Biking through my PhD
Overcoming my initial struggles in the Netherlands to start my PhD has been like riding a bike.
I ____in a hilly, seaside city in China without cycle paths, and biking was ____for me. Now, my Dutch neighbour was telling me I had to __
It took me around a month to feel __ cycling. After half a year, I was starting to enjoy it. For me, a helpful __ for dealing with Dutch traffic was to make a lot of noise as I ____: loud laughs, “look out”, “watch it” , and so on. These ____other cyclists into keeping away from me, and prevented the __ that had seemed unavoidable when I started.
This pattern, of a time of struggle ____by fun, was repeated with other ___ of my life in Utrecht. There were more “bikes” that I____ to learn how to ride. One of them was ____management. In Utrecht, I don't see people working ____time. As for working at the weekend, _____it. I initially assumed that nobody was working very hard, because of their shorter ___.
But after a few months, I ____that the other PhD students were all ___ focused on their work during that eight-hour working ____, whereas I was taking endless “ breaks” when I could have been focusing on my studies.
Cycling has become a __ of my growth, freedom and__ adjustment to PhD life in the Netherlands. And I have formed a good habit of working while I work and playing while I play.
1.A.went through B.worked out C.grew up D.got around
2.A.necessary B.dangerous C.convenient D.normal
3.A.travel B.decide C.advance D.learn
4.A.nervous B.anxious C.sensitive D.comfortable
5.A.trick B.plan C.tendency D.instruction
6.A.shouted B.jogged C.rode D.warned
7.A.cheated B.persuaded C.guided D.frightened
8.A.races B.ruins C.crashes D.competitions
9.A.followed B.presented C.supported D.appreciated
10.A.backgrounds B.occupations C.studies D.aspects
11.A.hesitated B.needed C.remembered D.failed
12.A.time B.finance C.business D.personnel
13.A.special B.regular C.extra D.valid
14.A.cancel B.forget C.select D.avoid
15.A.hours B.vacations C.weekdays D.distances
16.A.regretted B.supposed C.argued D.realized
17.A.completely B.considerately C.hurriedly D.repeatedly
18.A.practice B.section C.period D.evaluation
19.A.weakness B.symbol C.symptom D.remark
20.A.ambitious B.successful C.objective D.adventurous
Exploring work possibilities is quite an emotional challenge for people. The desire to simplify the process by focusing on one attractive option, instead of keeping your eyes open for even more possibilities to add to your list, can be very strong. Naturally, we'd rather make a decision and get on with our lives. 1. However, putting off a decision until after you have done your detective work can pay off in ways you can't even imagine now. So, learn to explore work possibilities as though it was a treasure hunt.
Uncertainty is not the only challenge holding you back. 2. You may be unwilling to ask strangers about their work or to ask your colleagues for help because you fear rejection. Or, you may fear failure. Don't let these fears block your search. Remember that one definition of success is u doing your very best to realize your dreams. “ 3.
There are three ways to learn about work possibilities that you already know exist and to discover more possibilities.
1. The easiest and quickest way is to read career information materials available on the Internet, in newspapers and magazines.
2. 4.They can give you an “ insider's opinion. “ Spend your time with people as constructively as possible by asking about the local situation or other things not covered in print materials.
3. The best way to learn about the work is to “ try it on for size “ by getting some related experience.
5.That greatly increases your ability to “mix and match” information later on to discover, or even create, work possibilities that would be ideal for you.
A.Identify your own ability.
B.Explore as many options as possible.
C.We wouldn't like to live with uncertainty.
D.The only way you can fail is to do nothing.
E.Talk to people who are knowledgeable about the work.
F.The following is what you should do to explore work possibilities.
G.Fear is most likely the biggest emotional challenge to successful career building.
A drug designed entirely by artificial intelligence is about to enter clinical human trials for the first time. The drug, which is intended to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD)(强迫症),was discovered using Al systems from Oxford-based biotech company Exscientia. While it would usually take around four and a half years to get a drug to this stage of development, Exscientia says that by using the Al tools it's taken less than 12 months.
The drug, known as DSP・1181, was created by using algorithms (算法)to examine potential compounds (化合物),checking them against a huge database of parameters, including a patient's genetic factors. Speaking to the BBC, Exscientia chief executive Professor Andrew Hopkins described the trials as a “ key milestone in drug discovery “ and noted that there are “ billions” of decisions needed to find the right molecules (分子)for a drug, making their eventual creation a “ huge decision. “ With Al, however, “the beauty of the algorithms is that they are unknowable, so can be applied to any disease.”
We've already seen multiple examples of Al being used to diagnose illness and analyze patient data, so using it to engineer drug treatment is an obvious progression of its place in medicine. But the Al - created drugs do bring about some relevant questions. Will patients be comfortable taking medicine designed by a machine? How will these drugs differ from those developed by humans alone? Who will make the rules for the use of Al in drug research? Hopkins and his team hope that these and a great many other questions will be explored in the trials, which will begin in March.
1.What is special about the drug designed by Al?
A.It's a better cure for OCD.
B.It has no side effect on humans.
C.Its development takes less time.
D.It doesn't need clinical human trials.
2.Which is a key factor in creating the drug according to Paragraph 2?
A.Trials. B.Algorithms.
C.Compounds. D.Molecules.
3.How does Hopkins feel about the way of drug creation?
A.Optimistic. B.Doubtful.
C.Disappointed. D.Puzzled.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Medical Trials by Al B.An Example in Medical Trials
C.A Creation in Al Development D.Al - designed Drugs to Be on Trial
George Nakashima always insisted that he was a simple woodworker, not an artist. Even though major museums exhibited his works and the director of the American Craft Museum called him a national treasure, Mr Nakashima rejected the label of artist. For almost fifty years he simply went on shaping wood into beautiful chairs, tables, and cabinets.
Nakashima had a clear goal. He intended each piece of furniture he made to be as perfect as possible. Even making a box was an act of creation, because it produced an object that had never existed before. Initially Nakashima used local wood, sometimes from his own property. Later, he traveled to seek out English oak, Persian walnut, African zebra wood and Indian teak. He especially liked to find giant roots that had been dug out of the ground after a tree was taken down. Nakashima felt that making this wood into furniture was a way of allowing the tree to live again.
Most furniture makers prefer perfect boards, but Nakashima took pleasure in using wood with interesting knots (节疤)and cracks. These irregularities gave the wood personality and showed that the tree had lived a happy life.
He never failed to create an object that was both useful and beautiful. One early piece Nakashima designed was a three-legged chair for his small daughter, Mira, to use when she sat at the table for meals. The Mira chair became so popular that Nakashima later made both low and high versions. Another famous piece, the Conoid chair, has two legs supported by bladelike feet. Always, Nakashima's designs were precise and graceful, marked by a simplicity that revealed his love for the wood.
As the years passed, Nakashima's reputation grew and his work received many awards. His children Mira and Kevin, now adults, joined the team of crafts - people in their father's studio. Nakashima's dream of integrating work and family had come true.
1.Which of the following best describes Nakashima?
A.Generous and outgoing. B.Honest and simple.
C.Capable and friendly. D.Creative and modest.
2.Why was Nakashima called a national treasure?
A.His art work made trees live again.
B.He used precious wood materials.
C.His chairs were beautifully designed.
D.He was devoted to making furniture.
3.What can we learn about Nakashima from the last two paragraphs?
A.He loved his work and family.
B.He made chairs of the same style.
C.He sought for a simple life and art.
D.He was lost in researching the wood.
4.What can be inferred about Mira and Kevin?
A.They had an art studio of their own.
B.They still lacked the ability to create art works.
C.They had a common interest with their father.
D.They enjoyed the same reputation with their father.
At Englands University of Plymouth, Professor Eduardo Miranda has been programming pairs of robots to compose music. Miranda's robots have simple “ vocal cords”(声带)and are programmed to sing and to listen to each other. The robots' unique warbling sounds (颤音) do not perfectly match the human voice, but each machine is exactly sharing music with the other in a new and unique way.
Each robot is equipped with speakers, software that mimics the human voice, a mouth that opens as it “sings,” a microphone for ears, and a camera for eyes. The robots also move. Miranda hopes that by studying his robot vocalists, he can discover something about how and why humans create, perform, and listen to music.
When the robots sing, first one robot makes six random sounds. Its partner responds with more sounds. The first robot analyzes the sounds to see if their sequences (序列)) are similar. If they are, it nods its head and commits the sounds to memory, and the second robot notices and “memorizes” the musical sequence, too. If the first robot thinks the sounds are too different, it shakes its head and both robots ignore the sounds. Then the process continues.
Miranda set up an experiment in which he left the two robots alone in his study for two weeks. When he returned, his little warblers had, by imitating each other, not only shared notes but combined them. The product of their cooperation was far from symphonic, but the robots had begun to combine the notes into their own self-developed “songs”.
With the help of his warbling robots, one of Miranda's goals is to create music that no human would ever compose. Miranda believes the robots are ideal for this purpose because they would not be influenced by any existing musical styles or rules.
1.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “mimics” in Paragraph 2?
A.Substitutes. B.Interrupts.
C.Controls. D.Copies.
2.What did the two robots do during Miranda's experiment?
A.They interacted with each other.
B.They ignored the unique sound.
C.They learned to sing better than humans.
D.They committed random sounds to memory.
3.What does Miranda want his robots to do?
A.Sing as well as humans do. B.Create new styles of music.
C.Memorize a variety of music. D.Promote traditional musical forms.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Future robots. B.Special songs.
C.Music by robots. D.Experiments by Miranda.
Improving your lifestyle through sports
Do you want to lead an active lifestyle? Are you passionate about sports? Have you thought about making new friends? Come on down and sign up for any of our classes at our exclusive launch!
Date: 5 April
Time: 10 a. m. to 7 p. m.
Place: VibraSquare Atrium
We offer classes like badminton, tennis, basketball and volleyball for everyone from the age of 10 to 40. Come on down to learn more about our classes as well as our special rates. All our classes are conducted by certified coaches.
A Mystery Gift will be given to the first 50 people who sign up for any sports class with us!
Highlights of our launch event:
• 1 p. m. : Talk on balancing sports and studies by Dr Claire Leow
• 3 p. m. : Autograph signing session by professional badminton player Kate Wee, winner of the recent Singapore Open
• 5 p. m. : Talk on how sports can benefit one's lifestyle by Mr Ryan Tan
• 6 p. m. : Free tennis clinic for children conducted by Michael Ismail, a former professional tennis player
To register for the above events, please contact Michelle at 6234 6226 or email sports@ edufit. com
Limited places available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Take part in a sure-win lucky draw when you enter for any sports class on the day of our launch! Prizes include VibraSquare Mall vouchers (票券),Wellness & Fitness sports clothing and many more j
Official Sponsors:
VibraSquare Mall Wellness & Fitness Glizard Drinks
1.What can we know about the Mystery Gift?
A.It is available anytime during April.
B.It is given to the first fifty class applicants.
C.You may choose vouchers or clothing.
D.Each participant of the launch event can get one.
2.When will kids attend the launch event if they are fond of tennis?
A.At 1 p. m. . B.At 3 p. m. . C.At 5 p. m.. D.At 6 p. m..
3.What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To report the sports events. B.To introduce healthy lifestyles.
C.To advertize the sports classes. D.To give advice on making friends.
