The Spanish Flu Epidemic

If you’re worried about the possibility of a coming bird flu epidemic, you can take comfort in the fact that humanity has survived a similar influenza epidemic in the past. Starting its rounds at the end of World War I, the 1918 flu killed an estimated 50 million people.

Popularly known as the Spanish Flu, this type of influenza was far worse than your common cold. Normally, influenza only kills those who are more vulnerable to disease, such as newborns, the old or the sick. However, the Spanish Flu was prone to killing the young and healthy. Often it would disable its victims in hours; within a day, they would be dead, typically from extreme cases of pneumonia(肺炎).

The Spanish Flu was quite nasty-fast-spreading and deadly. It managed to spread across the globe, devastating the world. Then suddenly, after two years ravaging(蹂躪)the Earth, it disappeared as quickly as it had arisen.

Despite its nickname, the Spanish Flu did not originate in Spain. Its true origins are unknown. Some believe it started in US forts and then spread to Europe as America joined the war; others think that it populated the trenches of the English and the French and eventually broke out in 1918. Regardless of where it started, eventually a fifth of the world population suffered the disease, with a global mortality rate(死亡率)estimated at 2.5% of the population.

Modernity was partly to blame for the quick spread of the disease. It passed throughout the world on trade routes and shipping lines. It hit Northern America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the South Pacific. The war did not help at all-the movement of supplies and troops aided the spread of the Spanish Flu, as well as the trench warfare. Imagine the speed at which a virus can spread in a crowded ditch. The fast emergence of the virus in the trenches caused some soldiers to believe that the Spanish Flu was a new form of biological warfare.

Luckily, the Spanish Flu simply vanished by 1920. It is believed the flu simply ran out of fuel to spread.

1. The Spanish Flu started during World War I.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

2.The Spanish Flu posed a greater threat to the old and the sick.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

3.As the Spanish Flu was spreading, people in Australia were worried.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

4.The Spanish Flu disappeared two years after it broke out.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

5.The Spanish Flu was named after the place where it started.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

6.About half of the people in the world suffered from the Spanish Flu.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

7.Biological warfare originated in the 20th century.

A. Right

B.Wrong

C. Not mentioned

答案：1 A 2 B 3C 4A 5 B 6 B 7 C

針對(duì)2014年職稱英語(yǔ)考試備考，總有另考生束手無(wú)策的疑難問(wèn)題。例如，對(duì)于想?yún)⒓?a title="2014年職稱英語(yǔ)考試" target="_blank" href="http://m.h3765.cn/zc/" class="blue">2014年職稱英語(yǔ)考試的新考生來(lái)說(shuō)，2014年職稱英語(yǔ)報(bào)名條件、職稱英語(yǔ)考試科目等考試信息，你是否想詳細(xì)咨詢一下？如果你有意向參加中大網(wǎng)校職稱英語(yǔ)考試培訓(xùn)，職稱英語(yǔ)輔導(dǎo)優(yōu)惠方案你是否想了解一下？在聽(tīng)課過(guò)程中，如果你對(duì)某一個(gè)知識(shí)點(diǎn)有疑問(wèn)等，諸如此類的問(wèn)題和疑惑，你都可以通過(guò)職稱英語(yǔ)考試你問(wèn)我答平臺(tái)，發(fā)起你的疑問(wèn)，屆時(shí)，中大網(wǎng)校職稱英語(yǔ)培訓(xùn)顧問(wèn)及資深命題專家將在第一時(shí)間解答你的疑問(wèn)。中大網(wǎng)校考試知道，總有人知道你問(wèn)題的答案，詳情請(qǐng)查看>>