1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Are you afraid of getting old?     1     we get past the age of 25, many of us immediately feel the urge to stop the signs of ageing — especially the visible ones. Men and women are now using topical “anti-ageing” creams, spa treatments and medical procedures     2     (oppose) many of them.

    3     these methods can somewhat affect the way you look, ageing is an internal process. A new study has found exactly when during your lifetime this process peaks.

A group scientists based out of the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that     4     being a smooth, continuous process, ageing surges forward at three distinct stages of life: first, at the age of 34, then at age 60, and finally at 78.

The study, published in Nature Medicine,     5     (reveal) that scientists can not only predict your age by studying the proteome (protein levels in the blood) but also determine which organs are ageing faster than the others, and which age-related diseases your body is     6     (likely) to develop. The study measured plasma proteins (血浆蛋白) collected from 4,263 adults between the ages of 18-95 years and studied the changes in the proteome that occurred with age.

Their ultimate goal was to understand how to identify the changes associated with cardiovascular issues and age-related discases like Alzheimer’s     7     therapeutic treatments can be devised to oppose their attack while there’s still time.

Dr Tony Wyss-Coray, one of the leading members of the study, told Stanford Medicine News Center, “We’ve known for a long time that     8     (measure) certain proteins can give you information about a person’s health status — lipoproteins (脂蛋白) for cardiovascular (心血管的) health, for example. But it hasn’t been appreciated that so many different proteins’ levels — roughly a third of all the ones we looked at — change markedly with advancing age.”

This difference between the chronological (按时间计算的) and physiological (生理的) age, according to the scientists’ “plasma-protein clock”, showed that a lot of people in the study seemed younger than they actually are. What’s more, the study also confirmed that men and women, though equally     9     (represent) in the study, age differently.

Does this mean medicafions and lifestyle methods, with further research, can also be devised to help     10     ages too rapidly and is at risk of contracting age-related diseases like hypertension and Alzheimer’s? You never know.

2 . I’m a student in my fourth year of a biomedical science degree at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, but I also work 38 hours a week at Sainsbury’s to make ends meet. I do three night shifts a week, plus overtime if I can get it. Monday is the most occupied day for me — I work from 10 pm until 8 am on Saturday and Sunday nights, earning just over £100 a night, and then I have to be at my first lecture at 9 am on Monday. By the time I finish lectures, at 2 pm, I’m exhausted, but I know I have to be back at work by 10 pm.

I constantly have to force myself to stay awake, and to be alert whatever it takes. A packet of Skittles and a Red Bull usually helps. The work I do at Sainsbury’s is very physical like stacking shelves. I’m lucky because I’m an active person and the amount I lift at work is nothing compared with the weights I lift in the gym. I know I have the strength to bear it.

I’m originally from Nigeria. I came here when I was seven, growing up in Croydon, south London. Money was tight. My parents gave me everything I needed, but there was no money to spend on luxuries. I worked hard at school though and, with the help of GT Scholars, I got some of the best A-level grades in my class.

Unfortunately, though I had applied for “settled” British residential status when very young, the Home Office waited until I was in sixth form to approve my application. That meant I wasn’t eligible for a student loan. The only way I could afford to go to university was that if I got a job that would pay for all my living costs and my parents, who work in market research, paid for my tuition fees. In Scotland, that’s about £7,000 a year.

I don’t have much time to socialize because of my job. Ideally, I would also like to have more time to study so I can excel at my course. Yes, I have a lot on my plate, but working hard isn’t new to me. Growing up, my parents and my mentors in the church and at GT Scholars cultivated in me the importance of working hard for what I want in life.

My dream is to do an MA in physiotherapy next year and then get a job working for the NHS. But right now, I’m just focused on trying to get the best grades I can. Whenever I find life hard, I tell myself this is about my future. I don’t need much, but I would like to worry less about money and have more free time. That is what I look forward to the most.

1. Why does the author work long hours and sometimes overtime every week?

A．To help his parents pay off the debts.

B．To pay for his tuition fees.

C．To prove his ability to earn money.

D．To pay for his own living expenses.

2. Why does the author mention “Skittles and a Red Bull” in paragraph 2?

A．To stress his awkward situation.	B．To excuse himself of being sleepy.
C．To highlight his intense schedule.	D．To showcase his tough will.

3. The underlined word “eligible” in the passage can be replaced by ________.

A．responsible

B．initial

C．qualified

D．overwhelming

4. According to the passage, which of the following words can NOT be used to describe the author?

A．Ambitious

B．Diligent.

C．Sociable

D．Persistent.

5. Which of the following proverbs can best summarize the passage?

A．Actions speak louder than words.

B．God helps those who help themselves.

C．A penny saved is a penny earned.

D．Where there is life, there is hope.

7 .

A．The man should have had his car inspected earlier.

B．There are always a lot of people at the auto inspection center.

C．She waited longer than the man did to have her car inspected.

D．The auto inspection center will close at the end of the month.

9 .

A．Disappointed.

B．Excited.

C．Proud.

D．Embarrassed.