题文
People Born in Autumn Live LongerPeople born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring and are less likely to fall chronically ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist.
Using census（人口普查）data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of birth was related to life expectancy（预期寿命）over the age of 50. Seasonal differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new-born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age. “A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer,” said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research. “When she stops breast-feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it’s in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone (易于)to infections of the digestive system.” In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April-June), and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months. In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar. Adults born in the Australian autumn—the European spring—lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring. The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data. Although nutrition at all times of the year has improved since then, the seasonal pattern persists, Doblhammer said.
But on the other hand, according to a study of more 40,000 people, those born in spring and summer report themselves luckier than those born in autumn or winter. Professor Richard Wise-man who led the research explained that the temperature at the time of birth might influence the development of the brain and seasonal factors make a difference as well.
小题1:The underlined word “outlived” in the text probably means ________.A．lived out ofB．depended onC．had a shorter life thanD．lived longer than小题2:The census data of the following countries is used for research EXCEPT _______.A．Germany.B．Denmark.C．Australia.D．Austria.小题3:What’s the main idea of this text?A．Nutrition at all times of the year has improved since the beginning of the 20th century.B．In Austria, adults born in autumn (October—December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April—June).C．People born in autumn live longer than those born in spring and are less likely to fall ill when they are older.D．Babies are prone to infections of the digestive system.小题4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?A．Infections occurring at different times of the year influence the health of a new-born baby.B．The study focused on people born in the late 20th century.C．A mother giving birth in spring eats less vitamins during the last phase of her pregnancy in winter.D．What mothers ate during pregnancy could have an impact on the babies’ life expectancy in older age.小题5:The right sentence of the following is ________.A．The month of birth was not related to life expectancy over the age of 50.B．A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, eating more vitamins than in summer.C．Stopping breast-feeding and starting giving babies normal food must make babies prone to get infected with the digestive system in the hot weeks of summer.D．Adults born in the Australian autumn―the European spring―lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring. 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:B
小题5:D
解析
人的寿命与出生季节有关系吗？最近奥地利科学家得出的结论，秋天出生的人比春天出生的人长寿。
小题1:词义理解题。根据文中In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than…判断，答案应选D。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第三段可以看出答案。
小题3:主旨大意题。其它三个选项都是例证，只有C才能概括全文大意。
小题4:辨别正误题。根据文中The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data.来判断。
小题5:辨别正误题。根据第二段可以看出答案。A错在not；B错在more；C错在must上。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“People Born in Autum.....”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。
