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 life-long 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（養(yǎng)老金）. Furthermore, some in-situation 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（選擇）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.
【小題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.

【小題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.

【小題3】The underlined word “viable” most probably means “__________”.

A．impossible

B．practical

C．useful

D．successful

【小題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.

【小題5】What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this article?

A．To point out the need for government support for old people.

B．To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people.

C．To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem.

D．To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life.

What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技術(shù)). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(細(xì)胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
【小題1】 According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.

A．diseases and aging	B．a(chǎn)ccidents and war
C．a(chǎn)ccidents and aging	D．heart diseases and war

【小題2】 In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.

A．medicine

B．the internet

C．brain cells

D．human organs

【小題3】 Humans may live longer in the future because ______.

A．heart disease will be far away from us

B．human brains can decide the final death

C．the basic materials of cells will last forever

D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine

【小題4】 We can learn from the passage that _____.

A．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future

B．human have to take medicine to build new skin cells now

C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life

D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells.

The teaching hospital is one associated with a medical school. Teaching hospitals are large, with a range of from 300 to 200 beds. These hospitals always have interns(實(shí)習(xí)醫(yī)師) and residents(住院醫(yī)師) and additionally have medical students on the hospital wards. They have superb technical resources, and it is here that the most extraordinary events of medicine take place. Open-heart surgery, transplantation of kidneys, elaborate(精致的) nurseries for the newborn, support for management of rare blood diseases, and other wonderful achievements are all available here. Dozens of people may be concerned with the well-being of a particular patient. Important medical decisions are thoroughly discussed, presented at conferences, and reviewed by many personnel.
On the other hand, the quality of personal relationships at teaching hospitals is variable. Many patients feel that they are treated in an impersonal way, and that their laboratory tests receive more attention that their human and social problems. Since these institutions are on the frontier of medicine, there is a tendency to emphasize the new and elaborate procedures, when older and more modest ones might have served as well. With the inexperience of some members of the care team, there is a tendency to order more laboratory tests than what would have been ordered for the same condition in a private hospital. The sick patients are sometimes confused by having to relate to a large number of doctors and students. Medical educators are concerned with such criticisms and have to correct some of the problems. However, some excesses(超額) of technological medicine still occur in these institutions.
【小題1】One of the advantages of a teaching hospital is that         .

A．its first-class personnel are a guarantee of excellent medical care

B．its first-class medical facilities and skills make medical breakthroughs possible

C．the interns, residents and medical students all offer satisfactory services

D．its laboratory staff provide high-class professional aids for the doctors

【小題2】The passage implies that         .

A．private hospitals usually give personalized care of high quality

B．private hospitals have more experienced laboratory staff

C．teaching hospitals use patients as subjects for their experiments

D．teaching hospitals usually give patients improper treatment

【小題3】Treatments of some difficult and complicated cases in teaching hospital are decided         .

A．by specialists in charge of the case

B．by doctors and students together

C．on some special and important occasions

D．through collective efforts and serious review

【小題4】 The problem that still bothers teaching hospitals frequently is         .

A．the inadequate patient care caused by irresponsible nurses.

B．the wrong decisions made by inexperienced doctors

C．improper dependence on technological medicine

D．the inconvenience caused by the presence of medical students

Treatment for HIV has become more widespread, especially in poorer countries. It's also become cheaper, as medicine companies have lowered their prices for life-saving anti-retroviral drugs(抗逆轉(zhuǎn)錄病毒藥物). But these drugs are still expensive and many countries are looking to create the biggest impact with limited resources. That's where World Health Organization guidelines come in, says Rochelle Walensky, a disease researcher from Harvard.
Walensky and her colleagues used computer programs to model the most cost-effective disease interventions(干預(yù)), as well as collected data from clinics in Africa and India about what works best. They found that among the choices of what to do first, earlier anti-retroviral therapy (療法)improved five-year survival dramatically and resulted in the longer life expectancy. But cost-effective doesn't always mean affordable, especially for governments in poor countries. Countries still have to make difficult choices about how much treatment they can afford.
People in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, protest a potential free trade area agreement between the EU and India that could see cheap anti-AIDS drugs phased out（逐步淘汰）. However, Walensky notes that first-line anti-retrovirals—those medicine given to newly diagnosed patients that can keep away from symptoms for years - are much cheaper than they were a decade ago. "Second-line therapy have come down quite a bit but not to the level of first-line and countries are having a hard time affording them and increasingly over time, people are going to fail first-line therapy and they're going second-line therapy and then, eventually, they're going to need third-line therapy, some of them."
According to Walensky, history has shown that drug prices can come down when international pressure is applied to drug makers. But for now, she says, countries should focus on treating as many people as they can, as early as possible
Her paper is published in the online journal PLoS Medicine.
【小題1】 Which is the best title for the passage?

A．HIV Has Spread in Poorer Countries

B．Rochelle Walensky’s Life

C．International Pressure to Drug Makers

D．Early HIV Treatment Saves Lives

【小題2】 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Anti-retroviral drugs have become cheap now.

B．The cost-effective treatment may be a heavy expense.

C．Cheap anti-AIDS drugs have been phased out .

D．First-line therapy deals with the most severe disease.

【小題3】 The research is done by         .

A．using computer programs and collecting data from clinics

B．giving medicine to newly diagnosed patients with AIDS

C．urging countries to focus on treating more patients earlier

D．publishing her paper in the online journal PLoS Medicine

【小題4】 The passage serves as a（n）___________ to Rochelle Walensky 's study.

A．a(chǎn)ssessment

B．comment

C．introduction

D．background

Health experts have discovered that adding low-calorie vegetable soup to the start of a meal can actually help to lose weight.
Because you feel full sooner, you eat less of your main course.
The soup regime（養(yǎng)生法）was tested by researchers at Pennsylvania State University, led by Dr Barbara Rolls.
They found that when people ate a first course of soup before lunch they reduced their total calorie intake by 20 per cent, compared with those who did not begin the meal with soup.
But those who favor creamy soups should be careful．Researchers stressed the soup must be low-calorie and based on stock（菜湯）, not cream.
All of the soups tested in the study were made from identical ingredients - chicken stock , broccoli（硬花甘藍(lán)）, potato, cauliflower（菜花）and carrots.
They were mixed together to create four different textures and thickness from separate stock and vegetables through to pureed soup.
Scientists thought that thick soups with chunks of vegetables which required chewing might be more filling, but to their surprise they found all forms had the same effect.
The findings were presented to the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, and the research was part-funded by the National Institutes of Health.
【小題1】 What’s the reason that adding low-calorie vegetable soup to the start of a meal can actually help to lose weight?

A．You can take in large quantities of vegetables.

B．You can absorb high calories from the soup.

C．You can take in low calories from the soup.

D．You can feel full soon after having the soup.

【小題2】 Which of the following can not be in the low-calorie soup?

A．chicken stock

B．cauliflower

C．cream

D．carrots

【小題3】 What is the best title of this passage?

A．Vegetable Soup Helps to Lose Weight．

B．A Scientific Research is Carrying out.

C．A Research Done at Pennsylvania State University

D．Findings Carried out to the Experimental Biology.

【小題4】 The underlined word “favor” is the same in meaning with ______.

A．hate

B．enjoy

C．prefer

D．drink.

Traditional surgical procedures require surgeons to make large incisions(傷口) in a patient’s body in order to gain access to the internal organs. It was once common for heart surgeons, who perform highly specialized and complex procedures, to make long incisions in a patient’s chest and then split the breastbone to reach the heart. Patients who undergo surgery are often at the risk of infection, as bacteria can infect the cut in the skin. In addition, there is often a lengthy recovery period.
A surgical technique known as “keyhole surgery” has become more common in recent years. In general, the surgeon will make a couple of small incisions around the area where the operation is going to be performed. Tubes are pushed into the holes, and a tiny camera, which is called an endoscope, is put into the body. The camera is attached to a large monitor screen that is positioned so that the doctor can see it while he performs the operation. In addition to the camera, doctors also push their tiny surgical instruments through the tubes. The awkward part of keyhole surgery is that it is counterintuitive; that is to say, if a surgeon wants to move the tool to the left, he or she must push it to the right.
Other advancements in technology are also being used today in the OR (operation room). A new machine called the “da Vinci Surgical System” has been tested in hospitals in the U.S.. Unlike keyhole surgery, the da Vinci’s robot’s moving parts are designed to imitate the natural hand and wrist movement of a surgeon, thus providing better control and sensitivity. The system is controlled by a surgeon from a console(控制臺(tái)). Sitting at a console a few feet from the patient, the surgeon can perform an operation by holding and moving highly sensitive pads that enable him or her to control the instruments. The area of the body on which the surgeon is working is enlarged on a screen, which is attached to the console. This gives surgeons a realistic three-dimensional view of the area — similar to what they would see during a traditional surgical procedure.
Although the da Vinci Surgical System is undergoing some trials for some procedures, it has been welcomed as revolutionary by many surgeons. Patients with serious illnesses must still undergo major surgery, but the smaller incisions and less invasive procedures typically mean that a shorter recovery time is needed. In some cases, the patient’s stay in the hospital has been cut in half when the da Vinci Surgical System was used. On the downside, some operations have taken up to fifty minutes longer because surgeons are inexperienced at using the new technology. As surgeons become more familiar with the machines, the time needed for surgical procedures is likely to decrease.
【小題1】What can be learned about the traditional surgery according to the passage?

A．The cost of the traditional surgery is very high.

B．It often leaves a large wound in a person’s body.

C．Long incisions are made in a patient’s chest.

D．The incision is often infected after the operation.

【小題2】 Which of the following is one DISADVANTAGE of keyhole surgery?

A．It requires the use of long, thin tools and a tiny camera.

B．The doctor can not view the inside of the patient’s body clearly.

C．The direction in which a doctor moves the surgical tools is reversed.

D．An endoscope has to be inserted into the patient’s body in advance.

【小題3】 The da Vinci Surgical System differs from keyhole surgery in that _______.

A．requires that a surgeon make more small incisions on a patient

B．reduces the amount of time it takes to perform a surgical procedure

C．a(chǎn)llows the surgeon to use the surgical instruments more sensitively

D．eliminates the need for surgeons to make large incisions on patients

【小題4】 The passage mainly tells the reader ________.

A．the challenges brought about by new technology

B．the benefits and drawbacks of the da Vinci Surgical System

C．the reflections on the development in medical science

D．the application of new technologies in modern surgery

Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses（球場(chǎng)） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
【小題1】Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?

A．Cycling around a lake.	B．Motor racing in the desert.
C．Playing basketball in a gym.	D．Swimming in a sports center.

【小題2】What do we know about golf from the passage?

A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain.

B．It causes water shortages in some areas.

C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.

D．It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.

【小題3】 The author writes the passage to_______.

A．show us the function of major sports

B．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports

C．discuss the major influence of popular sports

D．encourage us to go in for green sports

When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.
.   So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身體的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural  — and healthy — emotional response (反應(yīng)).
【小題1】Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

A．Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.

B．Because she did not love her grandmother.

C．Because she was too shy to cry at that time.

D．The author doesn’t give the explanation.

【小題2】According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

A．Crying is the best way to get help from others.

B．Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.

C．We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.

D．We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.

【小題3】 What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A．Power of Tears

B．How to Keep Healthy

C．Why We Cry

D．A New Scientific Discovery

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.
Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.
ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (環(huán)境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.
Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.
Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.
【小題1】What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A． To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B． To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C． To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D． To compare old and new boiler rooms.

【小題2】What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A． Lower running costs.

B． Costing less in construction.

C． Less air to be lost in hot days.

D． Better prices for homeless people.

【小題3】 It can be learned from the text that, ____________________.

A． New York City is seriously polluted

B． people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C． a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D． some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

【小題4】What is the main purpose of this text?

A． To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B． To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C． To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D． To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

From babies to body builders, we all have muscles. They grow, they bulge(鼓起), they stretch they stretch and sometimes they even painfully pull. But for all the work they do for us, we are still unable to crown one as "the strongest muscle."
Instead, a few muscles could claim the title, depending on how strength is measured.
If the title goes to the muscle that can exert(產(chǎn)生) the most force, the victor would be the soleus（小腿肚肌）, according to Gray's Anatomy（解剖學(xué)）. Without this muscle, we wouldn't be able to stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor. If the soleus was not continuously pulling, we would always be falling over ourselves (although some of us tend to do that from time to time anyway).
But perhaps the title should go to the muscle that exerts the most pressure. Pressure is different from force — pressure takes into account the area over which a force is exerted. The muscle that takes the prize for delivering the greatest amount of pressure is the masseter, or the jaw muscle, according to the book "Clinical Oral Science" (Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 1998).
In 1986, Richard Hofmann of Lake City, Fla., achieved a bite strength of 975 pounds (442 kilograms) for two seconds, setting a Guinness Record. Talk about jaw dropping! The jaw is able to clench（咬緊） and chew because of the masseter muscle.
Others may argue the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful.
When it comes to versatility, perhaps the tongue is the strongest muscle. Its combination of elasticity（伸縮性） and forcefulness gives us the ability to speak, eat and kiss – all things very desirable on a first date. However dexterous（靈巧的） it may be though, its power does not match that of muscles such as the soleus.
If slow and steady wins the race, the heart is certainly a contender for the title. When it contracts, the muscle pumps about 2 ounces (59 milliliters) of blood, and is constantly working over a lifetime. Beating about 40 million times a year, a person's heart will beat approximately 2.5 billion times by the time of their 70th birthday.
【小題1】According the passage, the underlined word “contender” in the last paragraph is closet in meaning to “          ”.

A．failure

B．partner

C．muscle

D．competitor

【小題2】Which would be t he best title for the passage?

A．What’s the strongest muscle in the human body?

B．who is the strongest person in the world?

C．What are the functions of different muscles?

D．What are the standards of the strongest muscle?

【小題3】According to the passage,       .

A．Without the soleus, we could still stand, walk, run or shake our bodies on the dance floor

B．a(chǎn) few muscles could be the winners, according to different measures

C．the muscles used in childbirth are the most powerful

D．tongue is the strongest muscle for delivering the greatest amount of pressure

【小題4】What would be discussed in the following paragraph?

A．Another possible strongest muscle.	B．the conclusion of the strongest muscle.
C．The functions of different muscles.	D．the Guinness record of strongest muscle.