Rivers are the veins of the Earth, transporting the water and nutrients (营养物) needed to support the planet’s ecosystems, including human life. While many nutrients are essential to the survival of life, there is one element transported by water in rivers that holds the key to life and to the future of our planet — carbon.
Carbon is everywhere and understanding the way it moves and is either released or stored by the Earth system is a complex science in itself. Carbon starts its journey downstream when natural acid rain, which contains carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, melts minerals in rocks. This helps transform carbon dioxide to bicarbonate (碳酸氢盐) in the water that then flows in our rivers. This is a very long process, which is one of the main ways carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. Carbon is transported by rivers to oceans and once that carbon reaches the ocean, it is stored naturally in deep sea sediments (沉淀物) for millions of years.
As carbon travels down a river, different processes may impact whether it continues to flow downstream or whether it is released into the atmosphere. For example, human engineering, like extensive dam construction, will result in dramatic changes to how water and sediments travel down the river. Some carbon that fails to reach the sea may return to the atmosphere in some way, which causes more warming.
Earth’s climate is closely related to the carbon cycle. We all know about the essential role of plants in consuming carbon dioxide, but do we know enough about rivers? Changing the chemistry and the course of rivers may have significant impacts on how they transport carbon. Remember: wherever we live, we all live downstream.
1.Where is the carbon in rivers originally from?
A.The atmosphere. B.The rocks.
C.The acid rain. D.The upstream areas.
2.Why is human engineering mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A.To show how important to life carbon is.
B.To explain how necessary it is to build dams.
C.To show how a natural process is interrupted.
D.To explain how humans fight global warming.
3.What does the author want to convey in the last paragraph?
A.We’d better move upstream to live.
B.We should protect plants along rivers.
C.We’d better seek more help from plants.
D.We should be cautious about river management.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.What Humans Do with Rivers
B.How Rivers’ Transporting Carbon Counts
C.What the Carbon Cycle Means to Us
D.How Living Downstream Affects the Earth
We say that technology is a double-edged sword -while it brings convenience, it also brings new problems. The sword of “social media” even has a gender preference in its damage: It cuts deeper into girls than boys.
Earlier studies have shown that spending too much time on social media is bad for teenagers’ mental health. Constantly watching their friends show off “perfect” lives can hurt their own self-esteem (自尊). That’s not to mention the problems caused by online shaming and bullying (霸凌).
Jean Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University in the US, recently discovered an alarming trend: Since 2010, the number of teenage girls who suffer from major depression – showing signs like self-harm and suicide (自杀) - has increased much faster than that of boys. In an article she wrote at The Conversation, Twenge said social media, again, was to blame.
For starters, girls use social media more than boys. Boys tend to spend their screen time on games, where they talk to their teammates through headphones. This counts as real human contact. Girls, however, simply type and browse through posts, which is a much more isolated (孤立的) experience. “They’re not having a real-time conversation with someone,” Mary Fristad, psychologist at The Ohio State University, told NPR.
And when it comes to online shaming, girls are also more vulnerable than boys. “Girls face more pressure about their appearance, which could be exacerbated (加重) by social media,” wrote Twenge.
Shannon McLaughlin, for example, is an 18-year-old from Blackburn College in the US. She shared with the Guardian how social media made her feel depressed. “I was constantly confronted (面对) by women with skinny bodies who were praised for the way they looked. This was only made worse by the diet fixes and skinny culture,” she said. But McLaughlin found a solution. She started volunteering with the National Citizen Service, where she made face-to-face contact with people. “It’s so easy to forget the importance of real connections when we have hundreds of people that we’re trying to impress at our fingertips,” she told the Guardian. And she hopes that others “look up from their phones and focus more on the world around them”.
1.What did Twenge find in her recent study?
A.Overuse of social media harms teenagers’ mental health.
B.Social media does more harm to girls than boys.
C.Girls suffered more from bullying than boys.
D.Online shaming and bullying are to blame for teenagers’ depression.
2.Why do girls tend to feel more isolated than boys online, according to Mary Fristad?
A.Girls have less real-time interaction with people.
B.Playing games allows boys to have more fun than girls.
C.Girls suffer more pressure on social media.
D.Girls usually desire more contact with others.
3.The underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“ ”.
A.adjusting oneself well B.fighting back bravely
C.being unconcerned about something D.being likely to be at risk of something
4.What does McLaughlin advise teenage girls to do?
A.Ignore social media and stop following a diet.
B.Connect more with the real world.
C.Constantly take part in volunteer work.
D.Make better use of phones for socializing.
An increasing number of students worldwide are considering studying abroad. The application process varies from country to country. If you’re looking for a university with a strong international outlook but feel swept over by all the application options, here is some guidance to get you started.
UK
International students must apply to universities in the UK through a system known as Ucas. This system allows students to apply to up to five universities with just one application. It costs £20 for a single choice or £25 for more than one choice.
The application consists of a series of questions to determine the student’s schooling and predicted grades. The biggest part of the application form is the personal statement, in which applicants should describe their personal interests and related experiences.
Switzerland
Switzerland has four official languages and is bordered by five countries so it is no surprise that its universities are among the most international in the world. International applicants may need to take an entrance exam if they have a foreign school certificate, and must also prove that they have a good grasp of the French language, usually through taking a language exam. The full application costs 50 Swiss Francs for a holder of a Swiss diploma and 150 Swiss Francs for holders of foreign diplomas.
Canada
International applicants have to write up a personal profile as part of their application, which is very similar to the personal statement required for a UK university application. Students will also have to prove their English-language competency—there are nine ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard, which are listed on many university websites.
Singapore
The process of applying to a Singaporean university is very much alike, but overseas students may be delighted to find that the domestic applicants have to cover the same procedures: filling out an online application form and submit identification documents, supporting documents and an application fee of S$20.
1.Which country requires international applicants know French well?
A.UK. B.Switzerland.
C.Canada. D.Singapore.
2.What part of the application is similar between the UK and Canada?
A.The application system. B.The number of universities.
C.The application cost. D.The personal statement.
3.What’s special about the application process in Singapore?
A.Applicants need to pay a lot. B.It is much simpler than elsewhere.
C.It’s no different for native students. D.The competition is even more fierce.
假设你是李华，你的美国朋友Tom听说中国通过扫描二维码就可以轻松实现移动支付，感到好奇，请你写邮件解释。
要点如下：简要介绍。
注意：词数100左右；可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；开头和结尾已写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Li Hua
短文改错
When I was young, I was terribly poor in the Chinese. Being afraid of express myself was one of the reason why I rarely did well in school. Once I failed in a mid-term exam. When I got the papers, I realized things could have been better if I listened to the teacher much more attentive. So I turned to my teacher for help and he told me “Where there is a will, there is a way. If we are devoted to learning Chinese, you’ll make it.” I couldn’t agree much. From then on, I began to work harder. Out of my expect, I made great progress soon. Today, Chinese is which my strength lies. And I’m grateful for my Chinese teacher.
语法填空
Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have fixed a hole in the shell of its outer wall. The ISS is a large satellite in space 1. scientists live to do scientific experiments. The first part of it 2. (put) into space in 1998. Last week, NASA warned astronauts on the ISS that air was 3. (slow) leaking out of the station. Astronaut Alexander Gerst and five other astronauts spent a lot of time 4. (look) for the leak. Mr. Gerst eventually found it and he put his finger over the hole. Luckily, the hole was only two millimeters wide, so it was not serious, but it did need 5. (fix).
The hole was in a Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. NASA said it could have been caused 6. a small piece of space junk. The ISS travels at 7.speed of around 28,000 kph. Even a tiny object 8. (hit) it can cause a lot of damage. Flight 9. (control) in the USA and Russia worked together with the crew to repair the hole.
A NASA official said the crew on the ISS are 10. (health) and safe after the repair.
