Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.
Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.
Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.
Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called “The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.”
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “Frankly the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this report shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early.”
And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.
Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “For example, the poor overall health and nutritional status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning – allowing a woman to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy.”
Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.
This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies.
49．This passage is mainly about ________.
A．the causes of people’s bad health throughout the world
B．how to improve people’s health throughout the world
C．premature or preterm births throughout the world
D．Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes
50．All of the following are causes of preterm births except ________.
A．too many deaths of newborn babies B．poverty
C．Lack of provision of family planning D．the lack of good prenatal care programs
51．Which of the following is a true statement according to the passage?
A．Preterm birth rates in developing countries are dropping and they are increasing in some developed countries like the US and Canada.
B．The increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five and the increase in the use of reproductive therapies result in the increase of preterm birth rates.
C．Fortunately, many people have already realized the seriousness of the problem of preterm births.
D．Preterm births must be a problem for only poor areas because of poverty.
52．Which is the best title for the passage?
A．Chris Howson, an Excellent Vice President
B．Preterm Births
C．“The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth”
D．Emotional, Physical and Financial Costs
Scientists in the United States have developed a method that may help to predict earthquakes earlier. They say it could give people who live in deadly earthquake areas enough warning to leave before an earthquake hits.
Currently, the most modem systems for predicting earthquakes find them only a short time before the event. Like most strong earthquakes , the one that hit Southwestern China in May was not identified early enough for people to flee the area. That earthquake killed more than 69,000 people, which rated eight point zero in intensity.
But scientists who study earthquakes are reporting that new technology could measure very small changes in the Earth's surface. Their report was published this month in Nature magazine.
Fenglin Niu is a seismologist in Rice University in Houston, Texas. He and his team performed experiments along California's San Andreas Fault, an area famous for its many earthquakes. The team placed highly sensitive electrical devices about one kilometer below ground in two different places. The devices were able to measure even small changes in air pressure on the Earth's surface. The scientist says such changes are caused when rocks push together, forcing air out of small cracks in the rock. When this happens, seismic waves travel faster than usual through the rock.
The experiment was performed near Parkfield，California. Two earthquakes hit the area in late 2005. The first took place on December 25. A smaller earthquake struck five days later. The scientists noted changes in the Earth's surface about ten hours before the first earthquake struck. That earthquake rated three in intensity. They then found similar changes taking place two hours before the other earthquake struck five days later.
If additional tests confirm the changes are linked to earthquakes ，the scientists believe that their equipment could be used for early warning systems. A system that provides a warning signal ten hours before a major earthquake could help move people from the area and save lives.
The scientists now hope they can find earthquakes with even greater intensity by placing their equipment deeper in the ground. What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A new way to help predict earthquakes |
| B．The earthquake in Southwestern China |
| C．A better understanding of earthquakes |
| D．Early warning systems of earthquakes |
If the new way works, ______ .
| A．fewer earthquakes will break out |
| B．rescue workers can save more buried people in ruins |
| C．a warning can be given at least ten days before the major earthquake |
| D．fewer people will be killed in an earthquake |
The devices can predict the earthquake by ______ .
| A．reaching the center of the earthquake |
| B．detecting the temperature changes in the Earth's crust |
| C．measuring changes in air pressure on the Earth's surface |
| D．recording sound waves under the ground |
We can infer that ______ .
| A．the equipment is perfect enough to be used in practice |
| B．it is unknown if greater earthquakes can be predicted by the equipment |
| C．the deeper the equipment is placed, the less accurate the measurement is |
| D．the equipment has helped save many lives in the earthquake in Sichuan in May |
The world is not coming to an end on December 21 ,2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel (消除)widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012 , arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X or Nibiru heads toward or collides with the Earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an "Internet hoax". "There is no factual basis for these claims," NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on this website. "If such a collision were real，astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," it insisted. "After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003，but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21,2012，as another period begins immediately afterward.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast， the effect on our planet would be" negligible ( unimportant)"， NASA said.
"And while comets and asteroids (小行星)have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.
"We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said. ______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.
| A．A new book |
| B．The Internet and a new Hollywood movie |
| C．NASA |
| D．An Indian calendar |
We can infer that ______ .
| A．people didn't take the rumor seriously |
| B．Planet X or Nibiru does exist |
| C．astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years |
| D．the rumor caused a panic among some people |
NASA thinks that Eris ______ .
| A．might have a threat to the Earth |
| B．doesn't have any threat to the Earth |
| C．is too far away to be visible |
| D．is similar to our planet, where life might exist |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．New Hollywood movie 2012 |
| B．December 21,2012, not the end of the world |
| C．End of the ancient Mayan calendar |
| D．How rumors came into being |
School safety is important, but some are saying an elementary school principal overreacted when she saw one of her students playing with a tiny toy gun in the cafeteria(自助餐馆).
Mom Laura Timoney went ballistic (失去理智的)when she received a call from her son's school. Staten Island fourth-grader Pat- rick Ti money was in tears, the mad mama told the New York Daily News, because he was being threatened with a suspension (停学)by P. S. 52 principal Evelyn Malroianni.
His crime? Possession of a 2-inch toy gun, which Patrick had placed in the hand of a Lego police officer during a lunchtime toy break.
Patrick's father, a retired police officer who shares his little boy's name ’ tells the Daily News that he has ‘ no problem with the rules' but doesn't see why the tiny gun caused such a big problem.
In this video report from the newspaper, Patrick and his family describe the incident.
"The toy gun is not the issue," Laura Timoney tells the Daily News. "A lack of common sense is the issue." Timoney adds that she wants an apology and might sue (起诉)the school.
New York City Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg tells the Staten Island Advance that "Toy guns are not allowed in schools," and that NYC schools have a no-tolerance policy in place for fake firearms. Even little ones.
After a meeting was held between parents and school officials， it was decided that Patrick would not be suspended over the little weapon.
When it comes to punishments, size really does matter. What's the best title of the passage?
| A．School Safety Is Important |
| B．A Lack of Common Sense Is the Issue |
| C．A Meeting Held between Parents and School Officials |
| D．Kid Almost Suspended for Bringing Tiny Toy Gun to School |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．NYC schools have a no-tolerance policy in place for fake firearms. |
| B．Laura Timoney went mad when she received a call from her son's school. |
| C．Patrick Timoney was in Grade Five Staten Island Elementary School. |
| D．Patrick and his family describe the incident to video report from the New York Daily News. |
From the underlined sentence "he has ‘no problem with the rules’" in the fourth paragraph, we can infer ______ .
| A．Patrick's father wants to sue the school |
| B．Patrick's father approves of the school regulations |
| C．Patrick's father is unsatisfied with the school regulations |
| D．Patrick's father thinks tiny toy gun can cause a big problem |
What is the possible result of the incident?
| A．The school might cancel the rule. |
| B．Patrick might drop out of school. |
| C．Patrick can't be punished by the school. |
| D．Patrick would not be suspended over the little weapon. |
The exploration of Mars entered a new phase as Spirit，the first of US twin rovers, landed on the Red Planet later Saturday.
The rover can work as a robotic field geologist and can see sharper images，explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that's ever landed on Mars, scientists at the US space agency NASA said.
Spirit, as big as a mini-car, is equipped with a suite of scientific instruments that will be used to read the geologic record at the landing site, to investigate what role water played there, and to determine how suitable the conditions would have been for life.
It has a panoramic (全景的)camera at human-eye height, and a miniature thermal emission spectrometer with infrared (红外线的)vision that can help scientists identify the most interesting rocks.
The six-wheeled rover can watch for hazards and maneuvers around them and has a deck of solar panels，about the size of a kitchen table, for power. It can drive to the selected rock and extend an arm with tools on the end.
A microscopic imager, like a geologist's hand lens, can give a close-up view of the rock's texture. Two spectrometers can identify the composition of the rock and the fourth tool, which substitutes (代替)for a geologist's hammer, can expose the fresh interior of a rock by scraping away the weathered surface layer.
Spirit will stop at Gusev Crater(坑)，a bowl bigger than the US state of Connecticut that appears to have held a lake long ago. Scientists will use the robot's instruments to seek and analyze geological evidence about past environmental conditions in the crater.
If sedimentary (沉积的)rocks lie on the surface，they may yield telltale (泄密的)clues to whether the crater ever did hold a wet environment that might have been suitable for sustaining life, scientists said. Which would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Spirit opens new phase on exploration of Mars. |
| B．Spirit, the first rover on Mars. |
| C．The successful landing of Spirit on Mars. |
| D．Spirit, a new invention for exploration of Mars. |
The chief purpose of Spirit from the passage is to ______.
| A．take clearer pictures of Mars |
| B．examine more rocks on Mars |
| C．search for water at Gusev Crater |
| D．look for past signs of water on Mars |
The author mainly tells us in this passage ______.
| A．what Spirit is like |
| B．how Spirit will deal with difficulties on Mars |
| C．what Spirit will do on Mars |
| D．what Spirit is equipped with |
This passage probably comes from ______ .
| A．a research paper |
| B．a news report |
| C．a new invention introduction |
| D．a science fiction |
"What's your English name?" I asked in my first oral class. "Goat," came the reply. I tried to keep myself from laughing, as I'm sure the poor boy had no idea of the other meanings associated with the word goat: "a dirty old man" or "a foolish person".
Later， my thoughts turned to why Chinese students take an English name. Obviously, for foreign teachers such as me, English names help us to learn names and recognize students more rapidly. And it's a means of easily setting up communication with Westerners.
Sharon， a student displays her knowledge of western culture and ideas. Once Sharon has graduated, if she is fortunate to find employment that involves regular communication across international boundaries， relationships will be smoothed if others can easily remember her name.
Parents in English-speaking countries do not usually choose words at random to name their child. For every parent who seeks to be truly creative by inventing a unique name， there will be nine others selecting from a recognized book of names. These books have been passed on from generation to generation.
While English names do have meanings，this is rarely of great importance for parents in making their choice. Often，associations with heroes, pop idols will influence a decision.
There are a great many names to choose from，and at any one time some will be more fashionable than others. When our present Queen was crowned，many baby girls were christened Elizabeth，while Princess Diana's marriage to Charles led to a generation of Dianas. Most parents seeking to be original or unique look through lists for names that haven't been used regularly in recent years.
So, if you are thinking of taking an English name, stop and think. You have a unique opportunity to choose a new identity for your English-speaking relationships in the future. Before you accept any old name，make sure you are happy with its sound， its meaning and its associations.How did the author feel when she heard the name "Goat" given by one of the students?
| A．Surprised. | B．Funny, |
| C．Angry. | D．Disappointed. |
The student named Sharon was mentioned in the third paragraph to show ______.
| A．an unsuitable English name can cause trouble in communication |
| B．a proper English name can help a person to find a job more easily |
| C．English names are easy for foreigners to remember |
| D．proper English names help to set up easy international communication |
The underlined phrase in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.
| A．in a careful way | B．in a different way |
| C．in a careless way | D．with no meaning |
We can conclude from the sixth paragraph that ______.
| A．English people admire power and heroes |
| B．English people do not consider the meaning when choosing a name |
| C．English people are easy to be influenced by fashion in choosing a name |
| D．English people prefer to choose a special name |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Be Careful in Choosing an English Name |
| B．English Names and Their Meanings |
| C．How English People Get Their Names |
| D．Chinese Names and English Names |