My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life. I even wanted to kill myself. Just for my kids, I had to continue to live and work as a small town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. Then they asked me to have a family trip.
On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids：“ I'm going to Afghanistan.”And a few weeks later, International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs ，we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule.Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.
In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami (海啸), Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war, and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees,_and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. “Adventure or not？”I often asked myself.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was gone. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.
I thought about the moment many times during my“adventures”. I didn't know how predictive those words would be，but I knew that she was still with me.Where has the doctor been in the past few years?
| A．Some countries where he could set up clinics. |
| B．Some African countries where flu broke out. |
| C．The places where the earthquakes happened. |
| D．The places that the horrible disasters struck. |
How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?
| A．Tired and troublesome. | B．Busy and risky. |
| C．Meaningful and helpful. | D．Frightening and depressing. |
The underlined word“ refugees” means people________.
| A．who are robbed, killed, or wounded | B．who suffer from flu in movable clinics |
| C．who like to take adventures | D．who have lost homes because of disasters |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The doctor's wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries. |
| B．What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality. |
| C．The doctor's adventures made him understand the love of his wife. |
| D．With the true love of his wife, the doctor started to change his life. |
Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.
| A．the result of the study about sitting too long is shocking |
| B．we need to remove many rocks |
| C．we need to smooth away many difficulties |
| D．sitting on a rock is necessary |
The following are the reasons why some experts are against standing too long except.
| A．It will cause more long-term back injuries |
| B．it will raise the burden of heart |
| C．incidences of varicose veins among women will increase |
| D．standing too much at work per day is too tiring |
According to the studies in the passage mentioned,.
| A．it is better not to stand more than 6 hours |
| B．sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily |
| C．sitting long is specially harmful to adults |
| D．standing much is better than sitting long |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Standing is not better than sitting |
| B．Standing more does no harm to people |
| C．Standing will promote the efficiency |
| D．More office workers take standing against sitting |
It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another
couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb is derived from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself! “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means.
| A．it was a firm arrangement |
| B．it was an uncertain arrangement |
| C．the arrangement should be written as a diary |
| D．he prefers a pencil to a pen |
A website address can be easily found if it has been______.
| A．emailed | B．messaged | C．favorited | D．texted |
Which of the following has not been used as a verb, yet?
| A．message | B．page | C．email | D．mobile |
The best title for this passage is____.
| A．New Verbs from Nouns |
| B．The Development of the English language |
| C．New Technology and New words |
| D．Technology and Language. |
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month，we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door，“Ronald，Ronald.”
I stepped in and saw a boy，about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me？”
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes！”But my mind was screaming louder. “No！You are going to lose your job！”
“Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation，permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
| A．weak | B．serious | C．interesting | D．exciting |
When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author ________.
| A．was unwilling to do so | B．was glad to do so |
| C．hesitated to do so | D．hurried to do so |
What lesson did the author draw from his experience?
| A．To amuse others is enjoyable. | B．To take risks is important. |
| C．To break rules is necessary. | D．To be fired is not fearful. |
We learn from the story that ________.
| A．the author left the corporation because he broke the rules |
| B．the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules |
| C．the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author |
| D．the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas |
Because plants cannot move or talk, most people believe that they have no feelings and that they cannot receive signals from outside. However, this may not be completely true.
People who studied plants have found out that plants carry a small electrical charge (电荷). It is possible to measure this charge with a small piece of equipment called “galvanometer”. The galvanometer is placed on a leaf off the plant, and it records any changes in the electrical field of the leaf. Humans have a similar field which can change when we are shocked or frightened.
A man called Backster used a galvanometer for his studies of plants and was very surprised at his results. He found that if he had two or more plants in a room and he began to destroy one of them － perhaps by pulling off its leaves or by pulling it out of its pot － then the galvanometer on the leaves of the other plants showed a change in the electrical field. It seemed as if the plants were signalling a feeling of shock. This happened not only when Backster started to destroy plants, but also when he destroyed other living things such as insects (昆虫).
Backster said that the plants also knew if someone had destroyed a living thing some distance away, because they signalled when a man who had just cut down a tree entered the room.
Another scientist, named Sauvin, achieved similar results to Backster’s. He kept galvanometers fixed to his plants all the time and checked regularly to see what the plants were doing. If he was out of the office, he telephoned to find out about the signals the plants were sending. In this way, he found that the plants were sending out signals at the exact times when he felt strong pleasure or pain. In fact, Sauvin could cause a change in the electrical field of his plants over a distance of a few miles simply by thinking about them.Backster was surprised at the results of his studies because _____.
| A．he destroyed an insect |
| B．he destroyed a plant by pulling off its leaves |
| C．he found that plants could express feelings of shock |
| D．he found that plants could move and speak after all |
The plants sent out signals _____.
| A．only when Backster Started to destroy plants |
| B．when Backster destroyed plants or other living things |
| C．only when he destroyed things such as insects |
| D．only when Backster placed the galvanometer on the leaves of the plants |
The scientist called Sauvin _____.
| A．did not agree with Backster’s ideas |
| B．did not get the same sort of results as Backster did |
| C．got different results from Backster’s |
| D．found out some of the same things that Backster did |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The electrical charge plants carry may shock or frighten us. |
| B．A tree will signal when it has been cut down. |
| C．Sauvin could make his plants send out signals some distance away. |
| D．Plants have feelings because they can receive signals without moving. |
Advertising is a highly developed twentieth-century industry. The development of radio, television, cinema, magazines and newspapers has gone hand in hand with the development of advertising. Why is advertising so popular? Is it a waste of money? It has been proved again and again that repeated advertising increases product sales. Since it increases production, the price can be reduced. Therefore advertising, instead of making a product more expensive, makes it cheaper.
Advertising is now a scientific business. Once managers would say jokingly, " I know that half of what I spend on advertising is wasted, but I don't know which half." Now, all parts of an advertising program are properly measured and researched.
What makes a good advertisement? There have been major changes in advertising in the past sixty years. People read advertisements partly for information and partly for pleasure. Today's advertisements often start with a question, or a puzzle, with the purpose of attracting the reader's attention. Of course, most advertisements contain information. But this is usually contained in a text that is interesting and often funny. Humor is very important. Sometimes advertisements tell a story, or the story may be continued over a number of advertisements. However, there is a danger in this. It is possible that the reader or viewer will remember the advertisement but not the name of the product.The purpose of advertising is ____.
| A．to increase product sales |
| B．to make a product much better |
| C．to spend more money |
| D．to reduce the production |
Which of the following can be used in place of the underlined phrase "hand in hand" ?
| A．Here and there. | B．Again and again. |
| C．As usual. | D．At the same time. |
What is meant by what managers said in the second paragraph?
| A．A11 the money on advertising was wasted. |
| B．Not all the advertisements were well designed. |
| C．A11 the managers knew about advertising then. |
| D．Managers spent no money on advertising. |
What does the writer think of advertising?
| A．Useless. | B．Unnecessary. | C．Important. | D．Wasteful. |