Question

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 theobromine, 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 levers of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.

The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a verve activity(神经活动), which cause 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 the 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

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】文章大意：本文是一篇科普性读物。选材于医学的某一方面的研究――对巧克力中theobromine（可可碱）独特的治疗咳嗽的功效的对比研究，证明theobromine（可可碱）是未来有效的治疗咳嗽的良药。

1.本文主要介绍chocolate中含有的一种成分Theobromine能有很好的止咳效果，所以该题的正确答案为B

2.从第四段首句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。

3.A、B、D三项中的物品是用来做实验的物品。在文章第四段最后一句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）用来引起咳嗽和作为这些药物如何止咳的依据。

4.effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.可看出theobromine比codeine更有效，判断A项错误。既然它用来止咳，改善人们的生活质量，所以B项错误。在第一段提到了heobromine是从chocolate里提炼出来的，所以C项错误。故正确答案是D项。

D篇是一篇科普性读物。选材于医学的某一方面的研。