1 . Ways to Be Resilient (坚韧) in Tough Times
When uncertainty stresses us out, it makes us wonder which path to take, or what decision to make.
Try to be flexible. Often we have difficulty learning to “go with the flow”. Fixed beliefs, expectations, and habits are some of the things that lead us to resist change. But when the house you thought you’d live in forever is destroyed in a fire or hurricane, or the job you had trained for has been automated, what do you do? It can be heartbreaking.
Learn from your mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because they will make you more emotionally resilient if you are willing to learn from them.
Celebrate your successes. When you have initiated a plan that is working or picked yourself back up after a tough experience, celebrate your success with those who helped you gain positive results.
| A．Trial and error are how we learn. |
| B．Practice being OK with discomfort. |
| C．Review your options and then look for helpers. |
| D．But it is also true that our life is demanding a “course change”. |
| E．New efforts stimulate growth potential through new experiences. |
| F．Congratulate yourself and commit to celebrating your achievement. |
| G．It can be difficult for us if we have not developed emotional resilience. |
2 . In a remarkable achievement for the young innovators, Victoria Ou and Justin Huang, both 17-year-old students from Texas, have developed a pioneering device that uses ultrasound (超声波)technology to filter out (过滤) harmful microplastics from water.
Their invention has earned them the honored Gordon E. Moore Award at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), a well-known annual competition held by the Society for Science, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D. C.
Microplastics, resulting from the breakdown of plastic waste, are common pollutants that can be found in water sources, food supplies, and even the human bloodstream. To solve this critical environmental and public health problem, Ou and Huang invented their device, which employs a novel ultrasound filtration system to effectively remove these particles from water.
The device uses the power of acoustic (声音的) radiation force generated (发射) by ultrasound. When water containing microplastics passes through the system, these forces prevent the particles from passing, resulting in microplastic-free water.
Their device demonstrated impressive efficiency during testing, achieving filtration rates of 84–94% for microplastics at flow rates of 10, 20, and 40 ml/minute in a single-stage setup. In a two-stage arrangement, the efficiency increased to 94–96%. Additionally, the system proved effective in filtering microplastics from laundry water and managing microplastic build-up in highly concentrated or large volumes of water.
“This is the first year we’ve done this,” Huang shared with Business Insider after receiving their award. “If we could refine this — maybe use more professional equipment, maybe go to a lab instead of testing from our home — we could really improve our device and get it ready for large-scale manufacturing.”
1. Which of the following can best describe Victoria Ou and Justin Huang?| A．Humorous and patient. | B．Cool-minded and well-behaved. |
| C．Responsible and eco-minded. | D．Ambitious and self-disciplined. |
| A．The harm of the microplastic | B．The operational principle of the device. |
| C．The expense of the device. | D．The spread of the microplastics. |
| A．By listing the data. | B．By stating arguments. |
| C．By analyzing the cause and effect. | D．By making surveys. |
| A．The device has been massively made. | B．The device is conducted in the lab. |
| C．The device has been successfully tested. | D．The device needs more improvement. |
3 . Tips for Positive Thinking When Depressed
If you’re wondering how to become more positive when depressed, you may need some actionable tips to get started.
Keep a positive journal. Positive thoughts can be few and far between when you have depression.
Ask yourself if your negative beliefs are really true. Next time you observe a negative thought entering your mind, ask yourself: “Is there basis for this thought?” For example, has anyone ever told you that you were a terrible friend apart from yourself?
| A．How might that feel? |
| B．Here are some ideas. |
| C．Adjust mood to get a positive result. |
| D．Building healthy habits can be hard at the best of times. |
| E．If so, is that person’s opinion the only one you truly value? |
| F．Take a challenging situation and imagine the most positive outcome. |
| G．So each time a happy or hopeful thought comes into your head, write it down. |
4 . It might surprise you to learn that there are conservationists on four legs as well as two. In the 1890s, realizing that imported stoats (白鼬) were having a disastrous impact on local birds such as kiwi, conservationist Richard Henry relied upon his pet dog to help translocate birds to a reserve on Resolution Island. From then on, he kept working and contributed to the world’s first government-backed conservation dogs programme established in 1998.
Dogs have many qualities that recommend them for field work, but it’s their nose that puts them ahead of many humans. Damp surfaces trap odour molecules (气味分子), but dog noses are also remarkably sensitive. Add in a set of other adaptations that allow dogs to filter the air they breathe in to a dedicated smelling area at the back of the nose, you’ve got an extremely excellent detective machine.
Worldwide, dogs have helped scientists to track snow leopards, koalas, gorillas and even killer whales, whose muck (排泄物) only floats on the ocean’s surface for a limited time. For their cooperation, the dogs receive their favourite treat. “We reward our dogs for locating the target by playing balls,” says Hartman, a research scientist. She explains that around 98% of the dogs are from rescue shelters, given up by owners who could not match their energy levels. Enthusiastic dogs are a must for the programme, but trainers need to match this with patience curiosity and hard work.
After the muck sniffers (嗅探器), the next most common task for conservation dogs is live animal detection. Many working dogs were first bred to be pest controllers in agricultural settings. Now conservation dogs are used to find introduced rats and stoats on New Zealand’s island safe havens, feral cats in Australia, mongooses in Japan — even mussels and ants in the US that cause destruction and upset ecosystems. It’s just one of the ways dogs are being employed to keep human activity in check.
1. Why is Richard Henry’s story mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To illustrate stoats’ impact. |
| B．To tell dogs’ position in animal protection. |
| C．To present different kinds of conservationists. |
| D．To highlight Henry’s passion for making a reserve. |
| A．Loyalty. | B．Smelling. | C．Bravery. | D．Wisdom. |
| A．Dogs need training to achieve their potential. |
| B．Dogs located their targets by playing balls. |
| C．Humans could be as energetic as their dogs. |
| D．Dogs from rescue shelters are best for the job. |
| A．Be friendly to your pet dog. |
| B．Train your dogs to detect wildlife. |
| C．Cooperate with dogs for a better living. |
| D．Meet the dogs saving some animal species. |
5 . This year’s hiking events have kicked off and we are introducing some walking festivals in the following.
Crickhowell Walking Festival (9-17 March)
One of the earliest of the year’s festivals, the walking festival offers 81 different walks this year, ranging from 2 to 17 miles. All are graded in terms of effort and difficulty, from an easy walk along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, to a—new for 2024—hike through the western Fans.
Isle of Wight Walking Festival (11-19 May and 5-13 October)
The Isle of Wight Walking Festival laces (系) up its boots in spring and autumn, on the 500 miles of footpaths on the island. There are walks focusing on every aspect of the island’s history. Walks are graded according to pace and difficulty.
Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival (14-24 June)
A great choice for those looking for other activities to enjoy besides walking, this 10-day celebration includes everything from boating to bird-watching. The walks range from gentle seaside wanders to endurance(耐力) hikes through the Cairngorms, with five different grades of difficulty.
Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival (27 September-6 October)
Choose from self-guided or expert-led walks along a 75-mile stretch of the Saltmarsh coast, picking up the region’s maritime (海洋的) history, or learning about the rich variety of bird species. The festival features guided walks taking in vineyards (葡萄园), nature reserves and vast skies along the shoreline.
1. Which walking festival is held in two seasons this year?| A．Crickhowell Walking Festival. | B．Isle of Wight Walking Festival. |
| C．Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival. | D．Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival. |
| A．Make samples of rare species. | B．Volunteer in nature reserves. |
| C．Observe birds and go boating. | D．Attend a class on marine science. |
| A．It has the longest path. | B．It provides graded walks. |
| C．It offers guide choices. | D．It serves as history tour. |
6 . Chaudhary weaves (编织) together lengths of rope and grass collected from the nearby riverbank in her village, skillfully shaping the materials into a gift box while instructing a group of women to follow suit.
The ropes being used were once the lifeline for mountain climbers tackling Nepal’s mountains and were then cast away. Diverse measures to remove such discarded materials have rocketed since 2019, when the government launched Clean Mountain Campaign.Around 140,000 tons of waste were collected on Mt. Everest alone, which were handled accordingly, either securely buried or recycled.
Some waste is now finding fresh life, transformed by skilled hands like Chaudhary’s into items to sell, thanks to an initiative led by Acharya, an owner of a waste processing business and an advocate for sustainable waste management. She has been working with the cleaning campaign, aiming at mountains like Mt. Everest.
“Metal waste goes through the recycling process, but we weren’t capable of recycling these ropes and cooking gas cans,” Acharya says. It didn’t occur to her that the waste which couldn’t be recycled could be reused until she met Rai at an art exhibition and a solution emerged.
Rai, a businessman dealing in craftworks, helped connect Acharya with Chaudhary and her team of craftswomen in hopes of unlocking the economic value of the mountain waste. With flexible hours, the project gives the craftswomen an opportunity to earn money even as they maintain their household responsibilities.
“While this seems insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it’s a start. We can’t supply sufficient raw material with waste sorting and cleaning processes taking plenty of time and money,” Acharya says, desperate to expand the program to involve more women and treat more waste. But progress has been slow. “We need investment to mechanize the cleaning and processing of waste in the initial phase to provide the crafting team with enough materials to meet their demand,” she adds.
1. What were the ropes mentioned in paragraph 2 initially intended as?| A．Tools for tying up weeds. | B．Villagers’ basic necessities of life. |
| C．Raw materials tor unique artworks. | D．Life-saving devices for mountaineers. |
| A．A journey to the rural area. | B．An encounter with a trader. |
| C．Information from a product launch. | D．Attendance at an academic conference. |
| A．Train more senior technicians. | B．Obtain a better reputation. |
| C．Drop waste washing procedures. | D．Bring in advanced equipment. |
| A．Chaudhary: An Eco-Minded Folk Artist |
| B．Nepali Women Are Turning Garbage into Crafts |
| C．Clean Mountain Campaign Has Already Taken Effect |
| D．A Headache: Mt. Everest Is Heavily Littered with Waste |
7 . Family-Friendly Activities
Canyoning (峡谷漂流) New Zealand
Location: Queenstown
When: Sunday, October 1,2023-Tuesday, April 30,2024
Price: $499 (2 adults & 2 kids)
What: Get your family out and about in beautiful nature with Canyoning New Zealand! This half-day product delivers so much adventure and excitement all rolled into one guided canyoning adventure.
Queenstown Ice Arena
Location: Queenstown Gardens
When: Friday, September 1,2023-Sunday, March 31,2024
Price: $65(2 adults & 2 kids, or 1 adult & 3 kids)
What: Cool down this summer with an afternoon at the Queenstown Ice Arena. Book a family ice skating pass for only S65. This deal includes skates and helmets (头盔).
Family Ziplining Deal
Location:45 Camp Street, Queenstown
When: Sunday, October 1,2023-Wednesday, January 31,2024
Price: Family of 4 (2 adults & 2 kids)-$499(RRP $536) or Family of 5 (2 adults & 3 kids)-$599 (RRPS645)
What: Join a grand and fun adventure through the forest canopy (树荫) high above Queenstown, featuring impressive views across the remarkable mountain range and Lake Whakatipu.
Super School Holidays
Location: Sky Tower, Auckland
When: October 1-16,2023
Price: $365 (2 adults & 1 kid)
What: To celebrate the release of the cinema, DC League of Super Pets, Sky Tower is calling on all superheroes for a super school holiday adventure. It takes you on a super adventure around the Sky Tower.
1. What do the listed activities have in common?| A．They are held in Queenstown. | B．They need to book in advance. |
| C．They are designed for families. | D．They offer adventures in forests. |
| A．Take a can yon tour. | B．Experience ice skating. |
| C．Watch a famous movie. | D．Enjoy an amazing landscape. |
| A．Canyoning New Zealand | B．Queenstown Ice Arena |
| C．Family Ziplining Deal | D．Super School Holidays |
8 . The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge is a science competition for U. S. middle-school students. It's run by Society for Science, which also publishes Science News Explores. The 30 finalists in this year's competition traveled to Washington, D. C. and also showed off their research projects.
Sharanya Chudgar, 14 years old, is one of the finalists in the competition and built a trash-collecting robot. The wheeled machine of the robot uses sensors to spot litter and a pan to pick it up. The robot's metal-detecting sensor helps it sort garbage from recyclables. And a light sensor can let the robot's solar panel angle itself toward the sun, collecting as much energy as possible.
Sharanya got the idea to build her trash collector by participating in litter cleanups. "When I signed up to volunteer at our local trash cleanup, I saw how much litter poliution there was and I knew that I had to fix this problem," Sharanya says. "People do have very limited time and resources, right? But robots don't. So it was then that my project idea formed in my head."
"Building the robot is my favorite part of this project," Sharanya says. "Ever since first grade, I've loved building Legos and building my robot felt just like building a Lego. But this project was a completely new experience since I hadn't ever had any experience in robotics before. Throughout the project, I had to use tons of power tools and I even had to cut pieces of metal to certain lengths. Whenever I needed to use a power tool, I had to turn to my dad who was always there to help out if necessary."
"It might seem difficult at times, but sticking to this and changing just one variable at a time gets you the best results," Sharanya says. This middle school scientist is solving global problems of litter pollution. For some, a science project might be an assignment or a fun hobby. But for Sharanya, doing research can also be a chance to help others and make the world a better place.
1. What can be known about the trash-collecting robot?| A．It is environment-friendly. | B．Its solar panel can't turn. |
| C．It has multiple purposes. | D．Its shape is like a human. |
| A．The limited natural resources. | B．The encouragement from the locals. |
| C．Her trash cleanup experiences. | D．Her participation in the competition. |
| A．To express her thanks to her father. | B．To show her love for the project. |
| C．To explain the difficulty of the project. | D．To tell her interest in building Legos. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Negative. | C．Critical. | D．Approving. |
9 . Bumblebees are vanishing at a rate consistent with widespread extinction, and climate change is playing a big role. The analysis comes from a new study published in the journal Science today.
The authors found that the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place within North America and Europe has dropped by an average of 30 percent as temperatures have risen.
Pesticides, habitat loss, and pathogens(病原体) have already hit bumblebee populations hard. The new study, however, is able to isolate the effect that hotter temperatures are having on bumblebees. Sadly, bees are having a hard time adapting to a warming world. “If things continue along the path without any change, then we can really quickly start to see a lot of these species being lost forever,” lead author of the study Peter Soroye tells The Verge.
That’s not just a tragedy for the bees. It’s also bad news for all the plants that they pollinate and for humans who eat the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. “We also lose out on a lot of color on our plates,” Soroye says. “Tomatoes, squash, and berries are just some of the crops we can thank bees for pollinating. Animal pollinators like bees, birds, and butterflies could be responsible for up to 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat,” the US Department of Agriculture says.
For this study, Soroye and colleagues examined data from 1900 to 2015 on 66 species of bumblebees across North America and Europe. They mapped the places bees called home and how their distribution changed over time. They found that bees were vanishing in the areas that had heated up beyond the limit in which the bumblebees had historically been able to survive.
Some bee populations are colonizing new territories that were previously too cold. But those gains are overshadowed by losses in areas where the bees once thrived but are now too hot.
1. What is bumblebees’ main struggle?| A．Habitat loss | B．Climate change | C．Human activities | D．Virus treat |
| A．Humans can barely strive to save bumblebees from extinction. |
| B．Bumblebees will inevitably die out some day. |
| C．Bumblebees serve as a delicacy on our plates. |
| D．Human’s lives are tightly linked to bumblebees’. |
| A．Animal pollinators eat up 1 out of 3 of our food. |
| B．Peter Soroye’s study started from 1900 and lasted 25 years. |
| C．Bumblebees can not be accustomed to the places they used to live in. |
| D．Bumblebees are more used to colder weather. |
| A．The negative effects outweigh the positive ones. | B．No cold areas are left for Bumblebees. |
| C．The losses are beyond estimation. | D．Bumblebees will have a rather bright future. |
10 . Nanako Hama gets a lot of mail, mostly from strangers who live in her home city of Tokyo. In light envelopes, they send locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.
People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
But hair possesses useful qualities that it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子) out of it for removing oil leaks.
Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mats, which are then used to clean up the floating oil.
Hair is particularly well-suited for this, says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier. “That’s because its rough sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks. including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.
In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair — significantly more than polypropylene (聚丙烯), a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil.
Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen (氮), a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.
“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes — for oil and soil,” Hama says.
1. How does the author introduce the topic in paragraph 1?| A．By detailing the background. | B．By presenting a scene. |
| C．By describing the feedback. | D．By supporting evidences. |
| A．Fertilize the soil. | B．Prevent oil leaks. |
| C．Clear the sea of oil. | D．Take in harmful gas. |
| A．Its color and strength. |
| B．Its length and amount. |
| C．Its weight and flexibility. |
| D．Its structure and component. |
| A．Debatable. | B．Applicable. |
| C．Irreplaceable. | D．Uncontrollable. |
