【阅读练习】
Cancer is feared by everyone. And this fear is reaching epidemic(流行性) proportions. Not the disease itself — there is no such thing as a cancer epidemic. Except for lung cancer, mostly caused by cigarette smoking ,the incidence rates are leveling off, and in the case of some kinds of cancer are decreasing. But the fear of cancer is catching, and the country stands at risk of an anxiety, The earth itself is coming to seem like a huge carcinogen(致癌物). The ordinary, more or less scientific statement that something between 80 and 90 percent of all cancers are dun to things in the environment is taken to mean that none of us will be safe until the whole environment is “cleaned up.” This is not at all the meaning.
The 80-percent calculation is based on the unthinkable differences in the incidence of cancer in various societies around the world — for example, the high proportion of liver cancer in Africa and the Far East, stomach cancer in Japan, breast cancer in Western Europe and North America, and the relatively low figures for breast cancer in Japan and parts of Africa and for liver cancer in America. These data indicate there may be special and specific environmental influences, largely based on personal life-style, that determine the incidence of various forms of cancer in different communities — but that is all the data suggest. The overall incidence of cancer, counting up all the cases, is probable roughly the same everywhere.
1.Which of the following is closest to meaning to the phrase “leveling off”?
A)Became very popular
B)Reached its lowest level in popularity
C)Stopped being popular
D)Stopped increasing its popularity
2.According to the passage, the incidence of cancer is generally believed _____.
A)to be based on inactive life style
B)to be due to anxiety
C)to result from environmental influences
D)to be caused by heavy smoking
3.It can be inferred from the passage that the writer’s opinion about the relationship between cancer and environment is_____.
A)positive
B)negative
C)neutral
D)approving
4.According to the passage, the writer seems to feel that_____.
A)cancer risk is on the rise
B)the whole earth resembles a huge carcinogen
C)the risk of catching cancer is not so great as most people conceive
D)cancer can be cured sooner or later
5.Which of the following would be the best TITLE for the passage?
A)Cancer and Environment
B)The Fear Caused by Cancers
C)Data on Cancer Incidence
D)Cancer and its Investigation
【答案及详解】
D，C，B，C，A
大家都害怕癌症，这种恐慌正在蔓延开来。倒不是惧怕癌症本身，癌症也并非流行病。除了主要由于抽烟引起的肺癌之外，癌症的发病率不但稳定下来，而且有些还正在减少。但人们却都谈“癌”色变，陷入一种惶恐不安之中。地球本身看上去就越来越像一个巨大的致癌物。有一种多多少少带点科学性的普遍说法，认为80%到90%的癌症都是由于环境中的物质引起的。也就是说，直到把整个环境都“清洁干净”，我们才没有危险。然而，数据所说明的真正含义根本不是这样。
80%这个数据是基于全球不同地区癌症发病率的差异统计出来的。比如，非洲和远东地区肝癌比例高，日本胃癌比例高，西欧和北美乳腺癌比例高，但是日本和非洲部分地区乳腺癌病例较少，美洲肝癌病例也较少。这些差异使人难于置信。这些数据表明，不同地区癌症的发病率可能受到环境中某些具体和特殊的影响，其实这种影响主要是由个人的生活方式决定的。所以数据不能说明全部情况。如果把所有病例合计起来，也许各地总体发病率都大致相同。