1 . What have humans done to deserve dogs? They greet us when we come home, comfort us when we’re sad and generally act as loyal companions.
Now, researchers are investigating whether tumors (肿瘤) in dogs may help treat tumors in humans. In early April, the Jackson Laboratory began collecting samples of canine (犬的) tumors. Cells from these tumors inserted into mice could help test new drugs and improve our understanding about how cancer develops and progresses.
Although cancer results from many factors, genes play a critical role. That means the genetic makeup of a tumor can help determine which drugs work against it. So having a broad and diverse pool of genetic makeups increases the chances of finding the right way to attack each disease. This thinking is particularly relevant for rare cancers and rare mutations (突变). Drawing from a larger pool means more genetic mutations to research.
And using tumors from dogs is a nearly ideal way to widen that pool. They’re exposed to many of the same environmental factors that might cause cancer in their owners, notes Dr. Christopher Fulkerson. Some bone and brain cancers are far more common in dogs than they are in people, making samples easier to find.
In many cases, the cells in a dog’s cancer look and act the same as they would in a human. They can even carry the same genetic mutations. However, not all canine cancers will be particularly helpful for human-focused research. For some types, the similarities between human and dog diseases will be significant. But when they aren’t, warns Dr. Jaime Modiano, the differences could have serious consequences for drug development.
But even when the research doesn’t advance knowledge of human cancers, it could still help improve the treatment of dogs diagnosed (确诊) with cancer. That's the least we can do for our faithful friends.
1. What are the purposes of collecting canine tumors?| A．To help design new drugs. |
| B．To better understand cancer. |
| C．To prove dogs are our faithful friends. |
| D．To show cancer results from many factors. |
| A．Many dogs have bone and brain cancers. |
| B．Dogs and their owners are good companions. |
| C．Dogs and their owners have similar living conditions and cancer types. |
| D．Using tumors from dogs can help determine which drugs work better. |
| A．It’s useless to study cancers from dogs. |
| B．Studies on cancers from dogs will bring harmful results. |
| C．Cancers from dogs may not be helpful for fighting human cancers. |
| D．Some similarities between human and dog diseases are significant. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Pessimistic. | D．Optimistic. |
2 . Get up at 6 a.m., arrive at the hospital one hour earlier to help patients check in, and accompany patients during consultations... In recent years, the patient escort has emerged as a new occupation, and those who have taken on this career are known as “people who sell time”. 26-year-old Zhang Tian is one of them.
September 4, 2022 was a lucky day for Zhang Tian. On this day, Zhang Tian saw a video about patient escorts on a short video platform. The daily routine of patient escorts shown in the video fascinated her and inspired her to take this on as a business. She browsed through many platforms and searched for information and found there indeed exists a certain demand for patient escorts, especially for the elderly, children and pregnant women. Since she had never engaged in this kind of work before, she spent two days in major hospitals in Wuhan, in order to familiarize herself with all the departments on different floors, as well as the processes of medical consultations and preparations for surgery.
After the preparations, Zhang Tian posted a video of self-introduction on major social media sites, talking about the help and services a patient escort provides, as well as some tips for a quick and convenient medical consultation. At first, she was a little worried that her video would go unnoticed. However, after she uploaded the video, it got over 100 likes and she received her first offer as a patient escort.
The memory of her first task is still vivid in her mind. She received a phone call on September 9 from a man whose father was seriously ill and might need surgery. He wanted Zhang Tian to accompany his father through his consultation and treatment. Zhang Tian made all the preparations before meeting her first client and did a very good job despite her nervousness.
“Later, the family expressed their gratitude to me over and over again, which warmed my heart and gave me a sense of achievement,” Zhang Tian said.
1. What do patient escorts do?| A．They assist doctors in hospitals. | B．They arrive at hospitals early to check in. |
| C．They post videos for money. | D．They help patients get treatment in hospitals. |
| A．She enjoyed seeing an interesting video. | B．She got inspiration for her own career. |
| C．She found a demand for medical workers. | D．She was popular on social media. |
| A．She got familiar with the routine work in hospitals. |
| B．She spent two days in major hospitals meeting patients. |
| C．She post a video in search of clients on social media. |
| D．She happened to know an old man in need of surgery. |
| A．Considerate and responsible. | B．Humorous and careful. |
| C．Ambitious and imaginative. | D．Talkative and positive. |
3 . Having Spider-Man close gives you the courage to face the coming days. It certainly
Children really need
Farther south, another team of window washers also made their
We can all be somebody’s superhero for a day, an hour or just a moment. Distracting someone from the
| A．extends | B．treasures | C．brightens | D．misses |
| A．ticket | B．visit | C．fine | D．meal |
| A．hung | B．shouted | C．fell | D．escaped |
| A．careful | B．thoughtful | C．frightened | D．excited |
| A．decisive | B．magical | C．awkward | D．difficult |
| A．choices | B．innovation | C．demand | D．emotions |
| A．courage | B．time | C．pressure | D．patience |
| A．teachers | B．heroes | C．families | D．friends |
| A．losing | B．feeling | C．requiring | D．providing |
| A．definitely | B．eventually | C．only | D．rarely |
| A．presentation | B．experience | C．appearance | D．impression |
| A．limited | B．beneficial | C．unnecessary | D．impossible |
| A．respond | B．grow | C．recover | D．learn |
| A．pain | B．kindness | C．relief | D．regret |
| A．fill | B．ruin | C．end | D．make |
4 . The past few months have brought electrifying news that, for the first time, a gene treatment has provided some hearing to children born with deafness.
Eli Lilly announced this week, for example, that a profoundly deaf boy from Morocco given its treatment as part of a clinical trial in Philadelphia can now hear. And five children in China treated similarly at younger ages gained hearing with some able to verbally communicate without their cochlear implants (人工耳蜗). Their hearing recovery, first covered by the press in October 2023, is described in detail this week in The Lancet.
“It’s an enormous achievement,” says geneticist Karen Avraham of Tel Aviv University. Otolaryngologist (耳鼻喉科专家) and gene therapist Lawrence Lustig of Columbia University, whose lab was among the first to test the same approach in mice, agrees. “Other than cochlear implants, we haven’t really had any successful treatments to treat deafness,” he notes.
The various efforts from companies and academic centers each use a virus to insert the same gene, OTOF, into the children’s inner ear so the so-called hair cells there can sense sound and transmit it to the brain.
The new deafness treatments add to a string of recent successes for the gene treatment field, but also raise questions. The ear’s hair cells don’t divide, so the new copies of OTOF they contain should persist and continue to instruct the cells to make OTOF. Gene expression could drop off over time or the ear could mount an immune response that shuts it off.
But Lustig is optimistic that the various challenges will be overcome. “Now that we’ve got one success story, there’s going to be more money coming in to fund some of these other projects,” he says.
1. What do we know about the new treatment?| A．It is a totally mature practice. | B．It’s a China-only clinical trial. |
| C．It uses a virus to sense sound. | D．It aims to treat the deafness. |
| A．Breakthrough. | B．Regret. | C．Disappointment. | D．Adventure. |
| A．The brain refuses to receive it. |
| B．Gene stops to produce hair cells. |
| C．Gene expression might be weakened. |
| D．Companies really profit a lot from it. |
| A．Electrifying News Based on Some Clinical Trials |
| B．Gene Treatment That Brings Deaf Children Hope |
| C．Ways How Scientists Develop Cochlear Implants |
| D．Challenges About the New Deafness Treatment |
1. How does the woman feel about herself?
| A．The woman really thinks herself to be very strong. |
| B．The woman coughs a lot and she feels terrible. |
| C．The woman feels good, although she looks pale. |
| A．He advised the woman to go to hospital. |
| B．He advised the woman to have a check-up immediately. |
| C．He advised the woman to see his doctor and make an appointment with him. |
1. What is Mr. Brown probably doing now?
| A．Treating a patient. |
| B．Having an operation. |
| C．Attending a meeting. |
| A．Worried. | B．Annoyed. | C．Surprised. |
| A．See her husband. |
| B．Wait outside the room. |
| C．Get some forms. |
| A．At the woman’s house. | B．In a hospital. | C．At a travel agency. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Unusual. | C．Satisfying. |
| A．At home. | B．In a car. | C．In a hospital. |
Acupuncture (针灸),
Acupuncture is a treatment that aims to promote the body’s self-regulating functions. Its treating principles are
Over the years, acupuncture
