1 . A study led by Plana-Ripoll, a doctor at Aarhus University in Denmark, tries to deal with a fundamental question that has bothered researchers for more than a century—what exactly causes mental illness?
In the hope of finding the answer, scientists have piled up a large amount of data over the past decade, through studies of genes and brain activity. They have found that many of the same genes underlie seemingly distinct disorders and that changes in the brain’s decision-making systems could be involved in many conditions.
The researchers are also rethinking theories of how our brains go wrong. The idea that mental illness can be classified into distinct, separate categories like “anxiety” has been disproved to a large extent. Instead, recently they’ve found that disorders shade into each other, and there are no hard dividing lines.
The researchers are trying to understand the biology that underlies mental illness. They have a few theories. Perhaps there are several dimensions of mental illness, so depending on how a person scores on each dimension, they might be more likely to have some disorders than others. An alternative idea is that there is a single factor that makes people easier to suffer from mental illness in general. What disorder they develop is then determined by other factors. Both ideas are being taken seriously though the former one is more widely accepted by the researchers.
The details are still unclear, but most researchers agree that one thing is specific: The old system of categorizing mental disorders into neat boxes does not work. They are also hopeful that, in the long run, replacing this framework with one that is grounded in biology will lead to new drugs and treatments. The researchers aim to reveal, for instance, the key genes, brain regions and neurological processes involved in psychopathology(精神病理学), and target them with treatments. Although it might take a while to get there, they are long-term optimistic if the field really does its work.
1. What aspect of mental illness has been puzzling researchers according to the text?| A．Its symptoms. | B．Its roots. |
| C．Its categories. | D．Its theories. |
| A．There exist links between mental disorders. |
| B．Brain function has little to do with mental illness. |
| C．Mental illness is classified into different categories. |
| D．Genes are completely different in distinct mental disorders. |
| A．The theory of genetic influences. |
| B．The belief of brain abnormalities. |
| C．The concept of multiple dimensions. |
| D．The idea of the determined risk factor. |
| A．Hunting for its biology might help. |
| B．Its genes are too complex to study. |
| C．Scientists are clear about its details. |
| D．Its new drugs could be available soon. |
2 . Are you pessimistic by nature? Well, it’s not good for your brain. A new study has found that repeated negative thinking in later life is linked to cognitive(认知) decline and greater deposits(沉积) of two harmful proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病).
Negative thinking behaviors, such as reflection about the past and worry about the future, were measured in more than 350 people over the age of 55 over a two-year period. About a third of the participants also had a brain scan to measure deposits of proteins, which cause Alzheimer’s disease. The scans showed that people who spent more time thinking negatively had more harmful proteins, worse memory and greater cognitive decline than people who were not pessimists.
The study also tested for levels of anxiety and depression and found greater cognitive decline in depressed and anxious people, which agrees with previous research. But proteins did not increase in people who were already depressed and anxious, leading researchers to suspect that repeated negative thinking might be the main reason why depression and anxiety lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
“This is the first study showing a biological relationship between repeated negative thinking and Alzheimer’s disease, and gives physicians a more precise way to assess risk and offer treatment,” said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson. “This study will change the way I care for my patients at risk.”
Fiona Carragher, who is chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society in London, pointed out that this isn’t saying that a short-term period of negative thinking will cause Alzheimer’s disease. “Most of the people in the study were already identified as being at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” she added. “so we need more research to see if these results exist within the general population.”
1. What does the study show?| A．Negative thinking removes harmful proteins in brain. |
| B．Optimistic people have better cognitive ability. |
| C．Alzheimer’s disease leads to worse memory. |
| D．Continuous pessimism may result in Alzheimer’s disease. |
| A．Constant negative thinking may cause depressed people to get Alzheimer’s disease. |
| B．Long-term negative thinking is the reason for cognitive decline. |
| C．Alzheimer’s disease probably results in the increase in harmful proteins. |
| D．Anxiety and depression are the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．The research needs to be further improved. |
| B．The study will provide a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．The following research will focus on short-term negative thinking. |
| D．The general population has a lower risk of having Alzheimer’s disease. |
3 . Elderly people have a higher chance of suffering from illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. One common health problem that affects them is Alzheimer’s disease, which affects a person’s memory, behavior, and thinking. Because of memory loss and behavioral changes, people with Alzheimer’s may slowly become unable to take care of themselves, eventually requiring constant care from family members or caregivers.
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s at the moment—drugs can only treat its symptoms.
But technology can improve the lives of those living with the condition by making it easier for them to go about their daily activities. For example, tracking devices placed in watches or jewelry can monitor where a person is. Automated reminders can also be stored in motion sensors and placed around the house. When a sensor detects movement, it can play a recorded voice message to remind the person to lock the door or turn off the stove.
Alzheimer’s disease is a huge challenge, but we may be getting close to finding a solution. In the future, it might be possible to treat Alzheimer’s without using drugs. A team of researchers in Australia has created a form of technology that can send sound waves into the brain. These sound waves help to clear waste in the brain that contributes to Alzheimer’s. The team has tested their technology and found that it helped to restore memory in 75 percent of mice. Work on the technology isn’t complete, but, if successful, it could prevent memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s. This really does fundamentally change the understanding of how to treat this disease and researchers foresee a great future for this approach.
1. Alzheimer’s is a disease that mainly affects the ____.| A．muscles | B．blood | C．brain | D．heart |
| A．Tracking devices. | B．Automated reminders. |
| C．Sending sound waves into the brain. | D．Restoring memory. |
| A．Helps to cure. | B．Helps to cause. | C．Helps to worsen. | D．Helps to prevent. |
| A．Elderly people will begin to face many challenges. |
| B．Society should provide enough healthcare to elderly people. |
| C．There’s a need to better understand the cause of Alzheimer’s. |
| D．Technology might solve some problems of people with Alzheimer’s. |
Two poor young women artists, Sue and Johnsy, lived together in a certain part of New York City. They both had much in common and loved each other like two sisters.
In November, pneumonia (肺炎) broke out in that part of the city. Many people caught it, and Johnsy was among them. She lay still in her bed all day, and looked from time to time through the window at the wall of the next house.
One morning the doctor told Sue that there was a slim chance that Johnsy could recover unless she had a strong desire to live. The doctor said, “I’ll do all I can. But you will also have to do your best to give her a strong will to live. If she has hope for a better future, her chances of survival will be better.”
Sue went into Johnsy’s room and began drawing a picture. While drawing, Sue heard Johnsy say something in a low voice. Sue went quickly to the side of her bed. Johnsy’s eyes were wide open. Johnsy was looking out of the window, counting something.
“Twelve,” said Johnsy. A little later she said, “Eleven, ... ten, ... nine,... eight, ... seven.”
Sue looked out. There was a wall covered with an old vine (藤蔓) growing half way up it.
“Six,” said Johnsy after a little while. “They are falling faster now. During the past three days almost a hundred have fallen. And only five are left now.”
“Five what, dear? Tell me, Johnsy.”
“Five leaves,” said Johnsy. “When the last leaf falls, I must go, too. The doctor told you that I would die soon, didn’t he?”
“Don’t be silly!” said Sue. “He said that you would soon get well.”
Sue told Johnsy to go to sleep. Then she went to visit Behrman, a poor old artist whom both Sue and Johnsy were familiar with. He always said that someday he would paint a great masterpiece. When Sue went into his room, she told him about Johnsy and the leaves on the vine.
The old man said, “Do people die because leaves fall from a tree? I’ve never heard such a silly thing. Just take me to her room.” Johnsy was sleeping when they went in. Outside, a cold rain mixed with snow was falling, making it easier for poor old people to get infected with pneumonia.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Two days later, there was still one yellow leaf “firmly” at the end of a branch.
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Johnsy began to recover, and Sue told her that Mr Behrman created a great masterpiece but died of pneumonia.
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5 . Michael J. Fox was at the height of his career when he developed Parkinson’s disease (帕金森病) in 1991. Since then, he has been fighting the disease and has not lost his love for life.
After his diagnosis (诊断), Michael concealed his illness for several years in order not to risk his career as an actor. His diagnosis didn’t become public until 1999. To this day, he has done his best not to be influenced by his illness as much as possible and has worked both in front of the camera and as a voice actor.
Michael said in an interview with the American magazine Haute Living in 2016: “I realize now that I can play anybody, as long as they have Parkinson’s.” Like the role of “Louis Canning” in The Good Wife, which he played from 2010 to 2016. For his role of the lawyer (律师), who suffers from the side effects of medication(药物) to treat Parkinson’s, he was nominated (提名) five times for an Emmy.
Michael has shown the doctors who said that he would not be able to work ten years after the diagnosis that this is not the case. He has found the right way to deal with Parkinson’s disease for him: Humor.
In an interview in March 2017, he joked about moments in his everyday life where he is controlled by his illness. “The thing that makes it funny to me is when I think about someone else watching all this and thinking, Poor Michael can’t even get the coffee — it’s so sad!”, explains the 59-year-old.
Since his diagnosis became public, Michael has devoted himself to Parkinson’s research. In 2000, he founded the Michael Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. By the end of 2018, 800 million US dollars had already been collected.
1. What does the underlined word “concealed” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Hid. | B．Feared. | C．Refused to treat. | D．Paid no attention to. |
| A．Their similar personalities. | B．Their similar experiences. |
| C．Michael’s handsome appearance. | D．Michael’s dream of being a lawyer. |
| A．Confident and easy-going. | B．Patient and honest. |
| C．Tough and positive. | D．Independent and open-minded. |
| A．He provided money for those with it. |
| B．He called on people to face it bravely. |
| C．He established a center to treat people with it. |
| D．He tried to raise money to support research on it. |
6 . Protect yourself and others from COVID-19
If COVID-19 is spreading in your community, getting into panic is probably not a wise choice for both you and your family members.
Keep your distance at least one metre.
Avoid closed and crowded places. Outbreaks have been reported where people have gathered, such as restaurants, fitness classes, and nightclubs.
Prevent constantly touch from your eyes, nose and mouth. Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once infected, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth.
| A．Choose the right mask to put on. |
| B．Bring your mask while in hospital. |
| C．From there, the virus can enter your body and infect you. |
| D．Therefore, clean your hands before you put your mask on. |
| E．You can, of course, stay safe by taking some simple measures. |
| F．This will reduce your risk of infection when others cough, sneeze or speak. |
| G．These environments make it more efficient and easier for the virus to spread. |
