2008年12月英语六级阅读备考技巧及词汇(六)

　　Useful as half-sleeping might be, it's only been found in birds and such water mammals(哺乳动物)as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning.

　　Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UGLA says he wonders if birds' half-brain sleep "is just the tip of the iceberg(冰山)". He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.

　　16. Which of the following is evidence that TT is widely practiced?

　　A) TT has been in existence for decades.

　　B) Many patients were cured by therapeutic touch.

　　C) TT therapists are often employed by leading hospitals.

　　D) More than 100,000 people are undergoing TT treatment.

　　注：D为迷惑选项数字必转化，C对应第二段末句。

　　17. Very few TT practitioners responded to the $1 million offer because ____________.

　　A) they didn't take the offer seriously

　　B) they didn't want to risk their career

　　C) they were unwilling to reveal their secret

　　D) they thought it was not in line with their practice

　　注：争议题，B、C皆可。

　　18. The purpose of Emily Rosa's experiment was ____________.

　　A) to see why TT could work the way it did

　　B) to find out how TT cured patient's illness

　　C) to test whether she could sense the human energy field

　　D) to test whether a human energy field really existed

　　注：对应文章第三段首句

　　19. Why did some TT practitioners agree to be the subjects of Emily's experiment?

　　A) It involved nothing more than mere guessing.

　　B) They thought it was going to be a lot of fun.

　　C) It was more straightforward than other experiments.

　　D) They sensed no harm in a little girl's experiment.

　　注：对应文章第三段末句，no harm对应innocent，little girl对应fourth-grade

　　20. What can we learn from the passage?

　　A) Some widely accepted beliefs can be deceiving.

　　B) Solid evidence weighs more than pure theories.

　　C) Little children can be as clever as trained TT practitioners.

　　D) The principle of TT is too profound to understand.

　　A nine-year-old schoolgirl single-handedly cooks up a science-fair experiment that ends up debunking(揭穿...的真相)a widely practiced medical treatment. Emily Rosa's target was a practice known as therapeutic(治疗)touch (TT for short), whose advocates manipulate patients' "energy field" to make them feel better and even, say some, to cure them of various ills. Yet Emily's test shows that these energy fields can't be detected, even by trained TT practitioners(行医者). Obviously mindful of the publicity value of the situation, Journal editor George Lundberg appeared on TV to declare, "Age doesn't matter. It's good science that matters, and this is good science."