Black Friday
The day after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, so the day after is a Friday. This day has come to be known as Black Friday. It has been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005.
Most stores offer great deals on Black Friday. They open their doors in the small hours of the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts. Some items like TVs are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.
Black Friday is a great time to get good deals. The problem is that there are not enough low-priced items to go around. Each store may only have a few. These items are in high demand. People stand in long lines to get such great deals. They may line up hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or laptop, but not everyone who wants one will get one. Some people leave disappointed.
The situation can be tense(紧张的). Some Black Friday events have been violent. Large, eager crowds have trampled(践踏) workers. Fights have broken out over toys or people cutting in line. People have shot one another over parking spots. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan on going, expect large crowds and a bit of pushing and shoving.
So where does the name "Black Friday" come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it drew. In the 1960s, spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.
Now people all over the country take part in the event known as Black Friday. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the U.K., Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Costa Rica Black Friday is known as "Viernes Negro." And in Mexico, stores offer an annual weekend of discounts. They call it "El Buen Fin," which means "the good weekend" in Spanish. I guess the language of savings is universal.
1. Why do stores set prices so low on some items that they lose money?| A．They want people to enjoy the holidays. |
| B．They are generous at the beginning of the holiday season. |
| C．They hope people will buy other gifts while they are in the store. |
| D．They are trying to get rid of old items. |
| A．People stand in long lines on Black Friday. |
B．Black Friday is a really disappointing time of the year  |
| C．Black Friday is the best time of the year to get good deals. |
| D．Black Friday deals are limited and not everyone will get one. |
A．Order of time.  | B．Problem and solution. |
| C．Order of importance. | D．Compare and contrast. |
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【推荐1】Row after row they marched — thousands of larger-than-life figures frozen in clay, a phalanx(方阵) of officials defending the tomb of China’s first emperor. Silently they guarded beneath the soil for 2,200 years, until a farmer digging a well in 1974 found broken pieces of unparalleled significance near China’s early capital city, Xianyang.
Now those fierce warriors have reached the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts(VMFA) to tell their extraordinary story. The exhibition will be on display at VMFA from Saturday, November 18, 2017 through March 11, 2018 before traveling to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Ten of the clay figures will stand with a total of 130 objects from 14 museums and archaeological institutes in China’s Shaanxi Province, where the current city of Xi’an is located. Forty of the objects have never left China before. Beyond the life-size clay figures, the exhibit brings perspective with objects that range from bronze spearheads found in the emperor’s tomb to a small gold tiger that pre-dated him by more than 250 years.
The fascination draws lots of visitors wherever the terracotta figures have traveled. The National Geographic Museum in Washington had a record-setting 280,000 people at its four-month exhibit of 15 figures in 2009—2010. Chicago’s Field Museum attracted 460,000 to its 10-month exhibit that ended in January.
At the same time with the VMFA exhibit, Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute will have a terracotta warriors exhibit that focuses on the science and technology that went into their creation. VMFA focuses on why they were created and how they fit into China’s long sweep of history. Each institution has 10 life-size terracotta figures on display, giving an unprecedented(空前的) opportunity to study them in depth.
The VMFA exhibition is divided into three sections. The first one introduces the emperor; the second puts him in context with artifacts from the warring states; the third shows his journey into the afterlife.
1. According to Paragraph 2, some of the items on display .| A．have not gone abroad | B．have just been discovered |
| C．are from museums all over China | D．were earlier than China’s first emperor |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Aggressive. | C．Professional. | D．Conservative. |
| A．Terracotta Warriors of China | B．The Exhibit of China’s First Emperor |
| C．Terracotta Warriors Exhibits in the US | D．New Discoveries in Terracotta Warriors |
【推荐2】The world that we live in is beautiful because it is made up of people from a diverse set of backgrounds and cultures. What could possibly be a better way to celebrate that diversity (多样性) than to celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month every October?
Think about it. Could you imagine a world where everyone looked the same, had the exact same hobbies and interests, and even ate the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Diversity is important because it is our unique (独特的) differences that make the world so wonderful and interesting. And bringing those differences together makes us better. To put it simply, our diversity is our biggest strength. We will all gain from a more diverse society, understanding, accommodating, even celebrating our differences, while pulling together for the common good.
As such, Global Diversity Awareness Month is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the beliefs, values and customs of other cultures. For example, you can host a multicultural movie night and watch foreign films, or listen to music from around the world or visit cultural art exhibits. You can also have a potluck with your friends and family to share all of the tasty dishes from their countries and hometowns.
In this way, you can open your mind to new ideas and ways of thinking to better yourself and society as a whole. What’s more important is that you reach out to connect with other people, learn from them and their cultures, and make an effort to appreciate those differences.
Indian social activist Gandhi once said, “Our ability to reach unity (统一) in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” Hopefully, with each passing day, we get closer and closer to that achievement.
1. Global Diversity Awareness Month is set up to| A．raise people’s awareness of global warming | B．ask more people to protect traditional cultures |
| C．share different people’s unique cultures | D．celebrate a coming festival in October |
| A．They can wipe out differences from each other. | B．They can understand each other better. |
| C．They can celebrate the same festival together. | D．They can show their strengths to others. |
| A．a kind of dinner | B．a music concert | C．a country’s name | D．an art exhibit |
| A．Part of a civilization’s beauty lies in diversity. | B．Diversity appreciation is a sign for civilization. |
| C．We can find common goals from diversity. | D．Unity will replace diversity eventually. |
【推荐3】Have you ever been in a situation where your name is spelled incorrectly on a Starbucks cup even after you spell out every single letter to the barista(咖啡师)？ What would you feel when a room freezes into a sudden silence as soon as you start talking — living with a foreign accent is difficult？
Recently a gentleman in his 40s noticed my accent, and asked me where I was from. Then he inquired about what I majored in and how long I’d been in the US to learn English. After a polite exchange, he said sympathetically that he couldn’t imagine how hard it was for me to deal with reading long English texts. Furthermore, he seemed genuinely puzzled to the fact that I learned to speak English “so well” in an African country. Usually I would have shown my defensive self, pointing out his ignorance and telling him how sad I felt that his education had failed him. But I didn’t.
Sometimes these everyday experiences can drive me crazy. I even think of trying to actively “sound American” as a way to escape the stereotypes(模式化观念) that people have. But if I practiced an American accent enough, would people actually focus on what I say rather than how I say it?
Actually, to speak in our accent itself is to tell a story of identity. My housemates and I come from seven different countries: Jamaica, USA, Gambia, Yemen, China, Ecuador and SA. None of us speak native-like English, but we understand each other perfectly and get along harmoniously. If we all sounded the same, I think that would be boring. Together, we make up a cocktail of beautifully crafted accents with seasoned experiences. None of us owes anyone an explanation about why we don’t sound like how you expect us to.
Accepting that people sound different and embracing them for that reason is important. We are a generation of different languages, dialects, and accents. The world is more and more diverse with various cultures, and if that means making extra efforts to understand someone’s accent and learning how to spell their name, that’s just how it’s going to be.
Deal with it.
1. What purpose do the two questions serve in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. | B．To share some unpleasant experiences. |
| C．To show it’s hard to live with an accent. | D．To express disappointment at the service. |
| A．An English teacher. | B．An international student. |
| C．A Starbuck waiter. | D．A university professor. |
| A．Ashamed. | B．Amazed. | C．Amused. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．Efforts should be made to get rid of accents. |
| B．We should speak the way we are expected to. |
| C．Acceptance of accents is needed in the society. |
| D．Education contributes to native-like English. |
【推荐1】The kites in Weifang never disappoint. Every year the Weifang International Kite Festival amazes visitors and netizens (网民) with innovative kites, as “paper birds” of unimaginable designs keep appearing in the sky.
The origin of kites in China can be traced back to the Warring States Period when the great Chinese philosopher Mozi in the State of Lu (part of today’s Shandong Province) made the first “wooden kite”. Kites didn’t actually become popular until the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, artists specialized in kite making began to appear in Weifang. In 1984, the first Weifang International Kite Festival was held.
Kites were used in China for military purposes at the very beginning. They were made to signal and measure distance, providing intelligence to aid moving large armies across difficult terrain (地形). For example, they can be used to calculate and record wind readings, similar to ship flags at sea. Over time, kites became associated with leisure activities, and were often flown during festivals and holidays.
Today, kite-flying is a popular leisure activity in China, and the Weifang International Kite Festival is one of the largest kite festivals in the world. In 2023, 622 kite artists from 59 countries and regions participated in the event. Compared with previous festivals, the 2023 event was highlighted by many innovations by both veteran (经验丰富的) and young kite makers. Zhang Xiaodong, 74, as a national intangible culture inheritor of Weifang kites, he has attended all 40 festivals. In the early days, he only brought traditional kites to take part in the competitions, but this time, he applied sound and light to make the fairy tale of Chang'e flying to the moon come “alive”.
The Weifang kite festival is not only a platform to share kite-making skills, but also a way to enhance friendship between people from different countries. The innovative kites presented in 2023 brought many pleasant surprises to kite lovers all over the world, and brought the people of China and other countries closer. As one netizen put it, “No matter how far away kite lovers go, there is always a ‘thread’ in their heart that can pull them together.”
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The history of kites in China. | B．The popularity of kites in Weifang. |
| C．The introduction to great kite artists. | D．The development of kite-making skills. |
| A．To serve as gifts at festivals. | B．To judge the height of mountains. |
| C．To measure wind speed for sailors at sea. | D．To provide important information for armies. |
| A．It involved more creative kite artworks. |
| B．It became the largest kite festival in the world. |
| C．It contained plenty of Chinese traditional elements. |
| D．It attracted many young kite artists’ wide attention. |
| A．It inspires artists to create a lot of surprises. |
| B．It is a good platform for kite makers to share skills. |
| C．It promotes the spread of traditional Chinese culture. |
| D．It strengthens the bond between kite lovers all over the world. |
【推荐2】In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion.
And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades.
Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films.
As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet.
“Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to Disneyland is ridiculous right now,” she said. “For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun.”
A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as “Jonas Brothers” sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets.
The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies.
1. Which of the following is not a reason for the improvement of the movie industry?| A．A growing number of people are going to the cinema. |
| B．People are richer with the development of economy. |
| C．More comedies are made than serious films. |
| D．People have to pay more to watch a movie. |
| A．she tried to escape reality |
| B．she was a crazy movie fan |
| C．she was fond of Disneyland |
| D．she wanted to please her kids |
| A．17.5% | B．$1.7 billion |
| C．$60 | D．$25 million |
| A．presenting the effect and analyzing the causes |
| B．following the order of time |
| C．describing problems and drawing a conclusion |
| D．making comparison of ideas |
【推荐3】Solving the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster would be considered as a good deed, right? On that basis, a webcam(网络摄像头) has been setup overlooking the lake. Anyone can tune in at any time. If you see something suspicious, you simply click the “snapshot” (快拍) button to submit a picture for further analysis. It is free, easy, and you can do it for as little or as long as you like, with no login or signup required. What you are doing is micro-volunteering, which offers volunteers a series of easy tasks that can be done anytime, anywhere, on their own terms.
Micro-volunteering could involve anything from retweeting a message to joining a flash mob(快闪). Volunteers don’t need to go through an application or training process, or to make any ongoing commitment. The vast majority of micro-volunteering takes place online, but it doesn’t have to. Weeding a garden in a local community center counts just as much.
The key benefit of micro-volunteering is its flexibility. People frequently cite their lack of time as the biggest barrier to volunteering. For many, micro-volunteering removes the need to worry about making long-term commitments once they start volunteering. It enables people who might lose interest in traditional ways of volunteering to participate.
To some extent, micro-volunteering is an approach that aims to help lots of people come together to make a difference. It could take a while to see its impacts. Studies, however, have shown that 65 percent of those who have micro-volunteered are still actively doing so one year later. Even though micro-volunteering cannot replace long-term commitments, it serves as complement(补充)to the more traditional methods of promoting good causes.
1. Why does the author mention the Loch Ness Monster in paragraph 1?| A．To illustrate a famous monster film. |
| B．To introduce a new way to volunteer. |
| C．To tell more information of the monster. |
| D．To offer readers a series of volunteer tasks. |
| A．It’s available only online. | B．Volunteers need receive training. |
| C．It’s flexible and time-wise. | D．It needs long-term commitments. |
| A．It could take the place of traditional volunteering. |
| B．It might have a great influence on the world at once. |
| C．It can make people have more ongoing commitments. |
| D．It may offer more chances for people to make a difference. |
| A．Barriers to promoting good causes |
| B．A wonderful complement to volunteering |
| C．Reflections on traditional ways of volunteering |
| D．An answer to the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster |
【推荐1】Mental health experts estimate that depression affects more than 120 million people worldwide. It severely affects the person’s quality of life and, in extreme cases, can lead to people killing themselves. Anti-depressant medicines have been shown as an effective treatment for most patients. But the drugs are unable to help a small number of people with the disorder.
For such person, doctors may suggest deep transcranial magnetic stimulation(经颅磁力刺激), or DTMS for short. In this treatment, patients wear a special helmet connected to a machine. An electric coil(线圈)in the helmet sends out regular waves of electromagnetic energy. These beating sounds produce changes in the brain area responsible for the disorder.
Electromagnetic stimulation(刺激) was first tried to treat depression over 30 years ago. Now, a new generation of wiring can direct the energy on one part of the brain. DTMS starts with daily 20-mimute-long treatments for 20 to 30 days. The patient then returns for treatment two to three times a week for several weeks.
The only side effect is sometimes slight head pain. Aaron Tendler is the chief medical officer of Brains way, the company that makes the machine. He said that it’s hard to say how long the effects of DTMS last.
DTMS is being used in Europe to treat both depression and other conditions. Patients there are getting treated for dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. And DTMS is even being used to help some Europeans give up smoking.
But in the United States, the Federal Food and Drug Administration(FFDA) has approved it only for the treatment of depression which cannot be treated by medicine. But clinical tests are continuing on other conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Both of the disorders, like depression, can get in the way of a person working and getting along with people.
1. Why are people concerned about depression?| A．Because it may lead to death sometimes. |
| B．Because only a few people can recover from it. |
| C．Because it does not affect social communication. |
| D．Because medicine treatment usually fails to work on it. |
| A．By wearing a helmet in daily life. |
| B．By performing an operation on the head. |
| C．By making them face the disease bravely. |
| D．By letting electromagnetic waves stimulate the brain. |
| A．It is quite safe to use it worldwide. |
| B．The use of it in America is forbidden. |
| C．It can cure patients of depression in a month. |
| D．It will be widely used in treating more diseases. |
| A．Finding Hope in A Hopeless Depression |
| B．DTMS - A New Treatment for Depression |
| C．The Killer of Modern Humans Depression |
| D．Using Electromagnetic Waves to Cure Depression |
【推荐2】BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages.
ADVANTAGES:
Free museums: No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities(文物).
Pop music: Britain is the only country to compare with the US on this score.
Black cabs: London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night.
Choice of food: Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.
Fashion: Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
DISADVANTAGES:
Poor service: “It’s part of the image of the place. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport: Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the overcrowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.
Rain: Still in the number one complaint.
No air-conditioning: So that even splendidly hot summers become as unbearable as the downpours Overpriced hotels: The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Licensing hours: Alcohol is in short supply after 11 p. m. even in “24-hour cities”.
1. What do tourists complain most?| A．Poor service. | B．Poor public transport. |
| C．Rain. | D．Overpriced hotels. |
| A．Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US. |
| B．Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US. |
| C．Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US. |
| D．Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US. |
| A．At 12:00 p.m. | B．At 10:00 p.m. |
| C．At 11:00 p.m. | D．At 9:00 p.m. |
| A．You have to pay to visit the museums. |
| B．It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there. |
| C．You cannot find Chinese food there. |
| D．The public transport is poor there. |
| A．In a science book | B．In a story book |
| C．In a travel book | D．In a text book |
I’m writing to you because I feel like we’ve grown distant lately. I know you have two little babies now that take up most of your attention, but I want to remind you that I’m your dog. My name is Max, and I am here long before those two troublemakers joined our family. The older one, Hannah, keeps trying to ride me. She knows I’m not a horse, right? Let’s remember that I’m 11 now. That’s 77 years old to you, friend. So how about showing me some respect I deserve?
Anyway, I’m still an official part of this family. I know I have made mistakes with food, but those kids are covered with so much food. It’s like an alcoholic living in a wine store. I have tried harder not to eat their food, but this business of forcing me to the backyard for most of the day was unacceptable.
And when you told your wife Kate that you wanted to drop me off in the valley to live with wolves, well, that hurt my self-respect. And did you have to do it right in front of me? I might be old, but I can still hear.
Remember the old days? By the time you came into the picture, I had already known Kate for three years. And then you came along. I knew she liked you so I welcomed you into our world. I remembered one night, she asked me if I thought you were the one. I barked “yes” repeatedly because I thought you would take great care of us. And you did.
Look, I know you’re a father of two now, but please try to include me a little bit more. That’s all I’m asking.
Sincerely yours,
Max the Puggle
1. Why did Max write the letter to its male master to complain?| A．It was badly treated by his kids. | B．It was not treated as a human. |
| C．It felt it was being ignored. | D．It didn’t have enough to eat. |
| A．It stole the kids’ food to eat. | B．The kids had too much food. |
| C．It couldn’t help drinking alcohol. | D．It hated being left at the backyard. |
| A．He thinks of only himself not others. | B．He has changed into a cruel man. |
| C．His words agree with his actions. | D．He acts as kick down the ladder. |
【推荐1】Some recent surveys show that the health conditions of many white collar employees and office workers are rather critical. Death cases among white collar employees and office workers are increasing year by year and these cases are generally believed to have been caused by overwork and spend little time taking rest or doing exercise.
If their offices are within the distance of half an hour’s walk, some office workers now choose to go to work on foot. Ms. Deng, who works in a foreign enterprise in Beijing, has been walking to her office for more than six months now. “I usually have a tight work schedule and can’t find time to do exercise. So I choose to walk to work.” As she said, if the office is not far from home, most women would like to go to work on foot. Walking is good for their health and can help them to keep good figures as well.
Apart from walking to office, one can also find time to do exercise when one is at work. The simplest way is to abandon the lift. Mr. Wei, who works in the Passenger Service Department at Shenzhen Airlines, is one of such men who frequently climb stairs to his office. “I only use the lift whenever I’m with my colleagues or my boss. Otherwise, I would climb stairs instead of taking the lift.”
In addition, some office workers try to find time to go to a gym at the end of a day. Ms. Sang works in a law firm in Shenzhen. She goes to the gym several times a week when she has the time. “I go to the gym every weekend. During the weekdays, I will also go there whenever I have the time.” Ms. Sang and her husband both have a gym membership card for a whole year. The cards cost them 3,000 yuan. However they think it’s worth it.
1. Why are death cases among white collar employees and office workers increasing year by year?| A．Because they overwork for a long time. |
| B．Because they are too busy to have time for a rest. |
| C．Because they hardly have time to do exercise after work. |
| D．All of the above. |
| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．Then, what shall office workers do next to prevent death cases? |
| B．What will happen to office workers? |
| C．In order to keep themselves healthy, some office workers now take measures as follows: |
| D．Working on foot is the best way for office workers. |
| A．Health Is Very Important | B．Office Workers Try to Keep Healthy |
C．How to Keep Healthy  | D．Office Workers’ Trouble |
【推荐2】It’s summertime. That means long hot days, no school--- and summer camps. Lots of kids spend at least some of the summer at camps. Some kids spend the whole year playing one sport. And what do they do during the summer? They go to a camp and keep playing that sport. So what’s wrong with that?
A study published in the journal Sports Health found that “for most sports, there is no evidence that intense (集中的) training and playing one sport before 13 or 14 are necessary to achieve elite (精英的)status.” How big is the risk of injury if you specialize in one sport? A Loyola University Chicago study of 1, 200 youth athletes found that kids who specialized in one sport were 70 percent to 93 percent more likely to be injured than multi-sport athletes. That’s a lot. Kids who specialize in one sport also get burned out. An Ohio State University study found that kids who played a single sport were more likely to quit their sport and be physically inactive as adults.
But don’t you have to specialize in one sport when you’re a kid to have a chance to play in college or be a professional? No! Sorry, but I have to talk about another study. This one was a survey of college athletes by the American Society of Sports Medicine. The study found that 88 percent of college athletes played more than one sport when they were kids.
Look at this year’s National Football League (NFL) draft, 26 of the 31 first- round picks, including Jared Goff, the player drafted ahead of all the others, had been multi-sport athletes in high school, according to Tracking Football. It wasn’t just the first round: 224 of the 256 draft picks had played more than one sport in high school. More than a third of the drafted players were three-sport athletes.
So if you are a year-round baseball kid, try soccer this summer. It will get you into great shape and help you move your feet in the field. Or if you’re a soccer kid, try tennis or rock climbing. Have some fun, and try something new. It’s summertime.
1. What’s the purpose of the author writing the text?| A．To invite more kids to play sports. |
| B．To inspire kids to play sports for fun. |
| C．To encourage kids to try more types of sports. |
| D．To give kids advice on becoming professional athletes. |
| A．Playing one sport is suitable for adults. |
| B．Too much training doesn’t lift sport spirits. |
| C．70%-93% kids get injuries from playing sports. |
| D．Kids’ sport specialization doesn’t promise future success. |
| A．Most of them were multi-sport players. |
| B．They are college students. |
| C．They are professional athletes. |
| D．Most of them were summer-camping lovers. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
【推荐3】Drug development is a risky and costly business. Many possibly effective drugs fail to cut the mustard during the experiments. One reason is that drugs which work on lab animals may not work quite so well in human tests. Being able to pick winners and losers as early as possible would save money, and the One Health Company thinks it may have found a way. It is offering to help medical groups test their cancer drugs on sick pets.
There are several benefits. By treating animals with existing cancers, it hopes to avoid a problem with modern animal research, which is that the “model” animals and diseases that are used to test drugs are not always good stand-ins (替身) for the natural illness. For example, mice used to test cancer drugs may have had their tumours (肿瘤) placed into their bodies, or their immune systems weakened with drugs.
Another plus is that pet owners tend to be great caretakers who are very knowledgeable about their four-legged friends and are likely to report even small changes in behaviors. Lab animals are checked far less often.
Perhaps the most useful aspect of using pets for drug experiments, however, is that there is no law on animals’ medical records. One Health has been able to get 98% of records on animals from hospitals—a number that is impossible for humans. That allows the company to find the right animals for a drug experiment.
Based on the benefits above, the company hopes that pets will prove useful in other diseases in addition to cancers. Horses, for example, seem to be good stand-ins for humans when it comes to arthritis (关节炎). Cats, meanwhile, may prove instructive in breast cancer research.
1. What do the underlined words “cut the mustard” in Paragraph1 probably mean?| A．Meet the requirements. | B．Reduce the pain. |
| C．Affect the test results. | D．Tell the differences. |
| A．It makes sure the animals with natural diseases are used. |
| B．It makes sure the model animals are checked regularly. |
| C．It makes sure most animals’ medical records are available. |
| D．It makes sure the model animals are in healthy condition. |
| A．How to help sick pets at a low price. | B．How to improve drug experiments. |
| C．How to save the drug business. | D．How to treat some pet diseases. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
