In October 1949 the United Nations brought a number of specialists on food to Geneva, to discuss the problems of eating habits and food supplies of peoples throughout the world. One problem that interested the specialists particularly was a form of illness, about which little was known, among the children in Africa and Latin America. The World Health Organization planned to study this disease to determine the relationship between the eating habits of the people and disease.

　　Two doctors were chosen to make the study. They flew to Africa south of the Sahara and during the next two months visited ten countries. They found that serious diseases of poor eating, often mistaken for other diseases, existed in all parts of Africa. The diseases were similar and could therefore all be named kwashiorkor.

　　The diseased children are usually from one to four years old. As the illness progresses, the child's stomach becomes swollen by liquid collecting in the body. The skin changes colour and may break out in open sores. The hair changes colour and starts to fall out. The patient loses all interest in his surroundings and even in food, and becomes so weak that he wants to lie down all the time. Stomach liquids are no longer produced.

　　The doctors reasoned that kwashiorkor was found in the young children of this age in many parts of Africa because of lack of milk or meat. Their mothers, after stopping their breast-feeding, gave them foods full of starches instead of greatly needed proteins. They found that the addition of milk to the food of children suffering from kwashiorkor saved many lives.

　　The unbelievable thing about kwashiorkor is that the very existence of the disease- which has been killing thousands of children for centuries — was not even recognized in Latin America as recently as ten years ago. The deaths oi those children were mistakenly listed as due to other diseases. It was the WHO's work in Africa that led to the discovery of the problem in Central America.

　　1.From the passage we learn that kwashiorkor is a disease caused by______.

　　A. poor living conditions

　　B. lack of proteins in food

　　C. breast-feeding

　　D. lack of food

　　Best Answer:B

　　詳解：答案B。依據(jù)文章第四段前兩句:醫(yī)生們分析，正是由于缺乏牛奶和肉食才導(dǎo)致非洲許多地區(qū)的幼兒感染上這種疾病，他們的母親在給幼兒斷奶以后，經(jīng)常給他們喂一些淀粉類食物而非一些幼兒長身體所需要的蛋白質(zhì)。故答案為B。

　　2.It is difficult to discover kwashiorkor because ________.

　　A. it has no symptoms at all

　　B. it is hard to identify signs of it

　　C. it doesn't last long enough for careful observation

　　D. it is hardly distinguishable from other diseases

　　Best Answer:D

　　詳解：答案D。依據(jù)文章第二段的第三句和第五段的最后兩句：兩位醫(yī)生發(fā)現(xiàn)經(jīng)常被誤診為其他疾病的這種嚴重疾病在非洲隨處可見;大量孩子們的死亡通常被錯誤地認為是由于其他疾病造成的，實際上，正是世界衛(wèi)生組織在非洲開展的工作才最終發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一問題。故答案為D。

　　3.What is mentioned as a simple but efficient way of curing this disease?

　　A. Taking a special medicine.

　　B. Avoiding any food containing starch.

　　C. Having more meat or milk.

　　D. Taking medicines full of proteins.

　　Best Answer:C

　　詳解：答案C。依據(jù)文章第四段的最后一句：醫(yī)生們認為，給患這種疾病的孩子們的飲食中添加一些牛奶和肉食就會挽救許多孩子的生命。故答案為C。

　　4.The disease has been known in Latin America_______.

　　A. for ten years

　　B. for centuries

　　C. for dozens of years

　　D. before the discovery in Africa

　　Best Answer:A

　　詳解：答案A。依據(jù)文章最后一段第一句：令人不可思議的是，幾個世紀以來奪走了成千上萬條兒童性命的這種疾病直到十年前才在拉美被人們識別出來。故答案為A。

　　5. What is the best title for the article?

　　A. Milk and Meat Are Daily Necessities.

　　B. Kwashiorkor and Bad Eating Habits.

　　C. A New Form of Illness in Africa and Latin America.

　　D. A Case of Eating Habits.

　　Best Answer:B

　　詳解：答案B。依據(jù)全文：第一段講了醫(yī)生們首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種疾病，第二段講了醫(yī)生們開始對這一疾病進行研究，第三段講了這一疾病的癥狀，第四段講了醫(yī)生們分析了導(dǎo)致這一疾病的原因，第五段講了直到十年前中北美洲才認識到這一疾病的存在。故答案為B。