1 . Happiness, as I see it, comprises five elements: spiritual well-being (meaning and purpose), physical well-being (nutrition, exercise), intellectual well-being (curiosity, deep learning), relational well-being (kindness and generosity), and emotional well-being (cultivating positive emotions). As an interdependent aggregate of these five elements of SPIRE, happiness is about much more than experiencing pleasure.
As Aristotle put it, happiness is the ultimate purpose of life, meaning how we spend our everyday lives is ultimately guided by what we think would make us happier. This is not a good or a bad thing. It simply is, like the law of nature. Even people who are tirelessly working for an important cause, for example, to get rid of world hunger, are doing it because they find their work meaningful. Meaning is an element of happiness.
One barrier to happiness has to do with the expectation that happiness is an unbroken chain of positive emotions. This expectation, however, prevents people from experiencing happiness because painful emotions don’t go away but grow stronger when we reject them.
The second barrier has to do with equating happiness with success. It’s a commonly held belief that happiness can be attained by achieving certain goals, like money or fame. People tend to think if they finally find success, they will automatically become happy.
The third barrier has to do with the way people pursue happiness. We want to be happy for many reasons. After all, we are constantly told that happiness is good for our health, relationships, and work outcomes. Yet, if I wake up in the morning and decide to pursue happiness straight, I will become less happy.
But how? Indirectly. As is known, if you look up at the sun directly, you’ll hurt yourself. But if you take the same sun rays and break them down, you’ll enjoy the colors of a rainbow. Similarly, pursuing happiness directly can hurt us; pursuing it indirectly—by breaking it down into something like the SPIRE elements—can contribute to our well-being. Starting a meditation practice, exercising, performing acts of kindness, learning something new, or expressing gratitude for what we have are all indirect ways of pursuing happiness.
1. What does the underlined word “aggregate” probably mean in the first paragraph?| A．Combination. | B．Conclusion. | C．Accumulation. | D．Association. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Suspicious. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Being a success leads one to happiness. |
| B．Refusing negative feelings helps us obtain happiness. |
| C．Going after happiness directly makes one feel happy. |
| D．Pursuing one aspect of SPIRE can boost our well-being. |
| A．To make a contrast. | B．To make an analogy. |
| C．To conclude the argumentation. | D．To answer the previous question. |
2 . There are two kinds of people: those who like to pack up leftovers as soon as dinner is over, and those who let leftovers sit out for a few hours so they can cool down.
However, both leaving leftovers out for a long period of time and adding hot items to the fridge can cause problems.
Whether you should immediately put food in the fridge or let it sit out to cool depends on its temperature. Dangerous bacterial (细菌的) growth happens between 41 and 135 degrees F. Potentially harmful bacteria grows most rapidly at these temperatures.
Placing lots of hot food in the fridge can raise the temperature of the fridge into this danger zone. Fridge temperatures should always be set below 40 degrees F. This may help the food get out of the danger zone as fast as possible.
However, there’s no harm in putting hot food directly into the fridge if you need to. If you are a forgetful person, or if you won’t be around to store the food after it has cooled enough, go ahead and put it in the fridge. Your fridge can handle the heat and get the food cooled quickly.
Food should never stay out at room temperature for more than two hours. Leftovers can become breeding grounds (滋生地) for dangerous bacteria if they’re left out too long and can make people sick.
“It is OK to leave the food cooling outside before you hit the two-hour mark,” says Serena Poon, nutritionist of Le Cordon Bleu’s Grand Diploma training program. “In fact, the sooner you can get your leftovers in the fridge, the better.”
1. Which temperature most contributes to the growth of harmful bacteria?| A．Below 40 degrees F. | B．Between 39～40 degrees F. |
| C．Between 41～135 degrees F. | D．Above 135 degrees F. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Neutral. | C．Worried. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Dividing them into small parts. |
| B．Storing them in the fridge right away. |
| C．Waiting until they cool down completely outside. |
| D．Leaving them sitting at room temperature for two hours. |
| A．When to Pack up Leftovers. | B．How to Prevent Bacterial Growth |
| C．To Cool Food Outside or in the Fridge | D．A Good Idea to Store Food in the Fridge |
3 . Soccer, basketball, baseball, and the like are popular all around the world, However, do you look for something a bit different? There may be some new sports that you want to try out!
One of the new sports is regball. It is a Russian sport adding basketball, wrestling (摔跤) and rugby. As in basketball, the players have a ball that they try to shoot through a hoop (篮筐) . But nobody will be calling “that’s a travel” while watching this sport, because there is no need to dribble (运球) . Players also wrestle with each other during the game.
Another kind of sport you don’t see every day is soapbox racing. Handmade vehicles are pushed down a hill, and competitors have to drive their vehicles through a course with different kinds of things in their way. Not all competitors are engineers, so the vehicles are easy to break apart. Competitors are judged for their soapbox’s creativity. Therefore, speed is not everything, and creativity plays the most important role. Competitors often design their vehicles based on themes from pop culture or history. Of course, the competitors dress up to play the role, too.
Cheese rolling race is not seen very often, but it is exciting. This is a game that is extremely funny for audience, but painful for competitors. During the game, competitors race down a very steep (陡峭的) hill, chasing after a round of Double Gloucester cheese that can weigh up to nine pounds and can travel some 70 miles per hour. Whoever gets to the bottom first wins the cheese.
1. What can we know about regball?| A．It mixes three kinds of sports. |
| B．Its competitors race down a hill. |
| C．Wrestling is not allowed during the game. |
| D．Its rules are exactly the same as basketball. |
| A．A lesson. | B．A track. | C．An action. | D．A period of time. |
| A．Their speed. | B．Their clothes. |
| C．Their creativity. | D．Their driving experiences. |
| A．A new study about sports. |
| B．A presentation of sports skills. |
| C．An introduction to three new sports. |
| D．The difference between traditional and new sports. |
4 . As an actor, you’ve heard it before: Your body is your instrument. It’s a cliche for a reason—it’s true. Just as a guitar player or violinist needs to often fine-tune (微调) their instrument, you need to do the same. Here, let’s break down everything you should learn about body language exercises for actors, as well as why they’re necessary in the first place to enhance your acting skills.
Body language is the most emotive form of communication after verbal speech. You can learn so much about what’s going on inside based on what’s being externalized. Think about how some entertainment magazines often ask a “body language expert” to analyze a photo of a celebrity couple. However legit (合法的) that person’s expertise may be, there are many truths when it comes to body language.
By that same reasoning, think about how much an audience can learn about a character based on the actor’s body language. You can pass on subconscious (潜意识的) information about your role without saying a word. These exercises will put you in touch with your body and make you more aware of what you’re expressing to the outside world. They can help you get into the physicality of your character so that you can understand them inside and out.
Each performer is different and may have their preferable body language exercise. Take gait exercises as an example. How a character walks is especially telling; it’s literally how they move through the world. An individual’s way of walking can also change depending on how they’re feeling at the moment: excited, sad, scared, etc. Have a bash at different walking styles to show the person you’re playing. Besides, you can write the gestures. This one is actually a writing exercise, but it will still come in handy when we construct a performance. Write out a short scene between two characters who have an entire conversation using only their body language.
1. What does the author mean by citing “Your body is your instrument.”?| A．Keeping healthy needs proper exercise. |
| B．Learning some music is necessary for actors. |
| C．Perfecting physical expression is important for actors. |
| D．Improving performing skills needs professional guidance. |
| A．It is presented in various ways. | B．It gives us lots of information. |
| C．It hides deepest feelings. | D．It is likely to be ignored. |
| A．Getting into the character you’re playing. |
| B．Inspiring your greater passion for acting. |
| C．Having realization of your inner body. |
| D．Receiving more performing chances. |
| A．Make out. | B．Adapt to. | C．Try out. | D．Bring up. |
5 . Giving silkworm silk a metallic bath may make the strands (丝线) both strong and solid, scientists reported on October 6 in Matter. The work is the latest in a decades-long pursuit of creating fibers as strong, lightweight and biodegradable as spider silk. If scientists can mass-produce such material, the potential uses will range from the biomedical to the athletic. Sewing (缝) up wounds, even sporting equipment could get a significant improvement.
“Hunting for enough silky material to make these super strong products has been a big barrier. Silk from silkworms is simple to harvest, but not all that strong. And spider silk, the gold-standard for hand-spun strength and toughness, is not exactly easy to collect. Unlike silkworms, spiders cannot be farmed due to their nature,” wrote study coauthor Zhi Lin, a structural biologist at Tianjin University.
“Scientists around the world have tried to spin (编织) strong strands in the lab using silkworm cocoons. The first step is to take off the silk’s sticky outer coating. Scientists can do this by boiling the fibers in a chemical bath, but that can be like taking a knife to silk proteins. If the proteins get too damaged, it’s hard for scientists to respin them into high-quality strands,” said Chris Holland, a materials scientist at the University of Sheffield.
Lin’s team tried gentler approaches, one of which used lower temperatures and a papaya enzyme (木瓜酵素), to help dissolve (溶解) the silk’s coating. That seemed to work. They don’t have little pieces of silk protein. That’s huge because the bigger the proteins that remain, the stronger the fibers are going to be. After some processing steps, the researchers bathed the pressed silk in a solution containing zinc and iron ions (锌铁离子).That was why some of the strands were so strong — Lin’s team detected zinc ions in the finished fibers.
But Holland wasn’t so sure. “The team’s real innovation may be that they’ve managed to untwist silk in a less damaging way. The silk protein remains in a good state,” he said, “In my mind, that’s a major step forward.”
1. Why is creating super strong silk worth the long-time pursuit?| A．It can be mass-produced. | B．It promotes athletic training. |
| C．It might have wide applications. | D．It is potentially environmentally friendly. |
| A．The poor harvest of silkworm silk. | B．The low quality of spider silk. |
| C．The absence of silkworm data. | D．The insufficient supply of spider silk. |
| A．By enhancing its protein. | B．By bathing it in metallic liquid. |
| C．By removing its coating. | D．By squeezing it firmly in a tube. |
| A．Processing silk in a safer method. | B．Mass-producing silk. |
| C．Creating silk of superior quality. | D．Analyzing silk scientifically. |
6 . Does using an eco-friendly paper straw (吸管) give you a good feeling because you’re doing something for the environment? “Straws made from plant-based materials, such as paper and bamboo, are often advertised as being more sustainable and eco-friendly than those made from plastic,” says researcher Dr. Thimo Groffen, an environmental scientist at the University of Antwerp. “However, the presence of PFAS in these straws means that could be discredited.”
PFAS chemicals, infamous for their longevity and potential harm, can adversely affect humans, wildlife and the environment. They biodegrade (生物降解) very slowly over time and can persist over thousands of years in the environment, a property that has led to them being known as “forever chemicals”. They are linked to various health issues, including thyroid disease, liver damage, kidney cancer and so on. Furthermore, these chemicals are used in everyday items, such as outdoor clothing and non-stick pans, to make them water and heat-resistant.
For a more in-depth analysis, the research team purchased 39 different brands of drinking straws made from five materials — paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel and plastic, and then conducted two rounds of testing for PFAS. They found that most brands (69%) contained PFAS, with 18 different PFAS detected in total. In paper straws, PFAS was detected in 90% of the brands tested. PFAS was also detected in 80% of brands of bamboo straws, 75% of plastic straw brands and 40% of glass straw brands. They were not detected in any of the five types of steel straws tested.
“The presence of PFAS in paper and bamboo straws shows they are not necessarily biodegradable,” says Dr. Groffen. “We did not detect any PFAS in stainless steel straws, so I would advise consumers to use this type of straw — or just avoid using straws.”
The PFAS concentrations (浓度) were low and, considering that most people only use straws occasionally, pose a limited risk to human health. However, PFAS can remain in the body for many years and concentrations can build up over time. “Small amounts of PFAS, while not harmful in themselves, can add to the chemical load already present in the body,” Dr. Groffen concludes.
1. What does the underlined word “discredited” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Plain. | B．Relevant. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Forceful. |
| A．They are resistant to water and heat. |
| B．They take a long time to break down. |
| C．They exist widely in daily necessities. |
| D．They may cause various common diseases. |
| A．PFAS was found in all five types of straws. |
| B．Paper straws were most likely to contain PFAS. |
| C．Stainless steel straws are harmless to human health. |
| D．Glass straws were the most environmentally friendly straws. |
| A．To stress the potential risks of PFAS. |
| B．To show approaches to using straws safely. |
| C．To present the advantages of stainless steel straws. |
| D．To appeal to consumers to avoid using straws in daily life. |
7 . In a world ruled by hard exercise and complex fitness programs, the simple act of walking is often ignored(忽略).
Heart Health and Weight Management
Walking is light heart exercise that helps improve heart health by increasing blood circulation(循环).
Pressure Drop and Clear Mind
Taking a relaxing walk or quick walk has been shown to give off endorphins, the body’s natural ”feel-good” materials. This leads to lower pressure levels, improved feelings, and improved mental health. Walking outdoors in nature or in a peaceful environment can provide a refreshing escape from the daily tasks.
Joint(关节)Health and Free Movement
Unlike active sports, walking is soft on the joints, making it a perfect choice for people of all ages and fitness levels.
Social Communication and Connection
| A．It helps oil joints and make them stronger. |
| B．It’s a cheap way to lead a healthier lifestyle. |
| C．So taking a walk can make your mind relaxed and fresh. |
| D．A quick walk after meals has been shown to benefit the stomach. |
| E．It cuts down the risk of heart disease and brings down blood pressure. |
| F．Walking is useful exercise that can easily be turned into a social activity. |
| G．However, walking remains one of the easiest and most useful forms of exercise. |
8 . Electronic timing is older than most people imagine and was used for the first time more than a hundred years ago at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Initially, the well-known company Ericsson was tasked with developing the technology, but it was the Swedish inventor Ragnar Carlstedt who eventually created the final product.
At the same time, Carlstedt introduced another invention: the finish line camera. The 1, 500-meter Olympic final was extremely close with Arnold Jackson from Great Britain winning by only 0.1 seconds. But it was impossible to decide on the silver medal since the two Americans Abel Kiviat and Norman Taber finished side by side. For the first time in history, the outcome of an Olympic event had to be settled based on a photo finish when Kiviat was judged to be “slightly ahead”.
The significance of these two inventions led a major newspaper to write: “Electronic timing at the Olympic Games. Simultaneous (同时发生的) timing and photography of contestants. A brilliant idea!”
The next step in timekeeping was the photo-finish camera with a time stamp imprinted on each picture, which was introduced at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. The 1948 Olympics saw the introduction of another invention with the continuous slit camera (狭缝摄影机), where a film behind a narrow slit rolls (滚动) with the same speed as the runners. Four years later the clocks were connected to the slit camera giving a solution of 1/100 s. But it was not until 1972 that official times were recorded to the 100th of a second.
The next big step in the eighties was to make the camera digital to speed up the feedback (反馈). But the idea behind the slit camera was kept and is still the basis of all timing systems for athletics used today. The only difference is that now there is a very narrow sensor array ( 阵列传感器) instead of the moving film.
After a century technology has reached the point where the whole timing system can be stored in a smartphone. So in a way, the circle was closed when SprintTimer, a sports timer and photo finish app, was developed in the same place and precisely a hundred years after Ragnar Carlstedt.
1. What do we know about electronic timing?| A．It was created in recent years. |
| B．It was first introduced at the Olympics. |
| C．It was developed by the well-known company Ericsson. |
| D．It was perfected by the Swedish inventor Ragnar Carlstedt. |
| A．The increasing need for a finish line camera. |
| B．The excellent performance of Arnold Jackson. |
| C．The significant role of Carlstedt's another invention. |
| D．The intense competition of the 1,500-meter Olympic final. |
| A．It avoided the use of a moving film. |
| B．It rolled with the same speed as the runners. |
| C．It made a 100th-of-a-second record possible. |
| D．It adopted a new idea for all timing systems used today. |
| A．Further improvement was discontinued. |
| B．The problem was back to the origin. |
| C．A new invention was created. |
| D．The issue was resolved. |
9 . Personalized medicine changes conventional medicine which typically offers blanket recommendations and offers treatments designed to help more people than they bam but that might not work for you. The approach recognizes that we each possess unique characteristics, and they have an out size impact on our health.
Around the world, researchers are creating precision tools unimaginable just a decade ago: superfast DNA sequencing(排序); tissue engineering, cell reprogramming, gene editing, and more. The science and technology soon will make it possible to predict your risk of cancer, heart disease, and countless other illnesses years before you get sick. The work also offers prospects for changing genes in removing some diseases.
Last spring, researchers at the National Cancer Institute reported the dramatic recovery of a woman with breast cancer, Judy Perkins. The team, led by Steven Rosenberg, an immune(免疫的) treatment pioneer, had sequenced her cancer cells’ DNA to analyze the sudden change. The team also removed a sampling of immune cells and tested them to see which ones recognized her cancer cells' genetic faults. The scientists reproduced the winning immune cells by the billions and put them into Perkins to attack her cancer cells. More than two y cars later. Perkins, a retired engineer from Florida, shows no signs of cancer.
Thirty years ago, scientists thought that it would be impossible to understand our genetic rules and sequence the 3.2 billion pairs of different elements in our DNA. “It was like you were talking fairytales,” Kurzrock said. “The conventional wisdom was that it would never happen. Never And then in 2003, never was over.”
It took the Human Gene Project 13 years, roughly one billion dollars, and scientists from six countries to sequence one gene complex. Today sequencing costs about a thousand dollars. The latest machines can produce the results in a day. The technology, combined with advanced cell analysis, clarifies the astonishing biochemical variations that make every human body unique.
1. What can we know about personalized medicine?| A．It has emerged a decade before. |
| B．It offers blanket recommendations. |
| C．It uses genetic information to help patients. |
| D．It administers treatment intended for most people. |
| A．Promising. | B．Highly risky. | C．Fruitless. | D．Strictly confidential. |
| A．Sequencing her immune cells. |
| B．Reprogramming her cancer cells |
| C．Analysis of her life style changes. |
| D．Identification of cancer-fighting cells. |
| A．Its wide applications. | B．Its recent advances. |
| C．Its major disadvantages. | D．Its attractive prospects. |
10 . If you’ve always wanted to grow your own fruits and vegetables but could never quite make the time for it-technology is here to help you.
At first glance, technology and farming don’t go hand in hand, but that’s old school thinking. In this day and age, technology and farming are a perfect match. With cheap sensors (传感器), simple phone apps, and available equipment, you can build your very own farming robot.
Give it power, water, and Wi-Fi, and it will take care of the rest. FarmBot can plant water, weed, and monitor the soil and plants with an array of sensors. All you need to do(is harvest the produce once it’s done.
FarmBot is an open-source robot developed by a company. It runs on tracks, and uses game-like open-source software. Everything is customizable (可定制的) and adaptable. You design your land and drop plants onto a virtual map of your land, The seeds are spaced automatically, and you can apply different growing plans. It can be controlled by a phone, tablet, or computer.
FarmBot is an example of precision farming-a series of tools and techniques that enable farmers to optimize (充分利用) their resources and increase harvest, while also (being more sustainable. For instance, a soil humidity sensor lets you know when it’s time to water the plants, or a nutrient detector lets you know which areas (if any) need anymore nutrients.
Back in the day, precision farming would require heavy and expensive equipment. But recently, the miniaturization (小型化) of sensors, together with the use of smartphones; Internet, and apps, has made it much more accessible, FarmBot is taking that idea and applying it-no green thumb (特殊园艺才能) required.
1. What is playing an important part in transforming the traditional farming?| A．Farmer. | B．Robot. | C．Technology. |
| A．It can do all kinds of farm work |
| B．It can work according to your plan |
| C．It can adapt well to a new environment |
| A．It’s an easy process. |
| B．It’s highly competitive |
| C．It’s productive and environmentally friendly. |
| A．Robots can grow crops for people. |
| B．There is no need to grow your own fruits. |
| C．Technology is making life hard for farmers |
