题目内容：

Preparing for the Next Pandemic(大流行病)

Influenza pandemics have historically taken the world by surprise, giving health services little time to prepare for the abrupt increases in cases and deaths that characterize these events and make them so disruptive. Since late 2003, the world has moved closer to a pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century’s three pandemics occurred.

While neither the timing nor the severity of the next pandemic can be predicted, evidence that the virus is now endemic in bird populations means that the present level of risk will not be easily diminished.

The advance warning has brought an unheard-of opportunity to prepare for a pandemic and develop ways to mitigate its effects.

More countries now have pandemic preparedness plans: around one fifth of the world’s countries have some form of a response plan, but these vary greatly in comprehensiveness and stage of completion.

Access to antiviral drugs and, more importantly, to vaccines(疫苗) remains a challenging problem because of limited manufacturing capacity as well as costs.

The risk that a pandemic virus will emerge depends on opportunities for human exposure and infections. These opportunities will persist as long as the H5NI virus continues to circulate in animals. Control of the disease in animals is the main way to reduce opportunities for human infection and thus reduce opportunities for a pandemic virus to emerge.

While neither the timing nor the severity of the next pandemic can be predicted, history shows that these events consistently bring an explosive increase in the number of illnesses and deaths sufficient to temporarily paralyse public services and economic productivity.

1.From the first paragraph we know        .

A. There were three pandemics in the world last century.

B. At least three pandemics occurred to the world last century.

C. We are not sure how many pandemics there were in the world last century.

D. We are sure there were four pandemics in the world last century.

2.What does the underlined word “mitigate” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. Increase.

B. Reduce.

C. Evaluate.

D. Predict.

3.According to the author, how do we prevent the next pandemic?

A. To produce antiviral drugs.

B. To produce vaccines.

C. To control the disease.

D. To get rid of the H5N1 virus.

4.What’s the author’s attitude to the next pandemic?

A. Negative.

B. Indifferent.

C. Considerate.

D. Objective.