The health-care economy is filled with unusual and even unique economic relationships. One of the least understood involves the peculiar roles of producer or "provider" and purchaser or "consumer" in the typical doctor-patient relationship. In most sectors of the economy, it is the seller who attempts to attract a potential buyer with various appealing factors of price, quality, and use, and it is the buyer who makes the decision. Such condition, however, is not common in most of the health-care industry. In the health-care industry, the doctor-patient relationship is the mirror image of the ordinary relationship between producer and consumer. Once an individual has chosen to see a physician -- and even then there may be no real choice -- it is the physician who usually makes all significant purchasing decisions: whether the patient should return "next Wednesday", whether X-rays are needed, whether drugs should be prescribed, etc. It is rare that a patient will challenge such professional decisions or raise in advance questions about price, especially when the disease is regarded as serious. This is particularly significant in relation to hospital care. The physician must certify the need for hospitalization, determine what procedures will be performed, and announce when the patient may be discharged. The patient may be consulted about some of the decisions, but in general it is the doctor's judgments that are final. Little wonder then that in the eye of the hospital it is the physician who is the real "consumer". As a consequence, the medical staff represents the "power center" in hospital policy and decision-making, not the administration. Although usually there are in this situation four identifiable participants-- the physician, the hospital, the patient, and the payer (generally an insurance carrier or government)-- the physician makes the essential decisions for all of them. The hospital becomes an extension of the physician; the payer generally meets most of the bills generated by the... It can be inferred that doctors are able to determine hospital policies because    _  . A) most of patient's bills are paid by his health insurance B) it is doctors who generate income for the hospital C) some patients might refuse to take their physician's advice D) a doctor is ultimately responsible for a patient's health
B
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My parents moved to Mississippi when my brother and I were small children, and we were separated from our Oklahoma grandparents by some 600 miles. This long distance allowed us to only visit our grandparents once a year, either at Christmas or during summer vacation. Most of my classmates lived near their grandparents, and I would often hear stories of big families regularly spending time with one another, fishing at "grandpa's" house or going over to "grandma's" for her famous fried chicken. We were disappointed that we did not get to spend more time with our grandparents, but our love for them remained deep and strong. We always expected a road trip to Oklahoma. We would count the days, and when the day came, the entire family would pile into our car at four o'clock in the morning. Crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana, the scenery changed. Crossing the Red River in Oklahoma, we were in a foreign world. Every trip to see my grandparents can't be without bringing delight. We jumped out of the car in their driveway to be met with bear hugs. My grandparents wanted to know everything about their grandchildren, and we would sit for hours and tell story after story. Grandma had a meal planned, and you could guess she prepared her grandsons' favorite foods. Of course the best part of the visit was that we were able to do whatever we wanted without punishment from our grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa always had presents for us, short trips planned and lovely surprises, such as the time we got to a local restaurant and ate the world's largest hamburger. Why didn't the family visit their grandparents often? A) Because they seldom had a vacation. B) Because they had a bad attitude to them. C) Because they were all busy with their work. D) Because they lived far away from each other.
D
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What if I took that big jump on my bike?What's the worst thing that could happen if I go out at midnight?Should try smoking?The teen years can play out like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Teenagers must act on an endless parade of choices.Some choices.including smoking.Come with serious consequences.As a result, adolescents often find themselves trapped between their impulsive tendencies(-Just try it!)and their newfound ability to make well-informed and logical choices(-Wait, maybe that's not such a good idea!). So what makes the teenager's brain so complex? What drives adolescents-more than any other age group-to sometimes make rash or questionable decisions? If you have ever thought that the choices teenagers make are all about exploring and pushing limits, _ . Experts Experts believe that this tendency marks a necessary period in teen development.The process helps prepare teenagers to confront the world on their own. It is something all humans have evolved to experience-yes, teens everywhere go through this exploratory period.Nor is it unique to people:Even laboratory mice experience a similar stage during their development. For example,laboratory experiments show that young mice stay close by their mothers for safety. As mice grow.their behavior does too."When they reach puberty,they're like,'I'm gonna start checking out how this environment looks without my mom,...explains Beatriz Luna,of the University of Pittsburgh. As a developmental cognitive neuroscientist,Luna studies those changes that occur in the brain as children develop into adults.She and other researchers are showing how the teen experience can lead to powerful advantages later in life.Take mice again:Young mice that explore most tend to live longest----that is,unless a cat eats them,Luna adds. What may the text discuss in the next part? A) How call a teenager make right choices B) Why the parents shouldn't allow teenagers to smoke C) What has been discovered in the lab experiment. D) What really goes on in the teenage brain.
D
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Remember when a trip to the supermarket was nothing more than a boring thing requiring little or no specialized knowledge? You could send your kids into a cart while you did shopping. You always bought the same brands,usually the brands your mother bought. You didn't know about unit pricing,and furthermore,you didn't care. It never occurred to you to read the labels on anything. After all,you'd bought these things a hundred times.  But now,I really look on those days with a feeling of yearn . How innocent we were! How carefree were those trips to the supermarket. No worries. Today a trip to the supermarket is filled with social influence. Every time I buy pork chops I think about the years I'm shaving from my life. I keep a careful eye on the freshness date and examine the tamper-proof packaging. I am victim of that most dangerous social disease:shoppers' panic.  I didn't realize how serious my condition had become until the last time I needed laundry, soap. It seemed simple enough. Just run into the market,grab a box of the old reliable and pay for it. I hadn't planned on discovering Ecover,a new brand of laundry soap. It sat quietly on the shelf right next to my old reliable. "Healthy,gentle but effective. "My respect for it deepened with each new claim as I read the entire package. Then I looked at the price:$5. 69 for 2 pound. $5. 69! I cast a quick glance at the old reliable,still on sale for$1. 39.  Six bucks for laundry soap! These people must be crazy! Who's going to pay six bucks for laundry soap? It's not as though I can't afford it. See,it's concentrated--use less,get more. BUT SIX BUCKS! And the box is made from recycled materials ...This act went on for a solid half hour,after which I left the shelf without any soap at all.  Surely the meat department is most threatening place. Remember what protein was good for you? That's all over.  Every bite you take kills you. I won't even mention meat's moral influence. When all is said and done,we still must eat. I gather up my healthy-cooking oil and my... Recalling the old days' shopping in the supermarket,the author thinks it was_. A) pleasant B) fresh C) dangerous D) crazy

A
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