1 . New research from the University of Portsmouth has shown a marked increase in shipping in the North East Atlantic. Scientists now warn that more monitoring is required to help protect sea life.
Researchers at the University of Ponsmouth have discovered that rates (率) of shipping in the North East Atlantic area rose by 34 per cent in a five-year period. The research is the first detailed survey of shipping activity in the North East Atlantic. Researchers used data from over 530 million vessel (船) positions recorded by Automatic Identification System(AIS). They looked at the change in shipping between 2013 and 2017 across ten different vessel types. In total the study area covered 1.1 million km², including waters off Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal. Spain, and the UK.
Lead author, James Robbins said: “This change is likely to put more pressure on the marine (海洋的) environment, and may influence the protection of at-risk species. Renewed monitoring effort is needed to make sure that protective measures are enough to save species under threat in a changing environment.”
Some of the greatest shipping increases were found in areas close to the Spanish coast. The Espacio Marino de la Costa da Morte saw a rise of 413 percent in vessel activity. It is an area used to protect seabirds.
Dr. Sarah Marley, Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Shipping is the most widespread human activity in our oceans, carrying a set of threats-from unnoticeable effects like underwater noise pollution to serious results when ships hit whales.”
Professor Alex Ford. from the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences, said: “Given the well-documented effects that shipping can have on the marine environment, it is necessary that this situation continues to be monitored-particularly in areas used to protect vulnerable (脆弱的) species which may already be under pressure.”
1. What can we say about the new research?| A．It started in 2013. | B．It is the first of its kind. |
| C．It was carried out by AIS. | D．It covers the whole Atlantic. |
| A．Rapid population growth. |
| B．Rising global temperatures. |
| C．The huge increase in shipping. |
| D．The disappearance of marine life. |
| A．Shipping plays an important role in the local economy. |
| B．Shipping can be a danger to the marine environment. |
| C．Noise pollution is closely related to human activity. |
| D．Marine areas should be monitored more carefully. |
| A．New waterways across the Atlantic |
| B．The shipping industry in the North East Atlantic |
| C．New research opens windows into life under the water |
| D．Sea life needs better protection from an increase in shipping |
I’ve always known that I’m very quick with my hands. If someone throws something, I catch it almost before I’m aware it has been thrown. When I was young, I had no idea how useful this skill would become.
Last week, I was going to visit a friend with her newborn and was on my way to a toy store to buy a gift. I’d once lived in the neighbourhood and I decided to head back to my old cupcake shop for a coffee. Sitting alone at a table outside with my drink, I was approached by an older man, who in a calm and very matter-of-fact way told me to call 911, because there was a baby on a fire escape.
I jumped up to see where the baby was. I was so surprised to see it, wearing a little onesie (连体衣) and lying on the fire escape railings (栏杆) between the second and third storeys. I was nervous, so the baby boy became my only priority.
As I was on the phone to the emergency services, I made eye contact with the child, keeping him calm, telling him to stay there. Some people were going up the stairs to find the parents, who were apparently sleeping through the whole drama.
I just wanted the child to feel safe. I hoped he’d stay there until somebody could rescue him. Apparently he had slipped through pieces of cardboard placed next to an air-conditioning unit in the window, and without bars to protect him he’d crawled (爬) out and up the fire escape towards the next storey. He was only 16 months old. For him to even climb up and balance in that position was incredible.
Then he slipped. Instinctively (本能), he grabbed on the railing as he fell, hanging by his arms. I knew he couldn’t hold on, 25 feet above the street, for long. I sensed people had gathered behind, but my attention was purely focused on my intention to catch the baby.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I made sure I was positioned to catch him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The moments after he was saved were exciting.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The buzzwords “brittle college students” has exploded on social media, with a great deal of comments
The “2020 China University Students Health Survey Report” published by China Youth Daily pointed out that
In addition
At the beginning of the school year, the introduction of pre-made meals into campuses has attracted public attention. Some parents express concerns about the quality and
Pre-cooked food, also known
“When it involves the long-term health of children, schools must prioritize transparency (透明度) and openness, allowing everyone to make
Food on campus must meet security and nutritional standards with strict entry procedures. Moreover, parents should have full information and choice rights, with parent committees overseeing meal selection
5 . With the WHO no longer considering COVID-19 a global health emergency, it seems that the virus and its large number of deaths will soon fade from memory, along with N95 masks and PCR tests.
Our ability to forget a pandemic is partly a coping mechanism, reflecting the emotional immune system that enables us to move on with our daily lives. Every day, we receive massive information that our brains struggle to keep. Moreover, the process by which our brains assess risk is deeply personal and influenced by our own needs.
We are reminded why so many people were eager to forget the 1918 influenza pandemic and embrace the joys of the Roaring Twenties. But collective forgetting threatens to leave us unprepared for future airborne disease outbreaks, forcing us to re-learn fundamental lessons about the importance of masking and shifting activities outdoors to prevent transmission.
People often have a more positive view of the future than the past as a way of building psychological resilience (韧性). This is because, unlike the unchangeable past, the future offers endless possibilities. But our tendency to look forward also arrests progress on issues like pandemic preparedness, as it leads us to believe we are better equipped than we are.
Today, there’s still no comprehensive effort to carry out the detailed recommendations on how to improve pandemic preparedness. Today, we still lack clear explanations for why our public-health agencies are understaffed and undefended, why supply chains failed, why COVID-19 misinformation was allowed to overflow on media platforms, and why our public-health responses remain passive.
It has taken Ireland more than 150 years to build memorials and museums marking the impact of the disaster — the Great Famine of the 1840s. We cannot afford to let the same happen with COVID-19. Our ability to remember the past could affect billions of lives in the future.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The pandemic coping system. | B．The struggle of data memory. |
| C．The reasons for forgetting a pandemic. | D．The personal pandemic assessment. |
| A．To outline the astonishing parallel found in history. |
| B．To reveal the harmful effect of collective forgetting. |
| C．To uncover people’s collective loss of memory. |
| D．To reflect people’s interest in future possibilities. |
| A．good preparations for the next pandemic have been made |
| B．people’s ability to cope with a pandemic is underestimated |
| C．the suggestions on pandemic prevention are well adopted |
| D．a list of questions concerning the pandemic remain to be answered |
| A．Remember the pandemic. | B．Embrace the pandemic-free life. |
| C．Invest in the pandemic research. | D．Build memorials to the pandemic. |
6 . In Saskatchewan, Canada, vegetables have a short growing season. So a very unique farm in Hudson Bay is growing fresh, pesticide-free(无农药的)vegetables in a hydroponic(水培的)farm all year long. There the plants are grown in water instead of soil.
Growing vegetables in the middle of nowhere, about 300 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, may seem like a big risk, but there is no other place for people to get locally grown food. Produce is available in local supermarkets but it is trucked in from far away.
The idea to turn the no longer used Stewart Hawke school into a farm came to the Nels when Hudson Bay asked for bids (投标)for the building in 2018. It was empty and if an alternative use wasn’t found, it would be pulled down. “We started looking for ideas, and we went and proposed doing this, ”Jan Nel said. “And they loved it. ”
After the proposal was accepted, the family worked together to prepare the building in January 2019 and they planted the first seeds in just one classroom the next month.
The company has grown and is now using several rooms thanks to the quality of the produce and the fact that it is local, according to June Nel. “It’s not two weeks old;it hasn’t travelled across the country or across the world, ”she said. “It actually tastes like lettuce. Lots of people have commented on our herbs. It actually still tastes fresh when you get it, and there’s no pesticide used. ”
She expects more producers to turn to hydroponics in the future but notes that the technology is limited to only some fruits and vegetables and doesn’t work for potatoes or grains. “It’s not the answer to the food security question or challenge, but it will play an increasingly larger role, ”she adds.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Vegetables are plentiful in Saskatchewan. |
| B．People in Saskatchewan can’t get fresh vegetables. |
| C．Hydroponic farms are very popular in Saskatchewan. |
| D．The climate in Saskatchewan is not good for farming. |
| A．A supermarket. | B．A school. |
| C．A garden. | D．A factory. |
| A．They are cheap. | B．They are fresh. |
| C．They are nutritive. | D．They are delicious. |
| A．A New Way Helps Deal with Food Security |
| B．A Family Devote to Improving People’s Life |
| C．A Used School Turns into a Hydroponic Farm |
| D．An Innovative Practice Boosts the Future of Farming |
7 . “Shuan Q” is a meme(网络流行语)which can be used as a popular way to say “I’m speechless” with a matching emoji(表情包)at ached behind. No-one can deny the power of the Internet. Some believe it makes language weaker but some see a brighter side, believing it makes online communication easier between strangers.
An elementary school teacher in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, says that the evolution of Internet slang is not all fun and carefree. From his daily observations, he believes the “geographic boundary” between Internet slang and formal language is disappearing. On many occasions, the composition she has received from pupil have been flooded with abbreviated slangs(网络梗).
During last year’s Two Sessions, several representatives put forward proposals such as “regulating online language” and “banning vulgar(粗俗)words”, specifically to address this issue, expressing the need to reduce online language misuse and strengthen the protection of Chinese.
However, many experts and scholars of linguistics and communication including Feng Zhiwei disagree. Feng, believes that Internet language is a natural product of the dynamic development of language, and it is not necessary to ban it.
1. What made the meme “Shuan Q” become popular?| A．The power of internet | B．The protection of Chinese |
| C．Geographic boundary | D．Strangers’s communication |
| A．They are formal. | B．They are funny and carefree. |
| C．They are flooded among pupils. | D．They were supported by all people. |
| A．They are natural. | B．They are misused. |
| C．They should be banned. | D．They are disappearing. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Objective | C．Indifferent | D．Favorable |
8 . Some experts have been concerned lately about robots leaving humans behind, taking our jobs and possibly a lot more, as in sci-fi films. Christ of Koch, a famous neuroscientist (神经学家), has suggested a novel method. To keep up with the machines, we should increase our brainpower with brain implants (植入物).
Koch notes that brain implants are already helping the paralyzed or people unable to move control computers and robots, and they are being explored for the treatment of mental disorders. Future implants could help us download huge amounts of information instantly, he says, so we can learn “novel skills and facts without even trying”. “Another exciting aspect,” Koch says, “is combining two or more brains into a single conscious mind by direct neuron-to-neuron links.” Koch calls for a “crash program” in brain technologies to make us smarter.
But Koch ignores the obvious facts that bad persons can hack (侵入) into our smartphones and laptops. What if hackers could attack our brains? They may be able to spy on, change or control the memories of people implanted with brain devices. What’s more, we are nowhere close to being able to strengthen the brain in the manner that Koch imagines. Scientists have been experimenting with neuro-technologies for mental illness for more than half a century, and they have little to show for it.
Koch genuinely feared that science, far from addressing our problems, might exacerbate them. The use of robots in the workshop, for example, could cause mass unemployment. Do we just count the immediate job losses—without measuring any other potential positive effect on the economy? Despite losing some jobs to robots in the short term, the increase in productivity will help our overall economy grow faster, which, in turn, will create more, higher quality jobs than we had before.
The future is not as scary as we think. Perhaps we’ve got serious problems on our hands, and we have a lot of work to do to settle them. Brain implants are not the answer.
1. What leads to Koch’s optimism about future brain implants?| A．The great advance in AI research. |
| B．Their application in medical fields. |
| C．The breakthrough in surgical techniques. |
| D．Their easy adaptation to the human body. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Favorable. | D．Excited. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Worsen. | C．Reduce. | D．Answer. |
| A．Are Brain Implants at Risk of Hacker Attack? |
| B．Will Robots Take the Place of Humans in Future? |
| C．Will Brain Implants Let the Disabled Live Normally? |
| D．Do We Need Brain Implants to Keep Up with Robots? |
9 . First aid is a crucial aspect of healthcare that can significantly save someone’s life or prevent further injury or illness. Knowing when to use first aid is essential so that proper measures are taken promptly.
Injuries and Accidents
One of the most common instances where first aid is required is in injuries and accidents.
Cardiac Arrest (心脏停跳)
Another critical situation where first aid can make a difference is during a cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops functioning; immediate intervention is necessary.
Choking and Suffocation (窒息)
Choking and suffocation are emergencies that can occur at any time, and immediate intervention is necessary to prevent further complications. If someone is choking, it is essential to act quickly.
When to use first aid can significantly save someone’s life or prevent further injury or illness.
| A．In any emergency, it is essential to remain calm. |
| B．This can include cuts, burns, falls, sprains, and other unpleasant injuries. |
| C．If someone has taken a poisonous substance, calling emergency services. |
| D．Perform the Heimlich manoeuvre to force out the object causing the obstruction. |
| E．Bleeding and overdose are medical emergencies that require immediate attention. |
| F．This blog post will discuss when to use first aid and the importance of early intervention. |
| G．Blood circulation (血液循环) and oxygen supply to vital organs should be restored immediately. |
1. 简述刷短视频的利与弊；
2. 你的观点。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：刷短视频 watch short videos
Good morning, everyone.
I’d like to
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That’s all. Thank you.
