专八考试：阅读理解之健康类（2）

Prof. Raisman of UCL said few people, even doctors, were aware that around half of all patients who become paralysed will walk again no matter what treatment they have. He questioned whether the improvements in the paralysed rats might in part be due to spontaneous recovery— neuroplasticity—rather than the combination of interventions.

Prof. Raisman is now conducting trials with paralysed patients in Poland, who are all at least 18 months post-injury which removes any doubt that spontaneous repair may be the cause of any improvement.

From BBC, June 1, 2012

1. Which of the following statements about spinal cord is TRUE?

A. The cars travel up and down on spinal cord.

B. Spinal cord carries messages from one’s brain to all parts of the body.

C. When the spinal cord gets damaged, the patient will become paralysed.

D. When severed, the spinal cord is impossible to be repaired.

2. According to Professor Geoff Raisman, a therapy for paralyzed patients is ______.

A. proven B. diffi cult and complex C. questionable D. reliable

3. Prof. Courtine’s attitude towards the Swiss experiments is ______.

A. optimistic B. doubtful C. ambiguous D. critical

4. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. this technique defi nitely works in long-term spinal injuries

B. contusion/compression type injuries involve blunt trauma, bruising and compression of the spinal cord

C. many spinal nerve cells and long range nerve fi bres have died or degenerated in the spinal cord

D. the trials conducted by Prof. Raisman may prove that the improvements are not due to spontaneous repair