星火英语2008年12月英语四级阅读理解预测试卷

　　Passage Two
　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
　　When it comes to health, the poor are doubly cursed. Not only are they more prone to deadly infectious diseases than the rich, but they have far less access to the means of improvement. Twenty years ago, Paul Farmer, an American doctor and anthropologist(人类学者), set out to do something about this. Amid the political turmoil(混乱)and poverty of rural Haiti, he created a community based health care system called Zanmi Lasante, or Partners in Health. It not only delivers appropriate, affordable medical treatment to thousands of poor people, but goes beyond the clinic to address the social causes making them sick and keeping them from getting better.
　　As Dr. Farmer argues, improving the health of the poor is not just a medical challenge, but a question of human rights. Tackling the inequality, racism, sexism and other forms of "structural violence" which oppress the poor is as critical as extending the drugs. Or as his Haiti patients put it, medicine without food is like washing one's hands and drying them in the dirt.
　　Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer's powerful message is often weakened by his book's academic tone. It does, however, scream out in passages describing the human face of "structural violence". It is these personal stories that make Dr. Farmer's anger at such "stupid deaths" so compelling.
　　The good doctor's motives and methods are better described in Mountains Beyond Mountains. This biography by Tracy Kidder traces Dr. Farmer from his unconventional upbringing and unusual education, shuttling (来回穿梭于) between the shacks of central Haiti and the halls of Harvard Medical School, to his later work around the world. Though well written, Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading. The author is clearly close to his subject, having traveled with Dr. Farmer from the green poverty of Haiti to the tubercular whiteness of Russia. Too close, perhaps. The biographer seems to be seeking his subject's approval, rather than the other way round. Mr. Kidder writes, rather disturbingly, about his fear of disappointing Dr. Farmer, his own pain at wounding him with a critical remark and his relief at the doctor's forgiveness.
　　When Mr. Kidder's health falls, this dependence becomes all the more intense. But rather than compromise the book's equity(公正), this intimacy serves to highlight Dr. Farmer's admirable, yet ultimately irritating, character. As Mr. Kidder observes, "Farmer wasn't put on earth to make anyone feel comfortable, except those lucky enough to be his patients or those unlucky enough to need him."
　　57. What makes the "Partners in Health" system unique compared with traditional hospitals?
　　A) It makes attempts to help the poor on a social level.
　　B) It is aimed at treating poor people for free.
　　C) It is designed to help the poor rise from poverty.
　　D) It offers community help to those who are poor.
　　58. What can be inferred from the last sentence of the second paragraph?
　　A) Hands should not be dried in the dirt after washing.
　　B) Medicine is also needed for cleaning hands.
　　C) Medicine is not a long term cure to their poor health.
　　D) Food can cure their disease better than any medicine.
　　59. The disadvantage of Dr. Farmer's book seems to be that.
　　A) the plots in the book are not attractive enough
　　B) the way he tells the stories is not compelling enough
　　C) the anger he expresses at "stupid deaths" is too strong
　　D) the tone is not strong enough to arouse people's attention
　　60. Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading because .
　　A) Mr. Kidder himself has never been involved in Dr. Farmer's life
　　B) Mr. Kidder is afraid of making true comments on Dr. Farmer
　　C) Mr. Kidder's emotions prevent him from independent writing
　　D) Mr. Kidder is always waiting for Dr. Farmer's forgiveness
　　61. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
　　A) Dr. Farmer only helped those who are lucky enough
　　B) Dr. Farmer may have severely criticized the society
　　C) Dr. Farmer was not actually making his patients comfortable
　　D) Dr. Farmer's job is not to make people comfortable