星火：2008年12月英语四级阅读理解预测试卷

　　52. In the first paragraph television is mentioned to .

　　A) prove that what some intellectuals had claimed is wrong

　　B) show that TV is an essential part of British people's daily life

　　C) demonstrate that mass media is a very profitable industry

　　D) introduce the media through which the survey was advertised

　　53. The experiment is chiefly done by .

　　A) watching the TV program called "Human Instincts" and filling out feedback forms

　　B) visiting different websites and making matches between pictures and numbers

　　C) rating various photos with numbers and selecting from a choice list

　　D) filling in biographical details and choosing a toothbrush

　　54. Which of the following is true about the result of the experiment?

　　A) A spotted face is more disgusting than a picture of bodily fluids.

　　B) A full packed subway is more disgusting than a louse.

　　C) A bleeding face is the most disgusting one.

　　D) A wasp makes people feel better than a louse.

　　55. The results of the experiment make evolutionary sense in that .

　　A) old people are less likely to produce goods for the society than the young

　　B) people's emotion of disgust is often related to the safety of their children

　　C) women are more likely to bring up children independent of men's help

　　D) old people are more likely to be disgusted than women

　　56. The results of the toothbrush experiment show that .

　　A) a boss is normally less clean and healthy than a weatherman

　　B) a postman is often dirtier than a lover

　　C) a public figure is often more popular than a boss in Britain

　　D) a famous television personality is the best toothbrush partner

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　When it comes to health, the poor are doubly cursed. Not only are they more prone to deadly infectious diseases than the rich, but they have far less access to the means of improvement. Twenty years ago, Paul Farmer, an American doctor and anthropologist(人类学者), set out to do something about this. Amid the political turmoil(混乱)and poverty of rural Haiti, he created a community based health care system called Zanmi Lasante, or Partners in Health. It not only delivers appropriate, affordable medical treatment to thousands of poor people, but goes beyond the clinic to address the social causes making them sick and keeping them from getting better.

　　As Dr. Farmer argues, improving the health of the poor is not just a medical challenge, but a question of human rights. Tackling the inequality, racism, sexism and other forms of "structural violence" which oppress the poor is as critical as extending the drugs. Or as his Haiti patients put it, medicine without food is like washing one's hands and drying them in the dirt.

　　Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer's powerful message is often weakened by his book's academic tone. It does, however, scream out in passages describing the human face of "structural violence". It is these personal stories that make Dr. Farmer's anger at such "stupid deaths" so compelling.

　　The good doctor's motives and methods are better described in Mountains Beyond Mountains. This biography by Tracy Kidder traces Dr. Farmer from his unconventional upbringing and unusual education, shuttling (来回穿梭于) between the shacks of central Haiti and the halls of Harvard Medical School, to his later work around the world. Though well written, Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading. The author is clearly close to his subject, having traveled with Dr. Farmer from the green poverty of Haiti to the tubercular whiteness of Russia. Too close, perhaps. The biographer seems to be seeking his subject's approval, rather than the other way round. Mr. Kidder writes, rather disturbingly, about his fear of disappointing Dr. Farmer, his own pain at wounding him with a critical remark and his relief at the doctor's forgiveness.