Recently according to a new research, humans have had a link to starches (含淀粉的食物) for up to 120,000 years — that’s more than 100,000 years longer than we’ve been able to plant them in the soil during the time of the ice Age’s drawing to an end. The research is part of an ongoing study into the history of Middle Stone Age communities.
An international team of scientists identified evidence of prehistoric starch consumption in the Klasies River Cave, in present-day South Africa. Analyzing small, ashy, undisturbed hearths(壁炉) inside the cave, the researchers found “pieces of burned starches” ranging from around 120,000 to 65,000 years old. It made them the oldest known examples of starches eaten by humans.
The findings do not come as a complete surprise — but rather as welcome confirmation of older theories that lacked the related evidence. The lead author Cynthia Larbey said that there had previously only been genetic biological evidence to suggest that humans had been eating starch for this long. This new evidence, however, takes us directly to the dinner table, and supports the previous assumption that humans’ digestion genes gradually evolved in order to fit into an increased digestion of starch.
Co-author Sarah Wurz said, “The starch remains show that these early humans living in the Klasies River Cave could battle against their tough environment and find suitable foods and perhaps medicines. And as much as we all still desire the tubers (块茎), these cave communities were gilling starches such as potatoes on their foot-long hearths. They knew how to balance their diets as well as they could, with fats from local fish and other animals.”
As early as the 1990s, some researchers started to study the hearths in the Klasies River Cave. Scientist Hilary Deacon first suggested that these hearths contained burned plants. At the time, the proper methods of examining the remains were not yet available. We now know human beings have always been searching for their desired things.
1.When did humans begin to farm starches?
A.After the Ice Age. B.After the Middle Stone Age.
C.About 20,000 years ago. D.About 100,000 years ago.
2.What was the previous assumption of starches?
A.Starch diet promoted food culture. B.Starch diet shaped humans’ evolution.
C.Starches had a variety of functions. D.Starches offered humans rich nutrition.
3.What can we learn about the early humans described by Sarah Wurz?
A.They were smart and tough. B.They preferred plants to meat.
C.They were generally very healthy. D.They got along with each other.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.Great Civilization of South Africa B.The Evolution of Foods in History
C.Starches--the Important Food of Today D.Big Findings--the Starches in Ancient Times
Something strange happened when I was 14 years old. Every previous year on Thanksgiving Day I’d woken up early, filled with excitement. But that Thanksgiving, for some reason I saw no reason to celebrate. None of my family were really thankful, I realized. The whole thing was a lie!
During the dinner time, I left, hiding in the guest room and cried. My mom came to see what was wrong. “No one is really thankful!” I sobbed, “They just pretend for one day because that’s what they’re supposed to do!”
After I finished talking, she nodded. “You’re right,” she told me. “It’s fake until you find the truth for yourself.” She said it was my choice whether to celebrate with them or not. She said Thanksgiving is a time to reflect because we don’t always get to see loved ones and eat a good meal. Then she left.
I didn’t listen to her, thinking that every holiday was a lie and I could never find joy celebrating again. But giving in to my starving stomach, I went back to the dining room in a few minutes. I couldn’t believe what I saw. My entire extended family was waiting for me with wide smiles and concerned looks, and the table was covered with untouched plates.
“Andy,” my aunt said, “We can’t eat without you. We’re waiting for your turn. Now you can start it.” I didn’t know what to say first. Finally, I said I was thankful for having a younger brother to teach, play with, and see grow.
The family shared, and everyone had something beautiful to say. Listening to what they said, I suddenly understood what my mom meant about finding out my own reason for celebrating. For me, this holiday was a chance to pause and reflect on everything I cared about.
And with that, I took a huge and satisfying bite of food.
1.Why did the author hide himself and cry on the Thanksgiving Day?
A.Because he got up too late
B.Because some of his family were absent.
C.Because he thought the dinner was tasteless.
D.Because he doubted the sincerity of others’ thankfulness.
2.What can we know about the author’s mother according to the text?
A.She is very understanding. B.She is strict with the author.
C.She disagreed with the author. D.She showed great worry about the author.
3.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.Having dinner. B.Expressing thankfulness.
C.Giving a performance. D.Making a wish.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.My loving mother B.Love and lies
C.An inspiring Thanksgiving D.An unforgettable dinner
Do you like watching movies? The following movies are coming on soon. Please check and find the one you like. Click the name of each movie to get more information.
Brahms: The Boy II
Horror | Mystery |Thriller
Soon after a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their only son makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.
Director: William Brent Bell
Stars: Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Owain Yeoman, Christopher Convery
Little Joe
Drama | Sci-Fi
Alice, a single mother, is a devoted senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. Against the company policy, she takes one plant home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. The plant was created by genetic engineering and anyone touching it will become strange. Director: Jessica Hausner:
Stars: Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox, Kit Conor
The Aeronauts
Action | Adventure I Biography | Romance
Pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) find themselves in a hard fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon. Director: Tom Harper
Stars: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Phoebe Fox
Apparition
Horror | Adventure
A group of young people, guided by an APP that connects the living with the dead, find themselves at an abandoned castle, a place with a horrific history tied to each of them, for reasons they’ll soon discover.
Director: Waymon Boone
Stars: Mena Suvari, Kevin Pollak, Megan West, Jon Abrahams
1.What can we learn about Brahms: The Boy II?
A.William Brent Bell is in charge of it.
B.Brahms can live a life as a man does.
C.The audience may be amused by the movie.
D.The story was created by William Brent Bell.
2.Which movie will be favored by a science fiction lover?
A.Brahms; The Boy II. B.The Aeronauts.
C.Apparition. D.Little Joe.
3.What do Brahms: The Boy II and Apparition have in common?
A.They are liked by teenagers.
B.Their plots are both horrible.
C.They are played by young actors.
D.Their characters all behave strangely.
假设你是晨光中学学生会主席李津，你的笔友Peter给你发来邮件，询问你在抗击新型冠状病毒期间的学习情况。请给他回复邮件，内容包括：
（1）感谢他的关心；
（2）你的学习情况；
（3）你的感受。
注意：（1）词数不少于100；
（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
（3）开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：新型冠状病毒COVID-19
Dear Peter,
How is everything going?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
It was a hot July day. The five boys and I wanted to find some new tricks to play. “Hey!” Ned said, “We haven’t climbed the cliff for a long while.” “Let’s go!” said someone else. And off they went. I hesitated. I longed to be brave and active, like them, but I’d been a sickly child most of my eight years and my mother often told me not to adventure.
“Come on!” called Jerry, my best friend. “Just because you’ve been sick is no reason to be timid.” “I’m coming!” I yelled, and ran along after them.
Through the park and into the woods, we finally approached the cliff, which was only about 60 feet high, but to me it just seemed impossible because it was almost vertical (垂直的).
One by one, the other boys began to climb upward. Then trembling and sweating, I began to climb, my heart beating widely in my skinny chest. At some point, I looked back and was horrified. The ground at the base of the cliff seemed very far below; one slip and I would fall. Soon, the boys were u to the top. Then they left, leaving me clinging (紧握) to the rock alone.
I looked down and was overcome by dizziness: I could never climb back down. It was much too far to go and I would fall and die. But the way up to the top was even worse — higher, steeper and more dangerous; I would never make it.
Time passed and it was getting dark. I began to sob.
After what seemed one hundred years, I heard my father’s comforting voice: “Come on down, boy.”
“No, I can’t,” I howl. “It’s too far, it is too hard, I can’t do it.”
“Listen to me,” my father said. “Don’t think about how far it is and all you have to think about is taking one little step.” I inched backward. Eventually I took the last step down onto rocks at the bottom.
Now whenever I’m faced with a frightening situation, I’ll remind myself not to look at the rocks far below, but at the first small and relatively easy step, feeling a sense of accomplishment with each move, until I have done what I wanted to do.
1.Why did the writer hesitate to climb the cliff at first?(no more than 10 words)
2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 probably mean? (no more than 2 words)
3.How does the writer like the cliff?(no more than 10 words)
4.What is the embarrassing situation the writer have to face in Paragraph 5? (no more than 15 words)
5.What’s your attitude towards “fear” in life? Please explain.(no more than 20 words)
If you’ve ever found yourself scratching your head over a decision when the answer is obvious, now there’s a scientific reason behind it. “The problem is ‘decision fatigue’ — a psychological phenomenon that influences the quality of your choices after a long day of decision making, causing indecision or poor choices.” says Evan Polman, a leading psychologist.
Physicians who have been on the job for several hours, for example, are more likely to prescribe antibiotics (开抗生素) to patients when it's unwise to do so. “Probably it’s because it’s simple and easy to write a prescription and consider a patient case closed rather than investigate further,” Polman says.
But interestingly, decision fatigue goes away when you are making the decision for someone else. When people imagine themselves as advisers and imagine their own choices as belonging to someone else, they feel less tired and rely less on decision shortcuts to make those choices. “By taking upon the role of adviser rather than decision maker, one does not suffer the consequences of decision fatigue,” he says. “It’s as if there’s something fun and relieving about making someone else’s choice.”
“Getting input from others not only offers a fresh idea and thought process; it often also includes riskier choices. While this sounds undesirable, it can be quite good,” says Polman. “When people experience decision fatigue, they have a tendency to choose to go with the status quo (现状),” he says. “But the status quo can be problematic, since a change in the course of action can sometimes be important and lead to a positive outcome.” In order to achieve a successful outcome or reward, some level of risk is almost always essential. “People with decision fatigue will likely choose to do nothing over something,” he says, “That’s not to say that risk is always good, but it is related to taking action whereas decision fatigue certainly leads to inaction.”
“Just because you can make good choices for others doesn’t mean you’ll do the same for yourself,” Polman cautions. “Research has found that women negotiate higher salaries for others than they do for themselves,” he says, adding that people slip in and out of decision roles.
1.Decision fatigue may cause people to make decisions that are_______________.
A.reasonable B.objective
C.unwise D.smart
2.Which of the following may be made by a person with decision fatigue?
A.A consumer buys a lot of food to prepare for a dinner.
B.A judge makes a less convincing judgment late in the day.
C.A student plans to finish his math homework in the morning.
D.A physician advises the patient to drink more water after examination.
3.When do people feel less decision fatigue?
A.When they take decision shortcuts.
B.When they have advisers to turn to.
C.When they have major decisions to make.
D.When they help others to make decisions.
4.What are people likely to do when decision fatigue sets in?
A.They stop trying anything new.
B.They adopt a totally new idea.
C.They tend to make risky decisions.
D.They turn to physicians for advice.
5.What does Polman say about taking some risks in decision making?
A.It will often end in regret.
B.It is likely to cause serious consequences.
C.It will enable people to be more creative.
D.It is necessary to achieve successful outcome.
