题文
The British National Health Service (NHS) was set up in 1948 and was designed to provide equal basic health care, free of charge, for everybody in the country. Before this time health care had to be paid for by individuals.Nowadays central government is directly responsible for the NHS although it is administered by local health authorities. about 83 percent of the cost of the health service is paid for by general taxation and the rest is met from the National Insurance contributions paid by those in work. There are charges for prescription and dental care but many people, such as children, pregnant women, pensioners, and those on Income Support, are exempt from payment.
Most people are registered with a local doctor (a GP, or General Practitioner) who is increasingly likely to be part of a health centre which serves the community.
As the population of Britain gets older, the hospital service now treats more patients than before, although patients spend less time in hospital. NHS hospitals—many of which were built in the nineteenth century—provide nearly half a million beds and have over 480, 000 medical staff. The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe although Britain actually spends less per person on health care than most of her European neighbours.
During the 1980s there was considerable restructuring of the Health Service with an increased emphasis on managerial efficiency and the privatization of some services (for example, cleaning). At the end of the 1980s the government introduced proposals for further reform of the NHS, including allowing some hospitals to be self-governing, and encouraging GPs to compete for patients. Patients would be able to choose and change their family doctor more easily and GPs would have more financial responsibility. The political questions continue of how much money should be provided to support the NHS and where it should come from.
小题1: We can know from the first paragraph that ______.A．the original aim of the NHS was to provide equal basic health care for everybodyB．people didn’t have to pay for health care since the NHS was set upC．patients were charged for receiving health care before 1948D．the NHS was an organization which gave free advice to villagers小题2:What do we know about the NHS?A．It’s managed by the central government.B．Its cost is mainly paid for by the National Insurance contributions.C．It hires more people than any other unit in Europe.D．Fewer patients go to its hospitals than before because they spend less on health care.小题3: All the following statements about GPs are true except that they ______.A．take care of the local people’s healthB．often take part in competitions to see who is the bestC．work under high pressure nowadaysD．have more responsibilities than before小题4:What does the underlined word “exempt” probably mean?A．sufferingB．differentC．preventedD．free小题5:The biggest problem for the NHS is ______.A．many hospitals are too old to be usedB．some services are in the charge of individualsC．more and more patients go to GPs for treatmentD．there is not enough money for further reform 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:C
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:D
小题5:D
解析
小题1:细节理解题。根据最后一句可知。建立国家保健中心的最初目的是为农村居民提供免费的基本健康护理，而不是针对所有的人，所以前两项错误。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第4段“The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe…”可知。从第二段第一句可以看出国家保健中心由中央政府直接负责，但由地方当局管理，所以A项错误。
小题3:细节理解题。根据最后一段话“and encouraging GPs to compete for patients”可知政府鼓励全科医生之间相互竞争，而不是让他们进行竞赛，看谁的医术高明。
小题4:猜测词义题。前面提到医生开药方及给病人治疗牙病需要收费，再结合but一词可推断儿童、孕妇等可享受免费治疗。
小题5:细节理解题。根据最后一段最后一句可知。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“The British National.....”主要考查你对 [健康环保类阅读 ]考点的理解。健康环保类阅读
健康环保累阅读概念：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。体裁有记叙文、 说明文、议论文和各种应用文。
健康环保类文章阅读技巧：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。阅读此类短文要以现象或事物为中心进行思考，理解现象产生的原因、条件和客观规律等。同时要抓住事物的特征、用途和相互关系等。科普环保类文章一般为说明文，从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：
第一部分一般是文章的首段，主要用来提出文章的主题，即文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容；
第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明；
第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题进行归纳总结。这类文章多用一般现在时，而且一般多使用客观性词语表述。有时为了强调客观性，也常使用被动语态。
从近几年的考试题来看，科普环保类的文章越来越与人们的实际生活相接近。由于此类文章缺乏故事情节，很多同学对此类文章感到费解。但一般的科普类文章都是就事论事，需要逻辑推理和想象的时候较少，因此此类阅读题也没有同学们想象中的那么难，只要多加训练，就能较好地答题。
【阅读策略】
1、概要(Summarizing)：
阅完材料后，将所阅材料浓缩，摘要，做出所阅材料的书面或口头梗概。
2、组织(Organization)：
阅读后根据阅读内容，识别观点、人物、事件之间的关系以及文章的结构关系。如：时间关系、比较或对比关系、相关关系及因果关系等。
