阅读理解
On the past few days, two nations with large numbers of AIDS-infected people have announced plans to distribute a triple cocktail of life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs free to all who need it. China has been treating 5 ,000 patients and plans to expand the program to cover everyone in the country. South Africa''s cabinet approved a plan that includes drugs for all who need them.
China spent years denying it had an AIDS problem. Until recently, South Africa''s top officials minimized the epidemic, questioned whether H.I. V. was the cause of AIDS and labeled antiretroviral drugs "poisons". Both countries have now taken a courageous and essential step.
But only one is likely to succeed. Indeed, China''s program is already failing. One in five Chinese who have received antiretroviral drugs has already stopped taking them, which can lead to the creation of drug-resistant strains of the virus. China has only about 100 doctors nationwide with experience in treating AIDS. Health workers are simply handing patient''s bottles of pills. Most patients receive no counseling on how to take them or deal with their side effects, and little follow-up monitoring. China is also still determined to crack down on high-risk groups such as prostitutes and drug users, which drives the epidemic underground. Even recently, provincial police were beating AIDS patients protesting for treatment. Treating AIDS requires a network of health care workers and a political climate that does not stigmatize and discriminate against those who come forward.
South Africa''s government, by contrast, understands that handing out pills is only part of the solution. The program, which will cost about $ 680 million a year by 2007, will spend only a third of its budget on buying drugs. Much of the money will go instead to establishing clinics and training thousands of doctors, nurses, counselors and other workers to staff them. The government plans to have a well-run clinic in every district by the end of the year, and in every municipality by the end of 2008.
South Africa has an influential national network of campaigners for AIDS treatment whose pressure and advice were crucial to devising the plan, and who will be crucial to its success. It also had help from the foundation led by former President Bill Clinton, which negotiated better prices for AIDS medicine. China''s government, by contrast, made its decisions in secret and has yet to permit such widespread citizen activism on AIDS. But China has one huge advantage over South Africa; while one in nine South Africans has the AIDS virus, China''s epidemic is far smaller. Now that China has decided to treat AIDS, it has a chance to learn from other nations before the deluge.
单选题
The author write this passage mainly to________
单选题
The word "stigmatize" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题是一个词义理解题，给出一个超纲词汇，要求考生联系上下文给出其在文中的意思。回到原文“Treating AIDS requires a network of health care workers and a political climate that does not stigmatize and discriminate against those who come forward．”注意到这里并列谓语的存在，是解答本题的突破口。 A．批评。错误，“批评”在这里感情色彩不合，注意作者在这里有这种行为是不合理的意思，如果是“批评患者”，那么这种行为并不是不合理的。 B．抛弃。错误，感情色彩过度偏激，注意到文中提到政府还是采取了一些措施的，并不是抛弃了这些患者。 C．贬低。正确，在这里“贬低”和后面的“歧视”感情色彩和语气都很一致。 D．忽略。错误，理由同B选项。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that China fall behind South Africa because________