Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.
As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.
They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.
Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused short-sightedness in animals.
Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.
A study of almost 300,000 young adults─the largest of its kind─showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January. Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen, causing short-sightedness.
Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.
The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.
In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.
Sight expert Professor Daniel O’Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said “At the moment we don’t know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming short-sighted.”
1. Babies born in summer are more likely to be short-sighted ____________.
A. because the summer sun is too strong for babies
B. because babies born in summer have lengthened eyeballs
C. if they are exposed to much sunlight in the first weeks after they are born
D. if parents don’t know a proper way to protect their babies’ eyes
2. Melatonin is a kind of material to ___________.
A. prevent the eyes from becoming near-sighted
B. protect the skin from harmful sun rays
C. make our body strong
D. protect babies’ eyes from summer sun
3. From what Professor Daniel O’Leary says we can conclude that ___________.
A. there is no evidence that short-sightedness is related to exposure to sunlight
B. whether light exposure affects sight still needs to be further proved
C. he believes that light exposure can cause short-sightedness
D. he tries to give the cause of why light exposure affects sight
4. The underlined word “vulnerable” in the passage probably means __________.
A. easy to be harmed B. resistant
C. protective D. changeable
Most of us fear getting up and speaking in public. Many people don’t like to go gathering where they don’t know anyone, but while most of us soldier on (迎难而上), those with social anxiety disorder are often stopped by the terror and worry.
Research shows that around fifteen million Americans suffer from social anxiety disorder. People in this condition feel that they are always being watched. Even though they know these fears are unreasonable, they cannot overcome their fears on their own.
Social anxiety disorder sufferers are often misdiagnosed with conditions such as schizophrenia (精神分裂症) and personality disorder. Many feel lonely, and are unsure whether anyone else can understand their thoughts and emotions. This can lead to withdrawal from most social situations, even to being unable to hold employment.
Those who suffer from social anxiety disorder are often dismissed(辞退)as being shy. This is simply not the case; shyness is not even a symptom of social anxiety disorder. The majority of sufferers find their symptoms linked to specific situations, rather than all types of social interactions.
An important step in overcoming social anxiety disorder is seeking out a therapist who specializes in training this type of disorder. Group treatment has been shown to be especially effective. Medication also help reduce the symptoms, but it should not be used as a replacement for psychotherapy (心理疗法).
On your own, you can help reduce the symptoms by taking deep breaths and practising medication or prayer. Alcohol and nicotine should be avoided, as both can cause panic attacks. Exercises can relieve the symptoms, because it burns up the chemicals in your body that cause stress.Patients with social anxiety disorder______.
| A．are shy in all situations |
| B．feel they don’t understand themselves |
| C．are anxious and terrified while speaking in public |
| D．feel it is unreasonable to be watched by others |
We know from the passage that_____.
| A．most people will try to fight against social anxiety disorder |
| B．shyness is the main symptom of social anxiety disorder |
| C．people who feel lonely are often misdiagnosed with social anxiety disorder |
| D．psychotherapy is very important in treating social anxiety disorder |
According to the passage, if Jack suffers from social anxiety disorder, he should_____.
| A．burn up some unsafe chemicals |
| B．ask for help from a doctor |
| C．practise speaking in public |
| D．resign from his present job |
We are most likely to find this passage in_______.
| A．American Culture | B．Cross Country |
C．Family Doctor | D．English Nature |
My bookshelves are full of dust — and with good reason. When it comes to cleaning that part of my home, I suffer from the most serious case of avoidance (回避反应症).
The thing is this: when I do set out to clean and re-organize my books, which seldom happens, I place myself into a really bad situation. No sooner do I take a title from the shelf, blow off the dust, and wipe down the cover than I find myself sitting on the floor with legs crossed and my back against the wall. Pretty soon books get piled up on my legs as I am reunited with old friends.
It is as if these books have voices, and each wants to say its piece. “Remember me? I was given to you when you went into the Navy, so that you would never lack for companionship,” one whispers. Another says, “I was your first book of poems, given to you before you learned to love poetry.” And a third, “I was the book that made history so attractive to you.”
Perhaps the greatest pleasure of re-organizing my books are the surprises — or better said, reunions — that occur. During my latest book-cleaning adventure, I found one that had fallen behind the shelf: “Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.” Not an unusual title, but the words written on the first page made it very special: “With Love from Mom and Dad, Christmas 1965.” What’s this? A book on the physics of lasers（激光）. It is filled with mathematical statements, and I had bought it at a library sale when I was 12, not long after the laser had been invented. I couldn’t understand a bit of it, but I did learn what “laser” meant.
What I end up with when I empty my bookshelves is a cross-section (横剖面) of my personal history. It’s like a road cut where one sees all the layers of rock going back through time to the beginning of the simplest life forms. The books I’ve read — and kept — are not just old friends. They are my résumé.What could be said about the author?
| A．He is too busy to tidy up his bookshelves. |
| B．He considers his books treasured possessions. |
| C．He has made a lot of notes in his books. |
| D．He is a lover of science books. |
By saying that his books have voices, the author means ________ .
| A．they bring back happy memories |
| B．they are recorded in human voice |
| C．they say a lot about human history |
| D．they offer good topics for discussion |
What does the author enjoy most from re-organizing his books?
| A．Finding some missing books. |
| B．Putting books in good order. |
| C．Learning something new from the books. |
| D．Rediscovering interesting stories behind some books. |
The underlined word “résumé” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．personal history | B．precious notes | C．good companion | D．simple life forms |
New Zealand
What can you see? Mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, forests, beaches. Both islands are mountainous. In fact, only 30% of New Zealand is flat.
The Maoris
When the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand, they lived in villages and were excellent fishermen, hunters and farmers. About 50 years ago many Maoris started to live and work in the large cities and took jobs in government, industries, medicine and education. They are proud of their culture and are determined to keep many of the customs which are part of their way of life.
Who can you meet? Most people live on North Island. Eighty-five percent of New Zealanders are “pakeha” (“white men”), which means their “great grandfathers” came from Europe. Ten percent are Maoris. The Maoris came to New Zealand from the Polynesian islands probably around the tenth century. The “pakeha” started to arrive in New Zealand from Europe about 200 years ago as farmers and traders.
Fact box: New Zealand
Position: South of the Equator ; Nearest neighbor: Australia, 1600 km away.
Size: Two main islands — North Island and South Island: together they are 268.680 sq. km.
Population: 4 million
Capital: Wellington
Languages: English and MaoriWhich of the following is a fact about New Zealand?
| A．20% of the population being Maoris. |
| B．Four million white people. |
| C．About 1600 km south of the Equator. |
| D．Nearly 1/3 of the country being plains. |
The country’s population is mainly made up of _________.
| A．the white people and the Polynesians |
| B．the white people and the “pakeha” |
| C．the Maoris and the white people |
| D．the Maoris and the Polynesians |
When did the white people begin to live in New Zealand?
| A．1000 years ago. | B．200 years ago. |
| C．85 years ago. | D．50 years ago. |
What do the Maoris value most in life?
| A．Living in small villages. | B．Developing farming skills. |
| C．Keeping their own culture. | D．Taking up government jobs. |
阅读下面短文，从各题A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
People who smoke could lose around one third of their daily memory, researchers say.
A study by a team at Northumbria University showed that smokers lost more of their memory when compared to non-smokers.
And the research also found that those who kicked the habit saw their ability to recollect information restored to almost the same level as non-smokers.
The study involved more than seventy 18-to-25-year-olds and included a tour of the university’s campus. Those who took part were asked to recall small details, such as a list of songs played at a campus concert and tasks completed at various points－known as real world memory test. Smokers performed badly, remembering just 59 percent of tasks. But those who had given up smoking remembered 74 percent and those who had never smoked recalled 81 percent of tasks.
Dr. Tom Heffernan, who leads Northumbria University’s Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group, said the findings would be useful in anti-smoking campaigns. He said, “Given that there are up to 10 million smokers in the UK and as many as 45 million in the United States, it's important to understand the effects smoking has on everyday cognitive（认知的）function-of which prospective memory is an excellent example. ”
“This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has an impact on memory. We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body, but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive functions too. ’’
The research will now investigate the effects of passive smoking on memory, while Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Terence O’Neil will look into the effects of third-hand smoking－toxins left on curtains and furniture. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Smoking does harm to health. |
| B．Smokers take a tour to the University’s campus. |
| C．Smoking can affect one’s memory. |
| D．Smokers are compared to non-smokers. |
How did those who took part in the study perform when asked to recall small details?
| A．Smokers did the worst among the participants. |
| B．Non-smokers could recall about half of them. |
| C．Smokers could recall nothing at all. |
| D．Those who gave up smoking did best. |
According to Dr. Tom Heffernan, the findings_______.
| A．would be really a surprise to the public |
| B．would contribute to fighting against smoking |
| C．would be used in real world memory test |
| D．would be nothing new to the researchers |
What does the underlined word “impact’’ most probably mean?
| A．order | B．impression | C．expression | D．effect |
What will Dr. Heffernan and Dr Terence O’Neil do?
| A．Investigate the effects of third-hand smoking. |
| B．Do research on how smoking affects passive smokers. |
| C．Find ways to persuade people to quit smoking. |
| D．Study whether giving up smoking affects memory. |
Most tourist destinations around China are witnessing travel peaks during the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays that run through Sunday. In Beijing, the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, attracted 182, 000 tourists on Tuesday, the biggest number on a single day, as millions of visitors arrived in the national capital. “We saw absolutely nothing but people’s heads,’’ said Guo Zhijun, 42, of Henan province. “We wanted our 11-year-old son to learn something from the trip, but we only ended up very tired. ”
Earlier, from Sunday noon to midday Monday, garbage collected at Tian’anmen Square in the heart of the city amounted to 7.9 tons, a quarter more than that in the same period of last year.
In the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, its top five major tourist sites attracted more than 200, 000 visitors on Tuesday.
Yesterday, thousands of cars jammed two 20-kilometer mountain roads winding to and out of the Lushan Mountain scenic area in the eastern province of Jiangxi. The area, with about 3, 000 car parking spaces, was unable to contain at least 8, 000 inbound cars, said head of the Lushan Mountain public security bureau.
The Lushan Mountain tourism administration temporarily stopped selling entrance tickets to prevent the traffic from growing on Tuesday afternoon. Similar measures could be taken during the rest of the holidays, a police officer said.
Emergency measures have been taken at other scenic sites. Crowded visitors overwhelmed the capacity（承载量）of the cable cars at Huashan Mountain, in Shaanxi province, leaving tens of thousands stuck at the peak late into Tuesday night. According to China Central Television, restless visitors demanded refunds from the tourism committee, and a lot of visitors had to give up and walk down the mountain.
Chen Li, deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department, said on his micro blog that more than 300 policemen and government officials climbed up the mountain to help trapped visitors. Fearing that tourist sites might become too crowded, many people are staying at home, going shopping or making short suburban trips. A resident Mr. Wang in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, canceled long-distance travel plans after learning of heavy traffic on many highways during the first two days of the holidays. Instead, Wang, his wife and son went fishing in the suburbs before having a picnic. What happened in the Forbidden City that Tuesday?
| A．There were far more visitors coming than expected. |
| B．A large number of zones were opened to the visitors. |
| C．Over 7.9 tons of garbage was collected. |
| D．More than 200, 000 visitors gathered there. |
What does the underlined word “overwhelmed” mean in paragraph 6?
| A．showed up | B．added to | C．reached beyond | D．filled in |
The writer wrote this article to________________.
| A．advise traveling to different places to learn something |
| B．warn people not to climb those mountains on holidays |
| C．encourage people to change the travel plans according to the traffic |
| D．suggest we stay at home or go shopping during those holidays |
Which of the following might be the best title?
| A．Experiences from Different Travel Plans |
| B．Travel Peaks in China's Tourist Sites |
| C．Floods of People to the Forbidden City |
| D．Problems with Travelling on Holiday |