1 . On Feb. 21, four students were standing on the side of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when a driver going 110 miles per hour lost control of his car and it crashed into the parked vehicles.12 people were killed at the scene, including 2 drivers.
This kind of traffic death shouldn’t be called an accident. In Los Angeles, we seem to have accepted constant carnage (屠杀) in our streets in exchange for maximizing driver speed and convenience. The official responses to proven traffic dangers are mere gestures, if even that.
Los Angeles is a uniquely deadly city with a death rate that is four times the national average. Unsurprisingly, it’s also a city that has been designed with one thing in mind: a concept called level of service, which grades streets on how well they serve those in automobiles. To many Angelenos, that makes sense — to design our streets for car traffic, which is the way many get around the city. Unfortunately, we don’t recognize that there’s a trade-off. We can either have streets bettered for free-flowing traffic, or we can design streets for people to move around safely outside of cars.
City leaders consistently choose for the easy but deadly option. In one recent example, a resident asked the city’s Department of Transportation to block drivers from using Cochran Avenue at Venice Boulevard as a cut-through street, as they were speeding through a quiet residential neighbourhood. The department responded by suggesting a “speed awareness campaign” in which neighbours put up yard signs urging drivers to slow down.
People don’t drive based on signage, but they drive on the design of the street. The trunk roads of Los Angeles such as Venice Boulevard all need to be revised so that people are prioritized over cars. This would include narrowing travel lanes (道), building bike lanes, and banning right turns at red lights. These measures would make drivers feel like they’re in a city and not on a highway. A recent John Hopkins study says this would have substantial safety benefits.
With more than 7,500 miles of streets in the city of Los Angeles, they won’t all be rebuilt anytime soon. But with each road construction project, or each crash, we should be revising streets to make them safer for all road users.
The solution to traffic jam isn’t to make more space for cars. It’s to design the streets to be safe enough for alternatives such as biking, walking and mass transit, especially for the 50% of trips daily in Los Angeles that are less than three miles. The solution to protecting people dining outdoors isn’t crash barriers. It’s a street design that forces drivers to go slowly. The problem is carnage in the streets, and we know the solutions.
1. Why should the traffic death in Los Angeles be called “constant carnage”?| A．The traffic accidents happen quite often. |
| B．Too many people are killed in the traffic accidents. |
| C．The drivers’ speeding is to blame for the traffic death. |
| D．City leaders’ consistent choice contributes to the traffic death. |
| A．Balance. | B．Guideline. | C．Conflict. | D．Resolution. |
| A．To widen travel lanes. | B．To add more crosswalks. |
| C．To arrange more traffic police. | D．To punish speeding drivers. |
| A．Drivers first or walkers first? | B．Traffic death or constant carnage? |
| C．More warning signs or safer designs? | D．More narrow lanes or speedy highways? |
2 . Eleven o’clock at night saw a large woman with a large purse walking alone, when a boy ran up behind and tried to snatch (抢夺) her purse. But the boy lost his balance and fell on his back. The woman picked him up firmly by his shirt front.
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” shouted the woman. Two or three people passed, stopped, and stood watching.
“I’m very sorry, lady. I’m sorry,” whispered the skinny little boy, in broken tennis shoes.
“Um-hum! And your face is dirty,” said the large woman dragging the frightened boy. “Since you put yourself in contact with me, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Jones.”
He began to struggle, but Mrs. Jones continued to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside. “What’s your name?” the woman asked.
“Roger,” answered the boy in a low voice. “Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,” ordered the woman and finally let go of him.
“You gonna take me to jail (监狱)?” asked Roger, bending over the sink.
“Not with that face,” said Mrs. Jones. “I believe you were hungry to snatch my purse.”
“I wanted a pair of blue shoes,” replied the boy.
There was a long pause. After he had dried his face, the boy turned around. The door was open. He could run!
After a while the woman said, “I was young once and I wanted things I could not get. I have done things too, which I would not tell anybody else, son.” There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened.
Then Mrs. Jones went to do the cooking. She did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run, nor did she watch her purse left behind her. She did not ask him anything about where he lived, or his folks. Instead, as they ate, she told him a lot about her job in a hotel shop and how all kinds of people came in and out. She cut him another piece of her cake.
When they finished eating, she got up and said, “Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue shoes. Do not make the mistake, because shoes come by devilish ways like that will burn your feet.”
She led him to the front door. “Good night! Behave yourself, son!” she said, looking out into the street.
1. How did Roger feel when Mrs. Jones mentioned her past?| A．Frightened. | B．Surprised. | C．Settled. | D．Ashamed. |
| A．She intended to go easy on him. |
| B．He reminded her of her own son. |
| C．He put himself to be in contact with her. |
| D．She lacked an excuse to teach him a lesson. |
| A．Kind and generous. | B．Able and ambitious. |
| C．Frank and cooperative. | D．Calm and courageous. |
| A．Home is where the heart is. |
| B．Life is full of ups and downs. |
| C．A best parent is to lead by example. |
| D．A good deed shines the light into the dark. |
3 . We need people like you, who understand the power of science, to fund the research that will change lives in the future.
By donating to the Medical Research Foundation (MRF), you’ll be funding the research that future generations will depend on. MRF is an independent charity, focused solely on funding quality medical research. With close links to the Medical Research Council (MRC), we’re able to choose the most impactful studies and adapt quickly to meet any emerging health crisis, thanks to the support of people like you.
Your gift can support some of the brightest scientific minds. Many of these scientists are at the beginning of their careers, when funding is hardest to secure. Your support at this critical time can provide the springboard that a scientist needs to drive their research and career forward, ensuring they can continue to make life-changing discoveries.
MRF has supported researchers tackling pressing challenges like the Bird Flu, as well as vital areas of research that are often overlooked by other funders, ensuring we fill the gaps in our medical knowledge and protect the future of human health.
As someone interested in science, you will understand that while no one can predict what we will face next, we can be certain that it is only through ambitious, high-quality medical research that we will meet whatever new challenges come our way. By leaving a donation, you can have a lasting impact on science and on the future of human health.
| A．Provide service for the MRC. | B．Predict emerging health crisis. |
| C．Fund quality medical research. | D．Donate to people interested in science. |
| A．fill the gaps in medical knowledge |
| B．tackle the future pressing challenges |
| C．choose the most impactful medical studies |
| D．support some of the brightest scientific minds |
| A．To raise medical research funds. |
| B．To introduce the impact by donation. |
| C．To analyse the health crisis in the future. |
| D．To employ people devoted to medical research. |
Are you still discussing and getting your head round Chat GPT,
Although Start of Autumn, the 13th traditional Chinese solar term, often indicates the
In my old school days, running
Recently, a video of college students in military style cotton coats to class
In America, high school grades are used to decide
Leo has always been the kind of child who looks for close connections. When Leo was in preschool, he befriended Neve, who was only two. When Neve was not around, instead of finding a new partner, Leo began to treat Celia, a voice assistant, as his new friend.
At first, Leo mostly asked Celia factual questions like “How many stars are there in the Milky Way?” He then turned to the personal questions, “Celia, how old are you?” She responded, “Age is nothing but a number.” He insisted, in the way children do, “How old are you?” She replied, “I’m not qualified for a driver’s license, but it may be more to do with the fact that I don’t have a body.”
As time passed by, Leo began to engage Celia on more, let’s say, existential questions. “When will the sun swallow the earth?” he asked. “7.5 billion years,” according to Celia. Leo was satisfied, “Oh, okay. I’ll be dead by then.” Then he asked, “Why does everything on earth have to die?” She replied coldly, “I’m having trouble with the connection.” Celia, I realized, had an avoidant communication style, often hiding behind some kind of technical problems when she didn’t like a question.
As a mother, it was strange to see my child interacting with a virtual assistant rather than a real person. But I also recognized that Celia was providing him with a kind of emotional support that he wasn’t getting elsewhere. In a way, she was like a diary that talked back.
I wondered if this reliance on technology was healthy, but I knew that Leo was far from alone in seeking comfort in his devices. Although I hope that Leo will continue to seek out human connections, I’m grateful to Celia for being there for my son when he needed her. And who knows? Maybe she’ll turn out to be his soulmate after all.
1. What is Celia?2. What kind of questions did Leo ask Celia at first?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Leo’s mother encourages him to seek out human connections and disagrees with his interacting with Celia.
4. What do you think of virtual assistants becoming a source of emotional support for people? (In about 40 words)
10 . Offload Thoughts
In our busy world, we rush from task to task, often leaving us feeling easily angered. We seek out technology or brain-enhancing products to help us optimize (最优化) our productivity, but end up running on a never-ending hamster(仓鼠) wheel.
Research shows that spending too much time optimizing our thoughts for perfect outcomes not only leaves us feeling exhausted, but can also have harmful effects on our wellbeing and work output. Optimizing thoughts requires being highly focused. But it just goes against the way our minds work. That is to say, efficiency isn’t always productive when we pursue it.
Our brain essentially has two main modes of operating: the “focus network” and the “default mode network.” When one network works, the other physically can’t turn on. The modern world often demands we live in the focus network and the default mode network is often less celebrated.
Cognitive (认知的) offloading is an accessible practice. It has the potential to not only release emotions, but enhance mental capabilities, too. Even just a few moments of creative flow — like offloading the feelings of anxiety by doodling (涂鸦) before a meeting — can have a strong impact on emotions.
| A．The functionality is simpler than you might imagine. |
| B．Give ourselves a few minutes to offload our emotions. |
| C．Being focused all the time can eventually lead to less self-control. |
| D．Fortunately, there is a way to stop this kind of always-on mentality. |
| E．It’s no surprise that the majority of us feel more exhausted than ever. |
| F．But spending more time on the latter offers a form of “insurance” for our emotions. |
| G．What’s more, this exercise can help give the brain the space to make new connections. |
