The main cause of a heart attack is not exercise or stress -- it's air pollution, according to a study published in The Lancetthis month. Researchers found spending time in traffic, whether as a driver or a pedestrian , tops the list of risk factors that bring on a heart attack. Jon Ayres, professor of environmental and respiratory medicine at the University of Birmingham, says, "Air pollution is not only linked to strokes, heart attacks and cancer -- it has a deep effect on those with existing respiratory conditions." So how can you avoid the damage? We asked the experts for their tips. TAKE TO THE SIDE STREETS Avoid main roads. These have the highest number of vehicles and also more traffic jams, which tend to run on diesel . Diesel engines emit tiny particles that reach the lungs most easily. Choose side streets, pavements, parks and avenues lined with trees. BUY SOME HOUSEPLANTS We spend 90 percent of our time inside, but studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have found that pollution levels can be two to five times higher indoors than outside. Objects such as synthetic carpets, TV screens can emit chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOC,), which have been linked to diseases such as cancer. Researchers at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, found an increase in asthma risk among children under three who had high VOC levels in their homes. Therefore, the application of air fresheners and houseplants can keep the circulation of the air and absorb the pollutants. For people's health, which of the following should NOT be chosen, according to the passage? A) Side streets. B) Main streets. C) Pavements. D) Parks.
B
In the U.S. Mother's Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts and flowers. First _ in Philadelphia in 1907,it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and by Anna Jarvis in 1907. Although it wasn't celebrated in the U.S. until 1907,there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor. Later,in the 1600's,in England there was an annual celebration called "Mothering Sunday." It was celebrated during June, on the fourth Sunday ,the servants, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion. In the U.S., in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2ed Sunday of May. The next day Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia, Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians asking to establish a national Mother's Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914,made the official announcement recognizing Mother's Day as a national celebration that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May. Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the U.S. What could be the best title for this passage? A) Mother's Day of the U.S B) Mother's Day of the world C) Ana Jarvis and Mother's Day D) Styles of Mother's Day
A
Q: My grandfather spent most of his life in a turbulent India. After settling in New York, he took up his true passion: gardening. Grandfather's garden was where I took refuge from a world of adults and schoolwork. My grandfather cultivated squash and tomatoes -- it was not rare to find me somewhere in the garden, either secretly eating a tomato, or just sitting and admiring my grandfather's hard work. However, as time went by, I did not have the chance to visit his house as often as I used to. On my eleventh birthday, I received a gift bag wrapped in pretty paper from my grandfather. Excited to see what he had given to me for my birthday, I tore apart the paper only to find a yellow squash. I was very angry. What a stupid present! But gradually, I realized that in my developing a relationship with his garden, I had unknowingly grown very close to my grandfather himself, something he wished to remind me of through his gift. His commitment towards doing things definitely influenced me. It could bring him a sense of accomplishment. Because of him, I try to model the idea of approaching everything with both drive and passion. My grandfather passed away five years ago, but his influence on me could not be bigger than it is today. As I prepare to enter college and move on from my relatively sheltered high school life toward achieving complete independence, allowing my passions to find their way into whatever I may be doing will be very necessary. I still look up to my grandfather very much to this day, and I hope that one day I will be able to sow in my own garden, and give someone else a squash on his or her birthday -- it was the most meaningful gift I have ever received.[:ZXXK] When the author saw the squash gift from her grandfather, she was _ . A) excited B) confused C) curious D) upset
A: D
*Question*
Researchers in the US say they might have discovered how to fight against and even _ some processes of ageing, at least in mice. Injecting the blood of young mice into the older ones improved their brainpower, a study found. Scientists at Stanford University plan to carry out trials in people in the hope that new treatments for dementia can be developed. "There are factors present in blood from young mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a younger one,"says Dr. Tony from Stanford University School of medicine. In the study published in Nature Medicine, mice aged 18 months were given injections of the blood taken from mice aged 3 months. The injected mice performed better on memory tests than mice of the same age that had not been given the blood. Dr. Tony said it was not known whether the same was true of humans, but a trial was planned. A research center in UK said the treatment restored certain aspects of learning and memory in mice, but was of unknown importance to humans. The research, while very interesting, did not test the type of brain damage that was seen in dementia, which is not a necessary consequence of ageing. Meanwhile, two similar studies by a separate team have thrown more light on how young blood may benefit the old, in mice at least. A substance in the blood of mice previously shown to have an anti-ageing effect on heart muscle also improved brain cells, according to a Harvard team. The research, published in Science, found the blood factors encouraged the growth of brain cells in old mice, and restored their sense of smell. The same chemical also improved muscle power of aged mice, the researchers found. According to the studies, the blood from young mice benefits the old in certain ways except in _ . A) memory B) muscle power C) fur color D) brain cells
**Answer**
C