Question

    Fever has usually been regarded as a threat to health. However, no one has actually proved that fever is dangerous. This fact attracted the attention of Matthew J. Kluger. Imagining that fever might not be as harmful as it had been supposed, Kluger set up a series of experiments with lizards (蜥蜴).

What Kluger and his team did in their first experiment was simple. They put some lizards in a sand-box, one end of which was heated to 44°C, while the other was at a room temperature. It was found that the lizards moved from one part of the box to the other in order to keep a constant temperature of about 38°C. Having shown that normal lizards regulate (调节) their own temperature, Kluger, in a second experiment, then set out to show that lizards, like most other animals, develop fever when infected (感染). This was done by making lizards infected with bacteria (细菌) that were known to cause disease. As the team expected, the infected lizards remained longer in the heated part of the box, until they had raised their body temperatures to two or three degrees above normal. In other words, the sick lizards gave themselves fever.

In a third experiment, the team observed the effect of temperature on the survival of the lizards. One group of infected lizards was given a fever-suppressing (退烧) drug. The other group was given no drug and ran a fever, that is to say, they kept a higher temperature for four or five days before seeking a cooler environment. The results were impressive. Of those which raised their body temperature, all but one remained alive. Of those given the fever-suppressing drug, more than half died. Similar results have since been produced in other animals. For example, infected fish swim to warmer water, and will die if not allowed to do so.

An important conclusion can be drawn from these experiments. As Kluger points out, lizards have been on earth for hundreds of millions of years. It is reasonable to suppose that a response that is so old has been kept by nature for some purpose. It would appear, therefore, that fever does not make disease worse. Rather it is part of the mechanism (机能) by which infection is controlled.

1.In his experiments, Kluger was hoping to prove that fever ______.

A.is not harmful to lizards

B.is necessary for both humans and animals

C.is not necessarily bad

D.has the same effect on humans and animals

2.In the third experiment, the lizards given a fever-suppressing drug died because ______.

A.they had no more fever that they needed

B.they were normal ones and had no fever

C.the drug had no effect on sick lizards

D.the drug made their body temperature too low

3.How would you understand the underlined words “ a response ” in the last paragraph?

A.Recovery from disease

B.Natural defense in the body against disease.

C.Cause of disease.

D.Relationship between living things and nature.

4.Which of the following is the best summary of this article?

A.Lizards are most suitable for experiments on fever.

B.Fever may play an important part in curing disease.

C.Fever helps lizards to get rid of infection.

D.Lizards and humans are not as different as people supposed.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。主要说明了发烧并不会使疾病恶化，这是一种抵抗疾病的自然防御能力，甚至可能在治愈疾病中起重要作用。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中“magining that fever might not be as harmful as it had been supposed, Kluger set up a series of experiments with lizards (蜥蜴).” 考虑到发烧可能没有想象的那么有害，克鲁格用蜥蜴做了一系列的实验。可知，Kluger在实验中希望证明发烧不一定有害。故选C项。

2.

推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中“Of those which raised their body temperature, all but one remained alive. Of those given the fever-suppressing drug, more than half died.”在那些升高体温的蜥蜴中，只有一只死了，其他都还活着。在服用退烧药物的蜥蜴中，有一半以上死亡。由此判断出，在第三个实验中服用退烧药物的蜥蜴死亡是因为它们没有得到所需要的发烧。故选A项。

3.

词义猜测题。根据下文“fever does not make disease worse. Rather it is part of the mechanism (机能) by which infection is controlled.”发烧不会使疾病恶化。它是控制感染的机制的一部分。结合“It is reasonable to suppose that a response that is so old has been kept by nature for some purpose.”可以合理地假设，这种抵抗疾病的机制是很古老的，并且出于某种目的被自然保留了下来。可知a response指的是控制疾病感染的机制的一部分。意在表明它是抵抗疾病的自然防御能力。故选B项。

4.

主旨大意题。根据最后一段中“fever does not make disease worse. Rather it is part of the mechanism (机能) by which infection is controlled.”发烧不会使疾病恶化。它是控制疾病感染机制的一部分。结合短文主要说明了发烧并不会使疾病恶化，这是一种抵抗疾病的自然防御能力，甚至可能在治愈疾病中起重要作用。由此可知，短文的最佳标题为“发烧可能在治愈疾病中起着重要作用”。故选B项。