It was a Saturday morning as I prepared to take my eight-year-old son, David, to the aquarium. His eyes were widened with excitement, and he chattered non-stop about the sea creatures we would see, the sharks, the dolphins... We boarded the bus, and after a few stops, we made ourselves comfortably seated. David gazed out the window, watching the world go by with wonder.
The bus continued its route, and with each stop, it became increasingly crowded. Passengers of varying ages and backgrounds filled the seats. David and I were engaged in a light-hearted conversation about marine life, our anticipation and joy building with each passing minute.
As we approached a mid-route bus stop, an elderly lady boarded, her movements labored and her legs visibly unsteady. The bus was full, and for a moment, there was an obvious hesitation among the passengers, each perhaps weighing the social morals against their own comfort. The elderly lady seized her walking aid, swaying slightly with each lurch of the vehicle.
Noticing the elderly lady’s struggle, David made a decision. Without a moment’s hesitation, he rose from his seat. His small hand gestured towards the elderly lady. “You can sit here, ma'am,” he said, his voice clear and sincere. The elderly lady’s face transformed with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. “Oh, thank you, boy,” she said, her voice filling up with emotion. David then took her hand gently, helping her navigate through the crowd to the seat he had left for her. With the help of David, the lady eased herself into the seat, her relief evident. I felt pride welling up within me as I watched what David had done. Looking at David, who was standing now, I saw not just the playful child he was known to be, but the empathetic and considerate young man he was growing into.
注意：As the bus rolled on, it was filled with renewed warmth among the passengers.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________That evening, as we returned home, I couldn’t help but reflect on the true treasure of the day.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________| A．as | B．unless | C．what | D．where |
Biodegradable(可降解的) food packaging is designed to detect to what degree the food has gone bad by changing its color. Best-before labels are often poor predictors of when food becomes dangerous to eat, which can lead to waste and food poisoning, says Benedetto Marelli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So he and his colleagues tried to create the package that can react to changes in food.
They made four films(膜) similar to plastic package, each consisting of two layers. One layer was made from a protein extracted from silkworm silk, while the other was made of one of four so-called covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These materials contain carbon and hydrogen, as well as atoms like oxygen or nitrogen, all arranged in a network that allows air and water to go through easily.
After checking the films were non-toxic and strong, the researchers tried to compost(堆肥处理) them. For the best performing film, 50 percent of it degraded after being placed in soil for 30 days, which is comparable to existing biodegradable plastics.
The material also changed colour when immersed in water with different pH values, due to the COF layer’s interaction with the liquid. Because the pH of food increases as it spoils, the researchers tried to use a piece of the film as a colour-changing label attached to a packet of raw chicken. The label started off orange but turned yellow and got 17 percent lighter after 20 hours at 30℃, indicating that the meat had begun to spoil. The researchers also loaded the COF layer with a chemical. After 15 days, so ya beans packaged in the film and left in high heat and humidity went bad, but only a third as much as beans wrapped in traditional plastic.
“For a successful market entry, the material will need to be affordable and easy to produce. The standard for competing with plastic production is very high.” says Marelli.
1．Why did Marelli decide to create the package?| A．To improve the biodegradability of food. |
| B．To compete with plastic for market share. |
| C．To make a breakthrough in biotechnology. |
| D．To tackle food waste and enhance food safety. |
| A．The functions of films. | B．The categories of films. |
| C．The application of films. | D．The composition of films. |
| A．It prevents food from spoiling. | B．It shows sensitivity to chemicals. |
| C．It has incomparable biodegradability. | D．It is unaffected by unfavorable conditions. |
| A．Realistic. | B．Hopeless. | C．Optimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
What my father wore embarrassed me! I wanted him to dress like a doctor or lawyer, but he always dressed like my father, getting up before dawn every day to make breakfast for my mother and me.
We lived in South Texas, where my father worked as a repairman. He often wore a pair of jeans and a shirt, keeping his pencils, glasses and wrenches (扳手) in his breast pocket. His boots were those with steel toes that made them difficult to pull off his feet, which I sometimes helped him with when he returned from repairing cars — his job that also shamed me.
I blamed the way he dressed. I felt that my classmates laughed at me because they’d seen him mowing lawns (修剪草坪) in cut-off jeans and black boots. My classmates’ families paid men to beautify their lawns, while their fathers travelled in the bay wearing lemon-yellow sweaters and expensive shoes.
He preferred clothes that allowed him the freedom to move under cars. So even when taking part in a school trip with me, he was dressed in his repairman’s suit. On the school bus to the campsite, all students on the bus happily chatted with their parents except me, who lowered the head, avoiding spotting my classmates’ mocking glance (讥笑的眼光) or hearing their jokes, which I thought was about nothing else but what my father wore.
I regretted telling my parents the school trip, and I was very angry why my mother had no spare time while my father happened to have a vacation. But my father failed to read my mind. He was very happy, whistling a tune along the way.
Though my father didn’t sense my bad mood, the school bus seemed as sad as I was. It drove more and more slowly and finally it stopped on the roadside. The driver got out to check the bus but found nothing wrong. Students and parents on the bus began to whisper about what was happening, worried that the delay might spoil the journey.
When others were complaining, my father stood up.
The school bus restarted and everyone cheered.
In the little village of Meadowbrook, surrounded with rolling hills, lived two curious and adventurous twins, Sarah and Sam. At the age of twelve, the inseparable twins were always seeking new adventures.
One morning, Miss Harper, their favorite community service teacher, was introducing community volunteer work. Sam suddenly caught sight of the hill behind the schoolyard and was instantly inspired with the idea of climbing to the top.
“Sarah, ”whispered Sam, “Wouldn’t it be splendid if we climbed to the top of that hill today?It’s said to hold breathtaking views of our beloved village. ”
Hearing that, Sarah’s face lit up with excitement, her heart filled with eagemess. “Oh, Sam, that sounds great!But we promise Papa and Mama we will save our pocket money and not spend a single penny unnecessarily. ”With determination in their hearts, the twins worked out a plan. They decided to bring homemade snacks and refreshing drinks from their own kitchen, ensuring they wouldn’t spend a penny.
The twins set off on their journey, their backpacks filled with sandwiches, cookies, and bottles filled with cool, clear water from the village well. As they walked along the path, they noticed colorful trash scattered (散落) about, which ruined the natural beauty surrounding them.
A brilliant idea flashed into Sarah’s mind. “Why don’t we pick up the litter along the way?We could clean up our beloved countryside and maybe even earn a few coins by recycling the materials. ”
Excited by the idea, the twins eagerly collected the scattered items. As they reached the foot of the hill, their bags heavy with the collected waste, they came across a recycling center. With excitement, they exchanged their findings for shiny coins. With newfound treasures in their pockets, they climbed up the hill.
When they reached the top, they were greeted by a breathtaking view of their village. “It’s so beautiful!”Sam burst out,” We must share our adventure with Miss Harper and our classmates!”
The next morning, Sarah and Sam returned to school, eager to meet Miss Harper.
The following weekend, the entire class started to clean up their beloved village.
Last week, my 8-year-old daughter was listening to Nimo’s song Empty Hands. Suddenly, she put forward, “how about we
Every day they made a few cards—they cut the cards into shape of hearts, wrote kind messages and wishes and then
Within a week, they had around 50 cards ready to be
Finally, on Friday, July 10th, kids
Beautiful souls (灵魂) with so much
| A．form | B．apply | C．make | D．describe |
| A．neighborhood | B．stadium | C．downtown | D．apartment |
| A．put | B．kicked | C．taken | D．set |
| A．operated | B．addicted | C．spread | D．decorated |
| A．suggestions | B．messages | C．news | D．information |
| A．hearing | B．suffering | C．destroying | D．spreading |
| A．arranged | B．demanded | C．damaged | D．delivered |
| A．since | B．once | C．while | D．before |
| A．nodded | B．shook | C．raised | D．hung |
| A．softly | B．excitedly | C．crazily | D．anxiously |
| A．went around | B．turned around | C．went up | D．turned up |
| A．unique | B．mild | C．fluent | D．warm |
| A．behave | B．refer | C．react | D．imagine |
| A．at | B．by | C．to | D．until |
| A．advance | B．effort | C．love | D．praise |
Human demands for natural resources have doubled in less than 50 years and are now beyond what the earth can provide, a report warned. If humans carry on like this, we will need two earths by 2030. The population of wildlife has fallen by 60% in thirty years.
The report said British people are consuming (消耗) far more than the earth can deal with. If everyone lived such a lifestyle, humans would need 2.75 planets to survive. People are now living lifestyles which would require 1.5 planets, though there are great differences between rich and poor nations.
Researchers studied the global change in land use and water consumption. The UK comes 31st in a list of countries based on “ecological footprint (生态足迹)” that measures how much land and sea each person needs to produce the resources they consume and to absorb (吸收) the wastes. The UK has fallen down from 15th place in the last report two years ago to 3lst place, but the WWF believes it is an increase in other countries’ efforts rather than a reduction in the UK’s use of resources.
Ireland has the 10th highest ecological footprint, while the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, Belgium and the US are the five worst countries for over-consumption of resources. The study suggests if the expected global population of 9.2 billion in 2050 were to eat a Malaysian diet, 1.3 planets would be needed but if everyone were to eat an Italian diet, humans would need almost two planets. Those countries that can provide the highest quality of life using the lowest amount of resources will not only serve the global interest, but will be the leaders in a resource-limited world.
1．We will probably need __________earths if we follow the British lifestyle.| A．1.3 | B．2.75 |
| C．2 | D．1.5 |
| A．It has something to do with human demands for resources and their wastes. |
| B．It is used to produce the resources and absorb the wastes. |
| C．We can know the total amount of resources on the earth through it. |
| D．It is about changes in land use and water consumption across the globe. |
| A．the earth won’t be able to meet human needs after 50 years. |
| B．the UK has possibly not reduced the use of resources over the past two years. |
| C．Ireland has a lower ecological footprint than the UK. |
| D．there are no big differences in lifestyle between rich and poor nations. |
| A．has a larger population than Italy. |
| B．consumes fewer resources than Italy. |
| C．would need almost two planets. |
| D．has the highest quality of life. |
Mark Temple, a medical molecular (分子的) biologist, used to spend a lot of time in his lab researching new drugs for cancer treatments. He would extract DNA from cells and then add a drug to see where it was binding (结合) along the chemical sequence(序列). Before he introduced the drug, he’d look at DNA combination on a screen to see what might work best for the experiment, but the visual readout of the sequences was often unimaginably large.
So Temple wondered if there was an easier way to detect favorable patterns. I realized I wanted to hear the sequence,” says Temple, who is also a musician. He started his own system of assigning notes to the different elements of DNA — human DNA is made of four distinct bases, so it was easy to start off with four notes — and made a little tune out of his materials. This trick indeed helped him better spot patterns in the sequences, which allowed him to make better choices about which DNA combinations to use.
Temple isn’t the first person to turn scientific data into sound. In the past 40 years, researchers have gone from exploring this trick as a fun way to spot patterns in their studies to
So Temple decided to add layers of sound to make the sonification (可听化) into songs. He sees a clear difference between “sonification” and “musification”. Using sound to represent data is scientific, but very different from using creative input to make songs. The musical notes from DNA may be melodic to the human ear, but they don’t sound like a song you’d listen to on the radio. So when he tried to sonify the virus, he added layers of drums and guitar, and had some musician friends add their own music to turn the virus into a full-blown post-rock song.
Temple sees this work as an effective communication tool that will help a general audience understand complex systems in biology. He has performed his songs in public at concert halls in Australia.
1．What is Mark Temple’s purpose in turning DNA data into sound?| A．To help him fight boredom. | B．To develop his creative ability. |
| C．To make his drug more powerful. | D．To aid the process of his experiments. |
| A．Its effect remains to be seen. | B．It failed to work as expected. |
| C．It is too complicated to operate. | D．It has produced satisfying results. |
| A．To get rid of public fear of the virus. |
| B．To show h1s talent in producing music. |
| C．To facilitate people’s understanding of science. |
| D．To remind people or the roe or Science in art creation. |
| A．Why scientists are turning molecules into music. |
| B．How scientists help the public understand science. |
| C．Why music can be the best way to present science. |
| D．How music helps scientists conduct their research. |
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