阅读理解
Technology is a two-edged sword. Rarely is this as clear as it is in the realm of health care. Technology allows doctors to test their patients for genetic defects—and then to turn around and spread the results throughout the world via the Internet. For someone in need of treatment, that's good news. But for someone in search of a job or an insurance policy, the tidings can be all bad.
Last week President Bill Clinton proposed a corollary to the patients' bill of rights now before Congress: a right to medical privacy. Beginning in February, under rules set to become law, patients would be able to stipulate the conditions under which their personal medical data could be divulged. They would be able to examine their records and make corrections. They could learn who else had seen the information. Improper use of records by a caregiver or insurer could result in both civil and criminal penalties. The plan was, said Clinton, "an unprecedented step toward putting Americans back in control of their own medical records."
While the administration billed the rules as an attempt to strike a balance between the needs of consumers and those of the health-care industry, neither doctors nor insurance companies were happy. The doctors said the rules could actually erode privacy, pointing to a provision allowing managed-care plans to use personal information without consent if the purpose was "health-care operations" . That, physicians said, was a loophole through which HMOs and other insurers could pry into the doctor-patient relationship, in the name of assessing the quality of care. Meanwhile, the insurers protested that the rules would make them vulnerable to lawsuits. They were especially disturbed by a provision holding them liable for privacy breaches by "business partners" such as lawyers and accountants. Both groups agreed that privacy protections would drive up the cost of health care by at least an additional $3.8 billion, and maybe much more, over the next five years. They also complained about the increased level of federal scrutiny required by the new rules' enforcement provisions.
One aim of the rules is to reassure patients about confidentiality, thereby encouraging them to be open with their doctors. Today various cancers and sexually transmitted diseases can go untreated because patients are afraid of embarrassment or of losing insurance coverage. The fear is real: Clinton aides noted that a January poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates found that one in six U.S. adults had at some time done something unusual to conceal medical information, such as paying cash for services.
Last week President Bill Clinton proposed a corollary to the patients' bill of rights now before Congress: a right to medical privacy. Beginning in February, under rules set to become law, patients would be able to stipulate the conditions under which their personal medical data could be divulged. They would be able to examine their records and make corrections. They could learn who else had seen the information. Improper use of records by a caregiver or insurer could result in both civil and criminal penalties. The plan was, said Clinton, "an unprecedented step toward putting Americans back in control of their own medical records."
While the administration billed the rules as an attempt to strike a balance between the needs of consumers and those of the health-care industry, neither doctors nor insurance companies were happy. The doctors said the rules could actually erode privacy, pointing to a provision allowing managed-care plans to use personal information without consent if the purpose was "health-care operations" . That, physicians said, was a loophole through which HMOs and other insurers could pry into the doctor-patient relationship, in the name of assessing the quality of care. Meanwhile, the insurers protested that the rules would make them vulnerable to lawsuits. They were especially disturbed by a provision holding them liable for privacy breaches by "business partners" such as lawyers and accountants. Both groups agreed that privacy protections would drive up the cost of health care by at least an additional $3.8 billion, and maybe much more, over the next five years. They also complained about the increased level of federal scrutiny required by the new rules' enforcement provisions.
One aim of the rules is to reassure patients about confidentiality, thereby encouraging them to be open with their doctors. Today various cancers and sexually transmitted diseases can go untreated because patients are afraid of embarrassment or of losing insurance coverage. The fear is real: Clinton aides noted that a January poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates found that one in six U.S. adults had at some time done something unusual to conceal medical information, such as paying cash for services.
单选题
11.The author begins his article with "technology is a two-edged sword" to_____.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】推断题。根据题干关键词定位到第一段。文章以医生利用先进的互联网技术传播病人医疗信息会有助于治疗某些病人的疾病，但同时又给一些病人在就业和购买保险方面带来困难为例说明保护病人医疗信息的重要性，以及不当使用技术可能带来的不良后果。故正确答案为C项。
单选题
12.Based on the proposal made by President Clinton, patients will be able to do the following EXCEPT_____.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】细节题。“be open with their doctors”只是这项法规试图达到的效果，并不是该法规赋予病人的权利。因此答案应该是A项。
单选题
13.Doctors tend to believe that the rules_____.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。文章引用医生的观点认为新法规不但不利于保护病人的隐私，反而会actually erode privacy(侵犯隐私)，由此可见答案应该是C项。
单选题
14.The example of the January poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates is used to illustrate that_____.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】推断题。根据题干关键词定位到文章最后一段。前文讲到了病人因为羞于启齿或者担心失去保险赔付而隐瞒病情，使疾病得不到治疗；然后说The fear is real。继而引用普利斯顿调查研究协会的调查结果，意在说明这一问题的严重性。故正确答案为D项。
单选题
15.From the article it can be learned that_____.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】推断题。文章中提到保险公司的反对意见时，引用了保险公司的说法：the rules would make them vulnerable to lawsuits，由此可见答案应该是B项。