1 . A small bowl bought at a yard sale in Connecticut for just $ 35 has been identified as a rare 15th-century Chinese antique.
The blue-and-white bowl was made by China's royal court during the Ming dynasty. It is now expected to sell for up to $500,000, according to Sotheby's auction(拍卖)house in New York, where the auction will take place next month.
The purchase was made last year near New Haven, Connecticut. “I was just hanging around there aimlessly. But when I saw this bowl, I didn't even bargain over the $35 asking price,” the owner said. Shortly after the purchase, he sent photos of the bowl to auction specialists, who identified it as an item of historical significance.
Upon closer inspection, the artifact was found to have originated from the period of Yongle Emperor, who ruled from 1403 to 1424 - a period noted for its distinctive porcelain (瓷器)techniques. It's now valued between $300,000 and $500,000, with the top estimate nearly 14,300 times the amount it was purchased for.
“I was deeply attracted by the techniques. You can see why this bowl is so highly-valued from the very smooth porcelain body, silky glaze(上釉)and special blue coloring, which were never reproduced in later dynasties,” McAteer, an auction specialist, said.
“The Yongle Emperor improved the porcelain techniques and elevated the importance of porcelain from being an ordinary bowl into a true work of art. This small bowl has both practical and artistic value, ”McAteer said.
1. What can we infer about the bowl's owner?| A．He found the bowl by accident. |
| B．He hesitated during the purchase. |
| C．He doubted whether the bowl was real. |
| D．He bought the bowl because it was cheap. |
| A．The blue color on it. | B．The long history it has. |
| C．The people who made it. | D．The unique techniques used. |
| A．Forsaw. | B．Promoted. |
| C．Assessed. | D．Acknowledged. |
| A．An Amazing Bowl | B．A Special Yard Sale |
| C．The Return of Porcelains | D．A Man Making Fortune |
2 . Indonesian university student Tyas Sisianindita spends about eight hours a day on her phone. That time includes watching videos, chatting with friends and using social media. "At night, when I can't sleep, I can use my phone for up to five hours," she said, noting she checks her phone countless times from morning until night. She even checks it while in class.
Tyas goes to the University of Indonesia, where a team of students recently developed a device meant to fight phone addiction. The students spent three months creating the device, which can help internet users like Tyas diminish time they spend looking at their phones.
Inventor Irfan Budi Satria led the development team. The device is called “Nettox", which combines the words “internet" and "detox (排毒)". Users wear it on their arm. The device has a sensor that measures hemoglobin (红蛋白) oxygen levels and changes to the heart rate called HRV. Studies have found that using a mobile phone for long hours can lower HRV levels. The Nettox device makes a sound when HRV and blood oxygen levels fall, which reminds wearers to stop using their phones.
For people between the ages of 18 and 25, the HRV should stay above 60. At a recent trial, Tyas' HRV reading was 44.
Internet addiction is a growing social issue in Indonesia. In October, two teenagers were treated for their addiction to internet gaming, media reported.
Irfan Budi Satria's team is working to improve Nettox's accuracy. HRV readings can change depending on whether the user is a man or woman, and what their body shape and health conditions are.
The team aims to get a patent for their invention with the university by next year. Irfan says Nettox is for people already trying to change their behavior. "Our goal is to help people who want to free themselves from internet addiction," he said.
1. What can we learn about Tyas from Paragraph1?| A．She often sleeps late. | B．She often skips classes. |
| C．She is addicted to phones. | D．She is skilled in the media. |
| A．Kill. | B．Treasure. | C．Record. | D．Reduce. |
| A．How the device works. | B．Where Nettox is from. |
| C．When users wear the device. | D．Why hemoglobin changes with HRV. |
| A．Applying for a patent. | B．Setting free phone addicts. |
| C．Bettering the device's accuracy. | D．Studying internet addiction. |
3 . 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. |
4 . As she removes the fish from the oven, smells of garlic, pepper, and lemon fill the community kitchen. For Glenda Andrew, the smells bring back memories of family meals, community events and religious get-togethers.
She brings the hot meals for free to people in an area called Preston, as well as surrounding communities in northwestern England. The area has recorded some of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases in Britain.
She uses the best food she can find. "They're worth it," she said. "They’ve taught us so many things when we firstly moved here." In addition to food, the volunteers offer a bit of human contact.
The loneliness of the past year has been painful for many of the seniors. When the hot meals arrive, they get to talk with the volunteers and share stories. Sylius Toussaint is 81 and came from the island nation of Dominica in 1960, who said talking with the volunteers helps him as much as the food does."They say 'hello' and give you a meal, and maybe for just a few seconds at least you see someone new; someone you haven't seen all week," Toussaint says, smiling at his wife. "If you are on your own, it is so nice to see a fresh face — especially bringing gifts."
Britain's COVID-19 vaccination program may soon mean the quarantine will be eased. But Andrew wants to keep making and sharing her island meals. In the future, she said, she hopes to find a place where the community can meet and spend time together. But for now, the volunteers plan to continue to connect with the community through food.
1. Why does Glenda Andrew provide free meals for people in that area?| A．To comfort those virus-attacked seniors. |
| B．To promote her business in lockdown areas. |
| C．To help them live a normal life. |
| D．To show her gratitude to them. |
| A．The loneliness of the seniors. |
| B．The benefits from the volunteer activity. |
| C．The tough situation of immigrants. |
| D．The relationship between volunteers and the seniors. |
| A．Loneliness. | B．Disease. | C．Suffering. | D．Isolation. |
| A．Andrew will continue her good deeds. |
| B．Andrew will build a new community. |
| C．Andrew will stop providing meals. |
| D．Andrew will help the community out. |
5 . When you think of the Himalayas, you may picture tall, rocky, snow-covered peaks. But that’s not true.
The subnival (亚冰雪的) region is the zone between the treeline and the snowline. It is 5 to 5 times as large as the areas of glaciers and permanent snow, which means studying it is vital to understanding the Himalayas as a whole.
The treeline is the edge of an ecosystem where trees are able to grow, and beyond the treeline environmental conditions become too tough to allow tree growth. Meanwhile, snowlines are the boundaries on mountains that separate areas with permanent snow (where snow is present for the majority of the year) from areas with seasonal or no snow.
Researchers used satellite data from 1993 to 2018 to measure plant cover between 4,150 meters and 6,000 meters above sea level. The scientists discovered that the greatest increase in plant cover was between an altitude of 5,000 meters and 5,500 meters. Subnival plants mostly include small shrubs and grasses.
Even areas once completely occupied by glaciers now hold rocks covered with mosses, lichen, and sometimes even flowers. In addition, the snowline seems to be retreating, while the treeline is expanding. This shows that the region is becoming warmer, causing more melting of snow and allowing vegetation to move up in height.
In the past 40 years, 25% of all Himalayan ice has been lost due to global warming. Himalayan glaciers are reducing by about 0.5 meters each year. The rate of glacier melting has doubled in this decade. The melting of glaciers increases water in the region, making it wetter. Receding snow also forces the snowline to move up, providing a greater amount of area for the warm and moist conditions, which are perfect for vegetation growth.
As of now, we do not know whether vegetation will accelerate or slow down the rate of glacier melting.
1. How does the writer develop the third paragraph?| A．By explaining concepts. | B．By providing some examples. |
| C．By analyzing causes and effects. | D．By listing specific data. |
| A．Disappearing. | B．Lengthening. | C．Withdrawing. | D．Widening. |
| A．The snowline moves up. | B．Glaciers are melting faster. |
| C．The subnival area is wetter. | D．Plants grow much better. |
| A．The climate of the Himalayas is changing. | B．Icebergs in the Himalayas have disappeared. |
| C．Plants are diverse in the Himalayas. | D．Plant life spreads in the Himalayas. |
6 . If you're feeling hungry, what’s the easiest way to satisfy your Hunger? Many of Us will reach for a takeaway menu and order some delicious-but possibly unhealthy -food. And our increasingly hectic lives add to our need to buy ready-made food because we always have no time or energy to cook on our own.
Eating options are endless, and new technology means we can feed our desire at the push of a button. Takeaway delivery apps make ordering food quick and convenient. It's estimated that in the UK alone, people eat three million takeaway meals a day, and the three biggest delivery apps together offer a choice of 100 foods from 60,000 restaurants. Amelia Brophy, head of UK Data Products at YouGov, told the BBC that its research suggests that the frequency of takeaways ordered is expected to increase in the future.
It’s no wonder we are tempted to skip the grocery shopping, bypass the kitchen, and tuck into something that someone else has prepared. But ordering a pizza, a spicy curry or a box of noodles, can come at a price both financially and to our health. Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food has some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain diseases. A few years ago, the BBC Good Food Nation Survey found most people eating fast food on average two days per week gradually putting on weight.
Of course, reducing salt, sugar and fat is one way to make takeaway food healthier, as well as offering smaller portion sizes. But the best advice for you is to find a recipe book and try making your own nutritious meals. And if you haven't got time, try ordering a healthier alternative from the menu.
1. What does the underlined word “hectic” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Abnormal. | B．Busy. | C．Irregular. | D．Social. |
| A．The various food. |
| B．Their delicious taste. |
| C．Their relatively low price. |
| D．The advanced technology. |
| A．Takeaway foods may do harm to health. |
| B．Takeaway foods make people light-hearted. |
| C．Pizza and noodles are the most popular takeaway foods. |
| D．The UK has the largest number of people ordering takeaway foods. |
| A．To give readers some suggestions. |
| B．To offer readers an alternative menu. |
| C．To find the reason for ordering takeaway foods. |
| D．To choose the best way of making nutritious meals. |
7 . As a boy, I wanted to go to the South Pole. As a teenager, I decided I'd like to go to the North Pole too. And yet, I haven't done either. It had taken me 31 years to just make it to the Arctic.
I was traveling with a film crew from Northern Ireland, following the footsteps of Lord Dufferin who, in the 1850s, sailed from Scotland to the Arctic. As an early adventure tourist, he was driven by the desire to see what lay at the ends of the world.
As we sailed north, icebergs of the size of buses floated past our small boat. Finally, we reached our destination—English Bay, where Dufferin landed- and stepped off onto the horseshoe-shaped beach.
This was what I'd dreamt of: standing somewhere so pure and primitive. However, for many early polar explorers, the results were far less pleasant. The south, in particular, was source of extreme danger.
My childhood interest in the South Pole was fueled by the unsuccessful yet heroic adventures of Emest Shackleton. He died in 1922 while preparing for his fourth adventure. The stories of Robert Falcon Scott are also well-known: he and four companions died on their way back from the South Pole.
So why do explorers put themselves at such risk?
Much of it seems to lie in the purity of the challenge. Scott talked of the appeal of a place that had been “unreached and unseen by humans.” “With a view over shining lands covered by ice-sheets of inconceivable extent, you have the feeling of living over the control of death,” said Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer.
On the homeward journey the weather turned and we were left for a few days at the mercy of a storm. We experienced a small taste of helplessness when faced with the raw power of nature. We should be grateful for the great explorers’ spirit and stories. I know I am.
1. Why did the author begin his adventure tour?| A．To assist a film crew | B．To realize a childhood dream |
| C．To memorize Lord Dufferin | D．To challenge a world record |
| A．Hard to control | B．Too far to reach |
| C．Hard to imagine | D．Too bright to view |
| A．They were trapped in icebergs | B．They were kept off the destination |
| C．They were attacked by a storm | D．They were rescued by explorers |
| A．The Appeal of the Ends of the World | B．The Dream of Traveling to the Arctic |
| C．The Victory over the Control of Death | D．The Gratitude to Great Explorers Spirit |
8 . Research has shown that disrupting one's natural “morning lark” (早起鸟) or “night owl” (夜猫子) tendency can result in immoral behavior at work.
Who doesn't love a flexible work schedule? Being able to make your own hours, come in when you're ready and leave when you're done, step out to attend a child's presentation at school, have a midday appointment, or even squeeze in a quick workout or nap as a guaranteed pick-me-up — flexibility greatly improves one's quality of life.
The benefits don't stop there, however. Research has shown that having flexible work hours actually makes one a better person. How so? It's been found that disrupted sleep patterns —in the form of having to act outside of your normal inclination to be a morning “lark” or a night “owl” — can result in strange, unethical, and out-of-line behavior.
Science journalist Linda Geddes said, “If you don't get enough sleep, research suggests you are more likely to have unethical behavior, such as being mean, bullying your fellow employees or falsifying receipts. But it's not just owls: the larks tend to behave more unethically in the evening, and owls in the morning. So ideally, you want to introduce flexible working."
Employers would be wise to allow their employees to start whenever they feel ready — whether it's at the crack of dawn or at 11 a.m., and to allow breaks or pauses in the day as needed — because that would mean better productivity, performance, and behavior.
This shift is already happening, with the New York Times recently reporting that 27 percent of US employers now offer the flexibility to work outside normal business hours, up from 22 percent in 2014; and 68 percent allow telecommuting as needed (up from 54 percent in 2014). With the national unemployment rate at its lowest in 50 years, employers are having to become more competitive in what they offer workers, and flex-hours seem like a no-brainer, highly beneficial to all.
1. What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 2?| A．Ways to improve life quality. |
| B．People's activities in their free time. |
| C．Methods to get a flexible work schedule. |
| D．The advantages of flexibility in work time. |
| A．Judgment. | B．Tendency. | C．Reaction. | D．Choice. |
| A．They will show their nature more easily. |
| B．They tend to suffer from sleep problems. |
| C．They tend to behave immorally in their work. |
| D．They will get more flexibility in working time. |
| A．The unemployment rate is increasing. |
| B．Employers are getting more free time. |
| C．Flexible working has been creating more jobs. |
| D．More employers adopt a flexible work schedule. |
9 . A living robot has been created out of frog skin cells. Xenobots, named after the frog species Xenopus laevis that the cells come from, were first described last year. Now the team behind the robots has improved their design and demonstrated new capabilities.
To create the xenobots, Michael Levin at Tufts University in Massachusetts and his colleagues obtained tissue from 24-hour-old frog embryos after very small physical operation. Where the previous version relied on the contraction of heart muscle cells to move them forward by pushing off surfaces, these new xenobots swim around faster. They also live between three and seven days longer than their previous generation, which only lasted about seven days, and have the ability to sense their surroundings to some extent, turning red when exposed to blue light.
“The fundamental finding here is that when you free skin cells from their normal context, and you give them a chance to build other things than what they normally build,” says Levin. “To me, one of the most exciting things here is that they are plastic. This idea that even normal cells, not genetically modified, are in fact capable of building something completely different.”
Because they are created from cells, the xenobots eventually break apart and are totally biodegradable, says team member Douglas Blackiston, also at Tufts University. He therefore hopes that they can be used for biomedical and environmental applications.
Previous attempts at creating living robots, such as a wirelessly controlled cockroach, have involved dealing with live animals, raising ethical concerns. Xenobots differ from these because they are made entirely of living cells. “The approach here is maybe ethically the least problematic because everything starts with cells. They have no neurons, so it's not an animal,” says Auke ljspeert at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne, who wasn't involved in the research. “It's really cells, so I find it maybe the cleanest way."
1. How were the new xenobots created?| A．By making use of frog embryos. | B．By relying on heart muscle cells. |
| C．By sensing similar surroundings. | D．By exposing them to blue light. |
| A．Fragile. | B．Stable. | C．Flexible. | D．Active. |
| A．The xenobots can't break down easily. | B．The xenobots need to be further perfected. |
| C．The xenobots can be applied in other fields. | D．The xenobots have already been widely used. |
| A．The new approach starts with some neurons. |
| B．Xenobots have raised least ethical concerns. |
| C．The wireless controlled cockroach is a failure. |
| D．Previous living robots involve few living animals. |
10 . Many wildflowers of spring in eastern North America bloom thanks to ants. The tiny six-legged gardeners have partnered with those plants and about 11, 000 others to spread their seeds. The plants，in turn, “pay” for the service by attaching a calorie-loaded appendage (附属物) to each seed, much like fleshy fruits remunerate birds and mammals that desert seeds or poop (排泄) them out. But there's more to the ant-seed relationship than that exchange, researchers reported last week at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, which was held online.
Many ants eat seeds. Certain plants attach a nutritive globe called an elaiosome to their seed coats, which serves as a favorite lunch for the ants’ young and gives ants a handle on seeds that can be bigger than their heads. Until now, researchers assumed the ants simply carry the seeds to their nests, feed the elaiosome to their young, and deposit the seed either outside or inside at the colony's “garbage dump”, which provides a rich environment for shooting.
In both the field and the lab, Chelsea Miller presented ants with seeds from various trillium (延龄花) species and found the ants were quick to pick up some species’ seeds while leaving others to rot, Miller said. To find out how ants make their choices, Miller and Susan Whitehead at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) used techniques to analyze the chemical makeup of elaiosomes. They found that ants pick seeds based on the specific combination and concentrations of acid and other compounds (化合物) made by the plant, 20 of which are unique to trilliums. The ants’ tastes may affect plant species’ distributions, say Kirsten Prior, an ecologist at Binghamton University: “Widespread trillium species are preferred by seed-dispersing ants compared to rare trillium species.”
Melissa Burt, an ecologist at Virginia Tech, hopes these studies bring ants new respect. “Many people who talk about ants only know them as insects that are taking over their kitchens, but many ants perform important functions in ecosystems,” she says. “Seed dispersal is just one of those.”
1. What does the underlined word “remunerate” probably mean?| A．Attract. | B．Track. | C．Free. | D．Reward. |
| A．It's a tasty treat for young ants. | B．It's no smaller than ants’ heads. |
| C．It is used as young ants’ new nest. | D．It can be used as a weapon to protect ants. |
| A．To analyze the specific combination affecting the plant growth. |
| B．To find out the reason for ants preferring some seeds to others. |
| C．To prove the accuracy of their lab techniques applied in the field. |
| D．To understand the way of ants distributing different plant species’ seeds. |
| A．Annoying. | B．Greedy. | C．Creative. | D．Hardworking. |
