Sal Monella is a poisonous gangster hell bent on infection, and a pimple is a power-mad oil gland. That's life--and a quirky twist on salmonella and acne--in the animated world of Ozzy & Drix, part of the WB network's Saturday-morning lineup. This was the first season for what might be called a "smartoon." It was in the top programs among kids ages 2 to 11. And it's coming back this fall.

　　Instead of battling mystical monsters, Ozzy & Drix cleverly personifies body parts--a muscle cell is a police chief--to teach kids about their bodies. Rather than lecture kids about smoking, Ozzy & Drix turns nicotine into Nick O'Teen, a smarmy villain with long claws that hook into brains and cause addictions. Bad guys like Nick are taken down by the title stars: Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, a street-smart white blood cell, and Drix, an uptight but intelligent cold pill with a chest full of medicine. White blood cells help fight infection, and Drix is a medicine chest. Get it

　　Ozzy & Drix makes a point of tackling "issues that are very real to the day-to-day lives of kids," says David Foster, a Harvard University internist who helps develop story lines for the show. "We hope they take an interest in what is going on inside them." That's why all the action occurs within 13-year-old Hector, who contracts diseases, encounters peer pressure, and even drinks spoiled milk. "This poor kid has been through a lot," says Producer Alan Burnett.

　　Pun fun. The slap-your-knee, ba-dum-dum humor takes many forms. Ozzy and Drix set up a detective firm behind Hector's cornea--they're "private eyes"--to ensure him a safe adolescence. Blood cells race like cars through Hector's arteries and past a "roadside" billboard reading "Peace for the Middle Ear." There's a rock concert at the Diaphragm Club featuring the band Metabolica. Ozzy and Drix drive a Cel Camino.

　　"This is a very interesting direction for broadcasters to take," says Sandra Calvert, a psychologist and director of the Children's Digital Media Center at Georgetown University. "We rarely see someone go after the health area." Kids go for the slapstick and drama while adults are drawn to the puns and parodies, and the dual enjoyment sparks questions and conversation, she says.

　　Consider an upcoming episode in which Hector eats bad sausage containing parasitic worms. A spoof of jaws begins as his stomach becomes a sea of acid dotted with boats. On one, Ozzy teams up with grizzled Captain Quinine--recalling movie shark hunter Quint and the fact that quinine was once used to treat parasites. Ozzy and the Cap'n blow up the monsters with bicarbonate of soda. A soothing end, not for the worms, but for Hector's upset stomach.

　　1. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that ___________.

　　[A] Ozzy & Drix is a cartoon about good-guy fighting bad guy.

　　[B] the target audience of Ozzy & Drix are children.

　　[C] smartoon is a new type of cartoon

　　[D] the purpose of Ozzy & Drix is to help children fight against diseases

　　2. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

　　[A] Ozzy in the cartoon lacks experiences.

　　[B] Hector’s friends show sympathy to him when he contracts disease.

　　[C] A new season of Ozzy & Drix will be on show this fall.

　　[D] Ozzy & Drix mainly deals with battling frightening creatures。

　　3. According to Sandra Calvert, broadcasters may learn from Ozzy & Drix_________.

　　[A] how to create humorous effect

　　[B] that health area is worth exploring

　　[C] that dual enjoyment of both kids and adults is the key to Ozzy & Drix’s success

　　[D] that kids and adults alike take great fun in Ozzy & Drix

　　4. Which of the following best defines the word “slapstick”?

　　[A] humorous acting

　　[B] serious theme

　　[C] interesting plot

　　[D] instructive stories

　　5. The author uses the episode in which Hector eats bad sausage containing parasitic worms to show _____________.

　　[A] how the cartoon is plotted

　　[B] how children feel when they fall ill

　　[C] the pun and humor in the cartoon

　　[D] the way children can be educated

　　答案：B C B A C

　　篇章剖析：

　　本篇为说明文，通过点面结合来说明一档流行的电视节目《奥兹和德里克斯》的内容，特点，引人之处等。第一段是对热门电视系列剧《奥兹和德里克斯》的简要介绍，突出了其“出奇”和“热门”两大特色，第二段，第三段说明了这个电视剧的主要内容，即以赋予身体各部分人性化的特点帮助孩子们了解自己的身体以及发生在日常生活中的问题；第四段，第五段介绍了该剧轻松幽默，老少咸宜的特点；第六段以一段剧情结束全文，让人更加深刻的体会这部剧作。

　　词汇注释：

　　salmonella [sAlmE5nelE]n. 沙门氏菌

　　pimple [5pImp(E)l]n. 丘疹, 面泡, 疙瘩

　　gland [^lAnd]n. 腺

　　quirky [ `kw\:kI ] adj. 诡诈的, 离奇的

　　acne [5AknI]n. 痤疮, 粉刺

　　lineup [`laInQp] n. 系列节目

　　personify [p\:5sRnIfaI]vt. 赋与...以人性, 使人格化

　　nicotine [5nIkEti:n]n. 烟碱，尼古丁

　　smarmy [5smB:mI]adj. 令人厌烦的, 爱说奉承话的, 虚情假意的

　　osmosis [Cz`mEJsIs, Cs-]n. 渗透(作用), 渗透性

　　street-smart: adj. 经验老到的

　　uptight [5QptaIt, Qp5taIt]adj. 过分拘谨的；（行为，观点和品味）极端保守的

　　internist [5Int\:nIst]n. <美>内科医师

　　contract [kEn5trAkt]v. 感染

　　cornea [5kC:nIE]n. [医]角膜

　　artery [5B:terI]n. 动脉

　　slapstick [5slApstIk] n. 闹剧；滑稽剧

　　parody: [5pArEdi] n. 模仿滑稽作品

　　spoof [spu:f] n. 胡说；戏弄；哄骗

　　grizzled [5^rizld] adj. 灰色的, 头发斑白的

　　难句突破

　　Rather than lecture kids about smoking, Ozzy & Drix turns nicotine into Nick O'Teen, a smarmy villain with long claws that hook into brains and cause addictions.

　　主体句式：Ozzy & Drix turns nicotine into Nick O'Teen

　　结构分析：这是一个复杂句，主句为Ozzy & Drix turns nicotine into Nick O'Teen，Nick O’Teen后面有个较长的同位语，其中还含有定语从句。Rather than作为连接词引导从句，通常表示否定意义，意为：“而不是”，用于和另外一种可以肯定的情况作比较。