Smoking is harmful. But as soon as you quit the habit, everything will be OK, right? Wrong.
New research has found that even if you give up smoking, the damage it has done to your genes will stay there for a much longer time. In the research, a team of US scientists studied the blood of 16,000 people. Among them, some were smokers, some used to smoke, and the rest were non-smokers. Scientists compared their genes and found that more than 7,000 genes of smokers had changed--a number that is one-third of known human genes.
According to NBC News, both heart disease and cancer are caused by genetic changes. Some people may have had the changes when they were born, but most people get them in their day-to-day lives while doing things like smoking.
When you stop smoking, a lot of these genes will return to normal within five years.
This means your body is trying to heal (治愈) itself of the harmful effects of smoking. But the changes in some of the genes stay for longer. They can stay for as long as 30 years, It’s almost like leaving a footprint on wet cement (水泥)----it will always be there, even when you’ve walked away and when the cement becomes dry.
Although the study results may make people unhappy, there is a bright side: the findings could help scientists invent medicine to treat genetic damage caused by smoking or find ways to tell which people have heart disease or cancer risks.
1.The function of Paragraph 1 is to_________ .
A.introduce the topic of the passage B.give an example
C.make an argument D.show the main idea of the passage
2.Most genetic changes happen because of___________ .
A.people’s condition at birth B.environmental pollution
C.people’s bad living habit D.heart disease and cancer
3.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refers to__________ .
A.the footprint B.the cement
C.the harmful effect D.the genetic change
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A.The findings are the fruit of more than three years’ research.
B.The findings have prevented more people from starting smoking
C.The findings offer evidence that a damaged gene can heal itself.
D.The findings help to find cures for genetic damage caused by smoking.
That warm day was the only day of the week without rain.I opened the door,took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine.Suddenly,I noticed that the house near mine had been sold.An elderly lady was in front of the door,with some beautiful flowers beside her.I walked to her.She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.
“Hi!My name is Karmen,” I said smiling brightly at the old lady.She smiled back and said,“Hello,Karmen.I’m Kitty.” Her voice was very strong for someone at her age.Later,I learned that she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her.From that day on,I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food.A year passed,and I considered her to be one of my best friends.
One day,I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door,but there was no answer.I knocked again,and she still didn’t turn up.So I let myself in,using the key she had given me.I checked her living room and then her kitchen.I finally went into her bedroom,and she was lying peacefully on her bed.Beside her there were two notes.One was her will(遗嘱),which said all that she had would be given to me.The other was a thank-you note.I went to her bedside and cried sadly.
Though several years has gone by,I still miss her deeply.Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house,I remember the wonderful friendship we had.
1.Through visiting the old lady,the author learned that the old lady .
A. disliked all her relatives
B. had no one to look after her
C. didn’t want to live with her family
D. was looking for someone to look after her
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The old lady was not kind.
B. The author didn’t have any good friends.
C. The old lady didn’t know how to make food.
D. The author got along very well with the old lady.
3.What does “turn up” mean in Paragraph 3?
A. appear B. leave
C. try D. change
4.In order to thank the author,the old lady decided to .
A. give the author her favourite flowers
B. let the author know she was her best friend
C. give the author a key to her house
D. leave all that she had to the author
Part-time jobs for 15 and 16 years olds
Waiter / Waitress |
Work in a library |
Internet jobs |
1.A student who is busy with his research paper will probably choose to work ______.
A.in a restaurant B.in a library
C.on the Internet D.in an IT company
2.The writer wrote this text to ______.
A.tell us the importance of doing part-time jobs
B.advise teenagers how to choose a part-time job
C.teach young people how to make lots of money
D.introduce his/her experience of doing part-time jobs
3.Why do some companies ask the teens to do surveys?
A.The teens have more free time.
B.They can pay less to the teens.
C.They need advice to make products for teens.
D.The teens usually express their true opinions.
My husband Val and I had not been getting along well lately. We didn’t argue, but we hardly _______. I knew that one _______ was that I often scolded him. Unluckily, I looked only at his fault(缺点)and forgot to notice how _______ he had done in everything.
I really didn’t want to be _______ talking too much, but it seemed as if I couldn’t _______. However, I made up my mind to have a _______. Could I ?
I decided to try. Each day I would find one thing I liked in _______ and mentioned it to him.
The first day, again, appeared the greatest problem. I noticed _______ things I didn’t like about Val. Why did he leave his books everywhere in his study instead of putting them _______?
How could he wear that ____________shirt again? And I had a difficult time ____________with anything good I could mention.
I thought and thought. ____________ he was good sometimes. When something needed repairing around the house, Val ____________until he discovered what was wrong. ____________ , I told Val I was glad he was patient ____________my fault and said something about the way I often scolded him. He smiled,a small, weak smile ____________ made me angry, “Maybe this isn’t going to work.” I said to myself. But as three weeks continued, finding something good about my husband came more ____________ . He deals honestly with everyone; he treats our children with ____________. Why had I seen so many unpleasant things?
By the end of the 21 days, I couldn’t believe how easy ____________ had become to praise Val. And Val did seem ____________. In fact, he mentioned that I seemed to have changed a lot.
1.A.exchanged B.spoke C.touched D.communicated
2.A.result B.idea C.problem D.method
3.A.well B.badly C.angrily D.really
4.A.a girl B.a lady C.a student D.a wife
5.A.improve him B.scold him C.help myself D.believe myself
6.A.rest B.chance C.look D.change
7.A.my husband B.myself C.our children D.himself
8.A.quite a few B.few C.much D.little
9.A.in ways B.in order C.on the way D.out of order
10.A.clean B.smart C.dirty D.tidy
11.A.making up B.putting up C.turning up D.coming up
12.A.After all B.In all C.At all D.All above
13.A.paid attention B.took care C.worked hard D.was tired
14.A.Next day B.Someday C.The next day D.After a day
15.A.to B.with C.for D.in
16.A.that B.what C.who D.whose
17.A.difficultly B.easily C.directly D.surprisingly
18.A.kindness B.pride C.rudeness D.fear
19.A.this B.that C.it D.I
20.A.the same B.active C.bad D.different
_____ is known to us that the Amber Room belongs to the Russians.
A.As B.Which C.It D.What
He bought a new building _____top is different from those of the others around.
A.what B.which C.that D.whose