Increasingly, Americans are becoming their own doctors, by going online to diagnose their symptoms, order home health tests or medical devices, or even self-treat their illnesses with drugs from Internet pharmacies(药店). Some avoid doctors because of the high cost of medical care, especially if they lack health insurance. Or they may stay because they find it embarrassing to discuss their weight, alcohol consumption or couch potato habits. Patients may also fear what they might learn about their health, or they distrust physicians because of negative experiences in the past. But playing doctor can also be a deadly game.
Every day, more than six million Americans turn to the Internet for medical answers – most of them aren’t nearly skeptical enough of what they find. A 2002 survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 72 percent of those surveyed believe all or most of what they read on health websites. They shouldn’t. Look up “headache”, and the chances of finding reliable and complete information, free from a motivation for commercial gain, are only one in ten, reports an April 2005 Brown Medical School study. Of the 169 websites the researchers rated, only 16 scored as “high quality”. Recent studies found faulty facts about all sorts of other disorders, causing one research team to warn that a large amount of incomplete, inaccurate and even dangerous information exists on the Internet.
The problem is most people don’t know the safe way to surf the Web. “They use a search engine like Google, get 18 trillion choices and start clicking. But that’s risky, because almost anybody can put up a site that looks authoritative(权威的), so it’d hard to know if what you’re reading is reasonable or not,” says Dr. Sarah Bass from the National Cancer Institute. According to the text, an increasing number of American _____.
| A．are suffering from mental disorders |
| B．turn to Internet pharmacies for help |
| C．like to play deadly games with doctors |
| D．are skeptical about surfing medical websites |
Some Americans stay away from doctors because they _____.
| A．find medical devices easy to operate |
| B．prefer to be diagnosed online by doctors |
| C．are afraid to face the truth of their health |
| D．are afraid to misuse their health insurance |
According to the study of Brown Medical School, ______.
| A．more than 6 million Americans distrust doctors |
| B．only 1/10 of medical websites aim to make a profit |
| C．about 1/10 of the websites surveyed are of high quality |
| D．72% of health websites offer incomplete and faulty facts |
Which of the following is the author’s main argument?
| A．It’s cheap to self-treat your own illness. |
| B．It’s embarrassing to discuss your bad habits. |
| C．It’s reasonable to put up a medical website. |
| D．It’s dangerous to be your own doctor. |
In America, drivers’ education is part of the regular high school curriculum(课程). Every student in his or her second year of high school is required to take a class in driver’s education. However, unlike other courses, it is not given during the regular school year. Instead it is a summer course.
The course is divided up into two parts: class time for learning laws and regulations, and driving time to practise driving. Class time is not unlike any other class. The students study the basic traffic laws from a text to pass the written driving test that is given to anyone who wants to get a driver’s license.
Driving time is a chance for the students to get behind the wheel (steering wheel) and practise starting steering, backing up, parking, switching lanes, turning corners, and all the other maneuvers (操作) required to drive a car. Each student is required to drive a total of six hours.The students are divided up into groups of four. The students and the instructor go out driving for two hour blocks of time. Thus, each student gets half an hour driving time per outing. The instructor and “driver” sit in the front seats and the other three students sit in the back.
After the student has passed the driver’s education course and reached the appropriate age to drive(this age differs in every state but in most cases the person must be 16 years old),they can go to a designated(指定的) state office to take their driver’s test, which is made up of an eye examination, a written test, and a road test. The person must pass all three tests in order to be given a driver’s license. If the person does well in his or her driver’s education class, he or she will pass the test with flying colors and get a driver’s license.In America, the driver’s course mentioned above.
| A．is considered as part of the advanced education. |
| B．is given to anyone wanting to get a driver’s license. |
| C．is carried on at the same time as other courses |
| D．is offered to all the students of Grade 2 in high schools |
We can infer that the students are required to_________in their whole driving practice.
| A．spend at least six hours driving |
| B．get half an hour driving |
| C．drive for two hour blocks of time |
| D．go out driving for tweleve times |
Which of the following is Not True for the students wanting to get their driver’s license?
| A．They must have their eyes examined. |
| B．They must be 16 years of age. |
| C．They should go to have their driver’s test. |
| D．They ought to do well in their driver’s course. |
In the last sentence, “with flying colors” means.
| A．happily | B．quickly | C．colorfully | D．successfully |
Mother-of-three Carmen Blake called her midwife(助产师)to ask for an ambulance when she went into labor unexpectedly with her fourth child.
But the 27-year-old claims she was refused an ambulance and told to walk the 100m from her house in Leicester to the city’s nearby Royal Infirmary(医院).
Her daughter Mariah was delivered on a pavement outside the hospital by a passer-by, just before ambulance crews arrived.
Ms Blake said she started going into labor at about 7:15 am on Sunday, August 2. She said, “I phoned up the Royal Infirmary, it’s just across the road.
“I went into the bath and realized she was gong to come quickly. I didn’t think I’d be able to make it out of the bath, so I phoned the maternity(妇产科的) ward back and told them to get an ambulance out.”
They said they were not sending an ambulance and told me I had had nine months to sort out a lift.
Experienced mother MS Blake today said she knew she had to get herself out of the bath and try to get to the hospital.
Eventually MS Blake and her friends enlisted the help of a physiotherapist(理疗师) who happened to be passing on her way to work. She dialed 999 and helped deliver baby Mariah while waiting for emergency services.
Ms Blake said despite the happy ending she was upset she was told to make her own way to the hospital as, being an experienced mum, she knew she did not have the time.
Today a government spokeswoman said, “We are disappointed that Ms Blake was not happy with the advice and care she received and will of course investigate any complaint. We are pleased that both Ms Blake and her daughter are well and healthy.” Carmen Blake, the 27-year-old mother, gave girth to her new child Mariah .
| A．in the city’s Royal Infirmary |
| B．in the ambulance on her way to hospital |
| C．out of the bath at home |
| D．in the street on her way to hospital |
The underline3d phrase “went into labor” in the first paragraph probably means .
| A．felt worried | B．felt tired | C．gave birth to | D．went to sleep |
It can be inferred that .
| A．there were not enough ambulance in the Royal Infirmary |
| B．the story ended with a sad ending |
| C．the maternity ward said Ms Blake only needed a lift |
| D．the maternity ward said Ms Blake ought to call earlier |
Carmen Blake accused the Royal Infirmary of.
| A．failing to send an ambulance to help her |
| B．having killed her newly-born baby |
| C．not taking good care of her and her baby |
| D．refusing to admit her into the hospital |
A hobby can be almost anything a person likes to do in his spare time. Hobbyists raise pets, build model ships, weave baskets, watch birds, hunt animals, climb mountains, raise flowers, fish, ski, skate, and swim. Hobbyists also paint pictures, attend concerts and plays, and perform on musical instruments. They collect everything from books to butterflies, and from shells to stamps.
People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship, knowledge, and relaxation. Sometimes they even produce financial profit(利润). Hobbies help people balance between work and play. Hobbies also offer interesting activities for persons who have retired. Anyone, rich or poor, old or young, sick or well, can follow a satisfying hobby, regardless of (不论)his age, position, or income.
Hobbies can help a person’s mental and physical health. Doctors have found that hobbies are valuable in helping patients recover from physical or mental illness. Hobbies give bedridden or wheel-chair patients something to do, and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves. Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies or pastimes.
In early times, most people were too engaged in making a living to have many hobbies. But some persons who had leisure(休闲)did enjoy hobbies. The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood or pottery.
People today have more time than ever before for hobbies. Machines have reduced the amount of time they must spent on their jobs. Hobbies provide variety for workers who do the same monotonous(单调的) tasks all day long. More people are retiring than ever before, and at an earlier age. Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newly found leisure hours.
Sir William Osier, a famous Canadian doctor, expressed the value of hobbies by saying, “No man is really happy or safe without a hobby.”It seems that people whomay spend more time enjoying their hobbies.
| A．have little money | B．have much money |
| C．have retired from their work | D．have left school |
The underlined phrase “recover from” in the third paragraph means.
| A．get back | B．become healthy again |
| C．become calm | D．supply with a new cover |
In early times, most people spent less time on their hobbies, because.
| A．they were busy in making a living |
| B．they suffered from illnesses. |
| C．they were brave and hard-working |
| D．they were not interested in them. |
What’s the writer’s opinion about hobbies?
| A．People all over the world have the same hobby. |
| B．Machines also have their hobbies. |
| C．Hobbies are popular among people in Egypt. |
| D．People should have hobbies in their spare time. |
Full face transplants are no longer science fiction fantasy, a leading surgeon has said, adding that they are technically practical but ethically（道德地）complex.
Peter Butler from London’s Royal Free Hospital called for a debate on the ethics of such an operation made possible by new drugs which stop the body’s immune (免疫）system rejecting a transplanted face. “It is not ‘can you do it?’ but ‘should we do it?’” he told the BBC. “The technical part is not complex, but I don’t think that’s going to be the very great difficulty. The ethical and moral debate is obviously going to have to take place before the first facial transplantation.”
The British Association of Plastic Surgeons will discuss the microsurgical procedure (微型外科技术), which could give new skin, bone, nose, chin, lips and ears from deceased donors to patients disfigured（毁容的）by accidents, burns or cancer. But surgeons could have trouble finding enough willing donors. Butler said his survey of doctors, nurses and members of the public showed most would accept a face transplant but few were willing to donate their own after dying.
Despite a number of ethical concerns, Christine Piff, who founded the charity Let’s Face It after suffering a rare facial cancer 25 years ago, welcomed the possibility of face transplants. She rejected the idea that the procedure would mean people would end up living with a dead person’s face. “There are so many people without faces, I have half a face… but we are all so much more than just a face… you don’t take on their personality. You are still you,” she told reporters. “If we can donate other organs of the body then why not the face. I can’t see anything wrong with it.”The underlined word “deceased” in the third paragraph probably means _________.
| A．living | B．dead | C．diseased | D．dying |
When Christine Piff says “There are so many people without faces…”, she refers to the people _________.
| A．who are dishonorable and shameless |
| B．who disagree with the full face transplant |
| C．who are seriously injured by an accident |
| D．who are disfigured by accidents, burns and cancer |
According to the passage, what makes it likely to carry out a facial transplantation?
| A．Drugs are available to stop the body’s immune system rejecting a transplanted face. |
| B．There are some people who are willing to donate their faces after dying. |
| C．Most people accept the idea of face transplants. |
| D．It’s morally practical, though technically complex. |
What is implied but not stated in the passage?
| A．Christine Piff has been the first lucky patient to receive a face transplant. |
| B．Surgeons have difficulty finding enough willing donors. |
| C．The main difficulty with the operation lies in the matter of ethics and morality. |
| D．Nobody other than Christine Piff is quite in favor of the donation of organs. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．First Facial Transplantation |
| B．Debate on the Ethics of Transplant |
| C．Face Transplant No Longer Science Fantasy |
| D．Let’s Face It |
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly-held image of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “They’re expected to be rebellious （叛逆的） and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. “My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-year-old Daniel Lazall, “I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, “Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.” What is the popularly- held image of teenagers?
| A．They worry about their school life. |
| B．They live in harmony with their parents. |
| C．They have to be locked in to avoid making troubles. |
| D．They quarrel a lot with their parents. |
The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ______.
| A．share family responsibility | B．cause trouble in their families |
| C．go boating with their family | D．make family decisions |
Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents______．
| A．go to clubs more often with their children |
| B．are much stricter with their children |
| C．care less about their children’s life |
| D．give their children more freedom |
According to the author, teenage rebellion _______．
| A．may be a false belief | B．is common nowadays |
| C．is based on real facts | D．resulted from changes in families |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Negotiation in family. | B．Education in family. |
| C．Harmony in family. | D．Teenage trouble in family. |