1 . A newly published study shows that chess players perform objectively worse and — make more suboptimal (次最优的) moves when there is more fine particulate matter (颗粒物) in the air.
“We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” says Juan Palacios, a co-author of a newly published paper detailing the study’s findings.
Scholars have produced many studies exploring the effects of air pollution on cognition. The current study adds to that literature by analyzing the subject in a particularly controlled setting. The scholars used three web-connected sensors inside the tournament venue to measure carbon dioxide, PM2.5 concentrations, and temperature, all of which, can, be affected by external conditions, even in an indoor setting.
To evaluate the matter of performance of players, meanwhile, the scholars used software programs that assess each move made in each chess match, identify optimal decisions, and flag significant errors. During the tournaments, the researchers examined and ruled out alternate potential explanations for the dip in player performance, such as increased noise. They also found that carbon dioxide and temperature changes did not correspond to performance changes. Ultimately, the analysis confirms that the findings are driven by the direct exposure to air particles.
The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess, players performed even more poorly when under time constraints. The tourmament rules required that 40 moves had to be made within 110 minutes; for moves 31-40 in all, the matches, an air pollution, increase of 10 micro-grams per cubic meter led to an increased probability of error of 3.2 percent, with the magnitude of those errors increasing by 17.3 percent. And while the focus of this particular study is tightly focused on chess players, the findings have strong implications for high-skilled office workers.
1. What does the study find about air pollution?A.It becomes more and more serious in the gym. |
B.It can help evaluate chess players’ performance. |
C.It may affect more people with mental processes. |
D.It can’t be affected by indoor surroundings. |
A.To measure carbon dioxide and temperature. |
B.To assess the performance of players. |
C.To help players make great moves. |
D.To distinguish players’ errors in time. |
A.Limit. | B.Freedom. | C.Consumption. | D.Measurement. |
A.Various reasons for chess players’ mistakes. |
B.A new research on chess players’ performance. |
C.Scholars’ concern about chess players’ health. |
D.The influence of air pollution on chess players. |
2 . The African penguin is expected to go extinct in the wild in just over a decade, given its current population decline. The main reason is a lack of food caused by disturbance to ocean conditions from global heating and competition from the commercial fishing industry. According to a study, scientists have identified a possible additional cause, one that is an entirely new threat and that further prevents the penguins from finding food: noise pollution from marine (海洋的) ships in a bay.
Since 2016, a new shipping practice has started at Algoa Bay. The bay offers ship-to-ship refueling for ships anchored offshore. Since the start of this practice, marine traffic in the bay has doubled. The number of bulk carriers (散货船) pulling into the bay has increased by ten times as much. Thus the noise levels in the area had doubled and the population of penguins has dropped sharply. High noise levels affect the ability of marine animals to find food, communicate or navigate properly.
Researchers used data from ship identification tools to estimate underwater noise from passing ships. They also attached underwater microphones and accelerometers (感应器) to some of the penguins. Recording the noise will tell researchers what the penguins are hearing, if they’re talking while hunting, if they’re changing their movements in response to noise, and if the noise is drowning out their hunting conversations. This will allow researchers to determine whether the sound disturbance is a direct cause of the penguins’ ongoing difficulties in finding sufficient food.
The study is the first to explore the effects of ocean traffic noise pollution on seabirds and the consequences of offshore shipping activities on underwater noise levels. Experts are considering proposing various global best-practice approaches to reduce some of the impacts of noise pollution, such as policies that limit the number and size of ships allowed into a bay of this kind. “We also need more scientific monitoring of noise, before these measures are put in place and afterward, so that we have a proper understanding of what works.” a researcher said.
1. What is caused by the noise pollution?A.The penguins’ lack of food. |
B.The penguins’ proper navigation. |
C.People’s communication disability. |
D.The commercial competition. |
A.Because they wanted to study the way of relieving marine traffic pressure. |
B.Because they could determine and analyze the source of ocean noise pollution |
C.Because it helped to calculate underwater noise levels caused by different ships. |
D.Because the impact of ocean on penguins’ hunting behavior could be found. |
A.By exploring the real effects of ocean traffic. |
B.By restricting the ships to go into the bay. |
C.By banning all the offshore shipping activities. |
D.By increasing ship-to-ship refueling activities. |
A.Evaluate the risk of the noise. |
B.Establish a monitoring system. |
C.Put the measures in place. |
D.Try to understand what happens. |
3 . Pollution is one of the biggest problems in the world today. In many places, rubbish is thrown into lakes and rivers.
In some cities, the air is filled with pollution.
If we do not act to improve the environment, more living things will be killed by pollution.
If we can do these, we will make the world a better place to live in.
A.This makes some old people and children ill. |
B.As well as people, animals are also harmed by pollution. |
C.We can make our lakes and rivers cleaner and cleaner. |
D.It’s time for all of us to take action right away! |
E.Because of this, these places have already been polluted. |
F.Trees reduce dust and help keep the air clean. |
G.A few of us should take action to protect the environment. |
4 . Air pollution influences our health in many ways. No air means death. Though we can’t see it, there is air around us. Air is everywhere and it gives a life to every living thing. But bad air makes people ill. In the city, there are a great many people and there are too many cars running on the road. The cars send out bad gases. There are many factories, too. From the chimneys of these factories, we get the smoke usually in black color. Every day we breathe it in and out. This makes us feel sick, when people talk about air pollution ,they are usually thinking about outdoor air pollution. But a lot of air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. Indoor air pollution can hurt people’s eyes, noses and throats. So air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease.
Everyone should help to fight against air pollution. In order to keep us healthy, we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. Or we can climb up hills to get more fresh air.
1. what is this article about?A.air pollution |
B.water pollution |
C.noise pollution |
D.environment pollution |
A.Many factories |
B.Bad air |
C.The cars |
D.Going out to the countryside |
A.bad gas from he cars |
B.black smoke from the chimneys of these factories |
C.smoking and cooking |
D.air pollution |
A.No air means death. |
B.air pollution can lead to lung cancer and heart disease. |
C.Only scientist should help to fight against air pollution. |
D.we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. |
A.A Little air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking |
B.Bad air never makes people ill. |
C.Air pollution influences our health in few ways |
D.we can climb up hills to get more fresh air. |
5 . In the deepest dive in a manned submersible(潜水器), US explorer Victor Vescovo spotted and video-recorded a plastic bag and a pile of candy wrappers on the seabed.
His
Since the patent(专利) for plastics was
Most of the discarded(丢弃) plastic products
Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste flow into the ocean. It is
This plastic waste
We must do something to
But that’s so much
A.report | B.discovery | C.record | D.accumulation |
A.everywhere | B.anywhere | C.somewhere | D.nowhere |
A.as | B.although | C.but | D.so |
A.abolished | B.acquired | C.registered | D.advertised |
A.with | B.without | C.off | D.above |
A.end up | B.wake up | C.grow up | D.walk up |
A.continent | B.park | C.island | D.garden |
A.suggested | B.estimated | C.weighed | D.congratulated |
A.thousand | B.hundred | C.million | D.billion |
A.feeds | B.saves | C.cares | D.kills |
A.looking | B.winding | C.floating | D.jumping |
A.earth | B.air | C.water | D.environment |
A.pollution | B.existence | C.temperature | D.cycle |
A.production | B.supply | C.pyramid | D.trade |
A.change | B.clean | C.satisfy | D.realize |
A.otherwise | B.instead | C.therefore | D.meanwhile |
A.exercise | B.activity | C.fact | D.habit |
A.harder | B.more effective | C.more courageous | D.easier |
A.calling for | B.looking for | C.sending for | D.waiting for |
A.start | B.refuse | C.continue | D.hope |
The Communist Party has made great progress in reducing China’s pollution, but
Sandstorms used
Since 2000, the Chinese government
The silent killer — air pollution causes seven million premature (过早的)
I check every part every day. If it has heavy air pollution, I will prepare masks for my family. I dislike
This research shows that the longer we are exposed to air pollution, the
8 . The Alice Ferguson Foundation is a non-profit group that works to improve the environment by building relationships between people and nature. It teaches people ways to protect the environment. At the end of the year, it designs events to help children celebrate Christmas without increasing the amount of waste they create.
Hanna Seligmann works for the foundation. VOA joined Seligmann recently during one of her talks. “So let’s figure out what is in our bag of trash.” She shows adults and children how to reduce waste during the holiday gift-giving season. “You can sort it as a cardboard item or you can sort it as a plastic item,” Seligmann works with volunteers. “We encourage using things that are already in your house like newspaper, old magazines, using a gift within a gift. You can wrap something in a reusable napkin, wrap something in a scarf, or a shawl(围巾)or even a reusable to tote bag (大手提袋)。”
Lori Arguelles is the executive director for environmental education at the Alice Ferguson Foundation. “Over time we realized that really just doing trash, cleanups was the symptom of the problem, not getting to the root cause. And it was just a little over a decade ago that we started the initiative itself.”
One activity is called the Trash Timeline Game. It teaches children that the things they throw away do not decompose at the same rate. For example paper dissolves in about four weeks. An apple core takes two months. A metal can takes up to 100 years. A plastic bag will not decompose for 450 years Glass takes 1,000 years. And, they say, Styrofoam (泡沫聚苯乙烯) never dissolves.
Young people taking part in the program learn that reducing waste is important not just during the holidays, but every day of the year.
1. Why is the Alice Ferguson Foundation created?A.To help children celebrate Christmas. |
B.To reduce the amount of waste. |
C.To make the environment better, |
D.To build relationships between people and mature |
A.It is better to use cardboard items to wrap gifts. |
B.It is better to wrap gifts in some things capable of being used again. |
C.It is better not to wrap gifts in plastic items. |
D.It is better not to wrap gifts at all. |
A.Doing trash cleanups means a lot to protecting the environment. |
B.We still need to make great efforts on the way to protecting the environment. |
C.Over a decade our efforts to protect the environment proved fruitless. |
D.Over time we found the root cause of protecting the environment |
A.break down | B.break out |
C.store up | D.store away |
9 . Have you ever stayed in a hotel?Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable(一次性的)toothbrushes,toothpaste,shampoo and slippers.Many guests like the idea because they don't have to bring their own.But,if you travel to Beijing,remember to bring your own things.Starting from June,some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables.They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic.People throw them away after only using them once.It is a waste of natural resources(资源)and is very bad for the environment.Do you know,one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year!Most of that waste comes from disposable things.In Beijing,people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year!Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down.So theless plastic we throw out,the better.So,wherever you travel,bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school,you can also do something to make our world a better place.Try to do these things in your daily life:Use cloth shopping bags,not plastic ones.After using a plastic bag,wash it out and let it dry.Then you can use it over and over again.Do not use paper cups.At your school canteen(食堂),use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
1. Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things?A.Let their guests be convenient during their travelling. |
B.Hope their guests use less disposable things. |
C.Wish their guests to save money. |
D.Want their guests to use more disposable things. |
A.cheap food and drink | B.disposable things |
C.good service | D.free TV programmes |
A.Many disposable things are made of plastic. |
B.Throwing disposable things away is a waste of natural resources. |
C.Plastic is very bad for the environment. |
D.Plastic breaks down easily. |
A.Use shopping bags made of plastic. |
B.Do not throw away paper cups. |
C.Use disposable plates,bowls and chopsticks. |
D.Do not forget to reuse daily necessities(日用品). |
A.people don't like disposable things at all |
B.we can't use paper or plastic bowls at school |
C.we should use less plastic things and protect our environment |
D.hotels won't provide disposable things because they want to save money |