The World Health Organization1 estimates that about one-third of all people are infected with bacteria that cause tuberculosis.Most times,the infection remains inactive.But each year about eight million people develop active cases of TB,usually in their 1  .Two million people die 2 it.The disease has 3 with the spread of AIDS and drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis.

Current treatments take at least six months.Patients have to 4 a combination of several antibiotic drugs daily.But many people stop 5 they feel better.Doing that can 6 to an infection that resists treatment.Public health experts agree that a faster-acting cure for tuberculosis would be more effective.Now a study estimates just how 7 it might be.A professor of international health at Harvard University2 led the study.Joshua Salomon says a shorter treatment program would likely mean not just more patients 8 .It would also mean 9 infectious patients who can pass on their infection to others.

The researchers developed a mathematical model to examine the effects of a two-month treatment plan.They 10 the model with current TB conditions in Southeast Asia.The scientists found that a two-month treatment could prevent about twenty percent of new cases.And it might 11 about twenty-five percent of TB deaths.The model shows that these 12 would take place between two thousand twelve and two thousand thirty.That is,if a faster cure is developed and in wide use by two thousand twelve.

The World Health Organization 13 the DOTS3 program in nineteen ninety.DOTS is Directly Observed Treatment,Short-course.Health workers watch tuberculosis patients take their daily pills to make 14 they continue treatment.

Earlier this year,an international partnership of organizations announced a plan to expand the DOTS program.The ten-year plan also aims to finance research 15 new TB drugs.The four most common drugs used now are more than forty years old.The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development4 says its long-term goal is a treatment that could work in as few as ten doses.

练习：

1.A.kidneys B.lungs C.bones D.livers

2.A.with B.without C.of D.out of

3.A.increased B.decreased C.changed D.disappeared

4.A.make B.take C.try D.test

5.A.as if B.as though C.as far as D.as soon as

6.A.refer B.apply C.lead D.amount

7.A.effective B.ineffective C.expensive D.inexpensive

8.A.cured B.to cure C.being cured D.having been cured

9.A.many B.more C.few D.fewer

10.A.provided B.introduced C.tested D.tempted

11.A.bring about B.contributed to C.promote D.prevent

12.A.increases B.reductions C.creations D.collections

13.A.developed B.invented C.delayed D.refused

14.A.easy B.uneasy C.sure D.unsure

15.A.with B.to C.onto D.into

答案与题解：

1.B结核病多发于肺部，这是一般的常识。

2.C die of意思是“死于某种疾病”，其他三个介词都不与die搭配。

3.A本句后半部说到艾滋病的传播和抗药型结核病的出现，那么根据推理，结核病自然应该增加，而不可能“减少”或“消失”。至于“变化”，不应该是结核病本身发生变化，而应该是发病率发生变化。

4.B从本句的前后句可以推测到本句想说的是“病人每天必须服用几种抗生素药物”，而服药只能选择take，其他几个动词都不合适。

5.D答题时请注意句首的But这个词，显然与上句意思发生转折，而四个选项中as if、as though都是“仿佛，宛如”的意思，as far as则是“至于……，就……而言”的意思，填在这里均不合适，只有as soon as (“一……就……”)才恰当。

6.C本空白处后面有介词to，虽然这几个选项均可与to连用，但意思各不相同：refer to：“谈及”，“参考”;apply to：“接洽”，“适用于”;lead to：“导致”;amount to：“合计，总共达……”，只有选择lead才能使本句意思完整、准确。

7.A只要用心注意上面那句话就可以很容易地找到答案，显然本句想说“现在有一项新的研究想评估这种速效治疗剂究竟效力有多大”。

8.A本句考查的是语法。根据所给的动词，我们可以猜到本句想说的是“Joshua Salomon 说，疗程较短的治疗计划可能意味着不仅仅是更多病人被治好”。这里从语法分析，应该是缺一个定语修饰patients.cure是一个及物动词，病人应是被治疗者。B项to cure不能表示被动;C和D虽然有表示被动的意思，但是C是“正在被治疗”，D是“已经被治疗”，二者隐含的时态在这里均不合适，只有A才是恰当的。

9.D前句说到更多病人可以被治愈，根据推理，后句应该是“将感染传递给别人的传染病人就会更少”，因为前后两句实际上具有因果关系。这里必须用比较级fewer，因为few是表示“不多的，几乎没有的”(=not many)，而fewer则只是与以前比较“更少”，并没有明确多少。

10.C只有填C项tested (“检验”)才能符合上下文意思，其他三项不仅词义不合适，词的用法也不对。

11.D空白处的上一句实际上起到提示作用两个月的治疗方案可以防止大约20%的新病例“，后句自然应是”也可能防止大约20%的结核病死亡“。其他三个选项词义均相反。

12.B上面两句说到“可以防止大约20%的新病例和可能防止大约20%的死亡”，这自然是“降低”，绝不可能是“增加”，更不是“创作品”、“收藏品”。

13.A空白处的上一句实际上也起到提示作用，可以推测，本句应该是“制订DOTS计划”，而四个选项中只有A项有“制订”的意思，计划也不可能是“发明”，从上下文分析，更不可能是“推迟”或“拒绝”。

14.C DOTS计划土中就包含“直接观察”的意思，本句中也说到“卫生工作者监督结核病人每天服药”，目的自然是要“确信他们继续治疗”，C项make sure正是“确信”的意思。

15.D research 后面常用on 或into，偶尔也用for 或after，例如：a research for/after facts (对事实的调查)，但不与其他三个选项连用。

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