Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the
reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The latest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.
小题1:The text mainly talks about ________. | A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process | | C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
小题2:According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________. | A．women have more cells than men when they are born | | B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat | | C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age | | D．women never lose their pumping power with age |
小题3:We can know from the passage that ________. | A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out | | B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells | | C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss | | D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |
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小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:B |
试题分析：本文介绍女性比男性长寿的原因主要是基因问题，还有男性可以通过锻炼延长自己的寿命。
小题1:主旨大意题。根据文章第 1 段的第 2 句…the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age 和第 2 段中的 women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age 及全文内容可知，本题的正确答案选 D。
小题2:事实细节题。根据文章第 5 段的第 1 句 What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells 可知，本题的正确答案选 C。
小题3:推理判断题。根据文章倒数第 2 段中的 The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart 可推知，本题的正确答案选B。
点评：本文介绍女性比男性长寿的原因主要是基因问题，还有男性可以通过锻炼延长自己的寿命。属于科普类的短文，需要考生在阅读的时候有足够的耐心。要养成在上下文串联中猜测词义的能力，根据上下文中出现的同义词，近义词，反义词，以及词义的解释来理解生词。同时要抓住文章的中心，要根据题目及选项以及文章的上下文串联合理的判断推理。 |
核心考点
试题【Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the r】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly-held image(形象) of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive today"s young people seem to be about their families," said one member of the research team. "They"re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There"s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don"t want to rock the boat."
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. "My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me," says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. " I always tell them when I"m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I"m doing, they"re fine with it." Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I"d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that."
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, "Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over."
小题1:According to the author, teenage rebellion ________.| A．resulted from changes in families | | B．may be a false belief | | C．is common nowadays | | D．existed only in the 1960s |
小题2:What is the passage mainly about?| A．Education in family | | B．Negotiation in family | | C．Teenage trouble in family | | D．Harmony in family |
小题3:The study shows that teenagers don"t want to ________.| A．go boating with their family | | B．share family responsibility | | C．make family decisions | | D．cause trouble in their families |
小题4:What is the popular images of teenagers today?| A．They dislike living with their parents | | B．They quarrel a lot with other family members | | C．They worry about school | | D．They have to be locked in to avoid troubles |
小题5:Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today"s parents ________.| A．care less about their children"s life | | B．give their children more freedom | | C．go to clubs more often with their children | | D．are much stricter with their children |
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Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 species of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.
Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong restaurants. Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable(易受伤的) to overfishing because it takes most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring（后代）.
Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine（海洋的） mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.
If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by an unprovoked（非受挑衅而发生的）attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.
Sharks help save human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to fight cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system allows wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.
Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost never get cancer and eye cataracts（白内障）. Understanding why can help us improve human health. Chemicals taken from shark cartilage（软骨）have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals, research that someday could help prolong your life.
Sharks are needed in the world’s ocean ecosystems. Although they don’t need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks.
小题1:Which of the following is NOT a reason why people kill sharks?| A．People kill sharks for food. | | B．People kill sharks for sport. | | C．People kill sharks out of fear. | | D．People kill sharks because they often attack swimmers. |
小题2:According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?| A．There are many different species of sharks, but only a few of them are dangerous to humans. | | B．Sharks never get ill. | | C．Sharks are a valuable resource for human. | | D．Sharks play an important role in the ocean ecosystem. |
小题3:It can be inferred from the passage that _______.| A．movies have given people the wrong impression of sharks | | B．most sharks are dangerous to humans | | C．sharks will attack anyone who is wearing black | | D．it is dangerous to swim in the ocean |
小题4:The underlined word “prolong” in the last but one paragraph means ______.| A．save | B．protect | C．lengthen | D．improve |
小题5:The best title for the passage would be _______.| A．Are Sharks Dangerous? | B．Sharks And Humans | | C．Sharks: Humans’ Friends | D．Sharks Help Save Human Lives |
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The goal of earthquake prediction is to give early enough warning. The U.S. Geological Survey conducts and supports research on the likelihood of future earthquakes. Scientists estimate earthquake probabilities in two ways: by studying the history of large earthquakes in a special area and the rate at which strain（拉力）accumulates（积累）in the rock.
Scientists study the past frequency of large earthquakes in order to determine the future likelihood of similar large shocks. For example scientists researched the large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region during the 75 years between 1836 and 1911. For the next 68 years, no earthquakes of magnitude (震级) 6 or large occurred in the region. Beginning with a magnitude 6 shock in 1979, the earthquakes in the region increased dramatically; between 1979 and 1989, there were four magnitude 6 or greater earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. So scientists estimated that the probability of a magnitude 6.8 or larger earthquake occurring during the next 30 years in the region is about 67 percent.
Another way to predict earthquakes is to study how fast strain accumulates. When plate movements build the strain in rocks to a critical level, like pulling a rubber band too tight, the rocks will suddenly break and slip to a new position. Scientists measure how much strain accumulates along a fault (断层) each year, how much time has passed since the last earthquake, and how much strain was released in the last earthquake. This information is used to calculate the time required for the accumulating strain to build to the level that results in an earthquake. This simple model is so complicated that such detailed information about faults is rare. In the United States, only the San Andreas Fault System has adequate records for using this prediction method.
Scientific understanding of earthquakes is of vital importance to the Nation. As the population increases, expanding urban development and construction encroach (侵蚀) upon areas susceptible(易受影响的) to earthquakes. With a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes, we may be able to reduce damage and loss of life from this destruction.
小题1:What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．What an earthquake is like. | | B．How to predict earthquakes. | | C．Where earthquakes often happen. | | D．When a fault is formed. |
小题2:That scientists study the history of large earthquakes in certain areas is to ultimately_________.| A．do research on the past frequency of large earthquakes | | B．estimate the magnitude of similar earthquakes | | C．forecast the possibilities of similar earthquakes | | D．judge the specific location of future earthquakes |
小题3:Which is TRUE according to the passage?| A．There were four magnitude 6 earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region between1979 and1989. | | B．The accumulating strain of the fault to a certain level results in the earthquake. | | C．About 68 years after 1911, no earthquakes occurred in the San Francisco Bay region. | | D．The fast increasing population on the earth is the main cause of the earthquake. |
小题4:What is the critical factor of forming a fault?| A．The material of rocks. | | B．The existing time span of the rocks. | | C．The plate movements around the rocks. | | D．The amount of strain released in the last earthquake. |
小题5:According to the passage, we can know that the San Andreas Fault System____.| A．has a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes | | B．stores much more information about the history of large earthquakes | | C．offers the potential for doing research on the faults where strain accumulates | | D．illustrates specifically how rocks along a fault are formed |
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完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
In the past, man didn’t have to think about the protection of his environment. There were few people on the earth, and natural resources seemed to be 1 .
Today things are 2 , and the world has become too 3 . We’re using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are 4 our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on the earth 5 survive.
Everyone 6 today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing 7, more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many trees are cut down, 8 will disappear and nothing will grow on the land. Yet, we 9 to use bigger and more powerful machines to 10 more and more trees.
We know that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we’ll die. 11 , in most countries wastes are 12 put into rivers or into the sea, and there are 13 laws to stop this.
We know, too, that if the 14 of the world continues to rise at the present rate, in a few years there will not be enough 15 . What can we do to solve these problems?
If we eat more vegetables and less 16 there will be more food available for every one. Land that is used to grow crops 17 five times more people than land where animals are kept.
Our natural resources will 18 longer if we learn to recycle them.
The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth 19 .
Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems, we shall have a better and cleaner 20 in the future.
| 小题1: | | A．beautiful | B．unlimited | C．rare | D．valuable |
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| 小题2: | | A．common | B．the same | C．changeable | D．different |
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| 小题3: | | A．crowded | B．small | C．dirty | D．busy |
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| 小题4: | | A．protecting | B．saving | C．polluting | D．fighting |
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| 小题5: | | A．may not | B．will not | C．shall not | D．could not |
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| 小题6: | | A．wonders | B．realizes | C．considers | D．discovers |
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| 小题7: | | A．poles | B．boats | C．methods | D．ideas |
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| 小题8: | | A．mountains | B．seas | C．trees | D．forests |
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| 小题9: | | A．continue | B．have | C．ought | D．go on |
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| 小题10: | | A．cut away | B．cut off | C．cut up | D．cut down |
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| 小题11: | | A．Thus | B．However | | C．Generally speaking | D．Therefore |
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| 小题12: | | A．still | B．even | C．also | D．certainly |
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| 小题13: | | A．too many | B．a few | C．some | D．few |
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| 小题14: | | A．production | B．pollution | C．population | D．revolution |
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| 小题15: | | A．houses | B．vegetables | C．food | D．lives |
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| 小题16: | | A．fruit | B．meat | C．fish | D．grain |
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| 小题17: | | A．feeds | B．increases | C．supplies | D．helps |
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| 小题19: | | A．control | B．born | C．place | D．reward |
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| 小题20: | | A．star | B．sea | C．planet | D．forest |
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完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Most people think of birds as feathered animals that fly. Scientists, 36 , do not define (给…下定义) birds as animals that fly, because some birds do not. Of the 10,000 or so species of birds, 46 cannot 37 . Flight plays a key role in 38 for most birds. It allows them to find food over a 39 area and to get away from enemies. Ancestors of flightless birds may have 40 their ability to fly because they had no regular predators (捕食者) or did not need to fly to find food. Rather than fly, some of these birds developed other 41 to catch food and avoid enemies. Two examples of 42 birds are penguins and ostriches.
43 birds that fly, penguins do not have wide wings or large feathers. In order to catch the fish they feed on, penguins use their powerful wings to swim 44 . And when they swim, they look as if they are flying through the water. The 45 of penguins’ bodies makes it possible for them to dive deep underwater, 46 their thick feathers protect them from the cold.
Ostriches are known for their long legs, long necks, and large size. To 47 themselves, they stay in groups and use their excellent sight and hearing to 48 enemies. As soon as 49 approaches, they can run at a speed of more than 65 kilometers per hour to 50 . In addition to using their strong legs to run, they can kick powerfully.
Not all flightless birds have been 51 in protecting themselves. Flightless birds on some islands had no enemies until people 52 . These birds were hunted and easily caught by people and the animals 53 by people. Human land development has 54 the habitats of some birds. A number of flightless birds 55 because they were unable to adapt to new conditions and new enemies.
| 小题1: | | A．thus | B．however | C．therefore | D．otherwise |
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| 小题3: | | A．growth | B．communication | C．health | D．survival |
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| 小题4: | | A．wide | B．familiar | C．crowded | D．special |
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| 小题5: | | A．developed | B．improved | C．lost | D．proved |
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| 小题6: | | A．parts | B．habits | C．ways | D．tools |
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| 小题7: | | A．wild | B．interesting | C．rare | D．flightless |
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| 小题8: | | A．Instead of | B．Because of | C．Besides | D．Unlike |
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| 小题9: | | A．quickly | B．carefully | C．differently | D．gradually |
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| 小题10: | | A．shape | B．color | C．bone | D．skin |
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| 小题12: | | A．help | B．feed | C．protect | D．hide |
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| 小题13: | | A．kill | B．notice | C．confuse | D．frighten |
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| 小题14: | | A．dawn | B．darkness | C．danger | D．food |
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| 小题15: | | A．look | B．escape | C．move | D．fight |
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| 小题16: | | A．successful | B．natural | C．unusual | D．positive |
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| 小题17: | | A．realized | B．acted | C．stopped | D．arrived |
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| 小题18: | | A．brought | B．found | C．bought | D．hunted |
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| 小题19: | | A．provided | B．formed | C．destroyed | D．controlled |
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| 小题20: | | A．flew away | B．watched out | C．gave away | D．died out |
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