1 . About 50 years ago, the famous British band The Beatles sang that “money can’t buy me love”. Today, British economists are saying that it perhaps can’t buy you happiness either. This is showed by the happy planet index (HPI, 快乐指数) published recently by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in London.
The index is about how well countries are using their resources. It shows how well they provide people with better health and longer and happier lives, and at what cost to their environment.
It would seem to be common sense that people in richer countries live happier lives, while those in developing countries are having a harder time of it. But the results are surprising, even shocking. The numbers show that some of the so-called developed countries are performing very badly. The United States, for example, comes in at an unbelievable 150th. On the other hand, some little-known developing countries are doing a much better job. A tiny island in the Pacific, Vanuatu, comes in first. There are 178 countries and areas in the index. China ranks 31.
Countries are graded on the basis of information supplied in response to the following questions. How do people feel about their lives? How long does the average person live? How greatly does a country need to use its natural resources—such as oil, land and water—to maintain standards? This is what the index calls the “ecological footprint”.
The NEF found that the people of island nations enjoy the highest HPI rankings. Their populations live happier and longer lives, and use fewer resources.
The results also seem to show that it is possible to live longer, happier lives with a much smaller environmental impact. The index points out that people in the US and Germany enjoy similar lives.
“However, Germany’s ecological footprint is only about half that of the US. This means that Germany is around twice as efficient as the US at producing happy lives,” says Nic Marks, head of NEF’s Center for well-being.
So the happy planet index (HPl) tells us a brand-new concept of understanding “being happy”. HPI figures out different countries or individuals’ HPI through their “Ecological Footprint” and “Life Satisfaction Level” or “Life Expectancy”. Clearly, people’s HPI is related to their consumption of the resources on the earth.
You can find out your own HPI by visiting http://www.happyplanetindex.org
1. The passage is mainly about ______________.| A．why money can’t buy you happiness |
| B．in which country people feel the happiest |
| C．the happy planet index published recently |
| D．what index can influence people's happiness |
| A．wealth, education, resources and health |
| B．lives, health, resources and the environment |
| C．pressure, accommodation, resources and health |
| D．education, money, the environment and resources |
| A．have far fewer happy people | B．are only developing countries |
| C．do not enjoy plenty of resources | D．have a greater impact on the environment |
| A．history and culture play an important role in people’s lives |
| B．not all the people in developed countries enjoy happy lives |
| C．it is possible to live happier and longer lives with fewer resources |
| D．some of the so-called developed countries are performing very badly |
2 . Journal editors decide what gets published and what doesn’t, affecting the careers of other academics and influencing the direction that a field takes. You’d hope, then, that journals would do everything they can to establish a diverse editorial board, reflecting a variety of voices, experiences, and identities.
Unfortunately a new study in Nature Neuroscience makes for disheartening reading. The team finds that the majority of editors in top psychology and neuroscience journals are male and based in the United States: a situation that may be amplifying existing gender inequalities in the field and influencing the kind of research that gets published.
Men were found to account for 60% of the editors of psychology journals. There were significantly more male than female editors at each level of seniority, and men made up the majority of editors in over three quarters of the journals. Crucially, the proportion of female editors was significantly lower than the overall proportion of women psychology researchers.
The differences were even starker in the neuroscience journals: 70% of editors were male, and men held the majority of editorial positions in 88% of journals. In this case, the proportion of female editors was not significantly lower than the proportion of female researchers working in neuroscience—a finding that reveals enduring gender disparities in the field more broadly.
Based on their results, the team concludes that “the ideas, values and decision-making biases of men are overrepresented in the editorial positions of the most recognized academic journals in psychology and neuroscience.”
Gender inequality in science is often attributed to the fact that senior academics are more likely to be male, because historically science was male-dominated: it’s argued that as time goes on and more women rise to senior roles, the field will become more equal. Yet this study showed that even the junior roles in psychology journals tended to be held disproportionately by men, despite the fact that there are actually more female than male junior psychology faculty.
This implies that a lack of female academics is not the problem. Instead, there are structural reasons that women are disadvantaged in science. Women receive lower salaries and face greater childcare demands, for instance, which can result in fewer publications and grants—the kinds of things that journals look for when deciding who to appoint. Rather than simply blaming the inequality of editorial boards on tradition, we should be actively breaking down these existing barriers.
A lack of diversity among journal editors also likely contributes to psychology’s WEIRD problem. If journal editors are largely men from the United States, then they will probably place higher value on papers that are relevant to Western, male populations, whether consciously or not.
1. What would we expect an editorial board of an academic journal to exhibit in view of its important responsibilities?| A．Insight | B．Diversity |
| C．Expertise | D．Integrity |
| A．The majority of top psychology and neuroscience journals reflect a variety of voices, experiences and identities. |
| B．The editorial boards of most psychology and neuroscience journals do influence the direction their field takes. |
| C．The majority of editors in top psychology and neuroscience journals have relevant backgrounds. |
| D．The editorial boards of the most important journals in psychology and neuroscience are male-dominated. |
| A．Male researchers have enough representation in the editorial boards to ensure their publications. |
| B．Male editors of top psychology and neuroscience journals tend to be biased against their female colleagues. |
| C．Women’s views are underrepresented in the editorial boards of top psychology and neuroscience journals. |
| D．Female editors have to struggle to get women’s research articles published in academic journals. |
| A．Strike a balance between male and female editors | B．Implement overall structural reforms |
| C．Increase women’s employment in senior positions | D．Enlarge the body of female academics |
3 . Genetic testing companies have a long history of creative attempts to reach the mainstream. An early example was the sequencing of rock star Ozzy Osbourne’s genes in 2010, with accompanying guess about how they might have influenced his drug habits.
Lately, such projects have taken on a new, highly commercialized tendency. In 2017, we got the “Marmite (马麦酱) gene project,” run by London-based genetic testing start-up DNAfit. It claims to show that love or hate for Marmite was in our genes. The project turned into a full-blown marketing campaign, and even sold Marmite-branded DNA testing tools.
DNAfit is now working with Mercedes-Benz to find out whether specific genetic traits are associated with business wisdom. AncestryDNA, the world’s largest consumer genetic testing company, last year teamed up with Spotify to promote “music tailored to your DNA.” Just a few weeks ago, 23andMe, the second largest, announced a partnership with Airbnb to provide genetically tailored travel experiences, also inspired by ancestral DNA.
I have skin in this game. I run a genetic-testing start-up that connects people who want their genome sequenced with researchers who want data to improve their understanding of genetic disease. I believe that broadening access to DNA testing can be a powerful force for good, providing safer, more effective medicines and giving people more power over their healthcare. But these campaigns risk discrediting the industry, by giving a misleading impression of what genetics can and can't say and its role in determining behaviours and personal preferences.
Take the Marmite study. It covered 261 people — tiny, by the standards of the field. It was published not in a journal, but online on bioRxiv, a server where scientists typically put results before peer-review. Shortly after, researchers looked at the genetic data of more than 500 times as many people in the UK Biobank and found no such correlation. A large peer-reviewed study in 2013 found no significant link between genes and business common sense.
We need to inform the public about what this is all about: that is, the gathering of large amounts of genetic data. We need better regulation to ensure that consumers are clear that this may happen with this sensitive personal information. A checkbox on a 20-page web document full of legal terms should not be enough.
Scientists too, need to start asking hard questions about whether the information they are using has been sourced ethically. DNA testing has a great future, but we can't build this future with data acquired by any means.
1. The author mentions DNAfit, AncestryDNA and 23andMe in order to __________.| A．highlight the problems facing genetic testing |
| B．illustrate the commercial applications of DNA |
| C．compare what progress the companies have made |
| D．reveal the link between DNA and a person's character |
| A．is challenging the available treatment for skin disease |
| B．has a personal investment in the genetic-testing business |
| C．hopes to remove people's misunderstanding of the game rules |
| D．believes that every individual should have access to DNA testing |
| A．The disadvantages of genetic testing. | B．The scientific value of genetic testing. |
| C．The legal system genetic testing needs. | D．The essentials for proper genetic testing. |
| A．DNA Is Anything but a Marketing Tool | B．Genetic Testing Campaigns Aren't Legal |
| C．Creative Marketing Is Key to Genetic Testing | D．DNA Testing Has Become a Booming Industry |
4 . There was a time not long ago when new science Ph.D.s in the United States were expected to pursue a career path in academia (学术界). But today, most graduates end up working outside academia, not only in industry but also in careers such as science policy, communications, and patent law. Partly this is a result of how bleak the academic job market is, but there’s also a rising awareness of career options that Ph.D. scientists haven’t trained for directly—but for which they have useful knowledge, skills, and experience. Still, there’s a huge disconnect between the way we currently train scientists and the actual employment opportunities available for them, and an urgent need for dramatic improvements in training programs to help close the gap. One critical step that could help to drive change would be to require Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scientists to follow an individual development plan (IDP).
In 2002, the U.S. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology recommended that every postdoctoral researcher put together an IDP in consultation with an adviser. Since then, several academic institutions have begun to require IDPs for postdocs. And in June, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group recommended that the NIH require IDPs for the approximately 32,000 postdoctoral researchers they support. Other funding agencies, public and private, are moving in a similar direction.
IDPs have long been used by government agencies and the private sector to achieve specific goals for the employee and the organization. The aim is to ensure that employees have an explicit tool to help them understand their own abilities and aspirations, determine career possibilities, and set (usually short-term) goals. In science, graduate students and new Ph.D. scientists can use an IDP to identify and navigate an effective career path.
A free Web application for this purpose, called myIDP, has become available this week. It’s designed to guide early-career scientists through a confidential, rigorous process of introspection（内省）to create a customized career plan. Guided by expert knowledge from a panel of science-focused career advisers, each trainee’s self-assessment is used to rank a set of career trajectories（轨迹）. After the user has identified a long-term career goal, myIDP walks her or him through the process of setting short-term goals directed toward accumulating new skills and experiences important for that career choice.
Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees report a need for additional resources to help them identify a long-term career path and complete an IDP. Thus, myIDP will be most effective when it’s embedded in larger career-development efforts. For example, universities could incorporate IDPs into their graduate curricula to help students discuss, plan, prepare for, and achieve their long-term career goals.
1. What do we learn about new science in the United States Ph.D.s today?| A．They lack the skills and expertise needed for their jobs. |
| B．They can choose from a wider range of well-paying jobs. |
| C．They often have to seek jobs outside the academic circle. |
| D．They are regarded as the nation’s driving force of change. |
| A．It includes a great variety of practical courses. |
| B．It is closely linked to future career requirements. |
| C．It should be re-oriented to careers outside academia. |
| D．It should be improved to better suit the job market. |
| A．bring into full play the expertise of their postdoctoral researchers |
| B．help employees capitalize on their abilities to achieve career goals |
| C．place employees in the most appropriate positions |
| D．recruit the most suitable candidates to work for them |
| A．It is an effective tool for self-assessment for better career plans. |
| B．It enables people to look into various possibilities. |
| C．It is an integral part of the graduate curricula. |
| D．It can promise a long-term career path. |
| A. including B. urgent C. features D. targets E. lengths F. chasing G. accused H. commands I. fed J. restock K. collecting |
Pokemon Stickers Are Back for Koreans Nostalgic (怀旧的) for Childhood
Small pastries include a surprise sticker, and the goal is to find all 159 varieties — just like a trend more than 20 years ago.
Jeong Bo-ram’s new fascination has him
Just a few short of a full 159-sticker collection, 29-year-old Mr. Jeong has gone to more than 10 convenience stores and supermarkets a day, often leaving empty-handed. He has paid hundreds of dollars. He has learned the evening
More than two decades ago, the Pokemon sticker-treat duo caught on with a generation of South Korean children, before the craze passed after a few years and the products were discontinued. Now the goodies are back just in time for the country’s broader retro boom,
South Koreans are going to great
Retailers have posted signs on their entrances that read, “We have no Pokemon bread,” while some store owners are
Ko Hyo-jin shrieked when she ripped open a package of “Diglett Strawberry Custard Bread” recently and discovered inside a sticker of Mewtwo - a two-legged monster shown extending its paw. She immediately dialed up her husband. “It felt like winning the lottery,” said the 39-year-old homemaker in the Seoul Suburbs.
The nostalgic chase has been embraced by young adults facing Korea’s stagnant economy, soaring real-estate prices and a tight labor market.
| A．award B．house C．hit D．namely E．specifically F．grabbed G．traded H．gang I．bar J．principled K．transmission |
American authorities arrested Masphal Kry, an official in Cambodia’s forestry administration, last November when he was heading to an international meeting about trade regulations for endangered species in Panama. Prosecutors accused him of conspiring with a smuggling ring. The contraband (违禁品): monkeys,
Getting lab monkeys from abroad became harder during the pandemic. Chinese authorities banned the export of all primates in early 2020. The Chinese government wanted to
That forced American companies to rely on less
7 . Manufacturers of products that claim to be environmentally friendly will face tighter rules on how they are advertised to consumers under changes proposed by the Federal Trade Commission.
The commission’s revised “Green Guides” warn marketers against using labels that make broad claims, like “eco-friendly”. Marketers must qualify their claims on the product packaging and limit them to a specific benefit, such as how much of the product is recycled.
“This is really about trying to cut through the confusion that consumers have when they are buying a product and that businesses have when they are selling a product,” said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the commission.
The revisions come at a time when green marketing is on the rise. According to a new study, the number of advertisements with green messages in mainstream magazines has risen since 1987, and peaked in 2008 at 10.4%. In 2009, the number dropped to 9%.
But while the number of advertisements may have dipped, there has been a rapid spread of eco-labeling. There are both good and bad players in the eco-labeling game.
In the last five years or so, there has been an explosion of green claims and environmental claims. It is clear that consumers don’t always know what they are getting.
A handful of lawsuits have been filed in recent years against companies accused of using misleading environmental labels. In 2008 and 2009, class-action lawsuits（集体诉讼）were filed against SC Johnson for using “Greenlist” labels on its cleaning products. The lawsuits said that the label was misleading because it gave the impression that the products had been certified by a third party when the certification was the company’s own.
“We will prevail in these cases,” Christopher Beard, director of public affairs for SC Johnson, said, while acknowledging that “this has been an area that is difficult to navigate.”
Companies have also taken it upon themselves to contest each other’s green claims.
David Mallen, associate director of the Council of Better Business Bureau, said in the last two years the organization had seen an increase in the number of claims companies were bringing against each other for false or misleading environmental product claims.
“About once a week. I have a client that will bring up a new certification I’ve never even heard of and I’m in this industry,” said Kevin Wilhelm, chief executive officer of Sustainable Business Consulting. “It’s kind of a Wild West. Anybody can claim themselves to be green.” Mr. Wilhelm said the excess of labels made it difficult for businesses and consumers to know which labels they should pay attention to.
1. What do the revised “Green Guides” require businesses to do?| A．Manufacture as many green products as possible. |
| B．Indicate whether their products are recyclable. |
| C．Specify in what way their products are green. |
| D．Attach green labels to all of their products. |
| A．They can easily see through the businesses’ tricks. |
| B．They have to spend lots of time choosing products. |
| C．They have doubt about current green certification. |
| D．They are not clear which products are truly green. |
| A．win | B．fail | C．struggle | D．benefit |
| A．Businesses compete to produce green products. |
| B．Each business acts its own way in green labeling. |
| C．Consumers grow wild with products labeled green. |
| D．Anything produced in the West can be labeled green. |
8 . Earlier this year I took a trip to England and France to go see some friends. It was a wonderful trip; I really loved it. But one thing that struck me was how different these cultures are from our own. I guess this would strike any traveler because that is the first thing you notice and it is what makes travel so exciting. Of course, these cultures are also similar to ours in many respects, but it’s the differences that really stand out.
One of the things that struck me in particular was the different attitudes towards smoking. As you know, there’s a growing anti-smoking sentiment in Europe. However, when I went to England and France, I got a new perspective on this issue. People seem to smoke anywhere and everywhere, even though anti-smoking signs are all over public places. On the radio, I heard about a member of the World Cup soccer team who smoked. And people were actually saying, “Well, he should not be on the team because he’s a bad example for our children.” I think, if they want to look at bad examples for their children, they should just go out on the street, or go into the subways, or look in the mirror, even, because so many of them are smoking in very inappropriate places. I visited a restaurant buffet in London and saw an English woman scooping up the food with a lit cigarette in her hand. Smoke rising into the air. Actually, when I talked to English people later, they were pretty shocked too, and they said that smoking in a restaurant is rude even by British standards.
This did not give me a bad impression of English people. It gave me, on the contrary, a positive feeling toward American smokers. There are a lot of American smokers who will proclaim their right to smoke whenever they want, but they will follow the rules, generally, because they have consideration for nonsmokers. So this experience in Europe gave me more of a respect for this kind of smoker.
1. What surprised the writer during his trip to England and France?| A．The wonderful trip to England and France. |
| B．Cultural differences that he noticed during his trip. |
| C．Similarity between cultures stands out more than differences. |
| D．Growing anti-smoking views in Europe. |
| A．People discuss the smoking issue on the radio. |
| B．Smokers are allowed to smoke anywhere and anytime. |
| C．People are encouraged to smoke in inappropriate places. |
| D．Many smokers pay no attention to the “No Smoking” signs. |
| A．feeling | B．movement | C．offense | D．regulation |
| A．Those who are from America and Europe. | B．Those who respect others’ feelings. |
| C．Those who defend the right to smoke. | D．Those who set rules of smoking in public places. |
9 . Climate experts have warned about the many ways a warming planet can negatively affect human health.
One long-held prediction that appears to be coming true — according to the results of a study recently published in Nature Scientific Reports — is how climate change might enhance
Vibrio vulnificus (创伤弧菌) flourishes in salty or brackish waters above 68℉. Infections are currently rare in the U.S., but that’s likely to change. Using 30 years of data on infections, scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found that Vibrio vulnificusis
“We’re seeing the core
Based on the latest data on how much the world’s water and air temperatures will rise, the scientists predict that by 2081, Vibrio vulnificus infections could reach every state along the U.S. East Coast. Currently, only about 80 cases are reported in the U.S. each year; by 2081, that could go up to over three-fold, the authors say.
Such a proliferation could have serious health consequences. Vibrio vulnificus kills approximately 20% of the healthy people it infects, and 50% of those with weakened immune systems. There is little evidence that antibiotics can
Warming sea temperatures aren’t the only reasons behind the rise of Vibrio vulnificus. Hotter air also draws more people to the coasts and bays, bringing them into closer contact with the bacteria.
“The bacteria are part of the natural marine environment, so I don’t think we can
To alert people to the growing threat,
Vbrio vulnificus is so
Lake says the expansion of Vibrio vulnificus is concerning for public health since the bacteria are now invading waters closer to heavily
| A．Even if | B．Except when | C．The instant | D．In case |
| A．numbers | B．ranges | C．coverages | D．concentrations |
| A．failure | B．fatality | C．survival | D．acid |
| A．ranging | B．varying | C．expanding | D．shifting |
| A．distribution | B．launch | C．community | D．sample |
| A．principle | B．lead | C．principal | D．hit |
| A．boost | B．accelerate | C．contain | D．remove |
| A．harms | B．damages | C．injuries | D．wounds |
| A．relieve | B．dissolve | C．resolve | D．erase |
| A．conscience | B．awareness | C．panic | D．alert |
| A．monitoring | B．processing | C．managing | D．delivering |
| A．sensible | B．vital | C．vulnerable | D．sensitive |
| A．populated | B．dense | C．paralleled | D．bordered |
| A．reaction | B．interaction | C．intervention | D．relativity |
| A．rather than | B．except for | C．such as | D．other than |
10 . In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic(官僚主义的)management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, well-equipped factories and piped music, and by psychologists and “human-relations” experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he does not wholeheartedly participate in his work and he is bored with it. In fact, the blue-collar and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management.
The worker and employee are anxious, seemingly because they might find themselves out of a job or they would say that they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. In fact, they feel desperate as they live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings.
Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the right mixture of submissiveness and independence. From the moment on they are tested again and again by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one’s fellow-competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.
Am I suggesting that we should return to the pre-industrial mode of production or to nineteenth-century “free enterprise” capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system from a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities - those of all love and of reason - are the aims of social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.
1. By “a well-oiled cog in the machinery”, the author expresses the idea that man is _________.| A．an essential part of society though individual’s function is negligible |
| B．expected to work in reasonable harmony with the rest of society |
| C．a replaceable component of society, though functioning smoothly |
| D．responsible for the smooth running of society and business operations |
| A．they are filled with well-founded fear of being unemployed |
| B．they don’t have any genuine satisfaction or being unemployed |
| C．they have to face the fundamental realities of human existence |
| D．they are deprived of their independence |
| A．hold well-paid and life-long jobs | B．enjoy high social status and reputation |
| C．outperform their fellow-competitors | D．stay away from over-competitiveness |
| A．resort to the production mode of our ancestors |
| B．offer higher wages to workers and employees |
| C．enable man to fully develop his potentialities |
| D．escape consumerism and embrace humanism |
