Making beers on the moon might seem like a pipe dream to many, but for a group of students from the University of California at San Diego, there is a chance to take their research beyond Earth’s surface.
The Lab2Moon competition, held by TeamIndus, is offering students the chance to secure a spot on the TeamIndus rocket this year.
Taking craft beer to the next level, the students want to test whether it’s possible for yeast(酵母) to work and create beer on the moon. However, they believe the experiment is not just a creative concept for astronauts, it’s also important for the development of drugs and yeast-containing food, like bread.
“The idea started out with a few laughs among a group of friends,” said Neeki Ashari, a fifth-year bioengineering students at UC San Diego. “We all appreciate the craft beer. When we heard that there was an opportunity to design an experiment that would go up on India’s moonlander, w e thought we could combine our hobby with the competition by focusing on the practicality of yeast in outer space.”
The preparation work for the beer — up to the stage of adding yeast — will all be done on Earth, and rather than separating the fermentation ( 发酵) and carbonation stage of making beer, the team plans to combine them.
This removes the need to release CO2 accumulated in the process, which may result in cleanliness and safety issues out in space.
If selected, Team Original Gravity will be the first to make beer in outer space, and the fermentation will take place in a container no bigger than a soda can.
All teams competing for the place will showcase their ideas in Bangalore, India, in March.
Sadly, you won’t be enjoying moon beer in your local craft beer bar anytime soon, as no samples will be brought back. However, this small experiment could provide important data on just how practical it is for us to make and create our own resources on other planets and moons by learning how consumables (消耗品) behave in different environments.
1.How did the students feel when they got the chance to design the experiment ?
A.Excited. B.Nervous.
C.Confident. D.Casual.
2.What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 6 refer to?
A.The mixing of two stages. B.Adding yeast on Earth.
C.The preparation work on Earth. D.Fermentation and carbonation.
3.What can we learn about the experiment from the passage?
A.It has been designed based on similar experiments.
B.It’s quite competitive compared with other designs.
C.It’s design has already been approved by TeamIndus.
D.Its process was adapted to make it safer and greener.
4.What does the author think of the students ’ idea?
A.It seems like a pipe dream. B.It’s extremely complicated.
C.It’s meaningful and hopeful. D.It’s creative but impractical.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Financial regulations in Britain have imposed a rather unusual rule on the bosses of big banks. Starting next year, any guaranteed bonus of top executives could be delayed 10 years if their banks are under investigation for wrongdoing. The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers responsible for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution. Yet officials also hope for a much larger benefit: more long-term decision-making not only by banks but also by all corporations, to build a stronger economy for future generations.
“Short-termism” or the desire for quick profits, has worsened in publicly traded companies, says the Bank of England’s top economist, Andrew Haldane. He quotes a giant of classical economies, Alfred Marshall, in describing this financial impatience as acting like “Children who pick the strawberries out of their pudding to eat them at once” rather than putting them aside to be eaten last.
The average time for holding a stock in both the United States and Britain, he notes, has dropped from seven years to seven months in recent decades. Transient(短期的) investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hold back a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty. This has been called “quarterly capitalism”.
In addition, new digital technologies have allowed more rapid trading of equities( 股 票 ), quicker use of information, and thus shortens attention spans in financial markets. “There seems to be an advantage of short-term thinking at the expense of long-term investing,” said Commissioner Daniel Gallagher of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in speech this week.
In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has pushed most public companies to delay performance bonuses for senior executives by about a year, slightly helping reduce “short-termism.” In its latest survey of CEO pay, The Wall Street Journal finds that “a substantial part” of executive pay is now tied to performance.
Much more could be done to encourage “long-termism,” such as changes in the tax code and quicker disclosure(披露) of stock acquisitions. In France, shareholders who hold onto a company investment for at least two years can sometimes earn more voting rights in a company.
Within companies, the right compensation design can provide motivation for executives to think beyond their own time at the company and on behalf of all shareholders. Britain’s new rule is a reminder to bankers that society has an interest in their performance, not just for the short term but for the long term.
1.According to Paragraph 1, one reason for imposing the new rule is the _______.
A.enhance banker’s sense of responsibility
B.help corporations achieve larger profits
C.build a new system of financial regulation
D.guarantee the bonuses of top executives
2.It is argued that the influence of transient investment on public companies can be _______.
A.indirect B.negative
C.favorable D.temporary
3.The US and France examples in paragraphs 5 and 6 are used to illustrate_______.
A.the obstacles to preventing “short-termism”.
B.the significance of long-term thinking.
C.the approaches to promoting “long-termism”
D.the popularity of short-term thinking.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A.Failure of Quarterly Capitalism
B.Patience as a Corporate Virtue
C.Decisiveness Required of Top Executives
D.Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Do you want a part-time job to earn some extra money? Check out the list and find one that suits your fancy.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
It seems almost everyone has a friend who is a technical genius. Such people earn money using their talent. If you are one of them, you could be responsible for technical support in your college or university and get your part-time job. You can enjoy the process of earning money while doing your favorite thing.
TUTOR
A lot of students hire a tutor to help them in high school or college. If you are good at some subjects, why not work as a peer tutor? You help your friends and earn money at the same time. If you know foreign languages, you can make more money. All you need to do is to make an appropriate advertisement of your services using college newspapers. One of the best things about being a tutor is that you can set your hours.
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
If your college or university has a fitness center and if you are a sporty person, go and sign up to get this job. You will have an absolute free opportunity to engage yourself in sports. You need to be a good psychologist, because you are going to work with people and it'll be your job to persuade and motivate them to become sporty, healthy and strong. Being a fitness instructor is a perfect position for those who love to help other people and want to make more friends. OFFICE
WORKER
Nowadays many companies cooperate with college students giving them part-time jobs. Some of the major job duties of an office worker are answering calls and scheduling appointments. If you are interested in doing this job. contact the representatives of different companies to find out if they’re currently hiring anyone.
1.If you want to have a flexible schedule while earning some money, which of the following suits you most?
A.Technical support B.Tutor
C.Fitness instructor D.Office worker
2.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A.As a part-time office worker. you are responsible for answering emails.
B.If you work as a fitness instructor, you should be sporty and sociable.
C.If you are good at foreign languages, you are able to earn more as a tutor.
D.The four kinds of part-time jobs are intended for college students.
3.How can one get a job as a part-time office worker?
A.By submitting the application
B.Through an online interview
C.By advertising on the newspaper
D.By contacting the representative of the company
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
People diet to look more attractive. Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group, and getting eaten as a result. That is the fascinating conclusion of the latest research into fish behavior by a team of Australian scientists.
The research team has discovered that subordinate (隶属的)fish voluntarily diet to avoid challenging their larger competitors. “In studying gobies we noticed that only the largest two individuals, a male and female, had breeding(繁殖) rights within the group, ”explains Marian Wong. “All other group members are non-breeding females, each being 5–10% smaller than its next largest competitor. We wanted to find out how they keep this size separation.”
The reason for the size difference was easy to see. Once a subordinate fish grows to within 5–10% of the size of its larger competitor, it causes a fight which usually ends in the smaller goby being driven away from the group. More often than not, the evicted fish is then eaten up.
It appeared that the smaller fish were keeping themselves small in order to avoid challenging the boss fish. Whether they did so voluntarily，by limiting how much they ate, was not clear. The research team decided to do an experiment. They tried to fatten up some of the subordinate gobies to see what happened. To their surprise，the gobies simply refused the extra food they were offered，clearly preferring to remain small and avoid fights, over having a feast.
The discovery challenges the traditional scientific view of how boss individuals keep their position in a group. Previously it was thought that large individuals simply used their weight and size to threaten their subordinates and take more of the food for themselves, so keeping their competitors small.
While the habits of gobies may seem a little mysterious, Dr. Wong explains that understanding the relationships between boss and subordinate animals is important to understanding how hierarchical (等级的) societies remain stable.
The research has proved the fact that voluntary dieting is a habit far from exclusive(排他的) to humans. “As yet, we lack a complete understanding of how widespread the voluntary reduction of food intake is in nature,” the researchers comment. “Data on human dieting suggests that, while humans generally diet to improve health or increase attractiveness, rarely does it improve long term health and males regularly prefer females that are fatter than the females’ own ideal.”
1.When a goby grows to within 5–10% of the size of its larger competitor, it_______.
A.faces danger B.has breeding rights
C.eats its competitor D.leaves the group itself
2.The underlined words “the evicted fish” in Paragraph 3 refer to _______.
A.the fish beaten up B.the fish found out
C.the fish fattened up D.the fish driven away
3.The experiment showed that the smaller fish_______.
A.fought over a feast B.went on diet willingly
C.preferred some extra food D.challenged the boss fish
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Fish dieting and human dieting. B.Dieting and health.
C.Human dieting. D.Fish dieting.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning, and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resetting your body clock.1.Here’s how to make one.
● 2.In order to make a change, you need to decide why it’s important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise, or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reasons, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.
● Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags. 3. That’s a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.
● Keep your sleep/ wake schedule on weekends. If you’re tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating (补偿) on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found. 4.
● Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you’ve tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record. 5. If not, take another look at other methods you could try.
A.Get a sleep specialist.
B.Find the night motivation.
C.A better plan for sleep can help.
D.And consider setting a second alarm.
E.If the steps you take are working, keep it up.
F.Stick to your set bedtime and wake-up time, no matter the day.
G.Reconsider the 15 minutes you spend in line at the café to get coffee.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in brackets.
1.这场经济危机将席卷整个欧洲似乎是在所难免的。(sweep)
2.他父母所骄傲的是他用一种全新的方式演绎了整个角色。(pride)
3.虽然政府已经对公共场合吸烟下了禁令，但一些吸烟者还是甘愿冒着被罚款的危险。(ban n. / risk n.)
4.无论他跺脚，折断指挥棒，还是把乐谱撕得粉碎，指挥都无法从管弦乐队那得到要的效果。(tear)
5.正是因为表演特技需要天赋和技巧，才使得一些特技不得不留给专业特技演员。(It 强调句, leave)
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
During my junior year of college, I signed up for a volunteer leaching program in Costa Rica. I lived within an inspiringly colorful living quarter which was ______ into a female and male section, along with a kitchen, eating room and conference room. I taught at a school. It was located（位于）within a ______ and every day birds and butterflies flew throughout our school. It was ______ . We were ______ on Costa Rica’s school system, the country, the language and how to ______ a lesson. Additionally, we took part in ______ acclivities lo relax ourselves.
The experience was beneficial to my English writing ______ when I got back to college, I began writing. I wrote so much that a piece of my writing about that experience was ______ in Folio’s Literary Magazine. Because of that, I was more ______ to continue working abroad.
After ______ , I moved to China for a year and worked in schools to teach reading and writing. It was a life-changing ______ of my life. Not only did I ______ my experiences through a weekly blog, but I began a book. Culture differences ______ me and even consumed me in the beginning, but ______ I fell in love with the people, their schools and their history.
Upon ______ to my home, I became a teacher in Trenton, New Jersey. The moment I stepped into the classroom. I could empathize（感同身受）with my ______ . I truly feel volunteering in Costa Rica was where it all ______ and working in China enriched my leaching life. If I could do anything ______ , it might be volunteering or working abroad more before settling down.
The ______ I’ve made through volunteering and working abroad are an English major’s dream and I hope that every English major ______ the chance to study or work abroad.
1.A.trained B.pulled C.absorbed D.divided
2.A.desert B.sea C.forest D.river
3.A.beautiful B.boring C.vivid D.shocking
4.A.praised B.educated C.interviewed D.commented
5.A.choose B.learn C.plan D.attend
6.A.legal B.fun C.brief D.safe
7.A.because B.unless C.although D.if
8.A.exchanged B.read C.rejected D.published
9.A.worried B.determined C.Frightened D.relaxed
10.A.graduation B.requirement C.operation D.ceremony
11.A.shelter B.topic C.move D.conflict
12.A.confirm B.gain C.compare D.share
13.A.confused B.amuse C.calmer D.excited
14.A.easily B.gradually C.strangely D.usually
15.A.belong B.pointing C.returning D.referring
16.A.volunteers B.classmates C.colleagues D.students
17.A.replied B.disappeared C.escaped D.started
18.A.correctly B.deliberately C.differently D.strictly
19.A.excuses B.discoveries C.preparations D.decisions
20.A.jumps at B.stands for C.turns down D.speaks our
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Last week European Union leaders 1. (urge) to support re-wilding efforts by environmental activist groups, including the World Wildlife Fund.
“Re-wilding” is a conservation effort aimed at returning land 2. its more natural, undeveloped state. This movement is growing in 3. (popular) around the world, especially in cities and towns where lawns (草地) covers most areas. Replacing lawns with diverse native plants can help support wildlife like bees and other insects.
Native plants can grow in any conditions so there is no need to introduce foreign plants when there 4. (be) so many other options. Part of the process of re-wilding means 5. (change) the way most people attend to their green spaces. For example, it is not a good idea to clean up your garden 6. (immediate) at the end of the growing season. It is better to leave dead plants as they are. Birds 7. favorite food is seeds appreciate it when you don’t deadhead flowers. Less cutting of plants and grass lets pollinators (授粉者) get to flowers, and 8.(fall) leaf collection should be limited, too. The remains of the garden and lawn provide food and shelter for important insect life.
No area is too small, and every space we can leave for nature to blossom (开花) is 9. (value). So you’d better tell neighbors about your re-wilding project, 10. they might misunderstand your effort as simple laziness.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off,”said the teacher to her class.
An extra day of fun suited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday. ”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. It rained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing video games inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped her eyes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on, ”said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents,
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is, ”replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place. ”
Paragraph1：
At first, Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你校将要举办风筝节。请给你的英国朋友Harry写封邮件邀请他参加。内容包括:
1. 活动的时间、地点；
2. 活动内容。
注意:
1. 词数100词左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行为连贯。
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled，pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness, then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact，the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result，many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage，raising children，professional achievement，religious commitment and self-improvement.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest，he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun，adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments，but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word "fun" to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1.According to the author，why does a bachelor resist marriage？（no more than 10 words）
2.What is the author's opinion on raising children？（no more than 10 words）
3.Please explain the underlined word “commitment” in English in Paragraph 3. （no more than 1 word）
4.What is the author trying to tell us？（no more than 10 words）
5.How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph？（no more than 20 words）
难度: 困难查看答案及解析