As the coronavirus (冠状病毒) outbreak continues, many Americans are fearful of using public transportation. They are also looking for ways to get exercise without going to a gym. So, it may not be surprising that the pandemic (疫情) has led to a major increase in bicycle sales.
In the US, bicycles at big stores have sold out. And small bicycle stores cannot keep up with demand for “family-style” bicycles: the low-cost, easy-to-ride models. “The bicycle industry is seeing its biggest sales increase since the oil crisis of the 1970s,” said Jay Townley, an industry expert. He compared the sale of bicycles to the rush to buy products like toilet paper at the start of the pandemic.
The rise in bicycle sales is not happening just in the US. Italy has created bicycle paths for the growing number of people who want to avoid public transportation. In London, city officials plan to ban cars from some central roads. Bike shop owners in Manila say demand is even stronger than what they see at Christmas time.
Of course, you can only buy a bicycle if you can find one. In the US, the shortages now mean it may take many months to get a bicycle. High demand is not the only reason for the shortage. Many bicycle factories were shut down to stop the spread of COVID-19. The increase in bicycle demand began in March as countries began to close down. In April, the sale of bicycles increased 200 percent in the US.
Joe Minutolo is the co-owner of Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop in Maine. He said he hoped the increased sales meant a change in the way people think about transportation. “People are having a chance to rethink things,” he said, “Maybe we’ll all learn something out of this, and something really good will happen.”
1. What causes the increase in bicycle sales?| A．Shortage of public transportation. |
| B．Outbreak of the coronavirus. |
| C．People’s desire to defeat disease. |
| D．People’s fear of natural disasters. |
| A．More bikes are sold than at Christmas time. |
| B．“Family-style” bicycles are in great need. |
| C．Cars are banned from some central roads. |
| D．New bicycle paths have been built. |
| A．It’s impossible to buy a bike. |
| B．Bike factories were closed in April. |
| C．High demand for bikes began in March. |
| D．It takes many months to produce a bike. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Uncertain. | D．Critical. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】2019-nCoV, a cousin of the SARS virus, has infected more than 10000 people since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. Scientist Leo Poon, who first decoded the novel virus, thinks it likely started in an animal and spread to humans.
“What we know is that it causes pneumonia (肺炎) and then doesn’t respond to antibiotic (抗生素) treatment, which is not surprising, but then in terms of death rate, SARS kills 10% of the individuals,” Poon, a virologist at the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong, said.
2019-nCoV can make people sick, usually with a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness (上呼吸道疾病), similar to a common cold. Coronavirus symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days. For those with a weakened immune system, the elderly, there’s a chance that the virus could cause a lower, and much more serious, respiratory tract illness like a pneumonia orbronchitis (支气管炎).
There are a handful of human coronaviruses that are known to be deadly.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (中东呼吸综合征), also known as the MERS virus, was first reported in the Middle East in 2012 and also causes respiratory problems, but those symptoms are much more severe. Three to four out of every 10 patients infected with MERS died, according to the CDC.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as SARS, is the other coronavirus that can cause more severe symptoms. First identified in Guangdong Province in southern China, according to the WHO, it causes respiratory problems but can also cause diarrhea (腹泻), fatigue (疲劳), shortness of breath, respiratory distress (呼吸窘迫) and kidney failure (肾衰). Depending on the patient’s age, the death rate with SARS ranged from 0-50% of the cases, with older people being the most vulnerable (易受伤害的).
Viruses can spread from human contact with animals. Scientists think MERS started in camels, according to the WHO. With SARS, scientists suspected civet cats were to blame.
When it comes to human-to-human transmission of 2019-nCoV, often it happens when someone comes into contact with the infected person’s secretions (分泌物). Depending on how virulent (有毒的) the virus is, a cough, sneeze or handshake could cause exposure. The virus can also be transmitted by touching something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes. Caregivers (护理人员) can sometimes be exposed by handling a patient’s waste, according to the CDC.
1. Which of the following can explain the underlined word “decoded”in paragraph 1?| A．found or discovered something. |
| B．put something into a code. |
| C．changed something into ordinary language. |
| D．changed something into a form that can be processed. |
| A．Antibiotic treatment has some effect on 2019-nCoV. |
| B．2019-nCoV usually causes severe illness similar to a pneumonia or bronchitis. |
| C．Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia, MERS and SARS are all caused by corona viruses. |
| D．2019-nCoV spreads just by getting close to the infected person. |
| A．An instruction. | B．A news report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A scientific paper. |
【推荐2】For some people, certain foods can be deadly. Around the world, children are far more likely than ever before to develop food allergies（过敏）. In the US, for example, allergy rates among children were rising from 2010 to 2016, according to the Childhood Allergies in America report. It also showed that the number of children “at risk” for a severe allergic reaction rose by 104 percent. Almost half of these severe reactions were from food.
“In the past, children often were only allergic to one or maybe two foods. But now it’s very common to see children allergic to two or three or more foods,” said Hugh Sampson, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, US. “And milk, eggs, sesame, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish are the common ones to take the blame.”
First of all, as countries import exotic（外来的）products, people are more likely to adopt foreign diets. One example is an increased allergy to kiwis in the US. “Everything is so global now. We’re getting exposed to foods that we never had before,” Sampson said. “And as globalization accelerates migration, more people will tend to experience food allergies.”
Environmental factors may also play a large role: Migrants appear to show a higher possibility of food allergy and asthma（哮喘）in their adopted country in comparison to their country of origin, according to the BBC.
Changes in food making could explain the global rise in allergies as well. For example, people are more likely to be allergic to dry-roasted peanuts-common in the US, UK and Australia-than boiled or fried peanuts, which are common in China. This suggests that how and when the food is introduced is as important a factor as the food itself. Food allergy awareness has increased during recent years, but there’s more work to be done to understand and deal with its rise.
1. What does the second paragraph imply?| A．More foods today can lead to allergies. |
| B．Food was to blame for children’s allergies. |
| C．Kids are more likely to suffer allergies. |
| D．People all know the reasons for allergies. |
| A．Globalization has caused unexpected effects. |
| B．Globalization plays a role in increased allergies. |
| C．Globalization is the key to solving the problems. |
| D．Globalization allows people to experience more. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Cold. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Allergies increase globally. | B．How to get rid of allergies? |
| C．What causes your allergies? | D．Allergies matter a lot in life. |
【推荐3】This is an outbreak of disease that started in Wuhan, one of the central Chinese cities. It’s caused by a novel corona virus that means it’s brand-new.
What are the symptoms?
The virus is from a family called the corona viruses. The symptoms of this illness are pretty mundane ( 平 凡 的 ) on the face of it: it’s a dry cough fever and then breathing problems.
This brand-new coronavirus came from animals, and it’s believed that the source was actually a seafood market in Wuhan, which also sells wild animals. So far all the cases have come out of Wuhan. But somepeople haven’t picked it up there.
Should I be panicking about this outbreak?
As we can see, older people are ending up in hospital with the virus. They’re usually over 40, and the very youngest person diagnosed is about 13 or 14 years old. So it doesn’t appear to be affecting small children.
How is this virus transmitted?
We’ve only just discovered that the new corona virus is actually transmitted from one person to another. It was hoped at first actually that it just came from animals as all corona viruses do.
| A．It seems quite mild in lots of people. |
| B．Where have cases been confirmed so far? |
| C．So new that actually it doesn’t have a name yet. |
| D．People diagnosed with viral pneumonia will die. |
| E．It is a brand-new virus so we don’t know how it’s going to behave. |
| F．Those who have died tend actually to have heart disease or cancer already. |
| G．Now it looks as though it is actually passed from one human being to another, however. |
【推荐1】On paper, hydrogen（H2）looks like a dream fuel. Coal, oil, and natural gas produce carbon dioxide, which warms the earth when burned, Hydrogen produces pure water. Hydrogen packs more energy into less space than a battery（but certainly less than petrol）. Also, empty tanks（燃料箱）can be refilled with hydrogen much faster than refilling empty batteries with electricity.
While in practice, things are trickier. Storing a meaningful amount of hydrogen gas requires pressing it several hundred-fold. Changing it into the liquid form is another option, but it should be cooled to-253C. Both processes require a heavy and strong tank. While a 700 bar tank is acceptable for a city bus or a truck, adapting it for use in small vehicles is very difficult because the pressure during refilling would be too great.
The solution? Powerpaste.
A German team of researchers, led by Marcus Vogt, have come up with an interesting "powerpaste", which can store hydrogen energy at atmospheric pressure, ready for release when needed. It is so named because it comes in tubes and looks like toothpaste（牙膏）, not in its traditional form of gas.
The main ingredient（原料）of the paste is magnesium hydride, a substance that reacts with water to form hydrogen. The escaped hydrogen can then be directed into a fuel cell, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electric power.
Refueling is very simple, as instead of going to a filling station, drivers and riders can simply replace an empty tube with a new one and refill the water tank.
Given that powerpaste only begins to break down at temperatures of around 250℃ it remains safe even when a vehicle stands in the baking sun for hours.
However, we will have to be patient. Just because researchers have succeeded in developing a new fueling way does not mean that we can expect to see such vehicles on the road anytime soon. It will indeed be several years before this concept is turned into reality.
1. As a fuel, what is the advantage of hydrogen over oil?| A．Refilling empty tanks will be more convenient. |
| B．It is less likely to worsen global warming |
| C．More energy can be packed in the same space. |
| D．It will produce pure water for people to drink. |
| A．The practical difficulties to use hydrogen as fuel in small vehicles. |
| B．The detailed processes of adapting a strong tank in small vehicles. |
| C．The differences in fueling between large vehicles and small ones. |
| D．The tricks of building strong tanks in small vehicles. |
| A．inexpensive | B．powerful | C．convenient | D．environment-friendly |
| A．Powerpaste-driven vehicles sometimes move very slowly on the road. |
| B．Practical use of powerpaste-driven vehicles will not come very soon. |
| C．Powerpaste-driven vehicles can only work after being in the sun for hours |
| D．It will be years before the researchers work out the concept of powerpaste. |
【推荐2】With fuel costs rising and airlines finding more fees to impose（强制实行） on travelers every day, the airfare isn't getting any cheaper. Since you can't drive to all your dream destinations, flying is the only way to go sometimes and, undeniably, the fastest. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to find the most affordable fares and also avoid paying as many extra charges as possible when you plan ahead.
Get the best fare. Airlines put out their fare sales on Tuesday morning, making this day the best day to book a flight with less money.
Fly during the least popular times. You can find reduced rates on early morning flights, since many people don't like to get up before the sun to get to the airport. Earlier boarding times can also considerably cut down your chances of meeting an overbooked or delayed flight because of other delayed flights or mechanical issues.
Choose your seat later. Some airlines charge you to pick your seat when you book online, adding even more to the bottom line of your ticket cost. If you show up early on your travel day, you can still get suitable seats. Some of the best seats get held back until the flight day, unless others are willing to pay extra for them ahead of time, so you still have the chance of getting one of those.
Fly on holidays. You have already known that summer is the most expensive time to fly, and even though most other times are more affordable, the days before or after holidays can be crazy. Save big if you're willing to travel on major holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Don't wait until the last minute to book. Many travelers don't know that there's a sweet time for booking and getting the best price on your tickets.
Book too early or too late and you could end up paying more than you need to. The best time to book is between three months and six weeks before you want to travel.
1. The passage is intended to .| A．tell us how to choose the seat and time for a flight |
| B．inform us how to not pay for extra charges for a flight ticket |
| C．persuade us into travelling by air |
| D．inform us of some best ways to save money on a flight |
| A．Airline travelers aren't supposed to pay more for the upward fuel costs |
| B．Early morning flights will help avoid some delays. |
| C．You can only choose your seat online on your flight day. |
| D．Booking too early may cost you less money on your tickets. |
| A．September 2nd. | B．August 15th. |
| C．June 2nd. | D．September 15th. |
【推荐3】Going to bed in one major city and waking up in another, toasting the landscape as a new country slips past; being rocked to sleep as you rattle across a continent. It's no wonder that the night trains of Europe have been a byword for romance.
In fact, over the past decade, much of Europe’s night train network has been cut. For many, it seemed the end of the line was near. But recently there has been a recovery of night trains across Europe. On December 8th 2020, four national rail providers teamed up to announce new routes between 13 European cities.
“You leave work at a usual time, have dinner, make your way to the Nation, get on the train, and wake up in the place you want to be. There’s no turning up at the airport at a very strange hour, as you do for a budget flight.” says Monisha Rajesh, author of “Around the World in 80 Trains.”
In fact, “flight shaming” has been sweeping across Europe in the past few years. In 2018, domestic flights were down 9% in Sweden.
The Covid-19 pandemic has helped, too. Trains are easier to social-distance on, says Rajesh. And night trains—where you can book an entire compartment to yourself—are even better.
Europe's geography also helps the argument for night trains, says Nicolas Forien, a member of Back on Track, who points out that half the flights leaving France are either internal, or going to a neighboring country. “The distance between European capitals is mostly ideal for night trains. The continent could be a night-train paradise.”
1. What does the author say about the night trains of Europe?| A．They run at a high speed. | B．They were popular among Europeans. |
| C．They experienced a down a century ago. | D．They bring passengers a sense of romance. |
| A．long. | B．cheap. | C．short. | D．expensive. |
①flight shaming ②the Covid-19 pandemic ③the maternal budget flight
④Europe’s geography ⑤the tourism boom
| A．①②⑤ | B．②③④ | C．①②④ | D．②④⑤ |
| A．Why Europeans choose to travel by night trains |
| B．How Europe’s night trains come back from the dead |
| C．When Europeans start taking an interest in night trains |
| D．Whether the network of Europe’s night train has been cut |
【推荐1】Nearly each country in the world has its official honors reserved (保留) for outstanding people. For instance, in the United State, the highest civilian honor is the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In China, there are also such official honors given to people who have made outstanding contributions (贡献)to the nation's construction and development.
On Sept. 17, 2019, President Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree (主席法令) to award 42 individuals the Medal of the Republic, the Friendship Medal and various honorary titles.
Shen Jilan, an 89 year old farmer, is one of the eight people who were awarded the Medal of the Republic. She is the only person in China who has served at all 13 National People's Congresses (人民代表大会) since 1954. She is the very witness to the development of the People's Congress system. It was she who put forward the clause on “equal pay for equal work” between men and women, which was written into the first Constitution of PRC in 1954.
Tu Youyou, who had received the Nobel Medicine Prize in 2015，was also awarded the Medal of the Republic. She is famous for finding outQinghaosu, which has helped to save millions of lives. Before the discovery, malaria is a deadly disease to people of tropical developing countries in South Asia, Africa and South America. Therefore, her discoveryof Qinghaosuand its treatment of this disease is considered as an important breakthrough in the 20th century.
Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice (杂交水稻), received the Medal of the Republic as well. He is known for his great contributions to hybrid rice research and the wonderful work he has done to improve rice production in many developing countries. Judging from his appearance, he looks like a farmer rather than a scientist, with his sunburnt face and slim, strong body. That is because he always works under the sun for a long time and that is how he developed hybrid rice which produces 1/3 more than normal rice.
Ye Peijian who has been devoted to China's lunar program for twenty years, received the honorary title “the people's scientist”. He is well-known as a leading scientist in deep-space exploration at the China Academy of Space Technology.
1. Based on the presidential degree,__________________.| A．Shen Jilan was awarded the presidential medal for the clause on "equal pay for equal work" |
| B．Tu Youyou received the Friendship Medal for her contribution to find outQinghaosu |
| C．Yuan Longping was awarded the highest Civilian Honor for his hybrid rice research |
| D．Ye Peijian received the honorary title “the people's scientist” in 2019 |
| A．Shen Jilan didn’t get equal pay for equal work as men. |
| B．Malaria helped Tu Youyou to discoverQinghaosuto treat disease |
| C．Yuan Longing has improved the word rice production by 30% |
| D．Ye Peijian has had rich experience in deep-space exploration |
| A．An advertisement. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A health journal. | D．A news report |
| A．Devoted and hard-working | B．Creative and easy going. |
| C．Polite and devoted. | D．Honest and patient. |
| A．Ye Peijian's work at the China Academy of Space Technology. |
| B．Tu youyou's devotion to the discovery ofQinghaosu. |
| C．Yuan Longping's great work in hybrid rice research. |
| D．The development of the People's Congress system. |
【推荐2】Imagine you have a picture puzzle with 10,000 pieces but no picture on a box. In fact, you don’t even have the box — it was destroyed nearly 2,000 years ago. These puzzle pieces are the remains of frescoes (壁画) in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Some pieces are missing, others are broken. How would you solve this puzzle?
Scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology have a plan: Send in the robot. Their project called RePAIR (Reconstructing the Past: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics meet Cultural Heritage) combines robotics, AI and archaeology (考古学) in an attempt to reconstruct architectural characters of Pompeii, because they’re either too complex or would require impossible amounts of human labor and time.
RePAIR’s unnamed robot must have a combination of brains, strength and a sensitive touch. The brains will come from a mix of the high-tech computer’s ability to scan the fresco puzzle pieces, machine-learning algorithms (算法) to solve the puzzles and human expert skill to guide the AI.
In Pompeii, the researchers are in the process of manually digitizing every fresco pieces in two test sites to create a digital database for the RePAIR robot. But once the whole system is fully operational, the robot will do the scanning process itself.
RePAIR is experimental. “We are focusing mainly on frescoes and we’ll bring them back to life. But that’s just the case study. If we succeed, we think we can export this technology to other objects or even, to other fields,” says Pelillo, a professor of the University of Venice.
The RePAIR scientists aim to apply the robot in Pompeii by summer 2022. They have some time to experiment.
1. Why is a picture puzzle mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To establish its connection with the project. |
| B．To express the challenge of repairing frescoes. |
| C．To show the complexity of solving the puzzle. |
| D．To tell the exact number of the pieces of frescoes. |
| A．By hand. | B．In a hurry. | C．By machine. | D．At a slow pace. |
| A．It will benefit all the research fields soon. |
| B．It is intended to study other cultural objects. |
| C．It will rely on more technology to be functional. |
| D．It has great significance despite its present limitations. |
| A．Cultural Heritages Rescued by Hi-Tech |
| B．Pelillo, a Professor Focusing on Frescoes |
| C．Pompeii, a City Coming to Life Due to AI |
| D．Pompeii’s Ruins to Be Reconstructed by Robot |
【推荐3】Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution for two of our country’s long-standing problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called The Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Lay’s (乐事公司) at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in hot soapy water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether it’s single-serve or family-size. “The result is a sleeping bag that is waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around.” Oleita told The Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, it has created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita—whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life—and her fellow volunteers. “We are committed to making an impact not only socially, but also environmentally.” she said.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of salvaging bags that would otherwise be abandoned in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told www.hourdetroit.com, “I think it’s time to show connections between these issues.”
1. What is the purpose of the Chip Bag Project?| A．To make donations for the homeless. |
| B．To deal with garbage and sleeping bags. |
| C．To stop pollution caused by snack lovers. |
| D．To protect the environment and reduce poverty. |
| A．By turning to chip eaters. | B．By producing chip bags. |
| C．By purchasing snacks. | D．By cooperating with the poor. |
| A．Oleita raises money by creating new sleeping bags. |
| B．Oleita hopes to gain a better life through the project. |
| C．Oleita and her fellows will continue pursuing their goal. |
| D．110 sleeping bags were created by the Project in 2020. |
| A．Determined and honest. | B．Ambitious and humorous. |
| C．Devoted and creative. | D．Caring and dependent. |
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.
1. According to the passage, winners .
| A．blame themselves rather than others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．deal with problems rather than blame others |
| A．improve | B．accept | C．avoid | D．consider |
| A．excuses for their failures | B．chances for self-development |
| C．challenges to their colleagues | D．barriers to greater power |
| A．A Winner’s Opportunity. | B．A Winner’s Problem. |
| C．A Winner’s Secret. | D．A Winner’s Achievement. |
【推荐2】For all the athletes, ages play an important role in their lives. Athletes all have their “golden years”. For Argentine superstar soccer player Lionel Messi, who turned 32 earlier this year, “his best days are already recorded in the history books,” an article by news network RT said.
However, Messi is still a surprising person. This year on September 24, he won his sixth FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award. No one has won this award as many times as he has.
His win has come with some debate. Many expected the award to go to Liverpool defender (防守球员) Virgil van Dijk, who was named as the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year in August.
In addition, Messi’s Argentine national team has not done so well. They lost the semi-finals of the Copa America tournament (锦标赛) in July and what’s worse, they played poorly in the World Cup last year.
However, Messi himself is still playing at a very high level. He scored 51 goals in 50 games last season. He continues to set records, such as earning the most La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles in the history of club Barcelona.
“I believe he should have won it. He carries Barcelona on his back, which he has done for years and years,” British soccer player Darren Bent told Sky Sports. Even his critics admit that he is still a powerful player. “Messi is clearly still as strong and powerful a goal-scoring threat as he has been throughout his career,” the RT article said.
Messi himself is confident about his future. “My idea is to continue here for as long as I can perform well and my body allows me to do that,” he said in an interview for The18.
1. What do we know about Messi?| A．He is still in his “golden years” as a soccer player. |
| B．He has been playing soccer for over 30 years. |
| C．He wrote an article about a story by news network RT. |
| D．He’s received the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award six times. |
| A．Messi was named the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. |
| B．Virgil van Dijk is a better soccer player than Messi. |
| C．Some people have debated Messi’s win. |
| D．Messi isn’t good at playing soccer any more. |
| A．skillful | B．attractive |
| C．responsible | D．strange |
| A．Messi and Virgil van Dijk are on the same team. |
| B．Messi played 51 games last season. |
| C．Messi has broken many of his own records. |
| D．Messi has no plans to stop playing at present. |
【推荐3】Emily Egan was born and raised in Essex, United Kingdom and speaks no foreign language, but hearing her speak, you could swear she's a Russian immigrant(移民)or a tourist, because of her Eastern European accent. But the funny thing is that she sometimes sounds French, Italian or even Polish, depending on how tired she is.
31 -year-old Emily's life changed greatly in January, when a mysterious condition left her unable to speak for two months. She’d had headaches for two weeks before one day developing a deeper voice suddenly. Her colleagues at a children's home then noticed her speech had become slow and unclear, both signs of a stroke(中风). By the time she was rushed to the hospital, Emily had lost her ability to speak completely, but after running some tests, doctors ruled out the stroke, instead blaming her voice loss on some sort of injury to her brain.
After spending three weeks in the hospital, Emily Egan was still unable to speak and relied only on basic sign language she’d picked up at work and a text-to-speech app on her phone to communicate. A doctor encouraged her to go on a vacation in Thailand she and her husband had already booked, and to try and relax as much as possible. She did just that and a few days into the vacation, she started to speak again.
"I was so thrilled when my voice started coming back but now I don’t even discern the voice that comes out of my mouth. It doesn't sound like me," Egan said. Ever since her voice came back, she's taken time off work because stress only makes her condition worse.
What has happened to Emily sounds shockingly similar to that of Michelle Myers, an Arizona woman who never traveled outside of America, but woke up to speaking with many accents-British, Irish and Australian-after experiencing severe headaches.
1. Why is Emily Egan considered a Russian immigrant?| A．She resembles a Russian very much. |
| B．She speaks Russian like a native speaker. |
| C．She speaks English with a Russian accent. |
| D．She can freely switch between English and Russian. |
| A．Brain injury. | B．A sudden stroke. |
| C．Long-term tiredness. | D．Serious headaches. |
| A．control | B．ignore | C．transform | D．recognize |
| A．She has already returned to work. |
| B．Her case isn't alone in the world. |
| C．She learned sign language after her voice loss. |
| D．Her voice returned after three weeks' treatment. |
