Our risk of cancer rises rapidly as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors or doesn't it? While such tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing. In many cases, screening can lead to additional examinations and operations to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not cause serious health problems in patients' remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a noisy reaction among doctors, patients and social groups. It's hard to uproot deeply-held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or previous personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the rest, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy. A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening--especially considering the explosion of the elderly. It's not an easy calculation to make, but one that makes sense for patients. Dr. Otis Brawley said, "Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves from medical disputes. We need to think about the wise use of health care, which means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going... Why do many doctors advise routine screening for cancer? A) They want to take advantage of the medical care system. B) They want to protect themselves against medical disputes. C) They want data for medical research. D) They want their patients to suffer less.
B
Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs ?If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker--BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach's famous marketing device , the BRICs, should really be the BICs. "Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?" asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreign Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of "The Russian Balance Sheet", thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes: "The country's economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas." Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing far better than Russia. But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three. At very least, despite Russia's economic underperformance, its stock market outperformance does suggest it is indeed one of the group. The author seems to _ . A) suggest it's time to kick Russia out of the BRICs B) feel worried about the economy of the BRICs C) think Russia is worth being one of the group D) show disappointment to Russia's economy
C
Q: Recently, a student used his Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to film a female teacher scolding and tearing the work of a classmate. The public discussion that the incident caused started on the Internet. However, when it came to the media's attention, it quickly became a major topic in the education circles. The reactions so far suggest that the focus of the debate has been on one question: whom to blame? Teachers who are anxious to defend their professional dignity have tried to put the blame on the students. They mentioned their right to privacy )and for this reason they requested the Ministry of Education (MOE) to prohibit PDAs in schools. On the other hand, some parents and students have taken a different position. They feel that the teacher is also at fault. Caught up in the war of words between both sides, people are no longer interested in the "truth" of the matter which seems now unimportant. It was left to newspapers to discover the central point of the controversial issue, by stressing the problems that are not always easily noticed in our educational system. For those responsible for educating the young, this PDA incident conveys the message that "Times have changed",a reality that must have been felt even more strongly by the female teacher when reflecting on this unpleasant experience. Different times call for different professional approaches in education. The ability to understand the students they are teaching has always been the quality of successful teachers. Despite some factors, the incident shows that the teacher lacks good qualities on her part. Besides, the rules under current system to deal with recalcitrant students need to be improved. Also, it is an example which shows the issue we are familiar with: what to do with new technology? With PDA, the new technology, the interaction between the teacher and students in classroom has been changed. The author's purpose in writing this passage is to _ . A) improve the teachers' way of teaching B) stress the using of PDA in the classroom C) change the students' behavior in the classroom D) discuss the potential problems of educational system
A: D
Q: Today, over six billion people live on the planet. This means that there are very few places on Earth with no people. One place that has very few people is at the bottom of the Earth. In Antarctica, the icy continent surrounding the South Pole, you will not find anyone who lives there all the time. First, Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. For example, it can be -l30degC in the winter. Humans cannot live in this kind of environment. Because it is so cold, very few plants or animals live there. This means there are no farms and no places to find wild plants or animals to eat. Second, Antarctica can be dangerous. Many people think that it is safe to travel to Antarctica in the summer months when it is warmer. However, Antarctica is mostly ice, so when it's summer, the ice melts. When the ice melts, the ice can break. So, people cannot travel around Antarctica during the summer. If the ice breaks, they could fall into the water and die. Another serious problem in Antarctica is the sun. Because Antarctica is mostly ice, there are no trees so there is no shade. Also, the ground is mostly white ice so the sun bounces off it. The light from the sky and the light from the ground can burn people's skin and hurt their eyes. People must be very careful in this situation. For example, they must wear sunglasses to protect their eyes. They must also cover their hands and faces all the time. Although Antarctica is a tough place to live, explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swam and forests. This text is mainly about _ . A) the discovery of Antarctica B) how people travel around Antarctica C) different animals found in Antarctica D) why it is difficult to live in Antarctica
A: D