第四部分：阅读理解（共六篇）
第九篇
U.S. to Start $3.2 Billion Child Health Study in January
A study that will cost $3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U. S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January, U. S. health officials said on Friday.
Officials from the U. S. government's National Institutes of Health said they hope the study, to be conducted at I05 locations throughout the United States, can help identify early-life influences that affect later development, with the goal of learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
The study will examine hereditary and environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals that affect health.
Researchers will collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as samples from the homes of the women and their babies including air, water, dust and materials used to construct their residences, the NIH said.
Officials said more than $200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost $3.2 billion.
"We anticipat1that in the long term , what we learn from the study will result in a significant savings in the nation's health care costs," Dr. Duane Alexander, who heads the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters.
The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up2 pregnant women whose babies will then be followed to age 21.
Some of the early findings will be about factors behind pre-term birth3, which has become more common in recent years, according to Dr. Peter Scheidt of the NIH, who heads the study.
The people taking part will be from rural, urban and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels and from all racial groups, the NIH said.
词汇：
Hereditary adj．遗传的
注释：
1．in the long term：从长远说来
2．sign up：使报名从事
3．pre-term birth：早产
练习:
1. The aim of the study is to find new ways to___________.
A conduct research.
B track public health.
C prevent or treat illness.
D speed up development.
2. Researchers will collect all the following EXCEPT_____________.
A genetic samples from people in the study.
B biological samples from people in the study.
C samples from the homes of the women and their babies.
D samples of air and water from hospitals.
3. It is expected that through the study the nation's health care costs_____________.
A will be lowered in the long run.
B will be significantly increased.
C will be more than $200 million.
D will reach $3.2 billion.
4. The babies of the participants will be followed__________.
A throughout their lives.
B for more than two decades.
C from birth to 21 months.
D until they get married.
5. Which is NOT true of the people in the study?
A They'll be from various areas.
B They'll be from all income levels.
C They'll be from all educational levels.
D They'll be from all age groups.
答案与题解：
1．C短文的第二段提到了此项研究的90al，即aim，这便是learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
2．D前三项在短文的第四段都有题记，第四项应该是“参加研究的妇女及其婴儿家中的空气与水等物质，”而不是“医院中的空气与水”。
3．A短文的第六段说到，预计从长远的角度讲，此项研究将有利于国家卫生保健费用开支的节约。
4．B短文的第一段以及倒数第三段都说到，这些婴儿将从出生前一直被跟踪到21岁。
5．D前三项在短文的最后一段都有提及，只有第四项是错误的，因为研究对象都是怀孕的妇女，不可能是所有年龄段的人们。
