Their report, commissioned by President Obama, says the current US human spaceflight programme appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory*. It suggests the only way forward is to increase the funding of NASA (美国国家航空航天局) by billions of dollars, or to cooperate with private companies now embarking on commercial space flights. The panel says visits to Near-Earth Objects such as asteroids* are far more realistic too. The experts also argue for keeping the International Space Station going till 2020, rather than pulling the plug in six years' time. ?News Item 3
A: … about the research that shows working protects against dementia. B:
1. The study looked at nearly 400 men who developed Alzheimer’s disease. It assessed the time they spent in full-time education, the type of work they did and the point at which they retired.
2. No, the researchers detected no link between the onset of dementia and education or occupation.
3. Every extra year at work was associated with a six week delay in Alzheimer’s. 4. To lower dementia risk.
5. Much more research is needed in order to understand how to delay or prevent dementia. Unit 7 1. 2. 3. 4.
每年在美国有两百多万对新人结婚。 这些婚庆要花去八百多亿美元。 这还不包括新人的蜜月旅行。
根据一项古老的传统，新娘在结婚那天必须穿戴一样旧的东西、一样新的东西、一样借来的东西和一样蓝色的东西。 5. 据说这四样东西可以带来好运。 ?News Item 1
A: …about the decline of this year’s seal hunt in Canada . B:
1. Because of the sharp decline of market price for seal pelts. 2. 100 dollars
3. The depressed value of the Russian rouble and the subsequent erosion of one of Canada’s largest markets for seal products, is partially to blame for the decline in numbers.
4. The prospect of a European Union ban on seal products and growing international disdain for the hunt is becoming a major factor in its near collapse. 5. The European parliament passed the ban in May.
?News Item 2
A: … about the produce price index and its indications for economy. B：The producer price index is a measurement of prices paid for produced or manufactured items here in the United States. And this number came out today indicating a growth that was greater than we've seen dating back to 1990 and it also tends to reflect the growth in the consumer price index (消费价格指数)that we saw on Friday. That also indicated that the inflation is heating up(加剧) and it is higher than we've seen since January of 1991. And now investors are worried that the Fed* could have to be more aggressive about raising interest rates to slow inflation which in fact might end up slowing corporate earnings (公司收益). ?News Item 3
A: … about the dispute over the cut of government subsidies the European farmers receive for growing sugar beet. B:
1. The German farmers are arguing that a better deal for sugar farmers in Africa is going to cost them their livelihoods.
2. The European Union agreed to reduce by almost 40% the guaranteed price currently paid to Europe’s sugar producers.
3. They argued that their own sugar industries were being adversely affected by the distortions in the world market caused by European subsidies.
4. The EU plan has unsurprisingly proved very unpopular with Europe’s sugar beet growers.
5. Germany’s Food Industry Union said the plan would spoil the ante of 46,000 sugar beet farmers and threaten more than 26,000 employees in the sugar industry. Unit 8
1. 年龄最大的一批在美国二战后生育高峰出生的人今年将满六十岁。
2. 美国和许多工业化国家的退休人口都在增长，而这种增长预计还将持续。 3. 当这一代人到达传统退休年龄——65岁时，他们的人数将占美国人口的百分之二十。
4. 战后生育高峰年代出生的人拥有住房的比例高于全国平均水平，其中四分之一的人拥有一处以上的房产。
5. 很多战后生育高峰年代出生的人觉得自己现在还很健康，并且相信如果继续保持积极的心态，他们将更加长寿，生活得更愉快。 ?News Item 1
A: …about a research which has found chemical evidence to support the view that those deprived of affection when young find later life much harder to cope with .
B:
Hypothesis: Children deprived of affection when young find later life much harder to cope with
Method: an orphanage…being taken in by families with their family-raised peers Findings: 1. very depressed…regulating stress … managing social interactions 2. far less cuddled adoptive parents relaxing ?News Item 2
A: … about the success o f Harry Potter series and its impact on the publishing industry. B:
1. Because the Harry Potter fans are waiting for the arrival of the latest book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
2. They are people from different parts of Britain, including the young and not so young, and some teenagers who have traveled over from the Netherlands.
3. Bloomsbury, the books’ publishers, are also excited about the newest Potter tale. 4. Bloomsbury’s profit forecast is 35 million dollars for this year.
5. The previous five books in the series have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 62 languages.
6. According to Lesley Miles, marketing director of the book chain Waterstones, there has been a 10-fold increase in children’s book publishing across the board, and that’s largely thanks to Potter. ?News Item 3
A: … about Slumdog Millionaire, the winner of the Golden Globe. B: T F F F T T Unit 9
1. 超市是那些能够提供大量可供选择的食品和其他商品的大型商场。 2. 自从2000年以来，美国人从超市里购买的有机食品比从其他类型的商场里购买的要多。
3. 在美国，传统的超市正面临着来自更大的商场的竞争。
4. 它们还面临这来自那些能提供更多新鲜、天然的食品品种商店的竞争。 5. 新的竞争对手正在经营中取胜，因为它们比超市更大，价格更便宜。 ?News Item 1
A: …about the evidence that night working causes ill health . B: For years evidence has been mounting that night working causes ill health, from disturbed sleep patterns to increased accidents. // The International Agency for Research and Cancer now ranks night working as a probable cancer risk, just one category below known carcinogens* like asbestos*. // The Danish authorities acted following a decision by The agency. // But these are the first government payments to women who've developed breast cancer after long spells on the night-shift. Ulla Mahnkopf, a former flight attendant, is one of them. Union leaders say that the UK government isn't doing enough to deal with the dangers. The Health and Safety Executive says it's commissioned its own study but its conclusions aren't expected for another two years. ?News Item 2
A: … about hunger and pverty in India. B:
1. India may be one of the world’s fastest growing economies but the benefit of its growing prosperity is not reaching everyone.
2. According to the ActionAid report, 46% of its children are malnourished and the number of people growing hungry is increasing instead of coming down. 3. Yes, India grows enough food – in fact it’s a major exporter of farm produce.
4. The problem is that many people, especially poor communities, cannot access it for a variety of reasons, including rising food prices and poor distribution.
5. Yes. A landmark rural jobs programme launched four years ago is showing some signs of success in battling poverty.
6. Analysts say it now needs to be persisted with and spread out to more parts of the country. ?News Item 3
A: … about the impact of climate change and disasters on Peru . B: F F F T T Unit 10 1. 2. 3. 4.
今年秋季，美国一些最好的大学的新生录取率反常地低。
大学的招生官员说，主要原因是高三学生申请报考的大学数量比往年多。 很多报考顶尖学校的学生被列入等候批准的申请人名单。
他们的申请结果要等学校知道有多少已经被录取的申请人同意前来报到后才能知道。
5. 招生官员说引入等候批准的申请人名单机制是因为很难知道究竟哪些申请
人真的希望进入他们的学校。 News Item 1
A: …about a new arms control treaty between the US and Russia . B:
1. Friday is the deadline for a new arms control treaty to come into force. 2. The US and Russia improved their relations by frenetic diplomatic activity. 3. President Obama will receive his Nobel Peace Prize next week.
4. The new agreement will need to be ratified in both parliaments before it is finalized.
5. President Obama and his Russian counterpart signed a joint understanding.
6. The US and Russia should reduce their deployed nuclear warheads to below 1,700 each within seven years of a new treaty.
News Item 2
A: … about forming a coalition (联合) government in Israel . B: F T F F T ?News Item 3
A: … about the decision by a committee of the European Parliament to end subsidies to tobacco farmers and to use some of the money to help them to grow alternative crops . B: F T T F F T T T Unit 11 1. 2. 3. 4.
“国家成人读写能力评估”是检测美国成年人阅读能力的一项主要测试。 该测试检测的是参加者阅读和理解日常生活信息的能力。 这项调查发现有1,100万，即百分之五的成年人看不懂英语。
研究人员说，问题的部分原因在于很多美国年轻人作为消遣所进行的阅读已经不太多了。
5. 人们发现阅读水平高的人比那些不具备基本阅读能力的人的年收入多28,000美元。 Unit 12
1. 急救是一种在专业医疗救护到达之前对意外伤害或事故的受害者所进行的
医疗救护。
2. 知道如何在紧急情况下进行急救，可能就意味着一个人的生死。
3. 一种称为心肺复苏的急救方法，简称CPR，可以拯救心脏病、溺水和休克病
人的生命。
4. 在美国，CPR训练包括使用防护布或面罩覆盖嘴巴。 5. 这有助于防止在做口对口复苏急救时传播疾病。 Unit 13
1. 禽流感是一种由病毒引起的动物接触性传染病，通常只感染禽类，在少数情况下也会感染猪。
2. 尽管所有的鸟类都会受感染，但是家禽群体特别容易受感染，而且会迅速造成大规模爆发流行。
3. 目前爆发的禽流感与早些时期的禽流感不同，因为官方还无法控制它的传播。 4. 迅速杀灭受感染的禽类和其他动物体内的H5N1病毒对预防禽流感的大规模爆发极其重要。
5. 世界卫生组织建议捕杀所有受感染和有接触史的鸡群和其他禽类，以防止病毒的进一步传播和减少人类受感染的机会。
11. 和其他西方国家，如加拿大、德国的政府不同，美国政府不向其公民提供由