【推荐1】It is not easy to become a doctor in the United States. The first step is getting into a medical college. More than one hundred and twenty American schools offer study programs for people wanting to be doctors.

People can get advice about medical schools from many resources. One of these is the Princeton Review. The publication provides information about colleges, study programs and jobs.

The Princeton Review says the competition to enter medical schools is strong. American medical schools have only about sixteen thousand of openings. But more than thirty-two thousand students may try it. Many of those are women.

Most applicants contact more than one medical school. Some contact many. An important part of the application usually is the Medical College Admission Test which is called MCAT. The Association of American Medical Colleges provides the test by computer. It is offered in the United States and other countries.

The people who want to enter medical schools are rated（评定）on reasoning, physical and biological sciences and an example of writing. Applicants for medical schools need to do well on the MCAT. They also need a good record in their college studies.

Some students work for a year or two in a medical or research job before they attempt to enter a medical school.

1. To enter medical schools is ______.

A．effortless	B．not competitive
C．fiercely competitive	D．easy

2. Which of the following is NOT true about the Princeton Review?

A．It can give us advice about medical schools.

B．It is a great resource for people who want to become doctors.

C．It can provide us information about study programs.

D．It provides the MCAT test.

3. The underlined word “those” in the third paragraph refers to ______.

A．people who want to be doctors

B．people who want to enter a medical school

C．people who are tested by MCAT

D．doctors in the United States

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．How to be a good doctor in the United States.

B．The importance of the Princeton Review.

C．How to prepare for the MCAT.

D．How to get into a medical school.

【推荐2】Performing First-Aid During a Nose Bleed

Nose bleeds are common and can occur naturally. Nose bleeds occur when the inner lining of one’s nose is hurt or dry.     1    . Almost all nose bleeds originate from blood vessels (血管) in the front part of the nasal septum, which is the inside middle tissue separating both nostrils (鼻孔). With that knowledge, you can manage your own nose bleeds.

Position your body. To begin, sit down, since it is more comfortable than standing.     2    . Raise head slightly forward so that the blood flows slower and smaller gradually through the nostrils. A towel can be held under your nose to collect the blood.

Pinch (捏) the nose. With a finger and thumb, pinch the lower fleshy end of the nose, completely blocking the nostrils. Pinching at this point directly applies pressure at the region where the blood vessels are damaged.     3    . Keep pinching the nose for 10 minutes, then release. While you do this, breathe through the mouth.

    4    . Lowering your body temperature can help reduce the blood flow to your nose. To do this, place ice cubes in your mouth. This helps achieve a lower temperature sooner than cooling the external part of the nose. It also will help you keep the lower temperature for longer.

Wash your nose and rest. After bleeding has stopped, you can clean the area around your nose with warm water. After you have cleaned your face, you should rest for a while.     5    . You can lie down while resting.

A．Cool yourself down.

B．Watch your body reaction.

C．It will help stop the flow of blood.

D．A hospital check is then quite necessary.

E．This is to help to prevent further bleeding again.

F．Do not lie down as this can cause blood to pass down the throat.

G．The resulting damage to small blood vessels in the nose causes bleeding.

【推荐1】These days, many people are concerned about plastic waste; however, the convenience and cost of plastic food packaging are hard to beat. But now, a growing number of inventors are trying to make edible (可食用的) packaging and tableware from foods like seaweed, milk proteins and potato starch, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Edible films, wrappers and straws have already found a specialty market and are starting to attract attention from larger food and beverage companies, according to freelance contributor Prachi Patel. At the 2019 London Marathon, the start-up company Notpla handed out sports drink, packaged in seaweed-based capsules, to thirsty runners. Although the packaging is safe to swallow, runners can choose to spit out the film. In that case, it breaks down in only 4-6 weeks. The New York-based company Loliware is making seaweed-based straws that feel like plastic for 24 hours after getting wet. Once used, they can be eaten, or they will break down in the environment within 2 months. Marriott Hotels and alcoholic-beverage firm Pernod Ricard have already started using the straws.

Although edible packaging is gaining ground, challenges remain. Some worry about the hygiene (卫生) of eating packaging that has been touched or exposed to germs during transport or while sitting on the shelf. Experts agree that edible packaging will require an outer layer, but these materials could also be made from sustainable materials, such as paper. Another obstacle is public acceptance: will people eat something that is usually thrown away? Consumers could perhaps be convinced if the packaging includes nutrients, such as vitamins or proteins, or just tastes good. And finally, improvements in heat and moisture stability need to be made before edible packaging can enjoy widespread use.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 1?

A．Plastic is convenient and cheap.

B．People are concerned about plastic.

C．Seaweed can be widely used as wrappers.

D．New food packaging is catching more attention.

2. Which of the following can best describe Notpla?

A．It is a computer company.	B．It produces edible straws.
C．It is run by Prachi Patel.	D．It’s a newly founded company.

3. What is implied in the third paragraph?

A．Edible packaging may cause more pollution.

B．It takes time for edible packaging to be popular.

C．No one but experts support edible packaging.

D．Edible packaging will certainly replace plastic.

4. What can be the best title of this text?

A．Edible Food Packaging	B．Environmental Issues
C．Brand New Inventions	D．The Food of the Future

【推荐2】The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to the African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(稀树草原)surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence of millions of other animals that live in its habitat.

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a changer of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and undergrowth, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces both in deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed(有蹄的)plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of the forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Disappearance of African elephants.

B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C．The effect of African elephants on the ecosystem.

D．The eating habit of African elephants.

2. What does the underlined phrase ''setting the terms'' in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?

A．Fixing the time.

B．Worsening the state.

C．Improving the quality.

D．Deciding the conditions.

3. What can we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A．They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B．They are covered by few species of plants.

C．They are home to many endangered animals.

D．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

4. The passage is developed mainly by _______.

A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B．pointing out similarities and differences

C．describing the changes in space order

D．giving examples to explain the reasons

【推荐3】Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.

How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.

“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.

Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.

1. What is the general idea of the first paragraph?

A．All American kids get less sleep.

B．American kids have bad habits.

C．Most Americans kids get less sleep and the bad influence of it.

D．American kids feel asleep in class.

2. Which of the following statements is correct?

A．When you sleep depends on your age.

B．Most children watch TV before they sleep.

C．Some children are lacking in sleep.

D．Adults will be healthier if they get more sleep.

3. Why do children find it hard to fall asleep?

A．They get too excited before 11p.m.

B．Hormones get high at night.

C．Their bodies develop adult characteristics.

D．They may watch too much TV.

4. What is the solution to the problem of sleepiness among children?

A．Urging them to sleep earlier.

B．Not allowing them to watch TV before sleep.

C．Getting up later than before.

D．Not going to school earlier.

5. What is the author’s attitude toward the change of school start time?

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