1 . If you have ever had the flu, you know just how down and out you can feel, and it is important to do what you can to lower the number of days spent sick and in bed, including taking flu medicine. If you have mild symptoms, you may not need to take flu medicine. However, the medicine is recommended for certain groups of people. These include:
●People who are in the hospital with the flu
●People who aren’t in the hospital but are very sick with the flu
●People who are at high risk because of flu complications (并发症)
The Food and Drug Administration has approved four antiviral drugs for the flu. Each flu medicine is a little bit different, but they work in mostly the same way.
●Oseltamivir is a pill or liquid given by mouth that is approved to treat the flu for people 14 days and older. This is a common flu medicine. Side effects of Oseltamivir include feeling sick, vomiting, and diarrhea.
●Xofluza is a single-dose pill or liquid given by mouth and is approved for people aged 5 years and older. Side effects of Xofluza include coughing, feeling sick, and diarrhea.
●Relenza is an inhaled (吸入的) powder that is approved to treat the flu for people aged 7 years and older. This flu medicine tends to be less common because of how it is given. Side effects of Relenza include diarrhea, and feeling sick.
●Peramivir is injected through Ⅳ needle and is approved for people aged 6 months and older. This flu medicine tends to be less common since it is given as an Ⅳ infusion, usually in the hospital. Side effects of Peramivir include diarrhea, and sleeplessness.
1. Who need to take the flu medicine?| A．People in the hospital. | B．People easier to get a cold. |
| C．People greatly affected by flu. | D．People with slight flu symptoms. |
| A．Its high price. | B．The way it is taken. |
| C．Its special effect. | D．People who can take it. |
| A．They are suitable for babies. | B．They are common flu medicines. |
| C．They are given in the same way. | D．They have similar side effects. |
2 . Kenyan mother Beth Mwende heard her sleeping child cry out, but did not worry after the three-year-old quickly quietened down. The next morning, however, she found her daughter, Mercy, nearly unconscious with two bite marks in the neck. “I didn’t know that it was a snake,” Mwende said.
Although snakebites are common in her hometown, antivenom medication is difficult to get. Mwende lives about 160 kilometers east of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. So she took her daughter to a traditional healer. He placed stones over the bites. Mercy died within hours. She was one of about 700 Kenyans killed by snakebites each year, notes a report in the scientific publication Toxicon.
The Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Center (KSRIC) is working to change that. The KSRIC hopes to have East Africa’s first antivenom medication on the market within five years. It estimates the cost will be about 30 percent of an imported product, which often sells for about US $ 30.
More than 70, 000 people are bitten in East Africa each year. Climate change and deforestation are worsening the problem as snakes get pushed out of natural surroundings into populated areas.
Nearly 100 snakes live at the research center in a forest near Nairobi. Researchers take venom from snakes and study it before injecting small amounts into other animals, such as sheep. The animals then create antibodies that can be made into antivenom.
“Up to now, no one has made any kind of antivenom in Kenya,’’ said Geoffrey Maranga Kepha, a senior snake handler.
Two effective antivenoms are available in Kenya, from India and Mexico, the center says.
The center is teaching communities that using antivenom immediately after receiving a snakebite can save lives, said head researcher George Adinoh.
“After seeing how people died in Kenya from snakebites I decided to devote my life to coming up with a rescue measure that will help or prevent people from dying from snakebites,” snake handler Kepha added.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By telling a story. | B．By listing figures. |
| C．By referririg to documents. | D．By making a comparison. |
| A．She couldn’t afford any modern treatment. |
| B．She lived where antivenom medication is not available. |
| C．The traditional way is very effective to treat snakebites. |
| D．She believed a traditional healer could cure her daughter. |
| A．Lack of antivenom medication. |
| B．Environmental damage and climate change. |
| C．People’s low awareness of the danger of snakes. |
| D．People’s pursuit of traditional cures for snakebites. |
| A．It is taken from antibodies of sheep. |
| B．There is only one effective antivenom available. |
| C．KSRIC is trying to develop a local antivenom now. |
| D．People refuse to use antivenom after being bitten by snakes. |
