The greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2014 have affected all aspects of modern life, from medicine, to space exploration, to the future of renewable technologies. Scientists all over the globe are publishing their findings and treating patients with new medicines and techniques that are changing everyday life for the human race, and adding to our vast banks of scientific knowledge.
Irish teens make a breakthrough in crop yields(产量)
16-year-old Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey, and Sophie Healy-Thow won the Google Science Fair2014, with their project “Natural Bacteria Fighting World Hunger”.
While learning about the food shortage in Africa, the three teens got thinking about how they could help. What they found may change the future of worldwide food production.. They experimented and were able to reduce germination(发芽)time by 50%and increase plants’ yield by up to 74%.
This could create the possibility of increased crop yields and reducing crop loss due to bad weather.
Cancer is cured?
In May 2014, the Mayo Clinic published a study in which they treated a 50-year-old female patient’s blood cancer with the measlesvaccine(麻疹疫苗).After receiving the vaccine, Stacy Erholtz’s body is completely free of cancer.
Stephen Russell, who led the research, said, “It’s a landmark. We’ve known for a long time that we can introduce a virus into the blood and destroy cancer in mice. Nobody’s shown that you can do that in people before.” The measles vaccine will not work for all types of cancer, but is an unbelievable step forward.
Water found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
In April, scientists announced that NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered a body of water on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn(土星). Enceladus is an icy moon about 300 miles in diameter (直径).and its mysterious body of water appears to be 5 miles deep, around the size of Lake Superior.
Scientists have also discovered that the body of water features a rock is a possible sign of conditions good for the development of life.The text is mainly about _______.
A.the new findings in medicine |
B.the greatest scientists in 2014 |
C.the new techniques in space exploration |
D.the greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2014 |
What’s the aim of the three Irish teens’ Project?
A.To attract Google’s attention. |
B.To do research on Africa’s soil. |
C.To solve the problem of world hunger.. |
D.To understand different plants’ germination time. |
What can be inferred about the Mayo Clinic’s study?
A.Blood cancer is very is very easy to cure. |
B.All kinds of cancer will be cured soon. |
C.Medical experiments on people are not allowed. |
D.The research is a breakthrough in cancer treatment. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Enceladus is a warm moon |
B.Enceladus may be suitable for life. |
C.Enceladus is as big as Lake Superior. |
D.Enceladus has several rocky sea floors. |
Researchers claimed that waitresses who wear red get up to 26 percent extra in tips than they would wearing other colors. However, the team finds that the sexes tip very differently—with the bigger tips coming only from male customers.
No matter what color they wear, female diners will give the same kind of amounts for service every time. Yet men, whether they realize it or not, add anything between 15 and 26 percent more to a waitress in red than they would if it was the same waitress wearing a different color.
The test was simple. Take 11 waitresses in five restaurants over a six-week period and ask them to wear the same kind of T-shirt every day but change the colors. Previous research has suggested waitresses could earn more if they acted charmingly or wore more make-up than their colleagues. But this study, by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, only changed the color of the T-shirt. Every other aspect from make-up to behavior remained the same.
When wearing either black, white, green, blue or yellow T-shirts, the size of the tips from both male and female customers was almost identical. But when they wore red, the size of the tips went up by between 15 and 26 percent from male customers, yet stayed the same from female ones.
A total of 272 restaurant customers were studied by researchers Nicolas Gueguen and Celine Jacob for the international journal of the tourism industry.
Even as a T-shirt, it shows just how much the color red is thought, by men, to increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of woman, said the researchers.
The researchers wrote: As red color has no negative effect on women customers, it could be in their interest to wear clothes at work.The underlined word “identical” in Para. 4 probably means____________________.
A.different | B.similar | C.the same | D.close |
According to the passage, in the research by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research waitresses could earn more by _________________.
A.wearing red T-shirts |
B.putting on attractive make-up |
C.changing the color of T-shirts |
D.behaving themselves |
Which of the following is right according to the passage?
A.Bright color can increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of women. |
B.Waitresses in red make no difference to female customers. |
C.Make-up makes no difference to man customers. |
D.Whether male customers tips more or not depends on service. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.People tip differently if waitresses wear different make-up. |
B.Waitresses who wear red get more tips than they would wearing other colors. |
C.Male customers are more interested in the red color. |
D.Red color has no negative effect on female customers. |
Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in common,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it comes out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they___________________.
A.both dislike the language |
B.don’t get along well with each other |
C.are too busy to talk to each other |
D.don’t share the same interests |
Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out?
a. No teacher liked to teach it. b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities. d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.
A.a, b | B.a, c | C.b, d | D.b, c |
How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?
A.Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco. |
B.Let Ayapaneco be taught at school. |
C.Introduce a public Ayapaneco education. |
D.Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco. |
From the text we learn that the author____________________.
A.agrees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die out |
B.thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t work |
C.thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn it |
D.hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the future |
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods from door to door found that he had only one dime left. He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he became nervous when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied, “Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” As Haward Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased his faith in God and the human race. He was about to give up and quit before this point.
Years later, the young woman became seriously ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists could be called in to study her rare disease. Dr. Haward Kelly, now famous was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room.
Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room and determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to her case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the bill to him for approval. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was positive that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words,
“Paid in full with one glass of milk.”
(Signed) Dr. Haward Kelly
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently, “Thank You, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands.”After finishing the milk, the boy ______________.
A.felt angry because what he was really hungry |
B.regretted that he didn’t ask for any food |
C.felt more hungry than ever before |
D.had a stronger faith in God and the human race |
The underlined word “baffled” in Para. 4 probably means_______.
A.puzzled | B.excited | C.amazed | D.encouraged |
What did the local doctors finally do when the young woman became seriously ill?
A.They looked on indifferently. |
B.They asked for Dr. Howard Kelly’s help. |
C.They sent her to a hospital with specialists. |
D.They believed that his faith in God would cure her. |
Which of the following statement is RIGHT according to the passage?
A.The young woman knew that Dr. Howard Kelly would help her and save her life. |
B.The doctor walked away the moment he heard the name of the town she came from. |
C.The doctor saved the woman’s life and paid off the bill. |
D.We shouldn’t ask for help because one day we will pay a lot for it. |
When I was growing up in the suburbs of New York, our first local Earth Day was organized around a drive to a town field where families were urged to empty items from their basements (地下室)for recycling rather than dropping them in the dustbin. It was an eye opening idea for a kid in 1970.
But as an environmental reporter, I'm bored of the large amount of deals and promotions that arrive by email or in my office or home mailbox on Earth Day. Like Valentine's Day, Earth Day has become a huge marketing opportunity—a way to promote consumption.
In fact, Earth Day is such a good sales opportunity that some shops, like Target, have expanded Earth Day into Earth Month.
There isn't time to give you a variety of the Earth Day shopping opportunities I was informed of this past week. They included deals on buying bottled water and earth-friendly wipes.
My award for the silliest promotion: a plan to gift 25 of the most environmentally conscious stars with unique, useful and “green” products and services, including skin care products, cheese-cake and artwork. My guess is most of the stuff will end up in celebrities' garbage.
Is buying and selling a good way to celebrate and protect the environment? I would argue that Earth Day might be an occasion to consider giving up purchases or habits that are environmentally questionable or that we could happily do without. How about not buying bottled water, but refilling a water bottle? How about not buying foods—even “organic” foods—that are packed in non-recyclable plastic?
Don't get me wrong. The company of Bridgestone is celebrating Earth Day by promising to repurpose a spent tire(利用废旧轮胎)for every tire that it sells. Verizon will plant a tree for each cell phone you trade in. Some coffee stores will even refill reusable cups at no charge. Target is giving out free reusable carrier bags without requiring a purchase.
But few shopkeepers are taking the next step-charging a fee at the cash register for disposable plastic bags, a common practice in Europe-to encourage customers to use those new reusable carriers.
Earth Day is transient(短暂的). If you only showed love on Valentine's Day, would that really mean anything at all?The author's first local Earth Day was celebrated by ___________.
A.driving to the town field |
B.emptying waste for recycling |
C.looking for good ideas for reuse |
D.clearing items from their basements |
Why do some people expand Earth Day into Earth Month?
A.Because many activities are organized for the day. |
B.Because they intend to make many sales strategies. |
C.Because they want to have more selling opportunities. |
D.Because they have to deal with too much waste. |
According to the author, it's environmentally friendly to .
A.buy packed organic foods |
B.offer stars green products |
C.refill water bottles |
D.ask for free plastic bags |
It could be inferred from the text that Bridgestone and Verizon .
A.are likely to misunderstand the author |
B.have a good way to celebrate Earth Day |
C.are devoted to making money on Earth Day |
D.make wrong promotion plans on Earth Day |
“If you have not played video games, your childhood should be called 'incomplete'.” That's from Zhan Zaozao, 29, the screenwriter(编剧)of Play to Grow Up, a 40-minute short movie.
It tells the story of two men growing up fans of video games and how they find happiness in games. While people think playing games makes one lazy and is a waste of time, Zhan tries to prove that one can make a living out of it. In the movie, the two heroes, Dunzi and Yanjing, who are in middle school, visit a video games room on the street each day after school.
But why make a short movie about video games, since there are lots to write about childhood, such as puppy love, sports and study? “Playing games is so important to everyone's childhood from little kids to teenagers, though it's a bittersweet experience,” said Zhan. According to him, his teachers and parents didn't allow video games, but they played games “under their noses ” anyway.
In the movie, the two playmates follow different paths after school. Dunzi opens a small store selling gaming products. Yanjing works as a manager in his father's company, After years of working and facing various problems in life, they get together again, build a video game machine and play on the street. Free, simple and happy. They rediscover the carefree childhood, which they have lost in the adult world.
Many consider playing games as a bad influence, but it isn't all true, according to Zhan. “It can change your attitude toward life,” said Zhan. “On the other hand, the movie also tells you that, although the world of video games is fun, you must face real life at the end of the day. ”What is the purpose of Zhan writing the short movie?
A.To memorize his past. |
B.To offer an exciting movie. |
C.To prove that people can make life better with playing video games. |
D.To prove that people can make a living out of playing video games. |
What's the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A.The plot((情节)of the movie. |
B.The end of playing video games. |
C.The happy childhood. |
D.The gathering of the two men. |
What can we infer from the text?
A.Playing games is forbidden by all parents. |
B.People can learn something from the movie. |
C.Playing games is longed by the two heroes. |
D.People in their childhood couldn't afford the games. |
The writer writes the text to ___________ .
A.criticize some parents' attitude towards playing video games |
B.attract people to see the movie Play to Grow Up |
C.show the film focusing on video games |
D.promote the film Play to Grow Up |