1 . The road to a Nobel Prize, the most respected scientific award in the world, is growing ever longer, with almost half of winners now waiting more than 20 years from making a Nobel-worthy discovery to receiving the prize.
One analysis shows that the average time between publishing the work and receiving one of the science prizes has nearly doubled in the past 60 years. Across the three science prizes, chemistry now has the longest “Nobel lag”—an average of 30 years over the past decade—and physiology or medicine has the shortest, at 26 years.
Alfred Nobel’s will stated that the prizes should be awarded “to those who, during the previous year, shall have given the greatest benefit to mankind.” In reality this has only happened a few times. But in the first half of the twentieth century, it was common for Nobel prize winners to be in their 30s -and that is unheard of now, says Santo Fortunato, now a computational social scientist at Indiana University.
There are a number of possible reasons for this, says Yian Yin, a computational social scientist at Cornell University. It could be that the overall number of breakthroughs is increasing each year, so awards cannot keep up with the number of people who deserve to be recognized, he says. It is also the case that the importance of some works, which Yin describes as “sleeping beauties” are only realized years or decades later. Besides, the lengthening gap could be a sign that there has been a decrease in “disruptive” science - important studies or discoveries that change the paradigm (范式) of their field. This could be causing the Nobel committees to focus more on the past.
Fortunato points out that, if the gap continues to grow, outstanding scientists could miss out on the award owing to the Nobel Committee’s rule banning posthumous prizes (追授奖项). “It has to stop at some point,” he says, adding that a rethink of the posthumous-awarding ban would allow more people’s work to get the recognition that it deserves.
1. Why does the writer mention the numbers in the first two paragraphs?| A．To explain a rule. | B．To present a fact. |
| C．To clarify a concept. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．None of them are in their 30s nowadays. | B．Their names are unheard of by the public. |
| C．None of them receive the prizes several times. | D．They must make contributions the year before. |
| A．The change in standards. | B．The requirement of the award. |
| C．The increase in breakthroughs. | D．The tradition of the committees. |
| A．Reconsidering the current rule. | B．Establishing a better committee. |
| C．Stopping the award presentation. | D．Recognizing more people’s work. |
2 . The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat, selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to obtain a second treat and various forms of success.
As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers.
We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed a response mechanism to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat.
A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively.
1. What did the children need to do to get a second treat in Mischel’s test?| A．Take an examination alone. | B．Share their treats with others. |
| C．Delay eating for fifteen minutes. | D．Show respect for the researchers. |
| A．the calorie-poor world and our good appetites | B．the shortage of sugar and our nutritional needs |
| C．the tempting foods and our efforts to keep fit | D．the rich food supply and our unchanged brains |
| A．Be selective information consumers. | B．Absorb new information readily. |
| C．Use diverse information sources. | D．Protect the information environment. |
| A．Eat Less, Read More | B．The Later, the Better |
| C．The Marshmallow Test for Grownups | D．The Bitter Truth about Early Humans |
3 . Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the tricky and misunderstood overlap (重叠) between strength-based science and the research on narcissism (自恋).
There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. In my own research on strength-based parenting, it is common for people to wrongly label this approach as a recipe for narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows their strengths will automatically view themselves as better than everyone else. It is argued that the self-assurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child arrogant, selfish and uncaring. Genuine confidence about one’s strengths is categorized as over-confidence; desirable self-knowledge is branded as excessive self-admiration.
Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals or has been applied only within certain contexts such as the workplace, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and into our collective consciousness. The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored “go-to” topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.
The fear that a strength-based approach will cause narcissism also occurs because we unknowingly fall prey to binary (非此即彼) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. We focus on Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian rather than Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. There’s no way that Gandhi and Mother Teresa could have achieved what they did without confidence in their strengths, and yet they are both pillars of modesty and selflessness.
When we assume that strength-focus is the same as a self-focus, we fail to entertain the idea that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be pro-social and focus on helping others.
It’s tempting to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with who are caring, thoughtful and humble—even when they use their strengths.
1. Which does the underlined word “coherent” possibly mean?| A．Reasonable. | B．Primary. | C．Complicated. | D．Beneficial. |
| A．Teenagers with strengths are always arrogant, selfish and uncaring. |
| B．The public are more exposed to research on narcissism. |
| C．There is a lack of strengths in our collective consciousness. |
| D．Numbers of people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors. |
| A．they are both victims of binary thinking |
| B．public figures unknowingly fall prey to narcissism |
| C．confidence is quite important for celebrities |
| D．one can be both modest and sure of himself |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Neutral. | C．Favorable. | D．Cautious. |
4 . The needs of plus-size consumers have long been the elephant in the room of the fashion industry until body positivity and fat acceptance movements promoted the slogan that large-bodied people are not those who are left behind. This size-inclusive trend has become so popular that it is influencing mainstream culture. As a result, fashion brands have finally decided to extend their size ranges. In 2022, the plus-size market grew twice as fast as the standard size market in both North America and the UK.
Yet, many consumers say fashion brands broadening their ranges are not truly inclusive. “Inclusive sizing means that all bodies are included in fashion, not just the ones who fit in standard sizes,” says Marie Southard Ospina, a UK-based journalist who covers body-image issues. “However, what many designers do right now is pick a number that they think is big enough to include plus sizes and stop. This is even more disrespectful.”
Researchers also criticize that some brands are just taking advantage of the trend. “Brands that used to promote so-called perfect bodies in their advertisements are now trying to get in on the trend by adding a few sizes. It doesn’t feel like they really care about plus-size people,” says Tom Burgess, analyst in fashion industry. “If brands cared about large-bodied consumers, then it wouldn’t have taken until now to acknowledge that they exist,” he says. “It gives the impression that companies are just trying to gain a share of the market without a real commitment to the community.”
The fashion industry must go beyond merely producing clothing in a particular range of sizes if they hope to succeed with a body-diverse world. The whole industry has to connect on a personal level with consumers. That involves showing shoppers that they are seen, understood and important to brands. “Consumers care about values, and so they want to buy from brands that reflect the values they believe in. Everyone should enjoy the same range of fashion options,” says Ludovica Cesareo, professor of marketing at the College of Business in the US.
1. What do the underlined words “the elephant in the room” mean in the first paragraph?| A．The hot issue that is valued. | B．The obvious truth that is ignored. |
| C．The important principle that is recognized. | D．The common phenomenon that is criticized. |
| A．they pick sizes randomly | B．they offer limited plus sizes |
| C．they treat designers disrespectfully | D．they haven’t broadened standard sizes |
| A．Their designs. | B．Their quality. |
| C．Their motivations. | D．Their advertisements. |
| A．Buyers deserve fashion that respects their values. |
| B．Consumers prefer brands with personalized styles. |
| C．Brands should catch up with the size-inclusive trend. |
| D．A good brand image is critical in the fashion industry. |
5 . Each year, more than 27 million U.S. and Canadian kids get to school by bus. Most of those buses run on diesel (柴油) fuel, which give out pollution that riders can take in. Pollution levels can be several times higher inside a diesel school bus than outside it. Why? Pollution can leak in from the floor or blow in through windows.
A U.S. government program started in 2012 offered schools’ money spent on cleaner school buses but not all schools could get it. Five years later, emissions from buses in the winning districts fell. And a year after getting new buses, student attendance had improved in those districts. For an average district of 10, 000 students, about six more students attended ‘school each day’ in the winning districts, compared to the losing districts. Winning schools with higher rates of bus-riding kids had an average of 14 more students in class each day. And winning districts that replaced the oldest school buses? They had an average of 45 more students in school each day.
Those numbers may sound small, but they add up. And school attendance matters for student achievement. Almost 3 million U. S. kids ride school buses more than 20 years old. If U. S. school districts had replaced all of those older buses, there would have been 1. 3 million fewer student absences each year.
There might be other reasons for better attendance. For example, maybe kids preferred new buses. However, the most-likely reason for fewer student absences was better health. A study done on adults showed that a brief exposure to diesel emissions reduced “network connectivity” in the brain. In other studies, such network-connectivity changes have been linked to worsened memory and mental tasks. A Washington State program upgraded pollution controls in old diesel buses. Afterward, fewer kids were hospitalized in those districts than in schools without bus upgrades.
Almost all U. S. school districts can apply for the program. But schools in low-income areas, in tribal areas and, in rural areas will get priority. Kids in these areas tend to face the most health risks from older buses.
1. What can we infer about diesel school buses from the first paragraph?| A．They have a short service life. |
| B．They operate cost-effectively. |
| C．They accommodate few passengers. |
| D．They do much harm to school children. |
| A．It is a long accumulation. | B．It is a winning condition. |
| C．It is a measuring standard. | D．It is a student achievement. |
| A．By reducing the network connectivity. |
| B．By bettering the health state of students. |
| C．By improving student satisfaction with schools. |
| D．By meeting students’ demand for school bus drivers. |
| A．The “network connectivity” in the brain. |
| B．The great work on cleaner school buses. |
| C．A U. S. government program for education. |
| D．Better attendance due to new school buses. |
6 . We humans are comparison creatures.
It used to be that our primary reference of comparison was our local communities, primarily neighbors and co-workers. Because we tend to gather around those similar to ourselves in terms of educational level, work income, and shared interests, the range of differences when we compared ourselves to others was fairly small. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Internet, we can now compare ourselves to literally anyone in the world.
These harmful comparisons also damage our emotional lives. When we feel lacking, we experience a variety of unpleasant and unhealthy emotions. We feel jealousy and envy for what others have and what we lack.
It’s one thing to realize that you compare yourself to others. It’s another thing to recognize that social comparison is often corrosive (逐步侵蚀的) to you in so many ways psychologically and emotionally. It’s an entirely other thing to stop yourself from comparing yourself to others.
| A．We are constantly measuring ourselves against other people. |
| B．Yet it is possible, and it is worth the effort for your mental health. |
| C．Thus, we are now exposed to groups that are quite different from us. |
| D．We believe that there is something wrong with us compared to others. |
| E．We can even feel bitterness and anger at others for the unfairness of it all. |
| F．Comparing ourselves to others has the potential to increase our life experience. |
| G．This new level of comparison has huge implications for our psychological lives. |
7 . Farming is destroying the planet, but there could be a much more environmentally friendly way to feed ourselves: using renewable energy to turn carbon dioxide into food. “This is becoming a reality,” says Pasi Vainikka at Solar Foods, a company that is building the first commercial-scale factory that will be able to make food directly from CO2.
There can be no doubt that immediate attention to find greener ways to grow food is required. Conventional agriculture, including organic farming, causes damage to the environment in many ways. It requires a lot of land, leading to habitat loss and deforestation. It is also the source of a third of all greenhouse gas emissions and releases other pollutants. It isn’t very efficient, either. Crops typically transform less than 1 percent of light energy into usable biomass (生物量).
Instead, Solar Foods plans to avoid photosynthesis (光合作用) altogether, and grow bacteria that use hydrogen as their source of energy. At the factory, renewable electricity will be used to split water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will be added to large containers, where the bacteria grow, along with CO2 and ammonia (氨气). The end result will be a yellow powder called Solein.
Solein is made of bacterial cells and is up to 70 percent protein. It can be used as an ingredient in all kinds of foods. “We are aiming at replacing animal-sourced proteins, which we think have the highest environmental impact,” says Vainikka.
Compared with plant crops, Solein will use 100 times less water per kilogram of protein produced, 20 times less land and emit a fifth as much CO2, according to Solar Foods. There are other benefits, too: factories could be situated anywhere in the world and production won’t be affected by weather conditions.
“With Solar Foods and other companies scaling up their systems, this is truly beginning a new era of agriculture,” says Dorian Leger at Connectomix Bio in Germany. “I think these trends are exciting and will help bend the carbon curve as well as lead to improved global food supply security.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning conventional agriculture in paragraph 2?| A．To demonstrate its influence on crops. |
| B．To compare different farming methods. |
| C．To highlight the urgent need for alternatives. |
| D．To provide an example of agricultural types. |
| A．Its production process. | B．Its storage condition. |
| C．Its ingredient materials. | D．Its investment potential. |
| A．It is low in protein. | B．Its production is weather sensitive. |
| C．It is resource-limited. | D．Its production is location-independent. |
| A．The use of Solein may help reduce carbon emissions. |
| B．Solein will dominate the agricultural development. |
| C．Solein can help achieve global food safety. |
| D．The prospect of Solein remains to be seen. |
8 . Lifestyle Creep (LC) is when living expenses and unnecessary cost grow with income. In bad cases of LC, this unnecessary spending can cut into savings.
LC is common among high earners, but anyone can fall into this trap. Who hasn’t a reason to eat out more often every week after receiving a 1 or 2 percent raise? The temptation (诱惑) of a more costly lifestyle is difficult to resist. If you’re making enough money to afford a larger apartment, shouldn’t you move to a larger one?
Objectively, improving your standard of living as your income increases isn’t a bad thing, but when that habit cuts into your savings efforts, it can be a major financial risk. As Katie Waters, a financial planner at Stable Waters Financial, says ,”Something’s got to give.”
If you can, head off LC from the beginning by giving your raise or bonus money a purpose immediately. This can be to pay down debt, save for a house, or add to retirement accounts. This way, you won’t be tempted to spend it on unnecessary things. If you fear you’ve already fallen victim to LC at any level, you can still turn your spending around. If you are putting all your expenses on your credit card, Waters recommends rearranging, so only routine, fixed monthly expenses are on the card. “The monthly changeable costs — food, clothing, personal care, purchases for the home, the list goes on — are where your money slips away easily.” Waters says, “Calculate your possible savings each pay period and put that money into a separate checking account.”
“As with all things, the secret to managing your finances is a constant effort for balance,” Waters says. “Have fun along the way, but don’t put the cart before the horse.”
1. What do we know about LC?| A．It may affect everyone. | B．It may increase savings. |
| C．It benefits high earners. | D．It means reasonable consumption. |
| A．Expect. | B．Avoid. | C．Believe. | D．Explain. |
| A．Suitable. | B．Controllable. | C．Promising. | D．Surprising. |
| A．A working guide. | B．A social magazine. | C．An account book. | D．A research report. |
| A．The student. | B．The traffic light. | C．The truck driver. |
1. What did the man use last weekend?
| A．A shared bike. | B．A shared charger. | C．A shared umbrella. |
| A．The proper ways to use the sharing product. |
| B．Her attitude towards the sharing economy. |
| C．The advantages of the sharing economy. |
