Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.
As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.
They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.
Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused short-sightedness in animals.
Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.
A study of almost 300,000 young adults─the largest of its kind─showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January. Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen, causing short-sightedness.
Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.
The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.
In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.
Sight expert Professor Daniel O’Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said “At the moment we don’t know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming short-sighted.”
1. Babies born in summer are more likely to be short-sighted ____________.
A. because the summer sun is too strong for babies
B. because babies born in summer have lengthened eyeballs
C. if they are exposed to much sunlight in the first weeks after they are born
D. if parents don’t know a proper way to protect their babies’ eyes
2. Melatonin is a kind of material to ___________.
A. prevent the eyes from becoming near-sighted
B. protect the skin from harmful sun rays
C. make our body strong
D. protect babies’ eyes from summer sun
3. From what Professor Daniel O’Leary says we can conclude that ___________.
A. there is no evidence that short-sightedness is related to exposure to sunlight
B. whether light exposure affects sight still needs to be further proved
C. he believes that light exposure can cause short-sightedness
D. he tries to give the cause of why light exposure affects sight
4. The underlined word “vulnerable” in the passage probably means __________.
A. easy to be harmed B. resistant
C. protective D. changeable
I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen. He was not Chinese. For Christmas I prayed for the boy, Robert. When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried in panic. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?
On Christmas Eve, my mother created abundant Chinese food. And then they arrived—the minister's family and all my relatives. Robert greeted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence.
Dinner threw me deeper into disappointment. My relatives licked (舔) the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table. Robert and his family waited patiently for a large plate to be passed to them. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert made a face. Then my father reached his chopsticks just below the fish eye and picked out the soft meat. “Amy, your favorite，” he said, offering me the tender fish cheek. I wanted to disappear.
At the end of the meal, my father leaned back and burped (打嗝) loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking. “It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied，” explained my father to our astonished guests. Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddish face. The minister managed to bring up a quiet burp. I was shocked into silence for the rest of the night.
After everyone had gone, my mother said to me, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside.” She handed me an early gift. It was a miniskirt. “But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud that you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.”
It was not until years later that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the purpose behind her particular menu. For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen excellent Chinese food.When the writer found out the minister's family would come for Christmas Eve dinner, she cried mainly because ________.
| A．she worried about their shabby Chinese Christmas |
| B．she worried about their Chinese relatives lacking American manners |
| C．she worried about being laughed at |
| D．she worried about meeting the minister's family |
What does “he was not worthy of existence” probably mean? It means ________.
| A．he should not exist |
| B．he was worthless |
| C．the writer was not interested in his existence |
| D．the writer expected his coming |
The dinner threw the writer deeper into disappointment mainly because ________.
| A．she childishly expected all of them to act in the same way as Americans did at table |
| B．her father reached his chopsticks to pick fish for her |
| C．her father leaned back and burped loudly |
| D．her relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．the writer appreciated her mother's lesson years later |
| B．the mother prepared to show Chinese different food culture |
| C．the writer must be proud that she is different |
| D．the minister's family really enjoyed the food |
If your parents take out a loan, remind themselves to make the payments on time. Otherwise it will become a negative record in their personal credit reports, which are playing an increasingly big role in people's daily lives. A story carried by Chongqing Morning Post in June, underlines this trend.
According to the report, a Chongqing student borrowed money from the bank to finance his university studies. After he graduated in 2005, he went to work in Shenzhen. Later, he wanted to buy a house using loans. But several banks turned down his loan applications. The reason was that he had not paid back 1,500 yuan he borrowed from a bank when he was at university.
A personal credit rating is becoming an essential “pass” in everyday life, as China establishes a nationwide credit database. Personal credit systems go back 150 years. In developed countries, enterprises and banks use them to decide whether or not to loan money or do other business with a person.
A credit report estimates the credit worthiness of an individual, a company, or even a country. It is an evaluation made by credit bureaus of a borrower's overall credit history and his or her ability to repay debt. A poor credit rating means a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and thus leads to the refusal of a loan by the lender.
Today in China, credit history in banks is the major content of a credit report. But in the future, reports will include information about the payment of telephone bills, water use fees, electricity and natural gas bills, and taxes, according to officials of the People's Bank of China, the central bank.
Personal information such as appearance, genetic data, fingerprints, blood type, disease history, ethnic identity, family and religious beliefs are not to be included in credit reports, according to a draft regulation on credit rating issued last year by the Sate Council. The authors of the draft have just finished soliciting(征求) public opinions.
The Credit Reference Center run by the People's Bank of China is in charge of developing a nationwide credit database. Credit reports for all people with bank transactions (交易)began in 2006.
A personal credit rating is important to the social and economic activities of a person. According to the draft, if you have a personal negative credit record, it will be kept for five years.The author took the story as an example in order to ________.
| A．warn us of the importance of our personal credit report |
| B．tell us the story of a Chongqing student |
| C．encourage us to use credits widely |
| D．inform us to apply for a loan at university |
Credit reports will include the following except ________.
| A．taxes | B．telephone bills |
| C．water use fees | D．genetic data |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Personal credit systems go back 150 years in China. |
| B．You can turn to the People's Bank of China for the information about your credit report. |
| C．Credit history in banks is the only content of a credit report. |
| D．Credit reports began in 2006 in China. |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．A Credit Report Rating |
| B．Credit in China |
| C．Credit Really Counts |
| D．Credit Report Contents |
Live the “American Dream”
What is it: Work & Travel USA
Who are qualified: Fulltime college students, above 18 years old
About the program: Application for the 2009 Work & Travel USA program has just started. It's an 8～16 weeks' summer program for college students to work and travel in the U．S.. Employers include Boeing, Hilton Hotel and 7Eleven. For next summer, about 3,500 positions are open to Chinese students. Applicants must pass a language test and sometimes an interview, and pay a registration fee to join the program.
(Source: www. Cultureexchange. org)
Hundreds needed by Volkswagen
What is it: Shanghai Volkswagen jobs
Who are qualified: College students graduating in 2009
About it: Shanghai VW offers over 300 positions from engineering to marketing to college students graduating in 2009. Applicants should have an excellent academic record, CET6 or the same level language certificate in German, and good computer skills. Campus talks will take place in Shanghai, Changchun, Harbin, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanjing, Beijing and Xi'an from October.
(source: campus chinahr. com/2009/pages/csvw)
Xiaonei looking for graduates
What is it: Oak Pacific Interactive (OPI) internships (实习)
Who are qualified: College juniors and firstyear postgraduate students
About it: OPI is now offering internship positions for test engineer, development engineer and assistant to the director of corporate culture. For engineering positions, candidates should major in computer science or a related field, have communication ability and be familiar with various development languages. For assistant to the director positions, candidates should be adept in document writing, activities organizing and office software.
(source: campus. xiaonei. com)These advertisements are most probably advertisements ________.
| A．on the Internet intended for college students to read |
| B．in a newspaper intended for large companies to read |
| C．on the Internet intended for the general public to read |
| D．in a newspaper intended for college students to read |
The opportunity of ________ is offered only to college students graduating in 2009.
| A．working in America |
| B．traveling in America |
| C．OPI internship |
| D．positions in VW |
If you want to apply for assistant to the director positions you must ________.
| A．study computer science |
| B．be good at document writing |
| C．have communication ability |
| D．be familiar with various languages |
Last fall，beekeepers from states with warm climates began to report a sudden loss of honey bees.Losses were reported in twentyfour states and spread to Canada.Today，some beekeepers say thirty percent to ninety percent of their honey bees are gone.Food price could go up as a result.And some beekeeping businesses have failed.
Many kinds of plants，trees and grasses need bees to pollinate them.Bees gather nectar from flowers during this process.The liquid gives them food and material to make honey.As the bees land on flowers，their bodies pick up and drop off particles of pollen(花粉)．Most flowering plants need pollination to reproduce.
Honey bees can die during the winter.But few dead bees have been found this time.Instead，the bees seem to have disappeared.Experts call the condition “colony collapse disorder”．
Agriculture Department official Caird Rexroad said the colony collapse disorder threatens about fifteen billion dollars worth of the country's farm economy.Mr.Rexroad commented at a hearing of a House of Representatives agriculture subcommittee.
Mr.Rexroad said the cause of the sudden loss of bees was not clear.The number of honey bees had already fallen before the colony collapse disorder began.
Experts say the varroa mite is at least partly responsible for the earlier decrease in honey bees.The mite is a tiny creature that feeds on honey bees.It may play a part in colony collapse disorder by carrying bee viruses.Or the problem may be caused by other disease and weather conditions.
Diana CoxFoster of Pennsylvania State University is part of the scientific group.Ms.CoxFoster says the nation needs honey bees that can defend themselves better against disease and insects.The recent mapping of most of the honey bees' genes offers the hope of a stronger honey bee some day.Some people have failed in beekeeping businesses because ________.
| A．they want to make more money by doing something else |
| B．the climates were too warm to raise bees last fall |
| C．too many bees have disappeared for no reason |
| D．more and more people are beginning to raise bees |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．It is normal that some bees die in the cold season. |
| B．The plants can't live without bees at all. |
| C．Many bees have died because of the bad weather. |
| D．Researchers have found the reason of the death of bees. |
The passage is mainly to tell us that ________.
| A．the honey bees are important to plants，trees and grasses |
| B．many Americans are surprised at the loss of honey bees |
| C．strong honey bees are in great need in America |
| D．something has happened to American honey bees |
Outside her shabby cottage，old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line，unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps.But，much to their disappointment，she did not mount the broomstick and take flight.Suddenly，the old lady's work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen－a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty，a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back.With only three legs，it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady.The cat provided proof－ the children were sure that only a witch would own a black cat with three legs.
There，standing on a wooden box，was Mrs.Tailor，stretching out to gather her precious egg.Taking the egg in one of her hands，she began to climb down when，without warning，the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to go and help her，”whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick？” replied Ben.
“Don't be silly，Ben.If she were a witch，she would have turned us into frogs already，” reasoned Meg.“Come on Amy，let's go.”The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully，they could see a wound on the old lady's face.She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken.“Go and get Dad，” Amy yelled to her brother.“Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave.They ran as fast as they could for help，hoping that Mrs.Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.Why were the children hiding in the tree?
| A．They wanted to watch Mrs.Tailor do her housework closely. |
| B．They were playing a hideandseek game. |
| C．They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs.Tailor were true. |
| D．They were pretending to be spies. |
Mrs.Tailor stopped sweeping when________.
| A．her front steps were clean |
| B．she noticed the children in the tree |
| C．she was ready to take a flight |
| D．she heard the hen cackling |
Ben did not rush to help Mrs.Tailor because________.
| A．he thought that she could be tricking them |
| B．he knew that they should not have been in the tree |
| C．he did not see the old lady fall down |
| D．he was afraid of the threelegged cat |
Which of these old sayings best suits the story's lesson for us?
| A．Make hay while the sun shines. |
| B．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| C．People in glasshouses should not throw stones. |
| D．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
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