Every Morning, Breanna Roque goes out to the farm to feed the cows. But this isn’t your typical farm; it’s a laboratory, and Roque is a graduate researcher at the University of California, Davis. She’s been spending her time among the cows to see if she can adjust their diets so they burp (打嗝) less. The cows’ special diet includes small parts of a red seaweed. It contains a chemical combination, which prevents the production of CH4 during the cows’ digestion. Less CH4 means less burping. And less burping could mean slowing down climate change globally.
Although agriculture accounts for a smaller percentage of total greenhouse gas production than sectors like transportation and energy, it produces more CH4, which warms the Earth up to 86 times as much as CO2. When cows eat, they burp food back up, producing CH4 as a byproduct. Researchers across the globe have been pursuing the idea that adding substances to feed might help reduce these CH4 -loaded burps. But it wasn’t until 2016 that researchers in Australia found that grass feed of 2 percent seaweed could cut CH4 productions by nearly 99 percent. In 2019, Roque’s team published the results of a similar study: They cut CH4 production 95 percent by adding to a typical U.S. dairy cow diet with just 5 percent seaweed. But questions remained about the seaweed’s effectiveness in actual cow stomachs.
So more researchers headed to the farm. They found that a diet of just 0.5 percent seaweed led to a 26-percent decrease in CH4. A 1-percent seaweed diet produced 67 percent less CH4. Further research is needed to fully understand why this seaweed in particular works best and to see if adding seaweed to cows’ diets will affect the quality of the products coming from the animals. In the future, they’ll run trials to see if seaweed gives cow’s milk an unpleasant taste or leaves steaks smelling of seafood.
Researchers still need to ensure the seaweed combination, which is sensitive to heat and light, will be shelf-stable and remain effective in real-world applications. And even if the seaweed succeeds, CH4 from cattle account for just 5 percent of greenhouse gas production in the U.S., so the overall picture won’t improve much.
Still, last August, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, announced they would be trying to find ways to farm the seaweed on a large-enough scale to break into the cattle feed market. Roque says she’s regularly contacted by annoying businessmen who want her help to mass produce the seaweed for global animal consumption. “People reach out to me all the time,” she says. “Unfortunately, I’m an animal biologist and not a sea biologist.”
1.What is the purpose of Roque’s research?
A.To reduce global warming through cow feed.
B.To enrich cattle diets with a special seaweed.
C.To make food digestible in cows’ stomachs.
D.To reduce CH4 in the production of seaweed.
2.According to Paragraph 2, the 2016 and 2019 studies were imperfect as they failed to find out ________.
A.why CH4 was more harmful than CO2 in climate change
B.which seaweed worked best in cutting CH4 production
C.whether seaweed would work in practical cow feeding
D.what was the right proportion of seaweed in cows’ diets
3.Future research will probably not deal with ________.
A.how to grow seaweed on farmland economically
B.how to bring out the best function of the seaweed
C.how to prevent beef and milk from tasting weird
D.how to lengthen the store time of seaweed feed
4.Roque’s response to the businessmen indicates that ________.
A.she regrets not having studied seaweeds
B.she is willing to offer more help to them
C.she is negative about the cow feed market
D.she is not interested in farming seaweed
Those extra pounds should be avoided at all costs, right? Actually, while being overweight isn’t generally good for our health, not all fat is created equal — some may even be beneficial.
There are two major kinds of body fat. White fat, the most abundant type, is what you feel when you squeeze your midsection. Brown fat, found mainly in the neck region, burns energy rather than storing it the way white fat does. Brown fat may also help avoid diabetes. According to a study in Cell Metabolism, individuals with higher amounts of brown fat had smaller changes in blood sugar and thus a reduced risk of developing diabetes. Infants have high levels of brown fat, which helps regulate their body temperature. Sadly, we lose it as we age, and adults have only small amounts.
Adults can increase brown fat by exposing themselves to cold temperatures. In a recent study, people who slept in a mildly cold room (about 66 degrees F) increased the amount and activity of their brown fat by up to 40 percent. Sleeping in mild warmth (81 degrees F), however, decreased their amount of brown fat. Cold showers don’t seem to affect it.
Brown fat does have its drawbacks. Radiologists don’t like it, because the heat it causes makes it harder for body scans to detect activities in patients. Although there’s no firm evidence that any specific foods or nutrients can activate brown fat, radiologists routinely recommend that patients eat a high-fat, low-carb diet before scans on the grounds that this reduces brown fat activation.
Just as brown fat isn’t perfect, neither is white fat all bad. Even though people tend to hate it, white fat delivers important health benefits. It protects our vital organs, helps keep us warm, and stores calories for later use, keeping us from starving when food is scarce.
White fat can sometimes be turned into brown — it’s then called beige or brite (“brown in white”) fat. Like brown fat, beige fat burns energy and can thus help fight against obesity. Scientists are still trying to figure out how the change happens; one study points to a hormone called irisin, which our muscles produce when we exercise.
Fat cells’ sensitivity to temperature changes means there’s more than one way we can get rid of unwanted fat. Cooling treatments, for instance, freeze fat cells to death. The body removes these damaged cells over several months.
1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “midsection” in the second paragraph?
A.Leg. B.Arm. C.Wrist. D.Waist.
2.Generally speaking, who have a larger proportion of brown fat?
A.Babies. B.Senior people. C.Fat people. D.Thin people.
3.The following kinds of fat can help people fight against obesity EXCEPT ________.
A.Beige fat. B.Brite fat. C.White fat. D.Brown fat.
THE MUSTHAVE — SPRING FLUSH (红晕) If you buy one new makeup item this spring, make it a color-packed (but still mixable!) cream red, like one of the new versions from CoverGirl and Maybelline. Whenever you wear it, coworkers will come over to your desk and say things like “Your skin looks great!” and “You look so happy!” That might make you wonder, “What do I usually look like?” But it’ll also inspire you to wear a cheery pop of color on your cheeks for the next three months straight. |
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THE TREND — FERMENTED EXTRACTS (发酵精华) Fermentation isn’t new — the process of preserving natural components has been around for a thousand years — but its popularity in the beauty world is just starting to bloom. And for good reason: Many fermented components have promising skin benefits. Estée Lauder’s brightening treatment features ferment, which fades dark spots and make skin look more toned. The updated version of La Mer’s famous eye cream has a fermented complex that improves dark circles and fine lines. |
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THE GADGET — HAIR BRUSH Straightening your own hair is about to get a lot easier. Powered by electricity, this brush’s heated edges help you get close to the scalp (头皮) (great for short hair), and you don’t need a separate brush or comb, and it stays at the exact temperature you choose so you don’t overheat (read: damage) your hair. The result: Smooth hair is officially just a brush away. |
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LIPSTICKS BUILT TO LAST — HERMÈS LIPSTICKS Who says an object can’t be environmentally sound? The first try by Hermès into the world of makeup is a responsible one: Rouge Hermès, its new line of lipsticks. |
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1.If you have dark spots on your cheeks, which of the following can you choose according to the passage?
A.The products from Maybelline. B.The products from Rouge Hermès.
C.The products from La Mer. D.The products from Estée Lauder.
2.During a power failure, which of the following may be of less use according to the passage?
A.SPRING FLUSH. B.FERMENTED EXTRACTS.
C.HAIR BRUSH. D.HERMÈS LIPSTICKS.
A pair of silk stockings
Little Missus Sommers one day found that she had already saved fifty dollars. It seemed to her a very large amount of money.
The question of investment was one she _______ carefully. A dollar or two could be _______ to the price she usually paid for her daughter Janie’s shoes. This would guarantee they would _______ a great deal longer than usual. She would buy cloth for new shirts for the boys. And still there would be enough left for new stockings — two pairs per child. What time that would save her in always _______ old stockings!
But that day she was tired and a little bit weak. Between getting the children fed and the house cleaned, and preparing herself to go shopping, she had _______ to eat at all!
When she arrived at the large department store, she sat in front of an empty counter. She was trying to gather _______ and courage to push through a mass of busy _______. She rested her hand upon the counter.
She wore no gloves. She slowly grew aware that her hand had felt something very _______ to touch. She looked down to see that her hand lay upon a pile of silk _______. A young salesgirl who stood behind the __________ asked her if she wished to __________ the silky leg coverings.
She smiled as if she had been asked to inspect diamond jewelry with the aim of __________ it. But she went on feeling the soft, __________ items. Now she used both hands, holding the stockings up to see the light shine __________ them.
Two red marks suddenly showed on her pale face.
She thought to herself, “Why not live for myself once?”
She looked up at the salesgirl. “Well, I will __________ this pair.” she said.
Missus Sommers then walked into the ladies’ rest area. In an empty corner, she __________ her cotton stockings with the new silk ones.
For the first time she seemed to be taking a __________ from the tiring act of considering her family. She had let herself be __________ by some machine — like force directing her actions. But this time she decided to free herself of __________.
Then she put her shoes back on and put her old stockings into her bag. Next, she went to the shoe department, sat down and waited to be __________.
1.A.resisted B.considered C.described D.underwent
2.A.spent B.withdrawn C.dropped D.added
3.A.last B.extend C.show D.dress
4.A.picking B.washing C.packing D.repairing
5.A.refused B.forgotten C.regretted D.planned
6.A.confidence B.information C.respect D.strength
7.A.shoppers B.sellers C.agents D.guards
8.A.rough B.delicious C.pleasant D.pretty
9.A.handkerchiefs B.shirts C.stockings D.shoes
10.A.counter B.crowd C.elevator D.window
11.A.see B.witness C.investigate D.examine
12.A.purchasing B.selling C.producing D.designing
13.A.ordinary B.abnormal C.costly D.simple
14.A.beyond B.through C.between D.upon
15.A.return B.buy C.present D.consume
16.A.sold B.exchanged C.submitted D.replaced
17.A.rest B.walk C.look D.sigh
18.A.thrown B.squeezed C.controlled D.comforted
19.A.debt B.dream C.appointment D.responsibility
20.A.fitted B.employed C.consulted D.promoted
Some teenagers have independent tastes, but most tend to _______.
A.lose their heads B.spill the beans C.swim with the tide D.mend their ways
—Gosh, I feel I have messed up my whole life.
—Cheer up. Things will _______.
A.hold out B.work out C.stand out D.set out
