Our listener question this week comes from Abdullahi Farah, who wants to know about the life and work of Doctor Benjamin Carson.
Doctor Carson is an internationally recognized doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the hospital for twenty-five years. At the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest doctors in the United States to hold that position. And he was the first African-American to have that position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Ben Carson is known for his work as a brain surgeon for children. For example, in nineteen eighty-seven, he led a team of seventy doctors and nurses in an operation to separate two babies joined at the head. Earlier attempts by other surgeons on other babies had failed. Doctor Carson successfully performed the operation. Both babies were able to survive independently.
Doctor Carson has written four books. His first book, "Gifted Hands," tells the story of his life. Benjamin Carson was born in nineteen fifty-one in Detroit, Michigan.
As a boy, Ben was not a good student. In fact, he was the worst in his class. When his mother learned of his failing grades she asked her sons to read two library books every week. She limited the amount of time they watched television. And she told them to respect every person.
Ben Carson soon became the top student in his class. He went on to study at Yale University, one of the best universities in the country, and later to medical school at the University of Michigan.
Doctor Carson has received many awards and honors. Last year he received the nation's highest civilian honor. Former President George W. Bush presented Benjamin Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House. The passage is probably taken from _____.
| A．a radio | B．a magazine | C．TV | D．a paper |
What does the word “surgeons” in paragraph 3 mean?
| A．nurses | B．doctors | C．hospitals | D．points |
Benjamin Carson’s change in study was largely because of ______
| A．his hard work | B．his teacher | C．his mother | D．his father |
What’s the aim to write the passage?
| A．To call on us to learn from Benjamin Carson. |
| B．To praise Benjamin Carson for his achievements. |
| C．To show us how Benjamin Carson succeeded |
| D．To introduce Benjamin Carson’s life and work |
There are many ways in which human cloning is expected to benefit mankind. Below is a list that is far from complete.
Dr. Richard Seed, one of the leading proponents (支持者) of human cloning technology, suggests that it may someday be possible to reverse the aging process because of what we learn from cloning. Scientists believe that they may be able to treat heart attack victims by cloning their healthy heart cells and injecting them into the areas of the heart that have been damaged. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and several other industrialized countries.
There has been a breakthrough with human stem cells. Embryonic (胚胎的) stem cells can be grown to produce organs to repair or replace damaged ones. Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys could be produced. By combining this technology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed organs for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart failure, and other problems may be made curable if human cloning and its technology are not banned.
Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility (不生育), in terms of percentages, are not very successful. One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10 percent successful. Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children. Human cloning could make it possible for more infertile couples to have children than ever before. The passage mainly deals with _______.
| A．the problems with human cloning |
| B．the disadvantages of human cloning |
| C．the advantages of human cloning |
| D．the different ways human cloning is done |
According to Dr. Richard Seed we can use cloning technology _______.
| A．to make people look younger |
| B．to make people live longer |
| C．to cure people of many diseases |
| D．to produce more animals |
From the passage we can infer that _______.
| A．cloning has already been used to treat heart diseases |
| B．we can treat a man’s heart disease by cloning others’hearts |
| C．most people in industrialized countries suffer from heart diseases |
| D．more people die of heart diseases than of other diseases in America |
What would be the best headline for the last paragraph?
| A．With Cloning, Infertile Couples Could Have Children |
| B．Treatment of Infertility Is Not Successful |
| C．Physically and Emotionally Pain of Infertile Couples |
| D．The News Is Not Telling the Truth |
Treated with an organ cloned from his own stem cells, _______.
| A．the patient is more likely to develop other diseases |
| B．the patient’s immune systems don’t reject the new organ |
| C．the patient will be free of rejection by his immune systems |
| D．the patient will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease |
A Full-Time School Called Life
You are enrolled in a full-time school called "life". Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.
Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time. What we and our ancestors overlooked, however, is there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual.
Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's. As you travel your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons that you will need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is a key to discovering and fulfilling the meaning and connection of your own life.
As you travel through your lifetime, you may encounter challenging lessons that others don't have to face, while others spend years struggling with challenges that you don't need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer through bitter arguments and painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on for certain is that you specifically need to learn; whether we choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you.
The challenge here, therefore, is to align (与……保持一致) yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will be faced with in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be completely different from others. But, remember, don't compare your path to the people around you and focus on the difference between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only be faced with lessons that you are capable of learning and are specific to your own growth.
Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equity-the assumption that all things are equal and that justice will always prevail. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult lift path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone's circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently. If you want to move toward calm, you will be required to move out the comparing phrase of "it's not fair". Focusing on the unfairness of circumstances keeps you comparing yourself with others rather than appreciating your own special uniqueness. You miss out on learning your
individual lessons by distracting yourself with feeling of bitterness and anger. According to the passage, how can the meaning of your life be realized?
| A．Having the same opinions as others. |
| B．Taking the distinct path from others. |
| C．Learning the lessons presented to you. |
| D．Doing the different things from others. |
From the passage we can conclude _____.
| A．everyone has his own track to follow |
| B．the same thing usually happen to the peers |
| C．a painful divorce must lie in financial problems |
| D．a wealthy man must have a wonderful marriage |
In your lifetimes, the lessons you are faced with _____.
| A．are beyond your power |
| B．keep you from growth |
| C．limit your development |
| D．help you with your success |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．All things are equal and justice will always prevail. |
| B．You should learn to appreciate your specific uniqueness. |
| C．One has to fix his mind on unfairness of circumstances. |
| D．The teachers have designed the lessons as part of your curriculum in the life school. |
Life is called a full-time school, because _____.
| A．it is full of all lessons to learn |
| B．you have plenty of time to learn lessons |
| C．you meet with specific lessons every day |
| D．there are so many subjects for you to choose |
Finding your first job after leaving school，college or university is probably the hardest job hunting exercise you’ll ever face. However, there are some simple methods that can give you advantages over other first time job seekers.
First time job seekers have the hardest time in finding their first job. In the case of graduates, many universities will have dedicated placement personnel who will assist students in finding their first job. Specialist tutors are also likely to have a network of individuals in the commercial world who might occasionally take on recent graduates, so never underestimate the help that you can get from this area. It’s always worth asking your fellow students where they spent any job placement years and you can see if it’s worth approaching any of those companies. People generally like to help others, so don’t be afraid to ask for any assistance that you can get freely like this.
Similarly, if school and college leavers have an interest in a particular subject, they should talk to their teacher or lecturer in that subject and discuss career options. It could be that they could point you in the right direction by at least identifying companies that could use your particular skills.
The problem that many younger people have is that they simply don’t know what they want to do once they have finished their education. Therefore, it’s important for anyone leaving education to understand their own strengths and to determine what their particular skills are. The student job seekers should put a CV (履历) together based on what they’d like the employer to consider. Highlight your education, but instead of focusing on the actual qualifications and talk about the amount of learning that was involved. If you have completed any kind of work during your student work, be certain to mention it and what you gained from it.
Although a CV isn’t the only factor in helping you find your first job, it’s still a potential door-opener, so you should make it a document that is a compelling sales tool for you. From the passage we learn that _______.
| A．graduates often underestimate the help from specialist tutors |
| B．it is definite that first time job seekers will fail several times |
| C．a first time job seeker needn’t emphasize his education while looking for jobs |
| D．it is important for first time job seekers to learn some simple methods |
While looking for their first job, graduates are advised to refer to _______.
| A．specialist tutors and their parents |
| B．managers of different companies |
| C．specialist tutors and their fellow students |
| D．placement personnel and employers |
Why is it important for school and college leavers to determine their particular skills?
| A．Because it can help them find a job suitable for them. |
| B．Because their teachers will ask them to talk about the skills. |
| C．Because their lecturers will give them a lecture about the skills. |
| D．Because most of them don’t know about their particular skills. |
What do we know about a CV of first time job seekers?
| A．A CV should focus on actual qualifications. |
| B．The amount of learning needn’t be mentioned in a CV. |
| C．It is necessary to mention the work they have completed at school in a CV. |
| D．People needn’t care about a CV because it isn’t important. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Overcome difficulties in finding jobs |
| B．Find your first job |
| C．Meet your first employer |
| D．Make a successful job interview |
A black and white kitten with a broken back lay on animal doctor Betsy Knenon's examination table. A regular customer had rushed him to her office after his pet dog brought the cat home in his mouth. The dog's owner was horrified, believing that his pet had caused the cat's injuries. But Kennon found no teeth marks or bite wounds, which showed that the dog had probably saved, not harmed, the kitten.
In Kennon’s opinion, however, the cat was a hopeless case. Many doctors would have put down such a badly hurt animal. But she couldn’t be so cruel. The kitten’s bright eyes and sad face had won her over. There was no way of finding his owner, so Kennon, a single woman aged 56, decided to keep him.
She gave him a round of shots and fed him food mixed with medicines. He couldn’t move his back legs but soon started pulling himself forward with his front legs. The doctor named him Scooter and contacted a company that makes carts for disabled animals. Scooter took to his new wheels like a natural. In no time he was able to move freely, if somewhat awkwardly, around Kennon’s office, home and even her backyard. The sight of the determined Scooter was uplifting and amusing in equal measure and Kennon had to smile each time the cat entered the room.
Kennon was convinced that her kitten could share his high spirits with others. So she took Scooter to the local hospital to see if he could help the patients. His first patient was an elderly woman who’d had a stroke and hadn’t spoken to anyone for two days. Scooter jumped out of Kennon’s arms and onto the bed, rolled over to the patient, and lay gently near her cheek, purring softly. The woman looked at Scooter. “Kitty,” she murmured as she began to talk to him. Amazed, Kennon turned to the doctor--- and saw that she was in tears. The cat had engineered a small miracle.
Today Scooter spends about ten hours a month working with patients who are recovering from strokes and injuries. Again and again, Kennon watches as her cat provides hope and comfort. As one patient who’d lost her leg in a car accident said, “If he can do it, so can I.” From Paragraph 1, we know that ___________.
| A．the dog’s owner was a stranger to Kennon |
| B．the cat had several bite marks on its body |
| C．the dog was extremely cruel to the cat |
| D．who actually injured the cat was unknown |
The underlined phrase “put down” in Paragraph 2 most probably means___________.
| A．hurt |
| B．killed |
| C．refused |
| D．replaced |
Why did Kennon decide to keep the cat?
| A．She wanted a companion. |
| B．The cat’s owner abandoned him. |
| C．She liked the cat. |
| D．The cat was hopeless. |
How did Kennon help the cat move around?
| A．By curing his broken back. |
| B．By getting him a special cart. |
| C．By feeding him medicines. |
| D．By exercising him in her backyard. |
According to the passage, what is the main reason that the cat works miracle?
| A．He is able to inspire others. |
| B．Patients feel sympathy for him. |
| C．People are amused by his appearance. |
| D．He has the ability to cure the ill. |
The UK has a well-respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research institutions in the world．But to those who are new to it all, sometimes it can be confusing．
October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar．Universities have something called Freshers' Week for their newcomers．It's a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life．
However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind, the outlook of meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be nerve-wracking （令人头痛的）．Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?
Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot．So just take it all in slowly．Don't rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years．
Here are some top advice from past students on how to survive Freshers' Week:
·Learn rules．Make sure you know British social manners．Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends．
·Be kind．Sometimes cups of tea or even slices of toast can give you a head start in making friends．
·Be sociable．The more active you are, the more likely you'll be to meet new people than if you're someone who never leaves their room．
·Bring a doorstop．Keep your door open when you're in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you're friendly．
So with a bit of clever planning and effort, Frsshers' Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you'll be passing on your experience to next year's new recruits． Which of the following statements is FALSE according to the passage?
| A．October is generally the busiest month for universities. |
| B．It's a good idea to put a doorstop in your door. |
| C．A bit of planning can make Freshers' Week easier. |
| D．The first week of your every year at university is called Freshers'Week. |
The underlined word "recruits．" in the last paragraph refers to____．
| A．courses |
| B．freshers |
| C．neighbors |
| D．challenges |
We can infer from the 4th paragraph that ______.
| A．the newcomers usually miss the days living at home |
| B．most of the students in the UK spend three years in universities |
| C．many freshers are worried about how to fit university life |
| D．all the new students will make new friends and join certain clubs |
Why does the author suggest having wine glasses and snacks handy?
| A．To pass the busy university life. |
| B．To help make friends with other freshers. |
| C．To show yourself a drinker as others. |
| D．To pass the time in a happy way. |
The main purpose of writing this passage is to ______.
| A．tell the newcomers how to make a new start in universities |
| B．introduce something about higher education system of the UK |
| C．discuss something about the Freshers' Week in the UK |
| D．advise the freshmen how to behave well in the beginning |