2016年12月大学英语六级模拟题及答案(七)

　　The advance of technology has brought about much progress in some fields of medicine, including the development of scientific drug therapy. In many countries public health organization is improving and people's nutritional standards have risen. Parallel with such beneficial trends have two adverse effects. One is the use of high-pressure advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, which has tended to influence both patients and doctors and has led to the overuse of drugs generally. The other is the emergence of the sedentary society with its faulty ways of life: lack of exercise, over-eating, unsuitable eating, insufficient sleep, excessive smoking and drinking. People with disorders arising from faulty habits such as these, as well as from unhappy human relationships, often resort to self-medication and so add the taking of pharmaceuticals to the list. Advertisers go to great lengths to catch this market.

　　Clever advertising, aimed at chronic sufferers who will try anything because doctors have not been able to cure them, can induce such faith in a preparation, particularly if steeply priced, that it will produce—by suggestion—a very real effect in some people. Advertisements are also aimed at people suffering from mild complaints such as simple colds and coughs, which clear up by themselves within a short time.

　　These are the main reasons why laxatives, indigestion remedies, painkillers, tonics, vitamin and iron tablets and many other preparations are found in quantity in many households. It is doubtful whether taking these things ever improves a person's health; it may even make it worse. Worse because the preparation may contain unsuitable ingredients; worse because the taker may become dependent on them; worse because they might be taken in excess; worse because they may cause poisoning, and worse of all because symptoms of some serious underlying cause may be masked and therefore medical help may not be sought.

　　52. The first paragraph is intended to ________.

　　[A] suggest that self-medication has a long history

　　[B] define what diagnosis means exactly

　　[C] praise doctors for their expertise

　　[D] tell the symptoms from the causes

　　53. Advertisements are aimed at people suffering from mild complaints because ________.

　　[A] they often watch ads on TV

　　[B] they are more likely to buy the drugs advertised

　　[C] they generally lead a sedentary life

　　[D] they don't take to sports and easily catch colds

　　54. Paragraphs 2 and 3 explain ________.

　　[A] those good things are not without side effects

　　[B] why clever advertising is so powerful

　　[C] why in modern times self-medication is still practised

　　[D] why people develop faulty ways of life

　　55. The author tells us in paragraph 4 ________.

　　[A] the reasons for keeping medicines at home

　　[B] people's doubt about taking drugs

　　[C] what kind of medicine people should prepare at home

　　[D] the possible harms self-medication may do to people

　　56. The best title for the passage would be ________.

　　[A] Medical Practice [B] Clever Advertising

　　[C] Self-Medication [D] Self-Treatment

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　The age of gilded youth is over. Today's under-thirties are the first generation for a century who can expect a lower living standard than their parents.

　　Research into the lifestyles and prospects of people who were born since 1970 shows that they are likely to face a lifetime of longer working hours, lower job security and higher taxes than the previous generation.