Imagine your body is like the house you live in．Every day, your family creates rubbish．The rubbish builds up until it is put out for the weekly garbage collection．
Now, say you put three bags of garbage out, but because one of the collectors was away sick, only two bags are collected．You take the leftover bag inside to be put out again next week．The following week you put on another three bags, plus the leftover bag from last week．But again, only two bags are collected．Imagine this cycle is repeated over the following weeks．
This is a simple description of what happens to your body when your kidneys （肾脏）don't work efficiently．Your body is not thoroughly emptied of waste products．Other areas of the body such as blood pressure and red blood cell production are affected and the insidious process that may lead to kidney failure begins．
It's not uncommon for people to lose up to 90% of their kidney function before developing any symptoms．There may be no warning signs. This makes early detection （诊查）difficult．
Kidney's main job is to remove toxins（毒素） and unwanted water from our blood．Every day our kidneys clean an average of 200 litres of blood．Kidney failure may be a gradual and silent process, going unnoticed because there is no obvious pain．
Research shows that more than 35% of the patients requiring dialysis（透析）do not see a kidney specialist before they have to do so．Some risk factors for kidney disease such as age and genetic make-up are out of our control; however, some changes in lifestyle may help prevent kidney damage．Two major risk factors for kidney disease, diabetes （糖尿病）and high blood pressure, have been on the rise over the last few decades．Both conditions are chiefly affected by being overweight and not getting enough exercises, which are the potential (潜在的) risk factors for the kidney disease．
【小题1】The author gives the example of the house we live in to indicate that ______．

Directions:  Read the following passage. Complete the diagram by using the information from the passage.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
As we all know, all the governments in the world collect taxes（税）, but what are they and what are they used for? Some people may not know about them.
There are two kinds of taxes. One of the most important taxes is income-taxes which a person pays according to the amount of his income. Whatever he is, he must pay tax if income is more than a certain amount. This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money directly to the government.
Another tax is paid on goods. When they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops. We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeepers.
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on what they need. On one hand, we need policemen and soldiers to protect us from danger. Meanwhile, we also need schools and teachers for our children. On the other hand, we need officials and workers to serve us. Above all, we need money to develop our nation.
Taxes, therefore, can’t be avoided. We have no real reason to complain when we are asked to supply money to be spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens.
Title:   【小题1】  are necessary in our life

You wake up in the morning，the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time．Then the telephone rings，you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing(令人沮丧的) tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．Yon are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

   Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think，but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．

  Life brings ups and downs，but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’pity or respect．

    When you communicate with positive people，your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首)of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that all in all，brings you down．

    Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker，or relative．In this case，say what needs to be said as little as possible． Sometimes it feels good to let out-your anger back to a negative person，but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．

    Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着)you throughout the rest of your day，which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．

The purpose of the first paragraph is to           ．

    A．make a comparison      B．offer an evidence

    C．introduce a topic         D．describe a daily scene

How can negative people have effect on us?

    A．By influencing our emotion．        B．By telling US the nature of life．

    C．By changing our way of thinking．    D．By comparing their attitude to life with ours．

Some negative people base their happiness on              ．

    A．other people’s pity for them

    B．making other people unhappy

    C．building up a positive attitude

    D．other people’s respect for t hem

According to the passage， to reduce negative people’s influence on us，we are advised             ．

    A． to change negative people’s attitude to life

    B． to show our dissatisfaction to negative people

    C． to make negative people feel ashamed of themselves

    D． to communicate with negative people as little as possible

What can we learn about negativity?

    A．Its effect can last．

    B．Its effect can be completely avoided．

C．It hardly happens among family members．

D．Its effect is smaller than the effect created by a positive person．

You wake up in the morning，the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings，you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

    Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think，but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．

 Life brings ups and downs，but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．

  When you communicate with positive people，your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首) of a negative person is put in you，you feel the heavy feeling that all in all，brings you down．

Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker，or a relative．In this case，say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person，but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．

Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着) you throughout the rest of your day，which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______.

A．make a comparison                    B．offer an evidence

C．introduce a topic                        D．describe a daily scene

2.How can negative people have effect on us?

A．By influencing our emotion．             B．By telling us the nature of life．

C．By changing our ways of thinking．       D．By comparing their attitudes to life with ours．

3.Some negative people base their happiness on _______.

A．other people’s pity for them    B．building up a positive attitude

C．making other people unhappy D．other people’s respect for them

4.What is the author’s attitude towards negative people?

A．Favorable．  B．Indifferent. C．Critical.    D．Supportive. 

A breathtaking trick potentially left over from our ancestors might be found in us — the ability to sense oxygen through our skin.

Amphibians, animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in water, have long been known to be capable of breathing through their skin. In fact, the first known lungless frog that breathes only through its skin was discovered recently in the rivers of Borneo.

Now the same oxygen sensors found in frog skins and in the lungs of mammals (哺乳动物) have unexpectedly been discovered in the skin of mice.

“No one had ever looked,” explained Randall Johnson, a biologist researcher.

Mice and frogs are quite distant relatives, so the fact they have these molecules (分子) in common in their skin suggests they might well be found in the skin of other mammals, such as humans.

“We have no reason to think that they are not in the skin of people too,” Johnson said.

These molecules not only detect oxygen, but help increase levels of vital red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Normal mice breathing in air that is 10 percent oxygen—a dangerously low level similar to conditions at the top of Mount Everest, and about half that of air at sea level. However, mice that had the oxygen sensor HIF-1a genetically removed from their skin failed to produce this hormone (荷尔蒙) even after hours of such low oxygen.

These findings, if they hold true in humans, suggest one could raise the level of oxygen circulating inside the body. This could help treat lung diseases and disorders such as anemia (贫血症) without injecting drugs, which make up a multibillion-dollar market, Johnson said.

Athletes also often try to get more oxygen delivered to their muscles in order to improve their performance. They often do this by training at high altitudes or in low-oxygen tents. The new study suggests they might want to expose their skin as well as breathing in low-oxygen air to improve their performance. “It’s hard to say what exactly might be done, however—there’s a lot we don’t know yet,” Johnson explained.

The scientists detailed their findings in the April 18 issue of the journal Cell.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It has long been expected oxygen sensors exist in mice’s skin.

B．People have to surf the Internet to read detailed findings.

C．It has been proved that these findings help treat lung diseases.

D．Johnson believes that Oxygen sensors also exist in human skin.

2.One of the functions of the molecules mentioned above is _______.

A． increasing level of oxygen                B．improving athletes’ performance

C．detecting oxygen                       D．carrying oxygen around the body

3.What is Johnson’s attitude to the application of the findings to the athletes’ training?

A． Hesitating        B．Doubting          C．Positive           D．Negative

4.The best title of the passage may be _______.

A． Humans Might Sense Oxygen Through Skin

B．Frogs And Mice Are Distant Relatives

C．First Known Animal Breathes Through Skin

D．Great Findings Benefits Athletes A Lot