The most ancient myths involve the 10 legendary kings or gods who guided people through
6 . What Life Is Like as a Mature Student
It is never too late to learn something new. I had been retired four years, when a friend suggested
I did a foundation course first, which was part time at the University Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC). I did quite
Initially it was a bit
I have no
| A．examination | B．holiday | C．university | D．work |
| A．cheating | B．joking | C．dreaming | D．lying |
| A．enjoy | B．hate | C．avoid | D．continue |
| A．happily | B．quickly | C．differently | D．well |
| A．effort | B．success | C．decision | D．destination |
| A．mistake | B．truth | C．discovery | D．result |
| A．interesting | B．easy | C．strange | D．exciting |
| A．get on | B．get down | C．get in | D．get over |
| A．new | B．young | C．gifted | D．mature |
| A．volunteering | B．reading | C．interviewing | D．studying |
| A．permit | B．remind | C．encourage | D．beg |
| A．change | B．lose | C．say | D．prove |
| A．taught | B．moved | C．convinced | D．comforted |
| A．worries | B．directions | C．complaints | D．regrets |
| A．obtain | B．pursue | C．evaluate | D．go |
7 . As we all know, exercise provides a wealth of benefits. It makes you stronger, more flexible, more energetic, and increases your endurance.
Recent studies have found the best thing you can do for your brain.
Taking up a new hobby such as cooking, playing a musical instrument, or games like chess provides your brain with a serious workout. Crossword, word jumbles, and other brain teasers can also help.
Human beings are living longer, so it just makes sense to prepare your mind for a lengthy old age.
| A．You should exercise regularly! |
| B．You should keep learning new things! |
| C．You can also eat your way to a healthy brain. |
| D．Regular exercise can strengthen your brain, too. |
| E．Taking a few key steps can make all the difference. |
| F．Foods that are high in B vitamins can also help keep the mind sharp. |
| G．Purple fruits and veggies are not only healthy but also easy to find. |
8 . Researchers say two-way communication is possible with people who are asleep and dreaming, specifically, with people who are lucid dreaming — that is, dreaming while being aware you’re dreaming.
Lucid dreaming is not common. So to study it, researchers looked for people who had experience with it and also trained people to try to make lucid dreaming more likely. Before the people taking part in the program went to sleep, they were also trained on how to communicate their answers. Special sensors (传感器) measured people’s eye movements or experts would judge their facial movements. For example, a typical question would be to ask what is 8 minus 6. A 19-year-old American man was able to respond by moving his eyes left-right, left-right — two times — to signal “2.” Researchers asked the question again, and he moved his eyes the same way two times again.
Out of the 158 trials among 36 participants, about 18% of the time, they were able to give correct answers. In another 18%, it wasn’t clear whether participants were responding or not. They were wrong 3% of the time. Most often, 61%, participants didn’t respond at all.
The researchers write that their findings offer “new opportunities for gaining real-time information about dreaming, and for changing the process of a dream”. And if more reliable communication methods can be worked out, it could help people with creative activities and ideas.
“People often use lucid dreaming or dreaming for a kind of artistic, creative inspiration,” says Karen Konkoly, a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University. “But in that dream state, your resources so far are only the ones that you have in the dream.” So with the help of a person awake, Konkoly says it could be possible to “combine those logical advantages of wake with the creative advantages of dreams and maybe have some more applications.”
1. What do we know about lucid dreaming?| A．Most people have experienced lucid dreaming. |
| B．Lucid dreamers do not realize they were dreaming. |
| C．The communication in lucid dreaming can go both ways. |
| D．Lucid dreamers are better at math problem than others. |
| A．3 | B．18 | C．21 | D．28 |
| A．They can work out communication methods. | B．They can use dreams to inspire latest designs. |
| C．They can help better understand dreaming. | D．They can change the course of people’s dreams. |
| A．logical | B．artistic | C．creative | D．inspiring |
9 . A recent experiment tested if coffee pulp (果肉) waste could help bring Costa Rica’s rain forests back to life. Researchers from the University of Hawaii tested two areas to see how the coffee pulp would affect deforested (被砍伐的) land, covering one area with about 20 inches of the pulp and leaving the other unchanged. At each site, land had been over developed for years and was given up at last. It was ruled over by harmful grasses. The grass can reach 16 feet tall and prevent native rain forests from easily regrowing.
After two years, the area with the coffee pulp cover showed a big improvement. Eighty percent of the area was covered by young trees, some trees already 15 feet, while just 20 percent in the unchanged area. In the coffee pulp-covered area, trees were also four times taller on average, soil samples were more nutrient-rich, and harmful grasses had been removed.
“It’s an amazing win-win situation,” says Rebecca Cole, a study author and ecologist from the University of Hawaii. “It takes forest hundreds of years to grow back. To have such tall trees in only two years is really amazing.”
Although Cole and Zahawi’s experiment with coffee pulp successfully improved forest growth, there are downsides.
“Coffee pulp is really smelly,” says Cole, who was raised on a coffee farm. “I am fine with the smell because I grew up with it. But a lot of people hate it.” It also attracts a lot of flies and other insects.
“There’s also some concern that it will have negative effects on watersheds areas. There can be some pollution,” says Cole. Coffee pulp contains nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that can negatively affect rivers and lakes, causing extra algae growth, for example. The pulp may also contain traces of pesticides used during production.
1. What’s the purpose of the experiment?| A．To add more nutrients to rain forests. | B．To compare the two deforested areas. |
| C．To test the effect of coffee pulp waste. | D．To plant young trees on deforested land. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By giving descriptions. | C．By following time order. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Shortcomings. | B．Failures. | C．Conditions. | D．Improvements. |
| A．Coffee pulp waste is of great use. | B．Rain forests come back to life. |
| C．Coffee pulp waste pollutes rain forests. | D．Results of a coffee pulp waste test on rain forests. |
10 . The Oscar-nominated movie Soul (《心灵奇旅》) deals with passion, purpose and the meaning of life — topics that aren’t usually seen in animated films.
The movie centers on Joe, a middle school band teacher who feels unsatisfied because his dream is to be a full-time jazz musician. On the day he finished the biggest concert of his career, Joe nearly dies — but then gets the chance to return to his body if he can find out the purpose of his life.
Pete Docter, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with Kemp Powers, says the film was inspired by the emotional disorder he experienced after writing and directing Inside Out (《头脑特工队》). “Having so much success in Inside Out, I found myself wondering: Why didn’t it bring me a sense of satisfaction? Why couldn’t the success fix everything in my life?” Director Pete Docter says.
Soul has created success of its own. The film won the Golden Globe Award for best animated film, and is named for three Academy Awards. But Kemp Powers, who’s also up for an Oscar for his film for One Night in Miami, says Soul is actually meant to challenge traditional ideas of success and failure. “We were trying to help not just Joe, but the whole audience, understand that it’s not about winners or losers and that everyone’s life has value,” Powers says. “That was really a powerful driving force from the very beginning.”
Docter says the film’s message is that life has meaning that goes beyond personal ambition. “The movie’s aim is really to say that we’re already enough,” he says. “We all can walk out of the door and enjoy life without needing to achieve or prove anything. And that’s really freeing.”
1. In what way is Soul different from many other animated films?| A．It is based on imagination rather than reality. | B．It is the only Oscar-nominated animated film. |
| C．It is about a man who dreams to be a musician. | D．Its topics are not usually found in animated films. |
| A．Because he wanted to create another award-winning film. |
| B．Because he noticed success couldn’t solve all problems. |
| C．Because his friend experienced an emotional disorder. |
| D．Because he was inspired by his former film Inside Out. |
| A．Life in itself is meaningful. | B．Not everyone’s life is valuable. |
| C．Success can bring us happiness. | D．Personal ambition is above all else. |
| A．A magazine. | B．A writing guide. | C．A tour brochure. | D．A science textbook. |
