单选题
The Case of the Disappearing Fingerprints

One useful anti-cancer drug can effectively erase the whorls and other characteristic marks that give people their distinctive fingerprints. Losing (1) could become troublesome. A case released online in a letter by Annals of Oncology indicates how big a (2) of losing fingerprints is.
Eng-Huat Tan, a Singapore-based medical doctor describes a 62-year old man who has used capecitabine to (3) his nasopharyngeal cancer. After three years on the (4) . the patient decided to visit U. S. relatives last December. But he was stopped by U. S. customs officials (5) 4 hours after entering the country when those officials couldn't get fingerpints from the man. There were no distinctive swirly (6) appearing from his index finger.
U. S. customs has been fingerprinting incoming foreign visitors for years, Tan says. Their index fingers are (7) and screened against digital files of the fingerprints of bad guys-terrorists and potential criminals that our federal guardians have been tasked with keeping out of the country. Unfortunately, for the Singaporean traveler, one potential (8) effect of his drug treatment is a smoothing of the tissue on the finger pads. (9) , no fingerprints.
"It is uncertain when fingerprint loss will (10) to take place in patients who are taking capecitabine, " Tan points out. So he cautions any physicians who (11) the drug to provide their patients with a doctor's note pointing out that their medicine may cause fingerprints to disappear.
Eventually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States. I guess the name on his passport didn't raise any red flags. But he's also now got the explanatory doctor's note — and won't leave home (12) it.
By the way, maybe the Food and Drug Administration, (13) approved use of the drug 11 years ago, should consider (14) its list of side effects associated with this medicine. The current list does note that patients may experience vomiting, stomach pain and some other side effects. But no where (15) it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints.

单选题 A. he B. them C. her D. him
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据上下文的意思，失去( losing)的应该是fingerprints。fingerprints是复数形式，指代它的代词是them。其他三个代词都不合适。
单选题 A. theme B. topic C. creation D. problem
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 前面两个句子说，失去指纹是一大问题。本句说，要举出一个实例以说明失去指纹会造成极大的困扰。所以只有选项D最合适。
单选题 A. treat B. cut C. find D. smooth
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段描述了实例的细节。第一句说病人用一种药名为卡培他滨的抗癌药治疗他的鼻咽癌。所以treat是必然的选择。cut(切割)，find(寻找)和smooth(弄平)都与上下文接不上。
单选题 A. recovery B. diet C. drug D. diagnosis
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 从上下文判断，“After three years on the...(经过三年的……)”的后面应该接“用药”、“治疗”等字眼，所以选drug是正确的。选recovery(康复)，diet(节食)或diagnosis(诊断)都与后面提到的病人进入美国受阻的事件接不上。
单选题 A. in B. at C. for D. on
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] for表示时间上“达到”，for 4 hours意为“长达4小时”。
单选题 A. digits B. marks C. images D. pictures
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 美国海关因为采集不到那位癌症患者的指纹样本，于是盘问了他4小时。所以本句提到的swirly应该与marks搭配，意思是“旋涡状指纹标记”。
单选题 A. printed B. located C. cured D. placed
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 为了防止恐怖分子和罪犯进入美国，美国海关通过电脑对外国入境者进行指纹采样，然后与指纹库进行比照。根据常理，海关要检查每一位外国人的指纹。采样的手指是食指。后面的screened(比照)是解题的重要线索，引导读者选A，即printed。这里printed=fingerprinted(采集指纹样本)。其他三个选项，即located(找出)、cured(治疗)和placed(置放)，都与上下文的意思接不上。
单选题 A. normal B. good C. main D. side
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 实例中的新加坡人用了抗癌药后的一个副作用是指纹消失，这是一种不良反应。所以，选good，main，normal(正常的)都不符合上下文的意思，只有side才是答案。side effect意为“副作用”。
单选题 A. However B. Hence C. Moreover D. Furthermore
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 前面句子提及的服抗癌药是因，本段最后一句是果，连接词应该用Hence。而However表示转折关系，Moreover和Furthermore表示“进一步”的关系，与上文连接不上。
单选题 A. begin B. like C. decide D. have
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本段表达的意思是：由于癌症病人服用卡培他滨后指纹何时开始消失还不清楚，所以主治医生要提前为病人开具指纹可能会消失的证明单。to take place(发生)之前填上like，decide或have都与上下文的意思接不上，只有begin最合适。
单选题 A. prevent B. preserve C. presume D. prescribe
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 参阅上一题的题解。本题四个选项中的英语词的前三个字母都是pre-，只要知道prescribe的词义是“开处方”，就会选D。
单选题 A. off B. on C. without D. with
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 第五段的意思是，那位病人已经拿到医生开具的指纹消失证明单，现在他出门旅行不会不带上它。本题without是答案。
单选题 A. who B. where C. when D. which
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 哪一个政府机构许可( approved)使用该类抗癌药？就是本段第一句提到的the Food and Drug Administration。四个选项中，只有关系代词which能指代the Food and Drug Administration，它是approved动作的发出者。
单选题 A. updating B. using C. printing D. cancelling
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 最后一段表达的意思是：过去该药列出的不良反应只包括呕吐等，没有列出指纹消失这一副作用，现在应该补上这一条。所以，updating(更新)是答案。
单选题 A. must B. does C. may D. should
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 最后一段最后一句中，为了强调no where，将它移到句首，这时，原句的“it does not mention the potential for loss of fingerprints”就要写成强调句形式的“no where does it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints”。所以，答案是B。