Question

【题目】Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.

Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.

The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful (有害的），it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem，” said Professor Peter Barnes.

Ten healthy volunteers (志愿者） were given the-obromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicine are stopping coughs.

The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin need to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they need only slightly higher levels of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.

The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity (神经活动），which caused coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness.

【1】 According to Professor Barnes, theobromine __________

A. cannot be as effective as codeine

B. can be harmful to people's health

C. cannot be separated from chocolate

D. can be a more effective cure for coughs

【2】 What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?

A. Theobromine. B. Codeine. C. Capsaicin. D. Placebo.

【3】 We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment __________.

A. were patients with bad coughs

B. were divided into three groups

C. received standard treatments

D. suffered little side effects

【4】 Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Codeine： a new medicine

B. Chocolate may cure coughs

C. Cough treatment： a hard case

D. Theobromine can cause coughs

Answer 1

【答案】【1】 D

【2】 C

【3】 B

【4】 B

【解析】【1】推理判断题。从第二段“Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present. ”可看出 theobromine 比 codeine 更有效,故正确答案是D项。

【2】细节理解题。A、B、D三项中的物品是用来做实验的

物品。根据第四段最后一句“The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicine are stopping coughs. ”可知capsaicin(辣椒素)是用来引起咳嗽和证明这些药物如何止咳的依据。

【3】推理判断题。根据第四段第一句话 “Ten healthy volunteers(志愿者） were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. ”可知实验中每组人吃一种所给的物品才能看出止咳的效果，故需要三组志愿者。

【4】归纳主旨题。本文主要介绍巧克力中含有的一种theobromine 成分,能有很好的止咳效果，所以该题的正确答案为B项。