1 . Space travelers face a number of health risks. Astronauts have reported loss of bones and muscle and some even have developed immune disorders and heart problems. A new study finds that energy-producing new structures in cells might be to blame for many of these problems.
A systems biologist, Afshin Beheshti, who studies how different parts of the body work together, also a member of a team of researchers that want to know how spaceflight might affect cells and tissues, notes, "It's a basic question."
The team looked at NASA GeneLab's collection of data from past space biology experiments and studied cells and tissues from mice and people and compared space travelers with others that had remained on Earth.
"The idea is not only to look at one type of chemical," Beheshti says. Rather, they wanted to "look at the living system as a whole". And in doing that, they found a common theme. After some time in space, mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of cells, often didn't work as well as they should.
Those findings are consistent with samples from NASA's Twin Study. Before retiring, astronaut Scott Kelly spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. His twin, Mark remained on the ground. Afterward, blood samples from the two showed different mitochondrial activities.
For the latest study, Beheshti and his team studied GeneLab data for many types of cells and tissues. Another focus was related to metabolism. That process includes a mix of chemical activities that supports life in cells, organs and the whole body.
Damage to mitochondria may be a common factor in spaceflight health risks, the team now concludes. Finding similar changes in so many astronauts indeed points to some general effect, agrees Michael Snyder, a systems biologist at Stanford University in California, who worked on Scott and Mark Kelly's Twin Study but was not part of the new analysis. If mitochondria are the cause, dealing with problems of them could help protect future astronauts. Some diseases cause mitochondrial defects, Dealing with such diseases in different ways may help reduce astronauts' health risks. Future studies could test if existing drugs prevent mitochondrial problems in cells, animals and people on long deep-space travels.
1. What might cause astronauts to have health problems according to the new study?| A．Temperature difference. | B．Heart cell increase | C．Tiring work. | D．Cell problems. |
| A．They referred to some existing information. |
| B．They did all kinds of tests on astronaut Scott Kelly. |
| C．They followed some astronauts for many years. |
| D．They observed behaviors of astronauts in person |
| A．Taking medicine to treat certain diseases. | B．Performing fewer long deep-space travels |
| C．Letting new structure in cells grow quickly | D．Making astronauts eat as healthily as possible. |
| A．Astronauts face great danger in the space station. |
| B．Space travels are really dangerous to astronauts' health |
| C．Scientists have found ways to reduce astronauts' health risks. |
| D．Space travels may harm health by damaging mitochondria |
2 . "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," said Jo disappointedly.
"It's so awful to be poor!" agreed Meg, looking at her old dress.
"It's not right for some girls to have pretty things, and others to have nothing at all," said little Amy.
"We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth gently.
The four young faces round the fire cheered up as they thought of this, but then Jo said sadly, "We haven't got Father, and we won't have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never", but each silently thought it, remembering that he was away at the war in the South.
Then Meg said, "Mother says we shouldn't spend money on presents when our men are fighting a war."
"We can't expect anything from Mother or each other," said Jo, "but we only have a dollar each. Let's each buy ourselves what we want and have a little fun. We work hard to earn it."
"I do, teaching those awful children," said Meg.
"What about me?" said Jo. "I'm shut up all day working for a terrible old lady, who gives me different orders every five seconds!"
"I think washing cups and plates and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world," said Beth. "My hands get too tired to play my music."
"I have to go to school with girls who laugh at my dresses and say cruel things because my father isn't rich," said Amy.
Meg was sixteen and very pretty, with large eyes and soft brown hair, and white hands. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall and thin. Beth was thirteen, a very shy girl who seemed to live in a happy world of her own. Amy was the youngest but thought herself to be the most important.
At six o'clock, Beth put a pair of slippers by the fire to warm and Meg lit the lamp.
“These are old," Jo said. "Mother needs a new pair.”
“I'll get her some," said Beth. "No, I shall!" cried Amy. "I'm the oldest!" began Meg. “I'm the man of the family now. Father is away, and I shall buy them," said Jo. "Let's each get her something and not get anything for ourselves," said Beth. "That's a kind idea!" said Jo.
1. Why were the girls unhappy at the beginning of the story?| A．They couldn't have decent presents. | B．They had to work hard to make money. |
| C．Their father had just died in the South. | D．Their mother abandoned them for the war. |
| A．Jo was getting well with the old lady. | B．Meg enjoyed being a school teacher. |
| C．Beth preferred playing music to washing. | D．Amy didn't care about her appearance. |
| A．Tolerant and curious. | B．Selfless and responsible. |
| C．Sensitive and humorous. | D．mean and unconcerned. |
| A．They may quit their job so as to support the family. |
| B．They may use their money to buy themselves favorite presents. |
| C．They may use their own money to buy presents for their mother. |
| D．They may pretend to be the boys to fight with their father at the war. |
TALK TO ME
Mom was having a surgery on her throat. She had lost her voice four years before. Mom loved writing and was a popular newspaper columnist among the online circles.
“We really believe you’ll get your voice back. The surgery will work. Right, Mom?” I stared into Mom’s eyes, eager for a positive answer. Expressionless, Mom lifted her eyes from her laptop and pulled out one of the post—its that were stuck to the plastic case of the LCD display. It said “Yes”. I pursed my lips.
Her eyes fell back to her laptop. She didn’t smile, and she didn’t even look at me while raising the post—it in front of me as if she didn’t care at all. But I did. I was desperate to hear her speak again. She meant the world to me.
But Mom was not in the least excited about getting her voice back, because it was her third surgery and the last two didn’t work out. She was hopeless.
“Dad will be here soon,” I told Mom. She shrugged.
Just then Dr Smith entered the ward. “Relax, Lisa. There’s a good chance that your mom can speak after the surgery,” he comforted me. And I nodded with a forced smile. After two nurses wheeled Mom away to the operating room, I sat outside as the surgery went on. Resting my elbows on my knees, I buried my head in my hands, praying for the surgery to go well.
Mom had developed throat cancer. When she woke up one morning as a mute, I cried my eyes out though I was tired of her continually lecturing me about my improper behavior. Being unable to hear her voice was heart—breaking. Worse still, she no longer smiled at Dad and me and stopped giving us those morning hugs I always looked forward to. I couldn’t bear seeing her like this, so helpless, so quiet. All those post—its saying “I love you”, “I miss you”… had lost their meanings. Recalling all this, I couldn’t help weeping.
注意:
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dad and I held Mom’s hands until she woke up.
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It was dark, cold and raining on December 24. James left his office and walked slowly across the street to the parking place. He was very tired. He took out his car key and put down his umbrella. He put the key into the lock and turned it. Nothing happened. The door would not open. Then James realised that it was the wrong car. His car was red, but this one was dark blue. “Oh dear! I must have parked in a different place this morning,” thought he. Putting up his umbrella, he set off to look for his car. The rain poured down and the evening got colder and colder.
Having walked round all the side streets, James didn’t find his car. He was exhausted and angry. “Someone must have stolen my car,” he thought. “Now I shall have to go to the police station and report it.” The policeman there was very helpful. He wrote down a description of James car and then took his address and telephone number. As James was leaving, the policeman wished him a merry Christmas.
“Christmas!” thought James. “Oh no! I’ve forgotten all about Christmas. I haven’t bought my wife a present and now all the shops are shut. What shall I do?” When waiting for the bus, he got wetter and more miserable (难受的). He had no umbrella and the rain flowed down into his collar. He felt like bursting into tears.
When James got home, he found his wife standing on a chair and looking for something in a very high cupboard. “What are you doing, Jessica?” he asked. “The big gold star for the Christmas tree,” Jessica replied. “Just a moment. I’ll go into the garage (车库) and fetch the stepladder (梯子) for you,” said James. When James saw .the well-decorated Christmas tree and lots of presents under it, he felt even more unhappy. “What a lovely tree!” he thought as he went downstairs, “I haven’t even got one present for Jessica. I’ve lost my car and I’m completely wet. I must have lost my umbrella, too.”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As James opened the garage door, he spotted something, frozen in amazement.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pleased to know his car was there, James entered the room with the present.
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New Year pieces, an ancient Chinese folk art, are well known. The Chinese people have the custom of sticking up pictures
Traditional New Year pictures, usually
The themes expressed in New Year pictures cover a wide range, from plump babies holding a fish to the Old God of Longevity, from landscapes to birds and flowers, from the ploughing cattle in spring to rich harvests in autumn. Human figures often show artistic exaggeration (夸张), but
6 . Winters can be long and
For Chittle, the ice rink was always about more than kids blowing off some steam. It was also about
| A．risky | B．tough | C．valueless | D．meaningful |
| A．calm down | B．play with | C．cheer up | D．call in |
| A．Therefore | B．However | C．Instead | D．Moreover |
| A．Surprisingly | B．Helplessly | C．Apparently | D．Fortunately |
| A．smoothed | B．polished | C．watered | D．painted |
| A．place | B．coat | C．decorate | D．fix |
| A．fire | B．money | C．ice | D．labor |
| A．fill | B．clean | C．wash | D．wrap |
| A．check | B．do | C．stop | D．get |
| A．quarrel | B．reaction | C．complaint | D．laughter |
| A．opportunity | B．challenge | C．recovery | D．kindness |
| A．read | B．escaped | C．spread | D．confirmed |
| A．cover | B．save | C．cut | D．lift |
| A．wasting | B．quitting | C．surviving | D．observing |
| A．intentions | B．experiences | C．sections | D．wonders |
7 . As the saying goes: The Internet is forever. Once you’ve put something online — a credit card number, a silly photo or a heat-of-the-moment comment on social media — it can come back to disturb you.
• Mix up your passwords.
If you always use the same password, no matter how carefully designed it may be, it’s probably already out there. Criminals purchase leaked databases of user names and passwords on dark web marketplaces. Then they try these combinations, hoping to access people’s other accounts.
• Delete old accounts.
You probably have a lot of online accounts you no longer use, and they might contain personal information. Don’t leave whatever details you may have shared sitting around so they can be discovered or misused by criminals. To learn how to delete an account, perform a web search such as “delete old e-mail account.”
•
You may want to restrict who can see what you post on social media sites. For example, on Facebook you can limit who can find you and who can see what you post. To get started, go to the Facebook home page and click the down arrow in the top right corner, then select Settings & Privacy.
| A．Limit who has your location history. |
| B．Control social media privacy settings. |
| C．So use a strong, unique password for every account. |
| D．With the potential risks everywhere, how can you keep yourself safe? |
| E．Despite the disadvantages the Internet may bring, you’re not powerless. |
| F．You probably don5t remember every online account you’ve ever created. |
| G．You can also visit Justdelete.com to help delete different types of accounts. |
8 . Elephants are the largest land mammals on Earth, and understanding them better could lead to some incredibly large breakthroughs in science. Researchers are doing a deep-dive study on elephant trunks, with the aim of improving the future of robotics.
Elephants’ trunks are both delicate and strong — they are capable of grasping a single leaf but can also carry nearly 600 pounds. And scientists argue that these multifunctional trunks — called proboscis are incredible inspiration for the next generation of bio-inspired (仿生) robots.
“Classical robots are extremely good for performing a specific task for which they’ve been designed. If you want that robot to do something a little different, it will fail,” said Michel Milinkovitch, a professor of the physics of biology at the University of Geneva.
In new research, scientists explained how elephants can move their trunks with almost unlimited degrees of freedom, combining about 20 basic movements to carry out more complicated movements. “Elephants have sort of a toolkit of simple movements, and they can combine these simple movements to complex trajectories (轨迹),’’ Milinkovitch said. “They can adapt to the object you give them.” The study also found that elephants can form “pseudo-joints” with their trunks, similar to the structure of a human elbow (肘) and wrist.
“It’s also a feeling of wonder just looking at these amazing creatures,’’ Milinkovitch said, noting that African forest elephants and African savanna elephants are endangered species, “We also hope to increase awareness of the conservation of this very unique animal,” he said. “There are a lot of principles that we can learn from nature; it’s not just there for our happy life— it is really an incredible source of engineering principles.”
1. What is the inspiration of elephants trunks for bio-inspired robots?| A．They are too strong to break easily. |
| B．They are adaptable to different tasks. |
| C．They are long enough to carry out tasks. |
| D．They are good at performing simple tasks. |
| A．Humans should treasure the happy life. |
| B．Humans should apply engineering principles. |
| C．Elephants in the world are on the edge of extinction. |
| D．Raising awareness of animal conservation is significant. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A news review. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A tourist brochure. |
| A．Time to Protect Elephants |
| B．Elephants, Trunks and Robotics |
| C．What Strange Elephants’ Trunks |
| D．Inspiration for Scientific Breakthrough |
9 . Lonely Planet names the best destinations for 2022
Nepal
It’s nearly impossible to discuss Nepal without talking about Mount Everest. But this Himalayan nation has so much more on offer for travelers who aren’t climbing the world’s highest mountain. In the remote region of Mustang, tourists can explore the high desert and meet locals at homestays along the way, dining on Nepali specialties.
Mauritius
Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean about 700 miles east of Madagascar. Here are some reasons to visit this underrated African getaway. It’s inhabited by a multi-racial, peaceful people, covered in great golf courses, offering various water sports, luxurious resorts, an old colonial capital, great food, one of the world’s best botanical gardens, good nightlife, and great sightseeing.
Norway
Enjoying nature in Norway is an attractive activity. While some of the activities are suitable for the young, energetic and fearless, most — such as hiking, cycling, skiing and snowmobiling — can be enjoyed by anyone. Whether you’re here for endless summer possibilities, or for snow sports and the amazing Northern Lights in winter, these activities are an exciting means of getting close to nature.
Cook Islands
This group of 15 islands in the South Pacific was at the top of many Lonely Planet staffers’ wish lists for 2022 and beyond. What’s on offer? Water-centric activities like snorkeling, diving and fishing, not to mention a look at the native Maori community in Te Vara Nui Village.
1. What activity can visitors do in Nepal?| A．Enjoy good nightlife. | B．Play golf. |
| C．Do water activities. | D．Climb mountains. |
| A．Nepal and Mauritius. | B．Mauritius and Norway. |
| C．Mauritius and Cook Islands. | D．Norway and Cook Islands. |
| A．Animal protectors. C. Environmentalists. |
| B．Art collectors. D. Nature Lovers. |
10 . Sitting in the classroom, I found I couldn’t read the board. Within a few days, I was diagnosed with a severe sight impairment. In fact, I was practically blind. Amazingly, I’d managed to reach the age of 13 without anyone realizing, not even me! “It all makes sense now,” Dad said.
As a kid living on a farm, I was forever falling over things. I was known as the clumsy one to my parents and four siblings. And now, I was being told that I saw the world differently.
Refusing to let my diagnosis hold me back, I continued doing everything I loved, including milking the cows. When I was 22, I met Lance at a farm dance and fell in love with him. Later, Lance and I married and had amazing kids. Life was busy and fun. Nowadays, the children are all grown up and I have grandkids to keep me busy.
Over years, I’ve enjoyed lovely family holidays, but sometimes felt like Lance or the kids were being too protective of me. So I was thrilled when I heard about a travel company that takes those who are blind or have low vision on Aussie adventures. Excited, I booked myself onto a trip to the Gold Coast. Since then, I travelled a lot. As I stood by the tall ships in Sydney Harbor, the fresh sea air gently whipped my hair. While we can’t see the sights like others, our imaginations take us to awesome places. At a beach, I can picture waves crashing and dolphins jumping in the air! And I’ll appreciate things that those with vision can’t. I’m not missing out — my life is beautiful. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, I’m so lucky to have a wonderful family and heaps of experiences.
Life is precious — you don’t need vision to “see” that.
1. What happened to the author at the age of 13?| A．She lost interest in farming. |
| B．She became an inactive girl. |
| C．She found she had poor eyesight. |
| D．She had a bad fail and hurt her eyes. |
| A．Her passion for traveling was growing. |
| B．She was nervous about her first travel. |
| C．Lance accompanied her to many places. |
| D．Her family failed to protect her enough. |
| A．Quiet. | B．Optimistic. | C．Generous. | D．Sensitive. |
| A．It’s never too late to travel. |
| B．Love of family can cure anyone. |
| C．Anyone can feel the beauty of life. |
| D．Past experiences should be treasured. |
