Dr Asim Syed, 32, has performed more than 100 operations at London's Hammersmith Hospital in the country's busiest transplant unit, but never imagined that he would one day become a donor himself. He stepped forward when was told his 64-year-old mother might be dead within months unless she got a new kidney . The worried surgeon brought her to London to be cared for at his hospital. However, it was not all plain sailing. Tests showed Dr Syed was the wrong blood group, so the only way was to go through a special blood-washing process. He consulted colleagues about that, but they didn't agree, because the risk of rejection is still too high. Dr Syed and his mother were then advised to consider a new way of donating and receiving, called an organ-paired. That is, Dr Syed donated his kidney to an unknown person and another donor in the chain was a successful match for his mother. The chain of three transplants took place at the same time on July 31 with Dr Syed's kidney going to a recipient in the Midlands and Mrs. Syed receiving her kidney from a person in the south of England. Just hours after donating his own kidney, Dr Syed found himself recovering in bed next to his mother. Mrs Syed said, "When I came round from my operation Asim was in the next bed and the first thing he said was, 'Mum now all your worries are over.' Tears fell down." Now mother and son are recovering well with Dr Syed already back at work. Mrs. Syed is staying with him for several months while the hospital monitors her progress. He said, "I did what anyone would do when they see a relative suffering disease. Although I wasn't able to help mum directly, by agreeing to be part of a chain, I was also very happy." Why didn't his colleagues agree to the method of blood-washing? A) It is very dangerous. B) It costs too much. C) They didn't know how to do it at all. D) They didn't have the relative equipment.
A
Before the law sits a gatekeeper.To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law.But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment.The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in sometime later on."It is possible," says the gatekeeper,"but not now." 1The gate to the law stands open,as always,and the gatekeeper walks to the side,so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside.When the gatekeeper notices that,he laughs and says: _ The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone,he thinks,but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat,at his large pointed nose and his long,thin,black Tartar's beard,he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside.The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him to sit down at the side in front of the gate.There he sits for days and years.He makes many attempts to be let in,and he wears the gatekeeper out with his requests.The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly,questioning him about his homeland and many other things,but they are indifferent questions,the kind great men put,and at the end he always tells him once more that he cannot let him inside yet.The man,who has equipped himself with many things for his journey,spends everything,no matter how valuable,to win over the gatekeeper.The latter takes it all but,as he does so,says,"I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything." 2 During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost continuously.He forgets the other gatekeepers,and this first one seems to him the only barrier for entry into the law.He curses the unlucky circumstance,in the first years thoughtlessly and out loud; later,as he grows old,he only mumbles to himself.He becomes childish and,since in the long years studying the gatekeeper he has also come to know the fleas in his fur collar,he even asks the fleas... Which of the following is TRUE? A) The gatekeeper is actually the symbol of responsibility. B) All efforts made by the man from the country are in vain. C) The man from the country finally gains access into the law. D) A close relationship is formed between the gatekeeper and the man.
B
*Question*
Still waiting for little green men to make contact? _ . A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there - meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe. Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET. Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact. So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems - known as extrasolar systems - although they believe billions of others exist. But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist - the most important thing for life. Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist. Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe. Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries." By saying "don't hold your breath", the author advised the reader not to _ . A) keep silent B) give up C) expect so D) be afraid
**Answer**
C