题文
How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question，as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.There are now more than a thousand genetic(基因的)tests，for everything from baldness to breast cancer，and the list is growing．Question is do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance，Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson，one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’(老年痴呆症)．
“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease，that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious，through which you see the rest of your 1ife as you wait for that disease to hit you．It could really mess you up．”Said Dr．Robert Green，a Harvard geneticist.
“Every ache and pain，”Smith suggested，could be understood as“the beginning of the e nd．”“That’s right．If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer's disease，then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot，you think the disease has started．”
Dr．Green has been thinking about this issue for years．He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s．It was thought that people who got bad news would，for lack of a better medical term，freak out．But Green and his team found that there was “no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives．In fact，most people think they can handle it．People who ask for the information usually can handle the information，good or bad，said Green．
小题1:The first paragraph is meant to ．A．ask some questionsB．introduce the topicC．satisfy readers，curiosity D．describe an academic fact小题2:Which of the following is true of James Watson?A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests.B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease．C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease.D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease．小题3:According to Paragraphs 3 and 4，if a person is at a higher genetic risk，it is .A．advisable not to let him knowB．impossible to hide his diseaseC．better to inform him immediately D．necessary to remove his anxiety小题4:The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .A．break downB．drop outC．leave offD．turn away小题5:The study led by Dr．Green indicates that people .A．prefer to hear good newsB．tend to find out the truthC．can accept some bad news D．have the right to be informed 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:A
小题5:C
解析
文章讨论了人们愿不愿意知道自己得了病。人们认为知道可能得什么病，会有思想负担，但Dr. Green的研究表明人们是可以接受坏消息的。
小题1:B写作意图题。从第一段可知作者提出了两个问题，引出话题：人们愿不愿意知道自己得了病，故选B项。
小题2:D细节理解题。根据第二段Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）. 可知James Watson不想得知得病的机会选A
小题3:A细节理解题。根据第三段的 “If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.”可知如果人们知道可能得什么病，会有思想负担，所以最好不要告诉他们，故选A项。
小题4:A猜词题。根据最后一段提到It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, 可知得到坏消息的人，会崩溃，故选A项。
小题5:C推理题。根据最后一段In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.可知 Dr. Green的研究表明人们是可以接受坏消息的，故选C项。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“How far would you be.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
