1 . Double rainbows are one thing, but a double aurora (极光)? They can happen, though some kinds are rare. One particular red-and-green aurora is especially confusing. Now, images taken by amateur astronomers may help reveal its secrets.
Citizen scientists living in Canada and Finland used cameras to document an unusual combination of auroras in the night sky. Physicists have studied those images to learn what may have caused the unusual light show.
Alan Dyer was outside his home in Strathmore, Canada, when the dancing Northern Lights caught his attention. He grabbed his camera and started filming. "I knew I had something interesting," says Dyer. At first glance, the double aurora looks like a floating slice of watermelon. The green aurora is well-understood. The fruity looking red st rip is more mysterious. Scientists have known about these red auroras for decades. But there's no agreement on how they form. One idea is that Earth's magnetic field can heat up certain areas of the atmosphere. That heat could knock particles (粒子) around, like in proton (质子) rain.
Researchers had seen these two types of auroras occur together before. But it was always mysterious, says Toshi Nishimura, a space physicist at Boston University. After looking at satellite observations along with the images taken by Dyer and others, Nishimura and his team concluded how the two phenomena might be related. The key is the thin rays in the red aurora. They mark the paths of electrons falling through the Earth's magnetic field. That means electron rain appears to cause the red aurora, just as proton rain causes the green one. Both get powered by the solar wind. But the electrons carry less energy than the protons, so they make for a more reddish color.
Electron rain might not be the only way to produce the stable red auroras, though. The results show that what's going on is more complicated than researchers had thought. The auroras Dyer saw could be danger zones for radio communication and GPS systems, says Nishimura.
The citizen scientists who took the photos were a critical part of the new findings, Nishimura says.
1. Where is the text probably taken from?| A．A news report on astronomic discoveries. |
| B．A blog about sky phenomena. |
| C．A review of aurora research. |
| D．A brochure of aurora tours. |
| A．They are fully understood by scientists. |
| B．They were first spotted by Alan Dyer. |
| C．They are related to Earth's magnetic field. |
| D．They are generated from proton rain. |
| A．The path it travels along. | B．The energy particles carry. |
| C．The wavelength of rays. | D．The source of solar wind. |
| A．Photography drives scientific research. |
| B．The double aurora is a threat to GPS system. |
| C．Satellite observations lead to aurora discoveries. |
| D．Citizen scientists help explain the double aurora. |
2 . Orienteering (定向越野) involves running, jogging or walking, and using a map and compass to move between places. It’s a great way to have fun outdoors with friends and family. The aim is to move between points, called controls, in a certain order in the quickest time. Events are usually held in parks, fields or forests but they can also happen in towns and cities and even school playgrounds. People can take part either as individuals or as a team.
Beginners’ events will have easier controls to find and cover less distance — perhaps a mile or two. For experienced orienteers, the length of the course could be much longer and take in hills and rough ground.
Orienteers are given a “control description sheet” to help them find each point. This sheet has details of features to look for, like paths and rivers, and a code that must match the code at each control. You will either mark your sheet at each control or check in with an electronic card.
When you start orienteering, you will learn map-reading skills. A helpful tip is to keep your thumb on the spot that shows your location on the map. Keep it the right way round: the features in front of you on the ground should be in front of you on the map.
Orienteering maps can have five or six colors. Black areas show human features, like buildings; brown shows the contour (轮廓) lines (height of the land); and blue shows water, such as lakes and rivers. White and green together show woodlands; yellow areas represent grass and open areas. On orienteering maps, a course consists of a triangle, circles, a double circle and sometimes connecting lines. The triangle is the start, the double circle is the finish, and all the circles in between are checkpoints.
As you run between points by what you hope is the quickest route, you can take in the scenery around you and have a great time choosing your path and trying to finish in a fast time.
1. What can we learn about orienteering at the beginning of the text?| A．Its route is random. | B．Its result is distance-based. |
| C．It groups orienteers by age. | D．It integrates various skills. |
| A．Tricks of saving time. | B．The use of control description sheet. |
| C．Methods of checking in. | D．The importance of codes. |
| A．To track progress. | B．To mark the finish point. |
| C．To maintain direction. | D．To highlight checkpoints. |
| A．Geographical features. | B．Difficulty levels. |
| C．Routes for competition. | D．Stages of the orienteering race. |
3 . Matt counted his new year gifts one more time as he tucked a robot-shaped eraser into each envelope. He prepared gifts for everyone for the next day's party.
When Matt got to school the next day, he saw a new girl in his classroom. She stood near Ms. Robins and looked around shyly. "This is Dorothy," said Ms. Robins. "Will someone volunteer to show her around today?" Matt raised his hand. He liked helping new kids feel welcome. "Thanks, Matt," Ms. Robins said. "Now let's get busy with our work so we're done in time for the party." That's when Matt realized he didn't have a gift for Dorothy. No one else would have one either. He felt a sad lump in his stomach.
As he showed Dorothy around, he was careful not to mention the party. At lunchtime, he walked Dorothy to the lunchroom, still worried about what would happen at the party. Dorothy had brought a packed lunch, so Matt showed her where she should sit and went back to his usual seat. While eating, Matt suddenly remembered that kids often included candy hearts with the new year gifts they exchanged. An idea popped into his head. He whispered it to the kids around him. Soon everyone at the table was nodding and whispering.
When they were back in the classroom after lunch, Matt told Ms. Robins about their plan. Ms. Robins agreed with a nodding smile. It was math time, so Matt invited Dorothy to study with him. He made sure Dorothy sat with her back to the room so she wouldn't notice her new classmates passing around an exquisite paper bag Ms. Robins prepared to collect their candy hearts.
Before long, it was party time. They played games and then had cookies and juice. Finally, they passed out their gifts. The room buzzed with happy chatter. Matt saw the sad look on Dorothy's face as she glanced at other kids' desks overflowing with envelopes.
"Here's your gift, Dorothy," Matt said, placing the paper bag in front of her. "It's from everyone."
Dorothy stared at the beautiful bag full of "hearts".
"We wanted you to have a special New Year's Day too," said Matt.
"Thank you," Dorothy said, smiling at her new classmates. "It really is a special day!"
1. Why did Matt feel a sad lump in his stomach?| A．He was guilty for forgetting about Dorothy. |
| B．He was worried that Dorothy would be angry. |
| C．He was afraid Dorothy wouldn't like the party. |
| D．He was concerned that Dorothy would feel left out. |
| A．Keeping the party a secret. | B．Gathering candy hearts as a gift. |
| C．Inviting Dorothy to study together. | D．Including candy hearts in every gift. |
| A．Innovative. | B．Considerate. | C．Modest. | D．Generous. |
| A．A Hearty Welcome | B．A New Year Tradition |
| C．The First Day of School | D．The Reward of Kindness |
4 . If you’ve ever walked around the streets of a Chinese city and seen sticks of brightly colored fruit shining in the winter sun, chances are that you’ve been at a tanghulu stall.
Tanghulu dates back to the Song Dynasty when it was a favorite with the Chinese imperial family. Legend has it that when a princess in the court fell sick, a doctor suggested she eat hawthorn (山楂) fruit fried in brown sugar every day for two weeks. On her recovery, the doctor became famous.
Nowadays it’s perhaps the most popular street sweet in China.
| A．So what is tanghulu |
| B．Why is tanghulu so popular |
| C．While traditionally made with Chinese hawthorn |
| D．Tanghulu attracted more and more people’s attention |
| E．And the snack found a permanent place on China’s streets |
| F．At the cost of just ten yuan, there’s not much stopping you from trying it |
| G．You’ll often see street vendors with their long bamboo skewers of shiny candied fruit |
5 . Need to dash to other campuses? College members can catch the free Imperial campus shuttle bus.
The College Shuttle Bus is available for staff and students, providing free transport between the South Kensington, White City and Hammersmith campuses on weekdays, in line with teaching, learning and research duties. Pre-booking is required; you should make your booking online no later than midnight prior to when you’re travelling.
Key information
●Travel timings are approximate: Although we do our best to adhere to the timetables, London traffic is frequently subject to delays.
●Want to track where your bus is: Download the Safezone app to get live GPS tracking.(tap the three horizontal lines in the top left and select “Buses”)
●Who can travel: Staff and students who need to travel between campuses. This is not a commuter service —if you live locally, you will need to use public transport to travel to campus.
●Booking my journey: Pre-booking your journey is essential.
Note: If opening the booking app in Safari, please turn off the Privacy setting “Prevent cross-site tracking”.
●What you’ll need: Along with confirmation of your reservation, you will need to show your College ID when boarding.
Timetable | |||
Red Route departure times | Green Route departure times | Yellow Route departure times | |
Hammersmith White City South Kensington White City | 8:00 8:10 8:45 9:20 | 8:30 8:40 9:15 9:50 | 9:00 9:10 9:45 10:20 |
Hammersmith White City South Kensington White City | 11:00 11:10 11:45 12:20 | 11:30 11:40 12:15 12:50 | 12:00 12:10 12:45 13:20 |
Hammersmith White City South Kensington White City | 14:00 14:10 14:45 15:20 | 14:30 14:40 15:15 15:50 | 15:00 15:10 15:45 16:20 |
South Kensington Campus
London SW72AZ,UK
tel:+44(0)2075895111
1. What do we know about the campus shuttle bus?
| A．There is no charge for riders. | B．It runs between four campuses. |
| C．You can take it 7 days a week. | D．24 hours’ advance booking is needed. |
| A．Download the Safezone app. | B．Land a local job. |
| C．Turn off the Privacy setting. | D．Show your College ID when boarding. |
| A．the Red Route bus at 8:00 | B．the Red Route bus at 8:10 |
| C．the Green Route bus at 8:40 | D．the Yellow Route bus at 9:00 |
6 . English businessman Richard Branson made history on July 11, 2021 as he and three other crewmates became the world’s first space tourists. The flight was made by a spacecraft named VSS Unity that was built by Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic. The flight lasted slightly more than an hour, and took Branson and crew to an altitude (海拔) of 53.5miles above the Earth, just a little above the boundary (边界) of space which lies 50 miles above the Earth.
At that height, the atmosphere turns into the black of outer space and the Earth becomes a bent ball of blue. Travelers also exhibit weightlessness as there is no gravity, the force that keeps our bodies walking on the Earth’s surface. Therefore, Branson and his fellows were able to float around in VSS Unity while enjoying the views. They were able to do that for three minutes before the spacecraft began its downward journey. It landed back at Virgin Galactic’s space port in New Mexico, United States, which is the same place from where it had taken off 90 minutes before.
On landing back, Branson said, “I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid but honestly, nothing could prepare you for the view of the Earth from space. It was just magical. I’m just taking it all in, and it’s unreal.”
July 11’s flight is the start of space tourism for one and all. In early 2022, customers who can afford a ticket for a quarter of a million dollars can line up for a seat on a trip to space. And guess what — they will have a choice of spacecraft. Jeff Bezos, who owns a famous company, is all set to launch himself into space on July 20 on board a spacecraft built by his new branch company Blue Origin. Blue Origin will also carry tourists to space.
1. What is Richard Branson famous for?| A．His success in tourism. |
| B．His company of Virgin Galactic. |
| C．His spaceship named VSS Unity. |
| D．His first commercial space travel in history. |
| A．Unbelievable. | B．Adventurous. | C．Regrettable. | D．Worthless. |
| A．Take a spacecraft of Virgin Galactic. |
| B．Pay $250,000 for the rocket tour. |
| C．Pass the fitness test for astronauts. |
| D．Line up for a position in Blue Origin. |
| A．Humans will move to other livable planets. |
| B．Ordinary people will soon land on the moon. |
| C．Private rocket space travel is growing gradually. |
| D．Some companies abandon their proper business. |
7 . If you’ve ever seen a sparrow steal your dog food or a crow open a garbage bag, you get a sense of that some birds have learned to take advantage of new feeding opportunities—a clear sign of their intelligence. Scientists have long wondered why certain species of birds are more innovative than others, and whether these capacities stem from larger brains or from a greater number of neurons (神经元) in specific areas of the brain.
It turns out that it’s a bit of both, according to a recent study by an international team that included members from McGill University published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
The researchers used a new technique to estimate the number of neurons in a specific part of the brain called the pallium in 111 bird species. The pallium in birds is equal to the human cerebral cortex (大脑皮层), which is involved in memory, learning, reasoning, and problem-solving, among other things. When these estimates about neuron numbers in the pallium were combined with information about over 4,000 feeding innovations, the team found that the species with the higher numbers of neurons in the pallium were also likely to be the most innovative.
“The amount of time chicks spend in the nest as their brains develop might also play a crucial role in the evolution of intelligence,” says McGill University Emeritus Professor Louis Lefebvre who spent more than 20 years gathering examples of feeding innovations. “Larger species of crows and parrots, which are known for their intelligence, spend longer in the nest, which allows more time for the brain to grow and accumulate pallial neurons.”
The results of the study help to deal with previously opposed views of the evolution and significance of brain size and show how a life-history perspective helps to understand the evolution of cognition.
1. What may a sparrow be thought of when it steals dog food?| A．It is lovely. | B．It is immoral. | C．It is heartbroken. | D．It is intelligent. |
| A．Assessed the neurons in their pallium. |
| B．Tested a new technology on their brain. |
| C．Trained them to learn to feed individually. |
| D．Compared their pallium with the human cerebral cortex. |
| A．Their large shape. |
| B．More time in their nest. |
| C．Their learning ability. |
| D．More feeding innovations. |
| A．Health. | B．Society. | C．Science. | D．Culture. |
8 . More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes’ belief systems — specifically irrational (非理性) beliefs — are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.
“Phrases that reflect self-depreciating (贬低) beliefs such as ‘If I lose, I’m a failure’ or ‘If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am’ are warning signs,” said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, “Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes’ beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes.”
This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they “must” get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a “complete failure”.
“We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport,” said Paul Mansell.
The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe “I am a failure if I fail”, this might be countered with “Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure”.
1. What did the study centre on?| A．Physical health of athletes. |
| B．The competition state of athletes. |
| C．Psychological health of athletes. |
| D．Competition habits of athletes. |
| A．Worsened. | B．Examined. | C．Promoted. | D．Recognized. |
| A．Setbacks won’t stop me. |
| B．If I fail, I will lose everything. |
| C．It is a world full of competition. |
| D．What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. |
| A．Psychological benefits of physical activity |
| B．Effective tools for protecting self-confidence |
| C．Rational and logical beliefs about performance |
| D．Warning signs of poor mental health in athletes |
9 . What was your answer when you were asked to name the best university in the world? I can bet with almost 100% confidence that the universities you came up with included widely known institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, or Tsinghua University.
The medium through which they are known, other than word of mouth, is to a large extent attributed to various university rankings, some of which are considered to be more accurate and authoritative than others. Among all the organizations that produce global university rankings, the three most trusted and established ones are Shanghai Ranking Consultancy (SRC), Times Higher Education (THE), and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Each year, they rank universities by assessing a combination of measures of their strengths. Since each organization prioritizes a different set of factors that make for a good university, the three organizations often yield different results. Take the year 2023 as an example: QS ranked MIT number one while THE assigned the honor to the University of Oxford. For SRC, the spot belonged to Harvard.
Thousands of students and parents refer to those rankings when they make college application decisions; academics also look to how their own universities measure up in this fiercely competitive race of academic competence.
However, there also exist skeptics who hesitate to hold these rankings in too high a regard. They argue each of the rankings emphasizes a criterion that is different from the other two, yet no criterion is completely free of prejudice.
SRC, for instance, values a university’s research performance the most, but ignores the level of diversity in terms of each university’s demographics (人员构成). The methods THE and QS use to rank universities have also been subject to questioning and criticism. They mostly ask scholars from a selected list of higher-education institutions to state their opinions about a certain university’s reputation, and they use these scholars’ opinions as their standard. Such methods sound subjective to many people.
As for the next time when someone asks you which university is the best in the world, you might not want to rush into a fixed answer.
1. What does the example in 2023 show?| A．Different criterion produces different result. |
| B．The best university varies from year to year. |
| C．SRC, THE and QS are more trustworthy organizations than others. |
| D．MIT, Oxford and Harvard are universally acknowledged as the best universities. |
| A．worried | B．doubtful | C．annoyed | D．careful |
| A．Explanation of the ranking process. |
| B．Impact of the rankings on the public. |
| C．Limitation of each of the three rankings. |
| D．Opinions of students on the three rankings. |
| A．Think twice before deciding. |
| B．Pay no attention to the rankings. |
| C．Just rely on your own judgement. |
| D．Take the research performance as a priority. |
10 . Using more wood for construction has been praised as a lower-emission alternative to carbon-intensive steel and concrete but it may not be as carbon friendly as thought.
“It would be very convenient if wood were a better solution,” says Tim Searchinger atPrinceton University. Wood is, in theory, a renewable resource and any wood used in buildings acts as long-term carbon storage. Research has found that using wood for construction instead of concrete and steel can reduce emissions.
But Searchinger says many of these studies are based on the false assumption that harvesting wood is carbon neutral (中和的). “Only a small percentage of the wood gets into a timber (木材) product, and a fraction (小部分) of that gets into a timber product that can replace concrete and steel in a building,” he says. Efficiencies vary in different countries, but much of a harvested tree is left to rot and used for short-lived products like paper or burned for energy, all of which generate emissions.
In a report for the World Resources Institute, Searchinger and his colleagues have modeled how using more wood for construction would affect emissions between 2010 and 2050, accounting for the emissions from harvesting the wood. They considered various types of forests and fractions of wood going towards construction. They also factored in the emissions savings from replacing concrete and steel. In general, they found a large increase in global demand for wood would probably lead to rising emissions for decades.
The researchers report in a related paper that increasing forest harvests between 2010 and 2050 would add emissions equal to about 10 percent of total yearly emissions. William Moomaw at Tufts University in Massachusetts says the works show that harvesting timber, even when done sustainably, isn’t a carbon neutral activity.
Ali Amiri at Aalto University in Finland says the report’s conclusions about emissions from rising demand are probably correct, but the story is different for wood we have already harvested. Boosting the efficiency of current harvests and using more wood for longer-lived purposes than paper would cut emissions, he says. “We cannot just say we should stop using wood.”
1. What is a common belief about wood used in construction?| A．It is cost-efficient. | B．It is a zero-emission material. |
| C．It stores carbon in a long run. | D．It functions as an alternative to concrete. |
| A．Making Fuels. | B．Building houses. |
| C．Making furniture. | D．Producing fertilizers. |
| A．Harvesting timber sustainably is carbon neutral. |
| B．Replacing concrete and steel saves a lot of emissions. |
| C．Less wood consumption makes no difference to emission. |
| D．An increasing demand for wood results in rising emission. |
| A．Where Does Harvested Wood Go? |
| B．Are Wood Buildings Climate-Friendly? |
| C．Boost the Efficiency of Harvested Wood |
| D．Stop Using Wood, A Carbon Neutral Activity |
