【推荐1】A lack of scientific evidence has led some to question whether herbs used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) actually relieve people’s illnesses. A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, might start to challenge that view. Scientists have developed a new tool that could be used to forecast (预测) the effectiveness of these herbs. They’ve begun to confirm some of its predictions using clinical (临床的) data from patients treated in a traditional Chinese medicine hospital.

“To our knowledge, this is the first scientific theory to explain how a traditional medicine system works,” lead study author Xiao Gan, a researcher at the Nanjing University of Information Science Technology in China said.

In the new study, the authors looked at genes thought to be responsible for causing specific symptom (症状) of disease. They relied on an already published data that showed the connection between disease symptoms and the genes and proteins (蛋白质) that result in those illnesses. Pulling this data together, the researchers were able to score how well these herbs might relieve specific symptoms of the disease. These scores were based on how similar the herbs’ target proteins were to the proteins related to various symptoms.

The authors then compared their predictions to herbs recognized as effective against specific disease symptoms. They also used the model to review prescriptions (处方) that patients received while being treated for liver disease. Gan said the herbs that they identified as effective from the two data sources supported their model’s predictions. The authors also used their model to identify potential new applications for the herbs, beyond what’s already recommended by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

“Testing natural products in clinical trials can be expensive, so it is helpful to use computers to identify potential drug targets.” said Xiang-Qun Xie, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Xie pointed out more data are needed to support these findings and that it would be useful to study how TCM herbs and modern drugs may interact in patients who take them at the same time.

1. What is the purpose of the new study?

A．To study the side effects of TCM herbs.

B．To compare TCM herbs with modern drugs.

C．To predict the effectiveness of TCM herbs.

D．To analyze the genetic makeup of TCM herbs.

2. How did the researchers score TCM herbs in the study?

A．By analyzing their chemical makeup.

B．By carrying out clinical trials on patients.

C．By asking patients about their experiences of using them.

D．By comparing their target proteins with disease-related proteins.

3. What can be inferred about the study from paragraph 4?

A．Some TCM herbs tested by the model are rarely used.

B．The model may be used to develop new medicines.

C．The data sources used by the model are not big enough.

D．More models should be created to review prescriptions.

4. What might Xiang-Qun Xie agree with?

A．Researchers should try to cut the cost of their study.

B．The weaknesses of computers in drug development are ignored.

C．It is necessary to find new ways to figure out potential drug targets.

D．The interaction between TCM herbs and modern drugs needs to be studied.

【推荐2】Brain, 58, was treated in intensive care for a severe case. As soon as his condition had stabilized, he was sent home with equipment including a phone and a blood pressure monitor.

“Every day I would input my vital signs on the app,” Brain said. “If anything went wrong or wasn’t right, a nurse would call me straight away.”

Brain spent six weeks on this virtual(虚拟) ward, run by his local NHS hospital in partnership with Doccla, a healthcare technology company. He is one of thousands of patients to have been treated in new “hospitals at home”, seen by NHS leaders as a “lifeline” for overcrowded hospitals that have run out of beds. 2,500 virtual ward beds were already in use, ensuring that people could get the care they need from their own homes.

Retz, founder of Docile, said soon there could be “regional command centers”, where a doctor monitored data from hundreds of patients. “It works in a similar way to traditional ward rounds in a hospital, with patients submitting data once or twice a day, which is reviewed by a doctor,” he said.     

Noel O’Kelly, clinical director at Spirit Health, said, “Older people want to spend as little time in hospital as possible and avoid hospital visits, particularly as frequent visits and long periods of time spent in hospital can be damaging to the health of older patients. We have already seen very encouraging results from the use of virtual wards for older patients.”

Virtual wards allow real potential to support people to recover well in the community. The model is not a silver bullet and health leaders are mindful that it should not worsen health inequalities, but it could present a vital lifeline for the system.

1. Why was Brain sent home?

A．He had run out of money.

B．His case was terminal and hopeless.

C．He had completely recovered.

D．He was ready for his further improving.

2. What is NHS leaders’ attitude towards virtual wards?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Indifferent.	D．Doubtful.

3. How is “regional command centers” similar to “traditional ward rounds”?

A．Doctors work from home.

B．Patients have to stay in hospital.

C．Advanced information technology is a must.

D．Patients submit data to be examined by doctors.

4. Which of the following may Noel O’Kelly agree with?

A．Virtual wards only suit older patients.

B．Old people always find fault with hospitals.

C．Long hospitalization can harm aged patients.

D．Old patients in hospital shouldn’t be visited.

【推荐2】Top Tips for the Flu Season

It’s coming. I can feel it in the air. On the subway every time someone coughs, I look up to see if I can move a little further. As I exit the train, I immediately reach for hand wash to remove any of the dirt on my hands.     1    

If you are young and healthy, it’s most likely that you will just feel uncomfortable for a week or two, miss some work or study. If you are elderly, have medical problems, or are a young child, you may not be so lucky.     2     Depending on the year, between 3,000 and 49,000 people die.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated (接种疫苗).     3     However, it still offers considerable protection. In adults , the vaccine is 59 percent protective on average. For children the story is better. Clearly, we need better vaccines but it’s still a really good idea to get vaccinated.

Can the flu shot give you the flu? You may have an arm pain or a little fever, but the injection does not contain a live virus and cannot give you the flu.

    4     It isn’t clear how long protection lasts and if the vaccine protects against different flus for only one year.

Finally, here is some advice for what to do if you get the flu.

•     5    

• Stay at home until your fever has been gone for at least 24 hours. That will reduce the number of people you give this to.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes.

• Keep your hands clean. Use soap and water or hand wash frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing.

• Drink plenty of water.

Best wishes for a happy flu season!

A．Flu season is here, and I take it seriously.

B．If you got the flu shot last year, do you need it this year?

C．Each year more than 200,000 people are staying in hospital due to the illness.

D．If you have the symptoms, call your doctor early to see if he wants to prescribe some medicine.

E．Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly and frequently and include high fever, cough, sore throat and body aches.

F．Oftentimes doctors’ offices have special rooms set up in the fall just for giving flu shots, so its fast , easy and effective.

G．You may have heard about a new study on flu vaccines, and it found that the flu vaccine didn’t work as well as we thought or would like.

【推荐1】The Earth is facing a climate crisis, but it’s also getting greener. According to a new research, the rise is largely because of China and India. A study by NASA, based on extensive satellite imagery, has revealed that the two countries with the world’s biggest populations are also responsible for the largest increase in green plants.

A third of the leaf increase is attributable to China and India, due to the implementation of major tree planting projects as well as a vast increase in agriculture. “China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9% of the planet’s land area covered in vegetation-a surprising finding, considering the large populations in the countries need much land, ” Chi Chen, the study’s lead author said in a statement.

Between 2000 and 2017, a NASA sensor gathered data of the Earth’s surface from aboard two satellites, the Terra and the Aqua. Using the data, researchers discovered that China is the source of a quarter of the increase in green leaf area, despite possessing only 6. 6% of the world’s vegetated area. Forests ac- count for 42% of that increase, while croplands make up a further 32%. China’s increase in forest area is the result of forest conservation and expansion programs, established to combat the impacts of climate change and air pollution.

Rama Nemani, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, said in a statement, “When the greening of the Earth was first observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate from the added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to more leaf growth in northern forests, for instance. Now, with the data, we see that humans are also contributing,” Nemani said. “This will help scientists make better pre- dictions about the behavior of different Earth systems, which will help countries make better decisions a- bout how and when to lake action. ”

1. What can we get from the new research by NASA?

A．China and India should be responsible for the world’s climate crisis.

B．China and India make a contribution to the Earth’s increasing greening.

C．China and India have the biggest populations and the most green plaints.

D．The Earth no longer faces a climate crisis because of China and India’s efforts.

2. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in the last paragraph?

A．The greening of the Earth.

B．The increased croplands.

C．The protection of the forests.

D．The impacts of climate.

3. What is the best title of the passage?

A．The Earth is Facing a Climate Crisis

B．China and India Cause the Climate Change

C．China and India are Making the Earth Greener

D．NASA Released a Report on Air Pollution

4. In which column may you read such a passage?

A．Sports.

B．Lifestyle.

C．Business.

D．Environment.

【推荐2】阅读下面短文，根据题目要求回答问题。

Teenagers are learning new communication skills every day. It is important for them to have opportunities to network, or to meet and get to know new people. Online networking, which is very popular with teens today, makes short, superficial connections. But offline networking better encourages meaningful connections that will increase hope, develop skills, and open avenues to career opportunity. Teens need to practice more offline networking. It will prepare them to be confident face-to-face communicators in the real world.

A survey of almost 7,000 teens was conducted in 2019 by three Swiss researchers, and they found that teens were spending too much time on social networking sites. So, they suggested that teens should spend more time with others in real life. It not only contributes to a stronger sense of identity and a happier mood, but also gives us the chance to share happiness with other people. In other words, offline networking seems to actually benefit a teen’s emotional health.

Face-to-face communication also gives teens an opportunity to learn to read people. Everyone communicates in person differently than communicating over the phone, through texting, or in online posts. Being face-to-face requires a person to think and respond more quickly—without the safety net of a delete key.

And much of our communication is nonverbal anyway. Facial expressions, gestures, and vocal tones are just a few examples. Teens need to have face-to-face interactions so they can learn to read these nonverbal cues (暗示), which are sometimes even more important than the words a person is saying. A time will come when the teen will need to enter the job market, and this usually means a face-to-face interaction, including interacting naturally with customers, hearing and understanding their words as well as their nonverbal cues in many different kinds of businesses.

Offline networking is important because it can improve a teenager’s well-being and help prepare him for the future. That’s why every teen should spend time practicing real-world interactions.

1. What is the disadvantage of online networking?
2. What was the researchers’ suggestion to teens?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Hearing and understanding what a person is saying is necessarily involved in communication, so people get less from nonverbal expressions.
4. In addition to the benefits mentioned in the passage, what do you think are some other benefits of face-to-face communication? (about 40 words)