Passage Two
; d; }) R5 e# X% k, J5 N7 GQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
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# M+ b. y* }. V8 F! x5 ]7 t y You’re in trouble if you have to buy your own brand-name prescription drugs. Over the past
, ^' v9 K1 s6 D+ T! E0 edecade, prices leaped by more than double the inflation rate. Treatments for chronic conditions can 8 q Z5 n2 V# f$ ]% I# N
easily top $2,000 a month-no wonder that one in four Americans can’s afford to fill their
. l% L+ m" C" r: |8 |9 f! j' Wprescriptions. The solution? A hearty chorus of “O Canada.” North of the border, where price 4 K5 m2 B- A$ o7 H2 W$ B
controls reign, those same brand-name drugs cost 50% to 80% less.: _$ P: s4 c$ h5 A8 ^" Z# }
The Canadian option is fast becoming a political wake-up call, “If our neighbors can buy
: T8 B9 g- N$ R7 r! q- Ydrugs at reasonable prices, why can’t we?” Even to whisper that thought provokes anger. 3 a6 Y i6 L: V, S3 U! M6 B
“Un-American!” And-the propagandists’ trump card (王牌)—“Wreck our brilliant health-care * |- c, S1 D/ B# g9 Y# u" T
system.” Super-size drug prices, they claim, fund the research that sparks the next generation of . G; B" z" f2 w/ f
wonder drugs. No sky-high drug price today, no cure for cancer tomorrow. So shut up and pay up.. a8 r; `2 j: _* O
Common sense tells you that’s a false alternative. The reward for finding. Say, a cancer cure is so ) ~$ a" R- e/ m6 C3 a& C) q5 r8 S
huge that no one’s going to hang it up. Nevertheless, if Canada-level pricing came to the United 2 k- y" c! q- i; ]/ J
States, the industry’s profit margins would drop and the pace of new-drug development would
. M; T% E9 C3 L8 B' j ^: A/ }& I$ bslow. Here lies the American dilemma. Who is all this splendid medicine for? Should our # O% n' R o4 z& O& w0 p9 A+ W
health-care system continue its drive toward the best of the best, even though rising numbers of
& I0 T% p$ K! J( Gpatients can’t afford it? Or should we direct our wealth toward letting everyone in on today’s level # U: d$ F. i- `8 y% ]
of care? Measured by saved lives, the latter is almost certainly the better course.% u/ ]# [* r9 C2 U) e
To defend their profits, the drug companies have warned Canadian wholesalers and & i0 x0 O+ }" u8 V! {
pharmacies(药房) not to sell to Americans by mail, and are cutting back supplies to those who
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Meanwhile, the administration is playing the fear card. Officials from the Food and Drug 3 |' j( W+ h( m
Administration will argue that Canadian drugs might be fake, mishandled, or even a potential
2 j0 R; ]2 x9 S4 F, T, ~threat to life.9 l+ \1 @0 ^$ Y! t) b/ V' M
Do bad drugs fly around the Internet? Sure-and the more we look, the more we’ll find, But I ! n7 w+ V, s3 |( d: l
haven’t heard of any raging epidemics among the hundreds of thousands of people buying
+ |6 r2 X A" |2 s! `cross-border.3 _9 E5 P: Y9 E+ ^
Most users of prescription drugs don’s worry about costs a lot.
5 o; `% ^2 e5 F U# @6 l# N% p+ T, y They’re sheltered by employee insurance, owing just a $20 co-pay. ' h/ r2 B% d% O( n# R3 X
The financial blows rain, instead, on the uninsured, especially the chronically ill who need 4 {7 ?$ X( \' h3 U# x
expensive drugs to live, This group will still include middle-income seniors on Medicare, who’ll 7 y- q* `" q0 c3 d- |
have to dig deeply into their pockets before getting much from the new drug benefit that starts in
6 `; n0 }. z9 @( o6 P2006.
$ o- V% ^! ~3 \( q" b9 }5 C26. What is said about the consequence of the rocketing drug prices in the U.S.?: A" X2 N0 }7 c/ O' y* t, x
A) A quarter of Americans can’t afford their prescription drugs.
7 M' f ?( B; C3 c! u$ GB) Many Americans can’t afford to see a doctor when they fall ill.7 X5 p, b& y V
C) Many Americans have to go to Canada to get medical treatment.6 p' w, R' r6 g4 c
D) The inflation rate has been more than doubled over the years.$ H3 C \. R# d4 P
27. It can be inferred that America can follow the Canadian model and curb its soaring drug
* f1 J$ I& X, M7 X' z. ]prices by _____.7 K' Y! m8 d% {& g
A) encouraging people to buy prescription drugs online
8 M+ z) c* C( S; R; s& ~) |B) extending medical insurance to all its citizens: Z& Q4 D n' j
C) importing low-price prescription drugs from Canada
: b7 f( n" c4 T) {! V" UD) exercising price control on brand-name drugs9 n4 X. ]" H1 |- t- `/ q' j
28. How do propagandists argue for the U.S. drug pricing policy?. e6 `" C/ Q3 v4 q3 N; w) T0 w
A) Low prices will affect the quality of medicines in America.
/ @6 O+ V7 y5 q; L# pB) High prices are essential to funding research on new drugs.
2 F5 V7 k0 a* d; GC) Low prices will bring about the anger of drug manufacturers.
5 {& {. P$ x) Y* V5 k' sD) High-price drugs are indispensable in curing chronic diseases.3 T9 o$ O- ~0 P6 Y+ ]6 L
29. What should be the priority of America’s health-care system according to the author?
0 w# R* I7 N+ \) o& AA) To resolve the dilemma in the health-care system.
s+ w X2 {4 ]& [% w1 rB) To maintain America’s lead in the drug industry.4 f4 i7 `; R. d* D8 y
C) To allow the vast majority to enjoy its benefits.: a: m& s; s. M0 M* Y) u! G
D) To quicken the pace of new drug development." U! E3 o9 j6 w! Y* x$ V
30. What are American drug companies doing to protect their high profits?5 J- t2 p, g4 a! \9 B
A) Labeling drugs bought from Canada as being fakes.
\; w. W1 m+ Y; WB) Threatening to cut back funding for new drug research.
7 L( _ Y: m$ z% K: Z3 ]$ bC) Reducing supplies to uncooperative Canadian pharmacies.+ K: [7 U" b# r% G1 e/ J
D) Attributing the raging epidemics to the ineffectiveness of Canadian drugs. |