How Did Yuan Longping Revolutionize China’s Rice Production?
①Yuan Longping was born in 1930 in Hubei. As a child, he was very interested in plants and other living things. He grew up to be a curious and hard-working plant scientist. Yuan wanted to solve the problem of food shortages, so he began conducting experiments to improve rice yields per hectare (10,000 m2).
②Plants come in many different varieties; for example, some types of rice have long grains, while others have short grains. For centuries, people have been crossing different plant varieties to create hybrids. Such plants proved to have desirable qualities from both parents. Yuan believed that it was possible to do the same with rice. He tried different ways of creating rice hybrids, only to discover that his attempts were unsuccessful.
③Even though it often seemed too difficult to complete this task, Yuan didn’t give up. After many years of hard work, his experiments finally bore fruit. This was a major discovery since no one had previously been able to cross two different kinds of rice. It had a huge impact: the first hybrid rice variety increased China’s rice production by 100 million tonnes in little over a decade.
④Yuan didn’t stop there — instead, he continued experimenting and created super hybrid rice with yields over 15 tonnes of rice per hectare. Thanks to Yuan’s work, China became self-sufficient in rice. Our country continued to increase its rice yields to become one of the biggest food donors in the world. In 2019, he received the Medal of the Republic for his outstanding contributions. At the age of 90, Yuan Longping still hasn’t retired. With a growing global population, the world needs to produce enough food to feed everyone, and Yuan is working to make this happen.
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3 . How to Improve Climate Literacy
Climate literacy is the ability to identify, understand and explain information associated with climate science.
Over the past few years, many young people and educators have pushed for the inclusion of climate literacy in national curricula. So what are the best ways in which this can be embedded within already packed school timetables?
True climate literacy must address not only the science of climate change, but also issues of climate (in)justice, including how climate change affects people and places unevenly and contributes to inequalities within and across nations.
One way to do this is through visual storytelling. Storytelling, often involving drawings and paintings, has been used by human communities to pass on knowledge or tales of caution for at least 30,000 years — as you can see from the cave painting.
One effect of storytelling is its ability to create cognitive dissonance: the mental conflict and discomfort felt when a person’s behaviour isn’t in line with their beliefs. Stories that demonstrate the consequences of not acting eco-consciously — especially if those consequences are shown visually — can be a good way to do this, leading to individuals being more likely to take climate action in their own lives or by confronting corporate activities.
| A．Therefore, the teachers we worked with remarked that lessons are typically focused on the physical processes of climate change. |
| B．However, at present, much of climate change education is focused on the physical aspects of climate change, often at a global scale. |
| C．The next stages of our research will reflect how a separated community has come together through this journey towards climate literacy. |
| D．Being climate literate allows individuals to become active participants in the fight against climate change. |
| E．This collective psychological distancing means many fail to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis. |
There isn’t just one skill or quality that makes someone a good yourself. But I can think of two things that most journalists have in common, they are curious, and they love language. Journalists look around and always ask who, what, why, where and when. Then they try to tell others what they find out.
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7 . Rome can be pricey for travelers, which is why many choose to stay in a hostel (旅社). The hostels in Rome offer a bed in a dorm room for around $25 a night, and for that, you’ll often get to stay in a central location (位置) with security and comfort.
What is probably the major concern of travelers who choose to stay in a hostel?
| A．Comfort. | B．Security. |
| C．Price. | D．Location. |
8 . Although many companies offer tuition reimbursement (偿付), most companies reimburse employees only for classes that are relevant to their positions.
One good reason for giving employees unconditional tuition reimbursement is that it shows the company’s dedication to its employees and it is important for a company to demonstrate to its employees that it cares. The best way to do this is to make investments in them.
Though unconditional tuition reimbursement requires a significant investment on the employer’s part, it is perhaps one of the wisest investments a company can make.
| A．In this way, companies will have more productive employees. |
| B．In today’s economy, job security is a thing of the past and employees feel more and more expendable. |
| C．In return, this dedication to the betterment of employees will create greater loyalty. |
| D．This is indeed a very limiting policy. |
| E．Even if employees do leave, it generally takes several years to complete any degree program. |
● However, Hua did receive the support of a
● He loved maths and studied so hard that he managed to win a
● Then something terrible happened: because of a serious illness, his left leg became
● Despite this terrible setback, Hua continued to study on his own and
● Mentally, at least, most of us could
● The same old favorites recur year in year out
● Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are
● If we remain
● We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we
10 . Although many companies offer tuition reimbursement (偿付), most companies reimburse employees only for classes that are relevant to their positions.
One good reason for giving employees unconditional tuition reimbursement is that it shows the company’s dedication to its employees and it is important for a company to demonstrate to its employees that it cares. The best way to do this is to make investments in them.
Although companies do indeed run the risk of losing money on employees, who go on to another job in a different company as soon as they get their degree, more often than not, the employees will stay with the company.
Though unconditional tuition reimbursement requires a significant investment on the employer’s part, it is perhaps one of the wisest investments a company can make.
| A．In this way, companies will have more productive employees. |
| B．In today’s economy, job security is a thing of the past and employees feel more and more expendable. |
| C．In return, this dedication to the betterment of employees will create greater loyalty. |
| D．This is indeed a very limiting policy. |
| E．Even if employees do leave, it generally takes several years to complete any degree program. |
