-
(A)
The Nobel Prize
in Chemistry 2018
Since the first seeds of
life arose around 3.7 billion years ago, almost
every crevice
（裂缝）
on Earth
has filled with different organisms. Life __1__
(spread) to hot springs, deep oceans and
dry deserts, all because evolution has
solved __2__ number of chemical problem. Life’s
chemical
tools - proteins -- have been
optimized, changed and renewed,
__3__(create)incredible diversity.
This year’s
Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have been inspired by
the power of evolution and
used
the
same
principles
genetic
change
and
selection
to
develop
proteins
that
solve
mankind’s
chemical problems.
One
half of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry __4__
(award) to Frances H. Arnold. In
1993,
she conducted the first directed evolution of
enzymes
（酶）
, __5__
are proteins that catalyze
chemical reactions. Since then, she has
refined the methods that are now routinely used to
develop
new
catalysts.
The
uses
of
Frances
Arnold’s
enzymes
include
more
environmentally
friendly
manufacturing of
chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and
the production of renewable
fuels for a
greener transport sector. The __6__ half of this
year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is shared
by George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P.
Winter. In 1985, George Smith developed an elegant
method
__7__ (know) as phage display,
where a bacteriophage
（噬菌体）
--
a virus that infects bacteria can
be
used __8__ (evolve) new proteins. Gregory Winter
used phage display for the directed evolution
of antibodies, __9__ the aim of
producing new pharmaceuticals. The first one based
on this method,
adalimumab, was
approved in 2002 and is used for rheumatoid
arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory
bowel
diseases.
Since
then,
phage
display
has
produced
anti
bodies
that
can
neutralize
toxins,
counteract autoimmune diseases and cure
metastatic cancer.
We are in the early days of
directed evolution’s revolution which, in many
different ways, is
bringing and will
bring __10__ (great) benefit to humankind.
(B)
Never Underestimate the Power of a Good
Hug
It
might come from your significant other, your kid
or a friend. But getting a hug at the end
of a trying day really can make things
a lot better.
A new study finds that a simple
comforting embrace can ease stress and negative
changes in
mood
after
social
conflict. The
common
gesture
seems
__1__
(increase)
positive
emotions
and
reduce negative feelings on days __2__
people have problems with their relationships. For
the study,
published in the journal
PLOS ONE, researchers interviewed more than 400
adults every night for
two weeks. They
__3__ (ask) about their social activities that
day, their moods and whether they
received a hug, among other questions.
Results indicated that there was an
interaction __4__ hug receipt and conflict
exposure such
that __5__ (receive) a
hug was associated with a smaller conflict-related
decrease in positive affect
and a __6__
(small) conflict-related increase in negative
affect when __7__ (assess) concurrently,
“according to the study.
Basically, hugs
made people feel better.
The researchers found that
was true regardless of gender, age, race, marital
status, number
of social interactions
and overall mood. “A very simple, straightforward
behavior --- hugging might
be an
effective way of supporting both men and women who
are experiencing conflict in __8__
relationships,
“co-author
Michael
Murphy,
a
post-doctoral
researcher
in
Carnegie
Mellon
University’s
Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity and
Disease, tells Time. The researchers
say they’d like to continue their work
to determine __9__ it makes a difference who gives
the hug
or when it’s given in relation
to the social conflict. But a key takeaway is
__10__ a consensual hug
can do a lot of
good. “This research is in its early stages,
“Murphy adds.” We still have questions
about when, how, and for whom hugs are
most helpful. However, our study suggests that
consensual
hugs might be useful for
showing support to somebody enduring relationship
conflict.”
Ⅱ.
Vocabulary
A. components
B.
critical
C. functions
D. delivered
E. initiate
F. exposed
G.
collaboration
H. involving
I. conclusion
J. endurance
K. evolution
Phosphates Could Have Originated in
Deep Space
Researchers have found new evidence to
suggest that key ingredients for life were
generated
in outer space and __1__ to
earth by meteorites or comets in the first billion
years of our planet’s
history. These
ingredients -- known as
phosphates
（磷酸盐）
-- are
essential __2__ of all living cells.
Derivatives of the element phosphorus,
they are the main constituents of chromosomes
（同源染色
体）
--- the
carriers of genetic information in which DNA is
found - and play a(n) __3__ role in
providing the energy that cells need to
carry out their basic __4__.
But despite
their importance to life, scientists are not sure
where Earths first organisms got
their
phosphates from. One hypothesis is that the
compounds came from outer space. In at paper
published
in
the
journal
Nature
Communications,
researchers
from
the
University
of
Hawaii
at
Manoa
-- in __5__ with colleagues in Taiwan and France
-- have identified a previously overlooked
source
of
phosphorus
known
as
interstellar
phosphine
（磷化氢）
---
a
compound
containing
phosphorus
（磷）
and hydrogen.
According to
the researchers, chemical reactions __6__
phosphines produced phosphorus
oxoacids
-- such as phosphoric acid and diphosphoric acid
-- which could have made their way to
Earth on comets and meteorites before
becoming incorporated it
biomolecules
（生物大分子）
found
in the cells of living beings.
“On
Earth, phosphine is lethal to living beings,”
Andrew Turner lead author of the study,
said in statement “But in the
interstellar medium, an exotic phosphine chemistry
can promote rare
chemical reaction
pathways to __7__ the formation of biorelevant
molecules such as oxoacids of
phosphorus, which eventually might
spark the molecular __8__ of life as we know
it.”
The team came to the __9__ after
recreating the conditions experienced by icy
grains that
float about in the
interstellar medium using an ultra-high vacuum
chamber cooled down to 5 Kelvin
(minus
450
degrees
Fahrenheit). When
the
scientists
__10__
the
grains
---
which
are
coated
in
carbon dioxide, water and
phosphine to high -energy radiation mimicking
cosmic rays in space,
multiple
phosphorus
oxoacids
were
synthesized.
“The
phosphorus
oxoacids
detected
in
our
experiments
might
have
also
been
formed
within
the
ices
of
comets
such
as
67P/churyumov-
gerasimenko,
which contains a phosphorus source believed to
derive from phosphine,” said Ralf
Kaiser, another author of the study.
Ⅱ. Cloze
As ice melts in West
Antarctica
（南极地区）
the ground
beneath is quickly rising --- a
process
that could prevent the catastrophic __1__ of ice
sheets, according to researchers. A study
published in the journal Science
provides a rare glimmer of hope for a region
beleaguered
（困扰）
by __2__
change. In recent years, several studies have
warned the ice sheet, which __3__ a quarter
of melted ice worldwide annually, is
__4__ to disintegrating. Scientists fear even a
slight depletion
could cause global sea
levels to rise by as much as 3 meters.
Researchers
at
the Technical
University
of
Denmark
set
out
to
answer
how
the
bedrock
underneath the sheet of the Amundsen
Sea Embayment of West Antarctica behaves as the
Ice melts.
To study the land, the team
__5__ data collected by high precision GPS
equipment positioned on
__6__ rock
formations in West Antarctica, which measured
__7__ of the land down to the millimeter
over a 10-year-period.
“After what I
would say was a heroic effort to install and
maintain the network of sensors in
one
of the least __8__ places on the planet, the team
has been rewarded with __9__ valuable data,
which tell an incredible story about
the Earth, “wroth Valentina R. Barletta,
postdoctoral researcher
at Technical
University of Denmark. The team was surprised to
find the Earth’s structure was very
different from what they had expected,
and was pushing the bedrock to rise faster than
expected.
In 2014, the surface rose
41 millimeters: four to five times quicker than
__10__. In 100
years, the land could be
up to 1 meters higher than it is currently.
Barletta compared the Earth’s
__11__ to
a double-layer mattress. Atop sits a springy,
elastic layer, and a thick, memory foam layer
beneath. How quickly the Earth __12__
to the masses of ice melting depends partly of how
viscous
the
springy
upper
mantle
is.
The
authors
found
mantle
was
much
less
viscous
than
previously
believed.
It
is
hoped
that
as
the
ice
thaws,
the
Earth’s crust
will
bounce
back
much
faster
than
previously
expected.
In
turn,
this
could
stabilize
when
the
authors
described
as
a
“catastrophic
collapse” of
the ice sheet.
However,
Barletta
told
Newsweek
the
ice
sheet
will
never
stabilize
if
global
warming
becomes too __13__. By __14__ of
understanding of this region, the research could
form the basis
of future studies into
interior of the Earth’s structure, she added and
improve ice models to study
how the
feedback of the bedrock on the ice is effective.
“Reducing the greenhouses gas will give
the
ice
sheet
a
better
chance
of
__15__
because
that
would
allow
some
known
and
unknown
feedback to create
better conditions for the ice.” she said.
1. A. collapse
B. concern
C. claim
D.
composition
2. A. water
B. soil
C. season
D. climate
3. A. points to
B. relates to
C. contributes to
D. adds to
4. A.
vulnerable
B. avoidable
C. reliable
D. available
5. A. predicted
B. analyzed
C. scored
D. valued
6. A.
convenient
B. frequent
C.
lucky
D.
remote
7. A. achievements
B.
agreements
C. movements
D. assignments
8. A. accessible
B. possible
C. essential
D. informative
9. A. obviously
B. coincidently
C.
barely
D. incredibly
10. A. required
B. predicted
C.
estimated
D.
acknowledged
11. A.
responsibilities
B.
benefits
C. structure
D. shape
12. A. recalls
B.
responds
C. repeats
D. reminds
13. A. progressive
B. appropriate
C.
extreme
D. passionate
14. A. broadening
B.
lengthening
C. shortening
D.
strengthening
15. A.
creation
B. variety
C. extinction
D.
survival
Ⅱ.
Reading
(A)
According to the World
Health Organization, measles has been officially
eradicated in the
Americas -- that’s
all countries in North. Central and South America,
from Canada to Chile. That
makes the
Americans the first region in the world without
any endemic cases of what was once
considered one of the world’s most
infectious diseases.
Prior to the introduction of the
measles vaccine in 1963, hundreds of thousands of
people in
the United States contracted
the disease every year in fact, a 1954 scientific
review of measles in
the U. S.
published in the American Journal of Medical
Sciences concluded that contracting measles
was “as inevitable as death and
taxes.”
Measles cases reported in the U. S.
before and after the introduction of the measles
vaccine.
But
all of the drastically changed with the
development of the measles vaccine. Thanks to
herd immunity -- which means that at
least 90 to 95 percent of the population is
vaccinated -- there
has not been an
endemic case of the disease in the Americas since
2002 in Venezuela. The U. S. has
been
declared measles-free since 2000.
But wait, weren’t there
just cases of measles reported in California a few
years ago? Even
though the disease has
been eradicated from an area, it doesn’t mean
there are no reported cases: it