1 . Distance running, it turns out, is where humans overweigh compared with other species, even if our two-leggedness makes us about half as fast as other mammals of similar size, on average. So what is it about our bodies and our physiology (生理学) that allows us to undertake such long and tough runs?
“Our ancestors developed adaptations for running literally from toe to head,” said Lieberman, a human evolutionary biologist at Harvard University. “There’s no part of our body that running doesn’t touch.”
According to Lieberman, our toes are short so they don’t break while running. And in general, our lower body has larger joints, tendons and muscles than our upper body does to absorb the forces we generate at speed. Strong muscles in our rears (臀部) keep our upper body from falling forward, and our swinging arms stabilize our heads.
But perhaps the biggest adaptations that set humans apart deal with our ability to release heat. Our tall, upright bodies create a lot of surface area for cooling, and the ability to breathe from both the nose and mouth helps dump heat as well.
Humans are also one of the only species with the ability to sweat, and without thick fur, our sweat can easily evaporate (蒸发) from our skin, cooling us down. All of these adaptations led humans to adopt what's known as persistence hunting long before the invention of early weapons. Rather than chasing down prey, hunters likely followed their prey for miles until the animal was exhausted. Other animals do this too, but none can persistently hunt during the day or in hot climates.
“Hunting gave humans access to more energy, which made our brains grow larger. In turn, our brains have co-evolved alongside, and fed into our ability to run and hunt,” said Missy Thompson, a biologist at Fort Lew is College.
1. Why are humans better at distance running than other species?| A．Our two-legged structures. | B．Our adaptations for running. |
| C．Our psychology of living. | D．Our desire for challenges. |
| A．They help keep a steady pace. | B．They assist in breathing efficiently. |
| C．They provide strength for the legs. | D．They maintain the upper body stable. |
| A．Cooling human body temperature. | B．Improving the human ability to breathe. |
| C．Chasing down prey quickly and accurately. | D．Exhausting animal body energy persistently. |
| A．Hunting helps with running training. |
| B．Hunting benefits the brain development. |
| C．Hunting is closely linked to human evolution. |
| D．Hunting and brain development are mutually reinforcing. |
2 . Santa Rosa National Park is the first national park designated in Costa Rica. It was created not to preserve land but to save a building, La Casona, which was once destroyed by fire, but has been rebuilt to its original likeness.
BiodiversityIn addition to La Casona, Santa Rosa National Park protects a multitude of ecosystems including marshlands and mangroves. Many endangered animals also live here, with over 100 mammals and 250 birds recorded within the park.
HighlightsPlaya Nancite is the most popular beach for sea turtle. Entry to the beach is restricted for protection, but entry can be obtained from park headquarters.
Ranger StationsThere are two different sectors within Santa Rosa National Park. The Santa Rosa Sector is frequently visited for its notable attractions including access to La Casona. The other sector, Murcielago is not accessible via the Santa Rosa Sector.
HikingThere are several different hiking trails within the park. We recommend bringing closed-toed hiking shoes, a hat, sunscreen, bug spray and water.
We highly recommend exploring Santa Rosa National Park led by an expert naturalist guide. The park entrance fee is $15 per adult and $5 per child age 6 — 12. The park is open from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm every day.
For more information, browse our vacation packages to get started planning your trip!
1. Why was the Santa Rosa National Park created?| A．To protect the ecosystem in Costa Rica. | B．To celebrate the reconstruction of Costa Rica. |
| C．To rescue a structure in Costa Rica. | D．To preserve the land in Costa Rica. |
| A．It is easily accessible. | B．It consists of two different sectors. |
| C．It provides guide service. | D．It limits tourist numbers. |
| A．$15. | B．$30. | C．$35. | D．$45. |
3 . Self Love
Our failure to love ourselves is that we have been taught to be selfless from the start of time. Self-love is not selfish. It only helps us better understand which sacrifices are worth making! Let’s explore the key elements that contribute to it.
Self-Acceptance
You have to truly accept who you are. And by acceptance, I do not mean just your strengths, you have to recognize your weaknesses, too.
It is a good thing to be compassionate about your environment but in the process, don’t forget to be compassionate with yourself, too. Forgive yourself for the mistakes that you make, the goals that you fail, or whenever you face a setback. Treat yourself with the same level of empathy you would offer to someone you love the most.
Self-Care
Has anyone of us ever asked ourselves who we should be caring for the most in the world? Our parents? Family? Friends? Relations? I will tell you a simple answer. Ourselves! The expectation of waiting for someone else to care for you is delusional (妄想的).
Boundaries
You have to love and respect yourself enough not to let people use and abuse you.
Emotional Availability
When you have the capacity to take care of your own emotions, you become emotionally stable. This stability allows you to better empathize (同理心) with and understand your partner’s experiences and emotions.
| A．Self-Esteem |
| B．Self-Compassion |
| C．You have to set limitations and keep them. |
| D．Due to this, you can offer them genuine care and support. |
| E．Self-love is crucial for resolving conflicts in relationships. |
| F．Only you can care for yourself the most in a way nobody else can. |
| G．Your imperfections, insecurities and perfections shape your personality. |
4 . My Family and Other Animals written by English writer Gerald Durrell is a novel about an English family, the Durrells, who suddenly sell their house in Britain in order to put down roots on the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s.
This is the first book in a much-celebrated trilogy(三部曲) by Gerald Durrell. It captures the most absorbing stories of the family’s encounters with the island and its inhabitants. Come for the arresting accounts of Corfu landscapes and stay for Durrell's laugh-out-loud tales of his unusual family.
Durrell, later known for his zoo keeping and the preservation of wildlife, was just a child during his family's five-year stay in Corfu. He is 10-year-old Gerry in the book—curious and passionate about animals.
Durrell’s description of the strange family is elaborate: his attention to detail is what makes the book so winning, with every sight, sound and smell of the island brought to life. One minute you’ll be laughing as his brother's clever literary friends walk down to the daffodil—yellow cottage, the next you'll be catching your breath as Durrell describes swimming at night in the Ionian Sea: Lying on my back in the silky water, staring at the sky, only moving my hands and feet slightly, I was looking at the Milky Way stretching like a silk scarf across the sky and wondering how many stars it contained.
My Family and Other Animals is quite difficult to classify, being one part travel, one part autobiography, one part natural history and one part comedy, with a thread of descriptive language running throughout that sometimes raises it nearly to poetry.
As a real delight to read, it’s the perfect literary escapism for any adult or older teenager who is currently walking down a tough road in life.
1. What does the underlined word “elaborate” in Paragraph 4 mean?| A．Detailed. | B．Authentic. | C．Abstract. | D．Simple. |
| A．Easy to classify. | B．Hard to follow. |
| C．Full of humorous accounts. | D．Packed with serious messages. |
| A．motivate readers to work hard | B．free readers from real life temporarily |
| C．inform readers of ways to overcome difficulties | D．help readers escape from an imaginative world |
| A．A guidebook of an island. | B．A chapter of a book. |
| C．An introduction to a book. | D．An autobiography of a writer. |
5 . Though March remains cold, the return of the bright and gently warming sun wakes winter-sleeping plants and seeds from their sleep. Today, I’m out here to sow seeds for the summer garden: tomatoes, peas, cucumbers. All of these plants are easy to grow, pretty and tasty.
Initially, I plant the little tomato seeds into rows in a single seed plate, each variety divided by a sideways stick and labelled. Then I cover a fine layer of soil over them and put the tray in a basin of water to make the compost(堆肥) wet.
For tomatoes, it is not yet warm enough for reliable growing outdoors. In the main, a warm home is a good place to get seeds going, as they don’t necessarily need a great deal of light at this stage. In a few weeks, when their two young leaves have come out, I will gently dig them out. Softly pick up one of their delicate leaves between finger and thumb, I’ll slip a pencil below their young roots to carefully dig the plant from its birthplace.
I’ll then place the seedling in a, pot to grow, big, and strong, and begin to feed, the plants with a liquid from brewed(发酵) chicken waste. These tomatoes, being tender, will stay in my house until early May then settle into their forever home in the unheated greenhouse.
Despite there now being enough light for tender plants to grow outside, it is still too cold for them. A sunny balcony, warm glasshouse or passageway will do them well until the frosts pass, and day and night temperatures consistently reach 8—10℃.
Learning to be guided by cues from the wild can deepen our relationship with the living world, allowing us to experience ourselves as part of rather than separate from the rhythms of life on Earth.
1. What’s the first step of planting tomatoes?| A．Sowing the little tomato seeds. | B．Putting the tray in a basin of water. |
| C．Covering a fine layer of soil over them. | D．Placing tomato seeds to a warm home. |
| A．Temperature. | B．Light. | C．Liquid. | D．Time. |
| A．Generous. | B．Considerate. | C．Tolerant. | D．Impractical. |
| A．Joys of Life: Live Our Life to the Fullest |
| B．Joys of Life: Tips for Our Relationship with the World |
| C．Joys of Spring: Winter-sleeping Plants Wake Up |
| D．Joys of Spring: Gardening Tips for the Growing Season |
6 . The tickbird and the giraffe have a connection relationship that some scientists describe as win-win relationship and some as parasitism (寄生). This interspecies partnership is imbalanced in favor of the giraffe because it can live without the tickbird, while the tickbird is dependent on the giraffe for food resource.
The giraffe is a large mammal that lives in Africa along with other large grass-eaters. All these and many others host the tickbird. This bird has long been thought to remove ticks (扁虱) from its host, to the benefit of both—the bird eats the ticks, and the host is relieved of blood-sucking, disease-carrying insects—but recent studies reveal that this process is less than good. A secondary benefit to a host from the tickbirds’ presence is a sort of early warning system, since the birds make a loud sound if they sight an enemy. This is of less benefit to the giraffe than to other hosts because the giraffe has the advantage of great height and keen eyesight and is fully capable of spotting predators without the bird’s assistance. The tickbird is likely of greater benefit in this capacity to the nearsighted rhino.
They cross through the host’s hair looking for insects as their food. According to the researcher Paul Weeks, reporting in the journal Behavioral Ecology, tickbirds can and do enlarge tick bites and other wounds on their host body to seek for food resource, making the host-tickbird relationship unfair. The host, like the giraffe, however, would have a hard time keeping tickbirds off itself. So they tolerate the birds who cling to their bodies and chow down selectively at the buffet on the giraffe’s body.
1. Which statement about the tickbird is TRUE?| A．It doesn’t rely on the giraffe for food. |
| B．It removes ticks from its hosts. |
| C．It makes gentle sounds when it spots an enemy. |
| D．It brings more benefit to its hosts than it gets from them. |
| A．Because the giraffe has no tick on its body. |
| B．Because the giraffe has its own warning system. |
| C．Because the giraffe is tall and has sharp eyesight. |
| D．Because the giraffe is strong enough to protect itself. |
| A．stick to | B．lead to | C．keep away | D．hold back |
| A．Tickbird and Giraffe: Unequal Relationship | B．Tickbird and Giraffe: Friendly Relationship |
| C．Tickbird and Giraffe: Mysterious Relationship | D．Tickbird and Giraffe: Conflicting Relationship |
7 . Scientists at Stanford University have designed a new paint that could help reduce our growing dependence on air conditioners and heaters. It comes in a variety of colors, and if used properly, it could seriously reduce electricity bills and emissions.
The paint is capable of reflecting about 80 percent of mid-infrared light (中红外光) from the sun, which is 10 times more reflection than traditional colored paints. When used on the outside of a building, the paint keeps heat out, and it can be used on the inside to keep heat in. As such, the developers of the paint say it provides a “year-round energy-saving solution” that can be used in a variety of climates.
When tested in artificially warm conditions, the paint reduced the amount of energy needed to cool the enclosed space by almost 21 percent. Tested in artificially cold conditions, it reduced the energy needed to heat the space by 36 percent. Across an entire building, researchers estimate the paint could save 7.4 percent of the energy needed to heat or cool a mid-sized apartment building.
Different from other paints, this new version from Stanford is not just pure white or silver. Its variety of colors include white, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple and dark gray. This rainbow is possible because the new paint has two layers that are applied in a series. The first is the reflective bottom layer, which contains silver aluminum flakes (铝片). The second is an infrared transparent top layer that contains colorful nano-particles. Both of these layers are water-resistant and work in humid and hot environments.
“For both heating and air conditioning, we must reduce energy and emissions globally to meet our zero-emissions goals,” says material scientist Yi Cui from Stanford. The team continues to refine their technology and hopes to commercialize the paint in the future.
1. What do we know about the new paint?| A．It can replace air conditioners and heaters. |
| B．It is no better than the traditional colored paints. |
| C．It can be used both on the outside and inside of a building. |
| D．It has already been well-accepted by people. |
| A．It functions efficiently in any condition. |
| B．It works more effectively in cool conditions. |
| C．It is more suitable to be used for large space. |
| D．It saves little energy when used on an entire building. |
| A．The working process of the two layers. |
| B．The working environment of the two layers. |
| C．The difference between the new and other paints. |
| D．The reason why the new paint has various colors. |
| A．To introduce a new, energy-saving paint. |
| B．To stress the importance of a new paint. |
| C．To persuade people to give up the traditional paints. |
| D．To call on people to save energy and reduce emissions. |
8 . Life is filled with numerous victories and downfalls; what matters is how you handle each situation. May it be your love life or a serious life struggle, we must learn to move on. Here’s how you can create a new chapter in your life.
Learn from others.
Try everything you can imagine.
Sometimes we might feel that we have tried out so much but still nothing is working out for us. In this kind of situation, what can we do?
Let go of your past.
In order to move on from every struggle and heartbreak, you must let go of the past, guilt and resentment. No matter what, negative feelings are always going to be counter-productive. You may feel like justifying them but they are only going to drain you out in the long run, so you have to avoid them.
In stressful situations, most people tend to get busy doing the things that don’t get them anywhere
| A．Do what actually works. |
| B．Make plans for your future. |
| C．The answer to this question can be easily found in our daily life. |
| D．The only advisable solution that I would offer you is to think outside the box. |
| E．It is an amazing approach to find people that have gone through the same experience as you have. |
| F．Forgive the people that have hurt you in the past and start venturing towards the path of enlightenment. |
| G．For example, many people resort to alcohol or smoking to relieve the stress, which just kills them slowly. |
9 . A Chinese woman who lost an eye in a road accident a decade ago has received high praise for developing cool-looking artificial eyes as she struggles to overcome appearance anxiety that often accompanies such a loss.
The former dancer and actress from Beijing, who is known by her online nickname, Xintong, completed the process of becoming a self-taught artificial eye maker, in 2020.
She spent years improving her skills through trial and error, driven by a desire to help others with a similar disability rediscover their confidence.
A decade after she lost her right eye in a car accident aged 18, and following years of self-hating, Xintong now runs her own artificial eye-making workshop.
From the beginning, her aim has been to help people like her by providing them with custom-made artificial eyes. “Because I once got wet in the rain, I now want to give others an umbrella,” she said.
The idea came from a “very cool” overseas artificial eye maker who did not care what other people said or thought about people who had lost an eye.
“People already look at me in a strange way, so why not exaggerate how I appear and use that to my advantage?” Xintong said.
However, Xintong found the artificial eyes she had to wear both ugly and uncomfortable. “I thought to myself, it would be great if I could produce ones according to my own taste,” she recalled.
She pursued her dream and in 2020 quit her teaching job to devote herself full-time to artificial eye-making.
Now she’s mastered the technique of making her ideal artificial eyes, opened a workshop and hired three assistants.
1. What do we know about Xintong?| A．She lost both of her eyes in a traffic accident recently. |
| B．She was worried about her looking after losing her eye. |
| C．She is highly praised for overcoming her appearance anxiety. |
| D．She learnt to make artificial eyes from others in 2020. |
| A．To make money. |
| B．To rediscover her confidence. |
| C．To provide the disabled with custom-made artificial eyes. |
| D．To buy others an umbrella to avoid getting wet. |
| A．She was unsatisfied with them. | B．She found them very comfortable. |
| C．She thought them very attractive. | D．She found them suitable to her taste. |
| A．Humorous and positive. | B．Caring and persevering. |
| C．Generous and creative. | D．Reliable and independent. |
10 . Four Amazing Animal Stories
Raven Winter
By Susanna Bailey
Billie is struggling with problems at home when she discovers an injured young bird and begins nursing it back to health. Soon, she finds new friendship and hope. Set in England’s snowy Yorkshire Dales, this is a heartfelt story about the special connect ion between a girl and a bird.
The Lost Whale
By Hannah Gold
Hannah Gold, who won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story for her first book The Last Bear, returns with another wonderful animal adventure. When lonely Rio is sent to stay with his grandmother, he soon finds himself searching for a missing whale.
Meg and Merlin: Making Friends
By Tanya Landman
Meg loves horses but she knows her parents can’t afford a horse—in fact, they can’t even afford to pay for her weekly riding lesson. Then, on her 10th birthday, Meg finds a horse in her front garden! Have her wishes come true? The first in a series, this short book will especially delight readers who love horses.
The Adventure Club: Tiger in Trouble
By Jess Butterworth
The Adventure Club loves exploring animals and adventure. In this story, Tilly and her friends set out to India to help at a wildlife reserve. There, they encounter antelopes, crocodiles and elephants—but what has become of the tiger? Written as if it is Tilly’s diary, this is perfect for younger readers.
1. What do we know about The Lost Whale?| A．It wins a book award. | B．It is about an animal adventure. |
| C．It is set in England’s Yorkshire Dales. | D．It tells a story between Rio and his grandmother. |
| A．Raven Winter. | B．The Lost Whale. |
| C．Meg and Merlin: Making Friends. | D．The Adventure Club: Tiger in Trouble. |
| A．They are all diaries. |
| B．They all center on girls. |
| C．They all inspire readers to protect environment. |
| D．They all are about animal and human connection. |
