完型练习题28-912 words

CLOZE 28 outfox grey trivial informant irritant stagger stiffen shoddy resistence fake seizure lax legitimate crook hologram impunity rival fashion tamper stern illicit verify ingenuity emboss complexity validation enforcement outfit rosy version DRUG smugglers can expect harsh penalties nearly everywhere—if the drugs in question are heroin or cocaine. Those who smuggle counterfeit medicines, by contrast, have often faced ___1__ enforcement and light punishment. Some governments deem drug-counterfeiting a ___2__ offence, little more than a common ___3__. After all, whose spam filter does not groan with ads for suspiciously cheap “Viagra”? This could be changing, however. The pharmaceutical industry has persuaded several governments to __4___ regulations against fake drugs and to conduct more aggressive raids (see chart). Companies are also devising novel technologies to __5___ the criminals. Even the Catholic church is joining the cause, issuing a ___6__ statement in August that it is in “the best interest of all concerned that smuggling of counterfeit drugs be fought against”. The pope’s concern is justified. Counterfeit drugs can kill. Many are __7___ made, containing the wrong dose of the active ingredient. Taking them instead of the real thing can turn a treatable disease into a fatal one. It can also foster drug __8___ among germs. This has been a big problem for a long time in developing countries. Studies of anti-infective treatments in Africa and South-East Asia have found that perhaps 15-30% are ___9__. The UN estimates that roughly half of the anti-malarial drugs sold in Africa—worth some $438m a year—are counterfeits. Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC, cautions that any such estimates should be treated with care. The countries with the most fakes may not be cracking down, so official figures will look ___10__; in contrast, countries with a smaller counterfeit trade that are vigilant may end up with more __11___. The World Health Organisation agrees, and has recently taken its estimates off its website. Even so, Mr Bate says his field work has convinced him that counterfeits kill at least 100,000 people a year, mostly in the poor world. Now it appears that fakes are taking off in the rich world too. Yes, Viagra still tops the list of knock-offs seen by Pfizer, says John Clark, the American drug firm’s global head of security; but fake ___12__ of at least 20 of its products (including Lipitor, a blockbuster cholesterol drug) have been detected in the ___13__ supply chains of at least 44 countries. Mr Clark’s intelligence comes from Pfizer’s global network of __14___, consumer tip-offs and in-store inspections. He sees worrying trends. Counterfeiters used to operate chiefly in developing countries, says Mr Clark, but now his firm sees fakes coming from such rich and well-regulated places as Canada and Britain. And the __15___ are growing more technologically sophisticated: some can even counterfeit the ___16__ on packets that are meant to reassure customers that pills are genuine. A consumer study funded by Pfizer recently found that nearly a fifth of Europeans polled in 14 countries had obtained medicines through ___17__ channels. That, the firm reckons, makes for a __18___ market in the EU of over €10 billion ($12.8 billion). Terry Hisey of Deloitte, a consultancy, thinks the global market for fakes could be worth between $75 billion and $200 billion a year. Those __19___ sums, he argues, help explain the emergence of a flurry of new technologies and companies hoping to help the drugs industry “secure its global supply chain”. In July Oracle, an American software giant, unveiled Pedigree, a programme that helps drugs firms “track and trace” pills all the way from the factory to your fingers. IBM has a __20___ offering, as well as one using radio-frequency identification (RfID) chips, which are embedded in packaging to detect ___21__ and allow precise tracking. 3M, a materials company, and Abbott Laboratories, an American medical firm, are also rolling out an RfID-based product. A division of Johnson & Johnson, a drugs giant, has developed web-based software to help customs officials quickly ___22__ whether drugs are fake or real. Poor countries find it hard to take advantage of such technologies. Sophisticated radio tags and database software are not much use in places where street hawkers peddle fakes with __23___. Still, even in such difficult circumstances, a combination of political will and business ___24__ can make a difference. Bottom-up battle A Ghanaian start-up firm, mPedigree, has come up with a clever way to use mobile phones in this fight. Participating drugs companies __25___ a special code onto packages, which customers find by scratching off a coating. By sending a free text with that code, they can find out instantly if the package is genuine or a fake. Bright Simons, the firm’s boss, argues that technologies like his can be a useful bottom-up complement to top-down ___26__. Having successfully completed initial trials, he says, mPedigree is ready to expand its service in the region. The government of Nigeria, where fakery is rife, recently declared its intention to adopt such a text-based ___27__ system. Thomas Kubic of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, an industry-funded ___28__, gives warning that this war will be hard to win. After more than 30 years as an investigator, he is sure that crooks will eventually find a way around any defence. Even so, he thinks novel approaches such as mobile-based validation may “harden the target”, just as a burglar alarm makes your home somewhat trickier to rob. If the cost and __29___ of faking drugs goes up, crooks may choose to fake Gucci handbags instead. This would still be theft, not to mention a crime against ___30__. But it will not kill anyone. CLOZE 28