相关试卷

Roads also act as barriers, preventing animals from moving freely. The constant traffic on highways creates what scientists call a "moving fence"— a wall of vehicles that animals avoid crossing. While we often see dead animals like deer or squirrels on roads, we don't see the ones that never try to cross. This isolation can harm animal populations more than roadkill itself.

Chemicals from roads also damage the environment. Every year, the U. S. uses 20 million tons of road salt to melt ice, which pollutes nearby soil and plants. Cars release metals like zinc and copper, and tires leave behind microplastics. These pollutants make roadsides dangerous for creatures like monarch butterflies, even though these areas could otherwise be good habitats.

Roadsides sometimes attract animals with food like flowers or berries, but this becomes an "ecological trap". Animals are drawn to these resources, only to face the danger of traffic.

Interestingly, when traffic decreases, animals quickly adapt. Researchers in the Bay Area found that when cars disappeared for months, white-crowned sparrows — small songbirds — started singing more complex and varied songs. Without traffic noise, they no longer needed to "shout" and could return to their natural behaviors. This shows how much roads affect wildlife — but also how adaptable animals can be.

Despite these challenges, Goldfarb says, certain species have made remarkable adaptations. He notes that Chicago's urban foxes are said to look both ways before crossing the street. "We think about roads as these forces that are universally or exclusively harmful to animals, and certainly they're incredibly destructive," he says. "But wildlife is also impressively adaptive and clever and animals are finding ways to make a living in our midst."

Technology is everywhere nowadays, especially at work. Some people are really good at using all the cool new tools that keep popping up. They have something called a TQ, or technology quotient. Think of it like a superpower for understanding the latest tech stuff that our great-grandparents would have found really impossible. Having a high TQ means you're awesome at using all the cool new things that not everyone knows about yet.

The examples are common and becoming more and more frequent. For the parent it might be a home-school video class. For the brand manager it might be search engine boosting. And for the clinician, it might be the role of artificial intelligence in supporting the analysis of a CT scan. TQ attempts to quantify our ability to make sensible use of current technologies and to quickly adapt, embrace and capitalize on future creations. This adoption is critical from a variety of perspectives, from social to business. One trip into the world of ChatGPT and we can see how the dynamics of AI and search are changing for just about everyone.

Any Mom or Dad can understand the value of IQ and EQ in projecting the potential for a child's success. But what about technology? The ability for the child and the teacher to understand, embrace and assimilate technology will be a defining aspect of their lives as we speed into the future. We are increasingly defined by technology and our active participation in everything from smart phones to Facebook. It might just be time for the basic human needs of food, water and shelter to incorporate technology too. And when that happens, it just might be a good idea to measure it.

While this shift brings challenges, it's unstoppable. As TQ rises, it will combine with IQ and EQ, reshaping how we live, work, and learn — turning adaptability with tech into a measurable edge.

The greengrocer with a heart of gold—a Chinese immigrant in her 50s who runs this stall alone—is rarely glimpsed by her grateful customers. Lena Wong rises before dawn to prepare to work in her small plot in Enfield, outside London. Depending on the season, she'll reap onions, eggplant, green peppers, etc. And she works several overnight shifts every week at a nursing home to supplement her and her husband's modest salaries.

All this started one day as she was selling produce in Enfield, and a young customer said that he barely earned enough to buy food. "I hate the idea of young people walking around hungry," Lena Wong said. The seed was planted. "I want young people to feel that they're not forgotten, that they are treasured," she said. "That not everyone is out for himself. I can make money anytime. Right now, I want to give young people a helping hand."

Sometimes, when she arrives late in the day, customers get a chance to thank her in person. In return, she's fond of offering botanical sayings that she collected from a life that has had its share of both joy and pain. "Even in a field full of weeds," Lena Wong likes to say, "you can grow something— if you put in the effort."

Below were key updates as of Friday night.

1. Casualties & Emergency Response

The floods have killed 24 people, and 25 campers from Camp Mystic remain missing as searches continue. Emergency crews including the Texas National Guard have rescued 237 people using helicopters supported by over 500 personnel from federal agencies (including FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard) that are currently assisting in affected areas.

2. Challenges

Rescue teams struggled to reach isolated communities as flooded roads and downed power lines blocked access, delaying critical aid. To make matters worse, early weather warnings had underestimated the flood's severity, leaving residents little time to reach safety.

3. Government Response

Governor Greg Abbott issued an emergency disaster declaration for 15 central Texas counties, accelerating state funding for recovery efforts. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick noted communication outages likely delayed locating missing campers.

4. Recovery Outlook

The Red Cross has set up 12 shelters, helping more than 1,200 displaced families. Environmental agencies warn that flooded factories could cause pollution. Meanwhile, transportation officials say highway repairs may take weeks.

The small bismuth crystal (铋晶体), which Mr White, our chemistry teacher as well as our head teacher, gave me, has been treasured to this day. It reminded me that he taught us the periodic table (元素周期表) in middle school. Actually, that is a little old, but it is what it is.

From the beginning, I fell in love with the element "Bi". If you've never seen bismuth, I strongly suggest looking it up — it comes in absolutely beautiful colors and grows in these interesting square shapes that may be changed during the growing process with music. It was super cool, and I just immediately loved it.

Bismuth is not exactly as common as some other elements, so it wasn't an element we talked about much in class. However, whenever the opportunity arrived, I would speak of it and express how much I liked it. It sometimes became a joke. On the rare occasions, when I mentioned it, people would stare at me and laugh loudly.

One day, we were having a computer class as usual, and I was not in a good mood. Mr White had a rule that if we finished our computer activities early, we had to work on a math program that all the eighth graders had to do. The program had these annoying cartoon characters that would cheer when we got answers right. However, all I wanted to do was draw bismuth crystals. I knocked my pencil against the desk, watching the clock tick slowly. The classroom was hot. Outside, rain started pattering against the windows, matching my bad mood. I remembered sitting there and just thinking, "Mr White is so unfair. What's the point in making us do the same work?" While I was working on the odd math program impatiently, Mr White took a look at me, saying nothing.

注意：

（1）续写词数应为150个左右；

（2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

After class, Mr White called me over to his office.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With the small bismuth crystal, I left his office, feeling a mix of excitement and regret.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

（1）表示支持；

（2）你的计划。

注意：

（1）写作词数应为80个左右；

（2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Dear Jane,

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

On Saturday, Beijing hosted unique half marathon where 21 humanoid (像人的) robots competed alongside 12,000 human runners. This was the first event of its kind, and despite many challenges, six robots (successful) finished the 21-kilometer race.

The robots varied size, from the 180 cm "Tiangong Ultra" to the 75 cm "Little Giant". To qualify (they), they had to run on two feet like humans. Each robot started separately with support teams following closely, carrying spare parts and even backup robots. Some robots (guide) by leashes (绳索), while others were led or followed by jogging technicians.

The course included 14 turns, hills, and uneven surfaces like railroad tracks. Many robots faced difficulties — low batteries caused some to fall, while overheating forced technicians (cool) down the robots with water. Remarkably, "Little Giant" even began smoking at one point. The winner, "Tiangong Ultra", was much slower than human runners but achieved the main goal — completion, finished in 2 hours 40 minutes. Two versions of robot "N2" took second and third places, with one crossing the finish line after (have) its taped-on head reattached.

Though only six robots finished, (conduct) under strict conditions, the event provided (value) data to improve future humanoid robots. The race proved that with persistence and technological advances, robots could meet extraordinary challenges.

Screaming, Heidi stood up and displayed a2 on the back of her leg. Blood flew out of it. We were off to the nearest3 straight away. Dr Anderson was on a(n)4 visit that day. Heidi felt extremely tense. Calm and friendly, he told Heidi a joke to put her5 and took out a needle. Heidi seemed to6 notice when he gave her a7.

After Dr Anderson bandaged (用绷带包扎) Heidi's leg, he8 a clean rubber glove like a balloon, tied it, and used a marker to draw a chicken face on it. Heidi laughed and played with the9 for a few days.

Fast forward twenty years. Our family10 our memories during a dinner, and we talked about the bottle accident. I spoke about the whole11: a broken bottle, Heidi's screaming, blood, injection, etc. Heidi said to me, looking12, "Oh no, Mom, that's not what happened." And she told us her memory — It was much more13. She told us how funny Dr Anderson was and how attractive that chicken-head glove was. She just14 back fondly on that day. She15 the unpleasant elements and only remembered the good parts. Then I realized that there could be something good in pain. And I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr Anderson who made children keep the beauty in mind.

Sometimes we may wonder if we were a machine, we'd never let things fall through the cracks, and we wouldn't forget things. It gets in the way of our productivity because it makes us blind to the roots of our actual problems.

So what is underneath our productivity problems? Our productivity depends on our feelings, not new tools. Understanding how our feelings affect us can open up freedom to make progress and finally improve our productivity. So how?

That means recognizing and working with our emotions. But usually no matter what the issue is, we easily ignore it and hope that it goes away rather than to admit something is wrong. What we forget is that our emotions have great impacts on our actions. The most productive people need to have regular practices to maintain that awareness.

Once we are aware of the problem, the next step is observing. Though difficult, observing without judgment counts most. For example, when our inbox (收件箱) is messy, we just see it with little judgment. Avoid feeling anxious, as it prevents us from addressing the root issue.

Finally, try to address our emotions. It is the most effective way to help us be productive daily. A one-touch email strategy or checking the email twice a day may do a bit, but none of these really solve the problem completely. Actually we are able to use our own desire that we can't let people down to help us get through our inbox.

A. ignore our emotions.

B. Awareness is the first step.

C. Identify what causes the mess.

D. We are not machines but emotional beings.

E. But the idea of being a machine is actually a trap.

F. One day, we'll find that we've finished handling all in it.

G. Sometimes, working like a machine is effective and useful.

The cover of Brain Medicine shows a human brain filled with colorful microplastic particles (微粒), next to a plastic spoon. This image highlights a key finding: Human brains may contain about "a spoonful" of microplastic material. Ultra-processed foods, which now make up over 50% of energy intake in the US, contain far more microplastics than whole foods. These tiny plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, can get into human brains and increase significantly in large amounts.

Studies have shown a link between eating ultra-processed foods and negative mental health. People who eat such foods have a 22% higher risk of depression, a 48% higher risk of anxiety, and a 41% higher risk of poor sleep. The new assumption is that microplastics could be the missing link in this connection. For example, a type of processed chicken has 30 times more microplastics per gram than fresh chicken breasts. Recent findings in Nature Medicine also revealed high levels of microplastics in the human brain, and these levels were three to five times higher in people with serious mental decline. Ultra-processed foods and microplastics seem to damage human brains through similar biological processes, like causing deleterious reactions and stress inside human bodies.

To study this further, researchers suggest creating a Dietary Microplastic Index (DMI) with the aim of measuring microplastic exposure from food. Another paper shows that a modern technique might be able to remove microplastic particles from the blood, but more research is needed. In conclusion, while more studies are required, it is clear that reducing ultra-processed food consumption and finding ways to remove microplastics from our bodies are important. After all, as the saying goes, "You are what you eat."