Dickson Despommier, a public health professor at Columbia University in New York City developed an idea with his students nine years ago. They imagined people in cities growing crops inside a tall building. Tomatoes could grow on one floor of the skyscraper(摩天大楼), potatoes on the next, small animals and fish on the floor above.
This vertical(垂直的) farm, or "farmscraper", could have space for restaurants and other places that serve food, like schools or hospitals. They could serve foods that are truly locally grown.
But why would anyone want to build a farm indoors in a city? Dickson Despommier believes it will become necessary. The world needs to find places to produce enough food to feed the growing population. Space, he says, is an all-important issue.
The professor also points to the problems of traditional farms. They use a lot of freshwater. Their fertilizer and animal waste can pollute water resources. And their growing seasons can be limited.
But inside the vertical farm, crops could grow all year. And there would be no wind to blow away soil. Farmers would not have to worry about too much or too little rain, or about hot summers, freezing winters or insects. And without insects there would be no need for chemicals to kill them.
Farm machines that .use fossil fuels, like tractors, would not be needed either. And water could be recycled for drinking. "The vertical farm reuses everything, so there is no waste," says Professor Despommier.
Even buildings could be saved. Old buildings could become new farms and provide jobs.
The professor has been actively proposing the idea to cities as far away as Dubai and Canada. But so far it exists only in plans and drawings, and a model at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Critics say building a farmscraper would cost too much, especially considering the price of land in many cities. Dickson Despommier estimates the cost at about twenty to thirty million dollars.
But he says the building would not have to be very tall. And his graduate students have found many empty lots and unused buildings in New York City that could provide space.According to the passage the purpose of proposing the idea of a farm scraper is to .
| A．find places to produce enough food |
| B．serve food that are truly locally grown |
| C．prevent polluting the limited land |
| D．save fresh water |
Which is one of the advantages of a farm scraper?
| A．It costs less |
| B．It saves labor power. |
| C．It consumes too much energy |
| D．It is more environmentally friendly. |
Those against the idea of farm scrapers argue that
| A．it uses too much land in cities |
| B．it costs too much to build one |
| C．it causes people to lose their jobs |
| D．it exists only in unrealistic plans |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．A vertical farm has been built in Chicago. |
| B．Old buildings could be changed into new farms. |
| C．Traditional farms use less water but pollute more water |
| D．There are some vertical farms being put into use in Canada. |
We might like to think we're not influenced by other people, but a new study into the group-buying mechanisms（机制） - like those used on coupon（优惠券） sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial - reveals that telling buyers who come later to the offer how many have already signed up increases the number of purchasers.
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management wanted to understand why group buying sites that have entered the market recently have enjoyed greater success than those operating a decade ago, such as Mercata and MobShop.
Earlier attempts typically left potential buyers waiting for days before confirming whether or not they had got the offer they had signed up for.
“We think one of the reasons group-buying has been successful recently is because of the short time horizon,” says Rotman Professor Ming Hu, who co-wrote the study with Professor Mengze Shi and PhD student Jiahua Wu. “It allows for a herding effect.”
Another reason is the use of an information structure that discloses to later arrivals how many have already signed onto the deal.
Researchers looked at two ways of designing the purchasing mechanism for a group buy:a simultaneous mechanism, where no one knows how many buyers have come before them, and asequential（连续的） mechanism, where a second group of buyers has the advantage of knowing the size of the first group.
The researchers' analytical（分析的） model shows the most successful mechanism is the sequential one because it eliminates uncertainty for those coming later to the deal, and improves the confidence of those who sign on early, as they're able to track the numbers of those who come after them.
“That boosts confidence,” says Professor Hu, who teaches operations management. Deals for "luxury" services, versus everyday items, work better in a group buy scenario（方案） because they offer consumers a greater benefit.It can be learned from the text that ______.
| A．the short time horizon is the reason why group-buying has been successful. |
| B．a simultaneous mechanism is where a group of buyers has the advantage of knowing how many people have signed up. |
| C．a sequential mechanism allows a herding effect which boosts the confidence of the buyers. |
| D．researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management carried out an experiment about why group buying sites entered the market successfully, such as Mercata and MobShop. |
The underlined word “eliminates” in paragraph 7 probably means“______”.
| A．to become or to make something greater in amount, number, value |
| B．to remove or get rid of something |
| C．to deliberately not include something in what you are doing or considering |
| D．to make something known to somebody |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Secret for marketing success – boosting confidence. |
| B．Secret for group-buying mechanism—herding effect. |
| C．Comparison between a simultaneous mechanism and a sequential mechanism. |
| D．What others do influences our decisions. |
Mobile phones are an important business tool for farmers in rural areas. But they also put a valuable educational tool in their hands.
The University of Illinois in the United States has a project called SAWBO—Scientific Animations Without Borders. It produces educational videos that can be downloaded to cell phones. The goal is to help people in developing countries improve their lives.
One video shows farmers how to make a natural insecticide from neem seeds to prevent insect damage to crops. The process starts with sorting and drying the neem fruits. Then let the fruit dry in the sun for about three or four days, until they become brown. Using a mortar(碾槌) and stick, the fruits are slightly pounded to remove the shells from the fruits without breaking the seed inside.
The videos use computer animation(动画). Some of the animated characters are a little funny looking-like a farmer with a long nose. But the subjects are serious, including a health video on preventing cholera(霍乱). Team member Francisco Seufferheld says the information in the videos is meant to be quickly understood. He says, “The information is digested in such a way that in two minutes, we can transmit a complex idea.”
The researchers tested the seven-minute video on seven mobile phones. They wanted to see if people would share the video using Bluetooth wireless technology. With Bluetooth, files can be passed to a nearby phone even if neither phone is connected to the Internet. As a result, in one month, the video had spread to one hundred eighteen people in fifty different villages. “This is just incredible impact,” said Francisco Seufferheld.
The team has made a few videos so far. These are available in a total of eighty languages, dialects and accents. Professor Barry Pittendrigh says there are plans for more videos later this year. What is the text mainly about?
| A．A best-selling mobile phone |
| B．A valuable educational project for farmers |
| C．United States support for developing countries |
| D．A new type of scientist –farmer relationship |
The SAWBO program is introduced in order to ____.
| A．raise farmers’ standard of living |
| B．do some research on mobile phones |
| C．develop farmers’ practical skills |
| D．help farmers prevent insect damage to corps |
The biggest advantage of the program is that it______.
| A．includes health video on preventing cholera |
| B．can be passed to farmers using Bluetooth technology |
| C．can be used to sort and dry the neem fruits |
| D．is easy for farmers to understand |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “ pound” in the 3rd paragraph?
| A．moved | B．beat | C．picked | D．cut |
They may be small and not able to speak, but babies are proving their amazing cleverness. Scientists began finding infants’ skills are more than they are supposed to be.
_________
Speaking of music, babies can’t seem to resist it. Not only are their ears turned to the beats, babies can actually dance to the music.
To test babies’ dancing ability, the researchers played recordings of classical music, rhythmic beats and speech to infants, and recorded the results. They also invited professional dancers to analyze how well the babies matched their movements to the music. The babies moved their arms, hands, legs feet and heads in response to the music, much more than to the speech. The finding suggests this dancing ability is innate(与生俱来的) in humans, though the researchers aren’t sure why it becomes weaker later in their life.
Learning Quickly while Sleeping
Babies can learn even while asleep, according to a 2011 study. In experiments with 26 sleeping infants, each just 1 to 2 days old, scientists played a musical tone followed by a puff of air to their eyes 200 times over the course of a half-hour. 124 electrodes(电极) stuck on the head and face of each baby recorded brain activity during the experiments. The babies rapidly learned to foretell a puff of air upon hearing the tone, showing a four-time increase on average in the chances of tightening their eyelids in response to the sound by the end of the experiments.
As newborns spend most of their time asleep, this newfound ability might be crucial to rapidly adapting to the world around them and help to ensure their survival, researchers said.
Judging Characters Well
Judging another person helpful or harmful is crucial when choosing friends. And that ability starts early. Kiley Hamlin of Yale University showed both 6-and 10-month-olds a puppet(木偶) show, in which one character helped another climb a hill. In another scene a third character pushed the climber down. The little ones then got to choose which character they preferred. For both age groups, most babies chose the helper character. This character-judging ability could be baby’s first step in the formation of morals, Hamlin thought.Which of the following subtitles can fill in the underlined blank?
| A．Dancing to Music | B．Babies’ Amazing Abilities |
| C．Learning to Dance Quickly | D．Born to Dance |
The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to______.
| A．the finding | B．the dancing ability |
| C．the response | D．the baby |
The experiment with 26 sleeping infants prove that_______.
| A．babies can learn even while asleep |
| B．babies can respond to the world around them |
| C．babies can tighten their eyelids in response to the sound |
| D．babies can communicate with others while asleep |
In the last experiment, most babies chose the helper character, showing that________.
| A．babies can judge a person helpful or harmful |
| B．babies love to see a puppet show |
| C．babies were born to help others |
| D．babes have learned to help others |
Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.
Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.
It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.
The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍卖会).
Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.
Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.
And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.
While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.
Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.
Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.
And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.
Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable. In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the film War Horse _________ .
| A．is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing |
| B．received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play |
| C．covers a lot of characters |
| D．tells the story happening in the Second World War |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg. |
| B．Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives. |
| C．Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe. |
| D．Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it. |
According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?
| A．astonishing | B．confusing | C．satisfying | D．disappointing |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Joey ─ a heroic race horse | B．Albert and Joey |
| C．Saving Private Joey | D．Spielberg’s Joey |
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.” The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _______.
| A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
From the passage we know that _______.
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century |
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