1 . Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) recently announced that they have figured out how to engineer a biofilm (生物膜) that harvests the energy in evaporation (蒸发) and changes it to electricity. This biofilm, which was announced in Nature Communications, has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics.
“This is a very exciting technology,” says Liu Xiaomeng, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering in UMass Amherst’s College of Engineering and the paper’s lead author. “It generates real green energy, and unlike other so-called ‘green-energy’ sources, its production is totally green.”
That’s because this biofilm — which is a sheet of bacterial cells and as thin as a sheet of paper-is produced naturally by an engineered version of the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens (硫还原地杆菌). G. sulfurreducens is known to produce electricity and has been used previously in “microbial batteries” to power electrical equipment. But such batteries require that G. sulfurreducens be properly cared for and fed a constant diet. By contrast, this new biofilm, which can supply as much energy as a comparably sized battery, works continuously, because it is dead. And because it’s dead, it doesn’t need to be fed.
The secret behind this new biofilm is that it makes energy from the moisture (水分) on your skin. Though we daily read stories about solar power, at least 50% of the solar energy reaching the earth goes toward evaporating water. “This is a huge, undiscovered source of energy,” says Yao Jun, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMass Amherst, and the paper’s one senior author. Since the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, the biofilm can “plug into” it and change the energy locked in evaporation into enough energy to power small equipment. “Our next step is to increase the size of our film to power more intelligent wearable electronics,” says Yao, and Liu points out that one of the goals is to power entire electronic systems, rather than single equipment.
1. What function is the biofilm expected to achieve?| A．Updating wearable electronics. | B．Acquiring power from evaporation. |
| C．Changing the way of getting electricity. | D．Supplying energy to “microbial batteries”. |
| A．It’s thinner in thickness. | B．It’s environmentally friendly. |
| C．It reduces the cost in usage. | D．It employs a rare energy source. |
| A．By interacting with solar power. | B．By gaining energy from electronic systems. |
| C．By using water to generate electricity. | D．By producing continuous electricity from sweat. |
| A．Flexible. | B．Controversial. | C．Promising. | D．Delicate. |
2 . Zoey was reported missing in 2010 after disappearing from her family home. But she has been reunited with her owner after being
Zoey, aged 13, was reported missing in 2010 after her
Michelle, who then
But 12 years later, the call she had been
Michelle said, “I’m still in
| A．sent up | B．taken up | C．picked up | D．brought up |
| A．mother | B．owner | C．father | D．sister |
| A．children | B．cats | C．friends | D．dogs |
| A．returned | B．left | C．stopped | D．came |
| A．area | B．supermarket | C．house | D．cage |
| A．lived | B．packed | C．travelled | D．waited |
| A．persuaded | B．informed | C．warned | D．accused |
| A．school | B．company | C．phone | D．street |
| A．promise | B．advice | C．chance | D．hope |
| A．moving | B．getting | C．walking | D．running |
| A．mentally | B．desperately | C．occasionally | D．initially |
| A．found | B．heard | C．made | D．received |
| A．fat | B．strong | C．old | D．young |
| A．surprise | B．satisfaction | C．scare | D．confusion |
| A．recalling | B．dialing | C．remembering | D．reciting |
| A．welcomed | B．comforted | C．witnessed | D．met |
| A．place | B．order | C．trouble | D．shock |
| A．impressed | B．sorry | C．excited | D．sure |
| A．selfish | B．concerned | C．tireless | D．gentle |
| A．help | B．idea | C．comment | D．plan |
3 . After a relaxing July day at the Jersey Shore in 2021, Jessica Reeder and her two children headed home to Philadelphia. As they reached Pennsylvania, they were greeted with a yellow-gray sky. It reminded Reeder of what she often saw in Southern California in her childhood when wildfires were burning.
In North America, most large wildfires occur in the western states and Canada. But smoke generated in the West doesn’t stay there. It tends to travel east. Within days, it can dirty the air in the Midwest and even East Coast towns. Today, most asthma (哮喘)-related US deaths and emergency-room visits from wildfire smoke occur in eastern cities.
The big problem comes from tiny aerosols (气溶胶) ― bits of ash, and other droplets in the air. Scientists refer to this mix as particulate matter, or PM.
The smaller the PM is, the longer it can stay in the air. And the longer it floats, the farther it can travel. The especially worrisome sizes are known as PM2.5. These bits are no more than 2.5 micrometers wide. That’s about one-thirtieth the width of a human hair. These aerosols are so small that they can be breathed deeply into the lungs. PM2.5 has been linked with breathing-related injury and heart disease.
Over the last few decades, US clean-air laws have set limits on emissions (排放) of PM from industrial sources. That has helped clean the air in many cities. But these rules don’t cover PM from wildfire smoke. Recent studies have shown that aerosols from wildfires may be more poisonous than industrial sources of these pollutants.
So far, much of the science on how wildfire PM2.5 can sicken people has focused on people exposed to smoke near fires in the US West. Now, researchers are turning their attention to how this smoke may be affecting people as far away as the East Coast. With climate change increasing the intensity and frequency of wildfires, people across North America need to be more concerned about the health impacts of this smoke.
1. Why does the author tell Jessica Reeder’s story?| A．To lead in the topic. | B．To praise her performance. |
| C．To remember a friend. | D．To introduce a nice scene. |
| A．The classification of PM. | B．The treatment for asthma. |
| C．The harm of tiny aerosols. | D．The characteristics of PM. |
| A．It cut down on PM from wildlife smoke. |
| B．It reduced industrial emissions by law. |
| C．It encouraged people to work from home. |
| D．It stopped wildfire smoke travelling east. |
| A．Wildfire Smoke Poses Health Risks in North America |
| B．Wildfires Are Burning Out of Control in the US |
| C．Why Do Large Wildfires Occur in the Eastern US? |
| D．How Do Wildfires Affect the Western US Cities? |
4 . Grizzly bears, which may grow to about 2.5 m long and weigh over 400 kg, occupy a conflicted corner of the American psyche — we revere (敬畏) them even as they give us frightening dreams. Ask the tourists from around the world that flood into Yellowstone National Park what they most hope to see, and their answer is often the same: a grizzly bear.
“Grizzly bears are re-occupying large areas of their former range,” says bear biologist Chris Servheen. As grizzly bears expand their range into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly being sighted by humans.
The western half of the US was full of grizzlies when Europeans came, with a rough number of 50,000 or more living alongside Native Americans. By the early 1970s, after centuries of cruel and continuous hunting by settlers, 600 to 800 grizzlies remained on a mere 2 percent of their former range in the Northern Rockies. In 1975, grizzlies were listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Today, there are about 2,000 or more grizzly bears in the US. Their recovery has been so successful that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has twice attempted to delist grizzlies, which would loosen legal protections and allow them to be hunted. Both efforts were overturned due to lawsuits from conservation groups. For now, grizzlies remain listed.
Obviously, if precautions (预防) aren’t taken, grizzlies can become troublesome, sometimes killing farm animals or walking through yards in search of food. If people remove food and attractants from their yards and campsites, grizzlies will typically pass by without trouble. Putting electric fencing around chicken houses and other farm animal quarters is also highly effective at getting grizzlies away. “Our hope is to have a clean, attractant-free place where bears can pass through without learning bad habits,” says James Jonkel, longtime biologist who manages bears in and around Missoula.
1. How do Americans look at grizzlies?| A．They cause mixed feelings in people. |
| B．They should be kept in national parks. |
| C．They are of high scientific value. |
| D．They are a symbol of American culture. |
| A．The European settlers’ behavior. |
| B．The expansion of bears’ range. |
| C．The protection by law since 1975. |
| D．The support of Native Americans. |
| A．The opposition of conservation groups. |
| B．The successful comeback of grizzlies. |
| C．The voice of the biologists. |
| D．The local farmers’ advocates. |
| A．Food should be provided for grizzlies. |
| B．People can live in harmony with grizzlies. |
| C．A special path should be built for grizzlies. |
| D．Technology can be introduced to protect grizzlies. |
5 . When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.
After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.
The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First, he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.
He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.
Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse — like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.
“Ecological design” is the name John gives to what he does. “Life on Earth is kind of a box of spare parts for the inventor,” he says. “You put organisms in new relationships and observe what’s happening. Then you let these new systems develop their own ways to self-repair.”
1. What can we learn about John from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was fond of traveling. | B．He enjoyed being alone. |
| C．He had an inquiring mind. | D．He longed to be a doctor. |
| A．To feed the animals. | B．To build an ecosystem. |
| C．To protect the plants. | D．To test the eco-machine. |
| A．To review John’s research plans. | B．To show an application of John’s idea. |
| C．To compare John’s different jobs. | D．To erase doubts about John’s invention. |
| A．Nature can repair itself. | B．Organisms need water to survive. |
| C．Life on Earth is diverse. | D．Most tiny creatures live in groups. |
6 . How do people cope with (应付) climate change? According to a new study led by University of Arizona researcher Sabrina Helm, there are two climate change coping groups: adaptive approach coping and maladaptive avoidance coping.
About 70 percent of survey respondents belonged to the first group - the adaptive approach coping. They tended to have higher levels of environmental concern and were more likely to engage in environmental protection activities. The remaining 30 percent were in the maladaptive avoidance coping group. They were less likely than those in the first group to feel guilt or personal responsibility for climate change. They were less likely to take action on climate change or believe that their actions would make a difference.
The researchers wondered whether people in the adaptive approach group - who tend to feel more climate-related stress - would have worse mental health overall, since previous studies have linked environmental stress to negative mental health outcomes.
Surprisingly, Helm said, they found no differences between the two groups regarding overall health, anxiety or depressive symptoms.
There also were not significant differences in the demographic (人口统计的) makeup of the two groups when it came to factors such as race, income, education level or employment status. The fact that the demographics of the two groups were so similar suggests that targeting climate-change-related messaging based on demographic information alone might not be the most effective strategy, Helm said. While it might be tougher to do, determining a person’s climate change coping group could be more useful for those attempting to communicate environmental issues and what people can do to make a difference.
“If you think in terms of messaging about climate change, very often you look at social demographic targeting, and that’s not very useful because those two groups should probably be receiving different kinds of messaging,” Helm said. “Those who are already taking action on climate change need encouragement to continue that behavior, while those who are in the maladaptive avoidance coping group need to be encouraged to start doing something.”
1. How is the adaptive approach coping group different from the other group?| A．In their attitude toward climate change. |
| B．In their experience with climate change. |
| C．In their strategy for dealing with climate change. |
| D．In their achievements in dealing with climate change. |
| A．They felt no climate-related anxiety. |
| B．They looked at climate change differently. |
| C．They didn’t differ in mental and general health. |
| D．Neither showed concern for climate change. |
| A．It is useless for fighting climate change. |
| B．It only explains the demographic makeup. |
| C．It fails to deal with climate anxiety. |
| D．It is not obvious enough to separate the two groups. |
| A．All the messaging should be positive. |
| B．All the messaging should be reasonable. |
| C．There should be different kinds of messaging for everyone. |
| D．Climate change messaging should be tailored for different people. |
7 . When you’re worried about stumbling(绊脚), you look down at your feet when you walk. Similarly, fish also do so when they swim, a new study finds.
When water moves around them, fish have to find ways to stabilize themselves so they don’t get swept away. If they focus on other fish or other moving objects in the water, they might wrongly believe they are moving. Instead, when they look down and focus on the river bottom, they’re able to more correctly judge their movement and speed.
“There are many misleading motion cues(提示) above them, but the most abundant and reliable signals are from the bottom of the river” says study author Emma Alexander, an assistant professor of computer science at Northwestern University.
Researchers were fascinated by a recently discovered behavior where fish respond more strongly to motion below them than above them. To completely understand that behavior, they turned to zebrafish, which are often used for research and are well-studied. They had a team following the fish in a lab and another in India to analyze the fish in their natural habitat.
In the lab, they tracked fish’s movements inside a tank. Researchers recorded videos in seven sites around India—in shallow rivers where zebrafish are found. They placed a camera inside a waterproof case and attached it to a remotely controlled robotic arm. They put the camera in the water to see what the fish were doing.
Analyzing the videos and data, researchers found that in both the wild and the lab situations, zebrafish looked down when they were swimming forward. They came to the conclusion that the fish looked down in order to understand the motion around them and then they were able to avoid being swept away in the current.
“Understanding that ability not only helps researchers learn more about fish, it may also give them information when designing some robots. The finding of fish’s motion response can help us build artificial vision systems that benefit from the lessons of hundreds of millions of years of evolution behind them.” Alexander says.
1. Why do fish seldom focus on other moving objects above them?| A．To save energy for their moving. | B．To stay still in the water all the time. |
| C．To avoid misleading motion cues. | D．To protect themselves from enemies. |
| A．They collected a variety of fish from India. |
| B．They tracked fish’s movements in the rivers. |
| C．They created some natural habitats in their lab. |
| D．They interacted with fish in person in the water. |
| A．The secrets of fish in the water. | B．The value of the study finding. |
| C．The principles of designing robots. | D．The meaning of artificial vision systems. |
| A．Watch Below to Avoid Stumbling |
| B．Artificial Vision Systems Are Vital |
| C．Fish Look Down When They Swim |
| D．Fish-inspired Robots Will Take Shape |
8 . Juan Lopez is a custodian (看护人) at a community of ocean-side homes. One day, he was driving his truck through the neighborhood, making his rounds (巡查) to make sure everything was
When he
The pup looked up at Juan with big, sad eyes and let out a little cry. Juan grabbed a blanket from his truck. His plan was to
Juan had worked in the community for 25 years. Every night, he had made his rounds without
| A．in order | B．ahead of time | C．off schedule | D．let alone |
| A．tended | B．identified | C．hit | D．spotted |
| A．started | B．parked | C．abandoned | D．accelerated |
| A．rested | B．wandered | C．knelt | D．checked |
| A．surprised | B．eager | C．disappointed | D．amused |
| A．crying | B．cleaning | C．playing | D．washing |
| A．babies | B．hunters | C．food | D．games |
| A．panic | B．grow | C．entertain | D．fight |
| A．path | B．bike | C．sea | D．truck |
| A．fold | B．spread | C．throw | D．wave |
| A．baby | B．mother | C．medicine | D．trap |
| A．shelter | B．zoo | C．floor | D．ocean |
| A．desire | B．distress | C．comfort | D．melody |
| A．pup | B．blanket | C．adult | D．way |
| A．animal | B．pedestrian | C．incident | D．noise |
| A．hunting | B．barking | C．swimming | D．singing |
| A．went asleep | B．calmed down | C．walked away | D．held on |
| A．Strangely | B．Apparently | C．Amazingly | D．Unwillingly |
| A．left | B．recognized | C．landed | D．reached |
| A．greeting | B．gift | C．farewell | D．formal |
9 . Think about all the things you’ve eaten in the last 24 hours. Every fruit or vegetable you ate most likely relied on bees for pollination. Bees are tied so closely to the crops that humans depend on that they are often viewed as a barometer for the health of the environment. This makes the recent state of bees even more alarming. If bees are in trouble, so are we.
Several years ago, beekeepers began talking about a something called Colony Collapse Disorder. It occurred when healthy colonies of bees suddenly collapsed with no apparent reasons. The bees just seemed to abandon their hives, honey, and wax and disappear. Although the bee crisis began nearly a decade ago, scientists are still unsure exactly what the problem is. Most likely, several factors are involved, which makes a solution even more difficult to find. It is obvious that increased pesticide use is contributing to the problem. Bees that are weakened by the use of a pesticide might be more susceptible to disease. Another problem is that bees are having trouble finding enough of the nectar and pollen (花蜜与花粉) they need for survival. Weather conditions and humans are both at fault here. Changes in weather, such as long-term droughts, affect the growth of wildflowers. Major corporate farms plant massive fields of single crops, like corn or wheat, which provide little for the bees. Even suburban backyards showcase green lawns frequently free of unwanted weeds like clover or dandelions that can attract bees.
So what can be done about the bee crisis? Will bees become extinct like so many other species? Will our selection of foods become much more limited? We don’t know the answers, but spreading awareness is one step in the right direction. Planting an assortment of flowering plants can help attract and feed bees. Buying organic produce whenever possible can decrease the demand for crops treated with pesticides. And letting your yard be just a little more natural might help bring back the tiny buzzing creatures that play an important part in Earth’s ecosystem.
1. Which is similar to “barometer”?| A．Victim. | B．Indicator. | C．Criminal. | D．Substitute. |
| A．The attacks suffered by bees. | B．The disappearance of beekeepers. |
| C．The decline of the bee populations. | D．The lack of order of the bee colonies. |
| A．Increased pesticide use produces grain. | B．Farms plant a rich diversity of crops. |
| C．Long-term droughts influence wildflowers. | D．Lawns are free of unwanted weeds. |
| A．To illustrate the possible consequences caused by the bee crisis. |
| B．To explain why a solution to the bee crisis is difficult to find. |
| C．To raise public awareness that climate changes worsen the bee crisis. |
| D．To present the current bee crisis, its causes and possible solutions. |
10 . A strong sense of smell is a key component of a healthy and enjoyable life. Yet our sense of smell is in decline as a result of an unnoticed threat to our health: air pollution.
Scientists are finding that anosmia, a loss of the sense of smell, is becoming a widespread problem among people of all ages exposed to PM2. 5 pollutants constantly, which are tiny particles (微粒) that can enter our bodies with every breath we take.
The reason, they suggest, is that the olfactory bulbs (嗅球), which are located in our noses and packed with nerve endings, are affected by exposure to air pollution. The tiny particles cause illness either in the bulbs themselves or in the brain, impacting our sense of smell over time, “Our data show the risk of developing anosmia with constant particulate pollution is 1.6 to 1.7 times higher,” says Ramanathan, a doctor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, America.
Ramanathan is an author of a recent study of nearly 2,700 patients, a fifth of whom had anosmia despite many of them being non- smokers.’ When he and his colleagues looked into the backgrounds of the affected patients, they found most of them lived in neighborhoods with significantly higher levels of air pollution.
The findings prove other studies with similar findings. One of these studies, conducted in a town in Italy, found that more than 200 teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 suffered olfactory damage as a result of exposure to NO2, a common component in traf-fic emissions. “This is alarming as olfactory loss affects patient safety, well-being, and it is a predictor of poor health,” says Ramanathan.
Yet the loss of a sense of smell is a condition that is often overlooked though it can bring about numerous health problems. A sense of smell is linked to memory as well and life is a lot less fun without it. “People don’t remember what the pastry that they ate in childhood looked like, but they remember what the shop smelled like,” says Ramanathan.
1. How air pollution negatively influences our sense of smell!?| A．It blocks the inside transport of information. |
| B．It prevents the nerve system functioning normally. |
| C．It leads to the brain requiring more time to respond. |
| D．It results in diseases in the olfactory bulbs or the brain, |
| A．Air pollution can rob us of our sense of smell. |
| B．Smokers are more likely to suffer from anosmia. |
| C．Traffic emissions contribute a lot to air pollution. |
| D．Exposure to PM2.5 pollutants occasionally is harmless. |
| A．Confusing and astonishing. | B．Complicated but treatable. |
| C．Critical and concerning. | D．Disturbing but temporary. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A science website. |
| C．A biology textbook. | D．An art magazine. |
