1 . In late June, two companies were given permits to sell chicken meat that has been grown in a lab. The companies say they will be serving the meat in restaurants this summer.
Unlike normal chicken meat, lab-grown meat isn’t created by raising and killing chickens. Instead, it’s a meat product developed from animal cells that are grow n in a lab. The process is called “cell-based” or “cultured” meat.
The process of creating lab-grown meat is completely different from the normal meat raising process. Scientists have known for a long time how to keep living cells alive and grow them in a lab. In this case, experts choose cells that can grow quickly and will have good flavour. The first cells come from live animals. Then the cells are grown inside large steel tanks, where they’re fed with everything they need to grow. In a few weeks, the cells grow into sheets of meat. The companies then form this meat into more familiar shapes that can be cooked and sold.
The companies say that their meat is better for the environment than meat from animals. Raising animals for food uses huge amounts of land and water. It also creates a lot of pollution. Raising animals for food create s about 15% of the world’s greenhouse gases. That’s why cutting back on eating meat is one of the easiest ways to fight climate change.
There are many companies these days that focus on making plant-based meat substitutes (替代物). But since lab-grown meat is made from animal cells, it is very hard to tell it apart from actual meat. It looks, smells, and tastes like chicken.
Polls (民意调查) have shown that many people aren’t too interested in lab-grown meat. Lots of people believe that “it just sounds strange”. But Russel Phillips, a biologist, suggests people give it a try. He says that once people try the meat, they will be amazed. The common response must be, “Oh, it tastes like chicken.”
But right now, the meat is far more expensive than meat from animals. Now that the companies have been approved, they have the huge challenge of figuring out how to make much more meat far more cheaply. It will probably be a long time before you’re able to buy lab-grown chicken in stores.
1. To produce lab-grown meat, the companies should________.A.study how to feed live animals. | B.decide where to store meat products. |
C.add different flavours to sheets of meat. | D.select cells suitable for producing meat. |
A.future. | B.advantage. | C.techniques. | D.process. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Worried. | C.Supportive. | D.Uninterested. |
A.quality. | B.safety. | C.price. | D.taste. |
2 . 根据题目所提出的具体要求,在答题卡上写出一篇连贯完整的英语短文。词数不少于60。
假设你是李华,你校本周一举行了消防演练(fire drill)活动。请给校报英语专栏写一篇稿件,记录演练过程并表达感想。可参考如下内容。
开头已为你写好,不计入总词数。
·go out of the classroom when hearing the fire alarm go off
·go downstairs, use a towel to cover the nose and mouth
·take us three minutes to reach the sports field
·the firemen praise us
·…
In order to raise our safety awareness and practise our skills for self-protection, we had a fire drill in our school this Monday.
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If you enjoy walking for exercise, there’s a simple way to meet your demand—change your walk into a ruck, and it’s an increasingly popular form of exercise.
Rucking is walking with weight on your back. The term “rucking” comes from ruck marching, a core skill used by the military around the world. One of the tests the army normally gives to soldiers is a 12-mile ruck, which they must complete within three hours while carrying a weight of at least 35 pounds.
The reason why rucking is growing in popularity is that it’s an easy and all-body exercise. One study in 2019 showed that 10 weeks of weighted walking improved physical performance. Since rucking is usually performed outdoors, there is no doubt that it’s also good for your mental health. Lots of studies suggest that the mental health benefits of being in a natural environment are huge.
There are several tips for your rucking when you get started. First, don’t be too eager. As with any new exercise, you’ll need to begin slowly. Start with an empty backpack (背包) and walk a distance you’ve already done. When you start adding weight to your pack, try something low, like 10% of your body weight. Adding weight is going to put more stress on your ankles, knees, hips and back, so do it gradually. Another option is to start with a weighted vest (背心) instead of a backpack. This spreads the weight between your front and back. And of course, don’t forget your feet. Select a comfortable pair of shoes to prevent getting hurt.
1. What is rucking?(不多于六个单词)2. Why is rucking popular?(不多于六个单词)
3. Where is rucking usually performed?(不多于一个单词)
4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?(不多于三个单词)
4 . Hundreds of dead migrating (迁徙) songbirds covered the ground like a carpet on Thursday in Chicago.
Nearly 1,000 songbirds died throughout the night after crashing into the glass of the McCormick Place Lakeside Center due to a deadly combination of excellent migratory conditions, rain, and the low building’s lighting and window-lined walls, according to bird experts.
Window hits are a problem in almost every major city in the United States. Birds cannot see transparent (透明的) or reflecting glass and are unaware that it is a dangerous block. They rush for plants or bushes they see through windows or reflected in them, killing themselves in the process.
Night-migrating birds depend on the stars for direction. Building lights both attract and confuse them, resulting in window hits or birds flying around the lights until they die of exhaustion, a phenomenon known as deadly light attraction.
According to Stan Temple, a retired bird expert from University of Wisconsin-Madison, conditions were ideal for a big wave of songbird southern migration over Chicago on Wednesday evening. “You had all these birds that were just eager to set out, but they’ve been held up with this unusual September and October with temperatures way above normal,” Temple said.
To avoid irregular air movements and predators (捕食者), little songbirds graze to absorb energy during the day and travel at night. They’ve been waiting for north winds to push them south, but September’s unusually warm south winds left the birds in a holding position here, according to Temple. A wind moved south on Wednesday evening, offering a good chance, and millions of birds took to the air.
“Pre-dawn rain forced the birds to fly low, and they found McCormick Place’s lights on,” said David Willard, a manager at the Chicago Field Museum.
According to Ann a Pidgeon, a bird biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, window hits and deadly light attraction are simply avoidable. Building managers can simply decrease their lights, and building designers can create windows with bird-friendly marks in the glass. People can also add screens, paint their windows, or put stickers on the glass.
1. Which of the following probably caused the songbirds’ death in Chicago?A.Window hits. | B.Hunger. | C.Diseases. | D.Bird hunts. |
A.Play. | B.Eat. | C.Grow. | D.Wait. |
A.The importance of protecting birds. | B.The prediction of the songbirds’ future. |
C.The further study of the songbird event. | D.The ways to avoid the disaster for birds. |
A.Human activities have affected wild life. | B.Climate change is challenging the world. |
C.Technology helps the protection of nature. | D.Animals learn to adapt to the environment. |
5 . Best friends Tommy, 17, and Daniel, 15, decided to sign up for their school’s robotics team in their freshman year, and began their journey towards changing lives for the better.
They began their work with 3D printers to create parts for their robots, but they wanted their impact to be greater. “It started off with a team idea,” Tommy said. “We were trying to figure out how we could make a difference to society as a first-year robotics team. We later thought of the idea of using 3D printers to make prostheses (假肢), like hands.”
The team worked with IMAHelps, a nonprofit organization, and received help from the Science Robotics Initiative. Shortly after, they began working with their first person in need of a prosthesis.
“We started off with making an artificial (人造的) arm for Samantha, a 12-year-old little girl in Ecuador who lost her arm in a bus accident,” Tommy explains. “We got her measurements and then made the prosthesis. IMAHelps brought it to Samantha and it fit her perfectly and worked well.”
“Samantha had a dream to write, and we wanted to help with that,” adds Daniel.
It didn’t take long for other kids to see Samantha’s prosthesis. A young man named Ernest Priester, 13, asked to have an artificial foot. Later, the team offered to make him one for free. “He started tearing up. It brought so much joy to his eyes.” Tommy says.
This July, the team traveled to Ecuador to deliver four more prostheses to those in need. “We were so happy to help,” Tommy shares.
The team also plans on continuing to give away their 3D creations. “You can do whatever you want to do when it comes to helping people and changing the world,” Tommy says. “There are no age limits.”
“By offering a little bit,” adds Daniel. “We can change a lot.”
1. To make the robotics team’s impact greater, Tommy and Daniel decided to________.A.create robot parts | B.start a robotics course |
C.make prostheses | D.invent a 3D printer |
A.They set up IMAHelps for her. | B.They made her an artificial arm. |
C.They offered her medical treatment. | D.They gave her instructions on writing. |
A.Curious. | B.Relaxed. | C.Regretful. | D.Pleased. |
A.Caring. | B.Calm. | C.Honest. | D.Brave. |
6 . A houseplant is pretty to look at and brings fresh air to your home. Besides, looking after a plant will give you something more to do and care about. Let’s look at the four best houseplants you can grow.
Australian Pine A perfect “living decoration” to add in your house, it is good to look at and has a comforting feel. It can also serve as the perfect Christmas tree. It grows around 10 feet tall indoors. Remember that it requires plenty of light and fresh air. Otherwise, it becomes weak and an easy target for mites (螨虫). | Dracaena The green and yellow pattern on its leaves looks great. It can grow to be around 10 feet tall. Just make sure you keep the soil surface dry between your watering periods because it gets influenced by too much water. Also, having this plant around a dog can be dangerous. It can be poisonous to dogs if they eat it. |
Grape Ivy If you want something off the ceiling (天花板), this houseplant is the one for you. It’s a climbing plant, and it will make for a beautiful hanging basket decoration. The plant is full of life wherever it is hung. It needs to be kept wet in all its parts for good growth. | Peperomia It is little in size, with long leaves. It adds energy to your living room and creates a comforting environment. As it’s not a very tall plant, you needn’t worry about how much space it will take up. The plant likes a dry surface of the soil. |
So what are you for? Choose the one that attracts you most, and give your home a wonderful addition.
1. Which of the following can serve as a Christmas tree?A.Australian pine. | B.Dracaena. | C.Grape ivy. | D.Peperomia. |
A.be careful with mites | B.hang it from the celling |
C.keep dogs away from it | D.leave the surface of the soil wet |
A.Its leaves are short. | B.It is small in size. |
C.It likes much water. | D.It is a climbing plant. |
A.Politics. | B.Business. | C.Travel. | D.Life. |
7 . One bus driver for the North Elementary School can now add lifesaver to her experiences after a student started choking (窒息) on her bus last month.
On Sept.29, bus driver Raquel Baker began her work just like any other drivers and was about to drop off students at the school gate when something went wrong. Video from the school bus showed 7-year-old Preston putting something in his
It was hard for the boy to
Preston hardly
Preston was blue in the face. Baker saw a parent and asked her to call 911. “All I could think of was I had to
Preston’s mum was
Until today Bake r still doesn’t know how she got the
A.bag | B.bottle | C.mouth | D.pocket |
A.danger | B.peace | C.surprise | D.silence |
A.write | B.say | C.spell | D.hear |
A.luckily | B.formally | C.quietly | D.quickly |
A.bus | B.room | C.yard | D.school |
A.slept | B.breathed | C.saw | D.listened |
A.find | B.feed | C.save | D.meet |
A.habit | B.training | C.belief | D.income |
A.nervous | B.glad | C.disappointed | D.curious |
A.eraser | B.chalk | C.key | D.coin |
A.sorry | B.sad | C.anxious | D.thankful |
A.corrected | B.changed | C.honored | D.cured |
A.future | B.impact | C.dream | D.mistake |
A.permit | B.right | C.method | D.courage |
A.or | B.so | C.but | D.for |
A.To ask a favor. | B.To rent an apartment. | C.To find him a roommate. |
1. Why does the woman take two English classes?
A.To graduate early. |
B.To practise spoken English. |
C.To finish English homework. |
A.It is humorous. | B.It is hopeful. | C.It is sad. |
A.A research paper. | B.A book. | C.An English class. |
1. What is the man doing?
A.Complaining about Anne’s behavior. |
B.Asking for the woman’s assistance. |
C.Giving the woman suggestions. |
A.Impolite. | B.Friendly. | C.Unconcerned. |
A.Write a report. | B.Send a form. | C.Talk with Dave. |