第4部分：阅读理解（第31～45题，每题3分，共45分）
下面有1篇短文，短文后有5道题，每题材后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择一个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
Giving Up Smoking
A number of devices are available to help a person quit smoking. Nicotine （尼古丁） patches are small, nicotine-containing adhesive （粘着性的） discs applied to the skin. The nicotine is slowly absorbed through the skin and enters the bloodstream （血流）. Over time, the nicotine dose is reduced and eventually the desire for nicotine is eased. Nicotine gum （口香糖） works in a similar manner, providing small doses of nicotine when chewed （咀嚼）.
The benefits of giving up smoking include the immediate reduction of harm to the health of the smoker and easier admission to social activities and institutions that ban smoking. In a 1988 report, the U.S. Surgeon General declared cigarette smoking to be more harmful and expensive than the use of cocaine （可卡因）, alcohol, or heroin. Recent evidence supports this claim.
The United States government has collected a special tax on cigarettes for several decades. The rate rose from 8 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes in 1951 to 24 cents per pack in 1993. In other developed countries, the cigarette tax rate is much higher, ranging from 50 percent in Switzerland to 85 percent in Denmark.
In the United States, the first direct action to check smoking was the regulation of a warning on cigarette packages by the Federal Trade Commission. This warning took effect in 1964 and was strengthened in 1969 to read: "Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health." In 1971 all cigarette advertising was banned from radio and television, and cities and states passed laws requiring nonsmoking sections in public places and workplaces.
