Traditional surgical procedures require surgeons to make large incisions(切口)in a patient’s body in order to gain access to the organs inside . It was once common for heart surgeons , who perform highly specialized and complex procedures , to make long incisions in a patient’s chest and then split the breastbone to reach the heart . Patients who undergo surgery are often at the risk of infection , as bacteria can infect the cut in the skin . In addition , there is often a lengthy recovery period .
A surgical technique known as “ keyhole surgery ” has become common in recent years . In general , the surgeon will make a couple of small incisions around the area where the operation is going to be performed . Tubes are pushed into the holes , and a tiny camera is put into the body . The camera is attached to a large monitor screen and the doctor can see it while performing the operation . In addition to the camera , doctors also push their tiny surgical instruments through the tubes . The awkward part of keyhole surgery is that it is counterintuitive ; that is to say , if a surgeon wants to move the tool to the left , he or she must push it to the right .
Another new machine called the “ Da Vinci Surgical System ” has been tested in hospitals in the US. Unlike keyhole surgery , this robot’s moving parts are designed to copy man’s hand and wrist movement , thus providing better control and sensitivity . Sitting at a console(控制台)a few feet from the patient , the surgeon can control the instruments by moving highly sensitive pads . The area of the body is enlarged on a screen , which gives surgeons a view similar to that of a traditional surgical procedure .
The Da Vinci Surgical System has been welcomed as revolutionary by many surgeons . Patients with serious illness must undergo major surgery , but the smaller incisions typically mean a shorter recovery time . On the downside , some operations have taken up to fifty minutes longer because surgeons are inexperienced at using the new technology . As surgeons become more familiar with the machines , the time needed for surgical procedures is likely to decrease .. What can be learned about the traditional surgery according to the passage ?
A.Long incisions are made in a patient’s chest |
B.It often takes a longer time to do an operation |
C.The cost of the traditional surgery is very high |
D.The incision is likely to be infected after the operation . |
. Which of the following is one disadvantage of keyhole surgery ?
A.It requires the use of long , thin tools and a tiny camera |
B.The doctors can not view the inside of the patients body clearly |
C.The direction in which a doctor moves the surgical tools is opposite |
D.A tiny camera has to be inserted into the patient’s body in advance |
. The Da Vinci Surgical System differs from keyhole surgery in that it __________ .
A.requires that a surgeon make more small incisions on a patient |
B.reduces the amount of time it takes to perform a surgical procedure |
C.allows the surgeon to use the surgical instruments more sensitively |
D.get rid of the need for surgeons to make Large incisions on patients |
. The passage mainly tells readers about __________ .
A.the challenges brought about by new technology |
B.the application of new technologies in modern surgery |
C.the reflections on the development in medical science |
D.the benefits and drawbacks of the Da Vinci Surgical System |
In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition (试演) for My Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK.She was immediately rejected.She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks.Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away.After his death.Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle.The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame.Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions.“She was the one who said I should enter Britain's Got Talent.We used to watch it together.” Susan later told reporters.“She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo (样本唱片) tape.which she sent to record companies.In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.
In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91.A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles.For over a year, she refused to sing.But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out for Britain's Got Talent.Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland.She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast (对比) to her powerfully beautiful voice.The performance astonished the audience and the judges.Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week.Although she failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular.Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as .
A.critical | B.doubtful | C.indifferent | D.optimistic |
From Para.4 we learn that Boyle .
A.was slightly discouraged by her voice coach |
B.entered Britain's Got Talent to prove her ability |
C.decided to give up her singing career |
D.was deeply affected by her mother's death |
Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
A.Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. |
B.Her audition for My Kind of People failed. |
C.She has never stopped singing since 1995. |
D.She was the winner of Britain's Got Talent. |
In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to .
A.tell us how Boyle's dream came true |
B.let us know more about Boyle's personal life |
C.show how Boyle was influenced by her family |
D.explain how to enter and win a talent show |
When a dog bites a man, it usually doesn’t make news. However, this saying change when Beijing and several other Chinese cities announced the “Civilized Dog Raising” campaign in November.
The government will require Beijingers to get licenses for their dogs, and will enforce the one-dog, one-family policy. Police say the "one-dog policy" is aimed at reducing the number of dog bites and lowering the risk of rabies. According to the Ministry of Health, rabies has become the top infectious disease in China. Dangerous dogs and dogs taller than 35 centimeters, such as Great Danes, have been banned from urban areas.
Pet owners are also required to clean up their dog's droppings and make sure dogs are leashed (拴着), especially in public areas. Some public areas, such as banks, are closed to dogs entirely.
Dogs are regarded as man's best friend and the history of raising dogs can be traced back to the stone age. It therefore seems sad that dogs are unwelcome in Beijing. But it is not the case that Beijingers dislike dogs. Actually, there are many dog lovers in Beijing. The city now has more than 550,000 registered dogs, up 20 percent from the previous year.
The problem is, actually, about living space. Different from many Westerners, most Beijingers live in urban apartment buildings, not houses in the suburbs. There is very limited open space for walking dogs. The barking, the waste, and unleashed dogs in buildings, elevators and places people gather can cause fear, fights and frustration.
Beijing is not the only city to have a dog problem. Paris, London, New York and Vienna all face similar challenges and have common rules for dogs and their owners.Which of the following may be a suitable title for the story?
A.Man's Best Friend | B.Civilized Dog Raising |
C.No Room For Dogs | D.When A Dog Bites A Man |
What can be inferred from the above passage?
A.If a dog bites a m![]() |
B.Rabies is the most serious infectious disease in Beijing. |
C.Soon there will be no dangerous dogs or dogs taller than 35 centimetres in Beijing. |
D.Beijing has trouble accommodating so many dogs. |
According to the passage, what should you NOT do if you are a dog owner in Beijing?
A.Walk your dog in public places. |
B.Have more than one dog. |
C.Raise your dog in urban apartment buildings. |
D.Let your dog bark in places where people gather. |
In the writer's opinion, the main cause of the dog prob
lem in Beijing is _____________.
A.the limited living space in urban areas |
B.its lack of rules for dogs and their owners |
C.Beijingers and westerners having different lifestyles |
D.the increasing number of dangerous dogs |
Move Earth – it’s no science fiction
LONDON – Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth,
and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)— by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A.A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth. |
B.Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon. |
C.Earth will become too hot for mankind![]() |
D.The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth. |
If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.
A.12 billion | B.6 billion | C.18 billion | D.24 billion |
What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A.The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon. |
B.Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to deat![]() |
C.The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth. |
D.Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened. |
What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
A.provide | B.benefit | C.share | D.endanger |
Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors (统治者) and generals and soldiers, while the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year, or manured (施肥)a field; but we know all about the killers and destroyers.
People think a great deal of them, so much that on all the highest pillars (纪念柱)in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors. It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized. Animals fight; so do savages(野蛮人); so to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently — this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done — is not being civilized. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized peoples ought to be able to find some ways of settling their d
isputes other than by seeing which side can kill off greater number of the other side, and then saying that the side which has killed most has won. And not only has it won, but, because it has won, it has been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that power is right.
This is what the story of mankind has on the whole been like. Even our own age has fought the two greatest wars in history, in which millions of people were killed or mutilated (disabled). And while today it is true that people do not fight and kill each other in the streets — while, that is to say, we have got to the stage of keeping the rules and behaving properly to each other in daily life — nations and countries have not learnt to do this yet, and still behave like savages.In the opening sentence, the author indicates that .
A.most history books were written by conquerors, generals and soldiers |
B.history book tell us far more about conquerors, generals and soldiers than actual creators of civilization |
C.those who rally helped human civilization forward is not mentioned in history books at all |
D.conquerors, generals and soldiers should be least mentioned in history books |
According to the passage, most people believe that the greatest countries are those that.
A.built the highest pillars for their conquerors |
B.were ruled by the greatest number of conquerors |
C.won the greatest number of battles against other countries |
D.were beaten in battle by the greatest number of other countries |
In the author’s opinion, the countries that conquered a large number of other countries are
.
A.certainly both the most powerful and most civilized. |
B.neither the greatest nor the most civilized in any way. |
C.possibly either the most civilized or the most powerful in a way. |
D.likely the most powerful in some sense but not the most civilized. |
The meaning of the last sentence in Paragraph 2 is that.
A.fighters believe that the winner is right and the loser wrong. |
B.only those who are powerful have the right to go to war. |
C.those who are right should fight against those who are wrong. |
D.only powerful nations might win the right to rule weak ones. |
Very few people were coming to eat at the White Rose Restaurant, and its owner did now know what to do. The food in his restaurant was cheap and good. But nobody seemed to want to eat there.
Then he did something that changed all that, and in a few weeks his restaurant was always full of men with their lady friends. Whenever a gentleman came in with a lady, a smiling waiter gave each of them a beautiful menu. The menu looked exactly the same on the outside, but there was an important difference inside. The menu that the waiter gave to the man gave the correct price for each dish and each bottle of wine, while the menu that he gave to the lady gave a much higher price. So when the man calmly ordered dish after dish and wine after wine, the lady thought he was
much more gen
erous than he really was.
Why didn’t people come to the White Rose Restaurant to eat first?
A.Because the price was high. | B.Because the food was too cheap. |
C.Becau![]() |
D.The passage didn’t mention. |
According to the passage we can conclude that the people who eat at this restaurant are mostly
.
A.poor old people | B.rich young people |
C.men with their girl friends | D.parents with their children |
According to the passage we can infer that when men with their girl friends eat at this restaurant, the food was paid .
A.always by the ladies only | B.always by the men only |
C.sometimes by the ladies | D.either by the men or by the ladies |
According to the passage we can know that, generally speaking, .
A.men are more generous than women |
B.women are more generous than men |
C.men like their lady friends to be generous. |
D.women like their men friends to be generous |