Question

Karen,grown up in a very traditional family in the western United States,maintained high moral(道德的) standards throughout her youth.In 1984,at the age of 23,she married Bill.They were blessed with two children,a boy and a girl.

By 1991 their love had deepened,and they were happy.Later that year,Bill developed a white spot on his tongue.He visited a doctor.

One day shortly after that,Bill called Karen to sit beside him.He said with tears in his eyes that he loved her and wanted to live forever with her.The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV,the virus that leads to AIDS.

The family was tested,Bill and Karen’s results were positive.Bill had become infected before he met Karen;then he passed the virus on to Karen.The children’s results were negative.Within three years,Bill was dead.“I don’t know how to express what it is like to watch the once handsome man you love and intend to live with forever dying slowly.I cried many nights.He died three months short of ten years of our marriage,”says Karen.Though a doctor told Karen that she would soon follow her husband into death,she is still alive.The infection has progressed to the early stages of AIDS.

Karen is but one of about 30 million people now living with HIV/AIDS,a figure larger than the combined populations of Australia,Ireland and Paraguay.According to one UN report,Africa has 21 million of these victims.By the turn of the century that number could reach   40   million and the disease will bring on the greatest disaster in human history.Of the world’s sexually active adults aged 15 to 49,1 in 100 has already been infected with HIV.Of these,only 1 in 10 realizes that he or she is infected.In some parts of Africa,25 percent of the adults are infected.

Since the beginning of the spread of AIDS in 1981,about 11.7 million people have died of it.It is roughly calculated that in 1997 alone,about 2.3 million people died of it.Nevertheless,there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS.During the past few years,there has been a drop in new AIDS cases in wealthy nations.In addition,promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life.

1.By telling the story of Karen,the author intends to ______.

A.warn people against high risk behaviors

B.stress the importance of medical tests

C.express sympathy for AIDS victims

D.show the consequences of AIDS

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 1 most probably means “_______”.

A.were lucky in having

B.were asked to adopt

C.regretted having

D.gave birth to

3.Bill was suspected of being infected with HIV after ______.

A.he got married to Karen

B.the family members were tested

C.Karen persuaded him to see the doctor

D.he found something wrong with his tongue

4.It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

A.promising drugs will soon stop AIDS

B.the spread of AIDS could be controlled

C.it is hopeless to win the battle against AIDS

D.the death rate of AIDS patients has been reduced

Answer

1.D

解析:这是一道归纳题。本文前几段讲述了Bill和Karen的故事,说明了AIDS使人死亡,家庭破裂,进而描述AIDS在全球的发病情况,所以Karen的故事是为了说明AIDS带来的后果。

2.A

解析:这是一道词义猜测题。从第一段容易判断他们生了两个孩子,be blessed with 的意思是“幸运得拥有”,所以“were lucky in having”最贴切,能表达幸运的意思。

3.D

解析:这是一道推断题。根据第二段的“Bill developed a white spot on his tongue”和第三段的“The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV.”可以推断出他是在舌头出现问题后去看医生发现染上AIDS的。

4.B

解析:这是一道归纳题。根据最后一段“there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS”和“In addition,promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life.”可以推断出控制AIDS的传播还是有可能的。