Recently, Chinese people from all walks of life
Our society is becoming increasingly competitive when population outgrows resources. Accordingly,
Netizens now use involution to describe their current conditions, especially in the study of children. Parents feel stressed
Too much pressure is bound to do harm to children physically and mentally. Parents should cool down firstly and relieve their own anxiety, taking
2 . People will say firmly their childhood memory is real, offering amazing detail as proof that it must be, and getting upset if you suggest they are wrong.
But, for years, scientists have questioned whether these memories could actually be true, given what we know about neuroscience (神经科学) and the brain. The human brain grows and develops in clear stages. As it grows and creates and adapts, so different developmental stages are reached. These stages are the result of millions of years of evolution (进化). Now, finally, a study has proved this. Researchers from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, reviewed decades worth of data to understand the earliest age at which lasting memories form and they have believed that it is around 30 months.
So people who think they remember something from when they were a baby are, I am afraid, mistaken. The problem with early memories is that they are very easy to fabricate, which is what I did.
I have a vivid image of standing in the garden, my mum holding a flower and laughing. It’s one of my first memories. I must have been 18 months old because we moved from that house before I was two. I could swear it was real.
Years ago, when I shared this memory with my mum, she shook her head and produced a photo. It showed her in a garden, laughing and holding a flower. But it was taken three years before I was born. That beautiful memory is a work of fiction (虚构): an old photo that used to hang on the wall.
I’ll admit to feeling shocked and robbed when I realized this memory was entirely false. It made me question other things I remember as a child, too. A study into this event published a few years ago found that around 40 per cent of us say that we have memories from before the age of two. But it’s the mind playing tricks on us taking old stories or photos and turning them into a memory.
While it can be disappointing to realize that a recollection you hold so dear might not be true, it does provide a good lesson in how changeable memory can be.
1. When is a child’s lasting memory formed?| A．When he is 18 months old. | B．When he is two years old. |
| C．When he is three years old. | D．When he is 30 months old. |
| A．Sign up. | B．Make up. |
| C．Concentrate on. | D．Bring back. |
| A．To prove his argument. | B．To attract readers’ attention. |
| C．To show off his good memory. | D．To explain how memories form. |
| A．A study published a few years ago proved false. |
| B．Our mind is always fond of playing tricks on us. |
| C．The author is curious about everything during his childhood. |
| D．The author felt surprised realizing his childhood memory was false. |
3 . Are you wondering whether it’s worth going for a little jog? Don’t hesitate, and get your sports shoes on. A new study shows that proper running lowers the risk of premature (过早的) death.
In an analysis of 14 previous studies from the US and Denmark, the group of researchers from institutes in Australia and Finland concluded that increasing running participation would probably lead to substantial improvements in population health and longevity. The studies involved 232,149 participants over time periods ranging from 5.5 to 35 years.
Overall, people running any distance were associated with a 27% lower risk of death from all causes than those who did not, the analysis shows. Running was also associated with a 30% and 23% lower risk of death from cardiovascular (心血管的) disease and cancer, respectively.
Previous studies had concluded “inconsistent findings” about whether running could lower the risk of premature death, according to the researchers. Lead researcher Jim White, a professor at Victoria University in Melbourne, told CNN, “Our recent findings may motivate physically inactive individuals to take up running and those who already run to keep on doing it.”
He added that doctors may be encouraged by our findings to promote running as a part of “lifestyle medicine”. In their paper, which will be published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the researchers say health professionals are sometimes wary of promoting running because vigorous (剧烈的) use of it has been linked with sudden cardiac death.
Jim and his team countered this by noting that the benefit of running outweighs the risk. However, they did say advice should be given on a case-by-case basis, as running might not be appropriate for everyone. Although running has a clear overall health benefit, the researchers point out that higher “doses” of running may not reduce the risk of premature death further. According to the WHO’s guidelines, adults aged between 18 and 64 should take 150 minutes of gentle exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week.
1. What did the new study focus on?| A．The benefit of jog. | B．People’s lifestyles. |
| C．People’s living conditions. | D．The popularity of jog. |
| A．Researchers’ promotion of sport. |
| B．People’s involvement in running. |
| C．Doctors’ quicker treatment. |
| D．People’s losing weight. |
| A．Certain. | B．Capable. |
| C．Confident. | D．Cautious. |
| A．The risk of exercising vigorously. |
| B．The suggestion on running appropriately. |
| C．The reason why people should keep running. |
| D．The argument about whether running benefits people. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）, 并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（╲）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
1. I still remember the year that we studied our English in college.
2. He persuaded others make a voyage of adventure.
3. He was extreme generous to give away all his money to the poor.
4. This book is worthy to read because there are many interesting stories in this book.
5. To our amazing, the little boy should lift such a heavy stone.
6. With all the books he was interested in buying, Tom left the bookshop with great satisfaction.
7. I’d appreciate if you could take my application into consideration.
8. This is an article concerned the problems of overcrowded cities.
9. He hurried to take the suitcases and occupying himself with packing the car.
10. Since the outbreak of the NCP, we stayed at home for more than two months.
5 . Light pollution is blocking a starry view of the night sky for more than half of people across England, a research has found.
Fifty-seven percent of stargazers(观星者)struggled to see more than 10 stars, while just 2% of participants said they experienced a truly dark sky enabling them to count more than 30, according to the research by the Campaign to Protect Rural England(CPRE). People in the countryside were encouraged to count how many stars they could see with eyes within the constellation(星座)of Orion, which is visible only in the winter months.
Campaigners said the results of the star count, supported by the British Astronomical Association, showed the problem of light pollution and how it affected one of the countryside's most magical sights-a dark, starry night sky. They said the results of the research to map England's night skies suggested more could be done by the government, local councils and the general public to lessen the negative effects of artificial light from streets and buildings.
Emma Marrington, dark skies campaigner at the CPRE, said, “We're hugely grateful to the people who took the time to get out and take part in our star count. But it's deeply disappointing that the vast majority were unable to experience the natural wonder of a truly dark sky blanketed with stars. Without intervention, our night sky will continue to be lost under a covering of artificial light, ruining the health of the natural world.”
She added, “The star count results show just how far-reaching the light from street lights and buildings can be seen. Light doesn't respect boundaries, and careless use can see it spread for miles from cities.”
She suggested better-designed lighting, street light dimming(暗淡)systems and partnight lighting where some street lights are turned off during the small hours should provide an opportunity to limit the damage caused by light pollution, reduce carbon emissions and save money.
1. What effect does the light pollution bring about to England?| A．It leads the stars to disappear. |
| B．It makes the countryside dim. |
| C．It makes the environment terrible. |
| D．It prevents the people seeing stars. |
| A．The overuse of artificial light. |
| B．More and more buildings. |
| C．Less and less outdoor activities. |
| D．The spread of light in the countryside. |
| A．Regretful. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Appreciative. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Changing the streets' design. |
| B．Turning off lights at night. |
| C．Spreading light further. |
| D．Using street lights wisely. |
6 . Can robots be creative? British art gallery owner Aidan Meller thinks so. He hopes to begin answering that question with a robot called Ai-Da. Meller is overseeing the building of all her parts by engineers at Engineered Arts, a company based in Cornwall, England. The engineers believe the robot will be able to make pictures of people from sight with a writing instrument in her hand. Meller wants the robot to perform like a human artist.
He spoke to the Reuters news agency after seeing Ai-Da’s head being carefully brought to life by specialists who were connecting individual hairs to form eyebrows. He said, “She’s going to actually be drawing and we’re hoping to then build technology for her to paint.” But also as a performing artist, “she’ll be able to engage with audiences and actually get messages across, asking those questions about technology today,” he added.
Ai-Da’s skeletal robotic head may still be separate from her body, but her movements are very alive. Cameras in each of her eyeballs recognize human body parts. Ai-Da will make eye contact and follow you around the room, opening and closing her mouth as you do. If you get too close, the robot will back away, closing and then opening her eyes as if in shock.
The specialists are using the company’s Mesmer lifelike robot technology to create her head. Once finished, Ai-Da will have a mixed-race appearance, with long dark hair and rubber-like skin made from silicone. The teeth and skin inside her mouth will come from a 3-D printer. Marcus Hold works at Engineered Arts. He said “Mesmer brings together the development of software mechanics and electronics to produce a lifelike face with lifelike gestures in a small human sized package.”
Ai-Da will make her first public appearance at an exhibit called “Unsecured Futures” at the University of Oxford. Some of her pictures are expected to appear at another show in London later this year.
1. What does Meller want Ai-Da to be?| A．A consultant. | B．An engineer. |
| C．A professional painter. | D．A robot artist. |
| A．Step back. | B．Keep still. |
| C．Run away. | D．Speak aloud. |
| A．Doing housework. | B．Taking care of the old. |
| C．Interacting with persons. | D．Making up like humans. |
| A．Ai-Da, a Creative Robot | B．Meller, a Great Engineer |
| C．Ai-Da Makes Painting Easier | D．Meller Helps Robot Cleverer |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Last summer, a Romanian family moves into our neighborhood and a friend introduced me to them. They were a young couple with an 8-year-old daughter. Both parents worked and the girl were going to be on her own a lot of. She truly wanted to improve poor English. Therefore, I offered to look after her but teach her English during a summer holiday. To my delighted, she got on well with my daughter. What was surprised was that they became best friend. To be honest, I am really grateful for that I made up my mind to do for the girl during that summer.
8 . Years ago when Sam was nine, a television advertisement caught his attention. Procter & Gamble started an advertisement campaign with “the Cheer Man”, a character who visited
Sam was
Young Sam made a sign with the Cheer logo(标志) and
Time went by and the ad was not on
The next summer when Sam was ten, he
Sam watched
Young Sam learned a valuable
| A．classrooms | B．companies | C．surroundings | D．neighborhoods |
| A．raise | B．spend | C．receive | D．save |
| A．convinced | B．pleased | C．doubted | D．accused |
| A．informal | B．impossible | C．unexpected | D．unusual |
| A．visit | B．advertisement | C．wait | D．party |
| A．hung | B．threw | C．hid | D．spread |
| A．curious | B．stressful | C．ready | D．puzzled |
| A．believed in | B．relied on | C．laughed at | D．responded to |
| A．inviting | B．encouraging | C．forcing | D．requiring |
| A．newspaper | B．television | C．radio | D．book |
| A．only | B．yet | C．already | D．still |
| A．changed | B．ruined | C．celebrated | D．attended |
| A．ignored | B．kept | C．heard | D．suggested |
| A．closer | B．faster | C．nicer | D．better |
| A．peacefully | B．excitedly | C．sadly | D．slowly |
| A．whispered | B．begged | C．climbed | D．rushed |
| A．dreamed | B．planned | C．organized | D．written |
| A．combination | B．pace | C．description | D．manner |
| A．speech | B．lesson | C．experience | D．conclusion |
| A．birth | B．business | C．gift | D．future |
9 . Looking for a fun Earth Day activity? You may want to try plogging, or picking up litter while jogging. Strange as it may sound, the new “sport" is becoming popular with runners worldwide? many of whom are posting photos of themselves and friends holding bags of trash on social media.
Plogging is the idea of Erik Alstrom. In 2016, after moving to Stockholm in northern Sweden, Alstrom showed concern over the amount of trash on the road during his daily bike ride to work. Thus, he began plogging during his daily runs.
Other joggers soon joined Alstrom, and the activity became so popular that official “plogging" events started all across Sweden. As plogging became popular on social media, the new “sport" began to spread beyond Sweden, first to other European countries and then worldwide.
The official online “Plogga" group now includes members from over 40 countries, all the way from United States cities like Ohio to Thailand and Ecuador. Many school running clubs are also getting in on the action to encourage people, staging competitions that reward the runners with the heaviest trash bags.
As it turns out, plogging is not only good for the environment but also a healthy way to exercise. According to Swedish fitness app Lifesun, an average person burns about 288 calories while plogging for half an hour. This is about 50 calories more than he/she would burn when just jogging. Additionally, the constant squatting(蹲) to pick up litter increases the plogger's flexibility, while lugging(费力地拖) around the increasingly heavy garbage bags helps strengthen his/her arm muscles.
On this Earth Day, be sure to put on your running shoes, carry a trash bag or two, and go plogging. Or better still, start a plogging team at school, or around your neighborhood, and make every day Earth Day!
1. Why did Erik Alstrom decide to pick up litter while running?| A．He wanted to clear out a path to ride his bike. |
| B．He was concerned about the trash on the road. |
| C．He was fond of exercising on his way to work. |
| D．He dreamed to become popular across Sweden. |
| A．They post photos of official events online. |
| B．They explain what plogging means on stage. |
| C．They compete with one another for members. |
| D．They hold competitions to attract people to plog. |
| A．To show that plogging is of benefit to health. |
| B．To say that plogging is environment-friendly. |
| C．To offer the approaches to exercising properly. |
| D．To tell joggers to carry heavy bags to work out. |
| A．Plogging: A Strange But New “Sport" for Runners |
| B．What We Should Do to Reduce the Amount of Litter |
| C．Running Is Really Helpful to Environmental Protection |
| D．Plogging: A Fun Activity for Earth Day and Every Day |
| A．convenient | B．unique | C．rough | D．severe |
