阅读理解

　　It seems like every year brings a new outbreak of sickness. Recent research tells us how diseases spread from person to person. And it also gives us an idea how we can spread something better than diseases.

　　An author called Malcom Gladwell recently published a book explaining how the process works. We usually think of a epidemic （流行病） as a force of nature that rolls over anyone in its way. In fact , it starts with a single person or very few people. These people travel around and infect （传染） small groups in different places. When enough of these groups are infected then the disease suddenly seems to be everywhere. Gladwell also found that the process of infection was not just limited to disease. It also affects the world of ideas.

　　The process can be seen in books and fashion. So called “underground bestsellers” are not pushed towards the public. They spread through hundreds of small reading groups until the day when everybody you know seems to have a copy. A group of young people may decide to wear an item of clothing simply because none else is wearing it. Designers who monitor street fashion then pick up the idea and spread it. Finally everyone is wearing it.

　　New York is often described as an unfriendly place. People are too busy looking after business to look after each other. In the early 1990s, one unknown person decided to perform at least one kind act a day. This caught on with his or her friends. The newspapers noticed the trend （趋势）. New York became full of people smiling and carrying each other's bags.

　　The success of trends like this fits in with other social phenomena （现象） . One is the 80/20 rule. This was invented by economists who noticed that in any situation 20 percent of the people did 80 percent of the work. Another is the “bystander problem”. Psychologists noticed that in accidents where a large number of people were around, no one stepped forward to help. Each person supposed that someone else would do something. When there were less people present, more of them decided to offer help.

　　What all this proves is the power of individuals （个人） and small groups. The “epidemic model” could be a great way of making a business grow or spreading an idea. A small start can make a big difference.

1．The writer's main purpose is to tell us ________.

[　　]

A．how diseases spread

B．how ideas are formed

C．how popularity takes place

D．what diseases and ideas have in common

2．What do “underground bestsellers” refer to in this text?

[　　]

A．Books which are good but few people know about.

B．Books which become popular without advertising.

C．Booksellers who are good at selling books.

D．Booksellers who sell books without advertising.

3．Which of the following may be connected with “the epidemic model”?

[　　]

A．A popular movie.

B．A beautiful dress.

C．A good idea.

D．A successful businessman.

4．The 80/20 rule shows the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．the majority of people are powerless

B．there is not enough work for people

C．a small group may be a great power

D．there exists a problem of overpopulation

Before 1900, many theories existed as to the cause of yellow fever(黄热病)．Some doctors were sure the disease was air-borne；others felt that it was spread from person to person．Dr．Carlos Finlay, a well-known Cuban doctor of that time，had long held the theory that it was caused by the bite of mosquito(蚊子)．But neither the public nor the doctors then accepted his idea．

    Despite this，Walter Reed, an American doctor sent to study yellow fever in Cuba，went to talk with Finlay．Reed，after reading a lot on the subject，had begun to think that Dr．Finlay might be right．Then Reed and his comrades set to work at once．Outside Havana，they set up a laboratory and began experiments to test the theory．The experiments were successful．Now we know：A period of about two weeks must pass before a mosquito，after feeding on a sick person，could infect(传染)another person; the sick person had to have yellow fever a certain number of days before the mosquito biting him was able to carry the disease．

1. Before 1900，many people didn't think yellow fever was spread___________.

A．by air

    B．by getting in touch with the patient

    C．by the bite of mosquitoes

D．by dirty water

2. What is true according to the passage?

A．Reed agreed with Finlay after his talk with him．

B. Reed proved the theory by reading a lot of articles．

C．Reed proved the theory in his American lab．

D．Reed scientifically proved the theory.

3. Who first realized the actual cause?

    A．The public．　　　　 B．Reed．

    C．Finlay．　　　　　　 D．Doctors．

4. A person comes down with yellow fever because he has been bitten_______．

   A．by a mosquito

   B．by a mosquito that has bitten the patient

   C．by an infected mosquito

   D. by a mosquito that has bitten the patient of some days

5. What is the possible title for the passage?

    A．Reed，an Outstanding Doctor

    B. Several Theories on Yellow Fever

    C．Fight Against Yellow Fever

    D．The Cause of Yellow Fever

 

Before 1900, many theories existed as to the cause of yellow fever(黄热病)．Some doctors were sure the disease was air-borne；others felt that it was spread from person to person．Dr．Carlos Finlay, a well-known Cuban doctor of that time，had long held the theory that it was caused by the bite of mosquito(蚊子)．But neither the public nor the doctors then accepted his idea．

    Despite this，Walter Reed, an American doctor sent to study yellow fever in Cuba，went to talk with Finlay．Reed，after reading a lot on the subject，had begun to think that Dr．Finlay might be right．Then Reed and his comrades set to work at once．Outside Havana，they set up a laboratory and began experiments to test the theory．The experiments were successful．Now we know：A period of about two weeks must pass before a mosquito，after feeding on a sick person，could infect(传染)another person; the sick person had to have yellow fever a certain number of days before the mosquito biting him was able to carry the disease．

1. Before 1900，many people didn't think yellow fever was spread___________.

A．by air

    B．by getting in touch with the patient

    C．by the bite of mosquitoes

D．by dirty water

2. What is true according to the passage?

A．Reed agreed with Finlay after his talk with him．

B. Reed proved the theory by reading a lot of articles．

C．Reed proved the theory in his American lab．

D．Reed scientifically proved the theory.

3. Who first realized the actual cause?

    A．The public．　　　　 B．Reed．

    C．Finlay．　　　　　　 D．Doctors．

4. A person comes down with yellow fever because he has been bitten_______．

   A．by a mosquito

   B．by a mosquito that has bitten the patient

   C．by an infected mosquito

   D. by a mosquito that has bitten the patient of some days

5. What is the possible title for the passage?

    A．Reed，an Outstanding Doctor

    B. Several Theories on Yellow Fever

    C．Fight Against Yellow Fever

    D．The Cause of Yellow Fever

 

　　　 It seems like every year brings a new outbreak of sickness．Recent research tells us how diseases spread, from person to person．And it also gives us an idea how we can spread something better than diseases．

　　　 An author called Malcom Gladwell recently published a book explaining how the process works．We usually think of an epidemic (流行病) as a force of nature that rolls over anyone in its way．In fact, it starts with a single person or very few people．These people travel around and infect (传染) small groups in different places．When enough of these groups are infected, then the disease suddenly seems to be everywhere．Gladwell also found that the process of infection was not just limited to disease? It also affects the world of ideas．

　　　 The process can be seen in books and fashion．So called “underground bestsellers” are not pushed towards the public．They spread through hundreds of small reading groups until the day when everybody you know seems to have a copy．A group of young people may decide to wear an item of clothing simply because no one else is wearing it．Designers who monitor street fashion then pick up the idea and spread it．Finally everyone is wearing it．

　　　 New York is often described as an unfriendly place．People are too busy looking after business to look after each other．In the early 1990s, one unknown person decided to perform at least one kind act a day．This caught on with his or her friends．The newspapers noticed the trend (趋势)．New York became full of people smiling and carrying each other’s bags．

　　　 The success of trends like this fits in with other social phenomena (现象)．One is the 80/20 rule．This was invented by economists who noticed that in any situation 20 percent of the people did 80 percent of the work．Another is the “bystander problem”．Psychologists noticed that in accidents where a large number of people were around, no one stepped forward to help．Each person supposed that someone else would do something．When there were less people present, more of them decided to offer help．

What all this proves is the power of individuals (个人) and small groups．The “epidemic model” could be a great way of making a business grow or spreading an idea．A small start can make a big difference．

68．The writer’s main purpose is to tell us_________．

A．how diseases spread B．how ideas are formed

C．how popularity takes place D．what diseases and ideas have in common

69．What do the underlined words “underground bestsellers” (in Paragraph 3) refer to in this text?

A．Books which are good but few people know about．

B．Books which become popular without putting advertisements

C．Booksellers who sell books without putting advertisements

D．Booksellers who are good at selling books．

70．The 80/20 rule shows the fact that _________．

A．the majority of people are powerless B．there is not enough work for people

C．a small group may be a great power D．there exists a problem of overpopulation

71．According to the passage, we know _________．

A．The “epidemic model” doesn’t exist nowadays．

B．The “epidemic model” plays an important role in making a business grow or spreading an idea．

C．The “epidemic model” came into being in the early 1990s．

D．The “epidemic model” is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell．