单选题
The field of medicine has always attracted its share of quacks and charlatans—disreputable women and men with little or no medical knowledge who promise quick cures at cheap prices. The reasons why quackery thrives even in modern times are easy to find.
To begin with, pain seems to be a chronic human condition. A person whose body or mind "hurts" will often pay any amount of money for the promise of relief. Second, even the best medical treatment cannot cure all the ills that beset men and women. People who mistrust or dislike the truths that their physicians tell them often turn to more sympathetic ears.
Many people lack the training necessary to evaluate medical claims. Given the choice between (a) a reputable physician who says a cure for cancer will be long, expensive and may not work at all, and (b) a salesperson who says that several bottles of a secret formula "snake oil" will cure not only cancer but tuberculosis as well, some individuals will opt for "snake oil"
Many "snake oil" remedies are highly laced with alcohol or narcotic drugs. Anyone who drinks them may get so drunk or stoned that they drown their pains in the rising tide of pleasant intoxication. Little wonder that "snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hurts! But let there be no misunderstandings. A very few "home remedies" actually work. However, most remedies sold by quacks are not only useless, but often can be harmful as well.
单选题
In this passage, a quack or a charlatan is someone who ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查词义理解。根据文章第一句话“The field of medicine has always attracted its share of quacks and charlatans—disreputable women and men with little or no medical knowledge who promise quick cures at cheap prices.”可知，庸医和骗子是指那些本身缺乏医学知识或没有医学知识却又许诺能以较低的价钱快速治愈病人的声名狼藉的人。据此推断，答案是D。
单选题
The sentence "pain seems to be a chronic human condition" means pain seems to ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查词义理解。根据“pain seems to be a chronic human condition”可知，痛苦好像是一种不断发生的人类状态。chronic“习惯性的，慢性的，长期的”。A项“严肃的”；B项“十分苦难的”；C项“持续很长时间”，D项“总是发生”。所以，答案是D。
单选题
Quackery thrives even in modern times because ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查推理判断。根据第一段最后一句和第二段中的“The reasons why quackery thrives even in modern times are easy to find. A person whose body or mind "hurts" will often pay any amount of money for...mistrust or dislike the truths that their physicians tell them often tum to more sympathetic ears.”可知，病人身体或精神不好时，会不惜一切代价看病，他们不相信或不喜欢他们的医生诚实地告诉他们医学治疗并不能治愈困扰人们的所有疾病的事实，而是通常去找那些声称其药能治百病的庸医，因此，现在庸医还是普遍存在。所以，答案是C。
单选题
People who seek the advice of quacks and charlatans are those who ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第二段最后一句“People who mistrust or dislike the truths that their physicians tell them often turn to more sympathetic ears.”可知，不相信或不喜欢其医生告诉的事实的人会转向那些庸医和骗子。所以，答案是D。
单选题
To evaluate medical claims, one must ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第三段第一句“Many people lack the training necessary to evaluate medical claims.”可知，很多人缺少必要的培训以评估medical claims。即要想评估medical claims，必须接受必要的培训。所以，答案是C。
单选题
According to the author, a very few home remedies are ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章最后一段倒数第二句“A very few "home remedies" actually work.”可知，很少有祖传秘方真正奏效。所以，答案是D。
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查是非判断。B项“蛇油没有效果”是事实，因为snake oil是江湖医生所称的万用药，并不是真的有效，所以B项正确。根据文章第二段中的“even the best medical treatment cannot cure all the ills”可知，即使是最好的医生也不能治好所以的病，所以C项正确；根据“Given the choice between (a) a reputable physician who says a cure for cancer will be long, expensive and may not work at all, and(b)a salesperson who says that several bottles of a secret formula "snake oil" will cure not only cancer but tuberculosis as well, some individuals will opt for "snake oil"”可知，一个声誉良好的医生说治疗癌症是一个长期的过程，一个售货员说蛇油可治百病，病人就会选择买蛇油，由此推知，病人不太有耐心，所以，D项正确。据此推断，答案是A。
单选题
Many individuals opt for "snake oil" because they ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第三段第二句“...a salesperson who says that several bottles of a secret formula "snake oil" will cure not only cancer but tuberculosis as well, some individuals will opt for "snake oil".”可知，售货员说蛇油秘方不仅能治癌症也能治肺结核，一些人就会选择蛇油。由此可知，他们是被售货员的话误导而买蛇油的。所以，答案是A。
单选题
"Snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hurts because it has ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。根据文章第四段前三句话“Many "snake oil" remedies are highly laced with alcohol or narcotic drugs. Anyone who drinks them may get so drunk or stoned that they drown their pains in the rising tide of pleasant intoxication. Little wonder that "snake oil" is a popular cure-all for minor aches and hums!”可知，许多蛇油秘方中含有大量酒精或麻醉药。服用的人会喝醉或沉醉于极度的兴奋中，难怪对小痛痒来说，蛇油是受欢迎的万能药。所以，答案是D。
单选题
Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?