1 . Most solar panels acquire sunlight from only one side, meaning they can acquire more or less of it depending on where the sun is in the sky. In recent years, they’ve become far more effective typically turning around 22 percent of the light they acquire into energy. In a new study published in the journal Joule on Tuesday, scientists put forth a way to increase that percentage even higher: double-sided solar panels that can move to follow the sun.
Basically, these panels can acquire sun from not only their sun-facing side but also from the light reflected off the ground onto their dark undersides. At the same time, a GPS allows them to move on an axis from east to west in order to always be pointed at a best angle to acquire the sun’s rays. Though double-sided solar panels and sun-following solar panels are both in use currently, models that combine the two technologies aren’t widely available for commercial use, Solar experts predict explosive growth in the market soon, though.
The study authors determined that these two-sided sun-tracking panels produce an average of 35 percent more energy than immobile single-panel systems, and are 16 percent more cost-efficient. That holds true even when accounting for changes in weather conditions.
“This means that investing in double-sided and tracking systems should be a safe bet for the foreseeable future, Carlos Rodriguez-Gallegos,” the study’s lead author said.
The same warnings for solar panels and their effect on the local environment apply to the double-sided, moving systems as well, if not more so. Lead used in solar panels can be one source of local pollution, and Dustin Mulvaney, an associate professor of environmental studies, told Earther in an email double-sided panels could mean “twice as much lead” as traditional solar systems.
Since these new panels are more energy efficient, they could save not only money but also land. That would require restructuring how solar contracts currently work.
1. What does most solar panels rely on to acquire sunlight?| A．The amount of sunlight. | B．The location of the sun. |
| C．The quality of solar panels. | D．The size of solar panels. |
| A．The sun’s rays. | B．The panels’ undersides. |
| C．The double-sided panels | D．The panels’ sun-facing sides. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Subjective. |
| A．Double-Sided Solar Panels that Follow the Sun | B．Advantages of the Double-Sided Solar Panels |
| C．Application of the Double-Sided Solar Panels | D．New Trends of Double-Sided Solar Panels |
2 . I saw in my rearview mirror that a large SUV headed straight for my car at a breakneck speed. My heart and mind started racing, and panic (恐慌)instantly set in.
With fear in my voice, I started saying out loud, "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!", making my friend who was with me immediately scared and puzzled. I was sure that within mere seconds, we were going to be knocked from behind by a careless vehicle clearly going over 100 miles per hour in heavy traffic.
Unable to change lanes or speed up because of cars on all sides, I just prepared myself for the impact. But thank goodness, the driver missed hitting my car by an inch as he went into the lane beside me, nearly hitting another vehicle, tires screeching (刺耳声)and burning, filling the air with clouds of smoke. He continued dashing in and out of traffic, causing more near-collisions, and then quickly disappeared into the distance.
As I sat there surprised, loosening my fingers from the steering wheel, my friend and I began to talk about what if we had been hit. How life could have been changed in an instant(瞬间)or even ended.
I thought about my precious children, my husband, my family and things undone. I wondered whether I would have regrets if that had been my last day. I began to consider if I was truly enjoying and embracing(拥抱) my life, even if it hadn't turned out the way I thought it would or should. I couldn't help but ask myself if I was by accident taking for granted the pure blessing of waking up every morning and being given another day, and if I was spending time being unhappy because of difficult circumstances instead of living with joy.
1. Why was the author stuck in panic?| A．The road was too crowded. | B．A rude driver attacked her. |
| C．She drove at too high a speed. | D．An accident seemed to happen. |
| A．She took no action. | B．She sped up her car. |
| C．She gave others a warning. | D．She drove into another lane. |
| A．That day. | B．That car. |
| C．The author's life. | D．The author's family. |
| A．Behind bad luck comes good luck. | B．Love me, love my dog. |
| C．Live in the present moment. | D．Value our friends and family. |
3 . An era in which an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can begin in a doctor’s office is now arriving. Advances in technologies to detect early signs of disease from a blood sample are helping doctors to identify the memory-robbing disorder more accurately and to screen participants more quickly for trials of potential treatments for the more than five million people in the U.S. afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Estimates predict that, by 2030, there will be 76 million people worldwide who will receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
Last fall, a blood test developed by C2N Diagnostics in St. Louis, Mo., became available to most of the U.S. as a routine lab test—regulated under the CMS Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. It has also received a CE mark as a diagnostic medical device in the European Union—indicating it has met safety, health and environmental protection standards for the region.
“The development of a blood-based test for Alzheimer’s disease is just amazing,” says Michelle Mielke, a neuroscientist and epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic. “The field has been thinking about this for a very long time. It’s really been in the last couple of years that the possibility has come to fruition.”
The C2N test, called PrecivityAD, uses an analytic technique known as mass spectrometry to detect specific types of beta-amyloid(ß-淀粉样蛋白), a protein fragment that is a pathological-hallmark of disease. Beta-amyloid proteins accumulate and form plaques visible on brain scans two decades before a patient notices memory problems. As plaques build up in the brain, levels of beta-amyloid decline in the surrounding fluid.
Such changes can be measured in spinal fluid samples—and now in blood, where beta-amyloid concentrations are significantly lower. PrecivityAD is the first blood test for Alzheimer’s to be cleared for widespread use and one of a new generation of such assays that could enable early detection of the leading neurodegenerative disease—perhaps decades before the onset of the first symptoms.
1. What can we know about Alzheimer’s diagnosis from the text?| A．It has been used widely by doctors. | B．It may have a brilliant market. |
| C．It cannot be used in the future | D．It is hard for doctors to accept. |
| A．It is difficult to be applied in the future. | B．Its development to the disease is remarkable. |
| C．It has been approved by EU. | D．It has achieved the goal of testing recently. |
| A．Decrease in plaques of the brain | B．Vanishment of a protein fragment. |
| C．Reduction in the levels of beta-amyloid. | D．Plaques visible on brain scans. |
| A．A creative test for detecting Alzheimer’s. | B．Research on the test about detecting Alzheimer’s. |
| C．Development of the C2N test. | D．The development of a blood-based test. |
4 . Growing up in rural Alabama, Lisa Jones often helped her parents with repairs around their house. Though her memories of days spent repairing walls and replacing handrails（扶手）are special, they don't end up with picture-perfect makeover（翻新）. "My dad was the ultimate handyman, but he was 60 when I was born, already a senior, " says Lisa, "and some projects were too hard for him and my mom while others were just too costly." Then the repairs went undone. "I know what it feels like to live in such a house.”
Today Lisa lives in Atlanta, where an increasing number of elderly homeowners are in the same situation. As executive director of the nonprofit HouseProud Atlanta, she's now fully equipped to help them solve it.
Billions of dollars in building development have caused property values in some areas, and tax bills, to skyrocket. "Folks who have lived in their homes for decades can't save enough money to maintain them,” Lisa, 43, explains. "It's a scary time for those who want to stay in the place they love.” HouseProud Atlanta makes that possible. "We help them be a part of the changes in their neighborhood, not pushed out by them.”
Since 2004, HouseProud Atlanta has served more than 1, 000 clients. It's no surprise that many of them have become extended family to the mom of three boys----her middle son, Khalil, 7, is even named after a beloved client's favorite poet. "Lisa's like a daughter to me, "says Tinnie Baugh, a 63-year-old woman whose hot water had been out for months when she heard about HouseProud Atlanta. "Lisa sent people to take care of the pipes, and they've painted my house and still help me out when I need it.”
It's a role that Lisa has been comfortable with from the time she was playing apprentice（学徒）to her dad. "These seniors just need someone to show them that everything can be better if they have support,” she says.
1. What can be learned about Lisa's family?| A．They made living by selling houses. |
| B．They lived in a self-built house in Atlanta. |
| C．They used to repair their house on their own. |
| D．They had their house painted from time to time. |
| A．Paying tax bills. | B．Living a life of ease. |
| C．Saving enough money. | D．Getting free houses to live in. |
| A．Sympathy. | B．Appreciation. | C．Curiosity. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Love makes the world go around. |
| B．Learning from the elderly is necessary. |
| C．Helping others is easier said than done. |
| D．A winner is one with a great effort of will. |
5 . As an astronomer(天文学家)，I am accustomed to observing the universe in quiet places. I observe galaxies in the deep universe-places so far away that their light takes billions of years to reach our eyes.
Sometimes I wonder what our own galaxy looked like billions of years ago, before solar system was born. I often stare at the Hubble Deep Field(哈勃深空区)searching for clues∶galaxies colliding(碰撞)，stars exploding，and stellar nurseries. Can looking to the stars bring us closer together?
A couple of months ago，Betelgeuse，a bright star in the Orion constellation(猎户座) started to get dimmer and dimmer. Astronomers all over the world thought this might be a signal that the star was about to explode. Though it might not happen for another 1000 years or more, still I went outside every night to check it out. I was hoping that it would explode. Imagine seeing a star shining as bright as the full moon even during the day.
I started dreaming about using such an event to remind everyone that stars produce nearly all of the chemical elements in the universe, which came directly out of the Big Bang. Everything we breathe, touch and see was made inside of stars. The iron in our blood, calcium bones, and almost the entire periodic table are products of stellar evolution.
Betelgeuse did not explode, and more recent observations note that it is actually returning to normal. But nothing is normal here on Earth now. I am beginning to realize that we did not need a star to explode to unite us. All we needed was a common problem.
I am hoping that everyone on the planet is saving some time to contemplate（凝视，沉思)the universe and to realize we are not alone. No matter where we are or who we are, we are on this planet together. Since we are all made of stars, looking up at the night sky gives us a glimpse of our past and our future, and we can contemplate both together.
1. Why does the author write this article?| A．To advise others to stare at a potentially exploding star recently. |
| B．To research into the scientific mystery in the universe with readers. |
| C．To discuss the proper relationship between human and the universe. |
| D．To suggest us thinking about the way human beings live in this world. |
| A．is a star the author tracked for years |
| B．will produce chemical elements if it explodes |
| C．is a normal star which is disappearing |
| D．will explode in ten thousand years |
| A．Betelgeuse's potential explosion |
| B．Betelgeuse's getting dimmer and dimmer |
| C．the author's checking out every night |
| D．a star's shining as bright as the sun |
| A．What should an astronomer do? |
| B．Should we know more about the universe? |
| C．Looking to the stars can bring us closer together. |
| D．Getting united is a problem impossible to solve. |
6 . Oindrila Basu from India, 25, is a key member of a global forestry organization.
Back in her youth, she had to be taught the importance of nature. She used to ruin nests of the bulbul bird just for fun. Once, her mother caught her and forced her to find the eggs and replace the nest. With a heavy heart, the girl realized she had done something terrible.
This is just one way that Basu's parents shaped her understanding and appreciation of nature. Living in the countryside, she spent her youth studying ants before a rain, watching sunbirds drink bottlebrush nectar （花蜜），counting fireflies and watching seedlings grow. Then her parents decided to move to a nearby city with better educational opportunities and she stopped having firsthand experiences with nature.
As she struggled to choose a college major, her mother suggested a career in forestry. That's when her journey began and she fell in love with forestry. Away from the crowded concrete cities, in the lap of the Himalayas, she got her bachelor's degree in forestry from Kumaun University, India. When she went on to study for a master's in forestry from the Forest Research Institute, India, she finally got introduced to a like-minded group of people, dedicated to the same cause — the International Forestry Students' Association （（IFSA）.
IFSA is a global organization connecting students to exchange knowledge and participate in forestry activities. The youth joining IFSA are encouraged to undertake its task — to enrich forest education and spread a love for nature through events and intercultural exchanges.
After six months of exciting international conferences and workshops, Basu found her home — a family that loved forests as much as she did. She felt rejuvenated （重生的）;her passion had a direction. Now she wanted to do more.
Now with the IFSA , Basu recalled her experience of joining , " Consciously （有意识地）or subconsciously we chose forestry, or rather, forestry chose us".
1. Basu's parents play a role in her love for nature.| A．unique | B．usual | C．vague | D．vital |
| A．Basu's tutors | B．people who love forests |
| C．Basu's classmates | D．people who work for forest research |
| A．Love — Take — Study — Spread. |
| B．Hate — Destroy — Flee — Enrich. |
| C．Explore — Understand — Take — Devote. |
| D．Destroy — Experience — Love — Devote. |
| A．Loving Nature. |
| B．Basu: Forest Guardian Angel. |
| C．Realising Dreams. |
| D．Forestry: Home to Human Beings. |
7 . While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Tina is gifted in algebra.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents and if they didn't have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I rarely focused on algebra. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.
Actually, I learnt this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya instantly said, “Mum, don't worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”
Actually, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the regular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.
Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she calls educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.
As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. "What did you fail at this week, Sara?" He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed at. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. He was reprogramming her mind to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.
So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail at this week?”
1. What discouraged the author from efforts in algebra?| A．She wasn't interested in it. | B．She thought she was not gifted. |
| C．She thought it was useless. | D．She was not allowed to learn it. |
| A．Keep trying is necessary. | B．Failure is a path to success. |
| C．Mistakes are not acceptable. | D．Encouragement is significant. |
| A．To rebuild her mindset. | B．To keep her from failures. |
| C．To know what she hadn't tried. | D．To prevent her getting high scores. |
| A．A Secret to Success | B．A Method of Education |
| C．The Magic of Mistakes | D．The Power of a Fixed Mindset |
8 . Twenty-nine-year-old Maxim Kiselev lives in Moscow, Russia, with his beautiful wife, Natalia, and lives with a disease which mainly affects the left side of his body. Maxim is a wheelchair dancer, and does both ballroom style dancing and figure skating on ice.
He initially took up dancing when he was 14 years old as a way to strengthen his body--in particular his left arm and fingers which had limited functionality at the time. Gradually, he began to think about becoming the standing partner of a person using a wheelchair; however, his challenges with balance meant it wasn't going to be possible. His mother and coach suggested he get into a wheelchair himself. He unwillingly got into a wheelchair but was quickly pleased by his progress.
The possibilities without a partner were limited, so Maxim went on in search of a dance partner. With only some practice with his first partner, the pair took part in their first tournament, where they performed well. While his start in partner dancing was good, finding a right partner wasn't easy. His mother would get in touch with the girls' parents or coaches and the vast majority had very rude reactions as soon as they found out he was disabled.
His coaches drove him to grow and develop as a dancer, and came up with some great techniques to help him. His dancing was improved even further when his third coach forced him to think in the way a standing dancer did. Maxim says this is what helped his performance to look like dancing rather than just rolling back and forth on the dance floor.
Maxim says his greatest pride is having taken his dancing skills on ice. He is the first high level figure skater in a wheelchair, and still the only one to this day. Maxim is taking a break from dance because of health issues, but he recently participated in a Russian Virtual Reality Project which aims to motivate people with disabilities to get more active in real life.
1. How does Maxim's disease affect him?| A．He gives up his dream to become a dancer. |
| B．He can only control half of his body freely. |
| C．He has no way to make a living all the time. |
| D．He has an extremely unhappy marriage life. |
| A．To be a standing dance partner. | B．To meet his mother's expectation. |
| C．To improve his physical condition. | D．To get himself out of a wheelchair. |
| A．Few people praised his talent. |
| B．Nobody helped with the search. |
| C．He was rejected because of his skills. |
| D．He faced discrimination due to disability. |
| A．Mastering dancing techniques. | B．Thinking like a standing dancer. |
| C．Helping people with disabilities. | D．Making some progress in dancing. |
9 . An afternoon nap(午睡)is one of the joys of life, although too much napping could signal all is not well. In some cultures, people will have a daily nap — this is fine. The warning comes when people start sleeping during the daytime, when they did not before. There is certainly a good reason to believe that daytime sleepiness — as in the Alzheimer's study — can be a marker of an underlying condition.
For most people, napping during the day is mainly a sign that you are not getting enough sleep at night, says Dr. Neil Stanley, a sleep expert. "If you feel sleepy during the day, you should think about taking a nap. That is what the body needs — it doesn't need to be kept awake with caffeine, it needs sleep. "The feeling to notice is "sleepiness", he says, not "tiredness", which could be more psychological and linked to stress.
So how do you nap well? The key thing, says Stanley, is how long your nap lasts. Choose either a 20-or 90-minute nap. "When you fall asleep, you'll quickly go through the lighter stages of sleep into your first period of deep sleep. You don't want to wake up in deep sleep because that's when you wake and feel worse than you did before. "Napping for 20 minutes means you will wake up before you go into deep sleep; napping for 90 minutes means you'll complete a sleep cycle.
Once you factor in the time it takes to fall asleep — some people are better at napping than others but, says Stanley, "a healthy adult will fall asleep in between 5 and 12 minutes" — you can set an alarm, allowing a 30- to 40-minute period for a short nap, and up to two hours for a longer one.
A good time to nap is during the body's natural dip in the afternoon, between 2 pm and 4 pm. "You don't really want to be napping much past that because then you are going to be eating into your night-time sleep," Stanley says. The point, he stresses, is to get good night-time sleep, which would ensure you probably don't need to nap at all.
1. What does an afternoon nap indicate for most people?| A．Caffeine addiction. | B．Psychological stress. |
| C．Insufficient night sleep. | D．Potential physical illness. |
| A．Duration. | B．Surroundings. | C．Health. | D．Stages. |
| A．A 30- to 40- minute period. | B．Between 2 pm and 4 pm. |
| C．Between 5 and 12 minutes. | D．A 20- to 90-minute period. |
| A．Why to phase a nap | B．When to take a good nap |
| C．What to learn from a nap | D．How to have a successful nap |
10 . The world’s first zero-carbon city is being built in Abu Dhabi and is designed to be not only free of cars and high buildings but also powered by the sun.
The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the last place you would expect to learn lessons on low-carbon living, but the eco-city of Masdar could teach the world. While the presence of fossil fuel (矿物燃料) has helped make UAE one of the world’s wealthiest countries, the officials there are well aware that the oil wells will eventually run dry, leaving them with no choice, but to use renewable sources of energy.
Masdar is combining 21st-century engineering with traditional desert architecture to create zero-carbon comfort. It will house about 50,000 people, at least 1,000 businesses and a university. It is being designed by the British architectural firm Foster + Partners. The architects are turning the desert’s greatest threat-the sun-into their greatest fortune. They have built the biggest solar farm in the Middle East to power the city.
Traditional cars must be checked in at the city gates before you enter the city. And you can choose between the oldest and newest ways of transport. At street level, the streets will be narrow, just to let people walk by and so the buildings will shade each other, and the planners have done their best to keep the city foot-friendly. But if you feel tired, you can go down a level to take mini vehicles. These driverless vehicles can carry up to 6 people and will be solar powered or battery operated. They are programmed to go where you ask.
Water that is used in homes or for gardens will be recycled. All waste will be converted to energy or as nutrients for soil. The whole purpose of Masdar City is to reuse or recycle everything that is in it even some of the construction materials around gardens and city.
1. Why did UAE decide to build a zero-carbon city?| A．Because the oil wells may dry up in the future. |
| B．Because the low-carbon living is very popular. |
| C．Because the price of fossil fuel is always on the rise. |
| D．Because the air pollution is becoming a global danger. |
| A．The strict limitations on traditional cars. |
| B．The benefits of foot-friendly streets. |
| C．The means of transportation in Masdar. |
| D．The convenience of taking driverless vehicles. |
| A．Homes or gardens. | B．Masdar City. |
| C．Nutrients for soil. | D．Construction materials. |
| A．Sports. | B．science. |
| C．Business. | D．Culture. |
