Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Scientists say they have discovered a promising treatment for sleeping sickness, a killer disease that infects about 60,000 people in Africa a year. British and Canadian experts say drugs could attack the parasite causing the illness needs to survive. They say the drug could be ready for human medical test in about 18 months. The disease, spread by the bite of a fly, is caused by a parasite attacking the central nervous system. It has similar symptoms to malaria , making it difficult to diagnose. Left untreated, it moves to the brain, resulting in mental confusion and final death The "breakthrough" came at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where scientists were offered money to research diseases ignored by major drugs companies. Professor Paul Wyatt, director of the programme, said: "This is one of the most significant findings made in recent years in terms of drug discovery and development for ignored diseases." He said the research, published in the journal Nature, represented "significant progress" in the development of a full blown drug against the disease. The World Health Organization said there are between 50,000 and 70,000 cases of the disease a year, with a further 60 million people at risk of infection. The research in Dundee was _ by partners at the University of York in England and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto, Canada. The two drugs currently available to treat sleeping sickness both have problems. One is with side effects that kill one in 20 patients and the other is costly, only partially effective and requires long-time hospital treatment, the scientists said. Question: We can learn from the passage that _ . Options: A: big drug companies play an important role in the research of the new drug B: people who get infected with the disease are mentally disturbed C: among 200 people infected with the disease, 5 may die because of the old drug D: Professor Paul Wyatt may be a professor at the University of York
Answer: B

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Experts say the temperature in Eyjafjallajokull's hole appears to have fallen to 100C, meaning it is now producing steam, not magma . But officials warned that it was too early to say whether the eruption was over completely. Ash clouds from the volcano grounded thousands of flights last month. Steinunn Jakobsdottir, a geophysicist from the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told the BBC that the volcano was "kind of not active for the moment". "The history of the volcano is such that it calms down and then it gets energy again," she said. "There are still earthquakes under the volcano, and the small earthquake is still not quite down to what it was before the eruption." 'Difficult to say' Magnus Gudmundsson, of Iceland University, flew over the volcano on Sunday and said information from heat cameras showed the temperatures at the crater had fallen below 100C. But he told the AFP news agency that nothing was promised and that the previous eruption at the volcano had lasted 13 months, from 1821-23. "It stopped and started again several times with different intervals , so it's difficult to say, difficult to give a timeline," he said. He also said it was impossible to say whether the neighbouring Katla volcano - a much larger mountain - might also erupt. At the height of its activity, the volcano sent out huge clouds of ash, which led to airlines grounding their planes for fear it could _ plane engines. It was the biggest action of closing airspace in Europe since World War II, and affected at least 10 million passengers worldwide. Question: What do expert think Eyjafjallajokull is like now? Options: A: Magma is still coming out B: The hole appears about 100 degrees C C: The eruption was not over D: It is very cold.
Answer: B

Question: Read the article and select the best answer. Article: A single night of taking the drug Ecstasy can cause serious brain damage and speed up the start of Parkinson's disease , scientists say. Just two or three Ecstasy tablets can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson's for the first time. A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, involving squirrel monkeys and baboons found that both species suffered permanent damage to key cells, which are lost in Parkinson's, after receiving three low doses of Ecstasy at three-hour periods. The study is particularly important because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain. George Ricaurte, who led the research, said that the widespread abuse of drug might have caused severe damage. "The most troubling result is that young adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk of developing Parkinsonism as they get older." Alan Leshner, a former director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, said, "This study emphasizes the multi-aspect damage that Ecstasy causes to users. We've long known that repeated use damages brain cells. But this study shows that even very occasional use can have long-lasting effects on many different brain systems. It sends an important message to young people: don't experiment with your own brain." Janet Betts, a mother whose teenage daughter Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995, said, "This comes as no surprise. But people can't see the effects at first, and they say it won't happen to them. We'll see the symptoms later, just as we have with smoking." Question: The article is intended to _ . Options: A: explain the bad effects of drugs on people's health B: warn young people of the risk of taking the drug Ecstasy C: persuade people out of such bad habits as smoking and using drugs D: tell us the links between the drug Ecstasy and the animal models
Answer:
B