Question

    It started during a yoga class. She felt a strange pull on her neck, a feeling completely foreign to her. Her friend suggested she rush to the emergency room. It turned out that she was having a heart attack.

She didn’t share similar symptoms with someone who was likely to have a heart attack. She exercised, watched her plate and did not smoke. But on reviewing her medical history, I found that her cholesterol (胆固醇) level was sky-high. She had been prescribed a cholesterol-lowering statin (他汀) medication, but she never picked up the prescription because of the scary things she had read about statins on the Internet. She was the victim of fake medical news.

While misinformation has been the object of great attention in politics, medical misinformation might lead to an increase in deaths. As is true with fake news in general, medical lies tend to spread further than truths on the Internet—and they have very real bad consequences.

False medical information can also lead to patients experiencing greater side effects through the “nocebo effect (反安慰剂效应) ”. Sometimes patients benefit from an intervention (干预) simply because they believe they will—that’s the placebo effect (安慰剂效应) . The nocebo effect is the opposite. Patients can experience harmful effects because they anticipate them. This is very true of statins. In blinded trials, patients who get statins are no more likely to report feeling muscle aches than patients who get a placebo. Yet, in clinical practice, according to one study, almost a fifth of patients taking statins report side effects, leading many to discontinue the drugs.

What else is on the fake news hit list? As always, vaccines (疫苗) . False concerns that the vaccine may cause side effects have greatly reduced coverage rates.

Cancer is another big target for pushers of medical misinformation—many of whom refuse alternative therapies. “Though most people think cancer tumors are bad, they’re actually the way your body attempts to contain the harmful cells,” one fake news story reads. It warns that prescription medications lead to the uncontrolled cell mutations (变异) .

Silicon Valley needs to face this problem. I am not a free-speech lawyer, but when human health is at risk, perhaps search engines, social media platforms and websites should be held responsible for promoting or hosting fake information. Meanwhile, journalists should do a better job of spreading accurate information.

1.We can learn from Paragraph 2 that ________.

A.the woman paid little attention to her daily diets

B.the unhealthy lifestyle might lead to the woman’s heart attack

C.the symptom of the heart attack was familiar to the woman

D.the woman didn’t take the prescription due to fake medical news

2.According to the passage, the placebo effect functions because patients ________.

A.neglect necessary treatment B.discontinue the harmful drugs

C.believe the benefits of an intervention D.suffer more side effects

3.What does the author mean by claiming that “he is not a free-speech lawyer” in the last paragraph?

A.He is a lawyer very easy to speak to.

B.He is good at speaking because of his job.

C.He is available to give a speech on the law.

D.He is very cautious when speaking something

4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.

A.remind us to take medication as prescribed

B.warn us against fake medical news on the Internet

C.encourage journalists to report more positive news events

D.teach us how to distinguish fake medical news on the Internet

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是议论文。文章通过举例来论证了网络谣言，尤其是关于药物的网络谣言有巨大的杀伤力。

1.细节理解题。首先我们找到第二段，A选项说她不注意她的日常饮食，根据第二段第二行中She exercised, watched her plate and did no smoke.可知该选项错误。BC选项无中生有。D选项在文中第二段倒数第一行和第二行。she never picked up the prescription because of the scary things she had read about stains on the Internet.（她从来没有拿过这个处方，因为她在网上看到关于他汀的可怕事情）可知，由于虚假的医疗信息，这名女子没有服用那个处方药。故选D。

2.细节理解题。首先找到定位词“placebo effect”然后定位到文中第四段Sometimes patients benefit from an intervention simply because they believe they will— that’s the placebo effect.（有时患者从干预中获益仅仅是因为他们相信他们会——这就是安慰剂效应）由此可知，安慰剂效应的作用是因为患者相信干预的好处。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。定位到最后一段中的I am not a free-speech lawyer, but when human health is at risk,perhaps search engines, social media platforms and websites should be held responsible for promoting or hosting fake information.（我不是一个言论自由的律师，但当人类健康受到威胁时，或许搜索引擎、社交媒体平台和网站应该为推广或提供虚假信息负责），句中的perhaps可知，他不赞成随口造谣、传谣的，同时他说话很谨慎。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据第三段中的As is true with fake news in general, medical lies tend to spread further than truths on the Internet—and they have very real bad consequences.（就像假新闻一样，医学上的谎言在网络上传播得比真相还远，而且后果非常严重）及文章中的例子可知，全文的主要目的是通过举例来论证了网络谣言，尤其是关于药物的网络谣言有巨大的杀伤力，来教我们如何辨别网上的假医疗新闻。A选项不是主题，只是第二段中提到的分支。C选项只有最后一段提到。D选项错误，并没有教我们区分假消息。故选B。