Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?

While such vigilant(警觉的) tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.

In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies(活检) and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained(根深蒂固的) that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.

It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy(预期寿命).

A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening—especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.

It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational(合理的) use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”

That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.

1.Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?

A. It is believed to contribute to long life.

B. It is part of their health care package.

C. The elderly are more sensitive about their health.

D. The elderly are in greater danger of tumor(肿瘤) growth.

2.How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?

A. It adds too much to their medical bills.

B. It helps increase their life expectancy.

C. They are doubtful about necessity.

D. They think it does more than good.

3.What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?

A. It applies to women over 50.

B. It is a must for adult women.

C. It is optional for young women.

D. It doesn’t apply to women over 74.

4.Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?

A. They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

B. They want to take advantage of the medical care system.

C. They want data for medical research.

D. They want their patients to suffer less.

Book:No Looking Back

Author:Shivani Gupta

Snivani had thrown a party one evening and awoke the next morning in hospital because of a car crash.It took Shivani years of pain,struggle and determination to regain control of her life and her body.Then tragedy struck again. As the newly-married Shivani drove to Manali with her family,a truck crashed into her car.Shivani refused to give in—she wouldn't let her injury keep her from achieving her ambitions.

Book:Courage Beyond Compare

Author:Sanjay Sharma

The 10 sportspersons in the book are champions in diverse fields like athletics,swimming and badminton,who have brought glory to the country.They overcame their physical limitations to reach the top of their chosen fields.

Book:Face to Face

Author:Ved Mehta

Blind since the age of four,the author led a lonely childhood in India until he was accepted to the Arkansas School for the Blind,to which he flew alone at 15.America and the school changed his life,leading him to degrees at Oxford and Harvard and a fruitful writing career.

Book:This Star Won’t Go Out

Author:Lori and Wayne Earl

Diagnosed with cancer at 12,Esther Earl was a bright and talented,but very normal teenager.She lived a hope-filled and generous life.A cheerful,positive and encouraging daughter,sister and friend,Esther died in 2010,shortly after turning 16,but not before inspiring thousands through her growing online presence.

1.The book No Looking Back mainly talks about ________.

A.an unlucky girl who experienced two car accidents

B.10 disabled athletes who are champions in sports field

C.a successful author who was blind during his childhood

D.an inspiring teenager who died of cancer

2.When reading the book written by Sanjay Sharma,we will ________.

A.find the author is a sports lover

B.get inspired by the sportspersons’spirits

C.be proud to be a sportsperson

D.find sportspersons are full of power

3.In which book does the author tell of himself?

A.Face to Face.

B.This Star Won't GO Out.

C.Courage Beyond Compare.

D.No Looking Back.

4.Which word can best describe the characters of all the four books?

A.Intelligent.B.Passionate.C.InspiringD.Pessimistic

Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them or whether any will be admitted at all. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.

But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, hand-written on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.

Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的字迹) of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don’t forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.

Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your hand writing.

Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb, then rest it near the first knuckle (指节) of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled (卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.

Evaluate your writing. Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.

Take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy-looking.

Practice. Practice it a lot; it’s not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.

1.The underlined word “scribble” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A. write quickly and roughly

B. type simply and correctly

C. paint clearly and neatly

D. describe properly and well

2.According to Paragraph 3, students with good handwriting skill ________.

A. can pass the SAT

B. can develop good characters

C. can impress their classmates

D. can get more job opportunities

3.Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?

A. Practicing writing a lot.

B. Writing as fast as you can.

C. Relaxing your hand when holding the pen.

D. Changing your letters till you like how they look.

4.The text is to present the fact that ________.

A. writing seems to be very important in the SAT

B. those who will go to college have to take the SAT

C. students should practice handwriting more often

D. kids don’t know how to write in the computer age

“A rolling stone gathers no moss (苔藓),” but there is one living animal that does gather moss — the three-toed sloth(树懒) of South America. This slowest-moving member of the animal kingdom is so inactive that moss actually gathers on its body and turns it green — strange as it seems!

Most of the sloth’s life is spent motionless, hanging upside down from a limb(大树枝). And that is the way its hair grows. Long and coarse, the strands from receptacles for the damp jungle algae(藻类)turn the brown fur a mossy green. Actually this moss helps the animal survive because it serves as a perfect camouflage against the leafy trees and hides the sloth from the jungle’s swift-moving hunters. The sloth would have little chance of survival on the ground. With long, curved claws hooded over the limb of a leafy tree, it spends the long hot hours during the day drowsing and eating. Inch by inch, it strips the leafy limbs bare and crawls slowly down the trunk to find a new dining spot, but only at night.

In addition to looking rather like a vegetable, the sloth is a strict vegetarian. Running out of its favorite leaf is about the only thing that will make a sloth move. Then its appetite(食欲)may even force the animal into swimming a stream to reach a succulent(肉质植物). It will also force it into fighting to keep the tree all to itself. The sloth is lazy and prefers to be alone, but it will tolerate its own relatives!

1.A suitable title for this passage might be ________.

A. Wild AnimalsB. Animal Kingdom

C. Moss GrowthD. The Lazy Animal

2.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is ________.

A. to help children to gain a better understanding of animal life

B. to prove that the saying “a rolling stone gathers no moss” is wrong

C. to introduce a particular animal to the common reader

D. to discuss with professionals the laziness of some animals

3.Which of the following is NOT true about the sloth?

A. The sloth does not eat any meat.

B. For most of its time, the sloth remains motionless on the ground.

C. To some degree, the sloth is protected by the moss growing on its body.

D. The sloth has a brown fur of its own.

4.According to the passage, the sloth will move about when ________.

A. it senses a coming danger

B. it is forced to swim in a hot day

C. it is short of its favorite food

D. it wants to keep the vegetable to itself

5.Which of the following is NOT mentioned or implied by the author?

A. The sloth has only three toes.

B. The sloth lives in the damp jungle of South America.

C. The sloth usually tries to find a new spot for food at night.

D. The sloth will never fight with other animals.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网