1 . IQ is often regarded as a crucial driver of success, particularly in fields such as science, innovation and technology. But the truth is that some of the greatest achievements by our species have primarily relied on what scientists call “cognitive flexibility”.

Cognitive flexibility is a skill that enables us to switch between different concepts, or to adapt behavior to achieve goals in a novel or changing environment. And the good news is that it can be trained. Currently, a group of researchers from Cambridge University are conducting some research, trying to work out how people can best boost their cognitive flexibility.

Cognitive flexibility may have affected how people coped with the pandemic lockdowns, which produced new challenges around work and schooling. Some people may have changed their routines from time to time, trying to find better and more varied ways of going about their day. Others, however, struggled and finally became more rigid in their thinking. They stuck to the same routine activities, with little flexibility or change.

Flexible thinking is key to creativity. It also supports academic and work skills such as problem solving. Unlike working memory, it is largely independent of IQ. For example, many visual artists may be of average intelligence, but highly creative and have produced masterpieces.

So does cognitive flexibility make people smarter in a way that isn’t always captured on IQ tests? We know that it leads to better rational thinking throughout the lifespan. For example, for children it leads to better reading abilities and better school performance.

It can also help protect against a number of prejudice. People who are cognitively flexible are better at recognizing potential faults in themselves and using strategies to overcome these faults.

Cognitive flexibility is essential for society to flourish. It can help maximize the potential of individuals to create innovative ideas and creative inventions. Ultimately, it is such qualities that we need to solve the big challenges of today.

2 . The Google Brain team has been working on computing systems called “neural networks”—systems that were designed based on how neurons work in the human brain.

This time, they gave a mission to three of the neural networks, which they named Alice, Bob and Eve. Each of the networks had its own job—Alice sent messages to Bob, Eve tried to “eavesdrop” (偷听) and find out the messages, and Alice and Bob had to figure out a way to hide the messages from Eve. All the help that Alice and Bob got from the researchers before the mission began was made up of a set of numbers, which Eve didn’t have access to.

At first, Alice was not very good at sending secret messages. But slowly it worked on a way to encrypt (加密) them—putting information into a special code so that others could not understand it if they got the information—using the numbers given by researchers. And after practice, Bob also came to be able to decrypt (解密) Alice’s messages. Without the numbers or keys, Eve failed to understand Alice’s “speech” most of the time.

This test is considered a big step in the development of computers’ learning skills. “Computing with neural networks on this scale has only become possible in the last few years, so we truly are at the beginning of what’s possible,” Joe Sturonas of US encryption company PKWARE told New Scientist magazine.

Unfortunately, the test happened only one week after UK physicist Stephen Hawking, while speaking at Cambridge University, warned how AI could develop a will of its own. This could be “either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to human beings”, he said.

But just as Sturonas pointed out, no matter what the possibilities of computers are in the future, they are just starting out. We still have plenty of time to work out a solution before they get anywhere near becoming a threat to humanity.

5 . The Nobel Prize is considered one of the most recognizable and admirable awards possible _______ people of the world for their outstanding achievements in different fields.

Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 to a family of engineers in. Sweden. In 1850, he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of nitroglycerin (硝酸甘油) in Paris. Interested in its irregular _______ of exploding under pressure or heat, Nobel started to find a way to control it and make a _______ explosive (爆炸物). After years of _______, in1867, the age of 34, Nobel invented dynamite (炸药), which is much easier and safer to control than nitroglycerin.

During his lifetime, Nobel invented and patented various explosives. He _______ his wealth from his 355 inventions, among which dynamite was the most important.

When Alfred’s brother Ludwig died in 1888, a French newspaper _______ published Alfred’s obituary (讣告). Reading his own obituary,   Nobel was _______ to find out his public image. Then newspaper strongly _______ Nobel for inventing dynamite, giving him the nickname of “the merchant of death” and saying “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became _______ by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

To Alfred, this obituary was a(n) ________. He spent his lifetime alone ________ things and was deeply concerned with how he would be remembered. This unfortunate event inspired him to make changes in his will. so as to ________ his public image, and to be remembered for a good cause. In 1895, one year before his death, Nobel made the last ________, saying clearly that his wealth would be used to create a series of prizes for those who have made great ________ to mankind in physics, chemistry,physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. To widespread astonishment, Dr. Alfred Nobel ________ 94% of his total wealth to found the five Nobel Prizes.

7 . Food allergies have been on the rise.In the US,it is now estimated that over 10 percent of the adult population has an allergy to peanuts,shellfish,dairy or another type of food.In the UK,the past three decades have seen hospital admissions for food allergies rise five times.Thankfully, we are building up the armoury (宝库) needed to reverse (逆转) this trend so that one day,such potentially deadly reactions become a thing of the past.

The most common types of food allergies are caused by antibodies that we make called immunoglobulin (免疫球蛋白) E or IgE.These antibodies were discovered in the mid:196 0s and started an era of allergy research that is still going strong today.The early findings have led to thousands of studies that paint a complicated picture of how allergies work,suggesting ways in which we can prevent and treat them.

The old saying “prevention is better than the cure” holds true for food allergies. My colleagues and l use the so-called six Ds as a guide o preventative measures during childhood : diet,   dirt, dogs,dry skin, detergents (清洁剂) and vitamin D. Studies have found that people have a lower risk of developing an allergy when, as youngsters, they eat a diverse diet and do so often, have healthy vitamin D levels, live in a home with a dog, avoid dry skin and are exposed to dirt, allowing them to develop a good microbiome (微生物组) The use of harsh detergents has also been associated with an increase in IgE.

Clearly, for many people that have food allergies, such early life prevention is no longer an option. However, other approaches are taking shape.

Most of the ways we currently use target the system in an effort to control its response to allergens (过敏原).One technique, known as allergen immunotherapy (免疫疗法), involves slowly building up exposure to a problem food.By starting in very small doses, the body appears to able to be controlled to no longer see it as a threat. However,immunotherapy needs regular exposure to allergens. which can cause side effects.

There are also anti-lgE drugs that can block the e antibodies involved. These can be particularly useful when used with allergen immunotherapy to help people become insensitive to troublesome ingredients. Allergy vaccines are another option.These work by reshaping the body’s immune response to a particular food so it doesn’t end in illness.

As we gain evidence and experience with each of these approaches,we are moving closer to being able to treat all food allergies. Many of us around the world are aiming to create a new era, one in which this trouble is a thing of the past.