第四部分：阅读理解（每题3分，共45分）

下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每道题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。

第1篇U.S states do poorly in women’s health

Not a single U．S．state meets basic federal goals for women’s health，and the nation as a whole fails except in two areas-mammograms and dental check-ups-researchers said onThursday．

Millions of women lack health insurance，and states make it difficult to enroll in Medicaid，the state―federal health insurance plan for the poor，according to the report．

And few states are doing anywhere near enough to help women quit smoking―the leading cause of death in the United States．

“The nation as a whole and the individual states fall short of meeting national goals，”reads the report．put together by the National Women’s Law Center and the Oregon Health & Science University，“These health objectives，primarily set for the nation by the U．S．Department of Health and Human Services’Healthy People 2010 agenda，provide a road map for assessing the status of women’s health．”

Of 27 measures examined by the group，from screening for diseases to actually treatingthem，the nation passes on only two，the researchers said．“The nation is so far from the Healthy People goals that it receives an overall grade of‘unsatisfactory’，”they wrote．The problem seems to be a lack among states of an overall plan for health in general，the NWLC said．

“State policy makers’ piecemeal approach to our health Care crisis has resulted in a complex and ineffective system that fails to meet the health care needs of women，”Judy Waxman，NWLC Vice President for Health，said in a statement．
“Lawmakers need to take a comprehensive，long-term approach to meeting women’S healthneeds and tackle this serious problem that plagues SO many families．”

词汇：

mammogram／n．乳腺X光照片
dental／adj．牙齿的；牙科的
enroll／vi.加入，参加
piecemeal／adj．一件一件(做)的：逐渐(做)的；零碎(做)的
plague／vt．使苦恼；折磨；烦扰

练习：

1．The nation does poorly in all the following aspects of women’s health EXCEPT

A1 conducting dental check-ups．
B)helping women quit smoking．
C)screening for diseases．
D)treating cancer．

2．Medicaid is a program aimed at

A)helping women．
B)helping the poor．
C)reducing poverty．
D)preventing disease．

3． Which causes the biggest number of deaths in the US?

A)Accidents．
B)Heart disease．
C)Cancer．
D)Smoking．

4．The national goals for women’s health make it easier to

A)meet women’s health needs．
B)assess the status of women’s health．
C)make an overall plan for health in general．
D)deal with the health care crisis．

5． What kind of approach should be adopted to meet women’s health needs7

A)Piecemeal．
B)State-federal．
C)Comprehensive and long-term．
D)Complex and ineffective．

第2篇Cigars instead

Smoking one or two cigars a day doubles the risk of cancers of the lip，tongue，mouth and throat，according to a government study．

Daily cigars also increase the risk of lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus，and increase the risk of cancer of the larynx(voicebox) sixfold，say researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda，Maryland．

In addition，the report revealed that smoking three or four cigars a day increased the risk of oral cancer to 8.5 times the risk for nonsmokers and the risk of esophageal cancer by four times the risk of nonsmokers．

The health effects of smoking cigars is one of eight sections of the article“Cigars：Health Effects and Trends．”The researchers report that，compared with a cigarette，a large cigar emits up to 90 times as much carcinogenic tobacco．specific nitrosamines．

“This article provides clear and invaluable information about the disturbing increase0 incigar use and the significant public health consequences。for the country，”said Dr．RichardKlausner，director of the National Cancer Institute，in a statement．

“The data are clear―the harmful substances and carcinogens in cigar smoke．1ike
cigarettes，are associated with。the increased risks of several kinds of cancers as well as heart and lung diseases，”he added．“In other words，cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes and may be addictive．”

“To those individuals who may be thinking about smoking cigars,our advice is―don’t．To those currently smoking cigars，quitting is the only way to eliminate completely the cancer，heart and lung disease risks，”warned Klausner．
According to a National Cancer Institute press release, there haven’t been any studies on the health effects on nonsmokers at cigar social events．but“…a significant body of evidence clearly demonstrates an increased lung cancer risk from secondhand smoke．’’

词汇：

cigar／n．雪茄烟
double／vt．使加倍，把……增一倍
esophagus／n．食管
larynx／n．喉
esophageal／adj．食管的
emit／vt．发出，射出，散发
carcinogenic／adj．致癌的
nitrosamine／n．亚硝胺
invaluable／adj．非常宝贵的，无价的
carcinogen／n．致癌物
alternative／n．供替代的抉择
addictive／adj．(使人)上瘾的， (使人)入迷的
eliminate／vt．排除，消除，根除

练习：

1．According co the report．smoking three or four cigars a day

A)increases the risk of oral cancer for non-smokers．
B)greatly increases the risk of oral cancer for smokers．
C)increases the risk of more than one cancer for non-smokers，
D)greatly increases the risk of more than one cancer for smokers．

2．In the passage how many cancers are mentioned in relation to smoking cigars daily?

A)Six．
B)Seven．
C)Eight．
D)Nine．

3．What is the main idea of the article“Cigars：Health Effects and Trends”?

A)When it comes to cancer，cigars are not any safer than cigarettes．
B)Cigars may be addictive while cigarettes are not easily so．
C)Cigars contain less harmful substances than cigarettes．
D)Increase in cigar-smoking does not affect public health much．

4．What is the doctors’advice to those cigar-smokers?

A)To give it up completely．
B)To give up part of it．
C)Not to think about it any more．
D)To cure the diseases first．

5．In the context of this passage,“secondhand smoke”means

A)smoking bad-quality cigars．
B)smoking very cheap cigars．
C)being near cigar smokers when they are not smoking．
D)being near cigar smokers when they are smoking．

第3篇Some things we know about language

Many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain SO．But some
things we do know．

First，we know that all human beings have a language of some sort．There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language，no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one mother．Furthermore，in historical times，there has never been a race of men without a language．

Second，there is no such thing as a primitive language．There are many people whose
cultures are undeveloped，who are，as we say，uncivilized, but the languages they speak are not primitive．In all known 1anguages we can see complexities that must have been tens of thousands of years in developing．

This has not always been well understood；indeed, the direct contrary has often been stated．Popular ideas of the 1anguage of the American Indians will illustrate．Many people have supposed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises．Study has proved this to be nonsense．There are，or were，hundreds of American Indian languages，and a11 of them turn out to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with，but they are no more primitive five than English and Greek．

A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate．That is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language．

Finally, we know that language changes．It is natural and normal for language to change；

the only languages which do not change are the dead ones．This is easy to understand if we look backward in time．Change goes on in all aspects of language．Grammatical features change as do speech sounds，and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly．Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language．

词汇：

race／n．种族
primitive／adj．原始的
uncivilized／adj．不开化的，落后的
complexity／n．复杂性，复杂现象
nonsense／n．胡说，没有根据的话
extensive／adj．广泛的
vocabulary／n．词汇

练习：

1． In the second paragraph the author thinks that
A)some backward race doesn’t have a language of its own．
B)some race in history didn’t possess a language of its own．
C)any human race，whether backward or not，has a language．
D)some races on earth call communicate without language．

2． According to the author, people of undeveloped cultures can have___ languages.
A)complicated
B)uncivilized
C)primitive
D)well―known

3．The author has used American Indian languages as an example to show that they are
A)just as old as some well-known languages．
B)just as sophisticated as some well-known languages．
C)more developed than some well-known languages．
D)more complex than some well-known languages．

4. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A)A language is a means of expressing a particular culture．
B)All languages can well express their respective cultures．
C)American Indian languages are as sophisticated as English．
D)Some languages are better than other languages．

5． According to the author, language changes are most likely to occur in
A)grammar．
B)pronunciation．
C)vocabulary．
D)intonation．

 

参考答案:

第1篇答案与题解：

1． A 从文章的第一段可以得知，美国整个国家的妇女卫生保健工作堪称不合格，只有
两个方面除外，其中之一便是牙科检查。

2． B 从文章的第二段可以得知，“Medicaid”是美国州与联邦政府为帮助穷人而制定的
卫生保险项目。

3． D 从文章的第三段可以得知，在美国，吸烟是头号杀手。

4． B 文章的第五段提到，妇女卫生保健计划为评价妇女健康状况提供了“道路图”。

5． C 文章的最后一段提到，立法者应当采取全面、长期的措施以满足妇女卫生保健方
面的需求。

第2篇答案与题解：

1.D 第三段中“smoking three or four cigars a day increased the risk of oral cancer to 8.5times the risk for nonsmokers and the risk of esophageal cancer by four times the risk of nonsmokers．"这是在谈论吸烟者患癌症的可能性(与不吸烟者相比分别增加到8．5倍和4倍)。

2.B 第一段中提到lip，tongue，mouth, throat四种，第二段中提到lung，esophagus，larynx
三种，共七种，第三段中的oral是对lip，tongue，mouth等的统称，不应再算做一种。

3.A 倒数第三段中的一句话概括了文章的中心，即“…cigars are not safe alternatives to
cigarettes and may be addictive．”

4.A 倒数第二段中医生的建议是“To those currently smoking cigars．quitting is the onlyway to eliminate completely the cancer…”，即完全放弃。

5. D 二手吸烟，即我们所说的被动吸烟，最后一段中的“nonsmokers at cigar social
events”提示了这一情骨。

第3篇答案与题解：

1．C作者在第二段中认为，任何人种不管落后与否都有语言。文中的原句是：There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language…

2．A此题的答案来自第三段。

3．B 作者例举美国印第安人的语言的目的是证明这些语言和一些著名的语言一样先进。原句是：They are certainly different from the languages that most of US are familiar with，but they are no more primitive than English and Greek．

4．D D项的说法是错误的，因为作者在文章中的观点是不同的语言没有好与坏的差别。原句参照题解3。

5． C词汇是语言中最容易发生变化的部分。文中的原句是：Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language．