The flu season arrives so predictably, and af...

The flu season arrives so predictably, and affects so many of us, that it’s hard to believe that scientists have had very little idea why cold weather helps germs to spread.

Worldwide, up to five million people catch the illness each flu season, and around a quarter of a million die from it. Part of its power comes from the fact that the virus changes so quickly that the body is hardly prepared. “The antibodies we’ve built up no longer recognize the virus – so we lose our immunity,” says Jane Metz at the University of Bristol. It also makes it harder to develop effective vaccines, and even if one comes out, governments often fail to persuade enough people to take it up.

The hope is that by understanding better why flu spreads in winter, but naturally fades in summer, doctors could find simple measures to stop its spread.

Previous theories had centred on our behaviour. We spend more time indoors in the winter, meaning that we’re in closer contact with other people who may be carrying germs.

Another popular idea concerned our physiology(生理机制): the cold weather weakens your body’s defenses against infection. In winter, without much sunlight, we may run low on Vitamin D, which helps power the body’s immune system. Moreover, when we breathe in cold air, the blood vessels in our nose shrink, which affects the normal function of white blood cells, allowing viruses to slip past our defenses unnoticed.

While such factors both play some role, analyses suggested another ignored cause may have been lying invisible in the air that we breathe. Thanks to the laws of thermodynamics(空气热力学), cold air can carry less water vapor before it reaches the “dew point” and falls as rain. So while the weather outside may seem wetter, the air itself is drier as it loses the moisture. And researches in the past few years has shown that these dry conditions seem to offer the perfect environment for the flu virus to flourish.

In wetter air, the epidemic struggles to build strength, while in drier conditions it spreads like wildfire. And comparing 30 years’ climate records with health records, Jeffrey Shaman at Columbia University found that flu epidemics almost always followed a drop in air humidity.

1.What can we infer from the second paragraph ?

A.We lose immunity due to the absence of our antibodies.

B.The antibodies fail to function due to variation of virus.

C.Government should come up with better ways to persuade people.

D.One in four of the infected die from the influenza each flu season.

2.What is the purpose of understanding better why flu spreads in winter?

A.To help develop effective vaccine.

B.To seek ways to treat people infected with flu.

C.To figure out ways to cut off its transmission.

D.To explore how to defend our immune system.

3.In what weather condition a flu epidemic is more likely to occur ?

A.Destroying bodies’ immune system.

B.Powering our bodies’ immune system.

C.Killing numerous viruses that we take in.

D.Stopping us acquiring enough Vitamin D.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A.Ways to prevent infection of flu B.Flu-A disease not so hard to prevent

C.A predictable flu season D.Why germs spread in winter

高三英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析

With winter fast approaching, flu season is here. People can easily catch the flu bug and they try to fight it with western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine or some homemade secret recipes. Yet some of these strategies are ineffective or even harmful, the best way to counter the flu is to protect us from contracting（感染）it. So here are some good habits to protect people from contracting flu from the very beginning.

●During the day, keep the bedroom window open to let fresh air in．

●Wash your face with cold water in the morning and wash your feet with hot water in the evening. This practice can help boost blood circulation and improve the body's resistance.

●Do some exercises in the morning. such as jogging or shadowboxing（太极拳)for 10 minutes.

●Rinse(漱) your mouth with salt water or tea every morning and every evening. This can help kill flu bacteria, clear phlegm(痰）and keep the mouth fresh.

●Wear more clothes when it's cold and take some off when it's warm

●Get a bottle of vinegar or Chinese white wine at hand and smell it now and then. Their pungent smell can help people get refreshed and improve their body's resistance.

● Drink two kinds of beverages（饮料）before going to bed, which can help people stay away from the flu: soup made of radish（萝卜）and vinegar, and tea made of fresh ginger（生姜）．

●Close the doors and windows and put a pot of boiling vinegar in the room Vinegar steam is a good way to kill flu bacteria in the air.

1. Some people like washing their face with cold water in the morning and washing their feet with hot water in the evening perhaps because______．

2.According to the passage, we can know that the best way to fight the flu is to ______.

3. What would be the best title for this passage?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

We think of winter as cold and flu season，but the cold temperatures have powerful biological upsides too.

Boosts your brain

1. .Studies have found that people perform some cognitive（认知的）tasks like making decisions better when the temperature is cooler. Research has also shown that people are less willing to handle complex tasks in the summer than in the winter.

Burns calories（卡路里）

When it's cold，your body works harder to keep your core temperature，which is typically. about 98.6 degrees. "Our bodies use a considerable amount of energy to keep us warm and to dampen the air we breathe when we're out in the cold，"explains Stacy Tucker，an expert from Kansas City. 2.　 . A recent study showed that participants burned 34 percent more calories when they hiked in 14-to 23-degree temperatures than they did hiking on 50-degree days.

Activates healthy fat

We know accumulating too much ordinary fat or "white fat" can endanger our health. But adults also have small amounts of beneficial "brown fat" that can quicken their metabolism（新陈代谢）and bum more calories 3. .

Encourages better sleep

Your body's core temperature drops when you're trying to sleep. 4. ，but it's much faster in winter，says Tucker. Plus，with darker mornings，you naturally sleep later.

5.

Yes，you might get more colds during the winter. However，studies have shown that the immune system can be activated by colder temperatures，which improves our ability to fight infections，explains Tucker. That said，the flu virus becomes strong in cold，dry air，and time spent indoors increases your chance of infection. To reduce risk，get your annual flu shot，wash your hands frequently，and go outside.

A. Fights infections

B. So fasten your boots

C. Suffers from infections

D. Colder temperatures can help you think more clearly

E. And cold temperatures can activate this useful fat

F. Exercising in the winter makes heart muscles stronger

G. This process can take up to two hours in the summer

高三英语七选五困难题查看答案及解析

This flu season in the U．S. began earlier than usual and started　 ________ in mid­November with an increase of influenza B.

A.building up B.piling up C.rising up D.picking up

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

On the arrival of the graduation season, a large number of students will leave their colleges and get busy finding jobs. However, it seems not all students will be in a hurry to get to work. According to a survey online in May, about 9.8 percent of the 93,420 graduates surveyed said they wouldn't begin working right after graduation. This phenomenon is called "delayed employment".

One reason why the graduates don't start their careers immediately is that they want a job related to their personal interests, and they are unwilling to give in and take jobs they don't like. "Looking for the right career is like looking for Mr. Right. Maybe I could have found a job or two, but I don't want to just make a living or be stuck in a specific position,” said Shen Yu, who graduated in 2014 but didn't look for a job right away.

Another reason is to avoid the fierce competition of the job market.Statistics provided by the Ministry of Education show the number of the new university graduates will reach 7.95 million this year. Meanwhile, only 26.7 percent of the new graduates have signed contracts(合同) with employers, 8.7 percent down from the previous year.

And some Chinese college students have chosen to travel or volunteer instead of finding jobs. For example, Chen Nuan, who will graduate from the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts this summer, has planned to tour Europe immediately after graduation. "As the old Chinese saying goes,traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books,"she told China Daily.

However, no matter what you choose after graduation, make full use of the first few years—this is when people develop soft skills such as punctuality and teamwork. The first 10 years are essential, which shapes careers in the long term.

1.Why don't some students find jobs immediately after graduation?

A. Their parents ask them to do so.

B. They prefer to do a favorite job.

C. Their abilities need improvement.

D. They want to find their Mr.Right first.

2.What do the statistics in Paragraph 3 imply?

A. More students have the chance to go to university this year.

B. The majority of the graduates will go on with further education.

C. The competition of job market this year is fiercer than last year.

D. A quarter of the graduates have refused to sign contracts so far.

3.How does the writer support the opinion in Paragraph 4?

A. By giving an example.

B. By presenting numbers.

C. By explaining the results.

D. By comparing differences.

4.What is the best tide of the passage?

A. Developing Soft Skills

B. Traveling Around to Find Jobs

C. The Fierce Competition of Job Market

D. The Delayed Employment Phenomenon

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many people travel during the holiday season but do not make sure that their houses and homes 1.　　 (protect). Crime goes up2.　　 (rapid) during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Here are some things that you should keep in mind when you go on 3.

holiday.

Always give4.　　 (strange) the feeling that you are at home. Have the snow5.　　　 (clean) off your stairs or out of your driveway during the winter season. You might ask someone to park6.　　　 cars in your driveway.

Tell your newspaper deliverer that you are not at home. 7.　　 (have) a pile of newspapers and other mail on your doorsteps tells people that you are not at home, so you could also have a neighbor8.　　 a relative get your mail every day.

Fix a timer in some of your rooms9.　　 turns lights on and off during different times of the day. Some TVs also come with a timer that you could set to be turned on during certain times. Have motion (运动) sensitive lights outside your house that keep thieves away10.　　 you are not at home.

高三英语语法填空困难题查看答案及解析

Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.

Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.

I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.

Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!

So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.

We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “letting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼气). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO₂, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!

Bad Santa.

1. Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?

A. Distance covered.                                      B. Calories consumed.

C. Tons of waste let out.                       D. Money spent on food.

2. According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?

A. 1.6.                 B. 16.                           C. 12.8.                        D. 128.

3. Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?

A. Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.

B. Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.

C. Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.

D. The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.

4. Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?

A. Humourous and concerned.                    B. Cheerful and friendly.

C. Academic and formal.                               D. Serious and boring.

5. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A. Is Santa driving clean and green?

B. Santa, watch where you’re going!

C. Santa Claus is coming to town!

D. Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读理解。

Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.

Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.

I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.

Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!

So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.

We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “letting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼气). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO2, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!

Bad Santa.

1. Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?

A. Distance covered.　 　　　　 　 B. Calories consumed.

C. Tons of waste let out.　 　　 D. Money spent on food.

2.According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?

A. 1.6.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 B. 16.

C. 12.8.　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. 128.

3.Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?

A. Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.

B. Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.

C. Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.

D. The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.

4.Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?

A. Humourous and concerned.　 B. Cheerful and friendly.

C. Academic and formal.　　 　　 D. Serious and boring.

5.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A. Is Santa driving clean and green?

B. Santa, watch where you’re going!

C. Santa Claus is coming to town!

D. Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

It’s reported that one thousand people are affected by the H1N1 flu virus in that area , two hundred and fifty-five children ____.

A．were included     B．including

C．include            D．included

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

This year’s flu season is pretty scary. To try to minimize the effects, public officials are still urging anyone who hasn’t yet gotten their flu shot to get one as soon as possible. However, even if every single person got a shot in the arm, the vaccine(疫苗)--- with its excellent 36 percent effectiveness---would not prevent everyone from getting infected with the annoying virus. Knowledge is power, so here's what goes on in your body when you come down with the flu.

The influenza virus primarily attacks your nose, throat, and the tubes that lead to your lungs. But the flu is so much more than that. Your muscles ache, your head hurts, and your appetite goes down, among other things. To our surprise, almost all of these symptoms have less to do with the virus itself than with your immune(免疫的)response to them. Unfortunately, the very defense you have in place to ge rid of the flu is the reason you feel so painful when you recover.

The virus usually enters through your mouth, typically by way of your hands But it takes a few days for symptoms to set in. While this process might cause some harm to your nose and throat, it's nothing major, and nothing like the symptoms that typically accompany a bad or even mild case of the flu.

The real fun starts when your immune system begins to fight. Your immune system comes in two parts: the innate system and the adaptive. The innate immune system is essentially an all-purpose tool. As soon as your body senses the presence of any injury or invader (入侵者), the innate immune system launches into action by producing tiny proteins called cytokines and chemokines. The cytokines reproduce almost immediately and start to attack the virus. This increase in immune cells creates an serious inflammation(炎症) throughout the body. But the worst is still to come. Meanwhile, the chemokines work with the adaptive immune system to help create T cells. These cells are a special type of white blood cell that works in a much more specific way: They find the influenza virus, identify what's special about it, and create something unique on their surface that finds and destroys similar invaders.

1.What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

A. All the vaccine is not effective.

B. No one can avoid catching this year's flu.

C. This year's flu is the most serious one in recent years.

D. Public health officials have to use a gun when necessary.

2.Why many parts of your body suffer while you're recovering from a flu?

A. Because recovery from illness is painful.

B. Because your immune system is working against your defense system.

C. Because your body is fighting hard against the flu.

D. Because the influenza virus attacks your nose, throat and other parts.

3.The underlined word “fun” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by　　　 .

A. joy

B. battle

C. action

D. program

4.What's the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A. The fight between innate immune system and the adaptive.

B. The categories of immune system.

C. The way immune system works.

D. The process of the development of immune system.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析