One of the biggest changes since 1990 is
the degree to which bioterrorism has become a public health priority. Although
there had long been concern about vulnerability to biowarfare and bioterrorism
the anthrax episode in the fall of 2001 made it clear that the concern is no
longer theoretical. Until very recently, the important role of public health at
the frontlines of bioterrorism preparedness was unrecognized. Although concern
about emerging infections has helped stimulate funding for the chronically
under-appreciated public health system, the threat of bioterrorism motivated the
first real infusion of new money into public health in decades.
Many of the capabilities needed to defend against bioterrorism are the same: as
those needed to combat natural emerging infections. In both instance, the
problem is an unexpected outbreak of infectious disease, of which the first
indication is likely to be sick people in emergency rooms or clinics. Indeed, as
with the anthrax attacks, the public health and medical responses may be under
way before the true nature of the outbreak is recognized. Public health and the
interface with the health care system are therefore key elements in any
effective response to bioterrorism. Whether the biggest threat
is natural or engineered much remains to be done. Efforts to strengthen
surveillance and response worldwide and to improve communication must be
accelerated and sustained. Further, we have only scratched the surface in terms
of understanding the ecology of infectious diseases and developing strategies
for regulating microbial traffic. We need tools for better predictive
epidemiologic modeling when a new infection first appears and for better
analysis of the factors that transfer pathogens across species. One encouraging
development is the program in the ecology of infectious diseases that was
started a few years ago be the National Science Foundation in cooperation with
NIH. SARS is a good yardstick of our progress during the past
13 years. The syndrome was unusual because novel infections that spread from
person to person are relatively rare. Once cases were finally reported, the
public health response was vigorous. WHO warned health care providers,
researchers rapidly identified a candidate virus, and prototype diagnostic tests
quickly became available. The vast reach of the Internet was instrumental in
sharing formation and coordinating activities worldwide. Despite these advances,
SARS had already spread to many countries. In fact had the disease been as
transmissible as influenza, it would have invaded virtually every country in the
world by the time the public health response had begun. So what SARS tells us is
that although we have come long way since 1990, we still have a long way to
go.
单选题
The main idea expressed in the first paragraph is that ______.
A. the threat of bioterrorism is real rather than theoretical
B. the concern about bio-warfare and bioterrorism has been justified
C. the public health system plays an important role in fighting against
bioterrorism
D. bioterrorism has to a considerable degree become a public health
priority
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 从原文第一段“Although there had long been concern about... that the concern is no longer theoretical”和“Until very recently... preparedness was unrecognized”都说明了公共卫生系统在打击生物恐怖主义中所发挥的重要作用。
单选题
Bioterrorism may lead to ______.
A. various natural infections
B. the death of millions of innocent people
C. the outbreak of unpredictable deadly diseases
D. unexpected outbreak of infectious disease
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 从原文第二段第二句话“In both instances, the problem is an unexpected outbreak of infectious disease”，这里“In both instances”指的就是生物恐怖主义和自然爆发的疾病。因此，可以看出答案是D“出人意料的传染病的爆发”。
单选题
From the text we learn that ______.
A. bioterrorism is an engineered threat to human beings
B. bioterrorism can be arrested by improving communication
C. natural infections and bioterrorism are the same in essence
D. the anthrax attacks are more threatening than the outbreak of
SARS
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 从原文第三段第一句话：“Whether the biggest threat is natural or engineered, much remains to be done”看出，bioterrorism是engineered，所以A对。B选项错在“can be arrested”上。原文是说能够减轻，但不能制止。C说自然的和恐怖主义性质的传染病是同一种性质的，显然不对，因为一个是natural，一个是engineered。D项同样不对。
单选题
The example of SARS is used to illustrate that ______.
A. much remains to be done in improving the public health system
B. the sooner the cases of infectious diseases are reported the better
C. WHO is an indispensable organization
D. Internet plays a very important role in fighting against
infectious
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 由原文最后一句：“so what SARS tells us is that although we have come a long way since 1990, we still have a long way to go”看出拳SARS的例子旨在说明我们还有很长的路要走。
单选题
This passage is mainly about ______.
A. our progress during the past 13 years
B. defending against bioterrorism
C. combating natural emerging infections
D. the necessity to further improve the public health system