Question

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history that has so far killed almost 1000 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in West Africa has caused fear around the world.

The outbreak is unprecedented（空前的）both in infection numbers and in geographic scope. Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this month the outbreak “is moving faster than our efforts to control it”, reported CNN. So far, the battle against the virus doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

The Ebola virus is terrifying no matter where it strikes: It’s a disease with no cure that causes headaches and fever, severe diarrhea(腹泻), vomiting and bleeding and has been known to kill up to 90 percent of its victims.

It is understandable for people to be panicked, but those living outside Africa shouldn’t be particularly concerned about contracting the virus, says a Washington Post article.

This is because transmission of Ebola requires direct contact with an infected person’s blood, vomit or other bodily fluids during the period that he or she is contagious(接触传染的). It is something that is extremely unlikely for anyone but healthcare workers. The virus is not spread by coughing or sneezing.

Media outlets in the US and the UK are using terrifying headlines, wrongly claiming that people infected with the virus have traveled to their countries.

James Ball at The Guardian says the Ebola outbreak in Africa is tragic, but it is important to keep a sense of proportion. Other infectious diseases, including common influenza, are far, far deadlier.

1.What does the author say about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa?

A. It has caused thousands of African deaths.

B. Its spreading speed is beyond people's imagination.

C. It has already traveled to the US and the UK.

D. The fight against it is slowing down.

2.The Ebola virus is terrifying because ________.

A. it cannot be cured at the moment

B. it is easily infected

C. it spreads faster than any other infectious disease

D. it has caused more deaths than other infectious diseases

3.The underlined phrase in the last paragraph means

A. keep a secretB. stay calm

C. keep silentD. stay away from it

4.What is the author's attitude towards people's panic?

A. Objective.B. Supportive.C. Doubtful.D. Understandable.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要介绍了埃博拉病毒在西非的传播以及埃博拉病毒的基本情况，告诉人们要保持冷静。

1.1】B 细节理解题。根据第二段的描述，尤其是这句话the outbreak “is moving faster than our efforts to control it”可知，它传播的速度快到超出人们的控制，故答案为B。

2.2】A 细节理解题。根据第三段It’s a disease with no cure that causes headaches and fever, severe diarrhea（腹泻）, vomiting and bleeding and has been known to kill up to 90 percent of its victims.可知，埃博拉病毒现在没有治愈方法。故答案为A。

3.3】B 词义猜测题。根据前面句子说埃博拉病毒在非洲的爆发是悲惨的，但是 是很重要的，此题可以用排除法做，只有B项的“保持冷静”符合语境，故答案为B。

4.4】D 细节理解题。根据第四段It is understandable for people to be panicked可知，答案为D。

【名师点睛】

下面介绍一些词义猜测题的解题技巧。

1.根据定义或上下文解释进行猜测

有时短文中出现一个需要猜测其意义的词或短语，下面接着出现其定义或解释，这就是判断该词或短语意义的主要依据。例如：It will be very hard but also very brittle—that is, it will break easily.从后面that is(也就是说)的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是“脆”的意思。

2.根据同位关系进行猜测

阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：The “Chunnel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.此句中a tunnel connecting England and France是Chunnel的同位语。因此，The “Chunnel”就是英法之间的海底隧道。

3.根据构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)进行猜测

在英语中，有很多词可以在前面加前缀，在后面加后缀，从而构成一个词，乍看起来，这个词可能是新词，但掌握了一定的构词知识，就不难猜出它的词义。例如：“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive and creative in that they built a sense of drama based on a subject.”文中interactive是由前缀inter-(相互的)和active(活动的，活跃的)而构成的，同时根据上下文的意思可以判断，该词的含义应是“互动的”。

4.根据转折或对比关系进行猜测

根据上下句的连接词，如but, however, otherwise等就可以看到前后句在意义上的差别，从而依据某一句的含义，来确定另一句的含义。另外，分号也可以表示转折、对比或不相干的意义。例如：A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.从前后两句的意思可以看出，hassle和a basket of fun肯定是近乎相反的意义。所以不难判断hassle的意思是“困难，麻烦”。

考点：科普类说明文阅读。