单选题

Infections 'Speed Memory Loss'

Infections outside the brain may speed memory decline in Alzheimer' s disease, UK researchers say. The Southampton University researchers studied 222 elderly people with Alzheimer' s for six months, and they found that getting infections in places like the chest or urinary tract (尿道) could lead to higher level of an inflammatory (引发炎症的) protein called turnout necrosis factor (TNF) in the blood, and double memory loss.
There were 110 of the 222 subjects who developed a total of 150 infections, in areas such as the chest, stomach and intestines (肠) and the urinary tract, which led to the production of TNF proteins. These are collectively known as acute systemic inflammation events (SIEs).
Subjects with one or more SIEs during the six months follow - up had two times the rate of cognitive decline from their baseline score at the start of the study compared with those who had no SIE. And those patients who had high baseline levels of TNF and then suffered an SIE over the following six months had a 10 fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline compared to those who were SIE free.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, Head of Research, Alzheimer' s Society said:
We know there might be a link between inflammatory processes and Alzheimer' s but this is not yet fully understood.
"In the meantime it' s important that older people, people with dementia treat any infection seriously and seek medical help in time. "Professor Clive Holmes at the University of Southampton, who led the research, said they had looked at patients with mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease.
"The worse the infection the worse the affect on the memory, but this is only an association at the moment. "
One might guess that people with a more rapid rate of cognitive decline are more susceptible to infections or injury, but we found no evidence to suggest that people with more severedementia (痴呆) were more likely to have infections or injuries.
"If further work proves that TNF is causing more brain inflammation it may be possible to use drugs that block TNF to help dementia sufferers. "
Professor Holmes said although common illnesses like colds and slight wounds could also set up an inflammatory response in the body, the data from his study did not support the idea that even these could cause memory loss.

单选题 What description is not agreeable to the first paragraph?

A、 UK researchers have studied people who had brain infections and found there is no connection between infections and memory lost.
B、 It is found that infections in the chest or urinary tract could lead to memory lost in people with Alzheimer' s disease.
C、 UK researchers studied people with Alzheimer' s disease and found the connection between infections and memory lost.
D、 TNF is a kind of inflammatory protein, the level of which can influence the memory of people with Alzheimer' s diseas

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】第一段开头说：Infections outside the brain may speed memory decline in A1zheimer's disease. UK researchers say(英国研究人员发现脑以外的感染可能加速阿尔茨海默氏症患者记忆力下降)；第二句说：they found that getting infections in places like the chest or urinary tract could double memory loss(在类似胸部或尿道的地方发生炎症感染，可能会增加一倍的记忆力丧失)。可见选项A认为在患上脑部炎症后，会有记忆力下降的情况，是不合文意的，故选择A。

单选题 Which statement is right about the study?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】第二段说：110 of the 222 subjects developed a total of 150 infections(222名被参与者中，有110人总计出现了150例感染)；第三段第一句说：Subjects with one or more SIEs, had two times the rate of cognitive decline, compared with those who had no SIE(与没有感染的病人相比。有一例或者以上的系统感染的病人承受的记忆损失要多一倍)；第二句说：And those patients who had high baseline levels of TNF and then suffered all SIE, had a 10 fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline compared to those who were SIE free(对于有很高TNF值的人来说，发生感染的病人承受的记忆损失是没有感染发生的病人的10倍之多)。可见选项D认为在认知的消退上，患上炎症的病人比没有患上炎症的病人的情况要严重，是合文意的，故选择D。

单选题 Which one of the following statement is right about Professor Clive Holmes?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干定位到第五段：…they had looked at patients with mild．moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease(他们研究了的轻度，中度和重度痴呆症患者)；The worse the infection the worse the affect on the memory, but this is only an association at the moment(但只是暂时的认为感染越严重，对记忆的影响越大)；…but we found no evidence to suggest that people with more severe dementia were more likely to have infections or injuries(我们没有发现任何证据显示更严重的老年痴呆症的人更可能受到感染或伤害)；If further work proves that TNF is causing more brain inflammation(如果能进一步证明，TNF引起更多的大脑发炎)。可见选项C认为现在还不确定TNF是否能引起脑部炎症，是合文意的，故选择C。

单选题 According to Dr Susanne Sorensen, why this study is important?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干定位到第四段：Dr Susanne Sorensen, Head of Research, Alzheimer's Society said: "This study is an important step towards understanding the processes that occur during the onset of Alzheimer's disease. We know there might be a link between inflammatory processes and Alzheimer's but this is not yet fully understood"(这次研究的带头人，苏珊·索伦森博士说：“这项研究朝着理解老年痴呆症的发病过程的重要一步。我们知道炎症和老年痴呆症之间可能有联系，但这种联系还没有被完全理解”)。可见选项A认为这项研究提供了更多关于Alzheimer疾病的信息，是合文意的，故选择A。

单选题 What can NOT be inferred from this passage?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】文章结尾部分说：…the data from his study did not support the idea that even these (colds and slight wounds) could cause memory loss(他的研究数据并不支持这一观点，即感冒和轻微的感可能会导致失去记忆)；第四段说：In the meantime it's important that older people, people with dementia treat any infection seriously and seek medical help in time(但重要的是老年人、痴呆病人应认真对待任何感染，并及时寻求医疗帮助)。可见选项B是不合文意的，故选择B。