【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[听力原文] A new study has failed to find any conclusive evidence that lifestyle changes can prevent cognitive decline in older adults. Still, there are good reasons to make positive changes in how we live and what we eat as we age. Cognitive decline is the loss of ability to learn new skills, or recall words, names, and faces that is most common as we age . To reduce or avoid it, researchers have examined the effect of smoking, diet, brain-challenging games, exercise and other strategies. Researchers at Duke University scrutinized more than 160 published studies and found an absence of strong evidence that any of these approaches can make a big difference. Co-author James Burke helped design the study. "In the observational studies we found that some of the B vitamins were beneficial. Exercise, diet, cognitive stimulation showed some positive effects, although the evidence was not so strong that we could actually consider these firmly established." Some previous studies have suggested that challenging your brain with mentally stimulating activities might help . And Burke says that actually does seem to help, based on randomized studies—the researcher"s gold standard. "Cognitive stimulation is one of the areas where we did find some benefit. The exact type of stimulation that an individual uses is not as important as being intellectually engaged." The expert review also found insufficient evidence to recommend any drugs or dietary supplements that could prevent or slow cognitive decline. However, given that there is at least some evidence for positive effects from some of these lifestyle changes, plus other benefits apparently unrelated to cognitive decline, Burke was willing to offer some recommendations. " I think that by having people adopt a healthy lifestyle, both from a medical standpoint as well as nutritional and cognitive stimulation standpoint, we can reduce the incidence of cognitive decline, which will be proof that these factors are, in fact, important." James Burke of Duke University is one of the authors of a study reviewing previous research on cognitive decline. The paper is published online by the Annals of Internal Medicine . According to the speaker, what might be a symptom of cognitive decline in older adults? [解析] 四项均为现在分词短语，且均含有表示某种消极意义的词汇(unable, rather slow, losing temper, losing the ability)。题目可能考查某类人丧失某种能力，需重点留意各选项中的关键信息，并根据题目作出进一步的判断。 本题考查的是认知水平下降的症状，讲话开头处对老年人的认知水平下降进行了说明：“认知水平下降是随着我们衰老而出现的一种常见的现象，它是指丧失学习新技能或者回忆话语、姓名或脸庞的能力。”对四个选项一一进行分析可发现，选项A提到的being unable to learn new things与讲话中提到的the loss of ability to learn new skills意思相符，故答案为A。其余三项在讲话中均未提及，故应排除。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[听力原文] According to James Burke, what does seem to help reduce cognitive decline? [解析] 四项均为名词短语，分别意为“认知刺激”“社区活动”“均衡的饮食”和“清新的空气”，本题可能以what提问，应该是对某处细节的考查。 讲话在提到人名信息James Burke时，引用其观点指出：“在观察性研究中，我们发现有一些B族维生素是有益的。运动、饮食和认知刺激表现出一些积极的影响，虽然证据还不够有力，以使我们实际上对这些策略进行确认。此前的一些研究已经表明，让你的大脑挑战一些激发智力的活动可能会有所帮助。伯克说，基于随机性研究(研究者的黄金标准)，这样的做法看来的确有所帮助。”由此可知，有确切证据表明有效果的是两个因素：一些B族维生素和让你的大脑挑战一些激发智力的活动。对比四个选项，只有选项A“认知刺激”与后者意思相符，故为正确答案。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[听力原文] What did James Burke recommend to reduce the incidence of cognitive decline? [解析] 四项均为动名词短语，关键词分别为ignoring、adopting、endeavoring和seeking，且均含有某些正面、积极的意义。从选项来看，可能考查某项建议或某种积极的做法，听音时要注意各选项的关键词。 题目问的是詹姆斯·伯克对于降低认知水平发生率的建议。讲话近结尾部分提到：“我认为通过使人们采取健康的生活方式，无论是从医疗角度还是从营养和认知刺激角度，我们都能降低认知水平下降的发生率，这将证明这些因素事实上是非常重要的。”选项C中的give up unhealthy lifestyles是对原文中adopt a healthy lifestyle的同义转述，故选C。其他三项都不是詹姆斯·伯克的建议，故均可排除。