Can a fish be depressed? This question has been floating around my head ever since I saw a sad-looking Siamese fighting fish in a hotel. His name was Bruce Lee, according to a sign beneath his little bowl.

On the bottom of the little bowl was Bruce Lee, totally still, his lower fin( 鳍 ) somewhat  injured. When  he did  finally move, just slightly,  I  got the sense that he would prefer to be dead.

The pleasant woman at the front desk convinced me that he was well taken care of. Was I simply incorrectly supposing his lethargy was a sign of mental suffering?

Later on, I sought answers from scientists. It turns out that not only can our gilled( 有 鳃 的 ) friends become depressed, but some scientists consider fish to be a promising animal model for developing anti-depressants. New research has been completely changing the way scientists think about fish, building a case that pet and owner are not nearly as different as many suppose.

Dr. Pittman likes working with fish, in part, because they are so obvious about their depression. He can reliably test the effectiveness of anti-depressants with something called the “novel tank test.” A zebra fish gets dropped in a new tank. If after five minutes it is hanging out in the lower half, it’s depressed. If it’s swimming up top — its usual behaviour when exploring a new environment — then it’s not. The seriousness of the depression, he says, can be measured by quantity of time at the top vs. the bottom, all of which seemed to confirm my guess about Bruce Lee.

“One of the things we’re finding that fish are naturally curious and seek novel things out,” said Dr. Braithwaite.

In other words, your goldfish is probably bored. To help prevent them from depression, she suggests introducing new objects to the tank( 缸 ) or changing the location of items.

Dr. Brown agrees, pointing to an experiment he conducted, which showed that if you leave a fish in an enriched, physically complex environment — meaning a lot of plants to bite at and cages to swim through — it decreases stress and increases brain growth.

The last time a guest posted Bruce Lee to Instagram he was looking good and lively. Perhaps that new green leaf in his bowl had provided the enrichment he desired.

1.What does the underlined word “lethargy” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A.suffering B.sorrow

C.anxiety D.laziness

2.What can be known from the new research?

A.Fish can be used to develop anti-depressants.

B.The way scientists thought about the fish proves totally right.

C.Pets and owners sometimes have the same feeling.

D.Many people suppose pets are quite different from people.

3.Why can fish become bored according to the text?

A.They are not born to be curious.

B.They lack new things to explore.

C.They can’t locate the positions of items.

D.They need oxygen from the air.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A.Fish have their own feelings.

B.Fish can be a boring pet.

C.Fish need better care.

D.Fish depression is not a joke.

    However exciting space travel sounds, astronauts must still suffer with bad food. Now, food in space has to be dehydrated ( 使 脱 水 ) or pre-cooked and stored. This means astronauts aren’t really eating fresh food.

New technology may change this. Scientific American reports that a specially-designed oven will be sent into space this autumn with NASA’s NG-12 cargo (货物) mission (太空飞行任务).

Far from the common vacuum-packed (真空包装的) meals, astronauts may get to enjoy freshly baked cookies before the end of 2019.

Why aren’t they baking cookies in space already? For one thing, there’s the risk of a fire. Engineers also have to overcome the challenge of microgravity ( 微 重 力 ), which prevents heat from circling inside ovens the same way it does on Earth.

Astronauts will still have to wait a while before they can have their cookies, though. After baking, the results will be sent back to Earth for safety testing. If successful, this will be the first oven to bake food in space.

“I believe ... that will be game-changing for both science and astronauts,” food technology researcher Maeena Naman Shafiee told Scientific American.

One of the main driving forces behind this project has been NASA’s 2018 research into the effects of “confinement (封闭) and isolation (隔离)”. Unlike on the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts traveling out of Earth’s orbit (轨道) may not be able to speak to their loved ones on future missions, which could lead to negative feelings.

It’s hoped that the chance to bake and sense familiar smells can bring joy to crews (宇航人员).

“Is the ISS going to smell like fresh-baked cookies? We don’t know,” said NanoRacks’ communications manager Abby Dickes. “But that’s a feeling we all know and love ... that will make someone feel at home.”

Baking cookies in space would mark an important step, offering a small comfort in the difficult and unfamiliar environment of space travel. Astronauts have already grown plants aboard the ISS.

With commercial ( 商 业 的 ) space travel now being planned, who knows what other developments may surprise us in the future?

1.What can the new technology help astronauts to do in space?

A.Enjoy fresh cookies.

B.Store more food.

C.Quickly prepare food.

D.Cook many different kinds of home-made meals.

2.Why is it difficult to bake cookies in space?

A.It’s difficult and costly to send food into space.

B.Microgravity stops food from staying in one place.

C.Baking cookies in space would pollute the spaceships.

D.It is hard to heat food properly because of microgravity.

3.What was the main purpose of the cookie project?

A.To improve astronauts’ health.

B.To make improvements in space travel.

C.To encourage more people to travel to space.

D.To make space travel more comfortable for astronauts.

    I'm now living in the south of France with my husband Keith and three small children, and I feel like a fish out of water everywhere but one place-the Saturday street market.It's been operating in our small town of Sommieres since the 13th century,but we've only lived here for three months.

From Monday to Friday,life is all about the kids.I'm busy helping my children deal with life in a French school.It's not easy,and their stress is the whole family's stress,as Keith and I are occupied with the daily school runs,piles of homework and school notes in French.

But on Saturday,the market is for me.I feel so peaceful as I walk along the quiet street toward the busy town square.The knife-sharpening man is there, operating a machine that looks like it dates from the Industrial Revolution.There' re street musicians with guitars and microphones,and the sound of beautiful songs fills the air.And the food,of course,is delicious.The cheese man doesn't speak-he just points and cuts,offering a piece from his knife.Lines come out of the door for fresh bread at the bakery.Organic vegetables,herbs and desserts are a feast for the eyes,before being put into the bag to be enjoyed later for lunch.The noises and smells of the market are unfamiliar and thrilling,but their procedures are clear to me.This is part of why I love the place so much:Unlike during the week,when I'm constantly faced with my own difficulties,I know how this place works.My terrible French isn't the barrier to communication that it is in other circumstances.

At school and in the village,I can't joke or join a conversation,and although the other parents at the school are kind,I'm an outsider.But at the market,I'm just another customer with a basket.Surrounded by day trippers,I feel like a local- greeting people I know and petting dogs.

My Saturday experiences allow me to hope that in the near future I'll feel equally confident in my everyday life.Until then,Saturdays prepare me for the coming week of school runs.

1.What does the author mean by saying “I feel like a fish out of water”?

A.She feels uncomfortable in new surroundings.

B.She feels free out of her daily housework.

C.She feels lonely without her children.

D.She feels unable to make a living in another country.

2.What can be learned about the author's life during weekdays?

A.She learns French together with her children.

B.She devotes herself to her children in a French school.

C.She runs to school every day to help her children.

D.She tries to balance her job and the housework.

3.Why does the author like going to the Saturday market?

A.She wants to get away from her family's stress.

B.She can talk with other customers freely there.

C.She feels relaxed and comfortable there.

D.She tries to gain confidence in the busy atmosphere.

假设你是红星中学高二学生李华，你的英国朋友Jim在给你的邮件中提到他对北京正在实行的垃圾分类 (garbage classification) 很感兴趣。他向你咨询相关信息，请给他回信。内容包括：

1.垃圾分类的益处；

2.你周边的实施情况；

3.你的感受。

参考词：recyclables, kitchen waste, harmful waste, other waste

注意：

1.词数不少于50；

2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Jim,

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

阅读下面的短文和问题，根据短文内容，在相应题号后的横线上写下相关信息，完成对该问题的回答。答语要意思清楚，结构正确，书写工整。

At the start of nearly every doctor's visit, chances are that you will be asked to get your weight measured for that day's exam record - and you would be hard-pressed to find a person whose physician has not brought up his or her weight at some point, and doctors' recommendations to drop pounds are still extremely common. But many conversations around weight have become a barrier, not a help, in the campaign to make people healthier.

Higher body masses are associated with increased risk for hypertension, diabetes and coronary disease. Many studies have shown that heavier people are at higher risk for these illnesses. But the big picture is not the whole picture. Researchers have identified a smaller group of overweight people considered to be ''metabolically (新陈代谢地) healthy'' - meaning they do not exhibit high blood pressure or other diseases.

Research over the past two decades has shown that health professionals have negative attitudes toward fat people. Some refuse to see these patients at all, as the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in 2011. Such practices keep people from regular annual exams and prevent the finding of serious underlying conditions. Not only that but doctors' appointments with fat patients are shorter on average, and they routinely use negative words in their medical histories of such people. And research suggests that the stress of being a heavy person may cause metabolic changes that may lead to more poor health outcomes.

To achieve better health outcomes, doctors should focus on behaviors that have proven positive outcomes for health instead of the weight-centric health care practice. And people of all sizes are entitled to evidence-based factors that empower them and keep them healthy. Lifestyle changes, such as eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with increased physical activity, can improve blood pressure, levels and sensitivity - often independently of changes in body weight.

1.What will you be asked to do when visiting a doctor for the first time? (不多于4个单词)

__________________

2.Why does the stress of being a heavy person may lead to more poor health outcomes? (不多于6个单词)

__________________

3.What are doctors expected to do to achieve better health outcomes? (不多于10个单词)

__________________

4.What is the passage mainly about? (不多于4个单词)

__________________

根据括号中所给提示完成下列句子。

1.他努力适应新的环境。(adapt)

____________________________________________________

2.我们热烈祝贺他考试取得进步。(congratulate)

____________________________________________________

3.考生必须留在座位上，等所有试卷收好以后方可离去。(remain)

____________________________________________________

4.报名参加上周写作比赛的学生年龄在8岁到15岁之间。(range)

____________________________________________________

5.从他所说的话来判断，他已经厌倦了现在的工作。(be fed up with)

____________________________________________________

    Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing them to change their tribe (部落). If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too.

The way to change people’s minds is to become friends with them, to combine them into your tribe, to bring them into your circle. Now, they can change their beliefs without the risk of being abandoned socially.

The British philosopher Alain de Botton suggests that we simply share meals with those who disagree with us: “Sitting down at a table with a group of strangers has the incomparable and odd benefit of making it a little more difficult to hate them without punishment. Prejudice and conflict between groups of people from different nations or races feed off abstraction. However, during a meal, something about handing dishes around, unfolding napkins (餐巾纸) at the same moment, even asking a stranger to pass the salt makes us less likely to hold the belief that the outsiders who wear unusual clothes and speak in distinctive accents deserve to be sent home or attacked. For all the large-scale political solutions which have been proposed to ease racial or cultural conflict, there are few more effective ways to promote tolerance between suspicious neighbours than to force them to eat supper together.”

Perhaps it is not difference, but distance that produces tribalism and unfriendliness. As proximity increases, so does understanding. I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Facts don’t change our minds. Friendship does.

The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote, “Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right.”

When we are in the moment, we can easily forget that the goal is to connect with the other side, cooperate with them, befriend them, and integrate them into our tribe. We are so caught up in winning that we forget about connecting. It’s easy to spend your energy labeling people rather than working with them.

The word “kind (family and relatives)” originated from the word “kin (old fashion of family and relatives).” When you are kind to someone, it means you are treating them like family. This, I think, is a good method for actually changing someone’s mind. Develop a friendship. Share a meal. Gift a book. Be kind first, be right later.

1.People are likely to change their mind when they _____.

A.change their beliefs B.are made friends with

C.move to a new community D.are given somewhere to go

2.What does the underlined word “proximity” in paragraph 4 mean?

A.Nearness. B.Action. C.Communication. D.Politeness.

3.The author quotes from Haruki Murakami to imply that _____.

A.breaking down one’s reality is easy

B.kindness is more important than right

C.arguing and winning are not important

D.losing one’s identity is a painful process

4.According to the passage, sharing meals is effective in building connections because it ____.

A.pleases people with different beliefs or accents

B.makes people focus on eating rather than conflicts

C.brings benefits to the people having dinner together

D.promotes understanding and tolerance among people

    GENETIC testing cannot tell teachers anything useful about an individual pupil’s educational achievement. That is the conclusion of a study that looked at how well so-called polygenic scores for education predict a person’s educational achievements, based on a long-term study of thousands of people in the UK. “Some people with a very low genetic score are very high performers at age 16. Some are even in the top 3 percent,” says Tim Morris at the University of Bristol, UK.

And while Morris expects the accuracy of polygenic scores for educational achievements to improve, he doesn’t think they will ever be good enough to predict how well an individual will do. Even relatively simple qualities such as height are influenced by thousands of genetic variants, each of which may only have a tiny effect. It has been claimed that polygenic scores can be used to make useful predictions, such as a person’s likelihood of developing various diseases. One company is even offering embryo screening (screening of an unborn baby in the very stages of development) based on polygenic scores for disease risk.

Some researchers - notably Robert Plomin of King’s College London - think that schools should start using polygenic scores for educational achievement. In most cases, the scores may reflect qualities such as persistence as well as intelligence.

To assess the usefulness of polygenic scores in education, Morris and his colleagues calculated them for 8,000 people in Bristol who are part of a long-term study known as the Children of the 90s. The participants’ genomes have been queued and their academic results are available to researchers. Among other things, the team found a correlation of 0.4 between a person’s polygenic score and their exam results at age 16. But there would need to be a correlation of at least 0.8 to make useful predictions about individuals, says Morris.

Plomin, however, argues that the results support his opinion. “A correlation of 0.4 makes it the strongest polygenic predictor in the behavioural sciences,” says Plomin. “It’s so much stronger than a lot of other things we base decisions on. So it’s a very big finding.”

Morris says schools already have access to other predictors that are more accurate, such as a pupil’s earlier test results. Looking at parents’ educational achievements is also a better predictor of a pupil’s academic results than studying their genome, his results show. Providing teachers with an extra predictor based on genetics would just confuse matters, says Morris, and the cost cannot be justified.

1.In paragraph 2, Morris talks about “height” in order to tell readers that _____.

A.some qualities are hardly affected by any genetic variants

B.some qualities are influenced by thousands of genetic variants

C.genetic scores are useful in predicting one’s potential diseases

D.genetic scores can help children improve their scores at school

2.How did Morris prove the effect of polygenetic scores in education?

A.By providing opposite examples. B.By explaining how the genome works.

C.By listing findings from another scientist. D.By presenting facts and data from research.

3.According to Plomin, a correlation of 0.4 is reliable because it is _____.

A.useful in telling you how intelligent and persistent children are

B.useful in predicting people who might struggle academically

C.stronger compared to other factors in behavioural sciences

D.strongly correlated to children’s academic achievements

4.Morris suggested that schools should _____.

A.study every pupil’s genomes

B.spend some money on genetic tests

C.know about parents’ educational achievements

D.provide teachers with students’ genetic information

    Are you preparing for a standardized English exam? Do you find the listening section particularly challenging?

The world of standardized examinations to assess candidates’ abilities in the English language has grown rapidly, especially in the last 30 years. Most of these exams include a listening paper, in which a number of micro-skills are tested, such as listening for detailed information, understanding an author’s attitude and more. Despite the different types of exams out there, they all share many things. We can call them “skills”, as they can be applied while taking the listening test.

You need to exercise your skills to make “educated guesses” although you won’t ever have super powers. Most standardized tests give you some time to read ahead. You must use this time wisely, as this is crucial to predicting as much as possible a number of things. You should quickly ask yourself: What is their relationship? Where are they? Why are they talking? What are their tones?

By doing this, you will be able to set the situation and expect specific vocabulary which might be used in the coming listening materials. All this can be done very quickly. If the passage contains gaps that you must fill out, you should try to predict the type of word or expression (noun, adjective, verb, etc.). Do not try to read everything in detail; only focus on the key words. With practice, you will be able to predict with a certain level of precision. Even if you find it difficult, trying to make a prediction will always help you concentrate on the task, thus making it a lot more manageable and understandable.

Becoming a successful candidate takes time and practice. Unless you have had enough practice in English, you won’t probably be able to get your desired score. Keep in mind that most standardized exams are more about skills than knowledge.

1.The underlined term “educated guesses” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced with _____.

A.efforts to achieve high scores B.quick decisions about the choice

C.better options using the same words D.predictions with a certain level of precision

2.What should be stressed more in a standardized listening test according to the passage?

A.Skills. B.Vocabulary. C.Scores. D.Knowledge.

3.Who do you think the passage is intended for?

A.Teachers. B.Managers. C.Speakers. D.Candidates.

    Whistler Olympic Park, having hosted ski jumping, cross-country skiing and biathlon (冬季两项) for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, remains an active centre for competitors, the local community and visitors. Located a short drive south of Whistler, the park offers activities and programs all year-round.

Winter at Whistler Olympic Park

Discover Whistler Olympic Park through cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, biathlon and more.

Find yourself in the park’s fantastic landscape and discover its Olympic history.

Take a lesson such as ski jumping in the youth program.

Gather around the outdoor open fire or in the warm Day Lodge restaurant after a day out in the snow.

Summer at Whistler Olympic Park

Open daily for tours, self-guided activities and sightseeing from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

There is a small park access fee ($15/vehicle). This fee is for the benefit of local, national and international Nordic athletes for summer and winter training. Free park entry for 2020/2021 season pass holders and non-motorized vehicles.

Tours

Olympic Biathlon Tour

Feel like an Olympian with this hands-on introduction to biathlon! On your walk to the shooting range, learn about the park’s sports and history. It also provides the best angle for taking photos of the Olympic monuments.

Take aim and shoot a real gun! In a mini race, including walking and running, get your heart rate up, stay focused and take aim to hit the targets!

Tour Dates: Daily from June 28 – September 1, 2020

Ages: 8 and up (under 19 with an accompanying adult)

Pricing: Adult $55, Youth $45

E-Bike & Biathlon Adventure Tour

The comfortable electric assist mountain bikes have wide wheels for a smooth ride, and an electric motor to help you climb hills with ease.

Visit the Olympic monuments and enjoy breathtaking viewpoints, such as the Top of the World lookout with views of Black Tusk and surrounding mountain ranges.

Test your skills at the biathlon range, shooting at Olympic targets.

Tour Dates: Daily from June 28 – September 1, 2020

Ages: 10 and up (under 19 with an accompanying adult)

Pricing: $95 per person

For more information, please log in from our homepage.

1.If you want to learn ski jumping, you should probably go to _____.

A.Olympic Biathlon Tour B.Winter at Whistler Olympic Park

C.Summer at Whistler Olympic Park D.E-Bike & Biathlon Adventure Tour

2.Which group of visitors can enjoy free park entry?

A.Season pass holders. B.Children under age 8.

C.Locals from the community. D.Teenagers with parents.

3.What can you do during the E-bike tour?

A.Ride a bike around the lake.

B.Gather around the open fire.

C.Visit the Olympic monuments.

D.Photograph monuments at the best angle.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A.A sports and leisure centre. B.Exciting sports adventures.

C.Year-round training programs. D.History of an Olympic Park.