1 . Dementia (痴呆), a serious mental disorder caused by brain disease or injury, affects the ability to think, remember and behave normally. 160,000 people have some forms of dementia in Sweden, Alzheimer’s disease being the most common. At the same time, many new diagnostic (诊断的) methods and early-intervention treatment have been developed in recent years, which highlights the need to identify more risk factors for the disease.
Previous studies have demonstrated a possible association between depression and dementia. A present study now clearly shows that people who have been diagnosed with depression are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike the previous ones, the study was conducted using Region Stockholm’s administrative healthcare database, which contains all healthcare contacts recorded by the region. It shows that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was more than twice as high in patients with stress and in patients with depression as it was in patients without either condition; in patients with both depression it was up to four times as high.
“The reason for it is unknown,” says the study’s last author Axel C. Carlsson. “The finding is important in that it enables us to improve preventative efforts and understand links with the other risk factors for dementia.”
The researchers focused on patients between the ages of 18 and 65 and between 2012 and 2013. They identified 44,447 people with a diagnosis of depression and followed them for eight years to see how many of them were later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A comparison with all other 1,362,548 individuals in the age group showed that more people with depression had also been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“It’s very uncommon for people in this age group to develop dementia, so we need to identify all possible risk factors for the disease,” says Dr Carlsson. “We show here that the diagnosis is more common in people who have suffered depression, but more studies will be required if we’re to demonstrate any reason there.”
1. What do the previous studies and the present one differ in?| A．The target. | B．The method. |
| C．The purpose. | D．The theory. |
| A．It clarifies the condition of dementia. |
| B．It makes clear the risks of depression. |
| C．It confirms the previous study finding. |
| D．It helps with the dementia prevention. |
| A．Its process. | B．Its background. |
| C．Its application. | D．Its assessment. |
| A．Why dementia spreads wide in Sweden. |
| B．What links exist among mental diseases. |
| C．How depression connects with dementia. |
| D．What other risk factors lead to dementia. |
2 . Some bridges are suspended at dizzy heights, others stretch for miles. Take a look at some of the world’s greatest bridges.
THE MOST TERRIFYING——Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
If you’re afraid of heights, you might not want to walk along the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in central China, which is the world’s longest and highest glass bridge. It is suspended 300 metres above the ground, and walkers can see the sheer (陡峭的) drop below as they walk over 99 glass panels. The terrifying structure was completed in December 2015and cost around £2.6 million to build. How safe is it? To test it, Chinese officials struck the bridge with hammers and drove a car over it.
THE TILTING (倾斜的) BRIDGE——Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge in the north-east of England is the world’s first tilting bridge. A tilting bridge is a moving bridge that uses motors to lift the arching structure——rather than opening in the middle and lifting up like a drawbridge——to allow ships to pass underneath. It has eight motors and can tilt at about 40° in four and a half minutes, making it a most extraordinary one throughout the world. Opened to the public in 2001, the bridge spans the River Tyne.
THE LONGEST BRIDGE——Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
At an enormous 102 miles, Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China is the world’s longest bridge. Its span is the same as the distance from Birmingham to London, and it took a workforce of 10,000 people four years to complete it. Around 450,000 tons of steel was used in its construction, and it is so stable that it can stand 8-magnitude earthquakes or being hit by a 300,000-ton ship. It can even cope with the power of a strong typhoon.
1. Why is Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge the most terrifying bridge?| A．It is made of glass. |
| B．It is the longest bridge. |
| C．It towers high in the sky. |
| D．It stands hammer-hitting. |
| A．It is the world’s first moving bridge. |
| B．It can open in the middle and lift up. |
| C．It costs tons of steel in the construction. |
| D．It uses 8 motors to tilt in a few minutes. |
| A．They took millions to complete. |
| B．They span an astonishing length. |
| C．They are the wonders of engineering. |
| D．They are the stablest bridges in the world. |
3 . In a Zulu village, Daphne gave birth to a baby, named Xolani Nkosi. The baby was tiny, no more than two kilos. As the months passed, Daphne realized the boy was ill. The doctor who examined the boy had said his illness might be a result of HIV infection.
Meanwhile, another South African woman, Gail Johnson, was living a different life. She and her husband were not wealthy, but were comfortably middle class. A visit to a friend’s brother, who was in the terminal (晚期的) stage of AIDS, made her determined to do something. By October, she had raised enough money to set up the Guest House, and took in a dozen dying of AIDS. Daphne sent her boy to the Guest House, where he became a star.
But in 1992 the Guest House had to be closed for lack of money. Gail offered to adopt Nkosi. By his 4th birthday, Nkosi was eating better, gaining some weight. In 1997, Gail sent Nkosi to school. In 3 years at school Nkosi had only one accident. He fell in the playground and cut his mouth. The bleeding was handled with care. His school performance was satisfactory.
Nkosi’s progress was tracked in the media. Gail took advantage of the coverage to raise money and found a house in Johannesburg for some women and their kids. She called it Nkosi’s Haven. Nkosi and Gail became icons (偶像人物) in the international AIDS community. They were invited to the United States and spent a week there making appearances. Then in July 2000, the 13th International Conference on AIDS was scheduled to be held in Durban. Nkosi was introduced to a huge audience. He said, “Care for us and accept us. We are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. Don’t be afraid of us. We are all the same.” His tiny body was ravaged, but his big heart inspired a nation.
1. What drove Gail Johnson to found the Guest House?| A．Her middle class status. | B．Her visit to an AIDS sufferer. |
| C．Her ability to raise money. | D．Her determination to be wealthy. |
| A．He won the battle against AIDS in the end. |
| B．He made much progress in AIDS research. |
| C．He became a leader in the AIDS community. |
| D．He urged people to treat AIDS patients fairly. |
| A．Ruined. | B．Injured. | C．Controlled. | D．Protected. |
| A．Clever and humorous. | B．Curious and inspiring. |
| C．Strong-willed and demanding. | D．Warm-hearted and considerate. |
4 . What are the best foreign films coming out in May? Here are four of the best new films to watch.
Hypnotic
Nothing is what it seems in Hypnotic, a mind-bending plot thriller from Robert Rodriguez. Ben Affleck stars as a police detective who is disturbed by the disappearance of his daughter. He is investigating a series of bank robberies (抢劫) when a mystery woman tells him about “hypnotics”: people who have the power to make others believe and do anything they want by saying a single sentence.
Released on 11 May in Australia, 12 May in the US &26 May in the UK
The Little Mermaid
Another month, another live-action-and-CGI remake of a classic Disney cartoon. But this one is more distinctive than most, because a black actress, Halle Bailey, is playing the title character, who was white in the 1989 cartoon. Besides, the film’s director argues that his version of The Little Mermaid is progressive in other ways, too. “She and Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, really teach the world about prejudice and about breaking down barriers and walls between these two worlds.” Also, there’s a singing crab (螃蟹).
On general release from 24 May
The Eight Mountains
All of the mountains in The Eight Mountains are unspoilt and breathtakingly beautiful. Some of them are in the Himalayas, but most are in the Italian alps, where Pietro, a city boy from Turin, befriends Bruno, the only child left in a remote rural village.
Released on 5 May in Japan, 12 May in the UK and Ireland, and 19 May in Spain and Finland
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
It’s been six years since Marvel’s second Guardians of the Galaxy film came out. Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax and their partners are finally back for more adventures and this time they’re up against the High Evolutionary.
On general release from 15 May
1. What do we know about the police detective in Hypnotic?| A．His daughter is missing. | B．His magic is unbelievable. |
| C．He is involved in a bank robbery. | D．He is cheated by a mystery woman. |
| A．It is a live-action film. | B．It stars a black actress. |
| C．It has a dancing crab in it. | D．It results in racial inequality. |
| A．Hypnotic. | B．The Little Mermaid. |
| C．The Eight Mountains. | D．Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. |
5 . Most e-bikes have rechargeable lithium-ion (锂离子) batteries, the same that power smartphones and laptops. All these batteries have the potential to fail when damaged,overcharged or operated in extreme temperature conditions. E-bike batteries, though, are much bigger — between 50 to 100 times more — than the ones in our personal electronics,and pose a greater risk.
On May 20, a folding bike in a South London apartment began smoking, then within seconds a big fire erupted. According to Dom Ellis, deputy commissioner for the LondonFire Brigade, the bike’s owner purchased it second-hand to commute (通勤) to work and bought an aftermarket battery from an unclear online marketplace.
Lithium-ion batteries are popular because they’re easily rechargeable. But if something fails, they can overheat, said Anna Stefanopoulou, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. This kicks off a bad cycle called thermal runaway. The melting battery materials fuel the flames, sending out more heat, and that heat also creates a flammable (易燃的) gas, she said. In other words, when a battery breaks down, the fire is self-sustaining (自我维持的) and hot.
Electric cars also contain lithium-ion batteries, but fires are less common compared with e-bikes. Cars have cooling systems and their batteries are more protected, she said. Any electric vehicle battery replacements would also likely take place through an authorized facility.
E-bikes, on the other hand, don’t have temperature regulators and their batteries are more exposed to the environment and possible impact, so minor manufacturing flaws (生产缺陷) can become problems, Stefanopoulou added. She said the cheaper batteries can suffer from flaws and low-quality control.
E-bike riders also tend to use their batteries more actively. A huge battery in an electric car can last more than 200 miles, and drivers top them off (加满) regularly. E-bike commuters are used to draining their batteries again and again throughout the week, which can add to the stress.
1. Why are e-bike batteries much more dangerous than the ones in personal electronics?| A．They are of much larger. |
| B．They are of different materials. |
| C．They are easily overcharged or damaged. |
| D．They are operated in extreme temperature conditions. |
| A．It was purchased from another user second-hand. |
| B．It was produced by an unqualified manufacturer. |
| C．It was already out of date when second-hand bought. |
| D．Its original battery was replaced with an aftermarket one. |
| A．Electric cars seldom use lithium-ion batteries. |
| B．Electric car batteries are not exposed to heat or fires. |
| C．Electric cars are equipped with battery-protection systems. |
| D．Electric cars are equipped with better lithium-ion batteries. |
| A．How to Protect E-bike Batteries |
| B．Why E-bike Batteries Break Down |
| C．Why E-bike Battery Fires Are Deadly |
| D．How to Prevent Fires from E-bike Batteries |
6 . I am sitting at the table in my favorite Boston bookstore-café, laptop open, writing. Ten minutes ago I ordered coffee. The server—a young, dark-haired woman with a broad smile and glasses—stopped and quietly said, “I just want to tell you how much your TED talk meant to me, you helped me find out what I really wanted to do with my life—go to medical school—and then you helped me do what I needed to do to get there. Thank you.”
Tears in my eyes, I asked, “What’s your name?”
“Fetaine,” she said. Then we talked for the next ten minutes about Fetaine’s challenges in the past and new-found excitement about her future.
Everyone who communicates with me is special and memorable, but this kind of communication happens far more often than I’d ever have expected: a stranger warmly greets me, shares a personal story about how they successfully dealt with difficulties, and then simply thanks me for my part in it. They are women and men, old and young, poor and wealthy. But something connects them: all have felt powerless in the face of great pressure and anxiety(焦虑), and all discovered a quite simple way to free themselves from that feeling of powerlessness.
For most writers, the book comes first, then the responses. For me, it was the other way around. First, I performed experiments that led to a talk I gave at the TEDGlobal conference in 2012. In that talk, I discussed some interesting findings about how we can quickly increase our confidence and decrease(减轻) our anxiety in challenging situations. I also shared my own troubles and how I learned to become more confident. Soon after the twenty-one-minute video of the talk was posted on the Internet, I began hearing from people who had seen it.
Of course, watching my talk didn’t magically give Fetaine the knowledge she needed to do well on Medical College Admission Test. But it may have helped her get out of the fear that could have prevented her from expressing the things she knew.
1. What happened in the Boston bookstore-café?| A．The writer waited ten minutes for her coffee. |
| B．The writer came across a friend of hers. |
| C．A waitress expressed her thanks to the writer. |
| D．A waitress encouraged the writer to give a TED talk. |
| A．They once faced problems and felt helpless. |
| B．They shared personal stories about strangers. |
| C．They were famous but under great pressure. |
| D．They were afraid to communicate with others. |
| A．How to increase confidence. | B．How to perform meaningful experiments. |
| C．How to overcome anxiety in a talk. | D．How to find interesting things in life. |
| A．She gave Fetaine power to look to the future. |
| B．She helped Fetaine with her knowledge. |
| C．She advised Fetaine to go to medical school. |
| D．She helped Fetaine to get a good job. |
7 .
Volunteer Teachers in Malawi Who ※Teachers or trainee (实习) teachers of any subject at any level, although we will also consider people of other jobs who have been educated to degree level. ※From 23 years old with at least one year’s teaching experience. Working Period Any period of stay is possible, although we encourage at least four weeks. Projects Kapanda Community Day Secondary School ※A 30-minute bicycle ride from Mwaya Beach; ※Four school years, including Forms 1 to 4; ※Typical ages are 14 to 19 years old; ※Each class has about 50 students with its own classroom;. ※All subjects are taught in English. Mwaya Primary School Primary schools in Mwaya are free and open to all. As secondary education is highly competitive and expensive, this is often the only education students in poor areas receive. ※A 10-minute walk from Mwaya Beach; ※About 1,200 pupils; ※Eight school years, including Standards 1 to 8; ※Typical ages are 5 to 15 years; ※Class sizes are from 100 to 150; ※Lessons are taught in English from Standard 5 upwards, which can be difficult for volunteers with students who are just learning to speak, write and understand English. Please note that volunteers are not there to take the jobs of Malawian teachers and give lessons, but they are there to help the local teachers and students. How to Apply Please go to www.volunteerteachers.com, and complete the online form if you are interested in becoming a volunteer teacher. |
| A．An English Education degree. | B．One year’s volunteer experience. |
| C．Staying for over four weeks. | D．Being at least 23 years old. |
| A．It is far away from Mwaya Beach. | B．It doesn’t offer English classes. |
| C．It doesn’t have big classes. | D．Its education is easy for the poor to get. |
| A．Give lessons to local students. | B．Act as helpers to local teachers. |
| C．Help with the teacher training. | D．Take the job of local teachers. |
8 . We love our dogs and always try to take good care of them, but there are some simple things that can be harmful to our pets.
Playing fetch with sticks
Most dogs love playing fetch with sticks. It may be fun to throw one for your dog when you don’t have a ball or rubber toy handy, but they can be extremely dangerous. Sticks can easily break.
Feeding cooked bones
Dogs love eating bones and human leftovers, but cooked bones should never be fed to dogs. They can break into small, sharp pieces. They have the potential to cause choking or cuts to the mouth, throat or gut.
If you choose to feed your dog bones, only feed raw bones and always under control.
Not all dogs can swim
Dog owners often take it for granted that all dogs can swim, but in fact some dogs may not be able to swim at all. Pugs, French bulldogs, dachshunds and similar are often poor swimmers.
| A．So keep your dog from playing fetch with sticks. |
| B．That’s because they have heavy bodies, short legs or short noses. |
| C．Swimming in a pool is just a piece of cake for these dogs. |
| D．Most dogs need to be taught how to swim. |
| E．They can even kill the pets while many pet owners aren’t aware of them. |
| F．Chat to your vet about the right type of bones for your dog. |
| G．And the pieces can cut the mouth or throat. |
9 . In a global report of lake color, researchers estimate that roughly one-third of Earth’s lakes are blue. But, should average summer air temperatures rise by a few degrees, some of those clear waters could turn a cloudy green or brown, the Learn reports in the Sept. 28 Geophysical Research Letters.
The changing colors could change how people use those waters and offer clues about the stability of lake ecosystems. Compared with blue lakes, green or brown lakes have more algae (藻类) and organic matter, says Xiao Yang, a hydrologist (水文专家) at Southern Methodist University.
Lakes in places with average summer air temperatures that were below 19° Celsius were more likely to be blue than lakes with warmer summers. That’s because warmer water helps algae bloom more, which changes the properties of the water.
Yang and colleagues used satellite photos from 2013 to 2020 to analyze the color of more than 85,000 lakes around the world. Because storms and seasons can temporarily affect a lake’s color, the researchers focused on the most frequent color observed for each lake over the seven-year period. The researchers also created an interactive online map that can be used to explore the colors of these lakes. The approach is “super cool,” the researchers say. These satellite data are “just so powerful.”
If some lakes do become less blue, people will probably lose some of the resources they have come to value, O’Reilly says, who is an ecologist at Illinois State University. Lakes are often used for drinking water, food or recreation. If the water has more algae, it could be unappealing for play or more costly to clean for drinking. But the color changes wouldn’t necessarily mean that the lakes are any less healthy. “Humans don’t value lots of algae in a lake, but if you’re a certain type of fish species, you might be like ‘this is great’” O’Reilly says.
1. What can we learn about the lakes’ color change according to the text?| A．It is caused by water pollution. | B．It does harm to the growth of algae. |
| C．It results from the temperature increase. | D．It can disturb the stability of lake ecosystems. |
| A．By doing field investigation. | B．By researching previous studies. |
| C．By analyzing long-term satellite data. | D．By observing the daily color of the lakes. |
| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Favourable. |
| A．To call on people to protect lakes. | B．To introduce a new research method. |
| C．To present the outcome of a research. | D．To provide solutions to lakes’ color change. |
10 . I’m studying English at a school in the UK at the moment and having a wonderful time, meeting new friends and getting to know the country. We have the chance to go on lots of trips and recently we visited the famous town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Before we went, we prepared for the trip.
We were there for the whole day and we all thought it would be best to do the research in the morning.
Stratford is a lovely town and we spent the afternoon enjoying the sights. After lunch we looked around Holy Trinity Church, and of course we visited the house where the world’s most famous playwright was born and grew up.
Besides being fun, it was a great way to practice our English, and not only because we were able to speak to local people.
| A．However, many of the shops were closed. |
| B．We could then relax in the afternoon and have a tour. |
| C．In class the next day we presented the results of our surveys. |
| D．But we didn’t just walk around the town taking photographs. |
| E．On the other hand, the weather was better than we had expected. |
| F．That was followed by some fun boating on the river before we left. |
| G．We worked in teams and created some surveys on different subjects. |
