A scientific approach to reducing poverty’s many harmful effects via field experiments in schools and other real-world settings has won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both of MIT, and Michael Kremer of Harvard University will receive equal shares of the prize of 9 million Swedish kronor. Duflo is only the second woman ever to be awarded the economics Nobel. “Poverty has deep roots, and we use an experimental approach to examine particular aspects of this problem and determine what interventions (干预) work.” Duflo said.
More than 700 million people globally live in extreme poverty. Half of the world’s children leave school without basic language or math skills. Roughly 5 million children under age 5 annually die from diseases that could have been prevented with inexpensive treatments.
The three winners design and test interventions aimed at specific ways to alleviate poverty’s effects on education, health care and other areas. Such studies are especially important because policies intended to fight poverty can often cause opposite results.
In the mid-1990s, Kremer led a team that tested a range of interventions aimed at improving learning among students attending schools in western Kenya. Banerjee and Duflo, often with Kremer, then performed similar studies in other countries. One important line of research developed “Teaching at the Right Level” programs, which enable teachers in low-income, developing nations to target instruction to students’ learning levels. Teachers in these programs learn ways to keep students from falling behind rather than forcing them through a one-size-fits-all curriculum for each grade.
A 2011 study led by Duflo, for instance, found that grade 1 test scores in a Kenyan school increased when teachers divided students into smaller classes based on their initial learning levels.
A string of studies in the. same vein led by the 2019 winners took randomized controlled trials and field experiments from ignored status to standard practice in developing nations.
These studies showed that the virtually unanswerable question “How can we fight global poverty?” could be broken into smaller, testable questions such as “Why do children not attend school?” and “Why do small-scale farmers not use technologies such as modern seeds and fertilizer (肥料) that are known to be profitable?”
1.What does the underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?
A.relieve
B.remove
C.control
D.transform
2.It can be inferred that the method the 2019 winners applied to education .
A.is more suitable for high-level students
B.is an intervention initially created by Duflo
C.will surely get rid of the deep roots of poverty
D.takes into consideration students learning levels
3.What can we learn from the experimenting approach the three economists adopt?
A.The authorities concerned should make policies based on scientific findings.
B.Field experimenting is the most scientific way to find whether interventions work.
C.Education should be paid more attention to due to its important part in fighting poverty.
D.It may be helpful to narrow down the scale of a problem by focusing on specific aspects.
Today scientists are creating cool designs with smoother moves. Let’s check out the science behind four awesome robots.
TYPES | HOW IT WORKS | WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU | |
T-HR3
| The two-legged walking robot imitates the way people move. A human operator wears a headset with cameras that show what the robot “sees”. The human can then control the robot’s actions with his or her own human movements. | With a human helper, T-HR3 could assist people in medical facilities, burning buildings, construction sites, and even space. Its creators hope that T-HR3 will learn to do some tasks itself one day …like, say, your chores, maybe? | |
SHAPE-SHIFTIING
| When a scientist programs in a shape/ the motors change different parts of the surface to make it look like whatever the scientist wants! The shape-shifting robot can be programmed to look like just about anything small and enter tiny space. | In addition to helping scientists secretly observe animals, the shape-shifting robot might one day be used to create more immersive virtual reality experiences. Imagine being able to touch objects in your VR game and not just see them! | |
SALTO
| Rescuers have long used remote-controlled robots to search through nibble. But what’s special about Salto is its jumping ability, enabling it to reach places humans can’t. Twisted rubber bands in its legs make it bouncy enough to leap to high spaces. | Salto’s not just helpful in emergencies. Its technology might one day help fetch things from hard-to-reach places in your home, like that candy bar you hid on the top shelf of the cupboard. | |
SPOTMINI
| The four-legged robot is designed to help with house chores. With its extendable arms, Spotmini can unload dishes and put them in high shelves, grab debris (碎片) in hard-to-reach places. It can even climb stairs. | Experts say future homes will have robots doing chores so that people have more free time. Instead of earning your allowance by taking out the garbage, you might be doing robot repairs instead. | |
1.If you want to take a close picture of a poisonous snake, which robot is the most suitable?
A.T-HR3 B.SHAPE-SHIFTING C.SALTO D.SPOTMINI
2.What these robots have in common is that they .
A.work by using a remote-control
B.are designed to help with the housework
C.enable people to see whatever they “see”
D.carry out tasks where humans are hard to reach
Joe spent 16 years as a fireman and emergency medical technician. He has been honored for his_______in risking his life on numerous occasions to save others. However, one emergency call_______him to poisonous chemicals that later led to repeated strokes (中风). At only_______, the man who had grown 38 to having the physical strength and mobility to save lives was now: _______to tie his own shoes or button his own shirt. Worst of all, the strokes left him _______ seizures (痉挛) that would strike _______,
Before his health _______, Joe was known for being active and optimistic. But after his strokes, he spent day and night in bed, dangerously _______. One of his only _______ joys was Lucky, his 12-year-old Dalmatian, but Joe’s wife Kim ______________something terrible would happen to Joe when Lucky______________. She didn’t want to wait to find out, so she suggested a new dog should be ______________to the family.
Then entered Meatball. He was saved as a puppy from an Afghan war zone and brought to the United States for ______________by Puppy Rescue Mission. Joe and Kim went to the airport to meet Meatball upon his arrival. The moment Meatball came out of his cage, he peed (撒尿) all over Joe — and Joe ______________his first genuine laughter in months!
Two years later, one night, Kim was awakened by Meatball’s ______________barking. She went to see what was wrong and found Joe having a______________seizure. Joe was ______________to the hospital — Meatball had saved the day. And it wasn’t the only time. “He’s always there ______________me, helping me, making sure I’m okay,” says Joe. Since I got sick, some of my friends have fallen by the wayside,______________this beautiful dog always stays with me. That means I’m worth ______________after all. Pets are the emotional, physical, and spiritual gift we didn’t know we needed.
1.A.fear B.luck C.bravery D.hesitation
2.A.reduced B.shifted C.exposed D.attracted
3.A.committed B.accustomed C.addicted D.abandoned
4.A.afraid B.ashamed C.unable D.unwilling
5.A.to B.by C.for D.with
6.A.painfully B.separately C.randomly D.automatically
7.A.recovered B.improved C.infected D.declined
8.A.depressed B.puzzled C.excited D.embarrassed
9.A.accessible B.remaining C.selective D.meaningful
10.A.anticipated B.suspected C.predicted D.worried
11.A.passed away B.hung out C.fell out D.turned away
12.A.contributed B.offered C.added D.devoted
13.A.profit B.adoption C.release D.memory
14.A.fell into B.dived into C.burst into D.ran into
15.A.confused B.panicked C.surprised D.shocked
16.A.violent B.tough C.common D.slight
17.A.loaded B.rushed C.transferred D.admitted
18.A.praying B.guiding C.tolerating D.watching
19.A.so B.if C.and D.but
20.A.something B.anything C.everything D.nothing
—It’s said that your family will move to another city, why?
—_______.The environment in this city is wonderful and relaxing.
A.That depends B.That’s for sure C.It’s not the case D.It’s hard to say
A recent survey has demonstrated that a large number of victims during the COVID-19 Outbreak______，if they had worn masks.
A.should have been saved
B.must have been saved
C.need have been saved
D.could have been saved
—I’m fed up with the wet, cold weather here! I wish tomorrow a sunny day!
—Exactly. Actually, it______every day in the past two weeks.
A.rained B.was raining C.has rained D.has been raining
