Lung Cancer
1. The death rate due to cancer of the lungs has increased more than 800 percent in males and has more than doubled in females during the last 25 years. It is considerably higher in urban and industrial areas than in rural districts. There are many possible causes, but it is still controversial which are most blameworthy. Those factors which have been mentioned most frequently are the presence of foreign particles and other irritants in the air (smoke particles, smog, exhaust fumes), and the smoking of cigarettes and cigars.
2. Numerous studies have demonstrated a striking correlation between the death rate from lung cancer and smoking habits. Among heavy smokers —21 to 30 cigarettes per day —the mortality rate from lung cancer is nearly 17 times the rate from nonsmokers. It is expected the death rate among women will increase as the present high rate of smoking among women has its effect.
3. Sometimes cases of lung cancer are discovered at the time an x-ray is taken for the purpose of detecting tuberculosis. Too often, however, a current emphasis upon the danger of exposure to radiation1 from X-ray machines can frighten people away from routine chest X-rays and thus prevent an early diagnosis of lung cancer. Early detection is absolutely essential if any possibility of cure is to be maintained2. Modern X-ray machines in competent hands pose such slight danger, at least to those over 40 years of age, that this would be much more than offset by the advantages of discovering a tumor while it is small enough to be completely removed.3
4. A common form of lung cancer is bronchogenic carcinoma4, so-called because the malignancy originates in5 a bronchus. The tumor may grow until the bronchus is blocked, cutting off6 the supply of air to that lung. The lung then collapses, and the secretions trapped in the lung spaces become infected, with a resulting pneumonia or the formation of a lung abscess. Such a lung cancer can also spread to cause secondary growths in the lymph nodes7 of the chest and neck as well as in the brain and other parts of the body. The only treatment that offers a possibility of cure, before secondary growths have had time to form, is to remove the lung completely. This operation is called pneumonectomy.
5. Malignant tumors of the stomach, the breast, the prostate gland8 and other organs may spread to the lungs, causing secondary growths.
词汇：
blameworthy 该受责备的 bronchus.支气管
irritant刺激物;adj.有刺激性的 smog烟雾
secretion .分泌(作用);分泌物 fume (浓烈或难闻的)烟;气
pneumonia .肺炎 correlation 相关,关联
abscess 脓肿 mortality 死亡率
pneumonectomy 肺切除术 tuberculosis 结核病
malignant 恶性的,有害的
注释：
1.exposure to radiation:接触放射线
2.if any possibility of cure is to be maintained:如果想要保持治愈的可能性的话。这里的is是情态动词,与不定式连用(be to do sth.)表示“想要、打算、约定、职责、义务”等意思。
3.Modern X-ray machines... to be completely removed.合格的技师操作现代的X光机所产生的危险微乎其微(至少对年龄超过40岁的人来说如此)，相对于它能尽早发现一个较小的、能被彻底切除的肿瘤这个优点来说,这点危险可以忽略不计。此句中运用了such... that...这样的呼应关系，that引导的从句为程度状语从句。offset意为“补偿,抵消”。
4.bronchogenic carcinoma：支气管癌。carcinoma指上皮细胞所形成的恶性肿瘤，sarcoma指非上皮细胞所形成的恶性肿瘤,而所有恶性肿瘤都可称cancer或malignancy 。
5.originate in/from:起源于,发生于
6.cut off:切断
7.the lymph node:淋巴结
8.the prostate gland:前列腺
练习：
1.Paragraph l __________
2.Paragraph 2 __________
3.Paragraph 3 __________
4.Paragraph 4 __________
A Common Secondary Lung Cancers
B The Advantages Brought about by Routine Chest Checkup
C Relationship Between Mortality Rate from Lung Cancer and Smoking Habits
D Operable and Inoperable Lung Cancers
E The Increasing Death Rate from Lung Cancer and Possible Causes
F An Ordinary Type of Lung Cancer
5.Routine X-ray chest examination is not so dangerous __________.
6.A primary lung cancer patient may be cured by removing the lung completely __________.
7.People are still not sure __________.
8.The more cigarettes one smokes, __________.
A before the cancer cells spread elsewhere
B the more chances of dying of X-ray radiation he will have
C what is most responsible for lung cancer
D as some people imagine
E the more chances of getting lung cancer he will have
F which form of lung cancer is a common one
答案与题解：
1.E第一段谈到了在过去25年中肺癌死亡率男性增加了八倍多,而女性则增加一倍多;城市和工业区比农村要高得多。然后又列出了可能造成这种情况的一些原因,故E为最佳答案。
2.C 第二段第一句就指出了抽烟与肺癌死亡率之间的相互关系,后面两句对此作了具体说明。
3.B第三段第一句说有时肺癌是在进行X光检查结核病时发现的,随后论述了常规X光检査利大于弊,故B为正确选项。
4.F第四段第一句就说支气管(源性的)癌是常见的一种肺癌,后面又对这种癌作了详细的介绍,故F为正确答案。
5.D第三段第二句说有的人因怕X射线辐射而不敢进行胸透,但作者在后面又说明了胸透对早期发现肺癌的益处以及熟练的操作人员不会给患者带来多大危害,故不像人们想象的那样可怕。
6.A此题答案在第四段倒数第二句,该句说可能治愈的唯一方法就是在继发肿瘤出现之前将该肺全部切除。
7.C第一段第三句说可能有许多原因,但什么是最主要的仍有争论。选项C中的responsiblb for在医学文献中常用来指某病的原因。
8.E根据第二段第二句所说,烟瘾大的人(每天抽21～30根香烟)肺癌的死亡率几乎是不抽烟者的17倍,故可以得出此结论。
译文：肺癌
在过去的25年中，男性肺癌的死亡率增加了8倍多，而女性则增加1倍多;城市和工业区要比农村高得多。究其原因，有很多可能性因素。但是哪些因素最为致病还存在很大分歧。频繁提到的因素是接触异质颗粒和空气中其他刺激物(烟尘、烟雾、废烟废气)，以及抽烟和吸雪茄。
一系列研究表明，肺癌的死亡率与吸烟的习惯之间存在着明显的关系。在那些每天抽21~30根香烟的烟瘾大的人当中，肺癌死亡率几乎是不吸烟者的17倍。在目前相当比例女性吸烟的作用下，女性死亡率即将增高。
有时肺癌是在进行X射线检查结核病时发现的。但是，当前强调接触X射线机的放射线的危险常常也使得人们不敢去做常规的胸部X射线检查，从而不能早期对肺癌作出诊断。如果想要保持治愈可能的话，今早发现绝对必要。现代的X射线机由有技能的人来操作，它对40岁以上的人所产生的危险如此之小，以至于其危险不仅可以为其能发现一个很小的、可以彻底切除的肿瘤这个有点所抵消，甚至还要更好。
肺癌的常见类型为支气管癌，之所以这样称呼是因为恶性肿瘤产生于支气管内。肿瘤会一直长到支气管堵塞，切断了空气向肺的供给。然后肺衰竭，肺腔内的分泌物被感染，导致肺炎和肺脓肿。这种肺癌也会扩散，在胸部和颈部淋巴结、脑部以及身体的其他部位继发再生。可能治愈的唯一方法就是在继发肿瘤出现之前将肺全部切除。该手术叫做肺切除术。
胃部、胸部、前列腺及其他器官的肿瘤也将扩散到肺部，造成继发。
