The predictability of our death rates is something that has long puzzled social scientists. After all, there is no natural reason why 2,500 people should accidentally shoot themselves each year
or why 7,000 should drown or 55,000 die in their cars. No one establishes a quota (定额) for each type of death. It just happens that they follow a consist
ent pattern year after year.
A few years ago a Canadian psychologist named Gerald Wilde became interested in this phenomenon. He noticed that mortality rates for violent and accidental deaths throughout 
the Western world have remained strangely static throughout the whole of the century, despite all the technological advances and increases in safety standards that have happened in that time. Wilde developed an interesting theory called “risk homeostasis”. According to this theory, people naturally live with a certain level of risk. When something is made safer, people will get around the measure in some way to get back to the original level of danger. If, for instance, they are required to wear seat belts, they will feel safer and thus will drive a little faster and a little more recklessly, thereby statistically canceling out the benefits that the seat belt offers. Other studies have shown that where a crossing is made safer, the accident rate invariably falls there but rises elsewhere along the same stretch of road as if making up for the drop. It appears, then, that we have an inborn need for danger. In all events, it is becoming clearer and clearer to scientists that the factors influencing our lifespan are far more subtle and complex than had been previously thought. It now appears that if you wish to live a long life, it isn’t simply a matter of paying attention to certain precautions such as eating the right foods, not smoking, and driving with care. You must also have the right attitude. Scientists at the Duke University Medical Center made a 15-year study of 500 persons personalities and found, somewhat to their surprise, that people with a suspicious or mistrustful nature die prematurely far more often than people with a sunny disposition. Looking on the bright side, it seems, can add years to your life span.
1.What social scientists have long felt puzzled about is why __________.
A. the death rate can not be predicted
B.the death toll remained stable year after year
C.a quota for each type of death has not come into being
D.people lost their lives every year for this or that reason
2.In his research, Gerald Wilde finds that technological advances and increases in safety standards __________.
A.have helped solve the problem of so high death rate
B.have oddly accounted for death rates in the past century
C. have reduced death rates for violent and accidental deaths
D. have achieved no effect in bringing down the number of deaths
3.According to the theory of “risk homeostasis”, some traffic accidents result from ___________.
A. our inborn desire for risk
B. our fast and reckless driving
C. our ignorance of seat belt benefits
D. our instinctive interest in speeding
4.By saying “statistically canceling out the benefits that the seat belt offers” (Para. 2), the author means __________.
A. wearing seat belts does not have any benefits from the statistic point of view
B. deaths from wearing seat belts are the same as those from not wearing them
C. deaths from other reasons counterbalance the benefits of wearing seat belts
D. wearing seat belts does not necessarily reduce deaths from traffic accidents
5.Which of the following may contribute to a longer life span?
A. Showing adequate trust instead of suspicion of others
B. Eating the food low in fat and driving with great care
C. Cultivating an optimistic personality and never losing heart
D. Looking on the bright side and developing a balanced level of risk
It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (学术界) outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few possibilities of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.
The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制药的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition (转换) to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary (多学科的) team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.”
1.By “a
one-way street” (Line 1, Para. 1), the author means ________.
A. university researchers know little about the commercial world
B. there is little exchange between industry and academia
C. few industrial scientists would quit to work in a university
D. few university professors are willing to do industrial research
2.The word “deterrent” (Line 3, Para. 1) most probably refers to something that ________.
A. keeps someone from taking action
B. helps to move the traffic
C. attracts people’s attention
D. brings someone a financial burden
3.What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career?
A. Flexible work hours.
B. Her research interests.
C. Her preference for the lifestyle on campus.
D. Prospects of academic accomplishments.
4.Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to ________.
A．do financially more rewarding work
B．raise his status in the academic world
C．enrich his experience in medical research
D．take advantage of better intellectual opportunities
5.What contribution can industrial scientists make when they come to teach in a university?
A．Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market
B．Develop its students’ potential in research.
C．Help it to obtain financial support from industry.
D．Adapt its research to practical applications.
Today, as in every other day of the year, more than 3,000 U.S. adolescents will smoke their first cigarette on their way to becoming regular smokers as adults. During their lifetime, it can be expected that of these 3,000 about 23 will be murdered, 30 will die in traffic accidents, and nearly 750 will be killed by a smoking-related disease. The number of deaths due to cigarette smoking outweighs all other factors, whether voluntary or involuntary, as a cause of death.
Since the late 1970s, when daily smoking among high school seniors reached 30 percent, smoking rates among youth have declined. While the decline is impressive, several important issues must be raised.
First, in the past several years, smoking rates among youth have declined very little. Second, in the late 1970s, smoking among male high school seniors beat that among female by nearly 10 percent . The statistic is reversing (完全相反的). Third, several recent studies have indicate high school dropouts have excessively high smoking rates, as much as 75 percent .
Finally, though significant declines in adolescent smoking have occurred in the past decade, no definite reasons for the decline exist. Within this context, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) began its current effort to determine the most effective measures to reduce smoking level among youth.
1.According to the author, the deaths among youth are mainly caused by _____.
A. traffic accidents B. smoking-related disease
C. murder D. all of these
2. Every day there are over _____ high school students who will become regular smoker.
A.75 B.23 C.30 D.3000
3.By "dropout" the author means ________
A. students who failed the examination
B. students who left school
C. students who lost their way
D. students who were driven out of school
4.The reason for declining adolescent smoking is that ________.
A. NCI has taken effective measures
B. smoking is prevented among high school seniors
C. there are many smokers who have died of cancer
D. none of these
5.What is implied by the author is that ________.
A. smoking rates among youth have declined very little
B. there are now more female than male smokers among high school seniors
C. high smoking rates are due to the increase in wealth
D. smoking at high school are from low socio-economic backgrounds
For most of us, success in school has very little to do with actual learning. The most important thing you have to master is how to play the grade games. you think out your own strategies for getting high marks, everything opens up to you. You may be to a well-known college or win scholarship, not to mention gaining the admiration of your teachers and parents.
But not everyone does well in tests. At times, it can almost turn into a funny game of hit and . Some students haven't mastered the of test taking, and some fear under pressure or need more time or another way to what they know. Being a school means learning things out of the school system. Then you have to work things to your . Lots of students are already doing it without it. Getting high grades also on knowing each teacher's character. For example, I once had to take , so one day in classes I talked to the teacher I had wanted to. I told him how I'd heard what a really good teacher he was, and how disappointed I was that I'd have to graduate having been in his class. I lied. It . (I had counted on the chemistry teacher being human, and he accepted.) I wasn't proud of myself for what I did. But I considered it of the grade game we're pushed into to aim at going to the best schools.
1.A. Before B. Unless C. Once D. While
2.A. permitted B. allowed C. agreed D. admitted
3.A. miss B. lost C. strike D. blow
4.A. game B. art C. interest D. result
5.A. speak B. tell C. talk D. express
6.A. master B. house C. failure D. success
7.A. points B. ideas C. advantage D. freedom
8.A. remembering B. realizing C. teaching D. understanding
9.A. bases B. depends C. calls D. takes
10.A. place B. arms C. classes D. chemistry
11.A. between B. among C. after D. before
12.A. after B. before C. without D. from
13.A. worked B. effected C. mattered D. did
14.A. one B. none C. part D. member
15.A. taking B. playing C. making D. enjoying
The Arabian Nights____ well known to English lovers.
A.is being B.are C.were D.is
Over 80 percent of the population _____ workers.
A.will be B. are C.is D.was
