1 . Super Size Me
Fast food, otherwise known as junk food, is a huge passion for a large number of people across the Western world. But what would happen if you ate lots of junk food every day? Would it seriously damage your health? These were the questions which led Morgan Spurlock, an independent film-maker, to do an experiment, which he came into a documentary film entitled Super Size Me.
The main basis of his experiment was that Spurlock promised to eat three McDonald’s meals a day, every day, for a month. He could only eat food from McDonald’s and every time an employee asked if he would like to ‘super size’ the meal, he had to agree. ‘Super sizing’ refers to the fact that with this type of meal you get a considerably larger portion of everything for only a very small price increase.
Before he started, three doctors certified that Spurlock weighed about 84kg and was in good health. Although both Spurlock and his doctors knew he would put on a bit of weight, and that this diet was unhealthy, none of them were quite prepared for just how unhealthy it turned out to be. The changes in his body were horrifying. In the first week, he put on 4.5 kilos and by the end of the thirty days he had gained nearly 14 kilos, bringing his total weight to 98 kg.
Weight gain was only one of the negative effects, however. When all three doctors saw the severe damage to his liver, they all recommended stopping the experiment after 20 days. Spurlock continued to follow the diet, however, because he wanted to show people what this kind of diet can do to you. Watching the film, you begin to realize that it could be a fast-forward picture of your life: in 30 days you go to see what could happen to you over 20 or 30 years of overconsumption.
Junk food is exactly what it says it is -- junk. Spurlock says, ‘I’d love people to walk out of the movie and say, “Next time I’m not going to ‘super size’. Maybe I’m not going to have any junk food at all. I’m going to sit down and eat dinner with my kids, with the TV off, so that we can eat healthy food, talk about what we’re eating and have a relationship with each other.”’ Food for thought indeed.
1. In the one-month experiment, Spurlock ______.| A．ate three McDonald’s meals every day | B．could choose to “super size” his meal |
| C．got extra-large meals at a lower price | D．pretended to eat for better visual effect |
| A．He gained one sixth of his body weight in one week. |
| B．Doctors suggested him stopping the experiment halfway. |
| C．He fast-forwarded the video past the medical examination. |
| D．He turned out to be 20 or 30 years older than people of his age. |
| A．human nature often drives us to desire more |
| B．how we eat is far more important than what we eat |
| C．overconsumption for a short time does little harm to the body |
| D．if we eat too much junk food, we ourselves will be supersized |
2 . In the dim light of an early autumn evening, Alexander, a hunter: known as much for his solitude as for his skill, ventured into the untamed (原始的) heart of the jungle. Each step he took was measured and careful, a respect for the ancient wilderness where every breath was a story, and man was but a fleeting shadow.
For years, whispers of a tiger, not just any tiger but one whose fur caught the last rays of the sun, had reached Alexander. A creature so splendid and fearsome, it was said to be more myth than flesh. On this day, as the shadows lengthened and the jungle whispered its age-old secrets, Alexander sought not just the tiger, but a confrontation with the very essence of the wild itself. As dusk settled, painting the world in colors of gold and shadow, the boundary between predator and prey seemed to dissolve. The air was heavy with anticipation, the kind that precedes storms and stories.
Then, in a clearing where the jungle seemed to hold its breath, the tiger appeared. It was as if the sun had woven itself into the fabric of its being, its fur a blend of flame and night. For a moment, the world shrank to the space between the hunter named Alexander and the legend made flesh before him.
Their gazes locked, a silent understanding passing between man and beast. Here was Alexander, a man who had walked through shadows to stand in the light of a legend, and the tiger, an embodiment of the wild’s untouchable majesty. In that eternal moment, Alexander saw not a prey but a sovereign of nature, a being whose right to wander the dusk was as undeniable as the setting sun.
With a respect born of countless sunsets and the silent tales they told, Alexander slowly lowered his rifle (步枪). The act was not one of defeat but of profound respect-a recognition of the bond that ties every living thing to the pulse of the earth. The tiger, its gaze still locked with Alexander’s, seemed to acknowledge this unspoken pact. Then, it turned and melted into the shadows, leaving behind a trail of twilight.
Alexander left the jungle that night without a trophy (战利品), but his soul was alight with a tale of fire and twilight. He had sought a legend and found a truth far greater: in the wild’s heart, where shadows and light dance, there lies a respect so deep it transcends the hunt. This encounter, a dance with the untamed, would echo in Alexander’s heart long after the jungle’s whispers faded into the dawn.
1. What was Alexander’s primary reason for venturing into the jungle?| A．To find a place to set up camp. |
| B．To hunt a tiger rumored to have a fur like the setting sun. |
| C．To escape from the challenges of modern life. |
| D．To meet other hunters and share stories. |
| A．He captures the tiger to prove its existence. |
| B．He shoots the tiger to claim his trophy. |
| C．He attempts to trap the tiger but fails |
| D．He lowers his rifle, choosing not to shoot the tiger. |
| A．complex language. | B．long sentences. |
| C．straightforward storytelling. | D．supernatural focus. |
| A．The thrill of the hunt is unparalleled. |
| B．True courage is demonstrated through dominance over nature. |
| C．There is a profound respect that exists between man and nature. |
| D．Technology has distanced man from understanding the natural world. |
3 . The Psychology of Giving: Why do People Give to Charity?
Every day, leaders in the nonprofit sector invest valuable time, energy, and money into educating and spreading awareness of their mission in the hopes that this will increase support for their nonprofit. They assume that if only more people knew about a school’s budget cuts, for example, then they would surely donate! So, they bombard (连续轰炸) potential supporters with depressing statistics or complex arguments.
Why do people donate to charity? While it’s true that donors and volunteers are motivated to make the world a better place because it’s the right thing to do, that’s not the entire—or even the primary—reason for their generosity.
Since we give in part because it solidifies our connections to others, make sure that your communication with your donors is personal and specific (i.e. begin correspondence with “Dear Anna,” not “Dear Donor”). Prioritize community by finding ways to connect with your supporters on a personal level and give them the opportunity to interact with each other, whether it’s through a monthly video call or a donor appreciation night.
Remember that, at base, all philanthropic work is fundamentally a social act, so aim to make your donors feel like they’re a part of a broader community in which they are included, valued, and seen.
| A．Research shows that the number one motivator for charitable giving is the all-too-human quest for reward and social attachment. |
| B．But this begs the question: how do statistics influence people’s decision to donate? |
| C．The more human ties your donors have with your organization and with each other, the more committed they’ll be to your mission. |
| D．While statistics and figures are important, make sure that your messages to your donors are upbeat and optimistic. |
| E．In this way, you are more likely to build long-lasting connection with both contributors and receivers. |
| F．However, that’s not how the human mind works. |
4 . Open data-sharers are still in the minority in many fields. Although many researchers broadly agree that public access to raw data would accelerate science, most are reluctant to post the results of their own labours online.
Some communities have agreed to share online - geneticists, for example, post DNA sequences at the GenBank repository (库), and astronomers are accustomed to accessing images of galaxies and stars from, say, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a telescope that has observed some 500 million objects- but these remain the exception, not the rule. Historically, scientists have objected to sharing for many reasons: it is a lot of work; until recently, good databases did not exist; grant funders were not pushing for sharing; it has been difficult to agree on standards for formatting data and there is no agreed way to assign credit for data.
But the barriers are disappearing in part because journals and funding agencies worldwide are encouraging scientists to make their data public. Last year, the Roval Society in London said in its report Science as an Open Enterprise that scientists need to shift away from a research culture where data is viewed as private preserve. Funding agencies note that data paid for with public money should be public information, and the scientific community is recognizing that data can now be shared digitally in ways that were not possible before. To match the growing demand, services are springing up to make it easier to publish research products online and enable other researchers to discover and cite them.
Although calls to share data often concentrate on the moral advantages of sharing, the practice is not purely altruistic (利他主义的). Researchers who share get plenty of personal benefits, including more connections with colleagues, improved visibility and increased citations. I he most successful sharers-those whose data are downloaded and cited the most often-get noticed, and their work gets used. For example, one of the most popular data sets on multidisciplinary repository Dryad is about wood density around the world; it has been downloaded 5, 700 times. Co-author Amy Zanne thinks that users probably range from climate- change researchers wanting to estimate how much carbon is stored in biomass, to foresters looking for information on different grades of timber. “I would much prefer to have my data used by the maximum number of people to ask their own questions, ” she says. “It’s important to allow readers and reviewers to see exactly how you arrive at your results. Publishing data and code allows your science to be reproducible”
Even people whose data are less popular can benefit. By making the effort to organize and label files so others can understand them, scientists become more organized and better disciplined themselves, thus avoiding confusion later on.
1. What do many researchers generally accept?| A．It is necessary to protect scientists’ patents. |
| B．Repositories are essential to scientific research. |
| C．Open data sharing promotes scientific advancement. |
| D．Open data sharing is most important to medical science. |
| A．The fear of massive copying. |
| B．The belief that data is private intellectual property. |
| C．The lack of a research culture. |
| D．The concern that certain agencies may make a profit out of it. |
| A．The ever-growing demand for big data. |
| B．The changing attitude of journals and funders. |
| C．The advantage of digital technology. |
| D．The trend of social and economic development. |
| A．is becoming increasingly popular | B．benefits shares and users alike |
| C．makes researchers successful | D．saves both money and labor |
5 . Nvidia, the chipmaker giant, has experienced a surge in its share price, skyrocketing by almost 450% since January 2023. Currently valued at nearly $2 trillion, Nvidia stands as the third-most valuable firm in the United States, following closely behind Microsoft and Apple. Its recent quarterly revenue s rose to 22billionfrom6 billion in the same period the previous year. Analysts anticipate continued rapid growth for Nvidia, primarily driven by its dominance in the market for specialized AI chips, commanding over 95% of it. What makes its chips so special?
Initially developed for gaming, Nvidia’s AI chips, also known as graphics processor units (GPUs) or “accelerators”, employ parallel processing, dividing computations into smaller tasks distributed across multiple cores within the chip. This parallel processing significantly enhances computational speed, crucial for exhibiting lifelike graphics in gaming applications.Happily for Nvidia, its chips have found much wider uses: cryptocurrency mining, self-driving cars and, most important, training of AI models. The efficiency of Nvidia’s accelerators in training AI models led the company to focus on optimizing them for this purpose. With the ability to handle thousands of calculations simultaneously, Nvidia’s GPUs have evolved together with increasingly complex AI models, achieving a thousand-fold increase in computational speed over the past decade.
But Nvidia’s soaring valuation is not just because of faster chips. It excels in networking, facilitated by Mellanox’s high-performance network technology, which Nvidia acquired in 2019. This enables Nvidia to optimize its chip network’s performance, surpassing competitors’ capabilities. Nvidia’s other strength is CUDA, a software platform that allows customers to fine tune the performance of its processors. Nvidia has been investing in this software since the mid-2000s, and has long encouraged developers to use it to build and test AI applications. This has made CUDA the industry standard.
Nvidia’s juicy profit and the rapid growth of the AI accelerator market have attracted competitors. Amazon and Alphabet are crafting AI chips for their data centres. Other big chipmakers and startups also want a slice of Nvidia’s business. In December 2023 Advanced Micro Devices, another chipmaker, unveiled a chip that by some measures is roughly twice as powerful as Nvidia’s most advanced chip. But even building better hardware may not be enough. Nvidia dominates AI chipmaking because it offers the best chips, the best networking kit and the best software. Any competitor hoping to displace Nvidia will need to beat it in all three areas. That will be a tall order.
1. The passage is written to ________.| A．analyze the potential risks of the surge in Nvidia’s share price |
| B．explain the factors contributing to Nvidia’s rapid growth |
| C．compare Nvidia’s share price with other technology companics |
| D．discuss the impact of Nvidia’s chips on global technology trends |
| A．They were initially developed for creating graphics. |
| B．They have been optimized for training automated vehicles. |
| C．They employ parallel processing to ensure high game picture quality. |
| D．They have widened the mining scope of cryptocurrency over the past decade. |
| A．its personalized software platform CUDA |
| B．its potential for gaining a handsome profit |
| C．its acquisition of Mellanox’s network technology |
| D．its reliance on building better hardware than its competitors |
| A．Nvidia will continue to rule the AI chipmaking industry. |
| B．Amazon has strengthened its position in the market with Nvidia. |
| C．Some startups have already cooperated to build better hardware. |
| D．Advanced Micro Devices now owns the most powerful chip in the world. |
6 . Sandra Boynton, a children’s author, has in more recent years branched out into kids music. Her most recent album Hog Wild!, for example, features Samuel L. Jackson as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. She talked in an interview about how to tap into kids’ imaginations and how to make scary things less threatening for them.
In your years of writing and illustrating children’s books, have you noticed anything that really sparks a child’s imagination?
I think maybe there’s no basic difference between what fascinates a child and what fascinates the rest of us. We’re all drawn to things that wake us up, things that grab our attention through our hearing or our sight or our sense of touch. We’re curious about the world as it is, and we’re curious about what could be. Imagination follows curiosity pretty naturally.
It doesn’t feel to me like it’s been a long time that I’ve been drawing and writing things. It doesn’t feel like a short time, either. It just feels like what I do. I make things. I’m a permanent kindergartner, I guess.
You often take a threatening figure like a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a monster and make him cute. Do you have any suggestions for how to make children less afraid of things? Actually, I think kids kind of like being afraid of things, as long as someone calm is right there with reassurance. Hugging helps.
What have you learned about childhood from writing kids’ books?
Accessing childhood has actually never been that hard. It’s adulthood that’s still perplexing. I would guess that most children’s book writers are that way. I’m really writing books and making music for my own child-self. But I’m certainly delighted and grateful that my books work for people other than just me. It keeps me from having to find an actual job.
A lot of authors are worried that children spend too much time on digital devices rather than with books, but you seem to have embraced it. Why?
When the interactive book app universe was new, I was, as a creator of things, curious. My background is theater, and I thought it could be interesting to try to figure out how to create content that’s both theater-like and book-like. I found a superb partner in this, the insanely ingenious Loud Crow Interactive in Vancouver. We worked intensively together for a couple of years and made five very cool apps. I’m proud of them. But now, having too often seen very young kids sitting idly, staring at screens, I have my doubts.
1. When writing children’s books, Sandra ________.| A．finds herself confused about remembering childhood |
| B．puts herself in a child’s place and thinks like a child |
| C．agrees with other book writers that writing is hard |
| D．is delighted that she doesn’t need to find another job |
| A．new ways to increase interactions between users |
| B．interactive by combining theatre and book |
| C．beneficial with the content both theatre-like and book-like |
| D．created by an insanely ingenious expert and friend |
| A．there were no interactive book apps before Sandra’s apps |
| B．kids are always calm instead of being afraid of things |
| C．digital devices have been embraced by most of the authors |
| D．Sandra is good at making a threatening figure cute |
7 . A flexible patch could help people with voice disorders talk
The human voice, with its unique ability to attract audiences, express love and sometimes annoy neighbors, is a delibate thing. Doppler’s vocal cords can easily get damaged by stress, infections, or overuse.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a soft patch that attaches to the neck, detecting muscle movements and translating them into clear speech using machine-learning algorithms. Even though the device is still in the early stages, it could be a significant improvement over existing communication aids for those who have lost their voice.
The patch works based on the magneto-elastic (磁弹性的) effect When magnetic nanoparticles are mixed into flexible materials like elastic or silicone, stretching the material can change its magnetic properties. Every time the material changes shape, the particles either rotate or move against each other, altering the material’s magnetic strength. The patch, with its copper coil border that creates a stable magnetic field, can precisely track these changes.
The patch is also designed to be user-friendly. It stays on even when the skin is sweaty and can be worn for 40 minutes without getting too warm.
However, there is more work to be done. For now the device can only recognize five pre-trained phrases.
| A．But the magnetization of the material holds great promise in the future. |
| B．Plus, individual differences in vocal-cords means the algorithm has to be personalized to each user. |
| C．When the throat muscles move under the patch, the changes in the magnetic field can also be turned into electrical signals. |
| D．Currently, people might resort to typing, texting, or writing, which can be slow or hard to read in poor light. |
| E．It is not just enthusiastic performers who risk damaging their voices. |
| F．In tests, the patch accurately recognized sentences spoken. |
8 . Kate Hanselman’s home is a shrine to hobbies past and present. Fencing suit sits beside multiple pairs of rock-climbing shoes. “I find yarn everywhere because I love knitting, and I have a whole set of embroidery (刺绣) stuff,” she says. Plus: stacks of puzzles, her partner’s golf clubs, and equipment from his flying lessons. “Our house is like a full hobby station,” she says with a laugh.
Challenging, fun and engaging hobbies have the power to make us happier and healthier, says Hanselman, a nurse with the counseling practice Thriveworks. Such pursuits help us grow in creative, physical and intellectual ways, and can boost self-esteem. Plus, they often foster connection with others. Hobbies lead to better physical health, more sleep, lower stress, greater life satisfaction, a larger social network and improved work performance.
“Hobbies live in the pleasure world, not necessarily the mastery world,” Hanselman says. “We’re not trying to impress the board; we’re not going for a paycheck; there’s no additional motive. Hobbies are like dessert and as a baker myself, dessert is the most important part.”That resonates with Chris Johnson, recreational woodworker, motorcyclist, gardener, cook and runner. He has accepted that he’ll never be a master surfer, but that doesn’t dampen his enjoyment of riding waves. And he’s so taken with beekeeping that his backyard is now home to 20,000 honeybees.
“I really love learning and figuring things out, and developing an understanding of how things tick,” says Johnson, of Carolina Beach, North Carolina. His hobbies tend to evolve out of curiosity, boredom or need. Take the bees: After moving into a new home with a barren yard, he was concerned about a lack of pollinators, so he planted a garden and became a beekeeper.
“If you derive joy from your hobby—it doesn’t matter if it’s a board game or beekeeping—I’m confident it will make you a better person in every aspect of your life,” he says.
1. Kate Hanselman’s home primarily features ________.| A．a focus on work-related equipment and tools |
| B．a collection of various hobbies and interests |
| C．an outlook on life and value from a novelty hunter |
| D．a showcase of precious artwork and decorations |
| A．Higher social status and wider networks. |
| B．Enhanced physical and mental well-being. |
| C．Increased financial wealth and material possessions. |
| D．Improved cognitive abilities and increased intelligence. |
| A．highlight the very purpose of hobbies is to bring pleasure |
| B．distinguish her from others by the understanding of hobbies |
| C．attach great importance to her passion for baking compared with other hobbies |
| D．convey the core of hobbies is to provide a sense of master y and accomplishment |
| A．Both Hanselman and Johnson are enthusiasts of hobbies and long for recognition. |
| B．Hanselman is under great pressure from satisfying societal expectations and norms. |
| C．Johnson’s interests are likely to have stemmed from curiosity and practical needs. |
| D．Johnson is engaged in community service to gain financial stability and wealth. |
9 . We hear “Have a nice day!” every day and everywhere. It may be a pleasant gesture or a meaningless expression. When my friend Maxie says “Have a nice day” with a smile, I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. I feel loved and secure since another person cares about me and wishes me well.
“Have a nice day. Next!” This version of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl in the supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out of the door. The words come out in the same tone with a fixed procedure. They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting is at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day.”
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is an insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that it is a little uninteresting. The salesgirl, the waitress, and all the countless others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and comfortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.
1. How does the writer understand Maxie’s words?| A．Maxie shows her anxiety to the writer. |
| B．Maxie really wishes the writer a good day. |
| C．Maxie encourages the writer to stay happy. |
| D．Maxie really worries about the writer. |
| A．The sales girl is getting bored. | B．The salesgirl behaves rudely to me. |
| C．The salesgirl cares about me. | D．The salesgirl says the words as a routine. |
| A．try to be good to you | B．express respect to you |
| C．give his blessing to you | D．share his pleasure with you |
| A．as a heart-warming greeting to someone |
| B．as a generally accepted behavior in the society |
| C．as a polite ending of a conversation |
| D．as an expression of gratitude to someone |
Interested in learning simple moves which can lead to a less stressed-out you? Join our eight-week course of training Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. Below is a brief introduction of our four strategies to build the ability to recover from stress.
Body Scan | For many of us, work can be so mentally exhausting that it’s possible to forget that we have an entire body attached to our head. The body-scan meditation is a chance to help you tune in to the tiny pains that we often don’t even notice. It can last anywhere from one to 20 minutes, and it’s easy to do while lying in bed. Here’s how to do it: lie down or sit still in a chair with your eyes closed, and begin to sense every part of the body in turn, starting at your toes and traveling up from there. It’s a good way for us to release tension we don’t even realize we’re experiencing. |
Gentle Yoga | Mindfulness isn’t all closed eyes and a statue-still position. Stretching, too, can be meditation. Mindful movement is also a way to pay attention. The point isn’t to twist into a complex body position, but to better understand the body’s limits and potential. Cycle through slow, gentle poses, like placing a knee to your chest while lying on your back, or a simple cat-cow (pictured) on all fours. Before you start, set aside at few minutes to calm down and focus on your breath. And once you’re done, spend a few moments lying flat on your back with your muscles relaxed. |
Breathing Exercise | Simply breathing while paying attention to the breath is the heart of any mindfulness practice. The goal isn’t to clear the mind but to let thoughts pass like clouds without getting sucked into what they might mean. Rather than identifying with a thought or getting caught up in it, the participant notices the thought and then says goodbye to it. That way, people can have a little bit more freedom in how to respond to internal stimuli like their thoughts. To cultivate awareness of the breath, find a relaxed seat and notice—without thinking about it or trying to change it—how you breathe in and out. Build up to a 15-to-20-minute practice. |
Walking Meditation | Walking is a good framework for practicing mindfulness. (Ideally, this should be done without the pressure of having to get anywhere on a particular schedule.) Find a quiet place inside or outdoors to take your stroll. While you walk, focus on each small, slow step: the lifting of one foot, the heel-first transfer of weight, the shift to the other. Every time your foot hits the ground, bring your attention to your breath and the feelings in your body. Walking meditation is more manageable than, say, sitting still in the dark, and it can also alleviate pain in the process. Try to practice mindful walking, at any pace, for 10 to 30 minutes. |
1. Gentle Yoga and Breathing Exercise are similar in that both of them __________.
| A．involve stretching bodies considerably |
| B．call for controlling people’s breath |
| C．empty pressure from mind temporarily |
| D．help people reduce body movement |
| A．People can do their walking meditation at their own pace |
| B．Doing body scan can let go of the unnoticed tension. |
| C．Before doing gentle yoga, people need to lie down and relax muscles. |
| D．Breathing exercise requires people to breathe in a usual way |
| A．Body scan | B．Gentle yoga |
| C．Breathing exercise | D．Walking meditation |
| A．Warming up activity is required before doing these exercises. |
| B．These exercises are better functioned when done indoors. |
| C．The more time you spend on the exercises, the better result you get. |
| D．Your body keeps in a motionless state when doing body scan. |
