You may sometimes notice athletes with purple circles on their skin from cupping (拔火罐). Or maybe you know someone
Western medicine focuses
There are two central ideas behind TCM. One is qi, the other yin and yang. Qi is also called life energy or vital energy. The belief is that it
2 . Horseback riding might not seem like a typical New York City activity, but one program has several horse farms throughout the city’s busy districts. GallopNYC provides lessons to veterans(老兵) and people with disabilities — horseback riding is their therapy(疗法).
Olivia Diver visits the GallopNYC location in the Howard Beach neighborhood in Queens. Diver has only been riding horses for a few months, but says she’s already felt the benefits. “It helped me come out of my comfort zone and be less shy and less in my shell,” she said. Trying something new shows her she can accomplish other things as well.
James Wilson,executive director at GallopNYC, says there are many ways horses can be therapeutic. “The horse sees the world in the way somebody with post-traumatic stress disor-der (PTSD) might see the world, in a really guarded, sort of anxious way,” he explained. “So,somebody with PTSD and a horse can sort of partner together and see the world in the same way and kind of take care of each other.” Horses can also help with physical disabilities. After two years of therapeutic riding, a teenager, who had so little core strength that his mother had to be in the bathtub with him, had enough core strength that he could be in the shower by himself. Wilson said, “The movement of the horse will loosen up muscles that might be really tight. And the movement helps stimulate other body parts and other muscles that you might not use. ”
“CallopNYC has about 1,000 people on is waitlist for lessons, but prioritizes people with disabilities and veterans. We believe that everybody benefits from the time on a horse, so if you want to ride a horse, come on, let’s go,” Wilson said. Lessons are $55, but the non-profit fundraises to help cover or lower the cost for customers who may need support.
1. Why does GallopNYC offer the lessons?| A．To make horse riding typical in NYC. |
| B．To provide part-time jobs for veterans. |
| C．To promote disabled people’s incomes. |
| D．To offer a cure to special groups. |
| A．She has learned new life skills. |
| B．She has found her comfort zone. |
| C．She has gained much confidence. |
| D．She has changed her attitude to horses. |
| A．GallopNYC’s leader. | B．The effect of the therapy. |
| C．Profit James Wilson has got. | D．Ways of guarding people’s anxiety. |
| A．It is well received. | B．It is highly profitable. |
| C．It needs to be more creative. | D．It takes ages to see the results. |
3 . Scientists developed vaccines (疫苗)against a new disease in less than 12 months. And yet，18 months after the first of these vaccines, against COVID-19, were put on the market, just 15% of people in developing countries have been fully vaccinated. Such unfairness costs lives and uncovers a long-standing problem that some countries have been forced to depend on others for life-saving science and technology. It is unacceptable, for example, that in Africa, a continent of 54 independent countries and 1.2 billion people, 99% of vaccines are from other countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO)is searching for a way to get vaccines to more people more easily.Last year, the WHO started a program called the mRNA vaccine technology center. The goal of the program is to develop and produce mRNA vaccines and treatments(for COVID-19 and other diseases) in developing countries from the technology used in developed countries highly successful COVID-19 vaccines.
More importantly，the cooperation (合作)between universities and companies based in developing countries is needed to realize the goal. On July 8th,the USA National Institutes of Health, where much of the research on mRNA vaccines was carried out, joined this program to help build vaccine technology centers in developing countries.
Besides the necessity of fairness, outbreaks would end sooner if every country could depend on its own defence. As Larry Brilliant，a scientist of the US National Institutes of Health who helps wipe out smallpox(天花)，told Nature，“Fairness is often thought of as a burden(负担)，but it is a strategic need in the battle against COVID-19.”
1. Why does the author mention Africa in paragraph 1?| A．To lead in the topic. |
| B．To show the unfairness in vaccines. |
| C．To stress the importance of vaccines. |
| D．To say thanks to the help from developed countries. |
| A．To make more people in developing countries get vaccines. |
| B．To build up a center to attract experts in developing vaccines |
| C．To get the technology used in successful COVID-19 vaccines, |
| D．To strengthen the cooperation between universities and companies. |
| A．Fairness is a burden, so it is not necessary. |
| B．We’ll win the battle sooner if every country has its defence. |
| C．Fairness is necessary because it can stop COVID-19 from breaking out. |
| D．Wiping out smallpox is a strategic need in the battle against COVID-19. |
| A．Why fairness is necessary? |
| B．How did WHO start the program? |
| C．How did scientists develop vaccines? |
| D．Why is a vaccine center for developing countries a must? |
4 . Most people have no idea what to do with their old drugs. Unused or expired (到期的) medicines lying around at home can get into the wrong hands, leading to accidental poisoning or drug overdose. When drugs are flushed or sent to landfill, the medicines can pollute our groundwater, rivers, and streams, threatening human and sea life.
In an effort to find a solution for drugs kept in medicine boxes or waterways, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched its first National Take-Back Day in September 2010. In the drug take-back program, the returned drugs are sent to medical waste incinerators (焚烧炉). However, the process of transporting and burning such waste can give off greenhouse gas emissions that could be potentially greater than those generated if the drugs were poured into landfills.
“But take-back programs are preferred as they reduce the risk of drug misuse and the incineration effectively prevents the entrance of these medicines into our nation’s waters,” says Tim Carroll, a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Perhaps surprisingly, not all unused medicines need to be thrown away. Every year five billion dollars’ worth of unexpired medicines end up being deserted in the U.S. “We’re wasting a lot of medicines which are already paid for,” says Anandi Law, a patient engagement specialist. “Millions of U.S. adults skip or delay getting their prescriptions (处方) filled due to high costs. We could give them to somebody else who needs it.” That may be why at least 40 states have passed law establishing drug donation programs that allow drug manufacturers, medical and long-term care facilities, and sometimes individuals to donate their unused drugs. For example, since its start in 2007, Iowa’s program, SafeNetRx, has served more than 117,000 patients and redistributed nearly 54-million-dollar worth of medicines and supplies.
“All of these efforts are still relatively new,” Carroll says. “We still have a long way to go until households change their habits.”
1. What is the disadvantage of the U.S. drug take-back program?| A．It costs large amounts of money. |
| B．It increases the greenhouse effect. |
| C．It can produce poisonous chemicals. |
| D．It wastes lots of energy to deal with old drugs. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uninterested. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
| A．Sending them to landfills. |
| B．Selling them at a low price. |
| C．Donating them to someone in need. |
| D．Developing technologies to recycle them. |
In the 1940s, China
The WHO gives malaria-free certificates (证明) to countries when they have presented that they’ve stopped nationwide spread
In the 1970s, through a government project, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, the most
6 . Reasons why you should learn first aid
A first-aid course only takes a matter of hours to complete but supplies you with all of the knowledge you require to handle an emergency.
Having the ability to help family and friends in need. When a member of your family or a friend injures himself or herself, there’s nothing worse than feeling helpless. In your first-aid training, you can learn how to treat a variety of medical conditions and injuries. This means that when someone is in need, you will know exactly what to do.
Earning the respect of your fellow colleagues.
Gaining new responsibilities. Your role as a first-aider is very important especially in high-risk working environments where employees are operating heavy machines or working at a great height.
| A．But that’s not all |
| B．Getting more confidence |
| C．You will be the go-to person in times of need |
| D．Having the pride you will feel if you help save someone |
| E．We all know that accidents happen, but we cannot predict the future |
| F．Your knowledge of first aid will increase their chance of making a quick recovery |
| G．Stepping in to help your colleagues will have a greater effect than you might expect |
7 . Some women with severe anorexia (厌食症) have returned to a healthy weight and feel less anxious after having electrical devices implanted into their brains, which is based on a small study. But more research is needed.
About one in five people with anorexia die of the illness and there is a lack of effective treatments. Imaging studies suggest that certain brain circuits (回路) may underlie the fear of gaining weight and compulsion (强迫) to self-starve.
Bomin Sun at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China and his colleagues wondered whether they could harm these circuits by electrically affecting a part of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens (伏隔核). This brain region helps us to learn from experience, but in people with anorexia it seems to form abnormal connections with other brain regions.
The team took in 28 women with at least a three-year history of anorexia who hadn’t improved following standard treatment. The women had an average body mass index (BMD) of 13; a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. The researchers surgically implanted electrodes (电极) into the nucleus accumbens on women’s brains. They connected the electrodes by wires to a battery, to continuously affect the nucleus accumbens.
Over the next two years, the average BMI of the participants increased to 18 and almost half regained a BMI of 18.5 or above. They also reported feeling less anxious.
“This is a very promising result,” says Philip Mosley, a research from Australia. But the study didn’t include a placebo (安慰剂) group for comparison, meaning it isn’t possible to rule out that the participants’ improvement was simply because they expected the treatment to work, says Mosley.
Mosley and his colleagues are about to start a trial of the same treatment in which they will control for the placebo effect. Brain surgery may seem like an extreme treatment, but for people with severe anorexia, it may be better than the alternative, which is often death, says Mosley.
1. What’s the normal body mass index (BMI)?| A．13. | B．Less than 18.5. |
| C．Between 18.5 and 24.9. | D．Between 25 and 29.9. |
| A．By changing the brain circuits. | B．By reducing fear of gaining weight. |
| C．By putting electrodes into the brain. | D．By strengthening the nucleus accumbens. |
| A．To apply for wider use. | B．To find better treatment. |
| C．To rule out the placebo effect. | D．To correct the first treatment. |
| A．It is very successful and effective. |
| B．It will be applied to people with anorexia soon. |
| C．It is only adopted by people with severe anorexia. |
| D．It is an extreme treatment and needs improvement. |
With vivid and exciting computer-produced scenes, virtual reality gaming often allows us to be completely
9 . At this very moment around the world, athletes are almost naked into freezing cold chambers. Why on earth are they doing this? Because it’s supposed to help them feel better.
The treatment is called whole-body cryotherapy. Basketball star LeBron James and soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo have all tried it. The therapy works like this. You take off everything but your underwear. Then you put on warm socks and gloves and step into a chamber that looks sort of like a shower, except your head pokes out the top. Once you’re locked in, air cooled to below-200 F(-129 C) fills the chamber. That’s colder than Antarctica. You stay in for two to three minutes.
Those in favor believe the frigid air helps muscles recover faster and reduces pain. After his first cryotherapy sessions, Phil Mac Kenzie, a professional rugby player, felt noticeably better. He told Scientific American, “I felt refreshed right away. My sleep was better.” Soon, he was using the chamber four times a week. Those who promote cryotherapy make all sorts of wild claims about its benefits. Supposedly, that frigid air can increase focus, improve skin tone, make you happier, burn calories, treat arthritis, slow aging, and much more.
Is there any evidence to back up these incredible claims? Nope. Several small scientific studies have looked at whether the therapy can improve muscle recovery after exercise, with encouraging results. But there just isn’t enough evidence to show that the therapy works. The benefits some people experience may just be the placebo effect. That’s when a patient’s expectation that a treatment will work leads to an improvement.
The US Food & Drug Administration has actually issued a warning about whole-body cryotherapy. It cautions that the liquid nitrogen used to cool the chamber may make it difficult to breathe. Frostbite is another potential risk, which is why participants wear gloves and socks. What do you think?
1. Why should participants wear socks and gloves?| A．To prevent frostbite. |
| B．To look better. |
| C．To prevent shyness. |
| D．To ensure the effect. |
| A．warm | B．hot | C．freezing | D．relaxing |
| A．The process of the treatment. |
| B．The benefits of cryotherapy. |
| C．The working principles of the treatment. |
| D．Tips taken in account during the treatment. |
| A．favorable | B．positive | C．unclear | D．doubtful |
10 . Now scientists in Lausanne, Switzerland have given three paralyzed men the ability to walk again. Each of the three men had damaged their spinal cords (脊髓) in motorcycle accidents and couldn’t move their legs.
To help them walk again, the men had surgery. A paddle shaped device was placed directly on the lower part of their spinal cord, below their injury. This implant (植入物) contained sixteen electrodes—conductors that electricity can pass through. The researchers made sure the electrodes on the implant were lined up with the spinal cord nerves that control the leg muscles (肌肉). To begin with, the scientists controlled the implants from a tablet computer. Just hours after the implants were first used, all three men were taking steps,with support.
In the past, scientists had some success with similar implants in the lower spine. Some patients have even trained themselves over months to be able to walk. This research is different. The patients’ brains aren’t sending “walking” messages to their legs. Instead, the tablet tells the implant to send the walking messages as a set of electrical signals.
The researchers used computers to create patterns of movement—like taking a step—that would work well with each patient. The patient then uses the tablet to choose the pattern they want. That triggers the implant, and the muscles move in the chosen way. Over time, the men were able to walk entirely on their own, using a special walker with buttons to excite each leg. One of the men has walked for half a kilometer on his own with the walker.
The method is very expensive and it requires difficult surgery. The patients can’t walk without the AI system. But it is a vital step to improve people’s quality of life. The scientists hope that in the future they will engineer personalized spinal cord implants to allow many paralyzed people to walk again in just hours.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．How spinal cord nerves worked. |
| B．Why an operation was performed. |
| C．How the implants let the men walk. |
| D．Why electrodes were precisely arranged. |
| A．By telling their differences. |
| B．By stating the study process. |
| C．By explaining their similarities. |
| D．By analyzing the study purpose. |
| A．Changes. | B．Activates. | C．Improves. | D．Shakes. |
| A．Objective. | B．Tolerant. | C．Content. | D．Doubtful. |
