单选题
We have to admire Suzanne Somers's persistence. She doesn't give up--even when virtually the entire medical community is lined up against her. Three years ago, Somers wrote a best-selling book called The Sexy Years in which she promoted so-called bioidentical hormones as a more natural alternative to hormones produced by drug companies for menopausal women. Somers, now 60, claimed that these individually prepared doses of estrogen and other hormones, sold via the Internet or by compounding pharmacies, made her look and feel half her age. As the popularity of bioidenticals soared, major medical organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists grew so alarmed that they mounted publicity campaigns to convince Somers's readers that these alternative treatments, which are usually custom made for each patient, haven't been proven safe or more effective than traditional hormone therapy for symptoms like hot flashes. This month Somers is at it again with her latest book, Ageless. Subtitled The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones, the cover features a coquettish shot of the actress unclothed from the collarbone up. Inside, she calls bioidenticals "the juice of youth" and also promotes the questionable dosage advice of a former actress and "independent researcher" named T.S. Wiley who thinks menopausal women should have as much estrogen in their bodies as 20-year-olds. Now, even some of the pro-bioidentical doctors Somers quotes in her books are screaming foul. "Many of the claims throughout the book are scientifically unproven and dangerous," three of these doctors assert in a letter sent a few weeks ago to Somers's publisher, Crown. Somers adamantly defends her book and bioidenticals. "From a woman's standpoint, this is the first time we've gotten some relief in a non-drug way," she says in an interview with NEWSWEEK. "Doctors are embarrassed that they don't know about this," Somers says. "When doctors don't have an answer, they like to pooh-pooh it." The word bioidentical is a marketing term, not a scientific one, and it means different things to different people. To most doctors, bioidentical refers to a wide variety of FDA-approved drugs that are virtually identical to the hormones produced by women's ovaries. They come in many forms and doses, some of which have been used for years. Somers uses the term to refer to made-to-order treatments created by compounding pharmacies with dosages usually determined by the results of blood tests every two weeks (the method Somers herself uses), or regular saliva tests, a method most experts say is an unreliable way to measure a women's specific hormone needs. Somers claims that she is so "in touch" with her body's needs that she can "tweak" her hormones even without the benefit of these tests. Proponents of Somers's program say only hormones prepared specifically for each woman can meet her unique needs. But since the Women's Health Initiative, the FDA has approved many new hormone products, including some in very low doses. While the FDA process isn't perfect, it's certainly better than what consumers get with compounding products: no black box warning about side effects, no package insert, no data on relative safety, no check on advertising claims and no manufacturing oversight. Somers says these custom-made treatments are natural and not really drugs. That's just not true. Bioidenticals may start out as wild yams or soybeans, but by the time this plant matter has been converted into hormone therapy, it is in fact a drug. All of these products--whether or not they're approved by the FDA--are chemicals synthesized in a lab. Another thing you should know, there are only a few labs in the world that synthesize these hormones. Everyone--from small compounding pharmacies to big pharmaceutical companies--gets their ingredients from the same places. Somers argues that bioidenticals are safer than FDA-approved hormones even though there are no high-quality studies to prove that assertion. In the absence of any reliable research to the contrary, most women's health experts say it's prudent to assume that all hormone products (FDA-approved or not) carry the same heart disease and cancer risks.
单选题
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】推断题。首段第五句提到：As the popularity of bioidenticals soared...，由此可以推断bioidentical hormones非常受欢迎，既然该药物是针对更年期女性的，因此其受众群应为女性，故[B]为答案。此处未提及对该药物进行大肆宣传，排除[A]。末句提到医学专家提醒消费者该药物还没有被证实是安全的，[C]不符合文意。末句指出一些大的医疗机构对bioidenticals的流行感到担忧，他们发动宣传，让Somers的读者相信这种替代疗法的安全性还没有得到证实，可见对此表示担心的是医疗机构，非[D]中的“许多人”，排除。
单选题
Which of the following statements is TRUE about some doctors Somers quotes in her books?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节题。由题干中的doctors Somers quotes定位至第二段。第四句指出：Now, even some of the probioidentical doctors Somers quotes in her books are screaming foul. [A]和[C]不符合文意，排除。其中的probioidentical表明这些医生以前是支持bioidenticals的，[B]符合文意，故为答案。第五句中的three of these doctors assert in a letter sent a few weeks ago to Somers's publisher, Crown表明[D]不符合文意。
单选题
The word "pooh-pooh" in the third paragraph probably means
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】语义理解题。由题干定位至第三段。该句是Somers为自己受到批评而进行的辩护：When doctors don't have an answer, they like to pooh-pooh it.显然这里的pooh-pooh有负面含义，排除[D]。由于医生们明确表示了反对，[C]“忽视，漠视”不符合文意，排除。从前面内容来看，医生们只是对她的观点提出质疑，并非水火不容的敌对状态，[B]“憎恨”程度过重，排除。只有[A]“鄙视，不屑”符合语境，故为答案。
单选题
The author's attitude towards bioidentical hormones is
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】态度题。第四段首句指出：The word bioidentical is a marketing term, not a scientific one。可见作者认为bioidentical没有经过科学论证。此外，第五段第三句指出；While the FDA process isn't perfect, it's certainly better than what consumers get with compounding products...最后几段都是对Somers说法的驳斥，可见作者明确反对Somers的观点，故[A]为答案。
单选题
According to the author, all the following are the traits of compounding products EXCEPT
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】第五段末句指出compounding products与经过FDA验证了的药物的区别，其中提到no black box warning about side effects，这里是说副作用，不是疗效，[B]不符合文意，故为答案。其他几项均有提及，符合文意。