1 . What makes a human being? Is it our thoughts? Our emotions? Our behavior?
All of these things make us who we are, but at the center of the matter is the genome (基因组) — the genes inside our bodies that may determine everything from our hair colour to our intelligence. But if we could change our genome, what would it mean to us?
In an online video posted on Nov 26, He Jiankui, a biological researcher from Southern University of Science and Technology in China, said that he had helped to make the world’s first genetically edited babies.
These are twin girls, born in November, with genes edited in an attempt to help them fight against possible future infection (感染) with the AIDS virus.
He said that he chose to do this because HIV infections are a big problem in China. “I feel such a strong responsibility that it’s not just to make a first, but also to set an example,” He told the Associated Press(AP).
The announcement has caused an international storm. Some believe that success will benefit the families of HIV patients. Considering that HIV is “a major and growing public health threat,” attempted gene editing for HIV is justifiable, Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church told AP.
However, others think that gene editing technology is still unsafe to attempt.
“Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with unexpected mutations (突变), causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer,” Julian Savulescu, a specialist in ethics at the University of Oxford, told BBC News.
Others fear that this could open the door to using gene editing technology to make designer babies. It might give the parents the choices to choose everything from their baby’s 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 Darnovsky, director of the San Francisco Center for Genetics, told BBC News.
However, Merlin Crossley, a biologist at the University of New South Wales, Australia, believes that’s a long way off. According to him, many genes produce qualities like height and intelligence — not to mention environmental influences.
And he believes the technology will be better controlled in the future.
“It’s hard to get genies (妖怪) back into bottles — but I’m optimistic that this technology, which I think of as ‘genetic surgery’, could be controlled quite effectively in the future,” Crossley told ABC News.
1. Why did He Jiankui make the genetically edited babies?| A．Because he wanted to be a leader in gene editing technology. |
| B．Because he tried to do his part in fighting against HIV infection. |
| C．Because he attempted to help the twin girls who were infected with AIDS. |
| D．Because he wanted to became the first to make the genetically edited babies in the world. |
| A．Gene editing can cause genetic problems sooner or later in life |
| B．Gene editing may widen the gap between the rich and the poor |
| C．Gene editing may enable wealthy parents to design their babies |
| D．Gene editing can determine everything inside a person’s body |
| A．Absurd. | B．Hopeless. | C．Acceptable. | D．Skilful. |
| A．Gene editing: the genie in the bottle |
| B．Gene editing: the way we should go |
| C．Gene editing: hope or fear for human beings |
| D．Gene editing: a great success in human history |
2 . These days, it's not unusual to see middle-aged men collecting Star Wars action figures, office workers wearing Hello Kitty accessories, or celebrities like David Beckham playing with Lego bricks. It's becoming more and more common to see adults taking an interest in toys, comic books and the activities that are traditionally associated with children. This phenomenon has given rise to a new word: kidult.
What lies behind the phenomenon? One is about adults' nostalgia （怀旧之情）for the carefree days of childhood, and this is especially true with today's fast-paced, stressful lifestyles. Another is about a societal change in recent decades where people are starting families later. As a result, they have more time and money to spend on themselves. Some adults could only window-shop for their dream toys when they were kids, but now they can afford that radio controlled car or high-priced doll they have always wanted.
Businesses have been quick to exploit the kidult trend, and the number of toy stores that target adults has risen. Companies are repackaging products from past decades and also bringing out new ones for adults. Lego, for example, has brought out an architectural series featuring landmarks from around the world.
Society traditionally disapproves of adults who refuse to put aside childhood interests, viewing the refusal as a sign of social immaturity and irresponsibility. Those who agree with this view sometimes claim that kidults are suffering from the pop-psychology concept known as Peter Pan Syndrome, an anomaly （异常）that people remain emotionally at the level of teenagers. On a grander scale, these kidult opponents （对手）argue that such delayed adulthood causes couples to marry later and have fewer children. This in turn can lead to shrinking national economies, for there needs to be a generational replenishment （补充）
of the workforce.
From the standpoint of kidults, though, this phenomenon is seen as nothing but harmless fun. Kidults insist that having youthful interests keeps them young, happy and creative, and their refusal to conform to society's acceptable tastes shows independent thinking. Besides, they argue that being part of the social trend of delayed adulthood is not purely a personal choice. The real causes include expensive housing, increased educational requirements for employment and poor work opportunities.
Whether the kidult phenomenon will continue to grow or prove to be a passing trend is anyone's guess. As the debate about it continues, remember that there is nothing wrong with being young at heart.
1. What does the kidult phenomenon refer to?| A．Adults act like children. |
| B．Adults have child-like tastes. |
| C．Adults go in for collecting toys. |
| D．Adults like playing with children. |
| A．Different living conditions. |
| B．More choices about toys. |
| C．High pressure of modern life. |
| D．Good memories of childhood. |
| A．Get used to. |
| B．Look forward to. |
| C．Take advantage of. |
| D．Make way for. |
| A．By strongly opposing kidult opponents. |
| B．By convincing readers to accept kidults. |
| C．By refusing to take a stand on the issue. |
| D．By presenting both sides of the argument. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Uncaring. |
3 . Every year, companies like GoPro manage to pack more and more functions into smaller and smaller action cameras that are less noticeable to wear. But a team of researchers from the University of Washington have managed to build a live-streaming wireless camera that’s so small that even an insect can wear it. It’s not quite small and light enough to be held to a fly, but at around 250 milligrams, the camera was successfully carried by a beetle.
Although the camera inside a modern smartphone is certainly tiny, it’s too large and heavy for an insect to carry once the batteries are added. Capturing millions of pixels（像素）with every shot requires a lot of image processing, which in turn requires a lot of power. Taking an alternate route, the researchers copied nature’s approach to how flies see the world. Their large compound eyes can not only detect motion across a wide field of view（it’s why they’re so difficult to hit）but also feature a small, high-resolution（分辨率）region that can focus on their targets, which helps reduce the load on their tiny brains.
Given its size and low-power approach, the camera’s streaming abilities are similarly limited, with a Bluetooth connection that maxes out at a distance of roughly 120 meters, requiring a remote operator to be fairly close to the camera at all times. However, battery life is surprisingly decent. The camera can run for up to two hours, but to extend that, the researchers included an accelerometer so that it’s only capturing and broadcasting images whenever the beetle is moving That can increase the camera’s battery life to over six hours.
The researchers acknowledge that their design certainly raises some privacy concerns, given how easy it is for insects to find their way into your home. But the camera could provide entomologists（昆虫学者）with new insights into how insects cross their environment, respond to threats in the wild, and even provide a closer look at their social structures.
1. What is the feature of the new camera?| A．It’s small-size and low-weight. | B．It takes much clearer pictures. |
| C．It can perform tasks in the open air. | D．It protects beetles from their enemies. |
| A．How to enlarge its vision. |
| B．How to capture the target. |
| C．How to save power of its battery. |
| D．How to make sharp turns during flying. |
| A．casual | B．adequate | C．beneficial | D．unsatisfactory |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
4 . A 15-year-old Indian girl, Kumari, who pedalled her injured father more than a thousand kilometres across India, has been invited to try out for the national cycling team.
In January, a motor-bike driver, Mohan Paswan, who made a living by carrying passengers in New Delhi, was injured in a traffic accident. After the accident, Paswan couldn't drive. So his daughter, Kumari took a train across the country to take care of him. But without income, Paswan could no longer afford the rent and they were running out of food. They decided to go home. With the last $20, the 15-year-old girl bought an old bicycle, and planned to take her father to their home village across India --- in a heroic, life-saving ride.
Kumari rode a bicycle with her father, sitting on the pillion(后座)and holding their belongings from Gurugram city, near New Delhi, to their village in the northeastern state of Bihar. They arrived home on May 16 after covering 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) in seven days.
The father and daughter's arduous journey on a second-hand bike bought with their remaining funds made headlines. It also caught the attention of the Cycling Federation of India, which offered Kumari the chance to try out for the country's team. "She covered this long and difficult distance in seven days with her father and some luggage too. I thought she has something in her endurance level. We can try her," chairman Onkar Singh told the journalist.
“She said she only wants to pursue her studies. We told her that we also take care of studies at our academies. Singh said the federation would test Kumari to see if she is suitable for competitive cycling.
There were also other people who praised Kumari's efforts, describing it as a "'beautiful model of endurance and love."
1. What made Kumari have to ride a bike back home?| A．That her father was injured. |
| B．That she could only afford a bike. |
| C．That her home village was far away. |
| D．That she wanted to join in the cycling race. |
| A．dangerous | B．lovely | C．pleasant | D．tough |
| A．Because she has extraordinary physical ability. |
| B．Because he didn't have anyone better than her. |
| C．Because she only wants to pursue her studies. |
| D．Because she is suitable for competitive cycling. |
| A．strong and caring | B．positive and confident |
| C．warm-hearted and brave | D．hard-working and beautiful |
5 . Social distancing is not a new concept in the natural world, where infectious diseases are commonplace. Through specialized senses animals can detect certain diseases and change their behavior to avoid getting ill.
In 1966, while studying chimps (猩猩) in a Tanzanian national park, zoologist Jane Goodall observed a chimp named McGregor who had caught a highly infectious virus. His fellow chimps attacked him and threw him out of the troop. In one instance, McGregor approached chimps in a tree. He reached out a hand in greeting, but the others moved away without a backward glance.
“For a full two minutes, old McGregor sat motionless, staring after them,” Goodall notes in her 1971 book In the Shadow of Man. “It’s really not that different to how some societies react today to such a tragedy.”
Not all animals are so aggressive toward their ailing neighbors. Sometimes it’s as simple as avoiding those who may infect you.
When Kiesecker, a lead scientist in America, studied American bullfrog in the late 1990s, he found that bullfrogs could not only detect a deadly smell of infection in other bullfrogs, but healthy members actively avoided those that were sick. Bullfrogs rely on chemicals signals to determine who is sick or not.
Caribbean lobsters also shun diseased members of their community, well before they become infectious. It takes about eight weeks for lobsters infected with the deadly virus Panulirus argus mininuceovirus to become dangerous to others. Normally social animals, lobsters begin keeping away from the diseased as early as four weeks after infection – once the lobsters can smell certain chemicals released by sick individuals.
Overall, it’s important to note that, unlike us, animals don’t realize if they stay home, they might actually reduce the infection rate,” Kiesecker explains. “As humans, we have that ability. It’s a big difference.”
1. What can we learn about the chimps from Goodall’s observation?| A．They kept a distance from one another. |
| B．They became aggressive when infected. |
| C．The infected avoided contact with others. |
| D．The infected were forced to leave the group. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Cure. | C．Get rid of. | D．Get along with. |
| A．Humans are more sensitive to virus. |
| B．Humans are less likely to get infected. |
| C．Humans treat infectious diseases in a wiser way. |
| D．Humans can detect chemical signals more quickly. |
| A．Help Me Out |
| B．Leave Me Alone |
| C．Stay Away From Us |
| D．Stay Home Stay Healthy |
6 . A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket at the scene of his crime has been given a lesson in honesty.His victim,who picked up the ticket and then claimed the $25,000 prize,managed to trace him,and handed over the cash.The robbery happened when maths professor Vinicio Sabbatucci,58,was changing a tire on an Italian motorway.Another motorist,who stopped “to help”,stole a suitcase from his car and drove off.The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.
Next day,he saw the lottery results on TV and,taking out the ticket,realized it was a winner.He claimed the 60 million lire(里拉) prize.Then he began a battle with his conscience.Finally,he decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed.He advertised in newspapers and on the radio,saying,“I’m trying to find the man who robbed me.I have 60 million lire for him—a lottery win.Please meet me.Anonymity(匿名) guaranteed.”
Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into handing them the cash.But there was one voice he recognized and he arranged to meet the man in a park.The robber,a 35-year-old unemployed father of two,gave back the suitcase and burst into tears.He could not believe what was happening.“Why didn’t you keep the money?”he asked.The professor replied,“I couldn’t because it’s not mine.”Then he walked off,spurning the thief’s offer of a reward.
1. The underlined sentence “Then he began a battle with his conscience.” in Paragraph 2 implies all of the following except that .| A．he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results |
| B．he hesitated about keeping the money for sometime |
| C．he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber |
| D．he came to realize that honesty is more important than money |
| A．wanted to make fun of him | B．hoped to get the money |
| C．knew who the robber was | D．lost the lottery ticket |
| A．Excited. | B．Frightened. |
| C．Ashamed. | D．Incredible. |
| A．accepting | B．claiming |
| C．rejecting | D．cancelling |
| A．A Thief’s Lucky Day | B．A Popular Maths Professor |
| C．A Magic Lottery | D．A Reward of Honesty |
7 . The first thing we notice about new people are their faces. The next time we see these people, we remember them because we remember their faces. This seems like a simple process. However, scientists found that it is not such a simple process. The section of the brain that is responsible for face recognition seems to work differently for different people. Some people have great difficulty remembering and recognizing faces, while others almost never forget a face.
Normal babies are born with a natural ability to recognize faces. In fact, their face recognition abilities are much better than their parents. Babies are highly skilled at face recognition at six months. But by nine months, they lose this skill, By nine months, a baby’s face-recognition skills are about the same as an adult’s.
Unfortunately, some people are not born with this ability to recognize faces. The part of the brain that is responsible for face recognition doesn’t work for them. This condition is called face blindness. People with very severe face blindness cannot even recognize their own faces. In fact, people with this condition can sometimes be frightened when they look in the mirror. They don’t recognize their own face, so for a second they are startled when they see this unfamiliar face.
Face blindness is not always severe. Scientists believe up to 10 percent of the population may be affected by face blindness to some degree, yet many people with mild face blindness might not even know they have it. They have no reason to know they are different from anyone else until someone points it out. This is similar to people with color blindness.
Colorblind people can’t see the difference between certain colors such as red and green, until someone tells them that green and red are two different colors.
There is no cure for face blindness. So for the time being. people with face blindness need to find simple techniques to compensate for their problem. They can try to recognize people by their hairstyle, their voice, or their glasses. Hopefully, in the future as scientists learn more about this condition, they will find a cure.
1. The first paragraph is mainly about ____________.| A．the way to improve one’s face-recognition skills |
| B．the fact that some people have face-recognition problems |
| C．the simple process of the brain to recognize others’ faces |
| D．the importance of face recognition in human communication |
| A．At birth. | B．In adolescence. |
| C．Half a year old. | D．Nine months old. |
| A．confused | B．surprised |
| C．excited | D．depressed |
| A．People need to take it seriously. | B．It affects a great number of people. |
| C．It can be cured in the near future. | D．Certain techniques can make up for it. |
8 . When you really love a book, or have just scored a new one that you’re dying to read, it can be exciting to pick up a smooth, shiny hardcover copy that creaks (发出吱嘎声) a little bit when you open it. But those hardcover books can be heavy, and new ones aren’t cheap, either. Sometimes, you’d just rather have a portable paperback — but if it’s a new book you’re after, you might have to wait a full year or so to get it in paperback form. Why are books released as hardcovers first?
Not so long ago, hardcover books were the only type of books. Before the appearance of mass production, print runs were limited, and books were hard-bound and expensive. Around the 1930s, that changed with the production of mass-produced paperback books, which consisted with a huge surge in reading as a leisure activity around World War II. Paperback books were more affordable and cheaper to produce, which still holds true today.
Despite the seeming advantages of paperbacks, there are several reasons why the hardcover has persisted. Because of its history, it conveys a bit more legitimacy (正统性) in the book world than the paperback does. “The hardback is a mark of quality...it shows booksellers and reviewers that this is a book worth paying attention to,” Philip Jones, editor at the Bookseller, explains to The Guardian.
But the major reason why books come out as hardcovers is that people buy them, despite their higher cost. The New York Times compares it to movies being released in theaters several months before they arrive on DVD. “Just as film fans like to see films on the big screen, collectors enjoy the hardback’s superior quality,” according to The Times. And because they’re profitable, publishers can gain more from hardcovers, which “will often sell at twice the price of their paperback edition but do not cost twice as much to produce,” Jones explains.
1. What can we learn about hardcover books from the first paragraph?| A．They are heavy but not expensive. | B．They appeal to real book-lovers. |
| C．They take a long time to come out. | D．They are not preferred by book-lovers. |
| A．Increase. | B．Success. |
| C．Difference. | D．Drop. |
| A．They are brilliantly edited. | B．They convey correct information. |
| C．They are worth collecting. | D．They sell better than paperbacks. |
| A．To introduce hardcover books. | B．To present a new social finding. |
| C．To encourage people to read books. | D．To explain a confusing problem. |
9 . The world’s first fully electric plane has flown successfully for almost 15 minutes. The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft took its first test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines may one day end their polluting emissions.
“This proves that commercial airmail in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Seattle-based engineering firm MagniX. The company designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which carries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities. Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines—not to mention zero emissions. “This signifies the start of the electric airmail age,” he told reporters.
Civil airmail is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to make remarkable progress. At 285 grammes of CO2 emitted per kilometre (mile) travelled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other transport, according to the European Environment Agency.
The e-plane—a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC –2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane improved on with an electric motor—was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and CEO of Harbour Air. “For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids (电动兴奋剂). I actually had to turn off the power button,” he said. McDougall took the plane in a short circle along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of around 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.
1. What can we know from the first fully electric plane’s success?| A．The flying time of e-plane is 15 minutes at most. |
| B．The fully electric commercial airmail has functioned. |
| C．Airlines may realize the goal of zero emissions. |
| D．The fully electric plane never does damage to the environment. |
| A．Means. | B．Proves. | C．Changes. | D．Follows. |
| A．The pollution caused by passengers. | B．The backward airmail technology. |
| C．The current situation of civil airmail. | D．The growing sources of carbon emissions. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Positive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
10 . Some people say global English is no longer just controlled by British or American English,but is running free and developing uniquely local forms.Can you figure out the following terms?
“I like your smile,but unlike you put your shoes on my face.”This is a way of saying“Keep off the grass.”Or“people mountain,people sea”,which means“very crowded”.
These examples are what we call Chinglish.When it comes to Chinglish,if all you know is“good good study,day day up”,you will be considered“out man”.
Nowadays,more Chinglish words have been created,for example,a Chinese idiom is translated as“smilence”,a combination by the English word smile and silence.
Chinglish usually offers a humorous look at misuses of the English language in Chinese street signs,products,and advertising.They are favoured by some English speaking tourists and visitors.Dominic Swire has been living in Beijing for a couple of years.“I think many Chinese people complain about the Chinglish and badly translated English.But you know,sometimes for us foreigners,it’s actually quite charming to see them.I think if the translations of English in China were all perfect,then something would be lost from Chinese culture.”
However,Chinglish will probably become a“cultural relic”in the near future.Beijing has made a comprehensive plan to improve foreign language services and correct Chinglish within five years.“It is very ridiculous to see Chinglish on the signs in some scenic spots.And they are a kind of barrier for communication between Chinese and people from other countries,”a Beijinger said.
Some Chinese university experts side with Chinglish.They argue that English has absorbed elements from other languages such as French and Spanish in its growth,and now it’s Chinese’s turn.
1. What can we call Chinglish?| A．English words which get new Chinese meanings. |
| B．The Chinese words which are difficult to translate. |
| C．The words combining English vocabulary and Chinese grammar. |
| D．The local words preventing foreigners from learning Chinese well. |
| A．Saying nothing but to smile. | B．Smiling without being noticed. |
| C．Laughing at somebody. | D．Knowing little about speech. |
| A．It can show the humour of Chinese. | B．It will attract more foreign tourists. |
| C．It helps him to learn Chinese well. | D．It seems part of Chinese culture. |
| A．Because it has become a unique bridge between Chinese and English. |
| B．Because Chinglish is a chance to enrich Chinese and English. |
| C．Because it improves the understanding between Chinese and foreigners. |
| D．Because Beijing is determined to get rid of Chinglish signs. |
