Pachyrhynchus weevils (球背象鼻虫) are found on most islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. These weevils could not fly. But why are they so widespread? Wen-San Huang of the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan thinks he has the answer.
One theory, which dates back to 1923, is that the beetles float from place to place by a tiny air cavity beneath its outer shell.
Dr Huang began his research into the weevils and discovered that the beetles do float. But he also reports floating in seawater does not do them much good. All 57 adults he tried it with died within two days. Clearly, adult weevils are not good sailors.
Pachyrhynchus weevils have a love for laying their eggs inside the fruit of a plant called the fish-poison tree. This reproduces reminding us of coconut palms. It drops its fruits into the ocean, which carries them away to come up on distant beaches. Coconuts are protected from being eaten on their travels by having a hard, thick shell. Fish-poison-tree fruit are also protected from hungry sea creatures. But in their case, as their name suggests, the protection is chemical.
Given the relationship between weevils and plant, Dr Huang wondered how beetle larvae (幼虫) would fare if they were deep inside a piece of fruit floating in seawater.
So he tested this as well. His experiment suggested that such larvae are 'tolerant of saline (含盐的) conditions.
Specifically, of 18 grubs (蛆) thrown into seawater inside a piece of fruit, two survived for six days. Moreover, these larvae went on to develop into healthy, sexually mature adults. So Dr Huang argues that such numbers would easily support the immigration of weevils to the islands.
He also observes that the Kuroshio Current, which carries water from the Philippines, past Japan and onwards into the Pacific, moves so swiftly that a piece of fruit caught in it could easily travel 90km in a day, enabling the flightless beetle to cover the distance of 400km between the islands effectively.
1.What did Wen-San Huang find in his research?
A.The old theory accounts for weevils. B.Adult weevils are good at floating.
C.Fish-poison-tree fruit protect weevils. D.The weevils cross the islands in a day.
2.What can the underlined word "fare" probably mean?
A.Survive. B.Travel.
C.Grow. D.Float.
3.How do weevils succeed in immigrating between the islands?
A.By travelling with sea creatures.
B.By wearing shells for protection.
C.By laying eggs in coconuts sinking under the sea.
D.By staying in the floating fish-poison-tree fruits.
4.What's the author's purpose of writing the text?
A.To introduce the research result.
B.To compare the coconut palms and weevils.
C.To tell how weevils immigrate to the islands.
D.To praise Wen San Huang for his research.
Artificial intelligence (AD) technology may soon be a useful tool for doctors. It may help them better understand and treat diseases like breast cancer in ways that were never before possible.
Rishi Rawat, who teaches AI at the University of Southern California's (USC) Clinical Science Center in Los Angeles, is part of a team of scientists who are researching how AI and machine learning can more easily recognize cancerous growths in the breast.
Rawat provides information about cancer cells to a computer. He says this data helps the machine learn. “... You can put the data into them and they will learn the patterns and the pattern recognition that's important to making decisions"" David Agus, another USC researcher, believes that machines are not going to take the place of doctors, but they will help make certain decisions and look for things that the human brain can't recognize.
Once a confirmed cancerous growth is removed, doctors still have to treat the patient to reduce the risk of cancer returning. The form of treatment depends on the kind of cancer. Currently, researchers take a thin piece of tissue, put it on a small piece of glass and add color to better see the cells. The process could take days or even longer. Scientists say artificial intelligence can do something better than just count cells. Through machine learning, it can recognize complex patterns or structures, and learn how the cells are organized. They hope that machines will soon be able to make a quick identification of cancer that is free of human mistakes.
"All of a sudden, we have the computing power to really do it in real time...We couldn't have done this, but now it's all changed."" Agus adds that the process could be done for almost no cost in the developing world." He says that having a large amount of information about patients is important for a machine to effectively do its job in medicine.
The USC researchers are now only studying breast cancer. But doctors predict artificial intelligence will one day make a difference in all forms of cancer.
1.What does the author intend to tell us?
A.AI technology will aid to predict some cancers.
B.Doctors will be replaced by AI machines.
C.AI technology will help cancer treatment.
D.Doctors will get improved with AI technology.
2.What is vital for an AI machine to do its medical job according to USC researchers?
A.Cell counting machines. B.Well designed process.
C.Patterns of cancer. D.Enough information of patients.
3.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
A.When is the best time to remove cancer. B.Why USC researchers argue about AI.
C.What treatment AI technology provides. D.How AI technology helps in medicine.
4.What section of a magazine is the text probably taken from?
A.Entertainment & Arts. B.Science & Technology.
C.World News. D.Health Report.
At the end of 1978, China put forward a package of new thoughts on national development. The most important of them was to shift the priority of the nation to economic development, which has since become the central task of CPC organizations and governments at all levels. Economic growth was the primary measurement of the development of a region and performance of an official. It became national agreement that economic growth offered the solution to the problems facing China.
Seeing that manufacturing was a strong promoter of economic growth, China's central and local governments put great emphasis on it. But in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s the country was short of money to build up this capital-intensive (资本密集) sector, which requires buying equipment and land, building factories, and hiring workers. It therefore looked to foreign investors who were looking for opportunities in the Chinese market.
Foreseeing the multiple benefits of foreign investment including tax contribution, job creation, raise in local income, local governments raced to look for foreign capital. To compete against their peers, some regions offered extra favorable policies like tax cuts or breaks, discounted land prices or even free land. Some even went to the extent of lowering or abandoning environmental protection requirements.
While going after foreign investors, regional governments also struggled to seek domestic banks for loans to local enterprises. Meanwhile, they set up their own financing platforms to raise funds for local manufacturing and infrastructure (基础设施) to stimulate economic growth.
These efforts paid off. The economy rose rapidly all over the country, with few regions reporting GDP growth rate below 10 percent. A series of new infrastructure was completed, and manufacturing sprang in both rural and urban areas. But the side effects soon came up. The supply of low-priced or even free land to foreign investors led to a sharp rise in land development for industrial projects and a steep fall in farmlands. Realizing these problems, China began to correct its neglect of other aspects during the pursuit of economic growth.
1.What central task did the Chinese government advocate in 1978?
A.Environmental protection. B.Economic growth.
C.Manufacture promotion. D.Capital accumulation.
2.How did China solve the capital problem?
A.By loaning money from foreign banks. B.By selling equipment and land.
C.By seeking foreign investors. D.By raising funds from the public.
3.Which of the following statements is True?
A.China's economy experienced ups and downs.
B.Foreign investment was a win-win policy.
C.GDP growth in many regions was below 10 %.
D.Policies were adopted for better environment.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.China's Problems in Promoting Economy
B.China's Policy in Foreign Investment
C.China's Success in Fighting Against Poverty
D.China's Efforts in Economic Development
Still remember the films which have made you thrilled? Here are some recommended ones by the BBC in 2019.
Captain Marvel
Brie Larson stars as Marvel's latest superhero, Carol Danvers, who discovers her powers as Captain Marvel. Set in the 1990s, the story has Danvers searching for her true identity while tying to save the earth during a war between alien races. The film Avengers may get more pre –release attention, but Captain Marvel might be the fresher film in the release.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino's films always make noise. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the fading star of a television Western and Brad Pitt is his stunt (特技) double, in a story set in 1969, soon before the Manson murders. All those stars don't come cheap: the film reportedly cost $95 million. With its name similar to Once Upon a Time in the West, this film clearly has big ambitions.
The Lion King
Disney gives one of its most beloved animated films a high-tech remake, using lifelike computer images. James Earl Jones, once again the voice of Mustafa, was apparently the only irreplaceable actor from the 1994 film. Here Donald Glover is the voice of the adult Simba. The theme singer Elton John has reworked songs from the original.
Downton Abbey
Disney gives one of its most beloved animated films a high-tech remake, using lifelike computer images. James Earl Jones, once again the voice of Mustafa, was apparently the only irreplaceable actor from the 1994 film. Here Donald Glover is the voice of the adult Simba. The theme singer Elton John has reworked songs from the original.
Downton Abbey
The Crawley family and their servants all return, except for the characters who have been killed off. The story picks up around 1927, after the series ended on a happy note, with no one in prison and romance all around. Writer Julian Fellowes must have cooked up some disasters. The film's new characters include Imelda Staunton as Lord Grantham's cousin.
1.Which film is considered a science fiction?
A.Captain Marvel. B.Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
C.The Lion King. D.Downton Abbey.
2.Which is True about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
A.It was directed by Leonardo DiCaprio. B.Much money was spent on its producing.
C.Its music sounds noisy. D.It is named after the writer.
3.What can we learn from the text?
A.Captain Marvel tells about a war between men and aliens.
B.The Lion King impresses us with its theme songs.
C.Downton Abbey will involve some new characters.
D.All the four movies are released by BBC.
假如你是李华，在过去一周你在英国参加中学生文化交流活动，期间一直住在你的英国好友Peter家，现在已经回国。请你根据以下要点给他写一封感谢信。
要点包括：
1. 表达感激之情；
2. 回忆各种收获；
3. 邀请他有空时来中国玩。
注意：词数100左右；可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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：在错的词下划一横线，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 we are happy, we would like share our happiness with others, making them know our enjoyment. When we are not in a good mood, we wanted to get someone whom can listen to us. Be a listener is not easy. People always complain about our worries, and a good listener should listen to them but learn to comfort them. To be a good listener can help us make good friend with others. The one who always listen to others is more likely to be easy-going. When he is in the trouble, his friends will be willingly to help him. So let’s learn to be a good listener from now on.
