A new study suggests that early exposure to germs  strengthens the immune system. That means letting children get a little dirty might be good for their health later in life.  The study involved laboratory mice. It found that adult mice raised in a germ-free environment were more likely to develop allergies, asthma  and other autoimmune disorders. There are more than eighty disorders where cells that normally defend the body instead attack tissues and organs.  Richard Blumberg,who led the study,is a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston,Massachusetts. He says,in 1989,medical researchers who sought to explain these diseases, first discovered that the increasing use of antibacterial soaps and other products, especially early in life, could weaken immune systems.  Now, Dr. Blumberg and his team have what is the first biological evidence to link early exposure to germs to stronger adult immune systems. They say this exposure could prevent the development of some autoimmune diseases.  In the adult germ-free mice, they found that inflammation in the lungs and colon  was caused by so-called killer T cells. These normally fight infection. But they became overactive and targeted healthy tissue--an autoimmune condition seen in asthma and a disease called ulcerative colitis .  Dr. Blumberg says the mice raised in a normal environment did not have the same reaction. He says their immune systems had been "educated" by early exposure to germs.  Rates of autoimmune disorders are rising worldwide, but mostly in wealthier, industrialized countries. According to Dr. Blumberg, it might be high time that people were warned to be more careful with the early use of antibiotics  and the prescription from their doctors.  Rob Dunn is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He says the new study does not mean people should stop washing. "Wash your hands , but don't do it with antibacterial soap. Let your kids play in a reasonable amount of dirt and get outside and get... It can be inferred from the text that    _  . A) washing hands is no longer a good habit for children B) antibiotics will be forbidden in children's hospitals C) exposure to dirt helps build children's character D) the abuse of antibiotics may be condemned
D

Two more people have died in China from a new strain of bird flu, raising the death toll from the virus to 13, state media reported Sunday. The official Xinhua News Agency said the two deaths were reported in Shanghai and that three new cases were also confirmed in the financial hub. A total of 11 new cases were reported Sunday - including two in a central province that previously had been unaffected. In all, 60 cases of the virus, known as H7N9, have been reported in China. The two cases reported Sunday in central Henan province, which is next to Beijing, followed an announcement Saturday that a 7-year-old girl had become the first person in the capital to be infected with the virus. All previous reported cases were in Shanghai and other eastern areas of China. A World Health Organization official said Sunday that it wasn't surprising that the virus had spread to Beijing. Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China, said it's not the case that everyone confirmed to be infected with H7N9 was "clustered in one small area with the same source of exposure." "So we've been expecting new cases to occur. ... Furthermore, we still expect that there will be other cases," he said. Four new cases were reported Sunday in eastern Zhejiang province and two more in Jiangsu. Health officials believe the virus, which was first spotted in humans last month, is spreading through direct contact with infected fowl. O'Leary said "the good news" was that there was still no evidence that humans had passed on the virus to other humans. "As far as we know, all the cases are individually infected in a sporadic and not connected way," he said, adding that the source of infection was still being investigated. The girl from Beijing, whose parents are in the live poultry trade, was admitted to a hospital Thursday with symptoms of fever, sore throat, coughing and headache, the Beijing Health Bureau said. O'Leary said early treatment can be effective, as demonstrated by the girl, who was in stable condition. In the only other reported... According to the passage, death toll from Bird Flu in China rises to   _ A) 13 B) 60 C) 11 D) 5
A

I wished I had known earlier the fact that I was a low achiever because there was a reason beyond my control. Then I needn't have worked so hard in my late twenties and early thirties. But I just didn't know that. I was writing and writing. I was working for no other reason than to hear people praise me. Most people who go through university read at least twice as fast as I do. I can never tell my left from my right. I avoid dialing a telephone if I can help it, because I sometimes have to try three times before getting the number right. I hear that recording "The number you have reached is not in service" more than any man on earth. Despite my weaknesses I view my dyslexia(difficulty in reading) as a gift, not a curse . Many dyslexics are good at right brain, namely abstract thought, and that is what my king of creative writing is. I'm starting with nothing and coming up with something that didn't exist before. That's my strong point. I owe my career to Ralph, Salisbury, my writing instructor at the University of Oregon, who looked past my misspellings and gave me encouragement and hope. I just carried on and never looked back. I'm also very "visual". This means nothing in school, but when I write books or scripts, I'm seeing everything in my imagination. I write quickly. I go like the wind and can get up to 15 pages a day. Writing is not the problem. I have no problem downloading; it is inputting where things get messed up. The real fear I have for dyslexics is not that they have to struggle with messy input, but that they will quit on themselves before they finish school. Parents have to create victories whenever they can, whether it is music, sports or the arts. You want your dyslexic child to be able to say, "Yeah, reading is hard. But I have these other things I can do." Which of the following proverbs can best summarize the main idea of the passage? A) He who laughs last laughs best. B) Where there is a will, there is a way. C) Reading enriches the mind. D) When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.
D

On the night of May 9, 2011, musician Gao Xiaosong ran his car into three other cars in Beijing. But it wasn't just a car accident--he was drunk . Now, Gao has to go to prison   for six months and pay a 4,000 yuan fine. Gao is the first star to be punished under China's new drunk driving law. From May 1 on, drunk drivers will pay a fine, and be banned from driving for five years or even forever. Drunk driving has become a serious social problem in China.According to the Ministry of Public Security  , police caught more than half a million drunk drivers last year, a 68 % increase from 2009. The new law sees drunk driving as a crime. In the West, drunk driving is also a crime. In the US, for example, if the police catch a drunk driver, the driver will pay a fine, lose his or her license   and even go to prison. If the driver wants to drive again, he or she must do public service, and take part in educational programs. You may think: drunk driving is a crime? Isn't this law too unkind? But experts say, "Not at all." "It is to protect people's rights to life and health," Li Gang, lawyer in Chengdu, told China Daily. "Drunk driving is very dangerous. No matter what the results are, it should not be allowed." Which of the following sentence is TRUE? A) Li Gang from Chengdu doesn't like the law. B) In the US, drunk drivers will only lose their licenses. C) There were more drunk drivers in 2010 than in 2009. D) The law is to protect drivers' rights to life and health only.

C