The Affect of Electricity on Cancer

Can electricity cause cancer? In a society that literally runs onelectric power, the very idea seems preposterous. But for morethan a decade, a growing band of scientists and journalists haspointed to studies that seem to link exposure to electromagneticfields with increased risk of leukemia and other malignancies. Theimplications are unsettling, to say the least, since everyonecomes into contact with such fields, which are generated by everything electrical, from power linesand antennas to personal computers and micro-wave ovens. Because evidence on the subject isinconclusive and often contradictory, it has been hard to decide whether concern about the healtheffects of electricity is legitimate—or the worst kind of paranoia.

Now the alarmists have gained some qualified support from the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency. In the executive summary of a new scientific review, released in draft form late last week,the EPA has put forward what amounts to the most serious government warning to date. Theagency tentatively concludes that scientific evidence “suggests a casual link” between extremelylow-frequency electromagnetic fields—those having very longwave-lengths—and leukemia,lymphoma and brain cancer, While the report falls short of classifying ELF fields as probablecarcinogens, it does identify the common 60-hertz magnetic field as “a possible, but not proven,cause of cancer in humans.”

The report is no reason to panic—or even to lost sleep. If there is a cancer risk, it is a small one.The evidence is still so controversial that the draft stirred a great deal of debate within the BushAdministration, and the EPA released it over strong objections from the Pentagon and the WhitHouse. But now no one can deny that the issue must be taken seriously and that much moreresearch is needed.

At the heart of the debate is a simple and well-understood physical phenomenon: When an electriccurrent passes through a wire, tit generates an electromagnetic field that exerts forces onsurrounding objects, For many years, scientists dismissed any suggestion that such forces mightbe harmful, primarily because they are so extraordinarily weak. The ELF magnetic field generatedby a video terminal measures only a few milligauss, or about one-hundredth the strength of theearth’s own magnetic field, The electric fields surrounding a power line can be as high as 10 kilovoltsper meter, but the corresponding field induced in human cells will be only about 1 millivolt permeter. This is far less than the electric fields that the cells themselves generate.

How could such minuscule forces pose a health danger? The consensus used to be that they couldnot, and for decades scientists concentrated on more powerful kinds of radiation, like X-rays, thatpack sufficient wallop to knock electrons out of the molecules that make up the human body.Such “ionizing” radiations have been clearly linked to increased cancer risks and there areregulations to control emissions.

But epidemiological studies, which find statistical associations between sets of data, do not provecause and effect. Though there is a body of laboratory work showing that exposure to ELF fieldscan have biological effects on animal tissues, a mechanism by which those effects could lead tocancerous growths has never been found.

The Pentagon is for from persuaded. In a blistering 33-page critique of the EPA report, Air Forcescientists charge its authors with having “biased the entire document” toward proving a link. “Ourreviewers are convinced that there is no suggestion that (electromagnetic fields) present in theenvironment induce or promote cancer,” the Air Force concludes. “It is astonishing that the EPAwould lend its imprimatur on this report.” Then Pentagon’s concern is understandable. There ishardly a unit of the modern military that does not depend on the heavy use of some kind ofelectronic equipment, from huge ground-based radar towers to the defense systems built intoevery warship and plane.

1. The main idea of this passage is
[A] studies on the cause of cancer
[B] controversial view-points in the cause of cancer
[C] the relationship between electricity and cancer.
[D] different ideas about the effect of electricity on caner.

2. The view-point of the EPA is
[A] there is casual link between electricity and cancer.
[B] electricity really affects cancer.
[C] controversial.
[D] low frequency electromagnetic field is a possible cause of cancer

3. Why did the Pentagon and Whit House object to the release of the report? Because
[A] it may stir a great deal of debate among the Bush Administration.
[B] every unit of the modern military has depended on the heavy use of some kind of electronicequipment.
[C] the Pentagon’s concern was understandable.
[D] they had different arguments.

4. It can be inferred from physical phenomenon
[A] the force of the electromagnetic field is too weak to be harmful.
[B] the force of the electromagnetic field is weaker than the electric field that the cells generate.
[C] electromagnetic field may affect health.
[D] only more powerful radiation can knock electron out of human body.

5. What do you think ordinary citizens may do after reading the different arguments?
[A] They are indifferent. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?[B] They are worried very much.
[C] The may exercise prudent avoidance. ?[D] They are shocked.

答案詳解（反白可見）：
1. D 電力對(duì)癌癥影響的不同觀點(diǎn)。文章一開始就提出了“電會(huì)致癌嗎？”這個(gè)問題。十多年來，一大批科學(xué)家和新聞界人士都指出：研究結(jié)果似乎表示：接觸電磁場(chǎng)可能會(huì)增加患白血病和其他惡性腫瘤的危險(xiǎn)性。所以說到目前為止還難以確定電力對(duì)健康的影響究竟是理性的，還是杞人憂天。見難句注釋1。第二段公布了環(huán)保署的報(bào)告，見難句注釋3。第三段說明：即使有致癌危險(xiǎn)也是極微的。但應(yīng)予以認(rèn)真對(duì)待，進(jìn)行更多的研究。而第七段中空軍方面的科學(xué)家還沒有被說服（見難句注釋9），明確提出，我們的評(píng)論員認(rèn)為沒有跡象說明環(huán)境中存在的電力會(huì)誘發(fā)或促發(fā)癌癥。
A. 對(duì)致癌因素的研究。 B. 致癌原因方面有爭(zhēng)議的觀點(diǎn)，這兩項(xiàng)根本部隊(duì)，和文內(nèi)電力毫無關(guān)系。 C. 電力和癌癥的關(guān)系，文中涉及的是電力究竟會(huì)不會(huì)致癌的兩種觀點(diǎn)，而不是兩者之關(guān)系。
2. A. 電和致癌有一定難以確定的關(guān)系。答案在第二段第三句，環(huán)保署目前的結(jié)論是據(jù)科學(xué)證據(jù)指出極低頻電磁場(chǎng)——具有長(zhǎng)波的電磁場(chǎng)——和白血病，淋巴瘤及腦癌之間有著難以確定的聯(lián)系，見難句注釋3。
A. 電確實(shí)致癌，不對(duì)。 C. 有爭(zhēng)議的。說的不夠清楚，爭(zhēng)議什么。 D. 低頻磁場(chǎng)是一個(gè)可能致癌因素。這只是論點(diǎn)的一面。
3. B. 現(xiàn)代軍事的任何部門都一直依賴于應(yīng)用大量應(yīng)用電子設(shè)備。五角大樓和白宮所以反對(duì)環(huán)保署公布報(bào)告之理由就在此。空軍方面的專家所以說環(huán)保署方面的報(bào)告“歪曲了整個(gè)文件以證明兩者之間的關(guān)系”也在此。見難句注釋4。所以文內(nèi)說“角大樓的關(guān)注是可以理解的?！?br> A. 報(bào)告會(huì)在布什政府內(nèi)引起大規(guī)模的辯論，這是結(jié)果。 C. 五角大樓的關(guān)注是可以理解的，這不是原因。 D. 他們有不同的觀點(diǎn)。
4. 磁場(chǎng)力太弱不會(huì)產(chǎn)生有害作用。答案在第四段第二，三句，當(dāng)電流通過電纜，產(chǎn)生磁場(chǎng)，對(duì)周圍物體產(chǎn)生（影響）力。許多年來，科學(xué)家把任何有關(guān)“這些力可能有害的想法”置于一邊（不予考慮），主要是因?yàn)樗鼈儯ㄋa(chǎn)生的力）非常弱。
B. 磁場(chǎng)力比細(xì)胞產(chǎn)生的電磁場(chǎng)弱。只是明確指出的事實(shí)。 C. 磁場(chǎng)力對(duì)人的健康有害。不對(duì)。 D. 只有更強(qiáng)的輻射才能把人體中的電子擊出來。不對(duì)。
5. C. 他們會(huì)采取謹(jǐn)慎小心避開電器的途徑。因?yàn)樗麄儾豢赡芟驛項(xiàng)那樣漠不關(guān)心。這種問題直接影響人的生命。
B. 他們非常擔(dān)憂。 D. 他們感到震驚，這兩項(xiàng)都不可能，因?yàn)檫€在爭(zhēng)議中，唯一的途徑是盡量避開和電器接觸。

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