2 . Pollution
Pollution happens when the environment is dirtied, by waste, chemicals, and other harmful substances(物质).Pollution is a problem all over the world. But it is especially bad in large cities with a lot of industries and cars.
Wildfires, volcanoes, and industrial chemicals cause some air pollution. But most air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels (矿物燃料)These include coal, oil and natural gas. The burning of fossil fuels may release harmful gases. Air pollution may cause such diseases cancer and asthma. It also leads to polluted rain that can harm living things
Causes of water pollution are easy to see. People dump(倾倒) garbage and dirty water into river, lakes and oceans. Factories or cities sometimes release poisonous chemicals, and other wastes into water. These chemicals may make the groundwater unfit to drink.
Littering, or throwing garbage on the ground, is a form of land pollution. Litter can destroy the habitats of plants and animals. The buildup of dangerous chemicals in the ground is another form of land pollution. The chemicals may come from farms or factories.
Many governments, environmental groups, and ordinary people are working to control pollution. Governments have passed laws to keep people from releasing dangerous chemicals into the environment
A.Farmers use chemical to help crops grow. |
B.This type of pollution may be seen in big cities. |
C.They also can harm fish and other forms of life. |
D.These chemicals can spread to plants and animals. |
E.In addition, air pollution may be a cause of global warming. |
F.There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land. |
G.Some companies and people are trying to use fewer fossil fuels. |
3 . According to a new study from Cornell University, about one-fifth of the global population, of 2 billion people worldwide, will be forced to resettle or go deeper inland by 2100 due to the continuous rise in sea level.
The study, published in the journal Land Use Policy, showed that the growing global population could make the matter worse. The researchers expected that there are about 1.4 billon “climate change refugees(难民)” in the world by 2060 and by 2100 the number of the displaced people due to the rising sea level could reach up to two billion.
“We’re going to have more people on less land and sooner than we think,” said lead author Charles Geisler, professor at Cornell. “The future rise in global average sea level probably won’t be gradual. Yet few policy makers are observing the significant barriers that coastal climate refugees, like other refugees, will run into when they move to higher ground.”
For the study, the researchers reviewed(回顾) potential problems that climate change refugees may face if they go deeper inland. The researchers identified these land difficulties with relocation using three organizing groups. Including depletion(损耗) zones, win-lose zones and no-trespass(不得擅自进入) zones. By doing so, the researchers were able to provide primary estimates of their toll(损失) on inland resettlement space. The researchers found that some inland regions were unlikely to support new waves of climate change refugees due to the remains of war, road developments and rare natural resources.
Apart from the rising sea level, increasing storm weather and the booming global population are also having a huge influence on the number of climate change refugees. Storm can push seawater further inland. The increasing global population requires more land even as the ocean swallows up rich costal zones and river deltas(三角洲). These force people to search for new places to move to higher ground.
1. What would happen if the sea level were to rise?A.2 billion people would be “refugees” by 2060. |
B.50% of the population would lose their homes. |
C.Inland regions would become more crowded. |
D.Coastal regions would be polluted seriously. |
A.The sea level will go up in a little-by-little way. |
B.Moving to higher land isn’t the key solution. |
C.Land and population vary according to climate change. |
D.Policy makers should think more for climate change refugees. |
A.Because they can’t live a common life there. |
B.Because they can’t adapt to the climate there. |
C.Because they may consume more than expected. |
D.Because they will destroy the natural resources. |
A.Global warming is a double-edged sword. |
B.In the future climate will become worse. |
C.The earth will see more climate change refugees. |
D.Sea will bring humans more disadvantages. |
4 . A robot created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists could help elderly people with dementia (痴呆) and other limitations live independently in their own homes.
The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors installed in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.
“RAS combines the convenience of a mobile robot with the activity detection technology of a WSU smart home to provide assistance in the moment, as the need for help is detected,” said Bryan Minor, a postdoctoral researcher in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Currently, an estimated 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need assistance with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medication and the annual cost for this assistance in the US is nearly $2 trillion. With the number of adults over 85 expected to triple by 2050, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will relieve some of the financial strain on the healthcare system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.
RAS is the first robot researchers have tried to incorporate into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal Cognitive Systems Research that demonstrates how RAS could make life easier for older adults struggling to live independently.
“While we are still in an early stage of development, our initial results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said. “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what prompts, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot.”
1. How does RAS serve elderly people?A.Through sensors. | B.Through objects. |
C.Through a mobile robot. | D.Through their daily activities. |
A.It is the first robot used in daily life. | B.Its function remains to be tested. |
C.It can locate people and do any task. | D.It can cook for owners on its own. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Negative. |
C.Optimistic. | D.Uncertain. |
A.Elderly people leave the nursing home. |
B.Smart Home Tests first elder-Care robot. |
C.RAS, the first robot to make home smart. |
D.Older adults have benefited from RAS. |
5 . Google previously announced successful tests of machine learning systems designed to assist doctors. In one case, Google reported AI had examined eye diseases with equal accuracy to doctors. Other tests showed that machine learning can be used to study large amounts of patient data to predict future medical events.
Now the company has published two new studies showing a high level of success in identifying metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic means that cancer has spread from its main area to other parts of the body. Metastatic breast cancer is one of the deadliest, causing about 90 percent of all breast cancer deaths worldwide.
In metastatic breast cancer patients, the cancer often travels to nearby lymph nodes(淋巴结). Usually doctors examine lymph node tissue under a microscope to see whether cancer is present. Google notes that previous studies have shown that up to one-fourth of metastatic lymph node classifications end up being changed after a second examination. In addition, studies show that small metastatic material can be missed up to 67 percent of the time when examinations happen under extreme time restrictions.
Google says it created a mathematical algorithm(算法). The algorithm, called Lymph Node Assistant, is trained to find characteristics of tissue affected by metastatic cancer. When the system examined tissue images(图像), it was able to differentiate between metastatic cancer and non-cancer 99 percent of the time. In addition, the Lymph Node Assistant is highly effective at finding the positions of the cancers. Some of these positions would be too small for doctors themselves to identify. The research also showed that the algorithm method can reduce the usual time needed to examine the disease by about 50 percent.
But Google makes clear the AI-based system is not meant to replace the work of medical professionals. Instead, it is designed to reduce the number of false identifications and help doctors work faster and more effectively.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?A.Google became a pioneer in training doctors. |
B.Machine learning is able to stop future medical events. |
C.Google developed artificial intelligence to help doctors. |
D.Artificial intelligence cured eye diseases with equal accuracy to doctors. |
A.One-fourth of the metastatic breast cancer patients die in the end. |
B.Metastatic breast cancer is very difficult to identify. |
C.It results in 90 percent of deaths of all cancers. |
D.It can be identified after a second examination. |
A.It can offer effective treatment. |
B.It can tell the exact positions of cancers |
C.It costs 99 percent less time than before. |
D.It improves the accuracy of identifying cancers by 50%. |
A.False identification of cancers will be avoided. |
B.More effective prevention of cancers will be found. |
C.The number of medical professionals will be reduced. |
D.Doctors can have a faster understanding of patients’ condition. |
6 . One day, “supercharged plants” may help feed people around the world. Supercharged plants are ones that grow faster than normal plant life. Scientists can speed up the growth by modifying, or changing, the structure of plants' genes. The modifications make them react quickly to changes in light. This all has to do with photosynthesis(光合作用), the process in which plants turn sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food.
Plants grow fastest in the sun. That is when they make the most food for themselves. But their rate of growth can slow when things like clouds or trees block sunlight. But when the sun returns, it can take many minutes for growth to speed up again.
This can be a problem because it means some of our most important crop plants are not as productive as they could be. Researchers say demand for food is expected to increase up to 70 percent by the middle of the century. They also note rising temperatures on Earth's surface. That is why they are looking for ways to improve photosynthesis and make plants more productive.
Steve Long is a plant biologist at the University of Illinois. He wanted to find a way to help plants get back up to speed quickly after a period of darkness. So he and his team added genes that shortened the recovery time. It also increased the speed at which the plants grew. His modified plants grew up to 20 percent more than untreated ones.
In Long's study, his group used a form of genetic engineering called transgenics (转基因). It means taking genes from one plant, then putting them into another. Now they are experimenting soybeans, rice, cowpeas and cassavas.
1. What is the advantage of supercharged plants?A.They can grow more quickly. |
B.They can grow in severe conditions. |
C.They can offer high-quality grains. |
D.They can replace normal plants. |
A.Too hot weather. | B.Old farming methods. |
C.Lack of sunlight. | D.Too much sunlight. |
A.To find out what makes plants grow slowly. |
B.To create a new plant that can grow with weak sunlight. |
C.To find another way to help plants benefit each other. |
D.To make plants recover quickly when the sun returns. |
A.By changing their nature. | B.By adding new genes to them. |
C.By developing new plants. | D.By supplying more sunlight. |
7 . A Call to Action
We are here today because we want to stop global warming. Like me, you are trying hard to
But it is not
One third of our global carbon emissions---35 percent---comes from
Another 20 percent, 20 percent of our emissions comes from transportation.
Another 20 percent of all emissions comes from industry---our factories and businesses. They
So my
A.increase | B.decrease | C.fall | D.dominate |
A.individual | B.public | C.collective | D.united |
A.promote | B.undertake | C.lower | D.assist |
A.fair | B.tough | C.rough | D.enough |
A.to | B.with | C.from | D.on |
A.generating | B.creating | C.completing | D.differentiating |
A.admissions | B.permissions | C.emissions | D.transmissions |
A.make | B.power | C.destroy | D.maintain |
A.out | B.within | C.beyond | D.on |
A.Therefore | B.However | C.Nonetheless | D.Besides |
A.primitive | B.hazardous | C.uneven | D.efficient |
A.commercial | B.polluted | C.quality | D.fragile |
A.get rid of | B.count on | C.do damage to | D.get exposed to |
A.assault | B.release | C.diminish | D.spray |
A.few | B.single | C.another | D.each |
A.flammable | B.vocational | C.personal | D.recreational |
A.data | B.information | C.news | D.message |
A.convert | B.demand | C.digest | D.renew |
A.part | B.role | C.standard | D.characteristics |
A.living | B.point | C.deal | D.difference |
1. What is the speaker mainly talking about?
A.School routines. | B.Travelling plans. | C.Outdoor courses. |
A.A lake. | B.A forest. | C.A beach. |
A.Make a birdhouse. | B.Build a house. | C.Design a backpack. |
A.12. | B.15. | C.36. |
1. What are the speakers going to do on Monday?
A.Take photos of the signs. |
B.Interview some native speakers. |
C.Have an interview with a manager. |
A.The education department in North County. |
B.The education department in San Diego. |
C.The California University. |
A.She mailed him. |
B.She e-mailed him. |
C.She telephoned him. |
A.To do research on languages. |
B.To report the lives of the natives. |
C.To make a comparison among education departments. |
Many people believe that they will be happy once they