Older adults with a better sense of smell may live longer than those who have a poor sense of smell,

Older adults with a better sense of smell may live longer than those who have a poor sense of smell, a new study suggests. The study was a project of researchers in the United States that was continuing for over 13 years. They asked nearly 2300 men and women to recognize 12 common smells. All the subjects were from 71 to 82 years of age. The researchers gave the adults marks, from 0 to 12, based on how many smells they recognize correctly.
During the years of follow-up research, over 1200 of the adults died. When the study was started, none of the adults were weak. They could walk about half a kilometre, climb 10 steps and independently complete daily activities. In the latest findings, the researchers noted those with a weak nose were 30% more likely to die than people with a good sense of smell. The findings were reported last month in the scientific publication Annals of Internal Medicine.
Honglei Chen, a doctor with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was the lead author of the report on the study. He said the connection between a poor sense of smell and an increased risk of dying was limited to adults who first reported good or excellent health. This suggests that a poor sense of smell is an early and sensitive sign of worsening health before it is recognizable in medical tests. With a poor sense of smell, people are more likely to die of brain and heart diseases, but not of cancer or breathing problems.
The results also suggest that a poor sense of smell may be an early warning of poor health in older age that goes beyond dementia (痴呆) or other neurodegenerative (神经变性的) diseases. These often signal the beginning of the weakening of the mind or body.
8. What do we know about the study in the passage?
A. All the adults were in their eighties.
B. The adults were young and energetic.
C. The study lasted for more than 13 years.
D. The study involved international researchers.
9. What was the situation like at the beginning of the study?
A. Over 1200 of the adults passed away.
B. One third of the adults had a poor sense of smell.
C. Many of the adults were found with health problems.
D. All the adults could perform daily activities independently.
10. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
A. People with a poor sense of smell have heart disease.
B. Most older people may have breathing-related disease.
C. People with a poor sense of smell won’t suffer from cancer.
D. Older people should be careful with their health if they smell poorly.
11. What is the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 1?
A. 主题 B. 科目
C. 实验对象 D. 绘画或拍摄题材
【答案】