1 . A year ago when I was traveling alone in Guatemala I broke my back. I was surrounded by many kind strangers that day.
When we got to the hospital, they helped me get through it.
The ambulance employers wanted me to pay in cash. I didn’t have that much cash and the ATMs there never worked for my cards.
They stayed with me for hours. But even after they left, they stayed in touch asking me how I was and how everything was going—even a year later. I may have been unlucky for breaking my back, but I was so lucky for the people there when it happened.
| A．So they offered to pay for me. |
| B．And this where it went wrong. |
| C．There was no WiFi at the emergency department. |
| D．I actually look back at it as a heartbroken experience. |
| E．I am still grateful for the fact that I’ve met those two guys. |
| F．For me, there is one in particular that I’ll always remember. |
| G．But there are two guys that will always have a place in my heart. |
2 . Screen time is often considered the enemy when it comes to teaching kids to be active. However, a new research found that for 9 and 10 years old children greater social media use was related to some positive effects, including increased physical activity, less family conflict (冲突) and fewer sleep problems.
The findings come from an analysis of data from about 4,500 young people and their parents collected by the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. The study gathered information about how young people’s brains develop.
In the study, children self reported activities like watching TV, texting or visiting social media sites — and the time spent on each. They were also asked about whether they play mature (成年的) video games. They rated their time on them as never, once in a while and all the time. Kids and parents report on family conflict. Parents also kept track of how well the kids slept and filled out a checklist that assessed (评定) their children’s behavior.
The results haven’t been published yet, but are being presented Tuesday at the Research Society on Alcoholism in San Diego. Previous research has been done. largely in older kids or teenagers with less focus on younger kids. Communities and social networks can have beneficial effects, so kids who are using social media to build connections may see positive outcomes.
Do these findings mean that parents should ban TVs and sign their kids up for Twitter? Probably not. Psychologist Chris Ferguson of Stetson University says that the differences identified in the research are small.
1. What does the passage mainly about?| A．More screen time is needed by kids. |
| B．Screen time is the enemy of teaching kids to be active. |
| C．Parents should ban TVs and sign their kids up for Twitter. |
| D．A look at social media may have possible benefits for kids. |
| A．They carried out interviews. | B．They asked kids and parents to report. |
| C．They got the data from other scientists. | D．They downloaded the data from the Internet. |
| A．Objective. | B．Subjective. | C．Supportive. | D．Doubtful.. |
| A．A novel. | B．A travel guide. | C．A news report. | D．A book review. |
3 . He was the last person who should have run into a burning building—he had lung disease. But that didn’t stop him. Michael Surrell and his wife was parking when they got a call from their daughter: “The house next door is on fire!” He went to investigate.
Though the fire department had been called, Surrell ran inside. The thick smoke burned his eyes and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions were life-threatening for Surrell.
After a few minutes, he went outside to catch his breath. Taking a deep breath, he went in again. The house was similar to his, so he made it to the second floor. He couldn’t see anything. Then a soft moan (呻吟声) came. Still unable to see, Surrell crawled (爬行) toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the trapped.
Finally, he touched something. He pulled the kid toward him and held her into his arms and stood. He fought through the smoke and ran into the blackness. The next thing he knew, he was at the front door, then outside. Surrell put Tiara down on the porch. He started CPR. Soon a cough came from Tiara’s throat. Surrell gave five more breaths. She coughed again, opened her eyes and took a breath on her own.
Surrell woke up in the hospital days later, having suffered severe burns to his lungs. He spent a week in the hospital. The fire worsened Surrell’s condition, and he feels the effects even two years later. “It’s a small price to pay,” he says. “I’d do it again without a second thought.”
1. What was Surrell doing when he got to know the fire?| A．He was parking. | B．He was walking with his wife. |
| C．He was washing his car. | D．He was talking with his daughter. |
| A．Surrell saved Tiara at his first attempt. |
| B．Surrell never regret carrying out his deed. |
| C．Surrell called the fire department before running inside. |
| D．Surrell saw Tiara on the second floor and carried her outside. |
| A．Kind and devoted. | B．Brave and devoted. | C．Generous and kind. | D．Considerate and devoted. |
| A．A Big Fire Broke out | B．A Man Carried out CPR to Save a Girl |
| C．The Last Man Saved Another Person | D．Surrell Suffered Severe Burns to His Lungs |
4 . Single - use plastic waste is a huge problem, worsened these days by the fact that people cannot go out to many places to eat and have to order takeout. It’s been really hard on those companies that were trying to do something about the waste. Now, many businesses in New York have signed up with a new operation, DeliverZero.
New Yorkers do order a lot of takeout and don’t want to stop doing that since they are too busy to cook on their own. However, takeout consumes countless containers. And the containers — used once and for mere seconds — usually sit in landfills as far as 400 miles away from NYC.
But with DeliverZero, you get your order in reusable containers. There is no deposits (押金); you just return them to the delivery person the next time you order, or you drop them off at any of the restaurants on the platform.
When asked why DeliverZero doesn’t call for deposits, founder Adam Farbiarz explained, “When we started, we were collecting deposits. But that made everyone’s head spin because they had to choose how many containers they needed. It became complex to collect deposits while giving the restaurant the flexibility to pack the food. So now we just let the restaurant use containers as they want. After the restaurant packs the food, the customer gets an email that says, ‘You’re getting X containers with your meal.’ If the customer doesn’t return the containers within 6 weeks, we charge them. And the system works! Restaurants have no problem counting the containers, and customers appreciate that the restaurant has the freedom to use containers in a manner that best packages the food.”
DeliverZero shows that takeout doesn’t have to be related to single - use packaging. It is just starting out and is only in New York for now, but the founder said, “We have plans to march into other cities as quickly as we can. We are hoping to make a contribution to going zero waste and building a truly circular food delivery system.”
1. What problem does takeout usually cause according to the text?| A．Higher cost for many restaurants. | B．Poorer health of most customers. |
| C．Increasing single use plastic waste. | D．Fewer food choices for New Yorkers. |
| A．To test if its monitoring system works. | B．To simplify the whole operation process. |
| C．To relieve businesses’ financial pressure. | D．To help consumers develop a good habit. |
| A．It will be expanded. | B．It is facing many barriers. |
| C．It needs to improve its technology. | D．It has won recognition worldwide. |
| A．A platform allowing ordering food in reusable containers. |
| B．A concept of building a truly circular food delivery system. |
| C．A new operation based on deposit - free single - use packaging. |
| D．A system making food delivery more convenient and simpler. |
5 . Although we benefit from deep and meaningful conversations that help us build connections with one another, we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate (低估) how much others are interested in our lives and wrongly believe that deep conversations will be more awkward and less enjoyable than they actually are, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his colleagues designed a series of experiments with more than 1, 800 participants. The researchers asked pairs of people — mainly strangers — to discuss either relatively deep or shallow topics. In the first experiment, people received shallow or deep questions to discuss. Before the conversations, participants predicted how awkward they thought the conversations would be, how connected they thought they would feel to their conversation partner and how much they would enjoy the conversations. Afterward, they rated how awkward the conversations actually were, how connected they actually felt and how much enjoyment they actually experienced.
The researchers found that both deep and shallow conversations felt less awkward than the participants had expected. That effect tended to be stronger for deep conversations.
Deep conversations were also more enjoyable and led to a stronger sense of connection. In the second experiment, participants who had a deep conversation with one partner and a shallow conversation with another partner initially expected to prefer the shallow conversation but actually preferred the deep conversation after having both of them.
“Our participants’ expectations about deep conversations were greatly mistaken in a way that could keep people from interacting deeply with others in their daily lives,” Epley said. “As the pandemic (疫情) wanes and social distance restrictions become less strict, and we all get back to talking with each other again, being aware that others also like deep conversations might lead you to have more pleasant interactions.”
1. What were the participants asked to do in the first experiment?| A．Choose some topics they prefer. | B．Avoid discussing shallow topics. |
| C．Make predictions on their feelings. | D．Classify various types of questions. |
| A．preferred to discuss shallow questions with strangers |
| B．felt very awkward when conducting deep conversations |
| C．underestimated how awkward their strange partners felt |
| D．overestimated the awkwardness of talking with strangers |
| A．It is easier to conduct than making small talk. |
| B．It usually causes a weaker sense of connection. |
| C．It is more enjoyable than having shallow ones. |
| D．It is more awkward than previously expected. |
| A．Worsens. | B．Appears. | C．Spreads. | D．Fades. |
6 . Barnaby, the Lawrence family’s cat, had been missing for eight months. On January 11, 2022, Rachel Lawrence was on the phone with her vet (兽医). Her younger cat, Torvi, had just received an operation and she was asking how he was.
During the call, Lawrence heard a meow (喵喵叫). It may have been a standard meow to anyone else’s ears, but to Lawrence, there was something distinct about this sound. She asked the vet if that was Torvi and was told that was just a stray (走失的宠物) that had been brought in a week before.
Lawrence put down the phone and could not stop thinking about that. Could that be long-lost Barnaby? Unable to dismiss that unlikely thought, she called the vet back a few hours later. She asked if that meow came from a black cat and if the cat had a white dot on his back foot. The reply was “Yes”. “That had to be Barnaby,” Lawrence concluded.
When she went to pick up Torvi, she brought photos of Barnaby, nicknamed Fatman by her three kids. When the vet brought Barnaby to her, Lawrence broke down in what she described as tears and cries, but not with sadness.
She couldn’t wait to video-call her three children and said, “Look who I found.”
“Fatman,” they cried out with joy!
Lawrence had previously put a chip into Barnaby, but it did not work and so when he was lost, they had no hope of finding him again. Yet, thanks to the kindness of the person who found Barnaby and took him to the vet, and to the incredible hearing of his pet owner, this cat is back.
Barnaby is safely home with the Lawrence family and Torvi. He returned home thin with little fur and many scars. Barnaby is eating well, and with all the love and attention, the family hopes he will grow back into Fatman.
1. Why did Rachel Lawrence make a second call to the vet?| A．To get more details about the stray cat. |
| B．To check if Torvi was in good condition. |
| C．To confirm the schedule for an operation. |
| D．To seek a way to identify different meows. |
| A．Sad. | B．Frightened. | C．Calm. | D．Thrilled. |
| A．He was safe and sound. | B．He didn’t receive any kindness. |
| C．He became much fatter. | D．He had a really rough time. |
| A．A Kind Vet Took Good Care of a Long-lost Cat |
| B．A Missing Cat’s Meow Led to a Happy Reunion |
| C．A Determined Cat Owner Finally Cured Her Cat |
| D．A Young Cat’s Operation Saved Another Cat's Life |
7 . The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering the Master Gardener training and certification online again this year,
Participants take 40 hours of instruction in horticulture and related topics to become expert volunteers. Learn more and register for the first Master Gardener class of 2022 from February 1 to February 28 at http://msuext.ms/mg. Instruction for all classes is online and self-paced. The online class material is offered from March 15 to May 15.
About Volunteering
“The Master Gardener program trains active volunteers who exchange the 40 hours of educational training they receive for 40 hours of volunteer service within one year of their training,” said Jeff Wilson, a horticulture specialist of the Master Gardener program. “These Master Gardeners continue to be assets to their communities as, in future years, they continue to receive training and spend a minimum of 20 community service hours a year to maintain their certified status.”
The volunteer work of Master Gardeners helps local Extension offices reach a broader audience than is possible through just the efforts of Extension agents. Volunteers take on a variety of community beautification projects and extend the educational arm of the university to the public by providing horticultural information based on university research and recommendations.
“Master Gardener volunteers experience the personal satisfaction of serving their community, gaining horticultural expertise and connecting with their local gardening community,” Wilson said.
Fees
The cost for Master Gardener training is $ 125 for those who want to become certified volunteers and provide 40 hours of service. For $ 200, the same material is available for those not interested in the volunteer service component.
For More Information
For questions about the Master Gardener program, contact Jeff Wilson at 662-566-8019 or jeff.wilson @ msstate.edu.
1. When can the participants receive the online class material this year?| A．On February 1. | B．On February 28. | C．On April 15. | D．OnMay30. |
| A．Provide service in communities. | B．Receive one-year-long training. |
| C．Instruct students in universities. | D．Donate money to local offices. |
| A．Choose another learning material. | B．Pay more money for the training. |
| C．Get permission from Jeff Wilson. | D．Complete a beautification project. |
For most of us, Hawaii begins to weave her spell with some little glimmer of
9 . Why can’t penguins fly?
Even the very smallest penguin,the fairy penguin,weighs 1 kg,which is about as much as a herring gull (银鸥). But herring gulls have a 1.4-meterwingspan,compared with just 32 centimeters for the fairy penguin. Water is 784 times denser (密度较大的) than air,and around 62 million years ago,penguins began making adaptations for swimming underwater. Their bones are filled with heavy bone marrow (骨髓)rather than air and they have much larger stomachs for making long fishing trips away from the nest.
How do squirrels find buried nuts?
It was once thought that they just used their noses to sniff out buried nuts and that the majority were never actually located. But a study at Princeton University showed that squirrels actually have a good memory and can build a map of the route from one hidden nut to the next.
Why don’t horses have toes?
Early horses such as Hyracotherium, which lived 55 million years ago, did have toes, but they were much smaller animals. For taller animals, extra weight at the end of their legs has a much bigger influence on their speed. A recent study at Harvard University, the USA, found that one broad hoof (蹄) is almost as strong as many smaller toes, but much lighter.
Do animals have blood types?
Yes, they do! As long as the animals in question have blood (not all do)then they will have species-specific “blood groups”. As with humans, these groups are determined by the structure of the blood based on the presence or absence of antibodies along with the make-up of the proteins that sit on the outside of red blood cells.
Humans are usually one of four main blood types. Thirteen types have been identified for dogs, eight for horses and three for cats.
1. Why can’t penguins fly?| A．Because of their physical characteristics. | B．Because of their poor adaptation. |
| C．Because of their habits of swimming. | D．Because of their changing environment. |
| A．3. | B．4. | C．8. | D．13. |
| A．Squirrels find buried nuts by chance. | B．Horses are stronger without hooves. |
| C．All animals have their blood types. | D．An animal is a book with secrets. |
| A．Questions you may be interested in | B．Questions on the animal kingdom |
| C．Secrets to discover in nature | D．Knowledge around you |
10 . Jeni Stepanek’s home is an attractive four-bedroomed house. Had it been a one-roomed small house, however, Jeni would still have bought it. The only thing that mattered when she moved in four years ago was its location. It is near the 26-acre park in Rockville, near Washington, DC, created in honor of her son Mattie.
The park has play spaces, but at its heart is a memorial peace garden with a life-size statue of Mattie and his dog Micah. “Every day, I sit at my window and see mothers go over to the statue with their children,” says Jeni. “It is a terrible thing for a parent to bury a child, but I do see how Mattie has touched the world.”
Jeni is a mother who has experienced more sadness than most of us could imagine. All four of her children were born with a genetic disorder (遗传性疾病). The first three died before the age of four. Mattie survived until three weeks before his 14th birthday. In his short lifetime, he had sold more than two million copies of his poetry collections and given encouraging speeches to thousands of followers. His heroes—Oprah Winfrey, poet Maya Angelou, former US president Jimmy Carter became his best friends. At his funeral Carter said, “My wife and I have known kings, queens and presidents, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known is Mattie Stepanek.”
In the years after Mattie died, Jeni had been writing about his short but meaningful life. “I didn’t want my sadness to flow onto the pages and nor did I want people to think I was hanging on to Mattie’s coat tails. But I knew in the end I would tell the story because I was the only one who lived it with him,” she said. Jeni’s now published book Messenger is a celebration of Mattie’s achievements that were beyond his years.
1. Why did Jeni buy the house?| A．Because of its attractive four bedrooms. | B．Because of its special location. |
| C．Because of its low price. | D．Because of its excellent conditions. |
| A．An accident. | B．A mental disease. |
| C．A natural disease. | D．A natural disaster. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Pitiful. | C．Patient. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Jeni was still in deep sorrow. | B．Jeni wanted to be a writer. |
| C．Jeni continued her son’s writing work. | D．Jeni was proud of her son. |
