Cellphones: is there a cancer link?
Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, power lines and wi-fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.
Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the university at Albany, in New York, thinks there’s a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia(白血病). Also there’s a greater than 90 percent chance that cellphones can cause brain tumors. “It’s apparent now that there’s a real risk,” said Carpenter.
But others believe these concerns are unjustified. Dr Martha Linet, the head of radiation epidemiology(流行病学) at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don’t support warning labels for cellphones,” said Linet. “We don’t have the evidence that there’s much danger.”
Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs(电磁场) and illness — so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It’s funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cellphone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don’t suggest a strong link between cellphone use and cancer risk.From the passage we can learn that some people are worried because .
| A．they have evidence the use of cellphone can lead to cancer. |
| B．they make a fuss over cellphone use. |
| C．some expert has given a warning. |
| D．cellphones are responsible for brain tumors. |
By saying “I don’t support warning labels for cellphones,” Dr Martha Linet has the idea that .
| A．the worrying is unnecessary. |
| B．cancer-warning labels should be on cellphones. |
| C．there is a link between cellphones and cancer. |
| D．cellphones have nothing to do with cancer. |
The underlined word “underway” is closest in meaning to .
| A．started. | B．kept on. | C．gone on. | D．in progress. |
Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards the debate?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Objective. | C．Disapproving. | D．Casual. |
• Membership
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In some countries, membership is compulsory if you wish to stay in HI hostels listed on this site. To find out what is applicable in the country you wish to visit, please check the Membership Savings Program.
Apart from cheaper accommodation in many of our 4,000 hostels worldwide, membership also gives you access to thousands of travel-related savings at home and abroad. Please check locally with your HI hostel on arrival for details of these great benefits which can include: reduced-price admission to attractions and museums, discounts on meals, transportation and lots more.
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Please note: when you select your country from the list below you will be given full contact details plus a link to the national HI Youth Hostel Association website. Please select the Membership section on the site.Which of the following is NOT promised by Hostelling International?
| A．A safe and clean place to stay. |
| B．Welcoming atmosphere. |
| C．Membership benefits. |
| D．Opportunities to meet local people. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the HI hostels?
| A．Accommodation discounts for members are not available at every HI hostel. |
| B．For some HI hostels, you have to be a member to find accommodation. |
| C．You will enjoy high quality services at the cheapest possible price. |
| D．Free public transportation to your destination is ensured. |
If you want to be a member of HI, ______.
| A．you can either call the HI Youth Hostel Association office or buy a membership online. |
| B．you should book a room at an HI Youth Hostel first. |
| C．you can buy a membership at an HI Youth Hostel Association office or outlet. |
| D．you can buy a membership when you check in at an HI Youth hostel. |
This time, it is to be worn on wrists. Having already changed the way we communicate with its smartphones, Apple Inc released its next big thing on March 9 in San Francisco, US.
The Apple Watch, according to CNN, is “a simple rectangular (矩形的) shape with a range of stylish and useful wristbands.” “The style is classic... in those respects (方面) it’s up there with the top quality Swiss watches,” commented the news outlet.
The watch will be available in nine places, including the US, the UK and China, from April 24. The starting price is $349 (2,186 yuan).
With six different designs and 30 or so wristbands, the gadget “sets the standard for smartwatches, in style,” agreed The Brisbane Times,“but more importantly, in functionality (功能性).” “With the built-in speaker and microphone, you can receive calls on your watch. I have been wanting to do this since I was 5 years old,” said Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook.
In fact, anything you can do on the iPhone is there on the watch – e-mails, text messages, airline boarding services, and directions from Apple Maps. Using a home security app, you can keep an eye on your home from afar, or even open a locked door.
There are some features that have made Cook sure the watch is “our most personal device yet; a new chapter in the way we relate to technology”. According to NPR, the watch taps you on the wrist to draw your attention to a message or a calendar reminder, and it can send a tap on the wrist to another Apple Watch wearer.
However, the watch can also do things that are just plain fun. You can send a real-time display of your heartbeat to another Apple Watch to “let someone know you are thinking about them.”
Patrick Moorhead, a leading technology analyst in the US, described the tech company as “a master in the art of persuasion”. “The secret weapon is the ability to message each other by tapping on the watch,” he told The Associated Press. “I think people, particularly kids, are going to go nuts (疯狂) over that.”
So far, though, the most impressive part of this new device is “the monitoring of the wearer’s health and fitness,” said AFP. It will even tap you on the wrist if you have been sitting down for longer than is good for your health.Which of the following features of the Apple Watch are mentioned in the article?
a. its price
b. its functions
c. its shortcomings
d. its shape and weight
e. when and where people can buy it
| A．abd |
| B．abe |
| C．bce |
| D．bde |
Which of the following words best describes Tim Cook’s attitude toward the Apple Watch?
| A．Proud. |
| B．Modest. |
| C．Serious. |
| D．Cautious. |
How does the Apple Watch let wearers know there is a new message?
| A．The watch beeps. |
| B．The watch sends out music. |
| C．The watch changes its screen color. |
| D．The watch taps the wearer on the wrist. |
With an Apple Watch, you can ______.
| A．monitor your health and diagnose yourself |
| B．send a real-time display of your heartbeat to an iPhone |
| C．be reminded to move around if you’ve been sitting down for too long |
| D．receive emails, text messages and calls, and open a locked door for your neighbor |
“YOUR password has expired (过期),” a message said on my screen, with instructions for changing it. Coming up with a new code (密码) doesn’t seem like a big deal, unless you work at my company, where we have to change it monthly, using at least one uppercase (大写的) character, one lowercase character, one symbol, and one number. Oh, the whole password can’t be fewer than eight characters. And I can’t use any of the same passwords I’ve used in the past three months.
Suddenly I was furious (很生气的). What didn’t make it any better was that I was deeply depressed after my recent divorce. Disbelief about what she had done to me was all I thought about every day.
I remembered a tip I’d heard from my former boss. He’d said: “I’m going to use a password to change my life.”
I couldn’t focus on getting things done in my current mood. There were clear signs of what I needed to do to get control of my life again.
My password became the sign. My password reminded me that I shouldn’t let myself be a victim of my recent breakup and that I was strong enough to do something about it.
I made my password Forgive@h3r.
I had to type this several times a day. The simple action changed the way I looked at my ex-wife. That constant reminder led me to accept the way things had happened and find a new way of dealing with my depression. As the month wore on, I felt a slow healing begin to happen. By the time my server asked me to reset my password the following month, I felt free.
One month later, my dear Exchange server asked me yet again to reset my password. I thought about the next thing that I had to get done.
My password became Quit@smoking4ever.
I quit smoking overnight.
This password was a painful one to type during that month, but doing it helped me to yell at myself in my mind as I typed that statement. It motivated me to follow my monthly goal.
One month later, my password became Save4trip@thailand.
Guess where I went three months later: Thailand.
Seeing how these reminders helped to achieve my goals kept me motivated and excited. While it’s sometimes difficult to come up with your next goal, keeping at it brings great resultsWhich of the following passwords fits the company’s requirements?
| A．Seeme@2 |
| B．Dream4future |
| C．Visit$me |
| D．Stay@4ever |
Why couldn’t the author focus on doing things?
| A．Because he couldn’t come up with a new password. |
| B．Because he always forgot his password. |
| C．Because he was in low spirits due to his divorce. |
| D．Because his wife stole his password before their breakup. |
What happened to the author after he had used his password to change his life?
| A．He finally overcame his depression and forgave his ex-wife. |
| B．He started smoking to heal his broken heart. |
| C．He quit his job and went traveling around the world. |
| D．He became furious about his passwords getting longer and longer. |
What message does the author intend to convey through his story?
| A．Never let yourself be a victim of others’ faults. |
| B．Be patient with the healing process for any pain. |
| C．Constant reminders can be positive as well as negative. |
| D．Setting yourself a goal and keeping at it can bring great results. |
Food sometimes gets poisoned with harmful things. A person who eats such food can get an illness called food poisoning. Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly. The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours of eating the poisoned food. Fever is one of the most common symptoms.
Certain microorganisms（微生物）cause most types of food poisoning. Bacteria and other microorganisms can poison eggs, meat, vegetables, and many other foods. After entering the body, these tiny living things release（释放）poisons that make people sick.
Some chemicals can also cause food poisoning. They are often added to food while it is being grown, processed, or prepared. For example, many farmers spray chemicals on crops to kill weeds and insects. Some people may have a bad reaction to those chemicals when they eat the crops.
Some plants and animals contain natural poisons that are harmful to people. These include certain kinds of seafood, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and mushrooms.
When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small. Microorganisms multiply rapidly in dirty places and in warm temperatures. This means that people should never touch food with dirty hands or put food on unwashed surfaces. Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing. Meat needs to be cooked thoroughly to kill any dangerous microorganisms. People should also wash food covered with chemicals before eating it. Finally, people should not eat wild mushrooms or other foods that grow in the wild. Some of these foods may contain natural materials that are poisonous to humans. In addition, some types of fish can be poisonous.
Most people recover from food poisoning after a few days of resting and drinking extra water. If people eat natural poisons, they must go to the hospital right away to have their stomachs emptied.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Food when poisoned can make people sick. |
| B．Food poisoning means death. |
| C．Food poisoning comes in varieties. |
| D．Food poisoning can be serious. |
We know from the passage that the symptoms of food poisoning.
| A．are always accompanied by a fever |
| B．are too common to be noted |
| C．can be noticed within hours |
| D．can be ignored |
Food poisoning can be caused by all the following EXCEPT.
| A．some chemicals |
| B．low temperatures |
| C．some tiny living things |
| D．certain natural materials |
From Paragraph 5, we can learn that.
| A．mushrooms should not be eaten |
| B．vegetables are safer than meat and seafood |
| C．natural poisons are more dangerous than chemicals |
| D．different types of food should be handled differently |
It can be inferred from the passage that.
| A．natural materials are safe in food processing |
| B．chemicals are needed in food processing |
| C．food poisoning can be kept under control |
| D．food poisoning is out of control |
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year–olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don't rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人）may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2 1/2 hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms.According to the California study, the low-scoring group might _________.
| A．have watched a lot of TV |
| B．not be intersected in math |
| C．be unable to go to college |
| D．have had computers in their bedrooms |
What is the researchers' understanding of the New Zealand study results?
| A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. |
| B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest. |
| C．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds. |
| D．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．More time should be spent on computers. |
| B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV. |
| C．'IV sets shouldn't be allowed in children's bedrooms. |
| D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Computers or Television |
| B．Effects of Television on Children |
| C．Studies on TV and College Education |
| D．Television and Children's Learning Habits |
What does the word “accumulating” in the last paragraphy mean?
| A．withdraw | B．underline |
| C．increase | D．tolerate |