Job-related illnesses are growing in frequency. In 1985, there were 390,000 cases of illnesses that were job related, including

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问题     Job-related illnesses are growing in frequency. In 1985, there were 390,000 cases of illnesses that were job related, including lung and bladder(膀胱)cancers, skin ailments, emphysema(肺气肿), and heart disease. There were also 100,000 deaths. Many of these illnesses and deaths are attributable to chemically hazardous substances.
    An obvious approach to reducing occupational illnesses is to rid the workplace of the chemical agents or toxins that are the source of many of the problems. However, sometimes that is not financially feasible or technically possible. An alternative approach is to capitalize on the fact that not all individuals are equally susceptible to health hazards in the workplace. For example, until the early 1970s when strict safety standards were introduced, all workers in shipbuilding plants were exposed to excessively high levels of asbestos(石棉)dust, yet only some have, or will develop, respiratory problems such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and emphysema.
    Researchers have begun only a certain portion to attack the puzzling problem of work groups that are "hyper susceptible" to particular chemical agents or toxins. One approach is to use genetic information as a means of differentiating between those who will and will not have adverse reactions to the toxin. At present, there are several known genetic markers that signal an individual’s predisposition to developing health problems in the presence of certain working conditions. For example, people with a pair of genes deficient in an enzyme called G-6-PD are more likely than others to experience a breakdown of red blood cells and consequent anemia(贫血)when they work with chemicals contained in TNT, or types of antimalarial drugs(抗病药).
    Recent research also suggests that presence of a defective gene on the eleventh chromosome (染色体)reduces the body’s ability to remove excess cholesterol(胆固醇)deposits from artery walls(动脉壁), thus predisposing carriers of the gene to coronary artery(冠状动脉)disease.
    Presumably, individuals with this genetic anomaly(异常)would be more likely to have heart problems when stressful job situations are encountered than those without it.
    Accordingly, genetic screening is based on the premise that individuals have different genetic markers and some of these differences can be used to predict predisposition to occupational diseases. There is some evidence that certain companies have used the genetic screening to control the incidence of job-related illnesses. Some of the companies also had taken action as a result of the tests, including warning employees about potential health problems, transferring employees, suggesting that employees seek other jobs, using the data for replacement purposes, or changing the production process.
This passage is mainly about______.

选项 A、how to reduce job-related disease
B、the incidence of job-related diseases
C、genetic testing and the prevention of job-related diseases
D、the functions of genetic markers

答案A

解析 根据文章内容可知,本文首先提出职业病发生率日益加大,接着指出其主要原因,后面用大量篇幅介绍如何防止职业病,其中基因筛选预防方法只是其中的一部分。据此判断,答案是A。
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