单选题
By far the most common snake in Britain is the adder. In Scotland, in fact, there are no other snakes at all. The adder is also the only British snake with a poisonous bite. It can be found almost anywhere,but prefers sunny hillsides and rough open country, including high ground. In Ireland there are no snakes at all.
Most people regard snake bites as a fatal misfortune, but not all bites are serious and very few are fatal. Sometimes attempts at emergency treatment turn out to be more dangerous than the bite itself, with amateurs heroically, but mistakenly, trying do-it-yourself surgery and other unnecessary measures.
All snakes have small teeth, so it follows that all snakes can bite, but only the bite of the adder presents any danger. British snakes are shy animals and are far more frightened of you than you could possibly be of them. The adder will attack only if it feels threatened, as can happen if you take it by surprise and step on it accidentally or if you try to catch it or pick it up, which it dislikes intensely. If it hears you coming, it will normally get out of the way as quickly as it can, but adders cannot move very rapidly and may attack before moving if you are very close.
The effect of a bite varies considerably. It depends upon several things, one of which is the body-weight of the person bitten. The bigger the person is, the less harmful the bite is likely to be, which is why children suffer far more seriously from snake bites than adults. A healthy person will also have better resistance against the poison.
Very few people actually die from snake bites in Britain, and though these bites can make some people very ill, there are probably just as many cases of bites having little or no effect, as there are of serious illness.
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由文章第二段最后一句话“Sometimes attempts at emergency treatment turn out to be more dangerous than the bite itself, with amateurs heroically, but mistakenly, trying do-it-yourself surgery and other measures.”可知，当非专业人员错误地实施外科手术和其他不必要措施时，急救才有可能变得更糟。选项D过于绝对，故本题应选D。另外，根据文章第一段第二句、第三句和第二段第一句可判断出选项A，B，C均正确。
单选题
Adders are most likely to be found ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。做题时可采取排除法。根据文章第一段中“the most common snake in Britain is the adder”，“prefers sunny hillside and rough open country”和“In Ireland there are no snakes at all.”可知选项A，B，D均不正确。故本题应选C。
单选题
We are told that British snakes are ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由文章第三段第二句“British snakes are shy animals and are far more frightened of you than you could possibly be of them.”可知英国蛇类更害怕人类。故本题应选A。
单选题
If an adder senses your approaching, it will probably ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由文章第三段最后一句“If it hears you coming, it will normally get out of the way as quickly as it can...”可知，蝰蛇在感知到人类到来时，通常会尽快地让开。D项move out of the way和原文中get out of the way同义。
单选题
According to the passage, a snake bite is ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由文章第四段第三句“The bigger the person is, the less harmful the bite is likely to be, which is why children suffer far more seriously from snake bites than adults.”可知，蛇的叮咬对小孩更严重，大人会好些，故本题选B。