Five Things You Should Know About Adult Asthma (哮喘)
About 44 million people in Asia Pacific suffer from asthma. The numbers are on the rise especially in China and India where there is rapid industrialization and urbanization. Dr Mariko Koh, Director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory and Asthma Programme at Singapore General Hospital, tells us more about adult asthma:
1. Chronic inflammation (炎症) of the airways
When the airways are inflamed, mucus (粘液) forms, blocking airflow, causing breathlessness, wheezing (喘息) and tightness in the chest.
2. Common triggers
Exposure to allergens (过敏原) such as mites, cockroaches, pets and pollen can trigger asthma. Tobacco smoke, respiratory infections, exercise and some medications like aspirin and beta blockers are also possible triggers.
Effective treatment
Asthma can be controlled with medication. The main treatment of asthma is inhaled (吸入) corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and block of the airways. Reliever medications may be used to treat acute symptoms. Take note: it is not too late to take medication after an asthma attack.
4. Take medication daily
To ensure good control over asthma, medication must be taken daily on a long term basis to prevent attacks. Also, go to your doctor for regular checkups.
5. Quality of life
Asthma sufferers can lead normal active lives as long as the symptoms are well controlled. Taking medication as directed and avoiding triggers can make a big difference to the quality of life. All of the following are possible factors causing asthma except _________.
A.aspirin | B.pollen |
C.polluted air | D.tobacco |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.There is no possible cure for allergic asthma. |
B.Asthma is caused by acute inflammation of the airways. |
C.China and India have the largest number of asthma sufferers in the world. |
D.Regular checkups and exercise can ensure you a life free from asthma symptoms. |
The author would most likely to agree that __________.
A.asthma sufferers can lead a normal life as ordinary people |
B.daily intake of medication in the long run is helpful in controlling asthma |
C.rapid industrialization and urbanization are the leading causes of asthma |
D.once asthma attacks, it is too late to take medication |
What is the purpose of this passage?
A.To explain the cause of asthma |
B.To stress the importance of keeping away from asthma |
C.To confirm a successful research about asthma |
D.To inform readers several aspects about asthma |
Two Chinese farmers who became an overnight sensation(轰动)when their heart-rendingversion of a famous pop song appeared on the Internet took to the stage in front of thousands offans in Shanghai last Saturday.
Wang Xu, 44,and Liu Gang, 29, sang “In the Spring" alongside the song's star composerWang Feng, in front of about 80,000 people at the Shanghai Stadium.
The audience buzzed with excitement and let out deafening cheers, the moment as theywere introduced on the stage and then when Liu started the first sentence of their parts of thesong.
The two migrant workers became stars after singing the tearjerker(催人泪下的)songduring an evening drinking session in a 6-square-meter rented room in a late August evening. Afriend recorded the performance on a cell phone and posted it on the Internet.
“If someday I am dead, please bury me in the spring," they sing. Wang's penetrating chorus,delivered with his eyes closed, has moved thousands to tears.
Wang and Liu consider the song a true portrait of lower-class groups like themselves."With no credit card, no girlfriend, or a home with hot water, but only a guitar, I am singinghappily, on streets, under bridges or in wild country, though nobody pays attention to themusic," they sing.
To support his wife and two sons, Wang came to Beijing in 2000 from the countryside andhas worked as a boiler man, and street peddler, before becoming a medical warehouse keeper,with a monthly pay of around 1,500 yuan. Little is left after he pays 600 yuan for rent and buysfood.
Liu came to Beijing in 2002. “I wanted to try my luck in the big city,,,he said. He hadworked as a guard, roadside peddler, and porter, but never had a stable job. Street performingwas his main income, even after he married and became a father three years ago.
Wang and Liu are still uncertain where their fame will lead. Wang has started learning touse a computer. They even have a microblog(微博)account to communicate with fans.Wang Xu and Liu Gang first became nationally known after______.
A.they sang the song “In the Spring" with a star composer Wang Feng |
B.the video of them singing “In the Spring" was posted on the Internet |
C.they sang on streets and under bridges |
D.they started their microblog |
People like Wang and Liu's version of “In the Spring" because ______.
A.they sang the song better than other singers |
B.they were introduced to the public by the song writer himself |
C.it was specially composed for them two |
D.it is a heartfelt expression of the two singers as migrant workers |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A.migrant workers' conditions will be improved soon |
B.they will learn to write songs on computers |
C.a song showing people's real life and feeling![]() |
D.singers for migrant workers are more likely to become popular |
The best possible title for the passage is______.
A.Internet Farmer Stars Make Stage Appearance |
B.“In the Spring"—A Touching Song |
C.A Successful Internet Performance |
D.No Pains, No Gains |
It was about midday. I’d left work early in the morning to cash a cheque. I walked along to the bank, and found that there weren’t too many people about ten or eleven customers in there, which was pretty unusual for those central city banks.
I waited until it was my turn and just went up to the desk and started to talk to the bank clerk. He had a really strange expression on his face -- just sort of blank stare at least I thought he was looking at me and then I realized he was staring over my shoulder.
I began to turn round to see what he was looking at. At the same moment the outside bank guard came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor and following him through the door were three frightening masked men. They were carrying guns; at least I think the one in front was carrying a gun. Whether or not they said anything at that point I can’t remember to this day, or whether people just automatically put their hands up I’ve just no idea.
For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing and I remember thinking and wondering who was on the other end of the telephone. Nobody went to answer the telephone, so this thing just kept on ringing and ringing. Then two of the masked men went to the counter, jumped over it and got the cashiers and the bank clerks to start filling the bags with cash. While the two were getting the money, the one at the door who was covering us with the gun was a bit frightened. He started swearing at them, and telling them to hurry up, to get a move on. They jumped back over the counter. One of them slipped as he landed on the floor and fell over and the other two swore at him again. They left through the door. Warning us, “Don’t move, stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes.” And then they just disappeared. Again back to total silence. People put their hands down, I put my hands down but I just stayed exactly where I was.
What does the writer mean by saying “…a pretty unusual number for those central banks” in the first paragraph?
A.More customers than usual were staying in the bank. |
B.Less bank clerks than expected were in the bank. |
C.There were often more than a dozen customers in the bank. |
D.More banks should be open to serve customers in the city center. |
The bank clerk wore a blank expression on his face probably because ________.
A.he was feeling upset at that moment |
B.he felt puzzled and sensed something terrible |
C.he was required to keep silence |
D.he was threatened with a gun by robbers |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.The customers didn’t wait in line but jumped the queue because of the confusion. |
B.All the people in the bank except the writer put their hands up automatically. |
C.Nobody answered the phone because all the clerks were busy with work. |
D.the bank workers were forced to fill the robbers’ bags with cash. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
A.A Street Gang | B.A Strange Bank |
C.A Bank Robbery | D.A Horrible Adventure |
No one is glad to hear that his body has to be cut open by a surgeon(外科医生) and part of it taken out. Today, however, we needn't worry about feeling pain during the operation. The sick person falls into a kind of sleep,and when he awakes,the operation is finished. But these happy conditions are fairly new.It is not many years since a man who had to have operation felt all its pain.
Long ago, operation had usually to be done while the sick man could feel everything. The sick man had to be held down(压制,控制) on a table by force while the doctors did their best for him. He could feel all the pain if his leg or arm was being cut off, and his fearful cries filled the room and the hearts of those who watched.
Soon after 1770, Josept Priestley discovered a gas which is now called “laughing gas”.Laughing gas became known in America.Young men and women went to parties to try it.Most of them spent their time laughing,but one man at a party,Horace Wells,noticed that people didn't seem to feel pain when they were using this gas.He decided to make an experiment on himself.He asked a friend to help him.
Wells took some of the gas,and his friend pulled out one of Well’s teeth.Wells felt no pain at all.
As he didn't know enough about laughing gas,he gave a man less gas than he should have. The man cried out with pain when his tooth was being pulled out.
Wells tried again,but this time he gave too much of the gas,and the man died.Wells never forgot this terrible event.
It is ____ since a man being operated felt all the pain.
A.a few more years | B.not long | C.few years | D.two thousand years |
Long ago,when the sick man was operated on, he ____.
A.could feel nothing | B.could not want anything |
C.could feel all the pain | D.could do anything |
Using the laughing gas,the people did not seem to ____.
A.be afraid of anything | B.feel pain | C.want to go to the parties | D.be ill |
If a man took less laughing gas than he should have when an operation went on,he _.
A.felt nothing | B.felt very comfortable | C.still felt pain | D.would die |
One who took too much of the laughing gas ___.
A.would laugh all the time | B.would die |
C.would never feel pain | D.would be very calm |
Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were opened soon after Harvard.
In the early years, these schools were much alike(*similar).Only young men went to college. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated(*毕业),most of them became ministers or teachers.
In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard’s law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history.
As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them.
Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are made up of smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There’s so much to learn that one kind of school can’t offer it all.The oldest university in the US is _________.
A.Yale | B.Harvard | C.Princeton | D.Columbia |
From the second paragraph, we can see that in the early years,______.
A.those colleges and universities were the same |
B.people, young or old, might study in the colleges |
C.students studied only some languages and science |
D.when the students finished their school, they became lawyers or teachers |
Modern languages the Harvard taught in 1825 were ________.
A.Latin and Greek | B.Latin, Green, French and German |
C.American history and German | D.French and German |
As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach_______.
A.everything that was known | B.law and something about medicine |
C.many new subjects | D.the subjects that interested students |
On the whole, the passage is about___________.
A.how to start a university | B.the world-famous colleges in America |
C.how colleges have changed | D.what kind of lesson each college teaches |
Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them,“Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered,“Your brother. Because electricity travaels faster than sound waves.”“That’s every good,”Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said.“Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,”Kate said.“Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.” Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________.
A.how to telephone | B.about electricity | C.about time zone | D.about sound |
Miss Gogers raised this question because she wanted to know whether______.
A.it was easy to phone to Los Angeles |
B.her student could hear her from 75 feet away |
C.her students had a good command of her lesson about sound |
D.sound waves were slower than electricity |
Tom thought that electricity was _________.
A.slower than sound waves | B.faster than sound waves |
C.not so fast as sound waves | D.as fast as sound waves |
Kate thought Tom was wrong because _______.
A.clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York |
B.electricity was slower than sound waves |
C.Tom was not good at physics at all |
D.Tom’s answer had nothing to do with sound waves |
Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of phys
ics?
A.Tom’s | B.Kate’s | C.Bath A and B | D.Neither A nor B |