A. something rare but not pleasant
B. something that cannot be imagined
C. something expensive but not necessary
D. something that can only be enjoyed by boys
57. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A. The content of the book. B. The purpose of the book.
C. The influence of the book. D. The writing style of the book.
58. How are women’s lives explored in this book?
A. In a musical form. B. Through field research.
C. With unique writing skills. D. From different points of view.
C
We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.
59. What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?
A. The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.
B. Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.
C. WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.
D. Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.
60. Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?
A. A lot of effective diet pills are available.
B. Body image has nothing to do with good food.
C. They have been made fully aware of its dangers.
D. There are too many overweight people in the world.
61. The example of Finland is used to illustrate ______.
A. the cause of heart disease
B. the fashion of body shaping
C. the effectiveness of a campaign
D. the history of a body-conscious country
62. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Actions or Excuses? B. Overweight or Underweight?
C. WHO in a Dilemma D. No Longer Dying of Hunger
D
The technology is great. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to put a man on the moon, explore the ocean’s depths or eat microwave sausages. Computers have revolutionized our lives and they have the power to educate and pass on knowledge. But sometimes this power can create more problems than it solves.
Every doctor has had to try their best to calm down patients who’ve come into their surgery waving an Internet print-out, convinced that they have some rare incurable disease, say, throat cancer. The truth is usually far more ordinary, though: they don’t have throat cancer, and it’s just that their throats are swollen. Being a graduate of the Internet “school” of medicine does not guarantee accurate self-health-checks.
One day Mrs. Almond came to my hospital after feeling faint at work. While I took her blood sample and tried to find out what was wrong, she said calmly, “I know what’s wrong; I’ve got throat cancer. I know there’s nothing you doctors can do about it and I’ve just got to wait until the day comes.”
As a matter of routine I ordered a chest X-ray. I looked at it and the blood results an hour later. Something wasn’t right. “Did your local doctor do an X-ray?” I asked. “Oh, I haven’t been to the doctor for years,” she replied. “I read about it on a website and the symptoms fitted, so I knew that’s what I had.”
However, some of her symptoms, like the severe cough and weight loss, didn’t fit with it—but she’d just ignored this.
I looked at the X-ray again, and more tests confirmed it wasn’t the cancer but tuberculosis (肺结核)—something that most certainly did need treating, and could be deadly. She was lucky we caught it when we did.
Mrs. Almond went pale when I explained she would have to be on treatment for the next six months to ensure that she was fully recovered. It was certainly a lesson for her. “I’m so embarrassed,” she said, shaking her head, as I explained that all the people she had come into close contact with would have to be found out and tested. She listed up to about 20, and then I went to my office to type up my notes. Unexpectedly, the computer was not working, so I had to wait until someone from the IT department came to fix it. Typical. Maybe I should have a microwave sausage while I waited?
63. Mrs. Almond talked about her illness calmly because ______.
A. she thought she knew it well
B. she had purchased medicine online
C. she graduated from a medical school
D. she had been treated by local doctors
64. It was lucky for Mrs. Almond ______.
A. to have contacted many friends
B. to have recovered in a short time
C. to have her assumption confirmed
D. to have her disease identified in time
65. Mrs. Almond said “I’m so embarrassed” (Para. 7) because ______.
A. she had distrusted her close friends
B. she had caused unnecessary trouble
C. she had to refuse the doctor’s advice
D. she had to tell the truth to the doctor
