AIDS’ Threat to Asia Grows
NEW DELHI----Just a few years ago, Mala was a typical middle-class Indian housewife. She cooked, cleaned and looked after her two small children.
Last year, her life took a tragic turn. Her husband died of AIDS; she was found out HIV-positive and her mother-in-law took her children away from her, saying they would get the disease. “When friends dropped for a visit, she would introduce me, saying, ‘She is my son’s widow. She has AIDS,’” said Mala. AIDS is now described as “explosive(炸药)” around the world. A study of a hospital in the port city of Durban in South Africa, where the world’s biggest and Africa’s second AIDS conference opened last Sunday, found that almost half the beds in medical wards (病房) were occupied by AIDS patients.
South Africa has one of the world’s fastest growing HIV infections, with 1,700 people infected daily, adding to the 4.3 million, or 10 percent of its population, living with HIV. Until now, Asia has been more successful in holding the AIDS virus than Africa, where the disease has killed about 12 million people.
AIDS is now threatening to surround many of Asia’s poverty-stricken countries. Countries in Asia, such as Cambodia, and Thailand, have HIV infection speeds over 1 percent. But the low speeds hide huge numbers of infected people, because of the population base.
In India, for example, 3.7 million are infected, more than in any other country except South Africa. In China, an estimated 860,000 people (the actual number may be a little larger), mainly drug users, live with HIV/AIDS. Gordon Alexander, a senior advisor for UN AIDS in India, estimates that the number hit by AIDS in Asia will climb about eight million over the next five years from about six million.
In many Asian countries, the battle against HIV is a social and cultural one against public discussion of sexual health put a nationwide media campaign into action to limit the speed of HIV through unsafe sex. Brenton Wong, an official for Singapore’s Action for AIDS, says the actual HIV incidence in the city state of 3.9 million people is at least eight times higher than official data. “Shame and deny is still very, very common so people are afraid to get tested and many times won’t even tell their families if they test positive,” said Wong. We can conclude from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph that ______.
| A．The official data always tell lies and cheat people to hide the truth. |
| B．3.9 million people in Singapore suffered from AIDS. |
| C．Singapore has a population of 3.9 million |
| D．The number of people infected with HIV is at least eight times larger than that of the AIDS patients in Singapore. |
It is judged that there are ______ people hit by AIDS in Asia or so.
| A．4.3 million | B．6 million | C．8 million | D．3.7 million |
According to the passage, the main reasons that AIDS spread in Asia is through_______.
| A．blood | B．unsafe sex | C．love | D．drugs |
Which of the following statements is not right?
| A．The battle against Aids in many Asian countries is against their culture and social customs. |
| B．Though the HIV infection in Asia develops with low speed, the infected number is still quite large compared to other continents. |
| C．India has the second largest number of HIV infected people. |
| D．Aids might affect the poverty-stricken countries more severely. |
The economic growth that many nations in Asia and increasingly Africa have experienced over the past couple of decades has transformed hundreds of millions of lives – almost entirely for the better. But there’s a byproduct to that growth, one that’s evident – or sometimes less than evident – in the smoggy, smelly skies above cities like Beijing, New Delhi and Jakarta. Thanks to new cars and power plants, air pollution is bad and getting worse in much of the world, and it’s taking a major toll (伤亡人数，代价) on global health.
How big? According to a new analysis published in the Lancet, more than 3.2 million people suffered deaths from air pollution in 2010, the largest number on record. That’s up from 800,000 in 2000. And it’s a regional problem: 65% of those deaths occurred in Asia, where the air is choked by diesel soot (内燃发动机烟雾) from cars and trucks, as well as the song from power plants and the dust from endless urban construction. In East Asia and China, 1.2 million people died, as well as another 712,000 in South Asia, including India. For the first time ever, air pollution is on the world’s top – 10 list of killers, and it’s moving up the ranks faster than any other factor.
So how can air pollution be so damaging? It is the very finest soot – so small that it roots deep within the lungs and from the enters the bloodstream – that contributes to most of the public – health toll of air pollution including death. Diesel soot, which can also cause cancer, is a major problem because it is concentrated in cities along transportation zones affecting overpopulated areas. It is thought to contribute to half the deaths from air pollution in urban centers. Fro example, 1 in 6 people in the U.S. live near a diesel – pollution hot spot like a rail yard, port terminal or freeway.
We also know that air pollution may be linked to other non – deadly diseases. Fortunately in the U.S. and other developed nations, urban air is for the most part cleaner than it was 30 or 40 years ago, thanks to regulations and new technologies like the catalytic converters (催化式排气净化器) that reduce automobile emissions. Governments are also pushing to make air cleaner – see the White House’s move last week to further tighten soot standards. It’s not perfect, but we’ve had much more success dealing with air pollution than climate change.
Will developing nations like India eventually catch up? Hopefully – though the problem may get worse before it gets better. The good news is that it doesn’t take a major technological advance to improve urban air. Switching from diesel fuel to unleaded (无铅燃油) helps, as do newer and cleaner cars which are less likely to send out pollutants. Power plants – even ones that burn mineral fuels like coal – can be fitted with pollution – control equipment that, at a price, will greatly reduce smog and other pollutants.
But the best solutions may involve urban design. In the Guardian, John Vidal notes that Delhi now has 200 cars per 1,000 people, far more than much richer Asian cities like Hong Kong and Singapore. Developing cities will almost certainly see an increase in care ownership as residents become wealthier – and that doesn’t have to mean deadly air pollution. Higher incomes should also lead to tougher environmental regulations, witch is exactly what happened in the West. We can only hope it happens before the death toll from bad air gets even higher. What tends to give rise to the highest death toll according to the passage?
| A．The lack of tight environmental protection standards. |
| B．The increasing numbers of the diesel cars and trucks. |
| C．The frighteningly high death rate from deadly cancer. |
| D．The world’s serious air pollution such as soot and dust. |
The “byproduct” (Paragraph 1) most probably refers to .
| A．consequence | B．solution | C．reform | D．design |
The basic reason why so many people die from air pollution is that .
| A．the diesel soot is too small to be seen |
| B．the diesel soot is much too poisonous to breathe |
| C．the diesel soot roots in lungs and gets into blood |
| D．the diesel soot can also contribute to deadly cancer |
According to the passage, the writer actually wants to convince the readers that .
| A．the global economic growth is mainly to blame for air pollution and climate change |
| B．the developing countries are repeating the same mistakes as the developed ones made |
| C．the ecological situation and air pollution in India are becoming worse and worse |
| D．the unbeatable air is increasingly becoming a major killer throughout the world |
By describing urban design as “the best solution” in the last paragraph, the writer means that .
| A．the making of tougher environmental regulations alone is of little use |
| B．more sever regulations should be made to handle air pollution |
| C．the urban construction in western developed countries is the best choice |
| D．the pace of development has to be slowed down to reduce air pollution |
Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money” it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small.
With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold.
As I was searching for “angel money”, I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet.
Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy” in-house.
Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him.
We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time.
Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success.
She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000.
I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven.
“I have confidence in your plan,” she said. “You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company.”
Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to___________.
| A．the salary it pays to its staff |
| B．the interest it pays to the bank |
| C．the way in which it raises capital |
| D．the speed at which it spends money |
By "Angel money", the author refers to__________.
| A．the money borrowed from banks |
| B．the money spent to promote sales |
| C．the money raised from close friends |
| D．the money needed to start a business |
To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to__________.
| A．put up with unfair terms | B．change your business line |
| C．enlarge your business scope | D．let them operate your business |
The author easily built a team for his company because__________.
| A．they were underpaid at their previous jobs |
| B．they were turned down by other companies |
| C．they were confident of the author and his business |
| D．they were satisfied with the salaries in his company |
Louise decided to lend money to the author because__________.
| A．she wanted to join his company |
| B．she knew he would build a team |
| C．she knew his plan would succeed |
| D．she wanted to help promote his sales |
In the more and more competitive service industry, it is no longer enough to promise customer satisfaction. Today, customer “delight” is what companies are trying to achieve in order to keep and increase market share.
It is accepted in the marketing industry, and confirmed by a number of researches, that customers receiving good service will promote business by telling up to 12 other people; those treated badly will tell their tales of woe to up to 20 people, and 80 percent of the people who feel their complaints are handled fairly will stay loyal.
New challenges for customer care have come when people can obtain goods and services through telephone call centers and the Internet. For example, many companies now have to invest a lot of money in information technology and staff training in order to cope with the “phone rage”—caused by delays in answering calls, being cut off in mid-conversation or left waiting for long periods.
“Many people do not like talking to machines,” says Dr. Storey Senior Lecturer in Marketing at City University Business School. “Banks, for example, encourage staff at call centers to use customer data to establish instant and good relationship with them. The aim is to make the customer feel they know you and that you can trust— the sort of comfortable feelings people have during face-to-face chats with their local branch manager.”
Recommended ways of creating customer delight include: under-promising and over-delivering (saying that a repair will be carried out within five hours, but getting it done within two); replacing a faulty product immediately; throwing in a gift voucher (购物礼卷) as an unexpected “thank you” to regular customers; and always returning calls, even when they are complaints.
Aiming for customer delight is all very well, but if services do not reach the high level promised, disappointment or worse will be the result. This can be eased by offering an apology and an explanation of why the service did not meet usual standards with empathy (for example, “I know how you must feel”), and possible solutions (replacement, compensation or whatever fairness suggests best meets the case).
Airlines face some of the toughest challenges over customer care. Fierce competition has convinced them that delighting passengers is an important marketing tool, while there is great potential for customer anger over delays caused by weather, unclaimed luggage and technical problems .
For British Airways staff, a winning telephone style is considered vital in handling the large volume of calls about bookings and flight times. They are trained to answer quickly, with their name, job title and a “we are here to help” attitude. The company has invested heavily in information technology to make sure that information is available instantly on screen.
British Airways also says its customer care policies are applied within the company and staff are taught to regard each other as customers requiring the highest standards of service.
Customer care is obviously here to stay and it would be a foolish company that used slogans such as "we do as we please”. On the other hand, the more customers are promised, the greater the risk of disappointment.We can learn from Paragraph 2 that.
| A．complaining customers are hard to satisfy |
| B．unsatisfied customers receive better service |
| C．Satisfied customers catch more attention |
| D．well-treated customers promote business |
The writer mentions “phone rage” (Paragraph 3) to show that________.
| A．customers often use phones to express their anger |
| B．people still prefer to buy goods online |
| C．customer care becomes more demanding |
| D．customers rely on their phones to obtain services |
What does the writer recommend to create delight?
| A．Calling customers regularly | B．Giving a “thank you” note. |
| C．Delivering a quicker service | D．Promising more gifts. |
If a manager should show his empathy (Paragraph 6), what would he probably say?
| A．“I know how upset you must be.” | B．“I appreciate your understanding.” |
| C．“I’m sorry for the delay.” | D．“I know it’s our fault.” |
Customer delight is important for airlines because________.
| A．their telephone style remains unchanged |
| B．they are more likely to meet with complaints |
| C．the services cost them a lot of money |
| D．the policies can be applied to their staff |
Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.
Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes (酶) that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.
Processed foods contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism (新陈代谢) that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.
The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.
To stop this vicious（恶性的）circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize (使…中和) the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach.What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To advocate eating more raw and whole foods. |
| B．To tell the differences between raw and processed foods. |
| C．To inform people of the harm of processed foods. |
| D．To warn people of the problem of obesity. |
It can be inferred from Para. 2 that __________.
| A．it is essential for people to protect their vital organs |
| B．foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit |
| C．we’d better be cautious about raw and whole foods |
| D．giving up cooked and refined foods is a new lifestyle |
Processed foods are unhealthy because they __________.
| A．destroy body’s cells | B．are difficult to digest |
| C．may lead to obesity | D．stop body’s metabolism |
What is likely to be talked about following the last paragraph?
| A．Active approaches to avoid acid. |
| B．Different causes of acid accumulation. |
| C．Correct ways to cook raw foods. |
| D．Suitable types of raw and whole foods. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Processed foods are good for our appetite mechanism. |
| B．Eating the right types of raw and whole foods does good to our body. |
| C．The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion more effective. |
| D．Processed foods also comfort the digestive tract. |
Edgar felt quite excited at the thought of his first swim of the summer. With the sun shining down so strongly, the sea was certain to be warm enough. He walked quickly along the sea-front towards the steps that led on to the sands. He smiled cheerfully at the passersby. He had just smiled and raised his hat to an elderly lady when a man with a camera caught his arm and stopped him. Edgar heard a little buzzing noise from the camera.
“Your photograph, sir, in glorious colour in just one moment if you please,” said the man in one breath. Then the buzzing stopped, and he held the photograph in his hand and was waving it to and fro. In a
moment he handed it over, and Edgar saw the bright blue splash of his shirt half filling the picture.
“Seventy pence, sir,” the man said. “It’s the bargain of your holiday.”
“Seventy pence,” Edgar repeated, mildly. “For this?” He stared at the photographer.
“They’re normally eighty-five, sir, but for a single subject I make a cut-price offer. It’s the best value you’ll get in Chadwell.”
“You’ll have to make a better offer,” Edgar said. It was a good photo though, he thought, so bright and clear. His hat was held high, and he was smiling broadly at the old lady, whose arm and handbag came into a lower corner. He had had no idea that he was being snapped. He thought he was really quite a good-looking chap.
“That’s as good as any studio job that would cost you pounds,” said the cameraman. “It’s better in a way because it’s so natural. Only seventy pence, sir.”
“I’ve never paid so much for a snap in my life. It simply isn’t worth that kind of money. It’s not as if I need the thing. Look, I’ll give you twenty-five.”
“No, I can’t do that. Each of these instant colour shots costs me 50p — that’s the price of the blank frame, so you see…”
“Criminal, criminal,” Edgar broke in. “You want a profit of forty per cent. Well, not at my expense, I’m afraid. I’ll give you your 50p and that’s that.”
“Let me see, then.” The man suddenly took the photograph out of Edgar’s hand. “I can’t waste any more time with you. It’s 70p or I keep it.”
“Keep it,” Edgar said. He turned, looked out to the sea, and then walked quickly away.Why do you suppose Edgar was in Chadwell?
| A．It was his hometown. |
| B．He was there on holiday. |
| C．He was in the making of a film. |
| D．He was there to have his photograph taken. |
Edgar smiled at and raised his hat to the lady because ________.
| A．he thought he recognized her |
| B．he wanted the photograph to be amusing |
| C．she was having her photograph taken |
| D．he was feeling excited and cheerful |
The photographer lowered his price to 70p because __________.
| A．Edgar wanted to bargain for the photo |
| B．Edgar couldn’t afford to pay the normal price |
| C．Edgar was the only person in the photo |
| D．there was only one copy of the photo |
What did Edgar think of the photo?
| A．He thought it made him look like a criminal. |
| B．He liked it but thought it was too dear. |
| C．It annoyed him because he hadn’t expected it. |
| D．He thought it was a bargain at the price. |
We can infer from the passage that _______ .
| A．Edgar was an indifferent but good-looking man |
| B．Edgar smiled at the photographer because he was being photographed |
| C．the photographer was actually a criminal |
| D．Edgar didn’t buy the snap at length. |