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Text A / 509 Words / Time for reading: 3.5 minutes /
The European Commission said on Thursday it would toughen the regulation of medical devicesas a result of concerns raised by breast implants produced by the defunct French companyPIP, even as a scientifi c expert review it ordered concluded there was currently “insuffi cient evidence”that women using its products facedgreater health risks than others.
John Dalli, health and consumer policy commissioner, pledged to examine surveillance andoperation of the “notifi ed bodies” that scrutinise medical devices across the EU in a current reviewof legislation, stressing: “The capacity to detect and minimise the risk of fraud must be increased.”
His comments followed an offi cial report released on Wednesday in France that called for nationaland EU-wide co-operation including random inspections and sampling of medical devicesto prevent a repeat of the fraudulent use of substandard non-medical-grade silicone by PIP in implantssold to up to 400,000 women around the world.
Xavier Bertrand, France’s minister of health, called for enhanced action in France and acrossEurope in the wake of the study, which highlighted that Afssaps, the French medical regulator,did not inspect PIP from 2001 until a tip-off led offi cials to inspect and close down the companyin 2010. Jean-Claude Mas, its founder, is under police investigation for manslaughter.
Mr. Bertrand has pledged to hire more health inspectors and undertake random checks onmedical device companies following growing concerns over its regulatory system highlighted bythe widespread use of PIP’s substandard breast implants.
A French decision at the end of last year to offer all women free removal of PIP implants triggeredsimilar proposals in the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic and has helped spark a fresh debate overtougher EU regulation of medical devices, which are subject to far less scrutiny than pharmaceuticals.
However, a review released on Thursday by the EU’s own Scientifi c Committee on Emergingand Newly Identifi ed Health Risks concluded: “Breast implants can fail, regardless of manufacturer,and the probability of failure increases with time since implantation. In most cases, breastimplant failure appears to be without identifi able health consequences for the patient with the exceptionof possible local complications.”
It stressed that limited data meant that while there was no link between breast implants andcancer, there was a need for further work to understand the specifi c risks from the PIP products.
Mr. Bertrand has endorsed calls for a parliamentary inquiry in France as well as a report fromthe country’s social affairs inspectorate, mirroring similar moves that led to tough new requirementsfor the pharmaceutical industry introduced last year in the wake of concerns about Servier’sdrug Mediator.
Medical device manufacturers have called for reforms to ensure that the national “notifi ed bodies”which audit the quality of their products across Europe are of a consistently high standard, while cautioningthat tough new regulatory requirements could harm the EU’s competitive advantage.
The French study showed that Afssaps had received multiple warnings over the relativelyhigh failure rate of PIP implants compared with those made by other companies, even though theoverall proportion remained modest.
From Financial Times, February 2, 2012
1. _______ is the manufacturer of the breast implants under scrutiny.
A. European Commission B. PIP C. Afssaps
2. According to the passage, “notifi ed bodies” in Paragraph 2 are responsible for _______.
A. proposing legislation, implementing decisions in European Union
B. producing and marketing the medical devices across the EU
C. providing some scientifi c advice to the European Commission
D. assessing whether a product meets certain preordained standards
3. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT according to the passage?
A. Women using the breast implants facedgreater health risks.
B. The capacity to detect the risk of fraud should be increased.
C. An offi cial report called for cooperation in France and in other parts of EU.
D. France’s minister of health has pledged to hire more health inspectors.
4. Which of the following countries have not all proposed to offer women free removal ofPIP implants?
A. France, Germany, UK B. Germany, UK, Czech C. US, Germany, Czech D. Germany, France, Czech
5. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. There is a consensus on the EU regulation of medical devices in the European Union.
B. All breast implant failure appears to be without identifi able health consequences.
C. Tough new regulatory requirements could harm the EU’s competitive advantage.
D. The overall proportion of the implant failure is relatively high compared with others.
答案解析：
答案：1. B试题分析：本题为细节题。根据第一段“...breast implants produced by the defunct Frenchcompany PIP”可知B正确。
答案：2. D试题分析：本题为语义题。根据第二段“...‘notified bodies’ that scrutinise medical devices...”和倒数第二段“‘notified bodies’ which audit the quality of theirproducts...”可知D正确；A是European Commission的职责；B是制药公司的职责；C是Scientifi c Committee on Emerging and Newly Identifi ed Health Risks的职责。
答案：3. A试题分析：本题为概括题。根据第一段“there was currently ‘insuffi cient evidence’ thatwomen using its products facedgreater health risks than others”可知A错误；根据第二段“The capacity to detect and minimise the risk of fraud must be increased”可知B正确；根据第三段“...an offi cial report ... that called for national and EUwideco-operation...”可知C正确；根据第五段“Mr. Bertrand has pledged to hiremore health inspectors and...”可知D正确。
答案：4. C试题分析：本题为细节题。根据第六段“A French decision at the end of last year to offerGermany and the Czech Republic”可知提出这项建议的国家为France, UK, Germany and Czech。全文都在讲EU，没有提到US。故C错误。
答案：5. C试题分析：本题为概括题。根据第六段“spark a fresh debate over tougher EU regulation ofmedical devices”可知A错误；根据第七段“breast implant failure appears to bewithout identifi able health consequences for the patient with the exception of possiblelocal complications”可知B错误；根据倒数第二段“while cautioning that toughnew regulatory requirements could harm the EU’s competitive advantage”可知C正确；根据最后一段“even though the overall proportion remained modest”可知D错误。
Text B / 555 Words / Time for reading: 4 minutes /
Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s latest proposal that patients be allocated to doctors on a listbasis is straight out of the playbook of Britain’s National Health Service.
Let’s think about this from the patient’s point of view. Some doctors are better than others, thesame as some plumbers are better than others. The reason may be a better bedside manner; it maybe they are more competent; it may be just that there is a simple personality clash—it may just bethat, at times, the patient wants a second opinion. Or it might be that the patient has a potentiallyembarrassing problem that he or she does not want to discuss with his or her regular general practitioner.
Some people who are ill-suited to their career choice are always going to slip through the system.In other words, if you are allocated a doctor you don’t like or who is a dud, you are likely tobe stuck with him. Of course, the government will make some noises about “freedom of choice";but in the end, a doctor who hangs up his shingle and succeeds or fails according to the quality ofservice he offers is going to provide a better quality of service than a public employee.
Now, all doctors, including general practitioners, must be members of the appropriate professionalbody, which accredits them as qualifi ed practitioners. This means they must first finishmedical school and then qualify as surgeons, physicians, ophthalmologists or psychiatrists.
This postgraduate training is arduous and expensive, and practitioners naturally expect a returnon their investment of time, energy and money—the average medical graduate is left withtens of thousands of dollars in university fees.
Much is made of the top professionals who make millions, but the average GP is running apractice that gives him a barely adequate return on his investment in professional development.Indeed, many GPs complain they are virtually government employees relying on Medicare to paytheir bills, but the “virtually” is important. They remain independent professionals who succeedor fail according to the service they provide.
The recent moves to widen the scope of nurse practitioners concern many GPs. While nurse practitionersmay have a role in isolated areas, a nurse is not a substitute for a general practitioner, whohas years of undergraduate and postgraduate training in family medicine. Expanding the role of nursepractitioners may simply be an axe to wield again the ancient enemy, the family GP. Many nurses havespecialist training, which makes them indispensable in the medical system; but a nurse is not a substitutefor professionally-trained general practitioners with years’ more education behind them.
Minister Roxon’s move to cut Medicare payments for cataract surgery again fl ies in the faceof reality. On the face of it, it may seem plausible—better technology equals cheaper prices.If the Fred Hollows Foundation can do cataract surgery for $25, why can’t an Australianophthalmologist? The reason is that an Australian eye-doctor is running a practice. He has to paya receptionist, an accountant, rent for his rooms and so on—in other words, he has fixed costs,which means the money goes into a lot of pockets apart from his own. In fact, he can’t absorb thecost cuts that the government is asking him to accept. From News Weekly, November 28, 2009
1. What did the Health Minister propose?
A. to cut the medical profession all over the country B. to allocate the patients to doctors on a list basis
C. to increase the incentives of the medical workers D. to revise the policy on the medical profession
2. The patient may think some doctors are better than others NOTbecause ________.
A. some doctors are more competent B. there is a simple personality clash
C. they have more diffi cult problems D. they sometimes want a second opinion
3. When doctors fi nish medical school, they may not qualify as ________.
A. surgeons B. physicians C. opticians D. psychiatrists
4. Which of the following statements about nurse practitioners is NOT true?
A. They may have a role in some isolated areas. B. They are not a substitute for general practitioners.
C. They have less education background than GP. D. They are the same as family general practitioners.
5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is correct?
A. People not well-suited to their career choice are going to slip through the system.
B. Average GP is given abundant return on his investment in professional development.
C. Most of the general practitioners are working for the government-controlled service.
D. Australian ophthalmologists have fi xed costs so they cannot do cataract surgery.
答案与解析：
答案：1. B试题分析：本题为细节题。根据全文第一句“Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s latestproposal that patients be allocated to doctors on a list basis is...”可知应当选B。
答案：2. C试题分析：本题为概括题。根据第二段可知原因可能是“some doctors have a betterbedside manner”，“they are more competent”，或者病人“there is asimple personality clash”，“wants a second opinion”，“has a potentiallyembarrassing problem that he or she does not want to discuss with his or her regulargeneral practitioner”。只有C没有提到。
答案：3. C试题分析：本题为细节题。根据第四段“This means they must first finish medical schooland then qualify as surgeons, physicians, ophthalmologists or psychiatrists.”可知只有C选项opticians（眼镜商）没有提到。
答案：4. D试题分析：本题为概括题。根据第七段“nurse practitioners may have a role in isolatedareas”，“a nurse is not a substitute for a general practitioner”，“a nurse is nota substitute for...general practitioners with years’ more education behind them”可知
A、B、C都正确，而根据本段内容nurse practitioner又不同于family GP（家庭全科医师），故选D。
答案：5. A试题分析：本题为概括题。根据第三段“Some people who are ill-suited to their careerchoice are always going to slip through the system”可知A正确；根据第六段“the average GP...that gives him a barely adequate return on his investment inprofessional development”可知B错误；根据第六段“They remain independentprofessionals”可知C错误；根据最后一段“If the Fred Hollows Foundation cando cataract surgery for $25, why can’t an Australian ophthalmologist?”无法判断澳大利亚眼科医生无法做白内障手术，可知D错误。
2012 年英语专业四级阅读理解 Text A
Saying “thank you” is probably the fi rst thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language.After all, we’re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon otherpeople—especially across national divides. So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20th most popularway to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciationfinished ahead of “thank you” in a poll of 3,000 people.
Pollsters found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal“cheers”, while othersliked to use such expressions as“ta”,“great” and“nice one”.
So. just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?
Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. “Cheers”, despite its popularity, is consideredan informal way to say thank you—and this is a defi nite clue as to when you can best use it.
For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a“cheers”by way of thanks isnot only appropriate to the situation, it is also culturally accurate.
“Ta”, originated from the Danish word“tak”, was the second-most popular expression ofthanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as“nice one”,and“brilliant”. Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was“thanks”. Thankyou’s shorter, more informal cousin.
“Thanks”can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of “thank you”and the downright relaxed“cheers”.
Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the wordsthemselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.
For example, words like“awesome”, “brilliant” and“you star” featured highly in the new polland they can hint at both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express yourthanks. If you are on the receiving end of a“new”thank you, you can respond with a simple“noproblem”, or“sure”.
Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate,For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand inacknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver’s consideration.
Sometimes, formality is necessary, and“thank you”is still the best choice in such situations.
But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.
Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People aretired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass with
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