1 . Until recently, gravitational waves could have been the stuff of Einstein’s imagination. Before they were detected, these waves in space time existed only in the physicist’s general theory of relativity, as far as scientists knew. Now, researchers are on the hunt for more ways to detect the waves. “The study of gravitational waves is booming,” says astrophysicist Karan Jani of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “This is just remarkable. No field I can think of in fundamental physics has seen progress this fast.”
Just as light comes in a variety of wavelengths, so do gravitational waves. Different wave lengths point to different types of origins of the universe and require different kinds of detectors. Gravitational waves with wavelengths of a few thousand kilometers—like those detected by the United States, Italy and Japan—come mostly from pairs of black holes 10 or so times the mass of the sun, or from collisions of dense cosmic blocks called neutron stars (中子星). These detectors could also spot waves from certain types of exploding stars and rapidly moving neutron stars.
In contrast, huge waves that span light-years are thought to be created by orbiting pairs of bigger black holes with masses billions of times that of the sun. In June, scientists reported the first strong evidence of these types of waves by turning the entire galaxy (星系) into a detector, watching how the waves make slight changes to the timing of regular blinks from neutron stars throughout the Milky Way.
Physicists now hope to dive into a vast, cosmic ocean of gravitational waves of all sorts of sizes. These waves could reveal new details about the secret lives of exotic objects such as black holes and unknown parts of the universe.
Physicist Jason Hogan of Stanford University thinks there are still a lot of gaps in the coverage of wavelengths. “But it makes sense to cover all the bases. Who knows what else we may find?” he says. The search for capturing the full complement of the universe’s gravitational waves exactly could take observatories out into the moon, to the atomic area and elsewhere.
1. What does Karan Jani think of the current study on gravitational waves?| A．It is rapid and pioneering. |
| B．It is slow but steadily increasing. |
| C．It is interrupted due to limited detectors. |
| D．It is progressing as fast as any other field. |
| A．The creation of different kinds of detectors. |
| B．Collisions of planets outside the solar system. |
| C．The presence of light in different wavelengths. |
| D．Activities involving black holes and neutron stars. |
| A．By analyzing sunlight. |
| B．By locating the new galaxy. |
| C．By using the whole galaxy as a tool. |
| D．By observing the sun’s regular movement. |
| A．It’ll exclude the atomic field. |
| B．It’ll focus exactly on the mapping of the galaxy. |
| C．It’ll require prioritizing certain wavelengths on the moon. |
| D．It’ll explore potential places to detect gravitational waves. |
2 . Some ants have figured out how to avoid getting lost: build taller anthills, according to a recent study.
Desert ants living in the hot, flat salt pans of Tunisia spend their days looking for food and reach as far as 1.1 kilometers from their nests. To find their way home, desert ants use a navigation system, relying on the sun’s position and counting their steps to track their location relative to their nest.
But this system becomes increasingly unreliable as the distance from the nest increases. “We realized that, whenever the ants in salt pans came closer to their nest, they suddenly pinpointed the nest hill from several meters distance,” says Markus Knaden, a researcher at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. “This made us think that the hill serves as a nest-defining landmark.”
So Knaden and colleagues captured ants from nests in the middle of salt pans and from along their shorelines. Only salt-pan nests had distinct hills, up to 40 centimeters tall, whereas the hills on shoreline nests were lower or barely noticeable. Next, the team removed any hills and placed the captured insects some distance away from their nests. Salt-pan ants struggled more than shore ants to find homes. Shore ants relied on the shoreline for guidance and weren’t affected by the hill removal, the researchers concluded.
The team further conducted another study to see if desert ants were deliberately building a taller hill when their surroundings lacked any visible landmarks. So, the researchers removed the hills of 16 salt-pan nests and installed (安装) two 50-centimeter-tall blocks near eight of them. The other eight nests were left without any artificial visual aid. After three days, the researchers found that seven ants from the unaided nests had rebuilt their hills. But only two ants from the nests with man-made blocks nearby had bothered to rebuild.
“It implies that ants regularly assess the complexity of their environment and change their decisions based on their conclusion,” says ecologist Judith Bronstein of the University of Arizona.
1. What aspect of ants is the recent study mainly about?| A．Challenges of survival. | B．Landmarks of habitats. |
| C．Intelligence of navigation. | D．Comparison of varieties. |
| A．Explored. | B．Recognized. | C．Climbed. | D．Crossed. |
| A．To observe different ants’ reactions. | B．To prove impacts of various habitats. |
| C．To disturb desert ants’ navigation system. | D．To test anthills’ functions and significance. |
| A．Evaluate and make changes. | B．Visual aid is a must. |
| C．Cooperation brings victory. | D．No man-made blocks are used. |
3 . As our lives become more closely connected with the digital age, it’s more important than ever to keep the spark of human connections, a key part of which is making small talk.
The cornerstone of effective small talk lies in developing genuine interest. Genuine interest is about actively seeking to understand the other person, valuing their perspectives and appreciating the uniqueness they bring to the conversation.
Small talk extends beyond spoken words; it includes the art of observation. As you engage in conversation, pay attention to the speaker’s body language, facial expressions and tone of voice.
Actually listening and connecting with someone is essential for a conversation. By providing your undivided attention, you convey respect and interest in what the other person has to say.
At the heart of successful small talk lies the authenticity (真实性) of your engagement. Authenticity fosters a sense of trust and connection, making the conversation more meaningful and memorable. Avoid the temptation to project an image or use scripted responses.
| A．Instead, let your true self shine through. |
| B．Some accessible topics are great for small talk. |
| C．Active listening involves fully engaging with the speaker. |
| D．Focus on understanding their viewpoints beyond simply hearing words. |
| E．The signals provide valuable insights into their emotions and intentions. |
| F．Small talk may be a gateway to building rich and meaningful relationships. |
| G．By expressing authentic curiosity, you make the other person feel seen and heard. |
4 . Over 7,000 species around the world are considered endangered. That number doesn’t even include the plants, animals, and other lifeforms that are listed by some scientists as vulnerable, critically endangered, or extinct in the wild.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains the most-comprehensive list of endangered species around the world. The Red List of Threatened Species, as it’s called, judges each species on five different standards for an in-depth scientific approach. According to the IUCN, an endangered species is one that meets any one of the following criteria (标准): a 50%-70% population decrease over 10 years, a total geographic area less than 5,000 square kilometers, a population size less than 2,500 adults, a restricted population of 250 adults, or a statistical prediction that it will go extinct within the next 20 years.
Though the IUCN’s Red List covers a wide range of what qualifies as an endangered species, it doesn’t quite say how a species reaches those low points. Prepare to feel guilty: the most common factor when it comes to species decline is human intervention. Loss of habitat, the introduction of a foreign species into the environment, hunting, pollution, disease, and loss of genetic variation (基因变异) are all causes of species decline and most often are a result of human activities. Take the bald eagle for example: the rise in human population and urban development of North America limited the animal’s habitat; an increase in hunting the eagles for sport lowered their population size; and the use of the pesticide DDT on farms harmed the animal’s reproductive capabilities.
But even though humans are the number one cause of species decline, classifying species as endangered encourages action to reverse the effects of human intervention. Conservation efforts by the US Fish and Wildlife Service criminalized (使非法) the hunting of bald eagles and the use of the pesticide DDT in the mid- to late 20th century. The effect was positive, as bald eagles have been on the rise and were taken off the endangered species list in 1995.
1. Which of the following species can be considered endangered?| A．One that will go extinct within the next 50 years. |
| B．One whose population size is less than 5,000 adults. |
| C．One whose habitat is less than 2,500 square kilometers. |
| D．One whose population decreases 20% over twenty years. |
| A．The causes of species decline. |
| B．The disadvantages of the pesticide. |
| C．A list of worldwide endangered species. |
| D．Common features of endangered species. |
| A．To show its rareness. |
| B．To blame humans for its decline. |
| C．To stress its importance in nature. |
| D．To show the meaning of ranking it endangered. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Science. | D．Education. |
5 . Most glitter(小发光物品), which is made up of tiny pieces of plastic, is a huge danger to the environment. “Everyone talks about the mountain of plastic floating in the ocean. You can grab empty bottles from the water, but with tiny pieces, it’s impossible,” says Victor Alvarez, a chemical engineer who sells an eco-friendly alternative to glitter.
In the early 2,000s, Alvarez worked for Mercedes-Benz in Germany, where he became fond of any technology that protected the environment. A few years after leaving Mercedes-Benz, he founded Blue Sun International in Miami, which makes specialty ingredients for the skin and hair care industries.
Glitter is a popular ingredient in cosmetics, such as eye shadows and lipsticks. So Alvarez began researching an alternative that didn’t contain plastic to make his products safer for the environment. That’s when he came across Ronald Britton Ltd., a company which had developed a plastic-free, biodegradable product called Bioglitter. It is made from regenerative cellulose(纤维素) sourced from hardwoods, primarily eucalyptus(桉树). Alvarez worked with the company to become the first retailer to sell Bioglitter in America. In 2018, he formed Today Glitter in order to sell the biodegradable glitter directly to consumers through its website.
Today Glitter sells two kinds of biodegradable glitter Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure. Both are almost plastic-free and can biodegrade in a short time. Meanwhile, they are as shiny as regular glitter. All these products are third-party tested by TÜV, an international organization that provides testing and certification for compostable (可降解的) and biodegradable products.
Despite its benefits, the hardwoods needed to make biodegradable glitter cause it to cost about twice as much as conventional glitter. A small glass container that contains just 6 grams of Bioglitter costs $10, while the same amount of regular glitter could cost at least half that amount. Alvarez expects the price will come down over time. He also expects the company’s sales to cross $1 million next year. But more importantly, Alvarez says, his main goal is to effect a meaningful change.
1. While at Mercedes Benz, Alvarez .| A．developed a way to grab glitter in the sea | B．became interested in the environment |
| C．attempted to live a plastic-free life | D．created a kind of harmless glitter |
| A．It is a plastic-free ingredient for eye shadows. |
| B．It will soon be on sale in the American market. |
| C．It is very difficult to break down in the wild. |
| D．It was invented by Blue Sun International. |
| A．To show Bioglitter Sparkle and Bioglitter Pure are popular. |
| B．To stress it provides a broad range of testing services. |
| C．To prove Today Glitter’s products are eco-friendly. |
| D．To explain many plastic products are low-quality. |
| A．The complex process of making glitter. | B．How to expand its overseas market. |
| C．How to attract potential investors. | D．The high cost of raw materials. |
6 . Retail(零售的) stores are having an identity crisis. With foot traffic falling and customers going to online stores like Amazon, many stores are looking for new ways to keep the physical shopping experience valuable. “Physical stores find themselves at a crossroads,” says Doug Stephens, retail industry futurist and author of The Retail Revival.
If storefronts want to compete with their more convenient (and usually cheaper) online alternatives, they will have to offer unique experiences worth getting off the couch for. “My expectation will be to go to the store to learn about things, to be a participant in things, to co-create, to customize the things I’m buying, and to satisfy my own needs,” Stephens says. Here are two predictions of how the retailers of tomorrow will keep us shopping.
Stephens predicts that we’ll be transported by virtual reality. The stores of the future will “be much more visual,” he says. “Technologies like virtual reality, which a lot of companies right now are sort of experimenting with, can be used to create immersive(沉浸虚拟现实式的) shopping experiences.” Outdoor clothing and equipment maker The North Face recently worked with VR company Jaunt to let shoppers at its flagship stores put on VR headsets and take a virtual tour of Yosemite National Park, or virtually rock climb alongside star athletes. After they’ve climbed down the mountains, perhaps customers will be more willing to buy some climbing equipment.
Stores will also track and identify us, says Stephens. Remember that scene from Minority Report when Tom Cruise walks into a shopping mall and all the advertisements speak directly to him and know his shopping history by scanning(扫描) his eyeballs? That’s not so far off. A company called Hoxton Analytics offers a system that can determine a shopper’s data. Instead of scanning your eyeballs, this technology works by scanning and identifying your shoes. The goal is to help companies better understand customers and traffic patterns. The company makes sure that the system “does not collect personal information, and it does not store individual photographs, nor can it recognize individuals.”
1. What does Stephens want to show by saying the underlined words?| A．Many customers still prefer visiting physical stores. |
| B．Physical stores work with online stores like Amazon. |
| C．Physical stores are facing challenges from online stores. |
| D．More and more physical stores are being built at a crossroads. |
| A．Sell much cheaper products. | B．Provide personalized services. |
| C．Offer better after-sales service. | D．Create nice shopping environments. |
| A．How physical stores support VR. | B．How VR will help physical stores. |
| C．Why people are showing more interest in VR. | D．Why immersive shopping experiences are exciting |
| A．It makes fitted shoes. | B．It respects personal privacy. |
| C．It produces better advertisements. | D．It offers customers new information. |
7 . The Fields Medal is awarded to recognize outstanding mathematical achievements for existing work and for the promise of future achievements. Out of a total of about 60 people, only one woman ever managed to receive these highest honors for impressive new mathematical discoveries.
Now a second woman has received this highest mathematical award: the 37-year-old Ukrainian Maryna Viazovska, holder of the Chair for Number Theory at the Swiss EPFL.
She was rewarded for solving a problem that can be explained quite clearly at first sight: It is the so-called sphere-packing(球堆积) problem that had appealed to mathematicians for more than four centuries: how to pack spheres like oranges as tightly as possible (using the smallest volume)?
Viazovska was born on Dec. 2, 1984, in Kyiv, Ukraine. “I’ve liked mathematics since my schooldays,” she says. “It always seemed like the most uncomplicated subject. And since I liked it, I spent more time on it, and eventually became better at math than other subjects. So then I liked it even more, and so on.”
After earning her Bachelor’s degree at the National Taras Shevchenko University in Kyiv, Viazovska went to Germany to earn a Master’s degree at the Technical University of Kaiserslautem (2007) before moving to the University of Bonn, where she completed her doctor degree on modular forms(模式研究) in 2013.
During her postdoctoral research at the Berlin Mathematical School and the Humboldt University of Berlin, Viazovska solved the sphere packing problem in 8 and 24 dimensions. Then, in December 2016, she accepted an offer from EPFL to become a lifelong assistant professor. Just one year later, at the age of 33, she was promoted to full professor.
What drives Viazovska is solving problems, which she describes as “doing a jigsaw puzzle” , and understanding abstract(抽象的) concepts “so I can link them to other problems and find practical applications.”
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．Viazovska has received the Fields Medal twice for her great mathematical achievements. |
| B．The same number of outstanding male and female mathematicians won the Fields Medal. |
| C．The sphere-packing problem has attracted mathematicians’ attention at the present time. |
| D．Viazovska’s mathematical achievements are largely out of her enthusiasm and devotion. |
| A．Experience is knowledge. | B．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| C．All roads lead to Rome. | D．Interest is the seed. |
a. She received this highest mathematical award.
b. She became a lifelong assistant professor.
c. She moved to the University of Bonn and completed her doctorate on modular forms.
d. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the National Taras Shevchenko University.
e. She solved the sphere packing problem in specific dimensions.
| A．dbcea | B．cdeba | C．dceba | D．cbdea |
| A．By comparison. | B．By listing. |
| C．By example. | D．By questioning. |
8 . The Oxford dictionary defines the word “success” as “an accomplishment of an aim” and “attaining fame, social status (地位) or wealth”. Is this how we measure success in life? If you are rich, you’ll have people say “you have everything” or “you’re already successful in life” or a similar statement that means you have money and are well settled. There are many people who feel this way, while there are many who feel that success is not just having a lot of money.
The thing is, your concept of success is connected to your beliefs and values, and if your values tell you that success in life means money, then there is nothing that will change your mind. On the other hand, if your value system says that having money, stability, peace, happiness and contentment in your life are equally important, then you have an entirely different idea of success in life. There are a lot of people in this world that are wealthy. However, they are unhappy. There are a lot of people who do not make a lot of money, but are happy with what they have.
There are different kinds of people in the world, and each one has a different view on what being successful really is about. Here are a few common opinions about success.
●Success in life means having money.
●Success in life means winning games or competitions.
●Success in life means achieving your goal.
●Success in life means getting the job you wanted.
●Success in life means owning a nice house, a good car and having all the costly comforts life has to offer.
●Success in life means being famous.
●Success in life means having influence, power and control.
●Success in life means being free from insecurities, fears and wants.
The one thing that is common to the statements above is that they include accomplishment, attainment and fulfillment (履行). Another thing is that it’s something you yearn for or that gives you an unspoken advantage over others.
1. Why is the definition of success in the Oxford dictionary mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To make practical suggestions. |
| B．To lead in the topic for discussion. |
| C．To clarify the exact meaning of success. |
| D．To compare different ideas about success. |
| A．One’s value system matters a lot. |
| B．One should be grateful for what he has. |
| C．Success determines one’s beliefs and values. |
| D．Happy people are more likely to obtain success. |
| A．Choose. | B．Lack. | C．Desire. | D．Achieve. |
| A．What is the concept of success? |
| B．How can success be achieved in life? |
| C．Can success really bring money in life? |
| D．Does success in life mean having money? |
9 . According to a new study from Oxford Economics, a rise in artificial intelligence will result in an increase in “income inequality” as they estimate that 20 million manufacturing jobs will be lost in the next 11 years. In China alone, there could be 14 million robots taking work currently done by humans by 2030. While in the United States, more than 1.5 million workers would have lost their employment to technology by 2030.
The report predicts the use of robots worldwide has increased to 2.25 million over the past two decades. The researchers said, “As a result of robotisation, tens of millions of jobs will be lost, especially in poorer economies that rely on lower-skilled workers, which will therefore translate into an increase in income inequality.”
However, the researchers noted how “robotisation” has the potential to boost productivity and economic growth. They predicted a 5.3 percent rise in global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030.The report said, “This means adding an extra $4.9 trillion per year to the global economy by 2030(in today’s prices).”
The report remained positive about the use of automation and urged lawmakers not to sand in the way of robots in the workplace, despite the threat of job losses.
The researchers said, “These findings should not lead policy-makers to seek to prevent the adoption of robot technology. Instead, the challenge should be to distribute the robot profits more evenly by helping workers prepare for and adapt to the big changes it will bring about. Explore all policy options from training, initiatives (新方案) and new welfare programs such as universal basic income.”
1. What is the number of potential job loss in Oxford Economics report based on?| A．Accurate figures. | B．Official statistics. |
| C．Artificial intelligence. | D．Approximate calculation. |
| A．It may enlarge the gap between rich and poor. |
| B．It has helped increase the global income. |
| C．It may increase international competition in lawmaking. |
| D．It has been universally recognized. |
| A．Boosting national economic development. |
| B．Providing citizens with lifelong education. |
| C．Slowing down the spread of robot technology. |
| D．Protecting workers’ interests by making new plans. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Favorable. | C．Conservative. | D．Tolerant. |
10 . The Feynman Technique(费曼学习法)is a powerful method that you can use to learn anything faster because it forces you to actively think about the problem instead of passively reading or listening to someone else talk about it. You can take the following five simple steps to study better.
·Find out the topic you want to learn.
·Explain the topic as if teaching a sixth-grader. This step is the heart of the FeynmanTechnique—
.Identify areas of improvement in your explanation. You’ll need to critically(批判性地)review the explanation you cane up with in Step Two
·Improve and optimiez(优化) your explanation. Think about all the knowledge gaps and other areas of improvement you found before.
· Repeat the steps until you’ve achieved mastery of the topic. Keep going through each step you're fully satisfied with your explanation.
| A．Use those to improve your explanation |
| B．To do so, take a critical look at your explanation |
| C．Make sure that your explanation is interest-based |
| D．Your explanations need to be short and to the point |
| E．The Feynman Technique works best with a repeat |
| F．It’s important that you clearly know the topics you’re trying to learn |
| G．Explaining the topic simply enough to be understood by a sixth-grade student |
