单选题 If American medicine were a patient, he would weigh 350 pounds and be gaining fast. Despite being repeatedly counseled about the dangers of morbid obesity, he would be making at best hail-hearted attempts to mend his gluttonous (excessive drinking and eating) ways. Meanwhile, his doctors, insurance company, politicians and regulators would remain in a deep state of denial, clutching the illusion that their patient, other than being a bit overweight, was in tip-top health. Truth be told, the US medical system is headed for multiple organ failure.
The spiraling cost of healthcare is well known: ＄7,100 per person this year, projected to increase to ＄12,000 in 2015 and compounding at more than double the rate of inflation. Already, medical care gobbles up one-sixth of the GDP. Even so, we ask ourselves, how better to spend our money on the best healthcare in the world? Not so fast. The facts show that these enormous expenditures may be buying us the best facilities in medical care-but not the best health.
For example, Canada spends only 60% as much per person on healthcare as the United States. Yet, since 1980, the longevity of all Canadians has improved more rapidly than that of only white Americans. Yes, the "queues" in Canada can involve delays in nonemergency care. But these could be shortened with relatively small increases in funding. An article in the US journal Health Affairs investigating the number of Canadians who come here to avoid these waits found the number so small that it asked, "A tip with no iceberg?" Britain spends only 40% as much as we do on healthcare. But according to the Journal of the American Medical Assn., middle-class insured Americans "are much less healthy than their English counterparts".
In fact, although Americans spend twice as much per person on healthcare as the other 21 wealthiest countries, data from the World Health Organization show that we live the shortest amount of time in good health-

单选题 In the opening paragraph, American medicine is compared to a patient to show that

A. it has wasted the US government a huge amount of money.
B. it is so problematic and troublesome that it is past cure.
C. it is generally wholesome except for some minor problems.
D. it is as problem-ridden as a patient with serious illness.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】

单选题 Canada and Britain are mentioned in paragraph 3 to illustrate that

A. America spends more money on medical care than Canada and Britain.
B. both Canada and Britain are fairly successful in terms of healthcare.
C. American expenditure on medical care is not so efficient as expected.
D. both Canada and Britain should hike up their expenditures on healthcare.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】

单选题 "A tip with no iceberg?" (Lines 5-6, Paragraph 3) most probably means

A. patients in Canada sometimes do have to wait for nonemergency treatments.
B. shortage of funds in Canadian medical system can be resolved easily.
C. a big increase in funding is needed in Canada, not a small one.
D. delays in nonemergency treatment in Canada are not such a serious problem.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】

单选题 Which of the following statements is true of the text?

A. Medical care takes up the largest share of US government expenditures.
B. Americans enjoy the best facilities in medical care but have worst health.
C. America performs worse than Canada and Britain in terms of healthcare.
D. Americans have a shorter life expectancy than people in other 21 wealthiest countries.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】

单选题 Elliott Fisher will most probably agree that

A. US expenditure on medical care is a waste of money and should be halted.
B. US government should make the best use of the spending in medical care.
C. America is turning into such an over-medicated society that it does harm to people.
D. more money should be diverted to military defense instead of medical care.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】