上海市闵行区2020届高三英语二模试卷

A Brief History of Chopsticks.

    We've discussed the story of knife and fork, but there's another set of utensils(器皿) used by billions of people around the world—and it has a truly ancient past. The Chinese have been wielding chopsticks since at least 1200 B.C., and by A.D. 500 chopsticks (sweep) the Asian continent from Vietnam to Japan. From their humble beginnings cooking utensils to paper-wrapped bamboo sets at the sushi counter, there's more to chopsticks than meets the eye.

    Chopsticks (develop) about 5000 years ago in China. The (early) versions were probably twigs used to get food from cooking pots. When resources became scare, around 400 B. C. ,crafty chefs figured out to conserve fuel by chopping food into smaller pieces that required less cooking fuel, and besides, it could be cooked more quickly. This new method of cooking made it unnecessary to have knives at the dinner table—a practice that also matched the non-violent teachings of Confucius (孔子)，expressed in one of his numerous quotations:" the honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse(屠宰房) and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table." As a vegetarian, he believed that knives' sharp points evoked(诱发)violence (kill) the happy, contented mood that should reign during meals. Thanks in part to his teachings, chopstick use quickly became widespread throughout Asia.

    Different cultures adopted different chopstick styles. Perhaps in a nod to Confucius, Chinese chopsticks featured a blunt rather than pointed end. In Japan, chopsticks were 8 inches long for men and 7 inches long for women. In 1878 the Japanese became the first (create) the now-ubiquitous disposable set, typically made of bamboo or wood. Wealthy diners could eat with ivory, jade, coral, brass or agate versions, while the most privileged used silver sets. It was believed that the silver would corrode and turn black it came into contact with poisoned food.

    Throughout history, chopsticks have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with another staple of Asian cuisine: rice. At first glance, you'd think that rice wouldn't make the cut, but in Asia most rice is of the short- or medium-grain variety. The starches(淀粉质食品) in these rices create a cooked product that is gummy and clumpy, unlike the fluffy and distinct grains of Western long- grain rice. chopsticks come together to lift steaming bundles of sticky rice, it's a match made in heaven.

    The "Penny Black", the first postage stamp issued in Britain and, more importantly, the first postage stamp issued anywhere, the image of Queen Victoria, but the first British postal service didn't originate in Victoria England. In 1860, William Dockwra started a public service that the quick delivery of a letter anywhere in London. His system was quickly with Dockwra in charge. It was far from a perfect system, with seemingly improper charges that made it unreasonably expensive to send a letter. Worse still, recipients were expected to pay. As you might imagine, this some problems—either people weren't home or flat—out refused to pay. The system just didn't work, but it remained in place for far too long.

    About 50 years later, to do better, Rolland Hill argued for putting an end to the postal charges and replacing them with a single national rate of one penny, which would be paid by the sender. When the post office ignored Hill's ideas, he self-published his essay and it quickly gained among the public. Hill was then ordered by Postmaster General Lord Lichfield to discuss postal reform and ,during their subsequent meetings, the two men conceived of a gluy that could be applied to the envelops to indicate payment. Though it had gained support with the public who longed for a affordably way to connect with distant friends and family, officials were still not convinced. Thankfully, Hill was far from alone in his passion for reform. He eventually earned enough support from other like-minded individuals to convince Parliament to his system.

    In 1839, Hill held a competition to design all the postal facility. The winning stamp describing the young queen's profile came from one William Wyon, who based the design on a medal he created to celebrate his first visit to London.

    The "Penny Black" stamp went on sale on May 1, 1840. It was an immediate. Suddenly, the country seemed a lot smaller. The penny black's design was so well received that it remained in use for forty year.

    The term "staycation" means vacations that you take at home or near your home rather than traveling to another place. It is closely connected with less pollution, saving money and not contributing to the overwhelming disorder that takes place in some of the world's most touristic areas.

    The concept of staycation was born at the time of the 2008 market1in the United States. Because of it, many households were forced to2their expenses and consequently limit their vacation budget. The shortage of money to travel abroad is at the origin of why many people started to (re) discover their most3surroundings

    At the same time, awareness of the4impacts of tourism, especially on what concerns the impacts of transportation, started to increase too. And so did the perception that some of the main cities (abroad) are increasingly overloaded with people-- with places such as Barcelona, Venice, or the Seychelles planning on 5a tourist cap.

    Staycation appears like a great solution for the6above mentioned. It is a great way of spending joyful vacations while helping one's7and the environment. 8staying close to home eliminates the budget for accommodation and transport.

    Apart from the financial 9gained by leaving behind expensive plane tickets or by not booking hotel rooms that aren't cheap, staycation also has the benefit of keeping harmful 10in the ground. Cars, boats, and planes are not (or are less) used; 11other means of transport such as public transport, bicycles, electric scooters or just walking are favored.

    This allows people's carbon footprints not to12as much as they would if long distances had been traveled.

    A staycation is a form of alternative tourism that is fully in line with the slow tourism trend. Slow tourism invites you to live in the13moment. It encourages you to take your time, discover nearby landscapes, reconnect and spend more time outdoors in nature with the people you enjoy. There are no fully-booked days, and there is no14to go from one activity to another just to stay busy all the time.

    Given the multiple15of local tourism, you no longer have a reason to be embarrassed at the coffee machine at work when you are asked where you are going on vacation this year.

    Brooke Martin's golden retriever(金毛猎犬) Kayla hated being left alone or separated. She would howl, pace, and chew on things. Brooke learned that other people had the same problem with their pets. She wondered: "What if you could talk to your dog if you were gone?"

    Working with her father in their garage, the 16-year-old came up with several ideas. Finally, she invented a device that allowed pet owners to video chat with their pets! She calls the device iCPooch. "The dog doesn't have to answer the call," explains Brooke. "It comes up immediately on the screen on their end. It's a two-way audio and video—you can see and hear each other." With a click of a button you can even send the dog a treat!

    Her invention has earned her a spot competing against nine other finalists in a young scientist competition for middle-school students. These finalists, selected based on their short video presentations, are working with mentors over the summer before heading to the final competition in St. Paul, Minn.

    After Martin's video put her among the 10 finalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, she was paired with Delony Langer-Anderson, a product development scientist in 3M's consumer health care division. ―I just lead her down the product development path, Langer-Anderson told Live Science. This path includes guidance on how to test the potential product, which combines a video chat device that answers immediately on the dog's end with a dog treat device the owner can remotely activate.

     ‘One thing I have thought about a lot is, what happens if while the device is on the floor, what if your dog knocks it over, or scratches the screen? 'Martin said. She and Langer-Anderson discussed this, and Martin is now testing materials at a local dog shelter by taping them to the dog house floors to see how well they withstand sharp teeth and claws.

    The finalists create models they can test, with the guidance from a mentor. Their projects include a fuel cell that transforms cut grass into electricity and an app that rewards drivers for not texting or calling. Langer-Anderson tries to help the students work through the scientific method, testing their hypothesis, in a determined way, ―so the kids don't get buried in data. she said.

    The dream of the flying car could come down to earth soon as several start-ups like Chinese EHANG and Uber are developing so-called "passenger drones(无人机)"—self-flying drones big enough to ferry individual commuters around town—which could shrink commute(上下班往返) times from hours to minutes.

    At first glance, human-carrying drones sound no more realistic than flying cars. Until recently inventors had never been able to marry automobiles and aircraft in a practical way. Yet a few companies have kept at it: Woburn, for example, has since 2006 been developing Transition, a "roadable aircraft" that resembles a small airplane that can fold its wings and drive on roads. A personal flying car in every garage has proved to be a tough sell, however, as there are serious safety concerns about asking the average commuter to train for a pilot's license and take to the skies.

    Passenger drones, by contrast, would operate autonomously and leave the "roadable" part behind in favor of larger versions of aircraft that already exist. Passenger drone designs favor "distributed electric propulsion(推进)," meaning instead of one large rotor powered by a large engine they have multiple propellers each powered by its own, smaller motor. This sacrifices lifting power and flight performance in exchange for mechanical simplicity and lighter weight—factors that could make them cheaper to operate. Quieter electric power would make the noise tolerable to city residents, although it remains to be seen how much weight such a vehicle could lift, and for how long.

    With any of these vehicles, safety is the biggest concern and extends to both the aircraft and the automated systems flying them. Advanced artificial intelligence is needed to fly large numbers of autonomous aircraft without crashing them into one another or, say, the local news channel's traffic helicopter. Carrying people from points A to B seems simple enough, but even the best AI struggles with surprises: What, for example, would a drone do if a landing area suddenly became unavailable? asks Sanjiv Singh, a Carnegie Mellon University robotics researcher. Instead of leaping to fully automated passenger drones, he suggests first testing the necessary AI in unmanned cargo(货物)runs, and adopting a "mixed mode" approach in early passenger services where pilots are assisted by AI co-pilots.

    Technical challenges aside, start-ups promoting the technology will have to find a way to convince the public to give their drones a whirl, something that requires a much bigger leap of faith than getting into the backseat of a self-driving car. Passenger drone makers are "obviously still in the incubation(孵化) stages of technology development and improving the basics," says Mike Hirschberg, executive director of the American Helicopter Society International. "But 20 or 30 years from now life may be a little like The Jetsons where you take advantage of the third dimension and have much more mobility, especially in urban close quarters where ground transportation is gridlocked."

    The passenger drone progress may follow a sloping takeoff rather than vertical leap. Carnegie Mellon's Singh sees a long road ahead filled with lots of testing, analysis, regulation and efforts to win the public's trust before the technology becomes a viable transportation option. "There is the danger of someone moving too fast and then having a problem that sets the industry back for some time," he says.

    Boxing is a popular sport that many people seem to be fascinated by. Newspaper, magazines and sports programmes on TV frequently cover boxing matches. Professional boxers earn a lot of money, and successful boxers are treated as big heroes.

    It seems to me that people, especially men, find it appealing because it is an aggressive sport. When they watch a boxing match, they can identify with the winning boxer, and this gives them the feeling of being a winner themselves. It is a fact that many people have feeling of aggression from time to time, but they cannot show their aggression in their everyday lives.

    However, there is a negative side to boxing. Although boxers wear gloves during the fights, and amateur boxers even have to wear helmets, there have frequently been accident in both professional and amateur boxing, sometimes with dramatic consequences. Boxers have suffered from head injuries, and occasionally, fighters have even been killed as a result of being knocked out in the ring. Sometimes even if a boxer has never been knocked out, he might have suffered severe brain damage without knowing it.

    I think it would be better if less time was given to aggressive sports on TV, and we welcomed more men and women from non-aggressive sports as our heroes and heroines in our society. I believe that the world is aggressive enough already! Of course, people like competitive sports, and so do I, but I think that hitting other people in an aggressive way is not something that should be regarded as a sport.

    Students who have used electronic cigarettes by the time they start ninth grade are more likely than others to start smoking traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products within the next year, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, deliver nicotine to the lungs by heating a liquid solution that contains nicotine and other chemicals to produce a spray that the user takes in.

    As part of a survey of substance use and mental health among high school students in Los Angeles, the study compared the start of tobacco use among 222 students who had used e- cigarettes, but not any other tobacco products, and 2,308 who had neither used e-cigarettes or any other tobacco products when initially surveyed at the start of ninth grade. The 2,530 students who initially reported never using tobacco underwent follow-up assessments after six and 12 months. Students were asked about lifetime and past six-month use of e-cigarettes or any other forms of tobacco products.

    During the first six months after being surveyed, 30.7 percent of those who had used e- cigarettes started using tobacco products, such as cigarettes, and cigars, compared to only 8.1 percent of those who had never used e-cigarettes. Over the following six months leading into the start of 10th grade, 25.2 percent of e-cigarette users had used tobacco products, compared to just 9.3 percent of nonusers.

    "While teen tobacco use has fallen in recent years, this study confirms that we should continue to closely watch teen smoking patterns," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. "Parents and teens should recognize that although e-cigarettes might not have the same harmful effects of regular cigarettes, they do carry a risk of addiction."

    "Recreational e-cigarette use is becoming increasingly popular among teens who have never smoked tobacco," said Adam M. Leventhal, Ph.D., the first author on the study. "While we cannot conclude that e-cigarette use directly leads to smoking, this research raises concerns that recent increases in youth e-cigarette use could ultimately lead to the spread of smoking- related illness."

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