A Charlotte, N.C., man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. In an attempt to evade policemen after a bank robbery, the Associated Press reports that 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into the home of Mary Parnell. Police say he didn’t touch Parnell but that she died after suffering a heart attack that was caused by terror. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors(公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime like robbery—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.

But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Absolutely, no question about it.

The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response(战或逃反应), which was originally described by Walter Cannon,the chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.

The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is toxic in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death. Kidney failure, liver failure, those things don’t kill you suddenly.

By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in intercourse or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. For about seven days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon there was an increase of sudden cardiac death among New Yorkers.

Why the Charlotte, N.C., man was charged?

A. Because he threatened the policemen to kill an old woman.

B. Because he caused an old woman’s terror and she died.

C. Because he beat an old woman and caused her heart attack

D. Because he murdered an old woman while robbing a bank.

What is Martin Samuels’ attitude to the possibility of being frightened to death?

A. Approval.              B. Disapproval.                  C. Doubtful.          D. Indifferent.

Which of the following about the fight-or-flight response is true?

A. The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin A. Samuels.

B. It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans.

C. The ancient humans had a superior fight-or-flight response than modern ones.

D. The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs.

What activity can we infer is less likely to damage the organs?

A. Winning a big lottery.                               B. Missing a dead family.

C. Watching a horror movie.                            D. Listening to a sweet song.

The purpose of the passage is_________.

A. to explain why people will die of a heart attack

B. to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure

C. to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death

D. to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death

Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled―to $1. 01 per pack―smokers have jammed telephone “quit lines” across the country seeking to kick the habit.    

This is not a surprise to public health advocates. They’ve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.    

The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.    

In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. Charleston, S, C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation. The price was $4. 78.    

The influence is obvious.    

In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys―13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky, Other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.    

Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans “who choose to smoke.”   

That’s true, But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place, As for today’s adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.    

66 The text is mainly about___________.

A  the price of cigarettes                       B  tie rate of teen smoking

C  the effect of tobacco tax increase              D  the differenees in tobacco tax rate

 

67 What does the author think is a surprise?

A  Teen smokers are price sensitive.

B  Some atates still keep the tobacco tax low.

C  Tobacco taxes improve public health.

D  Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise.

68.The underlined word "deter"in Paragraph 3 most probably means      .

A. discording    B.remove    C. benefit      D.free

69.Rogers’attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of     .

A.tolerance   B.unconcern    C.doubt   D.sympathy

70.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A.The new tax will be beneficial in the long run.

B.Low-income Amerians are more likely to fall ill.

C.Future generations will be hooked on smoking.

D.Adults will depend more on their families.

 

 

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