1 . Ever been hungry enough to eat a house? Now, you actually could.
Food waste is a big problem in Japan and globally. Japan produced around 5.7 million tons of food waste in 2019. The government plans to reduce that by around 2.7 million tons by 2030. Tokyo University researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a way to transform food waste into cement(水泥) for construction use and more. This is the first-ever process created for making cement entirely from food waste. The researchers say their product is four times as strong as traditional concrete. This particular cement can be used to make things like tea cups or chairs as well. However, there’s one additional feature — it’s also edible(可食的).
Kota and Yuya are the intelligence behind the formation of Fabula Inc., a company with purposes of reducing food waste, and helping fight global warming.
As expected, something this unique took years to develop. It took a few attempts to find just the right process. Kota and Yuya created the unique technology while researching possible environmentally-friendly materials to replace cement-based concrete. Cement production accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.
After a few failures, they realized they could get the cement to bind(黏合) by adjusting the temperatures. “The most challenging part was that each type of food waste requires different temperatures,” Yuya said. So the researchers had to observe them and respond in time. In the experiments, Kota and Yuya have successfully made cement using tea leaves, coffee grounds, cabbage and even lunchbox leftovers.
Fabula Inc. is currently working to make tea cups and furniture, but Yuya is thinking a little bit bigger. Their product could provide relief in the form of edible emergency shelters in disaster ones. “For example, if food cannot be delivered to the people, they could eat makeshift beds made out of food cement,” he said. To eat the material, a person needs to break it apart and boil it.
1. Which is one of Kota and Yuya’s purposes in making use of food waste?| A．To handle climate change. | B．To offer Fabula Inc. more cement. |
| C．To warn how serious food waste is. | D．To extend concrete’s service life. |
| A．Its damage to the environment. | B．Its cost of recycling the cement. |
| C．Its difficulties they would face. | D．Its popularity among the public. |
| A．Making sure to make cement tasty. | B．Selecting correct food waste timely. |
| C．Getting cement broken apart easily. | D．Regulating the temperatures constantly. |
| A．Bendable. | B．Strong. | C．Temporary. | D．Commercial. |
2 . In a tiny, lab-grown garden, the first seeds ever sown in lunar dirt have come up. This small crop, planted in samples (样本) returned by Apollo tasks, offers hope that astronauts could someday grow their own food on the moon.
But plants planted in lunar dirt grew more slowly and were thinner than others grown in volcanic(火山的) material from Earth, researchers report 12 May in Communications Biology. That finding suggests that farming on the moon would take a lot more than a gardening skills.
“Ah! It’s so cool!” says a botanist (植物学家) Richard Barker. “Ever since these samples came, back, there’s been botanists that wanted to know what would happen if you grew plants in them,” says Barker, who wasn’t involved in the study. “But everyone knows those precious samples are priceless, and so you can understand why NASA was unwilling to publish them.”
The team planted seeds in tiny pots that each held about a gram of dirt. Four pots were filled with samples returned by Apollo 11, another four with Apollo 12 samples and a final four with dirt from Apollo 17. Another 16 pots were filled with earthly volcanic material used in past experiments to copy moon dirt. All were grown under LED lights in the lab and watered with nutrients.
“Nothing really compared to when we first saw the seedlings as they were coming up in the lunar dirt,” says Anna-Lisa Paul, a plant biologist. “That was a moving experience. We could not speak when we watched the very first plants growing in unique materials.”
Plants grew in all the pots of lunar dirt, but none grew as well as those planted in earthly material. “The healthiest ones were just smaller,” Paul says. The moon-grown plants were tiny. Faced with that, explorers need to do more research to let plants grow strongly on the moon. I believe we will succeed in time.
1. What does the research on plants grown in the lunar dirt show?| A．Growing foods on the moon is necessary. |
| B．Skills are the key to farming on the moon. |
| C．Farming’ on the moon needs many factors. |
| D．Astronauts want to grow food on their own. |
| A．Some plants need planting in special soils. |
| B．Botanists are interested in studying new things. |
| C．It is a selfish action for NASA to keep the secret. |
| D．The samples brought from the moon are valuable. |
| A．It is practical. | B．It is hopeful. |
| C．It only attracts astronauts. | D．It challenges most experts. |
| A．The First Plant Has Been Grown in Moon Dirt |
| B．Astronauts Have Brought Things Worth Spreading |
| C．Botanists Have Found a New Kind of Plant Lately |
| D．Farming on the Moon Has Been Accepted by People |
3 . Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal. The woman, 85-year-old Janet Fein, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in December, 2018.
Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement.
“I didn’t have anything to do in retirement and I didn’t think that playing bingo was up to my speed,” Fein told the Associated Press. She said she decided to major in sociology because she felt it was “substantial”.
Fein grew up in New York City. She said that in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary at a dress manufacturer.
After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including 20 years as a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from. She also worked for 20 years on earning an associate degree, which she received in 1995. But Fein told the AP she also wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree “with all of my heart”.
Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas. Estimates show that nationwide, people 65 and older make up less than one percent of U. S. college students.
1. When did Janet Fein retire?| A．In 2008. | B．In 2010. | C．In 2015. | D．In 2020. |
| A．Fein still works as a secretary currently. | B．Fein always lives a full and busy life. |
| C．The old woman is crazy about playing bingo. | D．Fein wanted to live an easy life after retirement. |
a. She earned an associate degree.
b. She retired from a Dallas hospital.
c. She worked at a dress manufacturer.
d. She received her bachelor’s degree.
| A．a→b→c→d | B．a→d→c→b | C．c→a→b→d | D．c→b→a→d |
| A．Different Ways of Realizing Goals |
| B．The Retirement Life of the Old Is Colorful. |
| C．The Process of Receiving a Bachelor’s Degree. |
| D．Woman Reaches Lifelong Goal of College Degree |
4 . African countries have retrieved some historic relics(遗物), which reflects the important development of human society, from European countries. Recently, Germany signed a deal for the return of hundreds of valuable artworks from the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, in what is today Benin.
But many artifacts(手工艺品) are still unluckily missing and some are on their way back. One is an eight-legged seat from the old kingdom in Uganda. The important artifact now sits at a museum thousands of kilometers away in Britain. The wooden seat is housed at the University of Oxford. It is one of at least 279 relics there taken from the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom.
Apollo John Rwamparo is a leader of Uganda. He really values the country’s cultural relics. He requested the British to return the artifacts. Ugandan leaders are preparing to meet with the University of Cambridge in Britain about the return of such historical artifacts. The school has an unknown number of artifacts from Africa. Through many efforts,an artifact was returned to its home.
The British Museum holds a large collection of artifacts from Africa. Rose Mwanja said she had been trying hard on it and believed it could have some good effects. She is a director of Uganda’s museums. She added she could start with those that are more willing to cooperate.
Many of the artifacts from Africa cannot even be found. That led to an organization started by late Congolese art collector Sindika Dokolo. The organization offers to buy African art from collections in foreign countries, By 2020, when Dokolo died, his group had successfully recovered 15 items. However, for African governments, the recovery of artifacts remains a struggle and will take much time.
1. What does the underlined word “retrieved” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Thrown. | B．Taken back. | C．Given up. | D．Organised. |
| A．In Benin. | B．In Uganda. | C．In Britain. | D．In Germany. |
| A．Curious. | B．Confused. | C．Uncaring. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Frightening. | B．Doubtful. | C．Effortless. | D．Challenging. |
5 . Each time Chinese New Year is approaching, preparations are underway around the world. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to celebrate Chinese New Year.
London
Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London’s Chinatown is a perfectly formed firework that knows how to welcome the new year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns, previous years have seen shows with acrobatics (杂技), martial arts (武术), dances and operas nearby.
San Francisco
San Francisco’s Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the USA. The city was the main entry point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between Grant Avenue and Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Bangkok
With an about 100-year-old history, the Thai capital’s Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty food, clothes and toys. Sunday Market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.
Port Louis
Founded in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation’s rich cultural diversity. Built in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the dragon dances on the Rue Royale where Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional dragon dances through the streets.
Melbourne
The Chinatown in Melbourne, Australia was formed with the Victorian “gold rush” in the mid-19th century. According to Reuters, Melbourne Chinatown is not only the oldest Chinatown in Australia, but also the longest in all cities in the Western world. Many architectural relics of that time are still preserved, making this street a corridor of traditional Chinese architecture.
1. Which of the following has the longest history?| A．London’s Chinatown. | B．San Francisco’s Chinatown. |
| C．Port Louis’s Chinatown. | D．Bangkok’s Chinatown. |
| A．It is crowded with Chinese restaurants. | B．It is the major entrance for the Chinese. |
| C．It is well-known for its gold business. | D．You can enjoy fireworks there. |
| A．The Rue Royale in Port Louis. | B．The Sunday Market in Bangkok. |
| C．Grant Avenue in San Francisco. | D．The Chinese community in London. |
| A．London | B．Bangkok | C．Port Louis | D．Melbourne |
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)
8 . Welcome to Our Festival
Story Show in Oheron
Adults
8:00 pm-10:00 pm
Join us for an evening of true, personal stories about science. Come to the only show where you can hear people—scientists, not-scientists, and half-scientists—tell funny and touching stories about the role of science in their lives.
Cost: $10
Make Your Own iPhone Case through Toysinbox 3D Printing
Families & Teens & Adults
10:00 am-12:30 pm
In this workshop, you will learn to design and make your own iPhone case by 3D printing. First, you will learn how to use a 3D printer. Next, you will design a 3D model for your iPhone case that will have a lovely pattern and your name. Once you create the model, you will print it out on our 3D printers. A 3D-printing worker will guide you through this process step by step. Come and enjoy this fun and unique learning experience!
Cost: $35
DIY Underwater Vehicle Design in MIT Museum
Teens
2:00 pm-5:00 pm
Dive into the world of ocean engineering by designing and building an underwater vehicle! Test your vehicle in large tanks on the Museum’s floor. Show off your engineering creations and share your design process with Museum visitors.
Cost: $15, Ages 12
Animal Kingdom for Young Ones in Museum of Science, Boston
Families
9:30 am-2:00 pm
Join us for a day of hands-on science fun designed especially for pre-schoolers!
Activities include the Museum’s popular “Live Animal Story Time” shows and a talk about baby animals and book-signing by children’s book authors. Take part in special live animal visits and activities in the exhibition halls, as well as design challenges and lab activities—all created with your young scientist in mind!
Cost: free, from Ages Pre-kindergarten to Ages 8
1. What can people do in Story Show?| A．Do role-play games. |
| B．Put on science shows. |
| C．Hear touching stories. |
| D．Meet authors of the books. |
| A．Story Show |
| B．DIY Underwater Vehicle Design |
| C．Make Your Own iPhone Case |
| D．Animal Kingdom for Young Ones |
| A．adults |
| B．children of all ages |
| C．kids under 8 years old |
| D．children aged twelve and older |
A Rubbish Collector's Work Is Never Done
Brian Kane was a rubbish collector in Denver, Colorado. Eight hours a day, five days a week, fifty weeks a year, he rode on the back of a garbage truck. At each stop, he would jog to the back of buildings, then drag heavy rubbish cans to the truck. Brian never complained.
Brian saw these hardships as opportunities to become strong and fit. His job was a training ground for his lifelong dream: to climb Mount Qomolangma. On his thirtieth birthday, Brian took a leave from his job and flew to Nepal to begin the long, difficult journey up Mount Qomolangma.
Brian first climbed to a base camp. He planned to bring three oxygen containers with him to the top. At 29, 028 feet, it would be hard to survive without extra oxygen. Over the next two months, Brian climbed to 26, 000 feet, to Camp Four—the last place to rest below the top of the mountain. But when Brian saw this camp, he fell to his knees. “Rubbish!” he cried. Nearly a thousand empty oxygen containers littered the camp area. Humans had turned this beautiful, far-away place into a big rubbish pile. Brian was very sad. But with a strong determination he continued to follow his dream. Two days later he stood proudly on the top of Mount Qomolangma. He had reached the “roof of the world!”
Two days after this great achievement, Brian put a dozen empty oxygen containers in his pack and headed down the mountain He smiled to himself as he realized that the work of a rubbish collector is great and never done.
1. What was Brian Kane?(不多于三个单词)2. What was Brian's lifelong dream?(不多于四个单词)
3. How did Brian feel when he saw the rubbish pile at Camp Four?(不多于两个单词)
4. What do you think of Brian Kane?(一个单词)
10 . The Printing Press
What do you think is the most important invention in the last 1,000 years? It is the lightbulb or the Internet? Many people say that it is the printing press, a machine that allows us to print copies or books and documents. But why is the printing press so important?
Before the printing press, books were copied by hand. Ancient Roman book publisher sometimes sold as many as 5,000 copies of a book that had been copied by slaves. But copying a book took so much time and was so expensive that often only a few copies of each book were made. As a result, usually only a small percentage of the population learned to read and owned books.
In 1450, a goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg in Germany invented the modern printing press. The impact of his machine is sometimes compared to the invention of the Internet. Although ancient Chinese people invented paper in 105 AD and used woodblock printing before 200 AD, Gutenberg’s printing press was easy to use with languages that had alphabetic scripts. After 1450, thousands of copies of a popular book or newspaper could be made quickly and cheaply. Books and newspapers with ideas and images from all over the world went into the market for the wide public.
Knowledge is power. Reading has brought about amazing changes in science, technology and politics. We have learned how to create wealth and even travel to far-away worlds. The computer, cellphone, and Internet have grown, because billions of powerful readers were created by the printing press.
From 1450 on, more and more people have become readers. These billions of readers are powerful, and they help the world to make progress at a fast speed.
1. What is a printing press?| A．A book | B．A machine. | C．A material. | D．A newspaper. |
| A．few books to read | B．little time to read | C．no money for books | D．no interest in books |
| A．low cost | B．common use | C．great influence | D．rapid development |
| A．The progress. | B．The future. | C．The contribution. | D．The function. |
