Taking a picture of your tongue with a mobile phone could soon instantly tell you how healthy you are. Researchers believe the images can reveal important information about a patient’s health and even give them early warning of serious illness.
A team at the University of Missouri is developing a system that can analyze pictures using a 5,000-year-old Chinese principle, which is based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body, and uses the tongue as a key to learning about a person’s physical health, or “zheng” according to Chinese medicine.
“Within a year, our goal is to create an application for smart phones that will allow anyone to take a photo of their tongue and learn the status of their zheng,” said Dong Xu, chair of MU’s Computer Science Department in the College of Engineering and the co-author of the latest study.
The software analyzes images based on the tongue’s color and coating to distinguish between tongues showing signs of “hot” or “cold” zheng. Shades of red and yellow are associated with hot zheng, whereas a white coating on the tongue is a sign of cold zheng.
“Hot and cold zheng doesn’t refer directly to body temperature,” said Xu, “Rather, it refers to a series of symptoms associated with the state of the body as a whole.”
For the study, 263 gastritis(胃炎) patients and 48 healthy volunteers had their tongues analyzed. The gastritis patients were classified by whether they showed infection by a certain bacteria as well as the intensity of their gastritis symptoms. In addition, most of the gastritis patients had been previously classified with either hot or cold zheng. This allowed the researchers to test the accuracy of the software’s analysis.
“Our software is able to classify people based on their zheng status. And as we continue to work on the software we hope to improve its ability,” said another co-author Ye Duan, “Eventually everyone will be able to use this tool at home using webcams or smart phone applications, which will allow them to monitor their zheng and get an early warning about possible ailments.” The software mentioned in the passage is based on ________.
| A．the latest development of smart phones |
| B．a traditional Chinese medical principle |
| C．the changes in one’s flow and energy |
| D．symptoms related with the state of the body |
According to Chinese medicine, zheng refers to ________.
| A．one’s body temperature | B．the physical health of a person |
| C．the possible disease of a person | D．the color and coating of one’s tongue |
The study led by Dong Xu proves _________.
| A．the effect of the software |
| B．the software’s great prospect |
| C．the advancement of smart phones |
| D．the greatness of Chinese medicine |
The underlined word “ailments” can be replaced by _________.
| A．analysis | B．effects | C．illnesses | D．applications |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．the software still needs improvement |
| B．the subjects in the study are all gastritis |
| C．the software has been in market for a year |
| D．the subjects in the study are classified by age |
Putting in water fountains (饮水器) at schools, and teaching children about the health benefits of water, could reduce their risk of getting extra pounds, reports a new study that is published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The findings are based on a survey in 32 elementary schools of two German cities, Dortmund and Essen. The researchers, led by Rebecca Muckelbauer, a nutritionist(营养学家) at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition Dortmund, weighed about 3,000 children, and asked them about their beverage consumption(饮料消费量).
At the beginning of the school year, the experts had water fountains added to 17 of the schools. The scientists also worked with teachers to carry out educational programs that promote the benefits of drinking water. In contrast to schools in the United States, there are very few schools in Germany that have water fountains.
At the beginning of the study, there were no big differences in the number of overweight children in the different groups. But by the end of the school year, children in the schools with water fountains were 31 per cent less likely to gain extra pounds, compared to kids who went to other schools, where water drinking was not encouraged.
Children in the schools with fountains increased their water consumption from about 3 up to 4 glasses a day, while those in the other schools continued to drink an average of 3 glasses. Over the research, the number of overweight kids upped from 384 to 385 out of 1,641 at the schools with water fountains. In comparison, the number of overweight kids at the other schools increased from 339 to 364 out of 1,309, Dr. Muckelbauer said.
The experts cannot make any final conclusions and explain why the students who were encouraged to drink water were less likely to gain extra weight. Dr. Muckelbauer noted that according to a few other studies, drinking of water increases the rate at which calories are burned, while some other research suggested that water may temporarily decrease appetite (食欲).What do we know about the survey from the passage?
| A．The teachers were also encouraged to drink water. |
| B．The students surveyed were all overweight. |
| C．It surveyed children in the countryside. |
| D．It lasted for a whole school year. |
What can be learned from the last paragraph?
| A．Drinking water certainly decreases appetite. |
| B．Further research is needed to confirm the finding. |
| C．The experts will encourage all the students to drink water. |
| D．Why students drinking more get less pounds will be clear soon. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Schools with water fountains |
| B．Drink more water and become thinner |
| C．Water fountains at schools help kids stay thin |
| D．Water consumption at some German schools |
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Where can you experience the latest way of teaching languages?
| A．International Language Center. |
| B．TAFE International. |
| C．Club Francais |
| D．Global Language Learning Center. |
The underlined word “picturesque” is closest in meaning to ____.
| A．modern |
| B．traditional |
| C．beautiful |
| D．industrial |
Which of the following is true of Club Francais?
| A．Adults Normal Course lasts about eight weeks. |
| B．Adults Normal Course is intended for beginners. |
| C．Adults Crash Course can be attended in the afternoon. |
| D．You should pay $50 an hour if you attend High School Crash Course. |
In which column of a newspaper can you most probably find this text?
| A．News. | B．Knowledge | C．Advertisement | D．Health. |
Apologizing is both an Art and a Science. The Art lies in the manner in which the apology is delivered while the Science is the recipe that forms the apology itself. A proper apology should always include several ingredients. Now let’s take a closer look at these ingredients.
Give a detailed account of the offense, and make sure both you and the other person are talking about the same thing. Whether you make it in secret or public doesn’t matter, but your apology should be focused on the particular event.
Next, by acknowledging the hurt or damage done, you are making the recipient (接受者) begin to sense that you understand the situation. It is important to rebuild your relationship because it makes them feel their anger is understandable.
Don’t try to defend yourself by offering any excuses, which is important to let them know that you understand the event and you actions do cause them harm. The apology is all about THEM and how they feel. It doesn’t matter if the actions were intentional or not, the end result is the same and that is what needs to be focused on when learning how to say, “I’m sorry”.
Give a sincere statement of regret such as “I apologize” or “I’m sorry”. Above all, tell them it won’t happen again. After all, there is no value in apologizing for something that you will do again and again.
Finally, asking for forgiveness at the end of the apology gives the power back to the recipient. It tells them, that you have done all that you can do by apologizing and providing whatever form of restitution(补偿)you can. The next move is up to them.
By including all these ingredients and applying them to your situation, you will know exactly how to say “I’m sorry” next time you need to.The passage mainly tells readers ____.
| A．the importance of apologizing |
| B．the process of apologizing |
| C．how to apologize effectively |
| D．how to repair a broken friendship |
How will the recipient react when you admit hurting them?
| A．They will be sorry for being angry with you. |
| B．They will treat you differently right away. |
| C．They will understand the situation better. |
| D．They will think their former reaction normal. |
When you make an apology, you should concentrate on ____.
| A．finding out better excuses |
| B．taking responsibility for the event |
| C．defending yourself from more harm |
| D．understanding the current situation |
What is the key to any apology?
| A．A sincere statement of regret. |
| B．Giving the recipient more power. |
| C．A promise that you won’t repeat your wrongdoings. |
| D．Giving the recipient a detailed account of the event. |
Everybody knows that colors are connected with certain feelings. For example, why do some people paint the walls of their rooms yellow and others pink? The same is true in stores. They want us to feel something when we look at their products.
Green, for example, tries to show the quality of a product: how good it is for us or for our environment. It also suggests that the product is healthier, has less fat and maybe fewer calories. Red, on the other hand is an aggressive color that is often used for packaging food. Red wants us to become hungry or thirsty. Purple is a kind of color that is often seen as royal. It indicates that it is something special. Producers use purple to show that something is of good quality. Blue is not very often found in food packaging because there are not very many foods that have a blue color.
Colors can also have different meaning in different cultures and countries. For example, while the color white is used in many Western countries to represent purity and innocence, it is seen as a symbol of mourning in many Eastern countries. The Egyptian pharaohs(法老) wore white crowns. A white sale is a sale of sheets, towels, and other bed and bath items. A white flag is the universal symbol for truce(休战). A white elephant is a rare, pale elephant sacred(神圣的) to the people of India, Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. In these countries, something that is a white elephant is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner doesn’t want but can’t get rid of.
Consumers are aware that certain foods must have certain colors. When Pepsi brought out a crystal clear cola in 1992, it thought that consumers would buy it because clear meant pure and healthy. After a few months Pepsi found out that a cola had to be dark-colored. Crystal Pepsi failed and the company pulled it off the market.
Advertising professionals often need to look at a product through the consumers’ eyes when choosing a color. The right packaging colors can truly improve the sales of a product but choosing a wrong color could end in failure.According to the passage, blue is rarely used in food packaging because ____.
| A．most consumers dislike it |
| B．it matches very few foods |
| C．it brings people low spirits |
| D．it doesn’t catch people’s eyes |
According to the passage, in India if something is expensive but useless, it can be called ____.
| A．a white flag | B．a white elephant |
| C．a white sale | D．a white crown |
Pepsi’s example is used to show ____.
| A．Pepsi’s success comes from failures |
| B．health is the main concern in drink making |
| C．crystal clear drinks can’t attract consumers |
| D．people have fixed ideas about products and colors |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Colors in advertising |
| B．Colors in food packaging |
| C．Our everyday life and colors |
| D．Foods in different colors |
Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we “fit”in society．As we go about our everyday lives，we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses．For example，we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian，whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman，whether the unfamiliar person on our property is a thief or a meter reader，and so on．
The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter，and change throughout life．Most of us can，at very high speed，assume the statuses that various situations require．Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us．This means that we fit our actions to those of other people，based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation．Although some of us find the task more difficult than others．most of us perform it rather effortlessly．
A status has been compared to ready－made clothes．Within certain limits the buyer can choose style and fabric．But an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince．We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society．Further more，our choice is limited to a size that will fit，as well as by our pocketbook．Having made a choice within these limits，we can have certain alterations made，but apart from minor adjustments．We tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks．Statuses too come ready made，and the range of choice among them is limited．In the first paragraph the writer tells us that statuses can help us_________．
| A．protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations |
| B．make friends with other people |
| C．determine whether a person is fit for a certain job |
| D．behave appropriately in relation to other people |
According to the writer，people often assume different statuses ________．
| A．in order to identify themselves with others |
| B．as the situation changes |
| C．in order to better identify others |
| D．as their mental processes change |
The underlined word“appraisal”in the 2nd paragraph most likely means_______．
| A．judgment | B．appreciation | C．involvement | D．presentation |
In the last sentence of the second paragraph，“it”refers to“_________”．
| A．identification of other people’s statuses |
| B．fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately |
| C．selecting one’s own statuses |
| D．constant mental process |
By saying that“an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince”，the writer means___________．
| A．different people have different styles of clothes |
| B．ready－made clothes may need alterations |
| C．our choice of statuses is limited |
| D．statuses come ready made just like clothes |