In an apartment, people are having a party. They’re smiling and chatting with each other; they’re drinking cocktails and enjoying snacks. But the mood lighting is a bit strange. No candles or twinkling Christmas lights here. Instead, the light comes from enormous green-glowing plants in the center of the table.
This is a model inside a museum in New York. The “people” are small silver statues. But the plants are real. They’re watercress planted with nanoparticles (纳米粒) that turn their stored energy into light. It’s a technology developed several years ago by MIT chemical engineer Michael Strano. Now, Strano has partnered with an architect, Sheila Kennedy, to explore how these plants might be a central part of our homes and sustainable energy future.
The plants in the exhibit are newer versions. Their glow is based on an enzyme (酶) called luciferase, which is what gives fireflies their light. Strano and his colleagues first put luciferase and two molecules (分子) that allow it to work inside a nanoparticle carrier. They then immersed plants in a liquid containing the particles, and added high pressure. The pressure pushed the particles into the leaves through tiny pores (气孔).
“For the last two decades, plants have been a part of architecture, but they’ve always been used as green walls or roofs,” Kennedy says. However, the plants in Kennedy’s models fill entire rooms, their leaves and stems going wherever they choose. For her, this project was an interesting design challenge. She and her team had to figure out how to bring in sufficient water and where to contain enormous amounts of soil.
The team is currently working on making the plants brighter and fixing light particles in larger plants such as trees. They’re also eager to extend the duration of a plant’s light from hours to days or weeks.
1.What is special about the apartment according to the first two paragraphs?
A.Plants provide mood lighting for it. B.It is powered by nanoparticles.
C.Real people are enjoying themselves in it. D.It is modeled after a real one.
2.What is the third paragraph mainly about?
A.What the model is like. B.What gives fireflies light.
C.How the nanoparticles work. D.How to make the plants glow.
3.What actually makes the plants produce light?
A.Luciferase. B.Fireflies. C.Molecules. D.Pressure.
4.What can we know about the plants in Kennedy’s models?
A.The plants grow in restricted space.
B.The plants have grown as large as trees.
C.The plants still need water and soil.
D.The light of the plants can last weeks.
Imagine you are 10 years old. You live in a big city and want to visit your best friend, a five-minute walk away, and then you can go to the park, another 10 minutes’ walk. The problem is that there’s a big dangerous road between you and your friend, and another between your friend’s home and the park. When you ask your parents if you can walk there, they say no. But they are too busy to take you there themselves. Perhaps you have a video conversation with your friend instead, or perhaps you play a video game on the sofa. You’ve lost out on time outside and, of course, play time with your friend. This is the reality for many kids today-but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Tim Gill, the author of No Fear: Growing up in a Risk Averse Society, says a child-friendly city is one that allows “everyday freedom”, so a child can spread their wings as they grow. “It’s not enough to just talk about playgrounds and nice, pretty public spaces. That just creates play places that children have to be taken to by adults,” says Gill.
Society’s mistake, argues Gill, is that our planning systems just focus on cars, house-building and the economy rather than the environment, health and quality of life. “You won’t find any urban planners who can disagree with that. It’s because our decision-makers fail to look beyond the next two or three years.”
Designing cities with children in mind-particularly outdoor spaces that encourage safe movement and social interaction-stands to be an issue of growing concern globally. By 2050 around 70% of people will live in cities, and the majority of them will be under 18. Today, over a billion children are growing up in cities.
1.What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?
A.Dangerous roads. B.Parents’ improper behaviors.
C.Addition to video games. D.Lack of outdoor activities for kids.
2.What may the urban planners agree according to Gill?
A.Children lack public spaces. B.People live a life of low quality.
C.Their city planning is inappropriate. D.They are limited by their imagination.
3.Why does the author mention the data in the last paragraph?
A.To stress the necessity of building more cities.
B.To show the urgency of considering kids in urban planning.
C.To illustrate the changes of urban population.
D.To promote children’s awareness of self-protection.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.The appeal for a child-friendly city. B.Challenges facing urban children.
C.Difficulties in city planning. D.Problems in modern cities.
My son Leon’s passion for surfing began at the age of 13. After school each day, he put on his wet suit, paddled out beyond the surf line and waited to be challenged by his companions.
One afternoon, the lifeguard reported over the phone to my husband Wilson that Leon’s eye was badly injured by his board. Wilson rushed him to the emergency room. He received 26 stitches (缝针) from the corner of his eye to the bridge of his nose.
I was on an airplane flying home. Wilson drove directly to the airport after they left the doctor’s office. He greeted me at the gate and told me Leon was waiting in the car.
“Leon?” I questioned. I remember thinking the waves must have been terrible that day.
“He’s been in an accident, but he’s going to be fine.”
A traveling working mother’s worst nightmare had come true. I ran to the car so fast that the heel of my shoe broke off. I swung open the door, and my son with the patched eye was leaning forward crying, “Oh, Ma, I’m so glad you’re home.”
I cried in his arms telling him how awful I felt about not being with him.
“It’s okay, Mom,” he comforted me. “You don’t know how to surf anyway.”
“What?” I asked, confused by his logic.
“I’ll be fine. The doctor says I can go back in the water in eight days.”
I wanted to tell him he wasn’t allowed to go near water again until he was 35, but instead I bit my tongue and prayed he would forget about surfing.
For the next seven days he kept pressing me to let him surf again. One day after I had repeated “No” to him for the 100th time, he beat me at my own game.
“Mom, you taught us never to give up what we love.”I gave in.
Back then Leon was just a boy with a passion for surfing. Now he ranks among the top 25 professional surfers in the world.
1.How did the author feel when she was told her son was waiting in the car?
A.Anxious. B.Concerned. C.Heartbroken. D. Surprised.
2.What does the underlined part “he beat me at my own game” mean?
A.He decided to follow the author’s advice.
B.He persuaded me with my common method.
C.He was upset about not being able to surf.
D.He felt like he’d experienced a nightmare.
3.What can we infer about the mom according to the passage?
A.She is a working mom who rarely supports her son’s hobby.
B.She immediately told her son to stop surfing after the accident.
C.She fell into grief when she saw her injured son.
D.She placed her son’s safety second to his dream.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Leon?
A.Strong-willed and creative. B.Considerate and persistent.
C.Optimistic and reliable. D.Responsible and sensitive.
WELCOME AND ARRIVAL INFORMATION
Welcome to Harvard University Housing and thank you for choosing to live with us. To help you make a smooth transition, please read the information below on planning your arrival.
Pets
Dogs living with you in your pet-friendly apartment must be vaccinated for rabies and licensed with the City of Cambridge every year.
International Students
Consider unlocking your phone prior to leaving your home country. This will enable you to use a SIM card from a company such as campus SIMS or US Mobile in your phone after you arrive. Those sim cards may be available at the Property Management Office.
Driving
If you plan on bringing a moving van or truck it will not fit under the overpasses on Soldiers Field Road and Memorial Drive. Plan your route in advance to avoid a risky and costly problem.
Parking arrangements for trucks and vans must be made in advance as well. Visit your property page for information about parking your car.
Furniture and Lighting
Most HUH units have no furniture—the unit is empty except for a stove and a refrigerator. You need to bring, buy, or rent a bed, other furniture, and household items. In many HUH units, rooms do not have overhead lights, so you also may need table or floor lamps.
If you want to stock up on groceries and some household items as soon as you arrive, please find information about “Grocery Shopping” by selecting it from the drop-down menu.
1.Suppose a French boy chooses to live in HUH units with a dog and a moving van, he should________.
A.make sure his dog is vaccinated and licensed in France
B.unlock his phone before leaving France
C.buy a phone with a SIM card at the Property Management Office
D.park his van under the overpasses
2.What are most HUH units furnished with?
A.Table or floor lamps. B.A bed and a table.
C.A stove and a refrigerator. D.Bowls and plates.
3.Where is this text most likely from?
A.A website. B.A guidebook.
C.A magazine. D.A recipe.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the weather like in the Southern states?
A.Rainy. B.Snowy. C.Sunny.
2.In which state is the temperature rather high according to the talk?
A.Florida. B.Arizona. C.Texas.
3.What can we know about the weather in the USA?
A.The weather in the USA is very pleasant now.
B.The weather conditions are very poor in the USA.
C.The weather conditions vary greatly in the USA.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where does the conversation take place?
A.At home. B.In a restaurant. C.In a movie theater.
2.What did the man think about the movie?
A.It was funny. B.It was realistic. C.It made him hungry.
3.What will the woman get to eat?
A.Some ice cream. B.A large popcorn. C.Some candy and soda.
4.What kind of movie will the speakers watch?
A.A movie about a jail. B.A movie about aliens. C.A movie about talking cats.
