雅思阅读模拟试卷1(含答案)

1、READINGREADING PASSAGE 1You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Sleep medication linked tobizarre behaviourNew evidence has linked a commonlyprescribed sleep medication with bizarrebehaviours,including a case in which awoman painted her front

2、door in her sleep.UK and Australian health agencies have released information about 240 cases of odd occurrences,including sleepwalking,amnesia and hallucinations among people taking the drug zolpidem.While doctors say that zolpidem can offer much-needed relief for people with sleep disorders,they c

3、aution that these newly reported cases should prompt a closer look at its possible side effects.Zolpidem,sold under the brand names Ambien,Stilnoct and Stilnox,is widely prescribed to treat insomnia and other disorders such as sleep apnea. Various forms of the drug,made by French pharmaceutical gian

4、t Sanofi-Aventis,were prescribed 674, 500 times in 2005 in the UK.A newly published report from Austral ias Federal Health Department describes 104 cases of hallucinations and 62 cases of amnesia experienced by people taking zolpidem since marketing of the drug began there in 2000. The health depart

5、ment report also mentioned 16 cases of strange sleepwalking by people taking the medication.Midnight snackIn one of these sleepwalking cases a patient woke with a paintbrush in her hand after painting the front door to her house. Another case involved a woman who gained 23 kilograms over seven month

6、s while takin g zolpidem. “It was only when she was discovered in front of an open refrigerator while asleep that the problem was resolved,” according to the report.The UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency,meanwhile,has recorded 68 cases of adverse reactions to zolpidem from 2001

7、to 2005.The newly reported cases in the UK and Australia add to a growing list of bizarre sleepwalking episodes linked to the drug in other countries,including reports of people sleep-driving while on the medication. In one case,a transatlantic flight had to be diverted after a passenger caused havo

8、c after taking zolpidem.Hypnotic effectsThere is no biological pathway that has been proven to connect zolpidem with these behaviours. The drug is a benzodiazepine-like hypnotic that promotes deep sleep by interacting with brain receptors for a chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid. While parts of

9、 the brain become less active during deep sleep,the body can still move,making sleepwalking a possibility.The product information for prescribers advises that psychiatric adverse effects, including hallucinations,sleepwalking and nightmares,are more likely in the elderly, and treatment should be sto

10、pped if they occur.Patient advocacy groups say they would like government health agencies and drug companies to take a closer look at the possible risks associated with sleep medicines. They stress that strange sleepwalking and sleep-driving behaviours can have risky consequences.“When people do som

11、ething in which theyre not in full control its always a danger,” says Vera Sharav of the New York-based Alliance for Human Research Protection,a US network that advocates responsible and ethical medical research practices.Tried and tested“The more reports that come out about the poten tial side effe

12、cts of the drug,the more research needs to be done to understand if these are real side effects,” says sleep researcher Kenneth Wright at the University of Colorado in Boulder,US.Millions of people have taken the drug without experiencing any strange side effects, points out Richard Millman at Brown

13、 Medical School,director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals in Providence,Rhode Island,US. He says that unlike older types of sleep medications,zolpidem does not carry as great a risk of addiction.And Wright notes that some of the reports of “sleep-driving” linked to zolpidem can be

14、 easily explained:some patients have wrongly taken the drug right before leaving work in hopes that the medicine will kick in by the time they reach home. Doctors stress that the medication should be taken just before going to bed.The US Food & Drug Administration says it is continuing to "

15、actively investigate" and collect information about cases linking zolpidem to unusual side effects.The Ambie n label currently lists strange behaviour as a “special concern” for people taking the drug. “Its a possible rare adverse event,” says Sanofi-Aventis spokesperson Melissa Feltmann,adding

16、 that the strange sleepwalking behaviours “may not necessarily beca used by the drug” but instead result from an underlying disorder. She says that “the safety profile of zolpidem is well established”. The drug received approval in the US in 1993.Questions 1-6Do the following statements agree with t

17、he information given in the Reading Passage1?In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet writeTRUE if the statement is true according to the passageFALSE if the statement is false according to the passageNOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage1. Ambien,Stilnoct and Stilnox are brand names of

18、one same drug treating insomnia.2. The womans obesity problem wasnt resolved until she stopped taking zolpidem.3. Zolpidem received approval in the UK in 2001.4. The bizarre behaviour of a passenger after taking zolpidem resulted in the diversion ofa flight bound for the other side of the Atlantic.5

19、. Zolpidem is the only sleep medication that doesnt cause addiction.6. The sleep-driving occurrence resulted from the wrong use of zolpidem by an office worker.Question 7-9Choose the appropriate letters A-D and Write them in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet. 7. How many cases of bizarre behaviours are

20、 described in an official report from Australia?A. 68B. 104C. 182D. 2408. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the product information about zolpidem?A. Treatment should be stopped if side effects occur.B. Medication should be taken just before going to bed.C. Adverse effects are more likely i

21、n the elderly.D. Side effects include nightmares,hallucinations and sleepwalking.9. Who claimed that the safety description of zolpidem was well established?A. Kenneth WrightB. Melissa FeltmannC. Richard MillmanD. Vera SharavQuestions 10-13Answer the following questions with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS

22、 each in boxes 10-13.10. How many times was French-made zolpidem prescribed in 2005 in Britain?11. What kind of hypnotic is zolpidem as a drug which promotes deep sleep in patients?12. What can sleepwalking and sleep-driving behaviours cause according to patient advocacy groups?13. What US administr

23、ation says that it has been investigating the cases relating zolpidem to unusual side effects?READING PASSAGE 2You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.Questions 14-19This passage has 7 paragraphs A-G.Choose the correct heading for each paragra

24、ph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i-ix in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.List of Headingsi. How does torcetrapib work?ii. Contradictory result prior to the current trialiii. One failure may possibly bring about future successiv. The failure doesnt lead to total loss of c

25、onfidencev. It is the right route to followvi. Why its stoppedvii. They may combine and theoretically produce ideal resultviii. Whats wrong with the drugix. It might be wrong at the first placeExample answerParagraph A iv14.Paragraph B15.Paragraph C16.Paragraph D17.Paragraph E18.Paragraph F19.Paragr

26、aph GWhy did a promising heart drug fail?Doomed drug highlights complications of meddling with cholesterol.A.The failure of a high-profile cholesterol drug has thrown a spotlight on the complicated machinery that regulates cholesterol levels.But many researchers remain confident that drugs to boost

27、levels of 'good' cholesterol are still one of the most promising means to combat spiralling heart disease.B.Drug company Pfizer announced on 2 December that it was cancelling all clinical trials of torcetrapib,a drug designed to raise heart-protective high-density lipoproteins (HDLs.In a tri

28、al of 15000 patients,a safety board found that more people died or suffered cardiovascular problems after taking the drug plus a cholesterol-lowering statin than those in a control group who took the statin alone.C.The news came as a kick in the teeth to many cardiologists because earlier tests in a

29、nimals and people suggested it would lower rates of cardiovascular disease."There have been no red flags to my knowledge," says John Chapman,a specialist in lipoproteins and atherosclerosis at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM in Paris who has also studied torc

30、etrapib."This cancellation came as a complete shock."D.Torcetrapib is one of the most advanced of a new breed of drugs designed to raise levels of HDLs,which ferry cholesterol out of artery-clogging plaques to the liver for removal from the body.Specifically,torcetrapib blocks a protein ca

31、lled cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP,which normally transfers the cholesterol from high-density lipoproteins to low density,plaque-promoting ones.Statins,in contrast,mainly work by lowering the 'bad' low-density lipoproteins.Under pressureE.Researchers are now trying to work out why

32、 and how the drug backfired,something that will not become clear until the clinical details are released by Pfizer.One hint lies in evidence from earlier trials that it slightly raises blood pressure in some patients.It was thought that this mild problem would be offset by the heart benefits of the

33、drug.But it ispossible that it actually proved fatal in some patients who already suffered high blood pressure.If blood pressure is the explanation,it would actually be good news for drug developers because it suggests that the problems are specific to this compound.Other prototype drugs that are be

34、ing developed to block CETP work in a slightly different way and might not suffer the same downfall.F.But it is also possible that the whole idea of blocking CETP is flawed,says Moti Kashyap,who directs atherosclerosis research at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California.When HDLs excrete cho

35、lesterol in the liver,they actually rely on LDLs for part of this process.So inhibiting CETP,which prevents the transfer of cholesterol from HDL to LDL,might actually cause an abnormal and irreversible accumulation of cholesterol in the body."You're blocking a physiologic mechanism to elimi

36、nate cholesterol and effectively constipating the pathway," says Kashyap.Going upG.Most researchers remain confident that elevating high density lipoproteins levels by one means or another is one of the best routes for helping heart disease patients.But HDLs are complex and not entirely underst

37、ood.One approved drug,called niacin,is known to both raise HDL and reduce cardiovascular risk but also causes an unpleasant sensation of heat and tingling.Researchers are exploring whether they can bypass this side effect and whether niacin can lower disease risk more than statins alone.Scientists a

38、re also working on several other means to bump up high-density lipoproteins by,for example,introducing synthetic HDLs."The only thing we know is dead in the water is torcetrapib,not the whole idea of raising HDL," says Michael Miller,director of preventive cardiology at the University of M

39、aryland Medical Center,Baltimore.Questions 20-26Match torcetrapib,HDLs,statin and CETP with their functionsWrite the correct letter A, B, C or D in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.NB You may use any letter more than once.20.It has been administered to over 10,000 subjects in a clinical trial.21.It

40、could help rid human body of cholesterol.22.Researchers are yet to find more about it.23. It was used to reduce the level of cholesterol.24. According to Kashyap, it might lead to unwanted result if its blocked.25. It produced contradictory results in different trials.26. It could inhibit LDLs.List

41、of choicesA. TorcetrapicB. HDLSC. StatinD. CETPREADING PASSAGE 3You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below .Seeking an energy holy trinity 1 NEELIE KROES, the European Union'scompetition commissioner, did not minceher words when reporting on

42、Europe'senergy markets on Wednesday January10th. Europe's energy firms have failed toinvest in networks and so customers aresuffering. Those “vertically integrated”energy companies such as Electricité de France (EDF or Germany's E.ON, widely dubbed as “national champions”, are effec

43、t ively behaving like local monopolies. Shy of competition, eager for artificially high prices, they are helping to block the efficient generation, transmission and distribution of energy on the continent.2 Energy prices vary wildly across Europe. Ms Kroes wants to see cheaper energy, and intends to

44、 push suppliers to divest their distribution network and to get them to invest more in transportation systems so that more energyin the form of gas, or electricity, for examplecan flow easily over borders. It is remarkably hard, for example, for gas-poor Germany to import from the neighbouring, gas-

45、rich Netherlands. Companies that dominate national markets have, so far, had little interest in improving the interconnections which would mean lower prices for consumers across the continent.3 Ms Kroes, of course, will struggle to get her way. The European Commission, which on the same day presente

46、d its recommendation for improving EU energy policy, also wants to see the unbundling of ownership, the legal separation of energy suppliers and transporters, something that the integrated energy companies and interested governments, notably in France and Germany, are bound to oppose ferociously.4 C

47、omplicating the matter is an argument over the security of energy supply in Europe. Much has been made of the risk for western Europe of depending too heavily on Russian exports of gas. Russia under Vladimir Putin is prone to using energy exports as a blunt tool of foreign policy, especially when tr

48、ying to bully countries in its hinterland. Last year Russia interrupted gas deliveries to Ukraine, affecting supplies in central and western Europe too. This week it blocked oil exports passing via Belarus to Europe, though thatspat was soon resolved.5 The risk is that concerns about security of sup

49、ply may be used spuriously by those in Europe who oppose the sort of liberalisation encouraged by Ms Kroes. The likes of E.ON and EDF may claim that only protected national champions are able to secure supply, by striking long-term deals with powerful foreign suppliers. The Commission disagrees. Suc

50、h deals are too often politically motivated and far from transparent. Protection has been tried for long enough and evidently has not worked for the internal market, nor have these companies secured the best deals for consumers from the Russians.6 In contrast, the Commission's new policy propose

51、s, ideally, a break-up of these companies into suppliers and distributors. (As a second best solution, especially for France and Germany, it recommends the management of the networks by a third party. Properly independent managers of Europe's energy networks would have a strong incentive to buil

52、d interconnecting pipelines and power lines across borders. For the gas market another means of ensuring competition and security would be finding a more diverse range of suppliers, for example by building more terminals for the import of liquified natural gas. It would also be likely to mean lower

53、prices, if the example of liberalised Britain over the past ten years is anything to go by.7 Whether any of this is likely to happen soon, however, is another matter. The Commission is also calling for European governments to agree on a common effort to reduce carbon emissions by at least 20% by 202

54、0 (compared with 1990 levels. If America is willing to play ball, the Commission proposes to reduce emissions by as much as 30%. Achieving either target would mean promoting cleaner cars, a more effectiveemissions-trading system for Europe, wider use of public transport and a sharp increase in the u

55、se of renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar power. All that is laudable enough, but will also require political horse-trading as governmentsEurope's leaders are due to meet in March to discuss the various energy proposalstry to avoid commitments that may hurt domestic energy companies

56、 or make European firms less competitive than rivals in America, Asia and elsewhere.Questions 27-31Do the following statements reflect the views of the writer in the reading passage?In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet writeYES if the statement reflects the views of the writerNO if the statement cont

57、radicts the views of the writerNOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage27.Europe's energy companies have funded the construction of the distribution network.28.There has been a wide range of energy prices within Europe.29.Gas-poor Germany has to pay a price higher than aver

58、age to import gas from its neighbour.30.E.ON and EDF may oppose the liberalisation due to their concerns about the security of energy supply.31.The European Commission proposes to reduce carbon emissions by 30% if the U.S. is willing to cut its.Questions 32-36Look at the box of countries below.Choos

59、e One or Two countries to complete the following sentences.Write your answers in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.CountriesA. BelarusB. BritainC. FranceD. GermanyE. RussiaF. UkraineG. The U.S.32. It's dangerous for western Europe to depend too much on gas imports from33. A liberalised policy of energy supply was enforced o