Modern technology has put men on the moon and deciphered the human genome. But when it comes to brewing up flu to make vaccines, science still turns to the incredible edible egg. Ever since the 1940s, vaccine makers have grown large batches of virus inside chicken eggs. But given that some 36,000 Americans die of flu each year, it’s remarkable that our first line of defense is still what Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson calls "the cumbersome and archaic egg-based production." New cell-based technologies are in the pipeline, however, and may finally get the support they need now that the United States is faced with a critical shortage of flu vaccine. Although experts disagree on whether new ways of producing vaccine could have prevented a shortage like the one happening today, there is no doubt that the existing system has serious flaws.
Each year, vaccine manufacturers place advance orders for millions of specially grown chicken eggs. Meanwhile, public-health officials monitor circulating strains of flu, and each March they recommend three strains—two influenza A strains and one B strain—for manufacturers to include in vaccines. In the late spring and summer, automated machines inject virus into eggs and later suck out the influenza-rich goop. Virus from the eggs’ innards gets killed and processed to remove egg proteins and other contaminants before being packaged into vials for fall shipment.
Why has this egg method persisted for six decades? The main reason is that it’s reliable. But even though the eggs are reliable, they have serious drawbacks. One is the long lead time needed to order the eggs. That means it’s hard to make more vaccine in a hurry, in case of a shortage or unexpected outbreak. And eggs may simply be too cumbersome to keep up with the hundreds of millions of doses required to handle the demand for flu vaccine.
What’s more, some flu strains don’t grow well in eggs. Last year, scientists were unable to include the Fujian strain in the vaccine formulation. It was a relatively new strain, and manufacturers simply couldn’t find a quick way to adapt it so that it grew well in eggs. “We knew the strain was out there,” recalls Theodore Eickhoff of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, “but public-health officials were left without a vaccine --- and, consequently, a more severe flu season.”
Worse, the viruses that pose the greatest threat might be hardest to grow in eggs. That’s because global pandemics like the one that killed over 50 million people between 1918 and 1920 are thought to occur when a bird influenza changes in a way that lets it cross the species barrier and infect humans. Since humans haven’t encountered the new virus before, they have little protective immunity. The deadly bird flu circulating in Asia in 1997 and 1998, for example, worried public-health officials because it spread to some people who handled birds and killed them—although the bug never circulated among humans. But when scientists tried to make vaccine the old-fashioned way, the bird flu quickly killed the eggs.
1. The moon-landing is mentioned in the first paragraph to illustrate（）.
2. What step is essential to the traditional production of flu vaccine?
3. The foremost reason why the egg-based method is defective lies in（）.
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
5. In the author’s view, the new vaccine production method seems to be（）.
问题1选项
A.technology cannot solve all of our human problems
B.progress in vaccine research for influenza has lagged behind
C.great achievements have been made by men in exploring the unknown
D.the development of vaccine production methods can not be stopped
问题2选项
A.Manufacturers implant the vaccine into ordered chicken eggs.
B.Scientists identify the exact strain soon after a flu pandemic starts.
C.Public health measures are taken as an important pandemic-fighting tool.
D.Viruses are deadened and made clean before being put into vaccine use.
问题3选项
A.the complex process of vaccine production
B.its potential threat to human being
C.the low survival rate for new flu vaccines
D.its contribution to the flu vaccine shortage
问题4选项
A.Flu vaccines now mainly use egg-based technology.
B.A bird influenza has once circulated among humans.
C.Safety can be greatly improved with cell-culture vaccines.
D.Modern vaccine production methods are to replace egg-based methods.
问题5选项
A.remarkable
B.criticized
C.efficient
D.accepted
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:C
第4题:A
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
The moon-landing is mentioned in the first paragraph to illustrate _____. 第一段中提到登月是为了说明_____。
A. technology cannot solve all of our human problems A. 技术不能解决人类所有的问题
B. progress in vaccine research for influenza has lagged behind B. 流感疫苗研究的进展已经落后了
C. great achievements have been made by men in exploring the unknown C. 人类在探索未知世界方面取得了巨大成就
D. the development of vaccine production methods cannot be stopped D. 疫苗生产方法的发展不能被阻止
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】由题干可以定位到文章第一段第一、二句，第一句说到“现代技术已经把人类送上了月球，并破译了人类基因组。”接下来紧接着说到“但是，当谈到制造流感疫苗时，科学仍然求助于难以置信的可食用鸡蛋。”可推知在流感疫苗研究上技术相比较之下是落后的，因此选B。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项不能根据文章信息推理出来；
C选项，文章第一句提到：现代技术已将人类送上月球，并破译了人类基因组。这里是为了和流感疫苗研究的落后进行对比，而不是为了说明人类在探索未知世界方面取得了巨大成就，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What step is essential to the traditional production of flu vaccine? 传统的流感疫苗生产的关键步骤是什么？
A. Manufacturers implant the vaccine into ordered chicken eggs. A. 制造商将疫苗植入订购的鸡蛋中。
B. Scientists identify the exact strain soon after a flu pandemic starts. B. 科学家在流感大流行开始后不久就确定了确切的毒株。
C. Public health measures are taken as an important pandemic-fighting tool. C. 公共卫生措施是防治大流行病的重要工具。
D. Viruses are deadened and made clean before being put into vaccine use. D. 病毒在投入疫苗使用前先被杀死并清除。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干我们可以定位到文章第二段最后一句：Virus from the eggs’ innards gets killed and processed to remove egg proteins and other contaminants before being packaged into vials for fall shipment.（来自鸡蛋内脏的病毒被杀死，并经过处理，去除鸡蛋蛋白和其他污染物，然后被包装成小瓶，准备秋季运输）。也就是说病毒在使用之前会被杀死和清理，因此选D。
【干扰项排除】
A选项，文中第二段提到的是将病毒注入鸡蛋而不是疫苗，属于张冠李戴；
B、C选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The foremost reason why the egg-based method is defective lies in _____. 以鸡蛋为基础的方法有缺陷的首要原因在于_____。
A. the complex process of vaccine production A. 疫苗生产的复杂过程
B. its potential threat to human being B. 它对人类的潜在威胁
C. the low survival rate for new flu vaccines C. 新流感疫苗存活率低
D. its contribution to the flu vaccine shortage D. 它造成了流感疫苗短缺
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】由题干可以定位到文章第四段第一句What’s more, some flu strains don’t grow well in eggs.（更重要的是，有些流感病毒在鸡蛋里生长不好），可知流感疫苗的存活率低是首要原因。故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项，文章第三段第三、四句提到：But even though the eggs are reliable, they have serious drawbacks. One is the long lead time needed to order the eggs.（但是，即使鸡蛋是可靠的，它们也有严重的缺点。一个是订购鸡蛋需要很长的准备时间。）虽然它造成了流感疫苗短缺，但这不是首要原因，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is true according to the passage? 根据文章以下哪项是正确的？
A. Flu vaccines now mainly use egg-based technology. A. 现在的流感疫苗主要使用蛋类技术。
B.A bird influenza has once circulated among humans. B. 一种鸟类流感曾经在人类中流传过。
C. Safety can be greatly improved with cell-culture vaccines. C. 使用细胞培养的疫苗可以大大提高安全性。
D. Modern vaccine production methods are to replace egg-based methods. D. 现代疫苗生产方法要取代蛋基方法。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据文章第一段第四句：But given that some 36,000 Americans die of flu each year, it’s remarkable that our first line of defense is still what Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson calls “the cumbersome and archaic egg-based production.”（但是，鉴于每年约有36,000名美国人死于流感，我们的第一道防线明显仍然是卫生和公共服务部长汤米•汤普森所说的“繁琐而古老的鸡蛋生产”。）可知A选项正确，即流感疫苗主要使用蛋类技术。
【干扰项排除】
B选项，文中倒数第二句说到，禽流感从未在人类之中传播，属于反向干扰；
C选项，文中第一段最后一句提到，尽管专家们对新的疫苗生产方式是否能够防止像今天这样的短缺存在分歧，但毫无疑问，现有的系统存在严重的缺陷。故细胞培养技术不能保证安全性，属于曲解原文；
D选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
In the author’s view, the new vaccine production method seems to be _____. 在作者看来，新的疫苗生产方法似乎是_____。
A. remarkable A. 显著的
B. criticized B. 受到批评的
C. efficient C. 高效的
D. accepted D. 可以接受的
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文中第一段提到：然而，新的细胞技术正在酝酿之中，现在美国面临着流感疫苗的严重短缺，它们可能最终获得所需的支持。尽管专家们对新的疫苗生产方式是否能够防止像今天这样的短缺存在分歧，但毫无疑问，现有的系统存在严重的缺陷。可知新的疫苗技术是可以接受的，故选D。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项不能通过文章相关信息推理出来。
