“One of the reasons I find this topic very interesting is that my mum was a smoker when I was younger,” says Lindson-Hawley, who studies tobacco and health at the University of Oxford.
By studying about 700 adult smokers, she found out that her mum quit the right way—by stopping abruptly and completely.
In her study, participants were randomly(随机地) assigned to two groups. One had to quit abruptly on a given day, going from about a pack a day to zero. The other cut down gradually over the course of two weeks. People in both groups used the nicotine replacement, like gum or spray. They also had the talk therapy(疗法) with a nurse before and after the quit day.
Six months later, more people who had quit abruptly had stuck with it—more than one-fifth of them, compared to about one-seventh in the other group. Although these numbers appear low, it is much higher than if people try without support.
And the quit rates were particularly convincing given that before the study started, most of the people had said they’d rather cut down gradually before quitting. “If you’re training for a marathon, you wouldn’t expect to turn up and just be able to run it. And I think people see that for smoking as well. They think, ‘Well, if I gradually reduce, it’s like practice,’” says Lindson-Hawley. But that wasn’t the case. Instead of giving people practice, the gradual reduction likely gave them addiction and withdrawal symptoms(脱瘾症状) before they even reached the day, which could be why fewer people in that group actually made it to that point. “Regardless of your stated preference, if you’re ready to quit, quitting abruptly is more effective,” says Dr Gabriela Ferreira. “When you can quote a specific number like a fifth of the patients were able to quit, that’s acceptable. It gives them the encouragement, I think, to really go for it,” Ferreira says.
People rarely manage to quit the first time they try. But at least, she says, they can maximize the odds of success.
7.What does Lindson-Hawley say about her mother?
A. She quit smoking with her daughter’s help.
B. She was also a researcher of tobacco and health.
C. She studied the smoking patterns of adult smokers.
D. She succeeded in quitting smoking abruptly.
8.What kind of support did smokers receive to quit smoking in Lindson-Hawley’s study?
A. They were given physical training.
B. They were offered the nicotine replacement.
C. They were encouraged by psychologists.
D. They were looked after by physicians.
9.How does Dr Gabriela Ferreira view the result of Lindson-Hawley’s experiment?
A. It is encouraging. B. It is unexpected.
C. It is impractical. D. It is misleading.
10.Take the idea of “a marathon” (Para.5) as an example to show that quitting smoking 　　　　. 
A. is something few can accomplish
B. requires a lot of patience
C. needs some practice first
D. is a challenge at the beginning 【文章大意】 牛津大学的Lindson-Hawley的母亲曾经是一位吸烟者,因此她现在研究这一课题。通过研究700名成年吸烟者,她发现逐步戒烟更有可能使人上瘾甚至出现脱瘾症状,而突然戒烟更有效。
7.D　细节理解题。根据第一段的信息可得出Lindson-Hawley的母亲曾经是一位吸烟者这个结论。第二段中她发现她的母亲戒烟了,而且很突然、很彻底。A、B、C三个选项在文中都没有提及,属于无中生有选项。故选D。
8.B　推理判断题。根据第三段第四、五句话可知,两组志愿者除了使用尼古丁替代品之外,还接受了护士的谈话治疗,故选B。
9.A　细节理解题。根据文中第五段后半部分“‘…It gives them the encouragement, I think, to really go for it,’…”可知Dr Gabriela Ferreira认为Lindson-Hawley的研究结果令人鼓舞,故选A。
10.C　推理判断题。根据第五段“‘…And I think people see that for smoking as well. They think, “Well, if I gradually reduce, it’s like practice,”’…”可知这些人的观点是戒烟首先需要一些练习, A、B、D三个选项在文中都没有提及,属于无中生有选项。故选C。