Question

The deadliest Ebola(埃博拉病毒) outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope. And so far it’s been a long battle that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly killed 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on quickly and kill fast.

The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some capital cities. And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died. Cases have also popped up in various other countries throughout the world, including in Dallas and New York City in the United States.

The Ebola virus has now hit many countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding, has infected about 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 since this winter, according to the World Health Organization on September 30, 2014.

There are some social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region’s health workers didn’t have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times article, “Ebola is more dangerous to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies(狂犬病) and HIV. And it does its damage much faster than either.”

Hopefully, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines(疫苗), including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease. The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.

1.According to the passage, which of the following about Ebola is true?

A. The Ebola outbreak now is the biggest one in history.

B. Ebola breaks out quickly but it is under control now.

C. Ebola is deadly and common so it kills a lot of people.

D. Ebola killed about 60 thousand people quickly in 1976.

2.The Ebola virus was brought to Nigeria by .

A. a flying bird B. an infected passenger

C. hot African weather D. a health organization

3.The symptoms of Ebola at the beginning are more like those of .

A. flu B. rabies

C. HIV/AIDS D. internal bleeding

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that .

A. it will be a huge waste when researchers spend lots of money finding a cure

B. the vaccines can be effective to wild chimpanzees but not to the humans

C. there will be an optimistic future in which we can defeat the disease

D. we can use the vaccine to cure the patients completely in 2015’s spring

5.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Ebola ---- The African Local Disaster

B. Ebola ---- The Newly-Found Disease

C. Ebola ---- A More Effective Vaccine

D. Ebola ---- The Deadly Virus Outbreak

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.C

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了，致命的埃博拉病毒再次爆发了。埃博拉病毒传染速度非常快，患者的死亡率非常高，到目前还没有有效的疫苗。此次埃博拉病毒首先在非洲爆发，然后迅速蔓延到其他国家。研究人员目前正在寻找有效药物，计划在2015年春天开始试验。

1.“The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope.”意思是这次爆发无论是在患病人数还是地域范围都是空前的。故选择A。

2.And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died.”意思是一位患者坐飞机到尼日利亚，他将疾病传给了其他人然后死了。故选择B。

3.第四自然段“The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding…”意思是感染这种病毒的人开始出现流感样症状，有时也会出血。开始的症状和流感一样，故选择A。

4.最后一自然段“The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.”意思是第一个人类疫苗试验计划在2015年春天进行。可知人们对未来疾病被控制还是有信心的，故选择C。

5.

考点：考查记叙文阅读。