【推荐1】The Owl Count
Annie slept in the front of the seat with her father drove through the darkness. “We’re almost there!” Dad announced cheerfully. “Soon we’ll be observing and counting owls at the state park.” Yawning, Annie nodded and smiled. The time was 4:30 a.m. Looking out into the darkness, Annie remembered learning in school that most owls are active at night, when they hunt for food. During the day they sleep in hard-to-find spots.
“Dad, why do you need to count owls?” she asked. “It’s important for the scientists to have current information about bird populations,” he explained. “We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area. You and I will write down the kinds of birds that we see today and keep a record of how many times we see each kind. Then we’ll send out a report to a scientific organization that is collecting about birds from people all over the country.”
Dad pulled into the parking lot of the state park. Then, with flashing in hand, they began their hike into the woods. Annie zipped up her coat and tried to keep from trembling. She had not expected the morning to be so cold. Luckily her gloves were in her pocket.
Suddenly Annie’s father stopped and gestured for her to be still. Obeying, Annie did not take another step. She thought she heard a low crying up head. “That’s certainly a screech owl,” her father whispered. “Let’s get a look at it.” After looking more closely, Annie could see that it was a small owl. Sensing danger, the owl narrowed its eyes and pulled its feathers tightly against its body. Annie carefully wrote down in her notebook that they had seen a screech owl.
Walking a little farther, they came to a tall oak tree. “This looks like a perfect spot to attract owls,” Dad said, “I’m going to play a recording of common call of the barred owl. Maybe we can get one to answer.’ Annie could hardly believe her ear. The recorded call sounded as if the bird were asking, “Who cooks for you?” Moments later Annie thought she heard a return call in the distance. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly a huge bird landed very quietly on a branch above them.
Annie had long forgotten how cold it was. She stood in wonder, shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully. The barred owl was nearly two feet tall. Grey feathers surrounded its dark eyes. The bird did not stay long, but it did not matter. Annie would never forget the image of the powerful barred owl.

1. Why did Annie and her father go to the state park?

A．To take a hike in the woods.

B．To record the call of barred owl.

C．To collect information about birds.

D．To protect the environment for wildlife.

2. In paragraph 4, why did Annie’s father stop her suddenly?

A．He noticed a screech owl.

B．He heard somebody crying.

C．He sensed they were in danger.

D．He reminded her to take down note.

3. How did Annie feel when she saw the barred owl?

A．Bored

B．Amazed

C．Frightened

D．Relaxed

【推荐2】Choosing the right job is probably one of the most important decisions we have to make in life, and it is frequently one of the hardest decisions we have to make. One important question that you might ask yourself is: “How do I get a good job?”    1    .

There are people who can answer an insignificant advertisement in the local paper and land the best job in the world; others write to all sorts of places all over the country, and never seem to get a reply at all. Still others believe that the in person, door-to-door approach is by far the best way to get a job; and then there are those who, through no active decision of their own, just seem to be in the right place at the right time.     2    . He used to spend a lot of his free time down by the sea watching the tall ships, but never thinking that he might one day sail one of them. His father was a farmer, and being a sailor could never be anything for the boy but an idle dream. One day, on his usual wandering, he heard the captain of the ship complaining that he could not sail because one member of his crew was sick. Without stopping to think, the lad(少年) offered to take his place.     3    .

    4    . If the lad had gone home to ponder(考虑)his decision for a week, he may have missed his chance. It is one thing to be offered an opportunity; it is another thing to take it and use it well.

Sometimes we hear stories about people who break all the rules and still seem to land plum jobs(美差). When you go for a job interview or fill out an application, you are expected to say nice things about the company to which you are applying. But there was one person who landed an excellent job by telling the interviewer all the company’s faults. And within a year this person had become general manger of the company.

A．This story also illustrates the importance of seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

B．People find jobs in an infinite number of ways.

C．it’s almost impossible to find a good job by answering advertisement in newspapers

D．Take for example the young man who wanted to be a sailor.

E．It is very important to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

F．He spent the rest of his life happily sailing the ships he had always loved.

【推荐1】By many measures the world has never been in better health. Since 2000, the number of children who die before they are five has fallen by almost half, to 5.6 million. Life expectancy has reached 71, a gain of five years. More children than ever are vaccinated. Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS are in retreat (撤退). Yet the gap between this progress and the still greater potential that medicine offers has perhaps never been wider. At least half, the world is without access to what the World Health Organization regards to be essential. Safe, basic surgery is out of reach for 5 billion people. Those who can get to see a doctor often pay a very high price. However, the goal of universal basic health care is sensible affordable and practical, even in poor countries. Without it, the potential of modern medicine will not be realized.

Universal basic health care is sensible in the way that universal basic education is sensible -because it yields benefits to society as well as to individuals. In some regions the very idea leads to a dangerous elevation(升高) of the blood pressure. There is no hiding that public health-insurance schemes require the rich to subsidise the poor, the young to subsidise the old and the healthy to subsidise the sick. And universal schemes must have a way of forcing people to pay, through taxes or by commanding that they buy insurance. But good health is something everyone can reasonably be assumed to want in order to realize their full individual potential. Universal care is a way of providing it that is pro-growth. The costs of inaccessible and expensive treatment are enormous. The sick struggle to get an education or to be productive at work. Land cannot be developed if it is full of disease carrying parasites. According to several studies, confidence about health makes people more likely to set up their own businesses.

Universal basic health care is also affordable. A country need not wait to be rich before it can have comprehensive treatment. Health care is a labour-intensive industry, and community health workers, paid relatively little compared with doctors and nurses, can make a big difference in poor countries. There is also already a lot of spending on health in poor countries, but it is often inefficient. In India and Nigeria, for example, more than 60% of health spending is through out-of pocket (垫付的) payments. More services could be provided if that money were pooled.

And universal health care is practical. It is a way to prevent free-riders from passing on the costs of not being covered to others, for example by making emergency rooms crowded. It does not have to mean big government. Private insurers and providers can still play an important role. Indeed such an approach is just what the low-cost revolution needs. Take, for instance, the design of health-insurance schemes. Many countries start by making a small group of people qualified for a large number of benefits, in the expectation that other groups will be added later. This is not only unfair and inefficient, but also results in creating voters opposed to extending insurance to others. The better option is to cover as many people as possible, even if the services available are lacking.

Small amounts of spending can go a long way. Research led by Dean Jamison, a health economist, has identified over 200 effective interventions, including immunisations and neglected procedures such as basic surgery. In total, these would cost poor countries about an extra ＄1 per week per person and cut the number of premature deaths there by more than a quarter. Around half that funding would go to primary health centers, not city hospitals, which today receive more than their fair share of the money. Indeed, so long as half the world goes without essential treatment, the fruits of centuries of medical science will be wasted. Universal basic health care can help realize its promise.

1. People expected the progress in health care would     .

A．benefit the rich and the young more

B．improve community health workers’ working conditions

C．lead to the accessibility of basic health care

D．make governments invest more in health care

2. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 implies that     .

A．it is more important to develop organic farming

B．it is better to develop the potential of individuals

C．keeping fit is of great importance for people

D．technology can compensate for the disadvantages of land

3. The examples of India and Nigeria tell us that in such countries     .

A．improving the efficiency of spending on health care is urgent

B．getting basic health care is convenient

C．the majority of doctors and nurses are paid little

D．people are dissatisfied with governments’ investment in health care

4. What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

A．Rich countries can make universal basic health care more accessible

B．Health-insurance projects should cover as many people as possible.

C．More private companies should participate in the practice of medical care.

D．Governments should give more free-riders basic health care.

5. What does the research led by Dean Jamison suggest?

A．Hospitals in poor countries should be reformed.

B．Advances in medical science depend on rich countries.

C．The governments of poor countries should be given more help.

D．The low spending on primary health centers is significant.

【推荐2】A traditional Chinese cough syrup (糖浆), called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa (念慈庵川贝枇杷膏), is flying off the shelves in New York stores this flu season, following a US news report.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week, Mr. Alex Schweder, a professor of design at Pratt Institute suffering a cough for about 10 days, felt better 15 minutes after he drank a bottle of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa. It had been recommended by his girlfriend, who first learnt about the cough syrup 30 years ago when she was living in Hong Kong.

Mr. Schweder was shocked by the magical effects of the cough syrup, and recommended it to many people. This, together with other factors, soon made the Chinese medicine popular in New York City.

A 300ml bottle is now sold at US$13.29 on Walmart’s website. This is more than double the former price in some pharmacies (药店) in Manhattan’s Chinatown, selling at about US$6 per bottle. “The number of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa we sold over the past few days was much more than usual,” said Winnie, a sales staff member of Buy-rite pharmacy in Chinatown. “More and more Westerners are accepting this medicine because it is effective,” she said.

According to the Kingworld Medicines Group’s official website, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is made of “valuable Chinese herbs and honey, and has surprising effects in treating coughs.” However, experts warn that taking the cough syrup can carry health risks, including when it is used with other medicines, used too much or taken instead of prescription medication (处方药).

Dr. Keith Brenner, a specialist in pulmonary medicine at Columbia University Medical Centre New York Presbyterian Hospital, said, “I think people who use these things may not even tell the doctor about them, and it’s a problem.”

1. What does the underlined phrase “flying off the shelves” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Being stolen.	B．Being removed.
C．Being in trouble.	D．Being on hot sale.

2. How did Mr. Alex Schweder get to know Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa?

A．He used to have it in Hong Kong.

B．He searched for it on the Internet.

C．His girlfriend introduced it to him.

D．He heard of it from a news report.

3. What can be learned about Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa?

A．It is priced at US$6 per bottle.

B．It is getting cheaper but very effective.

C．It is made of some foreign herbs and honey.

D．It is sold in pharmacies as well as online.

4. Dr. Keith Brenner’s words in the last paragraph show his ________.

A．hope	B．concern
C．anger	D．surprise