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A. Using expensive testing equipment B. Staffing a modern hospital C. Testing becoming a great help D. Cost of medical accidents E. Cost of training medical workers F. Measures of reducing medical costs |
1._____________________
Physicians’ fees are only one reason for rising health costs in the United States. Medical research has produced many tests to diagnose, or discover, patients’ illness. Physicians usually feel obliged to order enough tests to rule out all likely causes of a patient’s symptoms. A routine laboratory bill for blood tests can easily be more than $100.
2. _____________________
Sophisticated new machines have been developed to enable physicians to scan body organs with a clarity never before possible. One technique involves the use of ultrasound – sound waves beyond the frequencies that human beings can hear – to produce images. Others use computers to capture and analyze images produced by X-rays or magnetic fields. These machines are extremely expensive: The price of a single machine can exceed one million dollars.
3._____________________
New technologies also mean new personnel. Physicians, nurses and orderlies can no longer staff a hospital alone. Hospitals now require a bewildering number of technical specialists to administer new tests and operate advanced medical equipment.
4._____________________
Physicians and hospitals also must buy malpractice insurance to protect themselves should they be sued for negligence by patients who feel they have been mistreated or have received inadequate care. The rates for this insurance have been raised very steeply in the last ten years, as patients have become more medically knowledgeable, and as juries sometimes awarded very large amounts of money to injured patients.
5. _____________________
As a result, hospital costs and physicians’ fees rose steadily through the 1990s. Government agencies became convinced that it was necessary to limit rising medical costs. One approach is to require hospitals to prove that a need exists for new buildings and services. Hospitals also have faced pressure to run their operations more efficiently, and to decrease the duration of hospital stays for patients receiving routine treatment or minor surgery.
I have never heard about a “Fashion Week” outside of New York, London or Milan. But then one just happens to turn up in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Actually, I’m ignorant of all those countries in Central Asia, whose names are always ending in “stan.” For decades, even centuries, Central Asia has been out of focus, a blank on the map of empires. Just as the introduction from Turusbek Mamashov, from the Tourism agency of the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, says, “Throughout this Fashion Week project, we need to create a revolution in the minds of our people, preparing the country for the international tourism market. It is an opportunity as well as an investment.” What he says is right. If you just give it a glimpse (一瞥), you’ll find out that the flavor (风情) of the Silk Road is still there.
As part of the route for Silk Road traders and migrating tribes through its epic(史诗的) history, Kyrgyzstan, like other Central Asian countries, is a vast place of desert, grassland and mountain ranges. It is not widely known that Kyrgyzstan is the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai’s birthplace.
Bishkek, the place holding Fashion Week, is the capital and industrial center of independent Kyrgyzstan. It is a relaxed, handsome place with wide streets and large amounts of greenery. Especially in the autumn of November, the yellow leaves falling everywhere make the whole city a legend in fall. The mountains are just at its rear, in that case a unique scene of picturesque beauty is composed by snow-white peaks, lakes and the urban Landscape.
Today, Ala-Too Square is the center of the poetic places worth seeing in Bishkek. The “White House,” the seat of the Kyrgyzstan Government, is just at the west of the square. Behind this is Panfilov Park, a great place to head for a national holiday. The State Museum of Fine Arts is opposite, which is also called the Gapar Aitiev Museum of Applied Arts, featuring Kyrgyz jewelry, rugs and works by local artists.
One of the joys besides the scenery is the openness of the people. Bishkek is a city without a big population but mainly good-natured people from many races, 47 percent are Russian and about a third are Kyrgyz. Most travelers vote Kyrgyzstan as the most appealing, accessible and welcoming of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. It is written by a tourist that Kyrgyzstan is the country Russians most desperately want to keep: hills always covered with grass and wild flowers. Kyrgyz men always ride a horse wearing a photogenic hat.
1. According to the passage, Kyrgyzstan used to be ___________.
A. an international fashion centre B. an important part of Silk Road
C. the focus of the world D. a vast desert land in Central Asia
2. The Fashion Week in Bishkek is supposed to __________.
A. start a revolution in Kyrgyzstan B. attract foreign investment to Kyrgyzstan
C. promote tourism in Kyrgyzstan D. celebrate the independence of Kyrgyzstan
3. Which of the statements is NOT ture according to the passage?
A. Bishkek is a crowded modern city surrounded by mountain ranges.
B. Panfilov Park is a popular destination for local people during holidays.
C. The majority of the population in Bishkek are Russian and Kyrgyz.
D. The famous poet Li Bai is thought to have been born in Kyrgyzstan.
4. What is the most important message the author wants to convey in the passage?
A. Reflections and thoughts on the glorious history of the Silk Road.
B. Feelings about the ongoing Fashion Week project in Bishkek.
C. The geographic features and imposing history of Kyrgyzstan.
D. The natural and cultural characteristics and attractions in Kyrgyzstan.
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1. What is Captain Cash?
A. A bookstore B. An online shop C. An expert D. A website
2. What’s the RRP of 40 DVD box set of The Friend?
A. £39.99 B. £99.99 C. £59.99 D. £109.99
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Japan will hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga (国际漫画奖)” for artists in the comic book field abroad. This is another step in Japan’s efforts to show the power of pop culture diplomacy.
The International Manga Award, which was compared by manga lover Foreign Minister Taro Aso to a “Nobel Prize” when he first proposed it, will be given to an artist working abroad whose work best contributes to the spread of the manga form worldwide.
Manga, a name used for Japanese style comic books, often combines stories with drawing styles that differ from the overseas superhero comics and cartoon, particularly in their frequent emphasis on cuteness.
The winner will receive a certificate and a cup at an award ceremony, and will spend 10 days in Japan meeting with local comic book artists and publishers.
“Manga has been spreading overseas and are selling quite well,” Aso said when announcing the award to the public. “I want to further improve the communicative power of these so-called ‘pieces of pop culture’.”
Aso has argued that warm feelings for Japanese comics and cartoon can translate into warm feelings for Japanese foreign policy.
He has proposed sending cartoon artists overseas as cultural ambassadors and the government has named some officials to advise ways to promote Japanese cartoon and culture to foreign audiences.
The award committee, consisting of manga artists and publishers, is expected to make its selections quite soon.
According to a ministry official Nobuyuki Watanabe, the prize carries no money reward. The cup’s design has yet to be finished, but it will be something “appropriate”.
1. The International Manga Award will be presented to ____________.
A. a Japanese who has achieved a lot in creating new methods of drawing
B. an artist who makes contributions to introducing manga to the other foreign countries
C. the person who is expert at comics and cartoon
D. a foreign artist who has contributed to the development of manga
2. Which statement is NOT true about manga?
A. Manga is different from the overseas comic books.
B. Manga is popular not only in Japan but also overseas.
C. Manga refers to international comics and cartoon.
D. There are stories and pictures in manga.
3.What has the Japanese government done to show its support?
A. To propose “Nobel Prize of Manga”.
B. To name officials to advise ways of spreading manga overseas.
C. To hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga”.
D. To send cartoon artists overseas as cultural ambassadors.
4.The passage is mainly about ____________.
A. Nobel Prize of Manga B. the characteristics of manga
C. a brief introduction of manga D. the development of manga
Unemployment will certainly be in double-digits next year--and may remain there for some time. And for every person who __1_ as unemployed in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey, you can bet there’s another either too __2__ to look for work or working part time who’d rather have a full-time job or else taking home less pay than before. And there’s yet another person who’s more fearful that he or she will be the __3__ to lose a job.
__4__, 10 percent unemployment really means 20 percent underemployment or anxious employment, all of which translates __5__ into late payments on mortgages, credit cards, auto and student loans, and loss of health insurance. It also means sleeplessness for tens of millions of Americans, and, of course, __6__ purchases.
Unemployment of this magnitude and duration also translates into ugly __7__, because fear and anxiety are __8__ grounds for the political resentment against immigrants, blacks, the poor, government leaders, business leaders, Jews and other easy _9__. It’s already started. Next year is a mid-term election. Be prepared for worse.
So why is unemployment and underemployment so high? And why is it _10__ to remain high for some time? Because, as noted, people who are worried about their jobs or have no jobs, and who are also trying to _11__ from under a pile of debt, are not going to do a lot of shopping. And businesses that don’t have customers aren’t going to do a lot of new _12__. And foreign nations also suffering high __13__ aren’t going to buy a lot of our goods and services. And without customers, companies won’t __14__. They’ll cut payrolls instead.
This brings us to the obvious question: Who’s going to buy the stuff we make or the services we provide, and therefore bring jobs back? There’s only one __15__ left: The government.
1. A. keeps to B. sticks to C. shows up D. attaches
2. A. discouraged B. timid C. sure D. upset
3. A. first B. next C. last D. only
4. A. On the other hand B. By contrast C. As a whole D. In other words
5. A. enormously B. definitely C. exactly D. directly
6. A. fewer B. more C. better D. worse
7. A. economics B. trades C. politics D. industries
8. A. necessary B. fertile C. scarce D. heated
9. A. opponents B. targets C. victims D. potentials
10. A. due B. able C. equal D. likely
11. A. get out B. get around C. get into D. get off
12. A. programming B. planning C. investing D. advertising
13. A. signature B. unemployment C. crisis D. inefficiency
14. A. rent B. run C. sell D. hire
15. A. manufacturer B. applicant C. buyer D. employer
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A. offers B. influences C. uncovered D. exactly E. big F. found G. campaigns H. involved J. properly I. notion |
What’s in a name? Letters offer clues to one’s future decisions, apparently. Previous studies have suggested that maybe a person’s monogram __1__ his life choices — where he works, whom he marries or where he lives — because of “implied self-esteem (自负),” or the temptation of positive self-associations. For instance, a person named Fred might be attracted to the __2__ of living in Fresno, working for Forever 21 or driving a Ford F-150.
Now a new study by professor Uri takes another look at the so-called name-letter effect and __3__ other explanations for the phenomenon. He analyzed records of political donations in the U.S. during the 2004 campaign — which included donors’ names and employers — and found that the name of a person’s workplace more closely related to the first three letters of a person’s name than with just the first letter. But he suggests that the reason for the association isn’t implied self-esteem, but perhaps something __4__ the opposite.
Duyck, one of the researchers whose previous work __5__ the name-letter effect, isn’t so quick to abandon the implied self-esteem theory. He pointed out that the sample group Uri studied may have biased the results: Uri analyzed the name-letter effect in a sample of people who donated money to political __6__. Still, Duyck notes that Uri’s theories are credible, and that even while some people may __7__ the same name of companies, employees may be tending to those companies because they start with the same letter as their names. In the end, whatever the explanation for the name-letter effect, no one really disputes that self-esteem is __8__ on some level. But the true importance of the effect is up for debate. “I can’t imagine people don’t like their own letter more than other letters,” says Uri, “but the differences it makes in really __9__ decisions are probably slim.”
