高中學測
107年
英文
第 47 題
📖 題組：
West Nile is a tropical disease that begins in birds, which pass it on to mosquitoes that then go on to infect human beings with a bite. Most people who contract West Nile do not experience any symptoms at all, but, if they do, symptoms typically develop between 3 to 14 days after a mosquito bite. About 1 in 5 persons suffers fever, headaches, and body aches, usually lasting a week or so. A far less lucky 1 in 150 experiences high fever, tremors, paralysis, and coma. Some—especially the elderly and those with weak immune systems—die. That is what made the major outbreaks of West Nile in the U.S. in the summer of 2012 so scary. The situation was particularly bad in Dallas, Texas, where the West Nile virus killed 10 people and sickened more than 200. The city declared a state of emergency and began aerial spraying of a pesticide to kill the mosquitoes, even though residents argued that the pesticide could be more dangerous than the disease. Why was the summer of 2012 so hospitable to the West Nile virus and the mosquitoes that carry it? Blame the weather. An extremely mild winter allowed more mosquitoes than usual to survive, while the unusually high temperatures in that scorching summer further increased their number by speeding up their life cycle. The economic crisis may have also played a role: Homeowners who were not able to pay their bank loans were forced to abandon their properties, sometimes leaving behind swimming pools that made excellent mosquito breeding grounds. The severity of tropical diseases is also a matter of whether governments are capable—and willing—to defend their populations against infections. Dallas County was not doing some of the key things to slow the spread of West Nile, such as testing dead birds and setting mosquito traps to test for the presence of the disease. Tropical infections are thus as much related to government inaction as they are to climate.
West Nile is a tropical disease that begins in birds, which pass it on to mosquitoes that then go on to infect human beings with a bite. Most people who contract West Nile do not experience any symptoms at all, but, if they do, symptoms typically develop between 3 to 14 days after a mosquito bite. About 1 in 5 persons suffers fever, headaches, and body aches, usually lasting a week or so. A far less lucky 1 in 150 experiences high fever, tremors, paralysis, and coma. Some—especially the elderly and those with weak immune systems—die. That is what made the major outbreaks of West Nile in the U.S. in the summer of 2012 so scary. The situation was particularly bad in Dallas, Texas, where the West Nile virus killed 10 people and sickened more than 200. The city declared a state of emergency and began aerial spraying of a pesticide to kill the mosquitoes, even though residents argued that the pesticide could be more dangerous than the disease. Why was the summer of 2012 so hospitable to the West Nile virus and the mosquitoes that carry it? Blame the weather. An extremely mild winter allowed more mosquitoes than usual to survive, while the unusually high temperatures in that scorching summer further increased their number by speeding up their life cycle. The economic crisis may have also played a role: Homeowners who were not able to pay their bank loans were forced to abandon their properties, sometimes leaving behind swimming pools that made excellent mosquito breeding grounds. The severity of tropical diseases is also a matter of whether governments are capable—and willing—to defend their populations against infections. Dallas County was not doing some of the key things to slow the spread of West Nile, such as testing dead birds and setting mosquito traps to test for the presence of the disease. Tropical infections are thus as much related to government inaction as they are to climate.
What did Dallas County do to fight off West Nile?
- A They sprayed pesticide from the air.
- B They asked citizens to stay away from dead birds.
- C They encouraged citizens to get vaccinations.
- D They drained the swimming pools in the county.
思路引導 VIP
請仔細閱讀文章第二段中關於達拉斯 (Dallas) 面對疫情的應對措施，當官方宣布進入「緊急狀態」($state of emergency$) 之後，文中具體提到了哪一項旨在撲滅蚊子的積極作為？這項作為甚至在當時引發了居民對於藥劑安全性的爭議。
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AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
哇！太棒了，你真的好優秀呀！看到你選對了，老師心裡真的好為你開心，這種細心的程度一定要繼續保持下去喔！ 這題考驗的是「細節定位」與「同義代換」的能力。文章第二段明確提到：「The city... began aerial spraying of a pesticide...」（該市開始從空中噴灑除蟲劑）。這裡的 aerial（航空的、空中的）完美對應到選項 (A) 的 from the air。你能夠在長文中精準抓出這個關鍵資訊，代表你的閱讀專注度非常高呢！ 在高中課綱的閱讀測驗中，這題屬於「中間偏易」但具備高度鑑別度的題目。陷阱在於選項 (D) 的游泳池與 (B) 的死鳥都在文中出現過，但它們分別是「疫情惡化的原因」與「政府『疏忽』沒做的事」，並非政府採取的「對抗行動」。如果你不夠細心，很容易被這些誘答選項干擾。你成功避開了這些陷阱，真的很有實力喔！加油，老師會一直支持你的！