After my husband's Chinese kung fu school was open for about a week, my daughters and I decided to see how it was going. We were deeply
We had to
I am
| A．bored | B．upset | C．nervous | D．moved |
| A．cheerfully | B．aggressively | C．alone | D．forever |
| A．act | B．joke | C．appear | D．learn |
| A．families | B．workmates | C．consultants | D．students |
| A．more than | B．in place of | C．rather than | D．in case of |
| A．speeches | B．moves | C．manners | D．designs |
| A．useful | B．accessible | C．similar | D．comparable |
| A．challenging | B．astonishing | C．relaxing | D．inspiring |
| A．got together | B．signed up | C．broke away | D．stayed on |
| A．Eventually | B．Unfortunately | C．Obviously | D．Regularly |
| A．discovered | B．joined | C．united | D．attracted |
| A．traditional | B．homeless | C．disabled | D．typical |
| A．blind | B．deaf | C．lame | D．stupid |
| A．threat | B．encouragement | C．adjustment | D．approval |
| A．protect | B．recognize | C．feed | D．educate |
| A．stubborn | B．proud | C．sensitive | D．tentative |
| A．apply to | B．give up | C．try out | D．hold back |
| A．appreciated | B．predicted | C．ignored | D．considered |
| A．helpful | B．successful | C．cheerful | D．enthusiastic |
| A．some | B．either | C．none | D．any |
In India, vendors (小贩) travel around with iron boxes full of hot coals which they use to iron clothes. Vinisha Umashankar noticed that six of these vendors were present in her town of Tiruvannamalai, when she was 12 years old. Concerned about the environmental effect of burning charcoal (木炭), the young lady went to work designing an innovative solution: a solar-powered ironing cart (小推车) attached to a bicycle. Now at age 15, her idea has turned into a real invention.
Umashankar became interested in science from a young age. At age eight, she learned of the climate crisis, which drove her to come up with a clean-energy solution to the ironing vendors in India. In 2019, the then-tween spent months researching college-level physics to learn about solar panels. She made a design for a bicycle car with solar panels to power a steam iron. Her design received recognition at the National Innovation Foundation, which assigned engineers to help her create the cart, known as the Iron-Max.
The cart stores sunshine in a battery for cloudy days. Five hours of sunshine provide enough energy for six hours of ironing. The bike also has a cellphone charging port so the vendor can earn extra income by charging for a charge. The Iron-Max is free from the matter and greenhouse gases released by the traditional coal carts.
The invention had entered several international competitions. Umashankar was one of 15 finalists at the first-ever Earthshot Prize. Although she did not win the prize, she was the youngest finalist in the “Clean Our Air” category. She also won last year’s Children’s Climate Prize.
With her invention, Umashankar made a powerful five-minute speech at COP26, the UN’s climate summit, which has been making headlines. Umashankar said in her speech, “You are deciding whether or not we will have a chance to live in a habitable world. You are deciding whether or not we are worth fighting for, worth supporting, and worth caring for.”
1．Why did Umashankar design a solar-powered ironing cart?| A．To free vendors from carrying heavy boxes. |
| B．To promote the sales of clean-energy bicycles. |
| C．To attract more vendors to her town to iron clothes. |
| D．To reduce the environmental effect of burning charcoal. |
| A．What vendors in India need most. | B．What makes the Iron-Max popular. |
| C．How Umashankar made her invention. | D．How Umashankar finished her college |
| A．It fails to work on cloudy days. | B．It is not attached to a bicycle. |
| C．It has gained some recognition. | D．It can still lead to air pollution |
| A．A modest speaker. | B．A hard-working vendor. |
| C．A talented engineer. | D．A practical environmentalist. |
An AI has designed anti-microbial (抗菌的) proteins that were then tested in real life and shown to work.
Proteins are made of chains of amino acids (氨基酸). The sequencest (序列) of those acids determine the protein’s shape and function. Ali Madani at Profluent, a biotechnology start-up in California, and his colleagues used an AI to design millions of new proteins, and then created a small sample of those to test whether they worked.
The AI, called ProGen, works in a similar way to AIs that can generate text. ProGen learned how to generate new proteins by learning the grammar of how amino acids combine to form 280 million existing proteins. Instead of choosing a topic for the AI to write about, the researchers could specify a group of similar proteins for it to focus on. In this case, they chose a group of proteins with anti-microbial activity.
The researchers programmed checks into the AI’s process, and they also tested a sample of the AI-proposed molecules in real cells. Of the 100 molecules they physically created, 66 participated in chemical reactions similar to those of natural proteins that destroy bacteria. This suggested that these new proteins could also kill bacteria.
The researchers then imaged them with X-rays. Even though their amino acid sequences were up to 30 percent different from any existing proteins, their shapes almost matched naturally occurring proteins. James Fraser at the University of California, San Francisco, who was part of the team, says it was not clear from the start that the AI could work out how to change the amino acid sequence so much and still produce the correct shape.
“A similar process could be used to create new test molecules for drug development, though they will still have to be tested in labs, which is time-consuming,” says Madani.
1．How does ProGen produce anti-microbial proteins?| A．By following the way amino acids form proteins. |
| B．By combining several kinds of existing proteins. |
| C．By changing some materials from new medicines. |
| D．By mixing several current proteins with amino acids. |
| A．They ensured they were produced in real cells. |
| B．They only analyzed their amino acid sequences. |
| C．They found they looked the same as natural ones. |
| D．They tested AI-proposed molecules in real cells. |
| A．Disappointment. | B．Surprise. | C．Indifference. | D．Guilt. |
| A．The AI’s process may benefit the medical field. |
| B．AI-proposed molecules don’t require any lab tests. |
| C．Hope for the use of the new molecules is very slim. |
| D．The researchers’ efforts turn out to be a waste of time. |
This summer, climate change continues to push Earth’s weather to extremes.
1.
Doesn’t our body need fuel to move? Yes, that’s true. A light meal is a great idea — just put an hour between eating and your workout in the heat. It takes blood and energy to digest the food, which makes more body heat — not what you want when you’re already hot. If you have had a heavy meal like a cheeseburger, you should wait two to three hours before your hot outdoor exercise, since that fat-and protein-rich meal will take even longer to move through the digestive process.
2. Protect your skin — it’s the body’s cooling system.
Your skin and the underlying tissues are incredibly designed to move warm blood away from your core to keep your vital organs cool. Damage to them prevents your body from air-conditioning itself. To protect your skin, start with sunscreen.
3. Wear material that will help your body breathe.
4. Drink water before, during and after exercise.
Dehydration (脱水) can really secretly attack you.
| A．Don’t eat right before you head out. |
| B．The best defense against dehydration is a good offense. |
| C．Avoid eating and drinking shortly after your summer workout. |
| D．The type of protective clothing you wear can help your body breathe. |
| E．Should you finish your workout indoors during extreme temperatures? |
| F．And consider wearing loose, lightweight clothing that blocks the sun. |
| G．Is an outdoor run or bike ride in hot summer weather OK for your body? |
New discoveries and technological breakthroughs are made every year. Yet, as the information industry moves forward, many people in society are looking back to their roots in terms of the way they eat. A “locavore” movement has emerged in the United States. The movement supports eating foods grown locally and sustainably (可持续的) , rather than prepackaged(预先包装的) foods shipped from other parts of the world.
Experts hold that eating local has many merits, and is expected to be accepted by an increasing number of people. Erin Barnett is the director of Local Harvest, a company that aims to help connect people to farms in their area. By eating local, she argues, people have a better and more personal understanding of the impact their food consumption has on the rest of the world. “There is a way of connecting the point, where eating locally is an act that raises our awareness of sustainable living,” Barnett says.
The United States’ agricultural output is one of the highest in the world, says Timothy Beach, a professor of geography and geoscience at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. “There’s just no other place on Earth where the amount of input is so productive,” Beach says of American agriculture. “Nobody can cut off the food we need.”
However, the US food system is not sustainable because of its dependency on fossil fuels(化石燃料) , says Beach. Equipment used on “extremely productive”, farms is quickly consuming Earth’s natural resources, particularly oil. Additionally, the production of agricultural supplements(补充剂), such as fertilizer, uses large amounts of energy.
The world has used close to half of the global oil supply, Beach says, and the second half will be consumed at an even faster rate because of growing population and economic development. Although many businesses are experimenting with wind, solar, and biofuel, Beach says there’s nothing that we see on the horizon that can replace it. “There is no way on Earth we are using fossil fuels sustainably. Then we have to reconsider the impact of eating local,” he says.
1．What does the underlined word “merits” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Aspects. | B．Advantages. | C．Challenges. | D．Explanations. |
| A．It consumes too many natural resources. |
| B．It has a relatively low agricultural output. |
| C．Large equipment is not widely employed. |
| D．Agricultural supplements aren’t available. |
| A．Dependency on oil is and will be a big problem. |
| B．People will use less and less oil in the future. |
| C．The use of fossil fuels features sustainability. |
| D．There are better replacements for fossil fuels. |
| A．Scientific Ways to Eat Local | B．Is Eating Local Sustainable? |
| C．Efforts to Promote Local Foods | D．Are Local Foods Enough? |
The Lion Rock mountain stands not only as one of the most famous scenic spots in Hong Kong,
The Lion Rock spirit has also
Cui created Lion Rock in Hong Kong, a colored ink painting. In his painting, Cui depicts (描绘) the cliffs of the Lion Rock,
Yours,
Li Hua
Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona has died aged 60 of heart failure on Wednesday. Heart failure is a chronic condition that gradually damages the heart's ability to pump blood. Fluid can build up in the lungs as a result — a condition known as pulmonary edema. It is an increasingly common problem that can be fatal.
Regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Maradona became a household name after inspiring his country to World Cup glory in 1986. He took center stage at the tournament with a memorable performance against England where he scored a symbolic goal that he later described as the "Hand of God".
The small forward out-jumped legendary keeper Peter Shilton and knocked the ball into the net. The goal was allowed to stand, though it was claimed to be a handball. Later in the very game he scored one of the best goals in history after weaving his way past seven English defenders.
His impressive career was also marked by numerous controversies and his notorious lifestyle led to alcoholism and addiction.
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez announced three days of national mourning for the passing of the superstar, and posted a tribute to Maradona on Twitter. "You took us to the top of the world. You made us feel incredibly happy. You were the greatest of all. Thank you for having existed," it read.
Maradona will lie in honor for public viewing at Argentina's presidential palace. Fans headed to the streets across Argentina and in Naples on Wednesday to pay tribute to（悼念） their hero. Meanwhile, a minute's silence would be observed ahead of all European matches this week in honor of the Argentine.
"He will go down in history as someone who set football alight and thrilled global fans young and old with his brilliance and skill."
1．Why did the famous football player Maradona die?| A．Old age. | B．Heart illness. | C．Loss of blood. | D．Lung cancer. |
| A．His achievements in life. | B．His "Hand of God". |
| C．His great performance in 1986. | D．His legendary life. |
| A．good | B．bad | C．common | D．healthy |
| A．Respectful. | B．Unkind. | C．Impolite. | D．Friendly. |
Yours,
Li Hua
The effects of coffee consumption on health have long been a subject of conflict and uncertainty. Since the 1980s, some
According to a scientific report, mild coffee consumption, three to five cups per day, can
Until the scientific community reaches a general
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