1 . Learning to say “yes, and”
When I first heard about the improvisation (即兴交流) class, I was hesitating. As a quiet and shy girl, I feared improvising in front of strangers. However, I knew I wanted to work as a science communicator after finishing my Ph.D., so it seemed like a perfect chance to learn how to speak and communicate with others effectively. I signed up, knowing the experience would give me help.
During our first class, we learned an important concept of improvisation: “yes, and.” It means that, as improvisers, we’d better accept what fellow performers say. If someone says that rhinos (犀牛) are librarians, for example, then rhinos are librarians. We do not question the logic; we say “yes” and then continue with the scene as if nothing is wrong.
The first few scenes were hard, but as weeks turned into months, I became more comfortable and even started to enjoy our classes. I became better at listening, relating to my conversation partners, and communicating clearly in the moment. Once when I was giving a presentation about my science, an audience member surprised me with a question that didn’t grow out of the information I’d presented. Instead of getting confused and nervous, I took the “yes, and” approach—accepting the question and letting my mind focus on why it was asked. That helped me find an appropriate answer. I got pretty excited about it.
The benefits of improvisation go beyond communication. Before attending the class, I would get stuck when my experiments produced unexpected data, thinking that I had made a mistake. But now, instead of getting discouraged, I will stay open to the possibility that the results are real, keep exploring the data and end up identifying a new type of cell—one that isn’t behaving as expected.
I think all scientists can benefit from this lesson. If the data say rhinos are librarians, then it’s worth finding out whether rhinos are, in fact, librarians. As scientists, our job isn’t to challenge data that support, a preconceived story, but to say “yes, and.”
1. Why did the author attend the improvisation class?| A．To get a different experience. |
| B．To finish her Ph.D. at university. |
| C．To give up her job as a science communicator. |
| D．To improve her speaking and communicating ability. |
| A．She formed her own idea quickly. |
| B．She came up with lots of creative responses. |
| C．She paid more attention to the logic of answers. |
| D．She became a good listener before giving an opinion. |
| A．explain the process of using the method |
| B．prove the benefits of the improvisation class |
| C．share her own research experiences with readers |
| D．attract fellow scientists to attend the improvisation class |
| A．They should attend the improvisation class. |
| B．They should question all preconceived ideas. |
| C．They should carry on research by admitting earlier data. |
| D．They should try to improve their academic knowledge. |
2 . ByteDance（字节跳动）Group’s TikTok, an overseas version of Chinese short video sharing app Douyin, faces an existential crisis in the United States, as murmurs of a “crackdown”（强制取缔）from the White House forced the Chinese company to engage in talks on selling its US business to Microsoft.
TikTok is the fastest-growing registered global mobile internet app, with more than 100 million users, and its rapid growth, especially in the US, is seen as a threat to Facebook. The US government has long viewed globally competitive Chinese high-tech companies including Huawei as a threat and done whatever it could to crack down on（打击）them in the name of “national security”.
The US government has not introduced any specific policy against TikTok, only threatened it through a number of unclear statements.
According to the latest media reports, Microsoft is prepared to press ahead with the negotiations to take over TikTok’s US operations and complete the negotiations by Sept 15, following talks between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and US President Donald Trump.
This means that TikTok will have to hand its fate over to some unpredictable power, and even have to sell its assets without the option of setting a price.
The US government has failed to find a reasonable legal excuse to deal with TikTok. All private data of TikTok’s US users are stored in the US and are unlikely to be transferred. Considering the US government is trying to deal with TikTok in a political way, TikTok should consider incorporating（合并）the dispute into the US legal process to assert（坚持）its legal rights and interests.
TiKTok’s core value lies in its unique algorithms, a product of artificial intelligence that represents the expertise of Chinese engineers and programmers with high-value intellectual property.
The US government’s move, which has forced ByteDance to sell TikTok to a US company, is similar to a forced technology transfer and an example of the US’ open seizure of Chinese intellectual property.
If ByteDance sells TikTok to a US company for “security reasons", that would set a dangerous precedent, motivating other countries where TikTok operates to follow the US administration's example and cause a chain reaction.
ByteDance is a young Chinese private company that cannot deal with a political game played by the US. But as a Chinese company that has gone global, ByteDance has reasons to take up legal means to defend its legal rights. The Chinese government can also consider examining whether the technology transfer in the deal violates China’s law and harms the country’s national interests.
1. What is the most valuable as for TikTok?| A．Its global popularity. |
| B．Its artificial intelligence. |
| C．Its registered global mobile internet app. |
| D．Its private data of TikTok’s worldwide users. |
| A．Out of so-called political reasons. | B．Out of so-called debt reasons. |
| C．Out of so-called technical reasons. | D．Out of so-called security reasons. |
| A．An untrue spoken statement about someone. |
| B．The use of legal authority to take sth from sb. |
| C．The crime of stealing sth from a person or place. |
| D．The act of trying to hurt somebody using physical violence. |
| A．TikTok must defend its rights legally |
| B．TikTok is seen as a threat to Facebook |
| C．ByteDance has to sell TikTok to a US company |
| D．ByteDance agrees to transfer technology |
3 . Toni Morrison was an American writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her novels, Beloved, Song of Solomon and others explored the way African-Americans search for freedom and identity in a country obsessed (受困扰的) with skin colour. Morrison was nearly 40 when she published her first novel The Bluest Eye in 1970. The Nobel Prize committee described her writing as “language itself, a language she wants to liberate from race”. Her novels discussed America’s past, focusing on black history and the effects of slavery and racism. She called her characters “the unfree at the heart of the democratic experiment”.
In 1988, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, the story of a mother who kills her baby daughter rather than permit her to return to slavery. It became a best-seller and was later made into a film. Many Americans admired her as the country’s greatest writer, including former President Barack Obama.
She was born in 1931. She attended Howard University, an all-black university in Washington, DC. At Howard, she read African, British and American literature, including writers William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. After a short marriage, she became a single mother of two sons and worked as a book editor in New York.
Several publishers rejected her first book The Bluest Eye, but it impressed The New York Times’ book critic John Leonard, who believed Morrison was an important new voice. He said her writing was “so full of pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry”.
Morrison enjoyed her literary fame and was proud of her Nobel Prize.
1. What are Toni Morrison’s books mainly about?| A．Women’s equality and rights. | B．The development of America. |
| C．The literature of America. | D．Black history and racism. |
| A．Beloved. | B．Song of Solomon. |
| C．The Bluest Eye. | D．The New York Times. |
| A．To show Barack Obama’s support in literature. |
| B．To prove Toni Morrison’s greatness as a writer. |
| C．To stress Toni Morrison’s contribution to America. |
| D．To remind readers of the skin colour of Barack Obama. |
| A．He thought highly of Morrison. |
| B．He rejected the book The Bluest Eye. |
| C．The book The Bluest Eye made him painful. |
| D．Toni Morrison’s book was hard to understand. |
4 . My family and I belonged to a country club located across the street from the Long Island Sound. Each summer, the big attraction for us was the pool. I learned how to swim and joined the swimming team but was never really a good swimmer. However, swimming in my younger days was a way to keep cool, and swimming on a team gave me identity and a sense of belonging. It also became invaluable many years later.
Fast-forward (快进) to 1973 – I was married, pregnant and had a home. What made our little home even more wonderful was when I discovered that four blocks away was Rath Park Pool! For the next 30 years, most of our summer days were spent around that pool.
Each of my five kids took swimming lessons and learned all the different swimming strokes (姿势). They later joined the swim team and competed in meets. My daughter even became a lifeguard at the town pool. I sat back and happily took it all in!
As much as I would have liked to have life stand still, it doesn’t. My children outgrew their pool days and moved on. But the pool was still four blocks from my home, so I began to take up swimming again. And it was far better than I ever could have imagined. I got so much out of it that I joined the local pool so I could swim year-round. Whenever I swam, I would always come out feeling physically and mentally refreshed. I often felt that if I looked hard enough, I would be able to see all of the worries and problems I’ve had in life, sitting at the bottom of the pool!
What has swimming taught me? I’ve learned that balance is the key to being a good swimmer. If you are balanced in the water, you have no resistance. Working on staying balanced made me realize the similarities between life in and out of the swim lane (泳道). If you work on keeping yourself balanced, you will be able to swim right through the stress and problems life throws at you!
1. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．Her family taught her how to swim. |
| B．She swam with friends more often in summer. |
| C．Swimming brought her lifelong benefits. |
| D．She was elected to be the swim team captain. |
| A．The author loved the pool days with her kids. |
| B．Swimming was losing its appeal to the author. |
| C．Her kids’ winning competitions made her proud. |
| D．The author preferred to have a peaceful life. |
| A．Sports can give you the courage to face difficulties. |
| B．She mastered more swimming skills than expected. |
| C．It enabled her to see how to handle problems in life. |
| D．Swimming made her remember her younger days. |
| A．The wonderful pool days with the author’s family. |
| B．The influence of swimming on the author’s life. |
| C．The physical and mental benefits of swimming. |
| D．The similarities between swimming and life. |
5 . Seni Felie has already lived through a crisis. He came to America in 1994 as a refugee (难民) from the war in the Socialist Federal Republie of Yugoslavia. He was 29 years old at the time and alone.
These days, he owns a restaurant in San Francisco called Bistro SF Grill, and he is feeling optimistic despite the crisis. “We’re going to pool our resources and people will pull together, and it will have a strong effect on solving any problems,” he told Reader’s Digest.
With that attitude in mind, he posted this on Nextdoor: “We are inviting all to stop by Bistro SF Grill at 1305 Castro St. to grab a lunch or dinner prepackaged box beginning Tuesday, March 17, beginning at noon and every day after. Price is only $5.50 and it covers our expenses,” he wrote.
Bistro SF Grill will be offering three different meals: chicken, rice, and vegetables; fish, rice, and vegetables; and vegan mushroom paella. All are gluten-free (无谷蛋白). The menu will change weekly.
“A lot of seniors, families, and people who don’t know how to cook are in need of fresh, high-quality food daily,” Felic said. “I’ve seen much worse than this—groups of people with guns, and people killed. I was hungry for three years. Under these conditions, food is necessary. Our idea was: Let’s try to help. We’d like to give for free but we can’t afford it.”
The restaurant started GoFundMe (请资助我) page to further lower the cost of the meals. So far, neighbors have pitched in almost $2,000.
He believes that working together and helping others will be the key to helping us—all of us—get through this. “This problem will be contained, and I just feel optimistic,” he added. “When people come together, I think we can overcome almost anything.”
1. Why did Seni Felic post a message on Nextdoor?| A．To provide free food. | B．To sell a cheap lunch. |
| C．To make more money. | D．To earn a good name. |
| A．used to suffer from hunger | B．didn’t know how to cook |
| C．was offered food for free | D．faced the threat of death |
| A．Dealt with. | B．Focused on. |
| C．Accounted for. | D．Contributed to. |
| A．Equality for all. | B．Greeting with each other. |
| C．Spirit of cooperation. | D．Being confident. |
6 . Most kids can walk into a library or bookstore and find hundreds of books to read. But it’s not that simple for kids who are blind. They read in a different way. Jenny Lee and other braille (盲文) transcribers take the printed words of a book and change them into a code of raised dots. Blind people can read these dots with their fingers. To know what braille feels like, take a ballpoint pen and press hard onto a piece of paper. Now turn the paper over and touch the raised dot made by the pen point.
When Lee first saw the dots of the braille alphabet, she wondered if she’d ever be able to read and write them easily. She took a class and practised hard for about six months before she passed the final exam: she had to convert 35 pages of a book into braille. Today, Lee works for a publisher. One of her jobs is to change children’s books into braille.
To do this, Lee first types the story into a computer and then uses a computer program to translate it into the braille code. Next, she looks over the translation several times to make sure it’s mistake-free. After that, a copy of the braille story is printed with a special printer. Then Lee and a proofreader work together to find and correct any mistakes. When a book is ready, many copies of it are printed. Afterwards, some are sold through websites and others are sent to libraries.
Sometimes, going over a story again and again gets tiring. That’s when Lee takes a break. Several of Jenny Lee’s co-workers, who are blind, use guide dogs. When the animals aren’t working, Lee likes spending a few minutes with them. To her, playing with dogs “is always a pick-me-up in the middle of the day”.
“I love this mission,” Lee says. “Through my brain power and my fingers, I am putting the dots into some kid’s hands.”
1. How does the writer explain what braille feels like?| A．By explaining what braille words look like. |
| B．By describing how blind people read books. |
| C．By asking readers to experience it themselves. |
| D．By giving examples of different braille words. |
| A．She was excited to get a new skill. |
| B．She was amazed at the clever idea. |
| C．She realized she could teach it herself. |
| D．She believed it would be difficult to learn. |
| A．A discussion to release work stress. |
| B．Something to improve one’s appetite. |
| C．Something to help restore one’s spirit. |
| D．A free ride accompanied with a guide dog. |
| A．Profitable and hopeful. | B．Tiring but meaningful. |
| C．Relaxing and helpful. | D．Boring but challenging. |
7 . The term "bird brain" is frequently used to describe a person's lack of intelligence and good decision-making ability. However, some scientists believe it should be considered a praise, given that many birds can perform human tasks like producing and using tools, solving problems, and planning for future needs. Now, Griffin, an African Grey parrot, has proved that birds may even possess better visual memories than human adults and children.
The study, led by Hrag Pailian, a researcher at Harvard University, had the parrot compete in the game against twenty-one undergraduate students and twenty-one 6 to 8-year-old children. The popular challenge involves hiding a small object under one of three or more upside-down cups, which are moved around. Participants are required to accurately identify the cup under which the object lies. To make the task more challenging, the researchers required participants to track two, three, and four objects at the same time.
An analysis of the results showed that Griffin outperformed the 6 to 8-year-olds across all levels on average. Even more impressive, the "bird brain" performed as well as, or slightly better than, the 21 Harvard students on 12 of the 14 trials! It was only in the final two tests, which had the most objects and most movement, that the parrot fell behind the adults. However, Griffin's performance was never below that of the children.
Griffin was the candidate of choice because the scientists needed an animal that had a brain functionality similar to that of humans. "The fact that the smart parrot loves to show off his brain power in exchange for a few cashews (腰果) did not hurt either", said Irene Pepperberg, a Harvard lecturer, who has trained Griffin and several other African Grey parrots, has been studying the species for over four decades and is considered a pioneer in the study of bird intelligence.
1. What were the participants required to do in the study?| A．Identify different kinds of objects. | B．Tell where the hidden object lies. |
| C．Track other participants' performance. | D．Move around upside-down cups. |
| A．6 to 8-year-olds did better than Griffin. |
| B．Parrots have a better memory than other birds. |
| C．Harvard students have a better visual memory. |
| D．Griffin outsmarted Harvard students in some trials. |
| A．It was good at making decisions. |
| B．It was specially trained for experiments. |
| C．It had similar brain functions to human beings. |
| D．It loved to show off his language power for some treats. |
| A．"Bird brain" becomes a term for a stupid person. |
| B．Harvard lecturer pioneers in bird intelligence study. |
| C．Parrot outsmarted Harvard students in visual memory test. |
| D．Researchers made new discoveries about human intelligence. |
This is one of the most popular women’s leagues, so sign your team up now for five weeks of netball.
Price: Dhs 2,250 per team.
Time: Sun. and Mon., 7 pm-10:30 pm, June 8 to July 13.
Place: Emirates International School, Umm Suqeim 3.
www. duplays. com (04 447 2394)
Bounce’s first anniversary
The first national indoor trampoline (蹦床) park is celebrating its first anniversary with an After Dark Party. Fans of Bounce can come together on the trampolines and jump to party tunes from DJ Scott Forshaw.
Limited tickets available.
Price: Dhs 80.
Time: On Thursday June 4, 8 pm-midnight.
Place: Bounce, 4B Street, Al Quoz.
www. bounce. ae (04 3211 400)
Jump Boxx Beatz
Enjoy new Thursday night jump sessions at Jump Boxx indoor trampoline park. DJs will spin your favorite tracks as you bounce. Tickets are abundant on the spot.
Price: Dhs 69 per hour, plus Dhs 11 for grip (防滑力) socks.
Time: Thur. 7 pm-11 pm, July 8 to August 8.
Place：Uptown Mirdif.
www.jump-boxx.com (800 5867)
Fit Republik’s summer sports camp for kids
Sign your kids up now for a summer of sport at Fit Republik. The camp takes place from Sunday July 5 to Thursday August 27 and will offer children aged 4 to 14 a variety of daily activities including martial (军事的) arts, gymnastics, aquatics (水上的) sports and functional training. Call to register your child in advance.
Price: Dhs 270 per child, per day, Dhs 950 for five days. Prices include lunch.
Time: Sun.-Thur. 8:45 am-2:15pm, July 5 to August 27.
Place: Dubai Sports City.
www.fitrepublik.com (04 556 1800)
1. What makes the second and third events similar to each other?| A．They are both celebrations. |
| B．They are both intended for kids. |
| C．Music is to be played at the parties. |
| D．They both open at exactly the same time. |
| A．Duplays Ramadan netball league. |
| B．Bounce’s first anniversary. |
| C．Fit Republik’s summer sports camp for kids. |
| D．Jump Boxx Beatz. |
| A．You have to pay to take part in the events. |
| B．Teamwork is a must in all the events. |
| C．Students of all ages can register for Fit Republik. |
| D．Tickets for the four events are to be booked ahead of time. |
9 . Membership Card
Fighting Fit is a members-only club. When you first join, we give you a computerized card. It has your name, photo and membership number on.
Please have your card with you every time you use the club. The card is for your use only, and there is a small charge to provide a new one if you lose it. Members are permitted to bring guests to use the facilities at the club. A visiting guest fee is charged for each guest.
Fitness Programs
Your Fitness Program includes a meeting with one of our skilled instructors. This will happen two or three weeks after you have joined. The instructor looks at your health, your current needs and the way you live, and organizes a program suitable for you.
Gymnasium
Our gymnasiums are the most modem in the area and have high quality exercise equipment. For safety reasons, you must wear sportswear and trainers while exercising, and please remember to take a small towel too. It is one of our rules that you wipe the equipment after use.
There is no limit to how long you spend in the gymnasiums, but we ask you to respect other members by only spending 20 minutes on each piece of equipment. There are experienced staff helping you in the gymnasiums at any time.
Locker Rooms
We have large male and female locker rooms. Please ensure that your property is kept in your locker at all times. Any belongings which are found in a locker overnight will be removed and taken to Lost Property.
Cafe
The Cafe offers free tea, coffee and soft drinks.
Suggestion Box
Members' suggestions are always welcome, and the suggestion box and forms can be found at reception. We try to respond within two days.
1. What does the Fighting Fit Health Club provide for its members?| A．A personalized program on their first visit. | B．A second membership card for free. |
| C．Help from the staff all the time. | D．Certain kinds of clothes and towels. |
| A．share your membership card |
| B．have free drinks in the Cafe |
| C．leave personal items in the locker for 24 hours |
| D．spend as long as you like on all equipment |
| A．A news report. | B．A notice board. |
| C．A guide book. | D．A reference book. |
10 . Older adults with a better sense of smell may live longer than those who have a poor sense of smell, a new study suggests. The study was a project of researchers in the United States that was ongoing for over 13 years. They asked nearly 2,300 men and women to identify 12 common smells. All the subjects were from 71 to 82 years of age. The researchers gave the adults scores, from 0 to as high as 12, based on how many smells they identified correctly.
During the years of follow-up investigation, over 1,200 of the subjects died. When the study was launched, none of the adults were weak. They could walk a little under half a kilometer, climb 10 steps and independently complete daily activities. In the latest findings, the researchers noted that those with a weak nose were 30 percent more likely to die than people with a good sense of smell. The findings were reported last month in the scientific publication Annals of Internal Medicine.
Honglei Chen, a doctor with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was the lead writer of a report on the study. He said the connection between a poor sense of smell and an increased risk of dying was limited to adults who first reported good-to-excellent health. This suggests that a poor sense of smell is an early and sensitive sign for worsening health before it is recognizable in medical tests. With a poor sense of smell, people are more likely to die of brain and heart diseases, but not of cancer or breathing disorders.
The results also suggest that a poor sense of smell may be an early warning for poor health in older age that goes beyond dementia or other neurodegenerative(神经变性的) diseases. These often signal the beginning of a weakening of the mind or body.
1. What do you know about the study mentioned?| A．The study involved researchers from the world. |
| B．All the participants were of different ages. |
| C．The study began to be performed about 13 years ago. |
| D．2 ,300 men and women were young and healthy. |
| A．More than 1,200 of the participants passed away. |
| B．Many of the subjects were found with health problems. |
| C．All the subjects were independent of others when walking. |
| D．One third of the participants had a poor smell sense. |
| A．People with a poor sense of smell have heart disease. |
| B．You should be careful with your health if you smell poorly. |
| C．People with a poor sense of smell won't suffer from cancer. |
| D．Most of the elder people may have the dementia disease. |
| A．Strong Sense of Smell May Be Linked to Longer Life |
| B．Old People Tend to Have a Poor Sense of Smell |
| C．A Number of Factors Result in Longer Life |
| D．Being Ill Means Losing the Sense of Smell |
