America is growing older. Fifty - eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. To day, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect（影响）American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society—one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior（行为） is suitable（合适）at various , ages.

　　A person s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29 - year - old university president or a 35 - year -old grandmother, or a 70 year - old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

　　Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother— or my father— was at my age. ”No one says“Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

1.It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America ________ .

2.The underlined word “one” refers to ________ .

3.“Act your age” means people should ________ .

4.If a 25 - year - old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it ________ .

Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?

　　While such vigilant(警觉的)tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.

　　In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups. 

　　It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy(预期寿命).

　　A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.

　　It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”

　　That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.

1.Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?

A. It is believed to contribute to long life.

B. It is part of their health care package.

C. The elderly are more sensitive about their health.

D. The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.

2.How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?

A. It adds too much to their medical bills.

B. It helps increase their life expectancy.

C. They are doubtful about necessity.

D. They think it does more than good.

3.What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?

A. It applies to women over 50.

B. It is a must for adult women.

C. It is optional for young women.

D. It doesn’t apply to women over 74.

4.Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?

A. They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

B. They want to take advantage of the medical care system.

C. They want data for medical research.

D. They want their patients to suffer less.

5.What does the author say is the general view about health care?

A. The more, the better.

B. Prevention is better than cure.

C. Better early than late.

D. Better care, longer life.

.

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth(财富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.　　     

If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor.　　

The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.　　

Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story.　　

An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.　   

He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.　　

A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.　　

“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”

45. The writer thinks that_____________

health is more important than wealth    

B. work is as important as studies

C. medicine is more important than pleasure 

D. nothing is more important than money

46. The underlined part means “__________”.

he was feeling better than ever    B. he wasn’t a healthy man

C. he was feeling worse than before   D. he will be well again

47. From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man__________before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.

A. was a heavy smoker         B. didn’t smoke so much

C. didn’t smoke               D. began to learn to smoke

48. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The doctor usually tests his/her blood pressure when a person is ill.

B. The man told the doctor he couldn’t remember things.

C. The man thanked the doctor.

D. The man didn’t follow the doctor’s advice.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
I work as a volunteer for an organization that helps the poor in Haiti. Recently I took my son Barrett there for a week, hoping to___1____ him.
Before setting out, I told Barrett this trip would be tiring and ____2____. For the first two days, he said almost nothing. I worried the trip was too ___3____ for a 17-year-old. Then, on day three, as we were ___4____ over high rocky mountains, he turned to me and grinned(咧嘴笑),“Pretty hard.”
After that there was no turning back. A five-year-old girl, wearing a dress several sizes ___5___ large and broken shoes, followed Barrett around, mesmerized(着迷). He couldn’t stop ___6____. Later he said ____7____ , “I wish I could speak French.” I was ___8___— this from a boy who hated and ___9____ French classes throughout school.
Usually silent, he ___10___ Gaby, our host, and kept asking questions about the country and its people. He blossomed(活泼起来).
__11___, the moment that really took __12___ breath away occurred in a village deep in the mountains. I was ___13___ a woman villager for an article. 135 centimeters tall, she was small in figure but strong in ___14___. Through determination, she had learned to read and write, and __15___ to become part of the leadership of the __16___.
　　Learning her story, Barrett was as ___17___ as I by this tiny woman’s achievements. His eyes were wet and there was a ___18___ of love and respect on his face. He had finally understood the importance of my work.
　　When leaving for home, Barrett even offered to stay ___19___ as a volunteer. My insides suddenly felt struck. This ___20____ achieved all I’d expected. Soon he will celebrate his 18th birthday. He’ll be a man.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.

The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.

The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.

Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.

Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.

1.According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

2.The last two paragraphs mainly talk about 　　   　 .

3.According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

4.Which would be the best title for the text?