This little South American Magellanic penguin swims 5,000 miles, to a beach in Brazil, every year in order to be reunited with the man who saved its life. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but it’s true!
71-year-old retired brick worker Joao, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found the small Magellanic penguin lying on rocks at his local beach in 2011. The penguin was covered in oil and running out of time fast. Joao rescued the penguin, naming it Din, cleaned the oil off its feathers and fed him a daily diet of fish to rebuild its strength. After a week of recovery, Joao attempted to release the penguin back into the wild. However, Din had already formed a family bond with his rescuer and wouldn’t leave.
“He stayed with me for 11 months and then, just after he changed his coat with new feathers, he disappeared,” Joao recalls. “I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,” Joao told Globo TV. “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks (啄) them if they do. He lies on my lap, lets me give him showers, and allows me to feed him.”
Professor Krajewski, a biologist who interviewed the fisherman for Globo TV, told The Independent: “I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well.”
However, environmentalists warn that, while hundreds of the Magellanic species are known to naturally migrate (迁徙) thousands of miles north in search of food, there has been a worrying rise in the phenomenon of oceanic creatures washing up on Brazil’s beaches. Professor David Zee from Rio de Janeiro’s State University, said the increase is due in part to global climatic changes. Professor Zee added that sea animals face increased danger from leaked tanker oil.
Luckily the ending for Joao and Din has been a happy one, even though it is illegal in Brazil to keep wild animals as pets.
Professor Krajewski said: “Professionals who work with animals try to avoid relationships like this occurring so they are able to reintroduce the animal into the wild. But in this single case the authorities allowed Din to stay with Joao because of his kindness.”
1.Every year Din swims a long distance to a beach in Brazil to ______.
A.avoid being killed B.meet his rescuer
C.escape from ocean currents D.find much more fish
2.When Din was found in 2011 ______.
A.he was dying B.he was running on the beach
C.he was resting on a rock D.he was cleaning oil off his feathers
3.What can we learn about Joao from the passage?
A.He is not allowed to keep the penguin as a pet by the authorities.
B.He overprotects the penguin by keeping him away from others.
C.His contact with the penguin is encouraged by professionals.
D.His kindness wins the penguin’s trust.
4.The story in the passage mainly shows ______.
A.the environmental impact on wildlife
B.the love between humans and wildlife
C.the tendency of wildlife to bond with humans
D.the protection of threatened wildlife by mankind
What it does
The self-cleaning door handle is combining with advanced photocatalytic ( 光 催 化 ) and blacklight technology. A light source activates the door’s handle coating, telling it to start cleaning. It can minimize the risk of infection by contact and improve the cleanliness of a space.
How it works
The working principle of the product is that a thin advanced photocatalytic coating can effectively decompose bacteria ( 细 菌 ) on the surface of a substance. A consistent UV light source—inside a transparent glass door handle—is required to activate the door’s handle coating on the outer surface for disinfection, so a generator is used to provide electricity to light up a UV LED lamp by the motion of an opening and closing door. Then, the door handle can clean by itself.
Design process
We made the first version by using stainless steel. However, it caused the door handle to be heavier. Then, we tried aluminum, which made it light and easy to fix. We also improved the generator output which effectively turned energy from door movement into a light source.
How it is different
Our innovative design is simple, effective, and attractive. It has an elegant smooth shape, and its minimalist appearance stands out in today’s world of inventions. Nowadays, people use chemical cleaning materials to clean up public areas but it harms the human body. Our design can be used for a long time and is effective. It can self-clean after each use. In the door lock and door handle market, it is a unique design because there are no similar products.
Future plans
In the future, we will commercialize the product and hope that it can compete on the market with similar products. We are going to connect with public properties, for example, shopping malls, hotels, hospitals and public restrooms, where the risk of spreading infection is higher.
Awards
In addition to winning the James Dyson Award, it has also received the Gold Award, and in 2016, it was featured in the 44th International Geneva Inventions Exhibition.
1.How does the self-cleaning door handle function?
A.It controls the door movement automatically.
B.It minimizes the risk of infection by less contact.
C.Chemical cleaning materials are used to clean it up.
D.The light source tells the door handle coating to clean itself.
2.Compared with the first version of the product, the present one is ______.
A.safer and cheaper B.cleaner and easier
C.less heavy and more effective D.more attractive and expensive
3.What do we know about the new invention according to the passage?
A.It has been widely used in public areas.
B.It has received recognition for its innovation.
C.It is quite competitive among similar products.
D.It will replace traditional chemical cleaning materials.
It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport train station; she jumped into her Honda Odyssey and began the 20-minute drive home to her husband and seven-year-old son. She’d just returned from visiting her mother and had traveled the route many times before. She practically _______ on autopilot: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then—wham! Out of nowhere a car T-boned Esposito’s minivan, _______ her to move backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. She _______ in the minivan, bruised (撞伤) but mostly just knocked out by the _________ and the airbags.
As it happened, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for _______. He’d just closed his book and was getting under the covers when he heard the sound of metal on metal and breaking glass coming from not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer_______and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never _______to think. He grabbed a flashlight and, still dressed in his pajamas (睡衣), ran out the door. “Any firefighter would have done what I did,” he told Newsday. “We’re always on_______.”
The first car he came upon, 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had _______Esposito. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and __________Esposito’s minivan positioned on the railroad tracks. And then he heard a terrible sound: the bells signaling an oncoming __________.
“The gates were starting to come down,” he told Newsday. “I see the headlight of the train.” DiPinto ran quickly to Esposito’s minivan and knocked on the driver’s side window. She __________ looked at him, her eyes unfocused. “I don’t know where I am,” she said. She seemed unhurt. “Honey, you’re on the railroad __________,” DiPinto shouted. “We have to get you off right now!” He pulled hard on the __________, but the door was crashed in and __________. The heavy diesel train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was moving fast toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the __________. “Please, don’t let her be __________,” he thought. He pushed aside the deflating (瘪了的) airbags, grabbed Esposito’s arms, and__________her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and quickly get her to ____________ behind a signal box a few feet away. Within six seconds, he estimated, the train crashed into the minivan. “It was like a Hollywood movie,” DiPinto told reporters the next day.
But this one had a twist. “Last night,” South Country Ambulance chief Greg Miglino told CBS New York, “the__________ arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck.”
1.A.drove B.walked C.rode D.hiked
2.A.allowing B.forcing C.ordering D.reminding
3.A.sat B.stood C.hid D.waited
4.A.action B.noise C.impact D.bomb
5.A.class B.work C.dinner D.bed
6.A.doctor B.driver C.firefighter D.engineer
7.A.stopped B.troubled C.intended D.wanted
8.A.duty B.time C.target D.schedule
9.A.warned B.caught C.hit D.followed
10.A.observed B.spotted C.realized D.predicted
11.A.train B.truck C.car D.ambulance
12.A.yet B.just C.still D.even
13.A.yards B.stations C.bridges D.tracks
14.A.belt B.key C.bell D.handle
15.A.unlocked B.jammed C.open D.gone
16.A.bag B.door C.book D.box
17.A.scared B.ignored C.trapped D.defeated
18.A.carried B.rushed C.guided D.pulled
19.A.return B.work C.safety D.life
20.A.police B.actor C.reporter D.hero
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Last year, China started testing 5G mobile networks in several cities. The Hongkou District of Shanghai was the first to operate a 5G network. To test the network, Wu Qing, vice mayor of Shanghai, made a phone call 1. (use) a Huawei MateX, Huawei’s first 5G smartphone. According to The Telegraph, “5G is the innovation that 2. (shape) all our lives for years to come.” It is 3. (fast) and more stable than 4G, the previous generation of cellular ( 蜂窝状的) network technology.
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For thousands of years, people have been trying to predict the weather. In China during the Shang Dynasty, people 1. (record) weather forecasts on animal bones and tortoise shells. Centuries later, 2. Greece, the philosopher, Aristotle wrote his theories about how weather conditions formed. Weather forecasting advanced over time, with more and more instruments used to measure temperature, humidity and air pressure. Today, satellite data and computer technology help scientists predict the weather more 3. (precise).
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The International Day of Families, which was started by the United Nations in 1993, 1. (hold) on May 15 every year. The day celebrates the 2. (important) of families. It aims to deepen people’s understanding of issue 3.are related to families. With a different theme each year, the day is observed with a wide range of events that are organized at local, national and international 4. (level).
