Multivitamins Urged for All Pregnant Women
A recent study in Tanzania found that when pregnant women took vitamins every day, fewer babies were born too small. Babies that weigh less than two and one-half kilograms at birth have a greater risk of dying. Those that survive are more likely to experience problems with their development. And experts say that as adults they have a higher risk of diseases including heart disease and diabetes. The World Health Organization1 estimates that every year twenty million babies are born with low birth weight. Nine out of ten of them are born in developing countries.
The new study took place in Dares Salaam. 4, 200 pregnant women received multivitamins. The pills contained all of the vitamins in the B group along with2 vitamins C and E. They also contained several times more iron and folate than the levels advised for women in developed nations. Pregnant women especially in poor countries may find it difficult to get enough vitamins and minerals from the foods in their diet.
The scientists compared the findings with results from a group of 4,000 women who did not receive the vitamins. A report by the scientists, from the United States and Tanzania, appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. 3 Wafaie Fawzi of the Harvard University School of Public Health4 led the study. None of the women in the study had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The scientists reported earlier that daily multivitamins were a low-cost way to reduce fetal deaths in pregnant women infected with5 HIV. The earlier work in Tanzania also found improvement in the mothers in their number of blood cells known as lymphocytes. Lymphocytes increase the bodys immunity against infection.
The new study in pregnant women who were not infected with the AIDS virus found that multivitamins reduced the risk of low birth weight. Just under eight percent of the babies born to women who took the multivitamins weighed less than 2,500 grams. The rate was almost nine and one-half percent in the group of women who received a placebo, an inactive pill, instead of the vitamins. But the vitamins did not do much to reduce the rates of babies being born too early or dying while still a fetus. Still, the researchers say multivitamins should be considered for all pregnant women in developing countries.
练习:
1. How many babies are born with low birth weight in the developed countries every year according to WHO?
A 20,000,000.
B 18,000,000.
C 2,000,000.
D 38,000,000.
2. A pill of multivitamins may contain all of the following substances EXCEPT
A all vitamins in the B group.
B vitamins C and E.
C much iron and folate.
D antiviral substances.
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the effects of multivitamins mentioned in the passage?
A To reduce the rate of babies born too early.
B To reduce the risk of low birth weight.
C To reduce fetal deaths in pregnant women infected with HIV.
D To increase the number of lymphocytes in mothers blood.
4. What a role do lymphocytes play in the human body?
A To reduce the rate of dying while still a fetus.
B To raise the bodys immunity against infection.
C To help prevent the development of heart disease.
D To help prevent the development of diabetes.
5. How many percent of babies were born with low birth weight to women who were not infected with the AIDS virus and took the multivitamins according to a new study?
A Less than8%.
B About 9.5%.
C 1.5%.
D 17.5%.
答案与题解：
1.C 第一段最后两句说到，WHO估计每年有2000万出生婴儿体重过低，其中十个中有九个生于发展中国家，可见发达国家只占十分之一，故应是200万。
2.D 文章第二段第二、三句已经说明，选项A、B、C均是多种维生素片所含的物质，只有D项没有提及，而且也不可能。
3.A 关于多种维生素制剂的作用，B项在第四段第二句提到，C项在第三段倒数第三句提到， D项在第三段最后两句提到，只有A项在第四段倒数第二句中提到它时却说维生素对它不起什么作用。
4.B 第三段最后一句是文章中唯一一句说明淋巴细胞在身体中的作用的句子，故是正确答案，其他A、C、D三项都与淋巴细胞无关。
5.A 第四段第一句和第二句已经将本题答案说得很清楚，其中的just under eight percent 正是A项的less than 8%。