2015年12月大学英语六级阅读练习2篇

　　Passage One

　　科技发展

　　Hospital workers often have to wash their hands dozens of times a day, but now new devices could reduce the task to just four second, cleaning even hard-to-reach areas under fingernails. Instead of scrubbing, the workers would put their hands into a small box that bathes them with plasma (等离子). This plasma is at room temperature and pressure, and is engineered to kill germs.

　　The technology is being developed in several laboratories. Gregor Morfill, who created several prototypes using the technology at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, says the plasma quickly inactivates not only bacteria but also viruses and fungi (真菌).

　　Plasmas engineered to kill microorganisms aren't new. During the last decade, they have come into use to sterilize (消毒) some medical instruments. But using them on human tissue is another matter, said Mark Kushner, director of the Michigan Institute for Plasma Science and Engineering and a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Many thousands of volts drive the generation of plasma," he said, "and normally one doesn't want to touch thousands of volts." But the design of the new hand sanitizers, he said, protects people from doing so.

　　He said that there were many documented cases of plasmas being applied for sanitizing skin or other body parts, and for speeding the rate of blood clotting in wound healing.

　　Dr. Morfill, who has a plasma research laboratory inside the international space station, took an unusual route to studying medical uses of plasmas. He was researching the natural plasmas of space, including the charged dust in Saturn's (土星) rings, and decided to develop plasmas for health on earth. He has developed several prototypes of hand-cleaning devices that can be mounted on walls, as well as a portable, battery-operated model the size of a large electric toothbrush. The devices can probably be built for $100 or less, as no expensive parts are used, he said.

　　Many other cleaning applications of plasma are being researched. In addition to hand sanitisers, Michael G. Kong, a professor of bioelectrics engineering at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England, has developed a prototype for plasma jets that can be built into air-conditioning systems. As air is transmitted through the system from one hospital room to another, for example, the jets inactivate microorganisms, fungi and viruses in the air.

　　In the Netherlands, Gerrit M. W. Kroesen, a professor of plasma physics at the Eindhoven University of Technology, is focusing on the treatment of burn wounds. "We have seen that plasmas help with disinfection," he said. "They also stimulate regeneration of tissue."

　　The first products to reach hospitals, after surface cleaners and instrument disinfectants, will probably be hand sanitisers, said Alexander Fridman, a professor and director of the Drexel Plasma Institute at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

　　"Hand sanitisers are the low-hanging fruit here," he said, as their safety can be demonstrated relatively easily. But other potential applications, including treatment of burns or cancers, are further away.

　　1. What is said about plasma used in the new hand-cleaning devices?

　　[A] It is designed mainly to save water.

　　[B] It simplifies the process of hand sterilizing.

　　[C] It can't clean hard-to-reach areas under fingernails.

　　[D] It only makes hospital workers free from live bacteria.

　　2. What does Mark Kushner say about the new hand-cleaning devices?

　　[A] They do not need energy to generate power.

　　[B] Their design can keep people from contacting high volts.

　　[C] They generate plasma at room temperature and pressure.

　　[D] They can be used to sterilise medical instruments.

　　3. The hand-cleaning devices developed by Dr. Morfill _______.

　　[A] are easily carried and not expensive

　　[B] is difficult to apply to medical use

　　[C] have just come onto the market

　　[D] use the natural plasmas of space

　　4. Gerrit M. W. Kroesen hoped plasmas can be used in _______.

　　[A] air-conditioner cleaning

　　[B] hospital sterilizing

　　[C] the treatment of medical wastes

　　[D] the treatment of burn wounds

　　5. What does the passage mainly talk about?

　　[A] The advantages of hand-cleaning devices.

　　[B] The development of medical technology.

　　[C] The applications of plasma in medicine.

　　[D] The new ways to fight germs.

　　1.

　　答案：B

　　解析：

　　本题为细节题。根据题干关键词plasma和new hand-cleaning devices定位到第一段。第一句说有一种新装置可以将医务工作者的洗手时间缩短至四秒中，而第二句就提到实现的方式就是把手放进一个内含等离子的小盒子里。由此可知，新型装置简化了消毒手的过程。故答案选B。

　　2.

　　答案：B

　　解析：

　　本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Mark Kushner定位到第三段。第三句提到库什纳说生成等离子需要上千伏的电压，正常情况下谁都不会想去接触几千伏的高压。后来又补充说这种新型的洗手机会保护人们在使用时避免接触高压。故答案选B。

　　3.

　　答案：A

　　解析：

　　本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Dr. Morfill定位到第五段。第五段提到莫菲尔博士发明了好几种样式的洁手装置，有的就是可便携的。第四句提到莫菲尔博士的装置不需要昂贵的部件，造价可能最多只有100美元。由此可知，答案应选A。

　　4.

　　答案：D

　　解析：

　　本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Gerrit M. W. Kroesen定位到倒数第三段第一句。该句提到Gerrit M. W. Kroesen专注于等离子体在烧伤伤口处理上的应用。由此可知，答案应选D。

　　5.

　　答案：C

　　解析：

　　本题为主旨题。文章前5段讲述了等离子体可以用来制造消灭病毒的洁手装置，6-9段讲述了等离子体在其他方面的研究及应用。故答案应选C。