1 . What is the probable relationship between the speakers?

A．Husband and wife.

B．Teacher and student.

C．Doctor and patient.

2 . A lack of scientific evidence has led some to question whether herbs used in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) actually relieve people’s illnesses. A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, might start to challenge that view. Scientists have developed a new tool that could be used to forecast (预测) the effectiveness of these herbs. They’ve begun to confirm some of its predictions using clinical (临床的) data from patients treated in a traditional Chinese medicine hospital.

“To our knowledge, this is the first scientific theory to explain how a traditional medicine system works,” lead study author Xiao Gan, a researcher at the Nanjing University of Information Science Technology in China said.

In the new study, the authors looked at genes thought to be responsible for causing specific symptom (症状) of disease. They relied on an already published data that showed the connection between disease symptoms and the genes and proteins (蛋白质) that result in those illnesses. Pulling this data together, the researchers were able to score how well these herbs might relieve specific symptoms of the disease. These scores were based on how similar the herbs’ target proteins were to the proteins related to various symptoms.

The authors then compared their predictions to herbs recognized as effective against specific disease symptoms. They also used the model to review prescriptions (处方) that patients received while being treated for liver disease. Gan said the herbs that they identified as effective from the two data sources supported their model’s predictions. The authors also used their model to identify potential new applications for the herbs, beyond what’s already recommended by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

“Testing natural products in clinical trials can be expensive, so it is helpful to use computers to identify potential drug targets.” said Xiang-Qun Xie, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Xie pointed out more data are needed to support these findings and that it would be useful to study how TCM herbs and modern drugs may interact in patients who take them at the same time.

1. What is the purpose of the new study?

A．To study the side effects of TCM herbs.

B．To compare TCM herbs with modern drugs.

C．To predict the effectiveness of TCM herbs.

D．To analyze the genetic makeup of TCM herbs.

2. How did the researchers score TCM herbs in the study?

A．By analyzing their chemical makeup.

B．By carrying out clinical trials on patients.

C．By asking patients about their experiences of using them.

D．By comparing their target proteins with disease-related proteins.

3. What can be inferred about the study from paragraph 4?

A．Some TCM herbs tested by the model are rarely used.

B．The model may be used to develop new medicines.

C．The data sources used by the model are not big enough.

D．More models should be created to review prescriptions.

4. What might Xiang-Qun Xie agree with?

A．Researchers should try to cut the cost of their study.

B．The weaknesses of computers in drug development are ignored.

C．It is necessary to find new ways to figure out potential drug targets.

D．The interaction between TCM herbs and modern drugs needs to be studied.

3 . Huge health care bills, long emergency-room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face daily.

Primary care should be the backbone of any health care system. Countries with appropriate primary care resources score highly when it comes to health outcomes and cost. The U.S. takes the opposite approach by emphasizing the specialist rather than the primary care physician.

A recent study analyzed the providers who treat Medicare beneficiaries (老年医保受惠人). The startling finding was that the average Medicare patient saw a total of seven doctors—two primary care physicians and five specialists—in a given year. Contrary to popular belief, the more physicians taking care of you don’t guarantee better care. Actually, increasing fragmentation of care results in a corresponding rise in cost and medical errors.

How did we let primary care slip so far? The key is how doctors are paid. Most physicians are paid whenever they perform a medical service. The more a physician does, regardless of quality or outcome, the better he’s reimbursed (返还费用). Moreover, the amount a physician receives leans heavily toward medical or surgical procedures. A specialist who performs a procedure in a 30-minute visit can be paid three times more than a primary care physician using that same 30 minutes to discuss a patient’s disease. Combining this fact with annual government threats to indiscriminately (任意地) cut reimbursements, physicians are faced with no choice but to increase quantity to boost income.

Primary care physicians who refuse to compromise quality are either driven out of business or to cash-only practices, further contributing to the decline of primary care.

Medical students are not blind to this scenario. They see how heavily the reimbursement deck is stacked against primary care. The recent numbers show that since 1997, newly graduated U. S. medical students who choose primary care as a career have declined by 50%. This trend results I emergency rooms being overwhelmed with patients without regular doctors.

How do we fix this problem?

It starts with reforming the physician reimbursement system. Remove the pressure for primary care physicians to squeeze in more patients per hour, and reward them for optimally (最佳的) managing their diseases and practicing evidence-based medicine. Make primary care more attractive to medical students by forgiving students loans for those who choose primary care as a career and reconciling the marked difference between specialist and primary care physician salaries.

We’re at a point where primary care is needed more than ever. Within a few years, the first wave of the 76 million Baby Boomers will become eligible for Medicare. Patients older than 85, who need chronic care most, will rise by 50% this decade.

Who will be there to treat them?

1. We learn from the passage that people tend to believe that ________.

A．the more costly the medicine, the more effective the cure

B．seeing more doctors may result in more diagnostic errors

C．visiting the same doctor on a regular basis ensures good health

D．the more doctors a patient sees, the better

2. Faced with the government threats to cut reimbursements indiscriminately, primary care physicians have to ________.

A．increase their income by working overtime

B．improve their expertise and service

C．see more patients at the expense of quality

D．make various deals with specialists

3. What suggestion does the author give in order to provide better health care?

A．Bridge the salary gap between specialist and primary care physicians.

B．Extend primary care to patients with chronic diseases.

C．Recruit more medical students by offering them loans.

D．Reduce the tuition of students who choose primary care as their major.

4. The best title for this passage is ________.

A．The Health Care in Trouble	B．The Imbalance System
C．The Declining Number of Doctors	D．The Ever-rising Health Care Costs

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Where are the two speakers now?

A．At the doctor’s.

B．In the classroom.

C．In an office.

2. What did the man ask the girl to do?

A．Take a breath.

B．Go to another hospital.

C．Get enough sleep.

5 . How was the weather recently?

A．Rainy.

B．Snowy.

C．Sunny.

8 . What is the probable relationship between the speakers?

A．Husband and wife.

B．Teacher and student.

C．Doctor and patient.

9 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What’s the matter with Mr. Lin?

A．He has a fever.

B．He has a headache.

C．He has a sore back.

2. When does the woman ask Mr. Lin to come on Thursday?

A．In the morning.

B．In the afternoon.

C．In the evening.