1 . Binge-watching (刷剧) is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in a row. With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows stream (流播) directly to their television at their convenience.
This behavior is nothing new. In fact, binge-watching has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available concurrently. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like” suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode.
However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and 25% have neglected their household chores (家务活). Next we’ll be missing work!
Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said, “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist (抗拒) watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?
The countless number of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning, then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”
1. How did the writer develop the first paragraph?A.By giving a definition. | B.By telling a story. |
C.By listing some examples. | D.By analyzing the cause and effect. |
A.For convenience. | B.At the same time. |
C.In detail. | D.Free of charge. |
A.people can’t control their feelings | B.people can’t resist the temptation of Bingeing |
C.people have no patience to do work | D.people are addicted to waiting for a new episode |
A.To keep online media from stopping functioning. |
B.To enjoy entertainment as much as possible. |
C.To learn life lessons from the episodes. |
D.To watch episodes in a moderate way. |
2 . Neuroengineer Silvestro Micera develops advanced technological solutions to help people regain sensory and motor functions that have been lost due to injury events or neurological disorders. Until now, he has never before worked on strengthening the human body and cognition with the help of technology.
Now in a study published in Science Robotics, Micera and his team report on how diaphragm (隔膜) movement can be monitored for successful control of an extra arm, essentially augmenting a healthy individual with a third-robotic-arm.
For further exploration, the researchers first built a virtual environment to test a healthy user’s capacity to control a virtual arm using movement of his or her diaphragm. They found that diaphragm control does not interfere with actions like controlling one’s physiological (生理的) arms, one’s speech or gaze.
In this virtual reality setup, the user is equipped with a belt that measures diaphragm movement. Wearing a virtual reality headset, the user sees three arms: the right arm and hand, the left arm and hand, and a third arm between the two with a symmetric (对称), six-fingered hand.
In the virtual environment, the user is then hinted to reach out with either the left hand, the right hand, or in the middle with the symmetric hand. In the real environment, the user holds onto an exoskeleton (外骨骼) with both arms, which allows for control of the virtual left and right arms. Movement detected by the belt around the diaphragm is used for controlling the virtual middle, symmetric arm. The setup was tested on 61 healthy subjects (受试者) in over 150 sessions.
Previous studies regarding the control of robotic arms have been focused on helping the disabled. The latest Science Robotics study is a step beyond repairing the human body towards augmentation. “Our next step is to explore the use of more complex robotic devices using our various control strategies, to perform real-life tasks, both inside and outside of the laboratory. Only then will we be able to grasp the real potential of this approach,” concludes Micera.
1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?A.To introduce the topic. | B.To show an evidence. |
C.To summarize the general idea. | D.To offer some background. |
A.A virtual reality game. | B.A new medical device. |
C.A new treatment method. | D.An experiment on animals. |
A.By listing some related data. | B.By offering some examples. |
C.By making some comparisons. | D.By describing research processes. |
A.How to expand controllable robotic devices. |
B.Where to find new and exciting opportunities. |
C.How to further develop the robot market potential. |
D.Why to balance inside and outside of the laboratory. |
3 . In much of the western United States, drought and access to fresh water is a critical issue. However, recently California came up with a novel solution. The state approved regulations that allow agencies to purify wastewater for drinking. This recycled wastewater may be consumed in homes, schools, and businesses.
As the population in California has exploded in recent decades, the state has struggled to meet demands for fresh water. Recycled wastewater will allow the state to increase access to the precious resource.
Recycled wastewater is not new to the state. It has previously been used in ice hockey rinks (冰球场), for crops, and to generate artificial snow. But now, water agencies will have the option to put recycled wastewater back into pipes for drinking. California is only the second state to allow purified wastewater to be consumed. The first was Colorado in 2022.
While the idea of drinking recycled wastewater may be off-putting, regulators spent more than a decade developing rules and regulations to ensure safety. Independent panels of scientists also reviewed the state’s rules around recycled wastewater consumption. All water will be treated for pathogens (病原体) and viruses before being available for consumption.
So far, the state’s plan has been met with approval from large water agencies. Many of them have plans to construct wastewater recycling plans over the next few years. In Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has set a goal aiming to produce 150 million gallons of direct and indirect recycled water per day. This water will be in the pipes of the 19 million people throughout the six counties that the agency serves.
Officials are aware that a certain amount of public convincing may still be necessary. However, they remain optimistic about the future of the project, reminding consumers that the water is safe, and that recycled water is already in use in California.
1. Why does California pass new regulations about recycled wastewater?A.To ease the pressure of drought. | B.To increase the supply of fresh water. |
C.To recycle the wastewater for industry. | D.To reduce the pollution of the wastewater. |
A.Surprising. | B.Necessary. | C.Funny. | D.Awful. |
A.The goal of wastewater recycling is hard to achieve. |
B.The state’s plan will be conducted by water agencies. |
C.Southern California will reduce its water production. |
D.People in California tend to prefer recycled water. |
A.Many people still disapprove of the project. |
B.The public are optimistic about the project. |
C.It will never be suitable to use recycled water. |
D.The project is the only solution to water shortage. |
4 . Certain areas near the moon’s poles stay everlastingly in shadow, never receiving direct sunlight. Recent studies suggest these so-called permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) contain rich ice resource that could show details about the early solar system; they could also help future visitors make fuel and other resources. But these areas are hard to photograph from satellites moving around the moon and thus are a challenge to study. The few photos PSRs reflect are often flooded by camera noise and quantum effects (量子效应).
Now researchers have produced a deep-learning algorithm (算法) to cut through the interruption and to see these dark zones. “Our images enable scientists to identify the features of craters and boulders (陨石坑和巨石),” says Valentin Bickel, a planetary scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Solar System Research in Germany and lead author of a Nature Communications study testing the new algorithm.
The researchers used more than 70,000 images of completely dark lunar areas — with no light signal — together with details about the camera’s temperature and position in orbit to train their algorithm to recognize and remove camera noise. Next they dealt with the rest noise through information learned from millions of sunlit lunar photos, together with copied versions of the same images in shadow. Ignacio Lopez-Francos, a study co-author and engineer at the NASA Ames Research Center, says using such man-made shadow was necessary because sunlit PSR images do not exist. A similar technique is also used in low-light digital camera photography.
The researchers used their algorithm to analyze the size and number of craters and boulders in several PSRs that might be explored by NASA’s Artemis moon program. They also found the likely origins of some boulders and established a potential route for an astronaut through a PSR on the moon, avoiding obstacles and slopes steeper than 10 degrees.
“It’s an interesting application of machine-learning technology, and the noise model seems realistic and useful for this real case,” says computer scientist Chongyi Li, who uses similar strategies to enhance underwater images at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and was not involved in the study.
1. Why is exploring the PSRs a challenge?A.Because satellites are remote. | B.Because the solar system is complex. |
C.Because the photos are often covered. | D.Because the moon has abundant resources. |
A.They trained it through photos and images. |
B.They trained it by cutting through the interruption. |
C.They trained it through numerous images of sunlit lunar areas. |
D.They trained it by using low-light digital camera photography. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Objective. | C.Indifferent. | D.Favorable. |
A.To appeal to us to explore lunar areas. | B.To promote our understanding of moon. |
C.To introduce an application of technology. | D.To describe the reasons of lunar shadow lands. |
5 . Fiji is an island nation with mountains to climb, jungles to explore, vast reefs under the waves to dive, and beaches to walk on. You can go to the open-air souvenir markets to shop for authentic Fijian crafts (工艺品) like wooden kava bowls and visit the Fiji Museum. You can also attend Fire walking ceremony, the traditional practice of fire walking, where men walk barefoot across hot stones.
Best Time to Go
There is no bad time for Fiji vacations. However, November to April is the wet season, when temperatures and humidity (湿度) are higher and there is a greater risk of hurricanes. August and October are some of the most popular months to visit Fiji’s islands, but this also means you will have to deal with high-season crowds and prices. Brave the heavy but short downpours in the wet season if you want to escape the crowds and get some great deals.
Accommodation & Transport & Food
Some restaurants are expensive and attract the world’s rich and famous, but you can find much cheaper options with equally beautiful locations. Budget hotels start at around $30 a night for a double room with sea views.
If you don’t mind getting about on a bus, you will find this is a cheap and efficient form of transport. Traveling from Suva to Nadi, for example, costs around $25 for a four-hour trip.
You can eat for as little as 5insmallrestaurants, and mid—range restaurants start at around 15 for a meal. Many accommodation options include meals, so you can take full advantage of this to save some money.
All up, Fiji is a very reasonably priced destination with priceless experiences on offer. So, what are you waiting for?
1. What can tourists do in Fiji?A.Witness a special ceremony. | B.Walk on hot stones with shoes. |
C.Shop in large indoor souvenir markets. | D.Make wooden kava bowls by themselves. |
A.May. | B.July. |
C.September. | D.December. |
A.It is friendly to budget tourists. | B.It takes five hours to get there. |
C.It can be reached only by bus. | D.It offers free meals in any hotel. |
6 . If sales generally feel hard to resist, the sale in front of Arron Schurevich was the ultimate test: a new car just like the one he’d loved. And it was more than a 20% discount. “I figured that I would be a fool not to take advantage of that,” says Schurevich. After he drove the car off the lot, the deal turned sour. The brand-new car quickly needed repairs. Schurevich now jokes that he paid a tax for being a fool.
Why is it so hard for the human brain to resist a discount? Spotting something you’d like to buy activates your brain’s reward circuitry (奖赏回路). It gets especially heightened if it’s something you’ve been fascinated by — say, the same car you’ve enjoyed for years. Additionally, the discount itself often registers as a win, delivering its own kind of joy, says Jorge Barraza, a consumer psychologist at the University of Southern California.
“Not only are we getting the product,” Barraza says, “but we’re also getting that reward that we discovered something; we’ve earned this extra thing.”
Stores, of course, know all this and try to push our buttons. “Limited-quantity, limited-time, scarcity-marketing promotions—they get people’s blood pumping,” says Kelly Goldsmith, who studies this as a marketing professor at Vanderbilt University.
It’s really hard to always approach sales rationally. One buying strategy experts recommend is to make a shopping list in advance and then, stick to it. Another is to research items — beforehand or on the spot, checking online — to weigh whether the sale is really a good deal.
“The human brain has essentially evolved to feel first and think next, which is why you need to give yourself time to cool off from your instant reaction when in front of a sale,” says Goldsmith.
1. What is the purpose of telling Arron Schurevich’s story?A.To explain the way to promote sale. | B.To inform readers of an important test. |
C.To introduce the topic of the passage. | D.To show the advantage of products on sale. |
A.Brain’s reward circuitry needs activating. | B.It’s hard to resist a discount for some reasons. |
C.Buying discounted products has consequences. | D.It’s worthwhile to approach sales rationally. |
A.Stores are good at pushing buttons. | B.Stores tend to affect people’s health. |
C.Stores help consumers earn extra things. | D.Stores know how to attract consumers with sales. |
A.Calm down in front of a sale. | B.Make a shopping list ahead of time. |
C.Research items on the spot or online. | D.Avoid buying any discounted items. |
7 . Some Best Travel Websites to Check Out in 2023
Traveling is highly addictive! We put together a list of the best travel websites that will help to take the first step and go!
SafetyWing — Best Travel Insurance, Monthly PlansSafetyWing recently came up with undoubtedly the best travel insurance plan, called Remote Health. It’s a long-term plan that covers you for pre-existing conditions, like cancer, or even in your home country. Ideal for long-term travelers or digital nomads (数字游民), they also offer amazing monthly plans for short-term travel that come with very competitive prices, starting at $40.
Check the full comparison of digital nomad insurance plans!
GetYourGuide — One of the Best Travel Websites for Booking Trips and ToursGetYourGuide is the perfect way to book tours, airport transfers, ferries, cooking courses, tickets for events, food tours etc. It covers most of the countries in the world. They even have a price match guarantee, so just tell them you can find the activity or tour cheaper somewhere else and they will cover the difference no questions asked. It’s perfect because you can book everything beforehand and then just enjoy the holiday once you arrive.
Skyscanner for FlightsLet us be honest: Amazingly cheap flight tickets are often the first and yet the most important reason we keep on moving ourselves from country to country, even though we promised our inner selves to settle down for a while. Don’t blame yourself. Put the blame on Skyscanner, their mobile app and their delightfully intruding newsletter.
Withlocals — Enjoy Your Trip With LocalsAs one of the fastest-growing travel projects of last year that connects travelers with a local community, you can book amazing trips with locals and visit the most authentic places and experience local life. Your guide will help you to get out of tourist traps and find the real spirit of the places you want to visit.
1. What can SafetyWing offer the tourists?A.Cheap tour events. | B.Free flight tickets. |
C.Local life experience. | D.Proper travel insurance. |
A.SafetyWing. | B.GetYourGuide. |
C.Skyscanner. | D.Withlocals. |
A.A textbook. | B.A local newspaper. |
C.A web page. | D.An academic article. |
8 . Challenges are part of life and something we can all expect to encounter at one point or another during our lifetime. We handle challenges differently;some of us choose to face them head-on, while others flee in uncertainty.
Educate ourselves. The reason why some issues prove challenging for us is that we aren’t familiar with them.
Be persistent. This is what is required to accomplish anything, especially when it comes to overcoming challenges. No matter how difficult our challenges might be, we must be willing to push through and try again and again until we achieve victory over them.
Ask for help. There are times when we can’t go it alone and need others to help us conquer whatever challenges we face.
A.Meet them head-on. |
B.Adapt a different strategy. |
C.It is said that two heads are better than one. |
D.If we give up, we allow the challenges to conquer us instead. |
E.Therefore, our knowledge and ability to conquer them is limited. |
F.Whatever our positions, we all wish to conquer them and move on. |
G.Some challenges can be overwhelming, making us question our ability to overcome them. |
9 . Brittany, a land of myths and legends, is a region with a true spirit of adventure so there are plenty of attractions for active children, whether they like climbing heights, admiring the world under the sea, or even exploring ancient buildings.
Château de Fougères
Who is the King of the castle? The children’s imaginations can run wild at this medieval enchanted castle. This is one of the largest surviving castles in Europe. There are beautiful views across the Breton countryside as you stroll along the ramparts (城墙). The children will love exploring the many towers and turrets (塔楼) of this magnificent castle.
Forêt Adrénaline Rennes
This is an amazing tree top adventure park located on the outskirts of Rennes. Forêt Adrénaline Rennes is perfect for children that need to burn off lots of energy. There are eight tree top routes intended for ages 2 and over, the Black Panther route, 20 m up in the trees and a kilometer-long route made up of five zip wires. There is something for every daredevil here.
Océanopolis
Children will be in their element by the underwater world of Océanopolis with 77 aquariums filled with 10,000 animals from 1,000 different species across the world. Seals, penguins, sharks, and thousands of fish from the tropical, temperate, and polar oceans all live here in Brest in this amazing sea life park.
Village de Poul-Fetan
If you want to discover Breton life back in the 19th century, then this restored village would be a perfect place to visit. You can watch people in historical costume as they demonstrate traditional crafts and techniques including butter churning, pottery making and wool spinning. You can also watch livestock being milked and there is a chance to join in the demonstrations.
1. What is special about Château de Fougères?A.Its high cost. | B.Its large size. | C.Its long history. | D.Its tall towers. |
A.Océanopolis. | B.Forêt Adrénaline Rennes. |
C.Château de Fougères. | D.Village de Poul-Fetan. |
A.Make pottery and spin wood. | B.Demonstrate traditional crafts. |
C.Milk the livestock. | D.Watch livestock performance. |