1 . 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. |
2 . Norway aims to discover new resources beneath the sea, but its push into mining has raised environmental concerms.
Norway could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023. That could place it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals. Copper, zinc and other metals are in high demand for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar energy centers. However, that could also place Norway on the front line of controversies over the environmental risks of mining the world’s unexplored seabeds.
Norway recently announced it was carrying out an environmental study needed to start mineral exploration and mining. Once that is completed, the govemment plans to have public comments on its environmental study and on a proposal to open areas for exploration and production by the end of 2022.
The demand for minerals is being driven by what are often called “clean” technologies. But the process of getting those minerals from the seabed could cause environmental problems.
Environmentalists including Britain’s David Attenborough have called for a temporary (暂时的) stop to deepseabed mining until more is known about how it affects sea life. The environmental group Greenpeace called for a total ban in a recent report. In another report, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, known as the Ocean Panel, also called for greater knowledge about the effects of deep-sea mining. The Ocean Panel is cochaired by Norway and has 14 member states that want to shape policy on the world’s oceans.
Norway is known as a major oil producer. But, the country of 5. 4 million people wants to find something to replace its top industry that is better for the environment and can grow in the future.
The move toward deep-sea mining follows three years of expeditions(探险). The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, which carried out the work, said it found copper, zinc, cobalt, gold and silver. The expeditions also discovered large armounts of lithium and the rare earth metal scandium used in electronics and metal mixtures.
1. What does the underlined word “controversies”in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Power. | B．Benefits. |
| C．Arguments. | D．Popularity. |
| A．Decide mining areas. | B．Ask for people’s opinions. |
| C．Start seabed mining at once. | D．Take action to protect nature. |
| A．Unsupportive. | B．Positive. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Earning more money. | B．Controlling the areas. |
| C．Developing clean energy. | D．Learning about sea resources. |
3 . At every turn in the Netherlands, the future of sustainable(可持续的) agriculture is taking shape—not in the meeting rooms of big companies but on thousands of modest family farms.
You can see it vividly on the farm run by Ted Duijvestijn and his brothers. At the Duijvestjns' 36-acre greenhouse near the old city of Delf, visitors wander among the deep green tomato plants, 20 feet tall. Rooted not in soil but in materials made from leaves and stalks, the plants are heavy with tomatoes—15 varieties in all—to suit the taste of the most demanding customers.
Since 2004, the Duijvestijns have declared resource independence on every front. The farm produces all of its own energy and fertilizer and even some of the packaging materials necessary for the crop's distribution and sale. The growing environment is kept at perfect temperatures year-round by geothermal heat(地热) that can be found under at least half of the Netherlands. Only rainwater is used for irrigation. Each kilogram of tomatoes from their plants requires less than 15 kilograms of water, compared with 61 kilograms for plants in open fields. Once each year the entire crop is regrown from seeds, and the old plants are processed to make packaging materials. The few pests that manage to enter the greenhouse are greeted by an army of fierce insects that shows no interest in tomatoes. The nutrition in the soil can be improved by growing plants that work with certain bacteria to produce their own fertilizer. In short. it's an entirely self-contained food system.
“Look at the island of Bali in Indonesia!” Ted explains. “For at least a thousand years, its farmers have raised ducks and fish within the same rice field. It's irrigated by the canal systems sculpted by human hands along mountains. They are our model.”
1. What can we learn about the Duijvestijns' tomatoes?| A．Their color is deep green. | B．There are 15 on each plant. |
| C．They are very tasty. | D．They grow in rich natural soil. |
| A．does not have insects | B．is heated by solar energy |
| C．produces its own chemical fertilizer | D．consumes much less water |
| A．Independent. | B．Reliable. |
| C．Satisfying | D．Separated. |
| A．He is attracted to its canal systems. | B．He will also raise ducks in his farm. |
| C．He wants to see the beautiful island. | D．He appreciates its farming methods. |
4 . Starman, the dummy(仿真人) riding a cherry-red Tesla Roadster(特斯拉敞篷车) through space, has made his closest approach ever to Mars. The electric roadster and its passenger were attached to the top of a Falcon Heavy rocket during the SpaceX rocket’s first test launch on 6 February 2018. Two years later, the Falcon Heavy rocket and the vehicle at its tip are making their second trip around the Sun. Mr. McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist, found that Starman passed 7.4 million kilometres from Mars at 06:25 GMT 7 October, 2020.
The closest recent approach between the Earth and Mars was 56 million kilometres in 2003, though the planets are often hundreds of millions of miles apart depending on where they are in their orbits. No one can see the Falcon Heavy rocket at its current distance, but orbits over periods of a few years are fairly straightforward to predict, and Mr. MeDowell used data about how the rocket was moving when it left the Earth’s gravity behind to locate its recent movements exactly.
Last time Starman circled the Sun, MeDowell said, it crossed Mars’ orbit while the Red Planet was quite far away. But this time the crossing lined up with a fairly close approach, though still not close enough to feel a strong tug from Mars.
At this point in time, if you were able to go look at the Roadster, it would probably look pretty different. The strong solar radiation environment between the planets would probably have destroyed all the exposed organic materials. Without the Earth’s atmospheric and magnetic(磁场的) protection, even the plastics and carbon-fibre materials would start to break up. Over the course of decades or centuries, the car will end up with its aluminium(铝) frame and hard glass parts----that’s assuming that none of them get destroyed in impacts with passing space rocks.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Starman has set out on its second trip around the Sun. |
| B．Starman has travelled 7.4 million kilometres after launch. |
| C．Starman is now circling around the Earth in its orbit. |
| D．Starman still has a long way to go before getting to Mars. |
| A．By keeping Starman under visual observation. |
| B．By predicting its future orbit around the earth. |
| C．By analyzing data about the rocket’s movement. |
| D．By seeking professional help from SpaceX. |
| A．pressure | B．drive | C．resistance | D．pull |
| A．Be reduced to its frame and glass. | B．Crash onto Mars. |
| C．Return to SpaceX on the earth. | D．Be recovered during its next space mission. |
5 . An early spring morning I woke up with a strange thought "Something's gonna happen." The weather was beautiful and the morning promised a perfect day. I was still in bed, enjoying the sun and fresh air. Suddenly, the phone rang. I got it and a strange voice said: "Good morning. Are you sleeping yet?"
I wondered who it was. It was a nice woman's voice with a special accent. She told me that she wanted to see me and hung up. That phone call made me think a lot. A few minutes later 1 forgot this. 1 had breakfast and went out for a walk. The smell of spring was hovering in the air. The weather was warm. I was walking through the park, enjoying the beautiful nature.
Just then. I saw a young boy picking up a wallet from the ground. It seemed to me that I had seen this wallet before. First, I thought that he had dropped it, but his next actions made me think the opposite. The boy took the wallet carefully. cleaned it, and put it into his pocket. After that, he ran as quickly as he could. I didn't know what to do, so I began to scream loudly. I hoped there would be somebody nearby to catch him. But there was nobody around. I ran after him, but he disappeared somehow.
Then I reached in my pocket and realized that this wallet was mine. I felt very hopeless—no money, no keys, nothing. Maybe I had dropped it. That was a very awful day.
Suddenly, while I was sitting on a bench, a fascinating young woman appeared. She asked: "What has happened to you? Where have you been?" It was the same voice which I had heard that morning on the phone. The special accent I had heard on the phone. The same special accent! I couldn't believe my eyes. She was standing in front of me, trying to tell me something.
At that moment I felt someone shaking me and saying: "Wake up, wake up. It's getting late. Wake up!"
I opened my eyes and saw my mother. What a pity! No fascinating young lady, no park, nothing. I jumped out of bed immediately and checked where my wallet was. Thank God! It was there. It had only been a bad dream.
1. Why did the author begin to scream loudly?| A．He met something scary. |
| B．He wanted to have the boy caught. |
| C．He wanted the boy to stop running |
| D．He wished the fascinating woman to appear. |
| A．It was gentle. | B．It was from his find. |
| C．It was special accent. | D．It often appeared on his phone. |
| A．Staying in one place | B．Waiting in an uncertain way. |
| C．Rising last in the sky | D．Flying away quickly. |
| A．He lost it in the park | B．It was still in his pocket. |
| C．The boy took it away. | D．His mother hid it |
| A．The author's friend | B．The author's mother. |
| C．The young boy's sister | D．There's no such woman. |
6 . Part of the importance of the practice of capacity building is that too many of us think our intellectual capabilities and focus are fixed. However, Benjamin Hardy, a psychologist and author, recently presented groundbreaking research that suggests that we can often change by changing our environment.
“Because people's lives become routine, you begin to see very predictable behaviors and attitudes,” Hardy says. This is why personality is viewed as stable and predictable over time. Hardy's book, Personality isn't Permanent, digs into this concept.
We regard our childhood, teenage years and 20s as our foundational learning periods. It can be common to think we can't learn as effectively as we grow older. But Hardy argues that we really stop learning because we stop trying new things.
In our young lives, we experience a number of “firsts”, ranging from social experiences to leaning opportunities. Absorbing new experiences is crucial to ensuring we keep expanding our minds and changing our personalities.
Learning new things is a great starting point to changing your personality for the better. Also consider making substantial changes to your professional environment. This can manifest in several ways. If you're a successful leader maybe you'd like to share your knowledge with others by coaching, writing or speaking. Anything that pushes you outside the limits of your normal work life can ensure you keep growing and changing.
In Personality Isn't Permanent, Hardy discusses a study from Harvard psychologist Dr. Ellen Langer. In 1981, Langer and her graduate students selected a group of men in their 70s and placed them in an environment modeled to look like the 1950s. It featured a black-and-white television, mid-century furniture and magazines from the era. As Hardy explains, “The goal was to trigger their minds and bodies to exhibit the energy and biological responses of a much younger person.” It actually worked.
1. Why do people think personality is fixed?| A．Because life becomes regular and foreseeable. | B．Because people refuse to read new books |
| C．Because the brain becomes less effective. | D．Because people's intelligence turns stable. |
| A．Reread a fantastic book. | B．Devote fully to daily work. |
| C．Learn a new kind of sport. | D．Talk with an old friend. |
| A．Construct | B．Distinguish. | C．Predict. | D．Appear. |
| A．The facilities in Harvard need improving | B．Younger persons accept new things better |
| C．Langer's study consumed a lot of energy. | D．The participants' performance improved. |
7 . There was a time when the major concern with AI safety had been the one evil super intelligence, reflected in the movie “The Terminator”. However, the game “Tacoma” takes a different approach. It assumes that there will be numerous AGI (artificial general intelligence) in the world and that any AGI, even a safely designed one, in the wrong hands at the wrong time could cause live« to be lost. That's the future that a growing number of AI safety experts are worried about.
This is not a new idea. In the book “Engineering a Safer World,” MIT professor Nancy G. Leveson addresses common misunderstandings about safety-critical systems engineering: engineering systems whose failure could lead to human loss. Such safety-critical technologies include aviation, nuclear power, automobiles, heavy chemicals, biotechnology, and, of course, AGI.
So what can be done?
Technology isn’t always the solution. A famous example is the invention of sonic radars (声波雷达) that were supposed to help ships detect nearby obstacles, but which only increased the rate of accidents. Why? Captains sailed faster, thinking they could get away with it thanks to the new safety technology.
Instead of technologies, Leveson's book suggests, we should be making organizational changes. Additionally, Leveson suggests, among many complicated guidelines, organizations should be aware that safety guidelines will inevitably become lax over time. As a consequence, measures should be carried out to prevent potential disasters.
What lessons can we draw from concern with AI safety? The answer may lie in recent disaster narratives (叙述), which remind us that, especially in limes like this, we shouldn't forget the potential for other disasters. Public conscience really does matter. And if we're all better at thinking about safety we citizens, maybe we really can prevent disasters.
1. Why does the author mentioned “The Terminator” in the first paragraph?| A．To arouse readers' interest in The Terminator. |
| B．To introduce the topic of concern with AI safely. |
| C．To mention the similarity between “The Terminator” and “Tacoma”. |
| D．To make readers recall the evil super intelligence reflected in the movie. |
| A．Because captains seldom used them. |
| B．Because the radars failed to work properly. |
| C．Because captains depended on them too much. |
| D．Because the ships couldn't detect nearby obstacles. |
| A．Safe. | B．Important. |
| C．Unreliable. | D．Unnecessary. |
| A．Disaster prevention Lessons from AI. |
| B．Safety problems in modern society. |
| C．Engineering development in modern days. |
| D．Future applications of artificial intelligence. |
8 . Binge-watching is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in quick succession(一连串，连续）". With developments in the speed and connectivity of the internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows streamed directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, " binge-watching" has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode”.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back, almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and one quarter have neglected their household chores. Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections-binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said: “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, coupled with the fact that it has shown to lead to negligence in many, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning then it becomes a problem. So, what's the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?| A．Listing some examples |
| B．Telling a story. |
| C．Giving a definition |
| D．Analyzing the cause and effect |
| A．similarly | B．gradually | C．naturally | D．necessarily |
| A．people have no patience to do work |
| B．people can’t control their movements |
| C．people are delighted to watch television |
| D．people can’t resist the temptation |
| A．To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
| B．To draw life lessons from the episodes. |
| C．To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
| D．To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
9 . A flock of wild mandarin ducks(鸳鸯) are the biggest draw in the West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, with tourists flocking from around the country to see them. However, some of the tourists have been feeding the ducks, even pulling them by the neck to force-feed them. On Monday, a video claiming that some of the ducks had died from over-feeding went viral on social networking sites.
Although there are prominent signboards warning people against feeding them, tourists just cannot hold back. Some even believe the ducks are underfed and they are doing them a favor, little realizing that their action can be detrimental to the birds' health.
Human food does not always go down well with ducks, particularly potato chips, as the oily snack can damage the health of mandarin ducks. However, tourists can frequently be seen feeding the ducks food that the birds cannot digest. Besides, feeding the ducks could stop them from competing in the wild to find their food. If they become dependent on food provided by humans, they will lose their survival skills. Also, by giving food to them, the tourists are polluting the environment. Especially, food thrown into the water could harm the ecosystem there.
However, the tourists know little about the harm they cause to the environment and there is a need to create awareness about it. Meanwhile, the number of mandarin ducks at West Lake has dropped from 336 last year to 260 this year. Maybe the declining numbers will wake the tourists up to this reality.
1. What is the main reason for the ducks' death in the West Lake according to the passage?| A．The ducks are fed with oily snacks. | B．The tourists fail to see the warning signs. |
| C．The tourists feed the ducks too much food. | D．The tourists kill the ducks by pulling their necks. |
| A．harmful. | B．sensitive. | C．vital. | D．beneficial. |
| A．Human food is not suitable for ducks to digest. |
| B．Food thrown into the water does harm to the ecosystem. |
| C．Tourists' feeding ducks may have a bad effect on ducks and the environment. |
| D．Ducks may lose their survival skills if receiving food from people all the time. |
| A．More mandarin ducks are seen in the West Lake this year than before. |
| B．People have already known the damage they did to the mandarin ducks. |
| C．More mandarin ducks are likely to be introduced to the West Lake in the future. |
| D．It's high time that people should be aware of the harm to ducks caused by overfeeding. |
10 . The TV series, The Longest Day in Chang'an, which was shown on Chinese online platforms last summer became a hit soon. Since then, it has been shown on partnering streaming platforms and TV networks abroad. Some websites overseas also offered the program to their users paying for it—the first time a Chinese series was broadcast as paid content abroad.
“I was amazed by the overseas audience's love for this show，” Cao Dun, director of The Longest Day in Chang'an, told Beijing Review. “I was worried that they wouldn't understand the complex political structure of the Tang Dynasty. But in reality, the show is prompting foreign audiences to research Tang Dynasty's history to better understand the plot.”
The unique culture in ancient China is not a barrier but a bridge to connect with foreign audiences. In the TV series, every figure is given enough space to flesh out his or her character. Telling stories of ordinary Chinese people that resonate (引起共鸣) with the audience might be the way to communicate with the world. “The success of the TV series shows that beauty is a universal language crossing borders，” he told Beijing Review.
His ambition is to distinguish Chinese dramas from the TV shows in the rest of the world. “The TV series is a step in my plan to tell Chinese stories to the world，” Cao said. “After describing the impressive beauty of the Tang Dynasty, I am looking for several plays that tell stories of today's China. I don't want to copy any country's production. Chinese dramas have to be built on our rich culture and Chinese people's everyday life，” Cao added.
1. What do we know about the TV series?| A．It was first put on overseas. |
| B．It can be appreciated for free. |
| C．It was very popular once it was shown. |
| D．It is about the development of the Tang Dynasty. |
| A．Requiring. | B．Reminding. |
| C．Informing. | D．Encouraging. |
| A．Recognition of beauty. |
| B．Stories of ordinary people. |
| C．Diversity of Chinese culture. |
| D．Personalities of every figure. |
| A．To make a successful TV series. |
| B．To tell Chinese stories to the world. |
| C．To show China's different nationalities. |
| D．To learn the ancient political structure. |
