单选题
Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation. Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them, without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radio activity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being outright by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be significant. This is the case when only a few cells are hit. And if they are killed outright, your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in a deformed way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years. This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can he irradiated and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak or liable to serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.
单选题
According to the passage, the danger of nuclear power lies in______. A. nuclear mystery B. radiation detection C. radiation level D. nuclear radiation
单选题
Radiation can cause serious consequences at the lowest level______. A. when it kills few cells B. if it damages the few cells C. though the damaged cells can repair themselves D. unless the damaged cells can reproduce themselves
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】if it damages the few cells“如果核辐射损伤了少量的细胞”，题中的at the lowest level意为“在最低的程度”，consequences意为“后果”。 据短文中的第三段分析出，如果辐射损害了少量的细胞，而没有杀死这些细胞，其后果非常严重。因为那些受损的细胞繁衍出畸形的细胞，最终导致癌症。
单选题
The word "significant" in Paragraph 3 most probably means______. A. responsible B. meaningful C. fatal D. harmful
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】harmful意为“有害的”，题中的significant意为“重大的；有意义的”。据第三段第四句：“如果辐射没有辐射到重要部位，那么损害就不大”，得知not be significant“没有意义”，即“无大碍”，也就足“无害”，因此significant的意思为harmful。
单选题
Radiation can hurt us in the way that it can______. A. kill large numbers of cells in main organs so as to cause death immediately B. damage cells which may grow into cancer years later C. affect the healthy growth of our offspring D. all of the above
单选题
Which of the following can be best inferred from the passage? A. The importance of protection from radiation cannot be over-emphasized. B. The mystery about radiation remains unsolved. C. Cancer is mainly caused by radiation. D. Radiation can hurt those who are not aware of its danger.