DAY27
Increasing reading speed
Directions： Do the phrase recognition drill below． Ｑuickly underline or mark the key phrase every time it appears in the columns． Try to finish in 10 seconds or less by reading down the column， not left to right．
Starting Time ：
Key phrase： the panels chairmanthe panels chairmanthe deputy chairman
the former chairman the panels chairman
the present chairman the partys chairman
the panels chairman the elected chairman
the young chairman the panels chairman
the respected woman the first chairwoman
the panels chairman the consumer panel
the beloved chairman the panels chairman
the Madame chairman the late chairwoman
the panels chairman the temporary seaman
the panel discussion the panels chairman
the vicechairwoman the committee woman
the panels chairman the appointed chairman
the great chairman the panels chairman
Finishing Time： Total Reading Time
Check each line very carefully． Ｋey phrase appears 10 times．
Trying to Fool the InfertileIt was only eleven years ago that Louise Brown became the first baby to start life outside a mothers womb. Since then， the business of invitro fertilization — conception in a test tube — has grown even faster than Louise has. Some 200 IVF clinics have sprung up in the U.S.， and they have been responsible for more than 5，000 births. The surging demand stems from the high incidence of infertility： about 1 married couple in 12 has not been able to conceive a child despite a year of trying. IVF dangles one last shred of hope before some of these 2.4 million couples.
But the procedure remains an expensive long shot， as it fails perhaps 85% of the time. This week the House Subcommittee on Regulation， Business Opportunities and Energy will hold hearings to investigate growing complaints that many heavily promoted IVF clinics misrepresent their success rates. The panels chairman， Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden， intends to reveal an industry survey showing that the performance of IVF practitioners varies enormously. According to Wyden， half the IVF clinics have yet to achieve a birth， though they may charge up to $ 7，000 for each fertilization attempt. Says the Congressman： “With millions of couples， many of them desperate， spending huge sums of money on technology that has been sold through borderline advertising， youve got a prescription for disaster.”
The toprated clinics can honestly boast that up to 17% of their patients become parents as a result of IVF. But some lesser operations apparently cite similar potential success rates in their comeons， even though their own performance may be far worse. Says Geoffrey Sher， medical director of San Franciscos Pacific Fertility Centers， “The consumer is in the dark. A startling number of programs have never had a single baby born， and they are still quoting statistics.” Doctors can start up clinics even if they have little experience or specialized training. “Its very easy for the medical profession to take advantage of infertile couples because they so desperately want children，” observes Carol Peters， chairman of the Texasbased advocates for Parenthood， a political action group.
Some couples are bitter about their experience with IVF. One 29yearold woman in Dallas underwent several unsuccessful IVF attempts at a total cost of some $17，000. She complains that her doctor never told her that his success rate had dropped from 25% to 5% or that the clinics new embryologist had never helped produce a birth. Says the woman： “I put trust in people， and that doesnt work. I have this desire so bad for a baby， I would do anything to make it work， and I find out Ive been ripped off the whole time.”
The industry insists that most customers are not cheated because they are told their chances of having a baby are slim. And many fertility specialists doubt that misleading advertising is as prevalent as Wyden claims. In fact， his assertion that half the clinics have never had a birth may be overstated because at least some of them have not been open long enough for a patient to complete a pregnancy.
But there is no denying Wydens contention that the industry has “virtually no oversight.” He will soon introduce legislation requiring that IVF labs be certified by the government. In the meantime， Wyden will publish his survey， listing clinics， the qualifications of their personnel， and their success rate. The report could become a much needed consumers guide to IVF. In Wydens view， if a husband and wife put down $ 7，000， they have a right to know what chance they have of getting a joyous return on their investment.
——from Time， Ｍarch 13， 1989
Time： 613 Words＝wpm
minutes
EXERCISESⅠ． READING COＭPREＨENSION
Select the answer which is most accurate according to the information given in the passage．
1. According to the passage， Louise Brown was the first baby .
A. who was borne by another woman rather than her mother
B. who was conceived， strangely enough， just outside her mothers womb
C. who could take care of herself the day she was born
D. whose life form began outside her mothers body via invitro fertilization
2. Since the time when the first testtube baby was born， about 200 IVF clinics have been set up， which .
A. have helped produce over 5，000 births
B. have been obliged to make more than 5，000 fertilization attempts
C. have been designed to have at least 5，000 babies born
D. have promised to help more than 5，000 women who cannot conceive a baby naturally
3. According to Mr. Wyden， half the IVF clinics .
A. have once succeeded in having a baby born
B. have not achieved the legal right to open their practices
C. have never had a single success in their fertilization attempts
D. have not yet been visited by any infertile couples
4. Lesser operations （paragraph 3）are operations which are .
A. fewer in numberB. inferior in quality
C. simpler in procedure D. minor in importance
5. A large number of IVF programs have not succeeded yet， and they are still .
A. analyzing statistics of infertility
B. publishing statistics to show the possible causes of their failures
C. making up statistics of nonexisting successes
D. citing potential success rates that may be achieved in future
6. Practitioners can open IVF clinics .
A. only after they have undergone specialized training
B. after they have worked as residents for two years
C. even without a license
D. even though they have hardly any experience or training in this field
7. What does the 29yearold woman （paragraph 4） find out at last？
A. Her doctor has cheated her out of her money.
B. It is a waste of time to undergo any IVF attempts in that clinic.
C. Her opportunities of bearing a child are slim.
D. None of the above.
8. Wydens report will become an important reference book for the infertile because it will list and a customer can .
A. all the clinics in the U. S. A. ...“choose the one closest to her home”
B. each clinics success rates... select the most reliable clinic
C. each clinics operation fee... choose the cheapest clinic
D. the time when each clinic started... know which clinic is the most experienced in the field
Ⅱ． CONTEＸTUAL REFERENCE
Read the following article and figure out the meaning of each word in italics using the context given and wordbuilding skills．
The worlds first testtube baby was born in July， 1978 in Britain. Since then about 20 others have been born， mostly in Britain and Australia. And more than 60 women are pregnant and expecting a testtube baby within the next few months.
Doctors say they have learned a great deal since the first testtube birth. They have made some major improvements in their methods. And they believe the laboratory testtube technique may soon become simple and common.
The technique is not always successful. Sometimes the egg is not fertilized by the sperm. Often the fertilized egg does not develop in the mothers womb， or it is reｊected after a short time.
Still， the British medical publication “Lancet” reports that the technique now leads to a normal birth almost 10 percent of the time. Doctors say the testtube technique also appears to be as safe as natural fertilization. Only one testtube baby bas been born with a birth defect. A boy in Australia was born with a heart that will have to be fixed in a medical operation when he is older.
Doctors believe the laboratory technique offers great hofe to men and women who cannot have babies normally. In the United States， they say it could help as many as 600，000 couples.
But many persons strongly oppose using the testtube techniques. For example， some American religious leaders charge that the doctors are violating the laws of nature.
Other opponents note that the world has only limited amounts of food， fuel and other raw materials for its rapidly growing population. Because of this， they say， many nations now have major problems to limit the number of births. And they question that the same time other countries should support programs that increase the number of babies.
——from Ｖoice of America， Jan. 13， 1982
Ⅲ． CLOＺE
Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks with appropriate words．
Americas first so called testtube baby was born recently. The baby， a girl， 1 more than two and a half kilograms and she is 2 to be in perfect health. Doctors say the 3 is another sign of progress 4 their effort to help men and women 5 cannot have children 6.
The testtube technique is designed to 7 women who have damaged or 8 Fallopian tubes. These tubes normally 9 the egg cell from a 10 ovaries to the uterus. And normally the male 11 fertilizes the egg when the two cells 12 in the tube.
In the laboratory test 13 technique doctors first remove an 14 from the mother and keep it for five or six hours 15 a special fluid. Then sperm 16 the father are put 17 the egg. And doctors watch 18 up to one day to see if the egg has 19 fertilized.
A fertilized egg is kept in the laboratory for up to two days 20 it has divided into four or eight separate cells. Then the egg is returned to the mothers body through the cervix so it can connect to the wall of the womb and develop normally.
