Being alone doesn’t necessarily mean being lonely: even when you’re dining alone, you’re often in the company of your phone, which means you’re in touch with friends and family, with the tap of a screen.
A new survey of 2,000 Americans found that the average adult eats alone during 7-4 meals each week. However, many say it can be a good thing. In fact, the survey revealed that 68 percent of Americans look forward to eating a meal alone.
The top reason why Americans eat alone? “It’s more relaxing”, say 50 percent of people who have taken part in the survey. Busy schedules (44 percent) and saving money (38 percent) round out the top three answers.
The new study, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of The U. S. Highbush Blueberry Council, revealed that busy schedules are challenging for Americans in general, and that it impacts mealtime is no exception.
The average American says they rush through four meals a week due to lack of time, with two meals being eaten on their feet and/or on the go.
Technology may be changing how we understand our alone time, and dining beside your phone could be Just as good as eating with a friend.
At least half of respondents will take part in some “eat and scroll” for six meals every week, but, two in three (66 percent) say they don，t feel like they’re eating alone when they’re looking through their phone.
Keeping our relationships strong doesn’t always require being together physically (though the average person in the poll ate with another person six times a week —one shy of their “solo meals” record). According to the poll, three in four respondents (75 percent) feel that engaging with their friends and family on social media platforms helps them feel more connected.
“Today, ‘togetherness’ is more of a feeling than a physical state, and people get creative to stay connected,” said a spokesperson for The Highbush Blueberry Council. “The joy of being together - however you manage it - never changes.”
1.Which statement is the leading reason why Americans eat alone?
A.“I can relax more.” B.“I want to save money.”
C.“I’m rushed.” D.“My friends are all busy.”
2.What question does the text want to answer?
A.What makes people feel like they’re not eating alone?
B.Why does “dinner for two” mean “you and your device”?
C.How do social media platforms change Americans’ eating habits?
D.Why 68 percent of Americans feel good about eating alone?
3.What changes the way Americans understand their alone time?
A.Busy schedules. B.Technology C.Life style. D.Finance.
4.What’s the understanding of “togetherness” for Americans nowadays?
A.It requires being together physically. B.It’s a state of accompanying side by side.
C.It’s more of a spiritual feeling. D.It has nothing to do with social media.
As scientific meetings are canceled worldwide, researchers are rethinking how they network a move that should have done earlier. “At some point, we need to be having conversations about ‘What is the point of a conference now? says Sarah Horst, a planetary scientist.
Meeting spaces that are inaccessible to some disabled scientists, health considerations, a lack of access to childcare and travel restrictions can all encl up alienating potential attendees from physical conferences. There’s a large appetite” for alternative conference set-ups, says Divya Persaud, a planetary scientist. She and Eleanor Armstrong, a UCL sociologist of space science, have a grant from their university to hold an experimental virtual conference, called Space Science in Context, in May. The conference aims to improve accessibility. Participants will watch recorded talks ahead of time and then join in online conversations on the day of the conference. Persaud says that the response to plans for the meeting, which launched its save-the-date website last week, has been overwhelmingly positive. But she also points out that many of the adjustments that conferences are making, such as introducing virtual participation, are accommodations for which disabled scientists have been demanding loudly for years, and it’s a shame that it took a global health crisis to make them happen.
Still, as conference organizers are finding out, making these changes, especially on short notice, is no easy thing. The European Geophysical Union (EGU) general conference is scheduled for 3---8 May in Vienna, and session leaders are making other plans in case it is canceled. Those intending to participate in the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference this week in The Woodlands, Texas, found that they are trying to come up with alternative solutions when that conference was canceled on 4 March. Most of the responses were just ‘ Well , have the conference online’ “ says Horst.
1.Which of the following is NOT a potential attendee?
A.Scientists without visas. B.Scientists who are not feeling well.
C.Scientists with physical disabilities. D.Scientists who don't understand childcare.
2.What is the public’s attitude towards online conference?
A.Uncertain. B.Supportive. C.Disappointed. D.Dissatisfied.
3.Why does the second paragraph take Space Science in Context as an example?
A.To show that modern technology can realize conference online.
B.To prove that virtual conferences can make more people involved.
C.To praise the conference organizing ability of these two scientists.
D.To emphasize that the previous physical meetings were unsuccessful.
4.Where would this passage most probably appear?
A.In a guidebook for tourists. B.In a weekly story magazine.
C.In science channel of a website. D.On the front page of a newspaper.
For a long time hikers in Japan have considered a bear bell essential. Its tinny ring is said to scare off huge creatures. Nowadays, however, bear bells are increasingly useful on the way to the shops as well as in the wild. “The number of animals - whether bears, boars or monkeys --is expanding, and they are going into villages and towns”, says Hiroto Enari of Yamagata University.
Japan is home to many species of wild animals, including both black and brown bears. Estimates of their numbers are unstable, but since the 2000s the number of bear sightings has been rising. There were close to 1 3 , 000 in 2018 alone. The reappearance has its roots in the truth : the shrinking of Japan’s population is especially sharp in rural areas, where it is more serious by ongoing urbanization. The reducing quantity of people, in turn, has emboldened (使大胆)animals. Bears are less limited about entering villages in broad daylight if there are few folks around, Mr Enari says. Indeed, the biggest jumps in sightings have been where the population is falling fastest.
Hunting is declining in Japan, too. Government data suggest that the average hunter is now 68 years old. The country’s many forests and mountains provide an expansive habitat for wild animals. Indeed, the true wilderness is growing as foresters and farmers die off. Bears become particularly bold in years when acorns (橡实)are scarce, sneaking into orchards (果园)to steal fruits.
While some welcome their reappearance? others suffer from it. Every year bears injure scores of people, and kill a handful. Deer cause damage to farmland and speed up erosion by, for example, eating up grass. Simple solutions, such as changing the layout around villages or putting up fences, are rarely used. Instead, many bears are captured or killed. In 2013 the government decided to halve the number of certain types of deer, boars and monkeys by 2023. Japan is struggling to adapt to the changing power balance between animals and people”, says Mr Enari.
1.In Japan, what were the bear bells first used for?
A.Warning people of bears’ appearance.
B.Safeguarding the shops and villages.
C.Driving away various wild animals.
D.Scaring off bears for the hikers.
2.What can we learn from paragraph 2?
A.It is hard to see a brown bear in Japan.
B.The number of bear sightings has declined since 2000.
C.Japan’s reducing population is a main cause for bears’ reappearance.
D.Bears appear most frequently where the population increases fastest.
3.What is the other cause for wild animals’ reappearance?
A.The increase of forests. B.The decline of hunting.
C.The reduction of their habitats. D.The death of foresters and farmers.
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A.The problem wild animals bring about and related measures to handle it.
B.Japanese people’s attitude to the reappearance of wild animals.
C.Methods for killing wild animals and the government’s attitude to them.
D.The wild animals’ future Japanese experts expect.
Events at The University of Manchester
Telescope Walking Tours
We’ll be hosting our popular Telescope Walking Tours daily from 5 July to 5 August, 2020. You can join one of our friendly Explainers as they take you for a walk around the base of the impressive Lovell Telescope. You’ll explore its amazing history and discover some of its ground-breaking research. Walking Tours last about 45 minutes, will take place indoors if wet, and are available on a drop-in basis.
Art Basket
Are you and your family hungry to get creative? Pick up a picnic basket with a difference.
Come to our Oxford Road or Parkside entrance and pick up one of our special baskets—free and available at any time during gallery opening hours, daily from 31 May to 31 August, 2020. Pack your basket full of art materials and head off to our galleries. Come back later, and we’d love to see what you’ve clone.
Elizabeth Price
Bringing together many new and well-known works, including drawings, sculptures and videos, the exhibition will start on 1 March, 2020 and it runs till 25 May, 2020.
Her Turner Prize winning THE WOOLWORTHS CHOIR of 1 979 , remembering that terrible fire in Manchester, will be shown in the city for the first time.
Children’s Story Competition
From “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Charlotte” Web” to “Spiderman”, insects have inspired countless much-loved stories and comics. Enter your ideas into our story competition lasting from 5 March to 1 J line, 2020. Winners in each age category will be chosen by experts and professional writers and will be featured in a special exhibition publication in summer 2020.
1.What can you do on Telescope Walking Tours?
A.To experience a space walk.
B.To take exercise indoors or outdoors.
C.To learn some knowledge of astronomy.
D.To explore the historic buildings on foot.
2.When will the exhibition event close?
A.On May 25, 2020. B.On August 5, 2020.
C.On June 1, 2020. D.On August 31, 2020.
3.Which event will last longest?
A.Telescope Walking Tours. B.Art Basket.
C.Elizabeth Price. D.Children’s Story Competition.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What kind of place is the speaker mainly describing?
A.A famous restaurant chain.
B.A local cafe in South Africa.
C.An unknown restaurant.
2.What might you see when you go to the dining room?
A.Forest. B.Fish. C.Real wild animals.
3.How would the speaker like the visitors to feel?
A.Concerned about the environment.
B.Happy with the delicious food.
C.Willing to help the poor.
4.What are the main dishes served with?
A.Traditional drinks. B.Beautiful flowers. C.Cultural stories.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is the man doing?
A.Asking for help. B.Making an appointment. C.Offering suggestions.
2.What will Jane and Helen do next weekend?
A.Enjoy themselves with Susan.
B.Go hiking in the mountains.
C.Do some holiday shopping.
3.When did the woman go climbing last time?
A.About two years ago. B.About a year ago. C.About a month ago.
4.What do we know about Susan?
A.She is familiar with Helen.
B.She has good organization skills.
C.She’s John’s girlfriend.
