An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.
James Harrison has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia. He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood.
Mr. Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special that his life was insured for one million Australian dollars.
He was also nicknamed the “man with the golden arm” or the “man in two million”. He said: “I've never thought about stopping. Never.” He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 litres of blood. “I was in hospital for three months,” he said. “The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18.”
Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood. At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition. The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood. It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative.
His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. After his blood type was discovered, Mr. Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine. “They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of,” he said. “I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away.”
Mr. Harrison is Rh-negative and was given injections of Rh-positive blood. It was found his plasma could treat the condition and since then it has been given to hundreds of thousands of women. It has also been given to babies after they are born to stop them developing the disease.
It is estimated he has helped save 2.2 million babies so far. Mr. Harrison is still donating every few weeks now.
1.How old is James Harrison?
A.56 B.70 C.74 D.78
2.What does the underlined phrase “two million” refer to?
A.dollars B.babies C.mothers D.all of the above
3.Why did James decide to donate his blood? Because _____.
A.someone else’s blood saved his life
B.he has a golden arm worth a million dollars
C.a vaccine called Anti-D is to be developed
D.his daughter asked him to help her son
4.The sentence “The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood” (underlined in Paragraph 5) suggests that _____.
A.all the patients have a rare antibody in their blood
B.babies suffer permanent brain damage before born
C.Rhesus disease contributes to permanent brain damage
D.. the mother and the baby have different types of blood
5.What can we infer from the sixth paragraph?
A.His wife Barbara needed to be taken care of badly then.
B.Some of the tests to develop the vaccine are dangerous.
C.Mr. Harrison was glad to help develop a new vaccine.
D.His blood type was accidentally discovered after tests.
Win a week in England!
You still don’t know what to do this summer? Well, here’s your chance to win a one-week language course in Kent, England! Free4Fun and ETC (English Travel Connections) are giving away two trips to Rochester. This historic city is less than an hour’s drive from London and close to the sea resort of Herne Bay. It is also the home of one of England’s most famous writers, Charles Dickens. The town of Rochester is in Southeast England. Charles Dickens often wrote about it in his books. His home, Gad’s Hill, is there, too. A popular attraction is Rochester Castle, a large Norman fortress(堡垒). It was built in the 11th century and rebuilt during the 14th century. Other attractions are Rochester Cathedral, which was built during the 13th century, and Dickens Centre. It has got its name in honour of Dickens himself.
The trip to England includes:
* travel by train (via the Eurotunnel) to and from any railway station in Germany
* room and full board with a guest family for one week
* language course in small groups
* two trips to London
* large choice of sports and entertainment
* German-speaking advisors available 24 hours a day
Interested? All you have to do is to answer the following question:
When was Charles Dickens born?
So, take the chance and send your answer by 1 May to:
Free4Fun "Rochester"
Free4Fun, 24 Elphinstone Road, Hastings, 2FQ6VJ
fax: 089 / 85 763-103
e-mail: free4fun@netlight.com
The two winners will be contacted directly before 5 May. They will also be announced in the June issue of Free4Fun. Good luck!
For further information contact:
phone: (03212) 144 43
fax: (03212) 144 42
e-mail: info@etc. com
1.Rochester Cathedral was built in the .
A.1400s B.1300s C.1200s D.1100s
2.What activities can you participate in during the trip?
A.Enjoying sports and entertainment.
B.Learning the German language.
C.Traveling by train with a guest family.
D.Working as a language advisor.
3.If you want to win a prize you have to send your answer to .
A.the June issue of Free4fun B.ETC
C.info@etc. com D.free4fun@netlight. com
4.This ad was designed to target .
A.Italians B.Germans C.Europeans D.Americans
Streit was an experienced safecracker who never used force — either against people or safes. He was a real 11 of his trade and it took him only 19 minutes to open the most difficult 12 he had ever met. In about 10 years, 13 by his brother Stefan, he took about ?33,000,000 —from the safes of 28 banks in Austria. On his last job, he 14 the safe door open and ?80,000 behind. With the 15 was a note, ''We don't need all that much''. A witness 16 his car and Streit was caught by the police. Then he was sent to Austria's Stein Prison to serve a six-year 17 . He boasted (吹嘘) at his trial that he would continue 18 the law, ''I'm a thief and I shall use every opportunity.'' In spite of the 19 , prison officials moved Streit to the prison's blacksmith shop. One day during the week before Christmas,
Streit 20 . Searchers found all his doors were well locked. Streit had 21 to make a set of keys and let himself out. Not to 22 , though. After crossing into Bavaria, Streit 23 the suspicion (怀疑) of German customs police on purpose and got himself 24 . ''I want to be in a German prison, ''he 25 to the surprised police. ''As German courts give much milder (温和的) sentences for 26 like mine and will 27 the time I would otherwise have served in Stein Prison.'' In prison, Streit 28 his keepers to let him telephone his former keeper, Karl Schreiner of Stein Prison. ''I'm sorry 29 I caused trouble. I didn't want to 30 anybody by escaping. Conditions weren't that bad. In fact the food was better than it is here.''
1. A.artist B.dancer C.composer D.musician
2. A.bank B.safe C.prison D.door
3. A.offered B.trained C.helped D.respected
4. A.made B.left C.broke D.removed
5. A.safe B.job C.door D.money
6. A.recognized B.stole C.rode D.broke
7. A.treatment B.holiday C.freedom D.sentence
8. A.obeying B.breaking C.respecting D.destroying
9. A.sentence B.trial C.warning D.suggestion
10. A.disappeared B.starved C.survived D.worked
11. A.tried B.decided C.managed D.expected
12. A.safety B.freedom C.hometown D.prison
13. A.attracted B.offered C.removed D.admitted
14. A.recognized B.relaxed C.arrested D.encouraged
15. A.went B.lied C.negotiated D.explained
16. A.crimes B.robbery C.money D.mistakes
17. A.multiply B.lose C.add D.reduce
18. A.cheated B.persuaded C.expected D.helped
19. A.though B.but C.for D.if
20. A.injure B.steal C.embarrass D.Accuse
---Where did you see the sponsor, Madame?
---It was in the supermarket __________I was doing some shopping with my husband.
A.that B.where C.which D.when
The time he has devoted in the past years ________ the disabled is now considered _______of great value.
A.to help; being B.to help; to be C.to helping; to be D.helping; /
It will be quite a long time _______ she is back again, so don’t be too cross with her.
A.before B.since C.that D.until