2026年真题16

Listen to a talk in a marine biology class Let’s talk a little about sea otters and their importance to their own and indeed other ecosystems. We’ll start with a few basic facts. The sea otter is a marine mammal often found along the coastal waters of the northern Pacific. It lacks the blubber of other marine mammals like whales, say, or seals, but it stays warm in icy waters thanks to its fur, which is the densest of any animals. It also has unusually large lungs, two-and-a-half times larger than those of similarly sized land mammals, and this helps it stay buoyant and dive efficiently. Sea otters have a loose flap of skin under each forearm that functions like a pocket, which they use for storing food and tools. That’s right, tools. Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools, using clam shells for digging and rocks to open clam shells. Now, wonderful as they maybe, why care about sea otters? Because sea otters eat sea urchins, and sea urchins eat kelp. Kelp is a large seaweed that can grow up to thirty meters tall, providing food and shelter for a range of marine life. Kelp forests support a greater variety of marine life than almost any other ocean habitats. Kelp also grows very densely and acts as a natural buffer, protecting shorelines from storm damage. Finally, kelp forests are like rainforests in that they absorb and store carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, mitigating climate change and reducing ocean acidification.

Listen to a talk in a music class. Have you ever listened to a piece of music and felt like you were suddenly somewhere else? Maybe walking through a Brazilian street market or climbing a misty mountain trail in China? That's the magic of musical borrowing, a practice where artists blend elements from different global traditions to create something fresh and emotionally resonant. Take bossa Nova, for example. It's a genre that merges the laid back swing of United States jazz music with the rhythmic pulse of Brazilian samba. When you listen to bossa Nova, it feels both familiar and new at the same time. But successful musical borrowing isn't just about mixing sounds. It's about respect. When artists draw from other cultures, they need to understand the traditions behind the music. Composer Tan Dun nails this in his score for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He blends Chinese instruments like the Erhu and PIPA with Western orchestration, but not just for effect. The Erhu's haunting tones and the Peeper's intricate rhythms reflect centuries of Chinese musical storytelling. Tan Dun doesn't just borrow, he honors the culture, letting its emotional depth shine through. Of course, fusion isn't always seamless. Sometimes the mix feels forced, or the original meaning gets lost. But when it works, when the traditions truly speak to each other, it's proof that music can be a universal language, capable of bridging worlds and telling stories that transcend borders.

Listen to a talk in a business class (man) Why do some companies thrive while others with similar resources falter? Organizational agility might hold the key. Organizational agility is a company’s ability to quickly adapt to market changes by making fast decisions, being flexible and responsive to customer needs, and being able to reconfigure internal structures when needed. Take an example you’re probably familiar with, a streaming media company that began as a DVD rental service. It’s successfully pivoted to online streaming just as internet speeds improved and later moved into producing original content. These shifts were strategic and fast. They allowed the company to stay ahead of consumer expectations and industry trends. Agility also means responding to customer demands. A well-known clothing retailer, for instance, designed its supply chain to move new styles from concept to store in just a few weeks. If a celebrity wears a bold new look, this retailer can have a similar item on shelves while competitors are still in the design phase. That kinds of responsiveness keeps the brand relevant. Agility comes with hurdles like cultural resistance. In one case, a large industrial firm tried to adopt agile practices across its divisions. This meant forming cross-functional teams, groups made up of people from different departments like engineering, marketing and operations, who would collaborate on shared goals. But many employees had spent decades in rigid hierarchies with clearly defined roles. Cross-functional teams felt chaotic and unfamiliar. This industrial firm had to invest in training to help employees understand that agility wasn’t about abandoning structure, but about building smarter, more responsive systems.

Listen to a talk in a biology podcast (man) Have you ever heard of tardigrades? These are animals about half-a-millimeter in size, just about large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Tardigrades are renowned for their ability to survive a variety of extreme conditions, an ability that is unique among animals. They are found in diverse environments, ranging from the deep sea to high mountain tops. They can also withstand temperatures form just above absolute zero to over one-hundred-fifty-degree Celsius. They even survive intense radiation in the vacuum of space. The secret to tardigrade survival? A process called cryptobiosis. During cryptobiosis, tardigrades lose almost all their water content and produce unique proteins that protect their cells from damage. But remember, no metabolic activity, meaning no bodily process, can happen without water, so all metabolism essentially shuts down. When favorable conditions return, tardigrades rehydrate and resume normal functions. Scientists are fascinated by tardigrades because understanding their survival mechanisms could have important implications. Take healthcare for example. If we can figure out how tardigrades protect their cells from radiation, it might lead to breakthroughs in radiation therapy for cancer patients. Astronomers are intrigued by tardigrades because of their ability to endure the vacuum of space. In a research study in 2007, tardigrades were sent to the harsh realms of space. Some not only survived, but they successfully reproduced upon their return to Earth. If tardigrades can survive in space, it suggests life might exist in the extreme environments of other planets.