单选题 In 2014, older Americans fell 29 million times, leading to 7 million injuries, according to a report published last week. About 2.8 million cases were treated in emergency departments, and approximately 800,000 seniors went on to be hospitalized. More than 27,000 falls led to death. (76) And the problem is getting more and more serious.
"Older adult falls are increasing and, sadly, often indicate the end of independence," said Dr. Tom Frieden. The falls are preventable, Frieden stressed. He said individuals, families and health care providers can take steps to resist the trend.
Dr. Wolf-Klein is a medical professor in New York. She said one concern is that seniors who have experienced a fall alone at home don"t tell anyone. When that happens, prevention efforts don"t begin and they"re at risk for additional falls that lead to broken bones and brain injuries.
"Elderly patients tend not to report falls to their families, or even doctors. A fall is a very frightening thing that you keep quiet about. They think if they mention it, they are afraid that they will move to a nursing home or need assistants to help out in the house," said Wolf-Klein.
It"s also a status issue and may make someone feel that they"re weaker than they really are, she explained. When someone does fall and hurt themselves, they"re often never the same, Wolf-Klein said. "You can develop chronic (慢性的) problems. After a fall, a percentage of the population will never return to walking around. People used to taking the subway, now they"re in a wheelchair, or they may need help going to the bathroom. They become frailer and lose independence," she said.
单选题 Which of the following is TRUE?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析]
内容概要
本文介绍了越来越多上了年纪的美国人跌倒的现象。强调了有办法可以预防此类事故的发生，沃夫·克莱因博士则详细阐述了摔倒的后果，发人深省。
参考译文
据上周的一个报道：在2014年，美国老年人跌倒2900万次，造成了700万人受伤。急诊科约有280万人接受治疗，约80万名老年人继续住院治疗。超过2.7万人因跌倒而死亡。这个问题越来越严重。
汤姆·福莱登(Tom Frieden)博士说：“越来越多的老年人跌倒，可怜的是这意味着他们丧失了独立生活能力。”福莱登强调，有办法可以防止跌倒。他说，个人、家庭、医护人员可以采取措施应对这一趋势。
沃夫·克莱因(Wolf Klein)博士是纽约的一个医学教授。她说，一个需要关注的问题是那些经历过独自在家跌倒过的老年人不会告诉任何人。当这种情况发生时，预防工作就没有作用了，他们会有再次跌倒，造成骨折和大脑损伤的危险。
沃夫·克莱因说：“上了年纪的病人往往不愿意将自己跌倒的事情告诉家人，甚至是医生。摔倒是一件非常可怕的事，而他们却什么都不说。他们觉得，如果说出这件事，他们就要搬到养老院，或者需要保姆在家照顾自己。”
她解释说，这也是一个地位问题，会让人觉得他们比实际要赢弱。沃夫·克莱因说，每个人跌倒和受伤的情况都是不同的。她说道：“有的可能会发展成慢性病。跌倒之后，也有相当一部分人失去了行走能力。那些过去乘地铁的人们，现在只能坐轮椅，或者需要人帮助才能去洗手间。他们变得更加脆弱，也失去了独立生活的能力。”
定位 第一段第一句话“In 2014, older Americans fell 29 million times, leading to 7 million injuries, according to a report published last week.”
答案详解 细节题。题干问的是“以下哪一项是正确的?”根据定位句“据上周的一个报道：在2014年，美国老年人跌倒2900万次，造成了700万人受伤。”故选A。
单选题 From the passage we learn that older adult falls ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 定位 第二段第一句话“"Older adult falls are increasing and, sadly, often indicate the end of independence," said Dr. Tom Frieden.”
答案详解 细节题。题干问的是“从文中可以得知，老年人跌倒会怎么样?”定位句指出越来越多的老年人跌倒，这就意味着其独立生活的结束，故选D。
单选题 The word frailer in Paragraph 5 probably means ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 定位 第五段最后一句话“They become frailer and lose independence...”
答案详解 词汇题。frailer的意思是“易碎的；脆弱的(frail的比较级)；易损的”。A项意思是“更孤独的”，B项意思是“更虚弱的”，C项意思是“更聪明的”，D项意思是“更好的”。根据前文内容可知，摔倒后的老年人会生活不能自理，所以他们应该是身体体质越来越衰退，只有B项符合句意，故选B。
单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 定位 第四段第二句话“A fall is a very frightening thing that you keep quiet about.”
答案详解 细节题。题干问的是“根据文章，下面哪一项是正确的?”定位句“摔倒是一件非常可怕的事，而他们却什么都不说。”此处的frightening与A项中的terrible是同义转换。故选A。
单选题 What is the main idea of this passage?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 定位 全文。
答案详解 主旨大意题。题干问的是“本文的主旨是什么?”本文通篇都是在讲述越来越多的老年人跌倒，并且全文都是围绕这个话题展开。B项说人们应该对摔倒的事情闭口不谈，根据倒数第二段判断为错误选项；C项说老年人正在丧失独立生活的能力，这只是摔倒后的最终结果，而不能作为全文的主旨；D项说老年人摔倒会造成大脑损伤，这也是摔倒可能会导致的结果，文中第三段最后一句话指出，二次摔倒会导致骨折和脑部损伤。故选A。