【推荐1】When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe "more is better." But what they do not realize is that overtreatment-too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures-may bring harm. Sometimes a test leads you down a path to more and more testing, some of which may be attacking, or to treatment for things that should be left out.

Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener's disease, an uncommon disorder of the immune system(免疫系统), they found it difficult to refuse testing recommended by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X-rays, and repeatedly referred her to experts for even minor complaints. Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered, and she was hospitalized as prevention when she caught a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six-month period. The couple was spending about $30,000 a year for her care.

After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. "It's a really hard thing to determine when doctors have crossed the line," Mr. Power said. "You think she's getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?" Mr. Power then spoke with his own primary care doctor, who advised him to find a new expert to oversee Mrs. Power's care. Under the new doctor's care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power's condition was stable. Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.

1. Which of the following was a problem for Mrs. Power during her medical treatment?

A．She had to be hospitalized for three weeks whenever she had a cold.

B．Her doctor asked her to consult other experts for her complaints.

C．When test results showed she was fine, her doctor still ordered more tests.

D．She did not have any insurance, so she became penniless.

2. When did the Powers start to doubt the treatment of Mrs. Power?

A．After they knew about the treatment of other patients.

B．After they analyzed the results of her blood tests

C．After Mrs power was cured of her illness.

D．After the new expert tested her.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "stable" in the last paragraph?

A．not getting worse	B．improper
C．unchangeable	D．uncertain

4. What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Treatments do not always cause harmful side effects.

B．Patients tend to believe more testing is better treatment.

C．Doctors generally recommend office visits that are necessary.

D．Too much medical care may not be beneficial to patients.

【推荐2】A medical emergency can happen anywhere at any time. Taking a brief moment to seek help is often the best first response. But before an ambulance can get to the scene, the immediate first aid attendance to anyone who is injured seriously makes a difference between life and death. LifeSaver Team has been providing CPR (心肺复苏术) and first aid training since 2009. Here are a few of their most popular courses:

CPR AED

It is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches the basic techniques of CPR and the use of an AED (自动体外除颤器), as well as how to relive choking, This course teaches sill with research-proven technique.

• Course length: 2 hours

• Initial course: $50 (Enroll in a first aid course for an additional $30)

Upon completion of this course, students will receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid Course Completion Card that is valid (有效的) for two years.

Basic Life Support

This is a classroom course designed to provide a wide variety of healthcare professionals with the ability to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a timely and effective manner.

• Course length: 4 hours

• Initial course: $60 (Enroll in a first aid course for an additional $30)

The American Heart Association BLS for Healtheare Provider Course Completion Card is valid for two years.

First Aid

It is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches students critical skills to manage an emergency in the first few minutes until emergency medical services arrive. Students learn skills such as how to treat bleeding, broken bones and other first aid emergencies.

• Course length: 2 hours

• Initial course: $45

Upon completion of this course, students will receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR AED Course Completion Card that is valid for two years.

1. What should be often done first in a medical emergency?

A．Calling for help at once.

B．Providing immediate first aid.

C．Taking the injured to the hospital.

D．Leaving the scene as soon as possible.

2. How much does it cost if an average person wants to learn about first aid, CPR and AED use?

A．$80.

B．$90.

C．$95.

D．$105.

3. What do the listed courses have in common?

A．They are available online.

B．They are for all individuals.

C．They take the same amount of time.

D．They include a two-year AHA certificate.

【推荐3】A mum saved her daughter's life with her newly learned first aid skills. Sonya Hall, 33, of Denny Avenue, Lancaster, had only just attended one first aid class the day before when she found herself needing to use the skills on her three-year-old daughter Tilly.

Sonya, who also has son Emmen, six, attended the first aid course at Lune Park Children's Centre in Lancaster. Then she was faced with every parent's worst nightmare when Tilly went blue in the face and stopped breathing. But thanks to her newly acquired skills, Sonya saved Tilly's life.

Sonya said, “Tilly was playing with her brother and they were fighting over a toy. Emmen won the fight. Tilly fell backwards and her head was hit. She was face down and shaking and at first I thought she was upset. But then I saw she was blue in the face and had stopped breathing. I reacted without thinking and immediately started using the first aid skills I had learned the day before which were so fresh in my mind. I began doing mouth-to-mouth and chest compression(胸外按压). It probably took about a minute before Tilly started breathing again, but to me it felt like a lifetime.”

After getting Tilly breathing again, Sonya called an ambulance and the doctors came. Since then, Tilly has been diagnosed with Reflex Anoxic Seizure(反射缺氧发作). Sonya said, “The seizure can happen when there's any unexpected pain, fear or fright. It's just so lucky that the day before it happened, I had been practicing first aid."

The Empowering Parents First Aid course is run by Lancashire Adult Learning. Sonya said, “I am just so glad I did the course and I learnt the first aid skills. I always feared I would not know what to do in a crisis situation, but luckily I had the knowledge and skills to deal with it.”

1. What happened to Tilly?

A．She was knocked down by her brother.

B．She fell on the floor and hit her head.

C．She was hit by a toy on the head and felt upset

D．She was hit by her brother and stopped breathing.

2. When Sonya found Tilly's shaking, she thought her daughter must.

A．be crying	B．recognize her failure
C．pretend to be hurt	D．be very angry

3. What can be inferred from the underlined words in the third paragraph?

A．Tilly's illness would last all her life.

B．Sonya was very nervous and frightened.

C．It was very difficult to give first aid.

D．It was a long time before Tilly got breathing again.

4. When Sonya goes to the first aid class next time, she will feel

A．enjoyable

B．excited

C．grateful

D．awkward

5. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Mum saves girl with first aid	B．How to practice first aid
C．The importance of first aid	D．Mums should attend first courses

【推荐1】The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness. People believe that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold, and it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.

During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.

In the Second World Was prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.

At the Common Cold Research Unit England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be dipped with cold water, and them stood about dripping wet in wind. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.

In the cold we have nothing to do with catching colds. Why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.

No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and painkillers such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms(症状).

1. Besides the experiments in England, the writer offered more examples to support his argument.

A．3

B．4

C．5

D．6

2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?

A．The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.

B．Colds are not caused by cold.

C．People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.

D．A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.

3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when       .

A．they are working in the inolated arctic regions

B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather

C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions

D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world

4. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit      .

A．suffered a lot	B．never caught colds
C．often caught colds	D．became very strong

【推荐2】The flu season arrives so predictably, and affects so many of us, that it’s hard to believe that scientists have had very little idea why cold weather helps germs to spread.

Worldwide, up to five million people catch the illness each flu season, and around a quarter of a million die from it. Part of its power comes from the fact that the virus changes so quickly that the body is hardly prepared. “The antibodies we’ve built up no longer recognize the virus – so we lose our immunity,” says Jane Metz at the University of Bristol. It also makes it harder to develop effective vaccines, and even if one comes out, governments often fail to persuade enough people to take it up.

The hope is that by understanding better why flu spreads in winter, but naturally fades in summer, doctors could find simple measures to stop its spread.

Previous theories had centred on our behaviour. We spend more time indoors in the winter, meaning that we’re in closer contact with other people who may be carrying germs.

Another popular idea concerned our physiology(生理机制): the cold weather weakens your body’s defenses against infection. In winter, without much sunlight, we may run low on Vitamin D, which helps power the body’s immune system. Moreover, when we breathe in cold air, the blood vessels in our nose shrink, which affects the normal function of white blood cells, allowing viruses to slip past our defenses unnoticed.

While such factors both play some role, analyses suggested another ignored cause may have been lying invisible in the air that we breathe. Thanks to the laws of thermodynamics(空气热力学), cold air can carry less water vapor before it reaches the “dew point” and falls as rain. So while the weather outside may seem wetter, the air itself is drier as it loses the moisture. And researches in the past few years has shown that these dry conditions seem to offer the perfect environment for the flu virus to flourish.

In wetter air, the epidemic struggles to build strength, while in drier conditions it spreads like wildfire. And comparing 30 years’ climate records with health records, Jeffrey Shaman at Columbia University found that flu epidemics almost always followed a drop in air humidity.

1. What can we infer from the second paragraph ?

A．We lose immunity due to the absence of our antibodies.

B．The antibodies fail to function due to variation of virus.

C．Government should come up with better ways to persuade people.

D．One in four of the infected die from the influenza each flu season.

2. What is the purpose of understanding better why flu spreads in winter?

A．To help develop effective vaccine.

B．To seek ways to treat people infected with flu.

C．To figure out ways to cut off its transmission.

D．To explore how to defend our immune system.

3. In what weather condition a flu epidemic is more likely to occur ?

A．Destroying bodies’ immune system.

B．Powering our bodies’ immune system.

C．Killing numerous viruses that we take in.

D．Stopping us acquiring enough Vitamin D.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Ways to prevent infection of flu	B．Flu-A disease not so hard to prevent
C．A predictable flu season	D．Why germs spread in winter

【推荐3】Scientists are working to stop a deadly virus that infects pigs. This African swine flu (猪流感) virus is causing huge losses for farmers in China and other Asian countries. Many farmers have tried to contain it by destroying infected animals. But the spread of the disease into East Asia has stepped up the search for other ways to deal with the problem.

The virus had not been considered a major concern for researchers until it appeared in China last year. Chinese farmers raise about half of the world’s pigs. Some researchers think the virus might have come from infected animals in Eastern Europe or Russia. Since then it has spread to China, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Millions of pigs have been destroyed.

Although swine flu does not sicken people, it is very infectious and deadly to pigs. As the deadly virus kills pigs across Asia, scientists are speeding up efforts to develop a vaccine (疫苗). “Today’s situation, where you have this global danger, puts a lot more emphasis on it,” said Doctor Luis Rodriguez, who leads the United States government laboratory for foreign animal diseases.

Vaccines are often developed by killing a virus before it is put into an animal. The disabled virus does not make the animal sick, but it activates the body’s natural defenses against disease. The immune system is then able to identify the virus and produce antibodies against it. However, this method is not effective with all viruses including the one that causes African swine flu. For swine flu, scientists have been working on a different kind of vaccine. It is made from a weakened virus, not a dead one. The problem for researchers has been how to change the virus so it can be safely used.

Vietnam’s government reported a few weeks ago that it was testing vaccines, but provided few details. In China, the government says scientists are working on a vaccine that genetically changes the virus, which is similar to a method being used by scientists in the US.

1. What caused the researchers’ deeper concern?

A．The virus’ appearance in China.

B．The disease’s damage to people’s health.

C．The death rate of pigs all over the world.

D．The failure of vaccine’s development.

2. What does “it” refer to in paragraph 3?

A．Developing a vaccine.

B．Curing the infected pigs.

C．Finding the origins of the virus.

D．Studying the harmful effects on people.

3. What can we learn about the vaccines for African swine flue?

A．They are developed from a dead virus.

B．Regular developing methods apply to them.

C．China and the U.S. have different methods of developing them.

D．The genetic change of the virus may be a breakthrough for the vaccines.

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

A．Government Places Much Stress on Virus Research

B．Swine Flu Leads to the Deaths of Lots of Pigs

C．Scientists Hurry to Develop Vaccine for Swine Flu

D．Research onAnimal Diseases Makes Great Progress

【推荐3】Professor Ashok Goel of Georgia Tech developed an artificially intelligent teaching assistant to help handle the enormous number of student questions in the online class, Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence. This online course is a core requirement of Georgia Tech's online Master of Science in Computer Science program. Professor Goel already had eight teaching assistants, but that wasn't enough to deal with the overwhelming number of daily questions from students.

Goel and his team developed several versions of a virtual assistant named Jill Watson before releasing her to the online forums. At first, the virtual assistant wasn't too great. Then they began to feed Jill with the questions and answers. After some adjustments and sufficient time, Jill was able to answer the students' questions correctly 97% of the time. The virtual assistant became so advanced and realistic that the students didn't know she was a computer. The students, who were studying artificial intelligence, were interacting with the virtual assistant and couldn't tell it apart from a real human being. Goel didn't inform them about Jill's true identity until April 26. The students were actually very positive about the experience.

The goal of Professor Goel's virtual assistant next year is to take over answering 40% of all the questions posed by students on the online forum. The name Jill Watson will, of course, change to something else next semester. Professor Goel has a much rosier outlook on the future of artificial intelligence than, say, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates or Steve Wozniak.

1. What do we learn about Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence?

A．It is a robot that can answer students' questions.

B．It is a computer program that aids student learning.

C．It is a course designed for students to learn online.

D．It is a high-tech device that revolutionizes teaching.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Jill Watson?

A．She was released online as an experiment.

B．She got along pretty well with students.

C．She was unwelcome to students at first.

D．She turned out to be a great success.

3. How did the students feel about Jill Watson?

A．They thought she was a bit too artificial.

B．They could not tell her from a real person.

C．They could not but admire her knowledge.

D．They found her not as capable as expected.

4. What does Professor Goel plan to do next with Jill Watson?

A．Launch different versions of her online.

B．Feed her with new questions and answers.

C．Assign her to answer more of students' questions.

D．Encourage students to interact with her more freely.