Question

    Older adults with a better sense of smell may live longer than those who have a poor sense of smell, a new study suggests. The study was a project of researchers in the United States that was continuing for over 13 years. They asked nearly 2300 men and women to recognize 12 common smells. All the subjects were from 71 to 82 years of age. The researchers gave the adults marks, from 0 to 12, based on how many smells they recognize correctly.

During the years of follow-up research, over 1200 of the adults died. When the study was started, none of the adults were weak. They could walk about half a kilometre, climb 10 steps and independently complete daily activities. In the latest findings, the researchers noted those with a weak nose were 30% more likely to die than people with a good sense of smell. The findings were reported last month in the scientific publication Annals of Internal Medicine.

Honglei Chen, a doctor with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was the lead author of the report on the study. He said the connection between a poor sense of smell and an increased risk of dying was limited to adults who first reported good or excellent health. This suggests that a poor sense of smell is an early and sensitive sign of worsening health before it is recognizable in medical tests. With a poor sense of smell, people are more likely to die of brain and heart diseases, but not of cancer or breathing problems.

The results also suggest that a poor sense of smell may be an early warning of poor health in older age that goes beyond dementia (痴呆) or other neurodegenerative (神经变性的) diseases. These often signal the beginning of the weakening of the mind or body.

1.What do we know about the study in the passage?

A.All the adults were in their eighties.

B.The adults were young and energetic.

C.The study lasted for more than 13 years.

D.The study involved international researchers.

2.What was the situation like at the beginning of the study?

A.Over 1200 of the adults passed away.

B.One third of the adults had a poor sense of smell.

C.Many of the adults were found with health problems.

D.All the adults could perform daily activities independently.

3.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A.People with a poor sense of smell have heart disease.

B.Most older people may have breathing-related disease.

C.People with a poor sense of smell won’t suffer from cancer.

D.Older people should be careful with their health if they smell poorly.

4.What is the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 1?

A.主题 B.科目

C.实验对象 D.绘画或拍摄题材

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了一项新的研究成果：嗅觉好的老人可能比嗅觉差的老人更长寿。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段关键句“The study was a project of researchers in the United States that was continuing for over 13 years.”可知，这项研究是一个美国研究人员已经持续了超过13年的项目。由此可推断出，这个项目已经持续了超过13年了。故选C项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段关键句“When the study was started, none of the adults were weak. They could walk about half a kilometre, climb 10 steps and independently complete daily activities.”（当这项研究开始时，没有一个成年人身体虚弱。他们可以步行约半公里，爬10级台阶，独立完成日常活动。）可知，当研究开始时，所有的成年人都能独立进行日常活动。故选D项。

3.

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段关键句“This suggests that a poor sense of smell is an early and sensitive sign of worsening health before it is recognizable in medical tests.”可知，嗅觉差是健康恶化的早期迹象。再根据最后一段关键句“The results also suggest that a poor sense of smell may be an early warning of poor health in older age that goes beyond dementia (痴呆) or other neurodegenerative (神经变性的) diseases.”可知，嗅觉差是老年人健康状况不佳的早期预警。综上可知，老年人如果嗅觉差，就应该注意身体健康了。故选D项。

4.

词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的前句“They asked nearly 2300 men and women to recognize 12 common smells.”可知，研究员让近2300名男性和女性去识别12种常见的气味。再根据划线词所在句句意可推断出，应该是上句提到的所有的实验对象的年龄是在71岁到82岁之间，故划线部分词汇意为实验对象。故选C项。