1、专业英语八级（阅读）练习试卷 1及答案与解析 0 Countless medical studies have concluded that playing too many video games can be harmful to ones health. Now, however, it turns out that one of the more popular video-game consoles on the market, the Xbox 360, could be used to save lives. A computer scientist at the Univers
2、ity of Warwick in England has devised a way to use an Xbox 360 to detect heart defects and help prevent heart attacks. The new tool has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry because it is both faster and cheaper than the computer systems that are currently used by scientists to perform
3、 complex heart research. The system, detailed in a study in the August edition of the Journal of Computational Biology and Chemistry, is based on a video-game demo created by Simon Scarle two years ago when he was a software engineer at Microsofts Rare studio, the division of the U.S.-based company
4、that designs games for the Xbox 360. Scarle modified a chip in the console so that instead of producing graphics for the game, it now delivers data tracking how electrical signals in the heart move around damaged cardiac cells. This creates a model of the heart that allows doctors to identify heart
5、defects or conditions such as arrhythmia, a disturbance in the normal rhythm of the heart that causes it to pump less effectively. “This is a clever use of a processing chip . to speed up calculations of heart rhythm. What used to take hours can be calculated in seconds, without having to employ an
6、extremely expensive, high-performance computer,“ Denis Noble, director of Computational Physiology at Oxford University, tells TIME. To create a heart model now, researchers must use supercomputers or a network of PCs to crunch millions of mathematical equations relating to the proteins, cells and t
7、issues of the heart, a time-consuming and costly process. Scarles Xbox system can deliver the same results at a rate five times faster and 10 times more cheap, according to the study. “These game consoles arent just glorified toys. They are pieces of very powerful computing hardware,“ Scarle says. “
8、I can see this . being most useful for student sand early-career scientists to just quickly and cheaply grab that extra bit of computing power they otherwise wouldnt be able to get.“ Scarle attributes his breakthrough creation to his unusual background of working as a software engineer in the gaming
9、 industry and performing electrocardio-dynamics research at the University of Sheffield in England. The idea for the heart-modeling tool came from a “little shooter game“ he developed at Microsoft in which a player tries to gun down enemies in an arena meant to resemble a heart. “I did a game-ified
10、version of my old cardiac code. I could actually present some proper science based on the cool things us game developers do,“ Scarle says. The Xbox 360 isnt the only video-game console that is being used for scientific research. At the University of Massachusetts campus in Dartmouth, scientists are
11、using Sony PlayStations to simulate black-hole collisions to try to solve the mystery of what happens when a super massive black hole swallows a star. So perhaps parents shouldnt be too worried if their children are spending an inordinate amount of time playing video games. Who knows, todays Grand T
12、heft Auto or Halo addict may end up discovering a new moon around Saturn or finding a cure for cancer. 1 Which of the following is NOT true about the Xbox 360? （ A） It is a popular video-game. （ B） It was originally developed to detect heart defects. （ C） It is a good example that video games can be
13、nefit human beings. （ D） It is preferred by the medical industry in terms of its speed and cost. 2 What can be inferred from the passage? （ A） The author criticized the gaming industry. （ B） The author doubts if video games can be beneficial. （ C） The author believes that video games are good for on
14、es health. （ D） The author believes that video games can help scientific research if properly used. 3 What does “inordinate“ mean in Paragraph 9? （ A） limited （ B） some （ C） large （ D） excessive 4 What is the authors attitude toward playing video games? （ A） disgusting （ B） full of hatred （ C） open-
15、minded （ D） disapproving 5 Which of the following is the best title for the passage? （ A） Xbox: A Kind of New Video Games （ B） Xbox: A Kind of Magical Video Games （ C） How Xbox Can Help Fight Heart Disease （ D） Playing Video Games Can Benefit Children 5 Since early November, cases of H1N1 have conti
16、nued to decline nationwide, and scientists keeping track of the numbers say that as pandemics go, 2009 H1N1 may turnout to be a mild one at least for the time being. The question now on health officials minds is: Will there be a second wave of cases in the new year? The answer depends on whom you as
17、k. “We took an informal poll of about a dozen of some of the worlds leading experts in influenza,“ Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters recently. “About half of them said, Yes, we think its likely that well have another surge in cases.
18、About half said, No, we think its not likely. And one said, Flip a coin.“ It is an accurate reflection of how unpredictable the influenza virus can be. Although flu activity has been waning for the third week in a row, health officials warn that there are still four to five months left in the offici
19、al influenza season, plenty of time for the virus to make its rounds and find new hosts. “The story of pandemics, and the story ofH1N1 in general, is the story of persistent uncertainty where we never quite know what we are going to get or when,“ says Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Cen
20、ter for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. How severe the current H1N1 pandemic seems depends on what you use as a measuring stick. Compared with previous pandemics, like the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed 20 million people and infected up to 40% of the
21、 worlds population, or even the far less deadly 1957 and 1968 bouts with a strain of H1N1 influenza similar to the 2009 strain, things dont seem as bad this time around. Fewer people are getting severely ill when infected, and fewer have died or required hospitalization from the flu than in previous
22、 pandemics. Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, and his colleagues studied the course of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic last spring in two cities New York and Minneapolis and determined that 0.048% of people who developed symptoms of H1N1 died, and 1.44% required hospita
23、lization. Based on that data, published in PLoS Medicine, Lipsitch anticipates far fewer deaths from 2009 H1N1than was initially believed. By the end of the flu season in the spring of 2010, Lipsitch predicts, anywhere from 6,000 to 45,000 people will have died from H1N1 in the U.S., with the number
24、 most likely to end up between 10,000 and 15,000. Those estimates are far below the death toll of the 1957 flu, which killed 69,800 people in the U.S., according to government figures, and smaller also than the early predictions for the2009 H1N1 flu deaths, which ranged from 30,000 to 90,000. It is
25、not clear, however, that past pandemics are an appropriate gauge for evaluating the current flu or that the new projections are based on complete data. The eventual death toll of 2009 H1N1 may be less grim than the outcomes of previous pandemics, but it should be noted that 90 years ago, and even 40
26、 years ago, health officials lacked the antiviral therapies and nationwide vaccination capabilities that are available today. That may have contributed to pandemics having a more devastating effect on the health of past populations. The new estimates are also less alarming than those provided also b
27、y Lipsitch to the Presidents Council of Advisers on Science and Technology last summer near the start of the pandemic. At the time, researchers had only patchy data on the number of people infected by, and seeking treatment for, the new flu. The initially bleak prediction of the impact of H1N1 with
28、up to 50% of the U.S. population becoming infected in the fall and winter of 2009, resulting in as many as 90,000 deaths was based on modeling of previous pandemics. Fortunately, the worst case scenario did not come to pass. “The worst case consistent with the data we have now is a lot milder than t
29、he worst case consistent with the data we had in the summer or spring,“ Lipsitch says. Still, Lipsitch and other health officials acknowledge that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic is not over. What worries health officials most is that as both seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses circulate among the population, the
30、two strains could recombine into a more virulent and aggressive version that could cause more widespread illness and even death. How viruses behave once they nestle into a host is completely unpredictable, but scientists know that in a lab dish, seasonal and H1N1 flu strains mix and match readily. “
31、Im thinking we may have dodged a bullet here if in fact we dont get a more severe wave coming on the heels of the current wave,“ says Redlener. “But well see what happens.“ A second wave could still prove more deadly than the seasonal flu, especially for young children. To date, 189 children have di
32、ed of influenza in the U.S., the majority of them related to H1N1 infection, and that number is already higher than the total number of pediatric deaths attributed to flu in 2008. Lipsitch says that if current trends hold,H1N1 may end up causing as many influenza deaths, if not more, than the season
33、al flu, which kills about 36,000 Americans each year. Instead of hitting the elderly the hardest, though, most of the deaths may be among young children and infants. 6 What can be inferred from the passage? （ A） It is not as severe as experts expected. （ B） It is likely to have a second wave of H1N1
34、. （ C） It is not likely to have a second wave of H1N1. （ D） No one knows for sure whether there will be a second wave of H1N1. 7 Which of the following words can best feature the H1N1 virus? （ A） fatal （ B） mild （ C） unpredictable （ D） severe 8 What can be inferred from Paragraph 6? （ A） H1N1 is dif
35、ferent from past pandemics. （ B） Evaluated by past pandemics, H1N1 is not as severe. （ C） Compared with past pandemics, H1N1 is not so severe. （ D） It is hard to say if H1N1 is less severe than past pandemics. 9 Which of the following is the best title for this passage? （ A） The H1N1 Virus: How Does
36、 It Behave? （ B） The H1N1 Pandemic: Is It More Severe? （ C） The H1N1 Pandemic: Is a second wave Possible? （ D） The H1N1 Pandemic: Who Is Most Likely to Be the Victim? 10 Who is most likely to be the victim of H1N1? （ A） Adults under age 65. （ B） Young children. （ C） The elderly. （ D） Doctors. 专业英语八级
37、（阅读）练习试卷 1答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 此题是事实题。由第一、三段可知， Xbox 360是一种电子游戏的控制板，经 过芯片改装之后被用于心脏检查。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 此题是推断题。文章主题是电子游戏可以对人类有用。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 此题是词义理解题。结合上下文可知，家长不必太担心孩子花太多的时间玩电子游戏。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 此题是推理概括题。由最后一段可知，作者认为家长不必太担心孩子玩电子游戏，或许明天他们会因为玩电子游戏而成为
38、一名科学家。故作者对玩电 子游戏持开放态度。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 此题是推理概括题。文章主题是如何使用 Xbox来诊断心脏疾病，故选项 C为正确答案。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 此题是推理判断题。由第二段可知，对于是否会有第二波甲流疫情，回答不一。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 此题是推理概括题。由第三段可知。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 此题是推断题。以往疫情数据并不是一个很好的衡量当前疫情的指标，因此，不好说孰轻孰重。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 此题是推理概括题。由全文可知，卫生专家当前最关心的是是否会有第二波甲流疫情发生。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 此题是事实题。由最后一段可知，甲流的最大受害者是小孩。 【知识模块】 阅读
