The basis for overhauling the country’s tobacco regulations—and the opportunity to snag a huge windfall for the Treasury — (46)

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问题     The basis for overhauling the country’s tobacco regulations—and the opportunity to snag a huge windfall for the Treasury — (46) State attorneys general had ganged up on the industry, suing for reimbursement of Medicaid and other patient-care costs incurred, they say, because of the companies’ promotion of cigarette smoking. (47) The companies offered to pay a whopping $ 368.5 billion to the plaintiffs and various governments over 25 years, accept strict regulation of their products, and curb advertising. (48) The companies specifically asked Congress for a bar on class-action suits, protection from punitive damage awards for past deeds, and an annual limit of roughly $ 5 billion on damages awarded to individual plaintiffs. The proposal is stunning, but Congress didn’t leap at the offer. Just days after these terms were unveiled, two of the nation’s best known public health officials and antitobacco crusaders—former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, now dean of the Yale medical school—denounced the proposal. (49) Koop told the reporters he was concerned that the public might be "snookered" by the cash offer. Koop and Kessler were later joined by other public health advocacy groups, including the American Lung Association and American Medical Association, in urging Congress not to accept the proposal without revision. Kessler says he thinks it is "unlikely that there will be a deal granting the industry immunity (from litigation), "because no one will want to accept the risk of being perceived as a friend of tobacco. Yet at the same time, Kessler says, "I’m all in favor of an excise tax on cigarettes" that would raise the price and make it harder for teenagers to buy cigarettes. He adds, "I am strongly in favor of using that money for biomedical research." (50)
A. On 20 June, the two negotiating teams unveiled a deal that they said could end the litigation and aid public health, if Congress could approve it.
B. In return, they asked the federal government to shield them from certain legal bills
C. arose last year in talks between 5 major tobacco companies and 40 states
D. In short, cigarette smoking does nothing but harm to the people’s health
E. Kessler warns, however, that the federal government muse be careful not to get "hooked on tobacco money."
F. Both argued that the settlement provided too little in return for indemnity from class-action suits.

选项

答案A

解析 选项A的意思是“6月20日,谈判双方公布了一项交易,他们说,如果国会批准这项交易,就能结束这场官司,并且援助公共卫生事业。”空白处前面句子的意思是“州司法部长们联合起来进攻烟草工业,要求烟草公司赔偿政府支付的医疗补贴和照顾病人支出的开销,他们说,这是由于烟草公司极力推销香烟。”
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