GMAT 补充 22－9

Since Would War II considerable advances have been made in the area of health-care services. These include better access to health care (particularly for the poor and minorities), improvements in physical plants, and increased numbers of physicians and other health personnel. All have played a part in the recent improvement in life expectancy (life expectancy: n.平均寿命(=expectation of life)). But there is mounting criticism of the large remaining gaps in access, unbridled cost inflation, the further fragmentation of service, excessive indulgence in wasteful high-technology “gadgeteering,” and a breakdown in doctor-patient relationships. In recent years (in recent years: 最近几年中) proposed panaceas and new programs, small and large, have proliferated at a feverish pace and disappointments multiply at almost the same rate. This has led to an increased pessimism—“everything has been tried and nothing works”—which sometimes borders on cynicism or even nihilism.

It is true that the automatic “pass through” of rapidly spiraling costs (spiraling costs: 螺旋式上升的费用) to government and insurance carriers, which was set in a publicized environment of “the richest nation in the world,” produced for a time (for a time: adv.暂时, 一度) a sense of unlimited resources and allowed to develop a mood whereby every practitioner and institution could “do his own thing” without undue concern for the “Medical Commons.” The practice of full-cost reimbursement encouraged capital investment and now the industry is overcapitalized. Many cities have hundreds of excess hospital beds; hospitals have proliferated a superabundance of high-technology equipment; and structural ostentation and luxury were the order of the day (order of the day: 议程,<口>流行的事物,风尚). In any given day, one-fourth of all community beds are vacant; expensive equipment is underused or, worse, used unnecessarily. Capital investment brings rapidly rising operating costs (operating costs: 生产费用,营业成本).

Yet, in part, this pessimism derives from expecting too much of health care. It must be realized that care is, for most people, a painful experience, often accompanied by fear and unwelcome results. Although there is vast room for improvement, health care will always retain some unpleasantness and frustration. Moreover, the capacities of medical science are limited. Humpty Dumpty (一经损坏无法修复的东西) cannot always be put back together again. Too many physicians are reluctant to admit their limitations to patients; too many patients and families are unwilling to accept such realities. Nor is it true that everything has been tried and nothing works, as shown by the prepaid group practice plans of the Kaiser Foundation and at Puget Sound. In the main (in the main: adv.大体上), however, such undertakings have been drowned by a veritable flood of public and private moneys which have supported and encouraged the continuation of conventional practices and subsidized their shortcomings on a massive, almost unrestricted scale. Except for the most idealistic and dedicated, there were no incentives to seek change or to practice self-restraint or frugality. In this atmosphere, it is not fair to condemn as failures all attempted experiments; it may be more accurate to say many never had a fair trial.

1.     The author implies that the Kaiser Foundation and Puget Sound plans (lines 47-48) differed from other plans by

(A) encouraging capital investment

(B) requiring physicians to treat the poor

(C) providing incentives for cost control

(D) employing only dedicated and idealistic doctors（C）

(E) relying primarily on public funding

3.     The tone of the passage can best be described as

(A) light-hearted and amused

(B) objective but concerned

(C) detached and unconcerned

(D) cautious but sincere（B）

(E) enthusiastic and enlightened

4.     According to the author, the “pessimism” mentioned at line 35 is partly attributable to the fact that

(A) there has been little real improvement in health-care services

(B) expectations about health-care services are sometimes unrealistic

(C) large segments of the population find it impossible to get access to health-care services

(D) advances in technology have made health care service unaffordable（B）

(E) doctors are now less concerned with patient care

7.     With which of the following descriptions of the system for the delivery of health-care services would the author most likely agree?

(A) It is biased in favor of doctors and against patients.

(B) It is highly fragmented and completely ineffective

(C) It has not embraced new technology rapidly enough

(D) It is generally effective but can be improved（D）

(E) It discourages people from seeking medical care

8.     Which of the following best describes the logical structure of the selection?

(A) The third paragraph is intended as a refutation of the first and second paragraphs.

(B) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.

(C) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.

(D) The first paragraph describes a problem, and the second and third paragraphs present two horns of a dilemma.（C）

(E) The first paragraph describes a problem, the second its causes, and the third a possible solution.

这个文章我觉得好像懂了，觉得最多错一两个，可是错了5个，并且对里面提供的真确的答案一点概念都没有。这五个题目的答案分别是：C B B D C。哪位好心的考友，可否方便帮我找到文章的对应点呀？ 非常感谢