Question

    In the West, people are taught to wear masks only when they get sick. Masks are seen as a tool to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don’t need to wear them. Therefore, during the novel coronavirus outbreak, overseas Chinese students said that they would be “stared at like a virus spreader” if they go out with a mask. According to a survey done by Global Times among some European and American people, wearing a mask in public can make them feel “worried”, “shy”, and “afraid of being looked at differently.”

But as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow around the world, many people in the West are changing their attitudes. In the US, for example, the need for masks is very high now. The US surgeon general (卫生局局长) has been asking people to avoid hoarding too many masks, as they are more needed in hospitals than by the general public.

However, in Asian countries like China and Japan, there has been a long tradition of mask-wearing. In China, for example, when doctor Wu Liande invented the modern medical mask during the pneumonic plague (肺鼠疫) in 1910, the mask became a symbol of China’s position as a modern, scientific nation, according to Scottish medical anthropologist (人类学家) Christos Lynteris. The 2003 SARS epidemic led to the wide use of masks as a form of anti-viral (抗病毒的) protection in China and elsewhere in East Asia.

In Japan, wearing masks has long been seen as a manner to reassure (使安心) others when one catches a cold or flu. Some Japanese also turn masks into fashion accessories (配饰), with different colors and patterns to match their clothes. Wearing masks is also a way to “hide” for young women when they don’t have their makeup (化妆) on.

In more collectivist (集体主义的) cultures in Asia, wearing masks might also be a symbol of solidarity (团结) during the outbreak, according to Lynteris. People wear masks “to show that they want to stick together” in the face of danger, Lynteris wrote.

1.Why don’t healthy people in the West wear masks?

A.They don’t think masks can prevent disease.

B.Only medical workers need to wear masks.

C.They think masks are for sick people to wear.

D.Wearing a mask looks funny.

2.What does the underlined word “hoarding” in paragraph 2 mean?

A.wearing B.making C.throwing D.keeping

3.Masks have been widely used in China since _____.

A.the outbreak of SARS in 2003

B.the pneumonic plague in 1910

C.Christos Lynteris wore one publicly

D.the invention of the modern medical mask

4.The main idea of the passage is_________.

A.proving the importance of wearing masks during an epidemic

B.showing opinions about masks between different countries

C.explaining why Westerners don’t wear masks

D.introducing the history of wearing masks

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是说明文。介绍了西方国家和亚洲国家对口罩的不同看法和做法。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段开头In the West, people are taught to wear masks only when they get sick. Masks are seen as a tool to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don’t need to wear them.可知在西方，人们被教导只有在生病时才戴口罩。口罩被视为一种保护病人和防止疾病传播的工具，所以健康的人不需要戴口罩。健康人认为口罩是给病人戴的，故选C。

2.

猜测词义题。根据上下句the need for masks is very high now.和as they are more needed in hospitals than by the general public.可知由于疫情，现在口罩的需求量很大，尤其是医院的需求更大。根据The US surgeon general (卫生局局长) has been asking people to avoid hoarding too many masks,中has been asking, avoid和 too many masks等词语可推测美国卫生局局长是要求民众避免囤积口罩，画线词语hoarding和keeping同义，故选D。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段The 2003 SARS epidemic led to the wide use of masks as a form of anti-viral (抗病毒的) protection in China and elsewhere in East Asia.可知2003年的非典导致口罩在中国和东亚其它地区成为了一种广泛使用的抗病毒保护，即从此口罩在中国广泛使用。故选A。

4.

主旨大意题。第一段介绍在西方国家，人们只有在生病时才戴口罩，他们认为健康的人不需要戴口罩。第二段介绍由于新冠病毒，西方人对口罩的观点开始改变，人们开始戴口罩防御病毒。后面几段介绍了在亚洲，尤其是中国和日本不同的情况，人们对戴口罩不同的看法和做法。所以本文是在展示不同国家对口罩的看法，故选B。