单选题

The field of medicine has always attracted its share of quacks and charlatans — disrepu-table women and men with little or no medical knowledge who promise quick cures at cheap prices. The reasons why quackery thrives even in modem times are easy to find.
To begin with, pain seems to be a chronic human condition. A person whose body or mind "hurts" will often pay any amount of money for the promise of relief. Second, even the best medical treatment cannot cure all the ills that beset men and women. People who mistrust or dislike the truths that their physicians tell them often turn to more sympathetic ears.
Many people lack the training necessary to evaluate medical claims. Given the choice between (a) a reputable physician who says a cure for cancer will be long, expensive and may not work at all, and (b) a salesperson who says that several bottles of a secret formula "snake oil" will cure not only cancer but tuberculosis as well, some individuals will opt for "snake oil".
Many "snake oil" remedies are highly laced with alcohol or narcotic drugs. Anyone who drinks them may get so drunk or stoned that they drown their pains in the rising tide of pleasant intoxication. Little wonder that "snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hurts! But let there be no misunderstandings. A very few "home remedies" actually work. However, most remedies sold by quacks are not only useless, but often can be harmful as well.

单选题 In this passage, a quack or a charlatan is someone who______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 词义题型。根据第一句话中的破折号后的解释…quacks and charlatans—disreputable women and men with little or no medical knowledge who promise quick cures at cheap prices．(庸医和骗子是指那些本身缺乏医学知识却又许诺能又快又省地治好病的臭名昭著的人)可以推断出正确答案。quack“庸医”。

单选题 The sentence "pain seems to be a chronic human condition" means pain seems to______.

单选题 Quackery thrives even in modern times because______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 推断题型。第一段最后一句提到The reasons why quackery thrives even in modern times are easy to find．紧接着第二段指出To begin with，pain seems to be a chronic human condition．A person whose body or mind "hurts" will often pay any amount of money for…mistrust or dislike the truths that their physicians tell them often turn to more sympathetic ears．句中sympathetic ears意为“庸医，骗子”。由此可见，病人不惜代价看病，医生诚实地告诉病人药的疗效，而庸医则声称其药能治百病，病人当然就去找这些庸医了，因此现在庸医还是十分流行。

单选题 People who seek the advice of quacks and charlatans are those who______.

单选题 To evaluate medical claims, one must______.

单选题 According to the author, a very few home remedies are______.

单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 是非题型。 B选项蛇油没有效果，是事实，因为snake oil指江湖医生的万用药。文中第二段even the best medical treatment cannot cure all the i lls与C项意思相同。一些人不会选择a reputable physician who says a cure for cancer will be long…由此推断D项也正确。

单选题 Many individuals opt for "snake oil" because they______.

单选题 "Snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hurts because it has______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题型。参看第四段的头三句话Many "snake oil" remedies are highly laced with…Anyone who drinks them may get SO drunk…Little wonder that "snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hurts!(许多蛇油中含有大量酒精或麻醉品。服用的人会沉醉于极度的兴奋中，这就难怪对小痛痒来说，蛇油是受欢迎的万能药了。)