Question

    At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigor and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.

This decline in vigor with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually "die of old age", and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer—on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.

Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigor with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things "wear out".

Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact an out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (热力学) (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself—it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could,at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.

1.Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A.Our first twelve years represent the peak of human development.

B.People usually are unhappy when reminded of ageing.

C.Normally only a few of us can live to the eighties and nineties.

D.People are usually less likely to die at twelve years old.

2.The word "it" in the last sentence of Paragraph Two refers to          .

A.remaining alive until 65.

B.remaining alive after 80.

C.dying before 65 or after 80.

D.dying between 65 and 80.

3.What do the examples of watch show?

A.Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process.

B.All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process.

C.The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process.

D.Human's ageing process is different from that of mechanisms.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

【解析】

本文围绕“衰老”这一话题展开论述，指出了人体生命力变化的抛物线趋势，12岁最旺盛，人类的衰老不可抗拒，人类的衰老和机械装置的衰老过程有很大区别。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence;可知人在十二岁的时候，身体最旺盛。但它还没有达到最大和最强力量，还没有达到全部智力发展高峰。A项错误，故选A。

2.猜测词义题。根据第二段中Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer—on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.可知一些人去世较早，少数人能活到90多岁到100岁。根据句中but和下文我们希望存活的时间实际上是有限的，故it指代前面提到的活到90多岁到100岁的长寿情况，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中But a watch could never repair itself—it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could,at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents.可知破损的手表由于自身结构问题，不能像人类一样进行自我修复。人类的自我修复可以在一定程度上缓解病痛，延长生命。用手表的例子是为了说明人类和手表等机械装置的衰老是有较大区别的。故选D。