阅读理解题

　　第一篇

Crystal Ear

　　One day a friend asked my wife Jill if I wanted a hearing aid. "He certainly does," replied Jill. After hearing about a remarkable new product, Jill finally got up the nerve to ask me if I'd ever thought about getting a hearing aid. "No way," I said. "It would make me look 20 years older. No, no," she replied. "This is entirely different. It's Crystal Ear!"

　　Jill was right. Crystal Ear is different——not the old-styled body worn or over-the-ear aid, but an advanced personal sound system so small that it's like contacts （隐形眼镜） for your ears. And Crystal Ear is super-sensitive and powerful, too. You will hear sounds your ears have been missing for years. Crystal Ear will make speech louder, and the sound is pure and natural.

　　I couldn't believe how tiny it is. It is smaller than the tip of my little finger and it's almost invisible when worn. There are no wires, no behind-the-ear device. Put it in your ear and its ready-to-wear mold （形状） fits comfortably. Since it's not too' loud or too tight, you may even forget that you're wearing it! Use it at work or at play. And if your hearing problem is worse in certain situations, use Crystal Ear only when you need it.

　　Hearing loss, which occurs typically prior to teenage years, progresses throughout one's lifetime. Although hearing loss is now the world's number one health problem, nearly 90 percent of people suffering hearing loss choose to leave the problem untreated. For many millions, treating hearing loss in a conventional way can involve numerous office visits, expensive testing and adjustments to fit your ear. Thanks to Crystal Ear, the "sound solution" is now convenient. Almost 90 percent of people with mild hearing loss, and millions more with just a little hearing drop-off （下降）, can be dramatically helped with Crystal Ear. Moreover, its superior design is energy-efficient, so batteries can last months. Crystal Ear is now available to help these people treat their hearing loss with a small hearing amplifier （放大器）.

　　1 Initially the writer did not want to buy a hearing aid because

　　A it would make him look old.

　　B It would make him nervous.

　　C it was too expensive.

　　D it was old-styled.

　　2 Which of the following is NOT true of Crystal Ear?

　　A It is highly sensitive.

　　B It is powerful.

　　C It is invisible.

　　D It is wireless.

　　3 One special feature of Crystal Ear is that

　　A you can control its volume.

　　B you needn't take it off every day.

　　C it is solar-powered.

　　D it saves power.

　　4 According to the passage, hearing loss is

　　A only a minor health problem.

　　B the world's most common health problem

　　C merely a teenage disease.

　　D an incurable disease.

　　5 Many people leave their hearing problem untreated because

　　A it is not serious.

　　B Crystal Ear is not yet available.

　　C it is not easy to have it treated.

　　D they don't want to look old.

　　第二篇

New U.S. Plan for Disease Prevention

　　Urging Americans to take responsibility for their health, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday launched a $15 million program to try to encourage communities to do more to prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes （糖尿病）.

　　The initiative highlights the costs of chronic diseases－the leading causes of death in the United States－and outlines ways that people can prevent them, including better diet and increased exercise.

　　"In the United States today, 7 of 10 deaths and the vast majority of serious illness, disability and health care costs are caused by chronic diseases," the Health and Human Services department said in a statement.

　　The causes are often behavioral－smoking, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise.

　　"I am convinced that preventing disease by promoting better health is a smart policy choice for our future," Thompson told a conference held to launch the initiative.

　　"Our current health care system is not structured to deal with the rising costs of treating diseases that are largely preventable through changes in our lifestyle choices."

　　Thompson said heart disease and strokes will cost the country more than $351 billion in 2003.

　　"These leading causes of death for men and women are largely preventable, yet we as a nation are not taking the steps necessary for us to lead healthier, longer lives," he said.

　　The $15 million is designed to go to communities to promote prevention, pushing for changes as simple as building sidewalks to encourage people to walk more.

　　Daily exercise such as walking can prevent and even reverse heart disease and diabetes, and prevent cancer and strokes.

　　The money will also go to community organizations, clinics and nutritionists who are being encouraged to work together to educate people at risk of diabetes about what they can do to prevent it and encourage more cancer screening.

　　The American Cancer Society estimates that half of all cancers can be caught by screening, including Pap tests （巴氏试验）for cervical （子宫颈的）cancer, mammograms （乳房X线照片） for breast cancer, colonoscopies （结肠镜检查）, and prostate （前列腺的） checks.

　　If such cancers were all caught by early screening, the group estimates that the survival rate for cancer would rise to 95 percent.

　　6 Which of the following is NOT true of chronic diseases in the US?

　　A They account for 70% of all deaths.

　　B They are responsible for most of the health care costs.

　　C They often result in unhealthy lifestyles.

　　D They are largely preventable.

　　7 The author mentions all the following ways of disease prevention EXCEPT

　　A better diet.

　　B increased exercise.

　　C less smoking.

　　D more frequent hand washing.

　　8 The passage indicates that spending more money on disease prevention will mean

　　A greater responsibility of the government.

　　B less need for input into treatment.

　　C higher costs of health care.

　　D more lifestyle choices for people.

　　9 The purpose of the $15 million program is to

　　A promote disease prevention.

　　B build more highways.

　　C help poor communities.

　　D wipe out chronic diseases.

　　10 Early cancer screening can help reduce significantly

　　A the death rates for all chronic diseases.

　　B the kinds of cancer attacking people.

　　C the incidence rate for cancer.

　　D the death rate for cancer.

　　第三篇

The Body Thieves

　　In the early nineteenth century in Britain, many improvements were being made in the world of medicine. Doctors and surgeons were becoming more knowledgeable about the human body. Illnesses that had been fatal a few years before were now curable. However, surgeons had one problem. They needed dead bodies to cut up, or dissect （解剖）. This was the only way that they could learn about the flesh and bones inside the body, and the only way to teach new surgeons to carry out operations.

　　The job of finding these dead bodies was carried out by an unpleasant group of people called "body snatchers". They went into graveyards （墓地） at night and, using wooden shovels to make less noise, dug up any recently buried bodies. Then they took the bodies to the medical schools and sold them. A body could be sold for between ￡5 and ￡10, which was a lot of money at that time. The doctors who paid the body snatchers had an agreement with them－they never asked any questions. They did not desire to know where the bodies came from, as long as they kept arriving.

　　The most famous of these body snatchers were two men from Edinburgh called William Burke and William Hare. Burke and Hare were different because they did not just dig up bodies from graveyards. They got greedy and thought of an easier way to find bodies. Instead of digging them up, they killed the poorer guests in Hare's small hotel. Dr Knox, the respected surgeon they worked for, never asked why all the bodies they brought him had been strangled （勒死）.

　　For many years Burke and Hare were not caught because, unsurprisingly, the bodies of their victims were never found by the police. They were eventually arrested and put on trial in 1829. The judge showed mercy to Hare and he was released but Burke was found guilty and his punishment was to be hanged. Appropriately, his body was given to the medical school and he ended up on the dissecting table, just like his victims. In one small way, justice was done.

　　Now, over 150 years later, surgeons do not need the help of criminals to learn their skills. However, the science of surgery could not have developed without their rather gruesome （令人毛骨悚然的） help.

　　11 The problem facing British surgeons in the early 19th century was that

　　A some illnesses remained incurable.

　　B few people were willing to work as surgeons.

　　C medical expenses were too high.

　　D dead bodies were not easily available.

　　12 The body snatchers used wooden shovels because

　　A they did not wish to spoil the dead bodies.

　　B they wanted to keep the bodies to themselves.

　　C they were afraid of being caught.

　　D they were careful not to disturb anyone.

　　13 Burke and Hare differed from other body snatchers in that

　　A they got other people to dig up bodies for them.

　　B they sold the bodies only to one surgeon.

　　C they dug up bodies not just from graveyards.

　　D they resorted to murder to get bodies.

　　14 The bodies of Burke's and Hare's victims couldn't be found by the police because

　　A they had been stolen.

　　B they had been strangled.

　　C they had been dissected.

　　D they had been buried.

　　15 The body thieves contributed in their gruesome way to

　　A medical advancement.

　　B legal progress.

　　C social stability.

　　D material wealth.

　　【参考答案】

　　1. A 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. C

　　6. C 7. D 8. B 9. A 10. D

　　11. D 12. C 13. D 14. C 15. A