Question

I was working the overnight shift in a remote hospital in the Rocky Mountains. Late in the evening, a young African teenager was brought into the emergency department. He lived at sea level and had never been in the mountains. After skiing all day, he felt really ill. Everyone assumed it was altitude sickness.

He was sweating and had abdominal (腹部的) pain. His heart rate increased. We sent off his lab work, and his blood sugar came back at almost 600 — normal is less than 100. His platelets (血小板), necessary for stopping bleeding, came in at 10,000; they should have been over 150,000. I did an ultrasound of his abdomen, and it looked like his belly was full of blood. This wasn't altitude sickness. And in the short time I'd been trying to figure out what was wrong, he was getting sicker. The friends he was traveling with were terrified, and rightly so.

The mystery was finally solved with an old-fashioned microscope. When we looked at his blood, we saw some sickled (镰形的) red blood cells. That's how we were able to diagnose sickle cell trait. If you have sickle cell trait — which means you got the sickle cell gene from just one parent instead of two — you have no symptoms at low altitude, but high altitude can sometimes cause the red blood cells to turn into sickle shapes and take oxygen from vital organs. This teenager didn't know he had it, but the effect of the altitude on his blood cells was so extreme that after just a short time in the mountains, he suffered great pain.

He needed platelets immediately, but we didn't have enough at the remote hospital. And there was a snowstorm, so the medical helicopters couldn't fly. It was a scary night. Just as we were abandoning all hope, we met an ambulance that drove halfway up from the city with blood products and transferred him to the city hospital for emergency surgery. The story has a happy ending: He recovered fully.

1.What do we know about the African teenager?

A. He only skied for a short while.

B. He lived in the Rocky Mountains.

C. He had never heard of altitude sickness.

D. He was unaware of the danger of high altitude.

2.What was the teenager's condition when rushed to the hospital?

A. He was feeling cold.    B. He was bleeding continually.

C. His heart rate was going down.    D. His blood contained little sugar.

3.How did the doctor diagnose the teenager's sickle cell trait?

A. By doing an ultrasound.    B. By examining his parents.

C. By using a traditional approach.    D. By doing a chemical experiment.

4.Which of the following played a part in saving the teenager according to the last paragraph?

A. Luck.    B. Money.

C. Fame.    D. Belief.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述一个年轻的非洲青少年在落基山脉滑雪突然生命危及并最终幸运脱险的故事。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第三段This teenager didn't know he had it, but the effect of the altitude on his blood cells was so extreme that after just a short time in the mountains, he suffered great pain.可知，这个青少年没有意识到高原的危险。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第二段His platelets (血小板), necessary for stopping bleeding, came in at 10,000; they should have been over 150,000. I did an ultrasound of his abdomen, and it looked like his belly was full of blood.可知，他一直在流血。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第三段The mystery was finally solved with an old-fashioned microscope. When we looked at his blood, we saw some sickled (镰形的) red blood cells. That's how we were able to diagnose sickle cell trait. 这个谜终于用老式显微镜解决了。可知，作者使用传统的方法诊断出青少年镰状细胞特征。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段The story has a happy ending: He recovered fully. 这个故事有一个欢快的结局：他完全康复，可以推断出这个青少年很幸运地脱离了死神。故选A。

【点睛】

推断题属于主观性较强的高层次阅读理解题，做这类题目时，同学们要严格依据作者所陈述的细节、事实以及作者的措词、态度和语气，找出能够表露作者思想倾向和感情色彩的词句，然后利用自己已获得的相关知识进行推理判断，从而得出符合逻辑的结论。例如小题4，根据文章倒数第二段中的作者的措词happy，recovered fully等词都可以推断出在挽救青少年生命中，幸运起了很大的作用，从而得出答案。