After some blood tests, Dr Stubs stood before me, a tall man, but short on personality and sporting a cold expression. You have systemic lupus. he said matter-of-factly."Lupus, "he continued, "is an auto-immune disease and ….” I remember certain details but mostly I remember him talking about children. “Children are no harm. But childbirth would jumpstart additional symptoms that could be life threatening. You already have two kids anyway.”
As I got up to leave, shaken and drained, he said his parting words, “I would discourage any further research. There is no cure and nothing can prevent its progression.”
Still, I did research lupus and its symptoms tiredness and joint pain-were both consistent with what I was experiencing. And eventually some major organs could be affected, causing shutdown and possibly death.
I studied and found out that echinacea had a record in making immune system stronger. I decided that along with the plant I would strengthen my mindset by immersing myself in my family with my one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
After another visit, I decided never to go back to Dr. Stubs. How could one endure repeatedly hear desperately words coming from an emotionless mouth even though they were truth? The years passed. When I would feel tired and achy I pulled support from my children and their laughter.
Finally, after eight years, I went to Dr. Kirstein who was recommended by a friend. She stood there holding my hand and looking into my eyes warmly
"So, let’s talk a little
Instantly my defenses were down. Before I knew it, she had me running on and on about my children, my husband, my life and dreams. I told her about all the meaningful activities I was involved in, those things I might have never done without the disease.
After several follow-up tests, and greater research into my family history, Dr. Kirsteincame to conclusive answer. I did not have systemic lupus. There must be something wrong with the initial tests 8 years before.
I didn't know whether I should jump for joy or scream because I had been living the last eight years in fear of a fatal disease. But then I realized that I had been living every day, not so much in fear, but happiness Even day was a gift and I knew it.
1.Dr. Strubs warned the author against having more children because _____.
A. The process of giving birth put her life in danger.
B. Taking care of children will gradually worsen her disease.
C. Her disease will threaten the health of her children.
D. She already has enough children.
2.why did the author stop seeing doctor Strubs after two visits? .
A. Because she not qualified to treat her disease.
B. Because he recommended Dr.Kirkstein to her.
C. Because his cold attitude upset the author.
D. Because she suspected his diagnosis about her disease.
3.How did the author deal with the disease?
A. She calmly waited for major organs to shut down.
B. she took effective medicine regularly to fight the disease.
C. She turned to Dr. Kirstein to get cure for the disease
D. She tried to strengthen immune system and drew strength from family.
4.Why did the author think every day in the past 8 years was a gift?
A. Because systemic lupus was no longer a deadly disease.
B. Because she made every day valuable in spite of disease
C. Because she received a gift every day from her family
D. Because she only occasionally felt pain and tiredness.
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word of phrase that best fits the context.
From the nation's earliest days, farming has held a crucial place in the American economy and culture. Farmers play an important role in any society, of course, since they feed people. But farming has been particularly ______ in the United States with intensified attention from civilians and government as well.
Early in the nation's life, farmers were seen as exemplifying economic ______ such as hard work, perseverance, and self-sufficiency. Moreover, many Americans, particularly immigrants who may have never held any land in the country, found that owning a farm was the ______ to enter the American economic system. They were immediately playing a part in the country’s economy.
The American farmer has generally been quite successful at producing food. Indeed, sometimes his success has created his biggest problem: the agricultural sector has suffered periodic explosions of overproduction that have ______ prices. When the government have to step in and ______ the worst of these events.
American farmers owe their ability to produce large yields to a number of factors. For one thing, they work under ______ natural conditions. The American Midwest has some of the richest soil in the world. Rainfall is ______ over most areas of the country; rivers and underground water permit extensive irrigation where it is not.
Increasing use of high-quality ______ labor also have contributed to the success of American agriculture. It is not unusual to see today's farmers ______ plows or harvesters. One farmer can manage large lands of farms. Fertilizers and pesticides are commonly used although some environmentalists ______ it. Computers track farm operations, and even ______ technology is utilized to find the best places to plant and fertilize crops. US agriculture is among the most advanced in the world.
Farmers still fight with forces beyond their control, ______. Despite its generally benign weather, North America also experiences frequent floods and droughts. Changes in the weather give agriculture its own economic cycles, often ______ the general economy. When negative factors hit farmers, calls for government assistance are particularly intense. In the 1930s, for instance, bad weather, and the Great Depression combined topush farms over the edge into a(n) ______ situation. The government responded with ______ agricultural reforms -- most notably, a system of price supports, whose significance toward the large-scale campaign lasted for many years.
1.A. valued B. accessed C. implemented D. illustrated
2.A. regulations B. virtues C. obligations D. requirements
3.A. shortcut B. implication C. reward D. substitute
4.A. maintained B. margined C. depressed D. refunded
5.A. take over B. cover up for C. come up with D. smooth out
6.A. varied B. favorable C. extreme D. visible
7.A. moderate B. predictable C. timely D. acid
8.A. labor B. investment C. chemical D. landscape
9.A. complicated B. flexible C. accessible D. executive
10.A. criticize B. recall C. evaluate D. identify
11.A. medical B. mobile C. space D. process
12.A. for example B. in all C. however D. additionally
13.A. subject to B. unrelated to C. reduced to D. applied to
14.A. vague B. desperate C. isolated D. feasible
15.A. struggling B. traditional C. sweeping D. permanent
Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
For several decades, various types of artificial intelligence kept shocking the world. Robots could 1. people in highly competitive games and then quickly destroyed their human competitors.
AI long ago mastered chess, the Chinese board game Go and even the Rubik's cube, which it managed to solve in just 0.38 second.
Now machines have a new game that will allow them to 2. humans: Jenga, the popular game in which players 3.remove pieces from an increasingly unstable tower of 54 blocks, placing each one on top until the entire structure would 4..
A newly released video from MIT shows a robot developed by the school's engineers playing the game with surprising accuracy. The machine is equipped with a soft gripper(夹子), a force-sensing wrist and an external camera, allowing the robot to detect the tower’s 5. the way a human might do
Unlike in purely recognitive tasks or games such as chess or Go, playing the game of Jenga also requires mastery of physical acts such as pushing, pulling, placing, and arranging pieces. It must 6. interactive physical operation, where you have to touch the tower to learn how and when to move blocks.
Imitating it is rather difficult, so the robot has to learn in the real world, by working with the real Jenga tower. Recently, a relevant research was published in the journal Science Robotics. Researchers say the robot demonstrates that machines can learn how to perform certain tasks through actual touching instead of relying heavily on visual 7.. That physical 8. is significant, researchers say, because it provides further proof that robots can be used to perform 9. tasks, such as separating recyclable objects from landfill trash and assembling consumer products.
In a cellphone assembly line, the felling of any component is coming from force and touch rather than vision. To become an accomplished Jenga player, the robot did not require as much repetitive practice as you might imagine. Hoping to avoid reconstructing a Jenga tower thousands of times, researchers developed a method that allowed the robot to be trained on about 300 games. Researchers say the robot has already begun facing off against humans, who remain 10. players—for now.
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
When Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way to accept her best actress Oscar one year, her pink princess-like Dior dress 1. (capture) in all its glory. The unscripted moment became hot topic throughout social media.
That bonus air-time for a single dress at one of the worlds global events is priceless for the likes of Dior, one of the 2. (influential) fashion houses in the luxury marketplace.
Success on the red carpet can earn exposure and profits for luxury brands for years 3.(come). The red carpet, which will be televised live before Academy Award ceremony, presents a great opportunity for a designer to reach an audience that expands 4.the fashion setting. The Lawrence dress received about 40 million mentions on various social media.
One way of estimating the monetary benefits of having a standout dress on the red carpet is to compare how much a brand would otherwise spend on commercial advertising during the same time. 5.Lawrence had only 75 seconds of solo camera time for her Oscar acceptance speech, Dior had to pay more than $4 million for a commercial spot of the same duration on similar occasions. And this didn't include the time 6. (devote) to Lawrence and her dress on the pre-show televised red carpet. Lawrence, 23, had an advertising contract with Dior. 7.the group’s deal with Lawrence affected its sales was clearly stated in its annual financial report. That year, the group clothing section’s profits 8.(total)165 million euros, up 26 percent from the previous year.
Heston, the founder of a publicity firm, 9.success stories include introducing Jimmy Choo shoes and designer Saab to Hollywood, believes that the Oscar red carpet is today dominated by established luxury brands. Finding it much more difficult to compete with big brand names to dress super stars on big events, many young designers turn to 10.(bet) on promising rising stars, expecting an overnight success if the young stars rise to sudden fame.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A. Information about the features of the car.
B. Message about the prices of the car.
C. A larger discount than what dealers offer.
D. Comments about the car from other customers.
2.
A. Good service from professional staff.
B. Trial driving by the buyer.
C. Additional insurance benefits from dealers.
D. Driving license from the government.
3.
A. It manufactures advanced electric cars.
B. It cooperates well with car dealers.
C. Its online website offers comprehensive car information.
D. It can deliver cars to customers after online purchase.
4.
A. It provides more car information than new cars.
B. It is sold cheaper with less sales cost.
C. Used cars are generally sold at less than 2000 dollars.
D. Used car market is bigger than new car market.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A. The high unemployment rate in the country.
B. The comfortable working environment.
C. The potential high income from the work.
D. The possibility to contact bosses and senior managers.
2.
A. Dealing with commitments.
B. Managing the Internet surfing.
C. Managing bosses' schedules.
D. Communicating with other employees.
3.
A. They give male applicants fair chances for the PA jobs.
B. They tend to provide male PAS with high salaries.
C. They give male Pas more work to manage.
D. They prefer to assign male PAS for male bosses.
