1 . According to scientists, some tomatoes grown indoors are now just as flavorful as the ones grown outdoors in perfect summer conditions. There has been a lot of research and investment (投资) in hydroponic (水栽的) greenhouses, which allow farmers to grow tomatoes without soil, in recent years as consumers have needed more and better fresh vegetables year-round. “There’s a lot of techniques you can use to grow tomatoes off-season,” says Neil Mattson, co-director of Cornell University’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program. In the past five years, greenhouse tomato production has doubled.
That doesn’t mean all the tomatoes currently being grown in greenhouses are very flavorful. Flavor sometimes gets sacrificed for high yields (产量), just as it does in the production of commercial field-grown tomatoes. “The greenhouse is such an expensive structure that we’re paying a lot to heat and light,” Mattson says. Therefore, farmers often need to grow a lot of tomatoes to make up for it. “And just like the field-grown varieties, much greenhouse-grown fruit is harvested before its peak (顶峰) and travels long distances before it ends up in a supermarket,” he says.
But that’s all changing with the new hydroponic system. Researchers are now trying their best to save some ripening (成熟的) time by growing produce locally. Gotham Greens, based in New York City, grows hydroponic tomatoes year-round and sells them to local restaurants and supermarkets. And Backyard Farms, based in Maine, supplies its hydroponically grown crop to nearby markets in the Northeast.
“It’s becoming increasingly important now that global warming is making outdoor farming less predictable (可预料的) , but greenhouse growers don’t have to worry about a heavy rain or a cold day destroying their fruit,” says Gene Giacomelli, who directs the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona. The advantages of a greenhouse are that growers can control the amount of heat and light their crops get. Many are equipped with man-made lights that growers can turn on when sunlight is not enough. And the hydroponic system allows them to control pretty much everything else.
“That’s not to say we’ll value the summer harvest any less. In the end, I still love growing my own tomatoes in my backyard in the summer,” Mattson says. “It’s psychological (心理的) ,but I think they taste best.”
1. What benefited the doubling of greenhouse tomato production?| A．Improving the taste of tomatoes. |
| B．Developing high-yielding tomatoes. |
| C．Growing tomatoes all year round outdoors now. |
| D．Using technology for tomatoes’ growth off-season. |
| A．Settled for. | B．Turned up. | C．Given up. | D．Looked down. |
| A．farmers’ expectation to ensure tomatoes’ high yield |
| B．researchers’ efforts to make tomatoes more flavorful |
| C．the need for locally grow n high-quality tomatoes |
| D．the important change in produce transportation systems |
| A．By making the soil richer for planting. |
| B．By improving crop’s adaptability to climate change. |
| C．By providing better conditions for crops’ growth. |
| D．By giving much more correct and timely weather predictions. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Unconcerned. |
2 . In the first half of 2022, scientists studying animal communication discovered that some dogs connect objects with words at a similar level to babies. Then what about cats, which are commonly believed to be unconcerned about human affairs?
Saho Takagi, a researcher at Azabu University, doubted cats’ seeming unconcern. “Cats don’t appear to listen to people’s conversations, but in fact, they do.” According to a past research, cats understand human communication better than expected. Like dogs, they can use human pointing and stares to find food. They even can tell the difference between human facial expressions and attentional states, according to a 2021 study. However, cats can do more than that.
Another study showed that cats can discriminate their human-given name from the names of their cat friends (those that live in the same house). The researchers believed that cats learned to connect names with other cats by observing communication between their owners and their cat friends.
In a recently published study, Takagi and her colleagues compared two groups of cats: one group was made up of house cats and lived with at least two other cats; the other was made up of cats that lived in “cat cafés”, which had up to 30 cats. They used a simple, two-phase(阶段) test. During the name phase, the study participant(参与者) was softly placed in front of a laptop computer. Then the researcher played a recording of its owner saying the name of its cat companions(同伴).
Immediately after the name phase came the face phase. A cat’s face appeared on the monitor. Sometimes, the cat that appeared on the screen matched the name spoken; other times the name and the picture did not match. If cats knew the names of their cat friends, they would investigate by staring doubtfully at the monitor when the name and the picture did not match. House cats had a significantly longer stare than café cats, indicating that house cats generally expected an exact cat’s face upon hearing the cat’s name.
“This is the first to show that house cats link human words and their social companions through daily experiences,” the researchers wrote, “However, we could not recognize the mechanism(机制) for learning. But with more and more scientists becoming interested in cats who are much smarter than we praise them, this question is sure to be solved.”
1. What’s people’s common understanding of cats?| A．They have their own language. |
| B．They show no interest in human things. |
| C．They can connect objects with words. |
| D．They can use human instructions to find food. |
| A．cats and dogs get along well with humans |
| B．cats’ ability to learn is stronger than dogs’ |
| C．cats’ ability goes beyond body language recognition |
| D．cats and dogs are all clever animals in people’s eyes |
| A．Tell. | B．Protect. | C．Excuse. | D．Learn. |
| A．They are curious about cat names. |
| B．They know the names of their cat friends. |
| C．They are dependent on their owners. |
| D．They like communicating with each other. |
| A．How cats can recognize other cats’ face. |
| B．Whether cats are much smarter than expected. |
| C．Whether cats can understand human communication. |
| D．How cats link human words and their social companions. |
3 . Last year, I raced the Acura Ten Miler in Toronto. With 1-2 miles left, I noticed a female runner ahead of me who was weaving (穿行) in and out of a group of people, looking pale. Realizing something was wrong, I found a police officer and told him about it, and waited until she was close enough that I could point her out. He immediately called for an ambulance. I ran off and wondered how many people passed me, but I knew I did the right thing.
This Saturday, I raced the Canada Day 5K in Burlington. I’ve raced the course many times. My friend Monica and I went together with a goal to run competitively. I wanted to finish faster than I did in June, when my 5K time was 21:57. I felt it realistic to beat that time.
When the starting gun sounded, I went out fast and happened to run shoulder to shoulder with Monica’s daughter, but I soon pulled ahead. Shortly after, though, I heard “Please help me” from behind. Monica’s daughter is athletic, but she’s learning to run faster with her asthma (哮喘). Knowing that she had trouble, I stopped.
We finished the last 2K together. It troubled me when some runners passed me, and I had to stop to walk with her for a bit. But I thought making sure she was okay was more important, so I talked to her through the rest of the race. We finished together and cheered for her mom as she crossed the finishing line.
At last, my time was a bit longer than I wanted, but I was okay with that. If I had based my time on my age group’s winning time, I would have met my goal time. But I thought I made the right decision to help this girl get to the finishing line safely. For me, that was what mattered on Sunday morning. There will always be another race.
1. What did the author do during the Acura Ten Miler race?| A．She made new friends. | B．She helped a woman get rescued. |
| C．She broke her past record. | D．She stopped halfway due to illness. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Nervous. | C．Bored. | D．Confident. |
| A．By keeping her company. | B．By finding her mother. |
| C．By calling her an ambulance. | D．By cheering for her courage. |
| A．Honest and dependable. | B．Amazing and hard-working. |
| C．Helpful and kind. | D．Talkative and cheerful. |
| A．Learn to walk before you run. | B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．All roads lead to Rome. | D．Winning is not everything. |
4 . Youth Speech Competition
UNICEF is working towards a world where every child has what they need to survive and develop. But we can’t do it without big ideas from young people — young people who are brave enough to share their brilliant ideas with the world. UNICEF USA and TED-Ed invite young people to create their own talks on the rights of children and the problems young people face around the world.
One winner will be invited to UNICEF USA’s Annual Student Summit to make his/her speech on stage!
Criteria (标准)Youths aged 10-18 (if you are under 13, you must have a parent or teacher to help you register (报名)).
Must register online.
Your video must be under 2 minutes.
Deadline (截止时间): Your video must be handed in by midnight, January 27, 2023.Topics of Discussion:
●Migration ●Sustainable (可持续的) Development ●Values and Beliefs
Prizes
Winners will be announced on February 4, 2023.
One winner will be invited to make his/her speech on stage on UNICEF USA’s Annual Student Summit in Washington, D. C. on March 16-17, 2023!
UNICEF USA will pay for all travel expenses (flights and hotels). The student will be responsible for personal meals and personal expenses. If you are under the age of 18, you will need to travel with a responsible adult chaperone (监护人). UNICEF USA will pay for the chaperone’s travel expenses as well.
How to RegisterCreate an account (账户) using this link: ed.ted.com/unicefusa.
Once your account has been created, return to the TED-Ed Student Talks page and register!
Once you’ve handed in your registration, allow 2-3 days for processing.
Once you’ve recorded your talk, upload it using the “Upload” tab in your Resource Library on the TED-Ed website.
1. What will UNICEF USA and TED-Ed welcome?| A．Excellent paintings. | B．Brilliant articles. |
| C．Interesting stories. | D．Creative ideas. |
| A．Pay an entry fee. | B．Attend a training class. |
| C．Send a speech video within 2 minutes. | D．Perform on stage in Washington, D. C. |
| A．It has no age limit. | B．It focus on social issues. |
| C．It provides free meals. | D．It is held every two years. |
| A．On January 27, 2023. | B．On February 4, 2023. |
| C．On April 18, 2023. | D．On March 16-17, 2023. |
| A．visit TED-Ed’s website | B．send an e-mail |
| C．sign up in a library | D．call workers from TED |
— . I will wash it tonight.
| A．No kidding | B．Forget it |
| C．You’re welcome | D．I’m afraid not |
| A．were; was | B．was; was | C．was; were | D．were; were |
| A．will be having | B．will have | C．have | D．had |
8 . I start my workday early, parking myself in front of my home computer and often forgetting to get up for hours. But one thing I try to do every day is take a ten-minute walk around midday.
Walking at lunchtime is a smart thing to do, a new study finds. This doesn’t seem like news. After all, we’ve known forever that doing exercise is good for us. But as The New York Times points out, those fitness studies typically looked at the effects of exercise plans in the long run. This new study looks at changes that happen more quickly, from one day to the next or even from this hour to the next hour.
For the study, researchers gathered a group of mostly sedentary(久坐的) office workers in the UK. All were out of shape, but otherwise emotionally and physically healthy. Researchers asked them to take 30-minute lunchtime walks, three days a week for 10 weeks. The volunteers were also asked to install apps on their phones, so that the researchers could send the volunteers questions after they walked. Then the researchers used those answers to judge how the volunteers were feeling about life and work, and to measure their feelings about everything from stress and tension to motivation.
When the researchers compared the volunteers’ answers on the afternoons when they walked to those on the afternoons they didn’t walk, there was quite a difference. On the days when they had a lunchtime walk, the volunteers said they felt less stressed, more energetic and more relaxed versus(与……相对) on the days when they didn’t walk.
Unfortunately, the researchers said many of the volunteers didn’t believe they’d be able to continue walking once the study ended, mainly because they were expected to work through
their lunch breaks. It’s an understandable response, but a sad one.1. How does the new study differ from other fitness studies?
| A．It calls on people to have a walk after lunch. |
| B．It focuses on the short-term effects of walking. |
| C．It mainly pays attention to sedentary office workers. |
| D．It aims at studying the relationship between exercise and health. |
| A．To record their time spent online. |
| B．To know how long they walked. |
| C．To prevent them from getting lost. |
| D．To respond to the researchers’ questions. |
| A．Lunchtime walks can soon improve people’s mood. |
| B．Office workers usually have little time to go for a walk. |
| C．A sedentary lifestyle is linked to an increased risk of disease. |
| D．Walking brings more advantages to people than other exercise. |
| A．They will spend more time walking. |
| B．Some of them tend to be more outgoing. |
| C．Most of them will perform better at work. |
| D．They may stop lunchtime walks due to work pressure. |
| A．assigned | B．suspected | C．declined | D．detected |
10 . Although heat wasn’t an issue at first, as it would become later, coming from New York to India would shock any foreign tourists. Quickly, however, I noticed how nice and helpful everyone was to us. The guest house we stayed in was full of people willing to help. The other two volunteers also helped to calm my nerves about being in India so far away from my home. After the first few days I was eager to get to Bal Ashram.
Upon getting to Bal Ashram, I was able to meet the boys, who called Bal Ashram their home. The center itself helps to rescue boys from child labor in various areas of India and give them a jumpstart into education for free where they will then return to their families and continue their education. They are taught that without education there can be no future. Through education, Bal Ashram also builds a sense of community which can be seen with everyone who works and is taught here. Teaching English here to the children gave me great pride in knowing that these children would be helped within their own experiences here at Bal Ashram and their future lives. Each child was always willing to learn more.
Boys there were always seen laughing. Afternoon sports and nightly social events, including dancing, were just one of the many highlights with me and the children. Even my inner life was enriched (充实), let alone theirs. Living in Bal Ashram also gave us a first hand view of village, life in India, as well as the culture and religion that surrounds this country.
My time spent at Bal Ashram was one I will never forget. Through the simplicity and life of the people and the children who are full of innocence (天真) and joy, I have taken with me so much more than when I arrived.
1. Why did the author come to India?| A．To learn about Indian culture and religion. |
| B．To learn about the life in Indian villages. |
| C．To work as a volunteer English teacher. |
| D．To rescue Indian boys from hard labor. |
| A．The unfair treatment by other volunteers. |
| B．The hot weather. |
| C．The communication problems. |
| D．The culture and religion differences |
| A．encourage boys to get close to strangers |
| B．develop the boys’ interest in studying |
| C．offer those boys a family atmosphere |
| D．enrich the inner life of those boys |
