1 . Many people have dreamt to find a cancer cure. Now, a pill might provide some insight into their dreams.
The medicine, AOH1996, also called the “cancer-killing pill”, explicitly targets the protein that encourages cancer cells to spread across the body. It prevents proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA 细胞增殖核抗原) with a tiny molecule. Up to August 2023, it is being evaluated in Phase I clinical studies for the treatment of solid cancers.
Cancer is a condition in which abnormal cells continue to proliferate uncontrollably, causing the tissue to be destroyed. About one in six deaths were due to cancer in 2020, making it the top cause of death globally.
According to a recent study published in Cell Chemical Biology, City of Hope researchers have discovered a novel method to treat cancer using a special tablet that can get rid of solid tumors. AOH1996 differs from other targeted cancer therapies in this respect, where other approaches may cause a tumor to change and develop more resistance to treatment.
According to City of Hope Professor Linda Malkas, the research team created a medicine specifically targeting the kind of PCNA seen in cancer cells since data indicate that PCNA is distinctively changed in cancer cells. The novel cancer medicine acts like a snowstorm closing a significant airport, stopping only flights from and to aircraft carrying cancer cells.
“Results have been promising. AOH1996 can prevent tumor growth in cell and animal models. The drug is currently in Phase I clinical trial in humans at City of Hope.”
Treatment of lung, brain and skin cancers with AOH1996 has shown to be effective. It kills specific cells by stopping them from replicating (复制) typically. To assess this medicine for potential future use, more clinical studies are planned.
1. What can we know about PCNA?| A．It is a pill that cures solid cancer. |
| B．It is a medicine that prevents tumor growth. |
| C．It is a molecule targeted by the cancer-killing pill AOH1996. |
| D．It is a protein that causes cancer cells to spread across the body. |
| A．It has cured many patients’ cancers. |
| B．It will develop drug resistance. |
| C．It is a natural product collected from plants. |
| D．It has less side effects than other cancer drugs. |
| A．AOH1996 targets cancer cells without harming healthy cells. |
| B．AOH1996 has caused chaos in the medical field. |
| C．AOH1996 is highly effective but inefficient in treating cancer patients. |
| D．AOH1996 is unpredictable and can have unintended consequences. |
| A．Determining the specific types of cancers it can effectively treat. |
| B．Investigating the possible side effects of the medicine. |
| C．Determining if it can be used on a large scale. |
| D．Confirming its effectiveness in killing specific cells. |
2 . Shenzhen in Guangdong province has become the first city in China to allow specialist nurses to prescribe (开药方) selected drugs and order tests, in a move that is expected to increase efficiencies in the healthcare system and reduce the patient-load burden on physicians.
Under a new rule in October that took effect in January, eligible nurses will be permitted to order examinations, treatments considering their expert skills and knowledge of specialist nursing or community healthcare. Their prescriptions must be based on existing diagnoses (诊断) made by physicians.
To become a nursing specialist, applicants should have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, five years of working experience, obtained an advanced nursing qualification and have attended a months-long specialist training program and passed a final test.
“Medical institutions must review inappropriate prescriptions given by nurses,” said the regulation. “Nursing specialists who are found to have given three or more improper prescriptions will have their prescribing power stopped for three to six months and will have to undergo retraining before regaining the authorization,” it added.
“Considering the difference in professional positioning, medical education background and work experience between physicians and nurses, it is necessary to fully analyze the necessity and practicability of the nurses’ prescriptive authority,” the commission said.
Zhou Wensi has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and is now a specialist nurse in periodontitis (牙周炎) , or gum disease, at Shenzhen Stomatology Hospital in the city’s Pingshan district.
“Our hospital has not begun allowing us to prescribe. If the rule goes into effect in the future, we’ll likely be able to directly prescribe mouthwash, anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers to patients,” she said.
However, she also noted that most patients visiting the hospital are in need of treatment delivered by doctors with assistance from nurses like her, so the new regulation is not expected to have a major impact.
1. Why does Shenzhen give permission for specialist nurses’ special rights?| A．To improve the overall ability of the specialist nurses. |
| B．To speed up the development of the healthcare system. |
| C．To enhance the work efficiency and lighten doctors’ load. |
| D．To respond to the demands of doctors, nurses and patients. |
| A．well-recognized | B．Qualified | C．flexible | D．hard-working |
| A．A specialist nurse should follow the rules strictly. |
| B．No institutions take charge of the prescriptions . |
| C．Not all specialist nurses can prescribe drugs freely . |
| D．A specialist nurse always has the prescribing power. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Indifferent. | C．Neutral. | D．Hopeful. |
3 . Photosynthesis (光合作用) is a unique skill of green plants — they turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food via sunlight. A group of Chinese scientists, however, “copied” the process on animals.
To understand the new breakthrough, it is important to know how photosynthesis works. Plants take in carbon dioxide and water from the air and soil. Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose (葡萄糖). The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules.
In the study, the researchers from Zhejiang University developed an independent and controllable photosynthetic system, according to the study published in Nature in early December. They separated thylakoids, a part of the cell where light reactions take place in plants, from young spinach (菠菜) leaves. The scientists then wrapped the thylakoids with the cover of animal cells, which made the implanted thylakoids more acceptable to foreign bodies.
The mice used in the study were suffering from arthritis (关节炎) meaning cells in their cartilage had degenerated and could not be repaired by themselves. With the thylakoids implanted into the mice and exposed to light, the mice recovered. Their metabolism (新陈代谢) returned to normal.
In arthritis, the patients usually have energy loss since fewer energy-carrying molecules are generated. The implant, however, can correct the imbalance by storing more energy via photosynthesis.
The researchers also claimed that their tests would have medical usage. “It can be used as part of solution for degenerative diseases because the natural photosynthesis system may repair cells. It may also delay the aging process in cells. The study showed an exciting achievement that opens up possibilities of metabolism engineering,” commented one of the paper’s reviewers Francisco Cejudo from the University of Seville in Spain, reported Xinhua.
1. Why does the author mention the way photosynthesis works in Paragraph 2?| A．To help us understand how scientists apply the principle to animals. |
| B．To explain to us the definition of photosynthesis. |
| C．To prove plants’ ability to release the oxygen back into the air. |
| D．To show us how plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen. |
| A．To lead to light reactions. | B．To provide them with nutrition. |
| C．To prevent them from degeneration. | D．To help them work better in foreign bodies. |
| A．By repairing a broken metabolism. | B．By getting rid of degenerated cells. |
| C．By helping maintain energy balance. | D．By offering energy-carrying molecules. |
| A．Suggestions for future studies. | B．The significance of the study. |
| C．The limitations of the study. | D．Other findings of the study. |
Acupuncture(针灸),
Acupuncture is a treatment that aims to promote the body’s self-regulating functions. Its principles are in line
Practices can vary in forms. Needle insertion (插入), the most common method,
Looking beyond China, acupuncture has become a global treatment. Over the years, acupuncture
5 . Growing up in a small village in southern Ghana, Osci Boateng watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to access basic health care. In many regions of the country, it can take hours to get to the nearest hospital. Boateng said many people lost their lives due to preventable or treatable diseases. His grandmother and aunt were among them.
Feeling an urgent call to help, Boateng decided he would make it his life’s mission to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana where education and preventative health care were lacking.
Boateng wanted to find a way to remove these barriers to health care access and education. He started his nonprofit organization, OKB Hope Foundation. In 2021, he converted (转变) a van (面包车) into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to those in need. A few times a week, the mobile clinic and medical team travel long distances to remote communities and provide free routine medical care.
On each trip, Boateng’s team consists of a nurse, a physician assistant, a doctor, and an operation assistant. In the van, they can run basic labs like bloodwork and urinalysis (尿液分析) as well as provide medicine. “It’s like a one-stop shop for people, ” said Boateng, adding that most of the people they see have one health issue or another. Since its launch, the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 Ghanaians across more than 45 rural communities who otherwise don’t have easily accessible medical care, according to Boateng.
Boateng has gone all in on his OKB Hope Foundation, recently quitting his job to dedicate his time to bringing health care to his home country. But for him, the sacrifices (牺牲) are well worth. “Words cannot describe the feeling that you provide care for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be alive if your mobile health van wasn’t there.” He has big plans for the future. He hopes to expand them to provide more consistent and high-quality medical care not only to those living in remote areas of Ghana but those in other countries.
1. What is the purpose of mentioning the example in paragraph 1?| A．To show the importance of life. | B．To describe how hard Boateng’s family lived. |
| C．To point out what’s wrong with the hospital. | D．To stress the seriousness of lacking health care. |
| A．He operates on patients in the van. | B．He rents a doctor’s office wherever he goes. |
| C．He provides medical care by charging some fees. | D．He offers people health care using mobile clinic. |
| A．It really works. | B．It makes a profit. |
| C．It serves the whole Ghana. | D．It produces some good medicine. |
| A．Reliable and creative. | B．Caring and ambitious. |
| C．Considerate and humorous. | D．Determined and demanding. |
A six-year-old Scottish girl has taken her first steps even though doctors said she would spend her life in a wheelchair. Arabella was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC, 先天性多发性关节挛缩症) affecting both her arms and legs, but when doctors in Scotland said there was nothing that could be done for Arabella, her mom Catherine refused to believe it and instead made it her mission to find a solution to help her daughter.
She reached out to Dr. David S Feldman, a famous doctor based in Florida who treats AMC with surgery (外科手术), and made an appointment with his team at the Paley European Institute in Warsaw, Poland. “We all agreed she is a great person for operation and can gain motion in her legs, which gave great hope to Arabella and her mom,” Dr, Feldman said. However, it needed a big amount of money for the operation, which the family couldn’t afford it.
When Catherine returned to Scotland to meet with some famous doctors, they said there was nothing that could be done and the surgery wasn’t suitable for Arabella. As a result, Catherine was a little disappointed. “They said we needed to be realistic and think about how we could improve Arabella’s life in a wheelchair,” Arabella’s father William said, “On hearing that, as any parents, it dashed (使破灭) our hopes so much...” For the next two months, the family was in a low spirit. William has been on a mission ever since to help his daughter walk again. He launched a crowd funding page to raise £125,000 for the surgery.
Arriving in October 2021 and remaining there over Christmas, Arabella underwent 12 weeks of careful rehabilitation and physiotherapy (康复理疗) with the dedicated nurses as she built up her muscles and learned to walk. Last August she returned to hospital for a second operation and a further six weeks of physiotherapy. They didn’t give up. On the contrary. they looked after Arabella carefully and encouraged her to feel confident of the operation.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The parents tried their best to raise money for the second operation.
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Arabella had the second operation and physiotherapy.
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1. 中国医疗工作者的工作精神；
2. 对你的影响。
注意: 1. 词数120 左右；
2. 可适当添加情节， 以使行文连贯；
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Using needles to help life’s energy flow
For thousands of years, the Chinese have relieved pain and cured disease through acupuncture (针灸).
According to Records of the Grand Historian,
According to TCM (中医), there are a dozen meridians (经脉) in the human body,
In 2010, UNESCO inscribed acupuncture and moxibustion of TCM on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Yet, the practice is not just cultural and historical,
For years,
However, as scientific research of acupuncture
On May 2, 2023, the China Cultural Centre in Malta hosted a Traditional Chinese Medicine Workshop
Traditional Chinese medicine
Besides, the audience
“
1. Who is the speaker talking to?
| A．Travellers. | B．Patients. | C．Traders. |
| A．They seldom stay in their offices. |
| B．They always have much to do. |
| C．They take better care of foreigners. |
| A．Check with hotel managers. | B．Ask others for help. | C．Call 911. |
| A．To pay medical bills. | B．To get medical service. | C．To receive health check. |
