Question

    Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. When it comes to cancer, the sooner you know you have it, the better your chances of surviving. A new blood test could change the way doctors and researchers find cancer in patients. Researchers say the test could provide evidence to the early forms of the disease.

Scientists at Swansea University in Wales came up with the idea. Gareth Jenkins is a professor at the university. “ In this blood test we don’t measure the presence of cancer; we measure the presence of mutant red blood cells which are collateral(附属的) damage that occurs---a by-product of the cancer developing.”

The researchers used normal laboratory equipment to perform the test. This equipment looks for changes in the structure of millions of red blood cells. Those mutant cells lack a surface protein that healthy cells normally have. “The main purpose of the test is to look for very rare cells which have picked up a mutation. The number of mutant red blood cells in a healthy person is around 5 or so per million. You have to look at millions of red blood cells to detect those rare events. These numbers increase in cancer patients---they go up to 40 or 50 mutants on average.”

The researchers tested blood from about 300 people, all of whom have cancer of the esophagus(食道). Patients with esophageal cancer have high levels of mutant red blood cells. Jenkins says that at this point he is not sure if other cancers will produce similar results.

The hope is that the new test and other non-invasive methods could one day become part of commonly used medical methods. He says that using a battery, or series, of tests will be the best way to find out if a person has cancer. These new technologies could save millions of lives.

1.According to the test, how do scientists find out if a person has cancer?

A.By calculating the speed of changes in the structure.

B.By observing the surface protein.

C.By looking for changes in the number of mutant red blood cells.

D.By measuring the presence of cancer.

2.What does the underlined word “mutant” in the 3rd paragraph mean?

A.Decreased. B.Changed. C.Increased. D.Multiplied.

3.The author adopts a/an        tone in the passage.

A.humorous B.favorable C.critical D.objective

4.In which section of a website can you most probably find the passage?

A.Health. B.Fashion. C.Education. D.Culture.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章作者客观的介绍了一种新的检测癌症的方法，并且希望新的测试和其他非侵入性的方法有一天能成为常用的医疗方法的一部分。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段In this blood test we don’t measure the presence of cancer; we measure the presence of mutant red blood cells which are collateral(附属的) damage that occurs---a by-product of the cancer developing.（在血液测试中，我们不测量癌症的存在;我们测量突变红细胞的存在，这是发生的附带损害——癌症发展的副产品。）和根据第三段The number of mutant red blood cells in a healthy person is around 5 or so per million.（健康人体内突变红细胞的数量约为百万分之五左右。）以及These numbers increase in cancer patients---they go up to 40 or 50 mutants on average.（这些数字在癌症患者中增加——平均上升到40或50个突变体。）由此可知，根据这项测试，科学家通过寻找突变红细胞数量的变化，来发现一个人是否患有癌症。故选C。

2.

词义猜测题。根据第三段This equipment looks for changes in the structure of millions of red blood cells.（这种设备寻找数百万红细胞的结构变化。）可知划线词所在的句子Those mutant cells lack a surface protein that healthy cells normally have.意思是这些被改变的细胞缺乏一种正常健康细胞拥有的表面蛋白。“mutant”意思是突变的，A. Decreased.减少的；B. Changed.改变的；C. Increased.增长的；D. Multiplied.乘。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一段The hope is that the new test and other non-invasive methods could one day become part of commonly used medical methods. He says that using a battery, or series, of tests will be the best way to find out if a person has cancer. These new technologies could save millions of lives.（希望新的测试和其他非侵入性的方法有一天能成为常用的医疗方法的一部分。他说，使用电池或一系列测试将是查明一个人是否患有癌症的最佳方法。这些新技术可以挽救数百万人的生命。）结合全文内容，可知作者客观的介绍了一种新的检测癌症的方法，所以作者在这篇文章中采用了客观的语气。故选D。

4.

推理判断题。第一段A new blood test could change the way doctors and researchers find cancer in patients.（一种新的血液检测方法可能会改变医生和研究人员在病人身上发现癌症的方式。）是全文的主题句，结合全文，可知这是一篇关于测试癌症的最新科学研究报道，所以你最可能在网站的“健康”部分找到这篇文章。故选A。