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  3. Earlier this month, after the federal government said vaccines aggravated an underlying disorder that led to autism-like symptom

Earlier this month, after the federal government said vaccines aggravated an underlying disorder that led to autism-like symptom

admin2015-04-10  36
问题     Earlier this month, after the federal government said vaccines aggravated an underlying disorder that led to autism-like symptoms in 9-year-old Hannah Poling, the longstanding controversy over the role of childhood vaccines flared anew on network newscasts, the Internet and talk radio. The culture of autism is hitting prime time, too.
    Despite its high profile, however, autism is one of the most complicated neurological disorders known. Some of the sufferers attend college; others never speak an intelligible word. Its complexity, in fact, is what has fueled the ongoing vaccine debate and caused divisions within the "autism community. " Unlike most conditions that attract popular and celebrity support, autism is almost a complete mystery, with no known cause. The vacuum created by this lack of knowledge has been filled with the theories, worries and frustrations of desperate parents. It’s hard not to want something, or somebody, to blame. But now, as the spotlight glares again, it’s time to separate fact from fear, to strive for perspective and clarity over emotion, to define the true scope of the disorder.
    For decades, researchers have been trying to identify a cause for autism. In the 1950s, clinicians blamed "refrigerator mothers" and their cold, uncaring parenting. More recently, the anger has swirled largely around childhood vaccines. Today, scientists believe that genes and environmental factors, which could be anything from pesticides to antibodies in a mother’s womb, both play a role. But some parents continue to believe their children were injured by modern medicine.
    But the court case wasn’t that simple. It turned out that Hannah had a rare mitochondrial disorder. Rather than support the thimerosal hypothesis, the decision endorses a whole other field of research into the causes of autism. It’s possible, scientists say, that a challenge to the immune system—be it an infection, a vaccine or some other trigger—could stress already fragile cells and exacerbate the problem. Scientists want to know how many children with autism have mitochondrial disorders. And would it be possible to identify those who might be vulnerable to vaccines?
    To appreciate the complexity of the condition, all you have to do is look at the extraordinary range of people who fall under the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. With the vast range in abilities comes a striking diversity in thinking, too. Over the years, the autism community has divided into camps, often with conflicting ideas about how to view and treat the disorder. But the ultimate goal of the researchers, and the many families who support their work, is to solve the mystery of autism. Clarity is what we need, and science is the way we’ll get there.
The word "exacerbate"(Line 5, Paragraph 4)is closest in meaning to
选项 A、eliminate.
B、deteriorate.
C、improve.
D、revive.
答案B
解析 第四段第五行的exacerbate一词的意思最接近[A]消除。[B]恶化。[C]改善。[D]复苏。第四段第四句中，and连接两个并列谓语stress already fragile cells和exacerbatethe problem，and前后的成分通常形式一致且同褒同贬。根据stress alreadyfragile cells可知，exacerbate表示“加重”，故选[B]。其他选项是对该词的误解或望文生义。
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