Want a glimpse of the future of health care? Take a look at the way the various networks of people involved in patient care are being connected to one another , and how this new connectivity is being exploited to deliver medicine to the patient — no matter where he or she may be .

Online doctors offering advice based on standardized symptoms are the most obvious example . Increasingly , however , remote diagnosis (telemedicine) will be based on real physiological data from the actual patient . A group from the University of Kentucky has shown that by using an off-the-shelf （現成的） PDA (personal data assistance) such as a Palm Pilot plus a mobile phone , it is perfectly feasible to transmit a patient's vital signs over the telephone . With this kind of equipment in a first-aid kit （急救包 ） , the cry asking whether there was a doctor in the house could well be a thing of the past .

Other medical technology groups are working on applying telemedicine to rural care . And at least one team wants to use telemedicine as a tool for disaster response — especially after earthquakes . Overall , the trend is towards providing global access to medical data and expertise .

But there is one problem . Bandwidth is the limiting factor for transmitting complex medical images around the world — CT scans being one of the biggest bandwidth consumers . Communications satellites may be able to cope with the short-term needs during disasters such as earthquakes , wars or famines . But medicine is looking towards both the second-generation Internet and third-generation mobile phones for the future of distributed medical intelligence .

Doctors have met to discuss computer-based tools for medical diagnosis , training and telemedicine . With the falling price of broadband communications , the new technologies should usher in （迎來） an era when telemedicine and the sharing of medical information , expert opinion and diagnosis are common .

1 ． The basis of remote diagnosis will be .

A ． standardized symptoms of a patient B ． personal data assistance

C ． transmitted complex medical images D ． real physiological data from a patient

2 ． The sentence “the cry asking whether there was a doctor in the house could well be a thing of the past” means .

A ． now people probably would not ask if there is a doctor in the house

B ． patients used to cry and ask if there was a doctor in the house

C ． in the past people often cried and asked if there was a doctor in the house

D ． patients are now still asking if there is a doctor in the house

3 ． All the following statements are true EXCEPT that .

A ． it is now feasible to transmit a patient's vital signs over telephone

B ． flood is not among the disasters mentioned in the passage

C ． the trend in applying telemedicine is toward providing global access to medical data

D ． telemedicine is being used by many medical teams as a tool for disaster response

4 ． The word “problem” in the fourth paragraph refers to the fact that .

A ． there are not enough mobile phones for distributing medical intelligence

B ． CT scans are one of the biggest bandwidth consumers

C ． bandwidth is not adequate to transmit complex medical images around the world

D ． communications satellites can only cope with the short-term needs during disasters

5 ． A proper title for the passage may be .

A ． Improvement in Communications B ． The Online Doctor Is In

C ． Application of Telemedicine D ． How to Make Remote Diagnosis

1 ． D 。

2 ． A 。

3 ． D 。

4 ． C 。

5 ． B 。

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