Growing numbers of people are becoming addicted to text messaging（手机信息）, a German doctor warned recently。

Psychotherapist(采用精神疗法的医生) Andreas Herter estimated that there were some 380,000 sufferers in Germany。 Herter based his prediction（预测）on the growing number of manic mobile phone users among patients arriving at his Hanover clinic （诊所）for addiction treatment。

“Text message addiction is a real and serious illness because it causes mental and financial damage,” said Herter。 “The problem leads to depression and personality disorders, not to mention skyrocketing （飞涨的）phone bills。”

For example, a teenage boy spent 8,900 euros (US$11,000) texting people he didn’t even know and a married couple could only communicate by text message, even when they were sitting side by side。

55。 The passage is mainly to tell us ______。

A。 why people like text messaging   B。 text messaging has many advantages

C。 overusing text message does great harm       D。 text messaging does no good

56。 Herter thinks text message addiction is ______。

A。 acceptable      B。 easy to deal with           C。 unreasonable         D。 worrying

57。 The examples given in the last paragraph are used to show ______。

A。 text message addiction is a serious diseas                            

B。they care about nothing else but text message

C。 sending text message is their only hobby       

D。 they are very rich

 

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。

Health researchers have noticed that some groups of people are more consistently healthy than others, and wondered… Is it race? Income? Where you live? In the United States, these disagreements in health outcomes have been the focus of intense research for the past several decades.

Harvard University health policy researcher Ellen Meara says scholars have found some clues as to why some groups of people have more or less disease than others. She says one important factor in people’s health is the amount of education they have.

In her most recent paper, Meara looked at data from the United States census. Meara and her colleagues examined data from several decades.

“We looked at life expectancy（预测寿命）at age 25,” Meara says.

“How many additional years can you expect to live if you arrive at age 25 and your education has stopped at high school, or sooner? Versus how many years, can you expect to live if you’ve reached aged 25 and you’ve gone on to at least some college…”

Meara says they found that in 1990, a 25-year-old who only had some secondary school could expect to live for a total of 75 years. In 2000, a 25 year old with some secondary education could also expect to live to the age of 75.

In contrast, for a better educated 25-year-old, they could expect to live to the age of 80 in 1990. Someone with a similar education level in the year 2000, could expect to live to be more than 81 years, 81.6 years to be exact .

Meara says, not only do better-educated people live longer to begin with, but in the past ten years, more educated people has made gains in the length of their lives. Meanwhile, the life expectancy hasn’t changed for less educated people.

Some of these gains can be explained. Meara says researchers know that people who are more educated are more likely to quit smoking cigarettes, or not start at all, compared to people with less education.

“I think it’s a reminder not to be satisfactory,” Meara says. “Just because a population overall appears to be getting healthier, it doesn’t always mean that those advantages and successes that many people have enjoyed really extend into all parts of the population. And I think that's something to really pay attention to regardless of whether you live in the US or elsewhere.”

Meara points out that education can often determine income - people with more education frequently make more money. This makes them aware of health care, and purchase other resources and services that can keep them healthier. But the data on income do NOT show that people who make more money are automatically healthier.

 

Title	The Amount of __71_____Contributes to People’s Health
Comparisons	The less educated people	The ____72____ educated people
In 1990	They could live for 75 years	They could live to the age of 80
In 2000	Their life expectancy was the same as in 1990.	They could live to the age of 81.6 _____73____.
___74___ of the research	In the past ____75___	Their life expectancy remained ____76_____.	They’ve made gains in the length of their lives, partly ___77____ to their quitting smoking.
People are getting healthier, but it doesn’t mean that the advantages and successes extend into all parts of the population
Income____78_____ on education.	People with more education make more money
Getting more money helps to increase their ____79____ of health care, which can keep them healthier.
______80_____	Education is the key to better health.

 

After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death toll(死亡人数)could have been much worse.

More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity(强度)that shook America in 1988 claimed 25, 000 victims.

Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4：31 a．m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes(抗震)．

Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints(蓝图)for improved quake－resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.

In the past, making structures quake－resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, which bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports. Called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.

The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.

6．One reason why the loss of lives in the Log Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that______.

A．new computers had been installed in the buildings

B．it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways

C．large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday

D．improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways

7．The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to______.

A. counterbalance(起平衡作用)an earthquake's action on the building

B. predict(预测)the coming of an earthquake with accuracy

C. help strengthen the foundation of the building

D. measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations

8．The smart buildings discussed in the passage________.

A. would cause serious financial problems

B. would be worthwhile though expensive

C. would reduce the complexity of architectural design

D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes

9．It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing(使……最小)the damage caused by earthquakes, attention should be focused on________.

A．the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction

B．the development of flexible building materials

C．the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations

D．early forecasts of earthquakes

10．The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to________.

A．compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the US

B．encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers

C．outline the history of the development of quake－resistant building materials

D．report new developments in constructing quake－resistant buildings

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。

Health researchers have noticed that some groups of people are more consistently healthy than others, and wondered… Is it race? Income? Where you live? In the United States, these disagreements in health outcomes have been the focus of intense research for the past several decades.

Harvard University health policy researcher Ellen Meara says scholars have found some clues as to why some groups of people have more or less disease than others. She says one important factor in people’s health is the amount of education they have.

In her most recent paper, Meara looked at data from the United States census. Meara and her colleagues examined data from several decades.

“We looked at life expectancy（预测寿命）at age 25,” Meara says.

“How many additional years can you expect to live if you arrive at age 25 and your education has stopped at high school, or sooner? Versus how many years, can you expect to live if you’ve reached aged 25 and you’ve gone on to at least some college…”

Meara says they found that in 1990, a 25-year-old who only had some secondary school could expect to live for a total of 75 years. In 2000, a 25 year old with some secondary education could also expect to live to the age of 75.

In contrast, for a better educated 25-year-old, they could expect to live to the age of 80 in 1990. Someone with a similar education level in the year 2000, could expect to live to be more than 81 years, 81.6 years to be exact .

Meara says, not only do better-educated people live longer to begin with, but in the past ten years, more educated people has made gains in the length of their lives. Meanwhile, the life expectancy hasn’t changed for less educated people.

Some of these gains can be explained. Meara says researchers know that people who are more educated are more likely to quit smoking cigarettes, or not start at all, compared to people with less education.

“I think it’s a reminder not to be satisfactory,” Meara says. “Just because a population overall appears to be getting healthier, it doesn’t always mean that those advantages and successes that many people have enjoyed really extend into all parts of the population. And I think that's something to really pay attention to regardless of whether you live in the US or elsewhere.”

Meara points out that education can often determine income - people with more education frequently make more money. This makes them aware of health care, and purchase other resources and services that can keep them healthier. But the data on income do NOT show that people who make more money are automatically healthier.

Title	The Amount of __71_____Contributes to People’s Health
Comparisons	The less educated people			The ____72____ educated people
	In 1990	They could live for 75 years		They could live to the age of 80
	In 2000	Their life expectancy was the same as in 1990.		They could live to the age of 81.6 _____73____.
___74___ of the research	In the past ____75___	Their life expectancy remained ____76_____.		They’ve made gains in the length of their lives, partly ___77____ to their quitting smoking.
	People are getting healthier, but it doesn’t mean that the advantages and successes extend into all parts of the population
	Income____78_____ on education.		People with more education make more money
			Getting more money helps to increase their ____79____ of health care, which can keep them healthier.
______80_____	Education is the key to better health.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast fortune , largely to the cause of global health , during the course of his lifetime . With an estimated（估计）worth of more than $ 40 billion , according to Forbes , the project will be no small feat （功绩）for Gates . Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $ 24 billion to address global health issues , Gates said that eventually his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids.”

So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest ? Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity” in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world . Improving the health of the populations , he says , has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful . “National borders allow inequalities ,” said Gates : “We all need to take a more global view , rather than just saying my country is doing well . We have to step up these health issues , knowing how few resources are going into them .”

Gates said that both his parents set an example for him as a child . His father , William H. Gates , was the head of the local Planned Parenthood , and his mother , Mary , volunteered for the United Way . As he gathered his fortune , Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well , but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole-heartedly to one project until he was about 60.

However , Gates , 47 , began to question his ability to wait that long . “It seemed there was a real time urgency,” Gates said . “I started to think , How many lives could I save before then ?”

Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is          .

       A．to set up more foundations for them

       B．to aid them with natural resources

       C．to put more effort into the health issues in them

       D．to help them take a more global view

It can be learned from the text that Bill Gates thinks          .

       A．Americans should care about people in other countries

       B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well

       C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects

       D．Americans can be world-famous by giving away vast fortune

Bill Gates gave away his vast fortune earlier than he had expected because of          .

       A．his weakening health condition      B．his parents’ suggestions

       C．his great success in business   D．his concerns for suffering people