39. A. since　　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　　 　　 C. by　　　　　　　 D. because

38. A. much　　　　　　 　 B. little　　　　　　　 　　　 C. more　　　　　　 D. less

37. A. joke　　 　　　　　　 B. laugh　　　　　　　 　　　 C. blame　　　 　　　　　 D. criticize

36. A. almost　　　　　　 　 B. seldom　　　　　　 　　 C. already　　 　　　 　　　 D. never

55. A. bigger　　　　 B. weaker　　　　　 　 C. smaller　　　　 D. stronger

答案　 36-40 CDCAD 41-45 CBADB　 　 46-50 DCCAB　 　　 51-55 CADAB

Passage 22

(江西省瑞昌一中2010届高三上学期期中考试)

Advancing age means losing your hair, your waistline and your memory，right ? Dana Denis is just 40 years old, but　 36　 she's worried about what she calls “my rolling mental blackouts” . “I try to remember something and I just blank out.” she says. You may　 37　 about these lapses, calling them “senior moments ”or blaming “early Alzheimer's (老年痴呆症)”. Is it an inescapable fact that the older you get, the　 38　 you remember? Well, sort of. But as time goes by, we tend to blame age 　39　 problems that are not necessarily age-related. 　“When a teenager can't find her keys, she thinks it's because she's distracted or disorganized”, says Paul Gold. “A 70-year-old blames her　 40　 ”. In fact，the 70-year-old may have been　 41 　things for decades. 　In healthy people, memory doesn't worsen as　 42　 　as many of us think. “As we　 43　 , the memory mechanism isn't　 44　 ”, says psychologist Fergus Craik. “It's just inefficient”. 　The brain's processing speed　 45　 over the years，though no one knows exactly　 46　 . Recent research suggests that nerve cells lose efficiency 　　47　 　there's less activity in the brain. But, cautions Barry Gordon, “It's not clear that less activity is　 48　 . A beginning athlete is winded(气喘吁吁)more__49__than a senior athlete. In the same way, 　50　 the brain gets more skilled at a task, it expends less energy on it.” 　There are　 51　 you can take to compensate for normal slippage in your memory, though it　 52　 effort. Margaret Sewell says “We're a quick-fix culture, but you have to　 53　 to keep your brain　 54　 . It's like having a good body. You can't go to the gym once a year　 55　 expect to stay in top form”.

54. A. painful　　　　 　 B. disappointed　　　 C. nervous　　　 D. ashamed

53. A. Uncertainly　　 B. Unsuccessfully　　 C. Unusually　　 D. Unfortunately

52. A. leave　　　　 　 B. catch　　　　　　 　 C. forget　　　　 D. beat

51. A. loss　　　　　 B. operation　　　　 　　 C. pressure　　　　　 D. movement

50. A. protected　　　 　 B. nursed　　　　　 　　 C. scolded　　　　　 　 D. affected