Researchers have discovered a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard — to — recycle plastics that are ending up in the world's landfills（垃圾填埋地） and polluting oceans.
A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, found the new type of soil bacteria. It was spotted in an area that contained a large amount of plastic waste. The team discovered the bacteria were feeding on polyurethane diol, which was widely used in many different products.
One problem is that recycling polyurethane requires a lot of energy. The plastic material does not melt when heated. Most polyurethane-based products end up in landfills, where they can release dangerous chemicals. The team round that the bacterium can produce enzymes（酶）that eat away polyurethane. This would make it possible to break down the material in the environment. The results were recently reported in a study in the publication Frontiers in Microbiology. Hermann Heipieper helped write the report. He said in a statement the finding “represents an important step in being able to reuse polyurethane products.”
German study noted that plastic-eating bacteria could be easily controlled and produced for industrial use. The researchers said the next step is to find more information about the bacterial enzymes that can break down polyurethane.
Scientist Douglas Rader wrote about the issue in a 2018 article for the Environmental Defense Fund. He said much more study should be carried out to learn about the complex relationships between bacteria and marine ecosystems. “Such research is needed before we can take action such as putting plastic-eating bacteria into the ocean,” Rader wrote.
1.What is the problem about polyurethane?
A.It seems difficult to transport when it goes to landfills.
B.It affects the quality of plastic products if widely used.
C.It melts easily when exposed to the sun for a long time.
D.It pollutes the environment unless recycled or destroyed.
2.What do we know about the new type of bacteria from the text?
A.It can produce harmful chemicals. B.It can gradually destroy polyurethane.
C.It is very hard to discover and control. D.It is very likely to increase plastic waste.
3.What is Douglas Rader's attitude towards the future use of the new bacterium?
A.Doubtful. B.Disapproval.
C.Cautious. D.Enthusiastic.
4.Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A.Plastic-eating Bacteria B.Plastic Waste — A Big Problem
C.Plastic and Ocean D.Polyurethane — A Bacteria killer
Scientists have found a potentially habitable(可居住的)planet and its star outside our Solar System are more similar to the Earth and our Sun than any other known planet-star pair. For now, the planet candidate(候选)is known as KOI-456.04. If its existence is confirmed by other telescopes, the planet would join a group of about 4,000 known planets outside our Solar System.
“It's the combination of its size less — than — double that of the Earth and its solar-type host star that makes it so special and familiar” Ren6 Heller, the lead author of the new study, said in a press release. That means it could potentially host life.
To be considered habitable, planets must orbit a stable star that keeps a temperature suitable for liquid water. The vast majority of identified Earth-like planets don't meet the conditions required for life to exist. They give off either too weak light or high-energy flames that can fry the planets around them. The star that KOI-456.04 orbits is about 1.1 times the size of the Sun, with a surface temperature of only 300 degrees Celsius less than the Sun. The star also sends out visible light, like our Sun does. Plus, KOI-456.04 is less — than — double the size of the Earth, which could mean its atmospheric conditions are similar to ours. If KOI-456.04 s atmosphere is like the Earths — meaning it has a mild greenhouse effect, then its average surface temperature would be about 5 degrees Celsius, compared to the Earth's average of 15 degrees Celsius, according to the Max Planck Institute .
The system is just over 3,000 light-years away from our Solar System. Future space telescopes could study the planet candidate further. NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency plan to launch(发射)the James Webb space telescope in 2021. The European Space Agency's PLATO space telescope, scheduled to launch in 2026, will focus on finding Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars.
1.What makes the newly-found planet special?
A.Its strange name. B.Its extremely large size.
C.Its potential to host life. D.Its relationship with the Sun.
2.What does the underlined word “orbit” mean in paragraph 3?
A.Move around. B.Stick to.
C.Knock into. D.Depend on.
3.Which of the following do the scientists care while studying KOI-456.04?
A.What kind of energy its host star provides.
B.Whether its atmosphere is similar to the Earth's.
C.How many agencies are willing to join in the study.
D.Why its surface temperature is lower than the Earth's.
Growing up in an Italian-American household was, for me, pretty special. My mother, Gina, an immigrant from Calabria, held on to so many of her family's traditions that at times, regardless of the fact that I was living in the United States, our home felt like part of Italy.
To this day, my mother only speaks to me in Italian, and our conversations are, for the most part, in her mother tongue. And most of those conversations are about food. For us, food — Italian food — is an important part of our lives.
My mom Gina grew up on a farm where the fruits of their labor directly turned into the food on the table, and wasting any of it was unacceptable. Every day was “Thanksgiving” because times were tough, so food — and how it found its way onto the table ——was a holy matter. One of the greatest lessons my mother taught me in the kitchen is to cook what you have on hand, and to never let anything go to waste.
So, when I take a perfect little arancini(意大利饭团)out of the hot oil. I am immediately transported back to my childhood: I am a little girl getting off the bus and running through the back door to the smell of the food. This small snack symbolizes so many important tenements(经济公寓)in my life about my heritage(传承)through food.
Heritage food is Sunday dinner with the family. When we preserve and recreate dishes like that, we feel a sense of pride and also a sense of continuity. Heritage food is the love we receive from our parents and grandparents, and it's the love we in turn give to our children and grandchildren. Heritage food is food that makes you feel safe and protected wherever and whenever you eat it.
Eating arancini, and all the other recipes my mother continues to make here in the U.S. after leaving Italy, allow her to teach me who I am, where I come from, and why I should be proud of it all.
1.What can we know about the author's mom?
A.She is very strict with her children.
B.She refuses to learn to speak English.
C.She thinks her life in the U.S. special.
D.She values her family's traditions a lot.
2.What does the author imply by mentioning “Thanksgiving” in paragraph 3?
A.She enjoyed the food her mother cooked.
B.This holiday was very important for her mother.
C.Her family treasured the food that didn't come easily.
D.The food was delivered to her family on Thanksgiving.
3.What does the author think of heritage food?
A.It is becoming popular among American families.
B.It passes on family love from generation to generation.
C.It offers a sense of safety when one lives in America.
D.It reminds parents to take good care of their children.
假设你是李华，你的美国朋友Mike对中国学生的暑假很感兴趣，得知你暑假临近，发邮件来询问你相关情况，请你给他写封回信，包括以下要点：
1. 暑假的大致时间；
2. 你的暑假安排（至少两点）；
3. 询问美国学生的暑假情况。
注意：1. 词数100字左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头、结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mike,
Learning that you are interested in the summer vocation in China, I’m writing to tell you something about it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
下面文中共有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。
修正：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Nowadays many children show no appreciation for that their parents have done. I really feel disappointing with them. Their parents give birth to us, bring us up or shape us into intelligent ones. So we should be grateful them. One of my parents’ dearest wishes are that I can be excellent in my study. So I made the most of my precious time to study hard. When at the home, I always do as many housework as possible. Dear friend, don’t wait to be loved.
Before my birth, my parents had very little knowledge about or exposure to blind people.
Like many parents, mine went from doctor to doctor trying to have my ________ restored (恢复). Finally, a doctor told my parents, “________ going up doctors. Take her home and treat her just like the rest of your children.” For a second they ________ putting me down on the seat and leaving me there. Then, my mother remembered a blind man she had known. He had led a very ________ life. He was married, had children and ________ a job. She decided if that was possible for him, then it would be possible for me.
When I went to new places and heard noises I had ________ heard before, I was ________ because I couldn’t associate the ________ with anything I recognized. My mother kept exposing me to the things I was afraid of, explaining them and making me ________ as much as possible. ________, my father was ________ me where things were in our house. He said I could not be ________ them and I must learn my way around.
When graduating from college, I was encouraged to ________ higher education. I ________ to do this because I wanted to get a job in social work. I thought in the back of my ________ that I could compete in something ________ work with the blind. Later, I heard about a job opening in the Minnesota Services for the Blind, ________ for it, and was hired.
I realize that I was ________ to have the parents I had, who taught me early in life that they had high ________ for me and that I could live a normal and ________ life.
1.A.sight B.hearing C.illness D.problem
2.A.Allow B.Quit C.Forget D.Keep
3.A.imagined B.expected C.considered D.regretted
4.A.wonderful B.formal C.normal D.special
5.A.held B.lost C.offered D.made
6.A.usually B.ever C.frequently D.never
7.A.curious B.frightened C.excited D.stressed
8.A.sound B.environment C.surrounding D.darkness
9.A.taste B.see C.smell D.touch
10.A.Therefore B.However C.Meanwhile D.Though
11.A.teaching B.showing C.explaining D.bringing
12.A.working on B.looking into C.breaking in D.running into
13.A.seek B.share C.learn D.try
14.A.refused B.reviewed C.risked D.accepted
15.A.memories B.parents C.mind D.soul
16.A.but for B.other than C.rather than D.except for
17.A.begging B.interviewed C.searched D.applied
18.A.confused B.proud C.fortunate D.discouraged
19.A.blessings B.expectations C.praises D.promises
20.A.perfect B.terrible C.unlucky D.meaningful
