Dr. Jack M. Gwaltney, Jr. a professor at the University Of Virginia School Of Medicine infected six student volunteers with virus, the most common cause of colds. A few days later, when they were coughing and sneezing, he gathered 37 more people and divided them into three groups. Group 1 members spent three days and nights in the same room with one of the infected students, separated by a screen so they couldn't touch one another. Group 2 sat around a table while an infected volunteer talked, coughed and sang to them. Group 3 held hands with an infected student for ten seconds, and then touched their own noses or eyes.
Although most scientists at the time, the mid-70s, believed colds were spread by virus-laden droplets spread through the air when infected people coughed or sneezed, Gwaltney suspected physical contact might play an important role. Sure enough, of the 15 people who had touched a student volunteer, 11 became infected—compared with only one of those who had been sitting at the table, and none who had spent three days and nights together.
"The best evidence we have is that hand-to-hand contact is the most efficient way of transmitting virus," says Gwaltney. The study was one of a series that helped establish Gwaltney's reputation as a leading authority. Dr. Robert Couch says, "It would not be inappropriate to call him Mr. Common Cold."
When Gwaltney is asked how close scientists are to finding a cure, he replies: "If you mean ‘get rid of’, I don't think we're going to be able to do that with cold viruses any time soon. But if you look in the dictionary, you'll see that 'cure' is explained as a successful treatment. And we're not just getting more effective at treating the symptoms (症状)—we're getting at the root cause too. "Dr. Jack M. Gwaltney conducted the experiment in order to__________.
A.find out the most common cause of colds |
B.infect the student volunteer |
C.find out the role physical contact plays in the common colds |
D.find out the role virus-laden air plays in the infection of colds |
The result of the experiment shows that ___ plays an important role in the infection of colds.
A.sneezing at the infected person |
B.touching the infected person |
C.sitting together with the infected person |
D.talking with the infected person |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Dr. Gwaltney was sure that hand-to-hand touch is the cause of the common cold. |
B.Only one of the people who had spent three days and nights together became infected. |
C.Dr. Gwaltney conducted many an experiment as to the cause of colds. |
D.Dr. Gwaltney tested altogether 43 volunteers to see how they could develop colds. |
Mr. Common Cold is______.
A.a newly-found virus |
B.a nickname (绰号) of respect to Dr. Gwaltney |
C.a method to cure colds |
D.a way by which the other scientists laughed at Dr. Gwaltney |
When Dr. Gwaltney gives a reply in the end of the passage, he means that______.
A.they have found the fundamental cause of colds |
B.they have managed to wipe out the cold viruses |
C.they have meant to experiment more |
D.they have made much progress in dealing with colds |
Almost everyone suffers from a headache sometimes.But some people suffer from repeated, frequent headaches.
What is headache? What causes it? What can be done about a headache? What research is being done on headaches?
The dictionary defines(下定义) headache simply as “a pain in the head.” What most people mean by headache is a pain which lasts several minutes or hours.It covers the whole head, or one side of it, or perhaps the front or the back of the head.To add to the confusion(困惑) about a definition, some people call tight feeling in the head a headache.
A headache is important because it can be the first warning of a serious condition which probably could be controlled if discovered early.If a person removes the warning, day after day, with a pain-killer, he may pass the point of easy control.
The professional name for covering up a symptom(症状) is “masking” (遮蔽).A headache specialist once said, “Masking symptoms is not the best way of treatment.” He compared taking a pain-killer for a headache before a cause is known with taking iron pills for anemia(贫血症) while bleeding continues undiscovered.He added, “Sometimes it is wiser to stand still than to advance in darkness.”
A headache is important also because it affects normal, happy living.The employee with a headache does less work.In a flash of temper he may upset his fellow workers or customers, causing a direct or indirect loss to his organization.The mother with a headache suffers and disturbs the family.She upsets her husband and children.Which is true according to the passage?
A.Headache has no effect on others. |
B.Headache may cover the whole body. |
C.Headache may last several minutes or hours. |
D.Headache is just the tight feeling in the head. |
The sentence underlined in Paragraph 5 means ______.
A.you should not advance in darkness whatever happens |
B.you’d better do nothing before you know how to deal with it |
C.you’d better still stand there without moving when it is dark at night |
D.you should take some pain-killers for your headache if you want to cover it up |
What may the writer talk about in the following paragraph?
A.Treatments of headaches | B.The definition of headaches |
C.Symptom of headaches | D.Bad effects of a headache |
The passage mainly tells us______.
A.the reason of headache |
B.headache and its effect |
C.everyone suffers from a headache |
D.a headache is a symptom of something serious |
Popular music in America is what every student likes.Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch.Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to the car radio as they drive to work.They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people.Most of the radio programmes are music.
Pop or popular music singers make much money.They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places.Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes.Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer.Wherever the singer goes , all the young people want to meet him or her.Now the singer has became a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans.One is called folk music.It tells stories about the common life of Americans.Another is called western or country music.This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows when they were watching.Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.________ kinds of music are mentioned in the passage?
A.Two | B.Four | C.Three | D.Five |
When pop singers _________, they will become national stars.
A.make much money | B.make a CD or tape |
C.are loved by all the young people | D.are wanted to sing on the radio |
From the passage we know that country music is about ________
A.common life about Americans | B.country life and love story |
C.life of cowboys | D.school life in America |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Most students in America like popular music |
B.Students with cars in America like to listen to music while driving |
C.Adult drivers in America listen to music all the time while driving. |
D.Everyone in America wants to meet pop sing |
With long brown hair, deep blue eyes, a tall and thin figure(身躯) Brad Pitt seems to be a born actor.He made his first appearance in a film in 1990.Though he was in the film for only 14 minutes, people flooded the cinema to see him.In his next film Pitt played the role of a fisherman.To make the film better, he learned the skill of fishing from a fisherman.
Pitt, caring more about roles than money, has a special favor for the “hard” roles.After reading the screenplay(剧本) of “Legends of the Fall”, he was attracted by the leading character.He asked for a lower pay from the shooting team and was willing to work in hard conditions in the Rocky Mountains for six months.“The film gives the chance to know life.I shall always remember the time when we were making the film,” Pitt said after completing it fully.
Pitt started his dream of art when he was in university.Though born in a common family in 1964, he showed his interest in film at an early age.After leaving high school, he went to university to study law.Because he loved film more than law, shortly before he could graduate, he dropped out for a life of his own, with only 325 dollars in hand, sometimes as a porter or a waiter.Thanks to his hard work, he finally opened up a new field of his own.Pitt acted his first film at the age of .
A.6 | B.14 | C.26 | D.36 |
The underlined expression “a born actor” means .
A.he was born in an actor family |
B.he became an actor soon after he was born |
C.he was an actor when he was born |
D.he has a strong natural ability to be an actor |
From the passage we know .
A.Pitt became known as an actor at an early age. |
B.To achieve his goal, Pitt suffered a lot before success |
C.it was wrong of Pitt not to finish his university education |
D.In order to develop his interest, Pitt failed to enter university |
Which of the following words can best describe the character of Pitt?
A.Devoted. | B.Generous. | C.Selfish. | D.Mean. |
In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was travelling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself.Along the way he had completely run out of(用光) money and was forced to spend the night in his car.This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet.The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting.He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner said.The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what the owner did.Maybe nobody dropped the money at all.“Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使尴尬)me.So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man.Now he lives near Kansas City.Each year he gives away thousands of dollars.He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants.Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.The young man was travelling cross the country in 1971 to______.
A.look for a good restaurant | B.improve his life |
C.show his new car to others | D.hand out dollars |
The underlined sentence implies(暗示) that the young man got to know that______.
A.it was vey lucky of him to get his lost money back |
B.it was very honest of the owner to return his money |
C.the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feelings |
D.another person who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money |
From the end of the passage we can learn that ______.
A.the man did carry out his promise |
B.the man was not successful in the end |
C.the owner was paid back the money |
D.Santa gives the man money each year |
The message of the story is “______”.
A.One good turn deserves another |
B.Where there is a will there is a way |
C.He who travels far knows much |
D.Give love wings (翅膀) and it may fly higher |
Why do men live a shorter life than women? The latest research indicates that men’s hearts going into a rapid decline when they reach middle age could be the cause.
The research of ageing on the heart has shown that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose much pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 20 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, Samantha of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells which make it beat.Between the ages of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men ,” said Samantha.“This is part of the ageing process.”
What amazes scientists is that the female heart suffers very little loss of these cells.A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could work almost as perfectly as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender (性别)difference might give the reason why men live shorter than women,”said Samantha.They studied over 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 17 and 80, who are mainly healthy persons so as to reduce the influence of disease.“The team has yet to think about why ageing suffers a greater loss on the male heart,” said Samantha.
But there is also good news -- men can enjoy the health of their hearts with regular exercise.Samantha stressed that women should also take regular exercise to stop their leg muscles getting weaker as they age.The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph means “________”.
A.health | B.long life | C.ageing | D.effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
A.men’s heart cells | B.women’s ageing process |
C.the gender difference | D.hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
A.men have fewer cells than women when they are born |
B.women can produce the cells that make the heart beat |
C.the female heart suffers less loss of the cells with age |
D.women will never suffer the loss of pumping power with age |
If you want to live a long life, you should ________.
A.enable your heart to beat much faster |
B.think about the reason for ageing |
C.take regular exercise to keep your heart healthy |
D.stop your cells from being lost |