BEIJING, Nov. 25, 2005（Reuters）— China’s home-grown human bird flu vaccine① is at least a year away from hitting the market but tests on humans have been approved by the government, head of the research drug company said on Friday.
Development of the vaccine started last year after bird flu outbreaks in Thailand and Vietnam and animal trials have already been completed, said Yin Wei-dong, managing director of Sinovac Biotech.
“It is not a virus that is spreading from human to human，so we are very optimistic②,” Yin told Reuters in an interview.
The deadly H5N1 made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong in 1997, killing six people. The virus appeared again in late 2003 and is known to have infected 130 people in several parts of Asia, killing 68 of them.
“It is not decided yet when the human trials will begin. We just got approval on November 22 by the State Food and Drug Administration,” Yin said.
Oregon, Nov. 26, 2005（AP）— The deadly strain of bird flu that appeared in Asia and has already spread to other parts of the world has not affected the Oregon poultry③ industry or consumers, according to Oregon State University researchers.
There are many strains of bird flu that do not usually infect humans. But one strain, called H5N1, has jumped from chickens to humans and is blamed for more than 60 deaths in Asia.
International disease control experts are worried about a worldwide outbreak of bird flu, raising concerns such as whether it is safe to eat poultry.
But Oregon State University researchers say there is no proof that the virus can jump to humans by eating cooked poultry products.
“Consumers needn’t be overly concerned about bird flu,” said Jim Hermes, OSU Extension Service poultry specialist. But he urged consumers to follow standard food safety practices in preparing poultry —including washing hands while preparing food, and proper cooking of poultry meat and eggs.
He noted that a 2003 outbreak of bird virus caused much damage to commercial poultry operations in California but did not get into Oregon because of industry safeguards.
Notes:
vaccine n. 疫苗
optimistic adj. 乐观的
poultry n. 家禽
Choose the best answers according to the above: Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first news report?
| A．Human trials have already started but not yet successful. |
| B．Bird flu killed 68 Asian people in its second outbreak. |
| C．The bird flu virus is not one that spreads from human to human. |
| D．The government has agreed to have the vaccine tried on humans. |
What does the first news report mainly talk about?
| A．The new outbreak of the bird flu. |
| B．How the development of the bird flu vaccine is going on. |
| C．How many people died of bird flu. |
| D．What measures the government has taken to stop the spreading of bird flu. |
What does the underlined word “strains” probably mean?
| A．signs. | B．symbols. | C．kinds. | D．diseases. |
What can we know from the second news report?
| A．Because of the safety guards, Oregon poultry industry didn’t suffer any loss in the 2003 outbreak of bird flu. |
| B．People in Oregon are not concerned about bird flu. |
| C．People will develop bird flu even if they eat well-cooked poultry products. |
| D．H5N1 has caused more than 60 deaths worldwide. |
A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．
Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．
But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．
The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．
First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．
The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．
The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．
“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．”.The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________．
| A．memorizing telephone numbers | B．improving working memory |
| C．training in concentration | D．recalling a card |
.The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________．
| A．ignoring irrelevant items | B．monitoring ongoing performance |
| C．managing two tasks at the same time | D．using previous experience |
.When the experiment was conducted, the researchers______________．
| A．trained the four groups for the same period of time |
| B．only made comparisons between the four groups |
| C．compared the four groups with control groups |
| D．trained the four groups together |
.By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．
| A．inform the readers of a new study |
| B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence |
| C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved |
| D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever |
At about 4 am, after hours of being unable to sleep, of shivering in the cold mountain air and trying to silence my crying kids who kept waking up, of attempting to find a comfortable sleeping position, of listening to whether there might have been a bear outside our tent, I finally couldn’t stand it any more. I complained, “Everything has gone wrong.”
My wife and I were in one tent with our two young kids. A hundred yards east away was Summit Lake, where the glorious early morning mist was shimmering（闪烁）off the water. A couple miles to the southwest was the base of the Lassen Peak Trail. The base was 8,000 feet above sea level, and huge snow dotted the scenery even in mid August. Further west still was Bumpass Hell, with steam rising up.
As the sun crept up over the edge of the Lassen peak, we fired up the camp stove and had breakfast. Half an hour later, my six-year-old daughter and I were in the parking lot of the Lassen peak trail, getting ready to go up the mountainside. We wouldn’t make it all the way, but it didn’t matter. We would see nature at its extremes: the volcanic ash that layered on the earth turning the melting snow a mysterious pink as the sun struck it; the blues of the sky shading into the blues of distant lakes, which in turn shaded into the whites and grays of the snow.
My daughter grabbed my camera. She wanted to take a photo of “the composite（混合物）”of colors. Looking out over that scenery, and seeing my daughter fascinated by nature, I felt stupid about my morning complaints.
Yes, camping is uncomfortable. And yes, there’s a lot to be said for getting out a credit card,reserving a room in a nice hotel, and going out for a fancy meal. But there’s also something wonderful about being so close to raw nature. And , as important, there’s something vital about getting young children out of their increasingly modern comfort zones and forcing them to meet the world around them..According to the passage, what contributed to the author’s sleeplessness ?
①the cold weather ②his crying children ③fear of bears
④sounds of bears ⑤the aches of his lower back ⑥his own complaints
| A．①④⑥ | B．①②③ | C．②④⑤ | D．②③⑤ |
.Which of the following maps correctly shows the places ?
.The underlined word “colors” in Paragraph 4 refers to ______ .
| A．blue, white, gray and pink | B．white, yellow, gray and pink |
| C．white, green ,gray and pink | D．blue, green,white and gray |
.How did the author’s feeling change from the beginning to the end ?
| A．Calm→Satisfied. | B．Excited→Frustrated. |
| C．Sad→Calm. | D．Regretful→Satisfied. |
.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage ?
| A．Nature is the glass reflecting truth. |
| B．Nature is the best scenery designer. |
| C．The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. |
| D．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition of each new skill-the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing．It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child: This might happen at any stage．A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads．On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself．
Patents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children．Some may be especially strict in money matters．Others are severe over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals．In general, the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child’s own happiness．
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching．To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality．Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept”．If they are not sincere and do not practice what they teach, their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled．
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment．.Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills _________．
| A．should be avoided |
| B．is universal among parents |
| C．sets up dangerous states of worry in the child |
| D．will make him lose interest in learning new things |
.In the process of children’s learning new skills, parents ______．
| A．should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read |
| B．should not expect too much of them |
| C．should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own |
| D．should create as many learning opportunities as possible |
.The second paragraph mainly tells us that __________．
| A．parents should be strict with their children |
| B．parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community |
| C．parental restrictions vary, and are not always intended for the benefit of the children alone |
| D．parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the situation |
.In moral matters, parents should __________．
| A．observe the rules themselves |
| B．be aware of the marked difference between adults and children |
| C．forbid things which have no foundation in morality |
| D．consistently ensure the security of their children |
Britain’s symbolic red phone boxes have become out of date in the age of the mobile, but villages across the country are stepping in to save them, with creative intelligence. Whether as a place to exhibit art, poetry, or even as a tiny library, hundreds of phone boxes have been given a new life by local communities determined to preserve a typical part of British life. In Waterperry, a small village near Oxford, the 120 residents have filled the phone box next to the old house with a pot of flowers, piles of gardening and cooking magazines, and stuck poems on the walls.
They took control of the phone box when telecoms operator BT said it was going to pull it down, an announcement that caused such dissatisfaction that one local woman threatened to chain herself to the box to save it. “I’d have done it,”insisted Kendall Turner. “It would have been heartbreaking for the village.”Local councilor Tricia Hallam, who came up with the idea for the phone box’s change, said quite a few people would have joined her, adding, “We couldn’t let it go because it’s a British symbol.”
Only three feet by three feet wide, and standing 2.51-meter tall, the phone boxes were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936 for the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Painted in “Post Office red” to match the post boxes, they were once a typical image of England and the backdrop（背景）to millions of tourist photographs.
Eight years ago there were about 17,000 across Britain, but today, in a country where almost everybody has a mobile phone, 58 percent are no longer profitable and ten percent are only used once a month. “On average, maintaining them costs $800 a year per phone box — about ￡44 million annually,” said John Lunb, general manager for BT Payphones..Some red phone boxes in Britain have been used for ______ .
a.selling flowers b.cooking c.reading d.exhibiting art or poetry
| A．a,b | B．c,d | C．a,b,c | D．b,c,d |
.Why do the villagers want to keep the red phone boxes ?
| A．Because millions of people visit Britain to see the red phone boxes. |
| B．Because the local people could earn a lot of money from the red phone boxes. |
| C．Because the red phone boxes have already become a symbol of Britain. |
| D．Because the red phone boxes may be useful for some people in emergency. |
.What is the color of the British post boxes according to the passage ?
| A．Green. | B．Red. | C．Black. | D．Yellow. |
.What is John Lumb’s attitude towards pulling down the red phone boxes ?
| A．Supportive. | B．Opposed. | C．Neutral. | D．Indifferent. |
A dog who chewed off his owner’s infected toe（脚趾）while he was passed-out drunk has been called a lifesaver. Jerry Douthett had been out drinking when his dog Kiko bit off a large part if his big toe. His wife, Rosee, rushed him to hospital where tests showed the 48-year-old musician had dangerous high blood-sugar levels. Doctors told him his toe would have had to be cut off anyway.
Mr Douthett said he had refused to get medical advice despite his toe being swollen for months. “I was hiding it from people, Rosee included,” he said. “It smelled , and I look back now and realize every time we’d visit someone with a dog, their dog would smell all over my foot.”
The night before Mr Douthett had agreed to see a doctor, he passed out at home after going out drinking. He said, “I woke up and the dog was lying along side by foot. I said, ‘Ah, there’s blood everywhere.’ I ran to the bathroom and started to scream.”
However, he believes Kiko could sense the disease coming from his big toe. “He’s a hero,” Mr Douthett said. “It wasn’t an aggressive attack. He just ate the infection. He saved my life. He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn’t find it anywhere else in the house. I look down. There’s blood all over, and my toe is gone.”
Before the operation, Mr Douthett asked a nurse, “Is there any chance I can get whatever’s left of my toe, so I can give it to Kiko as a treat?” Kiko is still with the family but is under observation by authorities..Mr Douthett didn’t want to get medical treatment because ______ .
| A．he didn’t know about his disease at all |
| B．he was unwilling to let others know about his disease |
| C．doctors had no good ways to treat his bad toe |
| D．his wife advised him not to do that |
.From Paragraph 3 we can infer that ______ .
| A．Rosee managed to persuade her husband to go to hospital |
| B．Mr Douthett made his big toe worse by frequent drinking |
| C．Mr Douthett didn’t know his toe was chewed off at first |
| D．it is dangerous for people to let pet dogs sleep in the bedrooms |
.What did Mr Douthett think of his dog ?
| A．It was clever and brave. |
| B．It never attacked healthy people. |
| C．It was a cruel but helpful dog. |
| D．It was a dangerous dog in fact. |
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