Jia Xiu Lou
When it comes to Guiyang, everyone agrees that the symbol is Jia Xiu Lou. This historic building
Jia Xiu Lou has many special features though there is something
Inner beauty can last more than a lifetime. Two quotes spring to mind which reflect what I feel when
Finally, just let me say that the more you open your eyes, the more
2 . Summer sea ice in the Arctic could melt almost completely by the 2030s — roughly a decade earlier than projected — even if humans cut back drastically on greenhouse gas emissions, new research suggests.
An ice-free summer, also called a “blue ocean event”, will happen when the sea ice drops below one million square kilometers, writes Jonathan Bamber, a professor of physical geography at the University of Bristol, in the Conversation.
Previous assessments using models have estimated an ice-free summer under high and intermediate emissions scenarios by 2050. But researchers noticed differences between what climate models predicted about what would happen to sea ice and what they’ve actually seen through observations. “The models, on average, underestimate sea ice decline compared with observations,” says Nathan Gillett, an Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist.
Now, in a new study published in Nature Communications, Gillett and his teammates changed these models to more closely fit satellite data collected over the past 40 years. Using these adapted models, the researchers projected ice changes under different possible levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Their paper suggests that regardless of the emissions scenario, “we may experience an unprecedented ice-free Arctic climate in the next decade or two.”
While sea ice naturally decreases in the summer and refreezes during the winter, summer ice coverage has steadily been declining over the past few decades because of climate change. And Arctic ice melting happens faster itself — as ice disappears, it exposes more of the dark blue ocean, which absorbs more heat and leads to more melting. This process has led to the region warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe since 1979.
Sea ice decline could have disastrous consequences that extend to the rest of the planet, including sea level rise and disturbance to weather patterns and ecosystems. Animals like polar bears and seals that rely on Arctic ice to survive could be placed at risk.
1. According to the new research, what will happen concerning summer sea ice in the Arctic?| A．Its complete melting may occur earlier than expected. |
| B．Its vanishing once and for all will be in less than 10 years. |
| C．Its dropping will give rise to so-called “blue ocean event”. |
| D．Its melting can be prevented in greenhouse gas emissions. |
| A．They abandoned the attempt to use models. |
| B．They collected satellite data over the past 40 years. |
| C．They adapted the models to be consistent with the actual cases. |
| D．They predicted accurately ice changes in regions of the Arctic. |
| A．By listing statistics. | B．By giving definitions. |
| C．By making a comparison. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．Pride comes before a fall. | B．Man proposes, god disposes. |
| C．A good beginning is half done. | D．If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. |
Math powers a wide range of modern technology, from phones and cameras to aircraft and artificial intelligence. It
In a 2023 interview, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei explained
To develop more math talents, Huawei established two research institutes, one in Russia and the other in France. These institutes focus on mathematics,
Like Huawei, many Chinese companies are
4 . Tickets have gone on sale today for the UK's first festival exploring the impact of forests, bringing together writers, artists, poets, scientists and philosophers for a three-day event in some of England's finest woodlands.
Running from 6-8 July 2024, the festival, called Timber, will be held at Feanedock, a woodland site in the National Forest. The 200-square-mile National Forest, stretching across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, was the first forest to be created in England for over 1,000 years. It was planted over the course of the 1990s to regenerate a landscape that had been left scarred (伤痕) and abandoned by the closure of the Midlands coalfields.
The festival will feature talks and discussions about the relationship between humans and nature. There will also be a music programme, ranging from campfire performances to three live music stages and DJ sets: the full line-up will be announced early next year.
Timber follows a string of new festivals focused around the debate of specific subjects. In 2023, the first Bluedot festival was held at Jodrell Bank observatory, combining music with a celebration of science, art and technology. Others include Camp Wildfire, a two-day festival of bushcraft and outdoor adventure activities, and Brainchild festival, which celebrates DIY culture and the creative work of young people.
1. What was the condition of the National Forest before the 1990s?| A．A wildfire destroyed parts of the forest. |
| B．It was a popular location for hosting festivals. |
| C．The forest suffered from the impact of the coal industry. |
| D．Extensive tree planting projects were undertaken in the forest. |
| A．It is a four-day festival. |
| B．Tickets are not on sale yet. |
| C．Live music performances are available. |
| D．The full schedule of activities has been released. |
| A．Timber festival. | B．Camp Wildfire. | C．Bluedot festival. | D．Brainchild festival. |
5 . If you use the internet, you’ve probably heard of a filter bubble (过滤气泡). Internet sites and social media platforms use algorithms (算法) that show you content based on your previous interactions, likes, and shares. Over time, this creates a filter bubble where you only see content that agrees with your interests and beliefs, which serves to convince you that your beliefs are true. But what you might not know is that in similar fashion, your brain has several mechanisms to filter information, creating personal filter bubbles that deeply shape how you live your life.
Self-created filter bubbles happen through various cognitive processes, and they have multiple consequences. They shape your experience of what’s happening by forming a lens (镜片) through which you see and interpret the world. On the internet, because things are being presented based on past user history, no two people get the same results when they search for something on Google or open their news feed. In real life, no two people are experiencing an event or seeing a situation in the exact same way, because we all bring our own past experiences and biases (偏见) to situations, causing us to process them differently.
Filter bubbles can cause you to stay stuck in self-created and often self-limiting patterns of thought and behavior. If you’ve ever wondered why change is so hard, it’s because your mental filter bubbles make it difficult to see different possibilities. If you hold the belief that you’re not someone who can have a high-paying job, you won’t look for one and you’ll only seek out and see jobs that match up with what you think you’re worth.
Filter bubbles can also prevent critical thinking and can lead to a limited and biased view of the world, where people don’t consider alternative viewpoints and don’t engage with others outside of their own circles. When we only consume information that confirms our preexisting beliefs and values, we don’t question the truth of that information or properly evaluate the evidence.
While you can’t prevent your brain from creating selective filter bubbles, you can become more aware so that you don’t have to be limited or trapped by them.
1. What can we learn about filter bubbles?| A．They have little effect on us. |
| B．They shape our interpretations of the world. |
| C．They are frequent occurrences and have little effect on us. |
| D．They assist us in making friends with like-minded individuals. |
| A．They facilitate open-mindedness and flexibility. |
| B．They help individuals adapt quickly to new situations. |
| C．They prevent individuals from successfully securing a job. |
| D．They make individuals resistant to seeking out new opportunities. |
| A．Barriers to overcoming filter bubbles. |
| B．Benefits of recognizing filter bubbles. |
| C．Ways to avoid getting trapped in the filter bubbles. |
| D．Examples of your brain creating mental filter bubbles. |
| A．Negative. | B．Indirect. | C．Positive. | D．Unclear. |
1. What is the relationship between the speakers?
| A．Friends. | B．Neighbors. | C．Police and witness. |
| A．When he drove on his way to work. |
| B．When he walked on his way home. |
| C．When he took a walk in a park. |
| A．Blue jeans. | B．A yellow hat. | C．Brown shoes. |
| A．The weapons he had. |
| B．The color of his clothes. |
| C．His figure. |
1. Why did the zoo build a new monkey park?
| A．It was too small for the additional monkeys. |
| B．It needed a treehouse to be more interesting. |
| C．The zoo needed to change its park to get more visitors. |
| A．Watching the turtles. |
| B．Feeding the monkeys. |
| C．Feeding the turtles. |
| A．In the park. | B．In a car. | C．In the zoo. |
1. What do we know about Vikings’ beliefs about teeth?
| A．They value the teeth a lot. |
| B．They think teeth are good weapons. |
| C．They think teeth shouldn't be buried. |
| A．To show the connection between Vikings and tooth care. |
| B．To show the connection between teeth and good luck. |
| C．To show the connection between teeth and animals. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. |
| A．It can entertain them. |
| B．It helps them take tooth care seriously. |
| C．It makes children love the story. |
9 . I grew up in an age of delayed gratification (满足), when I had to wait for almost everything.
The mail came once a day. Classic movies were shown on television.
And then there was money. The banks did business on weekdays only. They opened at 9 and closed at 4.
Such was the world as recently as the 1970s. Everything seemed to operate on a strict clock, and the words "on demand" had no meaning, for there was no force on earth that could change the US Mail’s schedule, or get the bank to stay open a minute past.
And then, seemingly overnight, everything changed. ATMs, movies on DVD and, of course, the personal computer, meant that we could have almost anything we wanted, when we wanted it.
However, I am not charmed by what we have gained.
| A．Most stores were closed on Sundays. |
| B．In this way the virtue of patience is practiced. |
| C．Instead, I am gently fascinated by what was lost. |
| D．This was the way things worked, and it was all we knew. |
| E．If I can have something this fast, why can’t I have it faster? |
| F．You needed money but didn’t make it to the bank on time? |
| G．And, of course, one had to be home at the appointed time to watch them. |
10 . It was our first Thanksgiving in the new house, and I wanted everything to be perfect. However, my husband just got a new job in retail, so our family “plan” for everyone to take part in the necessary prep work had been torpedoed. To make matters worse, a key project for me that week had claimed two days of planned vacation. John Lennon was right: Life is what happens while you are making other plans.
By Wednesday night, while my husband was selling camping equipment as Christmas gifts, my children and I were at home and into full-blown vacuum mania (吸尘狂潮). I was thankful that a kid’s pocket money did not make up salary as I put my six and eight-year-old to work, going against all child labor laws. For my part, I was as busy as a bee in the toilet bowl, heading for a breakdown.
I don’t remember what my son asked me as he was trying his best to finish the vacuuming, but I do remember twisting into that mean-and-tight mom face before barking out a rude answer. Instead of dashing out of view, my second-grader turned off the vacuum and walked the whole way around the stairwell to face me. He never said a word. He just wrapped his arms around me for a hug that made me feel ashamed of myself to this very day. My son took a risk to teach me that sometimes we need a hug most when we are least huggable.
It was the perfect Thanksgiving. The people I loved gathered around my table where a pumpkin covered up last year’s gravy stain (肉汁污渍). We dined on just one choice of pie, and my dad used a mismatched dinner fork without complaint. My daughter drew a picture of us on a paper plate where no one had their eyes closed.
I learned a lot from an eight-year-old that holiday, and I’ve tried hard to remember it. If you find a person complaining about her job or her dress size, give her a hug. It just might be what she needs most.
1. What does the underlined word “torpedoed” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．passed | B．scheduled | C．targeted | D．ruined |
| A．confident | B．humorous | C．alarmed | D．concerned |
| A．She shouted at him impatiently. | B．She hugged him right away. |
| C．She responded to him politely. | D．She continued vacuuming delightedly. |
| A．Careful planning: the route to an unforgettable Thanksgiving Day |
| B．Family happiness: the result of balancing work and life |
| C．Thanksgiving surprises: imperfect perfection and unexpected hugs |
| D．Holiday letdown: common psychological and emotional experiences |
