1 . Not unlike the wings of airplanes, the blades (叶片) of wind turbines (涡轮机) need to be kept ice-free in order to function properly. Scientists have now developed an inexpensive method of using drones (无人机) to apply an eco-friendly anti-icing coating (涂层) to those blades.
If too much ice builds up on wind turbine blades, they will turn more slowly, producing less energy. What’s more, if an equal amount of ice isn’t present on all three blades, the turbine’s balance may be thrown off, leading to increased wear and possibly even disastrous failure.
There are anti-icing heating systems that can be built into the blades, but these may be beyond the financial means of many wind farm (风电场) operators. The same can be said for using helicopters to apply ice-prevention chemicals.
Seeking a more economical but still effective alternative, scientists from two branches of Germany’s Fraunhofer research group recently started looking to drones. The research project is known as “TURBO: Temporary coating by means of drones — Icing protection of wind turbines as a case study”.
In the current version of the resulting system, a hexacopter drone is equipped with a small pump that delivers anti-icing liquid. The liquid is sprayed (喷洒) at high pressure — which is just 0. 3 mm wide — producing tiny droplets with a diameter of 100 micrometers.
Using this setup, the drone has successfully been used to apply coatings of the droplets onto the edges of wind turbine blades, even at wind speeds of up to 35 km/h (22 mph). Once solidified (固化/凝固), those coatings prevent ice formation for several weeks before a fresh coating is applied.
The scientists are now seeking industry partners to help commercialize (商业化) the TURBO technology. It could also find use in the maintenance (维护) of power lines, the upper levels of tall buildings, or other things that are difficult to reach by conventional means.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Problems caused by icing. | B．The process of ice formation. |
| C．Disasters brought about by drones. | D．The function of wind turbines. |
| A．Ineffective. | B．Unnecessary. | C．Expensive. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．It has a wider range of applications. |
| B．It is a relatively traditional approach. |
| C．It can solve the problem once and for all (一劳永逸). |
| D．It is more costly than using ice-prevention chemicals. |
| A．The Advantages of Using Wind Energy |
| B．Drones Protect Wind Turbines From Icing |
| C．Wind Turbines Remove Ice on Their Own |
| D．A Major Breakthrough in Drone Technology |
2 . A family attempting to travel to Australia without flying have arrived in the country after a three-and-a-half-month journey. Shannon Coggins, Theo Simon and their daughter Rosa, 19, left England to begin their 10 thousand-mile trip to Sydney on 16 August. The family was hoping to make it in time for Ms. Coggins’ sister’s wedding on 28 December.
The family saved up for several years to pay for the trip, which has cost them much more than air tickets would have done. They travelled through Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia, and finally arrived in Dili, hoping to find a boat to cross the Timor Sea to Darwin, Australia. From there they planned to take a bus to Sydney.
“The world is a huge thing, and one personal thing that I do will never make the difference that we need but I want to live by my principles,” Ms. Coggins said. “I want a clean world for my daughter when she’s growing up in the future and the grandchildren. But the world is getting hotter. There is so much going on in Australia here at the moment with floods and fires, and I think we’ve all got to take that seriously.”
“All three of us have campaigned in different ways for action on climate change, so we decided our journey to Australia would have to be as low-carbon as practical,” Mr. Simon said.
The family arrived on the other side of the world just in time. But they said there were many moments during their journey across continents and oceans when they thought they might not make it to Australia. A conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the danger of travelling through Iran, forced them on a four day detour (绕行) through Russia where Mr. Simon almost get arrested.
“It hasn’t always been easy, but it was worth it”, Mr. Simon added. “We want to keep this beautiful planet, don’t we?”
1. Why did the family travel to Sydney?| A．To take a global tour. | B．To attend a wedding. |
| C．To explore the nature. | D．To advocate saving energy. |
| A．They couldn’t afford the air tickets. |
| B．They joined a nationwide campaign. |
| C．They were afraid of the terrible weather. |
| D．They tried to reduce their carbon footprints. |
| A．Mr. Simon was arrested when going through Russia. |
| B．The family was discontent with the adventurous trip. |
| C．The family’s journey was not quite straightforward. |
| D．The family didn’t manage to reach Australia at last. |
| A．Tough but worthwhile. | B．Smooth but expensive. |
| C．Relaxing and incredible. | D．Inappropriate and disappointed. |
3 . Despite his slim body of work, J. D. Salinger was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. His short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker, inspired the early careers of writers such as Phillip Roth, John Updike and Harold Brodkey.
Born on January 1, 1919, in New York, Salinger was a restless student, attending New York University, Ursinus College and Columbia University. While taking classes at the latter, he met Professor Whit Burnett, who was also the editor of Story magazine. Burnett, sensing Salinger’s talent as a writer, pushed him to create more often and soon Salinger’s works were appearing not just in Story, but in other big-name publications such as Collier’s and the Saturday Evening Post.
His career had started to take off, but then, like so many young American men around that time, World War II interrupted his life. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Salinger was drafted into the army, serving from 1942 to 1944. During that time, however, Salinger kept writing for a new novel whose main character was a deeply unsatisfied young man named Holden Caulfield.
When Salinger returned to New York, he quickly set about resuming his life as a writer and soon found his work published in his favorite magazine, The New Yorker.
He also pushed on with the work on his novel about Holden Caulfield. Finally, in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye was published. The book earned its share of positive reviews, but some critics weren’t so kind. But over time the American reading public ate the book up and The Catcher in the Rye became an essential part of the academic literature course. To date, the book has sold more than 65 million copies.
In 1953, two years after the publication of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger moved from New York City to Cornish, New Hampshire. There, Salinger did his best to cut off contact with the public and significantly slowed his literary output. He only published one new story, the 25,000-word Hapworth 16, 1924, before his death on January 27, 2010, in Cornish, New Hampshire.
1. Who had a great influence on J. D. Salinger?| A．Phillip Roth. | B．Whit Burnett. |
| C．John Updike. | D．Harold Brodkey. |
| A．Continuing. | B．Saving. |
| C．Wasting. | D．Risking. |
| A．It was published during World War II. |
| B．It has sold less than 65 million copies. |
| C．It was well received by American readers. |
| D．It features an old man as the main character. |
| A．He stopped writing when he was in the army. |
| B．He wrote lots of short stories in his later years. |
| C．His literary output was very low in his later years. |
| D．He had moved to New York City just before he died. |
4 . Across the world, people and governments are banning pesticides (杀虫剂) and planting more flowers to increase bee populations naturally. Now farmers and beekeepers have a new way to protect bee populations.
The traditional hive most commonly used in the world today was designed by humans about 150 years ago. Most people are so used to them that they mistakenly confuse them with bees’ natural habitat. By completely redesigning the beehive, a company called Beewise was able to address many of the inefficiencies of the box and significantly improve bees’ well- being and lifetime.
Using 24/7 monitoring and smart technology that significantly increases pollination capacity (授粉能力) and honey production, Beewise’s robotic beehive, the Beehome, discovers threats to a honeybee population such as pesticides and the presence of pests and immediately defends against them. Its automatic robotic system responds to threats in real time and requires no human assistance. Beehomes are thermally regulated (热调节的) and can provide protection from fires, flooding, and Asian wasps. The hive even feeds the honeybees when local food supply is not available.
In a statement, the company says, “The Beehome reduces bee deaths by 80%, resulting in increased production of at least 50%, while reducing about 90% of manual labor (体力劳动) when compared to traditional beehives.”
Beewise currently manages more than seven billion bees, which is equal to 25,000 acres of pollinated crops. Through the Beehome device, the Israeli startup says it has saved over 160 million bees over the course of the last 12 months.
Their task of saving bees recently received $80 million funding for their autonomous hive. “We are using precision robotics with the world’s most creative technologies including AI and computer vision in order to save the bees,” stated Saar Safra, CEO of Beewise. He says that with thousands of orders placed in the U.S. in just the last few months, their new funding will allow Beewise to meet the market demand through increased production.
1. What do we know about the traditional hive most commonly used today?| A．It is artificial. | B．It is bees’ natural habitat. |
| C．It can be confusing to bees. | D．It does more harm than good. |
| A．It is similar to natural beehives. | B．It can help bees to settle down. |
| C．It can monitor fires and floods. | D．It keeps bees away from threats. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Positive. | D．Conservative. |
| A．The benefits of banning pesticides. | B．A new device to save bee populations. |
| C．Potential threats bees are facing today. | D．Ways to increase bees’ pollination ability. |
5 . More than 1 billion children, teenagers and adults live with obesity (肥胖) around the world, making it the most common form of malnutrition in many countries, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal The Lancet.
“Previous estimates by the World Obesity Federation suggested that there would be 1 billion people living with obesity by 2030, but that number was already overtaken in 2022,” Dr. Majid Ezzati, senior author of the study and professor at Imperial College London, said in a news conference on Thursday. “We hadn’t expected that the things happened so fast.”
The new global study, conducted by more than 1,500 researchers from the Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factor Collaboration and the World Health Organization (WHO), analyzed the height and weight measurements of over 220 million people from more than 190 countries.
The study focused on rates of underweight and obesity, both forms of malnutrition that are harmful to people’s health. Adults were regarded as obese if their body mass index (指数) (BMI) was greater than or equal to 30 and considered as underweight if their BMI was below18.5. Children and teenagers were defined as obese or underweight based on age and sex, according to the study.
“Undernutrition and obesity are two faces of the same problem, which is the lack of access to a healthy diet,” Dr. Francesco Branca, director of the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, said in the news conference. “Public policy must aim to improve monitoring of food producers and ensure fair access to healthy and nutritious food for everyone. Over 3 billion people in the world still cannot afford a healthy diet.”
France, which saw a steady level in its obesity rates in the study, has carried out a national plan called Programme National Nutrition Santé that sets objectives for nutritional policy at the industry, consumer and research levels. Countries in South America have begun carrying out front-of-package nutritional labelling that includes clear warnings about fat, sugar and salt levels. Mexico has led the way on taxation of sweetened drinks, and in Chile, processed foods cannot be marketed to children.
1. How does Ezzati feel about the number of obese people worldwide in 2022?| A．Disappointed. | B．Astonished. |
| C．Amused. | D．Relieved. |
| A．By asking questions. | B．By analyzing data. |
| C．By making observations. | D．By carrying out experiments. |
| A．33. | B．30. |
| C．20. | D．18. |
| A．The good habits of teenagers in South America. |
| B．The differences in diet among different countries. |
| C．The problems of rising obesity rates faced by France. |
| D．The measures taken by several countries to address obesity. |
6 . Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you.
Pick a specific theme or idea. This can make it easier for you to narrow down what images and descriptions you are going to use in your poem. For example, you may decide to write a poem around the theme of love and friendship.
Avoid cliché(陈词滥调). Your poetry will be much stronger if you avoid cliches, which are phrases that have become so familiar that they have lost their meaning.
Get feedback(反馈) from others. You can also share your poem with other poets to get feedback from them and improve your poem.
| A．Write for the ear |
| B．Do writing exercises |
| C．A poem can be about anything |
| D．You may join a poetry writing group |
| E．Go for creative descriptions and images in your poem |
| F．Strong emotional moments make for beautiful and interesting poems |
| G．Then you may think about the moments where you experienced them |
7 . REGISTRATION OPENS FOR STUDENT ROBOTICS 2024
We’re excited to announce that registration for the 2024 season of Student Robotics is now open! Based in the UK, Student Robotics challenges teams of 16 to 19 year-olds to design, build and program fully autonomous robots to compete in our annual competition. Teams will have just three months to engineer their creations. As well as supplying teams with a kit, which they can use as a framework for their robot, we mentor (指导) the teams over this period. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we provide all of this to our teams at no cost.
The competition cycle will start with a live streamed Kickstart event on our YouTube Channel. During the event, the game and the structure of the competition will be announced and kits handed out to teams.
The competition year will culminate (达到高潮) in an in-person competition from September 30 to October 1, 2024, which will see the robots compete through a league stage and a seeded knockout. As usual the prizes will recognise not only the teams which come top in the knockouts, but also those who are excellent in other ways.
Details of the game and prizes will be revealed at Kickstart. Details of the Kickstart and competition events will be published when they are available. We expect to confirm places towards the end of August, 2024.
If you would like a chance to compete in Student Robotics 2024, please fill in the entry form with the required information. The deadline of the registration is May 30, 2024. Places are limited, so please click here and sign up soon to avoid disappointment.
We look forward to seeing your teams!
1. What should participants do in Student Robotics?| A．Prepare a kit themselves. | B．Design a robot on the spot. |
| C．Work as a team. | D．Pay for the framework. |
| A．Two days. | B．Two weeks. | C．One month. | D．Three days. |
| A．A brochure. | B．A magazine. | C．A newspaper. | D．A website. |
8 . A new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health finds air pollution may negatively impact standardized test scores. Using data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center, the researchers tracked 2.8 million public school students in North Carolina from 2001 to 2018 and measured their exposure to PM2.5 found in polluted air. While previous research has shown negative effects on academic performance, it has relied on relatively small or less representative samples. “The biggest strength of this study is that we tracked every student in North Carolina in those years, for the whole time period that they were in the public schools,” said Emma Zang, coauthor of the study.
The study also finds that test scores of ethnic minorities and girls are disproportionately (不成比例地) impacted by PM2.5 levels. “Females and ethnic minorities face sexism and racism,” said Zang. “There are a lot of policies that are not friendly towards them. So, when they’re exposed to the same level of air pollution, they don’t have the resources to lessen the negative influences.” More privileged populations, however, might have more resources that allow them to live in a better environment, such as in houses with air purifiers.
“The level of PM2.5 pollution in the US is relatively low, but students living in areas below the current air quality standard of annual PM2.5 concentration are still negatively impacted by air pollution when it comes to their test scores,” said Zang. “We should aim to strengthen the annual PM2.5 standard to better protect our children.”
Air pollution is known to contribute to disease and death, and it also negatively affects students’ academic performance even at low levels of pollution. The subsequent studies, the researchers said, would involve looking at whether the findings hold true in different areas, and also the reasons behind the ethnic and sexual differences.
1. What’s the greatest advantage of the study?| A．Tracking each student for 18 years. | B．Collecting more comprehensive data. |
| C．Measuring students’ PM2.5 exposure precisely. | D．Building links between air pollution and test scores. |
| A．benefit from current policies on PM2.5 pollution |
| B．have the lowest test scores due to their identities |
| C．lack resources to reduce the impact of air pollution |
| D．suffer from educational inequalities owing to their background |
| A．Offering a suggestion. | B．Raising a doubt. |
| C．Making a comparison. | D．Giving a prediction. |
| A．Applicability of the findings to other regions. | B．Ways to address racial and sexual differences. |
| C．Long-term impacts of air pollution on children. | D．Establishment of PM2.5 standard fit for children. |
9 . Shortly after the return of the NBA season in late July, the artist Victor Solomon showed an ambitious creation to mark the occasion: the “Kintsugi Court”. Using the Japanese craft of kintsugi, an ancient method of repairing pottery with gold, Solomon filled in the cracks of a run-down basketball court in South Los Angeles. In the process, he transformed the forgotten bit of concrete into something eye-catching and functional. He highlighted the court’s weak points instead of hiding them.
Basketball has been a frequent source for Solomon. But he’s far from alone. Over the past five years, basketball courts, some previously in disrepair or disuse, have been frequent canvases for public art. The work, from famous creators like Solomon as well as nonprofit organizations and art collectives, uses the courts to comment on the interconnected dynamics of race, class, and changing communities.
Artists say they’re drawn to basketball as inspiration because of the game itself—a sport described as a universally accessible, race-indifferent platform.
For other artists, that functionality—the opportunity to produce a useful public resource —is as important as the aesthetics (美感). DanPeterson is founding director of Project Backboard, an organization that changes old basketball courts into eye-catching murals (壁画) that double as durable public recreation spaces.
Since its founding in 2014, Project Backboard has made more than 20 courts active, using work by 17 artists, in locations around the US including Memphis, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. Repairs are done with the same material used to repair public tennis courts, ensuring they will hold up for years to come.
“The thing about the sport and the court itself is that it is indifferent to class or race or background of people it’s surrounded by,” says Vannatter. “These are meaningful contributions of public art in places that maybe would never have access to art.”
1. What inspired Solomon’s filling in the cracks of a basketball court?| A．The return of the NBA season. | B．An ancient method of repairing gold. |
| C．The Japanese craft of kintsugi. | D．The way to hide weak points. |
| A．Repair them to be the same as before. |
| B．Transform them into art works to appreciate. |
| C．Pull them down to make room for museums. |
| D．Rebuild them for basketball fans to play there. |
| A．Because basketball was a universally accessible platform. |
| B．Because basketball was more important than other sports. |
| C．Because too many abandoned basketball courts need repairing. |
| D．Because they liked to play basketball when they were young. |
| A．Abandoned basketball courts are used to store goods. |
| B．Old basketball courts are painted into murals for profits. |
| C．Old basketball courts are served as public recreation spaces. |
| D．More and more artists tend to get inspiration from old objects. |
10 . Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, adores elephants. But Day, suffering from dementia (痴呆),rarely left her nursing home room and hadn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time.
Day is so crazy about elephants that her room is decorated with elephant photos. Day dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again and never thought it would happen. However, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home, the Blakelands Lodge care home inMarston Moretaine, took her on a special journey to the Whipsnade Zoo.
“Kay doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said Carla Blakelands, the Lodge activity manager. “We sat and discussed wishes and found out she would love to see an elephant. We discussed different options and we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade Zoo, so we contacted them about our resident.”
Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers and family came along on the trip to assist and watch her experience the exciting day. Day was able to pet the Asian elephants and she said that the elephants’ trunk is her favorite part of the animal. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl it up and put it in his mouth,” she told BBC.
Day expressed her gratitude to the people who organized the trip and said it was one of the best days of her life. “I could sit here forever with an elephant sitting by my side,” she said.
Elephant keeper My Eriksson said that the zoo was honored to have played a role in making Day’s dream come true and that it was amazing to meet someone who is as crazy about elephants as the zookeepers at Whipsnade Zoo.
1. What can we say about the Blakelands Lodge care home?| A．It funds the Whipsnade Zoo. | B．It has a special love for elephants. |
| C．It seldom organizes outings. | D．It cares about its residents’ wishes. |
| A．She has no relatives. | B．She is fairly easy-going. |
| C．She enjoys being alone. | D．She likes group activities. |
| A．She fed the elephants. | B．She argued with her family. |
| C．She arranged an interview. | D．She worked as a zookeeper. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Grateful. | C．Puzzled. | D．Nervous. |
