Question

Our risk of cancer rises rapidly as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened(拍片檢查) for new tumors (腫瘤) or doesn’t it?

While such tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.

In many cases, screening can lead to additional examinations and operations to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not cause serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained (根深蒂固的) that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a noisy reaction among doctors, patients and social groups.

It’s hard to uproot deeply-held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or previous personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the rest, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy.

A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening—especially considering the explosion of the elderly.

It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that makes sense for patients. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves from medical disputes（爭端）. We need to think about the wise use of health care, which means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.”

1. Routine cancer screening for the elderly people makes sense because ______.

A. it is believed to contribute to a long life

B. it is part of their health care package

C. they are more sensitive about the health

D. they are in greater danger of tumor growth

2.How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?

A. It adds too much to their medical bills.

B. They are doubtful about its necessity.

C. It helps increase their life expectancy.

D. They think it does more harm than good.

3. What is the traditional view about women screening for breast cancer?

A. It is a must for adult women.

B. It applies to women over 50.

C. It is intended for young women.

D. It doesn’t apply to women over 74.

4.What does the writer say is the general view about health care?

A. Better care, longer life.

B. Prevention is better than cure.

C. Better early than late.

D. The more, the better.

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】本文是一篇關于癌癥與健康檢查的說明文，年紀越大，患有癌癥的幾率也就越來越大。似乎排片檢查是很重要的事情，醫(yī)生們也在思考著檢查癌癥的問題。

1. risk of cancer rises rapidly as we age癌癥的危險隨著我們年齡的增加而增加。故選D

2. are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly.研究人員越來越質疑是否所有的檢查對于老年人來說是必要的。故選B

3. when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a noisy reaction among doctors, patients and social groups. 當健康專家們推薦50以下，74以上的女性停止檢查乳腺癌時，這種言論在醫(yī)生、病人和社會群體中引起了強烈的反響。結合語境可以推斷出，社會是反對這種說法的，所以檢查乳腺癌是必要的。故選A

4. need to think about the wise use of health care, which means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.”我們需要思考明智的使用健康保健，這意味著對于年紀大的病人們做出更困難的決定，還有抵制這種誤導的觀念，當談到健康保健時，越多越好。故選D

考點：考察說明文閱讀