Dangers Await Babies with Altitude

    Women who live in the world’s highest communities tend to give birth to underweight babies, a new study suggests. These babies may grow into adults with a high risk of heart disease and strokes.¹

    Research has hinted that newborns in mountain communities are lighter than average. But it wasn’t clear whether this is due to reduced oxygen levels at high altitudes or because their mothers are under-nourished — many people who live at high altitudes are relatively poor compared with those living lower down.

    To find out more, Dino Giussani and his team at Cambridge University studied the records of 400 births in Bolivia during 1997 and 1998. The babies were bom in both rich and poor areas of two cities: La Paz and Santa Cruz. La Paz is the highest city in the world, at 3.65 kilometers above sea level, while Santa Cruz is much lower, at 0.44 kilometers.

    Sure enough, Giussani found that the average birthweight of babies in La Paz was significantly lower than in Santa Cruz. This was true in both high and low-income families. Even babies bom to poor families in Santa Cruz were heavier on average than babies born to wealthy families in lofty La Paz. “We were very surprised by this result,” says Giussani.

    The results suggest that babies bom at high altitudes are deprived of² oxygen before birth. “This may trigger the release or suppression of hormones that regulate growth of the unborn child,³ ”says Giussani.

    His team also found that high-altitude babies tended to have relatively larger heads compared with their bodies⁴. This is probably because a fetus starved of oxygen will send oxygenated blood to the brain in preference to the rest of the body.⁵

    Giussani wants to find out if such babies have a higher risk of disease in later life. People born in La Paz might be prone to heart trouble in adulthood, for example. Low birthweight is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. And newborns with a high ratio of head size to body weight are often predisposed to high blood pressure and strokes in later life.

词汇：

altitude / ’æltɪtju:d /n．维度，（海拔）高度

stroke /strəʊk / n．中风

birthweight n．出生体重

coronary / ’kɒrənəri /adj．冠状的

under-nourished adj．营养不足的

underweight /’ʌndəweɪt / adj．重量不足的

hint / hɪnt / vt．暗示

hormone /’hɔ:məʊn / n．荷尔蒙

fetus / ’fi:təs / n．胚胎

注释：

1．... grow into adults with a high risk of heart disease and strokes：……长大成人后得心脏病和中风的风险很大

2．... are deprived of ...：被剥夺了……，缺乏……

3．This may trigger the release or suppression of hormones that regulate growth of the unborn child：这可能会触发调节未出生儿成长的荷尔蒙的释放或抑制。这里的release是名词。

4．relatively larger heads compared with their bodies：相对身体来说较大的头部

5．... a fetus starved of oxygen will send oxygenated blood to the brain in preference to the rest of the body：……一个缺乏氧的胚胎会首先把充氧的血液输送到脑部，然后才送到身体的其他部位。starved of是分词短语，修饰fetus, in preference to表示的是第二位的选择，如：I chose to study English in preference to Russian in university.读大学时，我选了英语，而不是俄语。

The weight of a newborn has to do with the supply of oxygen even when he was still in his mother’s womb.

A:The weight of a newborn has to do with the supply of oxygen even when he was still in his mother’s womb. B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Rescue Platform

     In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, security experts are trying to develop new ways of rescuing people from burning skyscrapers. One idea is a platform capable of flying vertically and hovering in the air like a helicopter.¹ The platform would rise up and down alongside a skyscraper and pick up people trapped in high stories.

    The idea for the vertical takeoff platform was hatched more than ten years ago by a Russian aerospace engineer, David Metreveli, who has since² moved to Israel. Metreveli’s design, called the Eagle, calls for two jet engines that turn four large horizontal propellers. The spinning of the propellers generates the necessary lift, or upward force, to raise the platform. The more power is supplied to the propellers, the higher the platform rises. Moving the platform sideways involves applying differing amounts of power to each propeller.

    Helicopters are now used in some cases to get people out of burning buildings. Escape baskets³ slung from them dangle beside the building for people to climb into. Unfortunately, the baskets cannot reach every floor of a building because the ropes from which they hang become unstable beyond a certain length.

    So far, Metreveli has built a small-scale model of the Eagle to test his idea. In the wake of⁴ September 11, he has been able to secure enough funding to start building a larger, 4-meter by 4-meter⁵ prototype, which he calls the Eaglet.

词汇：

aftermath / ’ɑ:ftəmæθ, -mɑ: θ /n．结果，后果

hover / ’hɒvə(r)/ v．盘旋

hatch / hætʃ/ v．策划

propeller / prə’pelə(r) / n．螺旋桨;推进器

sling / slɪŋ/ v．用悬带吊挂（slung, slung）

dangle / ’dæŋgl / v．摇摆

prototype / ’prəʊtətaɪp / n．原型 

注释：

1．One idea is a platform capable of flying vertically and hovering in the air like a helicopter：形容词短语capable of flying vertically and hovering ...用作定语，修饰platform。

2．since = since ten years ago

3．escape basket：救生篮

4．in the wake of：在……后

5．4-meter by 4-meter：4米×4米

In the wake of September 11, Mr. Metreveli has secured enough funding to build up a small- scale model of the Eagle to test his idea.

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Medicine Award Kicks off Nobel Prize Announcements

     Two scientists who have won praise for research into the growth of cancer cells could be candidates for the Nobel Prize in medicine when the 2008 winners are presented on Monday, kicking off¹ six days of Nobel announcements.
　　Australian-born U. S. citizen Elizabeth Blackburn and American Carol Greider have already won a series of medical honors for their enzyme research and experts say they could be among the front-runners for a Nobel.
　　Only seven women have won the medicine prize since the first Nobel Prizes were handed out² in 1901. The last female winner was U. S.researcher Linda Buck in 2004，who shared the prize with Richard Axel.
　　Among the pair"s possible rivals are Frenchman Pierre Chambon and Americans Ronald Evans and El wood Jensen, who opened up the field of studying proteins called nuclear hormone receptors³.
　　As usual, the award committee is giving no hints about who is in the running before presenting its decision in a news conference⁴ at Stockholm"s Karolinska Institute.
　　Alfred Nobel, the Swede who invented dynamite, established the prizes in his will in the categories of medicine，physics，chemistry，literature and peace. The economies pijize is technically not a Nobel but a 1968 creation of Sweden"s central bank.
　　Nobel left few instructions on how to select winners, but medicine winners are typically awarded for a specific breakthrough rather than a body of⁵ research.
　　Hans Jornvall, secretary of the medicine prize committee, said the 10 million kronor (US $1.3 million) prize encourages groundbreaking research but he did not think winning it was the primary goal for scientists.
　　”Individual researchers probably don"t look at themselves as potential Nobel Prize winners when they"re at work,” Jornvall told The Associated Press⁶. ”They get their kicks from their research and their interest in how life functions. ”
　　In 2006，Blackburn, of the University of California, San Francisco, and Greider, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, shared the Lasker prize for basic medical research with Jack Szostak of Harvard Medical School. Their work set the stage for⁷ research suggesting that cancer cells use telomerase to sustain their uncontrolled growth.

词汇：

enzyme/ "enzaɪm/n. 酶 

krona/ ˈkrəunə/n. 瑞典克朗
receptor/ rɪˈseptə(r)/n. 受体 

kronor krona的复数形式
dynamite/ "daɪnəmaɪt/n. 甘油炸药 

telomerase/ tə"lɒməreɪz/n. 端粒酶 

注释：

1.kicking off：开始(某种）活动
2.handed out：分发
3.nuclear hormone receptors：核激素受体
4.a news conference ：记者招待会
5.a body of： 一批
6.The  Associated Press ：美联社
7.set the stage for：为……打好基础

Which is NOT true of Alfred Nobel?

A:He was from Sweden B:He was the inventor of dynamite C:He established the prizes in his will D:He gave clear instructions on how to select winners

“Lucky" Lord Lucan - Alive or Dead

On 8th November 1974 Lord Lucan, a British aristocrat, vanished.  The day before, his children"s nanny had been brutally murdered and his wife had been attacked too. To this day the British public are still interested in the murder case because Lucan has never been found. Now, over 30 years later, the police have reopened the case,  hoping that new DNA techniques will help solve this murder mystery. ¹

People suspected that "Lucky", as he was called by friends, wanted to kill his wife he no longer lived with. They say that Lucan entered his old house and in the dark, killed the nanny by mistake.  His estranged wife heard noises, came downstairs and was also attacked, but managed to escape.  Seven months after the murder. a jury concluded that Lucan had killed the nanny.

    What happened next is unclear, but there are several theories which fall into one of three categories:  he may have killed himself, he could have escaped or he might have been killed. Itappears that the night after the murder, "Lucky" borrowed a car and drove it, Lucan"s friend Aspinall said in an interview that he thought Lucan had committed suicide by sinking his boat in the English Channel.

    Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France. ² He was met there by someone who drove him to safety in another country.

    However, after a time, his rescuers became worried that they would become involved in the murdertoo and so Lucan was killed.

A further fascinating theory was made in the book Dead Lucky by Duncan MacLaughlin, a former detective. He believes that Lucan travelled toGoa,India, where he assumed the identity of a Mr Barry Haplin. Lucan then lived inGoatill his death in 1996. In the end the claim tumed outto be a case of mistaken identity. The man who died in 1996 was really Haplin, an ex-schoolteacher turned hippy. So what is the truth about "Lucky""? DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one ³.

词汇：

vanish / vænɪʃ / v. 消失

suicide /" s(j)uːɪsaɪd / n. 自杀

case / keis / n. 案件

detective / di"tektiv / n. 侦探

nanny /" nænɪ / n. 保姆

注释：

Now, over 30 years later,the police have reopened the case ,hoping that new DNA techniques

will help solve this murder mystery.30多年后的今天，警察重新调查案件，希望新的DNA技术帮助揭开这个谋杀之谜。

2. Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France.另一个版本是说“幸运的”把被血染了的车子扔在了海岸上，乘上了一艘开往法国的船。

3.  DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one.

DNA鉴定破了很多谋杀案件，但是不知它能否把这个案件做个了结。

It is thought that Lucan Hlled the nanny because____.

C:it was dark and he thought she was Lady Lucan D:Loard Lucan thought the nanny stole his car

“Lucky" Lord Lucan - Alive or Dead

On 8th November 1974 Lord Lucan, a British aristocrat, vanished.  The day before, his children"s nanny had been brutally murdered and his wife had been attacked too. To this day the British public are still interested in the murder case because Lucan has never been found. Now, over 30 years later, the police have reopened the case,  hoping that new DNA techniques will help solve this murder mystery. ¹

People suspected that "Lucky", as he was called by friends, wanted to kill his wife he no longer lived with. They say that Lucan entered his old house and in the dark, killed the nanny by mistake.  His estranged wife heard noises, came downstairs and was also attacked, but managed to escape.  Seven months after the murder. a jury concluded that Lucan had killed the nanny.

    What happened next is unclear, but there are several theories which fall into one of three categories:  he may have killed himself, he could have escaped or he might have been killed. Itappears that the night after the murder, "Lucky" borrowed a car and drove it, Lucan"s friend Aspinall said in an interview that he thought Lucan had committed suicide by sinking his boat in the English Channel.

    Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France. ² He was met there by someone who drove him to safety in another country.

    However, after a time, his rescuers became worried that they would become involved in the murdertoo and so Lucan was killed.

A further fascinating theory was made in the book Dead Lucky by Duncan MacLaughlin, a former detective. He believes that Lucan travelled toGoa,India, where he assumed the identity of a Mr Barry Haplin. Lucan then lived inGoatill his death in 1996. In the end the claim tumed outto be a case of mistaken identity. The man who died in 1996 was really Haplin, an ex-schoolteacher turned hippy. So what is the truth about "Lucky""? DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one ³.

词汇：

vanish / vænɪʃ / v. 消失

suicide /" s(j)uːɪsaɪd / n. 自杀

case / keis / n. 案件

detective / di"tektiv / n. 侦探

nanny /" nænɪ / n. 保姆

注释：

Now, over 30 years later,the police have reopened the case ,hoping that new DNA techniques

will help solve this murder mystery.30多年后的今天，警察重新调查案件，希望新的DNA技术帮助揭开这个谋杀之谜。

2. Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France.另一个版本是说“幸运的”把被血染了的车子扔在了海岸上，乘上了一艘开往法国的船。

3.  DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one.

DNA鉴定破了很多谋杀案件，但是不知它能否把这个案件做个了结。

Aspinall thought Lucan killed himself by__．

A:jumping into water B:jumping out of his house C:sailing his boat D:sinking his boat

“Lucky" Lord Lucan - Alive or Dead

On 8th November 1974 Lord Lucan, a British aristocrat, vanished.  The day before, his children"s nanny had been brutally murdered and his wife had been attacked too. To this day the British public are still interested in the murder case because Lucan has never been found. Now, over 30 years later, the police have reopened the case,  hoping that new DNA techniques will help solve this murder mystery. ¹

People suspected that "Lucky", as he was called by friends, wanted to kill his wife he no longer lived with. They say that Lucan entered his old house and in the dark, killed the nanny by mistake.  His estranged wife heard noises, came downstairs and was also attacked, but managed to escape.  Seven months after the murder. a jury concluded that Lucan had killed the nanny.

    What happened next is unclear, but there are several theories which fall into one of three categories:  he may have killed himself, he could have escaped or he might have been killed. Itappears that the night after the murder, "Lucky" borrowed a car and drove it, Lucan"s friend Aspinall said in an interview that he thought Lucan had committed suicide by sinking his boat in the English Channel.

    Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France. ² He was met there by someone who drove him to safety in another country.

    However, after a time, his rescuers became worried that they would become involved in the murdertoo and so Lucan was killed.

A further fascinating theory was made in the book Dead Lucky by Duncan MacLaughlin, a former detective. He believes that Lucan travelled toGoa,India, where he assumed the identity of a Mr Barry Haplin. Lucan then lived inGoatill his death in 1996. In the end the claim tumed outto be a case of mistaken identity. The man who died in 1996 was really Haplin, an ex-schoolteacher turned hippy. So what is the truth about "Lucky""? DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one ³.

词汇：

vanish / vænɪʃ / v. 消失

suicide /" s(j)uːɪsaɪd / n. 自杀

case / keis / n. 案件

detective / di"tektiv / n. 侦探

nanny /" nænɪ / n. 保姆

注释：

Now, over 30 years later,the police have reopened the case ,hoping that new DNA techniques

will help solve this murder mystery.30多年后的今天，警察重新调查案件，希望新的DNA技术帮助揭开这个谋杀之谜。

2. Another version of events says that "Lucky" left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France.另一个版本是说“幸运的”把被血染了的车子扔在了海岸上，乘上了一艘开往法国的船。

3.  DNA testing has solved many murder cases, but who knows if it can close the book on this one.

DNA鉴定破了很多谋杀案件，但是不知它能否把这个案件做个了结。

Aspinall thought Lucan killed himself by__．

A:jumping into water B:jumping out of his house C:sailing his boat D:sinking his boat

Shark Attack!

    Craig Rogers was sitting on his surfboard, scanning the distance for his next wave，when his board suddenly stopped moving. He looked down and was terrified to see a great white shark biting the front of his board. “I could have touched its eye with my elbow,” says Craig. The shark had surfaced so quietly that he hadn’t heard a thing.

    In his horror and confusion，he waved his arms and accidentally cut two of his fingers on the shark’s teeth. ¹ He then slid off the opposite side of his surfboard into the water. Then, with Craig in the water and blood flowing from his fingers，the five-meter-long shark simply swam away, disappearing into the water below.

    Although sharks are often categorized as killers that hunt and eat as many humans as they can, this is factually inaccurate. Sharks very rarely kill humans. A person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or drowning in a bath than of being killed by a shark. ²  Only 74 people have been reported killed by great whites in the last century. But great white sharks can reach six meters in length and weigh 2,200 kilograms or more. With frightening jaws that can hold up to 3,000 teeth arranged in several rows，they could very easily kill and eat a helpless human in the water. Why is it, then, that most people survive attacks by great whites? Shark researchers are trying to comprehend the reasons that allow people to escape without being eaten.

    The most common explanation is that great whites don’t see well. It has been thought that they mistake people for the seals or sea lions which make up a large part of their diet. There is reason to doubt this，however. Recent information shows that great whites can actually see very well. Also， when attacking seals, great whites shoot up to the surface and bite with great force. When approaching humans, however, they most often move in slowly and bite less hard. They soon discover that humans are not a high — fat meal. “They spit us out because we’re too bony,” says Aidan Martin，director of Reef Quest Center for Shark Research.

    Shark researchers like Martin hypothesize that great whites are actually curious animals that like to investigate things. It’s possible that they use their bite not only to kill and eat, but also to gather information. Although such an experience is unlucky for people like Craig Rogers, when sharks bite surfboards or other objects or people，they are likely just trying to learn what they are.

词汇：

scan [skæn] vt审视，细看,浏览

elbow ["elbəʊ] n.肘，肘部

surface ["sɜ:fɪs] n, 表面，外表;vi.浮出水面，浮现

drown [draʊn] vi.淹死，溺死

seal [si:l] n.海豹;

reef [ri:f] n.礁，暗礁;

quest [kwest] n.探索; 追求;

mistake for 错认为，误认为

注释：

1. cut two of his fingers on the shark’s teeth.被鲨鱼咬掉了两个指头。

2. A person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or drowning in a bath than of being killed by a shark.比起被鲨鱼杀死,人类更有可能被闪电击中或是淹死在浴缸中。

After Craig Rogers fell into the water, the shark_________.

A:bit his surfboard B:bit his fingers C:swam away D:attacked him