Glaucoma（青光眼）is a major cause of blindness around the world, especially in developing countries. The World Health Organization says glaucoma is a greater public health challenge than cataracts（白内障）, because the blindness caused by the latter can be cured after operations.
Glaucoma is a disease that makes people around the world lose their sight, and they usually don’t even know they have the disease until it has permanently destroyed at least 40 percent of their sight. The process is usually so painless and subtle（不明显的）, so people don't notice it. Actually, the simplest medical test can discover it.
“It is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. In Hispanics and in African-Americans, it’s the second leading cause of blindness and so is the case in the Chinese and Indians.” said Dr. Alan Robin, a specialist in treating glaucoma. “The glaucoma we see in sub-Saharan Africa is a much more aggressive blinding disease than the glaucoma we see in Americans or even African- Americans in-the United States.” he said． ．
Dr. Eric Fleischer also sees these differences at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. “Pretty much anybody who has ancestors in Africa has an increased chance of developing glaucoma.” Age is another thing that may lead to glaucoma, although people of all ages can get it.
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that commonly produce pressure in the eye. An eye is sort of like a watch. And behind the face of the watch, liquid is made. It goes through your pupil（瞳孔）and into the front of the watch between the face and the crystal．There's an area around the edge of the watch that drains（使排出）the liquid. When that drain is blocked, the liquid can't leave the eye as fast as it is produced. The rising pressure within the eye damages and eventually kills the optic（视觉的） nerve. The result is blindness.
Fortunately, if caught early, glaucoma can be controlled. Glaucoma is not curable. But as researchers worldwide lean more about it, they grow more hopeful that glaucoma can one day be cured or even prevented.In which country is glaucoma the biggest danger to people’s sight?
| A．In China | B．In India | C．In the USA | D．In Japan |
What do the underlined words “these differences”（in Para 4 ）refer to?
| A．The differences in regions（地区） | B．The cultural differences |
| C．The differences in age | D．The physical differences |
From the passage, we can learn that, .
| A．It is hard for medical tests to discover glaucoma |
| B．People in developed countries hardly develop glaucoma |
| C．Glaucoma only causes blindness among old people |
| D．The research on glaucoma is still going on worldwide |
The saying “a penny for your thoughts” is an English idiom simply asking people to volunteer their opinions on an issue being discussed. In modern usage, it is often stated as an indirect way of asking what someone is thinking about.
This phrase is basically a proposal (提议), and the speaker is offering to pay to hear the listener’s thoughts. It is an idiom, of course, and not meant literally (字面上的) so no real payment generally takes place.
When the saying originated, a penny was worth a lot more than it is in the 21st century. Therefore, “a penny for your thoughts” likely indicated the thoughts were more valuable to those asking the listener for them than they are by today’s standards. This loss of value can be used ironically(讽刺地), however, through tone(语气) of voice; it can be used to indicate that someone’s idea is bad or worth a penny in modern value.
The phrase is generally credited to a man by the name of John Heywood, who was born sometime just before the 16th century. During his life, he was a writer who penned many plays and a book in 1546, later known as The Proverbs of John Heywood. It is likely Heywood did not actually come up with the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”. Rather, he was simply the first person to have set the phrase down in written form. The actual origins of the term are unknown, and since his book was simply a collection of common idioms and expressions, it was probably familiar to people in the mid 1500s.
Another phrase similar to “a penny for your thoughts” is offering “your two cents” after making a statement. Someone might give his or her opinion and then say, “that’s my two cents,” to indicate the value of his or her idea. While, much like a penny, “two cents” is relatively low in value now, it would have been more valuable at one time and the expression is used in much the same way.
When someone says “a penny for your thoughts”, he or she ___________.
| A．wants to ask you for advice |
| B．considers your thoughts unique |
| C．is curious about what’s on your mind |
| D．will pay for what you’re thinking about |
The modern meaning of “a penny for your thoughts” ____________.
| A．is more closely connected to the value of the penny |
| B．can differ greatly according to a speaker’s manner |
| C．can confuse the listener easily |
| D．is more popularly accepted |
In what way is Heywood related to the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”?
| A．He came up with it while he was writing. |
| B．He helps to explain the origins of it. |
| C．He contributed to the wide use of it. |
| D．He was the first person to use it. |
What do we know about the phrase “your two cents”?
| A．It is usually used at the end of a statement. |
| B．It comes from “a penny for your thoughts”. |
| C．It has witnessed some changes since the 16th century. |
| D．It is more familiar to people than “a penny for your thoughts”. |
A cafe owner has defended her decision to pen a Facebook post (an Internet message to be discussed) stating “No, we are not child-friendly,” saying it breaks her heart when children damage her possessions.
On Monday, the Little French Cafe in Newcastle, Australia, posted an announcement on their Facebook page: “Are we child-friendly? If you are looking for a cafe with a children’ s menu, a play area, lounges for your children to jump on, vast space for your baby carriages, an area for your children to run around, and annoy other customers, while you are unaware of them—then the short answer is ‘No, we are not child-friendly.’ However, if you would like to bring your children here and they are happy to sit at a table with you and behave properly, please come in. Otherwise, there are plenty of places that are specifically designed to entertain your children.” The post has since been deleted.
Some Facebook users called the post “arrogant (傲慢的)” and an “attack on parents,” The Newcastle Herald reports. The cafe owner responded with this statement: “I built the cafe myself. It has my blood, sweat and plenty of tears in it.”
The post came about after the cafe owner was asked by a customer, who had left a one-star review on the cafe’s business page, about whether the cafe was child-friendly. Ms Kotz told news.com.au she wrote the bad review because she felt staff reacted negatively towards children at the cafe.
The cafe owner said it broke a piece of her heart every time when she was watching children emptying salt and pepper shakers into her fireplaces, parents changing nappies (尿布) on her lounges, or kids throwing their own food onto her carpet.
Although the cafe’s policy has attracted a lot of criticism, most people who commented on the Little French Cafe’s Facebook page stood by the owner. One woman named Lesley wrote, “I don’t think there was anything wrong with what you said by any means. If parents want to take their children to your cafe, they need to be responsible for their behavior.”What is the text mainly about?
| A．An Australian cafe’s policy on children. |
| B．A Facebook post about parents’ manners. |
| C．The protection of the customers’ basic rights |
| D．The relationship between staff and customers. |
Which of the following is permitted according to the cafe owner’s post?
| A．Parents demanding a children’s menu. |
| B．Children entertaining themselves in the cafe. |
| C．Children running around their own carriages. |
| D．Parents taking well-behaved kids to the cafe. |
The cafe owner wrote the post _____.
| A．after a kid damaged her possessions |
| B．in response to a customer’s question |
| C．in order to improve the efficiency of the cafe |
| D．after the cafe was criticized by some Facebook users |
What did Lesley think of the cafe owner’s action?
| A．It was slightly unfair. |
| B．It was very misleading. |
| C．It was highly controversial. |
| D．It was quite understandable. |
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can not get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction. She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It is OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Instead, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEOs to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could buy this place and fire you,” or “I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character than about their wealth and power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,”Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables.”What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
| A．He was fired. |
| B．He was blamed. |
| C．The woman comforted him. |
| D．The woman left the restaurant at once. |
Odland learned one of his life lessons from _____.
| A．his experience as a waiter |
| B．the advice given by the CEOs |
| C．an article in Fortune |
| D．an interesting best-selling book |
According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about _____.
| A．Fortune 500 companies |
| B．the Management Rules |
| C．Swanson’s book |
| D．the Waiter Rule |
The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert（警觉）. Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gave（凝视）starts to lose its focus-until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise（同样地）when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.Babies are sensitive to the change in _______.
| A．the size of cards |
| B．the colour of pictures |
| C．the shape of patterns |
| D．the number of objects |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds |
| C．To carry their experiment further |
| D．To keep the babes interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．Science fiction | B．Children’s literature |
| C．An advertisement | D．A science report |
Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.
" I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the bar and wanted to see what was open," said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.
The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets (平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.
" As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs," said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com. " We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things," he added, "and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars. "
9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.
"It's just like smartphones 10 years ago," Weintraub said. "A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural," he said. " There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there. "One of the possible functions of the smartphone-like glasses is to ____.
| A．program the opening hours of a bar |
| B．supply you with a picture of the future |
| C．provide information about your surroundings |
| D．update the maps and GPS in your smartphones |
The underlined phrase "pop up" in the third paragraph probably means " ____".
| A．develop rapidly | B．get round quickly |
| C．appear immediately | D．go over automatically |
According to Sam Biddle, the smartphone-like glasses are ____.
| A．necessary for teenagers |
| B．attractive to New Yorkers |
| C．available to people worldwide |
| D．expensive for average consumers |
We can learn from the last two paragraphs that the smartphone-like glasses ____.
| A．may have a potential market |
| B．are as common as smartphones |
| C．are popular among young adults |
| D．will be improved by a new technology |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号