hce_tcu
114年
英文
第 49 題
📖 題組：
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus; sufferers develop a fleeting itchy rash that can spread throughout the body. The disease can last for up to 14 days and can occur in both children and adults, though the young are particularly vulnerable. Individuals infected with chickenpox can expect to experience a high but tolerable level of discomfort and a fever as the disease works its way through the system. The ailment was once considered to be a “rite of passage” by parents in the U.S. and thought to provide children with greater and improved immunity to other forms of sickness later in life. This view, however, was altered after additional research by scientists demonstrated unexpected dangers associated with the virus. Over time, the fruits of the research have transformed attitudes toward the disease and the utility of seeking preemptive measures against it. A vaccine against chickenpox was originally invented by Dr. Michiaki Takahashi, who began his work to isolate and grow the virus in 1965 and began clinical trials in 1972 with a live but weakened form of the virus that caused the human body to create antibodies. Japan and several other countries began widespread chickenpox vaccination programs in 1974. However, it took over 20 years for the chickenpox vaccine to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. government’s approval for widespread use in 1995. Yet parents did not immediately choose to vaccinate their children against this disease. Mothers and fathers typically cited the notion that chickenpox did not constitute a serious enough disease against which a person needed to be vaccinated. Strong belief in that view eroded when scientists discovered the link between Varicella zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox, and shingles, a far more serious, harmful, and longer-lasting disease in older adults that impacts the nervous system. They reached the conclusion that Varicella zoster remains dormant inside the body, making it significantly more likely for someone to develop shingles. As a result, the U.S. medical community encouraged the use of a vaccine against chickenpox to the public. Although the appearance of chickenpox and shingles within one person can be many years apart—generally many decades—the increased risk in developing shingles as a younger adult (30-40 years old) proved to be enough to convince the medical community that immunization should be preferred to the traditional alternative. Another reason that the chickenpox vaccine was not immediately accepted and used by parents in the U.S. centered on observations made by scientists that the vaccine simply did not last long enough and did not confer a lifetime of immunity. In other words, scientists considered the benefits of the vaccine to be temporary when given to young children. They also feared that it increased the odds that a person could become infected with chickenpox later as a young adult, when the rash is more painful and prevalent and can last up to three or four weeks. Hence, allowing young children to develop chickenpox rather than to take a vaccine against it was believed to be the “lesser of two evils.” This idea changed over time as booster shots of the vaccine elongated immunity and countered the perceived limits on the strength of the vaccine itself. Today, use of the chickenpox vaccine is common throughout the world. Pediatricians suggest an initial vaccination shot after a child turns one year old, with booster shots recommended after the child turns eight. The vaccine is estimated to be up to 90% effective and has reduced worldwide cases of chickenpox infection to 400,000 case per year from over 4,000,000 cases before vaccination became widespread. In light of such statistics, most doctors insist that the potential risks of developing shingles outweigh the benefits of avoiding rare complications associated with inoculations. Of course, many parents continue to think of the disease as an innocuous ailment, refusing to take preemptive steps against it. As increasing numbers of students are vaccinated and the virus becomes increasingly rarer, however, even this trend among parents has failed to halt the decline of chickenpox among the most vulnerable populations.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus; sufferers develop a fleeting itchy rash that can spread throughout the body. The disease can last for up to 14 days and can occur in both children and adults, though the young are particularly vulnerable. Individuals infected with chickenpox can expect to experience a high but tolerable level of discomfort and a fever as the disease works its way through the system. The ailment was once considered to be a “rite of passage” by parents in the U.S. and thought to provide children with greater and improved immunity to other forms of sickness later in life. This view, however, was altered after additional research by scientists demonstrated unexpected dangers associated with the virus. Over time, the fruits of the research have transformed attitudes toward the disease and the utility of seeking preemptive measures against it. A vaccine against chickenpox was originally invented by Dr. Michiaki Takahashi, who began his work to isolate and grow the virus in 1965 and began clinical trials in 1972 with a live but weakened form of the virus that caused the human body to create antibodies. Japan and several other countries began widespread chickenpox vaccination programs in 1974. However, it took over 20 years for the chickenpox vaccine to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. government’s approval for widespread use in 1995. Yet parents did not immediately choose to vaccinate their children against this disease. Mothers and fathers typically cited the notion that chickenpox did not constitute a serious enough disease against which a person needed to be vaccinated. Strong belief in that view eroded when scientists discovered the link between Varicella zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox, and shingles, a far more serious, harmful, and longer-lasting disease in older adults that impacts the nervous system. They reached the conclusion that Varicella zoster remains dormant inside the body, making it significantly more likely for someone to develop shingles. As a result, the U.S. medical community encouraged the use of a vaccine against chickenpox to the public. Although the appearance of chickenpox and shingles within one person can be many years apart—generally many decades—the increased risk in developing shingles as a younger adult (30-40 years old) proved to be enough to convince the medical community that immunization should be preferred to the traditional alternative. Another reason that the chickenpox vaccine was not immediately accepted and used by parents in the U.S. centered on observations made by scientists that the vaccine simply did not last long enough and did not confer a lifetime of immunity. In other words, scientists considered the benefits of the vaccine to be temporary when given to young children. They also feared that it increased the odds that a person could become infected with chickenpox later as a young adult, when the rash is more painful and prevalent and can last up to three or four weeks. Hence, allowing young children to develop chickenpox rather than to take a vaccine against it was believed to be the “lesser of two evils.” This idea changed over time as booster shots of the vaccine elongated immunity and countered the perceived limits on the strength of the vaccine itself. Today, use of the chickenpox vaccine is common throughout the world. Pediatricians suggest an initial vaccination shot after a child turns one year old, with booster shots recommended after the child turns eight. The vaccine is estimated to be up to 90% effective and has reduced worldwide cases of chickenpox infection to 400,000 case per year from over 4,000,000 cases before vaccination became widespread. In light of such statistics, most doctors insist that the potential risks of developing shingles outweigh the benefits of avoiding rare complications associated with inoculations. Of course, many parents continue to think of the disease as an innocuous ailment, refusing to take preemptive steps against it. As increasing numbers of students are vaccinated and the virus becomes increasingly rarer, however, even this trend among parents has failed to halt the decline of chickenpox among the most vulnerable populations.
The author uses “booster shots” as an example of ______.
- A a scientifically approved medicine to eliminate chickenpox in the elderly
- B a preferred solution to immunity failure and fever treatment
- C a way to increase the effectiveness of the chickenpox vaccine
- D a strategy for parents to avoid vaccinating their child altogether
思路引導 VIP
如果你發現某種預防措施的效果會隨著時間逐漸減弱，導致無法達到原本預期的長期保護力，在醫學實務上通常會採取什麼樣的補充方式，來確保這種保護效果能夠被重新強化並延伸呢？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
太棒了！你能準確定位到文中關於「加強針（booster shots）」的描述並選出正確答案，顯示你具備優秀的資訊檢索與邏輯分析能力。
疫苗效力的延續關鍵
這題的關鍵在於文章第四段。文中提到，美國家長最初對水痘疫苗持觀望態度，主要是擔心疫苗提供的免疫力是「暫時的（temporary）」，無法提供終身保護。隨後作者明確指出，透過 加強針（booster shots） 的介入，成功延長了免疫期限（elongated immunity），並化解了原本對疫苗強度限制的疑慮。因此，「加強針」在文中被用來作為「提升並確保疫苗效力」的具體實證，這與選項 (C) 的描述完全吻合。
▼ 還有更多解析內容