Question

The Process of Ageing

At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the possibility of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable (易受伤的); later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigorous and resistance which, though vague at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.

This decline in vigorous with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually “die of old age”, and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer — on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and physically strong we are.

Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigorous with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things “wear out”.

Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound (上发条的) watch, or the sun, do in fact ran out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (热力学). But these are not similar or equivalent to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself — it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction (摩擦). We could, at one time, repair ourselves — well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power, an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.

1.What can be learned from this passage is that ______.

A. people usually are unhappy when they are reminded of ageing

B. children reach their full intelligence at the age of twelve years

C. people are usually more likely to die at the age of twelve years

D. our first twelve years represent the peak of human development

2.The underlined word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph Two refers to ______.

A. remaining alive until 65

B. dying before 65 or after 80

C. remaining alive after 80

D. dying between 65 and 80

3.What does “ageing” mean according to the passage?

A. It is a fact that people cannot live any longer.

B. It refers to a gradual loss of vigor and resistance.

C. It is usually a phenomenon of dying at an old age.

D. It is a period when people are easily attacked by illness.

4.What do the examples of the watch refer to in the last paragraph?

A. Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process.

B. The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process.

C. All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process.

D. Human's ageing process is different from that of mechanisms.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文围绕“衰老”这一话题展开叙述。首段指出人体生命力变化的抛物线趋势，12岁最为旺盛；第2-3段讲到了人类衰老的不可抗拒性；最后一段以例证说明人类和手表等机械装置的“衰老”过程有较大的区别。

1. 细节理解题。根据各选项内容定位到第1、2段。根据第1段第2句可知，人在长到12岁时身体各个方面包括身材、力量和智力都还有待发展和完善，所以排除B、D。根据第1段第2句句末的内容可推测。根据第一段中but at this age the possibility of death is least可知，C项错误；根据第二段第二句It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way...可知，老化是最让人不愉快的发现之一，故当人们想起老化的时候，他们通常是不快乐的。故选A。

2. 代词指代题。根据第二段中Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer — on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, “有些人逝去得早些，而少数人可以活到90多岁至100岁”，it所在句出现的But以及下文“我们所能期望的寿命实际上是有限度的”提示，it应该指代前面出现的“长寿”。故选C。

3. 细节理解题。根据ageing及各选项内容定位到第1、2段。根据第2段第1句对ageing的概括以及第l段第3句后半部分对 ageing的诠释，可知B为本题答案。C、D实际上是衰老过程的两个方面，因此C、D表述都是相对片面的，可排除；通过文中的叙述可知，衰老是一个过程，而不仅是一个简单事实，故A项不恰当，也可排除。

4.推理判断题。根据题干中的watch定位到第4段。第4段中间部分指出：破损的手表也有不能修理的时候，由于自身的金属构造，手表不能像人类的身体那样进行自我修复，而人类的自我修复还可以在一定程度上缓解病痛、延长生命。这就表明人类和手表等机械装置的“衰老”过程有较大的区别，故选D。A、B与手表的例子无关，可首先排除；虽然热力学定律适用于手表等机械装置，但文中例子并没有传达出C的意思，故C也可排除。

【学法指导】

做指代题的时候要注意，首先要把代词所在的句子拿出来做长难句分析，理清句子结构，其次要联系上下文，读懂相关句子的含义，掌握相关信息，可以将选项代入原文，多少会排除一两个；最后就是要本着所见即所得的原理，不做过度的推理。5小题C代词指代题。根据第二段中Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer — on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, “有些人逝去得早些，而少数人可以活到90多岁至100岁”，it所在句出现的But以及下文“我们所能期望的寿命实际上是有限度的”提示，it应该指代前面出现的“长寿”。故选C。

考点：考查科普类阅读