Our bodies are wonderfully skilful at maintaining balance. When the temperature jumps, we sweat to cool down. When our blood pre

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问题     Our bodies are wonderfully skilful at maintaining balance. When the temperature jumps, we sweat to cool down. When our blood pressure falls, our hearts pound to compensate. As it turned out, though, our natural state is not a steady one. Researchers are finding that everything from blood pressure to brain function varies rhythmically with the cycles of sun, moon and seasons. And their insights are yielding new strategies for keeping away such common killers as heart disease and cancer. Only one doctor in 20 has a good knowledge of the growing field of "chronotherapeutics", the strategic use of time (chronos) in medicine. But according to a new American Medical Association poll, three out of four are eager to change that "The field is exploding", says Michael Smolensky. "Doctors used to look at us like, ’What space ship did you guys get off ?’ Now they’re thirsty to know more. "
    In medical school, most doctors learn that people with chronic conditions should take their medicine at steady rates. "It’s a terrible way to treat disease," says Dr. Richard Martin. For example, asthmatics (气喘患者) are most likely to suffer during the night. Yet most patients strive to keep a constant level of medicine in their blood day and night, whether by breathing in on an inhaler (吸入器) four times a day or taking a pill each morning and evening. In recent studies, researchers have found that a large midafternoon dose of a bronchodilator (支气管扩张 剂) can be as safe as several small doses, and better for preventing nighttime attacks.
    If the night belongs to asthma, the dawn belongs to high blood pressure and heart disease. Heart attacks are twice as common at 9 a. m. as at 11 p. m. Part of the reason is that our blood pressure falls predictably at night, then peaks as we start to work for the day. "Doctors know that," says Dr. Henry Black of Chicago Medical Center, "but until now, we haven’t been able to do anything about it. " Most blood pressure drugs provide 18 to 20 hours of relief. But because they’re taken in the morning, they’re least effective when most needed. "You take your pill at 7and it’s working by 9," says Dr. William White of the University of Connecticut Health Center. "But by that time you’ve gone through the worst four hours of the day with no protection,"Bedtime dosing would prevent that lapse, but it would also push blood pressure to dangerously low levels during the night.
According to the author, it is best for asthmatics to take their medicines______.

选项 A、at steady rates
B、each morning and evening
C、when the disease occurs
D、at midafternoon

答案D

解析 本题问按照作者的看法,气喘病患者最好在什么时候吃药。文章第二段列举了气喘病患者的例子,用以说明适时用药的重要性。根据第二段第三句和第四、五句,气喘病患者最可能晚间发作,但是,多数患者却要么每日4次用吸入器吸入药,要么早晚吃药片,以尽力在血液中日夜保持相同剂量的药。这种用药方式显然效果不会太好。最近的研究发现,在下午中段时间大剂量地使用支气管扩张剂与分小剂量吃同样安全,但是,对防治夜间发作却更有效。可见,下午中段时间用的药正好可以在晚间发挥药力,与病的发作时间正好吻合,而早间吃的药到夜间已经失去了药力。因此,本题的正确答案应是D。
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