1 . Measles (麻疹), which once killed 1450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine (疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.
The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called “herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn’t work.
But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.
That’s exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.
The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.
Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out (决定不参加) of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption (豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.
Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.
Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they’ll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.
1. The first two paragraphs suggest that .| A．a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trend |
| B．the outbreak of measles attracts the public attention |
| C．anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasons |
| D．information about measles spreads quickly |
| A．exemptions are allowed | B．several vaccines are used together |
| C．the whole neighborhood involved in | D．new regulations are added to the state laws |
| A．To introduce the idea of exemption. | B．To discuss methods to cure measles. |
| C．To stress the importance of vaccination. | D．To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment. |
2 . While many people aren’t getting enough calcium (钙), new research cautions that some people may have the opposite problem: They could be getting too much. Americans spend more than $1 billion a year on calcium supplements (补充剂) in hopes of delaying osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease that cripples many elderly women and some men. Yet recent studies link calcium supplements to a higher risk of heart attacks. Last month, the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation against taking calcium and vitamin D, saying there wasn’t enough evidence of benefit to justify the risk.
For generations of Americans who grew up encouraged to drink milk to maintain strong bones, the reports raised troubling questions: Is calcium not so important after all? Are the supplements unsafe? And how much is too much? “It’s gotten very confusing but it doesn’t need to be,” says Ethel Siris, director of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center in New York. How much calcium people need varies by age and gender. “Adults generally need 1,000 mg daily, rising to 1,200 mg for women over 50 and men over 70, according to guidelines issued in 2010. Children need 1,300 mg daily during the peak growing years of 9 to 18. ”
People also need sufficient levels of vitamin D to absorb the calcium. The IOM recommends 600 international units a day for most adults, and 800 daily after age 70, although many physicians recommend more. It is difficult to take in that much vitamin D from food sources, so experts say many people should take vitamin D in supplement form.
Getting adequate (充足的) calcium from food is easier. For example, 8 ounces of milk or 6 ounces of yogurt has 300 mg of calcium, and one cup of spinach has 270 mg.
But studies linking calcium supplements to heart attack have made experts more cautious of excess calcium than before. A study of 24,000 Germans published in the journal Heart last month, found that those who got their calcium exclusively from supplements were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack as those who took no supplements.
Exactly how calcium supplements might contribute to heart attacks baffles cardiologists (心脏病学家). “Nobody has associated the calcium in your bloodstream with calcification (钙化) in your arteries,” says Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Center. Still, she says she now urges patients get their recommended calcium from food than from supplements to avoid possible problems.
Osteoporosis experts also urge patients not to take more than the recommended amount of calcium. “People should definitely stop taking two big calcium supplements a day,” says Dr. Dawson-Hughes. Even if the risks remain unclear, taking more than the body can absorb doesn’t benefit bones, “so it’s not worth any risk. ” She adds.
1. What is Ethel Siris’ opinion on taking calcium supplements?| A．Taking calcium supplements is unsafe. |
| B．Adults need more calcium than children. |
| C．Age and gender determine how much calcium is needed. |
| D．It is safer to take calcium from food than from supplements. |
| A．Interest. | B．Amaze. | C．Frighten. | D．Puzzle. |
| A．Taking two calcium supplements a day is good for health. |
| B．It might be wiser to take recommended calcium from food. |
| C．It is easy for people to obtain enough Vitamin D from food. |
| D．The benefits of taking calcium supplements outweigh its risks. |
When Kylie
Research shows that individuals who sit all day, even if they go to the gym for an hour, are at
5 . Flu is killing us. The usual response to the annual flu is not enough to fight against the risks we currently face, let alone prepare us for an even deadlier widespread flu that most experts agree will come in the future. Yes, we have an annual vaccine , and everyone qualified should get it without question. The reality, however, is that less than half Americans get the flu vaccines. And the flu vaccines we have are only 60% effective in the best years and 10% effective in the worst years. We urgently need a much more effective flu vaccine.
In the U.S. alone, seasonal flu can cause up to 36 million infections, three-quarters of a million hospitalizations and 56,000 deaths. We are not investing the resources needed to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
Why not? We haven’t been hit by a truly destructive widespread disease in a long time. So as individuals, we let down our guard as our leaders quietly defund and destaff the services we need to protect us.
The risk of continued foot dragging is huge. In a severe widespread disease, the U.S. health care system could be defeated in just weeks. Millions of people would be infected by the virus, and would die in the weeks and months following the initial outbreak.
The cost of preventing epidemics is roughly a tenth of what it costs to cope with them when they hit. In 2012, a call was issued for an annual billion-dollar U.S. commitment to the development of a universal flu vaccine. Six years later, the search for a universal vaccine remains seriously underfunded.
The simple reason lies in our collective satisfaction. As soon as headlines about the flu are gone, hospitals are emptied of flu patients, and school and workplace absence rates decline, we go back to business as usual.
Leading scientists and public health officials have the capability to keep us much safer from flu. They need your quick and decisive support to succeed. Your action today may be a matter of life and death for you and your loved ones.
1. The problem of the current flu vaccines is that _______.| A．they are not available every year |
| B．most Americans are not allowed to get them |
| C．not everyone is qualified for them |
| D．many people still catch flu after getting them |
| A．Hospitals cannot meet the needs of patients during flu outbreaks. |
| B．Individuals aren’t alert enough to the underinvestment in flu prevention |
| C．The leaders continue to drag the feet of the patients infected with flu. |
| D．Flu will certainly become a severe widespread disease in the near future. |
| A．Science is currently not so developed as to keep us safer from flu. |
| B．The death rate from flu is much higher than that from other diseases. |
| C．The general public is partially to blame for the neglect of flu prevention. |
| D．Developing a universal flu vaccine will cost more than dealing with flu. |
Emma was on her way home when she heard a sudden scream. Looking around, she saw a little boy on the sidewalk gasping (急喘) for air, his
Polio is a scary disease
8 . A Teenage Inventor
The world could be one step closer to quick and inexpensive Ebola detection thanks to a teenager from Connecticut.
Olivia Hallisey, a junior at Greenwich High School, was awarded $50,000 in the Google Science Fair for her new method that detects Ebola, a virus that causes bleeding from different parts of the body and usually causes death. Olivia’s method is to ask patients to put their saliva (唾液) onto a testing card. The card changes color if the person is catching Ebloa. Present Ebloa tests take up to 12 hours and cost $1,000. Olivia’s method, however, can be done just in 30 minutes for about $25. Besides, the sample (样本) doesn’t have to be put in a refrigerator thanks to the silk material Olivia uses to produce the testing cards.
Olivia was inspired to deal with this global problem after watching the news that more than 10,000 people died from Ebola in West Africa. She was particularly worried about the fact that, while the acts of involvement can improve survival rates, present detection methods are costly, time-consuming and require complex tools. Olivia got help from her science research teacher. She drew out directions from past research, and figured out detection systems that have proven to work with other diseases, including Lyme disease and yellow fever.
“What affects one country affects everyone,”Olivia told CNBC. “We have to work together to find answers to the huge challenges which cause harm to the global health.” The Connecticut’s teen, who hopes to become a doctor one day, was named the Google Science Fair winner in the competition of 20 competitors from across the globe. The fair is open to young people between the ages of 13 and 18 in most countries.
Olivia hopes her success will inspire other girls interested in science and computers. “I would just encourage girls to try it in the beginning, and remind them that they don’t have to feel naturally drawn or feel like they have a special talent for maths or science,” she told CNBC, “but just really look at something they are interested in and then think how to improve something or make it more enjoyable or relate it to their interests.”
1. According to the passage, present Ebola detection methods______.| A．require samples to be kept in refrigerators |
| B．must use a large amount of samples |
| C．may detect other deadly viruses as well |
| D．have proven to be ineffective in practice |
| A．Admitted. | B．Controlled. | C．Attracted. | D．Exposed. |
| A．inventors | B．students | C．doctors | D．scientists |
9 . Life lessons from death
Living gratefully has a huge transforming power, not just when something wonderful or special happens, but every day no matter what is happening. I've recently been involved with two people whose lives were challenged by bad luck. I have seen how grateful living had the power to keep one of them going and how it's beginning to lift the other. One was a friend and the other is my sister.
My friend seemed to be in good health when she received a deadly diagnosis（诊断）: a disease with no effective treatment. She had all the emotions that a tragedy（悲剧）brings, but she also had a powerful response to despair（绝望）that gave her " the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens." She wrote online daily, honestly sharing the details of her situations.
She wrote that even though it was difficult to move, this gave her more time to notice small things. She was grateful not only for the love and help of family and friends, but also for time to see the sun rise and watch the birds in her yard. No opportunity for gratefulness was wasted.
She taught that gratefulness is not a false cheerfulness. It's taking every opportunity to celebrate the blessings of small things. We can be grateful for the challenge that helps us develop compassion（同情）for each other. Life is a precious gift.
She repeatedly blogged（写博客）that she was happier than she had ever been. When she wrote about "the worst day", she ended with "Life is still a lovely gift." She died later that day.
Her message, however, changed my sister's life. My sister's health was getting worse and worse, though nothing life-threatening（威胁生命的）. She did have a very painful knee. Her life was in danger form her defeated spirit She was bed-bound（卧床不起）, getting weaker and weaker. Fearful, angry and depressed, she felt out of options for recovery.
I read my sister a few of my friend's messages. I was careful not to say, "Why can't you be more like her? " Instead, I let the words do their work. I'm grateful to say that an attitude of gratitude began to replace her anger and fear. I believe this helped her to heal.
We can't be grateful for all that happens, but we can practise gratefulness for life itself, for all we can learn to deal with, for all the ways we can help each other grow and heal.
1. How did the author's sister feel when she was ill?| A．Calm | B．Lonely | C．Sad | D．Confused |
| A．She complained that life was unfair to her. |
| B．She started to appreciate and enjoy the small things in life. |
| C．She tried her best to look for the best doctors. |
| D．She repeatedly blogged how painful it was. |
| A．Writing a blog | B．Eating healthy food |
| C．Talking with family | D．Being grateful for life |
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．Gratitude has the power of lifting people's spirits. |
| C．Health is the most important thing for people. |
| D．Families will always be there no matter what happens. |
10 . We know that the pandemic(流行病)has had a far-reaching impact on our minds — so much so that it may have changed the very fabric of our society altogether. Mental health professionals think that those with social anxiety will not emerge from the pandemic unaffected.Counselling Directory member Beverley Blackman says, “For people with social anxiety, lockdown will make them deeply anxious in one way, and yet a relief in another.” He added, “On one hand, a person with social anxiety may feel relieved that they no longer have to socialize in person, but they may also feel that they have lost the opportunity to socialize with the people they feel safe and secure spending time with, meaning that they feel a new level of isolation and a different level of anxiety about socializing in any form.Without the security of those they feel safe with, self-confidence may very well decrease rapidly.Lockdown may have had a negative impact on those with social anxiety.”
Dr Daria J.Kuss, associate professor in psychology at Nottingham Trent University, says: “Following the lockdown, people in this country were allowed to meet up again, which for individuals with social anxiety may have led to stress and worry.They may not be comfortable being expected to be ‘social’ again, especially when in larger groups, and may worry about saying the wrong things and asking the wrong questions as they are reintegrating into their offline social lives.” Furthermore, Beverley says our even bigger reliance on social media and digital communication in the midst of lockdown could also have a negative impact on people with social anxiety.She says “For some people with social anxiety, communication by media can be even harder than communication in person.We know that words form only roughly 7-10% of the way in which we communicate and that we rely on body language, facial expression, tone of voice, and unconscious signals behind words to convey our thoughts and feelings.”
When it comes to what people with social anxiety can do to feel better as the lockdown situation continues to shift, Dr.Kuss says “I recommend being open and honest with their social environments. Friends and family will empathize when the concerns are voiced openly.Engaging in focused breathing and relaxation may also help alleviate feelings of worry and discomfort.Finally, negative thinking (e.g., “I don’t know what to say”) may be replaced with positive ones (e.g., “I am good enough” and “My friends want to see me”).”
1. Why do people with social anxiety feel relieved during the lockdown?| A．There is no one disturbing their life. |
| B．There is no need for them to socialize. |
| C．They have increased their self-confidence. |
| D．People can no longer communicate with each other. |
| A．Stimulate. | B．Relieve. | C．Begin. | D．Develop. |
| A．Stay at home alone. | B．Communicate online. |
| C．Open heart to strangers. | D．Take a positive attitude. |
| A．Stay with safe people can bring more confidence. |
| B．Lockdown can help people overcome the feeling of anxiety. |
| C．For people with social anxiety, lockdown is a double-edged sword. |
| D．It is a suitable way for people of social anxiety to communicate by media. |
