“ What would the world be if there were no hunger ?” It’s a question that Professor Crystal would ask her students. They found it hard to answer, she wrote later, because imagining something that isn’t part of real life—and learning how to make it real—is a rare skill. It is taught to artists and engineers, but much less often to scientists. Crystal set out to change that, and helped to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting global challenges.
Systems thinking is crucial to achieving targets such as zero hunger and better nutrition because it requires considering the way in which food is produced, processed, delivered and consumed, and looking at how those things intersect ( 交叉 ) with human health, the environment, economics and society. According to systems thinking, changing the food system—or any other network—requires three things to happen. First, researchers need to identify all the players in that system; second, they must work out how they relate to each other; and third, they need to understand and quantify the impact of those relationships on each other and on those outside the system.
Take nutrition. In the latest UN report on global food security, the number of undernourished ( 营养不良 )people in the world has been rising, despite great advances in nutrition science. Tracking of 150 biochemicals in food has been important in revealing the relationships between calories, sugar, fat and the occurrence of common diseases. But using machine learning and artificial intelligence, some scientists propose that human diets consist of at least 26,000 biochemicals—and that the vast majority are not known. This shows that we have some way to travel before achieving the first objective of systems thinking - which,in this example, is to identify more constituent parts of the nutrition system.
A systems approach to creating change is also built on the assumption that everyone in the system has equal power. But as some researchers find, the food system is not an equal one. A good way to redress ( 修正 ) such power imbalance is for more universities to do what Crystal did and teach students how to think using a systems approach.
More researchers, policymakers and representatives from the food industry must learn to look beyond their direct lines of responsibility and adopt a systems approach. Crystal knew that visions alone don’t produce results, but concluded that “we’ll never produce results that we can’t envision”.
28 ． The author uses the question underlined in Paragraph 1 to ________.
A ． illustrate an argument B ． highlight an opinion
C ． introduce the topic D ． predict the ending
29 ． What can be inferred about the field of nutrition?
A ． The first objective of systems thinking hasn’t been achieved.
B ． The relationships among players have been clarified.
C ． Machine learning can solve the nutrition problem.
D ． The impact of nutrition cannot be quantified.
30 ． As for systems thinking, which would the author agree with?
A ． It may be used to justify power imbalance.
B ． It can be applied to tackle challenges.
C ． It helps to prove why hunger exists.
D ． It goes beyond human imagination.
C 25 ． A 26 ． B 27 ． C
【导语】这是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述作者通过参加保护自然活动治愈好了自己的焦虑。
24 ．细节理解题。由文章第一段 “My perfectionist tendencies were the main root of this: I wanted to be perfect at whatever I did, which obviously in life is not possible, but it consumed me.( 我的完美主义倾向是这一点的主要根源：无论我做什么，我都想做到完美，这在生活中显然是不可能的，但它消耗了我。 )” 可知，是要求完美导致了焦虑。故选 C 项。
25 ．细节理解题。由文章第二段 “One day, I attended a presentation by wildlife conservationist Grant Brown at my high school. His presentation not only awed and inspired me, but also helped emerge an inner desire to make a difference in the world. ( 一天，我在高中参加了野生动物保护主义者 Grant Brown 的演讲。他的演讲不仅让我感到敬畏和鼓舞，还帮助我产生了一种内在的愿望，希望在世界上有所作为。 )” 和文章第三段 “ Shortly after I received his invitation, applications to join the Youth for Nature and the Youth for Planet groups were sent around through my high school. I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. ( 在我收到他的邀请后不久，我的高中就收到了加入 “Youth for Nature” 和 “Youth for Plane” 组织的申请。我决定致力于完成这些申请，很快我就成为了一个日益壮大的全球年轻人保护自然团队的一员。 )” 可知，是 Grant Brown 让作者开始为从事保护自然地活动中。故选 A 项。
26 ．细节理解题。由文章第三段 “I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.( 我决定完成申请，很快我就成为了一个不断壮大的全球年轻人保护自然团队的一员。每一步都让我更加自信。 )” 可知， Alice 加入这些活动让她变得更自信了。故选 B 项。
27 ．推理判断题。由第一段 “ Early last year, I was troubled by an anxiety that crippled ( 削弱 ) my ability to do anything. I felt like a storm cloud hung over me.” （去年年初，我被一种焦虑困扰，它削弱了我做任何事情的能力。）由文章第三段 “I decided to commit to completing the applications, and soon I was a part of a growing global team of young people working to protect nature. Each of these new steps continued to grow my confidence.( 我决定完成申请，很快我就成为了一个不断壮大的全球年轻人保护自然团队的一员。每一步都让我更加自信。 ) 可知，文章主要讲述作者通过参加保护自然活动治愈好了自己的焦虑。所以从文章中我们能学到行动是忧虑最大的敌人。故选 C 项。
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
Feeling extreme loneliness can increase an older person’s risk of premature (过早的)death by 14 percent, according to research by John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
Cacioppo and his colleagues’ work shows that the impact of loneliness on premature death is nearly as strong as the impact of disadvantaged socioeconomic status, which they found increases the chances of dying early by 19 percent. A 2010 meta﹣analysis showed that loneliness has twice as much impact on early death as obesity does, he said.
The researchers looked at dramatic differences in the rate of decline in physical and mental health as people aged. Cacioppo and his colleagues have examined the role of satisfying relationships on older people to develop their resilience ([rɪˈzɪliəns] 快速恢复的能力；适应力), the ability to feel better quickly after something unpleasant, and grow from stresses in life.
The consequences for health are dramatic, as feeling isolated or separated from others can disturb sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol ([‘kɔ:tɪsɒl] 皮质醇), change the gene expression in immune cells, increase depression and lower overall subjective well﹣being, Cacioppo pointed out in a talk, “ Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Aging.”
Cacioppo, one of the nation’s leading experts on loneliness, said older people can avoid the consequences of loneliness by staying in touch with former co﹣workers, taking part in family traditions, and sharing good times with family and friends ﹣ all of which give older adults a chance to connect with others about whom they care and who care about them.
”Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers isn’t necessarily a good idea if it means you are disconnected from the people who mean much to you,” said Cacioppo. Population changes make understanding the role of loneliness and health all the more important,he explained. “People have to think about how to protect themselves from depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. “
Although some people are happy to be alone, most people develop from social situations in which they provide mutual support and establish a strong bond. Evolution encourages people to work together to survive and accordingly most people enjoy companionship compared to be alone.
It is not solitude (独处)or physical isolation itself, but rather the subjective sense of isolation that Cacioppo’s work shows to be so destructive. Older people living alone are not necessarily lonely if they remain actively engaged in social life and enjoy the company of those around them. Some aspects of aging, such as blindness and loss of hearing, however, place people at special risk of becoming isolated and lonely, he said.
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| The main idea | Chances are that older people will die early if they feel extremely 51．. |
| 52． with loneliness | • Like disadvantaged socioeconomic status and obesity, loneliness can 53． old men’s premature death. • When 54． from others, one will find physical health impacted and tend to feel depressive and unhappy. |
| Suggestions | • Keep in touch with others and take part in 55． activities. • Choosing to live in a pleasant climate don’t necessarily make sense if the elder are disconnected from people who are 56． to them. • Think about how to57． depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. • Work together with others to 58．, to gain mutual support and establish a strong bond. |
| Conclusions | • The sense of isolation, rather than solitude or physical isolation itself, isn’t 59．to elders. • Living alone doesn’t mean loneliness if older people live an 60． social life. |