A research by the National Center for Health Statistics is seen as an important confirmation of the“Hispanic mortality paradox（西班牙裔死亡率悖论）.”
On average，Hispanics outlive whites by 2.5 years and blacks by 7.7 years. Their life expectancy at birth in 2006 was 80.6 years，compared with 78.1 for whites，72.9 for blacks and 77.7 years for the total population.
The report shows that the Hispanic population has higher life expectancy at birth and at almost every age despite a socioeconomic status lower than that of whites.“Mortality is very correlated with income，education and health care access，”says Elizabeth Arias，author of the report.“You would expect the Hispanic population would have higher mortality，”in line with the black population.
The Hispanic paradox has been documented for more than two decades，but this is the first time the government has had enough data to issue national numbers. Researchers are struggling to explain why Hispanics live longer.
“We don’t know，”says David Hayes-Bautista，director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.“We thought it was a problem in the data，but we can pretty much say this is real.”
Potential factors:
·Culture and lifestyle. Support from extended family and lower rates of smoking and drinking.Latino groups in particular have very strong family and social ties.
·Migration. The“healthy migrant effect”argues that healthy people are more likely to emigrate. And when immigrants become ill，they might return home and die there.
Solving the puzzle may help the nation deal with health care issues because Hispanics use health services less—they make fewer doctors visits and spend less time in hospitals，Hayes-Bautista says.“It’s clearly something in the Latino culture，”he says.In 2006，Hispanics’life expectancy is years longer than the average of the total population.
| A．2.5 | B．7.7 | C．2.9 | D．80.6 |
What does the underlined word“outlive”in the second paragraph probably mean？
| A．To live longer than… | B．To live shorter than… |
| C．To die out. | D．To expect to live. |
What is the main idea of paragraph three？
| A．Hispanics were born better than whites. |
| B．Morality is closely related with health care access. |
| C．Whites should have longer life expectancy. |
| D．Even experts can’t explain the phenomenon. |
What is Mr.Hayes-Bautista’s opinion about the paradox？
| A．He supports there is a problem with the data. |
| B．He intends to trust the cultural factor. |
| C．He believes in the“healthy migrant effect”. |
| D．He thinks health care the most important factor. |
Which of the following inferences is true according to the passage？
| A．Black people suffer the lowest social status in America. |
| B．Hispanics might have healthier ways of life. |
| C．Only healthy people can immigrate into America. |
| D．White people don’t have strong family ties. |
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers （生产商）follow certain uniform standards for various features（特征）of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left. Considering most of the world’s population-men and women-are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here. Button first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacture to offer women’s shirts that buttoned the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
| A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years. |
| B．It is different for men’s clothing and women’s. |
| C．It woks better with men than with women. |
| D．It fails to consider right-handed people. |
What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?
| A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons. |
| B．They were interested in the historical matters. |
| C．They were mostly dressed by servants. |
| D．They drew their swords from the left. |
Women’s clothes still button from the left today because.
| A．adopting men’s style is improper for women |
| B．manufacturers should follow standards |
| C．modern women dress themselves |
| D．customs are hard to change |
The passage is mainly developed by .
| A．analyzing cause |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences |
| D．following the time order |
The way we do things round here
Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．
Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______．
| A．the American bank didn't think much of him |
| B．the American bank might hire another person |
| C．it's difficult to get used to American culture |
| D．it's easy to misunderstand Americans |
The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．encourages | B．helps to narrow |
| C．increases | D．draws attention to |
According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?
| A．Ask the native people for help. |
| B．Understand and accept them. |
| C．Do things in our own way. |
| D．Do in-depth research. |
When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.
| A．Italians | B．Germans | C．Greeks | D．the British |
While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.
But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population.” Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, “seven-foot beds would work fine.”
Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?
| A．To provide better services. |
| B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants. |
| C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall. |
| D．To attract more people to become its members. |
Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?
| A．7′2″. | B．7′ | C．6′6″ | D．6′3″ |
What may happen to restaurants with small tables?
| A．They may lose some customers. |
| B．They may start businesses elsewhere. |
| C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables. |
| D．They have to provide enough space for the long-legged. |
What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?
| A．Tall people pay more for larger beds. |
| B．6′6″beds have taken the place of 6′3″beds. |
| C．Special rooms are kept for Americans. |
| D．Guest rooms are standardized. |
Dear Reader，
Today I'm going to ask you to support Wikipedia with a donation. Sounds unusual: Why does one of the world's five most popular websites ask for financial support from its users?
Wikipedia is built differently from almost every other top 50.We have a small number of paid staff, just twentythree. Wikipedia content is free to use by anyone for any purpose. Wikipedia is run by the nonprofit Wikipedia Foundation, which I founded in 2003.
Wikipedia's driven by a global community (群体) of more than 150,000 volunteers, all devoted to sharing knowledge freely. More than 275 million people come to our website every month to access information, free of charge and free of advertising.
Your donation helps us in several ways. Most importantly, you will help us cover the increasing cost of managing global traffic to one of the most popular websites on the Internet. Funds also help us improve the software that runs Wikipedia, making it easier to search, easier to read, and easier to write for. We're bent on growing the free knowledge movement worldwide, by employing new volunteers, and building strategic (战略的) partnerships with institutes of culture and learning.
Wikipedia is different. It's the largest encyclopedia (百科全书) in history, all written by volunteers.
Like a national park or a school, we don't believe advertising should have a place in Wikipedia. We want to keep it free and strong, but we need the support of thousands of people like you, for your donation will help keep Wikipedia free for the whole world.
Thank you!
Jimmy WalesIn the letter, Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikimedia Foundation tries to ________.
| A．compare some top websites |
| B．explain how Wikipedia works |
| C．introduce a new website to the readers |
| D．appeal to Wikipedia users to make donations |
Which of the following is TRUE about Wikipedia?
| A．Due to its less popularity, Wikipedia is no longer attractive to advertising at all. |
| B．Over 275 million people come to Wikipedia to access information for free weekly. |
| C．Wikipedia, the world's most popular website, is run by the Wikipedia Foundation. |
| D．Unlike others, Wikipedia, the largest encyclopedia in history, is written by volunteers. |
From the letter we can know donations will help do the following for Wikipedia EXCEPT ________.
| A．take on some new volunteers |
| B．develop an effective new software |
| C．access free knowledge more easily |
| D．cover the increasing cost of management |
It can be inferred from the letter that ________.
| A．Wikipedia aims to give free access to the sum of all human knowledge |
| B．those donating to Wikipedia will be eventually employed as its volunteers |
| C．most websites including Wikipedia rely on financial supports from its users |
| D．supported by Wikipedia Foundation, Wikipedia wants to be free from advertisements |
●Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food
9:00-9:45a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists(成员): Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer.
Hosted by Denise Gray, science writer for The New York Times.
How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world? The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics.
● Sports writing: For the Love of the Game
9:50-10:35a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists: Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape.
Hosted by William C. Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.
Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news.
● The Art of the Review
11:15-12:00a.m. Green Tent
Panelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler.
Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for The New York Times Book Review.
How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales? Join this group of critics as they discuss the reality of the book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review.
● New York Writers, New York Stories
3:00-3:45p.m. Green Tent
Panelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss.If you like sports writing, you will most probably_______.
| A．go to Blue Tent at 11:15a.m. |
| B．enjoy Jami Bernard’s talk |
| C．listen to Christine Brennan |
| D．attend the Art of the Review |
Sam Tanenhaus is in charge of ______.
| A．The Art of the Review |
| B．Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food |
| C．New York Writers, New York Stories |
| D．Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game |
We can learn from the text that_______________.
| A．sports writers are a type of audience |
| B．New York Times is a gold mine company |
| C．Denise Grady will discuss political policy |
| D．book reviews may affect book sales |