《考研英語閱讀理解100篇 高分版》 Unit 3 - TEXT ONE
- TEXT ONE
- 題目分析
- 參考譯文
H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, also known as “expanded and improved Medicare for all,” has moved through Congress, and is expected to be signed into law shortly. The legislation provides publicly funded health insurance, with a free choice of health care providers, for every United States citizen and permanent resident.
After the bill passed, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared, “We can now proudly say that the United States has caught up with the rest of the developed world in granting all our citizens access to high-quality, comprehensive medical care.” Prior to the bill's passage, the U.S. health care system was widely regarded to be in a state of severe crisis. Over 46 million Americans have been without health insurance and another 50 million have been under-insured.
Despite spending more money per capita on health care than any other nation, the U.S. has lagged behind many countries in such key health-related categories as life preventable deaths. The Institute of Medicine estimates that in recent years approximately 22,000 people have died annually in the U.S. due to a lack of health insurance. Furthermore, nearly one million Americans, many who have private health insurance plans, have filed for bankruptcy each year because they have been unable to pay medical bills. In recent polls, a clear majority of Americans have said they believe government should guarantee health care for all U.S. residents.
Despite growing popular support for a single-payer system, Pelosi acknowledged that Congress would not have voted for this bill without the dedicated grassroots organizing of national groups like Healthcare-NOW and Physicians for National Health Program, regional groups like the California Nurses Association and the New York-based Private Health Insurance Must Go Coalition, and over 450 union organizations across the country that had endorsed H.R. 676. Pelosi said that many formerly undecided congressional representatives were also swayed by seeing Michael Moore's film, “Sicko,” and by the cogent arguments presented in a 2008 pocket-sized books, “10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care,” edited by Mary E. O'Brien and Martha Livingston, which was given to every member of Congress.
Under the private insurance system that has been in place until now, 30 percent of health insurance premiums have gone toward administrative costs, including advertising, profits, and executive salaries. This compares with a 3 percent cost for administering Medicare. Moving from the private health insurance system to single-payer is expected to save $350 billion dollars each year, enough to fund health care for those who are currently uninsured or under insured.
Under the H.R. 676, the expanded Medicare for All system will be paid for through a 3.3 percent payroll tax on employers and employees, a stock transfer tax, an income tax surcharge on the top 5 percent of taxpayers, and by reversing the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans. According to the Congressional Budget Office, most U.S. residents—including those who previously received employer-based coverage—will pay less for this new public health insurance than they did for their private insurance, since there will no longer be any premium, copy, or deductible charges. Eliminating private insurance companies, including HMOs, and moving to a publicly administered system will be no simple ask. The private health-care industry is enormous, employing over 14 million people and costing 2.3 trillion dollars in 2007.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the H.R. 676?
[A] It is expected to take effect soon.
[B] People enjoy freedom in choosing health care providers.
[C] The U.S. health care system once collapsed.
[D] The medical care is characterized by high quality and comprehensiveness.
2. The word “lagged” (Line 1, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.
[A] delayed
[B] not caught up with
[C] tracked
[D] left
3. According to Pelosi, the followings are the reasons that Congress voted for this bill except that _____.
[A] special grassroots organizations are formed
[B] the film “Sicko” has swayed Congress members' attitude
[C] 30% of the premiums were paid for the administrative expense
[D] persuasive theory in the pocket-sized book affects people's thought
4. The single-payer system is more beneficial than private insurance mainly because _____.
[A] the former provides high-quality, comprehensive medical care
[B] private insurance is more expensive
[C] it allows people to choose health care providers with freedom
[D] premiums in private insurance can't be distributed reasonably
5. Towards the legislation, the author's attitude can be said to be _____.
[A] affirmative
[B] negative
[C] biased
[D] neutral
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the H.R. 676?
[A] It is expected to take effect soon.
[B] People enjoy freedom in choosing health care providers.
[C] The U.S. health care system once collapsed.
[D] The medical care is characterized by high quality and comprehensiveness.
1. 下面關于H.R. 676的說法哪項是錯誤的？
[A] 它有望在近期生效。
[B] 人們可以自由選擇醫(yī)療服務機構。
[C] 美國的醫(yī)療保險制度曾一度崩潰。
[D] 這種醫(yī)療保險制度的特點在于高質量且全方位。
答案：C 難度系數(shù)：☆☆☆
分析：細節(jié)題。題目要求找出對H.R. 676表述錯誤的一項。A項在第一段有所提及，...is expected to be signed into law shortly說明有望近期簽署生效。B項在第一段也有體現(xiàn)，...with a free choice of health care providers說明可以自由選擇醫(yī)療服務機構。第二段中的the U.S. health care system was widely regarded to be in a state of severe crisis說的是醫(yī)療保險制度面臨嚴重危機，并未表明一度崩潰，且它不屬于該法案的特點，因此C項表述錯誤。D項在第二段中有體現(xiàn)，說美國已經(jīng)趕上其他發(fā)達國家，擁有高質量且全方位的醫(yī)療保險制度，其實也就是H.R. 676本身具備了high-quality and comprehensiveness的特點。
2. The word “lagged” (Line 1, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.
[A] delayed
[B] not caught up with
[C] tracked
[D] left
2. 單詞“lagged”（第三段第一行）最有可能的意思是_____。
[A] 延遲
[B] 趕不上
[C] 跟蹤
[D] 離開
答案：B 難度系數(shù)：☆☆
分析：猜詞題。句首處despite表轉折，說“與其他國家相比，盡管美國在人均醫(yī)療服務方面投入了更多的資金，但……”, 而且lagged后面接的是behind，據(jù)此大概能猜出這個短語是落在了后面的意思，結合上下文可知，盡管投了這么多錢，但還是趕不上其他國家。所以lagged是“落后，趕不上”的意思。
3. According to Pelosi, the followings are the reasons that Congress voted for this bill except that _____.
[A] special grassroots organizations are formed
[B] the film “Sicko” has swayed Congress members' attitude
[C] 30% of the premiums were paid for the administrative expense
[D] persuasive theory in the pocket-sized book affects people's thought
3. 根據(jù)佩洛西所說，下列選項中除了_____都是國會為這項法案投票的原因。
[A] 成立了一些專門的基層組織
[B] 電影《醫(yī)療內幕》動搖了國會議員的態(tài)度
[C] 30%的保險費用花在了行政開銷上
[D] 口袋書中具有說服力的理論影響了人們的思想
答案：C 難度系數(shù)：☆☆
分析：細節(jié)題。國會議員為這項法案投票的原因出現(xiàn)在第四段：Congress would not have voted for this bill without the dedicated grassroots organizing of... 由此可得出A是正確的。由Pelosi said that many formerly undecided congressional representatives were also swayed by...可知國會議員的態(tài)度受到了下文提到的電影和書的影響，sway意為“動搖”，可見，這些還是觸動了議員，故 B和D 也正確。C項說的是私人保險費用花在了哪些方面，與議員投票沒有直接關系，故答案為C項。
4. The single-payer system is more beneficial than private insurance mainly because _____.
[A] the former provides high-quality, comprehensive medical care
[B] private insurance is more expensive
[C] it allows people to choose health care providers with freedom
[D] premiums in private insurance can't be distributed reasonably
4. 單一給付體制比私人保險更有益的主要原因是 _____。
[A] 前者能提供高質量且全方位的醫(yī)療服務
[B] 私人保險費用更昂貴
[C] 它允許人們自由選擇醫(yī)療服務機構
[D] 私人保險中的保險費得不到合理分配
答案：D 難度系數(shù)：☆☆☆☆☆
分析：推理題。最后兩段通過和私人保險做對比，顯示出單一給付體制的優(yōu)越性。其中提到，30%的醫(yī)療保險費用都花在了行政開銷上，如廣告、利潤以及工資支出等，而用于醫(yī)療保險實施的支出只占全部的3%左右。在新的公共醫(yī)療保險制度下，額外保險費、重復繳費或扣費都不復存在，因此人們可以支付比購買私人保險更少的費用。歸根結底，私人保險費用不能被合理分配，而實際用于醫(yī)療保險方面的只有3%。相比而言，單一給付體制將避免這些問題，因此益處更多，當然受到人們的青睞。故D項為正確答案。
5. Towards the legislation, the author's attitude can be said to be _____.
[A] affirmative
[B] negative
[C] biased
[D] neutral
5. 作者對這項法案的態(tài)度可以認為是_____。
[A] 肯定的
[B] 否定的
[C] 有偏見的
[D] 中立的
答案：A 難度系數(shù)：☆☆☆
分析：態(tài)度題。文章雖然措辭比較客觀，但是從作者的論述過程中還是可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，作者對這項醫(yī)療保險法案還是很贊同的，如拿私人保險與單一給付體制做對比，突出單一給付體制的優(yōu)勢，這些都可以看出作者肯定的態(tài)度。故A項為正確答案。
H.R. 676, 美國國家醫(yī)療保險方案，又名“擴大改進全民醫(yī)療保險方案”目前國會已通過，并有望于近期簽署生效。該法案將為每一位美國公民和在美國永久居住的公民提供公共醫(yī)療保險基金，并允許他們自主選擇醫(yī)療服務機構。
該法案通過后，眾議院發(fā)言人南希·佩洛西發(fā)表聲明說，“我們現(xiàn)在可以自豪地說，在保障公民享受高質量且全方位的醫(yī)療服務方面，美國已經(jīng)趕上了世界其他發(fā)達國家的步伐。”而在該法案通過之前，人們都普遍認為美國的醫(yī)療保險制度已經(jīng)面臨嚴峻危機。超過4600萬美國民眾一直沒有醫(yī)療保險，另有5000萬人享受的保險服務低于應有水平。
與其他國家相比，盡管美國在人均醫(yī)療服務方面投入了更多的資金，但與健康息息相關的關鍵領域，如可預防性死亡等方面，還是落后于許多國家。據(jù)美國醫(yī)學研究所預測，近年來，每年約有2.2萬人因為沒有醫(yī)療保險而死亡。此外，每年，近一百萬美國人盡管有私人醫(yī)療保險，但是由于無力支付醫(yī)療費而申請破產(chǎn)。最近的民意調查顯示，絕大多數(shù)美國人認為政府應該保障其公民的醫(yī)療服務項目。
佩洛西認為，盡管越來越多的人支持單一給付體制（由單一機構［政府］提供醫(yī)療服務所需的所有資金，讓原本無法獲得醫(yī)療服務的民眾獲得醫(yī)療保障，實現(xiàn)全民醫(yī)療保險，而且民眾無論是否就業(yè)，都可獲得單一給付體制的保障），但是如果沒有專門的基層國家組織，如“醫(yī)療保健—就是現(xiàn)在”和“國民健康醫(yī)師項目”等，以及區(qū)域組織，如“加州護士協(xié)會”和“紐約私人醫(yī)保聯(lián)盟”等類似組織的參與，以及全國超過450個聯(lián)合組織同意H.R. 676，國會議員將不會為該法案投票。他還指出，許多以前態(tài)度就搖擺不定的國會代表在看了邁克爾·摩爾拍攝的電影《醫(yī)療內幕》以及2008年由瑪麗·E. 奧布賴恩和瑪莎·利文斯頓共同編寫的《國民醫(yī)療保險的10大主因》這部口袋書里所列舉的強大理論后，現(xiàn)在態(tài)度也發(fā)生了改變，其中這本口袋書國會議員人手一本。
自私人保險制度實施以來，30%的醫(yī)療保險費用都花在了行政開銷上，如廣告、利潤以及工資支出等，而用于醫(yī)療保險實施的支出相比之下卻只占全部的3%左右。如果把私人醫(yī)保制度轉變成單一給付體制，每年將有望節(jié)省3500億美元，這些將足以為目前尚未投保或無力投保的人提供足夠的醫(yī)療服務基金。
按照H.R. 676的條款，醫(yī)療保險范圍擴大，其費用將會通過向雇主和雇員征收3.3%的工資所得稅、股票轉讓以及對排名前5%的最高納稅人征收收入附加稅來實現(xiàn)，該政策結束了布什時期向最富有的美國人實施的減稅政策。美國國會預算辦公室稱，大多數(shù)美國公民，包括之前有雇主責任保險的公民，在新的公共醫(yī)療保險制度下，將支付比購買私人保險更少的費用，因為在這項政策下，繳納額外費用、重復繳費或扣費的現(xiàn)象都將不復存在。根除諸如像健康保護組織HMOs這樣的私人保險公司，進而轉向公共管理體制并非易事。私人醫(yī)療行業(yè)十分龐大，2007年其員工就超過1400萬人，運營成本為2.3萬億美元。
