1 . Hard work has been part of every laureate’s journey towards the Nobel Prize. Many examples. Francoise Barré-Sinoussi spent time in the lab on the morning of her wedding. After Michael Brown’s first daughter was born, he went straight back to discuss the next day’s experiments. Early-career scientists often ask laureates (获奖者) about work-life balance.
Spend time with your family and friends. Many laureates stress the value of maintaining personal relationships. Doctor Brian Kobilka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Sleep well at night.
Don’t work too hard. Ultimately, working too hard won’t be beneficial. Not only do you risk burning yourself out, but you are also restricted in your thinking. Taking time away from work can allow you to approach problems in a new way.
A.My solutions may be of some help. |
B.Their answers can be enlightening. |
C.Focus on different aspects of your life. |
D.Never hesitate to bravely rise to challenge. |
E.Sleep, exercise and eating well can all conflict with working long hours. |
F.He would moonlight in an emergency room as well as working in the lab. |
G.Going for a walk, for example, gives you the chance to take a step back and see things differently. |
2 . Demographic changes, such as aging populations and declining birth rates, pose challenges as well as offer opportunities for industries and countries. To overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities, especially to achieve long-term economic sustainability, economies need to enhance policies promoting innovations.
Now many countries in East Asia are facing the aging population and declining working-age population problem. Compared with other advanced countries, Japan encountered the population aging problem at a slightly earlier stage, starting in the mid-1990s. As Japan’s percentage of elderly population to the total population increased, it impacted the country’s economy, leading to a contraction in domestic demand and decline in both production and consumption, and restricting the growth of economy.
Some innovative companies have actively increased outward FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), providing cost advantages from inexpensive overseas labor to maintain their cost competitiveness. However, the global economy is facing the challenge of declining trade owing to the protectionism practiced by certain countries. Consequently, the chances of boosting growth through outward FDI may be limited.
Developing artificial intelligence is another solution to the negative impacts of the demographic changes. AI and robotics will play a crucial role in stimulating productivity and innovation by making payment for the decline in the working-age population, and the following increase in productivity will in turn raise the demand for labor by creating new employment opportunities.
AI, robotics and other advanced technologies give rise to new tasks within their fields and across other sectors. Therefore, it is necessary to employ cooperation policies to support corporations that promote innovations by increasing investment in research and development, facilitating the growth of new companies, and building a perfect system to protect intellectual properties. Since AI and robotics may replace certain jobs, it is essential to address the potential challenges they may create in the labor market and work out strategies to ensure a balanced and comprehensive transition.
1. What do we know about demographic changes from the first two paragraphs?A.There is no need to worry since the changes offer opportunities. |
B.The changes won’t affect the long-term economic sustainability. |
C.Japan is the only advanced country facing the changes at present. |
D.Things should be done to overcome the challenges posed by the changes. |
A.Push. | B.Decrease. | C.Pause. | D.Change. |
A.Favorable. | B.Intolerant. | C.Objective. | D.Indifferent. |
A.Withdrawing investment in research and development. |
B.Adopting policies that encourage innovation of corporations. |
C.Establishing new companies to protect intellectual properties. |
D.Creating potential labor market for more possible employments. |
3 . Whether you are a fine art lover or history enthusiast, there are some museums that you should visit in your lifetime. Here’s a list of the best museums in the world.
LE LOUVRE, PARIS
A visit to the Louvre lets visitors discover ancient civilizations and Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848. The palace of the museum, dating back to the twelfth century and developed by architects from 1200 to 2011, is a lesson in architecture. The most famous art work is Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”.
THE UFFIZI GALLERIES, FLORENCE
The museum occupies a large building constructed between 1560 and 1580. It’s famous for its outstanding collections of ancient sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages to the Modern period, and mainly known for its paintings by Italian artists.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON
As the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge, it was founded in 1753 and opened its doors in 1759. Its eight million objects allow us to explore the diversity of human cultures, and discover the expressions in human being’s life. It boasts the world’s second finest collection of Egyptian antiques.
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK
Also known as “the Met”, it’s the largest art museum in the America. Presenting over 5,000 years of art from around the world, the museum lives in two sites in New York: The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Since its founding in 1870, it has been a treasury of rare and beautiful objects, ranging from European paintings, Egyptian collections to American paintings.
1. Which museum is best known for ancient statues in the Middle Ages?A.The Louvre. | B.The Uffizi Galleries. |
C.The British Museum. | D.The Metropolitan Museum. |
A.Art works from Egypt. | B.Expressions around the world. |
C.Rare objects of human culture. | D.Paintings from Europe and America. |
A.An introduction to arts. | B.An essay on architecture. |
C.A guidebook to museums. | D.A review of Egyptian paintings. |
4 . Across the world, humans purchase around 1.3 billion single-use plastic water bottles a day. Because only about 9% of plastic is recycled, the vast majority of those bottles wind up in landfills, the ocean, or elsewhere in nature.
When beach-loving Madison noticed those plastic bottles during her family’s trips to California, the 12-year-old “just felt like this needed to change,” she told Smithsonian Magazine.
So as she began thinking about what to do for her school science fair back in 2021, the idea of a project centered on reducing plastic pollution quickly came to her mind: she would design an eatable water bottle called the Eco-Hero.
“One of my biggest ambitions for my project was wanting to help the world,” the confident young inventor said in a video on the website.
To bring her idea to life, Madison built upon the already established method by experimenting with common food materials. She also took inspiration from previous versions of eatable water bottles, though she focused on making hers bigger and more durable. She found that the combination of water, lemon juice, natural gum, and Alginic acid (褐藻酸) resulted in a gel pouch that wouldn’t break, could hold up to 3/4 cup of water, and would last in the fridge for three weeks.
Though she’d like to improve the Eco-Hero by making it able to hold more water, she believes her current version would work well as a replacement for the paper cups used by runners in races. All one needs to do is bite a hole in the water ball, drink the water, and then eat the pouch or throw it away to biodegrade.
Madison hopes the Eco-Hero inspires others to take better care of the planet. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be in a big way,” she told Smithsonian. “People can still make a difference in the world, even if it’s just in a small way.”
1. What inspired Madison’s design of an eatable water bottle?A.Her school’s task. | B.Her family’s urge. |
C.Her love for nature. | D.Her trips to the beach. |
A.It is a copy of the previous versions. |
B.It is made from unbreakable materials. |
C.It is an improvement in size and durability. |
D.It has a hole and should be disposed once used. |
A.Ambitious and creative. | B.Talented and determined. |
C.Courageous and confident. | D.Cooperative and committed. |
A.A good beginning is half done. | B.Small people make big moves. |
C.Where there is a will, there is a way. | D.God helps those who help themselves. |
5 . Four Best Books of 2023
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
After their youngest daughter, Ruthie, disappears during a summer of berry-picking in Maine, a Micmac family from Nova Scotia struggles to move forward. Indigenous Voices Award winner Amanda Peters delivers an un-put-down-able novel of identity, forgiveness, and insistent hope.
The House of Doors
by Tan Twan Eng
This atmospheric novel, set in 1920s Malaysia, tells of a famous author bent on uncovering secrets for storytelling materials. Tan Twan Eng weaves love, duty, betrayal and colonialism into the narrative.
The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789
by Robert Darnton
This interesting history of the decades leading up to the French Revolution offers a populist account of a crazy political moment. Darnton goes beyond what everyday people thought and said to attract readers to what anxious Parisians read, wore, ate and sang on the way to toppling (推翻) the rule of Louis XVI.
The Soul of Civility
by Alexandra Hudson
What can the world’s oldest book teach us about civility (礼貌) today? Alexandra Hudson’s thoughtful and fluent book on how to live well together draws on literature from The Teachings of Ptahhotep, written 4,500 years ago in Egypt, to Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter From Birmingham Jail.
1. What is the main theme of The Berry Pickers?A.The life of a carefree girl. |
B.The history of berry-picking in Maine. |
C.The situation before the French Revolution. |
D.The stories of identity, forgiveness and hope. |
A.A family in Maine. | B.Malaysia in the 1920s. |
C.The French Revolution. | D.Egypt 4,500 years ago. |
A.Alexandra Hudson. | B.Robert Darnton. | C.Tan Twan Eng. | D.Amanda Peters. |
6 . Everyone feels a little jealous (嫉妒的) once in a while. But when these feelings of jealousy begin to cause you stress, it’s probably time to start looking for ways to get rid of your jealousy. The techniques below can help you reflect on your jealousy and move on from any frustration in a healthy way.
●Acknowledge your feelings of jealousy.
When you notice feelings of jealousy starting to creep in (悄然出现), take a few minutes to check in with yourself. Ask yourself “Am I jealous right now?” It’s perfectly normal to get jealous once in a while, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
●Find the root of your jealousy.
●Talk about it with other people.
If you have a lot of frustration caused by jealousy, don’t just keep it to yourself. Take time to sit down with your family member to tell them what’s going on. If you don’t want to talk to anyone, here are some other suggestions for how to cope:
●Focus on your positive qualities.
Find your own unique strengths to defeat feelings of jealousy. Jealousy is often rooted in feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem.
●Limit your time on social media.
Social media tends to only show the “perfect” parts of someone’s life. If you struggle with jealousy, you can be tempted (诱惑) to look through other people’s profiles to look for faults.
A.Take exercise to burn off the stress. |
B.But most of the time those desires will just feed your jealousy. |
C.Occasionally there are deeper underlying issues that fuel jealousy. |
D.However, it’s vital to remember that you have a lot of special talents. |
E.Instead of envying someone with a lot of money, make your dollars count. |
F.Constantly setting yourself up against others can just make your jealousy worse. |
G.But sometimes just naming your emotions can help you gain control over them. |
7 . Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has increased over the past 20 years. UPFs contain few or no whole foods, are industrially produced, are ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, and include additives. The ultra-processing of food lessens its nutritional value. It has been known that higher UPF consumption is associated with overweight and heart disease. Now, research has been extended to examine its impact on mental health.
In a new study, over 72,000 participants who were at least 55 years old and didn’t have dementia (痴呆) at the start of the study were followed for an average of 10 years, during which they filled out questionnaires regarding their diet. By the end of the study, 518 people were diagnosed (诊断) with dementia. After adjusting for other factors that could affect risk of dementia such as age, gender, and heart disease, researchers found every 10 percent increase in daily intake of UPFs was associated with a 25percent higher risk of dementia. They also found replacing 10 percent of UPFs with unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of dementia.
In another study, researchers found individuals who consumed the most UPFs had statistically significant increases in the symptoms (症状) of mild depression, “mentally unhealthy days”, and “anxious days”. Eric Hecht, Founder and Executive Director of the Institute of Etiological Research, said, “More than 70 percent of packaged foods in the US are classified as UPFs and represent about 60 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Given the degree of exposure to and effects of UPF consumption, this study has great significance in clinical practice and public health. It might help improve future development of dietary guidelines.”
Facing such alarming data, maybe it’s time for Americans to reconsider their food options. Researchers recommend taxes on UPFs and carrying out policies to reduce the consumption. They also support programs and policies to increase the availability and affordability of whole foods, especially among disadvantaged populations.
1. What do we know about UPFs?A.They have no nutritional value. | B.They are ready-made and instant foods. |
C.They are cheap and mass-produced. | D.They serve as additions to our daily diets. |
A.Positive. | B.Doubtful. | C.Mixed. | D.Conservative. |
A.Collecting higher taxes on UPFs. | B.Decreasing UPFs’ share in diet. |
C.Focusing on the nutrient content of foods. | D.Increasing public awareness of whole foods. |
A.Public Health Response to UPFs | B.Physical Disorders Linked to UPFs |
C.Rising Consumption of UPFs in the US | D.Negative Effects of UPFs on Mental Health |
1. What can we learn from the talk?
A.Janet Gordon has written her own book. |
B.Jessica Watson broke a record in 2010. |
C.Jesse Martin lost fingers while climbing a mountain. |
A.A book. | B.Her parents. | C.A painting. |
A.In 1993. | B.In1996. | C.In2010. |
A.Supportive. | B.Opposed. | C.Optimistic. |
9 . A few years ago, I asked a neighborhood handyman to build a tree-house in my backyard. In part, this was to solve a problem: my children were good friends with the children who lived beside us and they liked to climb over the fence that separated the two yards. We could have just put a gate into the fence, but I decided that building some kind of climbable structure around the large fir tree in the yard, which also included a staircase into the neighbor’s yard, was a more creative solution to the problem, and I liked the idea that the tree-house would also serve to join the two play spaces together.
The handyman took the task much more seriously than I had expected. He made drawings, built small wooden models, and even held a kind of “visioning” exercise with the children and their parents to make sure that he hadn’t missed any important details. At the end of our lengthy discussions, he asked, “Where would you like me to put the beer rail?”
The question took me aback as I hadn’t really considered the possibility that a nice play structure in my yard might also facilitate beer consumption among the neighborhood children, but I quickly tuned in to the fact that our designer had intuited what should have been obvious to me- the children wouldn’t be the only ones to take advantage of this platform up among the branches of the beautiful old tree. And, indeed, over the years that I lived in that house I discovered that the platform made a pretty good perch (栖息处), not only for the occasional cold beer, but also for sitting and dreaming, reading a book, enjoying a picnic or even getting some writing done. My children enjoyed climbing around in the tree-house, playing tag, setting up imaginary pirate ships and fortresses (城堡), and they also used it for some quiet thinking and even the occasional math homework. The tree seemed to be a particularly good algebra tutor.
1. Why did the author prefer to build a staircase?A.It would make the tree-house look prettier. |
B.It would give better protection to the fence. |
C.It would be finished at low cost. |
D.It would connect the neighbor’s kids more closely. |
A.It was out of date. | B.It was unnecessary. |
C.It was unaffordable. | D.It was too complicated. |
A.Misunderstood. | B.Examined. | C.Recognized. | D.Proved. |
A.Ambitious and persuasive. | B.Strict and kind-hearted. |
C.Careful and far-sighted. | D.Humble and generous. |
10 . While we aim to avoid any appearance of baseless theories, it is noteworthy to observe the long-standing practice of putting magnets (磁铁) in cows, a phenomenon that has been carefully unfolding for years. Why are farmers putting magnets in cows?
Known as cow magnets, the devices are placed inside cattle to deal with “hardware disease”. Hardware Disease occurs after an animal eats a metallic object that then makes a hole in the wall of the reticulum, the second stomach room in ruminant animals (反刍动物). This issue arises from the natural eating behaviors of these ruminants, similar to a person at an unlimited food event — quickly and eagerly large bites without sufficient chewing. This fast-paced feeding approach makes them tend to unintentionally consume metal pieces in their food, including broken farm machinery parts, nails and wires used in fencing, for instance.
Metal objects entering the reticulum may result in infections, increased body temperatures, digestive problems, and unease for the animals. To address hardware disease, the main strategy is to prevent metal from entering the cattle’s diet. Farmers have also adopted the method of placing cow magnets into the stomach using either a stomach tube or a balling gun. The cow magnet attracts such objects and prevents them from becoming fixed in the animal’s tissue. These magnets, once positioned, remain within the animals throughout their lifespan, only being removed after death when the cows pass away or are processed for meat.
Moseley, a Veterinary Medicine professor, states in a hardware disease resource, “The magnet gathers foreign metallic objects, reducing the risk of making a hole in the reticulum.” Research shows a mild magnetic field affects a cow’s small blood pathways, improving circulation and aiding recovery without significant impact on the cow or milk quality.
1. Why are magnets fed to cows?A.To change feeding habits. | B.To prevent hardware disease. |
C.To improve the milk quality. | D.To enhance digestive system. |
A.Eating without chewing. | B.Taking magnets by mistake. |
C.Sufficient chewing hard food. | D.Swallowing metals accidentally. |
A.To describe the historical practice of putting magnets in cows. |
B.To deny the adoption of cow magnets to enhance cattle health. |
C.To discuss the influence of a mild magnetic field on milk quality. |
D.To explain the reason for using magnets to prevent hardware disease. |
A.Exploring more potential benefits of cow magnets. |
B.Investigating the broader applications of magnets. |
C.Discussing the alternative methods of caring for cows. |
D.Evaluating the long-term effects of magnets on animals. |