阅读理解 Fear seems to be the dominant mood of the moment. Hurricanes, tidal waves, floods, earthquakes and terrorism this year have all brought with them not only appalling scenes of devastation, death and suffering, but also outrage at the lack of preparations to avoid or cope with these disasters. Now even the birds of the air are a threat, we are told. That migrating flock visible on the horizon at sunset, once a consoling reminder of the eternal rhythms of nature, could be carrying the virus which might soon kill tens of millions of people.
Given the many fingers pointed at governments in the wake of other disasters this year, it is hardly surprising that they are scrambling to respond to the threat posed by avian influenza. After confirmation this week that the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has been spreading quickly in Asia, had been discovered in Romania and perhaps Greece, European Union foreign ministers convened an emergency meeting. President George Bush, still smarting from a torrent of criticism of his government's clumsy response to Hurricane Katrina, has promised to rush out emergency plans for dealing with an outbreak of pandemic flu which have been stalled for years. Countries around the world are hurrying to stockpile the only current antiviral drug, Tamiflu, which might be effective in saving lives in any pandemic or curbing its spread. The World Health Organisation is calling for an internationally co-ordinated effort. Health ministers from around the globe are due to meet next week in Canada to discuss what steps to take.
Is any of this effort justified? Or are politicians simply helping to feed public panic, and then covering themselves by promising to spend lavishly against a threat which may never materialize and to reduce a risk which they do not understand? To ask these questions is not to counsel complacency, but to apply the kind of test which is required in any kind of disaster planning, not least because the world is an inherently dangerous place and it is impossible to plan against every possible disaster. With the media full of warnings of impending mass death, an overreaction is all too possible.

单选题 31.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道细节题，测试考生对原文中转折词“but”的识别和理解。本文首段第二句的含义是“飓风、海啸、洪水、地震以及恐怖主义不仅带来了令人惊恐的摧毁景象、死亡以及痛苦，而且同时导致了人们对于缺乏避免或应对这些灾难的准备工作的强烈义愤”。由“…but also outrage at the lack of preparations to avoid or cope with these disasters”可见，本题的正确选项是A。

单选题 32.According to the text, American emergency plans for coping with an outbreak of pandemic flu______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】这是一道细节题，测试考生识别细节以及理解定语从句修饰关系的能力。本文第二段的第三句是本题题干出现的位置，也是本题正确答案的信息来源。该句中的定语从句“which have been stalled for years”(被延迟了许多年)限定修饰“emergency plans for dealing with an outbreak of pandemic flu”(应对流感爆发的紧急计划)。显而易见，本题的正确选项应该是D“have been delayed”(一直被拖延)。

单选题 33.Which of the following remarks on our available antiviral medication would the author make?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道细节题，测试考生识别细节和准确理解情态动词的能力。本题的答案信息来源是第二段的倒数第三句。该句提到了“current antiviral drug”(=available antiviral medication)。第二段倒数第三句中的“only”(唯一的)表明药品“贫乏”(meager)；定语从句中的情态动词“might”(也许)表明药品“并不是百分之百的有效”。可见本题的正确选项应该是C“Meagre and not reliable”(贫乏并且不是完全可靠)。

单选题 34.The phrase "not least" in the last but one sentence of the text means______.

单选题 35.It can be inferred from the last paragraph of the text that______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道细节推导题，测试考生识别细节以及根据原文信息进行推导的能力。本题的答案信息来源是尾段的尾句，因为该句提到了“overreaction”(=strong and intense response)。尾句的含义是：“由于媒体针对即将发生的大规模死亡的大量报道，所以过激反应是大有可能的”。由此可以反推并得出结论：过激反应的根源在于媒体的大肆渲染。故本题的正确选项是A。