Passage 5
Over the last decade, demand for the most common cosmetic surgery procedures, like breast enlargements and nose jobs, has increased by more than 400 percent. According to Dr. Dai Davies, of the Plastic Surgery Partnership in Hammersmith, the majority of cosmetic surgery patients are not chasing physical perfection. Rather, they are driven to fantastic lengths to improve their appearance by a desire to look normal. “What we all crave is to look normal, and normal is what is prescribed by the advertising media and other external pressures. They give us a perception of what is physically acceptable and we feel we must look like that.”
In America, the debate is no longer about whether surgery is normal; rather, it centres on what age people should be before going under the knife. New York surgeon Dr. Gerard Imber recommends “maintenance” work for people in their thirties. “The idea of waiting until one needs a heroic transformation is silly,” he says. “By then, you’ve wasted 20 great years of your life and allowed things to get out of hand.” Dr. Imber draws the line at operating on people who are under 18, however. “It seems that someone we don’t consider old enough to order a drink shouldn’t be considering plastic surgery.”
In the UK cosmetic surgery has long been seen as the exclusive domain of the very rich and famous. But the proportionate cost of treatment has fallen substantially, bringing all but the most advanced laser technology within the reach of most people. Dr. Davies, who claims to “cater for the average person”, agrees. He says:“I treat a few of the rich and famous and an awful lot of secretaries. Of course, ￡3,000 for an operation is a lot of money. But it is also an investment for life which costs about half the price of a good family holiday.”
Dr. Davies suspects that the increasing sophistication of the fat injecting and removal techniques that allow patients to be treated with a local anaesthetic in an afternoon has also helped promote the popularity of cosmetic surgery. Yet, as one woman who recently paid ￡2,500 for liposuction to remove fat from her thighs admitted, the slope to becoming a cosmetic surgery Veteran is a deceptively gentle one. “I had my legs done because they’d been bugging me for years. But going into the clinic was so low key and effective it whetted my appetite. Now I don’t think there’s any operation that I would rule out having if I could afford it.”
21. According to the text, the reason for cosmetic surgery is to _____.
A.be physically healthy
B.look more normal
C.satisfy appetite
D.be accepted by media
22. According to the third paragraph, Dr. Davies implies that_____.
A.cosmetic surgery, though costly, is worth having
B.cosmetic surgery is too expensive
C.cosmetic surgery is necessary even for the average person
D.cosmetic surgery is mainly for the rich and famous
23. The statement “draws the line at operating on people” (Line 3, Paragragh 2) is closest in meaning to_____.
A.removing wrinkles from the face
B.helping people make up
C.enjoying operating
D.refusing to operate
24. It can be inferred from the text that____.
A.it is wise to have cosmetic surgery under 18
B.cosmetic surgery is now much easier
C.people tend to abuse cosmetic surgery
D.the earlier people have cosmetic surgery, the better they will be
25. The text is mainly about _____.
A.the advantage of having cosmetic surgery
B.what kind of people should have cosmetic surgery
C.the reason why cosmetic surgery is so popular
D.the disadvantage of having cosmetic surgery

Passage 6
Who Wants to Live Forever?
If your doctor could give you a drug that would let you live a healthy life for twice as long，would you take it?
The good news is that we may be drawing near to that date.Scientists have already extended the lives of flies，worms and mice in laboratories.Many now think that using genetic treatments we will soon be able to extend human life to at least 140 years.
This seems a great idea.Think of how much more time we could spend chasing our dreams，spending time with our loved ones，watching our families grow and have families of their own.
“Longer life would give us a chance to recover from ourmistakes and promote long term thinking，”says Dr Gregory Stock of the University of California School of Public Health.“It would also raise productivity by adding to the year we can work.”
Longer lives don’t just affect the people who live them.They also affect society as a whole. “We have war，poverty，all sorts of issues around，and I don’t think any of them would be at all helped by having people live longer，”says US bioethicist Daniel Callahan. “The question is ’What will we get as a society?’ I suspect it won’t be a better society.”
It would certainly be a very different society.People are already finding it more difficult to stay married.Divorce rates are rising.What would to marriage in a society where people lived for 140 years?And what would happen to family life if nine or 10 generations of the same family were all alive at the same time?
Research into ageing may enable women to remain fertile for longer.And that raises the prospect of having 100-year-old parents，or brothers and sisters bom 50 years apart.We think of an eider sibling as someone who can protect us and offer help and advice. That would be hard to do if that sibling came from a completely different generation.
Working life would also be affected，especially if the retirement age was lifted.More people would stay in work for longer.That would give us the benefits of age-skill，wisdom and good judgement.
On the other hand，more people working for longer would create greater competition for jobs.It would make it more difficult for younger people to find a job.Top posts would be dominated by the same few individuals，making career progress more difficult.And how easily would a 25-year-old employee be able to communicate with a 125-year-old boss?
Young people would be a smaller part of a society in which people lived to 140.It may be that such a society would place less importance on guiding and educating young people，and more on making life comfortable for the old.
And society would feel very different if more of its members were older.There would be more wisdom，but less energy.Young people like to move about.Old people like to sit still.Young people tend to act without thinking.Old people tend to think without acting.Young people are curious and like to experience different things.Old people are less enthusiastic about change.In fact，they are less enthusiastic about everything.
The effect of anti-ageing technology is deeper than we might think.But as the science advances，we need to think about these changes now.
“If this could ever happen，then we’d better ask what kind of society we want to get，”says Daniel Callahan.“We had better not go anywhere near it2 until we have figure those problems out.”
26. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the things that living longer might enable an individual to do?
A.Spending more time with his family.
B.Having more education.
C.Realizing more dreams.
D.Working longer.
27. Which of the following is implied in the sixth paragraph?
A.Marriages in the US today are quite unstable.
B.More and more people in the US today want to get married.
C.Living longer would make it easier for people to maintain their marital ties.
D.If people live longer，they would stay in marriage longer.
28. All of the following are possible effects living longer might have on working life EXCEPT _____.
A.Communication between employers and employees would be more difficult.
B.More money would be used by employees in payment of their employees.
C.The job market would be more competitive.
D.It would be more difficult for young people to be promoted to top positions.
29. An important feature of a society in which people live a long life is that _____.
A.it places more emphasis on educating the young.
B.it is both wise and energetic.
C.it lacks the curiosity to experiment what is new.
D.it welcomes changes.
30. Which of the following best describes Callahan’s attitude to anti-ageing technology?
A.Optimistic.
B.Pessimistic.
C.Reserved.
D.Negative.

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