题文
Many of us believe that a person’s mind becomes less active as he grows older．But this is not true，according to Dr．Lissy F．Jarvik，professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at the University of California，Los Angeles，and a board member of the New Center for Aging at the Veterans Hospital．She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years.For example，one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of twins, who were first examined when they were already 60 years old．As Dr．Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s，their minds did not generally decline(下降)as was expected．However，there was some decline in their psycho-motor(精神运动的)speed． This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to．But when speed was not a factor，they lost very little intellectual (智力的) ability over the years.In general，Dr．Jarvik’s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability．This is true not only into the 30s and 40s，but into the 60s and 70s as well．
As for learning new things，and ability to remember，studies by Dr．Jarvik and others show that the old are equal to the young．It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was．However，much of what we call“loss of memory”is not that at a11．
In the cases where the older person’s mind really seems to decline，it is not necessarilv a sign of a decay due to becoming old or“senility”．Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state．This depression usually can be got rid of by counseling(咨询)with a psychologist，or medicine which fights depression.
In American society，when an older person loses something，we tend to call him or her“senile”．But notice that when a younger person loses something，he does not blame it on senility or loss of memory．He finds some other excuse!
小题1:A long-term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that the only factor that declined over the years was .A．mental healthB．intellectual abilityC．the amount of knowledgeD．psycho-motor speed小题2:According to Dr．Jarvik’s studies，middle-aged and older persons should expect to .A．reason betterB．learn fewer new thingsC．remember lessD．1ose little ability to remember小题3:The word“senility”most likely means .A．excellent healthB．weakness in body and mind because of old ageC．occasional forgetfulnessD．giving up one’s life小题4:Both younger and older persons should realize that .A．a sign of a decay due to old age or“senility’’is a common thingB．older persons are wiser than younger ones because of different knowledge amountC．senility or mental decay due to aging is much less common than most of us believeD．a sign of a depressed emotional state is not a reason of decay 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题1:D
小题1:B
小题1:C
解析
小题1:由第二段第一句可知，被跟踪调查的136对双胞胎只是精神运动速度有所减慢。
小题1:从文章第二、三段可知，中老年的记忆、推理能力不会有多少衰退。
小题1:文中“senility”前的“a sign of decay due to old”即是其解释。
小题1:通读全文可知，老年智力衰退并没有我们想的那么普遍和严重。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Many of us believe t.....”主要考查你对 [健康环保类阅读 ]考点的理解。健康环保类阅读
健康环保累阅读概念：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。体裁有记叙文、 说明文、议论文和各种应用文。
健康环保类文章阅读技巧：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。阅读此类短文要以现象或事物为中心进行思考，理解现象产生的原因、条件和客观规律等。同时要抓住事物的特征、用途和相互关系等。科普环保类文章一般为说明文，从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：
第一部分一般是文章的首段，主要用来提出文章的主题，即文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容；
第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明；
第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题进行归纳总结。这类文章多用一般现在时，而且一般多使用客观性词语表述。有时为了强调客观性，也常使用被动语态。
从近几年的考试题来看，科普环保类的文章越来越与人们的实际生活相接近。由于此类文章缺乏故事情节，很多同学对此类文章感到费解。但一般的科普类文章都是就事论事，需要逻辑推理和想象的时候较少，因此此类阅读题也没有同学们想象中的那么难，只要多加训练，就能较好地答题。
【阅读策略】
1、概要(Summarizing)：
阅完材料后，将所阅材料浓缩，摘要，做出所阅材料的书面或口头梗概。
2、组织(Organization)：
阅读后根据阅读内容，识别观点、人物、事件之间的关系以及文章的结构关系。如：时间关系、比较或对比关系、相关关系及因果关系等。
