Question

【题目】Older people with hearing loss may suffer faster rates of mental decline. People who have hearing trouble suffered meaningful impairments(损伤) in memory, attention and learning about three years earlier than people with normal hearing, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals.

The finding supports the idea that hearing loss can have serious consequences for the brain, says Patricia Tun of Brandeis University, who studies aging. “I’m hoping it will be a real wake-up call in terms of realizing the importance of hearing.”

Compared with other senses, hearing is often overlooked, Tun says. “We are made to interact with language and to listen to each other, and it can have damaging effects if we don’t.”

Frank Lin of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and colleagues tested the hearing of 1, 984 older adults. Most of the participants, who averaged 77 years old, showed some hearing loss--1, 162 volunteers had trouble hearing noises of less than 25 decibels(分贝), comparable to a whisper or rustling leaves. The volunteers’ results reflect the hearing loss in the general population: Over half of people older than 70 have trouble hearing.

Over the next six years, these participants went through mental evaluations that measured factors such as short-term memory, attention and the ability to quickly match numbers to symbols. Everybody got worse at the tasks as time went on, but people with hearing loss had an especially sharp decline. On average, a sudden drop in performance would come about three years earlier to people with hearing loss.

Lin cautions that the study has found an association between hearing loss and mental abilities. Those who can’t hear well might avoid social situations and isolation(孤立) is known to be bad for the brain. “You gradually become more socially disconnected,” Lin says. “Social isolation is a major factor for dementia and cognitive decline.”

Lin and his team hope to study whether improvements in hearing brought about by hearing aids or other treatments can transform into improvements in mental functioning. “The ultimate question is, can we do anything about it?” he says.

【1】According to Patricia Tun, this research will probably______.

A. presentthementaldecline of old people

B. make the public attachmore importancetohearing

C. reveal some unknown secrets of aging

D. call on people to listen to and interact with each other

【2】Whatisparagraph4mainlyabout?

A. Theoutcomeofthetest.

B. Theprocessofthetest.

C. Theparticipantsofthetest.

D. Thepurposeofthetest.

【3】Dementiaandcognitivedeclinemainlyresultfrom_____.

A. memoryloss B. hearingloss

C. socialisolation D. speechimpairment

【4】What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. Hearing aids can completely solve the hearing loss problem.

B. The exploration between hearing loss and mental decline will be carried on.

C. No effective treatment can really improve hearing loss.

D. Lin and his team are confident that their research will help slow down mental decline.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】C

【4】B

【解析】本文讲述失聪会对人脑进行损害。

【1】B

推理判断题。根据第一段Older people with hearing loss may suffer faster rates of mental decline. People who have hearing trouble suffered meaningful impairments(损伤) in memory, attention and learning about three years earlier than people with normal hearing, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals.可知这项研究可能会使公众更加重视听力。故选B。

【2】A

段落大意。根据第四段提到参与实验的1984名老人，大多数的年龄超过77，介绍到这些参与都的一些情况，故选A项。

【3】C

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段提到Social isolation is a major major factor for dementia(痴呆)and cognitive decline.社会的孤立是老年痴呆和认知下降的主要因素，故选C。

【4】B

推理判断题。根据最后一段中Lin and his team hope to study whether improvements in hearing brought about by hearing aids or other treatments can transform into improvements in mental functioning.可知听力损失与智力衰退之间的关系将继续进行。故选Ｂ。