例2、It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional. Small wonder. Americans‘ life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minuts surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death-and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.
Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions.
We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved.
Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it‘s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians-frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient-too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.
In 1950, the U. S. spent $12. 7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be $1540 billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age—say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm“have a duty to die and get out of the way”, so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.
I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O‘Connor is in her 70s, and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s. These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have.
Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. Ask a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful.
I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people‘s lives.
The author‘s attitude toward Richard Lamm’s remark is one of .(2003)
(A) strong disapproval (B) reserved consent
(C) slight contempt (D) enthusiastic support
「解析」:
第一步:根据局部对象或者局部对象的主体找出本题的出题句;根据该题的题干,我们可以依据Richard Lamm‘s remark找到本题目的出题句(得分句)为第三段的最后一句话,但是这句话里并没有作者的情感态度,只有Richard Lamm的看法,因此本句不是出题句(得分句),但是可以肯定的是出题句就是该句附近。我们发现在第四段第一句话说I would not go that far.这里的I就是指作者,that是指Richard Lamm的看法,所以本句才是真正的出题句;
第二步:在出题句(或称得分句)中寻找含有感情色彩的词语或句子;这个句子中没有一个单词是有感情色彩的,但是作为一个整体又是有感情色彩的,意思是作者不会和Richard Lamm走一样远的。不会走一样远并不是说不走,只是说没有走的那么远,所以作者对于Richard Lamm的看法是局部的同意和支持的;
第三步:比较该感情色彩的词语或句子和四个选项,选择一个意思和该词语最为接近的选项;因此本题应该选择B;
例3、When it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn‘t biting her nails just yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist isn’t cutting, filling or polishing as many nails as she‘d like to, either. Most of her clients spend $12 to $50 weekly, but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames the softening economy.“I’m a good economic indicator,”she says.“I provide a service that people can do without when they‘re concerned about saving some dollars.”So Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillard’s department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus.“I don‘t know if other clients are going to abandon me, too”she says.
Even before Alan Greenspan‘s admission that America’s red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For retailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year‘s pace. But don’t sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy‘s long-term prospects, even as they do some modest belt-tightening.
Consumers say they‘re not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their own fortunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhattan,“there’s a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10 million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses,”says broker Barbara Corcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets.
“Instead of 20 to 30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three,”says john Deadly, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a job.
Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown.
Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn‘t mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom.
Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattan‘s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant need to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co.
may still be worth toasting.
How do the public feel about the current economic situation? (2004)
(A) Optimistic.(B) Confused. (C) Carefree.(D) Panicked.
「解析」:
第一步:根据局部对象或者局部对象的主体找出本题的出题句;我们发现本题根本就没有对应的出题句。因为文章中没有the public这个短语。在没有一样的词语的时候我们应该寻找一个近意词来替代。结果发现在文章倒数第二段的第一句话中的Consumers即是指大众,因此本句为出题句。
第二步:在出题句(或称得分句)中寻找含有感情色彩的词语或句子;在最后一段的第一句中我们找到了not in despair这个词组,是没有绝望的意思;
第三步:比较该感情色彩的词语或句子和四个选项,选择一个意思和该词语最为接近的选项;发现A是乐观的意思,是四个选项中意思最为接近的选项;