Question

【题目】 It was a red-letter day in the history of medicine—“Target Zero Day”, May 8th, 1980, marking the complete removal of smallpox, a terrifying disease. It was untreatable but, luckily, it turned out that vaccination(接种疫苗) provided good protection— and that mass immunization(免疫) could wipe out the smallpox virus by blocking its spread.

According to legend, vaccination was invented by Dr Edward Jenner. Jenner showed that healthy children vaccinated with cowpox, a mild infection of cattle, could not catch smallpox. He was supposedly inspired by a comment from a local milkmaid, but there is evidence that the idea came from a medical friend, John Fewster, who had experimented with cowpox. Nevertheless, Jenner deserves credit for introducing vaccination into the medical mainstream with his paper published in 1798.

In 1966, 160 years after the prediction that vaccination would clean off the disease, the World Health Organization launched its Smallpox Eradication Programme. This heroic 11-year drive was directed by two’ American public health doctors, DA Henderson and Bill Foege. Their hardships were enormous. One WHO official even promised to eat a tyre if smallpox was removed. Henderson promised to send him the tyre and wished him good appetite. But Henderson and Foege’s hard work paid off— three years after the last smallpox case was informed (to make sure no outbreaks had been missed) Target Zero Day was declared.

40 years on, why should we remember Target Zero Day? First, to celebrate victory of preventative medicine and freedom from a cruel disease. Then, we must remember the victims of smallpox. It had previously killed 1 in 12 worldwide. In 1914, a Canadian professor warned against forgetting smallpox, which was fast disappearing from North America. It went on to kill at least another 250 million people— three times more than both world wars combined. Target Zero Day also reminds us of undefeated infections, including polio, measles, malaria, and of course the coronavirus Covid-19. Let’s recognize Target Zero Day for what it is：a milestone in world history and a monument to the art of the possible.

【1】What inspired Jenner to invent the vaccination?

A.A medical friend.B.A local milkmaid.

C.Cattle.D.Children.

【2】What is the writer’s purpose of mentioning the WHO official’s promise?

A.To introduce the support from the WHO.

B.To stress the importance of good appetite.

C.To suggest the difficulty in removing smallpox.

D.To show his determination to carry on the drive.

【3】From the last paragraph we can infer that _______.

A.Covid-19 will be conquered soon

B.world wars are worse than infections

C.Canadians benefit from the vaccine most

D.smallpox is a terrifying disease

【4】What message does the text convey?

A.Every dog has his day.

B.A good beginning is half the battle.

C.A trouble shared is a trouble halved.

D.Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】D

【4】D

【解析】

本文是一篇新闻报道。1980年的5月8 日“零目标日”是医学史上一个值得纪念的日子，标志着天花这一可怕的疾病被彻底根除。文章讲述了天花被根除的艰难历程以及“零目标日”的意义。

【1】

细节理解题。根据第二段中“…but there is evidence that the idea came from a medical friend, John Fewster, who had experimented with cowpox.”可知，有证据表明，Jenner发明天花疫苗的灵感来自于来自他的一个医学方面的朋友John Fewster。故选A项。

【2】

推理判断题。文章第三段中提到“Their hardships were enormous. One WHO official even promised to eat a tyre if smallpox was removed. （他们的困难是巨大的。一位世卫组织官员甚至承诺，如果天花被根除，他将吃掉一只轮胎。）”由此可以推断，文章提到这位世卫组织官员的承诺是暗示当时世卫组织认为根除天花几乎是不可能的事情，会有很多困难。故选C项。

【3】

推理判断题。文章最后一段中提到“It had previously killed 1 in 12 worldwide. …It went on to kill at least another 250 million people— three times more than both world wars combined.（在此之前，全世界有1 / 12的人死于该病。…它还造成至少2.5亿人死亡，是两次世界大战死亡人数总和的三倍。）”根据天花造成死亡的人数可以推断，天花是一种可怕的疾病。故选D项。

【4】

推理判断题。通读全文，文章讲述了天花被根除的艰难历程。文章最后一句提到“Let’s recognize Target Zero Day for what it is：a milestone in world history and a monument to the art of the possible. （让我们认识到“零目标日”的意义：它是世界历史上的一座里程碑，是展现可能性艺术的永久典范）”，根据其中“a monument to the art of the possible”可知，作者认为“零目标日”是可能性艺术的典范。根除天花尽管很艰难，但是最终，人类还是将它变得可能。选项A意思为：凡人皆有得意时；选项B意思为：良好的开端是成功的一半；选项C意思为：两人分担，麻烦减半；选项D意思为：心之所愿，无事不成。故选D项。