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Part III: Reading Comprehension (60%)
Passage 1
When a disease of epidemic proportions rips into the populace, scientists immediately get to work, trying to locate the source of the affliction and find ways to combat it. Oftentimes, successes achieved, as medical science is able to isolate the parasite, germ or cell that causes the problem and finds ways to effectively kill or contain it. In the most serious of cases, in which the entire population of a region or country may be at grave risk, it is deemed necessary to protect the entire population through vaccination, so as to safeguard lives and ensure that the disease will not spread.
The process of vaccination allows the patient’s body to develop immunity to the virus or disease so that, if it is encountered, one can fight it off naturally. To accomplish this, a small weak or dead strain of the disease is actually injected into the patient in a controlled environment, so that his body’s immune system can learn to fight the invader properly. Information on how to penetrate the disease’s defenses is transmitted to all elements of the patient’s immune system in a process that occurs naturally, in which genetic information is passed from cell to cell. This makes sure that, should the patient later come into contact with the real problem, his body is well equipped and trained to deal with it, having already done so before.
There are dangers inherent in the process, however. On occasion, even the weakened version of the disease contained in the vaccine proves too much for the body to handle, resulting in the immune case of the smallpox vaccine, designed to eradicate the smallpox epidemic that nearly wiped out the entire Native American population and killed massive numbers of settlers. Approximately 1 in 10,000 people who receives the vaccine contract the smallpox disease from the vaccine itself and dies from it. Thus, if the entire population of the United States were to receive the Smallpox Vaccine today, 3000 Americans would be left dead.
Fortunately, the smallpox virus was considered eradicated in the early 1970s, ending the mandatory vaccination of all babies in America. In the event of a re-introduction of the disease, however, mandatory vaccinations may resume, resulting in more unexpected deaths from vaccination. The process, which is truly a blessing, may indeed hide some hidden cures.
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
51. How do vaccines protect humans from diseases according to paragraph two?
A. By passing information on how to fight the disease to the disease.
B. By passing information on how to fight the disease to the immune system.
C. By weakening the disease so that the immune system can defeat it.
D. Introducing the disease to the body, so that survivors have already fought it.
52. What does the example of the smallpox vaccine illustrate?
A. The way that vaccines protect people from diseases.
B. The effectiveness of vaccines in eradicating certain diseases.
C. The practical use of a vaccine to control an epidemic disease.
D. The possible negative outcome of administering vaccines.
53. The author argues that vaccinations are both a blessing and a curse because ________.
A. saving the many would not necessarily justify the death of the few
B. some vaccines, such as the smallpox vaccine, have negative side effects
C. they don’t always work
D. while many lives are saved, some are actually killed by the vaccines
54. The best title for the passage would be ________.
A. The Smallpox Vaccine: An Analysis
B. How Vaccines Work
C. Vaccines: Methods and Implications
D. A Warning on the Negative Side Effects of Vaccines
55. The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A. convince the reader that vaccines are not as safe as many think.
B. educate the reader on how vaccines are used and some of their dangers.
C. educate the reader on the circumstances that would necessitate widespread vaccinations.
D. present the method by which vaccines are used through the case of the smallpox vaccine.
Passage 2
Few natural dangers are more feared than avalanches. Avalanches are a familiar part of European history, particularly in the Swiss and French Alps. This is where the direction of wars has turned almost instantly because of avalanches wiping out invading armies.
In North America, avalanches are limited almost entirely to the Rocky Mountains and the lower ranges to the west, the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades. Avalanches have occurred in the mountains of New England but not with the regularity and intensity seen in the western mountains.
Several methods are used in explaining and predicting avalanches. Scientists are learning about them using research methods. So many of the factors that create avalanches are hidden beneath the snow’s surface that predictions are still largely guesswork. Therefore, winter travelers must assume the worst of conditions when they traverse the slopes.
An avalanche occurs when a given amount of snow becomes too heavy for whatever is holding it in place. It then breaks loose and slides downhill.
Avalanches are divided into two general categories, loose snow and slab. A loose snow avalanche usually starts at a single point, such as a skier’s track, and spreads out like a fan or a pyramid in a chain reaction. One crystal breaks another free, which multiples as the loose snow moves downhill. Sometimes these avalanches stop after only a few feet. Sometimes they move thousands of tons of snow downhill in speeds up to 300 miles per hour. This creates a shock wave that can flatten parts of a forest that are not even touched by the actual avalanche.
Slab avalanches are those that have a wide area of snow which breaks loose in a large piece. These can range in size from just a few square feet to thousands of square feet of snow. The most dangerous and common type of avalanche for skiers is the so-called “soft slab” avalanche. This type occurs most often during, or just after a heavy snowfall. The snow hasn’t yet had a chance to settle and adhere to the temperature, the less likely the new snow will form a bond with the existing snow.
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
56. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. Avalanches
B. The History of Avalanches
C. Skiers Beware
D. Avalanches Can Kill
57. According to the passage, how did avalanches affect wars?
A. They hid the armies approaching the city aiding in the attack.
B. They killed the armies approaching the city.
C. They blocked paths into the city.
D. They snow-blinded the approaching armies.
58. According to the passage, what must skiers assume about avalanches when skiing?
A. They only have to worry after a heavy snowfall.
B. Avalanches only occur in the Swiss or French Alps.
C. They should always expect that an avalanche will occur.
D. When skiing in New England, they will never have to worry about an avalanche.
59. According to the passage, when is the most dangerous time for skiers?
A. When the temperature is below 20 degrees F.
B. Right before a snowstorm.
C. During a snowstorm.
D. In the winter.
60. According to the passage, which factor causes an avalanche?
A. The slope of the mountain.
B. The size of the snowfall.
C. The amount and intensity of movement around the snowfall.
D. The weight of the snow.
部分参考答案：
51. 选B。从第二段原文so that his body’s immune system can learn to fight the invader properly可知，疫苗将对抗疾病的方法传给了免疫系统。原文中invader即是疾病。
52. 选D。此题可定位于第3、4段。这两段主题是使用天花疫苗可能会带来的负面效果，因此项D“使用疫苗可能会带来负面结果”正确。疫苗是怎样保护人免于疾病；疫苗根除疾病的效力及用疫苗来控制流行疾病的过程均不是作者通过这个例子想要说明的内容。故排除A、B、C。
53. 选D。作者在文中指出了疫苗的两面性，即疫苗在拯救多数人生命的同时，会使少数人丧命。A项中justify指正名，说明某事物合理。显然作者并未因少数人的死亡而反对使用疫苗，故A说法错误。
54. 选C。“疫苗：方法和内在含义”是文章的中心思想所在。
55. 选B。作者第二段具体讲述了疫苗的生效过程，而在第三、四段则讲述了疫苗的潜在危险性。
56. 选A。文章前半部分写了雪崩的地域因素。后半部分则详述了雪崩的两个类型。文中并未提到雪崩的历史，排除B。文章也并未花大篇幅描写雪崩的危险性，故排除C和D。