2. 考研
  3. Faith in medicine runs deep in America. We spend more per person on health care than any other nation. Whether we eat too much o

Faith in medicine runs deep in America. We spend more per person on health care than any other nation. Whether we eat too much o

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问题     Faith in medicine runs deep in America. We spend more per person on health care than any other nation. Whether we eat too much or exercise too little, whether we’re turning gray or feeling blue, we turn to some pills or procedure to make us better.
    We assume that devoting even more dollars to medicine will bring us longer, healthier lives. But there is mounting evidence that each new dollar we devote to the current health care system bringing small and diminishing returns to public health. Today the United States spends more than $ 4,500 per person per year on health care. Costa Rica spends less than $ 300. Yet life expectancy at birth is nearly identical in both countries.
    Despite the highly publicized "longevity revolution" , life expectancy among the elderly in the United States is hardly improving. Yes, we are an aging society, but primarily because of falling birthrates. Younger Americans, meanwhile, are far more likely to be disabled than they were 20 years ago. Most affected are people in their thirties, whose disability rates increased by nearly 130 percent, due primarily to overweight.
    Why has our huge investment in health care left us so unhealthy? Partly it is because so many promised "miracle cures" , from interferon to gene therapies, have proven to be ineffective or even dangerous. Partly it’s because health care dollars are so concentrated on die terminally ill and the very old that even when medical interventions "work" , the gains to average life expectancy are small. And partly it is because of medical errors and adverse reaction to prescription drugs, which cause more deaths than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. Each year roughly 200, 000 seniors suffer fatal or life-threatening "adverse drug events" due to improper drug use or drug interaction.
    Why don’t Americans live any longer than Costa Ricans? Overwhelmingly, it’s because of differences in behavior. Americans exercise less, eat more, drive more, smoke more, and lead to more socially isolated lives. Even at its best, modern medicine can do little to promote productive aging, because by the time most people come in contact with it their bodies are already compromised by stress, indulgent habits, environmental dangers and injuries.
Which of the following is NOT a reason why health care investment fails to bring a longer life?
选项 A、Drug reaction due to improper use of drugs.
B、Imbalanced distribution of health care money.
C、Soaring prices of both drugs and new therapies.
D、Failure of many highly-evaluated medical treatments.
答案C
解析 细节题。第四段分析了医药方面投入巨大但却未能使美国人寿命更长的原因。其中谈到：①有些被认为神奇的药物或治疗其实并不有效；②投入主要集中在生命垂危的绝症以及老人身上，对人均寿命的贡献仍然很小；③对于某些药物的不良反应。并没有谈到医药价格的上涨。故选C。
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