第九篇The Case of the Disappearing Fingerprints

One useful anti-cancer drug can effectively erase the whorls and other characteristic marks that give people their distinctive fingerprints. Losing __1__ could become troublesome. A case

released online in a letter by Annals of Oncology indicates how big a __2__ of losing fingerprints is.

Eng-Huat Tan, a Singapore-based medical doctor describes a 62-year old man who has used capecitabine to __3__ his nasopharyngeal cancer. After three years on the __4__ ，the patient decided to visit U. S. relatives last December. But he was stopped by U. S. customs officials __5__ 4 hours after entering the country when those officials couldn't get fingerprints from the man. There were no distinctive swirly __6__ appearing from his index finger.

U. S. customs has been fingerprinting incoming foreign visitors for years, Tan says. Their index fingers are __7__ and screened against digital files of the fingerprints of bad guys- terrorists and potential criminals that our federal guardians have been tasked with keeping out of the country. Unfortunately, for the Singaporean traveler，one potential __8__ effect of his drug treatment is a smoothing of the tissue on the finger pads. __9__ ，no fingerprints.

"It is uncertain when fingerprint loss will __10__ to take place in patients who are taking capecitabine，" Tan points out. So he cautions any physicians who __11__ the drug to provide their patients with .a doctor's note pointing out that their medicine may cause fingerprints to disappear.

Eventually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States. I guess the name on his passport didn't raise any red flags. But he，s also now got the explanatory doctor's note - and won't leave home __12__ it.

By the way, maybe the Food and Drug Administration, __13__ approved use of the drug

11 years ago, should consider __14__ its list of side effects associated with this medicine. The current list does note that patients may experience vomiting, stomach pain and some other side effects. But no where __15__ it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints.

詞匯：

fingerprint n.指紋

whorl n.羅紋，籮狀指紋

annals n.年報

oncology n,腫瘤學(xué)

capecitabine n.卡培他濱

nasopharyngeal adj. 鼻炎的

swirly adj. 旋渦狀的

digit n. 開始

vomit v. 嘔吐

注釋： 1.capecitabine卡培他濱。是一種口服的化療藥物，用于治療轉(zhuǎn)移性乳腺癌、大腸癌、咽喉癌等，以減緩腫瘤生長。

2.index finger:食指

3.U. S. customs: 美國海關(guān)。customs視作一個組織，用作單數(shù)名詞，所以在文章中后接has。

4.terrorists and potential criminals that our federal guardians have been tasked with keeping out of the country:我們的聯(lián)邦衛(wèi)士的職責(zé)是要把那些恐怖分子和疑似罪犯檔在國門之外。關(guān)系代詞that引導(dǎo)的是一個限制性定語從句，修飾terrorists叫d potential criminals。that在定語從句中作keeping的賓語。

5.traveler:旅行者。traveler是美國英語的拼法。英國英語的拼法是traveller。

6.the tissue on the finger pads:指尖上的肉墊組織

7.Eventually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States:那位新加坡旅客終于進入了美國。make it into金為"進入"。

8.red flags:(表示危險的）紅旗，即危險信號。揮動紅旗表示危險，最初用于鐵路，后來西方公司等用英文詞red flags或紅色小旗表示業(yè)績下降等。

9.the Food and Drug Administration:美國食品和藥物局

10.The current list does note:現(xiàn)有的副作用清單中確實列出。在肯定句謂語動詞前加用do/ does/did,是為了強調(diào)該動詞，漢語可譯為"確實"。如：

He speaks Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian.

He does speak Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian.

(他確實會說漢語，英語，法語，西班牙語和俄語。)

練習(xí)：

1. A. he.B. them.C. her.D. him

2. A. theme.B. topic.C. creation.D. problem

3. A. treat.B. cut.C. find.D. smooth

4. A. recovery.B. diet.C. drug.D. diagnosis

5. A. in.B. at.C. for.D. on

6. A. digits.B. marks.C. images.D. pictures

7. A. printed.B. located.C. cured.D. placed

8. A. normal.B. good.C. main.D. side

9. A. However.B. Hence.C. Moreover.D. Furthermore

10. A. begin.B. like.C. decide.D. have

11. A. prevent.B. preserve.C. presume.D. prescribe

12. A. off.B. on.C. without.D. with

13. A. who.B. where.C. when.D. which

14. A. updating.B. using.C. printing.D. cancelling

15. A. must.B. does.C. may.D. should

答案與題解：

1.B根據(jù)上下文的意思，失去（losing)的應(yīng)該是fingerpririts。fingerprints是復(fù)數(shù)形式，指代它的代詞是them。其他三個代詞都不合適。

2.D前面兩個句子說，失去指紋是一大問題。本句說，要舉出一個實例以說明失去指紋會造成極大的困擾。所以只有選項D最合適。

3.A第二段描述了實例的細(xì)節(jié)。第一句說病人用一種藥名為卡培他濱的抗癌藥治療他的鼻咽癌。所以treat是必然的選擇。cut(切割)，find(尋找) 和smooth(弄平)都與上下文接不上。

4.C從上下文判斷，"After three years on the ….(經(jīng)過三年的……）"的后面應(yīng)該接"用藥"、 "治療"等字眼，所以選drug是正確的。選recovery(康復(fù)），diet(節(jié)食）或diagnosis(診斷）都與后面提到的病人進入美國受阻的事件接不上。

5.C for表示時間上"達到"，for 4 hours意為"長達4小時"。

6.B美國海關(guān)因為采集不到那位癌癥患者的指紋樣本，于是盤問了他4小時。所以本句提到的swirly應(yīng)該與marks搭配，意思是"旋渦狀指紋標(biāo)記"。

7.A為了防止恐怖分子和罪犯進入美國，美國海關(guān)通過電腦對國人境者進行指紋采樣，然后與指紋庫進行比照。根據(jù)常理，海關(guān)要檢查每一位外國人的指紋。采樣的手指是食指。后面的screened（比照）是解題的重要線索，引導(dǎo)讀者選A,即printed。這里printed = fingerprinted(采集指紋樣本）。其他三個選項,即located(找出)、cured(治療）和placed(置放），都與上下文的意思接不上。

8.D實例中的新加坡人用了抗癌藥后的一個副作用是指紋消失，這是一種不良反應(yīng)。所以，選good, main, normal (正常的）都不符合上下文的意思，只有side才是答案。side effect意為"副作用"。

9.B前面句子提及的服抗癌藥是因，本段最后一句是果，連接詞應(yīng)該用Hence。而However 表示轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系，Moreover和Furthermore表示"進一步"的關(guān)系，與上文連接不上。

10.A本段表達的意思是: 由于癌癥病人服用卡培他濱后指紋何時開始消失還不清楚，所以主治醫(yī)生要提前為病人開具指紋可能會消失的證明單。to take place(發(fā)生）之前填上like, decide或have都與上下文的意思接不上，只有begin最合適。

11.D參閱上一題的題解。本題四個選項中的英語詞的前三個字母都是pre-，只要知道 prescribe的詞義是"開處方'就會選D。

12.C第五段的意思是,那位病人已經(jīng)拿到醫(yī)生開具的指紋消失證明單，現(xiàn)在他出門旅行不會不帶上它。本題without是答案。

13.D哪一個政府機構(gòu)許可（approved) 使用該類抗癌藥？就是本段第一句提到的the Food and Drug Administration。四個選項中，只有關(guān)系代詞which能指代the Food and Drug Administration，它是approved動作的發(fā)出者。

14.A最后一段表達的意思是:過去該藥列出的不良反應(yīng)只包括嘔吐等，沒有列出指紋消失這一副作用，現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該補上這一條。所以,updating(更新)是答案。

15.B最后一段最后一句中，為了強調(diào)no where,將它移到句首，這時，原句的"it does not mention the potential for loss of fingerprints" 就要寫成強調(diào)句形式的 "no where does it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints"。所以，答案是B。

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（責(zé)任編輯：vstara）

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