1 . The body gives off many gases. Although some smells may signal a need to bathe or that you ate a certain meal, other gases might point to serious disease. Now, researchers have come up with a system that uses earmuffs to catch the disease-signaling gases. Doctors could get the information as patients wear a set of earmuffs. Results could be ready within minutes.
“The ear is a good place to monitor,” explains Johnson, a biomedical engineer. The ear’s skin is fairly thin, he notes. So gases don’t have to travel far to get out of the blood and escape through skin pores.
To collect the gases, Johnson and his team selected earmuffs that make a tight seal with the head. These are the type people often wear to protect the ears from loud noise. His team made two holes in the muff covering one ear. A tube slowly pumped air in one hole. Another tube pulled air out of the second hole and sent it to a sensor.
In their tests, the team found that they could measure changes in the amount of alcohol coming from the skin of the ear. It could work much like a Breathalyzer that police use to test people for driving drunk. The team invited three men. Each had to avoid drinking alcohol for at least three days before taking part. Once in the lab, these men wore the earmuffs and sat for 10 minutes as the system recorded normal gas levels leaving their ears. Afterward, the men drank a big amount of alcohol. About 7 minutes later, the earmuff system tested out a rise in alcohol leaving the skin. After 50 minutes, alcohol levels reached the peak and continued falling until the test was over.
The team then measured other gases by changing out the sensor. With the right sensor, their earmuff system could test out disease. Later, they replaced the earmuffs with a one-eared version to make it a bit more comfortable.
Johnson imagines another possible benefit. The earmuff system could help doctors tell whether a child’s ear infections have been caused by bacteria or a virus. How? Each type of infection exudes different gases. That, in turn, could guide how doctors cure the disease.
1. What makes the ear a good place to monitor?| A．Its small size. | B．Its thin skin. |
| C．Its clean surface. | D．Its blood flow. |
| A．Sensors should be examined in time. | B．Drunk-driving tests were ineffective. |
| C．Serious diseases were difficult to identify. | D．Their system could be used to tell diseases. |
| A．Collects. | B．Gives off. | C．Cuts off. | D．Uses. |
| A．Politics. | B．Business. | C．Science. | D．Entertainment. |
2 . For thousands of years, people have trained and studied homing pigeons. These birds adopt a homing spot by the time they are six weeks old. When released from unfamiliar places, they have the unbelievable ability to return to their home.
On its journey home: a pigeon can fly over 500 miles in a single day. In one study, some homing pigeons were released from Africa and flew over 7,000 miles to arrive safely at their home in England. Throughout their journey which took 55 days, they flew a surprisingly straight path home.
Homing pigeons have served people in many ways throughout the years. Hospitals used pigeons to deliver medicine. In World War I, pilots brought the pigeons along as they flew missions. If their plane was disabled, the pilot would release the pigeon with a message stating his location and calling for help. Today, there are over 4 million trained homing pigeons around the world.
We recognize the homing pigeons’ amazing ability to navigate, but scientists are still puzzled as to how these birds can return home accurately. Many scientists discovered that the bumps on a homing pigeon’s beak contain iron particles which are pointing to the North Pole much like a man-made compass.
Scientists arranged an experiment to test the theory that birds use these iron particles to navigate. They placed magnets, which would influence the magnetic field, on the back of pigeons. They found that this prevented some pigeons’ ability from flying home. However, many of these birds still navigated effectively. This indicated that the magnetic field is not the only factor involved in the homing pigeon’s ability to navigate.
Since then, scientists have found that pigeons can sense sounds that humans cannot hear, and that “sound fields” may also help them navigate. A theory that birds have a highly developed sense of smell that they use to navigate is also being tested. At this time, scientists believe that homing pigeons most likely use a mixture of systems to find their way home.
1. When are homing pigeons able to navigate to a homing spot?| A．After a long-distance flight. | B．Since their birth. |
| C．When they’re six weeks old. | D．When they’re well-trained. |
| A．By misleading the enemy. | B．By sending messages. |
| C．By delivering medicine. | D．By acting as a GPS. |
| A．Finding the way. | B．Keeping balance. | C．Noticing smells. | D．Sensing sounds. |
| A．Practical uses of the homing pigeon. | B．Training techniques for the homing pigeon. |
| C．The physical structure of the homing pigeon. | D．The navigation systems of the homing pigeon. |
3 . In 2009 in a small town, Todd Bol came up with an idea to share his mother’s love of reading with others. Bol’s mother had been a teacher who had loved reading. He decided to build a wooden box and fill it with books. Bol placed the box of books on a post in his front yard with a sign that read “Free Books”. Soon his neighbours noticed this tiny model of a “schoolhouse”. They began taking the books and replacing them with books of their own. The tiny library allowed people the opportunity to “check out” books day or night.
Bol’s friends and neighbours wanted little libraries of their own. Bol built several and gave them away. One of his friends, Rick, believed that Bol’s little libraries could benefit more than just local friends and neighbours. With these ideas in mind, Bol and Rick came up with a plan to build over 2,500 Little Free Libraries around the world. They believed that books should be available to all people, no matter where they live or what their background is. To help achieve their goal, Bol and Rick created a website that provides information about the Little Free Libraries and how people can establish little libraries of their own.
Thanks to Bol and Rick, the Little Free Libraries are encouraging people to read more. They didn’t just provide books. They also helped build friendships and a sense of belonging among community members. As more and more people visited Bol’s little library, they began talking with one another. They shared thoughts, ideas, and stories. They got to know one another. Everyone loved the little library. After all, as Bol says, “It’s a magic box with books. People tell us all the time that they’ve met more people in a week than they have in a lifetime.”
Today there are more than 25,000 Little Free Libraries around the world, and they can be found on almost every continent.
1. From whom did Todd Bol get the idea of Little Free Libraries?| A．His mother. | B．His teacher. | C．His neighbours. | D．His friends. |
| A．make more money | B．establish online libraries |
| C．replace paper books with e-books | D．provide information and guidance |
| A．New buildings. | B．More visitors. |
| C．Friendly relationships. | D．Green environment. |
| A．Well begun, half done. | B．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | D．Little people can make a big difference. |
4 . A lot of us spend most of our working day sitting at the computer without moving at all. So, how does the world keep fit? Let’s have a look at some of the latest exercises from around the world.
Towerrunning is a sport you can do in the tall buildings of almost any big city. All you need to do is start at the bottom of an office tower and run up all the stairs until you get to the top. Now, towerrunning has become popular with important races taking place in some of the world’s tallest towers, like the China World Trade Centre in Beijing.
Piloxing started in the USA. The sport is a mix between boxing, pilates (普拉提) and dance. Piloxing uses the power and speed of boxing, while building your muscles and strength with pilates. All of this happens to non-stop loud music, and you learn some great dance moves too.
Paddle boarding on the ocean might look easy, but it is a tough sport. You need to be strong to keep your balance. The sport was adapted from surfing and it had its roots in Polynesia where people used paddling for both work and play-from transport to catching waves.
Trapeze may remind you of the circus act-people fly, dance and move from side to side through the air. Jules Leotard developed the art of trapeze in the mid-nineteenth century in France. To perform trapeze, people must develop upper-body strength to turn and fly.
Are you ready? Even a short amount of exercise every day can help us to feel happier and more relaxed.
1. Which exercise must be done in tall buildings?| A．Towerrunning. | B．Piloxing. | C．Paddle boarding. | D．Trapeze. |
| A．China. | B．The USA. | C．Polynesia. | D．France. |
| A．strong upper-body strength | B．power and speed of boxing |
| C．better running ability | D．good swimming skills |
| A．Lose weight. | B．Get moving. | C．Keep working. | D．Travel around. |
The population of monarchs passing the winter in Mexico appears to have fallen. Now, the good news for Illinois’ state insects: The Field Museum in Chicago is trying to figure out what makes a successful monarch garden in the city, and it’s proper to start preparing for this summer.
The Field Museum project involves citizens reporting on spaces that researchers can’t walk into every day, like backyards. Participants sent in weekly reports, including the makeup of their garden, and development of eggs and caterpillars. The more successful gardens had more milkweed(乳汁草)and blooming plants，multiple milkweed species， and tended to be larger plots. But Klinger, an expert at the Field Museum,said one participant with a single plant watched eggs transform all the way to chrysalises(蛹). So，she said，“You just need one plant.”
In 2020,during the second season of the study, the number of caterpillars dropped even though the number of participants in the study more than doubled.
Chicago saw a hot, dry summer——its warmest on record, and Klinger said that may have affected the health of the milkweed plants. The reports out of Mexico noted this season’s eastern population drop followed an increase in forest loss, which was 4 times what it was a year ago, primarily from illegal tree cutting, as well as trees hit by wind and drought. But they also said spring and summer weather conditions were tough for milkweed blossoms and egg development in the southern US, which is largely responsible for limiting reproduction.
“But now is the optimum time to start planning to plant some milkweed. The best thing to do is what you can do. One milkweed plant in a pot on your balcony(阳台)is doing something，” Klinger said.
1. What’s the intention of the Field Museum project?2. What’s the main idea of paragraph 2?
3. Why was there an increase in the forest loss?
4. What is the author’s attitude towards the Field Museum project?
Lillian Hanson, a college junior, expects to graduate in about two years. Mrs. Hanson, a rather unusual student, plans to go on to take more courses after she gets her degree. What makes Mrs. Hanson different from most of her classmates?
What sets Lillian Hanson apart from the college crowd is her age-73 years. She has been going to college, a few courses at a time, for 27 years.
When Mrs. Hanson graduated from high school, she went to her local bank and asked for a loan for college tuition and fees. The banker gave her no encouragement. He didn’t think that a country girl should be borrowing money to go to college. He thought she should be home doing work in the house or around the farm. So Mrs. Hanson went home and raised a family of nine children instead of going to college. She still lives with her husband on the farm that has been in the family for five generations.
Mrs. Hanson never forgot her dream of getting a higher education. When her children were grown up, she tried again.
She finds the hardest part of going back to school at her age to be sitting in class for long periods of time. Because she is not able to move as quickly and easily as she used to be, Mrs. Hanson often gets up and walks around between classes to keep from getting rigid. At the beginning of a course in using the computer, the other students all stood up to give Mrs. Hanson big applause when she introduced herself and explained why she was there and what her goals were.
1. What makes Lillian Hanson different from most of her classmates? (不多于2个单词)2. Why did the banker refuse to provide a loan for Lillian Hanson? (不多于16个单词)
3. What is Mrs. Hanson’s dream? (不多于4个单词)
4. What does she find the hardest part of going back to school? (不多于8个单词)
7 . According to scientists, it’s a fundamental part of our human nature to look for these qualities—— the full lips, clear skin and strong shoulders—— in a mate.
Not everyone agrees with this idea, however. “Our hardwiredness(固定思维模式) can be changed by all sorts of expectations—mainly cultural,” says C. Loring Brace,a researcher at the University of Michigan. Look in most Western fashion magazines, for example, and the women on the pages are thin. But is this the “perfect” body type for women worldwide? Douglas Yu,a biologist from Great Britain, says no; what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the world. Yu found in one study, for example, that native peoples in Southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded as overweight in Western culture.
Take another example: In every culture, one’s hairstyle sends a clear message. In the Huli culture of Papua New Guinea, men grow their hair long as a symbol of health and strength. Teenage boys in this culture learn from a young age to style and decorate their hair—a behavior more commonly associated with the opposite gender in many cultures. It is also the men in this culture who are the objects of beauty. For certain festivals and celebrations, men dress up and paint their faces. The more colorful a man is, the more attractive he is considered.
For better or worse, beauty plays a role in our lives. But it is extremely difficult to define exactly what makes one person attractive to another. Although there do seem to be certain physical traits that are considered universally appealing, it is also true that beauty does not always obey a single, uniform standard. A person’s cultural background, for example, may influence what he or she finds attractive in others. In the end, beauty really is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.
1. What can we infer about scientists’opinion in Paragraph 1?| A．Everyone has a desire to look good. |
| B．There is a generally accepted opinion about beauty. |
| C．Health and strength are equal to beauty. |
| D．Women are hungrier to look attractive than men. |
| A．Personal. | B．Complex. | C．Powerful. | D．Modern. |
| A．Clear skin. | B．Overweight females. |
| C．Colorful men. | D．Straight hair. |
| A．Beauty is culture-specific. | B．Beauty is reflected in lifestyles. |
| C．Beauty has uniform standards. | D．Geography determines attitudes. |
8 . If you ask most people whether they like having more choices, the answer will be yes. But when it comes to sales, a large selection can actually hurt the sellers’ income.
Although people like choice, they become overwhelmed (不知所措) by it. Hick’s Law perfectly proves this. It states that there is a measurable increase in how long it takes somebody to make a decision as the number of options that are available goes up.
That delay in decision-making can prove damaging on an online shopping site because it tends to result in users giving up. They are paralyzed by the decision, and so, they decide to go away and think about it. That will significantly reduce the number of people who eventually make a purchase.
I know it can be hard to convince sellers to limit the variety of products or complex options they offer on their sites, but there is some strong evidence to support your cause. Researchers in California ran an experiment in a local grocery store. They set up a stall (货摊) in the store selling jam. Some days the stall would sell six flavors of jams, while on other days it offered 24 varieties. The results were significant. On days when they sold 24 varieties, they saw a mere four percent sales rate. However, when they offered only six choices, that figure rose to a surprising 31 percent. Limiting choice works.
That experiment perfectly shows both the problem and the solution. Despite the evidence, you will not always be able to persuade sellers to reduce choice. The next best option is to hide some of those choices.
Unlike a stall in a grocery store, we have more flexibility online regarding how products are displayed. We can highlight some options and hide others. For example, you could display the best-selling categories of products, while hiding other groupings under something like a “more” option. If you are unable to remove options, you can at least focus clients on the most popular choices.
1. What does Hick’s Law mainly tell us about more choices?| A．They increase product sales. | B．They lead to better decisions. |
| C．They can better satisfy customers. | D．They make decision-making harder. |
| A．Attracted. | B．Prevented. | C．Controlled. | D．Encourage |
| A．More varieties produce more profits. | B．Fewer varieties attract more customers. |
| C．More varieties reduce running costs. | D．Fewer varieties create higher sales rate. |
| A．Improving product quality. | B．Increasing product varieties. |
| C．Avoiding displaying all options. | D．Hiding the best-selling products. |
9 . The Apostolic Library in Vatican City is home to ancient writings, rare books and reading rooms. Now, it is opening a small new space to the public where modern-day artwork can be seen next to the library's treasures.
The first show at the space is called Tutti, the Italian word for all. It was suggested by Pope(教皇) Francis' 2020 letter called “Brothers All”. The message appealed for environmental renewal, greater human unity and a more just socio-economic order in the world after the COVID-19 crisis.
Artist Pietro Ruffo of Italy's capital, Rome, was invited to design the first show. Maps and migration (迁徙) are among the common subjects of his work. At the Library, he transformed one room into a forest. In another room, Ruffo designed a modern version of one of the library's ancient maps of the Nile River. He placed both maps side by side.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican City ruler, Pope Francis, opened the Apostolic Library's new space last week. Pope Francis said the world was in need of new maps after COVID-19. He called for a greater sense of brotherhood. “Humanity needs new maps to discover the sense of love, of friendship and the common good,” he said. “We need a new beauty that isn't the usual reflection of power of some but a courageous map of everyone's diversity(多样性).”
The property of former US businessman Kirk Kerkorian paid for the project. Early in Francis' time as pope, he had appealed for the Apostolic Library to open itself up more to the outside world. In 2016, Francis declared the pope's summer home in Castel Gandolfo open to visitors.
The exhibit at the Apostolic Library is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Visitors must seek admission through an online request. The price of admission is about $17.
The Apostolic Library is separate from the Vatican Apostolic Archives((档案馆), which is home to all the documentation from pope's headquarters (总部) and embassies. Both the library and the archives are open to researchers upon request.
1. What is among the common subjects of Pietro Ruffo's work?| A．Brothers All. | B．Environmental renewal. |
| C．Maps and migration. | D．Treasures of modern art works. |
| A．Ticket sales. | B．Roman artists' donation. |
| C．The Pope's appeal and support. | D．The property of a businessman. |
| A．The exhibit at it opens twice a week. |
| B．It's outdated and backward. |
| C．It's unconditionally open to the audience. |
| D．It's owned by the Vatican Apostolic Archives. |
| A．To attract more scholars to visit. |
| B．To enrich background materials. |
| C．To stress the importance of the library. |
| D．To further explain the diversity and value of documents. |
Junior Alvarado, a high school student in the Washington Leadership Academy, often struggled in his math classes and earned poor grades. The teachers at the Washington Leadership Academy used computer programs to identify the areas he was weak in and design a learning plan just for him.
“They explain the problem step by step. It wouldn’t be as fast, but at your speed,” said the 15—year—old, “Now I feel better about my math skills.”
The use of technology in schools is part of a larger idea of personalized learning. This idea has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Personalized learning is away of teaching centering around the interests and needs of individual students instead of entire classes as a whole. It includes flexible learning environments and specially—designed education plans. Students can decide what and how they learn. In that way, they are able to master subjects at their own speed.
Joseph Webb, headmaster of the Washington Leadership Academy, says the digital tools help teachers identify problems students are facing before they become too serious. “We can solve them right then and there; we don’t have to wait for the problems to come to us,” he said.
Still, many researchers say it is too early to tell if personalized learning works better than traditional teaching. A recent study found that personalized learning only led to small improvements. It found only a 3—percent improvement in math and even smaller improvements in reading compared to traditional teaching methods. In addition, experts in children’s health warn that the overuse of technology can damage face—to—face relationships and young people’s interest in physical activity.
Some teachers have their doubts as well. Marla Kilfoyle, a teacher in a public high school, admits that technology can be helpful in the classroom in many ways. But she argues that no computer program should ever replace the personal touch, support and inspiration teachers give their students.
1. How did teachers help Junior Alvarado to improve his math grades? (no more than 15 words)2. According to the passage，what is personalized learning? (no more than 13 words)
3. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 4 refer to? (no more than 1 word)
4. Why do Marla Kilfoyle believe computer programs will never replace teachers? (no more than 10 words)
