Scientists say they have discovered a promising treatment for sleeping sickness, a killer disease that infects(感染) about 60,000 people in Africa a year．

British and Canadian experts say drugs could attack the parasite（寄生虫） causing the illness．They say the drug could be ready for human medical test in about 18 months．

The disease, spread by the bite of a fly, is caused by a parasite attacking the central nervous system．It has similar symptoms（症状） to malaria（疟疾）, making it difficult to diagnose．Left untreated, it moves to the brain, resulting in mental confusion and final death

The "breakthrough" came at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where scientists were offered money to research diseases ignored by major drugs companies．

Professor Paul Wyatt, director of the programme, said: "This is one of the most significant findings made in recent years in terms of drug discovery and development for ignored diseases."

He said the research, published in the journal Nature, represented "significant progress" in the development of a full blown drug against the disease．

The World Health Organization said there are between 50,000 and 70,000 cases of the disease a year, with a further 60 million people at risk of infection．

The research in Dundee was backed by partners at the University of York in England and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto, Canada．The two drugs currently available to treat sleeping sickness both have problems．One is with side effects that kill one in 20 patients and the other is costly, only partially effective and requires long-time hospital treatment, the scientists said．

1.The word backed in the last paragraph probably means_____.

         A．conducted             B．supported       C．believed         D．managed

2.What the World Health Organization said suggested that______.

         A．about 60000 people died of the disease each year

         B．about 60000 people were cured of the disease each year

         C．600 million people are likely to get infected

         D．the disease is spreading fast in Africa   

3.We can read this passage______.

         A．in the journal Nature

         B．in a newspaper of the University of Dundee

         C．in a book about flies

         D．in a newspaper about medicine

4.We can learn from the passage that______．

         A．big drug companies play an important role in the research of the new drug

         B．people who get infected with the disease are mentally disturbed

         C．among 200 people infected with the disease, 5 may die because of the old drug

         D． Professor Paul Wyatt may be a professor at the University of York

 

DNA is one of the most important discoveries in science. DNA is the plan for the human being, as a blueprint is the plan for a building. DNA makes a person look the way he does. A person’s DNA comes from a mixing of his parents’ DNA. That’s why a child looks like his parents. But, besides controlling things such as height and hair color, DNA can also give people diseases. Scientists are now studying DNA to cure diseases.

    In the seventies, scientists developed a process called recombinant or RDNA. Although it sounds difficult to understand, RDNA simply means taking DNA from one animal or plant and putting it into another. By doing so, scientists can create new beings. In doing so, scientists can better understand DNA, especially what parts of DNA do what. After they understand DNA, scientists can begin to cure diseases. Often, the new being created will itself be the cure.    Besides curing diseases, RDNA research can also do other things. For example, scientists in Japan have already created “super-trees”. Trees help humans, because they take CO₂, which poisons humans, from the air and turns it into oxygen, which lets humans breathe. “Super-trees” do this too, but do it much faster. As things such as cars and factories have already put much CO₂ in the area, “super-trees” are badly needed.

    Unfortunately, there is a serious danger in RDNA research. Scientists want to create animals to cure old diseases, but these new animals may also create new diseases. It will be a serious problem if the animals escape from the science laboratory and into nature. As these animals are not natural, they may let loose many new powerful diseases.

     As a result, RDNA research will create many solutions, but it will also create many problems.

1. From the passage, we can know that a boy looks like his parents because______.

A. he is son of his parents.       

B. his parents’ DNA decides his appearance.

C. he has received DNA from his father or his mother.

D. scientists have put some of his parents’ DNA into him.

2.What does the underlined expression “let loose” probably mean?

A. let … go free                B. get rid of      

C. absorb                     D. survive

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The DNA Research in Japan       

B. A New Way of DNA Research in Japan.

C. The Causes and Effects of DNA Research

D. The Advantages And Disadvantages of RDNA

4. The following statements are true about RDNA research EXCEPT ______.

A. the research has been stopped because the created animals carry viruses

B. “super-trees” might be widely planted around the world

C. scientists have not completely understood DNA

D. RDNA research will benefit human beings a lot

5.You might find this passage in / on a ________.

 A. fashion magazine   B. novel    C. scientific newspaper  D. sports newspaper

 

(NEW YORK)---Scientists have discovered small signs of awareness in some vegetative(植物人的) brain injury patients and have even communicated with one of them---findings that are beneficial to how to assess and care for such people.

The new research suggests that standard tests may ignore patients who have some consciousness, and that someday some kind of communication may be possible.

In the strongest example, a 29-year-old patient was able to answer yes-or-no questions by picturing specific scenes the doctors asked him to imagine.

“We were stunned when this happened,” said one study author, Martin Monti of the Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. “I find it really amazing. This was a patient who was believed to be vegetative for five years.”

Ever since a research paper four years ago described obvious signs of awareness in a vegetative patient, families of patients have been demanding brain scans, said Dr. James Bernat, a spokesman for the American Academy for Neurology.

But experts said more study is needed before the specialized brain scans could be used in medical treatment. “It’s still a research tool,” Bernat said.

Experts also pointed out that only a few tested patients showed evidence of awareness. And they said it is not clear what degree of consciousness and mental abilities the signs imply.

They also noted that the positive signals appeared only in people with traumatic(外伤的) brain injury---not in patients whose brains had been lacking in oxygen, as can happen when the heart stops.

The new study used brain scanning called functional MRI, for 23 patients in a vegetative state and 31 that are minimally(极微地) conscious.

Patients are said to be in a vegetative state if they are tested and found unable to do such things as move on command or follow a moving object with their eyes. Minimally conscious patients show signs of awareness, but they are minimal and discontinuous.

1. What is the practical use of the research?

A．It leads to studying how to cure vegetative patients.

B．It attracts society to pay more attention to vegetative patients.

C．It helps doctors know whether patients are vegetative or not.

D．It drives the government to care about vegetative patients.

2.What does the underlined word “stunned” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Relaxed

B．Amazed

C．Excited

D．Worried

3.One is considered vegetative if _______________.

A．his eyes can’t follow a moving thing	B．his brain only has a little oxygen
C．he has a traumatic brain injury	D．his heart stops beating

4.The passage mainly deals with ________________.

A．how to recognize a vegetative patient	B．the significance of a new scientific finding
C．how family members look after a vegetative patient
D．the latest findings on awareness in some vegetative patients

 

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。选项中的两项为多余选项。

注意：如果选E 请涂 AB ; 选 F请涂 AC; 选G请涂AD .

When people get a bad toothache, they often have to eat soft, easily chewed food.  ___1.__ That’s the conclusion of a zoologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and a dentist who works on carnivores (食肉动物).

___2.__ Every once in a while, however, a lion will go on a human-eating diet.  The most famous such tragedy happened in 1898, when two lions killed and ate 135 railway workers in Kenya. 

Examining the preserved skulls of the two big lions, zoologist Bruce Patterson and dentist Ellis Neiburger found that both animals had been suffering from several dental and jaw problems. ___3.___ Canines are pointed teeth that hunting animals use for gripping and piercing prey . 

The two lions might have been so badly disabled that they couldn’t bite down forcefully, say the researchers. Consequently, the lions might have abandoned their normal, more difficult prey and turned to humans.  Patterson said “____4._____ We’re very slow, we don’t hear very well, and we don’t see very well in the darkness.”

______5.____ It was inspired partly by the work of Jim Corbett, a tiger hunter in India in the 1930s.  Corbett was regularly called in to hunt tigers that had been dining on Indian villagers. Time after time, Patterson discovered that the killer tigers were suffering from some ill-healthy conditions.

 

注意：如果选E 请涂 AB ; 选 F请涂 AC; 选G请涂AD .

A. Humans are easy preys.

B. Lions don’t normally prey on people.

C. When lions get a bad toothache, they eat people

D. One lion had three missing teeth and a loose, unsteady lower canine that was probably useless.

E. The research calls their idea the Infirmity Theory.

F. He had absolutely no experience taking medicine.

G. Talking about it in the abstract isn’t enough.

 

High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many ,but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.

Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers-and anyone who will listen.

Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide t frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.

“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers,” said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde group.” the store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”

On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.

According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.

The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered (塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.

During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting（业余兼职的）local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. This guidance eliminated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.

Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.

Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.

“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”

Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.

1.Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?

A. Most customers won’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences.

B. Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them.

C. Few customers believe the service will be improved.

D. Customers have no easy access to store managers.

2.What does Paula Courtney imply by saying “ … the shopper must also find a replacement” (Line 2, Para. 4)?

A. New customers are bound to replace old ones.

B. It is not likely the shopper can find the same products in other stores.

C. Most stores provide the same.

D. Not complaining to the manager causes the shopper some trouble too.

3.What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?

A. Manners of the salespeople.

B. Hiring of efficient employees.

C. Huge supply of goods for sale.

D. Design of the store layout.

4.To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to _________.

A. exert pressure on stores to improve their service

B. settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic way

C. voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly

D. shop around and make comparisons between stores