Lung Cancer

　　1. The death rate due to cancer of the lungs has increased more than 800 percent in males and has more than doubled in females during the last 25 years. It is considerably higher in urban and industrial areas than in rural districts. There are many possible causes, but it is still controversial which are most blameworthy. Those factors which have been mentioned most frequently are the presence of foreign particles and other irritants in the air (smoke particles, smog, exhaust fumes), and the smoking of cigarettes and cigars.

　　2. Numerous studies have demonstrated a striking correlation between the death rate from lung cancer and smoking habits. Among heavy smokers —21 to 30 cigarettes per day —the mortality rate from lung cancer is nearly 17 times the rate from nonsmokers. It is expected the death rate among women will increase as the present high rate of smoking among women has its effect.

　　3. Sometimes cases of lung cancer are discovered at the time an x-ray is taken for the purpose of detecting tuberculosis. Too often, however, a current emphasis upon the danger of exposure to radiation1 from X-ray machines can frighten people away from routine chest X-rays and thus prevent an early diagnosis of lung cancer. Early detection is absolutely essential if any possibility of cure is to be maintained2. Modern X-ray machines in competent hands pose such slight danger, at least to those over 40 years of age, that this would be much more than offset by the advantages of discovering a tumor while it is small enough to be completely removed.3

　　4. A common form of lung cancer is bronchogenic carcinoma4,so-called because the malignancy originates in5 a bronchus. The tumor may grow until the bronchus is blocked,cutting off6 the supply of air to that lung. The lung then collapses,and the secretions trapped in the lung spaces become infected,with a resulting pneumonia or the formation of a lung abscess. Such a lung cancer can also spread to cause secondary growths in the lymph nodes7 of the chest and neck as well as in the brain and other parts of the body. The only treatment that offers a possibility of cure,before secondary growths have had time to form,is to remove the lung completely. This operation is called pneumonectomy.

　　5. Malignant tumors of the stomach,the breast,the prostate gland8 and other organs may spread to the lungs,causing secondary growths.

　　练习:

　　1.Paragraph l __________

　　2.Paragraph 2 __________

　　3.Paragraph 3 __________

　　4.Paragraph 4 __________

　　A Common Secondary Lung Cancers

　　B The Advantages Brought about by Routine Chest Checkup

　　C Relationship Between Mortality Rate from Lung Cancer and Smoking Habits

　　D Operable and Inoperable Lung Cancers

　　E The Increasing Death Rate from Lung Cancer and Possible Causes

　　F An Ordinary Type of Lung Cancer

　　5.Routine X-ray chest examination is not so dangerous __________.

　　6.A primary lung cancer patient may be cured by removing the lung completely __________.

　　7.People are still not sure __________.

　　8.The more cigarettes one smokes,__________.

　　A before the cancer cells spread elsewhere

　　B the more chances of dying of X-ray radiation he will have

　　C what is most responsible for lung cancer

　　D as some people imagine

　　E the more chances of getting lung cancer he will have

　　F which form of lung cancer is a common one

　　答案与题解：

　　1.E　第一段谈到了在过去25年中肺癌死亡率男性增加了八倍多，而女性则增加一倍多；城市和工业区比农村要高得多。然后又列出了可能造成这种情况的一些原因,故E为最佳答案。

　　2.C　第二段第一句就指出了抽烟与肺癌死亡率之间的相互关系，后面两句对此作了具体说明。

　　3.B　第三段第一句说有时肺癌是在进行X光检查结核病时发现的，随后论述了常规X光检査利大于弊，故B为正确选项。

　　4.F　第四段第一句就说支气管(源性的)癌是常见的一种肺癌，后面又对这种癌作了详细的介绍，故F为正确答案。

　　5.D　第三段第二句说有的人因怕X射线辐射而不敢进行胸透，但作者在后面又说明了胸透对早期发现肺癌的益处以及熟练的操作人员不会给患者带来多大危害，故不像人们想象的那样可怕。

　　6.A　此题答案在第四段倒数第二句，该句说可能治愈的唯一方法就是在继发肿瘤出现之前将该肺全部切除。

　　7.C　第一段第三句说可能有许多原因，但什么是最主要的仍有争论。选项C中的responsiblb for在医学文献中常用来指某病的原因。

　　8.E　根据第二段第二句所说，烟瘾大的人(每天抽21～30根香烟)肺癌的死亡率几乎是不抽烟者的17倍，故可以得出此结论。