Each year about thirteen million babies are born too soon. More than one million of them die as a
result of their prematurity(早熟). Yet experts say many early births can be prevented.
The report came from the March of Dimes and the World Health Organization.Christopher Howson
is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. He says there are a
number of simple, lowcost interventions that can improve the chances of a fullterm birth.
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "We should treat malnutrition(营养不良)in women both before and
doing pregnancy. We should treat infections that increase risk. We should monitor pregnancies carefully
for signs of trouble. And should that baby be born preterm, we should care for that baby by providing a
package of interventions that have been shown to be tried and very effective."
For example, there are programs in Africa that teach the skintoskin method, also known as kangaroo
care. Mothers learn to carry preterm babies in front instead the traditional African way of carrying a baby,
on the mother"s back. Skintoskin helps keep a preterm baby warm. The direct contact also makes it
easier for the baby to breastfeed.
Most preterm births take place in Africa and Asia.But rates in the United States have increased by
more than onethird in the last twentyfive years. This is largely the result of more births in older women
and more use of fertility treatments.
Alan Fleischman is the medical director of the March of Dimes. He was among a group of medical
experts who met in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. The group met to develop a quality
improvement plan for dealing with the problem in the United States. Doctor Fleischman says there is
concern especially about rising numbers of what are known as late preterm births.
ALAN FLEISCHMAN: "Those are the babies who are born between thirtyfour and thirtyseven
weeks gestation. Those are the fastest increasing numbers of prematures. In fact, they are responsible
for seventytwo percent of all prematures in America."
The rise of these births may be linked to increased use of drugs to start or speed up labor and more
births by cesarean section. Doctor Fleischman says the group strongly advises against these interventions
before thirtynine weeks unless medically necessary.
The experts also say doctors need to work with pregnant women to do a better job of estimating
exactly when a pregnancy began.
| The problem | Over one million of babies__1__their lives to prematurity each year |
| __2__of premature birth | Lack of__3__ ?Being infected More births in older women More people__4__fertility treatments __5__use of drugs |
| __6__to be taken to prevent premature birth | Treat malnutrition Treat__7__increasing risk Monitor pregnancies for signs of trouble __8__after the preterm babies |
| Experts"__9__ | Many early births can be__10__ Doctors need to work with pregnant women |
| 1. lose 2. Causes 3. nutrition 4. taking/adopting/getting/undergoing/receiving 5. Increased 6. Measures 7. infections 8. Look 9. views/opinions/viewpoints 10. prevented/avoided | |
| 阅读理解 | |
| A serious problem for today"s society is who should be responsible for our elderly(老年人) and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem. First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take lifelong responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs. Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor. In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions(养老金). Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young. One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent. To sum up, all these options(选择)have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations. 1. What is the passage mainly about? A. The problems faced by the old in society. B. Why we should take responsibility for the old. C. How we can improve the lives of the old. D. Where the old can go to get their pensions. 2. According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people? A. Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire. B. Increase savings levels of people during their working years. C. Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old. D. Make available pensions for those who have retired. 3. The underlined word "viable" most probably means "________". A. impossible B. practical C. useful D. successful 4. What can be concluded from the passage? A. Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money. B. Employers should allow their workers to retire at a later age. C. Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people. D. There is no single solution to the problems of the old. | |
| 阅读理解 | |
| Today, people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big, noisy cities.They are moving from the peaceful hills, mountains, fields，rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets, buildings, traffic and crowds. This movement from rural(乡下的) areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years. In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a_residential_area nearby, too. The families of these workers need schools, hospitals and shops, so many people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows. In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, this area is usually in the city center downtown. It is here that you can see many huge skyscrapers(摩天大楼)and office blocks. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day. Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city center. Some suburbs are very pleasant, with nice houses and big gardens. There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need. But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages. | |
| 1．The underlined phrase "a residential area" means an area________. | |
| A．where people can buy things B．which is suitable for living in C．where people can do business D．which is near a city center | |
| 2．Why do people move to live in cities or towns? | |
| A．Because they can live more comfortably there. B．Because they like noisy life better than peaceful life. C．Because they mainly want to find work there. D．Because they are sure of having a better life there. | |
| 3．Which of the following statement is NOT true about the business district? | |
| A．Big companies usually have their main offices in the business district. B．People usually work and live in the business district. C．A business district usually lies in the city center downtown. D．Nearly every major city has its own business district. | |
| 阅读理解. | |
| Today, people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big, noisy cities. They are moving from the peaceful hills, mountains, fields, rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets, buildings, traffic and crowds.This movement from rural(乡下的) areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years. In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a_residential_area nearby, too. The families of these workers need schools, hospitals and shops, so many people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows. In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, this area is usually in the city center downtown. It is here that you can see many huge skyscrapers(摩天大楼)and office blocks. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day. Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city center. Some suburbs are very pleasant, with nice houses and big gardens. There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need. But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages. | |
| 1．The underlined phrase "a residential area" means an area________. | |
| A．where people can buy things B．which is suitable for living in C．where people can do business D．which is near a city center | |
| 2．Why do people move to live in cities or towns? | |
| A．Because they can live more comfortably there. B．Because they like noisy life better than peaceful life. C．Because they mainly want to find work there. D．Because they are sure of having a better life there. | |
| 3．Which of the following statement is NOT true about the business district? | |
| A．Big companies usually have their main offices in the business district. B．People usually work and live in the business district. C．A business district usually lies in the city center downtown. D．Nearly every major city has its own business district. | |
| 4．In the United States, many people work in the center of a big city________. | |
| A．and live there B．but live in the suburbs of the city C．and live in another city D．but live in rural areas | |
| 根据短文内容,从下框的A～F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项,选项中有一项为多余项. | |
| A. Study the levels of stress by comparison. B．Higher level of stress causes more trouble. C．Milder stress does more harm than expected. D．A certain level of stress is efficient in working conditions. E．Always pay enough attention to mild stress. F．Modern social conditions may lead to stress. | |
| 1.________ Even relatively mild stress can lead to long term disability and an inability to work, reveals a large population based study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) and Community Health.It is well known that mental health problems are associated with long term disability, but the impact of milder forms of psychological stress is likely to have been underestimated (低估), say the authors. 2．________ Between 2002 and 2007, the authors tracked the health of more than 17,000 working adults up to the age of 64, who had been randomly selected from the population in the Stockholm area. All participants completed a validated (经验证的) questionnaire at the start of the Study to measure their mental health and stress levels, as well as other aspects of health and wellbeing. 3．________ During the monitoring period, 649 people started receiving disability benefit -203 for a mental health problem and the remainder for physical ill health. Higher levels of stress at the start of the study were associated with a significantly greater likelihood of subsequently being awarded long term disability benefits.But even those with mild stress were up to 70% more likely to receive disability benefits, after taking account of other factors likely to influence the results, such as lifestyle and alcohol intake.One in four of these benefits awarded for a physical illness, such as high blood pressure, angina(心绞痛), and stroke(中风), and almost two thirds awarded for a mental illness, were likely to have been caused by stress. 4．________ The authors say that it is important to consider their findings in the context of modern working life, which places greater demands on employees, and social factors, such as fewer close personal relationships and supportive networks. 5．________ These factors lead them to ask: "Are the strains and demands of modern society commonly exceeding (超出) human ability?" And they conclude that while mild stress should not be overmedicalised, their findings suggest that it should be taken more seriously than it is. | |
| 完形填空 | |
| As China"s economy grows rapidly and more people choose to raise one child, it is very __1__ for young men or young women to care for the aging(年纪大的)__2__. Young people always complain that they __3__ too much pressure with caring for the __4__. How the aging people can be cared well is a __5__ topic in recent years. In my opinion, we, our government and our society can do __6__ as follows: Firstly, our government should adopt more __7__ measures to make the elders have enough pensions(养老金). Then the elders will __8__ that they can supportthemselves and needn"t __9__ their living expenses. Secondly, I think that every young people should take __10__ to care for their old parents. Young parents have taken great efforts to bring you __11__. So when they get old, you should let your parents know __12__ you care about them and you can do something for them. The most important is not to make your parents feel __13__. Thirdly, the whole society should be __14__ elders" activities. The society should provide necessary __15__ for the elders to take part in activities. __16__ the activities, they can enjoy the happy time with their friends and other olders. In conclusion, I want to __17__ that elders are very important to our society. They have done __18__ contributions to our society. When they grow old, they __19__ more respect from us, especially youth. Let"s __20__ more attention to elders" life. | |