Some scientists win the Nobel Prize for their work. Other scientists win the “Ig Nobel” Prize, which honors real science that is so strange. “We want to make people laugh and then think,” says Ig Nobel founder Marc Abrahams. He and his colleagues pick 10 of the world’s strangest scientific studies on subjects like Physics Biology, Medicine, and so on, to honor each year. Here are two of the strangest Ig Nobel winners since the prize was founded 26 years ago:
No-blink photos, almost guaranteed.
Why is someone always blinking(眨眼)in your photo?Science says: because you don’t take enough pictures.
Winner, 2006 Mathematics Ig Nobel:
An Australian photographer wondered how many group shots she should take to be pretty sure no one was blinking. She found ou you need to divide the number of people by 2 to figure it out. Twelve people?Take at least six photos. But with groups over 50, someone will always be caught blinking no matter how many photos you take.
The five-second rule is true—sometimes.
Have you ever dropped food on the floor, said, “Five-second rule!” then picked it up and eaten it? The idea is that bacteria won’t stick if you pick it up quickly.
Winner, 2005 Public Health Ig Nobel:
Jillian Clark was still in high school when she did her winning research on the five-second rule. She dropped foods on the floor and then studied the bacteria they picked up in five seconds. Her discovery? If the floor is clean, the food is safe to eat. But how clean is your floor? You need a powerful electron microscope to know for sure.
1.Why was the “Ig Nobel” Prize founded?
A. To promote laughter and thought.
B. To honor strange scientists.
C. To help people win the Nobel Prize.
D. To make people fight for honors.
2.How many shots should you take to ensure a no-blink photo for a group of32 people?
A. 2.
B. 6.
C. 12.
D. 16.
3.Which subject was Jillian Clark’s research about?
A. Mathematics.
B. Public Health.
C. Biology.
D. Physics.
假如你是李华，目前在美国你校的友好学校Wilson High School学习交流，将于下周一回国。请通过电子邮件给该校长Mr. Smith写一封感谢信。
注意：1.词数100左右
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mr. Smith,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
When I was in high school, I wanted to get a scholarship to a university. I liked singing, so I try out for a scholarship for music. But I failed to get one. I was real upset. I felt like failure. I just kept feeling sorry for me. However, after a few day, I decided not to let one single loss to keep me from doing what I love. But I cheered up and devoted myself to sing again. I think that accepting failure is that we need to do first before we success eventually.
One of the greatest concerts I ever attended never took place at all. Not quite, anyway.
Instead, a violent_______,which came pretty much out of nowhere on a summer night, left the Saratoga Performing Arts Center without electrical power. The _______ storm hit just minutes before the Philadelphia Orchestra (交响乐团) was about to take the_______ along with a guest soloist, the violinist Sarah Chang.
Forty-five minutes later, the audience were still _______, hoping power would be restored and the _____ would get under way. That’s when Chang ______ onto the stage, alone except for her ______ and a couple of stagehands equipped with flashlights to ______ her and her music.
The orchestra ______ backstage. But Chang began playing Fritz Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice. Maybe the rain was still pounding on the roof and ______ the grass. Maybe the thunder hadn’t died away _____ by distance. Chances are, though, no one______ that night could tell you there was anything at all in the air except the ______.
The performance was ______, but it was delivered with both skill and grace—a sort of“ _____” card for the audience’s presence and patience. The applause was ______. then, several thousand music lovers_____ through pooling rainwater and ______ to their cars.
Maybe the story ends right there. But the then-twenty-year-old musician’s ______ for the people coming to hear her music says something about the essential relationship between artist and audience. Maybe Sarah Chang understood that when she offered her music as a ______ that night, without powered loudspeaker and in the near-darkness of a summer evening storm.
1.A. flood B. earthquake C. thunderstorm D. fire
2.A. global B. unexpected C. regular D. uncertain
3.A. chance B. action C. trouble D. stage
4.A. shouting B. struggling C. waiting D. gathering
5.A. concert B. rain C. dance D. sunlight
6.A. climbed B. stepped C. jumped D. held
7.A. piano B. conductor C. violin D. band
8.A. admire B. broadcast C. circle D. light
9.A. remained B. occupied C. hid D. worked
10.A. flooding B. cleaning C. irrigating D. destroying
11.A. either B. yet C. ever D. just
12.A. screaming B. complaining C. performing D. listening
13.A. violinist B. lighting C. music D. cheering
14.A. brief B. successful C. boring D. embarrassing
15.A. all right B. never mind C. don’t worry D. thank you
16.A. weak B. enthusiastic C. frequent D. permanent
17.A. lost their control B. traveled C. made their way D. looked
18.A. away B. down C. out D. back
19.A. respect B. analysis C. generosity D. tolerance
20.A. trick B. gift C. relief D. mercy
A daily multivitamin may give your well-being an extra benefit, but if you’ve ever swallowed one and sick right after, you know it’s hardly a pleasant experience. 1. .
◆You’re taking vitamins on an empty stomach.
Vitamins that are more acid in nature, like vitamin C, may cause nausea(恶心) if they’re consumed on an empty stomach. Vitamins A, D, E and K, unlike some others, may be better absorbed when not taken with food.
◆2.
Vitamins are like medicines in that they can act on each other and other medicines you’re taking.3.Some research suggests that multivitamins could cause side effects when taken at the same time estrogen(雌激素)levels are raised.
◆There’s a lot of iron in your pill.
Multivitamins that contain a lot of iron or iron supplements themselves can cause nausea. This is especially true if you’re taking them outside of a meal. Iron is interesting in that it’s best absorbed on an empty stomach, but it’s hardest to take on an empty stomach because of the nausea. 4.It might decrease the absorption a little bit but it’s better than nothing.
◆Allergic Reaction Side Effects
Since multivitamins contain so many vitamins and minerals, allergic reactions are certainly possible. Mild allergic reactions can include itchiness(痒)and a few hives(荨麻疹).5.Should you experience more advanced signs of an allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, chest pain, widespread hives or a swollen facial region, visit the closest emergency room immediately.
The label on your vitamins should provide directions for taking them Check the information before taking it to see what else you should know.
A. You’re taking vitamins with other medicines.
B. Below are a few reasons why they may be making you ill.
C. It’s important to discuss with an expert the timing of these vitamins.
D. These stomach issues can be extremely disturbing.
E. It’s better to take it with food than trying to take it on an empty stomach.
F. If you experience these side effects, stop use and contact your doctor.
G. Please review the combinations to make sure there are no harmful interactions.
No spacecraft will ever land on the sun. the sun is a flaming ball of gas that reaches thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. But next year, a ship from Earth will fly closer to it than any man made craft has flown before. The mission(任务)is a big development for scientists and, maybe, for everyone else.
In September 2018, NASA plans to launch the Parker Solar Probe. After a journey of nearly 90 million miles, it will fly within 3.8 million miles of the sun. within two months of launching, the probe is expected to reach the sun’s corona(日冕). That’s the sun’s outer atmosphere of gases.
Getting there won’t be easy. Designing a spacecraft tough enough to hold up to the sun’s heat has proved difficult. But that hasn’t stopped engineers from trying. Temperatures in the corona can reach millions of degrees. The probe will limit itself to regions where things get no hotter than 2,500oF. That’s still a heavy heat load for a spacecraft. But a 4.5-inch-thick heat shield(罩)will protect the probe’s camera and scientific instruments.
NASA says the data the probe collects could provide knowledge into the physics of stars. Our sun is special to us. But as a star, it’s rather common. So the better we understand how it works, the better we understand all stars of its mass and color.
Perhaps the most important is what the probe may show us about solar storms. During solar storms, charged particles stream through the solar system. They can disable communications satellites and shut down powder systems. One study has found that a very intense solar storm could cause up to $2 trillion in damage in the US alone. It could also black out the East Coast for a year.
Understanding solar storms might allow us to predict them and protect ourselves. That could make even a mission with a billion-plus price tag one of NASA’s great bargains.
1.What can we learn about the probe?
A. It’ll fly closer to the sun that the previous ones
B. It’s the first man made instrument to fly to the sun
C. It’ll get to the core of the sun in nearly two months
D. It’ll fly about 3.8 million miles to reach the corona.
2.What is the challenge for the engineers?
A. Directing the probe to collect data
B. Reducing the temperature of the probe
C. Building a shield against the heat
D. Limiting the probe to proper regions
3.What might be the best title?
A. Exploring the stars B. Getting close to the sun
C. Designing a spaceship D. Protecting the earth
4.Where does the value of the mission lie?
A. Monitoring satellites B. Exploring solar energy
C. Developing scientific instruments D. Forecasting solar storms
