Researchers have found more evidence that suggests a relationship between races and rates of lung cancer among smokers. A new study shows that black people and Native Hawaiians are more likely to develop lung cancer from smoking. It compared their risk to whites, Japanese-Americans and Latinos.

Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii did the new study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the findings. The eight-year research studied more than 180,000 people. They included present and former smokers and people who never smoked. Almost 2,000 people in the study developed lung cancer.

Researchers say genetics might help explain the racial and ethnic differences. There could be differences in how people's bodies react to smoke. But environmental influences, including the way people smoke, could also make a difference.

African-Americans and Latinos in the study are reported smoking the fewest cigarettes per day. Whites are the heaviest smokers. But the scientists point out that blacks have been reported to breathe cigarette smoke more deeply than white smokers. This could fill their lungs with more of the chemicals in tobacco that cause cancer.

Scientists know that some diseases effect different groups differently. And some drug companies have begun to develop racially targeted medicines. Last June, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a drug designed to treat heart failure in black patients. The name is BiDil. The agency called it "a step toward the promise of personalized medicine."

1.Which of the following orders is from higher to lower risk of having lung cancer?

A．Whites—Native Hawaiians

B．Africans—Americans—Latinos

C．Asians—Native Hawaiians

D．Africans—Americans—Native Hawaiians

2.Researchers agree that it is _____ that may probably determine black people’s risk of lung cancer.

A．the larger amount of smoking than white people

B．the living style or habit of the blacks

C．the depth of cigarette smoke into their lungs

D．the physical strength to react to cigarette smoke

3.People in the new study are made up of _____.

A．heavy smokers in America                 B．the black and white people

C．the Asians and Hawaiians                  D．smokers and non-smokers

4.The production of BiDil referred to in the last paragraph is to _____.

A．explain different races react to some diseases differently

B．tell the readers that racial differences exist in smokers

C．show a big step people have taken in the medicine area

D．support the idea that it is easy for blacks to have cancers

Europeans should try to stay indoors if ash from Iceland's volcano starts settling, the World Health Organization warned Friday as small amounts fell in Iceland, Scotland and Norway.
WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein said the microscopic(微小的) ash is potentially dangerous for people when it starts to reach the Earth because inhaled(吸入) particles can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems. And he also said Europeans who go outside might want to consider wearing a mask.
Other experts, however, weren't convinced the volcanic ash would have a major effect on peoples' health and said WHO's warnings were "hysterical." They said volcanic ash was much less dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution. Volcanic ash is made of fine particles of fragmented volcanic rock. It is light gray to black and can be as fine as talcum powder. During a volcanic eruption, the ash can be breathed deep into the lungs and cause irritation even in healthy people. But once it falls from a greater distance — like from the cloud currently hovering above Europe — its health effects are often minimal, experts say.
"Not all particles are created equal," said Ken Donaldson, a professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, "In the great scheme of things, volcanic ash is not all that harmful." And he said most Europeans' exposure to volcanic ash would be negligible and that only those in the near districts of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk.
Dr. Stephen Spiro, a professor of respiratory medicine and deputy chair of the British Lung Foundation, said the further the particles travel, the less dangerous they will be. "The cloud has already passed over northern Scotland and we haven't heard of any ill effects there," he said. Spiro said to wear masks or stay indoors to avoid volcanic ash was "over the top" and "a bit hysterical."
1. The text is mainly about         .
A. the effect of volcanic ash  
B. the health risk of volcanic ash
C. the disadvantages of volcanic ash
D. the opinions on health risk of volcanic ash
2. Which one is true according to Paragraph3?
A. The volcanic ash’s effects on Europeans were little.
B. The ash caused irritation even in healthy people.
C. Other experts thought WTO’S warnings were useful.
D. The volcanic ash was more dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution.
3. The underlined word “hysterical” in Paragraph4 most probably means        .
A. amazing          B. practical        C. valuable            D. overstated
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. The volcanic ash wouldn’t be harmful to people.
B. All experts thought the volcanic ash did great harm to our health.
C. People close to the volcano would likely be at risk according to some experts.   
D. Europeans should stay indoors because Iceland's volcano starts settling.

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (Health Day News) -- Middle school students who are physically fit are likely to score higher on standardized tests measuring reading and math abilities, a new study has found. And, the average scores went up in connection with levels of fitness, the findings showed.

“The more physically fit kids were, the higher their scores,” said the study’s lead author, Trent Petrie, director of the Center for Sport Psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. “Parents should encourage their kids to be physically active. There are some real cognitive (认知的) and academic benefits that come from physical fitness”, Petrie said.

Results of the study are scheduled to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Orlando, Fla. The study included more than 1,200 middle school students from five schools in a suburban area of Texas, with 561 boys and 650 girls. About 57 percent of the children were white, and nearly one-quarter were Mexican American. Nine percent were black and about 2 percent were of Asian descent.

The school district provided the researchers with information on the children’s race, age, grade level and whether they qualified for the free school lunch program, which was an indicator of the family’s socioeconomic status. The schools also provided scores to the tests, which were given between one and four months after the researchers had assessed the children’s levels of fitness. Fitness tests were administered during physical education classes to determine the youngsters’ heart and lung health (cardiorespiratory fitness), as well as their body mass index (BMI), an indicator of how much body fat a person has. The children also filled out questionnaires that helped the researchers determine factors such as self-esteem and social support.

After accounting for factors such as age, sex, family income and self-esteem, the researchers found that for both boys and girls, higher levels of heart and lung health predicted better scores on both the math and reading tests.

For boys, perceived (感观的) social support also seemed to increase their reading scores, the investigators found. In girls, while being physically fit predicted higher reading scores, so too did a higher BMI-- which indicates more body fat. “We were a little surprised by this finding,” Petrie said.

“It was not as strong an association as the one with physical fitness,” he added. The authors suspect it may have something to do with girls this age entering adolescence, which may be related to a higher BMI and slightly higher brain development. He said he plans to make great effort to look for this relationship again in larger studies to see if it was a chance finding, or if the association holds up.

“While we can’t say 100 percent that physical fitness causes better academic performance, we can say that there is a strong and predictive relationship between physical fitness and academic performance,” Petrie said.

“It’s hard to tease apart (梳理) the exact reason for this association,” said Becky Hashim, an attending clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore, in New York City.

“It may be that the children are getting more oxygen. When the heart and lungs are working at a higher capacity, it may allow the brain to work at peak performance. Children who are less fit may be sleepier during school,” she noted. “I personally feel that there’s probably a strong relationship between the confidence you get from being able to do something physical well and academic performance.”

Whatever the reason behind this association may be, “there’s certainly no harm in pushing physical fitness,” Hashim added. “Physical fitness may make you feel better, give you more confidence and improve your performance across the board,” she said.

Petrie agreed. “Physically fit kids are happier, have higher self-esteem and, tend to have better relationships, and now we’re beginning to see that there also seem to be benefits cognitively and academically. Our study sends a strong warning to policymakers to reconsider the service program of physical education classes for kids,” he said.

1.How did the school district help the researchers carry out the study?

A．By analyzing the data of fitness tests.

B．By giving some basic information.

C．By completing some questionnaires.

D．By offering a certain amount of Money.

2.According to the passage, the result of the study will be published ______.

A．in a book          B．in a journal        C．at a conference     D．on the Internet

3.What’s the suitable title of the passage?

A．Parents should be aware of the benefit of fitness.

B．Fitter kids are likely to make better grades.

C．Fitness affects kids’ social behavior greatly.

D．Teachers should value physical education classes.

4.What’s Becky Hashim’s attitude towards the relationship between physical fitness and academic performance?

A．Supportive        B．Indifferent         C．Critical            D．Doubtful

5.What does the underlined word “one” in Paragraph refer to?

A．The BMI.          B．The body fat.       C．The brain development.   D．The test score.

6.From the last paragraph we can infer that physically fit kids ______.

A．deserve to be treated well                B．live much longer than others

C．get along well with others                 D．enjoy a peaceful life

Researchers have found more evidence that suggests a relationship between races and rates of lung cancer among smokers. A new study shows that black people and Native Hawaiians are more likely to develop lung cancer from smoking. It compared their risk to whites, Japanese-Americans and Latinos.
Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii did the new study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the findings. The eight-year research studied more than 180,000 people. They included present and former smokers and people who never smoked. Almost 2,000 people in the study developed lung cancer.
Researchers say genetics might help explain the racial and ethnic differences. There could be differences in how people's bodies react to smoke. But environmental influences, including the way people smoke, could also make a difference.
African-Americans and Latinos in the study are reported smoking the fewest cigarettes per day. Whites are the heaviest smokers. But the scientists point out that blacks have been reported to breathe cigarette smoke more deeply than white smokers. This could fill their lungs with more of the chemicals in tobacco that cause cancer.
Scientists know that some diseases effect different groups differently. And some drug companies have begun to develop racially targeted medicines. Last June, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a drug designed to treat heart failure in black patients. The name is BiDil. The agency called it "a step toward the promise of personalized medicine."
【小题1】Which of the following orders is from higher to lower risk of having lung cancer?

People and the sources of air pollution are found in the same places. This means that cities with large populations have the biggest problem of dirty air. Air pollution is caused by many different things. A major source of air pollution is the gas fumes from cars. Statistics show that 93 percent of all auto trips are within cities. Another major source of dirty air is the burning of coal and oil for energy. This energy is needed to make electricity. Of course, much more electricity is used in the city than in the country.

On the average, we throw away more trash and garbage than the year before. The burning of garbage contributes to air pollution. Many major industries are also responsible for the dirty air in the around cities. The fumes from iron, steel, chemical, and petroleum production add particles to the air.

The effects of air pollution range from mild headaches to death. The levels of pollution found in heavy for traffic may cause headaches for loss of clear vision. Wherever coal and oil are used for fuel, fumes may kill trees and plants and cause metal to corrode. In some of the larger cities, these fumes endanger the live of human beings by contributing to lung diseases and causing early death.

1.The key point of the passage is that _________.

A．the cause of air pollution is people

B．the causes and the effects of air pollution are both found in cities

C．the effects of air pollution range from headaches to death

D．air pollution is caused by dirty air

2.What is the purpose of this passage?

A．to persuade people to stop polluting the air

B．to tell the causes of air pollution

C．to tell why cities are bad places to live

D．to describe why cities are bad places to live

3.Why is air pollution more grave in the city than in the country?

A．Because there are larger populations in cities.

B．Because the air in the city is dirty.

C．Because there are more cars in the city.

D．Because there are much more gas fumes from cars and burning of coal and oil for energy in the city than in the country.

4.The fumes from coal and oil may cause metal ______.

A．to corrode                            B．to twist

C．to turn black                           D．to become rusty

5.In larger cities, the fumes from coal and oil may contribute to ___________.

A．heart disease                          B．loss of clear vision

C．lung diseases                           D．serious headache