Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old man.
Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”
The great 19thcentury explorer John Muir once said, “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.”Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?
| A． Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone. |
| B． It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries. |
| C． It is comfortable to travel around without a friend. |
| D． Traveling abroad helps people to find new things. |
Traveling alone is challenging because ________.
| A． you have to make things on your own |
| B． it is hard for you to prove yourself to others |
| C． you can only depend on yourself whatever happens |
| D． it will finally build your character |
What can we infer about Chris Richardson?
| A． He started traveling alone at an early age. |
| B． He was once shot in the arm. |
| C． He used to work as a salesman. |
| D． His website inspires others a lot. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A． Travel Abroad | B． Travel Alone |
| C． Travel Light | D． Travel Wide and Far |
“You have cancer” are the three words you never want to hear. Unfortunately, over 5, 000 people in North America do hear those words--every single day. Even worse, cancer has become the second leading cause of death for Americans. America’s health practitioner (从业人员), David Brownstein, M. D., has spent much of his medical career studying cancer, and learning the best ways to avoid becoming its victim.
And Dr. Brownstein does not shy away from (回避) the hard truth. Statistics demonstrate we are not winning the war on cancer. Far from it. In fact, cancer death rates have remained nearly unchanged over the last 80 years. Plus, traditional cancer treatments have been a terrible failure. Because the only big winner in the cancer treatment story to date has been the cancer industry’s multibillion-dollar profits, Dr. Brownstein has just released a free video documentary revealing some of his startling (令人吃惊的) findings.
In this video, you’ll discover five specific signs that you will be diagnosed (诊断) with cancer during your lifetime. Even more important, you’ll see:
*Seven simple but smart steps to prevent cancer from taking over your body.
*How to help your body naturally kill cancer cells.
*Easiest ways to avoid known cancer-causing factors.
*The little-known relationship between iodine (碘) and cancer.
*And much, much more…
According to Dr. Brownstein, nearly all of us have cancer cells in our bodies at various times during our lives. The trick is to avoid letting those cells increase and defeat the body’s natural defenses.
The good news is that you and your loved ones do not need to become cancer victims. With the simple methods revealed in Dr. Brownstein’s eye-opening video, you can take steps to prevent this deadly disease.
Newsman Health managed to bring it directly to you free of charge. Click here to start watching this powerful video about preventing cancer immediately. With so many people dying needlessly, there’s no time to waste.We can learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.
| A．David Brownstein makes no progress in preventing cancer |
| B．cancer is the leading cause of death for Americans |
| C．David Brownstein himself is suffering from cancer |
| D．cancer victims are increasing in North America |
What do we know about cancer in America?
| A．Cancer death rates are dropping. |
| B．Cancer industry is very profitable. |
| C．Traditional cancer treatments are effective. |
| D．Cancer medicine was invented 80 years ago. |
What does the underlined part “the hard truth” refer to in Paragraph 2?
| A．David Brownstein’s video is unpopular. |
| B．It needs another 80 years to cure cancer. |
| C．People don’t know cancer death rates. |
| D．People’s inability to defeat cancer. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To recommend a video. |
| B．To introduce some doctors. |
| C．To teach us how to make a video. |
| D．To give us some tips on dealing with cancer. |
Mosquitoes(蚊子) ruin countless American picnics every year, but around the world, this bloodsucking beast isn’t just annoying--it causes a health problem. More than a million people die from the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and yellow fever each year. Attempts to control populations via insecticides like DDT have had ruinous side effects for nature and human health. Neurobiologist Leslie B. Vosshall has a different solution for stopping the insects and the spread of disease. “I believe the key to controlling mosquito behavior is to understand better how they sense us,” she says.
At their Rockefeller University lab, Vosshall and her colleagues are studying the chemical sensory processes by which mosquitoes choose hosts. How do they sense heat, humidity, carbon dioxide, and body odor(气味)? What makes some people more attractive to a mosquito than others? It takes blood and sweat to find out. To study how mosquitoes assess body odor, Vosshall and her teammates might wear stockings on their arms and keep from showering for 24 hours to create sample smells, Then comes the hard part. They insert their arms into the insects’ hidden home to study how mosquitoes land, bite, and feed and then they document how this changes. This can mean getting anywhere from one bite to 400, depending on the experiment. Studying male mosquitoes is more pleasant. Since they don’t feed on blood, the lab tests their sense of smell using honey.
Vosshall and her team have also begun to study how genetics contribute to mosquitoes’ choice of a host. She’s even created a breed that is unable to sense carbon dioxide, an important trigger for the insects. “By using genetics to make mutant(变异的) mosquitoes, we can document exactly how and why mosquitoes hunt humans,” Vosshall says.
Once Vosshall figures out what makes mosquitoes flock to us, she can get to work on making them leave us alone. Many of her lab’s proposed solutions sound simple enough, including bracelets(手镯) that carry long-lasting repellants(驱虫剂) or traps that can reduce populations, but the breakthroughs, when they come, may save millions of lives in the developing world—and a lot of itching everywhere else.Vosshall and her colleagues are mainly studying mosquitoes’ ______.
| A．appearance | B．size |
| C．behavior | D．change |
By saying the underlined part “Then comes the hard part”, the author probably means that______.
| A．the insects smell terrible |
| B．the experiment will last long |
| C．The researchers will probably suffer |
| D．the researchers have to study lots of documents. |
Why is it less challenging to study male mosquitoes?
| A．They are not bloodsuckers. |
| B．They are afraid of stockings. |
| C．They have a poor sense of smell. |
| D．They are protective of their hosts. |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Vosshall’s research______.
| A．looks very promising |
| B．has saved millions of lives |
| C．is facing great difficulties |
| D．is quite simple to carry out. |
With its 775 rooms, Buckingham Palace makes regular houses look tiny. Now home to Queen Elizabeth II, it’s been the British Monarchy’s official London digs since 1837. National Geographic Kids slipped behind the guarded gates to find the palace’s coolest features.
1. FANCY FEAST
For special dinners, a team of 21 chefs whips up dishes that are served on solid gold plates. Even Her Majesty’s pet dogs receive meals of lamb and cabbage in silver bowls. Good thing the kitchen is well stocked--- the Queen welcomes about 50,000 dining guests every year.
2. CLASSY COACH
The Queen’s most attractive ride may be the Gold State Coach, parked in the palace’s Royal Mews building and used in the crowning of a king or queen, since 1821. Covered with heavy gold, it’s pulled by eight horses.
3. MOVIE NIGHT
The royal family hosts private screenings of movie in their very own cinema, sometimes seeing new films before they hit theaters.
4. WHAT’S UP, DOC?
Forget a medicine cabinet (药品柜). Buckingham Palace houses a doctor’s office run by the Queen’s physician. And surgeons have performed operations in other parts of the palace. In 1902, for instance, doctors operated on King Edward VII in a room facing the garden.
5. BEDROOMS
The palace has 52 bedrooms. Rooms such as those inside the Belgian Suite contain chandeliers(枝行吊灯), gold-gilded mirrors, fireplaces, canopy beds, and more.
6. TOP- SECRET TUNNELS
Rumor has it that secret underground tunnels connect the royal residence to other buildings in London. The paths were reportedly built during World War II when enemy bombs regularly pounded the city. Weaving deep under London’s busy streets, the tunnels would have provided the royals safe passage during an attack. But even now officials won’t reveal much about these under- the- radar routes.The underlined part “whips up” probably means_______.
| A．enjoys | B．selects | C．cleans | D．cooks |
According to the text, in Buckingham Palace________.
| A．there are eight horses altogether |
| B．stocks of food in the kitchen hardly run low |
| C．the Queen’s pet dogs are fed with simple meals |
| D．there’s no suitable place to perform operations |
What do we know about the tunnels in Buckingham Palace?
| A．They are not well- protected. |
| B．They were heavily bombed. |
| C．They are not open to the public. |
| D．They are linked with other cities in Britain. |
Have you ever dreamed of visiting a planet in the Milky Way (银河系)? While the trip sounds exciting, it would take years and years to reach your destination. So in the future, bedtime for astronauts may be more than a few hours of regular shut eyes. They would have to sleep for years.
European researchers are now conducting hibernation experiments. The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a spaceflight to distant planets. "If there was an effective technology, it could make deepspace travel a reality," said Mark Ayre of the European Space Agency last month.
What seems like a science fiction is not completely unlikely. Researchers have been able to use chemicals to put living cells into a sleeplike state where they don’t age. They have now moved on to the small, nonhibernating mammals like rats.
A major challenge is the fact that cells can be very simple systems, whereas body organs are far more complex. "It’s like moving from a simple Apple computer to a supercomputer," said Marco Biggiogera, a hibernation researcher at Italy’s University of Pavia. Just like bears and frogs, the hibernation of human beings would cause a person’s metabolism (新陈代谢) to lower so they would need less energy.
Medical research, however, is just half of a spaceflight hibernation system. There is a challenge of designing a suitable protective shelter. Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation, such as the proper temperature. It would also have to monitor life functions and serve the physiological needs of the hibernator.
According to Ayre, the sixperson Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission (使命) to Jupiter’s moon (木星的卫星) Callisto, could be an opportunity to use human hibernation. The mission aims to send six persons on a fiveyear flight to Callisto, where they will spend 30 days, in 2045.According to the article, the hibernation research _______.
| A．is just an idea |
| B．is always a science fiction |
| C．has already finished successfully |
| D．has made some progress |
In a hibernating state, a person needs ________.
| A．less sleep | B．more food |
| C．less energy | D．more movement |
The first try of the hibernation technologythe sixperson Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission to Jupiter’s moon Callisto.
| A．will be | B．has been planned for |
| C．is certain to be | D．may be |
What is the best title of the article?
| A．Hibernation study for space travel |
| B．Welcome to our space travel |
| C．To hibernate, to live longer |
| D．Welcome to the Milky Way |
Whether it is Mozart or Miley，your choice of music could determine whether you will perform well al your work．
A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry，proof reading and problem solving．
In an office-based experiment，88 pet cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music．
The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played．
And it matters what type of music you listen to．For instance，if you’re doing your tax returns，then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills．
Listening to Jessie J or Justin Bieber could also improve your speed，with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs．
During proof-reading，dance music，such as David Guetta，had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at a11．
Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 percent when no music was played al a11．
The research，undertaken by Brighton-based Mindlab International，suggests that silent offices may be the least productive．
“The music experiment showed that when listening to music，nine out of 10 people performed better，”said Dr．David Lewis．Chairman of Mindlab International．
“Proper music enables people to quickly process and keep information，regulate their behaviors，make good choices，solve problems，plan and adjust to changing mental demands，”a senior investigator of Mindlab International explains．
“While many schools are cutting music programs and spending more and more time on test preparation，our findings suggest that musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future．”added D r．David Lewis．What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The positive relationship between music and efficiency． |
| B．The speed and accuracy of problem-solving tasks． |
| C．The comparison of different kinds of music． |
| D．The experiment on productivity of office staff. |
According to the passage，we can conclude that______．
| A．different kinds of music lead to the same effect |
| B．silent offices can make people perform better |
| C．listening to proper music can improve efficiency in office |
| D．more tests prepare children for a better academic future |
What is the author’s attitude towards school music programs?
| A．Respectful． | B．Doubtful． |
| C．Tolerant． | D．Supportive． |