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formation given in the passage you have just read. Studies show that older people tend to remember the positive things in life rather than the negative things, while younger people remember the positive and negative equally well. The dominant psychological theory to explain this is that older people are aware of their limited time left, so they prioritize positive emotional experiences. But about a decade ago, I worked with biologist Robert Trivers on his idea that there was an evolutionary basis for older people39。s increased positive outlook. Our research took us in the fascinating direction of exploring how the body uses its energy. When our ancestors needed more energy than usual, perhaps while being chased by a tiger, they had to get that energy from somewhere in the body. Could they borrow it from the brain? That organ uses 20 percent of our metabolic (新陳代謝) output, whether we are solving math problems or watching television reruns. Due to this constant energy requirement, borrowing energy from the brain when our need surpasses the available supply is not an option. Perhaps we could borrow energy from our muscles. Because we use far more muscle energy when we are active than when at rest, in principle, we could borrow energy when we are sitting. But the problem is that most of the energydemanding emergencies of our ancestors required a muscular response. There was no way to borrow energy from our muscles during an emergency because relaxing when a tiger showed up was not an effective response. This brings us to our immune system, which, when strong, protects us from many illnesses and diseases. Like the brain, the immune system works at great metabolic cost, but largely in the service of keeping us healthy in the future. We have an enormous number of immune cells coursing through our body, a momentary break from production is fine. So, when our body needs extra energy, one of the places it goes is our immune function. When you39。re being chased by a tiger, you don39。t need to waste energy making immune cells to fight off tomorrow39。s cold. What you need is to shift all available energy resources to your legs, with the hope that you will live to experience another cough or sneeze. As a result, our immune system evolved to run in maximum amounts when we39。re happy, but to slow down dramatically when we39。re not. With this background in mind, Trivers supposed that older people evolved a strategy of turning this relationship on its head, being more focused on the positive things in life in an effort to enhance their immune functioning. This was helped along by their knowing much more about the world than younger adults, so they can deal with some of the unpleasant things in life more easily.(1)According to Robert Trivers, when our body needs extra energy, ______. A.muscles will respond to it by relaxing a little bitB.organs will speed up metabolic processes to answer itC.immune system will temporarily shut down to fulfill itD.brain will satisfy it by sharing optional metabolic output(2)In paragraph 3 this relationship most probably refers to the one between ______. A.experiences and related knowledgeB.happiness and biological evolutionC.immune function and healthD.optimism and length of life(3)What can be concluded from Robert Trivers39。 study? A.Younger people adopt strategies of handling tense situations from everyday life.B.Our ancestors evolved their immune systems in fighting against fierce animals.C.Realizing that their days are numbered, older people prefer being positive.D.Being negative drains energy from our body, lowering resistance to disease.(4)Which of the following is the best title of the passage? A.Brain, muscles and immune systemB.Age, health and happinessC.Ancestors, emergency and evolutionD.Energy, effort and response【答案】 (1)C(2)D(3)D(4)B 【解析】【分析】本文是一篇說明文,研究表明,老年人往往會(huì)記住生活中積極的事物,而不是消極的事物。十年前作者與生物學(xué)家羅伯特特里弗斯合作研究身體是如何使用能量的,他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)解釋了這一現(xiàn)象。 (1)考查推理判斷。根據(jù)第二段中的“We have an enormous number of immune cells coursing through our body, a momentary break from production is fine. So, when our body needs extra energy, one of the places it goes is our immune function.”可知我們的身體里有大量的免疫細(xì)胞,暫時(shí)停止運(yùn)作是可以的。因此,當(dāng)我們的身體需要額外的能量時(shí),(我們的身體)會(huì)去找免疫系統(tǒng)。由此可以推斷,免疫系統(tǒng)會(huì)暫時(shí)停止來為身體提供額外的能量。選C。 (2)考查詞義猜測(cè)。根據(jù)第三段中的 being more focused on the positive things in life in an effort to enhance their immune functioning. 可知老人們更加關(guān)注生活中積極的事物,是為了增強(qiáng)他們的免疫功能。也就是說積極與免疫功能之間有關(guān)系,越積極,免疫功能越強(qiáng),就能活得越久,所有選項(xiàng)中D項(xiàng)(樂觀與壽命)之間最切題,故選D。 (3)考查推理判斷。根據(jù)最后一段中的As a result, our immune system evolved to run in maximum amounts when we39。re happy, but to slow down dramatically when we39。re not.可知當(dāng)我們快樂時(shí),我們的免疫系統(tǒng)進(jìn)化到最大程度,但是當(dāng)我們不快樂時(shí),免疫系統(tǒng)會(huì)減弱。由此推斷,消極會(huì)消耗我們身體的能量,降低對(duì)疾病的抵抗力。選D。 (4)考查主旨大意。作者開頭提出老年人更關(guān)注積極的事情,后文提到積極的情緒會(huì)增強(qiáng)免疫系統(tǒng),所以本文主要講的是年齡,健康與積極的情緒之間的關(guān)系,選B。 【點(diǎn)評(píng)】本題考點(diǎn)涉及推理判斷,詞義猜測(cè)和主旨大意三個(gè)題型的考查,是一篇科研類閱讀,考生需要根據(jù)上下文的邏輯關(guān)系,進(jìn)行分析,推理,概括和歸納,從而選出正確答案。5.閱讀理解 Rich countries are racing to dematerialise payments. They need to do more to prepare for the sideeffects. For the past 3,000 years, when people thought of money they thought of cash. Over the past decade, however, digital payments have taken off— tapping your plastic on a terminal or swiping a smartphone has bee normal. Now this revolution is about to turn cash into an endangered species in some rich economies. That will make the economy more efficient—but it also causes new problems that could hold back the transition(轉(zhuǎn)型). Countries are removing cash at varying speeds. In Sweden the number of retail cash transaction per person has fallen by 80% in the past ten years. America is perhaps a decade behind. Outside the rich world, cash is still king. But even there its leading role is being challenged. In China digital payments rose from 4% of all payments in 2012 to 34% in 2017. Cash is dying out because of two forces. One is demand— younger consumers want payment systems that plug easily into their digital lives. But equally important is that suppliers such as banks and tech firms (in developed markets