Ⅲ. Reading Comprehension
(A)
Measles cases in the U.S. have hit a 25-year high, with 78 new infections in the
past week alone. In a sign of the times, a cruise ship with hundreds of Scientologists
on board was quarantined in St. Lucia after one passenger was diagnosed with the
disease. It’s the sort of news you can expect when parents stop vaccinating their
children, which many did from the 1990s onwards for fear that scientists were foisting
remedies on them that were more dangerous than the diseases themselves.
As society has become ever more convenient, hygienic and wrapped in cling film,
many hark back with dewy eyes to the natural and supposedly wholesome lifestyles of
our ancestors in pre-industrial times. Besides the fear around vaccines, growing
numbers of people put their faith in the organic movement, the anti-GM lobby, and
New Age philosophies. They have increasingly rejected the ability of science to
improve our lives, placing an almost religious trust in the benevolence of Mother
Nature instead.
Coupled with this is a very positive view of evolution. It is seen as a caring and
compassionate force which has shaped us and the rest of the natural world. It almost
seems that there is the growing belief that if natural evolution were left to its own
devices, then everything would work out for the best.
But this idea of evolution as benign is extraordinarily wide of the mark.
Evolution is a brutal and uncaring, even obscene opponent, which the medical world
is constantly trying to out-maneuver and overcome. Perhaps because of the brilliance
of Charles Darwin’s theory, evolution has been getting an easy ride for far too long.
It’s time we started facing the truth about what it really means—before it eats any
more of our children.
【題組】65. Which of the following is NOT a reason for parents to stop vaccinating their children?
(A) They do not have faith in scientific approaches.
(B) They believe that more scientific, hygienic remedies will be given.
(C) They believe that the disease can be cured in a natural way.
(D) They fear that the vaccine itself could be dangerous to children.