阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Honeybee populations in the United States 1. (decrease) dramatically over the decades. And a new study suggests that a certain kind of pesticide could be making things 2. (bad).
The number of honeybees hasn’t changed much over the past few years, but the overall picture doesn’t look good for an insect that plays 3. important role in our food supply. Scientists don’t know for sure 4. this is happening. Pesticides and parasites (寄生虫) are the most suspected reasons, and a study recently published in the scientific journal. One suggests that neonicotinolds (烟碱类农药) ,types of pesticides that 5. (use) around the world, are incredibly poisonous to honeybees and other insects. Part of the reason for that is because these pesticides appear 6. (stick) around in the environment and stay dangerous for longer periods of time.
Though they’re deadly to insects, neonicotinolds are not considered dangerous to humans. An ongoing challenge 7. farmers is finding ways to keep other insects away while still 8. (protect ) bees. Pesticides may not discriminate between the insects they kill, though neonicotinolds maker says the chemical’s risk to bees is lower when it’s used properly. The U. S. Department of Agriculture says it’s 9. (likely) that there’s one magic 10. (solve) to the problem, but there are a number of organizations trying to help honeybees.
You might think having to dial 911 in an emergency would be scary, but really it was OK because I knew what to do. One ______ I was sitting on a rock watching my mom ______ a horse. The next second , she went ______ backward when the horse kicked her. She landed on the ground, ______, got up on her knees, and held her face in her hands. The horse ran off.
I was in a bit of ______. I yelled to my mom and ______ if she was all right. She didn’t answer. ______, she ran inside the house. I was scared, but I knew my mom would want me to make sure the horse was ______. I led him back to the barn. He’s not ______ or scary or anything—sometimes accidents ______ happen.
Once I put him in a stall, I ran ______. My mom did not look OK. I called 911 and told the ______ what had happened. The ambulance came and drove us a short distance to where a helicopter was waiting to ______ my mom to the hospital. In the ambulance, I called my mom’s friend, who came and took me to the ______ too.
I was crying and so ______ and shaking. Would my mom be OK? After ______ and five days in the hospital, she came home. I was so ______ to have her back. She was training ______ again after about six weeks.
Later on, I couldn’t believe it when the government gave me an award for how I ______ the emergency and helped my mom. One thing’s for sure. She can always ______ me.
1.A.moment B.line C.zone D.second
2.A.push B.train C.beat D.feed
3.A.approaching B.fighting C.flying D.crashing
4.A.rolled over B.stepped forward C.slipped away D.spread out
5.A.shock B.sadness C.disappointment D.amusement
6.A.responded B.asked C.explored D.comforted
7.A.Thus B.Unfortunately C.Instead D.Actually
8.A.dead B.wild C.heavy D.safe
9.A.mean B.mild C.lovely D.special
10.A.just B.already C.rarely D.rather
11.A.outside B.away C.inside D.off
12.A.operator B.waiter C.doctor D.director
13.A.sacrifice B.bring C.hold D.take
14.A.helicopter B.hospital C.ambulance D.barn
15.A.discouraged B.frightened C.confused D.frozen
16.A.connection B.recovery C.operation D.adventure
17.A.upset B.cross C.happy D.calm
18.A.legs B.knees C.bikes D.horses
19.A.handled B.survived C.instructed D.claimed
20.A.care about B.count on C.get hold of D.look up to
Now, you may be thinking, “Oh my goodness, how do I start to get better sleep? 1.” Well, beyond avoiding the damaging and harmful impact of alcohol and caffeine on sleep, and if you’re struggling with sleep at night, avoiding naps during the day, I have two pieces of advice for you.
The first is regularity. Go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time, no matter whether it’s the weekday or the weekend. Regularity is king, and it will anchor your sleep and improve the quantity and the quality of that sleep.
2. Your body needs to drop its core temperature by about two to three degrees Fahrenheit (华氏) to initiate sleep and then to stay asleep, and it’s the reason you will always find it easier to fall asleep in a room that’s too cold than too hot. So aim for a bedroom temperature of around 65 degrees, or about 18 degrees Celsius (摄氏度). 3.
And then finally, in taking a step back, then, what is the mission-critical statement here? Well, I think it may be this: sleep, unfortunately, is not an optional lifestyle luxury. 4. It is your life-support system, and it is Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality (长生不老). And the decrease of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a disastrous impact on our health, our wellness, even the safety and the education of our children. 5. And it’s fast becoming one of the greatest public health challenges that we face in the 21st century.
A.Is it a good idea to stay up?
B.The second is keep it cool.
C.It’s a silent sleep loss disease.
D.Sleep is a biological necessity.
E.What are your tips for good sleep?
F.That’s going to be the best option for the sleep of most people.
G.You can’t update your memory if you don’t have enough sleep.
Empathy (同理心) is one of those strange qualities-something almost everyone wants, but few know how to truly give or receive it. In a world where self - satisfaction is emphasized, it is in short supply but high demand. This is all the more reason to teach the next generation what it means to have empathy for those around them.
What Is Empathy? Many people confuse sympathy and empathy, but they are two distinct values. Empathy is not just the ability to understand someone’s feelings; criminals often take advantage of people by appearing to understand their feelings and subsequently gaining their trust. Empathy is more than that. Not only is it the ability to recognize how someone feels, but it also values and respects the feelings of another person. It means treating others with kindness, dignity, and understanding.
Kids Need To See Adults Show Empathy—While some children are gifted with naturally kind hearts, in most cases kids need to see empathy modeled by the adults around them. It begins with the way parents relate to their children. Parents who show an interest in the things that matter to their kids and respond to emotions in a positive and caring way are teaching the skill of empathy.
Meet Emotional Needs—When children have their emotional needs met, two things happen. They learn how to meet the emotional needs of others and they are anchored in what they are receiving, meaning that they are secure enough to give to others when the need arises but first they need to receive. An empty jug cannot fill a cup.
It’s a good idea to talk to kids about emotions and how other people experience them. Give their emotions names ( for example, jealousy, anger, and love) and teach them that these are normal. Talk to them about how to handle emotions in a positive way and point out situations where other people are experiencing emotions. Teach them about respecting the emotions of others and show them how to act in a situation where a response is required.
1.Why are the next generation taught to have empathy?
A.People tend to center themselves. B.Everyone needs empathy.
C.Empathy is a strange quality. D.It’s better to give than to receive.
2.Which situation can empathy be used in?
A.When a mathematician is calculating the area of a farmland.
B.When a teacher is comforting a student about his failure in exams.
C.When a criminal is cheating a victim.
D.When a dancer is dancing to music.
3.What does the underlined sentence “An empty jug cannot fill a cup” mean?
A.An empty jug is too small to hold a cup.
B.It’s a must to talk to kids about emotions.
C.Adults should set an example to kids.
D.Kids give empathy with their emotional needs met first.
4.What is the best tile of the passage?
A.How to train kids to have empathy.
B.How to distinguish sympathy and empathy.
C.How to help kids finish empathy-related tasks.
D.Whether kids can be trained to be more empathetic.
One of the things that makes your smart-phone so smart is that if you pull it out in the sun, it senses that—and dials up the screen brightness to compensate. But it’s not a perfect solution.
“First of all, it’s still not bright enough—you have to remember how respectable sunlight is.” Shin-Tson Wu, a physicist at the University of Central Florida. The other problem, he says of the brightened screen, is it kills the battery. So Wu and colleagues have produced a battery-sparing alternative: an anti-reflective screen-coating. Based on the eyes of moths. “Nature is so rich! We can learn a lot from nature. “The thing Wu and others have learned about moth eyes, is that they’re uneven, dotted with tiny projections. That uneven surface reduces the reflection of light off their eyes- thought to help the bugs escape predators (捕食者), and see better in low light. So Wu and his team built a similar surface with tiny dimples (凹), to cut down on glare. He says the dimpled coating could improve the readability of a screen by five to 10 times, compared to a normal smart-phone screen. The details are in the journal Optica.
The tech hasn’t been commercialized yet, and that could take a few years. Which gives researchers time to take advantage of another property of these surfaces: they’re flexible. Meaning the possibility of bendable displays. Combine that with the bendy batteries we reported on in a recent podcast(播客), and it looks the smart-phones of the future could be set for a real transformation.
1.Why do the researchers develop the anti-reflective screen-coating?
A.To brighten the screen. B.To make profits.
C.To take in the sunlight. D.To save the use of battery.
2.What inspired the invention of the screen?
A.The predators. B.The reflection of light.
C.The eyes of moths. D.The smooth surface.
3.How does the screen work?
A.It helps bugs escape.
B.It slows down reading.
C.The smooth surface protects our eyes.
D.The rough surface decreases the reflection of light.
4.What do the researchers expect of the screen?
A.I’ll transform itself. B.I’ll be environment-friendly.
C.I’ll reach consumers soon. D.I’ll be powered by recyclable batteries.
William Lindesay has been interested in the Great Wall of China since seeing it in a school atlas(地图册)as a child in England. I vividly recall seeing in the " Oxford School Atlas" the Great Wall with its battlement symbol. From that moment, I had in my mind that when I grew up I'd go to China and walk along the Great Wall from end to end.
Lindesay's about 3 ,000-km solo run along the Great Wall began in 1987. Running the length of the wall was a brave expedition, venturing into sparsely populated regions where there was little chance of help if the runner had an accident. During another trip, Lindesay and his team ventured deep into the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The explorers almost died from dehydration(脱水) . In total, Lindesay estimates in an interview that he has spent about 1,600 days of his life, or four full years, on the Great Wall in all seasons.
Lindesay and his wife, Wu Qi, whom he got to know and fell in love with during his trips in China, had a farmhouse at the foot of the wall. During his exploration, he noticed some sections of the wall were badly damaged and covered with litter. Modernization and development were making the situation even worse. "Some people say it will take generations to change; I say we don't have generations of time. It's got to be much quicker, " he said. Lindesay always carries a garbage bag with him in the wilderness, picking litter along the way. Lindesay uses a garbage bag as his calling card. The cloth bag bears a set of nine simple guidelines in Chinese, which calls on people to observe while traveling or camping outdoors : "Take your own garbage home" "Pick up? litter left by othersDon't damage plants or flowers, or pick fruit" and lots more.
1.What sparked William Lindesay's dream of exploring the Great Wall?
A.Seeing a movie about the Great Wall.
B.Experiencing a war for the Great Wall.
C.Surfing a website about the Great Wall.
D.Admiring the Great Wall in the school atlas.
2.What does the underlined word "sparsely" mean?
A.Remotely. B.Rarely.
C.Frequently. D.Largely.
3.What worsened the situation of the Great Wall?
A.The destroyed ecosystems. B.Waste caused by farms.
C.The increasing tourists. D.Modernization and development.
4.What sort of man was William Lindesay?
A.Strong - willed and selfless. B.Determined and grateful.
C.Warmhearted and impolite. D.Considerate and optimistic.