The Apgar Test The baby was born at 3:36 p. m. At 3:37, she scored 4 out of 10 on her first test. At 3:41, she scored 8 out of 10. The doctor was glad. Another baby, born at 8:24 p. m., scored 3 out of 10 on his first test. He scored 4 out of 10 on his second test. He took another test at 8:34 and scored 5. ___1___ He called for help1. These newborn babies took a test called the Apgar test. This test helps doctors diagnose problems. ___2___ Most babies take two tests. The first is at 1 minute after birth, and the second is at 5 minutes after birth. If a baby’s score at 5 minutes is less than 6, the baby takes another test at 10 minutes after birth. The Apgar test is not an intelligence test. It’s a test that shows a baby’s health right after it is born. The Apgar test measures things such as a baby’s color, heart rate, and breathing. The test has five parts, and the score for each part can be 0, 1, or 2. ___3___ A doctor named Virginia Apgar developed the test. Apgar went to medical school at Columbia University in New York City in 1929. She faced many challenges because she was the first woman in the program. However, she was one of the best students in her class. After medical school, she started treating patients2. Apgar also became a researcher in anesthesiology, a new topic in medicine at the time3. During her studies, she learned how to give patients anesthesia. ___4___ In the 1940s, many women started to have anesthesia when they gave birth. Apgar had a question: How does anesthesia affect newborn babies? In 1949, when Apgar was a professor at Columbia’s medical school, she created her simple test. She wrote a paper about her methods in 1953. Soon after, people started using the Apgar test around the world. In her work, Apgar saw that many newborns had problems. She wanted to help these babies survive. She stopped practicing medicine in 1959, and she went back to school to get a master’s degree in public health. ___5___ Today, the Apgar test is still used all over the world. Newborn babies don’t know it, but Virginia Apgar is a very important person in the first few minutes of their lives. 词汇： diagnose /'dai gn uz/ vt. & vi. 诊断(疾病) anesthesiology /, nis,θizi’ l d i/ n. 麻醉学 anesthesia /, nis'θizi / n. 麻醉 注释： 1. called for help：需要帮助，求救。call for：需要，要求，提倡；来找(某人)，来取(某物)。 2. she started treating patients：她开始治疗病人。treat sb.有三种意思，分别是“对待某人”“治疗某人”和“款待某人”。treat作“治疗”讲，是普通用语的治疗，意义广泛，cure多用于疾病方面，heal多用于创伤或外伤方面。 3. at the time：当时，在那时。同义短语有at that point, at that time, on the occasion。 练习： A Doctors add the scores together for the total Apgar score. B She spent the rest of her life doing research and raising money to help newborn babies. C A score of 10 is uncommon. D The doctor was worried. E They decide if a baby is normal or needs special care. F Anesthesia is a procedure that makes patients lose consciousness, so they do not feel any pain during surgery.
答案与题解： 1. D 由第二段的前半部分可知这个婴儿三次健康测试的分数都不理想，而且最后一句提到他需要救助，说明他的情况不容乐观，所以医生应该担心。因此，答案为D。 2. E 第三段中第二句话提到这项测试帮助医生诊断新生儿的问题，即医生可以根据测试结果判断新生儿的健康状况。因此，答案为E。 3. A 顺承本段倒数第二句的句意可知选项A和选项C都可以，但选项C说10分的成绩不常见，这一点由全文其他地方推断不出来。因此，答案为A。 4. F 本段第二句话最后提到阿普加学习给病人实施麻醉，而选项F讲的是麻醉是什么，正好与本段第二句话句意吻合。因此,答案为F。 5. B 本段主要讲的是阿普加帮助新生儿的愿望以及她为此所做的努力，纵观六个选项符合段意的只有选项B。因此，答案为B。 阿普加测试 下午3:36，一个婴儿出生了。3:37时，她的第一次健康测试成绩是4分（总分10分）。3:41时，她的成绩是8分，医生感到非常高兴。 另一天晚上8:24，另外一个婴儿出生了。他的第一次测试成绩是3分，第二次成绩是4分。8:34时又进行了一次测试，成绩是5分。医生非常担心，这个婴儿需要救助。 这些新生儿进行的是一项叫作阿普加的测试。这项测试帮助医生诊断新生儿的问题，他们根据测试成绩判断新生儿是正常的还是需要特殊护理。大多数的婴儿会接受两次测试。第一次是在出生后1分钟，第二次是在出生后5分钟。如果婴儿在第二次测试中的成绩少于6分，那他们需要在出生10分钟后再进行一次测试。 阿普加测试不是一项智力测试。它是一项在婴儿出生后表明其健康状况的测试。这项测试会测量诸如婴儿的皮肤颜色、心率、呼吸一类的项目，总共包括五部分，每一部分的成绩可以是0分、1分或2分。医生把每一部分的成绩加起来就是这项测试的总分。 一位名叫弗吉尼亚 阿普加的医生设计了这项测试。1929年，阿普加去纽约的哥伦比亚大学医学院就读。由于是这个学科里的第一位女性，使她面临了许多挑战。然而，她却是班上最好的学生之一。完成医学院的学业后，她开始给患者治疗。 阿普加还是麻醉学方面的研究者，当时麻醉学是一项新的医学课题。在求学过程中，她学会了如何给患者实施麻醉。麻醉会使病人失去意识，因而他们在手术过程中不会感到任何疼痛。 20世纪40年代，许多妇女在分娩时开始使用麻醉。但阿普加有个疑问：麻醉是如何影响新生儿的呢 1949年，当阿普加在哥伦比亚医学院担任教授时，她创造了这项简单测试。1953年，她写了一篇关于该测试方法的论文。不久之后，人们开始在世界范围内使用阿普加测试。 在工作中，阿普加发现许多新生儿都有健康问题。她想帮助这些新生儿活下来。1959年，她中止了行医，回到学校攻读公共卫生硕士学位。她把自己的余生都奉献给了医学研究以及筹集资金帮助新生儿。 今天，阿普加测试仍然在全世界范围内被广泛运用。虽然新生儿们并不知道，但弗吉尼亚 阿普加却是他们生命的前几分钟里非常重要的一个人。
