1 . In January when wildfires came within a kilometer of her home, Jessica Miles found herself reflecting on the bravery of firefighters in the Port Macquarie area.
Jessica said the tires had been frightening. “There were helicopters (直升机) flying around our house and smoke everywhere,” she said. Over a family dinner, the 12-year-old girl raised the idea of building a sculpture to honor the men and women on the wildfire front line and was greeted with support.
With artwork from the Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail on their doorstep, Jessica’s mother suggested she contact the organizers of the trail with her idea. In a message to Hello Koalas through a Facebook post. Jessica wrote: “I’ve recently thought of an idea as Australia has been facing disaster lately... The firefighters have risked their life and time to protect us. In recognition of their bravery, I wanted so share an idea I had about making a koala (考拉) in honor of the firefighters and to spread hope to Australia.”
Hello Koalas director Margret Meagher said while she had thought about creating a sculpture to honor Australia’s selfless and heroic firefighters in the past, Jessica’s message made her more determined than ever to make it happen. Having been involved in the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Ms. Meacher was also personally touched by summer’s wildfires: “So I really wanted to celebrate the local men and women who fought bravely to protect our community and to recognize all firefighters in Australia.” Ms. Meagher said.
Jessica, who is passionate about the environment and animals said she had been excited to receive such a positive response to her idea including her suggestion “it could have the RFS badge (章) painted on the koala or it could have a fireman’s jacket.” The new sculpture, Frankie Firefighter, created by artist Kim Staples, was unveiled (揭幕) this week and features both Jessica’s ideas.
1. What did Jessica’s mother advise her to do?| A．Send greetings to firefighters. | B．Put her artwork on their doorstep. |
| C．Build a sculpture to honor firefighters. | D．Seek help from Hello Koalas to apply her idea. |
| A．Firefighters heroic stories. | B．Her involvement in RFS. |
| C．Jessica’s Facebook post. | D．Her own past thoughts. |
| A．It wears a badge donated by a fireman. | B．It draws inspiration from Kim Staples. |
| C．It is contrary to Jessica’s expectations. | D．It is a koala in a fireman’s jacket. |
2 . More than 30 year and S10 billion later, the James Webb Space Telescope finally left Earth. The observatory was lifted skyward by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Is flight to orbit lasted just under half an hour, with a signal confirming a successful outcome picked p by a ground antenna(天线)at Malindi in Kenya.
Webb, named after one of the architects of the Apollo Moon landings, is the successor to the Hubble telescope. Engineers working with the US, European and Canadian space agencies have built the new observatory to be 100 times more powerful.
Webb’s launch is only the start of what will be a complex series of initial activities over the next six months. The telescope is being put on a path to an observing station some 1.5 million km beyond the Earth. In the course of travelling to this location, webb will have to unpack itself from the folded shape it adopted at launch.
This won’t be easy, said NASA administrator Bill Nelson: “We have to realize there are still countless things that have to work and they have to work perfectly. But we know that in great reward, there is great risk. And that’s what this business is all about. And that’s why we dare to explore.”
At the core of the new facility’s capabilities is its 6.5 m-wide golden mirror. This is almost three times wider than the primary reflector on Hubble. The enlarged optics(光学器件), combined with four super-sensitive instruments, should enable astronomers to look deeper into space—and thus further back in time—than ever before.
A key target of Webb will be the pioneer stars that ended the darkness theorized to have dominated the whole universe shortly after the Big Bang more than 13.5 billion years ago. It was the nuclear reactions in these objects that would have created the first heavy atoms(原子)essential for life. Another goal for Webb will be to explore the atmospheres of distant planets. This will help researchers work out whether these worlds are in any way habitable.
1. What can we learn about the new space telescope?| A．An antenna helped it go into orbit. |
| B．It was named after a landscape architect. |
| C．It is a project of international cooperation. |
| D．It has reached its observing station. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Supportive |
| C．Fearful. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．It is fitted with a more powerful engine. |
| B．It is capable of changing shapes. |
| C．It has a primary reflector. |
| D．It has a much bigger mirror |
| A．Suggestions for astronomers. | B．Origins of the universe. |
| C．Webb’s limitations | D．Webb’s functions. |
3 . The sun is setting at the end of a day at the beach — the light is just right. You reach for your phone because you want to remember this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science that photo-takers need to know:
Taking too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to keep memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychological science professor.
The other explanation for memory loss when you take that picture is attentional disengagement.
| A．So you get the photo, but kind of lose the memory |
| B．You shouldn’t take photos when travelling with friends |
| C．People know their camera is catching that moment for them |
| D．Taking photos is not the perfect memory-keeping tool you think it is |
| E．It’s what happens when we’re distracted by the process of taking a photo |
| F．Attentional disengagement is especially likely to occur during milestone moments |
| G．People had a harder time remembering art objects when they took pictures of them |
4 . Here are some charities for you. It’s a good time for you to give people love. If you are a loving person, go ahead.
Family Promise of NewRock
It is in need of household supplies including paper products, cleaning products, laundry detergent (洗衣粉), and dryer sheets. For more information on how you can donate, please call 770-262-7816. If you would like to make a financial donation please visit www.familypromiseofnewrock.org.
Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) Community Food Bank
It needs your help in donating food items to help those in need within the community. The most needed items are: canned meat. Hamburger Helper, instant mashed potatoes, pork & beans, and canned tomato products.
The RER Community Food Bank
It is also looking for part-time volunteers who can help this summer when some of our regular volunteers will be on vacation. If you have time available to work in the warehouse area where you would receive donations of food, we could use your help! Volunteers need to be at least 18 years of age and able to lift 20-25 pounds on occasion. Please call Susan Clark at 770-922-9210 for more information. We would love to have you help us serve our community this summer!
Refuge Pregnancy Center
It is a non-profit organization here in Old Town Conyers. Currently they are in need of baby car seats with base, baby food, diapers (尿布) and baby clothes.
If you are a part of a local charity and wish your immediate needs to be published on our website at www.emetrotimes.com/share-the-love, please email info@emetrotimes.com. We will update this list monthly.
1. If you want to donate money, you should ________.| A．call 770-262-7816 |
| B．email info@emetrotimes.com |
| C．call Susan Clark at 770-922-9210 |
| D．visit www. familypromiseofnewrock. org |
| A．Refuge Pregnancy Center. |
| B．Family Promise of NewRock. |
| C．The RER Community Food Bank. |
| D．Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) Community Food Bank. |
| A．To advertise products. |
| B．To show what the community needs. |
| C．To introduce some food and clothes to people. |
| D．To provide some charities for people to give love. |
5 . Which are the better pets, cats or dogs? Staff from New Horizon network team have carried out a study which lasted a fortnight and they published their conclusion on their home page last Friday — dogs are better pets than cats by a whisker.
Staff from New Horizon first listed the areas where cats fared better. These included having bigger brains compared to their body size, which is said to make them do better in complex functions such as memory and attention than dogs. Cats’second point was given for being more popular, with 204 million living in the top ten cat-owning nations compared to 173 million dogs in the ten countries where dogs are favored. Cats also get more attention from humans, with purrs (呼噜声) and miaows easily to be noticed. Although dogs can vary their barks, they cannot match the attention-seeking of cats. Additionally, cats can see in lower light than dogs and have a far wider hearing range and a sharper sense of smell. They are also said to be “greener” pets because their smaller appetites mean less area of land required to farm the food.
But in the other six categories examined — many of which related to getting on with humans — dogs had the edge.
Dogs have a longer shared history with humans, maybe as long as 135,000 years. Cats are relative newcomers to our homes. Similarly, dogs have a greater ability to bond with the 订masters. Even four-month-old puppies choose a human companion over another dog. Dogs scored a third point for their better powers of understanding and following human gestures. One study found that a dog called Rico had mastered the meaning of more than 200 words. The ab 山 ty to perform roles such as being a guide dog for the blind meant dogs were rated better than cats when it came to their problem-solving abilities. And they are easier to train.
With the scores tied at five-all, the deciding point fell on usefulness — with dogs coming out on top.
Dogs, studies show, help cut human stress, while taking them for walks keeps their owners fit and helps them meet new people. New Horizon says: “Dogs can hunt and guard. They can sniff out drugs and bombs; they guide blind and deaf people, find someone buried in ruins, and possibly even predict earthquakes.”
The study conducted by the staff and their conclusion went viral the moment it was released and has caused a heated discussion among pet owners. Some frowned at it, arguing that it had only involved character, intelligence and usefulness.
1. Which of the following is cats’advantage?| A．They are better at grasping their owners’ instructions. |
| B．They have larger brains than dogs. |
| C．They have a sharper sense of taste. |
| D．They affect the environment less. |
| A．considerably | B．in some aspects |
| C．a little bit | D．exactly the same |
| A．the study lasted a week |
| B．four-month-old puppies are more capable of picking a human companion |
| C．all the pet owners didn’t agree with the conclusion |
| D．people pet dogs to predict earthquakes |
| A．Cats beat dogs | B．Fight like cat and dog |
| C．Befriend with cats and dogs | D．Cats versus dogs |
6 . One of the qualities of a great leader is the ability to make a decision and to live with it.
In most cases you don’t need to make a decision right away, so take your time and analyze every aspect of the situation. If your decision affects other people, try to put yourself in their shoes to see how they would feel about it. Try to think about their objections and if they would appreciate it, as this can help you figure out whether your idea is right or wrong.
Don’t look back.
Once you’ve taken all the necessary steps in making the right decision, don’t look back.
Talk to people and seek advice.
It’s good to get help from our peers. For decision making, you can also look for help, but do not ask someone to make the decision for you.
| A．Believe it’s the best choice and never open the door in your mind to change it. |
| B．Trust your peers’ judgements and decisions every now and then. |
| C．When it comes to the decision making in the life, you should be determined. |
| D．Ultimately, you’ll have to make the decision yourself with the gathered information. |
| E．Look at every aspect of the problem before making the decision. |
| F．However, most of us are incapable of making decisions and sticking by them. |
| G．Our thoughts are not only our greatest friend but also our most powerful enemy. |
7 . Since the first factories began manufacturing polyester (聚酯) in the 1950s, humans have produced about 9. 1 billion tons of plastic. And about 12 percent has been burnt, releasing harmful gases into the air. Most of the rest has ended up in landfills and in the natural environment. Plastic inhabits the oceans, cities and national parks, in large or tiny pieces.
Carbios is among the companies that are attempting to commercialize a type of chemical recycling, which breaks down polymers into their fundamental moleculars, called monomers (单体). Those monomers can then be recombined into polymers that are as good as new.
But some experts warn that chemical recycling may face many of the same issues that already plague the recycling industry, including competition from cheap plastics made from the raw materials. For the past several years, Carbios has been improving a method that uses an enzyme (酶) found in a microorganism to convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common ingredient in plastic bottles, into its monomers.
Enzymatic recycling’s promise isn’t limited to PET: the approach can be applied to other plastics. In early experiments, it took weeks for enzymes to process just a part of a batch of PET. In 2020, Alain Marty, chief science officer at Carbios, announced they’d developed an enzyme that could stand warmer temperatures and change nearly an entire batch of PET into monomers in a matter of hours.
Most PET produced globally is used for textile fibers, which, because they often contain mixed materials, are rarely recycled. Mats Linder, leader of Stena Recycling in Sweden, said he’d like to see recycling technologies focus on these and other parts of the recycling industry where conventional recycling is coming up short.
As it happens, Carbios is working to do just that. Gregg Beckham, a senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, believes the global plastic problem will call for a diverse mix of technological solutions. He thinks enzymatic recycling and other recycling technologies are advancing rapidly, and he’s optimistic that they’ll have a role to play.
1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?| A．Polyester has been made for a century. | B．Most plastic is not recycled. |
| C．People should stop using plastic. | D．Most plastic is buried in landfills. |
| A．Trouble. | B．Inspire. | C．Influence. | D．Determine. |
| A．Many companies have been using this method. |
| B．Enzymatic recycling can only be used to break down PET. |
| C．It was Carbios that invented enzymatic recycling. |
| D．Great progress has been made in enzymatic recycling. |
| A．Enzymatic recycling is costly but effective. |
| B．Carbios is the pioneer in recycling plastic. |
| C．Enzymatic recycling has a bright future. |
| D．Chemical recycling technologies are limited. |
8 . When Donovan Carrillo entered the ice rink at the Beijing Winter Olympics, he was the first Mexican to do so in 30 years. And although he came in 22nd in the free skate, his journey is so inspirational that he can only be viewed as a true champion.
When Carrillo was selected for the Olympics, he described it as “a dream comes true,” according to an article in The New York Times. It came after years of devotion to a sport that is seriously underfunded (资金不足的) in his hometown of Guadalajara in Mexico.
The 22-year-old started his athletic career with gymnastics and diving. However, with his parents’ support, he started ice skating, and thankfully his sporting past lent itself nicely to the sport. The only problem was the cost and the lack of facilities. As Carrillo’s father jokingly explains, Mexicans normally associate ice with something you put in a drink and not with the sport. So his son is actually one of the very few young men ice skating in their home country.
In fact, in 2013, while Carrillo was just a teen, his usual ice rink closed and he had nowhere to practice. In the end he had to move to Leon, in Guanajuato, and lived with his coach, Gregorio Nunez, so he could still practice. The move was hard on the whole family, both emotionally and financially, and what was meant to be just a few months away from home turned out to be nine years — nearly half of Carrillo’s life.
The ice skating hero’s story isn’t about medals: it’s about determination and effort. Looking at the Olympian’s face, you can see he’s more than happy. He wants to show what anyone can achieve, even if you don’t have state-of-the-art equipment.
Looking at him glide along the ice rink with ease, it’s hard to imagine that he trained on a small ice rink with substandard ice, and used a run-down skatepark to imagine performing in front of the judges. Carrillo is a young man who’ll jump over any obstacles to achieve his dream and honor his family. And that’s a true champion!
1. Why is Carrillo’s journey considered to be inspirational?| A．He made great progress in ice skating. | B．He succeeded in the Beijing Winter Olympics. |
| C．He trained in unfavorable situations. | D．He devoted his life to ice skating. |
| A．He started his athletic career with ice skating. |
| B．He was made by his family to practice diving. |
| C．He quit his career under his parents’ influence. |
| D．His previous sports experience was good for his ice skating. |
| A．His being unable to use his usual ice rink. |
| B．His intention to live far away from his family. |
| C．His coach living in Leon. |
| D．His family being in financial difficulties |
| A．Modest and creative. | B．Caring and courageous. |
| C．Determined and positive. | D．Ambitious and cooperative. |
9 . My son is doing an MA (Master of Arts) in music, so for his final project he decided to explore the role of fantasy in society. He emailed home for help. “Naturally we all love escapism,” he wrote, “but the important question is why? You’re a fantasy writer, Mum, got any ideas?”
This is what I came up with: Fantasy is important for the human mind. It begins as the psychological process by which a child learns to fill the space between knowledge, reality and experience.
When we were small children, trying to get to sleep, a creaking (嘎吱响的) floorboard was really frightening. Who or what could be making the noise? The only way to make sense of the experience was to fantasise : there’s probably a tiger under the bed.
Children frighten themselves silly like this, but while they have no knowledge of central heating pipes swelling (管道膨胀), they have to use make-believe to fill the space between experience and knowledge. As time passes and children learn about the effect of heat on pipes and floorboards, they will often prefer the tiger story. Fear, within a safe environment, is fun.
As they grow, children need stories that include war, falling in love, becoming a hero and saving the world. They provide a framework (框架) within which developing emotions can awaken, ready for “real life” when it hits.
Louis Sachar’s Holes is a great modern explanation of this, but the best ones are those we make up for ourselves. A friend who is a child psychologist was treating a boy who’d been mistreated by a relative. The child loved this person, and was puzzled and hurt by what had happened, so my friend wrote him a story about a baby rabbit that loved his uncle, a wolf. One day, the wolf hurt him. The rabbit remembered the love, but he also understood that wolves were dangerous, and had to be avoided. The child went away with the tools to reconcile (和解) the irreconcilable.
Taking one step away from reality to that “safe” place of pretend prepares us to look at the world’s hard realities in the face.
1. Which question puzzled the author’s son?| A．Do people love escapism? |
| B．Why is fantasy so important? |
| C．Is escapism good for people? |
| D．What is the purpose of fantasy music? |
| A．By helping them to get to sleep quickly. |
| B．By encouraging them to find out the truth. |
| C．By helping them to overcome fear on their own. |
| D．By allowing them to explore their feelings in a safe way. |
| A．It frees kids of concerns. |
| B．It makes people emotional. |
| C．It helps people spot danger. |
| D．It prepares kids for real life. |
| A．It worked well. |
| B．It confused the child. |
| C．It made the relative apologise. |
| D．It became more popular than Holes. |
| A．Approving. | B．Concerned. | C．Humorous. | D．Doubtful. |
10 . Everyone has a story to tell. Tell yours by creating a LifeBook, an autobiography (自传) that will last for generations.
LifeBook is a personalized autobiography service that uses professional ghostwriters (代笔者) and interviewers to allow people of all ages to tell their own story in their own voice and in their own words.
Each LifeBook author has personal reasons for creating a written story of their life: for some, a LifeBook might be a way of recording a world that’s all but disappeared; for others, it might be the chance to tell others about their youth. However, the one thing that LifeBook authors have in common is a wish to share their thoughts and experiences with those closest to them.
LifeBook authors come from all walks of life and from all backgrounds. LifeBook believes everyone has a story to tell, and this is borne out by authors who pass on varied and interesting stories of what’s actually modern social history in the making.
Common topics include growing up in the Second World War, employment and business in what was a very different kind of workplace, or bringing up children in the past.
But perhaps what makes the LifeBook experience so special is the pleasure authors say they feel in simply remembering and talking about their lives and achievements as they relive, over a series of face-to-face interviews, the events and relationships that have shaped them as people.
At the end of a LifeBook project, each author receives five beautiful books containing the stories and photos they have chosen for the enjoyment of not only their family and friends, but also of generations to come.
Why not spring into action right now and start writing your life story for your family today? To discover more about the LifeBook experience, call 0800 999 2280.
1. LifeBook is probably a(n) .| A．book | B．service | C．organization | D．story |
| A．They are pioneers in modern history. |
| B．They hope to help people learn history. |
| C．They want to share something with people. |
| D．They try to show their personal achievements. |
| A．What common LifeBook topics are. |
| B．How children grew up in wars. |
| C．What business is like in different workplaces. |
| D．How people brought up children in the past. |
| A．It delights the authors. |
| B．Interviews are included in the book. |
| C．Family members are required to tell stories. |
| D．It helps the authors improve their writing skills. |
| A．To encourage people to write their life story. |
| B．To advertise professional autobiographies. |
| C．To invite people to read a LifeBook. |
| D．To present some interesting stories. |
