Question

The number of smokers in England is about 8 million. According to the Department of Health, smoking is the biggest cause of early death in the country. Smokers in England have been asked to give up smoking for 28 days this month, in an action backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Research shows people who manage not to light up for this length of time are 5 times more likely to kick the habit. Public health experts say campaigns that include a combination of hard-hitting ads and supportive messages work best.

Quitting smoking can be difficult. However, people are much more likely to succeed if other people are doing the same than if they try to do it alone and go cold turkey. Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how pressure from people around can prevent a smoker going on smoking. “We are social animals,” he said.

The action has met some doubts among readers of the BBC News Online website. Some compared it to asking people to stop eating as a way of fighting overweight. Others doubt the action’s effectiveness. “Its weakness is that it fails to explain why a person smokes, and the reasons are as many as the number of smokers”, says someone who signed as BluesBerry.

Another reader, Cazz, has decided to give it some credit. He says:“ Campaigns like this won’t necessarily inspire the majority of smokers to quit, but may encourage those thinking about quitting to set a date and try. Surely it’s worth a shot. ”

1.What does the text mainly talk about?

A．A new action to quit smoking.

B．A way of fighting overweight.

C．A country with the most smokers.

D．The biggest cause of early death.

2.The underlined phrase “go cold turkey” in the third paragraph means “_______”.

A．buy a cold turkey   B．eat too much food   C．stop a bad habit     D．get much support

3.Why is it easier to stop smoking when other people are doing the same?

A．Because people usually respect each other.

B．Because they’re faced with the same pressure.

C．Because people are influenced by each other.

D．Because they keep the same animals as pets.

4.What’s Cazz’ s attitude in the last paragraph?

A．Distant．          B．Doubtful．        C．Surprised．        D．Approving

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章讲述了吸烟有害健康，健康部门采取了一项新的措施来帮助人们戒烟。这项措施的可行性存在着争议。

1.根据Smokers in England have been asked to give up smoking for 28 days this month, in an action backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation. 以及The action has met some doubts among readers of the BBC News Online website.

故选A。

2.根据Quitting smoking can be difficult. 以及Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how pressure from people around can prevent a smoker going on smoking. “We are social animals,” he said. 可知“go cold turkey”意思是突然停止，故选C。

3.根据Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how pressure from people around can prevent a smoker going on smoking. “We are social animals,” he said. 所以答案为C。

4.根据Another reader, Cazz, has decided to give it some credit. He says:“ Campaigns like this won’t necessarily inspire the majority of smokers to quit, but may encourage those thinking about quitting to set a date and try. Surely it’s worth a shot. ”可知Cazz认为值得一试，是赞同的态度，因此选D。

考点：社会现象类短文阅读理解