Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.
Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.
Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.
Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called “The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.”
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “Frankly the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this report shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early.”
And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.
Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “For example, the poor overall health and nutritional status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning – allowing a woman to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy.”
Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.
This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies.
49．This passage is mainly about ________.
A．the causes of people’s bad health throughout the world
B．how to improve people’s health throughout the world
C．premature or preterm births throughout the world
D．Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes
50．All of the following are causes of preterm births except ________.
A．too many deaths of newborn babies B．poverty
C．Lack of provision of family planning D．the lack of good prenatal care programs
51．Which of the following is a true statement according to the passage?
A．Preterm birth rates in developing countries are dropping and they are increasing in some developed countries like the US and Canada.
B．The increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five and the increase in the use of reproductive therapies result in the increase of preterm birth rates.
C．Fortunately, many people have already realized the seriousness of the problem of preterm births.
D．Preterm births must be a problem for only poor areas because of poverty.
52．Which is the best title for the passage?
A．Chris Howson, an Excellent Vice President
B．Preterm Births
C．“The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth”
D．Emotional, Physical and Financial Costs
科目：高中英语 来源：2010-2011学年辽宁省丹东市四校协作体高三第二次联合考试英语试卷 题型：阅读理解
I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with
the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me
years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.
Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I
was doing. I said three or four hours a day.
"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"
"I try to."
"Well, don't," he exclaimed. "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.
There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.
1.The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “ ”.
A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.
B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.
C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.
D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.
2.Which of the following statements is true?
A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.
B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.
C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.
D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.
3.We can infer that the writer .
A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is
B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy
C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels
D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work instantly
4.What is the best title of this passage?
A．Concentrate on Your Work B．A Little at a Time
C．How I Became a Writer D．Good Advice Is Most Valuable
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013届江西省高二第一次月考英语试题 题型：完型填空
Many families in the United States observe National Grandparents Day on the first Sunday of September after America’s Labor Day. People often 36 their parents on this day.
Many people 37 the day through a lot of activities such as gift-giving and card giving. Some children 38 their grandparents to school for a day where they take special lessons. Some students 39 storytelling activities that relate to their grandparents, as well as picture or music competitions where children use a story about their grandparents in their 40 .
About four million greeting cards are 41 within the United States each year on National Grandparents Day. This day is also a 42 for people to appreciate and express their 43 to their grandparents through 44 actions such as making a phone call and inviting their grandparents for dinner. People living in nursing homes may 45 a visit form their grandchildren.
National Grandparents Day has more than one 46 . Some people consider it to have been first proposed by Michael Goldgar in the 1970s after he visited his aunt in an Atlanta nursing home. Others 47 Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade to have been the main 48 of National Grandparents Day. Throughout the 1970s McQuade worked hard to 49 people about the important contributions senior citizens made and the contributions that they would be willing to make 50 asked. She also urged(强烈要求) people to take good care of a grandparent, not for one day a year and not for material giving, 51 for a lifetime of experience.
National Grandparents Day was 52 signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. Marian McQuade received a phone call from the White House to 53 her of this event. Many people believe that National Grandparents Day was inspired by her 54 . A presidential proclamation(声明) on September 6, 1979 made this day 55 .
1.A. support B. praise C. reward D. honor
2.A. begin B. hold C. celebrate D. remember
3.A. invite B. expose C. force D. remind
4.A. make the use of B. take part in C. take up D. build up
5.A. diaries B. plans C. reports D. artworks
6.A. signed B. sent C. carried D. brought
7.A. chance B. luck C. condition D. possibility
8.A. satisfaction B. interest C. love D. agreement
9. A. quick B. careful C. difficult D. kind
10.A. create B. receive C. present D. realize
11.A. cause B. origin C. background D. beginning
12.A make B. expect C. consider D. allow
13.A. driver B. owner C. researcher D. inventor
14.A. warn B. educate C. interview D. ask
15. A. if B. though C. so D. until
16.A. since B. but C. even D. unless
17.A. finally B. recently C. nearly D. generally
18.A. rid B. persuade C. clear D. inform
19.A. energy B. goals C. bravery D. efforts
20.A. reliable B. changeable C. official D. beautiful
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014届江苏省高一第一学期期中考试英语试题 题型：完型填空
Hot words on the Internet don’t stay hot for long. “Geili” and “Fuyun”, last year’s biggest creations, are actually ____36____ on Internet now. What’s popular now is “hold steady”.
The term（术语）comes from the very Taiwanese TV show ____37___ includes Miss Lin (Xie Yilin) giving a lecture on how to ____38___ like a fashion queen at parties or on the bus. Although the lecture is mainly a mockery（嘲笑）of the fashion world, ____39____ Miss Lin makes a point: We need to hold steady in pressure-filled or embarrassing situations.
____40___ steady is one of the qualities the public has been ____41____ lately ____42___ pressures on marriage, work and money can easily drive people crazy.
The quality was ____43____ by a girl named Su Miaoling this year, who ____44___ in the TV singing competition “Super Girl”. ____45____ herself with confidence on stage, she kept ____46____ when others got anxious.
“I like your poise(淡定). Very few people on this stage can keep calm like you do,” said one of the show’s judges, Hu Haiquan, to Su. Internet users named Su “Sister Poise”.
Poise is also appreciated in Western culture as an essential quality of a ____47____ person.
Each year, the National League of Junior Cotillions of the US releases a list of the Ten Best Mannered People. Kate Middleton was ____48____ as the one of the Ten Best Mannered People for the way ____49____ she showed herself in the public. The Duchess of Cambridge was also appreciated ____50____ this year for her remarkable poise at the royal wedding. That is good news for many because she has prove ____51____ true that poise is not born, but it can be got with a bit of ____52____.
About-personal-growth.com, a foreign website on personal growth guidance, gives ____53___ on how to stay poised.
“Take a few deep breaths when you are facing a situation that tests your patience; practise yoga ____54___; say to yourself “I choose to be calm in any situation”; write down your encouragement daily to ____55____ the goal,” reads the site.
1.A. fashionable B. outdated C. hot D. popular
2.A. which B. where C. that D. who
3.A. sound B. feel C. look D. act
4.A. yet B. however C. but D. and
5. A. Held B. Hold C. Holding D. Being held
6.A. looking for B. looking back on C. looking at D. looking down
7.A. as B. so C. with D. though
8.A. explained B. exhibited C. equipped D. exchanged
9.A. turned down B. turned around C. turned on D. turned up
10.A. Taking B. Giving C. Carrying D. Earning
11.A. nervous B. upset C. frightened D. cool
12.A. well-behaved B. well-organized C. well-done D. well-balanced
13.A. called B. elected C. chose D. selected
14.A. which B. in that C. how D. in which
15.A. early B. earlier C. earliest D. former
16.A. that B. what C. it D. this
17.A. effect B. effort C. affect D. afford
18.A. advices B. lectures C. tips D. courses
19.A. regularly B. commonly C. usually D. normally
20.A. set B. make C. have D. achieve
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年湖南省业水平考试模拟（一）英语试题 题型：其他题
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在文后第53至第57小题的空格里填上适当的单词或短语，并将答案转写到答题卡上。
注意：每空不超过3个单词。
Each year there is an increasing number of cars as millions of new cars are produced in America. Americans will not live without cars! However, some have realized the serious problem of air pollution by cars. It is necessary to find ways to solve the problem of air pollution.
One way to clean the air is to build a new kind of clean car. That’s what several of the large car factories are trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.
Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else. Engineers are now working on it. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model for us.
To prevent the world being polluted by cars, Americans have to make some changes in the way of their life. They have to cut down on the number of their cars and are encouraged to travel and go to work by bike. But this change does not come easily ---- many workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down. And the problem of their pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.
Americans may live a happy but sad life for a long time because of the car problem..
Cars and Pollution in American
|
Problem |
Methods |
Disadvantages |
57.____________ |
|
53.______________
|
Building a new kind of clean car. |
Progress in this field is slow. |
Americans may live a happy but sad life. |
|
It takes years to develop a 55._______ |
|||
|
54.________ on the number of cars |
Many workers may 56.__________ |
||
|
Traveling and going to work by bike. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013届重庆市高一下学期名校班学月检测英语题 题型：阅读理解
As we all know sewing-machine(缝纫机) repair is one of the fastest growing businesses in the world today.Newspapers,women’s magazines,high schools and colleges are all encouraging millions of American women to do their own sewing,not only to make their own shirts and sweaters,but also to make nice clothes for their husbands,sons,or boyfriends.The lates figures(数字) show that over 89 million American women,because of the high costs of ready-to-wear clothing are now making almost all of their families’ clothes.Most of these women get great satisfaction from making the family clothes on their own sewing machines.So it is natural that the demand(要求) for excellent service of sewing machines is growing.
Think of it! 89 million or more sewing machines,not including another 10 million sewing machines in schools of all kinds,need service at least once a year,and quite possibly four or more times each year.I know some women who return their sewing machines to repairmen time after time to get them fixed properly.I’ve seen sewing machines come out of repair shops in worse condition than they were when they went in.
So I’ve decided to write an introduction book to sewing-machine repair and teach people how to repair their own sewing machines at home.It’s not that difficult.In the book,I will teach you everything you need to know about how to repair your sewing machine.
1.The author wrote the passage to .
A.teach women to repair their sewing machines.
B.explain his or her purpose in writing the book
C.introduce the reasons for doing one’s own sewing
D.tell us that sewing-machine repair is a fast-growing business
2.American women make clothes by themselves because .
A.they cannot buy the clothes they see in magazines
B.their husbands or boyfriends want them to do so
C.ready-to-wear clothes cost a great deal of money
D.they can’t get great satisfaction from buying clothes
3.We learn from the passage that sewing machines .
A.aren’t very difficult to be repaired
B.cannot work well after one year
C.don’t easily get broken
D.need service 4 times a month
4.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.the book will also show you how to make nice clothes
B.there are not enough sewing-machine-repair shops in America
C.over 99 million sewing machines need service at least once a year
D.the demand for excellent service of sewing machines grows the fastest in America
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