| A．At the dentist’s. | B．At a school. | C．At a café. |
2 . If you walk into W. Lloyd Jerome’s dental surgery in the centre of Glasgow, you’ll see bright modern paintings on the wall and a fashionable blue couch which patients sit on while he checks their teeth. Jerome says, “Fifty per cent of the population only go to the dentist when they’re in pain rather than attending for regular check-ups. That’s because they’re frightened.”
To counteract this, he has tried to create an environmental where people are not afraid. “That’s why I took the decision not to wear a white coat. I find that’s one of the things that people associate with pain. In fact, my philosophy is that dental treatment should take place in an atmosphere of relaxation, interest and above all enjoyment.”
Which is all highly shocking for anyone (most of us in fact) who has learned to associate dental treatment with pain, or at the very least, with formal, clinical visits. Jerome says, “If people are relaxed, entertained and correctly treated, they will forget such previous negative experiences.”
Virtual-reality headsets are one of his new relaxation techniques. “We were the first practice in Britain to introduce them and they’re proving very popular. The headsets are used for the initial check-up, where the patient sits comfortably on the blue couch and watches a film about underwater wildlife while I look at their teeth. Then the headset switches to a special camera, to give the patient a visual tour around their mouth.” Surprisingly, most patients seem to enjoy this part of their visit to the dentist.
Although he is known as Glasgow’s most fashionable dentist, Jerome is keen to point out that the takes his work very seriously. “The relaxation techniques are important but the quality of the treatment is of course the most important thing.” For example, Jerome uses a special instrument which sprays warm water on the teeth to clean them, rather than scraping them. “It feels a bit strange at first, but as long as people are relaxed, it’s not painful at all.”
Five years ago, Jerome went to the United States to do research into dental techniques. “One of the things I found out there was that when you make it easier for the patient you make it easier for yourself,” he explains. He sees his patient-centred attitude as the start of a gradual movement towards less formality in the conservative British dentistry profession.
1. W. Lloyd Jerome doesn’t wear a white coat at work because ______.| A．it is not fashionable enough |
| B．it reminds patients of pain |
| C．it makes him look serious |
| D．it does not wash easily |
| A．The virtual-reality headsets. |
| B．The environment of his clinic. |
| C．The visual tour of patients’ own mouth. |
| D．The special equipment that sprays warm water. |
| A．British dentistry profession is not formal enough |
| B．dentists should put themselves before patients |
| C．being patient-centred is a win-win approach |
| D．dental techniques are not that important |
| A．patients can enjoy their visits to the dentists’ |
| B．Britain can compare with the U. S. in dentistry |
| C．people will realize the importance of dental care |
| D．people will have regular dental check-ups for relaxation |
Researchers examined the benefits of singing among people with mental health conditions
They found people who took part in a community singing group improved their mental health and that the
The grassroots action runs weekly singing workshops for the people
The research project followed the group for six months and
The report shows how singing and socializing gave participants
4 . With the weather getting colder and the days becoming shorter, some people are noticing they have less energy and aren’t feeling as positive as they usually do.
Researchers aren’t yet clear on what causes SAD, but it's likely to be complex. Some research suggests it could be due to a malfunctioning hypothalamus (下丘脑功能不全) or producing too much melatonin (a hormone which controls our sleep-wake cycle). Some researchers theorize it could also be due to having a disrupted circadian rhythm(昼夜节奏混乱).
Some people notice that their symptoms start to improve when the seasons begin to change and spring approaches.
Aside from seeking professional help, there are a couple of other things that people can do to help them cope with SAD during their day.
| A．Colder weather and less daylight may have you feeling a bit more down lately. |
| B．Research also shows that lifestyle factors can play an important role in both causing and managing depression. |
| C．According to one study, getting more natural light during the day may help improve symptoms. |
| D．Of course, there may be other factors at play too. |
| E．But this doesn’t mean that there aren't many things people can do during the winter months to help them cope with their symptoms. |
| F．While these feelings may be temporary for some, around one in three people consistently struggle through the autumn and winter months. |
| G．Light therapy is also currently being investigated as a treatment for SAD. |
5 . Different parts of a health care system have different focuses. A hospital's stroke (中风) unit monitors blood flow in the brain. The cardiac (心脏的) unit is interested in that same flow, but through and from the heart. Each collection of equipment and data is effective in its own field. Thus, like the story of blind men feeling an elephant, modern health care offers many separate pictures of a patient, but rarely a useful united one.
On top of all this, the instruments that doctors use to monitor health are often expensive, as is the training required to use them. That combined cost is too high for the medical system to scan the body regularly for early signs of illness, so patients are at risk of heart disease or a stroke.
An unusual research project called AlzEye, run by Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, in cooperation with University College London (UCL), may change this. It is attempting to use the eye as a window through which signals about the health of other organs could be discovered. The doctors in charge of it, Siegfried Wagner and Pearse Keane, are studying Moorfields' database of eye scans, which offers a detailed picture of the health of the retina (视网膜).
The project will go a step further: with the information about other aspects of patients' health collected from other hospitals around England, doctors will be able to look for more accurate signs of disease through eye scans.
The Moorfields’ data set has lots of linked cases to work with — far more than any similar project. For instance, the U.K. Biobank, one of the world’s leading databases of medical data about individual people, contains 631 cases of a “major cardiac adverse event”. The Moorfields’ data contain about 12,000 such cases. The Biobank has data on about 1,500 stroke patients. Moorfields has 11,900. For the disease, dementia (老年痴呆), on which the Moorfields’ project will focus to start with, the data set holds 15,100 cases. The only comparable study has 86.
Wagner and Keane are searching for patterns in the eye that show the emergence of disease elsewhere in the body. If such patterns could be recognized reliably, the potential impact would be huge.
1. Why does the author mention “the story of blind men feeling an elephant” in Paragraph 1?| A．To claim the ineffectiveness of our health care system. |
| B．To tell the similarity in various health care units. |
| C．To explain the limitation of modern health care. |
| D．To show the complexity of patients' pictures. |
| A．By thoroughly examining one’s body organs. |
| B．By identifying one’s state of health through eye scans. |
| C．By helping doctors discover one’s disease of the eye. |
| D．By comparing the eye-scan data from different hospitals. |
| A．It takes advantage of abundantly available medical data. |
| B．It makes the collection of medical data more convenient. |
| C．It improves the Moorfields' competitiveness in the medical field. |
| D．It strengthens data sharing between the Moorfields and the Biobank. |
1. Who is the speech targeted for?
| A．American private doctors. | B．American college students. | C．Overseas students. |
| A．Public clinics. | B．Private clinics. | C．Private doctors. |
| A．Travel with their family. |
| B．Take their personal health records. |
| C．Have a yearly medical examination. |
7 . Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), with Chinese Kungfu and Peking Opera, is one of China's cultural symbols recognized worldwide. It is a treasure of Chinese civilization, making great contributions to world civilization by improving people's health and promoting social progress. In the meanwhile, TCM creates a new situation.
There used to be discussions in China about whether TCM or Western medicine was better, and arguments can still be heard today. But actually, TCM and western medicine are two different medical systems that cannot replace each other. In some aspects such as surgery, Western medicine is better than TCM, but in other areas, such as recovery after surgery and treatment of long-term diseases, TCM is more effective. This is why some Chinese hospitals provide both TCM and Western medicine treatments. A combination of both has been accepted by many Chinese people as the most effective treatment.
Today, promoting and innovating TCM has become accepted in Chinese society. The Chinese government has made policies to support the development and innovation of TCM, with a view to establishing a Chinese healthcare development model paying equal attention to both.
The supportive policies of the Chinese Government will concentrate on three aspects. The first is the strengthening of TCM services in medical institutions. The second is to apply Internet technology to TCM management, including setting up a database containing TCM electronic medical records and prescriptions ( 处方)The third is to give better play to the advantages of TCM, especially acupuncture ( 针灸)and naprapathy(推拿). The function of TCM in disease prevention and recovery will also be strengthened.
As long as TCM keeps its advantages and respects the rules of development and innovation, it will surely be able to keep important and bring more benefits to people in China and the world.
1. What advantage does Western medicine have over TCM？| A．It is a symbol of national civilization. |
| B．It is more effective in surgery. |
| C．It is more successful in recovery after surgery. |
| D．It is more effective in treating long term diseases. |
| A．It stresses the importance of Western medicine. |
| B．It attaches equal attention to TCM and Western medicine. |
| C．It has been established by the Chinese government. |
| D．It pays equal attention to developing and innovating TCM. |
| A．It makes better use of the advantages of TCM. |
| B．It combines Internet Technology with TCM. |
| C．It calls on the public to support TCM. |
| D．It increases TCM services in hospitals and medical centers. |
| A．TCM Breaks New Ground. | B．Chinese Government Promotes TCM. |
| C．TCM is One of China's Cultural Symbols. | D．TCM Beats Western Medicine. |
8 . Scientists from Imperial College London have found that using virtual reality (VR) headsets can reduce sensitivity to pain, by immersing people in icy Arctic scenery. In a study published in Pain Reports, a team from Imperial used VR video to reduce people’s sensitivity to ongoing pain and sharp shooting pain.
According to the researchers, the findings add to the growing evidence for the potential of VR technology to help patients with long-term pain. Beyond the distracting effect, they think VR may actually cause the body’s own inbuilt pain-fighting systems to start working.
Dr Sam Hughes, the first author on the paper, said, “Our work suggests that VR may be getting involved in processes in the key parts of our inbuilt pain-fighting systems and are helpful in regulating the spread of increased sensitivity to pain.”
To test their theory, researchers applied a cream containing capsaicin — the chemical that makes your mouth bum-to 15 healthy volunteers. The capsaicin makes the skin more sensitive to painful stimuli like a very small electric shock.
In the first trial, participants were then asked to rate the pain caused by the capsaicin cream on a scale of 0-100 (from ‘no pain’ to ‘worst pain possible’)while either watching a VR scene of Arctic exploration through a headset, or looking at a still image of an Arctic scene on a monitor. Under the same conditions, they were also asked to say when a stimulus applied directly to the skin area is considered as painful.
The team found that ongoing pain was reduced following VR immersion, and that sensitivity to painful stimuli was also reduced. However, the same effect was not seen in people who looked at still images of the polar environment.
They explain that while the findings made at the beginning are encouraging, the study is limited by the small number of healthy participants, without long-term pain. However, the researchers believe VR could hold a bright future to treat patients with long-term pain who have poor inbuilt pain fighting systems.
1. How can VR possibly help long-term pain sufferers?| A．By controlling the spread of pain sensitivity. | B．By slowing down their brains' reaction to pain. |
| C．By making their pain-fighting systems function. | D．By drawing their attention to fighting pain. |
| A．Applying capsaicin cream to the skin. | B．Looking at pictures on a computer screen. |
| C．Making a capsaicin cream. | D．Putting on virtual reality headsets. |
| A．Healthy people were less sensitive to VR than pain sufferers. |
| B．Capsaicin cream brought people more pain than electronic stimulus. |
| C．Still images helped to ease people's pain. |
| D．VR immersion was the key factor in pain reduction. |
| A．VR treatment can be applied in other medical fields. |
| B．The trial only has an effect on short-term pain patient. |
| C．The team feels confident about future VR treatment. |
| D．The researchers will work on the side effect of VR. |
9 . Today in Taiwan, people from all
For six months, I was bedridden, I could not move, I would have symptoms of tingling and numbness in my hands. It was an awful pain.
Then Shourang heard about beesting therapy. For
After 600 bees, you will look 5 years younger than your contemporaries (同龄人).
But can beestings really help Shourang fight multiple sclerosis? She began an intensive force of therapy, receiving over 200 stings a week for months on end. Honey bees only sting once, and they die soon after. But even
He gives me one sting. I don’t even have time to feel the
Naturally, as an educated man, I was
But Mr. Chen completely changed his mind when he saw his wife’s sudden
After 3 months, her red blood cell count
Mr. Chen made up his mind to
| A．runs | B．kinds | C．occupations | D．walks |
| A．safety | B．treatment | C．advice | D．help |
| A．gone on with | B．practiced | C．performed | D．made |
| A．separated | B．far | C．different | D．put away |
| A．enemy | B．victim | C．patient | D．object |
| A．comfort | B．discomfort | C．pain | D．touch |
| A．goes | B．continues | C．keeps | D．lasts |
| A．burden with | B．go through | C．suffer from | D．suffer |
| A．lie | B．stand up | C．sleep | D．sit |
| A．against | B．object to | C．for | D．in favour of |
| A．condition | B．improvement | C．recovery | D．treatment |
| A．rose | B．declined | C．increased | D．reduced |
| A．gave | B．sacrifice | C．contribute | D．devote |
| A．relieved | B．saved | C．cut | D．remove |
| A．after | B．when | C．before | D．since |
10 . Most dog owners know that feeding chocolate to their furry friend is a big no-no. Well, one animal hospital in Alabama believes that “no dog should go to heaven without tasting chocolate.”
Smiths Station Animal Hospital posted a photo to their Facebook page of a jar of Hershey Kisses with the words “Goodbye Kisses” painted on the side. There was also a note from one of the hospital’s doctors that read, “This jar is reserved for our euthanasia (安乐死) appointments...because no dog should go to heaven without tasting chocolate.”
“We try to provide as much comfort as possible during a terribly difficult and emotional time. My staff has always kept little snacks and candy bars around specifically for those appointments,” Dr. Nicole Namie, told WRBL. “Typically, these are treats that I wouldn’t recommend giving to my patients, but in their final moments, I think it’s important to offer them something special.”
“We always give them something to make them feel good and to enjoy the last few minutes,” Jennifer Williams, practice manager at Smiths Station Animal Hospital told Newsweek. She said given that the hospital is in a small community, the staff and doctors become attached to the pets and when it comes time to say goodbye it’s heartbreaking for everyone.
The response to the post has been overwhelming, she said, and the best part has been having people from around the world share their own stories. “It has really turned into a really sweet post,” Williams said. “There is no hate speech on it. Everyone is just showing compassion for each other.” The post has since been shared over 113,000 times on Facebook and made its way to TikTok and Reddit feeds too.
1. What do the underlined words “Hershey Kisses” refer to in Paragraph 2?| A．Sweet kisses. | B．Effective medicine. |
| C．Heartwarming photos. | D．Tasty chocolate. |
| A．It is good for dogs’ health. | B．It serves as dogs’ last treat. |
| C．It keeps dogs free from physical pain. | D．It is a recommended drug for euthanasia. |
| A．A news story. | B．A lab report. |
| C．A research review. | D．A service ad. |
