Surgical teams accidentally leave clamps, sponges and other tools inside about 1,500 patients nationwide each year.
The mistakes largely result not from surgeon tiredness, but from the stress arising from emergencies or complications(并发症) discovered on the operating table, the researchers reported.
The study found that emergency operations are nine times more likely to lead to such mistakes, and operating–room complications requiring a change in procedure are four times more likely.
It also happens more often to fat patients, simply because there is more room inside them to lose equipment, according to the study.
Two–thirds of the mistakes happened even though the equipment was counted before and after the procedure, in keeping with the standard practice.
Most lost objects were sponges, but also included were metal clamps and electrodes(电极). In two cases, 11–inch retractors (牵引器) metal strips were forgotten inside patients. In another operation, four sponges were left inside someone. When there is significant bleeding and a sponge is placed in a patient, it can sometimes look indistinguishable from the tissue around it.
The lost objects usually lay around the abdomen (腹腔) or hips but sometimes in the chest. They often caused tears or infections. Most patients needed additional surgery to remove the object. In other cases, patients even sensed nothing about the object, and it turned up in later surgery for other problems.
To prevent such mistakes from happening, Loyola University Medical Center is becoming one of the first hospitals in the country to use sponges outfitted with bar codes. The new system was brought to Loyola through the efforts of the hospital’s operating room nurses.
Another effective way is to X–ray patients after surgery to reduce the likelihood of objects being left inside patients.In which of the following situations are objects most likely to be left inside a patient?
A.The nurses are counting the equipment and the patient is being X–rayed. |
B.The surgeons are doing the last operation of the day, and everyone is exhausted. |
C.unexpected happens and some changes must be made in the procedure. |
D.A complex operation is going on according to the plan made by many experts. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Such mistakes happen more often to fat patients. |
B.1,500 patients suffer from the mistake all over the world every year. |
C.X–ray examination can help to find the lost objects. |
D.The mistake largely results from stress rather than tiredness. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Surgical teams aren’t to blame for the mistakes. |
B.Some people never know there is something left inside their body. |
C.Most mistakes happen because equipment isn’t counted after the procedure. |
D.Only some small objects may be left inside the patients. |
What is the best title for the passage?
A.Never Trust Anyone | B.A Mistake in the Operating Room |
C.Carelessness and Mistakes | D.Tips for Patient Safety |
"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).
Amphibians (两栖动物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.
"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.
But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation(湿润)after winter."
Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit(黑尾豫). "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.
But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.
A.drought | B.hibernation | C.windier conditions | D.extreme events |
What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.
A.drought is part of nature’s cycle | B.animals are still in hibernation |
C.soil at this time is far from saturation | D.the population of animals is still unclear |
Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?
A.Drought has so far continued for two winters. |
B.Animals could survive one bad nesting season. |
C.The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction. |
D.40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes. |
The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.
A.losing water | B.undergoing changes |
C.breeding animals | D.suffering flood |
It can be learnt from the text that ______________.
A.groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976 |
B.the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972 |
C.windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death |
D.flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands |
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit(成套设备) and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
A.Because she didn't want others to hear her play. |
B.Because she didn't mean to disturb others. |
C.Because she didn't have her own room. |
D.Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
Brenda started to give concerts _______.
A.after she practiced in her space bubble |
B.when she became part of the unique space journey |
C.after she became a real musicalastronaut |
D.when people came to see her in the space bubble |
Brenda became famous because _______.
A.she was good at music and science | B.she became a real musical astronaut |
C.she invented a special way of practice | D.she played well and had a talent |
Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
A.Kind, hardworking and clever. | B.Brave, kind and hardworking. |
C.Lovely, brave and kind. | D.Nervous, kind and clever. |
It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
A.He laughs best who laughs last | B.It's never too old to learn |
C.Two heads are better than one | D.One good turn deserves another |
The website FarmersOnly.com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.
As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o’clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.
So, in 2005, Jerry Miller launched his website. “You don’t have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly.com, but you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America’s Heartland.”
You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than 58,000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.
Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag.org, says there are more than 1,000 members across the nation and as far away as France. Jerry Miller started singlesinag.org in order to .
A.help farmers | B.support traditions |
C.understand farmers | D.represent farmers |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?
A.She dislikes city lifestyle. |
B.She prefers late night coffee. |
C.Country life isn’t well understood. |
D.It’s tiring to get up early. |
Which of the following is true of singlesinag.org?
A.Its services are free. |
B.It provides dating services. |
C.Only farmers can become its members. |
D.Farmers in France can’t benefit from it. |
The author of the text intends to .
A.advertise for the two websites |
B.introduce two websites |
C.encourage social activities |
D.urge readers to help farmers |
It can be inferred from the text that .
A.all farmers desire marriage |
B.farmers are easy to meet new people |
C.more farmers get divorced in the USA |
D.the Internet helps improve farmers’ social life |
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? 1After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy.
2Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory. Do you know what a "territory" is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims(声称) as its won. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. 3If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. 4But he expects an outsider almost all the time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird' s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
5Most of it has to do with attracting males and setting up territories.
A.A bird does the same thing. |
B.Maybe you thought that they were just happy. |
C.Shouting loudly is just like a bird's screaming. |
D.You can see that birds have a language all their own. |
E. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
F. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason.
G. So, just like human beings, birds sing for almost the same reasons.
Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime(消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?
A.Those who often do sports. |
B.Those who often watch television. |
C.Those who often have meals at home. |
D.Those who often walk to school. |
The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because ______.
A.they can't choose what to eat |
B.they are too busy to go out and play |
C.their parents often cook meals for them |
D.there are too many fast food shops around |
The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means ______.
A.forcing |
B.guiding |
C.driving |
D.moving |
The main purpose of the text is to ______.
A.tell a story |
B.provide facts |
C.give advice |
D.compare opinions |