People in Japan tend to live longer and stay healthier in their later years, with an increasing number of old people living alone. Japan is on a fast track to “ultra-age” with people aged 65 or above accounting for 28 percent of its total population in 2019；it was 26.7 percent in 2017. On the other hand, the number of births in 2019 fell to its lowest (about 941,000) since records began in 1899.
Demand for care services for elderly people has increased. A shrinking (缩小) working population means fewer able-bodied adults are available to look after the elderly. State-provided facilities for the elderly are not enough, which causes elderly people to turn to private ones but they are expensive.
The country will be short of 380,000 of health nurses by 2025. The government has to turn to advanced robots to meet the shortage. A study found that using robots encouraged one third of the people to become more active and independent. Yet there is no robot that can provide the emotional support to the elderly.
Japan provides a case study for China, which is also faced with a fast aging population. 17.23 million babies were born in China in 2019, about 630,000 fewer than in 2018. People aged 60 accounted for 17.3 of China’s population in 2019. With a shortage of elderly care facilities and unbalanced supply, China may find it hard to deal with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens.
To meet the challenge, the Chinese government should make policy changes, which Japan is unwilling or unable to do or even consider. China should pay attention to the signals its aging population is sending and take proper and timely action.
1．What do we learn about the old Japanese?| A．More and more old Japanese prefer to live on their own. |
| B．A lot of old Japanese have to continue working at old age. |
| C．Some old Japanese remain active with the help of robots. |
| D．Japanese aged 65 or above make up one third of its population. |
| A．They are expensive. | B．They are inconvenient. |
| C．They are affordable. | D．They are fashionable. |
| A．They hire foreign health nurses. |
| B．They employ advanced robots. |
| C．They set up more nursing schools. |
| D．They train the elderly to tend themselves. |
| A．Japan has to take action to deal with the aging population. |
| B．Robots can’t provide emotional support to the elderly. |
| C．China is now faced with a fast aging population. |
| D．Japan’s aging population issue is a timely lesson for China. |
Plants cannot run or hide, so they need other strategies to avoid being eaten. Some curl up their leaves, others produce chemicals to make themselves taste bad if they sense animals drooling on them, chewing them up or laying eggs on them—all signals of an attack. New research now shows some flora can feel a plant-eating animal well before it launches an attack, letting a plant prepare a preemptive（先发制人的）defense that even works against other pest species.
When ecologist John Orrock of the University of Wisconsin-Madison sprayed snail slime—a liquid the animals release as they slide along—onto soil, nearby tomato plants appeared to notice. They increased their levels of an enzyme（酶）, which is known to prevent plant-eating animals. “None of the plants were ever actually attacked,” Orrock says. “We just gave them cues that suggested an attack was coming, and that was enough to cause big changes in their chemistry.”
Initially Orrock found this defense worked against snails; in the latest study, his team measured the slimy warning’s impact on another potential threat. The investigators found that hungry caterpillars（毛虫）, which usually eat tomato leaves greedily, had no appetite for them after the plants were exposed to snail slime and activated their chemical resistance. This nonspecific defense may be a strategy that benefits the plants by further improving their overall possibilities of survival, says Orrock, who reported the results with his colleagues in March in Oecologia.
The finding that a snail’s approach can cause a plant response that affects a different animal made Richard Karban curious, a plant communications expert, who was not involved in the study. “It is significant that the plants are responding before being damaged and that these cues are having such far-ranging effects, ” Karban says. The research was comprehensive, he adds, but he wonders how the tomato plants felt chemicals in snail slime that never actually touched them.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Orrock says. He hopes future research will make out the mechanisms that enable plants to sense these relatively distant cues.
1．John Orrock sprayed a liquid onto soil near tomato plants to ________.| A．make them grow better |
| B．give them a warning |
| C．keep plant-eating animals away |
| D．inform plant-eating animals of danger |
| A．To introduce another animal. |
| B．To confirm the result of the study. |
| C．To appeal to people to protect animals. |
| D．To analyze different resistance chemicals. |
| A．How tomato plants become aware of danger. |
| B．What the chemicals in the snail slime are. |
| C．Whether the research is of practical value. |
| D．What the finding of the research is. |
| A．Watchful Plants. | B．Greedy Animals. |
| C．A Snail’s Approach. | D．A Defense Attack. |
As a little girl, Nia‘s with her family had to move often, finding shelter in rooms with relatives. Tensions rose with every move and shouting matches were constant. When everything came to a boil, Nia found it best to keep silent. She became more and more withdrawn as she got older, losing confidence in herself and her voice.
When she was a young adult, Nia had developed a fear of speaking. So when a friend told her about YouthCare’s Tile Project, she was terrified. However, Nia wanted to take steps to find a job and support herself, no longer relying on her family. So she finally took a deep breath and decided to give it a shot, for better or for worse.
Nia signed up for a ceramic (陶瓷) class. The passion she gained for learning a new craft was clear — but when it came to group activities in the classroom, Nia struggled. She told staff that she didn’t like being around people she didn’t know. So when the class was given the opportunity to sell their artwork at a local fair, Nia hesitated. With the support from YouthCare Career Coordinator, Kate, she cautiously nodded, willing to have a try.
When the big day came, shoppers poured into the fair, approaching Nia with questions about the program and art pieces for sale. Each time, red-faced Nia turned to Kate to whisper the answers in her ear, and Kate repeated the answers out loud with a smile. At one point during the fair, she was left alone for a moment. When a customer came up to ask a question, looking around and finding no Kate round, embarrassed Nia had to answer the question with hesitation. Soon after, another visitor came.
When Kate returned to her side, Nia finally could fight back her fears and answered their questions in a soft voice on her own.
Nia’s confidence grew with every interaction.
That day at the fair was life-changing for Nia.
Collette was born in 1990 with Down syndrome (唐氏综合征). Her mother, Rosemary, promised to never treat her daughter differently or stop her pursuing dreams. Rosemary always supported her daughter’s ambitious pursuits. “I never feel the need to tell her she’s different. To me, it is just a label, and we all have strengths and weaknesses,” explained Rosemary. Despite being treated no differently at home, Rosemary could not control how others would regard Collette in the outside world. In high school, Collette endured years of loneliness and didn’t have many friends. She found comfort and a sense of achievement in her favorite hobby, baking.
After graduating from Clemson University, at age 26, Collette confidently went out into the job market. She had finished the three-year program a year early and posted good grades. Despite her excellent academic records, several potential employers rejected her, saying she wasn’t “a good fit”. It was too sad and hard for Collette to face. Some people saw her as a labeled individual with disabilities and they would not give her a chance. Collette recalled of her disappointing job search, “To me, it felt like they didn’t like me at all because of who I am. No one would hire me, so I decided to open my own business.” Collette started to take matters into her own hands by focusing on her strengths and her passions for baking.
Collette used rejection as fuel to build her baking business. With no business experience, but inspired by her encouraging family, she started her own cookie business. Rosemary helped guide Collette in the opening of her first business. With Collette’s drive combined with the support of family, friends and the community, the business met with a good start.
Mount Tai, located just north of Tai’an city in East China’s Shandong Province, is a mountain of historical and cultural
Among the Five Sacred Mountains (the other four are Heng Mountain of Hunan Province, Hua Mountain of Shaanxi Province, Song Mountain of Henan Province and Heng Mountain of Shanxi Province), Mount Tai is only the third highest. Why is it seen as the
In absolute terms, Mount Tai cannot be considered as the highest of China’s mountains, but because it is
Many Chinese emperors climbed to the top for enthronement (登基) or other significant ceremonies in ancient China, for they considered it to be a
Mount Tai is famous for its various stone inscriptions, which are the works of either ancient emperors or celebrities. The stone inscriptions
| A．evidence | B．significance | C．confidence | D．existence |
| A．partner | B．member | C．leader | D．laggard |
| A．close | B．far | C．remote | D．proper |
| A．absolute | B．relative | C．real | D．perfect |
| A．altitude | B．width | C．longitude | D．attitude |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Otherwise | D．Moreover |
| A．chance | B．change | C．death | D．renewal |
| A．gift | B．symbol | C．beginning | D．call |
| A．look at | B．go through | C．look for | D．go back |
| A．preserved | B．ruined | C．collected | D．hid |
| A．newspapers | B．information | C．articles | D．advertisements |
| A．combine | B．change | C．stop | D．increase |
| A．exciting | B．famous | C．delicate | D．rough |
| A．importance | B．magnificence | C．possibility | D．difference |
| A．powerless | B．pale | C．weak | D．forceful |
John Brown is a college student, who is performing well in all aspects. But when he was two years old, he suffered from autism (孤独症) that delayed his brain’s growth. The basic symptoms included inability to pick up social cues, a refusal to interact with friends or family, and a lack of skills in processing speech, thinking and learning.
John’s parents, who were teachers, were initially shocked at the revelation. What’s worse, they learned the bad news that John was going to become blind when he grew up. Even so, they kept his illness as a secret under medical advice, and were always there for their son.
As little John was at school, he began to notice how other kids were able to answer questions in class a lot faster than he did. Because of his significantly slow thinking, it took him many minutes to come up with an answer to the best of his abilities. But he worked harder than other classmates for his coursework, such as sitting in front of the class to read the words on the blackboard better, and spending longer time studying to pass tests.
John’s parents still stood by him, encouraging him and saying, “You are the best!” They recorded every detail of his growth in a notebook. But they were not prepared for how the following events positively changed their son’s life forever. Through primary and secondary schools, John began to change from keeping to himself to interacting with his classmates.
When he entered the college, he joined the marching band, something he never had any interest in, but his mom convinced him that it was a great way to not only make friends, but also help gain more confidence in himself. Later, he played the trumpet (小号) well and got along well with the band members.
At the same time, he showed his talent for creative writing and wrote his first essay about a brave man. His thinking ability and imagination made leaps. As he got even older, he taught his fellow classmates how to write essays well, and even shared what original pieces he wrote with them, despite the fact he was still unaware about his illness.
However, one day when John came home from college, he accidentally found a medical chart in his parents’ room.
Now, as an excellent college student, John is full of confidence and hope.
John decided to go skiing with his friend, Keith. So they loaded up John’s car and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible snowstorm. The snow was falling harder and harder and it was more and more difficult to go on driving. So they decided to look for a house along the way to protect themselves from the heavy snow. At last they saw a small farm in front of them. Thus they pulled into the farm and asked the middle-aged lady who answered the door if they could spend the night in her house.
“I realize it’s terrible weather out there but I have this house only big enough for my five children, and I have no spare room for you,” she explained. “I’m afraid that I can’t offer you a comfortable place to spend the night and you have to continue to look for your shelter.”
John and Keith felt disappointed. It was late and they were not sure of finding a safe shelter for the night. They didn’t know what they should do next. John looked at Keith, who kept silent. Just then, he looked around and found an empty storehouse in the yard. An idea struck him. He was determined to beg the lady to permit them to stay in the storehouse.
“Don’t worry,” John said. “We’ll be happy to sleep in the storehouse. And if the weather breaks, we’ll be gone at first light.” The lady agreed, and the two men found their way to the storehouse and settled in for the night.
It turned out that they came to help John and Keith go through the freezing night.
Waking up the next day, John and Keith found their door blocked by heavy snow.
Nancy was the special service representative at New York’s LaGuardia airport. One day when she was in the departure lounged (候机室), she spotted a boy in tears and obvious emotional pain, whose mother at his side also appeared upset. Being a clerk of the airport as well as a parent, she was curious if she could be of assistance.
As it turned out, their flight to O’Hare in Chicago was full, and they couldn’t sit together. The boy was terrified to be separated from his mother. Those were the days when the first-class cabins were not always full, so Nancy seated mother and son in first class.
In their later chat, Nancy also found out that the boy, who was called Miles, and his mom were returning to their home in Kansas City. Miles was suffering serious health problems with internal (内部的) organs. They had spent the last two weeks at Long Island Jewish Hospital. He would be back to the hospital through LaGuardia many more times.
During the numerous trips, the friendship and bond between Miles’s family and Nancy’s service staff grew closer. Miles began to enjoy his flights through LaGuardia because he was allowed to spend time in the VIP lounge, where an entire wall was filled with pictures of many celebrities (名人) who frequented the office. The picture of a country singer Garth Brooks, Miles’s hero, the person he most admired, also hung there. Soon Miles’s picture was also added to the wall of fame.
One day, Mr. Brooks was traveling for a performance from LaGuardia and relaxing in the lounge waiting for his flight to depart. He was interested in the picture of the youngster with the big smile on the wall. He was told about Miles, knowing how much Miles loved and admired him, Mr Brooks left his guitar and penned a few words of encouragement inside the guitar case.
He asked Nancy to deliver the guitar and his cowboy hat to Miles.
That evening, Nancy took Garth’s guitar and hat to Miles.
More exciting news to Miles came about six months later.
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