Speed-reading is an indispensable skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and tweets to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Bombarded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line. But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond intellectual stimulation. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smart phones. They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the Slow Reading Club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement initiated by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smart phones. Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to empathize. Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that regular engagement in intellectually strenuous activities like reading slowed the rate of memory loss later in life. Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted pattern in a quiet environment free of distractions. "Aim for 30 minutes a day," advises Kelly from The Atlantic. "You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments - whenever you find yourself automatically firing up your laptop to check your favorite site, or scanning Twitter for something to pass the time - you pick up a meaningful work of literature," Kelly said. "Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive , and also... We can learn from the passage that _ . A) the benefits of regular reading hasn't been proved B) for elderly people ,a good reading habit helps slow memory loss C) speed reading can improve concentration and reduce stress levels D) more elderly people enjoy slow reading now
B
(Question)
Treatment for HIV has become more widespread, especially in poorer countries. It's also become cheaper, as medicine companies have lowered their prices for life-saving anti-retroviral drugs . But these drugs are still expensive and many countries are looking to create the biggest impact with limited resources. That's where World Health Organization guidelines come in, says Rochelle Walensky, a disease researcher from Harvard. Walensky and her colleagues used computer programs to model the most cost-effective disease interventions , as well as collected data from clinics in Africa and India about what works best. They found that among the choices of what to do first, earlier anti-retroviral therapy improved five-year survival dramatically and resulted in the longer life expectancy. But cost-effective doesn't always mean affordable, especially for governments in poor countries. Countries still have to make difficult choices about how much treatment they can afford. People in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, protest a potential free trade area agreement between the EU and India that could see cheap anti-AIDS drugs phased out . However, Walensky notes that first-line anti-retrovirals--those medicine given to newly diagnosed patients that can keep away from symptoms for years - are much cheaper than they were a decade ago. "Second-line therapy have come down quite a bit but not to the level of first-line and countries are having a hard time affording them and increasingly over time, people are going to fail first-line therapy and they're going second-line therapy and then, eventually, they're going to need third-line therapy, some of them." According to Walensky, history has shown that drug prices can come down when international pressure is applied to drug makers. But for now, she says, countries should focus on treating as many people as they can, as early as possible Her paper is published in the online journal PLoS Medicine. The research is done by _ . A) using computer programs and collecting data from clinics B) giving medicine to newly diagnosed patients with AIDS C) urging countries to focus on treating more patients earlier D) publishing her paper in the online journal PLoS Medicine
(Answer)
A
Ques: Men and women have different tastes in food, with men favoring meat and poultry , and women fruits and vegetables, researchers said in what was said to be the most extensive study so far of gender differences in eating habits. More than 14,000 adult men and women, were surveyed from May 2006 to April 2007, for the Foodbome Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), to determine their eating habits, including high risk foods such as undercooked meat and eggs. "To our knowledge, there have been studies in the literature on gender differences in eating habits, but nothing this extensive," the epidemiologist told the 2008 International Conference on Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia. Researchers found that men were more likely to eat meat and poultry, especially duck, _ , and ham, and certain shellfish such as shrimp and oysters. Women instead were more likely to eat vegetables, especially carrots and tomatoes, and fruits, especially strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples. Women also preferred dry foods, such as almonds and walnuts, and were more likely to consume eggs and yogurt when compared with men. There were also some exceptions to the eating trends of each gender: men were significantly more likely to eat asparagus and brussels sprouts than women, while women were more likely to consume fresh hamburgers as opposed to the frozen kind, which the men preferred. And regarding high risk foods, the researchers found that significantly more men consumed undercooked meat and eggs than women, while more women were more likely to eat alfalfa sprouts. Men's preference for meat explains why men have more cases than women when it comes to high cholesterol , the study said. According to the passage, men tend to eat the following foods EXCEPT _ . A) ham B) yogurt C) shrimp D) poultry
Ans: B
Alice always wanted to be a singer. Music was the most important thing in her life, but to tell you the truth, she took lessons for years, practiced every day, but in spite of all this, her voice didn't improve. Honestly, it didn't get better, it just got louder. Her teacher finally gave up and stopped the lessons, but Alice refused to quit , and one day she decided to give a concert and invited her mere teacher to attend. The teacher was very worried about what to say after the performance. She knew it would be terrible and it was. She didn't want to tell a lie, but she didn't want to hurt Alice's feelings either. Finally, she got an idea and went backstage to greet her former pupil. "Well," said Alice, "what did you think of my performance?" "My dear," said the teacher, "you'll never be better than you were tonight." What is really mean by saying "you'll never be better than you were tonight"? A) You have given an excellent performance tonight. B) You haven't made any improvement and neither will you. C) You have never sung so well before. D) You did much better before than tonight.
B