1 . Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. When it comes to cancer, the sooner you know you have it, the better your chances of surviving. A new blood test could change the way doctors and researchers find cancer in patients. Researchers say the test could provide evidence to the early forms of the disease.
Scientists at Swansea University in Wales came up with the idea. Gareth Jenkins is a professor at the university. “ In this blood test we don’t measure the presence of cancer; we measure the presence of mutant red blood cells which are collateral(附属的) damage that occurs---a by-product of the cancer developing.”
The researchers used normal laboratory equipment to perform the test. This equipment looks for changes in the structure of millions of red blood cells. Those mutant cells lack a surface protein that healthy cells normally have. “The main purpose of the test is to look for very rare cells which have picked up a mutation. The number of mutant red blood cells in a healthy person is around 5 or so per million. You have to look at millions of red blood cells to detect those rare events. These numbers increase in cancer patients---they go up to 40 or 50 mutants on average.”
The researchers tested blood from about 300 people, all of whom have cancer of the esophagus(食道). Patients with esophageal cancer have high levels of mutant red blood cells. Jenkins says that at this point he is not sure if other cancers will produce similar results.
The hope is that the new test and other non-invasive methods could one day become part of commonly used medical methods. He says that using a battery, or series, of tests will be the best way to find out if a person has cancer. These new technologies could save millions of lives.
1. According to the test, how do scientists find out if a person has cancer?| A．By calculating the speed of changes in the structure. |
| B．By observing the surface protein. |
| C．By looking for changes in the number of mutant red blood cells. |
| D．By measuring the presence of cancer. |
| A．Decreased. | B．Changed. | C．Increased. | D．Multiplied. |
| A．humorous | B．favorable | C．critical | D．objective |
| A．Health. | B．Fashion. | C．Education. | D．Culture. |
2 . In the United States, it is important to be on time , or punctual , for an appointment , a class, a meeting, etc. However, this may not be true in all countries. An American professor discovered the difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian (巴西的) university. The two-hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 A.M. and end at 12. On the first day , when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the classroom. Many students came after 10:30 A.M. Two students came after 11 A.M. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized for their lateness.Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students’ behavior.
The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both an informal and a formal situation:at a lunch with a friend and in a university class, respectively.He gave them an example and asked them how they would react, If they had a lunch appointment with a friend,the average American student defined lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time. On the other hand, the average Brazilian student felt the friend was late after 33 minutes.
In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour.In contrast, in Brazil,neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour.Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United States,but also end at the scheduled time.In the Brazilian class, only a few students left the class at 12:00;many remained past 12:30 to discuss the class and ask more questions.While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil , neither is staying late.
1. The word‘punctual’ most probably means________.| A．leaving soon after class | B．coming early |
| C．arriving a few minutes late | D．being on time |
| A．He felt puzzled at the students’ being late. |
| B．He felt angry at the students' rudeness. |
| C．He wanted to make the students come on time later. |
| D．He wanted to collect data for one of his studies. |
| A．American students will become impatient if their friend is five minutes late |
| B．neither Brazilian nor American students like being late in social gatherings |
| C．being late in one culture may not be considered so rude in another culture |
| D．Brazilian students will not come thirty-three minutes after the agreed time |
| A．It is important to be on time for class in the United States. |
| B．The importance of being on time differs among cultures. |
| C．People learn the importance of time only from their own culture. |
| D．Students being late for class should explain the reason to their teacher. |
3 . The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.
As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today’s relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.
For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, the normal retirement age.
Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation, they have family problems, or they do not believe that they can find a job.
Other poor people look for a job, but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.
At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways:
First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer below the poverty line.
Second, if society invests in the poor, the poor will become more productive.
If the government spends money on social programs, education and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more probable that they can find jobs.
Finally, if the government distributes society’s income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare.
Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.
1. This passage is mainly about ________.| A．the poverty line |
| B．how to look for jobs |
| C．how to raise the standard of living |
| D．the causes of poverty and solutions to the problem |
| A．falls | B．does not change |
| C．rises | D．changes at random |
| A．They are too sick to work. | B．They have no motivation. |
| C．They family problems. | D．They are too lazy to find jobs. |
| A．charge | B．share |
| C．receive | D．deliver |
4 . There is a man who is dying to find the way to success, but he doesn’t have an idea how to do it. One day, he meets a guru, a religious teacher, on the road. The man asks the guru, “Which way is to success?” The gum doesn’t speak, but points to a place off in the distance.
The man, thrilled by the prospect（前景） of quick and easy success, rushes off in that direction. Along the way, he is occupied in thinking about something special but there is nothing. Suddenly there comes a loud splat（溅泼声）. Eventually, the man limps（蹒跚） back in rags, assuming he must have misinterpreted the message. Therefore, he returns to the guru for a reason. He repeats his question to the gum, who again points silently in the same direction.
The man was obedient to walk off once more. This time the splat is deafening（震耳欲聋的）, and when the man crawls（爬行） back, he is bloody, broken and angry, “I asked you which way was to success,” he screams at the guru,” I followed the direction you pointed to. And all I got was being knocked down! No more of this pointing! Tell me why? Talk!”
Only then does the guru speak, and what he says is that “Success is that way. Just a little past the splat.”
1. Why does the man fail once more?| A．He is so stupid that he cannot find it. | B．The way to success does not exist in life. |
| C．The guru gave the wrong direction to him. | D．He does not make sense of the guru’s words. |
| A．Submitted. | B．Pleasing. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Unwilling. |
| A．Getting the help from others. | B．Achieving it all on your own. |
| C．Keeping on going after some failures. | D．Just facing up to many difficulties. |
| A．Believe in yourself. | B．Don’t give up too soon. |
| C．Listen to the wisdom’s suggestion. | D．Introduce the guru’s wisdom. |
