Rock Climbing — conservationists’ new concern
Now, with its first appearance at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, the once minority sport is set to reach new heights. Yet the popularity of rock climbing and its sister sport, bouldering (where climbers scramble up large rocks without the use of ropes or safety belts), is raising questions about the damaging environmental effects of climbing chalk — a common and essential climbing tool.
Made from magnesium carbonate (碳酸镁), climbing chalk is the same substance that gymnasts and weightlifters use to improve their grasp on bars and weights. In fact, it was first introduced to rock climbing in the 1950s by John Gill. Since then, amateur and professional climbers alike have come to depend on the chalk’s properties of removing water and increasing friction (摩擦力) — and have been leaving long stripes of the stuff on rock faces around the world.
The resulting “chalk graffiti” has become so bad in the United States that parks are beginning to restrict its use. Utah’s Arches National Park allows only colored chalk that mostly matches rocks, while Colorado’s Garden of the Gods National Natural Landmark banned all chalk and chalk substitutes.
Beyond the visual pollution, new research suggests chalk may be harming the plants that grow on rocks. The latest study on the effects of climbing chalk, released October 2020, found that it negatively impacted both the growing and survival of four species of ferns and mosses (蕨类和苔藓) inhabiting rocks in laboratory settings.
That matters because some climbing spots, such as erratic boulders (the study’s focus), host unique ecosystems. These unpredictable boulders — rocks scattered across the globe by large masses of slowly flowing ice at the end of the Ice Age — are islands of vegetation, different from the land they sit on.
It’s not even clear whether chalk improves climbing performance at all. Some papers found no additional grip benefits, while others found the opposite. Some climbers may find it helpful, says Daniel Hepenstrick, a co-author of the 2020 study and a doctoral candidate at ETH Zürich.
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5 . The inside story of how a “band of misfits” saved Lego
When executives at toymaker Lego first learned that adults were buying large quantities of their interlocking plastic bricks and getting together to build Lego creations of their own, “they thought it was very strange,” says Paal Smith-Meyer.
Thanks to a handful of employees who worked to change attitudes inside the company, Lego is no longer embarrassed by its adult fans.
Today Lego is the world’s largest and most profitable toymaker. The Lego brick was named “Toy of the Century” in 1999, and in 2014 Time magazine crowned it the “Most Influential Toy of All Time”, ahead of Barbie, G.I. Joe, and the Easy Bake Oven.
The enthusiasm and buying power of Adult Fans of Lego — or AFOLs, as they’re known in the industry — played a major role in the company’s rise to the top.
Lego founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen always knew he wanted to market his products exclusively to kids. As the company grew over its first six decades, few imagined that its products could appeal as much to adults as to children.
Despite the benefits AFOLs brought to the brand, executives at the company’s corporate offices in Billund, Denmark had little interest in catering to adult customers. As fan mail and product ideas poured in from AFOLs around the world, the company posted its off-putting position: “We don’t accept unsolicited ideas.”
“Adult fans were often seen as a source of irritation,” says Jake McKee, a Lego executive from 2000 to 2006 who oversaw the company’s Global Community Development team.
| A．But insiders say the road from “kids only” to “adults welcome” was a long, uphill climb. |
| B．AFOLs are also organizing unofficial Lego fan conventions and networking in online user groups. |
| C．Gone are the days when labels on Lego boxes stated that the contents were appropriate only for boys ages 7 to 12. |
| D．Attitudes began to shift in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the once-invulnerable toymaker started to struggle. |
| E．AFOLs were having a dramatic impact on Lego’s bottom line years before the company recognized their value. |
| F．“Before the late 1990s, the company didn’t think their adult fans had value,” says Smith-Meyer, who held a variety of senior posts at Lego from 2000 to 2014. |
6 . Robots really are replacing us flesh-and-bone types. They’re making lunch, writing novels… the list goes on and on. What human can compete — especially given that robots don’t complain, ask for raises, or get drunk at the Christmas party? To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the coining of the word robot by Karel Capek, we thought it would be fun to take a look at another side of robotkind.
You Call That Service?
A few years back, a Japanese hotel hired 243 robots to cover positions ranging from doorman to bellboy. Unfortunately, the check-in robots had trouble answering guests’ questions and photo-copying passports, while bellboy robots kept banging into walls and tripping over curbs. One in-room assistant robot sprang to attention every time the guest snored (打鼾), saying, “Sorry, I couldn’t catch that. Could you repeat your request?”
You Look Familiar
Facial recognition software has one problem — it can’t always recognize faces. The American Civil Liberties Union proved that point when it used the Amazon Rekognition software to match photos of criminals to 28 members of Congress. But what about soccer ball recognition? During a match last year, a Scottish soccer team unveiled AI-programmed video cameras designed to automatically follow the ball. Alas, the cameras constantly mistook the referee’s bald head for the soccer ball.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Anger Sophia
“Sophia” is a social humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics. She/It has an attractive face, with high cheekbones, and impressive eyebrows. And she can hold a conversation to rival the mere chat of Apple’s Siri. This is surely the robot of the future. When CEO David Hanson and Sophia appeared on a TV program, Hanson asked the robot the question humans have been asking themselves for years: “Sophia, do you want to destroy humans?” Without hesitation, Sophia — smiling a bit too broadly for our taste — responded, “OK, I will destroy humans.” Humans, you have been warned.
1. “Another side” of robotkind in the first paragraph can be described as ________.| A．advanced | B．aggressive | C．amazing | D．awkward |
| A．The robots are functioning properly as human labor. |
| B．The robot Sophia interpreted Hanson’s question as a request. |
| C．The facial recognition software makes accurate searches for the target. |
| D．The hotel in-room robot paid close attention to the guest’s health condition. |
| A．Robots Gone Wild | B．Robots On the Rise |
| C．Robots Taking Over | D．Robots Under Debate |
7 . Science may never know what memories play on the mind of the California sea hare, a foot-long marine snail, when it eats algae — a sea plant — in the tide pools of the Pacific coast.
But in a new study, researchers claim to have made headway in understanding the simplest kind of memory a creature might form.
David Glanzman, a neurobiologist at the University of California, believes the kinds of memories that trigger a defensive reaction in the snail are encoded not in the connections between brain cells, as many scientists would argue, but in RNA molecules (分子) that form part of an organism’s genetic machinery.
In an experiment to test the idea, Glanzman implanted wire into the tails of California sea hares, and gave them a series of electrical shocks. The procedure sensitized the animals so that when they were prodded (戳) in a fleshy spout called a siphon, they contracted their gills (鳃状呼吸器官) in a strong defensive action.
After sensitizing the sea snails, Glanzman extracted RNA from the animals and injected it into other sea snails to see what happened. He found the recipient sea snails became sensitized, suggesting the “memory” of the electrical shocks had been transplanted. When Glanzman repeated the experiment with RNA from sea snails that had been hooked up to wires but not shocked, the reaction behavior did not transfer.
Despite the result, the work has not found widespread acceptance. “Obviously further work needs to be carried out to determine whether these changes can happen without failure in a wide range of conditions,” said Prof Sherilynn Vann, who studies memory at Cardiff University. “While the sea hare is a fantastic model for studying basic neuroscience, we must be very cautious in drawing comparisons to human memory processes.”
Tomas Ryan, who studies memory at Trinity College Dublin, is firmly unconvinced. “It’s interesting, but I don’t think they’ve transferred a memory,” he said. “This work tells me that maybe the most basic behavioral responses involve some kind of switch in the animal and there is something in the liquid that Glanzman extracts that is hitting that switch.”
But Ryan added that different thinking about memory was badly needed: “In a field like this which is so full of accepted beliefs, we need as many new ideas as possible. This work takes us down an interesting road, but I have a huge amount of skepticism about it.”
1. Why were the sea hares given electrical shocks?| A．To rob them of their memory. |
| B．To see how they defend themselves. |
| C．To break the connection between nerves. |
| D．To make them sensitive to external stimulations. |
| A．Memory can be encoded and changed by people. |
| B．Only with strong stimulation can sea snails form reaction. |
| C．The memory giving rise to sea snail’s sensitization is held in RNA. |
| D．The sea snail’s defense is probably enabled by connectivity of brain cells. |
| A．The recipient sea snail’s response may require further confirmation. |
| B．Variables (变量) in the experiments may not have remained the same. |
| C．Something else other than RNA in the extract may lead to the recipient’s reaction. |
| D．The sea snail “memory transplant” may not apply to more complex memory process. |
| A．criticism | B．doubt | C．relief | D．optimism |
8 . I’ve been in an 18-year love-hate relationship with a black walnut tree.
It’s a unique tree. In late September or early October, falling fruits as hard as baseballs threaten the skulls (头骨) of you, your children, your neighbors and those that reside next door to them. Umbrellas in the yard are a must while dining in early August, and as for me, I wear my bike helmet while working in the garden.
The black walnut also releases a chemical substance through its roots as a competitive strategy. It’s poisonous to several common plants. There have been many new plant varieties that I brought home with hopes that maybe the black walnut would accept them, but they failed to flourish.
What does work are native plants that naturally grow in the area. Native plants are important to have around since they provide beneficial pollinators (传粉者) like birds, bees and butterflies with seeds and contribute to a healthy and biodiverse environment. Native plants for this area are generally easy to grow, so they experience less stress.
Have I thought of getting rid of this giant pain in my tiny backyard? Yes, however, getting rid of this tree standing at 50 feet with an 87-inch trunk is next to impossible. It’s also protected under the law. Rightfully so. Trees are important to the urban forest and for all of those that inhabit it.
Sometimes I think about my life without the black walnut. I can’t imagine a spring without the birds who arrive every year and loudly sing their songs before dawn. I’d miss falling asleep on lazy weekend afternoons as I look up into its leaves.
Every spring, I wonder what the season holds: What are the chances of being knocked unconscious while barbecuing? Like any good relationship, I’ll never be pleased. I’m stuck with this tree, so I’ll listen to its needs and give it the space it requires. In return, my walnut offers a habitat for wildlife and a reminder.
1. Why does the author wear a bike helmet while working in the garden?| A．To protect the injured skull. | B．To prevent herself from sunburn. |
| C．To avoid being hit by the nuts. | D．To reduce the chance of getting bitten by bees. |
| A．It attracts beneficial pollinators. |
| B．It lets out poison to drive away pests. |
| C．It produces a chemical fatal to some plants. |
| D．It competes for nutrition with similar species. |
| A．The volume of its fruits may bring inconvenience. |
| B．The tree outcompetes the native plants in the garden. |
| C．The tree is home to numerous birds and other creatures. |
| D．The presence of the tree takes up much space of the garden. |
| A．it’s better to give than to take |
| B．trees and plants have their own ways to flourish |
| C．even a good relationship is not always trouble-free |
| D．acceptance, instead of resistance, is the better way to be |
9 . Last year Miranda Lim found that taking care of three young children homebound by the pandemic meant she often had to work late into the evening to stay on top of her job. Concerned that the
It’s
The finding that getting more and better sleep could offer the best, and
That leap would be driven not only by consumer’s
Nevertheless, some experts think the tech can help with slight pushes, but people still have to develop the healthy habits.
1.| A．uncertain | B．flexible | C．extended | D．fixed |
| A．interested in | B．amazed at | C．replaced with | D．prepared for |
| A．flying | B．bouncing | C．flashing | D．ringing |
| A．heading off | B．paying off | C．putting off | D．giving off |
| A．sensible | B．natural | C．understandable | D．surprising |
| A．cutting down | B．comparing with | C．thinking about | D．figuring out |
| A．transform | B．develop | C．explore | D．innovate |
| A．ultimately | B．seemingly | C．possibly | D．slightly |
| A．fuel | B．urge | C．peak | D．sue |
| A．layers | B．trends | C．aids | D．tribes |
| A．appeal | B．climb | C．resort | D．flow |
| A．demanding | B．intensifying | C．foreseeing | D．existing |
| A．therapies | B．options | C．experiments | D．schedules |
| A．monitoring | B．affecting | C．hanging | D．boosting |
| A．packing | B．removing | C．contrasting | D．mixing |
| A. inclusion B. significant C. exclude D. implement E. saving F. house G. confirmed H. interconnected I. desirability J. ambitious K. concentrating |
Plans revealed for high-tech “10-minute city” in Seoul
The idea of a “15-minute city”, in which residents can all reach work and leisure facilities within a quarter-hour walk — or cycle — of their homes, has gained
Now, a group of architects is planning an even more
Named “Project H1”, the development is set to transform an old industrial site into a(n)
Designed by Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and backed by a real estate firm, the neighborhood will also be completely car-free. A press release for the project claimed that “all the conveniences of the city” will be within a 10-minute walk of people’s homes.
In a statement, UNStudio co-founder Ben van Berkel said that residents’ “daily life experience” is the project’s “top priority”.
“We do this through the
A spokesperson for UNStudio
The architects also said that clean energy will be produced on site, while systems to capture and store rain are being designed to reduce water use.
Critics have suggested that the concept could cause urban renewal by further
