Leon，12，was born without fingers on his left hand. That didn't stop him from being able to do many tasks. But Leon could not grasp more than one object at a time. So Leon's father，Paul，created a prosthesis（义肢），using a3-D printer. Now Leon has fingers that can open and close. "It was a do-it-yourself，father and son adventure，" says Paul.

When Leon was a baby，his doctor advised his parents not to give him a prosthetic hand until he was in his early teens. "The doctor said Leon should first learn to get full use of the hand he was born with，"says Paul. As Leon got older，his father considered buying a prosthetic hand，which can cost as much as $30，000. Then Paul found a more affordable solution.

One day，Paul discovered a video on the Internet about Robohand，a prosthesis created by a 3--D printer. He downloaded the free instructions and called Robohand's creators for advice. They told him all he needed was a 3-D printer-which costs around $2，000 and some materials.

Luckily，Leon's school had recently bought a 3-D printer and it offered to help Paul build the hand for Leon. "We used a soccer shin pad（护胫），cardboard，and tape. They cost about $10，"says Paul.

With his new hand，Leon can do things better. "I can help my mom more，because now I can carry two grocery bags，"he says.

Leon's father has already built several hands for Leon. Leon helps design each one. He says there's one thing in particular that he wants to do with a future prosthesis. "The goal，"he tells the reporter from the local evening paper，"is to be able to tie my shoelaces（鞋带）".

【小题1】Why did Leon's doctor disapprove of his using a prosthesis in his childhood?

A．The prosthetic technology was underdeveloped then.

B．A prosthesis was very expensive at that time.

C．To learn to use the disabled hand was important.

D．The original hand could do many tasks.

【小题2】Leon's father managed to get Leon a new hand by _________.

A．collecting money on the Internet

B．buying a prosthetic hand

C．buying a 3-D printer

D．printing a hand

【小题3】The materials used for Leon's hand can be described as _______.

A．cheap and common

B．strange and valuable

C．personal and lovely

D．basic and solid

【小题4】What is the best title for the passage？

A．A DIY Enthusiast	B．A Helping Hand
C．A Great Adventure	D．A Lucky Escape

   Skin cancer deaths among men have jumped sharply in wealthy nations since 1985, with death rates among women rising more slowly or even declining, researchers have told a medical conference in Glasgow.

Reasons for the difference between sexes are unclear but evidence suggests men are less likely to protect themselves from the sun or pay attention to public health warnings, Dorothy Yang, a doctor said.

More than 90% of melanoma (黑素瘤) cancers are caused by skin cell damage from exposure to the sun or other sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

In eight of 18 developed countries examined, men’s skin cancer death rates had increased in the past 30 years by at least 50%.

But the nations with the biggest rise in skin cancer deaths were often not those with the highest death rates, the research showed. In Australia, for example, nearly six out of every 100,000 men died of the disease in 2013 -2015. That is twice the second highest death rate (Finland), but only a 10% increase compared to 30 years earlier.

Australia has been an early performer of public health media campaigns since the 1970s to promote sun-smart’ behaviour. While debate continues on how much of Australia’s record skin cancer rate originates from the sun, 30 years of public health campaigns have no doubt made Australians acutely aware of the dangers.

Skin cancer deaths among women in 1985 in Australia occurred at half the rate as for men, and declined by 10% over the next 30 years. In other countries, female death from the disease went down over the same period. In some other sun-loving nations, however, women saw at least as sharp a jump from 1985 to 2015 in death rates as men.

Scientists are studying whether biological or genetic factors might also play a role in skin cancer, but findings so far are inconclusive.

【小题1】What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Death rates among women are declining all the time.

B．Australia is the first country to conduct public health media campaigns.

C．Death rate of skin cancer in Australia was once the highest.

D．Female death rate of skin  cancer in some sun-loving  countries went down.

【小题2】What probably keeps people away from skin cancer according to the text?

A．Declining exposure to UV.

B．Biological or genetic factors.

C．People’s love for sun.

D．People paying little attention to public health warnings.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “inconclusive” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Unclear.

B．Evident.

C．Definite.

D．Satisfying.

【小题4】What’s people’s attitude to public health campaigns in Australia?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Critical.

D．Controversial.

   Everybody sleeps，but what people stay up late to catch or wake up early in order not to miss varies by culture.

From data collected，it seems the things that cause us to lose the most sleep，on average，are sporting events，time changes，and holidays.

Around the world，people change sleep patterns thanks to the start or end of daylight-saving time（夏令时间）. Russians，for example，began to wake up about a half-hour later each day after President Vladimir Putin shifted the country permanently to“winter time”starting on October 26.

Russia's other late nights and early mornings generally correspond（相一致）to public holidays. On New Year's Eve，Russians have the world's latest bedtime，hitting the hay at around 3:30 a. m.

Russians also get up an hour later on International Women's Day，the day for treating and celebrating female relatives.

Similarly，Americans' late nights，late mornings，and longest sleep fall on three-day weekends.

Canada got the least sleep of the year the night it beat Sweden in the Olympic hockey（冰球）final.

The World Cup is also chiefly responsible for sleep deprivation. The worst night for sleep in the U. K. was the night of the England-Italy match on June 14. Brits stayed up a half-hour later to watch it，and then they woke up earlier than usual the next morning thanks to summer nights，the phenomenon in which the sun barely sets in northern countries in the summertime. That was nothing，though，compared to Germans，Italians，and the French，who stayed up around an hour and a half later on various days throughout the summer to watch the World Cup.

It should be made clear that not everyone has a tool to record their sleep patterns；in some of these nations，it's likely that only the richest people do. And people who elect to track their sleep may try to get more sleep than the average person. Even if that's the case，the above findings are still striking. If the most health-conscious among us have such deep swings（明显改变）in our sleep levels throughout the year，how much sleep are the rest of us losing？

【小题1】What do we learn about the Russians regarding sleep?
A. They don't fall asleep until very late.
B. They don't sleep much on weekends.
C. They sleep longer than people elsewhere.
D. They get less sleep on public holidays.
【小题2】The underlined word“deprivation”in the last paragraph but one means ___________.
A. depression B. loss
C. observation     D. trouble
【小题3】What is the most probable reason for some rich people to use a tool to record their sleep patterns?
A. They have trouble falling asleep.
B. They are involved in sleep research.
C. They want to get more sleep.
D. They want to go to bed on regular hours.
【小题4】What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
A. Sleeplessness does harm to people's health.
B. It is important to study our sleep patterns.
C. Few people really know the importance of sleep.
D. Average people probably sleep more than the rich.

语法填空

The Spanish flu 【小题1】（start）on a small military（军事的）base in central Kansas in 1918，【小题2】 one soldier came down with a fever. Within a few hours，about 100 soldiers were reported 【小题3】（have）the same illness.

By 1919，the flu had spread around the world，【小题4】（kill）up to 50 million people. The flu caused over 600，000 【小题5】（die）in the US，which included 195，000 just in the single month of October 1918.

The flu was 【小题6】（particular）serious because most of the victims were young，healthy people. In fact，more adults 【小题7】 the ages of 20 and 50 got sick and died from the flu than any other group.

What made people especially 【小题8】（terrify）was that the flu made people sick quickly. It was reported that many people who woke up with no flu symptoms got sick in the morning and were dead by nighttime. According to one story，four women played bridge late into the night，three of whom 【小题9】（find）dead the next morning.

It was not until three "waves" of illness later 【小题10】 the flu eventually ended.