1 . 4 Children’s Museums You Can Visit Virtually
Young learners can explore the subjects of art, history, science, archaeology, and more through children’s museums that offer a virtual window into real-time curiosities via webcams, live streams, computer-generated tours, and 360-degree photographs.
Glazer Children’s Museum
Creating life-long learners has always been the goal at Tampa, Florida’s Glazer Children’s Museum. Make a Rube Goldberg Machine, learn about atmospheric pressure through hands-on experiments, and participate in coloring activities, all from the comfort of your own home.
Children’s Museum of South Dakota
Seize the Play invites kids to pick a topic and then complete the scientific challenge. There are many activities to choose from like making puffy paint, creating fizzy bubbles, building an indoor fort, paper making and more. There’s a special page just for grown-ups where parents can gain access to extra resources like reviews, activity suggestions and more.
Kohl Children’s Museum
You’ll be able to access remote learning opportunities through Kohl Children’s Museum’s Home Zone. Each web series will walk you through science experiments, art projects, music classes, and more, all of which you can complete while at home.
Minnesota Children’s Museum
The Minnesota Children’s Museum has a huge library of videos that families can watch while at home. Kids can learn how to create a time capsule, learn about the color wheel through mixing primary paint colors, and create sensory bins. Read research on the science of play, get helpful tips, and stay informed by subscribing to a newsletter.
1. Which museum offers additional tips for guardians?| A．Kohl Children’s Museum |
| B．Glazer Children’s Museum |
| C．Minnesota Children’s Museum |
| D．Children’s Museum of South Dakota |
| A．By getting helpful tips. |
| B．By subscribing to a newsletter. |
| C．By watching a huge library of videos. |
| D．By reading research on the science of play. |
| A．Creating indoor activities for children. |
| B．Teaching children to create sensory bins. |
| C．Offering children access to scientific experiments. |
| D．Encouraging children to complete the living challenge. |
2 . Have you ever been hungry and tired and wished you could solve both problems at once? If you were a reindeer, it would be easy. According to new research, these talented deer can have a snooze while they chew their food.
Like cows and about 200 other mammals, reindeer use a process called rumination to break down the tough plant fibers they eat. This process involves passing the food back and forth between their mouth and the four chambers of their stomach, chewing it repeatedly until all the nutrients have been absorbed. All that chewing seems to leave very little time for sleep.
To find out their secret to getting enough rest, scientists fitted four female reindeer in a stable with devices that monitored their brainwaves. While the reindeer were ruminating, their brainwaves were similar to the patterns shown during light sleep. The animals sat or stood quietly with their eyes closed, and they were less likely than usual to react to the rustling of a neighboring deer’s movements. “They were in a very relaxed state,” researcher Melanie Furrer told Science News.
The chewing motion made it hard for the researchers to tell whether the animals’ brain waves were truly in sleep mode, bringing the benefits of a night’s rest. But when they tested the deer again after rumination, the animals’ brain activity showed that they felt rested.
If reindeer are kept awake for too long, they need extra “recovery sleep” to catch up. After ruminating, however, the deer did not need as much recovery sleep. Study co-author Gabriela Wagner told NPR that ruminating serves two different purposes at the same time. “Not only does it help them to get the most energy out of the food they have,” she said, “but it also makes sure that their brain gets enough rest and they get the sleep they need.”
1. What does the underlined sentence in Para 1 mean?| A．It is easy for reindeer to be hungry. |
| B．Reindeer can eat and sleep simultaneously. |
| C．People can not solve the problem like a reindeer. |
| D．Reindeer are talented so that they can solve the problem. |
| A．It allows reindeer to absorb all the nutrients. |
| B．It functions because of the four chambers of stomach. |
| C．Reindeer use rumination to pass the food back and forth. |
| D．All mammals use rumination to break down the fibers they eat. |
| A．By analyzing data. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By stating arguments. | D．By describing process. |
| A．Ruminating Serves Benefits For Reindeer |
| B．Ruminating Provides Extra Recovery Sleep |
| C．Ruminating Allows Reindeer Sleep And Eat |
| D．Getting Enough Sleep Is Essential For Reindeer |
3 . Sia Godika was 13 when she noticed the barefoot children of construction workers at a building site near her house in the upscale Koramangala district of Bangalore, India.
“Their feet were bare. Cracked. Hard. Dirty. Bleeding,” reflects Sia, now 17. “They were just walking around that construction site like it was an everyday practice for them.” And it was: In that moment, Sia realized the troubling contrast to her own privilege.
“I went back home, looked at my own feet and thought, Wow, I’m 13 years old. My feet are so tender. ” Then she gave her shoes away to the children. Later that year, with the help of her parents and community volunteers, Sia founded Sole Warriors, a charity dedicated to providing footwear to those in need, epitomized by its motto: “Donate a sole, save a soul.”
The idea, which started as a dinner conversation with her parents, quickly grew. After she spread the word with posters and WhatsApp groups, inquiries from people who wanted to help came flooding in. For months, Sia was juggling schoolwork and her new passion project.
Now in its fifth year, the organization runs distribution drives in which Sole Warriors collects used footwear, refurbishes(整修) it and donates the finished products to people in need. Today Sole Warriors gave out 28,000 pairs of shoes. But the organization’s growth wasn’t without its challenges. When it came to looking for collaborators, such as a company that would do the refurbishments free of charge, Sia faced one obstacle after another before finding a partner in India’s Pressto Cobbler.
In recognition of her impact, in 2021 Sia was given the Diana Award, given to people aged nine to 25 in memory of the late Princess of Wales. Awarded by a U.K. based charity of the same name, it’s one of the most prestigious honours a young person can receive for social action or humanitarian work. But her work isn’t done. “Our goal has always been to touch a million feet,” she says.
1. What inspired Sia to set up Sole Warriors?| A．Sia loved collecting shoes. |
| B．Children didn’t have beautiful shoes. |
| C．Children at the construction site had no shoes. |
| D．Children had to walk around the construction site. |
| A．Uncared | B．Strange | C．Concerned | D．Supportive |
| A．Make more shoes |
| B．Donate more shoes |
| C．Find more co-operation partners |
| D．Set up branches of the organization |
| A．Patient and clever |
| B．Kind and knowledgeable |
| C．Determined and warm-hearted |
| D．Adventurous and hard-working |
The 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer opened on April 20 on a beach in France. As the largest and
Chinese-inflected cultural activities took place at the festival, including flying performance at the opening ceremony, workshops for kite-making
Yan Zhenquan, minister counselor of the Chinese Embassy in France, Jacques Billant, governor of Pas-de-Calais,
5 . Even in the most speculative reaches of science fiction, there is no escaping humanity’s dependence on liquid water. The residents of the desert world Arrakis, accessible to anyone with a copy of Frank Herbert’s novel “Dune”, use windtraps to steal precious liquid from the air.
Collecting water from the air is nothing new. The Inca, who are widely thought to have invented the technique,placed buckets under trees to collect the condensation from heavy fog drifting in off the sea. People dwelling in the arid mountains of Oman have long built cisterns under trees for the same reason.
Instead of using leaves as condensation traps, however, which drip over an impractically large area, modern traps instead consist of sheets of very fine polymer mesh. As fog flows through the sheets, tiny droplets of water stick to the polymer fibres. These droplets grow until gravity pulls them into a compact trough and, thence, a reservoir. While collectors vary in size, a 40-metres-square collector in a reasonably foggy area yields around 200 litres a day, enough to supply 60 people with drinking water.
A team led by Dr Stachewicz found that the sheet could be made even more productive by changing the way in which its polymer threads were manufactured. Dr Stachewicz theorized that careful manufacture via a process known as electrospinning could lend the sheet a slight electrical charge that would prove attractive to water droplets in fog. In experiments conducted in 2021 she and a team of colleagues found that such sheets yielded 50%more water.
This past August, Dr Stachewicz reported further improvements by adding TiO₂ to the mesh. Previous work had shown that TiO₂ could be intensely attractive to water upon exposure to ultraviolet light-a hindrance under extremely foggy conditions, as water would stick to the mesh rather than trickle into the cistern. When fog was light, however, Dr Stachewicz and Mr Parisi found that a TiO₂-enhanced mesh became 30% more effective. Her fog collectors are now being used at sites on three continents.
This technology suggests a brighter future is possible. Areas so dry as to have gone without rainfall since modern records began may one day yield enough water to sustain settlement. And not just on a fictional planet.
1. Why did the writer mention a copy of Frank Herber’s novel?| A．Because the characters also get water from the air. |
| B．Because people in the novel also live without water. |
| C．Because it sets an opposite example of getting water. |
| D．Because the engineers got the inspiration of inventing traps from the novel. |
| A．Water from leaves drips over a large area. |
| B．Gravity pulls the droplets into a container. |
| C．Fog streams through sheets of polymer mesh and adhere to it. |
| D．Fog flows through sheets of polymer mesh and the polymer fibres. |
| A．It purifies water droplets. |
| B．It appeals to water droplets. |
| C．It fights against water droplets. |
| D．It blocks the fog from flowing. |
| A．How to capture water from the air. |
| B．A solution to relieving water stress. |
| C．Getting water from the air with different methods. |
| D．Using windtraps to steal precious liquid from the air. |
6 . One of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Charles Duhigg published a new book, in which he concluded common characteristics of “supercommunicators”— people who are consistently able to create authentic connections with others just by listening and talking.
Prove we’re listening. There are plenty of ways to appear like you’re listening, like making eye contact or nodding intently. But proving to someone that you’re listening is the quickest road to making someone feel heard.
Ask the right questions. Ask follow-up questions that signal to the other person that you’re interested in the conversation, like “So did you make it on time?” or “What happened next?” Ask questions like people’s values, beliefs or experiences and spark an opportunity for emotional connection.
Aim to understand. The goal of a discussion isn’t to impress someone, convince someone or wait for their turn to speak. It’s to genuinely comprehend someone else’s point of view and share your own views accordingly. If people know you want to understand them, they’re going to want to understand you.
| A．Realize what are the real questions. |
| B．Do you want to be a supercommunicator? |
| C．These deep questions get people to open up. |
| D．It is not that easy to be a supercommunicators. |
| E．Know what kind of conversation you’re having. |
| F．That is actually the most magical thing that can happen. |
| G．Ask someone a question first and then listen to their response. |
7 . Sumiel was having a tough Friday. It was October 2020, and the 71-year-old, who was dealing with kidney failure and had been on dialysis(透析) for a few years,
Sumiel was no
Timothy Letts, 31, was driving north to visit a friend when his phone
As they set out on the 40-minute
Sumiel was touched by Letts’s offer, though he wondered if it had just been an
14 months after they ended up in the same car
| A．decided | B．set | C．arranged | D．found |
| A．facility | B．home | C．program | D．office |
| A．stranger | B．donor | C．patient | D．doctor |
| A．added to | B．apply to | C．adapt to | D．led to |
| A．answered | B．seen | C．appeared | D．sent |
| A．broke | B．rang | C．called | D．shook |
| A．request | B．fare | C．trip | D．match |
| A．taking | B．figuring | C．guessing | D．realizing |
| A．drive | B．deal | C．contact | D．rest |
| A．smell | B．hear | C．smoke | D．drive |
| A．emotional | B．thoughtful | C．essential | D．sensitive |
| A．dream | B．work | C．goal | D．word |
| A．ideal | B．original | C．special | D．unique |
| A．on time | B．by chance | C．in time | D．by means |
| A．handle | B．pursue | C．reunite | D．arrive |
8 . How to charge an electric vehicle (EV) is one of the biggest concerns people have when working out whether going electric is right for them.
It is true that sometimes gaining access to reliable charging can seem a bit tricky.
First, download an app with a comprehensive map of the public charging points showing their locations, how powerful they are, and whether they’re working. All this is vital information because, even if you have public charging points nearby, you will need alternatives in case they’re in use.
A growing number of property owners are renting out their charging points and drive ways to other local EV drivers when they’re not using them.
For now, if charging access remains difficult for you, it’s still possible to go electric-in part.
| A．But it may be easier than you think. |
| B．It actually worked out much cheaper. |
| C．There are also other innovative ways to get your EV going. |
| D．A plug-in EV combines a petrol engine with a smaller battery. |
| E．A “fast” charger usually takes eight hours to fully charge an EV. |
| F．So you need to get a good feel for where your nearest points are. |
| G．You can find a map of homeowners whose charging points are available. |
The Yinxu Museum opens in Anyang, Henan province, to display the brilliance of the 3,000-year-old Shang civilization.
Nearly 4,000 unearthed cultural relics are displayed in the museum. More than three quarters of these have never been
The Yinxu Ruins,
Many key breakthroughs
These discoveries further displayed a grand picture of a capital city
10 . 4 Really Strange Beaches
Sandy stretches of gray, brown or even white are the world’s norm. Even rocky beaches or those with sheer cliffs barring passage for everyone save the bravest adventurers are not rare. These unique beaches are some of the best treats nature has to offer.
Papakolea Beach, Hawaii, USA
Papakōlea Beach is a green sand beach located near South Point, in the Ka’ū district of the island of Hawai ’i. One of only two green sand beaches in the World, the other being in Galapagos Islands.
Papakōlea Beach is associated with the southwest rift (裂谷) of Mauna Loa. Since its last eruption, the cinder cone has partially collapsed and been partially swallowed by the ocean.
San Alfonso del Mar Beach, Chile
This beach is located between the largest artificial pool. San Alfonso del Mar Beach is an essential part of the luxurious resort of the same name.
It seems a strange spot for the world’s largest swimming pool. But the pool’s remarkable spaciousness (宽敞) complements the ocean beyond rather effortlessly, and jumping in the pool’s 79℉(26℃) water is a much more attractive prospect than venturing into the 63℉(17℃) seawater nearby.
Maho Beach, Sint Maarten
Maho Beach is a beach on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, in the country of Sint Maarten. It is famous for the Princess Juliana International Airport next to the beach.
Arriving aircraft must touch down as close as possible to the beginning of Runway 10 due to the short runway length of 380 metres, resulting in aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at minimal altitude.
Ocean Dome, Japan
This is an artificial beach constructed in the Seagaia re son along the coastal highway outside the city of Myazaki in Japan it has a fully controlled indoor climate throughout the year.
The Ocean Dome, which was a popular part of the Sheraton Seagaia Resort, measures 300 meters in length and 100 meters in width.
1. What has Papakōlea Beach experienced in Hawaii?| A．One mineral. | B．One connection. |
| C．One fierce rift. | D．One severe outbreak. |
| A．Jumping into the pool’s water |
| B．Learning to jump water in the pool |
| C．Building a spacious swimming pool |
| D．Taking a risk of swimming in the pool |
| A．They lie beside good places built. | B．They both lie on an island. |
| C．They are both artificial beaches. | D．They are both well-known. |
