英语阅读理解 Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation. Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things.
At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being outright(立刻地，完全地) by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be significant. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and if they are killed outright. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in a deformed way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years.
This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak or liable to serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.
41. According to the passage, the danger of nuclear power lies in _________.
A. nuclear mysteryB. radiation detectionC. radiation levelD. nuclear radiation
42. Radiation can cause serious consequences even at the lowest level _________.
A. when it kills few cells B. if it damages few cells
C. though the damaged cells can repair themselves
D. unless the damaged cells can reproduce themselves
43. The word “significant” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _________.
A. remarkableB. meaningfulC. fatal D. harmful
44. Radiation can hurt us in all the following ways except that it can _________.
A. kill large numbers of cells in main organs so as to cause death immediately
B. damage cells which may grow into cancer years later
C. affect the healthy growth of our offspring
D. hit a few cells of the human body and kill them completely
45. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. The importance of protection from radiation is over-emphasized.
B. The mystery about radiation remains unsolved. C. Cancer is mainly caused by radiation.
D. Radiation can hurt those who are not aware of its danger.
| 
| 