1 . Ariel Procaccia has thought a lot about how to cut a cake over the last 15 years. As the father of three children, he knows how hard it is to divide a birthday cake to everyone’s satisfaction. But it’s also because Procaccia’s work focuses on exploring the mathematical rules for dividing stuff up fairly. One way to do that is to think abstractly about dessert.
For decades, researchers have been asking the seemingly simple question of how to cut a cake fairly. The answer reaches far beyond birthday parties. A mathematical problem at its heart, cake cutting connects strict reasoning to real-world issues of fairness, and so attracts not only mathematicians, but also social scientists, economists and more. “It’s a very elegant model in which you can distill what fairness really is, and reason about it,” Procaccia says.
The simplest approach is called the “divider-chooser” method, where one person cuts the cake into two equal pieces in his view, and the other person picks first. Each receives a piece that they feel is as valuable as the other’s. But when personal preferences are taken into account, even the easiest rule becomes complicated. Suppose Alice and Bob are to divide a cake, and Alice knows Bob prefers chocolate, she may knowingly divide the cake unequally so the smaller piece contains more chocolate. Then Bob will choose according to his preference, and Alice will get the larger piece. Both of them are satisfied with what they get, but the meaning of fairness changes in this situation.
The cake is a symbol for any divisible good. When cake-cutting principles are employed to settle disagreements, they are potentially helping the world find solutions. Procaccia has used fair division algorithms (算法) to model food distribution. Social scientist Haris Aziz is exploring situations ranging from how to divide up daily tasks to how to best schedule doctors’ shifts in hospitals.
Even after decades of investigation, cake cutting isn’t like a simple jigsaw puzzle (拼图) with a well-defined solution. Instead, over time, it has evolved into a kind of mathematical sandbox, a constructive playground that brings together abstract proofs and easy applications. The more researchers explore it, the more there is to explore.
1. What does the underlined word “distill” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Get the essence of. | B．Find the opposite of. |
| C．Keep the focus on. | D．Reduce the impact on. |
| A．Its standard is stable. | B．It prevents unequal division. |
| C．Its concept is complex. | D．It dominates personal preferences. |
| A．The application of its rules. | B．The details of its process. |
| C．The problems it produces. | D．The harmony it symbolizes. |
| A．Who benefits most from fairness? |
| B．How has fairness changed over time? |
| C．What method works best in cake-cutting? |
| D．Why are researchers so interested in cake-cutting? |
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . In the digital age, we rely on technology such as social media in trying to build interesting and varied lives. Social networking sites like Facebook are designed and promoted to make us believe enthusiastically that they are able to open up new experiences for us. There are constant notifications (通知) and updates, urging us to check-in to find out what is new.
But if we do not use the technology wisely, we can end up becoming overly attached and trapped in a cycle of social media FOMO, a sign of deeper unhappiness. FOMO, or fear of missing out, is a fear that exciting or interesting events are happening somewhere else and that we are not able to join.
People who experience high levels of FOMO have been found to be more likely to give in to urges to write and check text messages while driving, as well as to use Facebook more often directly after waking, while going to sleep and during meals.
When it comes to lasting happiness, it is best not to give in to FOMO, but rather to deal with the cycle of desires that fuel it. Hard as it is, we are better off working toward facing the fearful reality that we cannot experience everything we might like than to get caught in a cycle of checking behaviors that only cause anxiety.
If we have become used to using social media as part of our attempts at living interesting lives, we must admit that it is not easy to change our approach. But change is almost always worthwhile in the long run.
The fact that FOMO is so common in our digital age is a sign that there is something wrong with the way we are pursuing happiness and that we are not as happy as we might think we are. It should warn us that, in our eagerness to use digital technology to try to make ourselves happier, we may unintentionally (无意之中) be bringing on exactly the opposite result.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The digital age has arrived. |
| B．Sites give netizens useful experiences. |
| C．People have fallen into modern technology. |
| D．Social media are designed to attract public attention. |
| A．Failing to use Facebook. | B．Answering a call during shopping, |
| C．Reading text messages on reaching offices. | D．Checking Facebook while driving. |
| A．To gain long-time happiness. | B．To speed the cycle of desires. |
| C．To work much better. | D．To reduce fearful reality. |
| A．Everybody has experienced FOMO. |
| B．Digital technology may make us unhappier. |
| C．Pursuing happiness is a sign of the digital age. |
| D．People may unintentionally get lost in technology. |
4 . The United States is one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Despite this, many Americans are not even getting enough to eat. In fact, around 37 million Americans struggle just to put healthy food, or any food at all, on the table every day.
One might think that a food shortage is happening in America, but this is not the case. There is more than sufficient food for everyone. Unfortunately, 40% of food is wasted every day. There are many different ways food is wasted: farmers only pick the best-looking crops, deliveries aren’t made on time, supermarkets throw out extra products, customers buy more than they need, and so on. The highest level of wastage tends to happen in the richest communities.
Meanwhile, people who live in poor or rural areas often have little or no access to food. These areas are called “food deserts”. They have fewer supermarkets, and the only food options that they can afford are often unhealthy ones. Healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables may be impossible to find. Sadly, 12. 8% of the American population live in food deserts.
What can we do to help those who don’t have enough food? Shirley and Annie Zhu came up with a solution. In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey destroyed over 100,000 homes in their city, Houston, the sisters got involved. While helping to clear water from a flooded supermarket, they saw a huge amount of food being wasted. At the same time, thousands of people in the city didn’t have enough to eat.
The girls were only 15 when they set up Fresh Hub with 10 of their classmates. They created an app which could be used by residents to find out whether fresh food was available. Then they contacted local farmers and supermarkets to ask for their extra food.
At first, they found that people didn't take them seriously because they were so young. They decided to work with Second Servings, a local organization that had been providing food to food deserts around the city. The owner of Second Servings, Barbara Bronstein, was impressed with the twins and introduced them to several food providers. To date, Fresh Hub has delivered more than 15,000 pounds of food to people in need.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us?| A．What causes food shortage. |
| B．How much food is wasted every day. |
| C．How food is wasted in America. |
| D．Where the highest level of wastage happens. |
| A．When they were assisting in flood relief. |
| B．After they had made a survey about it. |
| C．When they were visiting a food desert. |
| D．After they had read reports about it. |
| A．Crops can’t grow in food deserts. |
| B．People in food deserts have no access to fresh water. |
| C．Only fruits and vegetables are available in food deserts. |
| D．About one in ten Americans live in food deserts. |
| A．Its founders are mostly college students. |
| B．It has gained support from Second Servings. |
| C．It has created a most popular food app. |
| D．It is welcomed by local farmers and supermarkets. |
5 . Since 2011, people around the world have been celebrating World Introvert (内向的人) Day on January 2. The word introvert describes a personality type. Introverted people don’t require a lot of social contact, and they enjoy spending time alone. They are likely to feel exhausted by environments that are highly stimulating and may often need to go to a quiet place to recharge.
World Introvert Day began with a blog post from German psychologist Felicitas Heyne. She suggested that introverts are often misunderstood, and their mental health suffers because popular culture is dominated by extroverts. Her idea was to celebrate World Introvert Day to raise awareness of the social challenges that introverts face. It would also celebrate the contributions of introverts throughout history.
There are many famous introverts in art and science, such as Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, J. K. Rowling, and Lady Gaga. It is believed that many introverts have a great ability to focus and strong powers of imagination.
After the noisy New Year celebrations are over, people can set aside one day for some quiet time by themselves or with some introverted friends. You never know what new ideas you might find when you slow down to enjoy some peace and quiet.
The opposite of an introvert is called an extrovert. Extroverts love connecting with other people, work well in groups, and are usually very confident. When introverts don’t fit into groups of extroverts, they may be seen as cold, uninterested, or shy. Popular culture tells us that it is important to network, socialize, and communicate, but all of this can make introverts feel uncomfortable.
Scientists are studying what causes someone to be an introvert or an extrovert. Recent studies show that genes are a factor, and most people seem to be born with one personality type or the other. Part of what makes us introverted or extroverted is how our brains respond to the world around us. The brain of an introvert can respond dramatically to a very mild stimulus, but the brain of an extrovert tends to need a stronger stimulus to have the same reaction.
Our environment and experiences also influence whether we are introverted or extroverted. The term ambivert describes someone who is right in the middle. No matter what personality type we have, we can always celebrate our differences and learn from each other.
1. Why was World Introvert proposed?| A．To call on people to enjoy. |
| B．To raise awareness of people’s mental health. |
| C．To introduce what introverts are like. |
| D．To remind people of introverts’ challenges and gifts. |
| A．Produced. | B．Divided. | C．Taught. | D．Controlled. |
| A．They’re unfairly misunderstood. |
| B．They’re encouraged to learn social skills. |
| C．They’re forced to change their attitudes. |
| D．They’re greatly helped by extroverts. |
| A．A certain type is better than others. |
| B．A person can have two opposite types. |
| C．All have some advantages and strengths. |
| D．Some types deserve more attention. |
6 . Helen Keller, American blind writer, said: if I were given three days to see, I would not want to see too many wonderful things.
National Eye Caring Day in China is on June 6th, which came from 1996.
Most people are born with good eyesight. But look at the students in college, we can see over ninety percent of them are wearing glasses.
| A．It can do harm to our health and bring us trouble. |
| B．At that time the doctors advised the government to name a day. |
| C．Because when the darkness came, I would miss them too much. |
| D．So it is important to let the public know the ways to protect eyes. |
| E．What's more, a balanced diet is necessary to keep our eyes healthy. |
| F．Parents have the responsibility to supervise kids to protect their eyes. |
| G．The young generation often watch the electronic products for a long time. |
Can red TV dramas awaken a strong desire in young people
The TV series
Many audiences
Recently some school teachers
8 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
9 . Futurism is all around us, even if we usually don't notice it. When it comes to the weather, forecasting is normal. When it comes to cultural or social predictions, though, futurism can feel more fantastical. But over the last decades, such forecasts have gradually become serious business, shaping our expectations and the world.
A range of professions - from sociologists to economic forecasters-have long devoted time and energy to predicting where the world might go. By the middle of the 20th century, futurology, or the study of the future, became more systematic as social scientists developed futurological methods. At the RAND Corporation, during the 1960s, strategists such as Herman Kahn established long-range planning techniques. Companies also involved themselves in encouraging the new study's rise. In 1967, Royal Dutch Shell began to experiment with scenario (情境)planning or the technique of using storytelling to speculate (推测) about the future. Called the Year 2000 study, Shell's earliest scenarios suggested that the company needed to plan for discontinuity, helping it to better deal with political and social changes that might impact its bottom line.
Faith Popcorn, who runs the futurist consulting firm BrainReserve, did something revolutionary in the 1970s and 1980s; Rather than predict product prices or sports scores, Popcorn and other futurists studied consumer culture. They realized that rapid cultural change could shake up what products people wanted. They studied human behavior and tracked new cultural developments to help imagine and design goods and services that were on trend, and soon consumers would see new things being marketed and sold. When BrainReserve predicted that more people would be staying home, Domino's made moves to dominate pizza delivery to unsocial customers. In 1982, John Naisbitt's best-selling book “Megatrends” predicted the trend of humanizing. Companies then made office spaces more open, or offered ATMs that asked “How are you” as a bank teller might.
Futurists and trend forecasters found a broad audience in the US for their predictions in the 1970s, and still do to this day. If anything, fast-paced technological changes, and current social and political issues, have increased people's appetite for where the world might go. And even when they get it wrong, forecasters continue to capture attention and market share-anyone today seems to have a burning desire to glimpse what the future might hold.
1. What role did the Year 2000 study play?| A．It caused Shell to make wrong decisions. |
| B．It promoted the development of futurology. |
| C．It provided data for the RAND Corporation. |
| D．It started a new method of studying the future. |
| A．It helped create new products. | B．It helped predict product prices. |
| C．It helped humanize office spaces. | D．It helped deliver goods to consumers. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Different futurological methods. |
| B．Forecasters influence on culture. |
| C．The history of predicting the future. |
| D．Important changes in consumer culture. |
10 . Masks that helped save lives during the coronavirus pandemic(流行病) are proving a deadly danger for wildlife, with birds and marine creatures trapped in the incredible number of abandoned facial coverings littering on animal habitats.
Single-use surgical masks have been found thrown around pavements, waterways and beaches worldwide since countries began demanding their use in public places to slow the pandemic's spread. Macaques(猕猴) have been spotted chewing the straps(带子) off old and deserted masks in Malaysia a potential choking danger for the little monkeys. And in an incident that captured headlines in Britain, a gull(海鸥) was rescued in the city of Chelmsford after its legs became tangled（缠结）in the straps of a disposable mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity was alerted after the bird was spotted motionless but still alive, and they took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.
The biggest impact may be in the water.More than l. 5 billion masks made their way into the world's oceans last year. accounting for around 6,200 extra tons of marine plastic pollution, according to environmental group OceansAsia. ? Already there are signs that masks are worsening threats to marine life. Conservationists in Brazil found one inside the stomach of a penguin after its body was washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish(河豚) was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami.
Masks and gloves are "particularly problematic" for sea creatures，says George Leonard, chief scientist from U. S. -based NGO Ocean Conservancy. "When it takes those plastics hundreds of years to break down in the environment, they form smaller and smaller particles," he added, "those particles then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems."
Fortunately, there has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks as the pandemic has worn on，but many are still choosing the lighter single- use varieties.Campaigners have urged people to throw away them properly and remove the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.
1. What role do masks play during the coronavirus pandemic?| A．They keep people free of the pandemic |
| B．They make people look more mysterious. |
| C．They help reduce the speed of the pandemic's spread. |
| D．They are of great helpful to wildlife. |
| A．The animals lack enough food |
| B．T hey enjoy playing with the straps |
| C．The deserted masks put them in danger |
| D．It's time for people to protect the animals |
| A．Marine creatures are in trouble. |
| B．Masks and gloves will finally threaten the whole ecosystems. |
| C．The plastics are easy to break down. |
| D．The particles masks and gloves form are smaller and smaller. |
| A．Animal protection |
| B．Marine plastic pollution |
| C．How to reduce the risk of abandoned masks |
| D．The deserted masks endangering wildlife |
