1 . Have you heard of depression (抑郁)? It’s a mental illness. People who have it may feel sad all the time or do something to hurt themselves. Now, doctors can put a “happy switch” in their heads to help them.
Doctors at Shanghai Ruijing hospital helped a patient Wu Xiaotian. Wu, 31, has had depression since he was 15 years old. The doctor did an operation on Wu. They put two long lines of electrodes (电极) inside his brain. The 16 electrodes are used to let out electricity on different parts of the brain, which can change the patient’s feelings. Wu can control the “happy switch” through an app on his phone. When feeling down, Wu turns on the switch and the electrodes start working. He is soon cheered up. “It feels like there is power rising from the inside of my body,” Wu said.
The hospital has tested the switch on 26 patients since 2020. Up to now, it has helped cut down a patient’s sad feelings by 60%, said the hospital.
But is the switch safe enough? Although patients like Wu feel great using it, the operation is actually a dangerous one. And doctors are still working to improve it. Also, doctors have to make sure that patients don’t rely on it. Healthy people shouldn’t use it, or it may be like a kind of drug for them.
1. What really makes the “happy switch” work?| A．The small “box”. | B．Electrodes. | C．Electricity. | D．An App. |
| A．Why people have bad feelings. | B．How the “happy switch” works. |
| C．How doctors do operations on brains. | D．Who will have the switch on their brains. |
| A．The switch still needs improving. | B．The switch is a kind of drug. |
| C．All patients who used it became healthy. | D．It can make all sadness go away. |
| A．The new operation is safe for humans. |
| B．Some people may use the switch to sell drugs. |
| C．Different kinds of people should try the switch. |
| D．People should also care about the bad points of the switch. |
2 . A rare genetic skin condition has been corrected for the first time using a gene therapy that is applied to the skin.
About 1 in 800,000 children in the US are born with a severe condition called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (不良性大疱性表皮松解症 RDEB) that makes their skin extremely weak and likely to be torn and blister (长水疱).
“It is very painful,” says Vincenzo Mascoli, 22, who travelled from Italy to the US to have the gene therapy. He had open wounds all over his body, including one covering his entire back that had been there since he was 2 years old. “Sometimes I also get blisters in my eyes and have to keep my eyes closed, and sometimes I get blisters in my throat that make it difficult to eat,” he says. Mascoli and other people with the condition have weak skin because they have an improper version of a collagen (胶原) gene called COL7A1. That means their skin can’t produce the collagen proteins needed to give it structure and strength.
Peter Marinkovich at Stanford University in California and his colleagues developed a way to insert normal COL7A1 genes into the skin of such individuals so they can start producing collagen properly. “All it does is go into the cell and deliver the gene,” says Marinkovich.
The gene therapy was then incorporated into a gel (凝胶) so it could be applied to the skin. It was tested in a late-stage clinical experiment in the US involving 31 children and adults with RDEB, including Mascoli.
The treatment was repeated weekly until the wounds closed. After three months, 71% of the wounds treated with the gene therapy had completely healed, compared with 20% of those who had the ineffective gel applied, and there were no serious side effects.
A US company called Krystal Biotech has partnered with Marinkovich and his colleagues to develop the gene therapy and will apply in the next few months for approval to make it available to more patients in the US.
1. What do we know about RDEB?| A．It is a serious skin disease on children. |
| B．It brings unbearable pain to the patients. |
| C．It makes patients’ skin weak but seldom blister. |
| D．About 800,000 children in the US suffer from it. |
| A．They don’t have the gene called COL7A1. |
| B．They don’t deal with the wounds properly. |
| C．Genes on them fail to provide right proteins. |
| D．They have serious side effects after treatments. |
| A．It was developed by Krystal Biotech. |
| B．It has proved highly effective on all patients. |
| C．It will be applied to patients in a larger scale. |
| D．It has positive effects on patients immediately. |
| A．A biography. | B．A course plan. |
| C．A mathematics paper. | D．A science magazine. |
| A．He needs a ride. | B．He wants a new job. | C．He doesn’t have insurance now. |
1. Who is ill in the hospital?
| A．Jack’s mother. | B．Jack’s father. | C．Jack’s wife. |
| A．In the evening. | B．Right now. | C．Tomorrow. |
5 . This year brought some exciting news for patients of Alzheimer’s disease and their families. Leqembi, a new drug for the disease made through a US-Japanese partnership, has been available in a pilot zone in China’s Hainan province since September.
Being a currently uncurable disease, Alzheimer’s disease damages or even kills nerve cells (神经细胞) in the brain. Damaged cells can cause breakdowns in various parts of the brain, resulting in memory loss, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. A kind of plaque (斑块) made up of protein is the “suspect”. Plaques build up in the spaces between nerve cells, which can break up the communication between cells. Although most people develop such plaques as they age, Alzheimer’s patients tend to have more, beginning in the areas responsible for memory.
This July, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved Leqembi. It became the first Alzheimer’s drug to receive FDA approval in 20 years. Leqembi is designed to “remove plaques that have already formed and prevents them from forming”, US medical expert Jon LaPook told CBS News. Therefore, the drug can only be effective in those who are in the early stage of the disease. Patients would also need to have evidence of plaques in their brain, which can be detected through brain scans or blood tests.
Sadly, this drug is not a cure. According to the FDA’s press release, after a 79-week trial on human patients, the drug could slow but not reverse (逆转) the development of the disease and its related effect on memory. What it offers is a way for patients with Alzheimer’s to maintain their ability to live a more or less normal life for longer.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 55 million people are living with dementia (痴呆) worldwide, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause. As scientists make more effort, there’s growing hope that they can one day create a world where Alzheimer’s disease no longer affects millions of families like it used to.
1. What makes Alzheimer’s patients excited?| A．A US-Japanese partnership. | B．Damaged nerve cells in the brain. |
| C．A new drug for Alzheimer’s disease. | D．A kind of plaque in the memory area. |
| A．It can detect the plaque in patients’ brain. |
| B．It can reverse the development of disease. |
| C．It can be used in the late stage of the disease. |
| D．It can remove plaques and prevent their forming. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
| A．Progress in Treating Alzheimer’s Disease |
| B．A Promising Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease |
| C．The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on Patients |
| D．The Role of Plaque in Alzheimer’s Disease |
6 . Dr. Sara McLin thought she made the right choice by going to an in-network emergency room near her Florida home after her 4-year-old burned his hand on a stove last Memorial Day weekend.
Her family is insured through her husband’s employer, HCA Healthcare, a Nashville-based health system that operates more hospitals than any other system in the nation. So McLin knew that a nearby stand-alone emergency room, HCA Florida Lutz Emergency, would be in their plan’s provider network.
But McLin said a doctor there told her she couldn’t treat her son, Keeling, because he had second- and third-degree burns that needed a higher level of care. The doctor referred them to the burn center at HCA Florida Blake Hospital, about a 90-minute drive away.
McLin, who is a dentist, said the doctor told her the stand-alone ER would not charge for the visit because they did not provide treatment.
“I don’t remember exactly how she phrased it, but something along the lines of--we won’t even call this a visit, because we can’t do anything. ” McLin said.
At Blake Hospital, a doctor diagnosed Keeling with a second-degree burn, bandaged his hand, and sent them home with instructions on how to care for the wound.
“I didn’t think anything more of it. ” McLin said.
Then the bills came.
Total Bill: For the emergency room visit, Envision Physician Services billed $829 to insurance and about $72 to the family. HCA Florida Trinity Hospital billed Keeling about $129, noting it had applied an “uninsured discount”. A list showed the original charge had been nearly $1, 509 before adjustments and discounts.
She said she called her insurer, United Healthcare, and a representative told her not to pay the bill.
After being contacted by KHN, Aliese Polk, an Envision spokesperson, said in an email that Envision would give up the debt, apologizing to Keeling’s family “for the misunderstanding. ”
1. What does Paragraph 3 focus on?| A．A doctor’s suggestion. | B．Mclin’s anxiety. |
| C．Treatment to Mclin’s son. | D．The location of Bcahe hospital. |
| A．Fee from insurance service. |
| B．Original charge from hospital bill. |
| C．Family fee from insurance service. |
| D．A share from insurance and discounts from hospital bill. |
| A．The doctor at the emergency room healed Keeling’s burn. |
| B．Alises Polk’s dealing with the bill can be satisfying to Mclin’s family. |
| C．The doctor at Blake Hospital was impatient, treating Mclin’s lovely son. |
| D．Mclin’s little son was burned on a stove but the hospital simply refused him. |
| A．A treatment accident. | B．A scientific report. |
| C．A medical bill. | D．An interview report. |
7 . April 13, 2021 — The FDA and CDC on Tuesday recommended that use of the Johnson& Johnson COVID-19 be paused after reports of blood clots(血栓) in patients receiving the shot, the FDA and CDC announced Tuesday.
In a statement, FDA said the agency is looking into six reported cases of a rare and severe blood clot occurring in patients who received the vaccine.
The pause is intended to give time to warn the public to this “very rare” condition, experts said during a joint CDC-FDA media report Tuesday.
“It was clear to us that we needed to alert the public,” Janet Woodcock, MD, acting FDA officer said. The move also will allow time for the healthcare community to learn what they need to know about how to diagnose, treat and report any additional cases.
The CDC will hold a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization(免疫) Practices on Wednesday to review the cases.
Of the six reported cases linked to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, all are in women between the ages of 18 and 48 years, one woman died and another ended up in critical(严重的) condition. “I know the information today will be very concerning to Americans who have already received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,” said Anne Schuchat, MD, principal deputy director at the CDC. “For people who got the vaccine more than one month ago, the risk is very low at this time,” she added. “For people who recently got the vaccine, in the last couple of weeks, look for symptoms.”
Headache, leg pain, belly pain and shortness of breath were among the reported symptoms. All six cases arose within 6 to 13 days of receipt of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
“I know this has been a long and difficult pandemic, and people are tired of the steps they have to take,” Schuchat said. “Steps taken today make sure the health care system is ready to diagnose, treat and report any additional cases and the public has the information necessary to stay safe.”
1. Why did FDA and CDC advise pausing the use of J&J COVID vaccine?| A．People are tired of the steps they have to take during the pandemic. |
| B．The public need to be warned of the danger caused by the vaccine. |
| C．The CDC will hold a research to test the effectiveness of the vaccine. |
| D．The healthcare community has already known how to deal with the cases. |
| A．Women may have a higher risk of blood clots aftering receiving the vaccine. |
| B．The vaccine can be safely used to prevent older people from having COVID-19. |
| C．Americans having already received vaccine needn’t care about the information. |
| D．People will suffer from blood clots whenever they get the vaccine. |
| A．A Long and Difficult Pandemic |
| B．FDA, CDC Urge Pause of J&J COVID Vaccine |
| C．The Communities Diagnose, Treat and Report Additional Cases |
| D．Blood Clots Caused by J&J Vaccine |
| A．Education. | B．Health. | C．Culture. | D．Science. |
| A．At a cinema. | B．At a clinic. | C．At a bank. |
9 . Hospice (临终安养院) services benefit only about one person in three who dies in the US. “There are still over one million Americans who die each year without receiving hospice services,” according to a report produced in 2003. And for most who do get hospice care, their time in hospice is so short that staff members often lack the opportunity to provide the best care for their physical and emotional needs.
There are several reasons that more patients do not go into hospice care earlier. One is that Medicare (医疗保险) doesn’t cover the cost of patients’ life-extending treatment if they enter hospice. Medicare also requires that the doctor referring someone for hospice care must declare that the patient is expected to die within six months. As a result, some doctors hesitate about making an early referral to avoid being accused of cheating. Finally, there are simply not enough hospice centers and services available to meet the needs of dying patients throughout the country.
Many patients still have some concern over how hospice works. The philosophy of hospice is to neither accelerate nor postpone death. As Dr. Matt Kestenbaum, a hospice director, put it: “We let nature take its course, and we give patients all the things they need to be comfortable.”
Dying “naturally” in hospice does not deny patients the treatment for common diseases like blood clots. Hospice expenses are automatically covered by Medicare and most insurers provide hospice coverage as well.
Choosing hospice care does not mean patients lose the services of their personal doctors. They can return to regular insurance benefits when they leave hospice care because their condition improves or they want a therapy the hospice does not provide.
One thing bothering doctors is that patients will lose hope if they go into hospice. But the goal should be to refocus hope on what might be realistically achieved in the time remaining. A patient who enters hospice can have the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends and settle unfinished business.
1. Why don’t many patients go to hospice earlier?| A．Because patients have to stay in hospice for a long time. |
| B．Because Medicare requirements aren’t in favor of hospice. |
| C．Because doctors can’t predict how long patients will live. |
| D．Because most hospice services are far away from patients. |
| A．To extend patients’ life. | B．To ease patients’ sufferings. |
| C．To reduce patients’ costs. | D．To settle patients’ business. |
| A．They will lose treatment for common diseases. |
| B．Hospice can’t provide the treatment they need. |
| C．Doctors may give them unrealistic hope. |
| D．They will be separated from their family. |
| A．To criticize America’s Medicare system. |
| B．To explain why hospice is unpopular. |
| C．To introduce the way hospice works. |
| D．To popularize hospice services. |
10 . Malaria has been a deadly problem for humans since ancient times. Usually, people get malaria when infected mosquitoes bite them. Countless people have died from the disease. Thankfully, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou found an effective drug called qinghaosu.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Tu’s discovery. In 1969, Tu became the director of a national project to develop a drug against malaria. Her team took a unique approach. They studied books about classical Chinese medicine. After reading more than 2,000 old remedies (疗 法), Tu and her team collected over 600 plants and listed almost 380 possible remedies for malaria.
One remedy, which is 1,600 years old, uses sweet wormwood as a treatment. Tu found it effective and tried to extract the qinghaosu from it in order to make a drug. The extraction failed at first, so Tu returned to the classical books again and finally found a way. She used a low-temperature method to extract the qinghaosu and finally succeeded in 1972.
After her team showed that qinghaosu could treat malaria in mice and monkeys, Tu and two of her colleagues volunteered to test the drug on themselves before testing on human patients. It turned out that qinghaosu was safe and all patients in the test recovered. Gradually, qinghaosu became the first-line treatment for malaria recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), saving millions of lives around the world.
In 2015, when Tu was awarded with the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, she refused to take all of the credit. Instead, she praised her colleagues and Chinese traditional medicine. She once said: “Every scientist dreams of doing something that can help the world.”
1. Which of the following can best describe Tu?| A．Warm-hearted and strong-minded. | B．Cold-blooded but hardworking. |
| C．Devoted and determined. | D．Kind and energetic. |
| A．In 1969. | B．In 1972. | C．In 2000. | D．In 2015. |
| A．She kept on trying new method. |
| B．She used sweet wormwood as a treatment. |
| C．She made a drug from qinghaosu. |
| D．She buried herself in classic books again. |
| A．Traditional Chinese Medicine plays an important role in her discovery. |
| B．She won an award because she volunteered to test the drug. |
| C．Qinghaosu was recommended as the first-line treatment for malaria. |
| D．Tu thought she didn’t deserve the award. |
