Masses of ocean plastic are providing artificial habitat (栖息地) for otherwise coastal species, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The study’s authors observed floating water bottles, old toothbrushes and waste fishing nets. The possibility exists that species may be evolving to better adapt to life on plastic.
A decade ago, marine researchers believed coastal species could not survive a trip across the inhospitable open ocean. Yet Japan’s 2011 tsunami (海啸), which sent some 300 species of Asian marine life riding floating plastic garbage onto North American shores, disproved that assumption.
Ocean plastic is “creating opportunities for coastal species’ biogeography to greatly expand beyond what we previously thought was possible”, Linsey Haram, a researcher and co-author of the study, said in a report.
The concept of species-covered plastic may sound like the story of ocean species’ victory in spite of human pollution. But that’s not quite the case, explains Juan José Alava, PhD, an expert at the University of British Columbia. In addition to transporting non-native species to new habitats where they may become invasive and destructive, the plastic is “basically an ecological trap”, says Alava. “That’s because small species on the floating structure may attract bigger animals to come for food. When these creatures enter garbage areas for food, they run a high risk of eating and/or becoming caught in plastic and dying.”
While scientists have found some types of bacteria (细菌) are able to break down plastic, thereby cleaning up garbage, it’s unlikely that the marine animals will have any such effect. “The 2021 UN report was clear that the increasing plastic pollution is putting the health of all the world’s oceans and seas at risk,” says Alava.
1．What does the underlined word “inhospitable” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Easy-to-spot. | B．Up-to-standard. |
| C．Down-to-earth. | D．Hard-to-stay. |
| A．Putting them at greater risk. |
| B．Causing them to grow bigger. |
| C．Enabling them to live in new habitats. |
| D．Freeing them from getting endangered. |
| A．It increases some creatures’ curiosity. |
| B．It causes damage to all marine species. |
| C．It creates habitats for larger creatures. |
| D．It leads to the death of some creatures. |
| A．Ocean plastic must be dealt with. |
| B．It’s OK to throw plastic into the ocean. |
| C．Marine life may adapt to ocean plastic. |
| D．Ocean plastic may be cleaned up soon. |
For Wang Pengfei and Tian Xiaowei, Central Academy of Drama graduates, William Shakespeare’s works were a must-read during their college days. After graduation, they have been working together on Chinese plays with Wang as a producer and Tian as a director.
In 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic(疫情) hit, Tian considered creating a play. Since most of his works were based on classic works, Tian decided to write an original play. This turned out to be a three-hour-long play, titled Will, exploring the life story of Shakespeare.
“When we researched Shakespeare’s own life story, we found that we shared lots of experiences and emotions with him.” says Wang when asked about the inspiration. Tian agrees: “We share the passion for theater. We face problems after we left school, such as looking for job opportunities to make ends meet, and struggling between reality and dreams. We see ourselves through this play, Will.”
With four actors and actresses playing more than 30 roles, the play follows the man, Will, who, at the age of 5, entered the theater of Stratford City Hall by accident and became attached to it. Before adulthood, he went to London to seek his theater dream and launched his career, which brought him fortune and fame(名声). Then in his later years, he returned to Stratford, his hometown and stayed there until his death.
Premiered(首映) on July 22, the play was staged in Beijing and Shenzhen and was warmly received by both audiences and critics. In 2022, it will start a new round of shows in Beijing in April and July and is expected to be watched by about 13,000.
When asked about the feeling, Wang says, “Both Tian and I felt like returning to our school days when we fully devoted into creating plays and were not distracted. It felt great.”
1．What do we know about Tian?| A．He knew little about Shakespeare. | B．He adapted a play from classics. |
| C．He has teamed up with Wang. | D．He has served as a producer. |
| A．What made them create Will. | B．How they drafted Will. |
| C．The necessity of watching Will. | D．The introduction to Will. |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By following the time order. |
| C．By giving various examples. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．Bringing Shakespeare to life | B．Shakespeare’s influence on China |
| C．The popularity of Shakespeare | D．Saying hello to Shakespeare |
As a housewife, I had Kransky, our dog, for almost two years. One day when I was calling my mum, Kransky was sniffing a mole (痣) on my right leg with his wet nose over and over. I kept laughing and told mum about it. After hearing my explanation, her tone changed. “There’s been research on pets being able to discover illness,” she replied. “Please, book in a skin check.”
But then I just care little about it and didn’t do anything. When she followed up a couple of times though, I made an appointment with my doctor. On seeing the mole on my leg, the doctor insisted it be removed immediately. I was surprised by his seriousness and had the mole removed on the spot. A few days later, the doctor’s office told me that I had a cancerous melanoma (黑色素瘤) and gave me details of a surgeon who would remove it. I made the arrangements and quickly hung up. Tears flowed as anger filled my body. “You’ve left it too late,” I spoke angrily to myself.
My surgery was set for eight weeks’ time, and Kransky was by my side through it all. After the surgery, a doctor advised me to have regular skin checks every three months for years. Thankfully, this meant no chemotherapy (化疗) or radiation. And I often think if Kransky hadn’t found it out, my situation would have been so much worse.
Now, I’m sharing my story to remind others to get skin checks regularly. Not everyone has an angel like Kransky to point out when something’s wrong.
1．What did the mum want her daughter to do?| A．To see a doctor. | B．To take a skin care. |
| C．To abandon the dog. | D．To check into a hospital. |
| A．She refused the doctor’s advice. | B．She met a wrong surgeon. |
| C．She felt rather regretful. | D．She was in high spirits. |
| A．Curious. | B．Honest. | C．Critical. | D．Grateful. |
| A．A movie review. | B．A short story. |
| C．A research paper. | D．A lecture notice. |
Kids generally like Labor Day because they’re off school. But do they know what they’re celebrating every first Monday in September? Sure, we can explain how it’s the holiday devoted to American workers. However, there might be a better way to teach them about it with these ideas.
Write thank-you letters
Labor Day celebrates the labor movement and workers here in our great country. Even little ones can thank our nation’s hardest workers during this holiday weekend. Help your child write a thank-you card to a worker they admire and then deliver it by hand or by mail.
Have a sing-along with friends
Rally(召集) the kids and lead them in an epic American sing-along to celebrate our country and its amazing workers. Be sure to have a loud speaker on hand and print out words for the children to follow along. Don’t be alarmed if the gathering turns into a completely developed dance party!
Make footprint vehicles
Ask the kids to think of some of the vehicles our nation’s workers use to do their jobs. Paint the bottom of your child’s foot with washable paint and help them make a footprint on a piece of paper. Give them markers to help them turn their footprint into their favorite worker vehicle. So cute!
Create a career mobile
Buy or make a hanging photo mobile, and have the kids add photos of American workers. Ask the children what they want to be when they grow up — place their dream career in the center and hang others off to the sides.
| A．May 1st. | B．September 2nd. |
| C．September 19th. | D．May 4th. |
| A．Have a sing-along with friends. |
| B．Make footprint vehicles. |
| C．Write thank-you letters. |
| D．Create a career mobile. |
| A．American holidays for children. |
| B．Proper gifts for American workers. |
| C．Better ways to teach about Labor Day. |
| D．Different ways to cheer up kids at home. |
At Christmas time, I often reflect upon one particular evening in the early 1960s. Back then, we decided to go carolling (唱圣诞颂歌) to spread the Christmas spirit which might
Soon we discovered that carolling brought various
One stop on our journey particularly
We stepped briskly upward into the couple’s
Sitting beside his wife, the gentleman gave us a
A smile flickered on the woman’s
At that moment, we found, and maybe even
| A．change | B．brighten | C．shape | D．influence |
| A．sponsored | B．consulted | C．dismissed | D．recruited |
| A．requirement | B．objective | C．reward | D．privilege |
| A．consequences | B．responses | C．comments | D．bonuses |
| A．awkwardly | B．passively | C．randomly | D．positively |
| A．stuck in | B．woke up | C．stirred up | D．slipped from |
| A．commanded | B．proposed | C．requested | D．recommended |
| A．shamefully | B．hesitantly | C．suspiciously | D．proudly |
| A．unfurnished | B．adorable | C．tiny | D．trendy |
| A．for the sake of | B．for fear of | C．in spite of | D．in the hope of |
| A．smile | B．glance | C．tune | D．nod |
| A．grace | B．seriousness | C．bitterness | D．sympathy |
| A．fake | B．bright | C．rosy | D．wrinkled |
| A．presence | B．absence | C．expectation | D．circle |
| A．created | B．acquired | C．spread | D．regained |
The scientist’s job is to figure out how the world works, to “torture (拷问)” Nature to reveal her secrets, as the 17th century philosopher Francis Bacon described it. But who are these people in the lab coats (or sports jackets, or T-shirts and jeans) and how do they work? It turns out that there is a good deal of mystery surrounding the mystery-solvers.
“One of the greatest mysteries is the question of what it is about human beings — brains, education, culture etc. that makes them capable of doing science at all,” said Colin Allen, a cognitive scientist at Indiana University.
Two vital ingredients seem to be necessary to make a scientist: the curiosity to seek out mysteries and the creativity to solve them. “Scientists exhibit a heightened level of curiosity,” reads a 2007 report on scientific creativity. “They go further and deeper into basic questions showing a passion for knowledge for its own sake.” Max Planck, one of the fathers of quantum physics, once said, the scientist “must have a vivid and intuitive imagination, for new ideas are not generated by deduction (推论), but by an artistically creative imagination.”
But others disagree with this universal scientific mind. They believe that scientists have special abilities that set them apart. Discovering these abilities may be hard, Allen thinks, as many scientists will be reluctant to reveal them and would prefer to preserve the mystery of creativity, fearing that if it became an object of study it would lose its magic.
But for Allen, this is all part of a bigger question of what lies behind anyone’s behavior. “We are only just beginning to understand how the characteristics of organisms, including ourselves, aren’t the fixed products of either genes or of environment/culture, but each of us is the product of a continual interactive process in which we help build the environments that in turn shape us,” he said.
“As long as our best technology for seeing inside the brain requires subjects to lie nearly motionless while surrounded by a giant magnet, we’re only going to make limited pro gress on these questions,” Allen said.
1．Why does the author mention Max Planck in paragraph 3?| A．To introduce a famous scientist. | B．To stress the role of creativity in science. |
| C．To compare different views on science. | D．To illustrate what is curiosity inscience. |
| A．Human behavior is changeable and unpredictable. |
| B．We are passively influenced by our genes and culture. |
| C．Our interaction with the environment makes us who we are. |
| D．Current technology has revealed a lot about human behavior. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Indifferent. | C．Approving. | D．Pessimistic. |
| A．Who Are The Mystery-solvers | B．Scientists Are Not Born But Made |
| C．Great Mystery: What Makes A Scientist | D．Solving Mysteries: Inside A Scientist's Mind |
Sitting in the garden for my friend’s birthday. I felt a buzz (振动) in my pocket. My heart raced when I saw the email sender’s name. The email started off: “Dear Mr Green, thank you for your interest” and “the review process took longer than expected.” It ended with “We are sorry to inform you…” and my vision blurred (模糊). The position—measuring soil quality in the Sahara Desert as part of an undergraduate research programme — had felt like the answer I had spent years looking for.
I had put so much time and emotional energy into applying, and I thought the rejection meant the end of the road for my science career.
So I was shocked when, not long after the email, Professor Mary Devon, who was running the programme, invited me to observe the work being done in her lab. I jumped at the chance, and a few weeks later I was equally shocked—and overjoyed—when she invited me to talk with her about potential projects I could pursue in her lab. What she proposed didn’t seem as exciting as the original project I had applied to, but I was going to give it my all.
I found myself working with a robotics professor on techniques for collecting data from the desert remotely. That project, which I could complete from my sofa instead of in the burning heat of the desert, not only survived the lockdown but worked where traditional methods didn’t. In the end, I had a new scientific interest to pursue.
When I applied to graduate school, I found three programmes promising to allow me to follow my desired research direction. And I applied with the same anxious excitement as before. When I was rejected from one that had seemed like a perfect fit, it was undoubtedly difficult. But this time I had the perspective (视角) to keep it from sending me into panic. It helped that in the end I was accepted into one of the other programmes I was also excited about.
Rather than setting plans in stone, I’ve learned that sometimes I need to take the opportunities that are offered, even if they don’t sound perfect at the time, and make the most of them.
1．How did the author feel upon seeing the email sender’s name?| A．Anxious. | B．Angry. | C．Surprised. | D．Settled. |
| A．criticise the review process | B．stay longer in the Sahara Desert |
| C．apply to the original project again | D．put his heart and soul into the lab work |
| A．demanding | B．inspiring | C．misleading | D．amusing |
| A．An invitation is a reputation. | B．An innovation is a resolution. |
| C．A rejection can be a redirection. | D．A reflection can be a restriction. |
Sam was a junior high school student. He lived in a community in Charlotte and usually had little exposure to country life. So much of what he knew about plants came from text-books. Sam was a kind-hearted person. He longed for a chance to explore nature and he wanted to do his part to beautify the world.
Finally, the opportunity came. On Arbor Day (植树节), his class organized a trip to a local village to plant trees. Sam was excited about it and couldn’t wait to tell his mom the good news. So the next day, Sam and his mom went to buy some tools for planting trees, including a shovel(铲), a bucket, gloves and so on.
On the day of the event, Sam and his classmates arrived early at the starting point. It was a beautiful day and everyone looked particularly happy. With the tools in hand, Sam got into the bus with everyone else and headed off to their destination.
As soon as they reached the village, all the students were divided into three teams by their teacher. One team was responsible for planting the trees, one team for shovelling the soil and one team for watering the trees. At the teacher’s command, everyone started to do their job.
However, it was the first time that many of the students had taken part in planting trees, so they had no idea about how to start. Of course, Sam was one of them. Fortunately, their teacher was a middle-aged man from the countryside who had some knowledge of planting trees. In order to set an example to the students, the teacher started to plant trees himself. After watching the teacher plant the trees, everyone also became busy. Before long, they planted hundreds of trees. Sam watched very carefully, not wanting to miss any of the details. Finally, Sam learned how to plant trees by himself and felt happy.
A few days later, a storm damaged some young trees in the community.
The neighbours praised Sam for what he had done.
During China’s dynastic period, emperors planned the city of Beijing
In the Ming Dynasty, the center was the Forbidden City,
Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing. Thanks to Beijing’s long history
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