “These herbivores in the model reduce soil temperature substantially, by 1.7 degrees on average. And this leads to a preservation of around 80 percent of the original — today's permafrost area. Without the herbivore effect in the model, only 50 percent of the permafrost area would remain by the year 2100. So we can say the effect of the herbivores in the model leads to a substantial preservation of permafrost soil."
1. Why is the Pleistocene Park Experiment mentioned?| A．To provide the past research data. |
| B．To share soil preservation experience. |
| C．To introduce a way to save permafrost. |
| D．To prove animals' effect on soil temperature. |
| A．Covering. | B．Blocking. |
| C．Storing. | D．Freezing. |
| A．Cooling the ground. | B．Heating the soil |
| C．Damaging the ground. | D．Softening the soil. |
| A．Permafrost Is Disappearing | B．Preservation of Permafrost |
| C．An Experiment on Herbivores | D．Herbivores Help Save Permafrost |
6 . As a classic love movie of the twentieth century, Titanic makes one scene a long-lasting cinematic shot: Jack let go of his hand and sank in the icy seawater, leaving the chance of living to his lover Rose, who finally survived on a wooden door debris (残骸).
More than 100 years since the disastrous event and more than two decades after the earliest release of the movie Titanic, there have been many “door theories”. Audiences debate heatedly over whether or not Jack and Rose could have both fit onto the wooden debris and survived. So, was there room for Jack?
In a TV program, hosts Jamie and Adam even did an experiment using an exact replica (复制品) of the wooden piece from the movie, and the two proved that if they had tied Rose’s life jacket to the bottom of the door to strengthen its buoyancy ( 浮 力 ), they would have managed to stay afloat.
However, their conclusion was debunked when director Cameron said that the freezing water and Jack’s high temperature would have made the life jacket solution impossible. He also said that the debate is beyond the point the movie was trying to make, which is focused on the tragic love story of Jack and Rose, not physics.
The largest debris recovered from the real Titanic is now displayed in the Maritime Museum. The museum’s website states that a replica was once built for the movie based on the museum’s Titanic collection which was known as the “door” used in the death scene. Unfortunately, the size of the debris coupled with the weight of Rose on top could work, but not if Jack’s additional weight was added to it.
In a word, science has proven that Jack didn’t die for nothing and did indeed sacrifice himself to save the love of his life.
1. What’s the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To lead into the topic. | B．To introduce a movie. | C．To raise a question. | D．To highlight characters. |
| A．The development of the plot. | B．A physics experiment. | C．The theme of the movie. | D．A heated debate. |
| A．Confirmed. | B．Opposed. | C．Approved. | D．Concerned. |
| A．unrealistic | B．confusing | C．reasonable | D．surprising |
7 . Carbon is a chemical element which is present in organic compounds that make us organisms, plants as well as fossil. It is a vital component of the greenhouse gas CO2, the highest percentage of the global warming gas in the atmosphere.
These Green House Gases (GIIGs) along with other factors are responsible for the most discussed issues affecting the planet, climate change. Climate change has and still releases a huge set of environmental disasters which are fueling the difficulty of survival on the planet. In order to eliminate, reduce and adapt to these risks of survival, individuals, organizations, and countries will have to adopt carbon neutrality measures. The main aim of carbon neutrality is to achieve a net-zero emission either by balancing the emission or absorbing of carbon or quit the production of carbon. However, to really understand carbon neutrality, the carbon cycle should be first understood
The carbon cycle is the transfer of carbon through different media. Carbon has the ability to move in different media in different forms at different rates and tines. These different factors (rate, time, and media) are the phenomena underlying carbon neutrality. For instance, carbon released into the atmosphere by the rapid burning of fossil fills back as rain in the form of carbonate (碳酸盐) and is absorbed by the reservoirs (oceans, surface water, and the earth surface). Even though the exchange of carbon between some of these reservoirs takes a long time, some over 100 years, carbon was absorbed until now. The main problem existing today is that the emissions of CO2 are too high to be offset by the reservoirs, thereby leaving the offsetting task to us.
The European Union (EU) is taking all measures it can to offset carbon through Emission trading system which helps industries to manage their carbon footprints. Similarly, China, which is responsible for 25% of the world's CO2 emissions due to its economic and industrial structure is currently decreasing its energy consumption/GDP and CO2 emission/GDP, while increasing is forest cover and air quality through its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) carbon neutrality actions.
1. What does the underlined word "fueling" in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?| A．Experiencing. | B．Overcoming. | C．Increasing. | D．Ending. |
| A．By giving an example. |
| B．By comparing media. |
| C．By analyzing data. |
| D．By describing a task. |
| A．GHGs take the whole blame for the climate change. |
| B．Carbon exchange takes little time. |
| C．The contribution of the EU is not obvious. |
| D．China las a clear goal in low-carbon efforts. |
| A．Politics. | B．Environment. | C．Commercial. | D．Lifestyle. |
8 . Bangladesh's floating gardens, built to grow food during flood seasons, could offer a continuous solution for parts of the world which are likely to suffer from flooding because of climate change, a new study has found.
Bangladesh's floating gardens began hundreds of years ago. The gardens are made from native plants that float in the rivers and operate almost like rafts (筏), rising and filling with the waters. Historically, they were used to continue growing food during rainy seasons when rivers were filled with water.
The farmers layer the plants about three feet deep, creating a version of raised-bed gardens that float in the water. Then, they plant vegetables inside those rafts. As the raft-plants rot away, they release nutrients, which help feed the vegetable plants.
But as climate change affected the volume of water in those rivers, the researchers wanted to understand whether Bangladesh's floating gardens could be a continuous farming practice. They interviewed farming families and found strong evidence that floating gardens provide stability, both in the amount of food available to feed rural populations and in a farming family's income.
They found that farmers typically use hybrid (杂交) seeds, which must be repurchased each year, to grow a diverse range of vegetables in the floating gardens. The gardens are also sensitive to pests, so farmers end up spending some money on both pesticides and fertilizers. But even with those expenses, they found, benefits outweighed costs. One farmer told the research team that he earns up to four times as much money from the gardens as from traditional rice fields.
However, before gaining profits, farmers often take out high-interest loans (贷款) to cover the investment costs of filling the beds and stocking them with plants. Luckily; there are also lower-interest loans from responsible government or non-governmental organizations, which could ease that burden.
1. How do vegetable plants grow according to the text?| A．By absorbing nutrition from raft-plants. | B．By taking shelter from climate change. |
| C．By living together with hybrid seeds. | D．By moving up and down with raised beds. |
| A．“Our life becomes tough when rivers flood.” | B．“Fewer vegetables are planted when water rises.” |
| C．“We harvest much more food during rainy seasons.” | D．“Climate change has little influence on our income.” |
| A．Affected. | B．Brought. | C．Beat. | D．Equaled. |
| A．A solution to climate problem has been found. | B．The gardens are built with rotted native plants. |
| C．Farmers earn more from traditional rice fields. | D．Low-interest loans lighten the stress of farmers. |
9 . Scientists have been trying to figure out how to alter the genes of humans for many years, and it looks like they’ve finally cracked (破解) the code. But while this may seem like a great step forward in science, some also believe that it’s one step back when it comes to ethics (道德准则). In August, a group of scientists from the USA and South Korea worked together to successfully edit a human embryo (胚胎) and remove a genetic mutation (突变) that would have led to heart disease, reported The Guardian. This was done with the help of CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that allows scientists to “cut and paste” human DNA.
Although this was the first example of an embryo’s genes being changed successfully, the advantages of gene editing have already been tested in living patients. In 2015, a five-month-old girl from the UK was saved after doctors used edited cells to fight off her cancer. As of today, she’s alive and well. And in the USA last year, scientists managed to remove HIV cells from several patients by editing the genes inside their bodies.
Some people hope that in the future, diseases or birth defects could simply be "edited out”. However, others believe this could lead to so-called designer babies, giving parents the option to choose everything from eye color to intelligence. “You could find wealthy parents buying the latest “upgrades” for their children, leading to even greater inequality than we already live with,” Marcy Camovsky, director of the San Francisco Center for Genetics, told BBC News.
In spite of these ethical concerns, experts say it’s not possible to create the “perfect” human being. Despite the progress scientists have made, we don’t understand human genes enough to give all unborn children great brainpower or amazing singing abilities. “Right now, we know nothing about genetic enhancement,” Hank Greely, a director at Stanford University, USA, told The New York Times. “We’re never going to be able to say, honestly, this embryo looks like it would score high on the two-part SAT.”
So it looks like if we want good exam results, or to impress people with our piano skills, we’ll have to stick with the old fashioned method of plain hard work---at least for now.
1. The underlined word “alter” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.| A．record | B．change | C．remove | D．increase |
| A．A genetic mutation related to heart disease was removed by scientists. |
| B．A newborn baby with cancer was saved by edited cells. |
| C．HIV cells were removed from patients9 bodies. |
| D．Some birth defects were simply edited out. |
| A．They don’t think it is an effective way to fight diseases. |
| B．They are concerned that it could lead to genetic mutations. |
| C．They think it could lead to designer babies and increased inequality. |
| D．They worry that it could make parents abandon children with birth defects. |
| A．Gene editing is regarded as the perfect way to treat birth defects. |
| B．There is still a long way to go to fully understand human genes. |
| C．Gene editing could help enhance human intelligence in the near future. |
| D．Scientists are pessimistic (悲观的) about the future of gene editing. |
10 . A shocking news report has revealed that more than one in five species of maple trees faces extinction, warning that 75% of the threatened species are “geographically restricted” in their native regions.
The trees are experiencing a vast decline in habitat, due to urban development, wood harvesting and agricultural expansion. Time is running out for the world's biodiversity. Every recent survey of plants and animals in the wild points to this. This is happening nearly everywhere rarer maples exist. And because of climate change, the narrow habitats that support species at the edges of dry places and at the tops of mountains are quickly disappearing.
The trees can be found in subtropical and tropical regions, as far south as Indonesia. The only species found in the UK, the field maple is not under threat. Not only are the trees a popular attractive feature in parks and public spaces, but they are a key part of the natural ecosystem in woodlands, as well as being an important wood crop in several countries. Although the sugar maple in North America, which produces maple juice, is not endangered, two of the closest relatives to the species are endangered.
The report notes that conserving at-risk species in their natural habitat is the best conservation tactic. But collections in botanical gardens and seed banks-called "ex situ collections" can act as insurance policies against extinction. There are currently 14 species of maple, including four that are critically endangered, which are absent from these types of collections.
One species in Mexico, the Acer binzayedii, is in “desperate need of conservation"”despite only being discovered in 2017. “It is at risk from climate change in its cloud forest habitat and threatened by logging and forest fires while it is also absent from 'ex situ collections',” the report adds. The report recommends developing conservation plans, monitoring species currently not at risk to ensure populations are maintained, and adding those missing maple species to seed banks.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Action to protect maple trees. | B．The dangerous situation of maple trees. |
| C．Various maple trees' habitats in the world. | D．The conditions for diversity in maple trees. |
| A．They cannot produce juice. | B．They are found in America. |
| C．They are not at risk of extinction. | D．They have two endangered relatives. |
| A．Topic. | B．Approach. | C．Result. | D．Conclusion. |
| A．To offer a proposal. | B．To recommend a product. |
| C．To introduce maple species. | D．To warn people of disasters. |
