Question

A T-shirt that constantly monitors the heart’s activity and detects abnormalities could help protect people against stroke. The T-shirt, which can be washed up to 35 times before it needs replacing, has been developed to improve the detection of dangerous heart conditions like atrial fibrillation( 心房颤动), which causes an irregular heart rhythm and raises the risk of stroke.

At least one million people in Britain are known to have this condition; however, it’s estimated that at least another 500,000 have it but haven’t yet been diagnosed because they have no obvious symptoms. Some will have symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness and fatigue; but a large number of people have no idea they’re ill until they suffer a stroke.

Detecting atrial fibrillation involves carrying out an ECG( 心 电 图 ). Conventional ECGs are done in a hospital and involve highly trained teams of staff attaching up to 24 separate electrodes(电极) to different parts  of  the  body to  measure electrical signals. But  most  patients experience abnormal rhythms only intermittently(间歇地). This means the chance of picking them up during a short hospital check is slim.

Doctors sometimes issue patients with a device called a Holter monitor to wear under their clothes to try to pick up cardiac( 心脏的) problems. This is an electronic box which clips onto your waistband and is connected to a series of electrodes worn on the upper part of your body. But the box itself is quite bulky, hard to hide beneath clothing and involves a dozen or more wires being attached to the patient’s chest.

The Cardioskin T-shirt, which is made from cotton, could be a much more convenient alternative and can be worn 24 hours a day — meaning it is more likely to pick up any abnormal rhythms in the patient’s heart. It has 15 tiny electrodes woven into the material which are strategically placed around the chest area to track the electrical signals from the heart as they travel across the main part of your body.

The electrodes are powered by a battery which can be removed easily when you need to wash the T- shirt and feed results to a microchip which then sends them out wirelessly to an app. This converts( 转换) the data into an easy-to-read chart showing if the heart rate is abnormal. The results are shared with the patient’s doctor so they can check the patient’s heart without having to call them into the hospital.

Martin Cowie, a professor of cardiology at Imperial College London, said, “Cardioskin could be an important development for cardiologists.”

1.How many British people are having dangerous heart conditions according to the text?

A. Less than 0.5 million.    B. Less than 1 million.

C. At least 1.5 million.    D. At least 2 million.

2.What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A. The difficulty in detecting atrial fibrillation.

B. The benefit of detecting atrial fibrillation.

C. The process of detecting atrial fibrillation.

D. The future of detecting atrial fibrillation.

3.Why did the author mention a Holter monitor in the text?

A. To show how convenient the Cardioskin T-shirt is.

B. To introduce a way to check the patient’s heart.

C. To encourage people to care about their health.

D. To explain why doctors like using the device.

4.What can we learn about the Cardioskin T-shirt?

A. It has a battery that can be charged easily and quickly.

B. It can be worn a month without being washed.

C. It has electrodes placed all over the T-shirt.

D. It can speed up the process of diagnosis.

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. A

4. D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了一件能持续监控心脏活动并检测异常的T恤衫，并着重介绍了它给人们带来益处。

1.细节理解题。由第二段“At least one million people in Britain are known to have this condition; however, it’s estimated that at least another 500,000 have it but haven’t yet been diagnosed because they have no obvious symptoms.”可知，英国至少有一百万人患有这种疾病；然而，估计至少还有500，000人患有此病，但由于没有明显的症状，还没有被诊断出来。所以根据本文，至少有150万英国人患有危险的心脏疾病。故C选项正确。

2.段落大意题。由第三段“But most patients experience abnormal rhythms only intermittently(间歇地). This means the chance of picking them up during a short hospital check is slim.”可知，但是大多数患者只是间歇性地出现异常节律。这意味着在短期医院检中检查出它的机率微乎其微。所以判断出第3段的大意为检测心房颤动的困难。故A选项正确。

3.推理判断题。由第四段“But the box itself is quite bulky, hard to hide beneath clothing and involves a dozen or more wires being attached to the patient’s chest.”。以及第五段“The Cardioskin T-shirt, which is made from cotton, could be a much more convenient alternative and can be worn 24 hours a day ”可知，但是这个盒子本身体积很大，很难藏在衣服下面，并且有十几根或更多的电线连接到病人的胸部。由棉花制成 CardioskinT恤衫可能是一种更方便的选择，可以一天24小时穿着——这意味着它更有可能捕捉到患者心脏的任何异常节律。所以判断出为什么作者在文中提到了一个Holter监护仪的装置目的就是为了展示这件CardioskinT恤衫有多方便。故A选项正确。

4.推理判断。由倒数第二段“The electrodes are powered by a battery which can be removed easily when you need to wash the T- shirt and feed results to a microchip which then sends them out wirelessly to an app. This converts the data into an easy-to-read chart showing if the heart rate is abnormal. The results are shared with the patient’s doctor so they can check the patient’s heart without having to call them into the hospital.”可知， 电极由一个电池供电，当你需要清洗t恤并将结果输入微芯片，微芯片会将结果无线发送给一个应用程序时，电池很容易被移除。这转换将数据整理成易于阅读的图表，显示心率是否异常。结果与病人的医生分享，这样他们就可以检查病人的心脏，而不必叫他们去医院。所以判断CardioskinT恤衫对病人来说有很大的益处，它加速了诊断的过程。故D选项正确。