【推荐1】China’s domestically developed, long-acting experimental AIDS drug is undergoing a final review by the China Food and Drug Administration, the last stage in the approval process.

Different from traditional oral drugs that require daily use, but it’s a heavy burden for patients to take medicine every day for years. As a result, long-acting drugs are the future direction in developing innovative AIDS medicine. For Chinese patients, the number of oral drugs available in the domestic market is very limited, so there is an urgent need for drugs to solve the problem of drug resistance.

Zhao Yan, a treatment specialist at the National Center for AIDS said seven or eight oral drugs for AIDS are currently provided to patients for free. “The injection solution could give an alternative to patients ... if it could be included in the country’s health insurance system,” she said.

“Now very few patients are using drugs from the health insurance system, both because no differentiated drugs are provided and because the procedure is more complex and could harm their privacy,” she said. “New drugs will be broadly used only if the system can embrace more varieties of drugs.”

Albuvirtide went into the research and development stage in 2002 and entered phase three of clinical trials—a step to assure safety and effectiveness before market approval—in 2014. Phase three is the last round of clinical trials for new drug tests in China. If the drug can pass the reviews of the country’s drug watchdog, usually at least two rounds, it can then enter the market. The time needed for the review ranges from months to years.

Clinical trials showed that the new drug performs even better than the oral drugs being used. Most of the oral drugs for AIDS being used in China are generic drugs developed in the 1970s and „80s that are not so efficient. In terms of safety and effectiveness, evidence so far showed that Albuvirtide is better than most second-line drugs—drugs used when first-line standard drugs fail—in developed countries because of lower toxicity (毒性) and fewer side effects.

Worldwide, a number of long-acting AIDS drug are in development. None has been approved for sale. Only Albuvirtide and a few in the United States have entered phase three of clinical trials.

1. Albuvirtide is ________.

A．a China-developed long-acting oral AIDS drug

B．undergoing a clinical test on dogs to assure its safety

C．more efficient than other AIDS drugs and has fewer side effects

D．the only AIDS drug that has entered the last round of clinical trials

2. Albuvirtide is good news for AIDS patients in China because ________.

A．it’s a new drug and they are not resistant to it

B．it is one of the most effective first-line drugs

C．it has been included in the health insurance system

D．they can keep their privacy by being injected once a week

3. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A．The research and development of Albuvirtide began in 2002.

B．There are usually three phases in the clinical trial for a new drug.

C．Albuvirtide is now in the stage of carrying out clinical trials.

D．The time needed for review varies from drug to drug.

4. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．Albuvirtide can spare patients from taking oral drugs every day

B．the health insurance system has room for further improvement

C．most AIDS drugs being used now were developed in last century

D．China is leading the whole world in the field of AIDS research

【推荐2】Anxiety has now surpassed depression as the most common mental health disease among college students, though depression, too, is on the rise. More than half of students visiting campus clinics cite anxiety as a health concern, according to a recent study of more than 100,000 students nationwide by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State. Nearly one in six college students has been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety within the last 12 months, according to the annual national survey by the American College Health Association.

The causes range widely, experts say, from mounting academic pressure at earlier ages to overprotective parents to engagement with social media. Anxiety has always played a role in the development of a student’s life, but now more students experience anxiety so acute that they are seeking professional help. Like many college clinics, the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Central Florida (UCF)— one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing universities, has seen sharp increases in the number of clients: 15.2 percent over last year alone.

Anxiety has become characteristic of the current generation of college students, said Dan Jones, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Appalachian State University in Boone, N. C. Because of increasingly pressures during high school, he and other experts say, students arrive at college preloaded with stress. Accustomed to extreme parental oversight, many seem unable to govern themselves. And with parents so accessible, students have had less incentive to develop life skills. “They can’t tolerate discomfort or having to struggle,” Dr Jones said.

More often, anxiety is mild and temporary, the indication of a student under the control of a normal developmental issue-learning time management, for example, or how to handle rejection from a sorority. Mild anxiety is often treatable with early, modest interventions. But to care for rising numbers of severely troubled students, many counseling centers have moved to triage protocols (分诊措施). That means that students with less urgent needs may wait several weeks for first appointments.

Like many college counseling centers, UCF has designed a variety of daily workshops and therapy groups that implicitly and explicitly address anxiety, depression and their triggers. Next fall the center will test a new app for treating anxiety with a seven-module cognitive behavioral program, accessible through a student’s phone and augmented with brief videoconferences with a therapist. It also offers semester-long, 90-minute weekly therapy groups, such as “Keeping Calm and in Control”, “Mindfulness for Depression” and “Building Social Confidence” -for students struggling with social anxiety.

1. Which of the following contributes to anxiety according to the text?

A．Protection from teachers.	B．An app in students’ phones.
C．Increasingly learning pressure.	D．Management of time learning.

2. What does the underlined word “incentive” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Prevention.

B．Motivation.

C．Acquisition.

D．Direction.

3. What’s the purpose of those therapy groups mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To help students suffering anxiety.

B．To test what social anxiety is.

C．To introduce the cognitive behavioral program of UCF.

D．To emphasize the importance of calm and confidence.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Tips on dealing with anxiety

B．Causes of anxiety and depression

C．Different mental diseases threaten college students

D．College mental health centers overburdened with anxious students

【推荐1】Every summer, the Serengeti plains (平原) of Africa are worth visiting. Millions of wild animals begin their 1,800-mile journey northwards on their annual migratory (迁移的) route.

In the month of November, polar bears in their thousands cross the Canadian Arctic, as they head towards the ice sheets of Hudson Bay. The sea ice that forms every winter is the key to the bear’s managing to exist, for here they hunt for seals (海豹).

The Great Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, migrates each year across Europe and Asia to its wintering grounds. Unluckily, these and other migratory animals are in danger from human activity.

We have written several articles on climate change and the effect of rising ocean temperatures. Since 1979, ice sheets in the Arctic have gone down by 30 percent. What does this mean for polar bears? They are forced to stay on land for longer periods of time, which delays their search for food. As a result, bears today are 60 pounds lighter than what they were. Besides, smaller bears also produce weaker babies, and their chances of survival are at risk. In the plains of Africa, migratory animals like gazelles are traveling long distances for food, just to avoid falling prey (牺牲品) to humans who hunt them.

In an unusual step, experts from 120 countries have agreed to protect 31 migratory mammals, fish and birds. The United Nation’s 11th annual Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) was held in Quito, Ecuador. For the first time, 900 experts attended the conference, and the enthusiastic support shows the world is united in conservation (保护) efforts.

What does getting on a protected list mean? Countries that have signed the agreement will be required to pass laws locally and work with other countries that fall within the animal’s migratory path. Only one animal did not make the list. The African lion was rejected (拒绝) for lack of information of the countries where it lives.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The Great Bustard is one of the largest flying birds.

B．The weight of polar bears today is lighter than what it was.

C．In the 1970s, ice sheets went down by 30 percent.

D．120 experts have agreed to protect 21 migratory animals.

2. Why was the African lion not included in the list from the passage?

A．We don’t know which countries it lives in.

B．It isn’t a migratory animal.

C．Experts were not interested in this animal.

D．It was not traveling long distances for food.

3. The writer writes this passage aiming to __________.

A．let us know about the animals

B．prevent the rare animals from dying out

C．inform us of the effects of climate change

D．draw our attention to helping the migratory animals

4. All these factors have probably put the migratory animals in danger EXCEPT _______.

A．some human activity	B．the enthusiastic support from experts
C．rising ocean temperatures	D．climate change

【推荐2】Every spring flowers suddenly come out everywhere on the same day, as if they had an agreement with one another. But how exactly do plants “know” when to flower?

It’s a question puzzling biologists for years. But according to Science Daily, a US research group may have finally answered it—the secret lies in a protein called FKF1. This allows plants to sense the differences in day lengths so that they can tell the seasons are changing.

Researchers found the protein when they were studying a plant called Arabidopsis. They found it’s a photoreceptor (感光器). This means it’ s sensitive to, and can be activated (激活) by sunlight.

Plants produce the protein every day in the late afternoon throughout the year. If there’s no light at this time, for example, in winter when the sun goes down early, it may not be activated. But when spring comes and the days get longer, it can be activated by daylight and the plants “know” it’s time to flower.

Although researchers have only studied how the FKFI protein works in the Arabidopsis, they believe that the process is similar in many other more complex (复杂) plants, including crops like rice and wheat. This could be useful to the agricultural industry.

“If we can control the timing of flowering, we might be able to produce more crops by putting it forward or putting it off,” a leader of the study said. “Also, if we could control the timing of flowering in horticultural (园艺的) plants, they may be worth more money.”

What an amazing thing to think about this!

1. How do plants know when to flower?

A．They get messages from some insects.

B．They receive messages from other plants.

C．A certain protein tells them the time to flower.

D．Sunlight produces a protein in them to help them flower.

2. What can we learn from the article?

A．The study may benefit agricultural industry.

B．We may have plants that flower all year round.

C．Plants don’t flower in cold weather and short days.

D．Researchers found the protein by studying rice and wheat.

3. What’s the writer’s attitude towards the study?

A．Negative.	B．Positive.
C．Uncaring.	D．Unclear.

【推荐3】While dog keepers realize their dogs can read their moods accurately,scientists have always been a little doubtful.Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna,Austria,we finally have some convincing evidence.

For their study,biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy.Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face,while the other half got their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

Interestingly,the dogs were not provided with the entire face.Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves.That’s because the scientists believe humans show their emotions on their entire face.

After some training like how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions,the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face.The researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.

They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn.They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting,causing them to withdraw quickly.However,once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded,the trepidation seemed to disappear.In fact,the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game" that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.

The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctl. Since the touchscreen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies-dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.

1. How did the scientists conduct the experiment?

A．By mixing the selected dogs together.

B．By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry.

C．By showing digital pictures of women’s happy or angry faces.

D．By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the dogs in the study?

A．The dogs were not all provided with the entire face.

B．The dogs couldn’t read strangers facial emotions.

C．According to their size,the dogs were given either upper or lower halves.

D．The dogs could make out small changes accompanying facial expressions.

3. The underlined word "trepidation" in Paragraph 5 probably means _________ .

A．curiosity	B．horror
C．excitement	D．doubt

4. How might the results change if the dogs with female owners are shown pictures of male faces?

A．They would be scared away at the sight of the pictures.

B．They found it easy to tell the emotions on the entire face.

C．They could only tell emotions on partial faces rather than on entire faces.

D．They found it hard to tell the moods on the faces of a different gender.

【推荐2】Third-hand smoke exposure can weaken your brain and liver, affecting your behavior, increasing your risk of diseases, and ruining your metabolism(新陈代谢). That is according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside who saw significant health issues in people within a month of exposure to smoke.

The research team analyzed how people were affected by absorbing smoke from another person’s clothing, hair, home, or car. In previous studies on mice, the same scientists showed third-hand smoke can cause type 2 diabetes(糖尿病), liver and lung damage. Now, they’ve shown they can even see an impact on brain and liver tissues.

“Our goal was to determine the minimum amount of time required to cause physiological changes in mice when they’re exposed to THS(third-hand smoke), ” said lead author Manuela Martins-Green. “We found that THS exposure as early as one month resulted in liver damage. THS exposure for two months resulted in further molecular damage, and at four to six months caused even more such damage. So THS is a stent killer.”

Third-hand smoke, which cannot be seen but can be smelled, remains on surfaces for many years, and are resistant to even strong cleaning agents(清洁剂). Further, hotel rooms, car and homes that were occupied by smokers are very likely to be polluted with THS.

Because THS is absorbed through skin and breathing, and children frequently put their hands in their mouths, children are especially susceptible, given their close contact with household surfaces.

“Clearly, THS is affecting the behavior of mice. ”said Martins-Green, “It’s not hard to imagine what the impact is on children. Although our work was done on mice, we’re confident our results will apply to humans.”

1. What can we learn from what lead author Manuela Martins-Green said?

A．They corrected the mistakes in the previous studies they had made.

B．Their goal to study the influence of THS is clearer than that of the previous studies.

C．The longer mice were exposed to THS, the more serious damage they suffered.

D．Two groups of scientists came to the same conclusion.

2. What can we know about third-hand smoke from the passage?

A．It is not difficult to see.

B．It is quite difficult to remove.

C．It has a bigger impact on mice than humans.

D．It has caused much concerned.

3. What does the underlined word “susceptible” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Likely to break.	B．Hard to cure.
C．Difficult to hurt.	D．Easy to influence.

4. What should be Martins-Green’s opinion about the effects of THS on humans?

A．THS has few side effects on healthy adults.

B．The effects of THS on humans remain to be tested.

C．A little exposure to THS is good for health.

D．It is certain that THS affects people negatively.

【推荐3】In 1999, twelve percent of public elementary schools in the United States required students to wear uniforms. Just three years later, the amount was almost double that.
A study of six big-city Ohio public schools showed students who were required to wear uniforms had improved graduation, behavior and attendance rates. Academic performance was unchanged.
Some high schools in Texas have also joined in the movement. Yet studies find mixed results from requiring uniforms. And some schools have turned away from such policies.
Supporters believe dressing the same creates a better learning environment and safer schools. The school district in Long Beach, California, was the first in the country to require uniforms in all elementary and middle schools. The example helped build national interest in uniforms as a way to deal with school violence and improve learning.
Findings in Long Beach suggested that the policy resulted in fewer behavior problems and better attendance. But researcher Viktoria, who has looked at those findings, says they were based only on opinions about the effects of uniforms.
She says other steps taken at the same time to improve schools in Long Beach and statewide could have influenced the findings. The district (the area marked by government) increased punishments for misbehavior. And California passed a law to reduce class sizes.
In Florida, for example, researcher Sharon found that uniforms seemed to improve behavior and reduce violence. In Texas, Eloise found fewer discipline problems among students required to wear uniforms, but no effect on attendance.
Sociologist David has studied school uniform policies since1998．He collected the reports in the book. In his own study, he found that reading and mathematics performance dropped after a school in Pennsylvania(宾夕法尼亚州) required uniforms.
Political and community pressures may persuade schools to go to uniforms to improve learning. But David and others believe there is not enough evidence of a direct relationship. In fact, he says requiring uniforms may even increase discipline problems.
1. Which of the following researchers are NOT supporters of school uniform policies?

A．Viktoria and Sharon.	B．Sharon and David.
C．Eloise and Sharon.	D．Viktoria and David.

2. The underlined word“misbehavior”in the sixth paragraph probably means ________.

A．serious crime	B．bad performance
C．absence for class	D．action against wearing uniforms

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．More work is needed to get better information about uniform’s effect.

B．The number of schools requiring uniforms in the U.S. will become less sharply.

C．Wearing uniforms has little to do with behavior and learning.

D．Politicians and communities won’t vote for uniform policies.

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．More and more students are required to wear uniforms in the U.S.

B．Wearing uniforms contributes to good academic performance.

C．Researchers in the U.S. argue for school uniform policies.

D．Evidence for school uniform polices in the U.S. is seen as weak.

【推荐1】Some of the world’s most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food unrest and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in production of some of the world’s major crops. A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring.

The authors study the four most important crops: rice, wheat, corn and soybeans. They find that the improvement in yields that took place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s.

There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world’s most populous (人口多的) countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets. That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down.

Second, production growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soybeans. This is problematic because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around half of all calories consumed. Corn and soybeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that “We have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world.”

The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another new paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued.

Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughed up for crops might be able to revert (回返) to forest or wilderness. This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in production, which may not actually happen.

1. What does the author try to draw attention to?

A．Food riots and hunger in the world.

B．News headlines in the leading media.

C．The decline of the grain production growth.

D．The food supply in populous countries.

2. Why does the author mention India and China in particular?

A．Their self-sufficiency is vital to the stability of world food markets.

B．Their food yields have begun to decrease sharply in recent years.

C．Their big populations are causing worldwide concerns.

D．Their food self-sufficiency has been taken for granted.

3. What does the Food and Agriculture Organization say about world food production in the coming decades?

A．The growing population will greatly increase the pressure on world food supplies.

B．The optimistic prediction about food production should be viewed with caution.

C．The slowdown of the growth in yields of major food crops will be reversed.

D．The world will be able to feed its population without increasing farmland.

4. How does the author view the argument of the Food and Agriculture Organisation?

A．It is built on the findings of a new study.

B．It is based on a doubtful assumption.

C．It is backed by strong evidence.

D．It is open to further discussion.

【推荐2】In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge(挑战) to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little -- known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator(行政人员) was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A．To bring Europe together again.	B．To honor heroes of World War II.
C．To introduce young theatre groups.	D．To attract great artists from Europe.

2. Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A．They owned a public house there.	B．They came to take up a challenge.
C．They thought they were also famous.	D．They wanted to take part in the festival.

3. What does the “Fringe” mean in the third paragraph?

A．unpopular groups	B．non-official groups
C．foreign groups	D．local groups

4. We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival      .

A．has become a non-official event	B．has gone beyond an art festival
C．gives shows all year round	D．keeps growing rapidly

【推荐3】Much discussed and rarely achieved in full, work-life balance is an elusive prize in modern professional culture. While it can depend greatly on the priorities and values of an individual and their manager, some jobs provide strong opportunities for those looking to combine a fulfilling career with a thriving personal life.

“Work-life balance is not a situation anymore where you’re at work and then you’re at home, it’s more this balancing between the two,” said Lauren Griffin, senior vice president of Adecco Staffing U.S.

Topping the list of jobs that provide strong work-life balance is data scientist. According to IBM, “A data scientist represents an evolution from the business or data analyst role.” IBM notes that while the formal training in computer science and applications, modeling, statistics, analytics and math for these jobs is similar, “What sets the data scientist apart is strong business acumen, coupled with the ability to communicate findings to both business and IT leaders in a way that can influence how an organization approaches a business challenge.”

Stan Ahalt, director of the Renaissance Computing Institute at UNC Chapel Hill, said that the strong demand for data scientists, coupled with the anemic supply of these professionals currently available in talent pipelines, is likely creating a situation where companies will go above and beyond to attract the right talent.

“The demand for people who are able to analyze massive amounts of data and extract actionable decisions has really blossomed,” said Ahalt. “The people who are being hired are being highly sought-after, so I suspect they’re getting relatively good offers, and offers that include flexibility in their hours and locations simply because there are many more jobs than there are people.”

The list is also diverse and representative of a broad spectrum of occupations, with part-time and seasonal jobs like lifeguard and substitute teacher holding spots, as well as corporate jobs and skilled trades.

And for job-seekers or those planning a career change who want to prioritize work-life balance in their next role, Griffin said the most important step is identifying your greatest personal commitment so you can target a job that’s accommodating by nature, or an employer that will work with you to reach a solution.

“You need to define what’s non-negotiable for you,” said Griffin. “What’s that specific thing that you know you need some balance for, is it dropping your kids off, or taking your mother to a doctor’s appointment twice a month? What are those key points for you? Because then you can have a more open conversation with your employer.”

1. A job of work-life balance is suitable for those ____.

A．who gain a prize in professional culture

B．whose managers care about their priorities and values

C．who expect satisfaction from both career and personal life

D．who prefer to work anytime and anywhere at their wills

2. "These jobs" in the third paragraph indicate jobs ____.

A．in the list which provide strong life-work balance

B．of the data scientists, the business analyst and the data analyst

C．that require strong business sense and communication skills

D．that influence new business challenge of an organization

3. Data scientists are people who ____.

A．are professionals likely to create a new situation in talent pipelines

B．can analyze massive amounts of data and extra actionable decisions

C．have relatively good offers including flexibility in their hours and locations

D．are more demanded than part-time lifeguards and substitute teachers

4. For job-seekers who want to highlight work life balance, they ____.

A．must be very committed to the targeted job personally

B．have to support employers decisions without negotiation

C．should first decide what the balance is needed for

D．should drop kids off on time and take care of mothers