1 . For the first time, astronomers have caught a star in the act of eating a planet. The star known as ZTF SLRN-2020, exists approximately 12,000 light years away in our galaxy.
“For decades, we’ve been able to see the before and after,” says study leader Kishalay De. “Before, when the planets are still orbiting very close to their star, and after, when a planet has already been swallowed up, and the star is giant. What we were missing was catching the star in the act, where you have a planet going through this fate in real time. That’s what makes this discovery really exciting.”
In 2020, De was studying data, hoping to find evidence of two stars combining with each other. This usually results in bursts of light thousands of times brighter than the stars themselves. But one shining star De discovered was much dimmer (黯淡的), only 100 times brighter. Also, the crash of two stars usually produces hot gas. However, this one was surrounded by dust molecules (分子). De wondered if he had detected a star swallowing a planet.
He and his team spent the next two years examining similar data. NASA provided the final piece of evidence they needed. The images allowed them to confirm that the molecules were traces of a star eating its planet. The scientists said that as the planet was being swallowed, it displaced hot gas from the star. The gas then cooled and created dust. Pieces of the planet also blew away from the star, producing more dust.
Some scientists believe Earth will also be consumed by the Sun in about five billion years. But Mansi Kasliwal, a professor, says humans will not be around then. The increasing heat from the expanding Sun will evaporate (使蒸发) all the water from Earth long before it gets close enough to swallow it, making it uninhabitable. Smadar Naoz, an astronomer, agrees that the Earth’s water sources will dry up. “Whether or not the Sun will swallow the Earth is quite controversial,” she says. “But it wouldn’t matter because it will no longer be our beautiful Earth with an atmosphere and oceans.”
1. What fate does De think the planet is undergoing?| A．It is being swallowed. | B．It is being abandoned. |
| C．It is becoming larger. | D．It is growing older. |
| A．Hot gas. | B．Dust molecules. |
| C．Pieces of a planet. | D．Bursts of brighter light. |
| A．The Earth will be eaten by the Sun. | B．Humans will move to another planet. |
| C．The water on Earth will disappear. | D．The Earth will become more beautiful. |
| A．Scientists Make an Unusual Discovery |
| B．Stars and Planets Are Born and Die |
| C．The Earth Will Not Be Eaten by the Sun |
| D．Astronomers Detect a Star Swallowing a Planet |
2 . New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder has found the engineering secrets behind what makes fish fins (鱼鳍) so strong yet flexible. The team’s findings could one day lead to new designs for airplane wings that change their shape with the push of a button.
Francois Barthelat, senior author of the study, noted that fins can “do wonders” even though they don’t contain a single muscle. “A fin is made of many ways,” said Barthelat. “Each of those rays can be controlled individually just like your fingers, but there are 20 or 30 rays in each fin.”
Barthelat and his colleagues used a range of approaches, including computer simulations and 3D-printed materials, to dive deep into the secrets of the structures. They reported that the key to fish fins may lie in their unique design. Each ray in a fin is made up of multiple segments (段) of a hard material that lie on top of much softer collagen (胶原), making rays the perfect balance between flexibility and strength.
He and his team decided to use computer simulations to examine the mechanical functions of fins. They discovered that those segments can make all the difference.
“Pretend for a moment,” Barthelat explained, “that fish fins are entirely made up of collagen. They could bend easily, but wouldn’t give fish much pulling force in the water. Rays made up of solid materials would have the opposite problem — they’d be too hard.”
The researchers further tested the theory by using a 3D printer to produce model fish fins made from plastic, some with hinges (铰链) built in and some without. The team found that the segmented design provided better combinations of strength and flexibility.
“We like to pick up where the biologists and zoologists have left off, using our background in the mechanics of materials to further our understanding of the amazing characteristics of the natural world,” Barthelat said.
1. Which of the following can describe the new research according to the first paragraph?| A．Beneficial | B．Traditional. | C．Typical. | D．Commercial. |
| A．To show the number of rays in a fish fin. |
| B．To show rays of fish fins can work individually. |
| C．To show the shape of rays in fish fins. |
| D．To show rays of fish fins can do. |
| A．The amount of collagen. |
| B．The combination of hard materials and collagen. |
| C．The water fish live in. |
| D．The muscle in fish fins. |
| A．Fish can’t bend. | B．Fish can’t live in the water. |
| C．Fish can’t keep balance. | D．Fish can’t swim fast. |
1. What made Maya Bay draw too many tourists since 1999?
| A．The convenient location. |
| B．A famous Hollywood movie. |
| C．Its first opening to the public. |
| A．To develop it. | B．To do research. | C．To protect the natural life. |
| A．300. | B．2,000. | C．4,000. |
| A．Surf the Internet. | B．Read some magazines. | C．Book a holiday. |
4 . Saudi-born shoe designer Haifa Alhumaid is making a name for herself in the world of high-end footwear. However, she doesn’t make it hands down. At the beginning, she experienced a lot of rejection. But one day, she got a chance and told a famous Italian designer about her passion. She showed him her design and it impressed him! He gave her a chance. Then Alhumaid started visiting the Milan footwear fair, learning about leather and new technologies. She began crafting her own shoes and launched her brand, Haifa Humaid, at a special ceremony at the Venice Film Festival. Italian actresses and models wore her shoes on the red carpet. The response was fantastic.
In the last decade, she earned the loyalty of discerning (独具慧眼的) women from Milan to Riyadh and beyond. Alhumaid is now increasing production not only of her traditional leather footwear but also of an innovative range of shoes made out of a renewable, animal-free alternative:mushroom fiber. “Using this alternative leather, we can save animal lives and reduce our carbon footprint, without any negative impact on the performance or quality of the shoes,” Alhumaid says. “It is just as good as ordinary leather, but much more ecologically sensitive.” Thanks to innovations in nanotechnology, the alternative footwear is just as high-quality as other Haifa Humaid designs, and the strength and resilience of the fiber is such that she is still wearing those first shoes to this day.
Enjoying rapid business growth in recent years, Alhumaid is considering designing collections of bags and other personal items that match her shoe designs. Wherever she turns her talents, Alhumaid says, sustainability will always be a priority. “We all have a responsibility to the future. I want to help preserve our world for generations to come.” As a female designer in a male-dominated industry, she uses her story to show us a bright future for women joining the fashion industry in Saudi Arabia.
1. What does the underlined phrase “hands down” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Without any sweat. | B．At hand. |
| C．As cool as a cucumber. | D．Like a storm in a teacup. |
| A．They are only friendly to animals. |
| B．They are made from recycled materials. |
| C．They can help deal with climate issues. |
| D．They have a better quality than traditional ones. |
| A．She is planning to change her brand’s directions. |
| B．She has inspired many women to join the fashion industry. |
| C．She attaches great importance to protecting the environment. |
| D．She launched her brand under the influence of an Italian designer. |
| A．Pretty and promising. | B．Innovative and determined. |
| C．Ambitious and humorous. | D．Knowledgeable and tough. |
5 . Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, was sent up in October 1957. About 100 trillion human-made objects are circling the planet now! The jaw-dropping number was provided by an international team of researchers writing in the journal Science. There are 9,000 active satellites in space, the scientists report. That could grow to more than 60,000 by 2030.The rest of that 100 trillion figure includes everything from used-up rockets and stray bolts(螺栓) to metal pieces and paint chips.
Don’t think a tiny piece of debris(碎片) is harmless. Traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, it can strike a spacecraft hard. The International Space Station is dotted with dents(凹陷) and holes. Astronauts often take shelter in an attached spacecraft to wait out a passing group of space pieces. That way, if the station is severely damaged, they can escape out in a hurry.
For years, this waste has formed an ever-growing mass near Earth. All of these pieces will eventually fall to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. But we’re replacing the waste more quickly than it’s falling.
The mess we’ve made in space is like the mess we’ve made in the oceans. We’ve had centuries to pollute the oceans. But it has taken just decades for us to do the same in space. That’s why the Science authors include experts in satellite technology and in ocean plastic pollution. Cleaning up space has a lot in common with the challenges of dealing with environmental issues in the oceans.
In March 2022,170 countries signed a global plastics treaty(条约) in the United Nations. This is an agreement to throw away less plastic in the oceans and get rid of what’s already there. There could be similar rules for how many pieces a launch can create. Old satellites could be taken out of space. And technologies could be developed for cleaning up the waste.
1. Why are small space pieces harmful to spaceships in space?| A．They travel at a high speed. | B．They can be attached to spacecraft. |
| C．They carry damaging weapons. | D．They contain poisonous matter. |
| A．It flies over the earth forever. | B．It is removed faster than produced. |
| C．It can be reduced in the existing ways. | D．It can cause serious pollution to the oceans. |
| A．A global plastics treaty. |
| B．Possible effort to clean up the space. |
| C．Satellites collecting the space waste. |
| D．Technologies developed for cleaning up the waste. |
| A．Space Debris | B．Ocean Pollution |
| C．Space Challenges | D．Man-made Spacecraft |
6 . Plastic pollution has become an unfortunate fact of life all over the world—including in the oceans. While all that junk floating around can pose a serious threat to many animals, a new study finds some species may have actually turned it into an entirely new ecosystem!
The North Pacific“Garbage Patch”is a huge area in the ocean where a lot of plastic waste gets stuck. However, it’s not just wastes that get caught up in this mess. Researchers from Georgetown University found that many sea creatures like jellyfish, snails, and barnacles also live there.
In 2018 and 2019, scientists collected 105 pieces of plastic from the patch, and found 46 different species of invertebrates(无脊椎动物)living on them. About 80％of those species normally live near the coast rather than in the middle of an ocean. The researchers also found that these species have been breeding on the patch—meaning there may now be a permanent community of coastal species in the middle of the ocean.
Lead author Linsey Haram said that it’s not yet known how this will affect the ocean ecosystem. But she said the coastal species are likely competing for food with ocean species, and they may also be eating each other.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the five areas of garbage that have formed in the middle of huge circular ocean currents called gyres(环流). Another garbage patch is in the South Pacific, two are in the Atlantic Ocean, and the fifth is in the Indian Ocean.
A 2018 study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch found that about one-third of garbage that could be linked to Japan. Up to 20％of garbage added since 2011 was created by the huge tsunami that hit northern Japan that year, the study said.
1. What makes the plastic waste get stuck in the garbage patch?| A．Climate change. | B．Human activities. |
| C．Sea creatures living there. | D．Huge circular ocean currents. |
| A．Reproducing. | B．Restoring. |
| C．Revising. | D．Refreshing. |
| A．To blame Japan for polluting the ocean. |
| B．To indicate one of the sources of the garbage. |
| C．To stress the responsibility of some countries. |
| D．To suggest clues that help with the plastic pollution. |
| A．Education. | B．Economy. |
| C．Environment. | D．Entertainment. |
7 . Perhaps the most challenging thing about earthquakes is the great uncertainty around where and when they are likely to strike, which makes taking action that may save lives challenging.
Earthquakes bring about redistribution of mass and this generates observable changes of the Earth’s gravitational field, measurable using specialized instruments. High accuracy gravity measurements may provide a useful tool to help with managing the risk by identifying which faults (断层) are under stress and most likely to be active. By monitoring the progression of fault movements, it’s possible to get a medium-term outlook on which areas are most likely to be affected when the next earthquake happens.
Current earthquake warning systems are based on networks which detect the early arrival “P” seismic (地震的) waves prior to the arrival of the more destructive waves, but are unable to respond before the ground movements have already started, greatly limiting how advanced the warning can be.
While a warning caused by a gravity signal might only give a few additional seconds, such a warning can provide extra time to allow the public to take preventative action.
However, making measurements of gravity with sufficient accuracy, long-term stability and data sampling rate to achieve these signals is of course challenging. Detection of small signals for early warning systems is greatly limited by the background seismic noise which affects the sensor readings. Obtaining measurements which are stable over long periods of time and consistent between different sensors is difficult too.
The Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Timing led by the University of Birmingham is developing sensors which meet these challenges by employing the quantum (量子) behaviour of cold atoms to measure gravity accurately. As well as the cold atom sensors being extremely sensitive to small changes in the gravitational field, the identical (完全相同的) nature of atoms makes them ideal test masses which give consistent results.
Furthermore, by measuring two separated atom clouds at the same time, common background seismic noise can be controlled, which helps to overcome the limitations of seismic noise and allows fast and accurate measurements.
1. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 2?| A．How earthquakes are formed. | B．How people can better predict earthquakes. |
| C．What is used to monitor earthquakes. | D．What is the way to identify active faults. |
| A．The number of sensors. | B．The temperature of atoms. |
| C．The background seismic noise. | D．The strength of seismic waves. |
| A．They have the same nature. | B．They are tiny. |
| C．They are sensitive to temperature. | D．They can remove the seismic noise. |
| A．To display the uncertainty of earthquakes. |
| B．To show the challenges in detecting earthquakes. |
| C．To discuss the accuracy of earthquake warning systems. |
| D．To introduce a technology to improve earthquake detection. |
8 . I wanted a cat and I visited the American Humane Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan, looking for the perfect cat and began playing with several playful kittens through the cage opening.
A little black kitten I nearly ignored stuck his paw (爪子) through the cage, calling me to play. He was clearly interested in me, so I asked to hold him. Our connection was immediate. I adopted him, named him Aladdin, and brought him home. Over the next 16 years, Aladdin and I were inseparable. He was the gentlest and sweetest cat. But one night in late 2013, everything changed.
It was as if one day Aladdin was still acting like a kitten, and then the next day he was vomiting (呕吐) frequently. I took him to the vet and sadly was told he had stomach cancer. A month later, Aladdin got worse. The vet said it was time to put him down. Heartbroken, I said my goodbyes as he went to sleep. Once I got back home, reality hit me hard. Usually, Aladdin was there to greet me at the door, demanding hugs and kisses. But he was gone, leaving a huge emptiness in my life and in my home. I couldn’t catch my breath. I suffered from panic attacks that entire week.
About a week after losing Aladdin; my friend Amy called me. She had saved a cat and asked if I could come over and hold the kitten while she cleaned her cage. I unwillingly agreed. When I arrived, I picked up the kitten and held her in my arms. To our amazement, she didn’t move once in the entire 30 minutes I held her. As I kept petting her, I knew I was going to adopt her. And I was going to name her Fiona. Once I brought Fiona home, my panic attacks stopped.
To this day, six years later, having her near me is very comforting. A sense of calm comes over me when I hold her. Whenever I feel sad, I lay my head on her, and everything feels better.
1. What did the author say about Aladdin?| A．He was well trained. | B．He ignored her at first. |
| C．He got along well with other cats. | D．He felt closely connected to her. |
| A．She suffered greatly after Aladdin’s death. |
| B．She was responsible for Aladdin’s death. |
| C．She was regretful about raising a cat. |
| D．She acted like a careless pet owner. |
| A．Unexpectedly pleased. | B．Unsurprisingly calm. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Why I cannot live without cats. | B．What I did to get a cat to like me. |
| C．How keeping a cat made me sociable. | D．How accidentally adopting a cat saved me. |
There is a long history of official and nongovernmental giant panda exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States. On Dec 6, 2000, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian
According to the agreement, giant pandas born abroad must rectum
The giant panda is unique to China and one of the oldest
According to figures from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, between 1957 and 1982, China gifted 24 giant pandas to 9 countries. Since the 1980s, with the
10 . Diving made my world bigger.
Learning to dive is a lot like learning to drive a car: You study the theory, practice with an instructor, and become qualified. From there, proficiency (熟练) depends on how often you dive, further training, and your own self-reliance. Regardless of your goals, diving is more accessible and wondrous than I ever imagined.
But not everyone wants to or can dive, and that’s fair enough. Whether you’re a snorkeler (潜水员), surfer, or sailor or you simply enjoy dipping your toes into the sea while on holiday, you can still be aware of the life unfolding under that glittering blue cover and help protect it.
Take Florida, for example, it’s bordered by North America’s only living coral barrier reef (礁石) and the third largest in the world.
A study has found that 70 percent of Florida’s coral reefs are experiencing a net loss of reef habitat. Exactly facing these concerns is what I mean by seeing the sea — the good, the bad, the important.
| A．Knowledge is power. |
| B．I didn’t take to diving immediately. |
| C．So I’d encourage anyone to give it a try. |
| D．Adventure sometimes involves pushing limits. |
| E．Marine life needs a safe ecological environment. |
| F．The reef is home to more than 500 species of fish. |
| G．Right now, less than 3 percent of the ocean is considered highly protected. |
