Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world.
When it comes to cancer, the sooner you know you have it, the better your chances of surviving are.
A new blood test could change the way doctors and researchers find cancer in patients. Researchers say the test could provide some hints of the early forms of the disease.
Gareth Jenkins is a professor at the University of Swansea. He says he and his team did not look for cancer. They instead looked for a by-product of cancer, mutated (突变的) red blood cells. They looked for, what Jenkins calls, the collateral (附带的) damage of cancer—the damage left by the disease.
“In this blood test we don’t measure the presence of cancer，we measure the presence of mutated red blood cells which are the collateral damage that occurs—a by-product of the cancer developing.’’
The researchers used normal laboratory equipment to perform the tests. This equipment looks for changes in the structure of millions of red blood cells. Those mutated cells lack a surface protein (蛋白质) that healthy cells normally have.
“The goal of the test is looking for very rare cells which have picked up a mutation. The number of mutated red blood cells in a healthy person is around 5 or so mutated cells per million; so, you have to look at millions of red blood cells to discover those rare events. The number increases in cancer patients—it goes up to 40 or 50 on average.”
The researchers tested blood from about 300 people, all of whom have cancer of the esophagus (食管). Patients with esophageal cancer have high levels of mutated red blood cells. Jenkins says that at this point he is not sure if other cancers would produce similar results.
The hope is that the new test could one day become part of commonly used medical methods to find out if a person has cancer. These new technologies could save millions of lives.
1.What does the underlined word “hints” probably mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Deaths. B. Experiences.
C. Signs. D. Kinds.
2.Healthy people and patients with esophageal cancer are different in of mutated red blood cells.
A. the size
B. the color
C. the shape
D. the number
3.What’s the author’s attitude to the new test?
A. Negative. B. Indifferent.
C. Positive. D. Doubtful.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. Cancer Can Be Prevented
B. New Test Could Find Cancer Earlier
C. Scientists Have Discovered How Cancer Spreads
D. New Cancer Treatment Is Showing Extraordinary Results
Glacier Bay is one of the most famous parks in America, located in the state of Alaska. This park in the southeastern part of the state covers more than 1 million hectares of Alaskan wilderness. It includes mountains, glaciers (冰川), bays, and even rainforests. Glacier Bay supports hundreds of kinds of animals, including many species of birds, fish, bears, whales and sea lions.
As its name suggests, much of Glacier Bay National Park is covered by glaciers. A glacier is a large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope (斜坡) or valley, or over a wide area of land. Glaciers cover more than 5,000 square kilometers of the park.
Glacial ice has shaped the land over the last seven million years. The glaciers found in the park today are what remains from an ice advance known as the Little Ice Age. That period began about 4,000 years ago.
During the Little Ice Age, the cold weather caused the ice to grow and advance. That situation continued until about 1,700s, when the climate began to warm. The higher temperatures caused the ice to start melting. That melting led the huge glacier to separate into more than 1,000 different glaciers.
The extremely tall and jagged (参差不齐的) mountains seen in Glacier Bay National Park were formed by the ice advancing and then melting over time. The melting of the ice also created water that filled in and created the many fjords (峡湾) within the park. Fjords are narrow parts of the ocean that sit between cliffs or mountains.
The huge amount of water from the melted ice killed off many kinds of plants. Vegetation returned to the area over the next 200 years. The regrowth in plants also brought back many animals to the land. This return of life to Glacier Bay is why it is sometimes called “a land reborn” by people.
1.What is mentioned in Paragraph 1?
A. The function of Glacier Bay.
B. The climate of Glacier Bay.
C. The area of Alaskan wilderness.
D. The number of animals in Glacier Bay.
2.What happened to Glacier Bay during the Little Ice Age?
A. Many slopes or valleys came into being.
B. The glaciers grew and advanced.
C. Different glaciers became a whole one.
D. The fjords became narrow.
3.What is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?
A. How the water killed off the plants.
B. When vegetation returned to Glacier Bay.
C. What the relationship between plants and animals is.
D. Why Glacier Bay is sometimes called “a land reborn”.
Since Abbi Hickman was just a little girl, she has been surrounded by animals. Chickens, cats, dogs, rabbits, and sometimes goats are just some of the animals she cares for. At the age of 9, Abbi went to the Tracy Animal Shelter，in her hometown of Tracy，California，to adopt Sheldon，her favorite cat. There，she saw the poor conditions that the animals were kept in. Abbi knew that it was her duty to take action.
Pins for Pets is Abbi’s solution. For the last three years, she has organized a bowling tournament to raise funds for the Tracy Animal Shelter. She has raised more than $30,000, resulting in a better home for the animals. “Now the shelter is nicer and cleaner and animals have more space. It is far better, a hundred percent better,” Abbi says.
To praise Abbi for her outstanding efforts, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) named her the 2015 ASPCA Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year. This award is given to kids who make a substantial (大量的) effort to help animals. Abbi responded to the news of her win with shock. “I was pretty excited. I’ m really honored to receive it,” she says.
Sacrificing time and effort to assist animals can sometimes be difficult, but Abbi hopes to do more. “I want to spread my free services to more shelters. I really just hope people are kinder to animals and respect them more,” says Abbi, sharing her goals for her organization.
At the age of 12, Abbi has already accomplished so much. The advice she has for kids like her, who want to accomplish their goals, is, “Nothing is impossible. You can do anything you put your mind to. Even if it is something small, it can make a huge difference.” Abbi’s work has improved the lives of animals, and she plans to keep coming up with new ways to help them.
1.When she was very little, Abbi went to the Tracy Animal Shelter and .
A. adopted a dog called Sheldon she liked best
B. raised kids’ awareness of protecting animals
C. found the poor conditions the animals lived in
D. learned some knowledge about some animals
2.How has Abbi raised money during the last three years?
A. By begging from door to door.
B. By organizing a bowling match.
C. By helping others look after some animals.
D. By turning to the Tracy Animal Shelter for help.
3.Which of the following can best describe Abbi?
A. Cautious and loyal.
B. Determined and imaginative.
C. Changeable but optimistic.
D. Responsible and Caring.
4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
A. Abbi’s organization is non-profit.
B. Abbi thinks she has done enough.
C. Helping animals is a piece of cake.
D. People are friendly enough to animals.
March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are four wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring. If you want to know more about them, please click here or visit http://www. buddhanet. net/festival, htm/.
SongKran—Thailand
Dates: 13th-15th, April
In Thailand, people celebrate a festival called Songkran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray everyone who walks past.
Naghol—Vanuatu
Dates: Every Saturday from April to May
Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines (藤) attached to their ankles.
Cherry Blossom Viewing—Japan
Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.
The festival is well-known. Japanese celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals (花瓣) fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. That means the traditional festival only lasts for several days. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.
Sinhalese New Year—Sri Lanka
Dates: 13th or 14th, April
Just like in many other countries in South or South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.
1.What may happen to a tourist walking in the street during SongKran in Thailand?
A. He may get wet.
B. He may be shot by the locals.
C. He may enjoy delicious foods.
D. He may see some petals falling.
2.Where can you go to enjoy amazing performances during the festival?
A. Thailand. B. Vanuatu.
C. Japan. D. Sri Lanka.
3.How is Cherry Blossom Viewing different from the other three festivals?
A. It is a traditional festival.
B. It is a very famous festival.
C. It varies with weather conditions every year.
D. It allows visitors to eat food during the festival.
4.Where are you most likely to find the text?
A. On TV.
B. In a report.
C. On the Internet.
D. In a newspaper.
假设你是育才学校的学生会主席李华，从新闻得知2016年诺贝尔文学奖得主Bob Dylan要来中国。你们学校准备在2017年3月6日下午1:00—3:00在学校会议厅举办一次主题为“音乐与文学”的英语演讲比赛，来自各个年级的十位优秀学生将会参赛。请你代表学校学生会写一封电子邮件，邀请他来做评委。
注意：1.文章开头已给出，不计入总词数。
2. 可适当增加细节，使文章内容充实、连贯。
3. 词数：100词左右。
提示词：诺贝尔文学奖 Nobel Prize in Literature 会议厅 conference room
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
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I used to be a physician at a hospital. I often treated children who had poisoned by medicine with older family members. The children didn’t know the medicine was danger; they just knew it tasted sweetly. Children easily open the bottle what we now use in China.
Some days before, I talked about medicines with an American. He showed me a sort of plastic bottle. The design was quite simple and I’m sure our Chinese factories can produce these bottles. The top of the bottle can be opened by pressing down on them while turning, which is difficult for most young children to do so, though grown-up can open these bottles very easily. I’m certain that the expense of making such tops would be very small. As a doctor, I’d love to see this doing. And most parents would be grateful.
Sincerely yours
