How far can scientists let their curiosity go? The Ig Nobel Prize, a spoof (滑稽模仿) of the prestigious (权威的) Nobel Prize, exists to award unusual or unimportant achievements in scientific research.
The awards are given every year to the 10 strangest research projects of the year. It is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think"
On September 12, the 2019 winners of the Ig Nobel Prize were announced. Here are three of them.
Medicine Prize: Pizza
It's one of the world's most popular foods. but what if we told you that a pizza can protect you against illness and death? According to the Ig Nobel Medicine Prize winner, eating more pizzas can lower the risk of cancer and heart disease---if your pizza is filled with fruits and veggies. These provide flavonoids (类黄酮) to fight against certain diseases. So, if you're a pizza enthusiast, you now have one more reason to love it!
Economics Prize: Dirty Money
As one of the most frequently passed items on the planet, paper money is known to pick up all kinks of bacteria (细菌). Which country's money is the dirtiest? To find the answer, an international team of scientist compared seven countries' paper money. They found that the notes including more polymer (聚合物) specifically the Romanian Leu carry more drug-resistant pathogens (病原体). Perhaps this will make cashless payments popular.
Biology Prize: Cockroach(蟑螂)
Cockroaches are well known for their survival abilities, but few people know they can sense magnetic (磁性的) fields. More surprisingly, an international team found that dead cockroaches have more magnetic properties (特性) than live ones. That's because magnetic properties drop when the temperature gets higher.
So if you can stand cockroaches, they may be good magnetic sensors.
1.According to the survey, which country's paper money is the dirtiest?
A.Roman B. Lebanon C. Russian D.Romanian
2.What kind of cockroach may have more magnetic properties?
A.A dead one near the stove. B.A live one near the stove.
C.A dead one near the fridge. D.A live one on the ground.
3.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
A.The Ig Nobel Prize is a kind of prestigious Nobel Prize.
B.If a person has cancer and heart disease, he shouldn't eat too many pizzas.
C.Because paper money is useless, this makes cashless payments more popular.
D.Because cockroaches have magnetic properties, people may apply this feature to sensors.
The online media group TechRadar recently made a list of "the most useful and interesting apps in 2019". Let's take a look at three of them.
| Things 3 Things is an award-winning task manager. It helps users collect their thoughts and plan their time well. The app's chief design is a to-do list. It allows users to add context (内容), such as the time, date or location that they plan to carry the task out. It then shows a "Today" view with the day's tasks, and group's things users do after work under the heading "This Evening". It puts later tasks in a list tiled "Upcoming". |
| StoryZ In the age of smartphones, everyone is a photographer. From taking selfies to sharing them on social media (社交软件) , photo-editing apps play an important role in making our pictures look perfect. StoryZ's latest version takes it a step further. The app has two modes. The fist one is "Ripple Effect (涟漪效应)", which makes still images (图像) move and come to life. It can create amazing animated photographs. Another one is "Motion Effect (动态效果) "which creates video stories on still images. It can turn your photo into animated GIF. |
| TaoMix If you want to relax, sleep better or focus, the sounds of nature are an excellent choice. TaoMix allows you to listen to some soft sounds to release stress and helps you take a break from your busy life. This white noise app provides hundreds of nature sounds. You can hear sounds of birds, waves of he sea, falling rain, blowing wind, and many more! Better yet, you are not limited to one sound. You can build a soundscape (音景)by choosing several at a time. |
1.How many headings does Thing3 have?
A.Two B.Three C.Four D.Five
2.Timmy's mother likes taking selfies to share them on social media, Which app mentioned in the article can help her?
A.Things 3 B.StoryZ C.TaoMix. D.None of the above.
3.Which of the following statement about the three apps is True?
A.If Tom has sleep problems for weeks, TaoMix can help him.
B.If users add the time, date or location that they plan to carry out the task, Things3 will show the heading "Upcoming".
C.Motion Effect can create videos on stories still images but it can't turn your photo into animated GIF.
D.The white noise app provides thousands of nature sounds.
Looking for Crafts (《寻找手艺》) is a documentary about the story of 199 Chinese craftsmen. _______ it wasn't broadcast on television, you can only watch it online. Although it doesn't show beautiful pictures or exciting scenes, it _______ tells the story of traditional Chinese craftsmanship and their techniques (技术) . After watching the film, the _______ and faith (信仰) of the traditional culture may deeply touch you.
Zhang Jin, the director of the documentary is from the _______ of Hunan. After living m a modem and busy city for many years, he became nostalgic (怀旧的)for the traditional crafts of his hometown, so he made up his mind to record them. He sold his fat and invited two friends to join him and travelled all over China. The film was made _______ professional (专业的) filming equipment (设备) or a lot of money. _______ is accented narration (带有口音的旁白) made people felt at home.
In the film you can see an 80-year-old man who makes paper umbrellas with bamboo for the Dai people. Making umbrellas is a (an) _______ process (过程)that includes six steps, but he has insisted on continuing with his hobby for more than 60 years. After watching the film, many people wanted to buy such an umbrella, but the old man was dead.
It's _______ to notice that the hands of these craftsmen are full of wrinkles (皱纹) -these craftsmen are using their lives to _______ our cultural heritage (遗产) . From making a piece of pottery to creating a musical instrument, these crafts are ________ work.
However, true artists give up their own comfort to ________what's in their heart, which is believed to be the real meaning and purpose of making this documentary. The fim________people of the importance of craftsmanship and has attracted a lot of attention.
I hope these ancient and wonderful skills will still be alive forever.
1.A.Until B.Since C.Unless D.If
2.A.quickly B.quietly C.hardly D.easily
3.A.purity B.practice C.introduction D.warmth
4.A.city B.capital C.countryside D.hometown
5.A.of B.from C.by D.without
6.A.Instead B.Anyway C.However D.Otherwise
7.A.long B.short C.easy D.boring
8.A.necessary B.easy C.impossible D.difficult
9.A.prevent B.provide C.protect D.produce
10.A.possible B.hard C.boring D.easy
11.A.produce B.protect C.prevent D.prepare
12.A.remains B.returns C.reminds D.reviews
—Would you please give me a speech on Chinese traditional festivals tomorrow?
—_________, but I'm going to Guangzhou for a meeting.
A.It doesn't matter. B.Best wishes. C.Not at all. D.I wish I could.
—Are there any questions about the hike?
—Yes, I want to know____ next Saturday.
A.when will Lisa go hiking with us B.if Lisa will go hiking with us
C.who will Lisa go hiking with D.that Lisa will go hiking with us
—_________ will Changzhou Metro Line 2 start to use?
—_________ the end of this year.
A.How long; Not until B.How long; Until C.How soon; Not until D.How soon; Until
