【題目】Lyme Disease — A Medical Mystery
In the autumn of 1975, lots of people in Lyme, Connecticut, suffered from a strange illness. Two doctors from Yale, Allan Steere and Stephen Malawista, began a study that would result in an important medical discovery.
The doctors began by having careful examinations of each patient. They found the patients of all ages were having a set of things hardly seen together, such as headaches, skin rashes (皮疹), swollen knees, fever, tiredness and so on. There was also a high rate of arthritis (關(guān)節(jié)炎), a painful condition around the knees. No reasons could be found through blood tests. However, they found the most useful information in the interviews with the patients: one quarter of them recalled a skin rash about four weeks before the arthritis appeared.
Then the Department of Health did surveys with the Yale doctors to learn where the disease was most widely seen. It seemed that most patients lived in heavily wooded areas, away from the center of town. Besides, most patients spent a good deal of time outdoors, gardening, camping, or playing. More importantly, some recalled having been bitten by a tick.
By 1977, researchers began to believe that the deer tick was responsible. Then they discovered that a special type of bacteria (細(xì)菌), carried by the deer tick, was causing the disease. It was later named Lyme bacteria. The deer tick often feeds on deer. But we can also find it on mice. Scientists then concluded that the bacteria passed from wildlife to ticks to humans. All lived closely among one another in the area.
How could a disease break out so suddenly? Many areas of the northeast, including Lyme, Connecticut, were once farmland. Over the years, the farmland was replanted with trees. After the forest grew in, all kinds of wildlife appeared. At the same time, this area was developed with houses. Gradually, neighborhoods pushed deeper into the home of the wildlife. Humans became more likely to meet more ticks and get the disease.
After much research, the cause of Lyme disease was successfully identified (確認(rèn)), thanks to the hard work of many scientists, doctors and patients. Today, more and more people have knowledge of Lyme disease, which is easily treated if caught early.
【1】Which helped Dr. Steere and Dr. Malawista most?
A.Having interviews with the patients.B.Examining the patients carefully.
C.Separating the patients into age groups.D.Doing blood tests among the patients.
【2】Which of the following is true about Lyme disease?
A.Little is known about Lyme disease today.
B.Most of the patients lived in the center of town.
C.More trees could keep people away from the disease.
D.Wildlife spread the bacteria to ticks and then to humans.
【3】What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this passage?
A.To describe how Lyme disease was treated.
B.To warn people not to go outdoors in the forest.
C.To introduce how the cause of Lyme disease was found.
D.To criticize the people who spread Lyme disease around.
