单选题 Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty scary. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn"t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss.
After age 50, it"s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Women"s Hospital in Boston.
The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts shrink, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.
Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don"t remember even seeing it, that"s far more concerning, Daffner says.
When you forget entire experiences, he says, that"s "a red flag that something more serious may be involved." Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you"ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.
But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn"t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medications (药物) like antidepressants.
You don"t have to figure this out on your own. Daffner suggests going to your doctor to check on medications, health problems and other issues that could be affecting memory. And the best defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain"s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.
"Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways," he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a known brain booster.

单选题 Why does the author say that one needn"t be concerned about memory slips?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词concerned about memory slips可以将答案定位到文章第一段第三句和第四句。其中memory slips是原词重现。
文章第一段开头虽然提到，随着年龄的增长，患有痴呆症的风险也在增加，但第三句以转折的方式指出，如果你有时记不住事情，可能也不必担心。第四句进一步给出了原因——患痴呆症和因年龄增加而导致记忆力下降所表现出来的迹象还是有明显区别的。也就是说，即使有记不住事情的情况发生，也不一定就是痴呆症的症状，也可能只是随着年龄增长记忆力下降的表现，故选项A正确。选项B和选项C原文没有提及，可以排除。选项D比较容易误选，第二段虽然指出，50岁以上的人很难快速记住人物、地点和事物的名称，这是十分普遍的，但是D项中说的是fifty-year-olds(50岁的人)，“50岁以上的人”和“50岁的人”的含义有区别，故D项说法不准确，应排除。

单选题 What happens as we become aged according to the passage?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的关键词become aged，再结合出题顺序与文章顺序基本一致的原则可以将答案定位到文章第三段第一句。
文章第三段开头指出，大脑和身体的其他部分一样，都会衰老。下文内容则是关于当我们变老之后大脑所发生的变化。第二句指出，有些部分会萎缩，特别是大脑中对于学习、记忆和做计划非常重要的区域。由此可以排除选项D，并不是整个大脑都会萎缩。第三句指出，脑细胞的改变会影响大脑中不同区域之间的交流，这与选项C“我们大脑内部的交流会减弱”表达的意思一致，故选C。选项A和B的内容文章中没有提及，可以排除。

单选题 Which memory-related symptom should people take seriously?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题干中没有明显的定位关键词，根据出题顺序与文章顺序基本一致的原则可以初步将答案定位到第四段和第五段。
第四段指出，如果只是忘记自己特别喜欢的电影中的某个演员的名字，这根本不用担心。但如果忘记了这部电影的情节，或忘记看过这部电影，这种情况则让人担忧得多。由此可知，选项C的说法与原文不一致，故排除。第五段进一步指出，当忘记了整个经历，忘记了如何使用一个熟悉的物品，或者忘记之前很熟悉的路线的话，那么就表明有什么地方出了问题。也就是说，这样的症状需要严肃对待。由此可知，选项A“完全忘记了自己的日常事务该怎么做”是对上述内容的总结概括，符合题意，故为答案。选项B原文没有提及，可以排除。选项D是根据forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you"ve visited many times before设置的干扰项，原文意为“忘记如何开车到你之前去过好多次的朋友家”，并不是说偶尔把自己朋友的地址弄混，故排除。

单选题 What should people do when signs of serious memory loss show up?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 题干中依然没有明显的定位关键词，根据出题顺序与文章顺序基本一致的原则可以将答案初步定位到文章第六段和七段。
文章第六段指出，即便如此(即上文所说的健忘状况比较严重的时候)人们也不应该慌张。因为有许多因素会导致混淆和健忘。第七段首句指出不需要自己解决这个问题，达夫勒建议人们去找医生来检查一下所吃的药物、健康问题以及其他可能影响记忆力的问题。由此可知，人们出现了严重的健忘迹象的时候应该向专业人士寻求帮助，故本题选C。选项A是根据原文“对抗健忘最好的办法就是通过建立大脑的认知储备来努力阻止它”设置的干扰项，原文用的是building up your brain"s cognitive reserve，而A项中使用的是check(检查)一词，两者含义不同，故排除。停止服用影响记忆力的药物没有根据，故排除B。虽然最后一段提到运动有助于增强大脑的活力，但这是预防措施，并不是发现了严重的健忘迹象之后要做的事，故排除D。

单选题 What is Dr. Daffner"s advice for combating memory loss?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词combating memory loss可以将答案定位到文章倒数第二段最后一句和最后一段。题干中的combating memory loss相当于原文中的defense against memory loss。
文章倒数第二段最后一句指出，而对抗健忘最好的办法就是通过建立大脑的认知储备来努力阻止它。最后一段进一步解释了具体的做法。达夫勒医生建议人们多读书，看电影，培养一些新的爱好或者参加一些新的活动，从而迫使我们用新的方式思考。接下来作者进一步指出，应该让大脑忙碌起来，而且还要做运动，因为运动有助于增强大脑的活力。由此可知，对抗健忘就是要保持思维活跃以及多做运动，D项是对这一含义的同义转述，故为正确答案，选项中的active physically是原文词汇复现，staying active mentally就相当于原文中的keep your brain busy and working。选项A、B和C的内容文章中都没有提到，可以直接排除。