This Is Life, a documentary film, is set to grace the nation’s big screens on Jan. 13. The film features more than 800 short videos
By gathering the short video footage, the film engages ordinary people in its creation and presents their authentic life experience,
According to the film’s director Sun Hong, by gathering, selecting
In the film, the audience will see construction workers working out on the construction site during their spare time, fishermen talking to their cormorants and teasing their greediness for fish, or boatmen celebrating a rare day
“It is our creative effort, as documentary filmmakers,
A golden haze settled over the cornfields. The sun prepared to rest for the evening, and I intended to follow. Saying goodbye to the clan (宗族) I was staying with, I headed back to camp. I looked forward to setting my camera aside for an evening to reflect on my time in Ethiopia.
It wasn’t long when I heard a voice behind me, “Photo, photo, photo.” A young Surma boy about eight years old followed closely at my heels. I breathed a tired sigh. I had no energy to press the shutter button one more time, no matter how beautiful or eager he was.
Over the past four days, many in the camp had wanted their photograph taken. I hoped the boy would find someone else to snap his photograph, but he kept following me and saying, “Photo, photo, photo.” He managed to catch my eye. With eyes wide full of hope, he asked me again with anticipation on his face.
As I looked at him, half interested, an idea for a composition flashed in my mind.
I kneeled in the cornfield and instructed the boy where to stand and how to pose. As I prepared to take the photograph, his energy suddenly shifted from eagerness to shyness to fear.
No matter what I told him to do—how to stand and how to look—I just couldn’t get the shot. Frustrated, I gave up. I looked at the boy, who looked alone and awkward. He’d wanted his photograph taken, and now he’d gone camera-shy.
In an effort to cheer him, I clapped my hands, saying, “That was great. You were great.” Others in his clan gathered around, cheering and clapping loudly. The boy’s face immediately broke into a smile. I intuitively (凭直觉地) took a few shots of the moment. That photograph turned out to be better than I’d imagined.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I printed a large copy of the photograph and returned to the Surma boy’s clan.
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As I left Ethiopia, I held onto the memory of the Surma boy’s joyous tears and the collective hope of his clan.
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3 . Take A Scenic Ride On The World’s Steepest Railway For Passengers—If You Dare!
Originally built for mining in 1878, the Scenic Railway is now a tourist ride that can take your breath away! In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, the former mining railway became a tourist attraction in 1945. It currently holds the Guinness World Records as the steepest passenger train with the steepest railway gradient (坡度).
The gradient of 52 degrees is comfortably viewed from inside an 84-seat, glass-enclosed carriage car. The passenger car travels along on a cable-driven system of rails as it navigates the steep terrain. During the tour, passengers will see the train travel through sandstone cliffs and a rock tunnel next to Orphan Rock.
Orphan Rock was once available for trail climbing. Following rock slides in the 1950s, the trail was partially closed. The trail access was completely closed in 1974 and never reopened due to potential risks.
On the Scenic Railway, you will see stunning views from a slightly different angle than Orphan Rock. The railway is open every day of the year, making the trip along the rails every ten minutes.
Sight-seeing passengers can ride the steepest railway up from the Jamison Valley or travel on the cable car. Either option affords incredible scenic views of the Blue Mountains. The glass roof in the passenger cars allows for a fantastic view from every seat on the train.
Just take a look for yourself!
1. Where might the Scenic Railway originally lead to?| A．A mine. | B．A village. | C．A mountain. | D．A valley. |
| A．It is a rock tunnel. | B．It is out of use. |
| C．It is partially open. | D．It is a 10-minute trip. |
| A．Eco-friendly. | B．Absurd. | C．Demanding. | D．Adventurous. |
4 . A sheep in Scotland, known as the “loneliest sheep”, was stuck at the bottom of a cliff for over two years. A group of farmers made it their
Wilson explained that it was too
The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was present to
Wilson
| A．obligation | B．ambition | C．purpose | D．mission |
| A．discovered | B．witnessed | C．employed | D．followed |
| A．base | B．form | C．spot | D．extent |
| A．enthusiastic | B．sympathetic | C．optimistic | D．urgent |
| A．accounts | B．identities | C．benefits | D．updates |
| A．illegal | B．expensive | C．risky | D．complex |
| A．reaching | B．finding | C．defending | D．caring |
| A．identifying | B．planning | C．disguising | D．defining |
| A．substance | B．material | C．equipment | D．machine |
| A．frequently | B．physically | C．openly | D．safely |
| A．provide | B．ensure | C．guide | D．promote |
| A．condition | B．potential | C．mood | D．fashion |
| A．charity | B．protection | C．rescue | D．cheering |
| A．called up | B．brought in | C．broke down | D．reflected on |
| A．outcome | B．scene | C．barrier | D．incident |
5 . At first glance the sea turtles look as if they were dead because they hardly move. But if you look closely enough, they show a slow glimpse of life. These turtles are all washed up in Massachusetts every December, on the windy beaches of Cape Cod Bay.
Shaver, chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, said, “If we don’t help save this species, we will lose a piece that enriches us. There’s a whole variety of things that can harm them: oil spills, boat strikes, red tides, and so on.” That is why all the urgent care they’re getting back up North is more important than ever.
Saving could never happen unless hundreds of pilots were willing to volunteer their time, their planes, and their fuel to rush the rescued turtles to willing rehab facilities (康复中心) all around the country.
On this particular mission, Andrews, vice president of a unique nonprofit called Turtles Fly Too, with his dad as a co-pilot, will fly more than 2,000 miles, from Boston, to Atlanta, then on to Gulfport and finally Dallas, dropping off 44 sick sea turtles along the way, in hopes that one day they’ll be well enough to be released. It is worth mentioning that the pilots that are flying these missions are pulling $1 million out of their pocket to fly these missions every year.
With good care and the help of volunteers, these turtles were finally ready to go home again. According to Andrews, “90% of the turtles that we’ve moved to the rehab facilities have ended up back in the ocean.”
“We humans have not always been kind to the sea and those that live in it. But on this day, it was humans-not me, but the hundreds of veterinarians, biologists, volunteers, and pilots—who all came together to give these critically-endangered sea turtles a second chance that they rarely got, ”Andrews added.
1. What happens to the turtles on the beaches of Cape Cod Bay?| A．They are dying out. | B．They are in danger. |
| C．They adapt to living onshore. | D．They are caught by humans. |
| A．Thrilled. | B．Annoyed. | C．Concerned. | D．Moved. |
| A．The pilots’ generous devotion. |
| B．The division’s urgent care. |
| C．The rehab facilities’ willingness to help. |
| D．The improvement of the turtles’ habitats. |
| A．It is unsatisfactory. | B．It costs too much. |
| C．It is controversial. | D．It quite pays off. |
6 . How To Spend The Holidays Productively?
To get the most out of your holidays, you can make a calendar of the things you need to do and schedule in time for a mixture of fun activities and productive tasks.
Create a calendar of everything you want to do over the holidays.If you want to keep yourself on a regular schedule over your holiday break, making a calendar can help you stay organized.
Spend time learning or improving a skill, a craft, or a hobby.If you have a lot of free time over the holidays, try using that time to learn something new.
Volunteer to help out in your community.
Create a plan for the year ahead.As the year draws to a close, take a little time to think about your year ahead.
| A．Exercise each day to stay healthy and relieve stress. |
| B．Start by filling in the most important things you need to do. |
| C．Set aside time for any work or schoolwork you need to get done. |
| D．You might practice a new drawing technique if you love art, for instance. |
| E．Look online or reach out to nonprofits in your area to find out how you can help. |
| F．Spend your holiday break building contacts by looking up networking events near you. |
| G．By setting clear, achievable goals to accomplish, you’ll stay focused throughout the year. |
7 . Plastic, which is now common, contains endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs (内分泌干扰物), that has been linked to increased risk of many chronic diseases. Parental exposure to EDCs, for example, has been shown to cause metabolic (新陈代谢的) disorders, including obesity and diabetes, in the later generations.
Led by Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California, the researchers investigated the impact of fathers’ exposure to a phthalate called dicyclohexyl phthalate, or DCHP (邻苯二甲酸二环己酯), on the metabolic health of first generation (F1) and second generation (F2) in mice. Phthalates are chemicals used to make plastic more durable.
The researchers found that fathers’ DCHP exposure for four weeks led to high insulin (胰岛素) resistance and impaired insulin signaling in F1. The same effect, but weaker, was seen in F2 .
“We found fathers’ exposure to EDCs may have intergenerational and transgenerational detrimental effects on the metabolic health of their later generations, ”Zhou said. “To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to demonstrate this.”
In the case of fathers’ exposure in the study, intergenerational effects are changes that occur due to direct exposure to a stressor, such as exposure to DCHP of fathers (F0 generation) and his F1 generation. Transgenerational effects are changes passed down to later generations that are not directly exposed to the stressor (for example, F2 generation).
“This suggests that fathers’ DCHP exposure can lead to sex-specific transgenerational effects on the metabolic health of their later generations,” Zhou said.
Zhou stressed that the impact of exposure to DCHP on human health is not well understood, even though DCHP is widely used in a variety of plastic products and has been detected in food, water, and indoor particulate matter.
“It’s best to minimize our use of plastic products,” Zhou said. “This can also help reduce plastic pollution, one of our most pressing environmental issues.”
1. Why are phthalates added to plastic?| A．To beautify it. | B．To make it long-lasting. |
| C．To reduce its cost. | D．To increase its weight. |
| A．Negative. | B．External. | C．Distinct. | D．Adventurous. |
| A．Bury plastic waste. | B．Watch out for the food they eat. |
| C．Use fewest plastic products. | D．Never produce plastic products. |
| A．Plastic contains endocrine disrupting chemicals |
| B．Plastic pollution is a pressing environmental issue |
| C．DCHP is widely used in a variety of plastic products |
| D．Chemicals in plastic may impact two generations’ health |
8 . Face blindness, a mystifying condition that can trick us into believing we recognize people we’ve never met or make us fail to recognize those we have, has been previously estimated to affect between 2 and 2.5 percent of people in the world.Now, a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the VA Boston Healthcare System is providing fresh insights into the disorder, suggesting it may be more common than currently believed.
Published in February 2023 in Cortex, the study findings indicate that as many as one in 33 people may meet the criteria for face blindness, or prosopagnosia (面孔失认症).“This translates to more than 10 million Americans,” the research team said.
The study found similar face-matching performance between people diagnosed with prosopagnosia using stricter vs looser criteria, suggesting that diagnostic criteria should be expanded to be more inclusive. That could lead to new diagnoses among millions who may have the disorder but don’t realize it.
The study results are based on a web-based questionnaire and tests administered to 3,341 individuals.First, the researchers asked participants whether they experience difficulties recognizing faces in their everyday lives.Then they administered two objective tests to determine whether they had difficulties learning new faces or recognizing highly familiar famous faces.
The results showed that 31 individuals out of the 3,341 had major prosopagnosia, while 72 of the 3,341 had a milder form. The researchers also observed that there were no neatly divided separate groups of people with poor or good ability to recognize faces. Rather, the ability to recognize faces appeared to lie on a continuum (连续体).
Finally, the researchers compared face-matching scores among people with prosopagnosia diagnosed using different criteria and found that using stricter diagnostic cutoffs did not correspond with lower face-matching scores.
In the new study, the researchers provide diagnostic suggestions for identifying mild and major forms of prosopagnosia based on guidelines for major and mild neurocognitive disorders in the DSM5, the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
1. Which of the following indicates a person has face blindness?| A．Failing to identify his belongings. |
| B．Being able to recognize his friends. |
| C．Mistaking a stranger for an acquaintance. |
| D．Misunderstanding ones’ facial expressions. |
| A．Do you have trouble recognizing faces? |
| B．Do you know what face blindness means? |
| C．Do you know anybody with face blindness? |
| D．Do you experience difficulties in everyday life? |
| A．It came up based on the new study. |
| B．It has experienced four revisions. |
| C．It is only used to identify face blindness. |
| D．It participated in and funded the new study. |
| A．A fiction novel. | B．A fashion website. |
| C．A health brochure. | D．A science magazine. |
Covering more than half the size of China, the Amazon rainforest,
注意：1、写作词数在80词左右；
2、可以适当增加细节使行文流畅。
Dear Betty,
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Yours,
Li Hua
