A TIME columnist bears witness to an operation triplets with cerebral palsy walk like other boys.
Cindy Hickman nearly bled to death the day she gave birth—three months prematurely—to her triplet sons. Weighing less than 2 lbs. each, her babies were alive, but barely. They clung so tenuously to life that her doctors recommended she name them A, B and C. Then, after a year of heroic interventions—brain shunts, tracheotomies, skull remodeling—often requiring emergency helicopter rides to the hospital nearest their rural Tennessee home, the Hickmans learned that their triplets had cerebral palsy.
Fifteen years ago there wasn’t much that could be done about cerebral palsy, a disorder caused by damage to the motor centers of the brain. But pediatric medicine has come a long way since then, both in intervention before birth, with better prenatal care and various techniques to postpone delivery, and surgical interventions after birth to correct physical deficiencies. So although the incidence of cerebral palsy seems to be increasing (because the odds of preemies surviving are so much better), so too are the number of success stories.
This is one of them. Lane, Codie and Wyatt (as the Hickman boys are called) have spastic cerebral palsy, the most common form, accounting for nearly 80% of cases. “We first noticed that they weren’t walking when they should,” Cindy recalls. “Instead they were only doing the combat crawl.” Their brains seemed to be developing age appropriately, but their muscles were unnaturally stiff, making walking difficult if not impossible.
Happily, spastic cerebral palsy is also the most treatable form of CP, largely thanks to a procedure known as selective dorsal rhizotomy, in which the nerve roots that are causing the problem are isolated and severed. Among the first to champion SDR in the U.S. in the late 1980s was Dr. T.S. Park, a Korean-born pediatric neurosurgeon at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., who has performed more than 800 of these operations and hopes to do an additional 1,000 before he retires.
Peering through a microscope and guided by an electric probe, we were able to distinguish between the two groups of nerve roots leaving the spinal cord. The ventral roots send information to the muscle; the dorsal roots send information back to the spinal cord. The dorsal roots cause spasticity, and if just the right ones are severed, the symptoms can be greatly reduced.
Nearly half a million Americans suffer from cerebral palsy. Not all are candidates for SDR, but Park estimates that as many as half may be. He gets the best results with children between ages 2 and 6 who were born prematurely and have stiffness only in their legs. He is known for performing the operation very high up in the spine, right where the nerve roots exit the spinal cord. It’s riskier that way, but the recovery is faster, and in Park’s skilled hands, the success rate is higher.
Cindy and Jeremy Hickman will testify to that. Just a few weeks after the procedure, two of their sons are walking almost normally and the third is rapidly improving.
1. When the triplets were born, ________.
2. Cerebral palsy is ________.
3. There are more and more cases of cerebral palsy ________.
4. Dr. T.S. Park ________.
5. SDR is a procedure of ________.
问题1选项
A.both the triplets and their mother nearly died
B.they didn’t have cerebral palsy
C.doctors didn’t believe they were going to survive
D.they received medical intervention like brain shunts
问题2选项
A.deadly disease
B.a kind of brain disorder
C.not treatable for children who are over 6 and have stiffness in their legs
D.to be cured by isolating and cutting off the right nerve roots
问题3选项
A.because there are more and more triplets
B.because more and more babies prematurely born are able to survive
C.so there are more cases of successful treatment
D.so there are more candidates for SDR
问题4选项
A.is a successful pioneer in adopting SDR operations in CP treatment
B.is famous because of his success with the triplets who are very difficult cases
C.is ambitious by hoping to do another 1,000 SDR operations
D.is not cautious enough by taking risks to perform the operation very high up the spine
问题5选项
A.prenatal intervention using delivery postponing techniques
B.surgical intervention after birth to reduce spastic symptoms
C.isolating and severing either of the two groups of nerve roots leaving the spinal cord
D.great risk and high efficiency
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
When the triplets were born, ________. 三胞胎出生时，________。
A. both the triplets and their mother nearly died A. 三胞胎和他们的母亲都差点死掉
B. they didn’t have cerebral palsy B. 他们没有脑瘫
C. doctors didn’t believe they were going to survive C. 医生不相信他们能活下来
D. they received medical intervention like brain shunts D. 他们接受了脑分流术等医疗干预措施
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词When the triplets were born可以定位到文章第二段第一、二句Cindy Hickman nearly bled to death the day she gave birth—three months prematurely—to her triplet sons. Weighing less than 2 lbs. each, her babies were alive, but barely.（辛迪·希克曼早产三个月，生下三胞胎儿子的那天，她差点失血过多而死。她的孩子们每个体重不到2磅，虽然还活着，但已经很勉强了。），说明母亲和三胞胎在出生时都处于危急状态。因此A选项“三胞胎和他们的母亲都差点死掉”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“他们没有脑瘫”，文章提到一年后他们被诊断出患有脑瘫，而不是出生时就患有，属于曲解原文；
C选项“医生不相信他们能活下来”，虽然医生认为他们生存的机会很小，但并没有说他们不相信孩子们能存活下来，属于过度推断；
D选项“他们接受了脑分流术等医疗干预措施”，文章中提到的医疗干预如脑分流是在出生后一年发生的，而不是出生时，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Cerebral palsy is ________. 脑瘫是________。
A. deadly disease A. 致命疾病
B. a kind of brain disorder B. 一种脑部疾病
C. not treatable for children who are over 6 and have stiffness in their legs C. 对6岁以上腿部僵硬的儿童无法治疗
D. to be cured by isolating and cutting off the right nerve roots D. 可以通过隔离和切断右侧神经根来治愈
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Cerebral palsy可以定位到文章第三段第一句Fifteen years ago there wasn’t much that could be done about cerebral palsy, a disorder caused by damage to the motor centers of the brain.（15年前，对于脑瘫这种因大脑运动中枢受损而导致的疾病，人们并没有太多办法。），说明脑瘫是由大脑运动中枢的损伤引起的一种疾病。因此B选项“一种脑部疾病”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“致命疾病”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项“对6岁以上腿部僵硬的儿童无法治疗”，文中提到2到6岁儿童进行手术效果最好，但并未说超过6岁且腿部僵硬的儿童不可治疗，属于过度推断；
D选项“可以通过隔离和切断右侧神经根来治愈”，文章提到选择性背根切断术可以大大减轻症状，但并没有说这种方法可以完全治愈脑瘫，属于过度推断。
第3题:
【选项释义】
There are more and more cases of cerebral palsy ________. 脑瘫的病例越来越多________。
A. because there are more and more triplets A. 因为三胞胎越来越多
B. because more and more babies prematurely born are able to survive B. 因为越来越多的早产儿能够存活下来
C. so there are more cases of successful treatment C. 所以成功治疗的病例越来越多
D. so there are more candidates for SDR D. 所以有更多的人可以接受SDR治疗
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词more and more cases of cerebral palsy可以定位到文章第三段最后一句So although the incidence of cerebral palsy seems to be increasing (because the odds of preemies surviving are so much better), so too are the number of success stories.（因此，尽管脑瘫的发病率似乎在上升（因为早产儿存活的几率大大提高），但成功的案例也越来越多。），说明早产儿存活率提高导致了脑瘫病例增加。因此B选项“因为越来越多的早产儿能够存活下来”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“因为三胞胎越来越多”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项“所以成功治疗的病例越来越多”，虽然文章提到成功的治疗案例增多，但这不是脑瘫病例增加的结果，属于出处错位；
D选项“所以有更多的人可以接受SDR治疗”，文章提到近50万美国人患有脑瘫，并非所有人都适合接受SDR治疗，说明脑瘫的病例越来越多不意味着有更多的人可以接受SDR治疗，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Dr. T.S. Park ________. T·S.朴医生________。
A. is a successful pioneer in adopting SDR operations in CP treatment A. 是采用SDR手术治疗脑瘫的成功先驱
B. is famous because of his success with the triplets who are very difficult cases B. 因为成功治疗了非常棘手的三胞胎而出名
C. is ambitious by hoping to do another 1,000 SDR operations C. 雄心勃勃，希望再做1000例SDR手术
D. is not cautious enough by taking risks to perform the operation very high up the spine D. 不够谨慎，冒险在脊柱很高的位置进行手术
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Dr. T.S. Park可以定位到文章第五段第二句Among the first to champion SDR in the U.S. in the late 1980s was Dr. T.S. Park, a Korean-born pediatric neurosurgeon at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.（T·S.朴医生是上世纪80年代末在美国最早倡导选择性背根切断术的医生之一，他是华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校的一名韩裔小儿神经外科医生），说明朴医生在采用SDR手术治疗脑瘫方面是一个成功的先锋。因此A选项“是采用SDR手术治疗脑瘫的成功先驱”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“因为成功治疗了非常棘手的三胞胎而出名”，虽然文中提到了三胞胎的案例，但不是朴医生成功治疗的案例，属于出处错位；
C选项“雄心勃勃，希望再做1000例SDR手术”，虽然朴医生有志向再进行1000次手术，但这并不说明他雄心勃勃，而是表明他对这种手术的信心和他希望帮助更多患者的愿望，属于曲解原文；
D选项“不够谨慎，冒险在脊柱很高的位置进行手术”，虽然手术有风险，但朴医生的高成功率说明了他技术的娴熟和对手术的精确掌握，属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
SDR is a procedure of ________. SDR是________的一种手术。
A. prenatal intervention using delivery postponing techniques A. 产前使用推迟分娩技术进行干预
B. surgical intervention after birth to reduce spastic symptoms B. 出生后进行手术干预以减轻痉挛症状
C. isolating and severing either of the two groups of nerve roots leaving the spinal cord C. 分离并切断离开脊髓的两组神经根中的任何一组
D. great risk and high efficiency D. 风险大，效率高
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词SDR可以定位到文章第五段第一句Happily, spastic cerebral palsy is also the most treatable form of CP, largely thanks to a procedure known as selective dorsal rhizotomy, in which the nerve roots that are causing the problem are isolated and severed.（幸运的是，痉挛性脑瘫也是最可治疗的脑瘫形式，这主要归功于一种称为选择性背根切断术的手术程序，其中导致问题的神经根被隔离并切断。），说明SDR是一种在出生后通过手术隔离和切断神经根以减少痉挛症状的手术。因此B选项“出生后进行手术干预以减轻痉挛症状”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“产前使用推迟分娩技术进行干预”，虽然文章提到了出生前的医疗干预，但这并不是SDR手术的描述，而是一般性的介绍脑瘫治疗进展，属于张冠李戴；
C选项“分离并切断离开脊髓的两组神经根中的任何一组”，文章提到只有背根需要被隔离和切断，而不是两组神经根中的任何一组，属于曲解原文；
D选项“风险大，效率高”，文章强调的是在朴医生手中成功率高，而不是所有的SDR手术都效率高，属于过度推断。
