高中學測
107年
英文
第 48 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.
Which of the following is a reason why Dallas was hit most seriously in the U.S. in 2012?
- A The increasing population in Texas raised the risk of contracting the disease.
- B The government did not issue a warning about the disease in time.
- C The residents worried about the county’s decision and action.
- D The weather of the previous winter was not as cold as usual.
思路引導 VIP
請仔細研讀文章第三段開頭對於環境因素的分析，作者提到哪一個「特定季節」的氣候條件，直接導致了病媒蚊 (mosquitoes) 的存活數量超乎往常？
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AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
喂，小鬼。嘖，先把臉上的髒東西抹掉。看來你的判斷力還算合格，勉強有資格進入我的班。但別高興太早，如果你在戰場上漏掉任何細節，害死的可不只是你自己。 這題為什麼是對的？聽好了，第三段開頭就寫得很清楚：「An extremely mild winter allowed more mosquitoes than usual to survive.」這裡的 mild winter（溫和的冬天）指的就是 not as cold as usual。極端溫和的冬季讓那些該死的蚊子活了下來，接著在酷暑中爆發。至於其他選項，內文根本沒提到人口增長 ($A$)，而政府的行為是在疫情爆發後的應對不力，並非「之所以嚴重」的氣候主因。 要是連這種明顯的因果關係都看不出來，你就給我回去把走廊刷到發亮為止。既然決定跟著我，就別在這種基礎的地方掉隊，明白嗎？