Best Science Books of 2017
At its heart, science is about curiosity. So it stands to reason these books about science should make you examine your world more closely, and in doing so, give you a sense of wonder.
Big Chicken, by Maryn McKenna
Investigative journalist Maryn McKenna uses the modern industrial chicken as a window into how antibiotics(抗生素) transformed modern agriculture—for good and ill. She traces how animal antibiotics endanger human health, causing serious problems from antibiotic resistant stomach infections to UTIs. Recognizing that Americans are going to continue to eat chicken no matter what, McKenna suggests a way in which factory farming rids itself of its dependence on antibiotics.
Why Time Flies, by Alan Burdick
New Yorker staff writer Alan Burdick examines the greatest gift humanity has ever known: time. Time, he writes, appears to exist in two distinct forms. One is the standardized, objective kind found in clocks and watches; the other is our internal, biological sense of time, the one we measure in our cells, bodies and minds. But the closer he looks, the less clearer this distinction appears.
Paleoart, by Zoe Lescaze
Dinosaurs have long captured the imaginations of scientists and artists alike, and Paleoart brings those visions together in a blend of human knowledge and creativity.
These images not only show our changing understanding of dinosaurs, but also reflect the distinct artistic sensibilities of their time. Both artistic and educational, these pictures are certainly influential.
What It’s Like to Be a Dog, by Gregory Berns
Berns, a neuroscientists, trained dogs to sit in a machine in order to look into the brains of conscious dogs for the first time. That pioneering work inspired him to dig deeper into the minds of other animals, from sea lions to the extinct thylacine(袋狼). Berns says, “With their ability to think, choose and feel, dogs and other animals do not deserve the cruel treatment humans so often do to them.”
1.Which book has something to do with public health?
A. Big Chicken. B. Why Time Flies.
C. Paleoart. D. What It ’s Like to Be a Dog.
2.Who writes about time?
A. Maryn Mckenna. B. Alan Burdick.
C. Zoe Lescaze. D. Gregory Berns.
3.What was Berns’ pioneering work?
A. Training dogs. B. Studying extinct animals.
C. Observing dog brains. D. Fighting for animal rights.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
I was in the middle of a sweet dream when a noise startled me. Bam! Bam! It sounded like a hammer pounding on a tough nail. Bam! Bam! BAM! Who could be hammering at three in the morning? It must be Charlie again, making another invention.
Just as I was putting on my slippers and clothes, the noise changed. I sat at the edge of my bed and listened. Tick! Tick! Tick! It reminded me of my first wristwatch. Its regular pace had always helped me fall asleep.
I started dozing off, dangerously leaning to the left, when the ticking stopped. it was now replaced by a buzz, similar to the noise coming from a beehive in midsummer, only louder. I shivered. “I’m allergic to bees! Even just thinking about it or hearing a bee-like sound makes me swell.
“That’s it!” I should, now wide awake. “I can’t take it anymore!” I marched to the next apartment and knocked. My neighbor immediately opened the door. His curly brown hair was sticking up every which way. He wore baggy striped pants and a loose raspberry shirt.
“Hi, there, Lucy! What’s up?” he asked.
I pointed at my noiseless watch. “Do you know hat time it is?”
He grabbed my arm and glanced at my timepiece. “Oh, my! I didn’t realize it was that late. I’m busy working on a machine that can cure insomnia(失眠). It’s almost finished. You want to see it?”
I should have known. His last invention was supposed to annihilate bad smells, but it was powered by rotten eggs.
1.What made the author sleepy again?
A. His neighbor’s silence B. The ticking sound
C. The coming of the bees D. The smell of the rotten eggs
2.What was Charlie doing?
A. He was fixing a broken clock B. He was inventing a wristwatch
C. He was working with the bees D. He was making a new machine
3.How did Charlie feel when he saw the author?
A. Disappointed B. Scared
C. Surprised D. Annoyed
4.What does the underlined word “ annihilate” in the last paragraph mean?
A. Get rid of B. Make use of
C. Give off D. Tell apart
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
After shopping for deals in stores on “Black Friday”, or online on “Cyber Monday”, Americans and people worldwide are preparing for newly popular “Giving Tuesday”. Starting in 2012, now the global event that is celebrated annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is the brainchild of 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City and United Nations Foundation.
As the name indicates, Giving Tuesday is meant to restart the charitable season and therefore observed by raising funds for local nonprofits and schools, organizing food and clothing drives, and conducting random acts of kindness. In 2015, 700, 000 people from 71 countries came together to donate $116.7 million in cash. An additional $1.08 million was spent on gifts.
While the easiest way to participate is by donating to your favorite charity, this day can be celebrated in many other ways too. You can give back by volunteering at your local shelter or food bank, or even by donating blood. If all else fails, a purchase from the growing number of organizations that give a portion of their sales to charity will do the trick.
But perhaps the best way to celebrate the day is by helping those nearest and dearest to you. Assist a family member with a simple chore like folding laundry, cooking dinner, or even reading to a younger sibling. No matter what you do, be sure to share you good deed on social media and inspire others to celebrate Giving Tuesday as well!
1.Which of the following has the shortest history?
A. Cyber Monday B. Giving Tuesday
C. Black Friday D. Thanksgiving Day
2.What’s the main purpose of “Giving Tuesday”?
A. To persuade more people to shop online
B. To make Thanksgiving Day enjoyable
C. To encourage more people to do charities
D. To get voluntary work better known
3.Why does the author advise sharing good deeds on social media?
A. To donate money to local schools
B. To keep a record of one’s experience
C. To help people make new friends
D. To make Giving Tuesday more popular
4.Which section of a website does the next probably come from?
A. Business B. Lifestyle
C. Education D. Culture
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
No spacecraft will ever land on the sun. the sun is a flaming ball of gas that reaches thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. But next year, a ship from Earth will fly closer to it than any man made craft has flown before. The mission(任务)is a big development for scientists and, maybe, for everyone else.
In September 2018, NASA plans to launch the Parker Solar Probe. After a journey of nearly 90 million miles, it will fly within 3.8 million miles of the sun. within two months of launching, the probe is expected to reach the sun’s corona(日冕). That’s the sun’s outer atmosphere of gases.
Getting there won’t be easy. Designing a spacecraft tough enough to hold up to the sun’s heat has proved difficult. But that hasn’t stopped engineers from trying. Temperatures in the corona can reach millions of degrees. The probe will limit itself to regions where things get no hotter than 2,500oF. That’s still a heavy heat load for a spacecraft. But a 4.5-inch-thick heat shield(罩)will protect the probe’s camera and scientific instruments.
NASA says the data the probe collects could provide knowledge into the physics of stars. Our sun is special to us. But as a star, it’s rather common. So the better we understand how it works, the better we understand all stars of its mass and color.
Perhaps the most important is what the probe may show us about solar storms. During solar storms, charged particles stream through the solar system. They can disable communications satellites and shut down powder systems. One study has found that a very intense solar storm could cause up to $2 trillion in damage in the US alone. It could also black out the East Coast for a year.
Understanding solar storms might allow us to predict them and protect ourselves. That could make even a mission with a billion-plus price tag one of NASA’s great bargains.
1.What can we learn about the probe?
A. It’ll fly closer to the sun that the previous ones
B. It’s the first man made instrument to fly to the sun
C. It’ll get to the core of the sun in nearly two months
D. It’ll fly about 3.8 million miles to reach the corona.
2.What is the challenge for the engineers?
A. Directing the probe to collect data
B. Reducing the temperature of the probe
C. Building a shield against the heat
D. Limiting the probe to proper regions
3.What might be the best title?
A. Exploring the stars B. Getting close to the sun
C. Designing a spaceship D. Protecting the earth
4.Where does the value of the mission lie?
A. Monitoring satellites B. Exploring solar energy
C. Developing scientific instruments D. Forecasting solar storms
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
A daily multivitamin may give your well-being an extra benefit, but if you’ve ever swallowed one and sick right after, you know it’s hardly a pleasant experience. 1. .
◆You’re taking vitamins on an empty stomach.
Vitamins that are more acid in nature, like vitamin C, may cause nausea(恶心) if they’re consumed on an empty stomach. Vitamins A, D, E and K, unlike some others, may be better absorbed when not taken with food.
◆2.
Vitamins are like medicines in that they can act on each other and other medicines you’re taking.3.Some research suggests that multivitamins could cause side effects when taken at the same time estrogen(雌激素)levels are raised.
◆There’s a lot of iron in your pill.
Multivitamins that contain a lot of iron or iron supplements themselves can cause nausea. This is especially true if you’re taking them outside of a meal. Iron is interesting in that it’s best absorbed on an empty stomach, but it’s hardest to take on an empty stomach because of the nausea. 4.It might decrease the absorption a little bit but it’s better than nothing.
◆Allergic Reaction Side Effects
Since multivitamins contain so many vitamins and minerals, allergic reactions are certainly possible. Mild allergic reactions can include itchiness(痒)and a few hives(荨麻疹).5.Should you experience more advanced signs of an allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, chest pain, widespread hives or a swollen facial region, visit the closest emergency room immediately.
The label on your vitamins should provide directions for taking them Check the information before taking it to see what else you should know.
A. You’re taking vitamins with other medicines.
B. Below are a few reasons why they may be making you ill.
C. It’s important to discuss with an expert the timing of these vitamins.
D. These stomach issues can be extremely disturbing.
E. It’s better to take it with food than trying to take it on an empty stomach.
F. If you experience these side effects, stop use and contact your doctor.
G. Please review the combinations to make sure there are no harmful interactions.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
One of the greatest concerts I ever attended never took place at all. Not quite, anyway.
Instead, a violent_______,which came pretty much out of nowhere on a summer night, left the Saratoga Performing Arts Center without electrical power. The _______ storm hit just minutes before the Philadelphia Orchestra (交响乐团) was about to take the_______ along with a guest soloist, the violinist Sarah Chang.
Forty-five minutes later, the audience were still _______, hoping power would be restored and the _____ would get under way. That’s when Chang ______ onto the stage, alone except for her ______ and a couple of stagehands equipped with flashlights to ______ her and her music.
The orchestra ______ backstage. But Chang began playing Fritz Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice. Maybe the rain was still pounding on the roof and ______ the grass. Maybe the thunder hadn’t died away _____ by distance. Chances are, though, no one______ that night could tell you there was anything at all in the air except the ______.
The performance was ______, but it was delivered with both skill and grace—a sort of“ _____” card for the audience’s presence and patience. The applause was ______. then, several thousand music lovers_____ through pooling rainwater and ______ to their cars.
Maybe the story ends right there. But the then-twenty-year-old musician’s ______ for the people coming to hear her music says something about the essential relationship between artist and audience. Maybe Sarah Chang understood that when she offered her music as a ______ that night, without powered loudspeaker and in the near-darkness of a summer evening storm.
1.A. flood B. earthquake C. thunderstorm D. fire
2.A. global B. unexpected C. regular D. uncertain
3.A. chance B. action C. trouble D. stage
4.A. shouting B. struggling C. waiting D. gathering
5.A. concert B. rain C. dance D. sunlight
6.A. climbed B. stepped C. jumped D. held
7.A. piano B. conductor C. violin D. band
8.A. admire B. broadcast C. circle D. light
9.A. remained B. occupied C. hid D. worked
10.A. flooding B. cleaning C. irrigating D. destroying
11.A. either B. yet C. ever D. just
12.A. screaming B. complaining C. performing D. listening
13.A. violinist B. lighting C. music D. cheering
14.A. brief B. successful C. boring D. embarrassing
15.A. all right B. never mind C. don’t worry D. thank you
16.A. weak B. enthusiastic C. frequent D. permanent
17.A. lost their control B. traveled C. made their way D. looked
18.A. away B. down C. out D. back
19.A. respect B. analysis C. generosity D. tolerance
20.A. trick B. gift C. relief D. mercy
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
When I was in high school, I wanted to get a scholarship to a university. I liked singing, so I try out for a scholarship for music. But I failed to get one. I was real upset. I felt like failure. I just kept feeling sorry for me. However, after a few day, I decided not to let one single loss to keep me from doing what I love. But I cheered up and devoted myself to sing again. I think that accepting failure is that we need to do first before we success eventually.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，目前在美国你校的友好学校Wilson High School学习交流，将于下周一回国。请通过电子邮件给该校长Mr. Smith写一封感谢信。
注意：1.词数100左右
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mr. Smith,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析