题目内容：

    Feeling achy and feverish? Your misery has plenty of company. By the end of December, the tally (计数器) of flu-like illnesses in the state exceeded the peaks in the two previous seasons, when the biggest number of cases occurred in February and March. This time, the flu virus seems to be hitting even harder.

Flu is unique among human diseases. It circulates constantly in cool and dry areas. Because it spreads from person to person and can be picked up easily, nearly everyone is exposed. While it’s unclear whether the annual flu epidemic (流行病) will worsen this year, or just arrived earlier, fears have been increased by the severity of flu in Australia during its most recent season and the fact that the vaccine may protect against the predominant (盛行的) kind of the flu only 30 percent of the time.

Despite the worries, doctors and public health officials say there is no evidence that people are getting sicker than usual. Flu cases in Massachusetts started rising around Thanksgiving and increased steadily, with an especially steep climb in the last week of the year. “This is a bad flu season but not a horrible one,” said Dr. Andrew G. Villanueva, a lung specialist and chief quality officer at the Lahey Hospital & Medieal Centre in Burlington.

The flu season, while clearly in full swing, doesn’t “feel different” from previous years, Villanueva said. “We’re not seeing a lot of people being hospitalized because of flu,” he said. “Most people with the flu recover on their own without medical care.”

1.What’s the function of the first paragraph?

A.A lead-in. B.A comment. C.A summary. D.A background.

2.What can be learned about the flu this year according to the text?

A.The outbreak of the flu is terrible.

B.The flu has arrived earlier than before.

C.The vaccine against the nu is highly effective.

D.Everyone feels horrible at the mention of the flu.

3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 mean?

A.Crowded B.Changeable C.Permanent D.Active

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A.To explain what flu is.

B.To rid people of flu panic.

C.To warn readers of how serious the flu is.

D.To inform readers how to prevent the flu.