Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast．Diagnosed with diabetes（糖尿病）, Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin（胰岛素） three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death．And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance．
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back．He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones — a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources．
Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six．Father and son visit the online children's forums（论坛） together most evenings．"Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. “They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone.”
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases．And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages．
These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people — 225 to date — who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses．Fight-it．org has raised about $23,000 — in products and in cash．In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean．
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables．"Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. “But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now.”Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
| A．He needs to go to the doctor every day． |
| B．He studies the leading cause of diabetes. |
| C．He has a positive attitude to this disease． |
| D．He encourages diabetics by writing articles． |
Diabeticrockstar.com was created for ________．
| A．diabetics to communicate | B．volunteers to find jobs |
| C．children to amuse themselves | D．rock stars to share resources． |
According to the text, Kody ________．
| A．feel lonely because of his illness | B．benefits from diabeticrockstar.com |
| C．helps create the online kid’s forums | D．writes children’s stories online |
What can we learn about Fight It?
| A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties． |
| B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year． |
| C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics． |
| D．It owns a well-known medical website． |
The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ________．
| A．works full-time in a diabetes charity | B．employs 22 people for his website |
| C．helps diabetics in his own way | D．tries to find a cure for diabetes |
Our interpersonal skills have a great effect on success in our daily lives. This appears not only in the workplace where we can make more money or enjoy our job more, but also shows itself in marriage, raising a family and the ability to reach goals in almost every area of life. Interpersonal skills come into play when our flight is cancelled and we need to make other arrangements. They come into play when a marriage is threatened by financial challenges or infidelity(不忠).
Our communication skills even matter when we are in traffic and we need to make a decision about how to respond to other drivers. Communicating with others becomes inseparable from having a good day, or a bad day not only in how we begin communication, but in how we react to the communications of others who are having a difficult time.
It can make a difference in saving a marriage or getting a divorce, celebrating a rise or getting fired, and even having your eggs cooked as the way you like at the local restaurant. Many wise men and women have stressed the importance of dealing with others in a skillful manner.
Getting feedback(反馈意见) from others can be of great value in improving our interpersonal communication skills. Often, however, others are not skilled at giving feedback. When we get negative results, they rarely include the details we need in order to improve our interpersonal skills.
Since life improves so much with greater communication skills, getting feedback and an opportunity to improve would be not only life-saving for pilots, but labor-saving for the rest of us. Contact Alice Aspen March for a free consultation today and see how you might improve your communication skills, or learn more about The Attention Factor.Which of the following can greatly influence our success in our daily life according to the passage?
| A．The education we receive. | B．The skills of making a decision. |
| C．The nationality of our friends. | D．Our interpersonal skills. |
What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．Family members |
| B．Interpersonal skills. |
| C．Husband and wife |
| D．Challenges of lack of money. |
Why does the author mention “traffic” and “other drivers” in the second paragraph?
| A．Just to call our attention |
| B．To tell us the importance of communication skills. |
| C．To lead us to think of a sad scene |
| D．To help us not to forget traffic is very important. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Getting feedback from others can be valueless in improving our interpersonal skills. |
| B．Even if we have good communication skills, we will surely not be able to improve our life. |
| C．If we pay enough money, we can get some advice from Alice Aspen March. |
| D．Many wise people think communicating with others needs skills. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．The Attention Factor |
| B．The Problems of Marriage |
| C．Interpersonal Skills |
| D．The Relationship Between Our Feelings and Traffic |
Nowadays, the food we eat seems to have great effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.What is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Drug and Food | B．Food and Health |
| C．Cancer and Health | D．Health and Drug |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals |
| B．Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for about sixty-eight years. |
| C．Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons |
| D．Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world. |
How has science done something harmful to mankind?
| A．Because of science, diseases caused by polluted food have been virtually eliminated. |
| B．It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food. |
| C．The scientists have preserved the color of meats, but not of vegetables. |
| D．Because of the application of science, some potentially harmful substances have been added to food. |
What are nitrates used for?
| A．They preserve the color of meats. |
| B．They preserve flavor in packaged foods. |
| C．They are the objects of research |
| D．They cause the animals to become fatter. |
The word “carcinogenic” most nearly means “_____”.
| A．trouble-making | B．color-retaining |
| C．cancer-causing | D．money-making |
Mainland couples who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined forbreaking the family planning policy a senior official has warned． As more women flock to Hong Kong to give birth to their second child，Zhang Feng，family planning department director of Guangdong Province，stressed that this violated Chinaspolicies． “And those who are government employees will even be dismissed from their posts．”he said．
''It doesn't matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland or in other countries and regions, they have violated the country's policies and the province's regulations''.
He said that some families had been punished in the past few months after having a second child in Hong Kong, but gave no details.
Zhang made his remarks when a Hong Kong newspaper carried a controversial notice claiming residents' medical services had been affected by the growing number of mainland women who arrive in the city to give birth and gain right of abode (居住) there.
According to statistics revealed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010, but more than 41,000 or 47 percent, were to mainland couples, including a large number from Guangdong.
Hong Kong has limited the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in the city at 34,000 this year.
The issue also has caused calls for an amendment to Hong Kong's Basic Law so that babies born to mainland women are no longer granted permanent right of abode.
''I support Hong Kong government's decision to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong.'' Zhang said.
China introduced its family planning policy in 1979 to limit births in the world's most populous nation, although the rules have been relaxed in recent years.Which of the following is true?
| A．Zhang Feng is family planning department director of Guangdong Province. |
| B．Many government employees have been dismissed from their posts. |
| C．Those who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined. |
| D．It doesn’t matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland. |
What does the word ''violated'' mean in the second paragraph?
| A．was obeyed | B．went against | C．was for | D．was dismissed |
Zhang Feng said that______.
| A．few families had been punished after having a second child in China |
| B．about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010 |
| C．he agreed to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong |
| D．the residents' medical services in Hong Kong had been affected |
From the passage we can infer______.
| A．in 2010 most of the babies born in Hong Kong belonged to mainland couples |
| B．babies born to mainland women in Hong Kong can't get permanent right of abode now |
| C．the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in Hong Kong has been reduced |
| D．the family planning policy in China is as strict as before |
Which is NOT the reason why some people want to give birth to a second child in Hong Kong?
| A．They want to gain right of abode there for their babies. |
| B．They want to escape being punished for breaking the family planning policy. |
| C．They want their babies to enjoy the good medical services in Hong Kong. |
| D．They want to cause calls for an amendment to Hong Kong's Basic Law. |
Scientists around the world have been studying the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino （厄尔尼诺）. The appearance of El Nino is known to affect the weather around the world. Scientists still do not completely understand it. Yet they now find they can use it to tell about the future in different areas of the world.
One example is the work of two scientists at Columbia University in New York, Mark Cane and Gordon Eshel. A scientist of Zimbabwe（津巴布韦）, Roger Buckland worked with them. They have found that when El Nino appears, Zimbabwe has little or no rain. This means corn crops in Zimbabwe are poor. The last El Nino was in 1991 to 1993. That was when southeastern Africa suffered a serious lack of rain.
The scientists wrote about their recent work in the publication（出版物）Nature. Their computer program can tell when an El Nino will develop up to a year before it does. They suggest that this could provide an effective early warning system for southern Africa, and could prevent many people from starving.El Nino is known as ___.
| A．the changing of the weather in southern Africa |
| B．the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean |
| C．the weather which brings drought（旱灾）to Africa |
| D．the weather phenomenon（现象）that brings heavy rains to Africa |
Scientists study El Nino in order that ___.
| A．they can provide a kind of early warning to the place that will suffer from drought |
| B．they can tell why Zimbabwe has little or no rain |
| C．they can do some research work in this field. |
| D．they can put all this information into their computers. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Scientists come to understand how El Nino appears. |
| B．Three scientists from the USA work on this subject. |
| C．Southern Africa suffered a serious drought and many people died from hunger. |
| D．El Nino has something to do with Zimbabwe’s poor crops. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
| A．The computer is used in this research work. |
| B．Scientists know when an El Nino appears by means of the computer program. |
| C．The scientists published their results of the research work. |
| D．Nature is the name of the article written recently by the scientists. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．Appearance of El Nino is Predictable（可预测的） |
| B．Drought in Zimbabwe |
| C．Early Warning System |
| D．Weather in Africa |
The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphones, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic(怀旧的)skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching,many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful-----both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks----both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe (转换) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot(发现) spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”Whatmakeswritingbyhandathingofthepast?
| A．Theabsenceofblackboardsinclassrooms. |
| B．Theuseofnewtechnologiesinteaching. |
| C．Thelackofpracticeinhandwriting. |
| D．Thepopularuseofsmartphones. |
Berninger’sstudypublishedin2009___________.
| A．focusedonthedifferencebetweenwritingbyhandandonacomputer. |
| B．indicatedthatstudentsprefertowritewithapenandpaper. |
| C．foundthatgoodessaysaremadeupoflongsentences. |
| D．discussedtheimportanceofwritingspeed. |
Whichofthefollowingbestshowstheroleofspelling?
| A．Spellingimprovesone’smemoryofwords. |
| B．Spellingabilityiscloselyrelatedtowritingability. |
| C．Spellingbenefitsthetranslationfromwordsintoideas. |
| D．Spellingslowsdownfindingexactwordstoexpressideas. |
Whatdoes“mind’seye”inparagraph5mean?
| A． Window. | B．Soul | C．Picture. | D．Imagination. |
Whatconclusioncouldbedrawnfromthepassage
| A．Computerscanhelppeoplewiththeirchoiceofwords. |
| B．Spellcheckscantaketheplaceofspellingteaching. |
| C．Handwritingstillhasaplaceintoday’sclassrooms. |
| D．Functionalspellingabilitydevelopsfastinthefifthgrade. |