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 . Preschool girl lifts old man’s spirits
When Tara Wood brought her daughter to a grocery store to buy the four-year-old some cupcakes, she had no idea that would be a life-changing experience.
As Tara pushed her daughter Norah around the store last month, she passed an old man who was by himself. The old man looked cold, until Norah shouted to him, “Hi! It’s my birthday today!” The man stopped and his demeanor changed from distant and serious to warm and friendly. “How old are you today?” the man asked. After some time talking together, Norah asked her mom to take a picture of her with her new friend “Mr Dan”, Dan Peterson, 82. They hugged and after ten minutes went their separate ways. That could have been the end of the story. But it is actually the beginning of a special relationship.
Tara posted the picture of her daughter and Mr. Dan on Facebook and someone who recognized him reached out to her with his contact information. It turned out that Mr. Dan’s wife died in March and he had been suffering from depression and anxiety ever since. The person on Facebook told Tara that it was the first time they had seen Mr. Dan smile since the death of his wife. Knowing that, Tara contacted Mr. Dan, and ever since Norah and the 82-year-old have developed a friendship unlike any other. “She has shown me a depth of love, a depth that I didn’t know existed,” Mr. Dan told the reporter.
Mr. Dan told Tara that before meeting Norah, he hadn’t had one night of uninterrupted sleep. Anxiety kept him up at all hours and made him restless. After meeting Norah, he said he now sleeps soundly. For Mr. Dan’s 82nd birthday on October 20, the mother and the daughter brought balloons and presents—and, of course, cupcakes. Mr. Dan will also spend a day around Thanksgiving with Norah and her family. “If you don’t take the time to notice people, you will never know how you can positively impact a life,” Tara Wood said.
1. Mr. Dan looked cold because ________.| A．he felt lonely | B．he disliked little kids |
| C．nobody had hugged him | D．he knew little about Norah |
| A．words | B．body |
| C．thoughts | D．attitude |
| A．From a news reporter. | B．From a stranger. |
| C．From a shop assistant. | D．From his neighbor. |
| A．Giving makes a real difference. |
| B．It is important to respect each other. |
| C．We should not judge a person at first sight. |
| D．Good things will happen if one keeps trying. |
