Doyoudreamofbeingareporteroran-优题课

For centuries, medical pioneers have refined a variety of methods and medicines to treat sickness, injury, and disability, enabling people to live longer and healthier lives.
“A salamander (a small lizard-like animal) can grow back its leg. Why can't a human do the same?” asked Peruvian-born surgeon Dr. Anthony Atala in a recent interview. The question, a reference to work aiming to grow new limbs for wounded soldiers, captures the inventive spirit of regenerative medicine. This innovative field seeks to provide patients with replacement body parts.
These parts are not made of steel; they are the real things --- living cells, tissue, and even organs.
Regenerative medicine is still mostly experimental, with clinical applications limited to procedures such as growing sheets of skin on burns and wounds. One of its most significant advances took place in 1999，when a research group at North Carolina’s Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine conducted a successful organ replacement with a laboratory-grown bladder. Since then, the team, led by Dr. Atala, has continued to generate a variety of other tissues and organs 一 from kidneys to ears.
The field of regenerative medicine builds on work conducted in the early twentieth century with the first successful transplants of donated human soft tissue and bone. However, donor organs are not always the best option. First of all, they are in short supply, and many people die while waiting for an available organ; in the United States alone, more than 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants. Secondly, a patient’s body may ultimately reject the transplanted donor organ. An advantage of regenerative medicine is that the tissues are grown from a patient’s own cells and will not be rejected by the body’s immune system.
Today, several labs are working to create bioartificial body parts. Scientists at Columbia and Yale Universities have grown a jawbone and a lung. At the University of Minnesota, Doris Taylor has created a beating bioartificial rat heart. Dr. Atala’s medical team has reported long-term success with bioengineered bladders implanted into young patients with spina bifida (a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord). And at the University of Michigan, H. David Humes has created an artificial kidney.
So far, the kidney procedure has only been used successfully with sheep, but there is hope that one day similar kidney will be implantable in a human patient. The continuing research of scientists such as these may eventually make donor organs unnecessary and, as a result, significantly increase individuals’ chances of survival.
In the latest field of regenerative medicine, what are replacement parts made of?

A．Donated cells, tissues and organs.

B．Rejected cells, tissues and organs.

C．Cells, tissues and organs of one’s own.

D．Cells, tissues and organs made of steel.

What have scientists experimented successfully on for a bioartificial kidney?

A．Patients.

B．Rats.

C．Sheep.

D．Soldiers.

Why is generative medicine considered innovative?

A．It will provide patients with replacement soft tissues.

B．It will strengthen the human body’s immune system.

C．It will shorten the time patients waiting for a donated organ.

D．It will make patients live longer with bioartificial organs.

What is the writer’s attitude towards regenerative medicine?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Doubtful.	D．Reserved.

The other morning on the subway I sat next to an attractive young blonde woman who was reading something on her iPad. She was very well-dressed, carrying a Prada bag with tastefully applied make-up indeed, she had an unmistakable air of wealth, material success and even authority. I suspected she worked as a highly-paid Wall Street lawyer or stockbroker or something of that sort. So, I was curious to see what she was so focused on. The Wall Street Journal perhaps? The Economist?
Quite the contrary; rather, she was concentrating on a romance novel. Then I realized that I have known many women who love romance novels—smart, attractive, successful, “liberated,” modem females who nonetheless find some kind of deep satisfaction and thrill from those hyper-romantic, artificial and extremely unrealistic tales of handsome, manly heroes falling in love with virginal women, enduring a series of adventures, then no doubt having a happy ending.
These romance stories are to literature what hot dogs are to fine food. Yet, the genre(体裁) remains enormously popular. Consider some of these surprising statistics from the good folks at the Romance Writers of America (RWA):
*More than 9,000 romance titles were released last year, with sales of about $1.44 billion (more than triple the revenues generated by classic literary fiction).
*More than 90 percent of the market are women (okay, that’s not at all surprising).
* Readers are typically women between the ages 30 and 54 who are themselves involved in a romantic relationship (betraying the stereotype that only lonely women long for these tales of love and adventure).
*Almost 40 percent of romance book consumers have an annual income of between $50,000 and $99,900 (placing them firmly in the middle class).
I had thought that romance novels accounted for a very small share of the literary market, so I was quite surprised that this part has such enormous popularity. But I must wonder why so many women—forty years after the women’s liberation movement continue to indulge in the fanciful tales?
I’m not sure if it represents a kind of “rejection” of the women’s liberation movement, but clearly something is missing in the lives of contemporary ladies. A romance author named Donna Hatch who focuses on the Regency period (early 19th century Britain) explained the appeal of such books this way: “Regency men were civilized and treated women with courtesy. When a lady entered the room, gentlemen stood, doffed their hats, offered an arm, bowed, and a hundred other little things I wish men still did today. But they were also very athletic; they hunted, raced, boxed, rode horses. They were manly. Strong. Noble. Honorable. And that is why I love them!”
Mrs. Hatch may have expressed the secret desires and attitudes of untold millions of her peers---that is, in the early 21st century, have women grown tired of the burdens and expectations that the “freedoms” they have gained give them? Is this a rejection of modem feminism? Do women long for days of old when men were masculine gentlemen and women were feminine and protected as precious treasures and regarded as possessions?
Perhaps most women (even the ones who get lost in romance novels) do not want to go all the way back but it is obvious,.
What is the function of the opening paragraph?

A．To summarize the whole passage.

B．To prove the author’s argument.

C．To lead in the main topic of the passage.

D．To raise problems that will be solved later.

What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph imply?

A．Romance novels are satisfying and thrilling.

B．Romance novels are not of much “nutrition”.

C．Romance novels are as popular as hot dogs.

D．Romance novels are an essential part of contemporary life.

In the author’s opinion, what is missing in the lives of contemporary women?

A．Authority.	B．Dignity.
C．Liberty.	D．Care.

Which sentence can be put in the blank in the last paragraph?

A．they prefer tales of innocent romance to classics

B．they are unhappy with how the world has turned out

C．true love described in romance novels does exist in reality

D．romance novels provide them with an access to society

Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District
2015 High School Video Contest
Here’s the Scoop on Pet Waste!
Submission Deadline March 27, 2015.

Eligibility
Ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade students that attend schools located in Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties are invited to participate in the video contest. Entries can be a team or individual effort.
Guidelines
» Each video must be uploaded to YouTube. The video’s YouTube link must be included in the entry/release form.
» Team members must be from the same school.
» The video must be between 30-60 seconds in length.
» No professional assistance or use of copyright material is allowed, including background music.
» Each student participating in the contest or appearing in the video must fill out a form. For teams, submit an entry/release form for each team member.
» One video per team or individual.
» All entry/release forms must be postmarked or received by Friday, March 27, 2015.
Email: kvaIlianos@atlantaregional.com
OR
Mail: 2015 Water Video Contest Metro Water District 40 Courtland Street, NE Atlanta, GA 30303

Judging
Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:
» incorporation of the “Here’s the Scoop on Pet Waste’’ message. Use the "Here's the Scoop on Pet Waste’’ messaging fact sheet for background information on the issue.
» Composition (length, technical construction, audio quality).
» Entertainment value.
» Accuracy of information.
» Creativity.
Prizes
» 1st Place $1500
» 2nd Place $1000
»3rd Place $500
50% of the prize money will go to the individual or team who submits the video and 50% to the high school they attend. Winners will be notified directly.

Page 1 of 3 www.northgeorgiawater.org

What does the underlined word “Eligibility” probably mean?

A．Age.	B．Qualification.
C．Location.	D．Grade.

When entering the contest, ________.

A．one must ask his or her teacher to sign the entry form

B．winners can earn at least $750 as a prize

C．one can invite friends from other schools to act in the video

D．participants had better add some humor and fun to the video

A glass a day keeps obesity at bay. Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content, but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet. Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight, those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight.
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain”. The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight.
Boston University’s Dr. Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms (生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood. His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病)，which relate to increasing obesity. Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers.
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods. They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight.
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese. What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, destroys fat cells.

The passage is mainly for those ______.

A．who produce wine

B．who are eager to lose weight

C．who go on a diet

D．who have a drinking habit

The underlined phrase “in moderation” in the first paragraph means ______.

A．properly	B．carefully
C．excitedly	D．frequently

Why has alcohol been thought to cause weight gain?

A．Because its calories are stored in fat.

B．Because it is rich in sugar.

C．Because it changes drinking patterns.

D．Because it increases the risk of diabetes.

What can we learn from the passage?

A．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear.

B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat.

C．The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect.

D．Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight.

What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A．How to do some easy experiments.

B．How to prove the finding mentioned above.

C．How to make wine in a healthy way.

D．How to reduce the calories contained in wine.

In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree.
But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73. Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive. He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship.
Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study. Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University. He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first-class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement.Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair-bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well. But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began. In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32.
The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits. Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested. However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论)has been to confirm and build on his idea. He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top-ten living theoretical physicists.

What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?

A．His brilliant research.	B．His bestselling books.
C．His serious disease.	D．His defeating hardship.

What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?

A．His death sentence.

B．His “lazy” attitude.

C．His above-average talent and ability.

D．His rich experience.

It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born.

A．in the early 1940s	B．in the late 1940s
C．in the early 1930s	D．in the late 1930s

What can we learn from the text?

A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago.

B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton.

C．String theory built on Hawking’s idea.

D．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others.

Which of the following is Not True according the passage?

A．He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease.

B．He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge.

C．He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science.

D．He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity.