In the nineteenth century, thousands of poor people struggled to survive in the slums of London. Diseases spread rapidly through the densely populated and unhealthy districts. At one time, over 600 people a week died of cholera, a fatal disease which was then thought to be spread by airborne germs.
A young doctor, John Snow, was anxious to help the poor people. He obtained a map of the slums. On it he marked the building where each person had died. He soon noticed that most of the deaths occurred in a roughly circular area. The number of deaths was greatest around the center of the circle and then decreased as the distance from the center of the circle increased.
This pattern was confirmed as Snow continued to record fresh deaths on his map.
Snow concluded that at the center of the area there must be somebody or something that was causing or spreading cholera. When he went to the district, he saw a pump which brought water up from an open well. This was the sole source of water for people in the area. He examined a sample of the water and saw what it was discolored. He suspected that the water was contaminated, so he took the handle of the pump away, thus stopping people from drinking water from the well.
Snow urged the city authorities to investigate the water in the well. At first they were reluctant to spend time and money on something which had not yet proved to be a danger. Snow continued to press for action, and eventually work men dug down to investigate the wall of the well. They found that it was cracked in several places and that raw sewage was seeping into it. The men filled in the well and dug another one where clean water could be obtained. The cholera epidemic slackened and then disappeared.
The important point about Dr. Snow’s work was that he proved that cholera could be caught by drinking polluted water. This discovery was vital in attempts to fight the disease and helped to save thousands of lives in later years. It showed health workers what they should look for in campaigns to eliminate the disease and disproved the belief that the germs somehow drifted through the air.
1. Snow apparently obtained a map of the slum district in order to ________.
2. In Dr. Snow’s time, cholera was ________.
3. When Snow first asked city officials to investigate the water in the well they ________.
4. After the new well had been dug, the number of deaths from cholera ________.
5. Snow took away the handle of the pump because ________.
问题1选项
A.find out where poor people worked and lived at that time
B.mark on it all the wells in the area
C.decide which old buildings ought to be pulled down
D.try to trace the real cause of the deaths
问题2选项
A.sometimes caused by unclean water supplies
B.always spread by germs in the air
C.usually found in major cities only
D.not normally a disease which killed its victims
问题3选项
A.took action immediately
B.were not at all cooperative
C.dug up the wrong well
D.knew that Snow was right
问题4选项
A.remained unchanged
B.increased slightly
C.gradually decreased
D.showed a marked rise
问题5选项
A.he wanted to take a sample of it
B.the handle was contaminated
C.people stopped him from drinking the water
D.of the risk to people’s health
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Snow apparently obtained a map of the slum district in order to ________. 斯诺获得贫民区的地图显然是为了________。
A. find out where poor people worked and lived at that time A. 找出当时穷人工作和生活的地方
B. mark on it all the wells in the area B. 在地图上标出该地区所有的水井
C. decide which old buildings ought to be pulled down C. 决定哪些旧建筑应该拆除
D. try to trace the real cause of the deaths D. 试图追查死亡的真正原因
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词map of the slum district可以定位到文章第二段第二、三句“他获得了一张贫民窟的地图。在上面标出了每个人死亡的地点（marked the building where each person had died）”，说明他这样做的目的是尝试追踪死亡的真正原因。因此D选项“试图追查死亡的真正原因”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“找出当时穷人工作和生活的地方”，B选项“在地图上标出该地区所有的水井”和C选项“决定哪些旧建筑应该拆除”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
In Dr. Snow’s time, cholera was ________. 在斯诺医生的时代，霍乱________。
A. sometimes caused by unclean water supplies A. 有时由不干净的水源引起
B. always spread by germs in the air B. 总是通过空气中的病菌传播
C. usually found in major cities only C. 通常只出现在大城市
D. not normally a disease which killed its victims D. 通常不是一种会杀死受害者的疾病
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Dr. Snow可以定位到文章最后一段第一句“关于斯诺医生的工作的重要点是，他证明了霍乱可以通过饮用被污染的水来传播（cholera could be caught by drinking polluted water）”，说明斯诺医生证明了霍乱可以通过饮用被污染的水来传播，可以推断在斯诺医生的时代霍乱有时是由不干净的水供应引起的。因此A选项“有时由不干净的水源引起”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“总是通过空气中的病菌传播”，由a fatal disease which was then thought to be spread by airborne germs（这是一种当时被认为是由空气中的细菌传播的致命疾病）可知，人们曾经错误地认为霍乱总是通过空气中的细菌传播，但斯诺医生的工作证明霍乱是通过饮用被污染的水来传播的，属于曲解原文；
C选项“通常只出现在大城市”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“通常不是一种会杀死受害者的疾病”，由over 600 people a week died of cholera（每周有600多人死于霍乱）可知，霍乱是一种致命的疾病，属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
When Snow first asked city officials to investigate the water in the well they ________. 当斯诺第一次要求市政官员调查井里的水时，他们________。
A. took action immediately A. 立即采取行动
B. were not at all cooperative B. 完全不合作
C. dug up the wrong well C. 挖错了井
D. knew that Snow was right D. 知道斯诺是对的
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词city officials可以定位到文章第五段第一、二句“斯诺敦促城市当局调查井中的水。起初他们不愿意在尚未证明是危险的事情上花费时间和金钱（reluctant to spend time and money on something which had not yet proved to be a danger）”，说明市政官员最初并不愿意花时间和金钱去调查这个还未被证明为危险的事情。因此B选项“完全不合作”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“立即采取行动”，由At first they were reluctant to spend time and money on something which had not yet proved to be a danger.（起初他们不愿意在尚未证明是危险的事情上花费时间和金钱。）可知，他们没有立即行动，属于反向干扰；
C选项“挖错了井”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“知道斯诺是对的”，由At first they were reluctant to spend time and money on something which had not yet proved to be a danger.（起初他们不愿意在尚未证明是危险的事情上花费时间和金钱。）可知，他们最初对斯诺的建议持怀疑态度，他们并不认为斯诺是对的，属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
After the new well had been dug, the number of deaths from cholera ________. 在挖了新井之后，死于霍乱的人数________。
A. remained unchanged A. 保持不变
B. increased slightly B. 略有增加
C. gradually decreased C. 逐渐减少
D. showed a marked rise D. 明显增加
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】通过题干关键词new well可以定位到文章第五段倒数第一、二句“工人们填满了井，并在另一个可以获得清洁水源的地方挖了另一口井。霍乱疫情减弱，然后消失（slackened and then disappeared）”，说明挖了新井后霍乱的死亡人数在逐渐减少。因此C选项“逐渐减少”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“保持不变”，B选项“略有增加”和D选项“明显增加”，由原文可知死于霍乱的人数减少了，而不是不变或增加的，属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Snow took away the handle of the pump because ________. 斯诺拿走水泵的把手是因为________。
A. he wanted to take a sample of it A. 他想取个样本
B. the handle was contaminated B. 把手被污染了
C. people stopped him from drinking the water C. 人们阻止他喝水
D. of the risk to people’s health D. 为了人们的健康
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词handle of the pump可以定位到文章第四段最后一句“他怀疑这个水源被污染了（He suspected that the water was contaminated），于是他取下水泵的把手，从而阻止了人们从井里饮水（stopping people from drinking water from the well）”，说明斯诺怀疑水被污染了，所以他拆掉水泵的把手，从而阻止人们从井中饮水。这是为了减少人们的健康风险。因此D选项“为了人们的健康”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“他想取个样本”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
B选项“把手被污染了”，原文说的是水源被污染，而不是把手被污染，属于偷换概念；
C选项“人们阻止他喝水”，原文说的是他想阻止人们从井中饮水，而不是人们阻止他喝水，属于反向干扰。
